Isn't a barbed devil CR 11? Is there some other version I'm unaware of that wouldn't turn a party of 2nd-level PCs into paste?
Edit: Aha, I bet it was bearded devil!
If you can track down a copy, Dungeon Crawl Classics #14: Dungeon Interludes (Goodman Games) includes a number of puzzles of the types you're looking for, and pretty much all of them are trapped. The six "interludes" are short, linked adventures designed to fill in between other adventures (approximately every other level from 1st to 11th) but you could easily adapt the puzzles for a lower-level party by toning down the traps accordingly. The puzzles themselves aren't obviously devil-themed, at least not until the last adventure, but their creator (and the Big Bad of the series) is an infamous devil-summoning wizard.
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I recently ran a dungeon where there were 3 monkey statues (give yours horns and pitchforks and cloven paws?) doing See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil in a square room with murals on the walls: The 9 Hells, Abandon, the Abyss, and Heaven. Turn the statues to look at Heaven (No Evil) opens a gate/solves the puzzle.
Beyond the gate is a room with a tiled floor and a slate on the far wall.
The floor is covered in tiles showing Barbed, Bearded, Bone, Erinyes, Horned, Ice, Imp, Pit Fiend, each 4 to 6 times in a random arrangement. It's safe to step on one type of tile once, but if you step on a type 2 or more times, you suffer a bad effect: Caltrops for barbed (penalty to Acrobatic checks when hopping from tile to tile), grow a smelly beard (penalty to Charisma checks until uncursed), summon a skeleton, arrow shoots at you and/or sticky rope pulls you, horn blasts a warning (that might bring guards) and does sonic damage, suffer cold damage and slip off tile on failed Reflex save, Imp shrinks you, Pit trap.
On the slate are a bunch of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9. You have to arrange the numbers so both sides equal the same. They have to mix the numbers so one side is 1, 8, 2, 7 and the other 4, 5, 7, and 6. (the 9 gets flipped over so it's a 6)
Guessing the 7 on the second side is supposed to be a 3, but good puzzles.
Guessing the 7 on the second side is supposed to be a 3, but good puzzles.
Oops, yeah.
There are many solutions, I think, but all require the 9 to 6 flipperoo.
EDIT:
One of my DMs threw that challenge at us, and my Int 8 Rogue solved it. Who I have been roleplaying as really, really "street smart," which means really really really dumb. I even roleplay his Wis 14 as stubborn and instinctual (as in "gut feeling") instead of enlightened and perceptive. So I had to come up with a good roleplaying way to solve it.
This could be one puzzle.
There is a chest in the room that you need to open (containing a clue to the next puzzle perhaps?). On the chest is a pentagram with five keyholes, one at the end of each point on the pentagram. You have five keys, you need to insert the keys into the correct keyholes and then try to open the chest. After each attempt a voice calls out saying how many keys are in the correct position, but not which key is which. For example: two keys are in the correct position. If any are in the wrong position while attempting to open the lid the chest casts burning hands (DC15 reflex save for half).
It is a DC25 disable device check to open the chest without using the keys. Using magic or attacking the chest will cause it to retaliate with burning hands. Smashing the chest will damage the contents.
Have you checked that your players like puzzles? In some groups one player tries to solve the puzzle (usually the one who bothered to write down all the details) while everyone else browses on their phones.
Another puzzle, imp chess.
On a table is a regular chess board. Next to it is a stack of rectangular bricks. Each brick covers three squares on the chess board exactly. An imp challenges one of the PCs to a game.
The rules of the game: each player takes turns placing one brick on the board. Bricks must be placed so that they cover exactly three squares. Bricks may not stack or overlap or hang over the side of the board. You can't move bricks once placed.The last one to place a brick wins.
The imp asks if you want to go first?
If the PCs win the imp reveals the next puzzle. If they lose or refuse to play the imp turns invisible and runs away and the PCs will need to capture the imp to progress.
Very charismatic characters might be able to lose graciously and persuade the imp to help them if they offer plenty of flattery.
I have an answer but I don't know if it's right because it doesn't sound like a satisfactory answer to a logic puzzle.
Okay, first puzzle. I want to run a quick test here to see how solvable this is. Your help is welcome.
There are three chests in the room. They are labeled "Silver", "Gold", and "Silver and Gold". You are told that (1) yes, that's what the chests really contain, but (2) the labels are scrambled so that all three chests are mislabeled.
You can open a single chest, no more. Which chest should you open in order to correctly determine what's in each chest?
...
I *think* I get it. Only took about 15 seconds to realize the trick, and another 15 to get a handle on and solve. PMing the answer to you.
There are three chests in the room. They are labeled "Silver", "Gold", and "Silver and Gold". You are told that (1) yes, that's what the chests really contain, but (2) the labels are scrambled so that all three chests are mislabeled.
You can open a single chest, no more. Which chest should you open in order to correctly determine what's in each chest?
Recognized it, and thus got it, in under 5 seconds x3
Okay, first puzzle. I want to run a quick test here to see how solvable this is. Your help is welcome.
There are three chests in the room. They are labeled "Silver", "Gold", and "Silver and Gold". You are told that (1) yes, that's what the chests really contain, but (2) the labels are scrambled so that all three chests are mislabeled.
You can open a single chest, no more. Which chest should you open in order to correctly determine what's in each chest?
This is a straightforward logic puzzle, no tricks. If you're not too busy, sit and think for thirty seconds, and then tell me if you could figure it out. Don't post the answer -- just post your response. Like "Got it" or "Got it after a minute" or "Got it but wow, super hard" or "I tried but have no idea". Like that. Because I'm trying to judge just how tricky this is, yah?
Many thanks in advance,
Doug M.
That third chest should be: silver or gold (randomly determined each time it is opened) not silver and gold. Then the question is: what is the minimum number of chests you need to open to know which label belongs on each chest.
Recognized it, and thus got it, in under 5 seconds x3
Since Silver, Gold and Silver&Gold are all equally easy to recognise when you look in one chest, it doesn't matter which chest you look in. You will have two chest contents left to find and two chests left to find them in, and only one of the two remaining combinations will be valid.
If that's not the answer you have in mind, you're probably thinking of a subtly different pre-existing riddle.
That third chest should be: silver or gold (randomly determined each time it is opened) not silver and gold.
So one of the three chests is a magic one containing gold or silver that might change if you close and reopen it?
I rate this puzzle as fairly easy for an experienced puzzle-solver, moderately hard for an ordinary person.
My solution:
Let's say I find Gold.
There are two things still to find: Silver and SilverOrGold. That means the 'Gold' chest must contain Silver and the 'Silver' chest must be the magic SilverOrGold one - because if they were the other way around Silver would be in the 'Silver' chest, which is not allowed.
Similarly, if I find Silver in 'SilverOrGold', the 'Silver' chest must contain Gold and the 'Gold' chest must contain SilverOrGold, by the same logic.
So opening one chest is sufficient.
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There are lots of variants for that.
One of the two devils says, "One of us always tells the truth, and the other one always lies." But the devil telling you this is actually lying - their job is to trick you into doing something dangerous through flawed logic.
One devil always tells the truth, one devil always lies, and one devil alternately tells the truth or lies. See how many question it takes them to figure out the correct door. The more questions you ask, the more things attack you.
Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/246/
There are lots of variants for that.
One of the two devils says, "One of us always tells the truth, and the other one always lies." But the devil telling you this is actually lying - their job is to trick you into doing something dangerous through flawed logic.
One devil always tells the truth, one devil always lies, and one devil alternately tells the truth or lies. See how many question it takes them to figure out the correct door. The more questions you ask, the more things attack you.
These optimisation style puzzles are my preferred puzzle type. It gets the whole party involved and you don't get stuck with a binary pass/fail road block.
That third chest should be: silver or gold (randomly determined each time it is opened) not silver and gold.So one of the three chests is a magic one containing gold or silver that might change if you close and reopen it?
I rate this puzzle as fairly easy for an experienced puzzle-solver, moderately hard for an ordinary person.
My solution:
** spoiler omitted **
I agree, and correct answer.
Foreshadowing, nice...