Pathfinder D&D Puzzles #22 - Door of the Stone Hand

[@WallyDM]

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[@xapi0]

I used this puzzle with a twist: the fountain of blood, lacked the blood, instead the players had to administer their own blood for it to work (and the fountain had three dragon heads around it with their mouth open and really sharp teeth). Worked great, thanks a lot for this! Also, the warlock volunteered his hand. He asked about what consequences the stone hand would have, good and bad, and I said, look, it will be hard for you to use that hand for anything, and unless you're going to go around hitting people with your bare hand, you wont see any benefit. The party's monk didn't take the hint, even after I left two stone to flesh scrolls behind the door for them to undo the process!

[@WallyDM]

Oh wow! I love the twist you put on this. I would have loved to have heard this conversation as they discuss who will get the stone hand, lol. Thank you for the story!

[@nyxtingale2046]

This is SO COOL! Thank you so much for sharing, will definitely be using it for my oneshot.

[@WallyDM]

Hooray! Glad you like it. Be sure to stop back by and let me know how it goes. Cheers!

[@Axisbal]

Love the simple design of the videos and page Clear cut D&D, pencils and paper, designing cool role playing game experiences Effort man

[@WallyDM]

This comment went above and beyond. One heck of a compliment, thank you very much! Welcome to the channel!

[@RussNo1]

Let's mess with them a bit. After they complete this puzzle they find another platform with a foot print. Who ever puts their foot on it has their foot turned to stone but it doesn't activate anything.

[@WallyDM]

Haha! Awww yeah. I love it. The stone hand has a purpose, the stone foot... a hindrance. You are my kind of "evil DM", lol. Well done. :)

[@gregorianallanheavans8095]

Honestly i see redhearring as a big No in DND. It's not a videogam. There are already too many possibilities for whatever you wanna and could do with the right clues. Giving misdirections is just being jerk to me xD

[@tamb4909]

This is a great puzzle, I love it and I'm looking forward to using it.

[@WallyDM]

Fantastic! This is definitely one of my favorites. Be sure to let me know how it goes. Also, don't forget to subscribe... I have some amazing new puzzles coming soooon! :)

[@carlwood846]

Thank you! Gonna use this soon...hoping they have their monk complete this task, so she becomes the first Monk of the Stone Fist...thinking maybe give her -1 to hit, +4 to damage for unarmed strike when using that hand..?

[@WallyDM]

Awww yeah. I really dig this idea. Your Monk player is going to be super stoked about this new feature / ability. This is a fantastic way to use this puzzle, well done! I think you are right-on with her attack/damage stats. A little heavy to swing, but if she connects... Pow! Maybe even consider it "magical" for terms of attacking monsters with non-magical weapon resistance. Thank you for the comment, be sure to let me know how it goes if you do this in your game!

[@agitadora60]

will def be using this one, living in a non-english speaking country these types of puzzles are of great value to me as a DM. Thank you!

[@WallyDM]

Hi Claudia! I am really glad that you are able to use the puzzles on this channel! Greeting from the USA... where are you from?

[@agitadora60]

@@WallyDM I live in Argentina, we are a small, but dedicated band of players and Im their DM.

[@WallyDM]

@@agitadora60 That is cool! Well, thank you again for being a subscriber and greetings from the U.S. Midwest!

[@steveclarkreborn]

You could also tailor this to campaign tyed to the Hand and Eye of Vecna, setting up the "doomed" player here to receive the Hand of Vecna as replacement later

[@mr.breadobamagames5221]

Just found my new favorite D&D channel! My players are going to love some of these awesome puzzles keep up the great work!

[@WallyDM]

Hooray! Thank you for this. And... welcome to the channel. I am glad to have you here and looking to chatting again more in the future. :)

[@WallyDM]

I just thought of two more scenarios that could happen, especially with clever players. 1) PCs may try to shop off the hand of a nearby statue and fit it into the puzzle. While a clever idea, I will probably make sure the statues hands are holding something or clinched so that they will not fit into the mold of the puzzle's hand outline. 2) PCs may find (and kill or capture) a humanoid creature and force their hand into the bubbling pit of blood. While I don't plan on having this being a possibility in my game (it is a medusa lair), it is something to be prepared for. Thank you everyone for the discussion! :)

[@dustinmscott1]

Maybe it is just the evil GM in me, but if they brought a monster in scenario 2, that monster would get some gorgon gifts and combat would restart at a much more intense level. Afterward probably a harrowing stone intense battle one of the victors who received the first damage would be infected with the a contagion making their hand stone (low intensity danger gets worse after a long rest, stone arm, shoulder, cured with remove curse) if they use it as intended it opens the door, but does not cure the curse. On the flip side, it would definitely be a quest powered item, +3 or so, behind the door.

[@emilyanderson9559]

this is my new fav channel you are saving me hours of work thank you

[@WallyDM]

Glad I could help and welcome to the channel. Cheers!

[@haydem0823]

I am volunteering at a school later today for a dnd club. I am using this puzzle as their main encounter. I am very excited.

[@WallyDM]

It does my heart good when I find out that some of my ideas are used in schools and D&D clubs. Be sure to stop back by and let me know how it goes. Cheers and good luck Mr. Mike!

[@haydem0823]

@@WallyDM long story short, there was a lot of complaining, but then the student’s character started karate chopping his fellow students characters with his stone hand and there was much laughter. Unfortunately we ran out of time and the club cant meet for two weeks due to scheduling. But it was fun Edit: you might also like to know that this school has “clubs” (almost) every Thursday during school hours and my wife and i started the “dnd club”. So what i am saying is that dnd gets played at schools now. Take that, satanic panic!

[@WallyDM]

@@haydem0823 What a great story! Thank you for sharing this. I love that they had to warm up to the idea of the stone hand, lol. And, yes, what a HUGE difference. When I was in school, I had to hide my notebook in study hall because I was drawing dungeon maps. It is heart-warming to know that D&D is so widely accepted. Thank you again, looking foward to another future update. Also, if you would like, I can donate a copy of my book to the school. Lemme know and I'll send you one.

[@haydem0823]

@@WallyDM just saw this response, and thank you for the offer of book for the school. The school has started state testing and clubs are mostly done. There will be two more thursday meet ups of clubs but my wife and i have stepped back from clubs because we have a baby on the way and she is on maternity leave. I have a pdf copy of your book from drivethru and gave the club a print out of this puzzle, the pacifist door, and the sand hourglass puzzle. If i go back and volunteer next year or if the club sticks around from somebody else ill let you know because im sure they would love the book.

[@WallyDM]

@@haydem0823 Sounds good, no worries. Reach out at anytime. AND.... congratulations!!!

[@dragongaming4824]

i had a very similar puzzle. there as a door marked with "only the stone fists of a true" and an indent of a fist. there was also a fountain of a pure white liquid(liquid magic marble basicly) which would turn anything into barble for a period of a few days

[@WallyDM]

Oh wild, that's cool. Definitely a fun puzzle to run, for sure. Cheers!

[@rangerelfgamer2770]

you have given me great puzzles and great ideas for dnd thank you so much please keep them coming

[@WallyDM]

Thank you Joe, I appreciate the feedback and support! Stay tuned for more videos! :)

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

I would put this at the beginning of a dungeon (or tomb) belonging to a religious order and have an inscription in the room that says "Having faith will open doors". The players need to choose someone to turn their hand to stone in order to enter the dungeon. Then they go through the dungeon as normal. The stone hand is the key to open the last room where the treasure is kept, and their hand turns back to normal when they open the final door. This is why they needed to have faith. Add some flavor by having glyphs in the room that say "Your faith shall be rewarded" that begin glowing when they get their hand back.

[@WallyDM]

I feel like you have applied some fun changes to the puzzle. I dig it! Be sure you are subscribed to the channel... a lot more puzzles coming sooooon!

[@Ciofey]

I would have a dungeon complex with a door system that turns your left hand into solid stone to open a door, and then back to flesh to close it (same hand indentation on both sides of every door. That way the party must choose between closing the door and having two hands available, or leaving the door open (escape route etc) but having only one hand available. So it is not a system to prevent you from moving about, it just encourages you to keep the doors closed. If the group wants to keep a way out, more than one party member will have to "sacrifice" a left hand to the stone doors.

[@WallyDM]

Interesting... yeah, I can get behind that. Great idea on building out your dungeon. Well done!

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

The hand could be enchanted to move, as your own hand would, and given an attack bonus. Whether it be a simple plus, bigger damage dice, or even The Medusa's Touch.

[@WallyDM]

Nice. Sounds like you have it figured out. Hope you have fun with the idea. Cheers!

[@mmardh799]

I like the idea that the unwilling creature who turns their hand into stone doesn't know when it's going to turn back to normal. I think I'd put other room for that, and they may have use it to unlock some doors or mechanism with it before

[@WallyDM]

Absolutely. This is definitely one of my favorite puzzles and I've had so much great feedback and stories from folks who have run it. Also... this is my most watched puzzle of all time! A classic for sure. Glad you like it. Cheers!

[@fenelladruce1958]

I like the puzzle a bunch and it has a crazy amount of flavor potential! While I feel like you shouldn't punish players for doing what you want them to, you could maybe use this to temporarily punish greedy players who kind of push responsibility off to others. If the player is a good teammate, give them buffs! If they are kinda selfish punish them a bit. You could have the first pedistal dispence blood and coat the hand in iron and have the second pedistal dispence water that oxidizes the metal and make it rust and fall off. There is near infinate flavor and narrative possibilities for this!

[@WallyDM]

Hey there Fenella! Glad you liked the puzzle, it is definitely a fan favorite with so many fun implications. If you use it in your game, be sure to stop back by and let me know how it goes. Thank you for subscribing to the channel. Glad to have ya here. Cheers!

[@DragonRoams]

I love this idea. I'm going to be doing a Vecna story arc there are already idea forming. Thanks for sharing.

[@WallyDM]

You betcha! I'm glad its something you can use. Be sure to subscribe... NEW puzzle videos are coming soon !

[@granttrain3553]

I'd have a second area of 2 rooms just like this. but, in one room there is only one stone Madusa and she has a hand of jet blak flesh with glowing runes. The idea would be if two players put their hands on the two hand plates they swap hands! The fix would be to lift the statue to put its hand on the other one and give it the stone hand and the player gets the magic hand. Then the magic hand can open the door. Another fix would be they can just lift the statue to the door and leave a player stuck with a naf stone hand.

[@WallyDM]

Oooh... swapping hhands is both creepy and kinda cool. I'd be very interested to see this play out! Thank you for the great comment!

[@ChrisWEEZ]

Very cool. I like things that might affect the player semi-permanently. That was how one of our party became a vampire! The thing I would want to add to this is to make the stone door an optional route-say, as opposed to going through a lot of enemies to get to the other point of the dungeon/castle/area. That way, if a player ends up with a stone hand, they'll feel it was a consequence of taking a "shortcut", rather than something they were railroaded into.

[@c.v.emmans]

I have personally decided to treat the stone hand like a less powerful Gauntlet of Ogre Power, granting Strength of 14 until Greater Restoration or Wish is cast to remove. It also eats an attunement slot, so they may be faced with a choice down the road. We'll see how it goes. Great puzzle, can't wait to their it at my players!

[@WallyDM]

Oooh, good idea with the attunement slot. Well done. Be sure to stop back by and let me know how it goes. Welcome to the channel, stay tuned for more D&D goodness!

[@c.v.emmans]

@@WallyDM I ended up adding (on the fly because my players were advancing through a little fast) a second room with four statues, each holding a bowl. The basin with the little statues where they eventually put in their hand was empty, but the little figures (ravens, because this whole dungeon is all about the Raven Queen) were crying blood into the basin. They were able to connect the two together and cut their palms, letting their blood flow into the four bowls. When they came back to the basin, they found the raven's mouths open, blood filling the basin like a fountain. After some trepidation, one of the party members stuck a hand in, and was given the choice of "accepting the gift and the burden" of the key. They accepted, and found their hand turned to bloodstone, then I gave them the item card. They can still move the hand, but can't feel anything from it. As far as the puzzle, they gave me great feedback, and they loved it. Went against their instinct by having to give their own blood, and they liked the creepy, macabre feel. Thanks again for this great puzzle!

[@ChikkiSandy]

Thanks for the great puzzles! I ran this for my group when they were exploring the tomb of an undead necromancer. In the room with the medusa heads, I had a statue of a manticore 5 feet north of the pedestal and a statue of a griffon 5 feet south of the pedestal which the medusa heads were staring at. As one of the party members step up to the pedestal to investigate it, I had the medusa heads turn to face the pool of blood and the statues came to life. It was then initiative and a fight broke out. Pretty cool moment that was inspired by this idea!

[@WallyDM]

Awww yes. That sounds like an intense encounter! I am glad that this puzzle was able to provide you with some inspiration for it! Fantastic comment, thank you!

[@KarimJovianGames]

Dude you’re awesome. Please make more

[@WallyDM]

Thank you Karim! More on the way... tune in tomorrow!

[@danharber8706]

Another brilliant puzzle! My little spin I put on this one is that the stone hands are a debuff, like only being allowed to use 1-handed weapons (no-handed fighting if only one player freezes both hands) and having the party finish out the dungeon with the stone hands for the curse to return to normal. That way the PC's can strategize, maybe a spell caster that can cast by speech can take both stone hands. Or something like that

[@WallyDM]

Thanx Dan! I like your plan for the puzzle. I think my favorite part is when the players decide who has to give up a hand for the greater good of the party, lol. Unfortunately, my players are a long way from when I plan to use this puzzle so be sure to let me know how it works for you!

[@danharber8706]

Definitely! Thanks for all your hard work

[@alexandrebedard5754]

Very nice puzzle! Thanks a lot!

[@WallyDM]

YOu are welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@ryansandwich1086]

Great puzzle! At first I thought they would need to put their hand into molten metal or something that would harden around them.

[@WallyDM]

Ah, thanks Ryan! Glad you liked it. Stay tuned and make sure you are subscribed. I have a lot more in the works. Cheers!

[@WallyDM]

Can't wait to use this in my game. The players in my campaign killed a medua's pet basilisk. They are tasked with finding her a new "pet". This will be the entrance to the ruins to achieve their goal. :)

[@ishmiel21]

Dude, so show did it go? I think it might be cool if you made follow up videos to your puzzles to let everyone know how our player's dealt with them. Just a thought.

[@LunarFerns]

Another amazing puzzle! Was very easy for players, but add atmosphere of the horrible creepy dungeon 😈

[@WallyDM]

Hooray! I'm glad your table enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks Lunar. Cheers!

[@MarvelX42]

Rewatching videos for puzzles to use. I have an artificer in my new group. Perfect chance for them to lose a hand to have them replace it.

[@WallyDM]

This would be amazing! I dig it! :)

[@shroudedcuteness]

thank you

[@benjaminbrown4684]

Something I will use

[@WallyDM]

Fantastic! Glad I could help. :)

[@leguan278]

Want to be more cruel? The transformed hand turns normal after 5 min, but the the “lock” takes the hand after. You are now missing a hand

[@WallyDM]

Yikes! Cruel indeed! Thank you for watching, cheers!

[@nemeasium]

3 groups I used this for, 3 drank it.... also 2 used hands of nearby corpes, clever party

[@WallyDM]

You've ran this three times? Nice, that is so cool! And, I can't help but laugh-out-loud at those that drank it, haha. Thank you for sharing the story.

[@nemeasium]

@@WallyDM Yeah, one of my go to designs for a dungeon, just gotta make sure I've got an NPC they can go to to un stone there internals hahah

[@stm7810]

What about mage hand, putting in a statue hand or using tools to make a fake hand? seems good, thanks.

[@WallyDM]

I would only have the pool of blood react to a living creature. It would have to be able to sense the living flesh/blood in order to react and ignite the flesh to stone ability. So, mage hand, a fake hand or even a severed hand would not work. But, of course that is how I would run it. Hope this helps. CHeers!

[@stm7810]

@@WallyDM Thanks! I'll wait for a higher level to do this to the party, and see how they feel about this sort of stuff first since lines and vales are important.

[@MarvelX42]

Yes to "fix" the stone hand Meow would have the second tray filled with acid which burns away the hand. You could have it hurt or not. Then you could have the hand regrow slowly on its own, leave it gone or have yet another tray with healing water in it. The healing water could regrow the hand or heal a party member. Maybe put some sort of big fight right before the healing water one so that some of the party members will for sure be hurt. Then they will have to decide....do we let the handless member regrow that hand or heal up the worst hurt member?

[@WallyDM]

lol. As always... thank you! :)

[@MarvelX42]

Does this mean that you likes Meows idea?

[@WallyDM]

lol. always like your ideas... A slowly regrowing hand? haha, I love the comical aspect of it... like Deadpool. :)

[@MarvelX42]

?

[@josholine]

I have a campaign going where one of the PCs just recovered the soul of his long dead wife, and has to find several key ingredients to make up a Life elixir, consisting of aura energies from Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Lightning. This would be a perfect trial for the Alter of Earth.

[@Seth9809]

Like the wool hat and mic look, very 90s operator.

[@WallyDM]

lol, that is hilarious. Funny thing... I used to be a telephone operator at a hospital from 1996 to 1999..

[@basvanbenthem9681]

I might let the stone hand be there as a weapon, but when he/she throws a nat 20 the hand breaks on impact.

[@WallyDM]

Oooh... dismemberment with the destruction of the stone hand! That is cruel... and I love it!

[@stevejohnston4177]

just got to watching this, I would make it have knockback on melee or a damge mod to unarmed strike

[@WallyDM]

Awesome! Glad you found this puzzle. Have fun with it! :)

[@ishmiel21]

Re-watching a bunch of these to find some puzzle of yours that I haven't used yet :) Have you read anything aobut Pathfinder 2E yet? it looks amazing.I am super stoked for it.

[@WallyDM]

Awww yeah. Puzzle reruns! Haha. Cool. Hope you find some good ones to use. I should have another one released about mid-May. Trying to squeeze one out every month. I haven't read anything on Pathfinder 2E yet. But, I do hope to do a few videos when it comes out... so I will probably buy the Core Rulebook when it comes out.

[@ihalloway]

instead of stone hand u could use same thing with blood "SAW MOVIE" style, if one uses pedestal he loses his hand and becomes extremely exhausted, but if heroes find secret second pedestal, they both end with penalty, there should also be possibility with human sacrifice and there should be hints mentioned

[@eleanorbrushia]

I like the new thumbnails!

[@WallyDM]

Thanx! I do too. Makes them easier for me to find. :)

[@jasonjernigan7117]

My freaking fighter tried to take a bath in it so i made him lose moment. But gave him dr and he got to be a stone construct

[@WallyDM]

lol, dang. That fighter is crazy! Kudos to your DMing skills by allowing him to be a stone construct through the game... that will be a story probably be a story that player will remember and tell for many years to come. Well done! Thank you for sharing, this was awesome. :)

[@patsutherland6853]

the thing is fantastic four. Hellboy is closer to what you are suggesting.

[@WallyDM]

Ah yeah... Definitely had my superheroes mixed up in this one. Thank you for your help! :)

[@patsutherland6853]

No Prob Man

[@rossblackblood9554]

Using this in tomorrow's game

[@WallyDM]

Hoooooray! So... how did it go??

[@rossblackblood9554]

@@WallyDM It went pretty well! It took them a good minute to figure out what was going on and now we have a tortal with a stone hand and no idea how to fix it yet, and the rest of the party has already gotten their tease on, so it's awesome

[@southernsasquatchseekers9639]

Cool as always, but Wally, Thing is with the FF, not X-Men. JS

[@WallyDM]

Thank you Chad! And yes, you are absolutely correct... Fantastic Four. Doh! What was I thinkin??? lol.

[@Akinohotarubi]

Knowing my players they would just grab a pickaxe and try to make a hole in the door shaped wall.

[@WallyDM]

Haha! I love it... those darn players will mess it up every time. lol. Thank you for watching. Welcome to the channel!

[@Nulono]

The Thing is Fantastic Four, not X-Men.

[@WallyDM]

Oh man... I know better than that. I love comics and have decent Marvel knowledge, so I don't know what I was thinkin' there. Thank you for settin' me straight! :) And thank you very much for watching my KZbin video!

[@fireblast950]

What if one of the players wants to drink the blood. Then what would happen?

[@MarvelX42]

Hmm, he said that the blood was coming out of the statues and pouring into the tray, so either there is some sort of endless supply of blood or it flows into the tray, down and back up to the heads, back down and so on in an endless cycle. Also there must be something in the blood to keep it from coagulating and or evaporating. That or it doesn't because of magic. If the magic is in the blood or in that area would be all GM deciding. Also there must not be any insects or other creatures in there that would naturally see the blood as a food source unless like I said it is ever renewing.

[@WallyDM]

My initial thought to answer your question is that the PC would turn to stone. I did get to thinking that Medusa blood has been known to do different things. In ancient mythology, I believe, drops of blood from the medusa head created snakes. I have also read that some medusa blood can actually cure petrification, although most of the time I see this, it would be the Basilisk who has the stone to flesh remedy with it's blood. The greater medusa's blood is poisonous, so there is that too. I have also considered instead of blood, the liquid could be anything else such as murky water, mud, or describe a "concrete" texture. Or maybe it is empty. We could then substitute this in and when a player places their hand in the tray, the Medusa heads light up, snakes come to life and the players hand is turned to stone. In my game, a player drinking the blood in the tray (or if I decide that it is going to be sludge or something else) will Turn to Stone, since that is what the purpose of the tray of blood is for anyways (turning a hand to stone). By including the other statues in the room... maybe that is what happened to them? Hope this helps a little bit! Thanx for letting me brainstorm a bit. :)

[@WallyDM]

MarvelX42 has brought up some great points. In my head, when recording, I was thinking that the blood was magical and continually renewing and flowing through the Medusa heads like a fountain. I really like the idea of maybe some flying insects swarming around the blood and if the players look closely enough, they could see little "stone" insects mixed in the blood (or somehow being filtered out) indicating they drank the blood and turned to stone. Everything, of course, is up to the DM or GM. This puzzle is simply an idea at it's base... we should all change it to meet the needs of our game. :) Thanx again MarvelX42... insightful feedback, as always!

[@fireblast950]

Thanks to the both of you I like the aspect of ingesting the blood to have a different effect such as growing snakes and becoming a Medusa or act as a stone to flesh potion. But for the simplicity of the puzzle I think the stone insects are a great way to imply that drinking it will just turn you to stone

[@WallyDM]

Awesome! Hope you can use the puzzle in your campaign! If you do, lemme know how it goes. It will be a while before my PCs get to this part in the campaign.

[@Balthazar2242]

2X speed comin' in hot

[@WallyDM]

Yeah, my old videos (this was 4 years ago)... I tended to ramble a bit. Be sure to watch my newer puzzle and trap videos... I get a little bit better at this "youtube" thing, lol. Cheers Steven!