Absolutely. Here is **everything you need to run** the third classic puzzle: ## 🔒 **The Demonweb Puzzle** **Module:** _Queen of the Demonweb Pits_ (Q1, 1980) **Puzzle Type:** Planar navigation / spatial logic **Why It’s Famous:** It turns the dungeon into a **dimensional maze**, where forward doesn’t always mean progress and logic is non-Euclidean. --- ## 🕸️ **THE DEMONWEB – OVERVIEW** > _You walk through metallic corridors suspended in a void. The air is dead. A shimmering portal flickers at each intersection, carved into spiderweb patterns of burnished steel. The entire dungeon feels wrong—up might not be up, and a left turn may take you far more than one room away._ The Demonweb is **Lolth’s planar lair**, consisting of: - Interlocking **planes** and **corridors** - **Portals** between areas that don’t obey spatial logic - **Teleporters**, **false doors**, and **looping paths** - **Illusions**, traps, and red herrings - A central mystery: _how to reach Lolth’s sanctum_ --- ## 🔄 PUZZLE STRUCTURE – HOW IT WORKS The Demonweb is a **maze made of interdimensional corridors**, with: |Feature|Description| |---|---| |🌀 **Corridors**|Made of silvery-black web metal, angular and identical in appearance| |🌐 **Portals**|Appear as shimmering spiderwebs at the ends of halls and rooms| |🪞 **Teleporters**|Some intersections teleport PCs silently to mirror versions of rooms| |🔁 **Loops**|Many portals _look_ like they connect nearby rooms but actually cycle characters to earlier or unrelated areas| |💀 **Dead Ends / Traps**|Mimic correct portals but may plane-shift PCs into lethal traps or empty voids| --- ## 🗺️ THE CHALLENGE – NAVIGATION AND DEDUCTION The **puzzle** is to **map the planar layout** by: - Marking **distinct rooms** (via features, carvings, symbols) - Using **chalk or magical signs** to track progress - **Testing portals carefully** (use Mage Hand, rope, summoned creatures) - Noting which portals loop or teleport This is a **non-linear dungeon**. Walking in a straight line might teleport the party back to a previous level or mirror version of the map. Navigation is more like solving a **logic maze** than traversing a dungeon. --- ## 🎯 GOAL – REACH LOLTH’S INNER WEB To reach Lolth: 1. Players must identify the **true path** through a **series of portals** (e.g., the correct portal in each hub room) 2. Understand the **Demonweb’s rules** (e.g., every 4th portal loops, mirror corridors flip cardinal directions) 3. Avoid false or deadly planes (fire plane trap, gravity inversion rooms, etc.) 4. Reach the **Planar Nexus**, then take the **true portal** to her sanctum The exact layout varies by version, but in _Q1_, the correct path requires: - Avoiding obvious portals - Recognising planar themes (a room that feels colder? Likely connects to the Paraelemental Ice) - Following subtle symbols near correct portals (like runes of Lolth or web marks) --- ## 📏 PUZZLE MECHANICS – HOW TO RUN IT ### 🎲 Recommended Checks |Action|Skill / Save|DC|Result| |---|---|---|---| |Analyse portal|Arcana or Investigation|16|Learn if portal leads to other plane| |Track location|Survival or Insight|14|Notice you’re looping or flipped| |Identify planar traits|Arcana|17|Detect elemental aura of room| |Resist disorientation|Int or Wis Save|14|Avoid planar vertigo in shifting rooms| ### 🕵️ Detection Tricks - **Drop coins or chalk marks** — looped rooms show old marks - **Tether rope** — if rope cuts off or vanishes, it’s a teleport - **Summon beast through portal first** — see where it ends up --- ## ☠️ DANGEROUS FEATURES TO USE |Trap Room|Effect| |---|---| |🔥 Plane of Fire trap|Characters entering this portal are hit with 6d10 fire damage, no save| |⚖️ Gravity Flip room|Everything flips upside down — falling damage + reposition| |❄️ Ice Plane trap|Characters begin freezing unless Constitution saves (DC 15) succeed every round| |🕷️ Lolth’s Lure|A chamber of mirrors where each reflection casts _Hold Person_ (DC 16)| --- ## 💡 SOLUTION STRATEGY To solve the Demonweb and reach Lolth: 1. **Mark unique rooms**: Use distinguishing details, runes, or floor textures 2. **Track portal behaviour**: Which go where? Do they loop? Flip? 3. **Identify patterns**: Every 3rd portal in each hub room leads closer; every 4th loops 4. **Recognise the true portal to Lolth**: - Glows faintly purple - Has a carved spider rune above it - Emits whispers in Elvish: “All webs lead home...” --- ## 🧙 DM TIPS – Running the Puzzle - Draw **non-Euclidean maps**: make exits from one room lead somewhere unexpected - Give players a **false sense of progress**, then reveal they’ve looped - Use **escalating planar effects** to increase urgency (e.g., rooms getting colder, time distortion) - Let clever solutions shine: _Augury_, _Legend Lore_, _Planar Binding_ can offer clues --- ## 🕸️ OPTIONAL HANDOUT – Inscription Clue > **Inscribed on the websteel wall of a central node:** > > _“The web binds all. > Tread thrice and turn. > Mark the mirrored path, > And where you began, > Is not where you are.”_ --- ## ✅ Summary |Puzzle Element|What Makes It Work| |---|---| |Layout|Impossible geometry and loops| |Goal|Reach Lolth’s sanctum| |Challenge|Mapping, logic, deduction| |Tools|Arcana, Insight, Illusions, Chalk, Runes| |Danger|Teleports, planar traps, gravity shifts| |Solution|Recognise patterns, track rooms, identify correct portal| --- Would you like: - A printable maze map? - Alternate clues or runes? - A simplified version for a lower-level party?