On the contrary, puzzles can be half the fun, especially if your players are idiots
There is a Young Black Dragon in my world who was literally never meant to be a major issue for any players but currently has EIGHT player character deaths attributed to him, because the first (level 8) party TPKd when they tried to move deeper into his territory to ambush him after he stole one of their bags, and they all drowned in a bog (trying to help each other and the ones who went to help also getting into trouble). Then there was a oneshot where a second (level 5) party went to his lair to avenge the first one and they also TPK’d because he got a surprise round against them.
“When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other players said I was daft to fight a dragon in a swamp, but I fought it all the same, just to show 'em. We sank into the swamp. So, we sent a second party. They sank into the swamp. So, we sent a third one. The dragon got a surprise round, burned us, then we sank into the swamp, but the fourth one… killed the dragon!”
On the contrary, puzzles can be half the fun, especially if your players are idiots
There is a Young Black Dragon in my world who was literally never meant to be a major issue for any players but currently has EIGHT player character deaths attributed to him, because the first (level 8) party TPKd when they tried to move deeper into his territory to ambush him after he stole one of their bags, and they all drowned in a bog (trying to help each other and the ones who went to help also getting into trouble). Then there was a oneshot where a second (level 5) party went to his lair to avenge the first one and they also TPK’d because he got a surprise round against them.
“When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other players said I was daft to fight a dragon in a swamp, but I fought it all the same, just to show 'em. We sank into the swamp. So, we sent a second party. They sank into the swamp. So, we sent a third one. The dragon got a surprise round, burned us, then we sank into the swamp, but the fourth one… killed the dragon!”
It sounds like you’re just feeding adventurers to the dragon.