Tried some puzzle for a single player...

[hydraphantom]

So I tried some homebrew puzzle for my single player that stuck in a nightmare.
First one: He's in a small, white room with no exit, and nothing useful, only a dark hole at the size of a fist on one of the wall. He could hear a heavy breathing sound like some sickly, dying old person coming from every direction.
Solution: Use a smoke stick near the hole to choke the old man to death.

Second one: A bunch of hanged body is in a church, the rope connects to a large machine that could shift the location of bodies. And there are unknown symbols on both sides of the wall.
Solution: With an INT check he could realize it's Orokin alphabet, he needs to move the same amount of hanged bodies written on the wall to each side. But there's one empty rope and one less body to unlock the puzzle. He needs to hang himself to continue.

Third one: A badly injured, naked, barely alive person has been chained to the wall, half the brain exposed that he could clearly see. An entire table of torture tools is available nearby. A note with a bloody smiley face is nailed to the body.
Solution: There's two. First one, with an INT check he would remember a killer acquaintance once told him that stabbing a specific part of the brain could make the victim change expression unwittingly. The second one, he could use protect from evil and then heal her, which would make her smile in comfort.

It took him 5 mins to solve the first one, 20 mins for the second one, and whopping 40 mins for the third one. Not sure if it's the puzzle's fault, he didn't think about it, or I'm not giving enough hints.

For the record, the player likes it and enjoys it, so it's not a failed session.

[WindStruck]

When confronted with these puzzles, I think the problem is there is no real goal or reason to any of it, and so they just don't make sense. The solutions demand a specific action in of itself... which otherwise accomplishes nothing except for "solving the puzzle". I guess it works for a dreamlike nightmare game.......

[Pelle]

Requiring INT checks defeats the purpose of having a puzzle, doesn't it?

[hydraphantom]

Requiring INT checks defeats the purpose of having a puzzle, doesn't it?

You're right, but he took way too long to figure out the puzzle so I have to give him SOMETHING as hint.

[Cespenar]

First one is a bit arbitrary, and overall meh. But cool, I guess, if they solved it fast enough.

Second one is a good puzzle in my opinion, with the dramatic twist and all that.

Third looks easy enough, but how do you exactly make them do the Int check is the key. I think the moment they have an idea in the ballpark of "brain-signal-expression", you should immediately make the int check for them, or rather hint to them about any old colleagues who might know more about this stuff.

Also I don't understand the need for a Prot from Evil before the healing. Just figuring out the healing should be enough.