It seemed like your average Amazon box.

But then I looked a little closer.

Okay. It says it’s definitely not a mimic. That’s good enough for me.

But maybe I should examine the rest of the box.

More eyes. And a mouth. And a warning to roll for Initiative.

Clearly nothing to worry about. Let’s open it up!

Yup, I was right, nothing to worry about! There are even cookies lurking under the packaging paper!

Oh, hey, there’s a note:

YOU ATTEMPT TO RETRIEVE THE COOKIES BY REACHING DOWN THE GULLET OF A PARTICULARLY OBVIOUS MIMIC. BECAUSE, WELL… COOKIES!

And you know what? The note was right. I grabbed those cookies like Gollum going after the One Ring.

At least if the mimic eats me, I’ll go out doing what I love. Eating cookies.

*various munching noises*

Sorry. Cookies.

Hey, wait, I didn’t get eaten by the mimic. What gives?

Oh, another note! Let’s see what it says:

YOU RETRIEVE THE COOKIES. THE MIMIC CLEARS ITS THROAT. YOU’VE SAVED IT FROM CHOKING. IT’S GRATEFUL. ITS FORM CHANGES. YOU NOTICE A FALSE BOTTOM TO THE BOX.

And you know what? This note was right too! There was a false bottom.

I pulled it up and discovered a beautiful wooden box.

It also had a note attached:

BEYOND THE SUGARY GUTS OF THE MIMIC LIES… THE LAIR OF THE DUNGEON MASTER.

YOU HAVE MASTERED IT. IT REVEALS ITS TREASURES TO YOU.

I couldn’t resist. I’d gone this far, risked life and limb for the greatest treasure of all — cookies — and discovered another reward.

I opened the box…

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Allow me to explain, fellow puzzlers.

I am a man of many puzzly pursuits, and roleplaying games stand very high on that list. I’ve been running RPG games like Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars RPG, Dread, GURPS, See You Space Cowboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, and many others over the years.

Although I have had the pleasure of being a player in a few games, for the vast majority of that time, I’ve been running the games for others. Be it as a Storyteller, a Dungeon Master, or any of the other terms used to describe game masters for roleplaying systems, running an RPG is one of my favorite things in the world to do.

I get to tell stories with my friends, build a world with them, surprise them with plot twists and villainous plans, and watch them solve puzzles, unravel conspiracies, and defeat great evils with only their wits and some dice rolls.

It’s the best.

I’m currently the Dungeon Master for several campaigns, one of which features some of my lovely coworkers. And they decided to surprise me this holiday season with a small treasure trove of delights, including a notebook, stickers, dice, and a very lovely card.

And one of them went the extra mile to not only package this wonderful gift up with cookies and careful packaging, but to include a small quest for me as well.

Would I brave the potential danger of a mimic for cookies?

As you can see, the answer is yes. Obviously.

I am incredibly lucky to have friends and players like this, and I’m equally blown away by the kindness and whimsy involved in this present. And I simply couldn’t resist sharing the story with all of you.

It’s amazing what people can do with a marker, some construction paper, and a boatload of creativity.