I need an enigma

[Selion]

Situation: the pcs are guests in a gala. The party is in a great hall at the second floor of a castle, there is a balcony on the courtyard. At the center of the courtyard there is a monument with a dragon claw on it. The claw is a memory of a past battle of the king. I want an enigma to open a secret passage from the monument to the private rooms. I would prefer an hint referring to the past battle or to the vengeance helping opening the passage(the dragon is alive and has killed the previous king), but cannot figure anything. Could someone give me some help? :)

[Ferronach]

How did the king fight the dragon?
If it was with a bow and arrow and it was one of those "one in a million" shots at a specific distance, maybe there is a small inscription/plaque on the balcony mentioning this and a small copper disc embedded into the floor of the balcony at the specific distance from the claw. The party has to either shoot the claw with an arrow from that specific spot or tap the disc with an arrow. Neither will be particularly easy as the guards are not likely to let armed people into the presence of the king (barring eating knives of course).

It seems like it would have been with a sword though (based on the symbolism of a severed claw) which will make things potentially a little easier. Let’s say that the king used a sword with a golden pommel with a ruby of flame touch inset in it. If the party have a sword or knife with a golden pommel with a ruby of flame touch inset in it and touch the pommel to the claw, they gain access.

You could also have the party pass by as an NPC tells the story of how the king valiantly fought off the beast. How the king was pinned under the foot of the dragon and managed to get free by grabbing the claw in one hand and dealing a massive blow to the beast with his sword had and severing its claw as he shouted “X”. A party member must then grab hold of the claw with their right hand (they need to watch the king and notice that he is left handed and wears his sword on his right side) and whisper “X” to it.

[Selion]

How did the king fight the dragon?
If it was with a bow and arrow and it was one of those "one in a million" shots at a specific distance, maybe there is a small inscription/plaque on the balcony mentioning this and a small copper disc embedded into the floor of the balcony at the specific distance from the claw. The party has to either shoot the claw with an arrow from that specific spot or tap the disc with an arrow. Neither will be particularly easy as the guards are not likely to let armed people into the presence of the king (barring eating knives of course).

It seems like it would have been with a sword though (based on the symbolism of a severed claw) which will make things potentially a little easier. Let’s say that the king used a sword with a golden pommel with a ruby of flame touch inset in it. If the party have a sword or knife with a golden pommel with a ruby of flame touch inset in it and touch the pommel to the claw, they gain access.

You could also have the party pass by as an NPC tells the story of how the king valiantly fought off the beast. How the king was pinned under the foot of the dragon and managed to get free by grabbing the claw in one hand and dealing a massive blow to the beast with his sword had and severing its claw as he shouted “X”. A party member must then grab hold of the claw with their right hand (they need to watch the king and notice that he is left handed and wears his sword on his right side) and whisper “X” to it.

You guessed right, it has been with a sword :)
Ok, i'll work on the story, thank you.

[nedz]

Something that's often suggested, and is good advice I think, is something called the Rule of Three.

This means that you place three clues in this sort of situation because the players are unlikely to think the way you do.

I'd be tempted to add some third party who is also on the trail - a villein of some kind. Now whilst they have no actual knowledge this could act as a spur to the PCs to treat the gala as something other than a party.

[Rubik]

I thought the thread title said "enema" for a minute...

[atemu1234]

I thought the thread title said "enema" for a minute...

No comment.

Try trapping the PCs in a puzzle dungeon. Play puzzle games in addition to d&d the entire night.

[Selion]

Something that's often suggested, and is good advice I think, is something called the Rule of Three.

This means that you place three clues in this sort of situation because the players are unlikely to think the way you do.

I'd be tempted to add some third party who is also on the trail - a villein of some kind. Now whilst they have no actual knowledge this could act as a spur to the PCs to treat the gala as something other than a party.

I will have a bard sing during the gala a song in which he describes in details the battle against the dragon, the king first shot an adamantine arrow in the eye of the dragon, then the dragon killed his father and then he severed his claw (the battle ended for other reasons, irrelevant in this post).
In the courtyard there are three statues, one of the king wielding a sword, one of the king wielding a bow and one of the king's father. To open the passage it is needed to touch the three statues in order. (Or possibly they must mimik the battle, for example taking an adamantine arrow from the statue and placing it on a low relief of an eye of a dragon and so on)

1st clue: a servant will say to them that in order to reach the private chambers they need to remember the battle in which everyone lost a piece of himself (the king lost his father, the dragon lost his claw). He heard this phrase from the queen herself, but doesn't know what it means.

2nd clue: it's snowy time, the passage has been used recently, there are traces in the courtyard of people moving around the statues, the snow at the base of the monument has been cleaned by the opening of the passage (there is a ranger in the party, he should notice these things)

3rd clue: another npc knows there is a secret passage and who used it, but he doesn't know where it is.

[EisenKreutzer]

A thing regarding clues:

Unless the clues are painfully obvious, the odds are good your players will never figure it out. Clues work in movies and books because the writer can have the main character follow their own train of thought. Players, however, will have their own chains of logic, and may connect your clues in unexpected ways, miss something you thought was important or arrive at wildly different conclusions that you expect.

The trick is t be flexible. Instead of fighting your players,mwork with their tendency to think cratively. If they arrive at their own unique solution to the puzzle, having it be the correct one and "what you planned all along" will make the story progress and make them feel awesome.

[Selion]

A thing regarding clues:

Unless the clues are painfully obvious, the odds are good your players will never figure it out. Clues work in movies and books because the writer can have the main character follow their own train of thought. Players, however, will have their own chains of logic, and may connect your clues in unexpected ways, miss something you thought was important or arrive at wildly different conclusions that you expect.

The trick is t be flexible. Instead of fighting your players,mwork with their tendency to think cratively. If they arrive at their own unique solution to the puzzle, having it be the correct one and "what you planned all along" will make the story progress and make them feel awesome.

They surely will find a painful way (for me) to solve the puzzle. Last session there were a fighting in an arena, in which a pc was poorly matched, another pc at a point wanted to run naked in the arena to stop the match. I would have liked this thing, but they made up their mind that it wouldn't have been a good idea.

[Rubik]

They surely will find a painful way (for me) to solve the puzzle. Last session there were a fighting in an arena, in which a pc was poorly matched, another pc at a point wanted to run naked in the arena to stop the match. I would have liked this thing, but they made up their mind that it wouldn't have been a good idea.PC gets tripped and is about to be smacked down. Other PC runs into the arena au naturale.

PC: "Look a distraction!" Grabs handful of sand and throws. "Face-sand!"