PDA

View Full Version : Game-specific riddles



LionMcTastic
2017-04-30, 09:42 AM
So, I'm putting together a D&D campaign for my friends, and I wanted to add some sort of verbal game into an encounter. The obvious answer would be some riddles, which I'm totally on board with. My hesitation is that the riddles would be too easy, or my players would have heard them. Also, the riddles would rely on player knowledge rather than using their character.

So, I was wondering if anyone knew of any riddles that pertained to the D&D universe. Perhaps about legendary monsters or deities. I'm trying to write my own right now, but if any exist already, it would help, haha.

Lvl 2 Expert
2017-04-30, 02:50 PM
Have a sphinx ask them this: what walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs in the afternoon and on three legs in the evening?

The answer is a druid. It'll be eight hours of rest before the cleric can regenerate that leg for him.

(Hey, every thread needs joke entries.)

Khedrac
2017-05-01, 01:50 AM
Whilst it can be entertaining, there is a huge problem with this strategy - it requires your players to know the same game lore that you do.

If you don't, once it is game lore in-game skill checks (e.g. knowledge: history or knowledge: religion for 3.X D&D) solve the riddle and then what was the point of the riddle?

It basically comes down to the same problem as any other series of puzzle tests (either one player will sove them much faster than everyone else, or no-one will solve them at all) made worse as any player not interested in remembering game lore (hey, we have other things to remember) cannot take part.

Potentially the bast way to try to do this is to have the game lore part of it as a bonus for the players (make a DCX Knowledge: history check) that can help solve the puzzle (but is not required) or simply just an interesting snippet of information to give to the players (that should enhance the feeling of the world) without being important.

You also have to hope that the world authors haven't contradicted themselves and changed the world's history at any point (looking at you WotC and D&D) otherwise a player may 'know' lore that is exactly wrong for your ridddle.

Mornings
2017-05-01, 09:09 PM
Whilst it can be entertaining, there is a huge problem with this strategy - it requires your players to know the same game lore that you do.

If you don't, once it is game lore in-game skill checks (e.g. knowledge: history or knowledge: religion for 3.X D&D) solve the riddle and then what was the point of the riddle?

It basically comes down to the same problem as any other series of puzzle tests (either one player will sove them much faster than everyone else, or no-one will solve them at all) made worse as any player not interested in remembering game lore (hey, we have other things to remember) cannot take part.

Potentially the bast way to try to do this is to have the game lore part of it as a bonus for the players (make a DCX Knowledge: history check) that can help solve the puzzle (but is not required) or simply just an interesting snippet of information to give to the players (that should enhance the feeling of the world) without being important.

You also have to hope that the world authors haven't contradicted themselves and changed the world's history at any point (looking at you WotC and D&D) otherwise a player may 'know' lore that is exactly wrong for your ridddle.

These are good points to mention. I've had the chance to learn from puzzles and such I've done which have failed in the past. The most 'fool-proof' method I found when designing riddle-esque puzzles is designing an entire experience/series of events around it, leading up to that point. The answer to the riddle itself would be gleaned from events and/or discoveries leading up to the riddle/puzzle itself, it wouldn't be explicit but would provide the knowledge and lore in question to set a standard for everyone and creates a communal foundation of lore-knowledge being used. You'd probably want to write down these bits of knowledge so that if players forget or are trying to recollect what they found, they'd get the same bits of info without any degradation in the lore you're trying to pass along (the GM can't remember everything verbatim everytime :smalltongue: ). It takes some careful planning and some work before-hand, but when it all comes together, you have an experience where players don't feel like they're getting the dirty side of the stick just because they're not familiar with whatever obscure lore is being used. The delivery will ultimately depend on how the encounter is designed, not accounting for difficulty and how well your specific party digests all of the info provided. A 'back-up' option to provide more 'challenged' groups some additional hints based on checks might also be worth investing in as well.

Koo Rehtorb
2017-05-02, 12:00 AM
Why are shadows such a downer to be around?

They're full of negative energy.

Nettlekid
2017-05-02, 04:49 PM
I have a few for precisely this topic, though all but the first two are specific to 3.5. They could be worked with though.


In the veins of my cousin runs the blood on ancients beasts,
He sneers but I feel more at home partaking wine and feasts.
We're both quite charismatic,
With a flair for the dramatic,
But while he struts and waves his hands I'll tell his tales in distant lands!
What am I?

A Bard. The cousin of the Bard is the Sorcerer (both being spontaneous arcanists) who draws power from dragonblood ancestry, and they're Charisma-based casters.




My stomach spans a room or more, or less if master's cheap.
But when you're wanting space in spades you'll find no better keep.
Unlike my brother Triple-H you'll have to rummage 'round,
but don't you fret that what's inside me never will be found!
What am I?

A Bag of Holding. The size of a room relates to the interior of a bag, which may be smaller for cheaper models.
"Triple-H" refers to Heward's Handy Haversack, which allows whatever's searched for to appear right on top.



My eyes are too vivid, my color too deep.
I lost my old body but my strong mind I keep.
I once was a human, but my life turned the page.
I forever seek knowledge, never dying of age.
What am I?

An Elan. Elans are a race created through psionically altering a living Humanoid, transforming them into a psionic aberrant entity that does not age and has no maximum lifespan. They have a -2 to Charisma because their artificially constructed details are subtly unappealing.

Arguably a Lich can also satisfy the answer to the riddle, though the first line doesn't quite suit it anymore.




Of the many capable, devoted there are three.
Three paths, six paths, five paths, each to guide to destiny.
Only the latter, the user of five, can hope to master my art.
But if he does, no lasting harm will shake his iron heart.
What am I?

The maneuver Iron Heart Surge. Many are capable of using maneuvers through the use of the Martial Study feat, but only the Crusader (with access to three disciplines), Swordsage (with access to six) and Warblade (with access to five) are true initiators. Warblade is the only one with access to the Iron Heart discipline, referenced by the last line. And the piece about "lasting harm" reflects Iron Heart Surge's ability to remove ongoing debuffs.




So long you have time to act, you just might stay alive.
No need to move, immediately speak and you'll survive.
If you would fail for lack of speed and one more moment's all you need,
fear not the daze that lies ahead and act to save your skin indead.
What am I?

The spell Celerity. The first line refers to its power to grant an action. The second refers to it being an immediate action to cast, and it being Verbal-only spell not requiring Somatic movement. The last line works best when spoken aloud - players may think you've said "Fear not the days that lie ahead" but by putting the "s" on the end of "lies" you clue them in to the use of "daze" to describe the aftereffect of the spell.