Need help with a riddle/puzzle

[Hyphen8or]

So my players are in an ancient Dwarven crypt/vault and I need something in a puzzle that the party needs to solve in order to open a door. The idea is that there are 4 statues arranged around the door. Each statue has a possible answer to the puzzle/riddle. Upon reading the answer, the statue will either release the door (if correct) or a bead of fireball (if incorrect). But I am not creative enough to write a puzzle or riddle. A
any one have suggestions?

[Pex]

Keep it simple. There's dwarven writing above the door. It reads "Dwarves are at rest here". Each statue has a dwarven rune, one for each element air, water, earth, fire. Pressing the earth rune opens the door.

[Edgerunner]

Keep it simple. There's dwarven writing above the door. It reads "Dwarves are at rest here". Each statue has a dwarven rune, one for each element air, water, earth, fire. Pressing the earth rune opens the door.
I Like it.
Works for Me

[Hyphen8or]

Keep it simple. There's dwarven writing above the door. It reads "Dwarves are at rest here". Each statue has a dwarven rune, one for each element air, water, earth, fire. Pressing the earth rune opens the door.

I like it. Thank you kindly.
I need a 2 more riddles for 2 more doors.

[Lord8Ball]

Counterspell

[strangebloke]

Just remember, DND is a game about open-ended problem-solving. Don't be angry if they players find a way to bypass your cool riddle. (Like pressing each statue in succession with mage hand from a distance)

With Pex here though. You must keep it simple, with no possible line to challenge the result. Good idea with the multiple choice. Sticking with the theme of four:

dwarf statues have the four seasons
"Season of Silence"
Winter

dwarf statues have body/mind/spirit/persona
"That which lies here."
Body

[smcmike]

Keep it simple. There's dwarven writing above the door. It reads "Dwarves are at rest here". Each statue has a dwarven rune, one for each element air, water, earth, fire. Pressing the earth rune opens the door.



dwarf statues have the four seasons
"Season of Silence"
Winter

dwarf statues have body/mind/spirit/persona
"That which lies here."
Body

This works well. You don’t want puzzles to be hard in most games. To bump it up just a little bit, you could have dwarven runes with multiple meanings. Take the same three questions and answers as above, but with identical statues & runes at each gate, with runes that are associated with earth/winter/body, water/spring/spirit, fire/summer/mind, air/autumn/persona (or some variation of these combinations). By the third question, the players will have noticed that the correct answer is always Earth/winter/body. You could add a fourth gate, with the question worn off, to drive this home. This also explains how easy the gates are - they aren’t really meant as a true test, but as a symbolic ritual affirming the dwarven connection to the earth.

You could also use different trap spells for each of the other three gates.

[HolyAvenger7]

Q: Where can you find Giant Snails?
A: At the end of a Giant's Fingers!

[Crushgrip]

I like all of the suggestions above. What is the "theme" of the dungeon? I like to keep my puzzles/riddles in the same theme. Maybe each statue has an area (bowl) for an "offering" that the players need to place an object in for the statue to "work". Could be as simple as things the Dwarf (who's crypt it is) enjoyed during life. This can have some cool RP value if any player has the Sage background, or require some previous knowledge of the crypt. The materials needed to pass could be very basic such as bread, mead, gold and an axe. Although the bread and mead are basic, the players may not have any on them in the middle of a dungeon crawl. The riddle could also be very simple:

one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding his belly and smiling (food must be placed in the appropriate location)
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding a mug and drinking (mead or some water must be placed in the appropriate location, the mug?)
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) in the motion of attacking but without any weapon in his hand(s) (a weapon must be placed into his hand(s))
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding open a coin pouch (gold must be placed into the pouch)

Just some idea's. Have fun!

Edit: Just thought of another idea. If the players place an axe (or whatever the dwarf's favorite weapon was) into the attacking statue's hands, the puzzle is solved and nothing happens. On the other hand, if they place any other weapon into the hands, the statue animates and attacks...the puzzle is still solved but the players have a "wrong answer".

[Aett_Thorn]

I like all of the suggestions above. What is the "theme" of the dungeon? I like to keep my puzzles/riddles in the same theme. Maybe each statue has an area (bowl) for an "offering" that the players need to place an object in for the statue to "work". Could be as simple as things the Dwarf (who's crypt it is) enjoyed during life. This can have some cool RP value if any player has the Sage background, or require some previous knowledge of the crypt. The materials needed to pass could be very basic such as bread, mead, gold and an axe. Although the bread and mead are basic, the players may not have any on them in the middle of a dungeon crawl. The riddle could also be very simple:

one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding his belly and smiling (food must be placed in the appropriate location)
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding a mug and drinking (mead or some water must be placed in the appropriate location, the mug?)
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) in the motion of attacking but without any weapon in his hand(s) (a weapon must be placed into his hand(s))
one statue shows the dwarf (who's crypt it is) holding open a coin pouch (gold must be placed into the pouch)

Just some idea's. Have fun!

Edit: Just thought of another idea. If the players place an axe (or whatever the dwarf's favorite weapon was) into the attacking statue's hands, the puzzle is solved and nothing happens. On the other hand, if they place any other weapon into the hands, the statue animates and attacks...the puzzle is still solved but the players have a "wrong answer".

I do like the idea of using items. Despite the fact that many hate R.A. Salvatore's books, one of the things that I liked about them was having Dwarven "Holy Water" be beer.

So you could have puzzles about bringing various items/substances to the pillars.

Holy Water - Oh right, those casks of beer that we found several rooms ago!
Holy Steel - Hmmm...looks like we need to get an Anvil in here somehow.
Holy Light - Just need to start a fire.

Things like that.

[Asmotherion]

Have a Hallway that suddently stops in front of a stone wall, and reads in Dwarven Runes "only Moradin's Worthy may find the right way."

Include pickaxes as lootable weapons in an encounter in the hallway.

Using a Pickaxe to attempt to digg slightly on the stone wall to the right will make it crumble for a minute, revealing a massive hallway through. It will then revert as it was, but oppens the same way.

[Aembrosia]

4 statues puzzle reminds me of fable. A voice asked you to spell its name. The blocks corresponded to letters, h, i, s, t. Its name was Hits. Theres another word in there. Entering it would cause werewolves to attack.

[Hyphen8or]

Thanks guys. These are all some pretty good suggestions. And feel free to keep them coming.

[Joe dirt]

Have one drawven statue look emaciated with a hand holding out .... it has the words in dwarven... what does everyone fight everyday?.... answer: hunger, door opens if food is places in the statues hand