Need some ideas for a fey puzzle

[J-H]

I have a sword stuck in a stone, in the middle of a jungle, untouched for centuries. The stone is carved with runes in Druidic or some sort of fey-type language.

In Norse mythology, Fenris is chained up "with a magical chain made of the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the beard of a woman, the breath of fish," and similar items.

I need 3-5 similar, but not Norse-ripoff, conceptual things that someone must bring to the stone to release the sword. They don't need to be druidic, but they should be fey-themed or fey-ish (ie, not "civilized"), and should be morally neutral.

Any ideas?

[OldTrees1]

Hmm.

Bring a light rod and a blind eye to a voiceless mouth.

Eh, it could be better and the first item is not ideal.

[MoiMagnus]

Suggestions:

- Peace of hair from a dreamer (cut during someone's sleep?)
- Twice-captured butterfly
- A winter flower
- A desert flower
- A drop of morning dew

Another approach would be to chose 3-5 emotions, and take ingredients that represent those.

[Kaptin Keen]

I'd do something conceptual, rather than actual. The first light of a spring morning on an ice floe in the north sea. The opening note of a symphony unheard and uncomposed. The first bite of the first apple by the first man (fey) on the first day of the universe.

And the solution isn't to bring those things to the stone, but simply to hold the concept clearly in one's mind - so it's a simple stat check, for instance. But the players obviously don't know that, for which reason it would be wise to have some clues as to how to solve it.

[aglondier]

It's actually a mimic...

[Eldan]

So, the thing about the norse ones is that they were believed not to exist. Fish don't breathe air.

So... the tears of a spider, the blood of a stone, the wings of a dog.

Or if you want things that are also intangible, the laughter of a tree, the shadow of the sun, the mercy of hell.

[Kaptin Keen]

It's actually a mimic...

This made me chuckle. Bonus points if the mimic doesn't do anything until someone has made a lot of effort to solve the riddle .. then it bites their face off.

[Celestia]

The thing with the Fair Folk is that they are not human and don't think like humans. Therefore, out witting them requires lateral thinking. It's never about the puzzle. You're not solving the riddle because the riddle is impossible. You're tricking the fairy into thinking you solved the riddle. For example, the fairy asks for "the first snowflake of winter." This is theoretically possible as fairy magic always requires that the escape clause be possible, but practically speaking, there's no possible way to figure out and acquire the exact, specific snowflake that hit the ground first. And you can't just lie to the fairy because the fairy can automatically see through all lies.

Thus, the real puzzle is figuring out how to be technically correct. Maybe you find out where the first snowfall happens and just bring all of it. The first snowflake must be there somewhere. Or instead, you tell the 6 intelligence barbarian to get the snowflake and send him off on his own. He'll eventually come back with a snowflake, firmly believing it's the real deal. Then, instead of doubting him, you just trust that he did his job and present that snowflake to the fairy. It may be a completely random snowflake, but as far as any of you know, it's the correct one. Therefore, none of you are technically lying; You're just wrong. And the fairy certainly isn't going to know any better; they've spent their entire life relying on their ability to discern lies and has no way to actually verify if the snowflake is real. Or, maybe the players come up with something else entirely.

The point is that the puzzle should be blatantly impossible, and the "solution" should be to trick the fairy.

[SimonMoon6]

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Without no seams nor needlework
Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well
Which never sprung water nor rain ever fell
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born

Tell him to find me an acre of land
Between the salt water and the sea strand
Ask him to plough it with a lamb's horn
And sow it all over with one peppercorn
Ask him to reap it with a sickle of leather
And gather it up with a rope made of heather

[Stattick]

The writing on the sword would likely be in Sylvan. It says:

Give me:

The first wind,
Vigor's fire,
Death's promise,
And unstill water.


The sword needs two things. It needs someone to understand what's written above. It's the cycle of life (birth, adulthood, aged, death/rebirth), cycle of seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), cycle of elements (air, fire, earth, water). And it needs a sacrifice. "Give me," it says. Give it life. Give it a life.

Nothing necessarily needs fetching. Merely explaining the riddle, and making a sacrifice will free the sword. The sword goes the one sacrificed to it. If someone merely explains the meaning of the riddle and then try to pull out the sword, they will be assumed to be the sacrifice - withering, dying, decomposing away, then growing a new body in a matter of seconds. Roll on the reincarnation table, and let the player choose their sex (It's tempting to make your own reincarnation table, but perhaps monstrous races wouldn't be invalid choices if things swung toward the unseelie - on the other hand, a custom table would at least let you add Satyr, Centaur, and Minotaur to the list). They've been reborn. They're the same level as they were before, about the same age (respective to their race), and may choose a new character class if they wish. They still remember their past life, but as if it were a dream. Also, they now belong to the sword.

[RagingBluMunky]

The writing on the sword would likely be in Sylvan. It says:

Give me:

The first wind,
Vigor's fire,
Death's promise,
And unstill water.

I know this isn't supposed to be for solving riddles, but this can be filled with different types of alcohol, and that tickles me.

The first wind
Well, if wind is just moving air, then beer (or other carbonated beverage) is mankind's first Created wind.

Vigor's fire
Alcohol grants courage and promotes action (through bad decision making). Sounds vaguely vigorous. It also makes you feel warm, which fire also does.

Death's Promise
Alcohol IS still a poison, though we drink it recreational.

Unstill Water
Any strong spirit (like whiskey) is made by being DIS-stilled. (Alternatively you could shake a jar of water but that's less fun)

On a (hopefully) more helpful note, what everyone else has said is pretty good. Following the rules should be near impossible, but directly breaking them is disqualifying, so they need to get creative with interpreting them.

[OldTrees1]

I know this isn't supposed to be for solving riddles, but this can be filled with different types of alcohol, and that tickles me.

Unstill Water
Any strong spirit (like whiskey) is made by being DIS-stilled. (Alternatively you could shake a jar of water but that's less fun)

Drink (or pour) the beer to make it flowing water.

[Wizard_Lizard]

so here are some:
As others mentioned earlier they should be basically impossible but can be twisted, twisting words is a very fey thing.

An unforged sword
A frozen flame
A broken word
The wild tame

Some sort of rhyming structure would be nice too.

[J-H]

The writing on the sword would likely be in Sylvan. It says:

Give me:

The first wind,
Vigor's fire,
Death's promise,
And unstill water.


The sword needs two things. It needs someone to understand what's written above. It's the cycle of life (birth, adulthood, aged, death/rebirth), cycle of seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), cycle of elements (air, fire, earth, water). And it needs a sacrifice. "Give me," it says. Give it life. Give it a life.

Nothing necessarily needs fetching. Merely explaining the riddle, and making a sacrifice will free the sword. The sword goes the one sacrificed to it. If someone merely explains the meaning of the riddle and then try to pull out the sword, they will be assumed to be the sacrifice - withering, dying, decomposing away, then growing a new body in a matter of seconds. Roll on the reincarnation table, and let the player choose their sex (It's tempting to make your own reincarnation table, but perhaps monstrous races wouldn't be invalid choices if things swung toward the unseelie - on the other hand, a custom table would at least let you add Satyr, Centaur, and Minotaur to the list). They've been reborn. They're the same level as they were before, about the same age (respective to their race), and may choose a new character class if they wish. They still remember their past life, but as if it were a dream. Also, they now belong to the sword.

I'm not going to use this, but I really, really like it.

[J-H]

Here's an attempt, written in Sylvan or Druidic (or both):

Useless to the blind [you have to see magic coming to use it],
A drinker [of magic], a spiller [of blood],
Chains this crystal blade bind,
Until offering is made in kind.

Dryness of ocean, [could be anything the party can justify]
melting of rock, [lava? mud?]
color of air, [nothing or transparent]
flow of clock, [time, and passage thereof; slow, haste, or similar magical effects]
hair of wielder, [whoever contributes the hair will go bald]
place to unlock.

[Mutazoia]

Wrestle and defeat the old lady: The old lady is actually Death, nobody can beat death.
Out eat the skinny man: The skinny man is actually fire, that consumes everything and is never full.
Drink every last drop from the cup: The cup is the ocean, impossible to drink all of it.
Lift the cat (this one is definitely a Scandinavian myth): The cat is the Midgard serpent. You can't lift it because you are only trying to lift a small portion of it.

Or if you just want THINGS players have to acquire:

• All the colors in the world
• The Moon(s) in a teacup
• Two identical snowflakes
• One grain of sand shy of a desert