Puzzle Clock Door ideas?

[Odin's Eyepatch]

I'm creating a simple little puzzle door for my players to solve, but I'm having trouble coming up with clues on how to open the door.

The door has 3 clocks next to it, and each clock has a little picture above each one. To unlock the door, all you need to do is move the clock-hands to the time alluded to by the picture. Once all 3 clocks show the "correct time", the door unlocks. (I might have a little visual indicator to show when they find the correct times).

So I need ideas for pictures for each clock. Examples I'm toying with:

Spoiler: The sun rising in the east

Show

the time the sun rises on that day

Spoiler: The sun in the middle of the sky

Show

Noon, or 12 o'clock

Spoiler: a teacup filled with tea

Show

tea time, or any time between 4 and 5 o'clock

Does anyone have any other ideas of what picture(s) could be used?

The ideas I've thought of are (I feel) fairly straightforward, so I'm thinking two of the clues could be easy and the last one could be a bit more obscure?

Thanks in advance!

[Warder]

I don't think anyone I know would've been able to figure out the tea time thing - maybe that's a regional custom?

Anyway while the idea is good, I find that basing it on real life customs will probably make it too easy? If you have time for the setup, maybe have it based on things the PCs could pick up from the game world - like, if it was a Forgotten Realms game, I'd suggest having a picture of a priest praying, and then maybe Lathandar's holy symbol in the background, to suggest that it represents dawn. Things like that!

[Batcathat]

Anyway while the idea is good, I find that basing it on real life customs will probably make it too easy? If you have time for the setup, maybe have it based on things the PCs could pick up from the game world - like, if it was a Forgotten Realms game, I'd suggest having a picture of a priest praying, and then maybe Lathandar's holy symbol in the background, to suggest that it represents dawn. Things like that!

I would probably go with something like this, preferably based specifically on traditions, habits or beliefs of whoever built the door. It makes sense that they would want something that's obvious to themself, but hard to figure out for an outsider. Though I suppose it might be tricky to find something that fits that and also is possible for the players to solve.

Maybe it'd help if you could tell us more about where the door is located and who built it?

[MoiMagnus]

Is this an puzzle for the players or the characters?

If it is a puzzle for the characters, there are plenty of nice idea:
+ An historical event (or legend), like an eclipse during a royal marriage.
+ An astrological fact, like some constellation or the moon aligning with some landmarks.
+ A magical trivia, like the time of the day at which dragon eggs hatch.
However, those facts are unknown to the players, so in practice they will just be skill checks.

For player puzzles, here are some additional ideas:
+ Assuming the puzzle is at the middle of a dungeon of some sort, there could be an image of the entrance, asking for the moment when the heroes last passed through the entrance.
+ Time zones! Assuming the kingdom is big enough, the question image could show the eastern frontier of the kingdom, hinting for "what time is it over there currently?" (or "what time is it here when it is noon over there?"). That requires that time zone works mostly like our modern world, but if your have modern clocks, that's not unreasonable.

[Odin's Eyepatch]

Thanks a lot for the insight. I'll see if I can introduce some significant times in the campaign world for them to discover!

[gijoemike]

Don't show the sun/moon at all. That is too easy both in and out of character. Regional facts as mentioned above are the best. Cultural facts work as well, such as your tea time example. Play into character and also play into your players. Some ideas.

A witch. It is a play on words of the witching hour just after midnight. Player knowledge or knowledge local.

A specific fish and a tree in full bloom. Best time to fish for X type of fish in the summer. This is going to be a nature check. Most likely early morning sometime. Perhaps also early evening.

A religious symbol. Similar to above. What time of day is the most important for that deity. Answer could vary wildly. 2 religion checks and a bit of player knowledge can surpass one of them.

A detailed picture of the plane of Mechenus ( The clockwork plane ) or a clockwork creature. The answer is to just wind the clock and have it start to tick.

A great feast. When do feasts and balls begin for the culture? Knowledge nobility would work for this.

A mythical hero. Have it be a reference to a legend where a hero has to complete the quest before sunset 7 days later. Bardic knowledge, or history, or local.

The Sun rising in the west. Answer is to not set that clock as that doesn't happen on that plane. Showing the sun in this is a trick, contrary to my suggestion of not using the sun or moon at all.

Troll statue. Certain trolls turn to stone in the sun/at dawn. Another dawn clue. Monster knowledge.

Sun and moon in an eclipse. Knowledge history. It happened at 3 in the afternoon before this building was built. Very difficult check mostly to identify which eclipse it was.

[Bohandas]

I don't think anyone I know would've been able to figure out the tea time thing - maybe that's a regional custom?

I think it's a British thing

[tyckspoon]

I would be very tempted to have the 'clock' imagery be a red herring, and the puzzle solution is actually a geometry question related to angles or some (fairly simple) base-12 math or one of the various other things that you can potentially indicate with 12 measured marks and two pointers that can be independently set.

[Bohandas]

Full Moon or Werewolf: Wind the hour hand forward several days until you reach the day of the next full moon

Numeral Zero: Set the clock to 12:00

[Democratus]

I think it's also important that when players are answering riddles or puzzles - you allow the answers that the players give to be "the correct answer" if their answer is reasonable.

Holding out for the "one true answer" can often be more frustrating than fun.

[jjordan]

I suggest dressing up the clock idea a little. Look at the Prague astronomical clock. Look also at: orrery. Other predictive/tracking devices include the antikythera mechanism.

Something more complex than a simple clock gives you the options to bring in the stars, the positions of the planets, astrological signs, even, stretching a little, things like the tides.

I, for instance, would have an orrery built into the ceiling with controls around the door setting various aspects of it. The clues to opening the doors would be found elsewhere and might be something like a specific eclipse, the appearance of a comet that descends towards the door, an alignment of planets/stars, or something like that.

The goal is not to have the players find the specific answer to a riddle, but to generally figure out how the mechanism is intended to work and then their characters can solve the specific issue.

I'm suspicious of locks that give you the code.