Let's write some riddles!

[Rune]

I'd also be interested in hearing how folks actually use riddles in a game and keep them interesting.

I used the riddle in the original post to point the way to escape from the psyche draining maze-keep. Same session, they found this riddle borrowed from Wulf Ratbane's entry, The Crooked Cairn in second round of the 2002 Iron DM Tournament:

The closed portal glimmers not, the open portal gleams
What passes through this oval portal passes into dreams.
Open every dawning, closing every dusk,
Naught that passes through here does the wise man trust.​

In my game, this pointed to something on their map where they needed to return.

The few I've used in, for example, modules have always fallen flat imxp. Any pointers?

My best advice is a reiteration of something I've already said. Keep it simple. If they get frustrated and quit, you've hit a dead end. If, on the other hand, they solve the riddle, they get to progress with a sense of satisfaction.

Oh, and dress it up. The better it sounds, the simpler it can be and still sound good.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

My best advice is a reiteration of something I've already said. Keep it simple. If they get frustrated and quit, you've hit a dead end. If, on the other hand, they solve the riddle, they get to progress with a sense of satisfaction.

Oh, and dress it up. The better it sounds, the simpler it can be and still sound good.

Point taken. I especially like the notion of integrating a riddle into the plot (as by making a hint on a map, or such like).

I think my main problem comes from differentiating players from PCs. The riddle is "in reality" being solved by the characters, yet it's the players that have to do the thinking. That makes for an odd disconnect that doesn't pop up as awkwardly anywhere else in a game. In published adventures I've seen, this is usually glossed over, along the lines of "Let the players think about it a while, but if they have trouble, roll an INT check."

So at what point (if ever) should one give up on the riddle and just roll the dice? Can the two approaches-- allowing players to actually solve the riddle, and having PCs "solve" it mechanically-- be reconciled in an interesting fashion?

 

[Raven Crowking]

Allow a check to give them a hint; the players must still resolve the riddle.

For example, "Speak, friend, and enter."

Hint: "What does that mean: Speak, friend?"

Better to plan some form of hint if the check succeeds.

 

[Rune]

Allow a check to give them a hint; the players must still resolve the riddle.

For example, "Speak, friend, and enter."

Hint: "What does that mean: Speak, friend?"

Better to plan some form of hint if the check succeeds.

I don't even bother with the dice. If they're getting frustrated, I'll drop as many hints (subtle, at first) as necessary to point them in the right direction without just giving it all away. I've seen too many games derailed by difficult puzzles/riddles.

On the other hand, I don't want them to feel cheated out of figuring it out, even if they are getting frustrated.

Another good thing to consider is to give them the riddle near the end of the session, so you can use it as a cliff-hanger and give them time to consider it outside of the game. If they figure it out before everybody goes home, give them some extra XP, or some other minor bonus reward.

 

[The_Gneech]

To everyone I look different
though all see the same thing
I speak only the truth
to lady, to beggar, to king.
What am I?

-The Gneech

 

[Nexilis]

To everyone I look different
though all see the same thing
I speak only the truth
to lady, to beggar, to king.
What am I?

-The Gneech

I'm guessing that is a

Spoiler

reflection

 

[The_Gneech]

I'm guessing that is a

Spoiler

reflection

Close enough! I was thinking

Spoiler

mirror

.

-The Gneech

 

[TarionzCousin]

I have a few, but I might not be able to post for a couple days. So hopefully someone will figure these out.

1. They say that when I am gold, I am good,
When I am stone, I am nothing.
When I am cold, I am cruel,
And when I am glass, I am fragile.



2. It is high in the sky
And deep within the earth
It is it that fills desert
And you break it even if you name it!



3. I build up castles.
I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind,
I help others to see.
What am I?

 

[arscott]

1.

Spoiler

Heart

2.

Spoiler

Silence

No Clue on the third.

And for those interested in riddles who haven't yet seen it, check out planetarium

 

[Raven Crowking]

#3 is

[sblock]time[/sblock]