Riddle me this: How often do you use riddles?

[Umbran]

A riddle is like a super-locked door, or crucial clue.

What do you do if the players cannot solve the riddle/unlock the door/fail to find the clue?

It works just fine in stories, because the outcome is what the author wants (and, strangely, the author *always* wants the protagonist to get the answer to the riddle). We don't have that luxury, so we need contingency plans.

 

[Bawylie]

I use riddles and cyphers and all kinds of stuff. I love it. I love mini games within games.

However, I don’t like to waste table time on doing nothing. So I’ll usually incorporate one or more tap-out solutions.

For instance, you can take an auto-success on the challenge by spending a lot of in-game time on it.

Or you can gate something really good/bad but totally optional behind the riddle or game. You can always just quit and not get the prize or whatever. (Love to do this for magic items particularly).

Heck a couple rounds of liar’s dice is a great way to resolve a negotiation scene. After you’ve agreed on stakes but you’re down to what price you’re negotiating on or what order something is done or something like that.

Players can even use stuff like inspiration to grab re-rolls.

For riddles, you need to decide if you’re doing in-game riddles or general ones that “stand-in” for an in-game version. For the kids’ group, I use brain teasers and puzzles that aren’t strictly game related but just take some slightly out of the box thinking to solve. Usually a hit. For in-game riddles, you’ve got to think about how the players might arrive at the solution, so I often rely on logic puzzle or elimination constructions (think of something like the game Guess Who) so that you can arrive at the solution either by eliminating all non-solutions OR by working the clues straight.

You can also riddle like OP - where an imperfect solution is “close enough” so that you can merely give the players the rest of the answer. (I do stuff like this with divinations all the time). You get this vision, tease out its meaning, and then I tell you exactly what your diviner character would know.

 

[generic]

A riddle is like a super-locked door, or crucial clue.

What do you do if the players cannot solve the riddle/unlock the door/fail to find the clue?

It works just fine in stories, because the outcome is what the author wants (and, strangely, the author *always* wants the protagonist to get the answer to the riddle). We don't have that luxury, so we need contingency plans.

If the players can't figure out the riddle, I don't punish them for it.

A riddle unlocks information before you would normally get it, it should not function (in an rpg) as the only way you can get it.

 

[Oofta]

It's extremely rare for me to use riddles because my players don't necessarily have abilities that match those of their players. In addition, it always seems like 1 or 2 people are into riddles while the rest of the group is bored.

That's going to vary by group of course, but whether or not the DM likes riddles has little impact on whether the players do. When I have used riddles, I've allowed for other skills to get hints or bypass the riddle altogether.

 

[Burnside]

I used a riddle door in an adventure I wrote for DMsGuild. However, I made sure to do two things with it:

1. It gated an interesting/rewarding, but not plot critical area. So if the adventurers failed to solve it they lost out on a reward but the adventure could continue.

2. The riddles were posed by a talking owl sculpture. With perception, characters could spot a keyhole inside the owl's beak when it spoke. With skill checks (strength for brute force, or sleight of hand to wedge something in there when the beak opens) they could brace the beak open. With thieves' tools check, they could then pick the lock. So if the players really dislike or are really terrible at riddles, there is another possible way through using skill checks.

 

[Blue]

I occasionally use riddles or puzzles. As someone else mentioned, they are OOC-solved generally. I have a couple of rules I task myself to when using them.

1. I have a copious amount of clues I can give out for high INT and for appropriate skills, plus more for other things I hadn't thought about. (i.e. don't miss rewarding a player for good action just because I hadn't thought of a reward.)

2. I am prepared to fail forward - getting the riddle leads to X, not getting the riddle leads to Y, not a stop until it's figured out. Both X & Y are interesting.

 

[CleverNickName]

A riddle is like a super-locked door, or crucial clue.

What do you do if the players cannot solve the riddle/unlock the door/fail to find the clue?

It works just fine in stories, because the outcome is what the author wants (and, strangely, the author *always* wants the protagonist to get the answer to the riddle). We don't have that luxury, so we need contingency plans.

I use them more like secret doors. Guessing the answer is nice, and it will give you something nice that will make your life a little bit easier (a shortcut around a trap, a fancy magic item, a little extra loot, etc.) but it won't block your path to the goal if you don't.

I use them as often as I can, usually putting at least one riddle or puzzle in every adventure.

A painting created
without brushes or ink,
a colorful keepsake
born in a sink.

 

[5ekyu]

i will answer it like this...

Your answer stands between a thing and its opposite and makes sounds like any other hero.

 

[generic]

I use them more like secret doors. Guessing the answer is nice, and it will give you something nice that will make your life a little bit easier (a shortcut around a trap, a fancy magic item, a little extra loot, etc.) but it won't block your path to the goal if you don't.

I use them as often as I can, usually putting at least one riddle or puzzle in every adventure.

A painting created
without brushes or ink,
a colorful keepsake
born in a sink.

Is it a bubble?

Ooh, ooh, ooh!

Is it a cloud of detritus from a past meal?

 

[generic]

I occasionally use riddles or puzzles. As someone else mentioned, they are OOC-solved generally. I have a couple of rules I task myself to when using them.

1. I have a copious amount of clues I can give out for high INT and for appropriate skills, plus more for other things I hadn't thought about. (i.e. don't miss rewarding a player for good action just because I hadn't thought of a reward.)

2. I am prepared to fail forward - getting the riddle leads to X, not getting the riddle leads to Y, not a stop until it's figured out. Both X & Y are interesting.

It sounds like you do something very similar to what I do with riddles.