Riddles!

[CleverNickName]

Riddles have always been a part of roleplaying games...and stories, and mythology, and the Bible. From The Hobbit to the Book of Judges, from The Odyssey to the Poetic Edda, you don't have to look very far to find a riddle or word puzzle tucked in there among heroes and villains. But prevalent as they are in fantasy and storytelling, they are widely hated--they are definitely an acquired taste and some folks flatly refuse to use (or even participate in) a riddle.

How do you feel about them in your game? (In case it needs saying: the "I'll answer with a riddle" option is the "Other/None of the Above" option for the poll. But by all means: feel free to share a riddle if the mood strikes you.)

 

[CleverNickName]

For my part? I love them. I try to use them whenever I get the chance, but it can be a challenge because we play over VTT and my players keep Google tabs open. I typically have to write my own, so that they can't just Google the answer.

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

However, I've learned over the years to never lock the main path of the adventure behind a riddle. Sure, the heroes should definitely be rewarded for solving a puzzle or riddle, but they shouldn't fail the mission, burn tons of resources, get stuck, or friggin' die if they don't. Or to put it another way: riddles in my game are for the cookie jar, not the dinner table.

 

[not-so-newguy]

I like'em. I'm not particularly great at them, but riddles always pique my interest.
Speaking as a DM, it really depends on the personal tastes of the players at the table. There are a few players in our current group that love them and so I try to find adventures that include these challenges.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Riddles, why did it have to be riddles.

 

[CleverNickName]

Also, I'd like to acknowledge that not everything that confuses the players is "a riddle."

 

[Deset Gled]

It's okay to use riddles occasionally. They can be fun or funny. I won't get upset if a DM pulls one out.

But I view the use of riddles to be a little anti-roleplaying. A riddle is pretty obviously a test of the players, not the characters. You can let a 20+ INT character have a few extra rolls for bonus info. And the 7 WIS character can pretend to be oblivious to some basic connections to their surroundings. But at the end of the day, a riddle is a meta-game obstacle for the group, not an in-game problem.

My advice would be to always connect riddles to things in the game as much as possible. After all, not everything has to be immersive, and meta gaming isn't necessarily bad. But use them sparingly.

Alternatively, make riddles blatantly obvious (e. g. "When is a door not a door?") so that they can be roleplayed rather than treated as an in-game challenge.

 

[Irlo]

In my experience, riddles rarely land well in games. Either people know the answer or they make shot-in-the-dark guesses.

 

[Distracted DM]

I like them- I also don't lock in the answer or make it IMPORTANT, because riddles aren't for everyone. Yes, they challenge the player rather than the character- you can give out hints for Intelligence etc. rolls.

 

[aco175]

I like riddles and some/most of my players like them as well. I try to put one or two into places each campaign, but not to place that many to make them old.

I do like to make them connected to something that can be made easier with a skill check if needed. We had one when my kid was starting out involve a tomb with all the letters having small holes under them. If needed, a Perception check could reveal the first letter having a small chip around the hole where something is inserted. The riddle was something like; "A young lord's name or what the archer did to the bow." The adults got it rather easily, but did allow my son to get there and solve it, which made his day.

 

[schneeland]

I generally like them, but it can be hard to get them right. One the one hand, the solution should not be so obvious that the riddle feels pointless, but at the same time the solution needs to be obvious enough that a couple of people, some of which might be tired from work, can figure it out without resorting to just trying random stuff.