MarkB
Legend
That sounds pretty cumbersome. A riddle should be something the party could figure out intuitively right then and there if they're smart about it, not something they have to go away and research, or guess at based on limited information.what are people's opinions on riddles requiring 'in-universe' information to solve as a means to invoke various kinds of knowledge checks? or otherwise having the party seek out ways to learn the required information.
Which isn't to say they shouldn't use in-world information, just that it should be information they have, then and there.
As an example, here's one that came up in a Dungeons of Drakkenheim actual play podcast I heard recently.
"Raise a glass and drink to the Queen's true name. What is purer than water, yet more deadly than poison? If you drink it a little you'll take no harm, yet if it's all you drink you'll surely die."
And there was a selection of five common drinks to choose from, all colour-themed.
The crucial in-world information for that one was that this riddle was to gain entrance to the lair of the Queen of Thieves, who was known to go by many names, but none knew her true identity.
The players didn't get it. Their characters all chose poorly, and we're knocked out by the drinks they imbibed.