Simple Riddle... but TOO simple?

[Al'Kelhar]

I must admit, until the additional clues you provided, I could've easily gone with:

Spoiler

wisdom

or

Spoiler

wit

But then, the answer becomes pretty obvious with at least the first clue. I agree with the poster who commented that riddles seem to be either easy or impossible, with no middle ground, so hence very difficult to "balance". I think the base 4-line riddle is likely to produce a wide variety of results (each of which could be conceptually correct), but with the first clue added in, I reckon most gaming groups should work it out reasonably easily.

Cheers, Al'kelhar

 

[DND_Reborn]

I must admit, until the additional clues you provided, I could've easily gone with:

Spoiler

wisdom

or

Spoiler

wit

Honestly, I don't think either of those answers support the base riddle much at all, unless you care to elaborate?

 

[Al'Kelhar]

Honestly, I don't think either of those answers support the base riddle much at all, unless you care to elaborate?

It's one of those problems of the framing of the riddle - is it looking for a "conceptual" or "philosophical" answer, or a "pragmatic" or "obvious" answer? I approached the original 4-line riddle from the first perspective, which of course does't seem to have been the angle that you were going for.

Vanity's foe - Both wit and wisdom puncture arrogance, hubris and vanity.

Child's/old man's desire - A child possesses neither wit nor wisdom, which are typically manifestations of manifestations of age and experience. Equally, many old people lack them, and either think they do, or wish they did.

More ravaging than any fire - Both wit and wisdom are excellent means of demolishing arguments and opponents alike.

Worst of enemies, best of friends - Again on the theme of how wit and wisdom are tools to analyse, debate, engage with people and their views, wit and wisdom are double-edged swords that can make you a pariah or a saint, often to different people and for different reasons.

With value one rarely comprehends - Well, this could be said about most positive traits, but IME both wit and wisdom are often in short supply and rarely appreciated these days.

Cheers, Al'kelhar

 

[DND_Reborn]

It's one of those problems of the framing of the riddle - is it looking for a "conceptual" or "philosophical" answer, or a "pragmatic" or "obvious" answer? I approached the original 4-line riddle from the first perspective, which of course does't seem to have been the angle that you were going for.

Vanity's foe - Both wit and wisdom puncture arrogance, hubris and vanity.

Child's/old man's desire - A child possesses neither wit nor wisdom, which are typically manifestations of manifestations of age and experience. Equally, many old people lack them, and either think they do, or wish they did.

More ravaging than any fire - Both wit and wisdom are excellent means of demolishing arguments and opponents alike.

Worst of enemies, best of friends - Again on the theme of how wit and wisdom are tools to analyse, debate, engage with people and their views, wit and wisdom are double-edged swords that can make you a pariah or a saint, often to different people and for different reasons.

With value one rarely comprehends - Well, this could be said about most positive traits, but IME both wit and wisdom are often in short supply and rarely appreciated these days.

Cheers, Al'kelhar

Thanks for your insight. Some of this is a bit of a stretch IMO, especially the "More ravaging than any fire" line... but to each their own.