A Riddle: Feedback Wanted

[delericho]

Well, in the 20 seconds consideration I gave it, I didn't get the answer. However, when I read the solution I had the immediate "Ahhh!" reaction that I usually get from good riddles.

That said, if you're basing your riddle on obscure grammar, you have to use the grammar correctly. To do otherwise just isn't fair IMO.

The other, more important, consideration is in how you use this riddle, if at all. Here, it's important that the riddle not stop the adventure in its tracks. So, either have the room beyond the door be strictly optional, or allow plenty of other ways around. (Your idea of having the PCs proceed without the 'blessing' is a really good idea.)

Oh, and don't use the riddle at all if your players hate them.

(Also, if you have suitable props available, use those. This is an ideal opportunity to do so, and gives the players something to play with while trying to figure it out, which will help focus them on the task at hand.)

Also, it's a challenge, so award players XP for correctly solving the puzzle. A CR equal to the average party level is probably good. Don't worry about the 20% resources expenditure - they'll probably wind up using some Detect or Dispel Magics, and perhaps a Commune or Augury. And if they don't, well, clever them. No one said that a challenging encounter had to drain 20% resources, only that that would be the average.

 

[delericho]

Or, to be cruel, throw them a Rubik's Cube (or similar puzzle), start a sand timer/hourglass & say "Legitimately finish this before the sand runs out or all of your PCs are dead--and don't just peel off the stickers & reapply them."

Never do this. Not the 'give them a Rubik's Cube' thing (although I'm not fond of this), but rather the 'or you're all dead' thing. Failing a riddle, or being stalled at it, should not have consequences that are too bad. There's a real risk here that you could end your campaign with a pointless TPK, and might well find yourself without players as a result. It's just a bad idea.

(Oh, and I didn't miss the smiley... but thought it was important to comment anyway - there has been at least one thread here where a campaign was ended by a badly executed riddle. It's a bad way to go.)

 

[Kafkonia]

Never do this. Not the 'give them a Rubik's Cube' thing (although I'm not fond of this), but rather the 'or you're all dead' thing. Failing a riddle, or being stalled at it, should not have consequences that are too bad. There's a real risk here that you could end your campaign with a pointless TPK, and might well find yourself without players as a result. It's just a bad idea.

(Oh, and I didn't miss the smiley... but thought it was important to comment anyway - there has been at least one thread here where a campaign was ended by a badly executed riddle. It's a bad way to go.)

Personally, I don't think solving a riddle should be a life-or-death situation, at least not for the whole party, and certainly not blatantly.

The bad guy gives the heroes a clue in riddle form, with said clue being a big help in their survival? Sure. They might luck into the answer, and if they don't get it they can still survive.

But "solve or die" is, if you ask me, as bad as (or maybe worse than) save or die. I, for instance, would have put down the Rubik's Cube and picked up the dice to roll a new character.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Never do this. Not the 'give them a Rubik's Cube' thing (although I'm not fond of this), but rather the 'or you're all dead' thing. Failing a riddle, or being stalled at it, should not have consequences that are too bad. There's a real risk here that you could end your campaign with a pointless TPK, and might well find yourself without players as a result. It's just a bad idea.

(Oh, and I didn't miss the smiley... but thought it was important to comment anyway - there has been at least one thread here where a campaign was ended by a badly executed riddle. It's a bad way to go.)

Oh, believe me, I agree--one of the reasons why I threw in "to be cruel", as well as the smiley. The "solve or die" as well as the "save or die" is one of the things I don't care for in a campaign/adventure/game. I don't mind it as much if the PCs are a high-enough level to have access to raise dead or similar spells (if those spells are an option--some insta-death things don't allow for that).

It's also why I think that there should be a rollable "out" for riddles--just because the player can't get it doesn't mean that the PC (esp. a intelligent or wise one) won't. If the DM really wants it to be solved player-only, then contemporizing the riddle to give the player a fair chance is reasonable.