I need a good riddle, and how do you handle initiative with large groups?

[RodneyThompson]

Initiative Cards

For tracking initiative, I cannot reccommend The Game Mechanics' Initiative Cards enough. I had never used them before I started my current Shackled City campaign and they have made combat bookkeeping a thing of the past. It also makes stat tracking and HP tracking really, really easy. I cannot give them high enough praise, and heck, they won an ENnie fer crying out loud! Go download them and try them once in your game, I think you'll be hooked.

Here's the webpage they're on: TGM Freebies

And here's the direct link to the file: Initiative Cards ZIP file

 

[Li Shenron]

If they like more logical than poetry riddles, here's one I like very much.

Five greedy and bloodthirsty pirates found a treasure of 1000 pearls. From the one of lowest rank up to the chieftain, each pirate will make a suggestion about how to split the treasure: if the suggestion is accepted by majority, that's how the treasure it split, otherwise he'll be thrown to feed the sharks, and the next pirate will make his suggestion.

What must the first pirate suggest?

 

[Tuzenbach]

If they like more logical than poetry riddles, here's one I like very much.

Five greedy and bloodthirsty pirates found a treasure of 1000 pearls. From the one of lowest rank up to the chieftain, each pirate will make a suggestion about how to split the treasure: if the suggestion is accepted by majority, that's how the treasure it split, otherwise he'll be thrown to feed the sharks, and the next pirate will make his suggestion.

What must the first pirate suggest?

That he get nothing and that the 1000 pearls be split evenly (250 each) between the other four?

 

[Li Shenron]

That he get nothing and that the 1000 pearls be split evenly (250 each) between the other four?

Not that simple...

 

[Li Shenron]

I mean, your suggestion saves the life of the first pirate to speak, but it's far from the best suggestion he can make (maybe I should have written the riddle better).

 

[OakwoodDM]

I mean, your suggestion saves the life of the first pirate to speak, but it's far from the best suggestion he can make (maybe I should have written the riddle better).

Since he only needs a majority acceptance, how about he suggests that he, the leader and one other split it as evenly as possible, with the extra 1 coin going to the leader? (ie he gets 333, one other gets 333 and the leader gets 334).

That way, the three of them can accept it, making it a 3-2 majority vote.

 

[arscott]

naw, if he does that, he has to give it to 3rd, 4th, and himself. because they know if he dies, they'll be getting less than that, whereas the strongest (and probably the second strongest) will be getting more.

 

[Li Shenron]

Since he only needs a majority acceptance, how about he suggests that he, the leader and one other split it as evenly as possible, with the extra 1 coin going to the leader? (ie he gets 333, one other gets 333 and the leader gets 334).

That way, the three of them can accept it, making it a 3-2 majority vote.

A step closer, but he can do much better than that

 

[Li Shenron]

naw, if he does that, he has to give it to 3rd, 4th, and himself. because they know if he dies, they'll be getting less than that, whereas the strongest (and probably the second strongest) will be getting more.

I suppose I have to mention that the fact that it's the lowest-rank pirate who speaks first doesn't really affect the riddle, it's just for flavor.

What I mean is that the riddle cannot be "cheated" for example by the leader because he's the strongest and may try to simply kill the others and get everything...

 

[Darkness]

If they like more logical than poetry riddles, here's one I like very much.

Five greedy and bloodthirsty pirates found a treasure of 1000 pearls. From the one of lowest rank up to the chieftain, each pirate will make a suggestion about how to split the treasure: if the suggestion is accepted by majority, that's how the treasure it split, otherwise he'll be thrown to feed the sharks, and the next pirate will make his suggestion.

What must the first pirate suggest?

Let's see.

Assuming the pirates are smart and the proposing pirate has a vote...

I'll put my solution in a spoiler block if someone else wants to try it himself.[sblock]If the number of pirates is reduced to two, there can be no majority unless both remaining pirates agree, but the chieftain will probably simply murder the other guy so he can keep all the booty.
At this stage, the chieftain gets everything. Since he's a greedy and bloodthirsty pirate, this would be the optimal outcome for him.

However, the other pirates know that too, so the second-highest will cut a deal with the third-highest if only the three of them are left.
At this stage, the second-highest must accept just about any deal proposed to him as he will die next and get nothing if he doesn't. Let's give him 1 pearl.
The chieftain will get nothing here, as his vote is not required.

The chieftain will realize that he will end up with nothing if their number is reduced to 3, so his vote is easy to buy at the point where 4 of them are left. As long as he gets anything at all, he should be in favor. 1 pearl for him.
Together with the fourth-highest, who will propose the plan at this stage, that's two votes out of four.
The second-highest will not want things to proceed beyond this stage either, as he'll be forced to accept any deal at the next stage. Thus, he can be bought cheaply too, say, for 2 pearls - 'cause if things go on, he can only get a lesser deal.

This solution is of course not good for the fifth-highest pirate, who will be dead if things proceed to this point, nor to the third-highest, who will end up with nothing.
Thus, offering the third-highest 1 pearl at the very beginning ensures the fifth-highest his vote.
Giving the chieftain 2 pearls ensures his vote as well, as he will otherwise gain less. This is a majority (3-2).
The rest goes to the fifth-highest pirate.[/sblock]