I need a riddle/puzzle

[Mercule]

My players are exploring the lair of a long-since-dead paranoid artificer. Part of his defenses include a teleport circle that teleports the operator to a smallish room with another teleporter that actually gets the operator to his workshop.

I want an activation method for each that is a riddle or logic puzzle. The idea is that the artificer knew the solution, but left himself a clue, just in case. Sorta like a "what's your mother's maiden name" safeguard on a password. To give the PCs a chance, I want it to be something much less personal.

Since I typically give insanely difficult puzzles, I thought I'd poll the fine folks 'round here for ideas. Oh, before anyone says "don't use riddles", I do plan to allow the PCs a skill check (Disable Device, Knowledge, etc.) as needed to bypass it, but I want to actually throw the puzzle at them in play, too.

 

[Mark CMG]

To give the PCs a chance, I want it to be something much less personal.

I'd suggest adjusting your approach. You might actually make it tougher that way. Think of a reason why the artificer would need to make it much easier for himself. The adventure will make more sense, won't be dumbed down for the players, and will probably present a line of reasoning the players, within character, will have a better chance of uncovering.

 

[Mercule]

I'd suggest adjusting your approach. You might actually make it tougher that way. Think of a reason why the artificer would need to make it much easier for himself. The adventure will make more sense, won't be dumbed down for the players, and will probably present a line of reasoning the players, within character, will have a better chance of uncovering.

Except that anything personal will be on the other side of the teleporter. And, it's a one-way trip -- once the PCs are in that 15x15 room with the second puzzle/teleporter, they either solve it, burrow out through solid rock (as if), or starve to death. I do see what you're saying, but it doesn't stand up to some elements that have already been established to the PCs.

I can always chalk it up to the guy really having very little personal info to query. After all, he built his lair 100 miles from the nearest village, built golems for companions, and created entire wings of his hideaway as deadly decoys for snoops. What's the quirk of being more intimate with cold logic than his own life, after all that?

 

[Mark CMG]

Yeah, that's tricky. You could go the other way with it, though. Maybe this artificer is so reknown that everyone still talks about him. Maybe everyone in the area has "Yet another story" about him to the point where there's this information overload. Every NPC the players encounter knows tons of trivia about him and freely expounds on thier expertise as a point of personal pride, having grown up in the area and possibly being "related on my father's cousin's uncle's side" or some such. Then when they are in the room they'll wish they had paid more attention to all of the blabbering you did for the first two hours of the game night.

 

[tjoneslo]

Since I typically give insanely difficult puzzles, I thought I'd poll the fine folks 'round here for ideas. Oh, before anyone says "don't use riddles", I do plan to allow the PCs a skill check (Disable Device, Knowledge, etc.) as needed to bypass it, but I want to actually throw the puzzle at them in play, too.

http://www.shadownessence.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7489

Download the month of changeling PDF in the first message. This contains a bunch of interesting riddles, along with a few other gaming related items for another game system.

 

[Mercule]

Yeah, that's tricky. You could go the other way with it, though. Maybe this artificer is so reknown that everyone still talks about him. Maybe everyone in the area has "Yet another story" about him to the point where there's this information overload.

The only "people" in the area are the goblins who charged the PCs 15K to show them the way to the lair. Oh, I didn't mention that the PCs are in the dungeon, already. It's a pretty huge sprawl (target = two level gain, plus some campaign tidbits hidden within). I've got most of it mapped out and marked with critters, etc. In this spot, though, all I've got is a note for "riddle/puzzle to activate teleporter". I.e. the ball is in motion.

tjoneslo: Looking at it, now.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I am fond of shifting key cyphers, position cyphers, and sigils.

Shifting key cyphers use twenty six keys, essentially just starting the alphabet off with a different letter then working down - so cypher B goes BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZA cypher C goes CDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAB etc. Use a book to choose which cypher to use for each letter of the coded message, so using the Declaration of Independence the first letter of the first word would be cyphered using cypher W, the second would use cypher E, the third would use cypher T, etc. It takes time, but once the book being used is known can be cracked easily.

A positional cypher simply rearranges the letters of the words in a systematic way. For example:

The Auld Grump

Teudrm
hAlGup

Teudrm hAlgup.

This is sometimes called a Rail Fence Cypher. Quick and dirty, it saw some use in the American Civil War.

Sigils involve the use of magic squares and numeric replacement cyphers, nifty looking, easy to break once the key is known, but too hard to describe here - look at Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy for some good examples. Great for mystical or wizardly based puzzles, solved in a pinch by Knowledge (Arcane) checks.

Teudrm hAlgup

 

[Mark CMG]

Oh, I didn't mention that the PCs are in the dungeon, already.

Okay. That might be the level of information you'll want to be sure and include when giving them clues to solve whatever puzzle you use.


I'll sleep on it...

 

[Mercule]

Sigils involve the use of magic squares and numeric replacement cyphers, nifty looking, easy to break once the key is known, but too hard to describe here - look at Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy for some good examples. Great for mystical or wizardly based puzzles, solved in a pinch by Knowledge (Arcane) checks.

Is this what you're talking about? That sounds very much the sort of thing I'm looking for. I just hope it's not too hard to solve.

 

[LordBOB]

so if i understand correctly, you want a riddle that isnt to personal and not to hard. This should be a "medium" riddle so its not to hard and incase players cant get it they can use various checks to figure it out right?

Ive actually got quite a few riddles that i have used in my campaign. If i can find any that would suit the occasion ill post them.

Edit: If you could give me a rough idea of what kind of riddle you want it would be easier for me.