More Cunning Riddles for White Plume Mountain

[Tuzenbach]

All riddle threads must IMMEDIATELY be bumped to the front page upon their discovery. As you pass "Go", don't forget to collect $200.

 

[dead]

Well, I ran the session yesterday and all went well. Most of us guessed each others' riddles (at least after a clue being offered after an INT check).

I ended up using a bunch of riddles I found with a google search for "D&D riddles".

My players threw a few riddles at me (the sphinx) and they weren't bad seeing as they thought of them on the spot

One particularly good one I thought I'd share:

What has many faces but no mouths
Is sharper than a sword
And looks splendid on any hand?

 

[Delta]

Well, first you have to know the answer, which I will break my usual rule and give you. The answer is a guillotine.
A guillotine was usually made of hickory, a common wood in France.
The area you stand on is called the dock, and looked a bit like a fishing dock.
A common nickname for a blade of any size was a Mouse.
The part of the guillotine that held the Mouse is tall and thin, looking much like a grandfather clock.
One o'clock was the usual time for public executions. Since executions were a big show (so to speak) they were held at a time of day that would allow people to arrive from all around town and the countryside, watch the "festivities" and get back home before dark.

So, there you have a nice, cheerful little story for the kids.

Hey, sjmiller, do you have a source for any of that? Not to sound contentious, but not much of that seems to click for me here. For example, hickory is not a common wood in France, it's native to North America or China (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory ). "Dock" is only an English term, and my search of various dictionaries doesn't come up with "Mouse" to mean a blade, even in any archaic sense. I asked my French girlfriend about the rhyme, and none of it rang a bell.

So, if you had a source explaining this in more detail, it would be very educational.

 

[dead]

No takers?

What has many faces but no mouths
Is sharper than a sword
And looks splendid on any hand?

Answer is: Diamond

 

[Hypersmurf]

What does Man love more than life?

Or maybe this:

When people come to me to meet...

I'm assuming

Spoiler

Nothing

and

Spoiler

A Noose

?

Answer is: Diamond

Gah - I got it, but scrolled down to see you'd already given the answer

-Hyp.

 

[MongooseFamiliar]

A house full, a hole full,
Yet you cannot gather a bowl full.

Answer: Smoke


Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they tramp,
Then they stand still.

Answer: Teeth and gums

In marble halls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal-clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors are there to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in to steal the gold.

Answer: an egg


There are also some good ones in "The Hobbit".

 

[sjmiller]

Hey, sjmiller, do you have a source for any of that? Not to sound contentious, but not much of that seems to click for me here. For example, hickory is not a common wood in France, it's native to North America or China (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory ). "Dock" is only an English term, and my search of various dictionaries doesn't come up with "Mouse" to mean a blade, even in any archaic sense. I asked my French girlfriend about the rhyme, and none of it rang a bell.

So, if you had a source explaining this in more detail, it would be very educational.

I will have to consult my source, who lives about 100 miles from me right now. I know the riddle is not French, but is, I believe English. I will have to get back to you on it.