D&D 5E Riddle Me This

[Olaf the Stout]

I find riddles extremely fun. A couple sessions ago I sprung this one I found, on the pc's.

If you have it... You want to share it... If you share it... You no longer have it.

200 xp's if the pc's could figure it out with their non character brains. Divided by 4 pc's. They couldn't, so I allowed them each to make an Int check. Two of them passed a DC of 15 and so I gave them the answer, but cut the xp award in half to 100 for 25 xp each.

Love riddles.

Nef

What's the answer? You can tell me. It will be our little secret!

 

[the Jester]

This gal is okay with that as well. However, it has been my experience that players will try to keep going back to that riddle/puzzle during the same adventure (assuming they can even bring themselves to walk away from the riddle/puzzle in the first place) instead of just forgetting about it and moving on. If they do it once, okay, that's fine. But, when they keep coming back or never leave the puzzle, the game hits a snag that requires me to do something to get it moving again. The inability to move on is the only reason why I will rule that the PCs just finish the puzzle after a while.

See, I don't ever mind if the party stops and obsesses over something all session, or even for multiple sessions. I don't feel the need to enforce a certain pace in the game. Pacing is largely dependent on what the pcs do.

There's a great example of this from my halfling 3.5e campaign. The party spent almost an entire session around a crossroads. They found it, debated which way to go, made a choice, started, changed their minds, went back, debated again, etc.

It was hilarious and tremendous amounts of fun.

 

[Gargoyle]

I've found that they can be fun as long as they don't bog down the game. Have to use them in a way that doesn't prevent them from progressing and that doesn't keep them sidetracked too long, since some players enjoy them and some don't.

 

[Nefzyflin]

What's the answer? You can tell me. It will be our little secret!

Hah !

Nice Olaf... Very nice.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I hate puzzels with only out of game answers... it is so crazy that I have seen 2 extremes and very little inbetween

1) Got it... solved right away by knowing the out of game answer

2) game stall...

 

[Unwise]

The secret to using riddles in a game is to know when lunch time is and plan accordingly.

If the PCs make good int checks, then you give the players the riddle before they break for lunch and expect the answer after it. If they do poorly, they need to answer before lunch. This way the PCs Int scores really make a difference, but the riddle is not made pointless by simply giving them the answer. After all, I would not simply tell them "who dun it" in a mystery adventure if they have a good Int and Wis score. This also means that the game does not slow down for 20 minutes as people wrestle with the answer.

 

[MechaPilot]

See, I don't ever mind if the party stops and obsesses over something all session, or even for multiple sessions. I don't feel the need to enforce a certain pace in the game. Pacing is largely dependent on what the pcs do.

There's a great example of this from my halfling 3.5e campaign. The party spent almost an entire session around a crossroads. They found it, debated which way to go, made a choice, started, changed their minds, went back, debated again, etc.

It was hilarious and tremendous amounts of fun.

It's not all about pacing; some of it has to do with my patience as well. Also, admittedly, it has to do with my free time. Sitting around and watching my friends wrack their brain over something while not talking very much isn't much fun for me. I'd much rather a) let them progress in the adventure, or b) end the session there and give them time to think it over before the next session.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

In general I don't mind puzzles and riddles in games. That said, I did have one bad experience with a riddle in a game as a player.

I entered the room of a dungeon and a magic mouth told me that I needed to give the next letter in the series: O T T...

I said O, which was incorrect. As a result I lost all items in my character's possession, including all my magic items and even my clothes. This was in a 2E AD&D game and I was about 10th level (starting at 1st level), so I was pretty pissed to lose all my worldly possessions in one go like that.

To make matters worse, the next player entered the room and gave the right answer (F, as it was the first letter of each number, starting at one. So one, two, three, four). All his possessions doubled, so he now had 2 of everything.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I hate puzzels with only out of game answers... it is so crazy that I have seen 2 extremes and very little inbetween

1) Got it... solved right away by knowing the out of game answer

2) game stall...

Yeah, that's the problem with them I think. Players either know the answer, or figure it out very quickly. Or they can't solve it and the game hits a roadblock.

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, that's the problem with them I think. Players either know the answer, or figure it out very quickly. Or they can't solve it and the game hits a roadblock.

Interesting. I've had good experiences with using riddles and having them take a little while to solve but not too long.

Logic puzzles might take longer.

 

[Riley37]

I'm fine with them if they make sense in the setting.

Who's asking the riddle, and what's their motive?

The story of the Sphinx is a classic. Yes, it depends on cultural context, such as use of a walking stick.
The story of Alexander and the Gordian knot is also a classic.

The Test of the Mind, in "Order of the Stick", is a modern classic:
<http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0327.html>

 

[Pickles JG]

That's a tendentious claim.

I was channelling some friends from 20plus years ago that ran a fanzine on board games. When asked why they did not cover computer games they would reply because we cover games not puzzles. Pre multi player web games of course.

If they are games then they are an easy to categorise set of games I don't care for. I am not sure tiresome.

 

[Pickles JG]

See, I don't ever mind if the party stops and obsesses over something all session, or even for multiple sessions. I don't feel the need to enforce a certain pace in the game. Pacing is largely dependent on what the pcs do.

There's a great example of this from my halfling 3.5e campaign. The party spent almost an entire session around a crossroads. They found it, debated which way to go, made a choice, started, changed their minds, went back, debated again, etc.

It was hilarious and tremendous amounts of fun.

I have no issue with one line of play stalling or being blocked. I would just rather this became apparent quite quickly. A murder mystery could be a good puzzle as it needs solving but can be done gradually as the pcs do other things like other missions or just collecting more clues. Too often the puzzle seems to roadblock the whole adventure rather than keeping some cool reward out of the players hands.

As to the halfling thing that bewilder me. As a player I can neverget worked up over these operational left right decisions and go with the flow (or follow Beth' s book of adventure which said always turn left). Soumds funny to DM though.

 

[Nebulous]

See, I don't ever mind if the party stops and obsesses over something all session, or even for multiple sessions. I don't feel the need to enforce a certain pace in the game. Pacing is largely dependent on what the pcs do.

There's a great example of this from my halfling 3.5e campaign. The party spent almost an entire session around a crossroads. They found it, debated which way to go, made a choice, started, changed their minds, went back, debated again, etc.

It was hilarious and tremendous amounts of fun.

If it seems like they're really enjoying a particular tactic they're working on I let them do it and just observe, and then try to work it into the plot so their time was worthwhile and not wasted.

As for riddles, I've used them very sparingly, and not in a very long time, but i enjoy them. The few times i've done it, they tested the players wits, not the character. I also wouldn't let it reach a point where they could not progress. They're going to get past it one way or another, unless it was completely not plot related and just a bonus perk -- solve X and you get Y.

Hmm. Maybe i should add one to the last level of Wave Echo Cave, that might be fun.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I love the thought of riddles and puzzles in a game because I optimistically imagine that they'll be solved. When this happens it's glorious and rewarding.

When that doesn't happen they're a drag. They either become a frustrating time sink or the GM gives you an obvious hint or lets you roll to solve it, which cheapens the challenge and leaves me wondering "Why bother putting it in?"

 

[Warmaster Horus]

My main goal is presenting challenges that engage and entertain my players. If a riddle fits the ticket, I've done it. But there's usually an 'easy button' option to getting past them if they prove too frustrating to deal with.

 

[Nebulous]

It probably exists somewhere out there, but it would be awesome to have a roleplaying Riddle Compendium that has a wide number of riddles, tricks or scenarios where the players have to figure things out, the setting in which the riddle occurs, and alternative methods to bypass them. Completely system neutral too. Repercussions for failure, results of success, how to delineate hints and prompts based on the nature of the riddle itself. That would be a massive time saver for the harried DM. It might also result in more campaign riddles than the players want to experience!

"Another god**** sphinx? Come on, man!"

Edit: I will happily contribute to a group project if anyone wants to do this.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Not a fan of riddles, personally. I didn't sign up for a game of D&D to play brain teasers.

I get that some folks like 'em, and no skin off my nose there, but it is really more of an individual player thing.

 

[Boarstorm]

I think riddles and puzzles are fine so long as they serve to gate SIDE CONTENT, if the distinction makes sense (and I know there's no such thing for some styles of ultra-sandbox play).

It's whenever the players main goals are stalled by them that they become a problem, in my experience.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Riddles and puzzles are fine, the game should challenge the players through the characters. And as others have stated sometimes the players don't solve and find everything which is OK, and if they want to spent a lot of time trying to figure something out that's fine too.