D&D General Testing some riddles

[clearstream]

I felt that

Spoiler: Answers

Hook, Storm, Fog

fitted.

 

[Imaculata]

Good riddles. Riddle 1 is definitely the harder one.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I'd call them all reasonably good, especially since you came up with them yourself. Writing original riddles is hard!

Spoiler: Commentary spoiler

Ironically, I pretty quickly figured out the first, but I agree that the "not within a dish" can be a little misleading. Maybe "but you must add me to a dish"? Preserves the rhyme and I believe the meter as well, but avoids the potential "no, it can't be poison, because poisoning food IS how you usually poison someone..."

#2 definitely seemed the easiest of the bunch, but "flicking tongues" is a pretty common analogy for flame, so that's not too surprising. Unless it needs a specific answer like "forest fire," I'd be surprised if this stumped anyone for long, but it's good to have a mix of obvious and not-so-obvious stuff.

I definitely had to sit and think for a while about #3, possibly because of the "white serpent" line; I was deceived into thinking of something too localized to be fog. Which is probably a good thing, if you want a riddle that isn't easy to solve but has a nice answer.

I remember a riddle I used for the lockbox of a headmaster's office on a tropical island, riddle originally from Conquests of Camelot:
Glittering points that downward thrust,
Sparkling spears that never rust.
What am I?

Spoiler: Answer

Icicle! Chosen by the headmaster because icicles are never found on their island, so even advanced students would be unlikely to think of the word.

 

[Imaculata]

Glittering points that downward thrust,
Sparkling spears that never rust.
What am I?

I thought the answer was:

Spoiler

A comet

It also fits the riddle really well. I think your riddle maybe needs an extra line to exclude other options, such as mine.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I thought the answer was:

Spoiler

A comet

It also fits the riddle really well. I think your riddle maybe needs an extra line to exclude other options, such as mine.

In fairness, it's not "my" riddle, I just copied it from a game. But yes, that's definitely a valid option that would probably be worth excluding. Perhaps something like adding the following two lines:
Glittering points that downward thrust,
Sparkling spears that never rust;
Our growth is slow, our death is fast,
In languid days we'll never last.
What are we?

 

[clearstream]

In fairness, it's not "my" riddle, I just copied it from a game. But yes, that's definitely a valid option that would probably be worth excluding. Perhaps something like adding the following two lines:
Glittering points that downward thrust,
Sparkling spears that never rust;
Our growth is slow, our death is fast,
In languid days we'll never last.
What are we?

In that vein
I love to stay in bed on sunny days
I love to get out of bed on rainy days
Who am I?

EDIT I would suggest 'balmy' over languid. Languid is a kind or degree of motion, rather than a temperature.

 

[clearstream]

Have a few riddles I'd like to pass your way and see if they're hitting that sweet spot between "too obvious" and "too hard." Context is there's a massive viper tree (an abyssal tree with snakes for branches) posing these riddles to the PCs. Many thanks!

1st Riddle
I may come from an insect or from a fish, but you’ll not find me in a dish.
I may come with a sting or bite, and I may come at day or night.
But those who know me best, are sure to pass this lethal test.

2nd Riddle
Hated serpent flicking tongues, growing with each breath I take.
When I inhale with roaring lungs, I leave all things darker in my wake.

3rd Riddle
I conceal friend and foe alike. I am a child of the rain.
A white serpent rising upon the land. Strike me and I feel no pain.
I gather at the meeting of cold dawn and warm embrace.
You may look upon me, but you’ll find no face.

A riddle that worked best for my players of all my attempts was based on an Anglo-Saxon form of word puzzle. It hid the name and location of a magic sword. One had to think the name to activate the magic, with the catch that if you learned the name from someone else you could never activate it.

Swiftly do I kill
Unseen my aura
Silently I speak
Knowledge of my name

Spoiler: Sword name

It takes the letters from the end and start of each line to spell "Lake Susk", which was both the sword's location and its name (in the game world). Naturally, the sword's powers were built around stealth, secrecy and non-detection. The sword would also float on water (whether you knew the name or not), as a clue.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

In that vein
I love to stay in bed on sunny days
I love to get out of bed on rainy days
Who am I?

My best guess...

Spoiler: Answer

A worm. When the sun shines, it stays in the flowerbed. When it rains, the water drives them to the surface.

 

[clearstream]

My best guess...

Spoiler: Answer

A worm. When the sun shines, it stays in the flowerbed. When it rains, the water drives them to the surface.

Actually, that's nearly better than my actual answer!

Spoiler: Answer

"A river" and potentially, if a named river has played a role in the game narrative, that specific river.

Also reiterating my ninja edit, I might suggest 'balmy' over languid. Languid is a kind or degree of motion, rather than a temperature.

 

[clearstream]

Have a few riddles I'd like to pass your way and see if they're hitting that sweet spot between "too obvious" and "too hard." Context is there's a massive viper tree (an abyssal tree with snakes for branches) posing these riddles to the PCs. Many thanks!

1st Riddle
I may come from an insect or from a fish, but you’ll not find me in a dish.
I may come with a sting or bite, and I may come at day or night.
But those who know me best, are sure to pass this lethal test.

2nd Riddle
Hated serpent flicking tongues, growing with each breath I take.
When I inhale with roaring lungs, I leave all things darker in my wake.

3rd Riddle
I conceal friend and foe alike. I am a child of the rain.
A white serpent rising upon the land. Strike me and I feel no pain.
I gather at the meeting of cold dawn and warm embrace.
You may look upon me, but you’ll find no face.

So will you spoil your actual answers? I think that other's answers to the second one are better than mine. The third seems to have consensus. I dislike the most popular answer to the first because the wording seems (to me at least) to rule it out e.g. you might well find me in a dish. Hence I prefer my answer to the first. But what was yours?!