D&D General Testing some riddles

[Quickleaf]

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.

 

[billd91]

Five minutes after you posted - I thought of guesses for 2 and 3 right away.

Spoiler

fire and fog are my guesses

Still contemplating #1.

 

[prabe]

Those might be about right, overall. Riddles, like ratiocination mysteries, or puzzles, are hard--especially if the characters are supposed to be better at them than the players in reality are.

Spoiler: Answers, I thnk

Venom/poison; forest fire; fog

 

[Older Beholder]

2 and 3 clicked easy enough for me. But I still found them satisfying.
The first one I can’t figure out, so I think it might be the tougher of the 3.

I like them all though, they’re really well written.

 

[aco175]

I like them. Took me longer with number 1 and thought of 2 rather fast and 3 took a couple minutes- I was thinking river at first.

Problem I found with riddles is that I need to repeat it a lot or print it out as a handout. A couple players are always asking and wanting to write it down if it is more than one sentence. I found a handout better for longer ones. Not sure on your table.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I got #3 after reading the first line. (assuming I got it right); #2 was a bit trickier but it only took me a moment to figure it out.
Not sure what #1 is.

Spoiler: Riddle possible answers

1. Poison
2. Fire
3. Fog

Edit: I like them all.

 

[Minigiant]

I actually got #1 fast the others took a while. Same answers as the last posters.

Good riddles. Obviousenough that atleast 25% of the party should get it fast and 25% be kinda stumped.

 

[Shiroiken]

Got these pretty easy if I'm right.

Spoiler: guess

1) Mosquito; Edit to poison, but if this is the case, it violates "not in a dish," since that's a common method of use
2) Fire
3) Fog

 

[Leatherhead]

I couldn't actually wrap my head around the first one, so I asked my roommate. The other two I sussed out myself.

Spoiler

1: Disease
2: Fire
3: Fog

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My answers:

Riddle #1:

Spoiler

Poison

Riddle #2:

Spoiler

Fire

Riddle #3

Spoiler

Fog