This is a simple Puzzle...

[arscott]

Vowels and repeating constanants are the key in these puzzles.

On the contrary. I'm going to say that the word the is.

[SBLOCK]It's pretty damned obvious that W corresponds to e, from both its frequency and placement. of the three-letter words, that means that they are FeG, LZe, and GFe. Chances are that one of the latter two is 'the'. And since 'het' isn't a word, It's a good bet it's the latter. Gorrstagg's comments about "known methidology" indicate this is probably more than a simple cryptogram, and a quick look at 'LZW' vs 'the' will reveal that a displacement cypher is being used. Simply shift each letter eight to the right, and you've decoded your message. Of course, If you know that it's a matrix puzzle, the obvious Neo/One anagram is probably a better place to start.[/SBLOCK]

 

[orsal]

On the contrary. I'm going to say that the word the is [the key in these puzzles].

Right. I always start by looking at the 3-letter words. First thing I try is to read each one as "the", look at what that would imply for the rest of the puzzle, and decide if it looks plausible. Any 3-letter word that I haven't decided is probably "the", I'll wonder if it is "and", and do the same test.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

And as an aside.. I would be less bothered by this type of puzzle in a game, than an obscure riddle.. or physical puzzle using symbology to accomplish.

Funny, I feel exactly the opposite. I'd be willing to accept an obscure riddle or physical puzzle using symbology, but would pick up my books and leave a session that required me to try and figure out this rubbish.

Guess it has something to do with the fact that I'm an English Major and in no way-shape-or form think like any kind of an engineer or computer programmer.

 

[Quickbeam]

On the contrary. I'm going to say that the word the is.

I read your entire post, and certainly agree with your observations. I guess for me, the word 'the' is not much more common than the word 'and' in such games in my experience. Then again, it's possible I've only seen puzzles of this sort which were deliberately designed to throw you off with such presumptions.

For a couple of years I got into pretty involved in road rallies, scavenger hunts and the like, many of which contained word games, riddles and puzzles you needed to solve in order to move along the trail. In events such as these, clues were intentionally difficult and crafted in clever (devious) ways to throw you off track. Of course, YMMV.

 

[arscott]

Guess it has something to do with the fact that I'm an English Major and in no way-shape-or form think like any kind of an engineer or computer programmer.

I guess I'm really lucky. I'm a Theatre Major who transferred out of Computer Science on account of the Buzzwordery.

 

[Gorrstagg]

FWG XDAWK FG EGJW.
NEO FLIES NO MORE.

JWLMJF LZW GFW. --
RETURN THE ONE.

EGJHZWMK
MORPHEUS

EGJHZWMK TDGGV KZADD KHADD SFV XWWV XDAWK
MORPHEUS BLOOD SHILL SPILL AND FEED FLIES

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Alrighty.. I said I would put up the answer, and we've had a day to kick this around. Now, the answer was successfully provided by both Arscott and Hammerhead.

So I've put up the key, above. Yes it was a simple 8-shift, known as a Caesar Shift. Before I solved the above, I had to be honest, only maybe heard of a Caesar Shift, a long time ago but didn't have it in my mental lexicon of language for actual use.

So, how did I do this without knowing about Caesar shifts, or anything like it? I simply remembered something I had heard about cyphers years ago. That the letter E, is the most common letter used, thus if you can find a seriously repeating letter in a crypto puzzle like the one above, you should be able to then hammer out the other more common letters.. the S, T, M, R and so on.

Now, here is the thing about context, had I not known about it being related to the Matrix, it would of still been solveable by the use of hammering it out... finding the recurring letter.

But, having a reference point via knowing it was related to the Matrix.. for some reason my mind immediately determined that the sig part.. of Morpheus... well was Morpheus.

Mind you, I'm NOT an engineer.. I'm NOT a computer scientist.. I'm not a cryptologist.. I'm just a guy.

Here's the thing.. this type of little teaser can be fun.. in actual context.. and I wouldn't of minded it taking a few minutes to solve. But.. as a DM.. this is something I wouldn't actually put my players against.

Why? Just because I may enjoy a simple mind teaser like this.. not everyone else does. And I don't like sitting as a DM and watching people squirm because I'm trying to waste time. Our game time is valuable, and things that don't really push character development, the overall arching of the story, and a million other things.. I don't put them in my game.

See, putting a puzzle like a caesar shift into play, that has a context, related to the game in question, but used so it's a non-binding piece of a story.. can be a fun sub plot.

For example..

I'm going to put a riddle in place in my campaign.. (Hypothetically), that would act as a prophecy and point out things to be aware of for the overall arch of the campaign. But the way to do this is to present it is a series of clues that help unlock the answer, over the course of the campaign. Like an adventurer, finding an ancient treatise, on cults that used symbology to code their messages to each other so as to avoid some societal structure.. or other things that just give an additional piece of the puzzle.. Then when it has to be absolutely known.. and if they haven't figured it out.. give them the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone.

The point.. the tool is just there to enhance the game.. give them something to think about, let them know that the world still goes on.. that it evolves.. that it wasn't just a series of stock rooms with bland encounters.. then it isn't a case of annoyance.. or aggravation.. it's a bit of a mental exercise that can unlock the sub-portion information.

The kicker.. some people absolutely hate these type of problems. They can't wrap their heads around them. And you know what? DM's need to take their players feelings and play style into account.

I don't think the thread that showed a campaign which ended solely because of a puzzle, was even remotely fair to the players.

They have stated they really like their DM, that up to this point he was doing a great job. And they seem to have taken this relatively passively.. except if you take into account Roman posting the thread in the first place.. that should be an eye opener.