Riddles

[Core-fire]

Okay I have created a riddling supervillain to give my players a bit of mind games. However afterwards I realized I am not very good a making riddles per se. Anyone have any advice or some they can share from their previous campaigns.

 

Thanks

[Pizza Man]

Re: Riddles

 

To make a riddle, start with the answer. Then think of words that describe your answer.

 

for example. Stream, creek, or brook.

What sings, laughs and babbles, but has no voice?

What runs, skips and falls but has no feet?

[Querysphinx]

Re: Riddles

 

You can google "Riddles" to find many riddle resources.

 

One thing about riddles though, is that they're either going to be much easier or much harder than you expect for the players to solve. If you think a riddle is really hard, the players will crack it in an instant. If you think it's really easy, it will stump them for days. I've seen it happen.

 

In either case, throwing in riddle can really mess with with your game's pacing. I find that the best way to get around this is never (or almost never) use a riddle as a bottle neck that the players have to get by in order to proceed. Make it something they can work on while doing other things. Figuring out the answer will help them, but won't be required to proceed.

 

Instead of riddle you can also use cyphers and codes and puzzles.

 

Riddle me this "Why do black horses always run faster than white horses?"

[mattingly]

Re: Riddles

 

I normally give out riddles at the end of a sessions, and let my players solve them between games.

[Alverant]

Re: Riddles

 

A problem with making riddles is that they often follow your unique thought process. It's like those adventure games that were fun in the 80s and 90s. Sure the puzzles made sense to the developer, but no one else got the reference and most puzzles were solved by randomly clicking on items. So if you're making riddles, be aware that your players don't know everything you know and they know things you don't. What's worse than not solving a riddle is finding out there were two completely different yet completely legit answers.

[assault]

Re: Riddles

 

Amazing Deductive Reasoning can help.

[Naanomi]

Re: Riddles

 

Riddles, like social gameplay, always have a strange player/story dichotomy to them... riddles are generally solved by the player, regardless if they are a 2 INT Ogre or 25 INT Gadgeteer... and Thor help you if you are dedicated to saying your character (and thus you) have no interest or skill in helping solve the puzzle!

 

They make good literature and fiction as a 'mental obstacle', but that never really translates to game-play well. How to handle it well... tough to say. Deduction/INT rolls to get hints? Or... correct guesses give bonuses to the Deduction/INT roll for the actual character to guess the answer? Either way, it fits together oddly and rarely comes out organically.

[Clonus]

Re: Riddles

 

Check at your library to see if you can get

 

The Heckler (1960)

Fuzz (1968)

Let's Hear it for the Deaf Man! (1972)

Eight Black Horses (1985)

Mischief (1993)

Hark! (2004)

 

By Ed McBain.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Riddles

 

You could start with a number of crimes already committed, with the riddles having been sent to the police but not shared publicly until later. So the players have something to start from. I did this with a Foxbat plot -- the first riddle or two the players had access to were vague enough not to be easily solved, but then when they plotted all of the crimes on a map and noticed that he was drawing a connect-the-dots Foxbat symbol across the city, solving future crimes got a LOT easier.

[Utech]

Re: Riddles

 

The question you need to ask yourself is this: Are the answers to the riddles essential for completing the adventure?

 

No: Make up any riddle you like! Pick some from the Internet. Be funny or risque or cruel depending on the riddler and the sort of game you're playing.

Yes: Be prepared to give them the answer. It doesn't matter what riddles you use, but it does matter that they solve them. Make sure that they've got the Skills, Contacts, or other background necessary to answer your riddles.

[Core-fire]

Re: Riddles

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have decided to give them the riddle at the end of session and let them work on it over the intervening period. Let you all know how it goes.