Puzzles in game [Archive] - Wizards Community

Puzzles in game [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
mrin_prophet
06-05-07, 04:20 PM Hello all,
My group just finished our 9th adventure (1x month) and I must say we really enjoyed it. As DM, I've started making puzzles/riddles for my party to solve. This one was the toughest so far, and my group solved it in about 10 minutes. The answer was actually a name they discovered in two previous rooms through unscrambling letters. I'm interested in what reaction you and your players have had to puzzles/riddles and gauge your reaction to one I've created. Unfortunately, it's hard to explain without a picture, so I'll give it my best shot.

Enter final room. Perfect square. Four riddles, one in the middle of each wall. 1-4 clockwise.
They are as follows:

Wall 1
This thing all things devours,
Birds, beast, trees, flowers,
Gnaws iron, bites steel,
Grinds hard stones to meal,
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.

Wall 2
Of no use to one
Yet absolute bliss to two.
The small boy gets it for nothing.
The young man has to lie for it.
The old man has to buy it.

Wall 3
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless it flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.

Wall 4
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.

In the middle of the room is a small stone cylinder with an embedded wheel with tiles of letters. The wheel spins. The letters are as follows:

T O F H P E A
I N D S K O U
W H A F T M Y
W N D I T M E
T Y O S N A M
U S E K E A L
E K S S O U D

The blue "I" in the center is lit up.
Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Ayers
06-05-07, 07:18 PM Um ... making? :confused:

Those sound like the riddles from the Hobbit.
mrin_prophet
06-05-07, 09:16 PM You are correct, and I certainly didn't mean to make it sound as if I made up the riddles. The puzzle, however, is really what I was referring to. I'm using riddles and putting their answers into a new puzzle. You have to solve the riddle and puzzle, to then find out what you are supposed to do.

One of my players (there's 6) remembered seeing the riddle on wall 4, but didn't recognize it as Tolkien. They were able to guess two of the riddles and then started working on the puzzle to solve the other two. Once all four riddles are solved, then they had to figure out what to do with the rest of the wheel.
Heros_Backpack
06-06-07, 06:29 AM Just a guess:

Turn the wheel so that each answer points to the wall with its riddle on? (Top-4, right-1, bottom-2, left-3)
mrin_prophet
06-06-07, 12:49 PM That's correct, and it solves the first part. They then needed to touch the appropriate letters and they also then lit up. After that, they had to use the remaining letters to form the question they needed to answer.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mrin_prophet 06-05-07, 04:20 PM	Hello all, My group just finished our 9th adventure (1x month) and I must say we really enjoyed it. As DM, I've started making puzzles/riddles for my party to solve. This one was the toughest so far, and my group solved it in about 10 minutes. The answer was actually a name they discovered in two previous rooms through unscrambling letters. I'm interested in what reaction you and your players have had to puzzles/riddles and gauge your reaction to one I've created. Unfortunately, it's hard to explain without a picture, so I'll give it my best shot. Enter final room. Perfect square. Four riddles, one in the middle of each wall. 1-4 clockwise. They are as follows: Wall 1 This thing all things devours, Birds, beast, trees, flowers, Gnaws iron, bites steel, Grinds hard stones to meal, Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down. Wall 2 Of no use to one Yet absolute bliss to two. The small boy gets it for nothing. The young man has to lie for it. The old man has to buy it. Wall 3 Voiceless it cries, Wingless it flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters. Wall 4 Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking. In the middle of the room is a small stone cylinder with an embedded wheel with tiles of letters. The wheel spins. The letters are as follows: T O F H P E A I N D S K O U W H A F T M Y W N D I T M E T Y O S N A M U S E K E A L E K S S O U D The blue "I" in the center is lit up. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Ayers 06-05-07, 07:18 PM	Um ... making? :confused: Those sound like the riddles from the Hobbit.
mrin_prophet 06-05-07, 09:16 PM	You are correct, and I certainly didn't mean to make it sound as if I made up the riddles. The puzzle, however, is really what I was referring to. I'm using riddles and putting their answers into a new puzzle. You have to solve the riddle and puzzle, to then find out what you are supposed to do. One of my players (there's 6) remembered seeing the riddle on wall 4, but didn't recognize it as Tolkien. They were able to guess two of the riddles and then started working on the puzzle to solve the other two. Once all four riddles are solved, then they had to figure out what to do with the rest of the wheel.
Heros_Backpack 06-06-07, 06:29 AM	Just a guess: Turn the wheel so that each answer points to the wall with its riddle on? (Top-4, right-1, bottom-2, left-3)
mrin_prophet 06-06-07, 12:49 PM	That's correct, and it solves the first part. They then needed to touch the appropriate letters and they also then lit up. After that, they had to use the remaining letters to form the question they needed to answer.