1. The classic: What walks on four legs in the morning, two all day, and three in the evening?
(Man, crawling as a babe, walking in his prime and using a cane near the end. - if you haven't heard this one yet, you're prolly new to the game)
2. The more you take the more you leave behind.
(footsteps)
3. The bigger I get, the less there is. What am I?
(a hole - que the pit trap)
4. Always running, never walking, sometimes babbles but never talking. What am I?
(a river)
5. I make you weak at the worst of all times.
I keep you safe, I keep you fine.
I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold,
I visit the weak, but seldom the bold.
Who am I?
(Fear - this one can launch a beastie onto the scene, prefferably with heavy fear based attacks. Failure to solve it in time results in a surprise, but I doubt that would really happen)
Anyway, this is a starter. Please post more riddles and maybe ways for DM's to implement them creatively. :D Happy hunting!
1. The classic: What walks on four legs in the morning, two all day, and three in the evening?
(Man - if you haven't heard this one yet, you're prolly new to the game)
To be nit-picky this is a very non-sensical riddle that relies on the solver digging through at least one layer of meaning.
To be nit-picky this is a very non-sensical riddle that relies on the solver digging through at least one layer of meaning.
Contribution duely noted. How may I fix it? This is how I've heard it, but more simple word puzzles are available.
Another, this one from the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, If you've got a bookish type of NPC try this.
6. What's the difference between a cat and a complex sentence?
(A cat has claws at the end of it's paws. The sentence has a pause at the end of it's clause.)
7. I have no arms or legs, but I eat with a fork every day. What am I?
(snake)
He'll lead the charge or hold the line, and never will retreat."
(A Pawn!)
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A ship discharging raiders onto the beach.
I wake by day.
At dawn I rise,
At dusk I lay.
I ache when hungry,
Shiver when cold.
I was born when young,
And will die when I'm old.
What am I?
Answer:
The Sphinx, dumbass1. 
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1 This is assuming, of course, that the Sphinx is speaking the riddle. If not, change it to 'Who am I?' with the identity of the asker being the solution2. If you want a sexy double-blind riddle, make it a Rumplestiltskin scenario; even if the party figures out the riddle3, they may not know the asker's name!
2 Needless to say, the clues may need to be modified depending on the speaker. This version, for instance, assumes a mortal Sphinx which will, eventually, die4.
3 Obviously, it's based on the notion of including misleading or uselessly generic 'clues' that have nothing to do with the actual question. This is a bit of a metagamey riddle, and may displease those to whom you subject to it. I know that the inspiration for it -- the 'words that end in -gry' riddle from Planescape: Torment -- annoyed me very much indeed. :P
4 This inspires thoughts of a lovely 'Gordian Knot' solution! Let's say the Sphinx can eternally bar the party's way if they fail the riddle, with the fun little caveat of eating them out of sinister whim once they do. If they then kill the Sphinx -- which we shall say is middle-aged by Sphinx standards -- then that renders the final line of the riddle false, negating the party's failure, and unsealing the gateway. If the party would be sufficiently clever/bloodthirsty to work this out, let them initiate the combat.
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1 This is assuming, of course, that the Sphinx is speaking the riddle. If not, change it to 'Who am I?' with the identity of the asker being the solution2. If you want a sexy double-blind riddle, make it a Rumplestiltskin scenario; even if the party figures out the riddle3, they may not know the asker's name!
2 Needless to say, the clues may need to be modified depending on the speaker. This version, for instance, assumes a mortal Sphinx which will, eventually, die4.
3 Obviously, it's based on the notion of including misleading or uselessly generic 'clues' that have nothing to do with the actual question. This is a bit of a metagamey riddle, and may displease those to whom you subject to it. I know that the inspiration for it -- the 'words that end in -gry' riddle from Planescape: Torment -- annoyed me very much indeed. :P
4 This inspires thoughts of a lovely 'Gordian Knot' solution! Let's say the Sphinx can eternally bar the party's way if they fail the riddle, with the fun little caveat of eating them out of sinister whim once they do. If they then kill the Sphinx -- which we shall say is middle-aged by Sphinx standards -- then that renders the final line of the riddle false, negating the party's failure, and unsealing the gateway. If the party would be sufficiently clever/bloodthirsty to work this out, let them initiate the combat.
1) A box without treasure, key or lid.
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
Ans. an egg
2) What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes
and yet never grows?
Ans. a mountain
3) Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they chomp, then they stomp
Then they stand still.
Ans. teeth
4) Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites
Mouthless mutters.
Ans. the wind
5) It cannot be seen
Cannot be felt
Cannot be heard
Cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars
and under hills
and empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after
Ends life and kills laughter.
Ans. the dark
6) Alive without breath
as cold as death;
Never thirsty ever drinking,
all in mail never clinking.
Ans. a fish
7) This thing all things devours:
birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
gnaws iron, bites steel;
grinds hard stones to meal;
slays king, ruins town,
and beats high mountain down.
Ans: time
A towel
Contribution duely noted. How may I fix it? This is how I've heard it, but more simple word puzzles are available.
There's an alternate way of telling it on page 83 of the DMG.
In spring four pillars hold me up,
a shining dome above the earth.
In summer two pillars support me,
a doorway into mystery.
In autumn three pillars stand beneath me,
a temple of the Bright City.
In winter my pillars are crumbled to dust,
a ruin of ancient glory.
Also, good jab at the genre there MrCelsius. I'm going to file that away. I can imagine a very energetic and friendly troll introducing himself happily to the PCs (thus providing his name) then getting into the cliched let-you-pass-if-you-solve-my-riddle thing, and providing that.
I serve at the Prince's Pleasure
I am at the Prince's side.
A comrade in arms, beloved of my lord,
Hall-companion of the King.
Yet on me the fair-haired Queen
At times lays her hands.
Though she is proper and the daughter of an Earl.
I hold to my chest the bounty of the woods.
Sometimes I on a proud horse ride
At the head of the host.
Oft I give my reward to the singer
When he sounds the song of battle.
Hard is my tongue,
Clear is my speech,
Cloudy is my skin.
Speak my name.
Answer: A horn (used in battle, and as a vessel for food and drink).
Here's another one (which I made up):
I am the ruin of men,
And yet they lust for me.
I have no power, no strength
And yet I am the might of Kings and armies.
I am hard as dragon scales
And yet I flow like water.
Men dream of me,
And yet once found I am cast aside.
I am a dancing rainbow:
Ever chased
Never caught.
What am I?
Answer: Gold
Here are a pair of classics, one from antiquity and one from the ancient days of 1st edition D&D:
The greek poet Homer is supposed to have asked a group of fishermen what they caught, and they answered:
"What we caught we threw away, what we couldn't catch we kept."
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fleas
1. The classic: What walks on four legs in the morning, two all day, and three in the evening?
(Man, crawling as a babe, walking in his prime and using a cane near the end. - if you haven't heard this one yet, you're prolly new to the game)
Actually, that may or may not be the answer to the riddle. The sphinx returned in another Greek play to haunt Oedipus, claiming that "man" wasn't the answer.
I tend to favor riddles that make you think of one thing while really being another. For example, this Anglo-Saxon riddle (abridged extensively and recorded from a poor memory):
Here I stand in a corner,
Many maidens have worked my shaft
In and out till they sweat
Until I give forth white cream.
What am I?
The answer: a butter churn.
Contribution duely noted. How may I fix it?
"When born four legs have I,
when old I have three,
yet with only two do you always think of me.
What am I?"
The objection I have to the original is that the receiver of the riddle has to understand that he/she is being given symbolism ("morning, day, evening") which disguises part of the true riddle. That somehow strikes me as cheating. I'm not even entirely satisfied with my current version, as it calls walking with a cane "three legs".
Here I stand in a corner,
Many maidens have worked my shaft
In and out till they sweat
Until I give forth white cream.
What am I?
The answer: a butter churn.
Since you went there first:
A strange thing hangs by man's hip,
hidden by a garment. It has a hole
in its head. It is stiff and strong
and its firm bearing reaps a reward.
When the retainer hitches his clothing
high above his knee, he wants the head
of that hanging thing to find the old hole
that it, outstretched, has often filled before.
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A key. You naughty person.
I am a wonderful help to women,
I harm none but my slayer.
Rooted I stand on a high bed.
I am shaggy below.
Sometimes the beautiful peasant's daughter,
An eager-armed, Proud woman
grabs my body, rushes my red skin,
holds me hard, claims my head.
The curly-haired Woman who catches me fast
Will feel our meeting: her eye will be wet.
Answer: An Onion
Also, here's a clean one.
It seemed to me
a curious chance, when that wonder I learned,
That some man's song was forswallowed,
thief in darkness of the glorious speech
and its foundation. Thievish guest was
no whit the wiser for all the words it saw.
Answer: A bookworm
Since you went there first:
A strange thing hangs by man's hip,
hidden by a garment. It has a hole
in its head. It is stiff and strong
and its firm bearing reaps a reward.
When the retainer hitches his clothing
high above his knee, he wants the head
of that hanging thing to find the old hole
that it, outstretched, has often filled before.ShowA key. You naughty person.
Heh, Riddles of the Succubi. good stuff.
Hmm? That was another old Anglo-Saxon one. Actually, they were among the best at writing riddles. A google search for "Anglo-Saxon riddles" is generally quite profitable, but the answers are seldom given.
Have none of you heard of [spoiler] tags? There's no point in reading riddles if the answer is right there beneath it. Half the riddles in this thread were ruined for me by having the answers lying right out in the open.
But isn't the point of the thread to post riddles with which one might vex one's players, not to have a respository of riddles to challenge yourself with? spoiler tags are nice, but if we just want a respository of information, they actually would get in the way.
No matter how much I hurt,
I'm always good for a laugh.
What am I?
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A funnybone! Whenever you hit your funnybone it hurts like crazy because of all the nerve endings in the elbow, and yet we call it a funnybone.
No matter how hard you hit me,
No matter how much I hurt,
I'm always good for a laugh.
What am I?ShowA funnybone! Whenever you hit your funnybone it hurts like crazy because of all the nerve endings in the elbow, and yet we call it a funnybone.
I have beak at front
I have feather on end
I kill without peck
I fly without wings
But alone or in a group, I kill strong men.
What am I?
An arrow
Seven spears in hand
Six draw bows
Seven swing swords
Twenty soldiers march
Loyal indeed
Every command they heed
They'll fight and die
They'll willingly bleed
Who's at the lead?
answer
The answer is the name of whoever is reading the riddle.
The answer is the name of whoever is reading the riddle.
At your command
Seven spears in hand
Six draw bows
Seven swing swords
Twenty soldiers march
Loyal indeed
Every command they heed
They'll fight and die
They'll willingly bleed
Who's at the lead?answer
The answer is the name of whoever is reading the riddle.
A modern example would be like this:
You're driving a bus.
You pick up three people at your first stop.
Two get off at the next stop and five more get on.
At the next stop, four get off and two get on.
At the last stop, three get off and two get on.
By this point you're adding and subtracting, expecting the question to be "How many passengers are left?"
But instead you get asked "Who's driving the bus?" which would be you.
Make sense?
At your command
Seven spears in hand
Six draw bows
Seven swing swords
Twenty soldiers march
Loyal indeed
Every command they heed
They'll fight and die
They'll willingly bleed
Who's at the lead?answer
The answer is the name of whoever is reading the riddle.
It's one of those bait and switch riddles where the riddle addresses you at the beginning and presents you with a scenario meant to distract you. You are put in charge of the situation, and then provided with a string of numbers. The riddle appears, as you read through it, to be a math problem. Then when you reach the actual question, which is who's in charge, you aren't thinking about who's in charge but about numbers. The answer is yourself.
A modern example would be like this:
You're driving a bus.
You pick up three people at your first stop.
Two get off at the next stop and five more get on.
At the next stop, four get off and two get on.
At the last stop, three get off and two get on.
By this point you're adding and subtracting, expecting the question to be "How many passengers are left?"
But instead you get asked "Who's driving the bus?" which would be you.
Make sense?
Yes, except 'at the lead' does not mean the same thing as 'in command' to me. So to me, the logic seems entirely detached. Still, that is very clever.
My first, though water, cures no thirst,
my last alone has soul,
and when he lives upon my first,
he then becomes my whole.
Answer
Seaman
This probably won't work in a lot of settings, due to the definition of "having a soul", but I think it's a good one and might work as inspiration for similar word-play riddles.
My first, though water, cures no thirst,
my last alone has soul,
and when he lives upon my first,
he then becomes my whole.AnswerSeaman
What? I don't get it.
It's a compound word. ;) See man?
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Ice.
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
'CL'. The other hand makes the 'AP'.
What's brown and sticky?ShowA stick.
Best used in an area holding the promise of unique artifacts, or against extremely mercenary or 'The Chosen One' PCs:
"Only you may have it,
Take it and you lose it,
Answer, 'tis your treasure,
Failure, 'tis your forfeit."
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The answer is "my own life." Save to avoid being eaten by Sphinx optional.
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