Making content for a possible future campaign. I love making my own logic puzzles, riddles etc rather than nicking them. This is meant to be a mathematical logic puzzle. Please let me know if is too hard or easy, or if you got multiple answers. The clues are currently stripped down so no flavor text ATM. If you give an answer can you list your reasoning so I can adjust accordingly please and thank you in advance.
Puzzle
There is 4 brothers [A, B, C, D]. Players need to know who wielded sword X from swords [W,X,Y,Z]. The players know the ages these brothers died at [17, 26, 32, 32]
The clues they are given:
°Each Brother had the same birthday but each brother was born in a different year. °There was 17 years between the oldest and youngest brothers ages°D was the oldest and first to die °C died at 17 °The second Brother to die wielded X.°W and Y were the only sword to lose their owners in the same year °A was 24 when D died
How could A be 24 when D died if they have 17 years of difference between each brother? Unless I understood that first hint wrong, D should have been 41 at the time of death, for this last hint to be valid, and according to the age at death we have that's not possible...
Am I missing/misinterpreting something? (It is a possibility I am not understanding the first hint correctly, so my apologies in advance)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I first read the first clue like LeK above, but then re interpreted as something else
"Each Brother had the same birthday but there was 17 years between the brothers ages" i then read to be, that there is 17 years between the first born and the last born.
Assigning a year to each.
D is the oldest so I will say he was born in 1900. and died age 32, in 1932 A was 24, in 1932, so he was born in 1908 and died either 1934 (age 26) or 1940 (age 32) If C was born last in 1917, he also died 1934 So I would guess that A and C wielded W and Y, as they died in the same year. which means D wielded Z, which only leaves B to wield X, and born around 1901 and died age 32 in 1933
I interpret the first hint the same as LeK, which is actually contradictory to 2 hints:
W and Y couldn't have lost their owners in the same year if the brothers were born 17 years apart, but no 2 brothers have an age of death a multiple of 17 apart.
A can't have been 24 when D died, with D being the oldest brother he couldn't have died younger than 41 (or 58, 75, and 92).
I first read the first clue like LeK above, but then re interpreted as something else
"Each Brother had the same birthday but there was 17 years between the brothers ages" i then read to be, that there is 17 years between the first born and the last born.
Assigning a year to each.
D is the oldest so I will say he was born in 1900. and died age 32, in 1932 A was 24, in 1932, so he was born in 1908 and died either 1934 (age 26) or 1940 (age 32) If C was born last in 1917, he also died 1934 So I would guess that A and C wielded W and Y, as they died in the same year. which means D wielded Z, which only leaves B to wield X, and born around 1901 and died age 32 in 1933
I think the fact that the puzzle has sparked multiple interpretations, and a discussion, is an an indication that - at the very least - you need to work on how it is formulated and presented.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I haven't fully gotten to my solution yet, but I'd also like to point out that as it stands the oldest brother doesn't necessarily mean that he lived the longest and was the oldest at death. So not assuming he died at 32 means there could be another solution as well
I think that the following are assumed but not stated by the clues:
- owners of W and Y died in the same year - seems to assume "and the owners of X and Z did not". - and the corollary, if owner of X died second, no one else died that year
If this is what is meant, than it needs to be stated somewhere. Otherwise there appear to be solutions where three brothers potentially die in the same year, and given that there is plenty of time in a year for someone to die before someone else, that doesn't limit it enough. Though I could be wrong on this. I'll wait to see what the OP says about this.
I haven't fully gotten to my solution yet, but I'd also like to point out that as it stands the oldest brother doesn't necessarily mean that he lived the longest and was the oldest at death. So not assuming he died at 32 means there could be another solution as well
You are correct, but even when D dies at 26, A still ends up having to be one of the two that dies in the same year, given the clues and the assumptions we have to make as pointed out by JCAUDM:
I think that the following are assumed but not stated by the clues:
- owners of W and Y died in the same year - seems to assume "and the owners of X and Z did not". - and the corollary, if owner of X died second, no one else died that year
If this is what is meant, than it needs to be stated somewhere. Otherwise there appear to be solutions where three brothers potentially die in the same year, and given that there is plenty of time in a year for someone to die before someone else, that doesn't limit it enough. Though I could be wrong on this. I'll wait to see what the OP says about this.
Yeah. Even with these assumptions there are still 2 possible answers, without these assumptions all we have is "not D."
Technically there can be more than one solution, as long as they produce the same answer. What age each brother died at is only a part of the solution, but not the answer to the riddle.
I haven't fully gotten to my solution yet, but I'd also like to point out that as it stands the oldest brother doesn't necessarily mean that he lived the longest and was the oldest at death. So not assuming he died at 32 means there could be another solution as well
I think the fact that A was 24 when D died eliminates 26, particularly when C died at 17 and two have to have died in the same year. Since there was no mention of twins, the two that died in the same year can't both be 32 and C being the youngest and dying the same year as another makes the most sense. To use the year 1900 for the oldest brother (D) would mean that C would be born in 1917 in this example and die in 1934. Since D died first, the earliest that C could have been born would have been 1909. This would have meant he died second in 1926 along with D, which isn't possible since the second to die carried X but the two that carried W and Y were the ones that died in the same year. (Using Logic Problem logic, D can't be one of the two that died in the same year because of that contradiction, but Logic Problem logic can't be used in D&D because all of the players won't be familiar with it.) If A was 24 when D died and D died at 26, then A was born in 1902 and would have to have died at 32 when 1934. This could mean that C (born sometime between 1910 and 1917, and dying sometime between 1927 and 1934) could be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th brother to die while A has to be either the 3rd or 4th, since 1934 is the latest that C could die. With D 26, C 17 and A 32, that leaves B at 32. Since no twins, B and A can't both be 32 and die in the same year (assuming that everyone died after their birthday using Logic Problem logic that tries to eliminate complexity like that, something like that would be a good clue in this context unless that's part of your solution. Then a clue otherwise, such as "all but C had died after their birthday" potentially meaning that C could have died on 1935). This train of thought pretty much solidifies C as either 3rd or 4th and D as having died at 32. However, this relies on assumptions that aren't guaranteed to be known by the average D&D player. I feel like you need two or three more hints, 1) either no two brothers were twins, or that two brothers were twins, 2) which brother died last (only if it is A or B and they aren't twins), and/or 3) if any brother(s) died before their birthday. I'll have to revisit this when I can see this convoluted answer on a full screen and without my daughter singing/self talking in my ear. (You could say I've failed my concentration check on my spell.)
I'll have to revisit this when I can see this convoluted answer on a full screen and without my daughter singing/self talking in my ear. (You could say I've failed my concentration check on my spell.)
Reorganizing my thoughts.
Let’s start with assumptions that I’m making:
Because the owners of W & Y were mentioned to have died in the same year, but nothing was said about X or Z, the deaths occurred in 3 different years. This is the assumptions that JCAUDM made, and for the purposes of D&D, I think the assumption should be clarified either in the wording of the problem or through a clue.
None of the brothers were twins. My assumption here is based on the fact that it was not mentioned. Triplets are not possible because there is 17 years between the oldest and the youngest and because A was 24 when D died. With the ages at death being 17, 26, and 32; the largest gap between A and D is 8 years, meaning that there were at least three different birth years. Because twins are a possibility and that possibility is not mentioned in the information, no twins. This should be clarified for the purposes of D&D.
None of the brothers died in the year following their 17, 26, or 32 birthday but before their birthday for that year. This opens more options that are not accounted for in the clues or the story presently, which makes the puzzle impossible to solve. This assumption needs to be addressed for D&D.
Now for deducing.
Brother D was the first born and the first to die (Given). We’ll assign him the birth year 1900 as RobF did. With 17 years between the oldest and the youngest (Given), that means that the youngest was born in 1917. The youngest couldn’t be A since C died at 17 (Given) and A was 24 when D died (Given). If D died at 26, that means that A was born in 1902, if D died at 32, that means that A was born in 1908. Neither is 17 years, leaving either C or B for the youngest. Because X belonged to the second brother that died (Given), D didn’t carry X (Given that he was the first that died) and based on the assumption that the owners of W & Y were the only ones that died in the same year, D didn’t carry either of those swords either. D carried sword Z.
Brother D was born first, died first, and carried sword Z. He could have been 26 (in 1926) or 32 years old (in 1932) at death.
Brother A was born either 2 years or 8 years after the D meaning that he’s either the 2 or 3 born and was either 26 or 32 years old at death. If D was 26 when he died, (meaning that A was born in 1902), then A died in 1934. If D was 32 when he died, then A could have also died in 1934 at age 26 or in 1940 at age 32. He could have carried any other sword than Z.
Brother B was born sometime between 1901 and 1917, died sometime between 1927 and 1949 at either the age of 26 or 32, and he carried any sword other than Z.
Brother C was born sometime between 1901 and 1917. He died sometime between 1918 and 1934 at the age of 17 and carried a sword other than Z.
If Brother D was 26 when he died, then A was born in 1902 and died in 1934 at the age of 32. This would likely mean that C was born in 1917 and died in 1934 at the age of 17 and that B was born in either 1901, or sometime between 1903 and 1916. He would have died either in 1933, or sometime between 1935 and 1941. For this scenario to be possible with all of the clues and assumptions, Brother B would have had to been born in 1901, died in 1933 as the second to die, thereby possessing sword X. This is a variation on RobF’s reasoning incorporating SirKillalot17’s thought but switching D from 32 to 26 and again forcing B into 1901.
If Brother D was 32 when he died, then A was born in 1908 and died in either 1934 (at 26) or in 1940 at age 32. If A was 26 at death, then B would have had to be the other 32 year old at death. In order to have died in 1934, he would have needed to be born in 1902, meaning that C would need to be the one born in 1917 and that he would also have died in 1934. This wasn’t suggested and violates the assumptions made. Therefore, A was 32 and died in 1940. C couldn’t have lived to see 1940, so A and C did not die in the same year. He could have been the 2 to die, even as the youngest in this scenario. If B and C died in the same year, then it would have to be 1934, meaning that B was also born in 1908. This is not possible due to assumptions. That means that B and A would have both died in 1940, carried W and Y, with B born in 1914 and A in 1908. C would therefore have to be born in 1917 and died in 1934, 6 years before A and B and 8 years after D. He therefore carries X. This was DxJxC’s reasoning.
There is 4 brothers [A, B, C, D]. Players need to know who wielded sword X from swords [W,X,Y,Z]. The players know the ages these brothers died at [17, 26, 32, 32]
The clues they are given:
°Each Brother had the same birthday but there was 17 years between the oldest and youngest brother°D was the oldest and first to die °C died at 17 °The second Brother to die wielded X.°W and Y lost their owners in the same year °A was 24 when D died
This leaves you with 3 possible answers, and as DxJxC points out, that’s by including assumptions that you are not making known in your puzzle. You’ll need to figure out which one it is OR give an additional clue hinting at which one it is, as well as clarify what assumptions you are making that may not be obvious to people who don't frequently do logic problems.
I'm going to be "that guy" and say you're probably making a bit of a mistake with this puzzle concept of yours. While the other posters have mentioned that there is ambiguity in the presentation which leads to multiple probable answer, I feel there's a whole different problem.
How does bringing the game to a grinding halt while they do an "Einstein puzzle" help further the story?
What happens if one of the players asks "Can I roll an intelligence to solve the puzzle"?
Puzzles should, in my opinion, be approachable with good role play and good roll play both. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't work this puzzle in to your story, I'm just of the mind that there should be a mechanical way to approach this puzzle if any of your players are not the type to bang their head against a logic puzzle. I love a good logic puzzle, a rubik's cube, riddles, anagrams, sudokus, jumbles, crosswords, etc. However, when I'm playing, if the answer is not readily found I'll resort to Move Earth, Fireball, my great sword, lock picks, and any other tool I have in my arsenal to circumvent the headache in the room.
Tone it down, give a mechanical way to solve the puzzle as well as the mental approach, it'll be easier on you and your players will probably enjoy it more. Just my thoughts, take 'em as you will.
I'm going to be "that guy" and say you're probably making a bit of a mistake with this puzzle concept of yours. While the other posters have mentioned that there is ambiguity in the presentation which leads to multiple probable answer, I feel there's a whole different problem.
How does bringing the game to a grinding halt while they do an "Einstein puzzle" help further the story?
What happens if one of the players asks "Can I roll an intelligence to solve the puzzle"?
Puzzles should, in my opinion, be approachable with good role play and good roll play both. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't work this puzzle in to your story, I'm just of the mind that there should be a mechanical way to approach this puzzle if any of your players are not the type to bang their head against a logic puzzle. I love a good logic puzzle, a rubik's cube, riddles, anagrams, sudokus, jumbles, crosswords, etc. However, when I'm playing, if the answer is not readily found I'll resort to Move Earth, Fireball, my great sword, lock picks, and any other tool I have in my arsenal to circumvent the headache in the room.
Tone it down, give a mechanical way to solve the puzzle as well as the mental approach, it'll be easier on you and your players will probably enjoy it more. Just my thoughts, take 'em as you will.
Good point on this one. This could also circumvent the need for clarification on the puzzle, but I'd probably still make the clarification in case. Otherwise, I'd probably make a statement something like, "Brother B, the second brother to die, and the brother carrying sword Y are all different brothers" or whatever the correct clue would be.
Some very valid points, I have edited the original questions to reflect this. So there is two possibilities now. So i need to find a way to clarify between the two
Some very valid points, I have edited the original questions to reflect this. So there is two possibilities now. So i need to find a way to clarify between the two.
There is 4 brothers [A, B, C, D]. Players need to know who wielded sword X from swords [W,X,Y,Z]. The players know the ages these brothers died at [17, 26, 32, 32]
The clues they are given:
°Each Brother had the same birthday but each brother was born in a different year. °There was 17 years between the oldest and youngest brothers ages°D was the oldest and first to die °C died at 17 °The second Brother to die wielded X.°W and Y were the only sword to lose their owners in the same year °A was 24 when D died
From the clues given, A and D are eliminated leaving B and C. I recommend giving B's age at the time of death of A or C (it works even in the case B were to die later that year) as the means to force a single answer.
I don't think the possibility of twins creates additional possible answers.
Are there any solutions where the order born is not D A B C?
Twins could make A,B, or D twins and have the 32 year olds die in the same year. I had solutions where the order born was D, B, A, C because A and C died in the same year with B being a 32 year old forcing him to be born the year after D. I don't think the changes he made change anything from the possibilities, but do make clarifications to the timeline. Since we don't know whether B or C is the answer, I don't know what more I can suggest. I still think one of the 3 of the 4 brothers clues would be sufficient as long as it could logically tell you who everyone is with the other clues.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Making content for a possible future campaign. I love making my own logic puzzles, riddles etc rather than nicking them. This is meant to be a mathematical logic puzzle. Please let me know if is too hard or easy, or if you got multiple answers. The clues are currently stripped down so no flavor text ATM. If you give an answer can you list your reasoning so I can adjust accordingly please and thank you in advance.
Puzzle
There is 4 brothers [A, B, C, D]. Players need to know who wielded sword X from swords [W,X,Y,Z]. The players know the ages these brothers died at [17, 26, 32, 32]
The clues they are given:
°Each Brother had the same birthday but each brother was born in a different year. °There was 17 years between the oldest and youngest brothers ages°D was the oldest and first to die °C died at 17 °The second Brother to die wielded X.°W and Y were the only sword to lose their owners in the same year °A was 24 when D died
How could A be 24 when D died if they have 17 years of difference between each brother? Unless I understood that first hint wrong, D should have been 41 at the time of death, for this last hint to be valid, and according to the age at death we have that's not possible...
Am I missing/misinterpreting something? (It is a possibility I am not understanding the first hint correctly, so my apologies in advance)
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I am going to go with the following
B Wields X
Reasoning
I first read the first clue like LeK above, but then re interpreted as something else
"Each Brother had the same birthday but there was 17 years between the brothers ages" i then read to be, that there is 17 years between the first born and the last born.
Assigning a year to each.
D is the oldest so I will say he was born in 1900. and died age 32, in 1932
A was 24, in 1932, so he was born in 1908 and died either 1934 (age 26) or 1940 (age 32)
If C was born last in 1917, he also died 1934
So I would guess that A and C wielded W and Y, as they died in the same year.
which means D wielded Z,
which only leaves B to wield X, and born around 1901 and died age 32 in 1933
I interpret the first hint the same as LeK, which is actually contradictory to 2 hints:
But what if:
D 1900-1932 (32) Z
A 1908-1940 (32) W/Y
B 1914-1940 (26) W/Y
C 1917-1934 (17) X
I think the fact that the puzzle has sparked multiple interpretations, and a discussion, is an an indication that - at the very least - you need to work on how it is formulated and presented.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Sorry for not being clear with the first clue:
°There is 17 years between the oldest and youngest brother.
NOT there was 17 years between the birth of each brother
So with the clues interpreted correctly there is at least two possibilities. Is there a way to clarify in favour of one?
I haven't fully gotten to my solution yet, but I'd also like to point out that as it stands the oldest brother doesn't necessarily mean that he lived the longest and was the oldest at death. So not assuming he died at 32 means there could be another solution as well
I think that the following are assumed but not stated by the clues:
- owners of W and Y died in the same year - seems to assume "and the owners of X and Z did not".
- and the corollary, if owner of X died second, no one else died that year
If this is what is meant, than it needs to be stated somewhere. Otherwise there appear to be solutions where three brothers potentially die in the same year, and given that there is plenty of time in a year for someone to die before someone else, that doesn't limit it enough. Though I could be wrong on this. I'll wait to see what the OP says about this.
You are correct, but even when D dies at 26, A still ends up having to be one of the two that dies in the same year, given the clues and the assumptions we have to make as pointed out by JCAUDM:
Yeah. Even with these assumptions there are still 2 possible answers, without these assumptions all we have is "not D."
Technically there can be more than one solution, as long as they produce the same answer. What age each brother died at is only a part of the solution, but not the answer to the riddle.
I think the fact that A was 24 when D died eliminates 26, particularly when C died at 17 and two have to have died in the same year. Since there was no mention of twins, the two that died in the same year can't both be 32 and C being the youngest and dying the same year as another makes the most sense. To use the year 1900 for the oldest brother (D) would mean that C would be born in 1917 in this example and die in 1934. Since D died first, the earliest that C could have been born would have been 1909. This would have meant he died second in 1926 along with D, which isn't possible since the second to die carried X but the two that carried W and Y were the ones that died in the same year. (Using Logic Problem logic, D can't be one of the two that died in the same year because of that contradiction, but Logic Problem logic can't be used in D&D because all of the players won't be familiar with it.) If A was 24 when D died and D died at 26, then A was born in 1902 and would have to have died at 32 when 1934. This could mean that C (born sometime between 1910 and 1917, and dying sometime between 1927 and 1934) could be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th brother to die while A has to be either the 3rd or 4th, since 1934 is the latest that C could die. With D 26, C 17 and A 32, that leaves B at 32. Since no twins, B and A can't both be 32 and die in the same year (assuming that everyone died after their birthday using Logic Problem logic that tries to eliminate complexity like that, something like that would be a good clue in this context unless that's part of your solution. Then a clue otherwise, such as "all but C had died after their birthday" potentially meaning that C could have died on 1935). This train of thought pretty much solidifies C as either 3rd or 4th and D as having died at 32. However, this relies on assumptions that aren't guaranteed to be known by the average D&D player. I feel like you need two or three more hints, 1) either no two brothers were twins, or that two brothers were twins, 2) which brother died last (only if it is A or B and they aren't twins), and/or 3) if any brother(s) died before their birthday. I'll have to revisit this when I can see this convoluted answer on a full screen and without my daughter singing/self talking in my ear. (You could say I've failed my concentration check on my spell.)
Reorganizing my thoughts.
Let’s start with assumptions that I’m making:
Because the owners of W & Y were mentioned to have died in the same year, but nothing was said about X or Z, the deaths occurred in 3 different years. This is the assumptions that JCAUDM made, and for the purposes of D&D, I think the assumption should be clarified either in the wording of the problem or through a clue.
None of the brothers were twins. My assumption here is based on the fact that it was not mentioned. Triplets are not possible because there is 17 years between the oldest and the youngest and because A was 24 when D died. With the ages at death being 17, 26, and 32; the largest gap between A and D is 8 years, meaning that there were at least three different birth years. Because twins are a possibility and that possibility is not mentioned in the information, no twins. This should be clarified for the purposes of D&D.
None of the brothers died in the year following their 17, 26, or 32 birthday but before their birthday for that year. This opens more options that are not accounted for in the clues or the story presently, which makes the puzzle impossible to solve. This assumption needs to be addressed for D&D.
Now for deducing.
Brother D was the first born and the first to die (Given). We’ll assign him the birth year 1900 as RobF did. With 17 years between the oldest and the youngest (Given), that means that the youngest was born in 1917. The youngest couldn’t be A since C died at 17 (Given) and A was 24 when D died (Given). If D died at 26, that means that A was born in 1902, if D died at 32, that means that A was born in 1908. Neither is 17 years, leaving either C or B for the youngest. Because X belonged to the second brother that died (Given), D didn’t carry X (Given that he was the first that died) and based on the assumption that the owners of W & Y were the only ones that died in the same year, D didn’t carry either of those swords either. D carried sword Z.
Brother D was born first, died first, and carried sword Z. He could have been 26 (in 1926) or 32 years old (in 1932) at death.
Brother A was born either 2 years or 8 years after the D meaning that he’s either the 2 or 3 born and was either 26 or 32 years old at death. If D was 26 when he died, (meaning that A was born in 1902), then A died in 1934. If D was 32 when he died, then A could have also died in 1934 at age 26 or in 1940 at age 32. He could have carried any other sword than Z.
Brother B was born sometime between 1901 and 1917, died sometime between 1927 and 1949 at either the age of 26 or 32, and he carried any sword other than Z.
Brother C was born sometime between 1901 and 1917. He died sometime between 1918 and 1934 at the age of 17 and carried a sword other than Z.
If Brother D was 26 when he died, then A was born in 1902 and died in 1934 at the age of 32. This would likely mean that C was born in 1917 and died in 1934 at the age of 17 and that B was born in either 1901, or sometime between 1903 and 1916. He would have died either in 1933, or sometime between 1935 and 1941. For this scenario to be possible with all of the clues and assumptions, Brother B would have had to been born in 1901, died in 1933 as the second to die, thereby possessing sword X. This is a variation on RobF’s reasoning incorporating SirKillalot17’s thought but switching D from 32 to 26 and again forcing B into 1901.
If Brother D was 32 when he died, then A was born in 1908 and died in either 1934 (at 26) or in 1940 at age 32. If A was 26 at death, then B would have had to be the other 32 year old at death. In order to have died in 1934, he would have needed to be born in 1902, meaning that C would need to be the one born in 1917 and that he would also have died in 1934. This wasn’t suggested and violates the assumptions made. Therefore, A was 32 and died in 1940. C couldn’t have lived to see 1940, so A and C did not die in the same year. He could have been the 2 to die, even as the youngest in this scenario. If B and C died in the same year, then it would have to be 1934, meaning that B was also born in 1908. This is not possible due to assumptions. That means that B and A would have both died in 1940, carried W and Y, with B born in 1914 and A in 1908. C would therefore have to be born in 1917 and died in 1934, 6 years before A and B and 8 years after D. He therefore carries X. This was DxJxC’s reasoning.
This leaves you with 3 possible answers, and as DxJxC points out, that’s by including assumptions that you are not making known in your puzzle. You’ll need to figure out which one it is OR give an additional clue hinting at which one it is, as well as clarify what assumptions you are making that may not be obvious to people who don't frequently do logic problems.
I'm going to be "that guy" and say you're probably making a bit of a mistake with this puzzle concept of yours. While the other posters have mentioned that there is ambiguity in the presentation which leads to multiple probable answer, I feel there's a whole different problem.
How does bringing the game to a grinding halt while they do an "Einstein puzzle" help further the story?
What happens if one of the players asks "Can I roll an intelligence to solve the puzzle"?
Puzzles should, in my opinion, be approachable with good role play and good roll play both. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't work this puzzle in to your story, I'm just of the mind that there should be a mechanical way to approach this puzzle if any of your players are not the type to bang their head against a logic puzzle. I love a good logic puzzle, a rubik's cube, riddles, anagrams, sudokus, jumbles, crosswords, etc. However, when I'm playing, if the answer is not readily found I'll resort to Move Earth, Fireball, my great sword, lock picks, and any other tool I have in my arsenal to circumvent the headache in the room.
Tone it down, give a mechanical way to solve the puzzle as well as the mental approach, it'll be easier on you and your players will probably enjoy it more. Just my thoughts, take 'em as you will.
Good point on this one. This could also circumvent the need for clarification on the puzzle, but I'd probably still make the clarification in case. Otherwise, I'd probably make a statement something like, "Brother B, the second brother to die, and the brother carrying sword Y are all different brothers" or whatever the correct clue would be.
Some very valid points, I have edited the original questions to reflect this. So there is two possibilities now. So i need to find a way to clarify between the two
From the clues given, A and D are eliminated leaving B and C. I recommend giving B's age at the time of death of A or C (it works even in the case B were to die later that year) as the means to force a single answer.
I don't think the possibility of twins creates additional possible answers.
Are there any solutions where the order born is not D A B C?
Twins could make A,B, or D twins and have the 32 year olds die in the same year. I had solutions where the order born was D, B, A, C because A and C died in the same year with B being a 32 year old forcing him to be born the year after D. I don't think the changes he made change anything from the possibilities, but do make clarifications to the timeline. Since we don't know whether B or C is the answer, I don't know what more I can suggest. I still think one of the 3 of the 4 brothers clues would be sufficient as long as it could logically tell you who everyone is with the other clues.