I am writing an adventure and on one point, the group should come to a temple. There will be a room with lets say 8 artefacts/columns/whatever, 4 on each side. My idea was, that this should be some logical riddle, which can then open a door. Activate them in the right order or so. (Of course, the number and form of the columns is not set yet...)
Now my question: I dont know, which riddle to use. Should I just decide an order and let them figure it out? Is there something I can find about this? I was looking for "one line puzzles", but didnt really find something... Or did I just search for the wrong terms?
Riddle doesn't quite fit with my idea, but I'll toss it out:
6 pillars in the room with the door. Each pillar has a specific image/relief/void, it's up to the players to seek out the necessary items to place in/on the pillars to open said door. These items are hidden in/under/on various tables, chests, murals, wall carvings, monster's belly. Gives you a way to use more of the temple, create some interesting hide n' seek/scavenger hunt type scenarios, and at least 1 combat that is necessary.
Eight columns stand along a passageway in a temple; four on each side of the walkway. On each column is inscribed an image and below the image, a small alcove is carved into each column holding a single small candle. The images on the columns on one side of the walkway are as follows: a candle, an oak tree, a sundial, and the moon. The symbols on the columns on the other side are: a human man, a raven, a rose, and a dragon. On the altar in the center of the temple sits an hourglass of considerable size.
Now you could approach this a few ways. The hourglass could simply act as a symbol of time, indicating that the candles should be lit in the order of which lasts the longest. Or the hourglass could be more literal, meaning that the party has to turn it over and then light the candles in the proper order before the time runs out. It's up to you to dress this up and leave hints to make this as vague or as obvious as is appropriate for your party.
My intentions behind the riddle of what lasts the longest are:
A candle lasts a few hours
A sundial lasts a day
A rose lasts a few weeks
The moon lasts a month
A raven lives for several years
A human lives for many years
An oak tree lives for hundreds of years
A dragon can live for thousands of years
I also tried to pick things that often show up symbolically in representations of deities in many D&D pantheons.
Word Nazi moment: A riddle is a question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning; a word game. What you're all describing is a puzzle, not a riddle. However, you could always present your players with a puzzle and a riddle.
One of my favorite ones was I set up a room with what appeared to be an elaborate puzzle. The key to opening to door was a one-line riddle: "Sometimes it really is just as easy as that." The players tried for a long time to figure out how the puzzle and the riddle were correlated. Eventually, it was the barbarian that figured it out by accident. Frustrated with the puzzle, he just walked up to the door and pushed. It swung open immediately. The entire puzzle was pointless; a ruse.
When doing a physical interaction puzzle, or any puzzle, there are three things you should consider:
1) Don't have more than one objective. Trust me. If figuring out how to interact with the pillars is a challenge, then the order should not matter, and vice versa. Make sure there is one clear, distinct, and readily identifiable goal.
2) Don't get stuck on one particular answer. For example, in the "how long it lasts" puzzle above, the players could place the following order:
Candle, rose, human, tree, dragon, sundial, moon, raven; saying that the sun (represented by the sundial) will outlast even dragons, and the moon will outlast even it, but that nothing will outlast death itself (represented by the raven).
In a situation like that, let it work. If they get the concept, and they provide an answer which is logically consistent, let it be the right one. Don't get hung up on the fact it's not the answer you came up with.
3) Make sure people have ways to use their skills. Come up with ways they can use their skills, abilities, or proficiency to gain hints about things, and at regular intervals (or if they're stuck), recommend one of those to a player who is not currently engaged and seems tapped out. By having players be the conduit for hints it gets them reengaged and helps ensure this doesn't drag on forever.
All that being said, here's an example puzzle:
4 candles are in a row in front of a door, with a symbol on each of them which denotes (whether obviously or not) a specific element. The following poem by Anne Bradstreet is on the wall:
The Fire, Air, Earth and water did contest Which was the strongest, noblest and the best, Who was of greatest use and might'est force; In placide Terms they thought now to discourse, That in due order each her turn should speak; But enmity this amity did break All would be chief, and all scorn'd to be under Whence issu'd winds & rains, lightning & thunder The quaking earth did groan, the Sky lookt black The Fire, the forced Air, in sunder crack; The sea did threat the heav'ns, the heavn's the earth, All looked like a Chaos or new birth: Fire broyled Earth, & scorched Earth it choaked Both by their darings, water so provoked That roaring in it came, and with its source Soon made the Combatants abate their force The rumbling hissing, puffing was so great The worlds confusion, it did seem to threat Till gentle Air, Contention so abated That betwixt hot and cold, she arbitrated The others difference, being less did cease All storms now laid, and they in perfect peace That Fire should first begin, the rest consent, The noblest and most active Element.
The solution? Well as I said, there should be multiple :-) Mine would be to: Light fire, light earth, light water, extinguish fire and earth, light air, extinguish air and water, light fire.
Since I'm loathe to use something without sourcing it, here's where the poem is from:
That's my general strategy by the way- find a poem, or image, or *something* which is evocative and interesting, and then design a puzzle around it, it's easier than working from scratch and typically in my opinion leads to better results. Hope all that helps.
Something that you could do is make a riddle (they don't always have to rhyme) that will confuse the players. The riddle has nothing to do with the pillars but the first letter of each word will revel what goes where.
I did a thing where they had entered a dwarven tomb, and in the entryway they found two sculptures (a dragon and a giant). The text on the lintel said something like "our people's enemies will only know defeat". There was a mirror, and when they looked in the mirror, they noticed that the reflection of the sculptures looked different than in the room. They had to pose the sculptures in positions of defeat for the door to open. Simple idea, but it was atmospheric and made them feel clever without ever really having to worry about getting stuck (either the words or the mirror would have been sufficient clues).
Hey,
I am writing an adventure and on one point, the group should come to a temple. There will be a room with lets say 8 artefacts/columns/whatever, 4 on each side. My idea was, that this should be some logical riddle, which can then open a door. Activate them in the right order or so. (Of course, the number and form of the columns is not set yet...)
Now my question: I dont know, which riddle to use. Should I just decide an order and let them figure it out? Is there something I can find about this? I was looking for "one line puzzles", but didnt really find something... Or did I just search for the wrong terms?
Any help is highly appreciated! :)
Riddle doesn't quite fit with my idea, but I'll toss it out:
6 pillars in the room with the door. Each pillar has a specific image/relief/void, it's up to the players to seek out the necessary items to place in/on the pillars to open said door. These items are hidden in/under/on various tables, chests, murals, wall carvings, monster's belly. Gives you a way to use more of the temple, create some interesting hide n' seek/scavenger hunt type scenarios, and at least 1 combat that is necessary.
Eight columns stand along a passageway in a temple; four on each side of the walkway. On each column is inscribed an image and below the image, a small alcove is carved into each column holding a single small candle. The images on the columns on one side of the walkway are as follows: a candle, an oak tree, a sundial, and the moon. The symbols on the columns on the other side are: a human man, a raven, a rose, and a dragon. On the altar in the center of the temple sits an hourglass of considerable size.
Now you could approach this a few ways. The hourglass could simply act as a symbol of time, indicating that the candles should be lit in the order of which lasts the longest. Or the hourglass could be more literal, meaning that the party has to turn it over and then light the candles in the proper order before the time runs out. It's up to you to dress this up and leave hints to make this as vague or as obvious as is appropriate for your party.
My intentions behind the riddle of what lasts the longest are:
I also tried to pick things that often show up symbolically in representations of deities in many D&D pantheons.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Word Nazi moment: A riddle is a question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning; a word game. What you're all describing is a puzzle, not a riddle. However, you could always present your players with a puzzle and a riddle.
One of my favorite ones was I set up a room with what appeared to be an elaborate puzzle. The key to opening to door was a one-line riddle: "Sometimes it really is just as easy as that." The players tried for a long time to figure out how the puzzle and the riddle were correlated. Eventually, it was the barbarian that figured it out by accident. Frustrated with the puzzle, he just walked up to the door and pushed. It swung open immediately. The entire puzzle was pointless; a ruse.
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Sam_Hain I've done the same, it was awesome.
When doing a physical interaction puzzle, or any puzzle, there are three things you should consider:
1) Don't have more than one objective. Trust me. If figuring out how to interact with the pillars is a challenge, then the order should not matter, and vice versa. Make sure there is one clear, distinct, and readily identifiable goal.
2) Don't get stuck on one particular answer. For example, in the "how long it lasts" puzzle above, the players could place the following order:
Candle, rose, human, tree, dragon, sundial, moon, raven; saying that the sun (represented by the sundial) will outlast even dragons, and the moon will outlast even it, but that nothing will outlast death itself (represented by the raven).
In a situation like that, let it work. If they get the concept, and they provide an answer which is logically consistent, let it be the right one. Don't get hung up on the fact it's not the answer you came up with.
3) Make sure people have ways to use their skills. Come up with ways they can use their skills, abilities, or proficiency to gain hints about things, and at regular intervals (or if they're stuck), recommend one of those to a player who is not currently engaged and seems tapped out. By having players be the conduit for hints it gets them reengaged and helps ensure this doesn't drag on forever.
All that being said, here's an example puzzle:
4 candles are in a row in front of a door, with a symbol on each of them which denotes (whether obviously or not) a specific element. The following poem by Anne Bradstreet is on the wall:
The Fire, Air, Earth and water did contest
Which was the strongest, noblest and the best,
Who was of greatest use and might'est force;
In placide Terms they thought now to discourse,
That in due order each her turn should speak;
But enmity this amity did break
All would be chief, and all scorn'd to be under
Whence issu'd winds & rains, lightning & thunder
The quaking earth did groan, the Sky lookt black
The Fire, the forced Air, in sunder crack;
The sea did threat the heav'ns, the heavn's the earth,
All looked like a Chaos or new birth:
Fire broyled Earth, & scorched Earth it choaked
Both by their darings, water so provoked
That roaring in it came, and with its source
Soon made the Combatants abate their force
The rumbling hissing, puffing was so great
The worlds confusion, it did seem to threat
Till gentle Air, Contention so abated
That betwixt hot and cold, she arbitrated
The others difference, being less did cease
All storms now laid, and they in perfect peace
That Fire should first begin, the rest consent,
The noblest and most active Element.
The solution? Well as I said, there should be multiple :-) Mine would be to: Light fire, light earth, light water, extinguish fire and earth, light air, extinguish air and water, light fire.
Since I'm loathe to use something without sourcing it, here's where the poem is from:
https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/elements/page-1/13330779/#content
That's my general strategy by the way- find a poem, or image, or *something* which is evocative and interesting, and then design a puzzle around it, it's easier than working from scratch and typically in my opinion leads to better results. Hope all that helps.
Yeah, super ideas thank you!
Not yet completely sure, which direction i will go, but it helped a lot!
Something that you could do is make a riddle (they don't always have to rhyme) that will confuse the players. The riddle has nothing to do with the pillars but the first letter of each word will revel what goes where.
I did a thing where they had entered a dwarven tomb, and in the entryway they found two sculptures (a dragon and a giant). The text on the lintel said something like "our people's enemies will only know defeat". There was a mirror, and when they looked in the mirror, they noticed that the reflection of the sculptures looked different than in the room. They had to pose the sculptures in positions of defeat for the door to open. Simple idea, but it was atmospheric and made them feel clever without ever really having to worry about getting stuck (either the words or the mirror would have been sufficient clues).
This is actually super helpful for a campaign I'm running currently I'm gonna be using a few of these ideas if its alright with ya'll.
"Why are we still talking?" Markel SunBlade Human Blood Hunter