[DF] Appropriate Riddles

[Nymdok]

Easier?

#4
I hum and I hum
by beat with out drum
although busy all day as I go
the lines that I make
are the shortest to take
but Im known to dodge too and fro
I fly without feathers
but Im covered in fur
I deliver love letters to plants
I think like my friends
and when the day ends
I tell of my deeds with a dance


Nymdok

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

Easier?

Yes.

There really should be one whose answer is "the Moon."

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Yes.

There really should be one whose answer is "the Moon."

#5

With Honey im passion
Without trousers Im rude
I can be for both harvest and hunt.
I wax without polish
I vanish now and then
and make the ocean's new front.


Nymdok

[ericthered]

I thought the number #2 riddle was bagpipes. though "hole" didn't fit as well, and I wasn't sure what "north of the bridge" referred to.

#6
A snuggling lover round the town
A Cruel Executioner on the ground
A cunning climber on the roof
Among men scrambling underfoot

I think the riddles so far are all about approaching an ordinary object from one or more oblique angles, set to ryme. It shouldn't take long to guess, but it shouldn't be hard either.

Once you know the actual components and goals, it becomes easier, if still time consuming

#7
A headless beast ridden by the lowest
Yet adorned and the prize of the king's Palace
And yet not here nor there it goest
But stands still without motion, in one place

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I thought the number #2 riddle was bagpipes. though "hole" didn't fit as well, and I wasn't sure what "north of the bridge" referred to.

#6
A snuggling lover round the town
A Cruel Executioner on the ground
A cunning climber on the roof
Among men scrambling underfoot


#7
A headless beast ridden by the lowest
Yet adorned and the prize of the king's Palace
And yet not here nor there it goest
But stands still without motion, in one place

These are excellent examples of EXACTLY what Im talking about. I make these out to have singular answers and be at home in DF.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I think the riddles so far are all about approaching an ordinary object from one or more oblique angles, set to ryme. It shouldn't take long to guess, but it shouldn't be hard either.

Once you know the actual components and goals, it becomes easier, if still time consuming

Well most of the riddles Ive heard are exactly this. Take a common thing and describe it poetically/metaphoically/colloquially and thats kinda how it works.

As for difficulty, yes thats what we should be shooting for. not to easy, not too hard, but since we dont know everyone nor what their table is like, we try to provide a decent range.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I thought the number #2 riddle was bagpipes. though "hole" didn't fit as well, and I wasn't sure what "north of the bridge" referred to.

Well thats why I put Neck, Fret, tension and bridge in there. The bridge is the bottom connector for strings. The neck is where your left hand presses the strings in regions known as frets. The tension is of course in the strings.

Nymdok

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I wasn't sure what "north of the bridge" referred to.

On a guitar, the "bridge" is the arched piece that holds the strings away from the body, usually next to the hole. Though that's an even more obscure bit of jargon than "fret". "North" presumably plays on the cultural convention of putting north at the top of a map; the strings run "up" or higher from the bridge. I don't know if guitarists actually commonly refer to the toward-the-head direction as "north" or not.

In musical song structure, the "bridge" is a section that contrasts with the versus and chorus to help keep things interesting and give you something from which to return back to the chorus. You'll hear them a lot in popular music (and other genres).

Since the riddle was about guitar parts, I was thinking the first one. That riddle would be a lot harder if there were no musicians in the group.

Then there's the player / character problem for the the guy playing a bard... Riddles usually seem to me like one of the old-school forms for entertaining players, rather than something that the characters are just supposed to make an IQ check for the GM to give them the answer, kind of like the good old days when you were supposed to be pushing loose stones and trying to turn wall sconces to open secret doors rather than just making a Search roll. So the GM has to know his players to know whether or not they'll be fun.

[ericthered]

#8
The wizard asked a little monk
To help him read his book
And so both of them sat in silence
and both of them sat and looked
The little monk sat calm and still
staring brightly on
Through the night he stared and shrank
Until he was all gone

If you need less DF and more medieval, replace wizard with 'abbot' and 'his book' with 'The book'.

[Nymdok]

#9
Color of amber but not quite as still
a tranquil white capped wave
bounded on all sides by sweating shores
helping the meek feel brave

A toll I will take for indulgeneces sake,
When Im around, take care what you say
but Im sought out in both sorrow and joy
and sometimes just for the end of a day.

Nymdok

[Culture20]

My biggest problem with riddles is that players who are bright sometimes play dullards and average players sometimes play genius wizards. One way to avoid the standard "why can't I just roll IQ or Hobby Skill: Riddles and get the answer?" Is to only allow guessing if Hobby Skill: Riddles is successful, but if it is successful, you can ask a number of players equal to your margin of success. On a critical success, you can use the Internet. That should keep all but the wizards and bards from even attempting ("the fighter is stumped"), but the smart players can help, and the social PCs feel like the puzzle skill means something.

[Flyndaran]

I know jack all about music so that riddle was completely incomprehensible to me. I agree that this kind of obstacle is all about PLAYER ability rather than CHARACTER.
Then again, I've gamed with people incapable of keeping player knowledge separate from character. This is just the opposite side of the issue, I believe.