I’m working on a campaign that has the player meet a creature pretending to be a sphynx and ask riddles of the players.

The trick is that that creature is both not that smart and thinks he’s very clever. They way past him is to praise him for being so smart that he agrees to let the adventurers go

What are some good ‘bad’ riddles to ask ?

  • AcidOctopus
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    1 year ago

    You’ve got a few options here, as I should think that ultimately the solution will be found by the not-sphynx’s behaviours and mannerisms (though the questions themselves do help bring those behaviours out).

    You could go for something everyone knows, like “What’s lighter: a tonne of bricks or a tonne of feathers?” When the players get it right by saying they both weigh a tonne, have the not-sphynx insist on the obvious wrong answer instead (the feathers, as a single feather is lighter than a single brick). Then when the players explain why that’s wrong and their answer is right, the not-sphynx pretends he knew that and was just testing them. Stuff like that.

    If the campaign isn’t super serious in tone, you could work-in famous pop-culture examples. Ask the questions for crossing the bridge from Monty Python “What’s your name/quest/favourite colour?” With the not-sphynx not getting that the difficulty came from Tim alternating to a super hard third question for every other person he asked. You can even use the question about the African Swallow, with the not-sphynx not knowing if it should be laden or unladen, and just handwaving that one away when the players ask.

    Ask the “What have I got in my pocket” question from the Hobbit. The players might try and answer “The One Ring” or something clever. When they exhaust their ideas and give up, the not-sphynx gets embarrassed and plays it down, admitting he forgot he doesn’t have any pockets…

    Cool idea overall though - I think your group will have a lot of fun.

    • SolOrion@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I’m imagining a player asking, “laden or unladen?” The not-Sphinx immediately replying, “I don’t remember, but I wrote it down one sec- fuck I can’t read in the dark.”

      Really wishing I could do this in my next game lmao.