The Rapscallion's Guide to Rhyming Riddles Riddles have always been a staple to great epic fantasy and much of this stems from the fabulous scene in the Hobbit between Bilbo and Gollum. Unfortunately, coming up with clever riddles can be tricky and ones that rhyme are harder still. The effort however is worth it entirely. Chapter One: Riddles The following Chapter will contain some of the riddles that I have written up over the years and I hope you enjoy them as much as my players did. The answers will be in the second Chapter. (I apologize if some of these don't rhyme to you, I have noticed that many accents will pronounce certain words differently) Riddle One Whisper, whisper, what am I

Some story, some fable and sometimes a lie

But, when uttered, I cease to be

As though death to me is to set me free.

Riddle Two Endless am I, for I am all and nought

Coins are bartered and lives are stolen

So from me passage is bought.



Endless am I, for I am start and end

Everything happens before I know

As once I know, I rend.

What am I? Riddle Three The heavier I get, the more I'm desired

The more that you have, the more that's required

Lesser than steel and yet sought after more

I am the difference tween the rich and the poor.

What am I? Riddle Four Cruel I am called, and frequently shallow

For I stalk old and young, both aged and callow

And when the clock has stopped ticking, then I appear

A figment of shadow and everyone's fear.

What am I? Riddle Five The flip of a coin, the rig of a deck

Fortunes asunder and lives left a wreck

But just as likely I'll bring you great wealth

And by your side, a life of good health.

What am I? Riddle Six Found in the great and those wanting more

I'm ignored by the rich and craved by the poor

I soar to great heights from those at the bottom

I am despised by the bitter and the misbegotten.

What am I? Riddle Seven Your greatest friend and darkest foe

A reminder of life and of bitter woe

A vicious warning of harm to come

A tool for the craven so the great are undone.

What am I? Riddle Eight I am the fire upon which the soul is craft

I am the edge to vengeance's haft

Lost to all reason and blind to your creed

I bring nought but destruction and father misdeed

What am I? Riddle Nine Glistening silver in the night sky

Said to be tears shed from a god's eye

Over and done with as dawn creeps on out

But in twilight resplendant and scattered about

What am I? Riddle Ten Creeping and cutting but fearing the fire

I'm the child of winter and cruel desire

But when the dark comes and the sun runs away

Comes chill to the bones, forever it'll stay

What am I?

Riddle Eleven What can there be before there's creation

What can exist when there's no causation

What is the point once we've finished the fall

What is the silence at the end of it all? Riddle Twelve I am what's asked when there's a point to inquire

I am what no servant should do to their sire

I am a symbol of all knowledge and more

And feared by those who are corrupt to the core.

What am I? Riddle Thirteen One dwarf hath come bearing 5 of his ring

500 it totals for what he doth bring

Another hath entered, with 5 bows to sing

1000 it totals for what he doth bring

The last did cometh, 5 gems for the king

5000 it totals for what he doth bring

So here is my question, a most pleasant thing

When reading above, what should yew bring? Riddle Fourteen To the North a star that glows so bright

While the South is covered by the cloak of night

The East is far to deserts vast

While the West leads back to times long past

But where I go there’s sights in store

So if you wish to find the other four

Then go to where is rarely seen

To where I slumber inbetween. Riddle Fifteen I am a mirror to what has been said

I am the remnant of something just dead

A second I’ll last but I’ll happen to me

While trapped I am heard but dead if I’m free.

What am I? Riddle Sixteen A curse on the living for that’s what I lost

For I searched for long life and that was the cost

And end to the pain, but that’s all I endure

A cancer I discovered, instead of a cure

What did I find? Riddle Seventeen Tapping on stones from heavens so high

My coming brings tears to everyone’s eye

Timely in fashion on darkest of day

When absent I’m wanted, yet never to stay

What am I? Riddle Eighteen I am not right but neither are you

And it’s fair to say that rarely I’m true

But when it’s all said, wrong I am not

I’m useful its certain, but in the right spot

What am I? Riddle Nineteen Chains I am but not of steel

Found in battle or merchant’s deal

But when I’m lost I’m hard to find

To knight’s I’m life but thieves don’t mind

What am I? Riddle Twenty Without me there’d not be life

But left to spread I bring but strife

Destruction incarnate, wrath in form

But fade before the rain and storm.

What am I? Riddle Twenty-One “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for the bell tolls for thee”

These words were said with some finality, by these women three

For of our lives they weave the future, past and present myth

And all that’s gone is known to them and all that comes forthwith

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Two Three faces by four and there’s forty more

That make up my body in all

Two outcast in me that rarely you’ll see

All in my body so small

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Three I am the answer, I cannot be clearer

As you speak of my words, you couldn’t be nearer

I rhyme and its true and I’ve no more advice

I’ve couplets within me, I’ve spoken them twice

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Four Follow me as I wend and wade towards the sea so far

Rolling hills and mountains tall, the very earth I mar

And by my side you spend the days as the sun does bask so warm

But come the rain my rage is known as I erupt to match the storm

What am I?

Riddle Twenty-Five Colour as midnight and white as the snow

Come the daughters of spider and agents of woe

For once long ago we were fair and kind hearted

And then to the depths, to end what we started

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Six Grey of skin and black of heart

Came we to play the monsters part

With axe and fury, hate and tusk

Do we war from dawn till dusk

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Seven I am the music that defies natural law

The key that opens Impossible’s door

I am the madness that defies common thought

The anvil upon which wonder is wrought

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Eight For fire I’m known and armour like plate

Described as a beast of hunger and hate

Within my home that glitters like gold

I relish the tales of my avarice told

What am I? Riddle Twenty-Nine Upon this world with one eye do I gaze

Through the dead and misty haze

Upon this staff I clasp with one not two

Swear those whom death pursue

Who am I? Riddle Thirty Immortal I am but bound in a cage

Fearful I was and fearful of age

So I made of a deal, from death I would hide

But as darkness does always, the darkness had lied

What am I? Riddle Thirty-One I am tooth and claw and nail

I am evil without fail

I am deals made in faith

To take the soul from king and waif

What am I? Riddle Thirty-Two I ask of you but riddles two

To see you on your path

And if you’re right, I’ll aid your plight

Wrong, and suffer my wrath

What am I? Riddle Thirty-Three One I am called but nine different doors

A place for the killers and a place for the whores

A place for the liars who cheat at their dice

A place for the men where virtue is vice



Madness I’m called but order uncouth

A place for the vicious and those who hid truth

A place for the traitor who sold of his kin

A place for the king who ruled over sin

Where am I? Riddle Thirty-Four Colour like steel yet gleams like gold

But one race upon my haft may hold

And while my edge is sharp and fine

I’m used to cut the Astral line

What am I? Riddle Thirty-Five A weapon that in truth is most terrible to claim

For death I do deal when ending of pain

I’m the absence of vengeance and wars to be fought

I’m rare in the rich but commonly bought

What am I? Riddle Thirty-Six The opposite of birth and what always comes last

It’s part of the future and faces the past

Towards this point the path doth wend

And leaves us here at the very … Riddle Thirty-Seven Where I have been, there’s always a fire

And when it is gone, I remind of its ire

Yet gone with the wind, it takes but a breath

For my cloak to embrace you, and then only death

What am I? Riddle Thirty-Eight Upside down, I become the right way up

As one end travels to the other cup

My point of existence takes seconds to count

Or maybe its minutes if you change the amount

What am I?

Riddle Thirty-Nine Like a river red I run

Through spider webs that nature spun

To keep alive this heart of mine

Through tunnels slight and spun like twine

What am I? Riddle Forty Imagine a world and the answer is clear

To escape far away to all we hold dear

But panic brings tremor and anger brings quake

And all becomes ruin when you awake

What am I? Riddle Forty-One Round and round the ring I go

At speed I spin so I can show

The perfect passing of what’s to be

And so the future you can see

What am I? Riddle Forty-Two We are three that exist altogether

Two its true will change with the weather

Cold, I’m sold to make it like me

Warm, I’m storm and obscure what you see

What am I? Riddle Forty-Three For the coward, courage I inspire

To the beaten I’m a cause of their ire

But when all said is done, I’m endless in fun

And when lit I make a pretty good fire.

What am I? Riddle Forty-Four Two men may fight and call it a battle

Over a name, a girl or who owns what cattle

But when nations collide it is something far worse

A blight on our children and to mothers a curse

What am I? Riddle Forty-Five I am an absence though my presence is common

Crippling if I linger, but fed I’m forgotten

Slow I will kill but demise is most sure

A fact that the poor will always endure

What am I? Riddle Forty-Six I have a sister whose fair in her work

But wherever she lingers, in shadows I lurk

For I am her darkness, till death do us part

A lawless end to what she did start

What am I Riddle Forty-Seven I grant to thee the chance to live

The expense is others not

For no heart shall beat within your chest

Except for crimson hot

What am I? Riddle Forty-Eight An author of chaos but always I win

For I am the father of all darkness and sin

In Kings I’m expected, to priests I appal

For because of my actions, the angels did fall

What am I? Riddle Forty-Nine All that I see, I greatly desire

I crave and I hunt for what I require

I want what I have and I want of it more

But never to spend so in truth I am poor

What am I? Riddle Fifty On my face there’s worlds to see

Or maybe just a city

And wonders great, beyond a count

Are scrawled in ink upon me

What am I?

Chapter Two: Answers This chapter will contain the answers to the above riddles. Riddle One A Secret Riddle Two Time Riddle Three Gold Riddle Four Death Riddle Five Luck (or Fortune) Riddle Six Hope Riddle Seven Fear Riddle Eight Wrath (or Anger) Riddle Nine Stars Riddle Ten Cold Riddle Eleven Nothing Riddle Twelve Question Riddle Thirteen 200 (This is because bows are commonly made of yew. It is best that players get read this one and write it out as they hear it otherwise the answer may be too obvious.) Riddle Fourteen North-West, North-East, South-West, South-East (Or the Ordinal Directions Riddle Fifteen Echo





Riddle Sixteen Undeath Riddle Seventeen Rain Riddle Eighteen Opinion Riddle Nineteen Honour Riddle Twenty Fire Riddle Twenty One Fate (Or Destiny) Riddle Twenty Two Deck of Cards Riddle Twenty Three A Riddle Riddle Twenty Four A River Riddle Twenty Five Drow (Or Dark Elf) Riddle Twenty Six Orc Riddle Twenty Seven Magic Riddle Twenty Eight Dragon Riddle Twenty Nine Vecna Riddle Thirty Lich Riddle Thirty One Devil Riddle Thirty Two Sphinx Riddle Thirty Three The Nine Hells

Riddle Thirty Four Silver Sword Riddle Thirty Five Mercy Riddle Thirty Six End Riddle Thirty Seven Smoke Riddle Thirty Eight Hourglass Riddle Thirty Nine Blood Riddle Forty Dream Riddle Forty-One Clock Riddle Forty-Two Ice, Water, Steam Riddle Forty-Three Alcohol Riddle Forty-Four War Riddle Forty-Five Hunger Riddle Forty-Six Vengeance Riddle Forty-Seven Vampirism Riddle Forty-Eight Pride Riddle Forty-Nine Avarice Riddle Fifty A Map

Chapter Three: The Guide The above Chapters provide a decent starter for any GM looking for a nice riddle to throw into an adventure but sometimes, your campaign and story will feature some fairly unique concepts. Perhaps there is a legendary artefact you wish to leave a trail to or perhaps there is an ancient myth that speaks of an event specific to the setting. When this happens you’ll have to make them yourself but that is far easier said than done. In this Chapter I will try and provide as much advice as I possibly can towards making fun, challenging and, most importantly, rhyming riddles. Despite this, the best advice I can ever offer you is to practice as I have been writing poetry, fiction and riddles for years now and every day I improve. Part One: Start at the end A lot of writers, especially those who are just starting out, will frequently avoid the end until they arrive at it. This is by no means an incorrect way to write but when it comes to riddles it is most certainly going to make your life more difficult. Start at the end, find the answer you want to your riddle and then build the core around it. Once you know what you’re writing about it becomes much easier to find the right language and to wed the sentences together in an understandable way. While what you might write free-form could easily be beautiful and intriguing, it can be exceptionally difficult trying to find a clear concept that all your statements add up to that cannot be interpreted in a different way. This leads onto the next point nicely. Part Two: One Answer And I cannot stress this enough. A riddle should only ever have one clear conclusion and that is because a riddle is an equation.



The First Line + Second Line + Third Line (etc)

=

The Answer.



Having multiple answers can lead to uncertainty in a group and delay a successful conclusion for a long time as the group begins argue over what the “right answer” is. The longer a riddle takes to solve the more frustrated the group will become and the less fun they will have with the whole experience. Now that answer can come in multiple ways however. A riddle whose result is Anger could easily produce Wroth, Rage, Hate and so on. As a GM and a writer of these riddles, this is to be expected and since they are all essentially the same thing, they can all be lumped together as one answer. The best way to find out if your riddle has multiple answers (because trust me, you will not think of them all) is to give them to people. Find friends and family or just interested people online who aren’t involved with the game in question and throw it at them and if they start giving different answers, find out what confuses them and change it. Hell, if you can’t find somebody then just message me on Reddit and I will happily give you my two pence. Now no matter what you do, you will eventually end up with a riddle you provide that has two answers or more. At this point, just explain to your players the mistake and inform them if the answer they seem to be focussing on is wrong, even if it makes perfect sense. Good players will understand and let’s face it, mistakes happen. Part Three: Ease of Use and Access Now this is a problem that I see a lot in GM’s trying to write riddles. They make them obscure as all hell and mind-bogglingly complex. While this may be fun and great if you’re writing them as a hobby, it is not the best idea when writing them for a game. Unless your players really want to feel the pain, keep riddles simple and quick because at the end of the day, your job as a GM is to help facilitate the enjoyment of your players. It may make sense that an ancient ruin has a supremely difficult riddle in order to keep out trespassers but you also want your players to be able to explore what you created. Nobody likes staring at a puzzle for hours on end with no idea what the answer is, it just leads to discontent, surliness and sarcasm and with my players, the last is to be avoided at all costs. This is even more prevalent amongst players who are not great at this kind of challenge because it can leave them feeling left out and that is the worst thing a player can feel. Now, like the previous point, sometimes mistakes can be made. There may be a riddle that is obvious to you as the GM because you are more familiar with the lore or the story or just because you wrote it. DO NOT WORRY, there is an easy solution. Do exactly what I said in the previous advice. Ask someone else and let them try it out and if they find it too hard, consider making some of the points easier to understand. Again, if you find yourself lacking another you can talk to, feel free to drop them on me (on the basis that if it is good I will totally steal it for my campaigns). Part Four: Moderation Riddles are fun, GM’s love them, players love them (maybe) and God loves them (if his teachings are anything to go by). But, and this is a big but, moderation is key to this. Riddles are great ways to break up a dungeon or add some myth or arcane feel to a session but they can quickly lose their charm if every door they talk to is some wise-ass riddle machine. If you want to use riddles well, use them sparingly, to add to the atmosphere of the arena. A riddle should be an aide to the campaign, the campaign should not be built around the riddles. The other reason is because everyone writes and thinks with a style. Throw too many riddles into a game and players will soon figure out how you write. Maybe you use trick wording or perhaps you’re fond of the more metaphysical answers. You must be careful to ensure that your players never get so familiar with your writing that they can guess the answer because they know you rather than the riddle.

Part Five: Location Now the trick to riddles really is knowing when and where to place them and I’ll try and address a few concepts here. The Riddle Door This is a very common placement for riddles and it essentially involves a locked door of some kind with a single (or multiple) riddle required to open it. Once you answer the riddle, the door will open and the group can proceed on their way. This style can also be done with chests, lockets and other containers The Mysterious Myth Again, this style is not that uncommon and largely revolves around an artefact or legend that is told in rhyme and poetry. The trick about this is that its actually a riddle that provides a clue or specific detail about the myth. An example of such from one of my own games is as follows. The party uncover a ring after slaying a powerful vampire and up examination hear it sing the following;



And so spoke Death to me as she gave me her ring

“Care for what you wish, for dreams a dangerous thing”

“And you’ve asked for Unlife, to survive past death”

“To become a beast without beat nor breath”



The ring itself granted vamprisim upon the wearer and the group quickly figured out as such upon some thought (Didn't stop a certain player putting it on however). The Crazy Man This is one of the rarer times you'll see riddles as it can be very difficult to pull off, requiring either extensive preparation or good improvisation skills. Essentially it is a man who speaks only in rhyme and riddle, providing great insight and knowledge to players who have the skill (and patience) to interpret what he actually says. Most frequently the Crazy Man is actually some legendary character being a dick but sometimes it can actually just be a crazy old man and some of the best adventures have come out from my players following the advice of one such character only to find themselves in the middle of nowhere looking for trash.



Now these are just a few of the different ways to introduce them and I will add more as I expand this guide but it should give you some good starting ideas on perhaps how to introduce riddles. Other ideas include things like Command Words for Artefacts being told in riddle and Ancient Dwarf Doors hidden away (See Lotr). One of the most important things to remember is that any riddle the group has to bypass to progress should be easy or at least have an alternate route. If it's for a side quest or bonus treasure, feel free to be a nightmare and make it hard.













Part Six: Rhyming and Timing Now you’re all probably sick of reading about how you should run your game so I shall move onto the area I’m most proficient to explain and that is the actual writing. I am a published poet and the creator of a fairly well loved Lore series on Imgur and the 40K Lore Board so when it comes to writing I have the backing of a few hundred people to tell me I’m right (I’m probably not). The first thing is rhymes. Rhyming is not essential to a riddle but it sounds better and is more memorable than a few lines of descriptive speech. Rhyme also gives rhythm to a riddle which provides little purpose other than to make it more fun to say and to give it a more authentic feel. Rhyming can be tricky at times and here, Google is your best friend. Cannot think of a rhyme? Google it, I know I do all the time because English is a beautiful, wonderful, absolute mess of a language and that makes it amazing for rhyming and the most nightmarish thing ever. The next thing is to not get fixated on making a line rhyme. Sometimes you’ll have a fantastic piece but no matter what you do you cannot make it fit. There are really only two ways to deal with this and the first is preferable. This is to abandon the line or change it in such a manner that the climax or beat are a better fit for later lines. Your line might be great but people appreciate the whole construct and to abandon quality in the whole piece for the sake of one good line is very rarely worth it. The other option is the compromise. Settle for what is known as a half-rhyme, a words that sort of fits the pattern. An example from one of my own is “come” and “undone”. They sound similar enough that they can pass when said at some speed but to anyone studying it specifically, it can be quite obvious. This option is great but rarely does it work as sometimes it can be harder finding a decent half-rhyme than it can be finding an actual rhyme. Timing fits in very neatly with rhyming as the speed, location and measure of a word can change with what scans well. Two words might rhyme but due to how you’re meant to read it, they may clash in how they sound and disrupt the beat. This is usually fixed by just reading it out loud and then referring to the above points if there’s a problem. Part Seven: Beat and Format Now beat is important to any riddle and its usually something that creates itself. Start off writing your first line and when you’re happy with it, just follow the pattern. Every time you write a new line, read it back out loud to yourself and make sure it all fits. If you fancy a more structured way of creating a beat then look at the syllables. Most beats function by keeping a pattern and in order to keep that pattern in order, count the number of syllables. If you want Line 2 to sound like Line 1 then make sure they have similar syllables. When doing more complex verses such as alternating the beat (see Riddle 2) make sure that in each verse there is a structure. For example: Line one has 8 syllables, line 2 has 12 syllables, line 3 has 8 syllables. Then you just follow that pattern for the remaining verses.