Well as the title says I need a rhyme/riddle for my game tonight. The goal is to mess with my players and get them thinking about something that has absolutely no meaning or bearing in the adventure. Ideally the rhyme will be about death but anything will do. It would be nice if it was a longish rhyme (like about 4-5 verses).
So any help?
Disclaimer: I'm lazy so these are stolen from the interwebs. :)
Q. This garden is a lonely place
where many came, and yet remain
the plants grow strong on fertile ground
watered by legacies of pain
and should I plow, my plow would break
on cast-off husks of iron grain
now buried where they fell like wheat.
What am I? Speak! Or face your bane.
A. A battlefield
Q. More powerful than all the gods
Worse than pure evil
Wetter than water
Poor people have it
Rich people need it
And if you eat it you’ll go hungry
A. Nothing
Q. I can be found in the tornado's path,
I'm partners with death, harm, and hate,
I delight in the hurricane's harrowing wrath,
But 'tis not in destruction I sate.
What am I?
A. The letter 'H'
P.S. If one of your players has a phone with internet access, they'll just find this post with a quick search, word for word and discover your ploy. Keep an eye on em!
Those are not bad, but not really what I'm after. I'm not after one that's about a thing. What I had in mind was more along the lines of "Beware as you venture here for fools only ever look downward." only more to is and more complex. Also for the phone thing, I intended to change words and wording slightly anyway. Since I intend this adventure to run multiple sessions I don't expect it to be unknown for the whole thing.
The answer isn't necessarily "death"... but this is one of my all-time favorites!
Very clever and well written!
'Twas in heaven pronounced, and 'twas muttered in hell,
An echo caught faintly the sound as it fell;
On the confines of earth 'twas permitted to rest,
And the depths of the ocean its presence confessed;
'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder,
Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder.
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,
Attends him at birth, and awaits him in death,
Presides o'er his happiness, honor, and health,
Is the prop of his house, and the end of his wealth.
In the heaps of the miser 'tis hoarded with care,
But is sure to be lost on the prodigal heir.
It begins every hope, every wish it must bound,
With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned.
Without it the soldier, the seamn may roam,
But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!
In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found,
Nor e'en in the whirlwind of passion be drowned.
'Twill not soften the heart; but though deaf be the ear,
It will make it acutely and instantly hear.
Yet in shade let it rest, like a delicate flower,
Ah... breathe on it softly, - it dies in an hour.
Answer: The letter 'H'
Maybe a bit short, but still fun, also, who doesn't love pop culture references?
How is a raven like a writing desk?
Why does a chair have arms or legs like a man but cannot walk or hold things?
Just one off the top of my head (so it may be "off")
Life is such a fragile thing,
So much it cannot be concieved,
Beware our good friends bitter sting,
Or your soul shall be retrieved.
The good friend could be abything from a thorny plant to a scorpion to a clawed creature.
Death comes soon, to those who wait,
An always constant threat.
Best step lively, avoid fate,
Or you will not live to regret.
More generic. If you want to mess with the group, you could pull out a timer and not say anything after they read the rhyme.
What now you have, will be lost,
Your grip on life will slip.
Avoid the reaper at all cost,
Or join him on a trip.
Not really a riddle more a threat I suppose.