Hello everyone.
I'm designing a riddle for my players (if you're one of them stop reading),
where they have to sort some books in a numeral order to trigger something.
Each book has three numbers on it, which specify where it must be put (which bookshelf, which row, which place in that row).
The catch: the party doesn't know the symbols used to represent the numbers.
They can find the symbols used engraved/drawn/noted in or on various objects,
which would define its corresponding number.
So far i got the follwoing:
0 - a framed, empty canvas (representing nothing)
1 - a statue of a unicorn
2 - sketch of an ettin (two heads)
3 -
4 - a painting of fighting elementals, representing the four elements
5 - notes about a five-headed hydra
6 -
7 - a replica of the sihedron
8 - either a clockwork spider, or some magic circle representing the eight magic schools
9 - a cat, with the symbol on its necklace (building around the superstition of cats having nine lives)
What I'm missing are representations for the numbers 3 and 6.
I don't want another x-headed creature or alike.
I was thinking of a coat of arms or things like that, which would represent the number in some way ( for example 3 swords on a banner). If possible i want it to be based in the golarion setting (for the previous example a coat of arms of a country that acually exists there), so i'd appreciate any recommendations.
Also if you think some of my above represantations are a bit far-fetched, let me know.
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Well, trying to figure if something is far-fetched or something like that really depends on the players themselves. I have seen players get some really obscure things really quickly, but also fail to find the big visible x on the map (even after 5 hints...). All I can say on that subject is this: assume that you need at least 3 hints per symbol to help them figure things out (resulting in 30 hints, they should at least get one of those, right???)
As for the numbers 3 and 6;
- The coat of arms for Absalom consists of a shield with an eye in the middle surrounded by three crowns.
- The holy symbol of Sivanah is 6 veils tied together in a circle.
Cerebus could be a good representation for number 3 (3 headed dog).
Displacer Beasts have 6 legs and Mariliths have 6 arms.
You might switch to a Hydra with 6 heads, and then for 5 use an effigy of Tiamat or something with the 5 colors of the Chromatic Dragonflight
Mr Bonkers 3 hints comment would be well heeded. A search for Alexandrian and rule of 3 will bring you to some excellent articles on the subject of puzzles, clues and encounter design.
Of particular importance is that the players may not be on the same wavelength as you. Even if they figure out the numbers, they might not get the coordinates idea and might go down a Dewey decimal type classification idea and try and group books by the symbols. You must be prepared to give some fairly broad hints and use skills and INT score to dole out clues. E.g you might say to the wizard player "The symbols could represent a classification system or they could represent a coordinate system or perhaps a reading order."
You have given the players a big clue on alternate approaches and you may have to reinforce that by saying things like "perhaps it's not a classification system after all".
Remember the player may not be as bright as their character so giving players clues to make up the difference isn't unreasonable.
If you think your players are up for it, you might want to consider fewer books and using a partial Fibonacci Sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13.
1- unicorn
2- ettin
3- Norns of legend; aspects of witchcraft (Maiden, Mother, Crone); transitive planes (Astral, Ethereal, and Shadow)
5- chromatic or metallic dragons; oriental elements (earth, fire, metal, water, and wood)
8- spider
13- Archimedean solids (finally, a use for Knowledge (Engineering)!)
As with any puzzle or "gate" in an adventure, don't forget the Three Clue Rule so that there are alternate ways to succeed.
3 could be rock, paper scissors.
6 is really hard. 6 strings of guitar. Sides of honey comb. 6 legs of many insects, like ants.
3 could be a Xorn
6 could be a regular dice (or cube)
after 5 min you should have a Skill DC check
I second this, you should always have a dice roll of some kind to solve the puzzle - as mentioned, the players do not have the same abilities as the characters. So in the same way we make the players roll a die instead of lifting weights to make a bend bars check, we allow the players to make a die roll to solve puzzles. I'll agree that attempting puzzles can be fun, but just be sure to include the ability for a check in case the players are stumped. After all, the wizard might have a 200 IQ, whereas the player does not.