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I'm trying to create two riddles for a D&D campaign and I'm worried they aren't clear. I'd like people to try and solve them and give suggestions on how to improve them if possible. It's set in a medieval theme. They are inscribed on a large tower and have already deciphered the first riddle where the answer was a candle.

The first riddle was

I'm tall when young, short when old, detest the wind, but never get cold

This is one I just swiped from another site and is pretty old I think. They basically solved it in 10 seconds.

The next two riddles (which are my own invention) are

Riddle 2:

Brother of Dreams, Son of Fowl, Cousin of Well, Father of How

Riddle 3:

I float on the wind, Cry in a storm, can hold every secret, or know every shore.

when they find the answers to these last two riddles, they need to collect the objects that were the answers to the above riddles and put them into small openings in the door to make it open.

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  • $\begingroup$ Just to make sure that I understand: there are three clues, the first of which is a candle. The other two clues are the answers to the given riddles - is this correct? Thus (if I am correct) the "clues" are not clues for solving these riddles, but the clues are rather the answers to these riddles - answers that will then be used as clues in the D&D campaign. $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Mar 12, 2019 at 18:45
  • $\begingroup$ Correct, I'm a little worried that I wrote bad riddles since no one is getting them... Should I provide the answer that I was hoping for or wait it out a bit more? $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 12, 2019 at 19:15
  • $\begingroup$ I would tentatively suggest editing the question a tad to make what I said more clear - and to answer your question in the last comment, don't provide the answer just yet. I would advise waiting at least 24 hrs, if you have the time, to allow for all timezones to have a shot. $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Mar 12, 2019 at 19:30
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    $\begingroup$ Also, maybe posting the riddle where the answer was "candle" may help, in case the style of the riddles are similar. $\endgroup$
    – APrough
    Mar 12, 2019 at 19:31
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    $\begingroup$ I don't have enough to answer the question, but given how many (quite possible) answers have been suggested, I would give your D&D group a few extra clues for each riddle to remove the wrong answers. $\endgroup$
    – ZanyG
    Mar 13, 2019 at 7:31

5 Answers 5

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I'm new here, but I have a potential answer for the Brother of Dreams riddle. (#2 now)

A quill

Brother of Dreams

It's constantly next to "Dreams" - it's used to write books

Son of Fowl

Comes from a bird

Cousin of Well

Related to an ink "well"

Father of How

The word "How" is (was) written with a quill, so it was created by a quill, similar to a father and mother creating a child

I know this is a bit of a stretch, but it fits with the theme of the candle being an ordinary object.

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  • $\begingroup$ Yep! That is what I was going for! $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 13, 2019 at 21:12
  • $\begingroup$ I think the last line is the problem. $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 13, 2019 at 21:15
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I think Riddle 3 is

Paper

I float on the wind

Wind can make a paper fly

Cry in a storm,

Papers get soggy in a storm, ad when water is dripping from them they look like they are crying

can hold every secret,

You can write anything on a paper, they can hold any secret

or know every shore.

Maps are paper-based too.

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  • $\begingroup$ Yes, this was the answer I was hoping for $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 13, 2019 at 21:13
  • $\begingroup$ For cry in the storm i was thinking bleeding ink $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 13, 2019 at 21:16
  • $\begingroup$ Feels a bit obscure, it would only bleed ink if there's actually something written on it and the storm carries rain. The other parts apply more unconditionally. Maybe hint at some other quality of paper, e.g. something like "gather in flocks" (as book) or "squeeze into tiny spaces". $\endgroup$
    – Moghwyn
    Mar 14, 2019 at 11:46
  • $\begingroup$ The other potential answer word in Annosz' final response is, perhaps, a better fit for everything. $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Mar 14, 2019 at 12:06
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Possible answer to Riddle 3:

Is it Water? Float on the wind as clouds, Cry in a storm as rain, hold every secret (depths of the ocean), and know every shore (coastlines).

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  • $\begingroup$ Oh, this is a really good answer but not what I was hoping for. I'm gonna need to modify I think. $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 12, 2019 at 21:49
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I think #3 might be

a cloud

I float on the wind

Clouds float on the wind.

Cry in a storm,

Clouds let out water when it rains.

can hold every secret,

Secrets are clouded in mystery.

or know every shore.

Clouds can appear everywhere in the world.

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  • $\begingroup$ Also really good and reasonable but not what I was hoping the conclusion would be. $\endgroup$
    – Greg Petersen
    Mar 12, 2019 at 21:50
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    $\begingroup$ It would be really difficult to collect a cloud. $\endgroup$
    – Jay
    Mar 13, 2019 at 11:00
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Possible answer to #2:

It is a bird (to symbolize Phobetor, the Greek God of Fear)

Brother of Dreams

According to Ovid, Phobetor was one of the brothers of Morpheus, God of Dreams

Son of Fowl

Phobetor's father, Hypnos, the God of Sleep, is often portrayed as having a bird wing coming out of the side of his head

Cousin of Well

Okay, stick with me here. This line references Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness in the Greek underworld. Lethe is the daughter of Eris, Goddess of Discord, who is the sister of Hypnos. The word "well" is used to signify "all is well", which is the mood of all those who decide to bath in Lethe's water and forget all their memories of the outside world.

Father of How

Okay, I didn't pull from Greek mythology for this one. Birds are typically viewed as sacred creatures in Animism and Spiritualism, both of which are forms of religions that were practiced by Native American tribes.

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