Exilian

Off-topic and Chatter: The Jolly Boar Inn => General Chatter - The Boozer => Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! => Topic started by: Lady Grey on September 12, 2013, 06:37:46 PM

Title: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Lady Grey on September 12, 2013, 06:37:46 PM

I don't think I've seen a riddles thread... So I thought I'd start one :)
Posts attempt to answer the previous riddle and whoever's right posts a new one :)
Easy one to start? :P

The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space,
The beginning of every end,
The end of every place.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on September 12, 2013, 06:53:02 PM

E?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on September 12, 2013, 08:25:36 PM

E = mc²

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on September 12, 2013, 09:33:51 PM

By the way it's supposed to be "The end of every place and time" at the end.



A detective found a dead man sitting at his desk with a gun in his hand, and a tape recorder was on his desk... the detective came in and picked up the tape recorder and pressed the play button... he heard "I'm sick of my life. I have no purpose to live" and then a gunshot.

The detective instantly knew it was murder, not suicide. How?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Silver Wolf on September 12, 2013, 10:52:08 PM

Since I'm basically a relict from the ages long past, I know for a fact that tapes need to be stopped and rewinded before being played.

So, that's probably it.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on September 13, 2013, 07:00:01 AM

Yup, anyone else got one?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 19, 2013, 05:08:26 PM

I think Khan's counts as a puzzle more than a traditional riddle...

Right, I'll do one.

My tail is long, my shell is strong
I cannot see, nor hear a sound
I only sense a grasping hand
And the egg that I nestle upon the ground.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on September 20, 2013, 08:11:40 AM

A lame turtle... with a long tail?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Death Nade on September 20, 2013, 08:57:53 AM

A blind and deaf Armadillo?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 20, 2013, 10:56:39 AM

You're both being way too literal.  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on September 20, 2013, 11:18:41 AM

One of those old mouses with the ball on the bottom?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 20, 2013, 11:33:04 AM

Exactly!  :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 19, 2013, 09:09:21 PM

Okay, since Khan doesn't seem to be coming up with one, I'll give you all another riddle:

Brighter than a songbird
But rustling like a mouse
Floating like a swift so free
Higher than a house

Once a beast of burden,
Carrying a load,
Then set free to toss and roll,
Down along the road.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 19, 2013, 09:13:42 PM

Some kind of a leather ball.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on November 20, 2013, 04:59:36 AM

Well with the first bit it made me think of the Sun. But the second bit lost it for me. Are they the one riddle or not?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 20, 2013, 10:31:33 AM

It's all one riddle.

Leather balls don't rustle and aren't used to carry things, so not that.
Ditto the sun doesn't do either of those things.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 20, 2013, 12:23:36 PM

I thought when it said it carried a load that it was when it was still a beast of burden.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 20, 2013, 12:30:39 PM

Ahh, the leather. Clever. Wrong, but clever.  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 29, 2013, 12:14:56 PM

We give up, precious.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 29, 2013, 01:37:13 PM

The first part makes me think an autumnal leaf in the wind, but it doesn't really carry a load so much.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 29, 2013, 01:42:37 PM

It's not a leaf - but thinking of things that blow around in the wind is a good route to go down.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 29, 2013, 01:56:06 PM

Plastic bag?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 29, 2013, 01:57:22 PM

Correctamundo.  :P

Your turn, either make one up or find and post it. :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 29, 2013, 02:00:37 PM

You must have some bright plastic bags over there. :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 29, 2013, 03:08:43 PM

Born in winter, dies in summer, grows with its root upwards.

Pretty damn simple but I'm too tired for any fancy crap right now.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 29, 2013, 03:38:42 PM

An annual plant from Australia?  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 29, 2013, 06:09:21 PM

Hahaha no.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 29, 2013, 06:51:55 PM

Icicles! :o

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 29, 2013, 09:07:49 PM

Yarp.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 08, 2013, 12:15:13 PM

CG, you got one for us? :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 08, 2013, 12:47:15 PM

No. :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 16, 2013, 10:58:57 PM

Try this:

I spin and bulge, I bloated tell
Of where the fish or people dwell
No sky above them or soil beneath
No forest there nor barren heath
But land and water clear as day
And dot-like cities far away.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on January 13, 2014, 09:27:13 PM

The Moon?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 13, 2014, 09:44:00 PM

Nope, not too bad a guess but not there.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Lady Grey on February 17, 2014, 04:12:14 PM

A globe of the world...?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 17, 2014, 04:13:39 PM

Yus! :D

Your turn  :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Lady Grey on February 17, 2014, 04:17:11 PM

This seems a bit easy... but oh, well...

Hands she has but does not hold,
teeth she has but does not bite,
feet she has but they are cold,
eyes she has but without sight.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 17, 2014, 04:18:58 PM

To get the obvious guesses done - a corpse? Or a statue?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Lady Grey on February 17, 2014, 04:24:01 PM

Close... that kind of thing... :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 17, 2014, 04:24:56 PM

A doll? Or a painting?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Lady Grey on February 17, 2014, 04:33:04 PM

It is a doll :)
Your turn :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 19, 2014, 04:34:30 PM

A plain of blood, of tree or bone
Around which friend and foe are grown;
A war without chance, a death without pain
Where knights may fall then rise again
As eyes stare down in fading light
On fields of black and forts of white.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on February 19, 2014, 06:56:55 PM

Chess board?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 19, 2014, 06:57:41 PM

Yeah, it was a fairly obvious one. Your go  :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on March 15, 2014, 02:40:57 PM

Quote

The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Is it a Jubal?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on March 16, 2014, 01:28:27 AM

Nope, it's me...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 23, 2014, 11:22:07 PM

Okay, here's another one.

---

One stood by two, shot straight and true
While two stood bold and tall
Three was showered in gold and jewels
And four was wan and small
Five opposed the all of them,
Across a barren plain,
All criss-crossed with long riverbeds
But what, then, was their name?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 24, 2014, 01:05:31 AM

Fingers?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 24, 2014, 10:52:05 AM

I was going for a hand, since it included the palm, but yeah, close enough.  :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 24, 2014, 12:21:54 PM

I weigh a lot but backwards I am not.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 24, 2014, 12:33:04 PM

A ton?  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 24, 2014, 12:48:32 PM

Yes, you win a cookie.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 24, 2014, 04:28:56 PM

When I am cast the great and small
Soon shall prosper or shall fall
Pock-marks on a skin of white
Pick the fate or seal the fight.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on August 22, 2014, 02:57:44 PM

Measles?

No idea otherwise.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on August 22, 2014, 05:03:40 PM

A die (i.e. a traditional d6).

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on August 22, 2014, 05:04:34 PM

Now it looks easy. :(

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on August 22, 2014, 08:11:28 PM

Quote from: comrade_general on August 22, 2014, 05:04:34 PM

Now it looks easy. :(

Alea iacta est.

It's like cryptic crossword clues - sometimes the answer comes almost immediately. More often than not, I sit there for hours unable to make any headway, then think, "Oh yes, it's obvious" when I'm told the answer.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on August 26, 2014, 07:50:07 PM

Someone else take a turn to post one?  :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on August 29, 2014, 10:56:52 AM

One

...

Happy now?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on August 29, 2014, 11:34:50 AM

*facepalms*

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on August 29, 2014, 12:17:28 PM

*grins and waves happily*

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 19, 2014, 08:15:53 PM

OK, have a go at this'un:

I shine with light,
Gold rings I wear,
In memory of things that were;
And at my feet,
Lie your desires,
To be taken from under my fingers of fur.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on December 22, 2014, 07:37:45 AM

Ok.... I'm think the sun... that has fur... yeah...

But I'm thinking it has something to do with space because of the line that says "In memory of things that were", which could represent the time it takes for light to travel to Earth. I dunno, I may be spitting out nonsense here, please tell me if I am.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on December 22, 2014, 07:49:58 AM

I'm more or less stumped on this one. The first half suggests something like a lamp (shines with light, "gold rings" are the lamp framework; "memory of things that were" doesn't fit at all though). The second half feels as if it might be something like the Sphinx (the mythical one, not the stone statue, hence "fingers of fur"). I can't see how to reconcile these bits at all. I suspect there's a neat answer from classical mythology that I don't know.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 22, 2014, 09:40:35 AM

I'd expected this one to be easier, but then I guess I knew what I was thinking when I wrote it.

Hint #1 is that of the two rhyming lines, the second is a far better clue than the first, which is kinda true but more there to make the rhyme scheme fit. :p

(Will happily give more hints if needs be, but don't want to give it away too early!)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on December 23, 2014, 09:52:56 AM

I'm still chewing on this one. The current best guess is a ginger cat (with alternating light and dark stripes in its fur) holding on to something the reader wants. But that still doesn't seem neat enough.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 23, 2014, 10:55:06 AM

(http://i.imgur.com/b0wlHQp.gif)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 25, 2014, 02:24:48 AM

A further clue - today is the right day to answer this one!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 25, 2014, 02:29:06 AM

Christmas tree!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 25, 2014, 02:32:27 AM

Correct! :) Hopefully it makes reasonable sense once you know the answer?

Also this:

Quote

I'm more or less stumped on this one.

Genuinely cracked me up laughing as one of the first responses to the riddle :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 25, 2014, 02:42:21 AM

I don't get the gold rings.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 25, 2014, 02:52:58 AM

Tinsel. I admit that might have been too confusing.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 25, 2014, 03:03:38 AM

I think of tinsel as long wavy things.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Son of the King on December 25, 2014, 11:32:37 AM

Heh, I was thinking Christmas tree but couldn't think how the gold rings fitted!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 25, 2014, 01:11:10 PM

Maybe "great jewels I wear" would have been a more sensible line...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 18, 2016, 07:08:16 PM

New riddles! :) Five different ones here for you folk to have a crack at:

1.
I am unwelcome at your door,
My brothers chase me on the moor.
And yet I am a guest most kind;
For when I leave I brush behind.

2.
I may have but a foolish brain,
And lose it before April's rain,
But I'll warm yours, for it is said,
I'll leap and sit atop your head

3.
I stared from the coins in Pericles' hand,
I who rules by the moon, and all things understand.
My kin gather rarely, but when we do,
We'll sit in a higher house than you.

4.
My name's said when you lift a load,
To carry it along the road,
And though you fear me, run, and hide
You'll rest tonight with me at your side.

5.
You never see me, but if you might,
You'll see my face in black and white.
And if there's something I forget,
I'll just head home, for there I'm set.

Answers:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1. Fox
2. Hare
3. Owl
4. Bear
5. Badger

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on April 18, 2016, 07:39:16 PM

No idea. I suck at riddles.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 18, 2016, 07:45:32 PM

I do find I'm better at writing them than solving them!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on April 19, 2016, 12:12:22 AM

I think I've got 2, 4 and 5 - all puns or other plays on words, if I'm not mistaken. I suspect 1 and 3 are similar, but I haven't got them worked out yet. My answers so far in spoilers:

2.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

hare / hair

4.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

arm

5.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

type (typeface, set(ting) type)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 19, 2016, 12:40:22 AM

Ooh, interesting!

Response also spoilered:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Hare" is correct for 2, and part of that clue is indeed a hair pun, along with the "harebrained" and "Mad March Hare" clues, and the leaping. 4 and 5, both very good answers that aren't what I was getting at. For four, there's definitely an answer that brings in the first couple of lines more neatly, and for five, I'm not sure type fits the "you never see me" bit (I think five is perhaps the weakest of the riddles here).

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on April 19, 2016, 10:30:35 AM

Jesus! 4 is our lord and saviour no?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 19, 2016, 10:41:48 AM

I'm not sure people both run away from Jesus and sleep next to him on a regular basis?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on April 19, 2016, 11:48:29 AM

Jesus is with all of us all of the time.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on April 19, 2016, 01:24:20 PM

Next answer:

3.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

owl

Still chewing over 1, 4 and 5, with little effect so far.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 19, 2016, 04:37:55 PM

Pent: if Jesus is everywhere you can't hide from him.

Glau: That is correct :) Line 1 is kind of a giveaway if you know the fact.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on April 19, 2016, 05:28:41 PM

No you can't, but sinners still try.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 19, 2016, 06:02:10 PM

Anyway, just to clarify 110%, the answer to number four is NOT "Jesus".

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on April 19, 2016, 06:10:05 PM

That's what satan would say. Jubal confirmed as devil.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 19, 2016, 11:11:16 PM

Yup, you got me. Still not the answer though.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on May 12, 2016, 08:15:24 AM

Another shot in the dark, this time for number 1:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a fox

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 12, 2016, 10:13:33 AM

Correct! :) Just 4 and 5 left...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on May 12, 2016, 01:24:35 PM

After further musing, 5 suddenly became clear:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a badger

I'm detecting something of a theme here...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 12, 2016, 01:59:47 PM

Indeed! :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on July 29, 2016, 01:03:48 AM

I GOT IT!!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's a bear... we sleep with a teddy bear but if we see a real bear, we run, and when we lift something we bear it.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on September 17, 2016, 08:58:06 PM

Bump. Jubal, could you let us know whether Khan got the last one right, please?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 18, 2016, 12:57:23 PM

He did! Sorry, I'll try writing some new ones soon :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on September 25, 2016, 03:24:51 AM

The sun warms me, and the mountains stand against me, I am everywhere but nowhere.
I can be fast, I can be slow, and sometimes I am easier to see than usual.
What am I?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 25, 2016, 11:03:23 AM

Wind or a breeze is the first thing that comes to mind, though I'm not sure in what circumstances that's easier to see...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on September 25, 2016, 12:24:41 PM

If it's blowing stuff around it's easier to see.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on September 29, 2016, 03:51:42 AM

Yeah wind.  O0

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 29, 2016, 08:45:00 AM

OK, here's a new one:

I was born in the morning with no-one to nurse me,
I envied the sun in the heat of the day;
As it grew cooler I got tanned and lazy,
And I've now fallen dead and I'm rotting away.

What am I?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on September 29, 2016, 09:16:36 AM

Leaves?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 29, 2016, 10:26:39 AM

Yup :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on September 29, 2016, 12:20:35 PM

In solitary halls I wait, sought in acts of fate,
on the brink of lonely minds, on the thoughts of those who wait,
you find me when in life you hesitate, or in the darkness delve,
if you are kind to me I dissipate, if you ignore me I do swell,
many know me through angry words and jealous lovers,
i wear many masks and see through others,
selfish, selfless, I am both,
crippling, relieving, often morose,
I am found when you are lost,
Morbid, sordid, sometimes described as dross.

What am I?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on September 29, 2016, 12:40:21 PM

Khan.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on November 08, 2016, 01:20:12 PM

Quote from: OgreLord on September 29, 2016, 12:20:35 PM

In solitary halls I wait, sought in acts of fate, ...

It sounds like some sort of negative emotion, but I'm not sure which one.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 28, 2016, 11:49:40 PM

Still no idea on this :(

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on November 30, 2016, 09:32:10 AM

Well no harm in guessing...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 30, 2016, 09:59:27 AM

"Doubt" is my current best guess.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on November 30, 2016, 10:34:56 AM

Nope, but now that I think about it the subject of the riddle might not be accurately described by it... I can let you keep guessing or you can just ask for the answer  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Pentagathus on November 30, 2016, 12:23:36 PM

I would guess fear, although I am not familiar with the feeling so how would I know?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 30, 2016, 02:51:07 PM

Still think it's Khan even if it isn't.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 30, 2016, 04:09:18 PM

Loneliness could be another possibility?

I think riddles where the answer is an abstraction often need to be *considerably* more tightly crafted than those where the answer is an actual thing.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 30, 2016, 05:30:39 PM

It's love.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 30, 2016, 06:34:26 PM

Platypus, definitely platypus.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on November 30, 2016, 07:34:05 PM

You know, reading that a second time, it could very well be me. ;D

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on November 30, 2016, 08:29:40 PM

Zactly.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 30, 2016, 08:34:17 PM

Are you a lonely fearful platypus though Khan? If you are, everyone gets to be right :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on November 30, 2016, 11:53:17 PM

Quote from: Jubal on November 30, 2016, 08:34:17 PM

Are you a lonely fearful platypus though Khan?

Does he lay eggs? Does he have a duck-bill? I think we should be told!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 23, 2016, 11:57:46 PM

Can we get an answer here? :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: DeepCandle Games on December 24, 2016, 02:08:20 AM

The answer was

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Depression

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on December 24, 2016, 02:09:56 AM

See it was Khan all along I was right!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Cuddly Khan on January 03, 2017, 11:40:09 AM

Congratulations CG!! *throws confetti*

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 17, 2017, 05:37:43 PM

OK, here's a new one :)

Standing tall above the land,
A treasure held within my hand
Encased within a marble wall,
While soldiers at my feet shall fall
But though I hold it up with love,
You'll break and take it from above.
What am I?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on January 17, 2017, 09:12:52 PM

Khan.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on January 17, 2017, 10:31:45 PM

I'm not sure how tall Khan is, but I doubt he has a treasure in his hand or soldiers falling at his feet. Or maybe he has - who can tell what exotic lives these Tasmongolian warlords lead?

Anyway, my rather more prosaic guess is ...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

an eggcup holding a boiled egg

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 17, 2017, 11:30:48 PM

You are correct :) Was probably an easy one.

Another probably easy but fun to write one:

I bite, although I need no food,
Upon a beast that has no blood -
With many arms, that eats the sun;
You'll take its bones when I am done.
I grovel not, despite my name,
Nor for the past your eyes will claim.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on January 17, 2017, 11:36:59 PM

That was my first thought but Khan sounded better. Hue hue

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 12:54:08 AM

Hi all - I registered with this website specifically to answer this riddle because it is eating me up so much. So, well done there, I suppose.

Is it...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

an axe?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 12:57:13 AM

Ooh no, hang on, that's not quite right, I think it might actually be...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a saw? That works with the final line which "axe" doesn't, but I've still got no idea about the grovelling part.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on January 18, 2017, 09:31:36 AM

Welcome to Exilian, LocalMinimum! Please feel free to have a look around, and respond to things if you find them interesting - there's lots of stuff here beyond the riddles.

I would offer a variant of your second idea, that I think fits the last two lines better:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a chainsaw (cutting up trees)

If this is right, then you get the credit - I was completely stumped on this last night.

Also, for CG's benefit, this could very well be Khan: a mighty warrior, defending us against a bloodless sun-eating monster.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 18, 2017, 09:49:05 AM

You're both *very* nearly there, but there's a very slightly more specific answer that fits the penultimate line.

Also yes, welcome! :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 10:47:57 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Bow saw? :D

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 18, 2017, 10:59:31 AM

Correct! :D

Right, someone else post one :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 11:05:37 AM

Ok ok, I've got a couple :D

I think these range from "really easy" to "easy", though I suppose they're all easy once you know them. Anyway, here you are.

1.
A famous figure favours me:
The author of the Odyssey.
With shape deforming eyes you see
A coffee cup topology.

2.
My namesake made it to the Moon. I didn't get that far
And now my body's on display for kids to view for free
The mass revolt I heralded put Britain where we are
And my inventor's namesake's novel's hero sails the sea.

3.
I am that noble warrior of which Bette Midler sings
You can find me with a golf club, though you'd need to show some flair
The place I come from doesn't have a lot to do with kings
And so my crown (though it exists) is really rather bare.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 18, 2017, 11:21:17 AM

I think my lack of general knowledge may cause me to struggle on 2 and 3...

Is 1:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Beer?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 11:25:32 AM

No, but you're on the right lines :) Coffee-cup topology might be quite over-specifically mathsy actually - it might help just to google the whole last line.

I'll give some more hints in a bit!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 18, 2017, 11:30:43 AM

Ah, OK, yes, I was thinking of what might *actually* have a topology similar to a coffee cup!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Doughnut!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 18, 2017, 12:00:07 PM

Yes! Now for the other two. *cackles madly*

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 19, 2017, 12:40:00 AM

Clue - there's something that links 2 and 3. They're both symbols of their country's (very different) Revolutions...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on January 19, 2017, 08:17:44 AM

Is number 3 ...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a bald eagle?

This would fit at least the second half of the riddle, and the hint you gave.

I'm thoroughly stuck on number 2. I think my general knowledge might not be general enough :(

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 19, 2017, 12:44:12 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yes! Nice! I tried to make it fit with the second half as well - he comes from America, and he's bald (crown/crown double meaning, lol)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 19, 2017, 12:45:44 PM

Oh hang on, wrong half

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yeah, the first line's the weakest. Bette Midler had a song that went "I can fly higher than an eagle, cause you are the wind beneath my wiiiings..."

And what's another name for a good score in golf?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 19, 2017, 01:32:30 PM

The second one is very specific and I suppose it's impossible if you're not already aware of the name. It's got the inventor in the title, like Beethoven's Symphony.

Another riddle - same object referenced - follows. :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

2a
I've lain for many years upon the Science Museum's floor
In my heart, for the first time, coal and steam went hand in glove
My name, though not a salad, sounds identical for sure
(Jim Hawkins is the sailor-hero referenced above.)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on January 19, 2017, 01:50:12 PM

Ah, well, that makes it much easier :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Stephenson's Rocket

And there was I starting from things like "Apollo" and "Armstrong", and trying to see how they would connect to "Forester" (Hornblower) or "O'Brian" (Jack Aubrey), or the English Civil War.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: LocalMinimum on January 19, 2017, 01:53:01 PM

Yes! Awesome.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 24, 2017, 11:18:12 PM

OK, try this one:

I am oppressed, downtrodden, dead,
But may be high above your head;
I see life with disinterest,
For where I lay is where I'm best.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on November 29, 2018, 09:59:43 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a coffin?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 29, 2018, 11:01:00 PM

Oh gods, I can't find the answer to this one...

EDIT: Just remembered what I'm 99% sure it is! No, it isn't a coffin - they're never particularly high above your head.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 26, 2018, 12:24:29 AM

I've edited the last riddle from "But am raised high" to "But may be high" which I think is a little more accurate. Still no takers?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on December 27, 2018, 02:57:17 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

dust?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 27, 2018, 10:07:29 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Nope - but you're right to take the "downtrodden" fairly literally.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on December 27, 2018, 11:18:13 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

carpet or floorboards?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 27, 2018, 12:46:38 PM

Correct in the second of those guesses :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Though you lay both, and they are both trodden on, and both may be on a floor above you, it's floorboards not carpet because floorboards are actually dead (being made of wood) and because of line 3 - it's disinterested because it's board (bad pun I know).

Tusky's turn to post a riddle :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on December 28, 2018, 08:13:51 AM

Quote from: Jubal on December 27, 2018, 12:46:38 PM

Correct in the second of those guesses :)

Yay! Good riddle.

Here's my effort:

I am of the lord
I was there at the slaying
Those that are like me
Could be muted or marching

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 28, 2018, 12:16:09 PM

Hmm... thoughts so far:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hm, first line makes me think religion, though it's lord not Lord so not necessarily
Second line is most confusing - things present at slayings are usually people, weapons, armour, battle accoutrements, and concepts (like death)
I think line 3 just sets up line 4, though I guess it also tells us it's not an individual
Muted or marching - these could be quite literal, but the things they connect to for me are instruments. I half wondered about trumpet - used in a marching band, can be muted, could be present at a battlefield, but I'm not sure they can be "of the lord"...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on December 28, 2018, 12:35:41 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Quote

first line makes me think religion

Yep

Quote

I think line 3 just sets up line 4, though I guess it also tells us it's not an individual

Yep

Quote

I half wondered about trumpet - used in a marching band, can be muted, could be present at a battlefield, but I'm not sure they can be "of the lord"...

No, not an instrument

Let me know if I should give a hint, I wasn't sure on how difficult this one was. I've not really written any riddles before!  :) :-\

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on December 31, 2018, 10:06:43 AM

I'm worried my riddle is too tricky - so I've tweaked the wording to be a little clearer and come up with an amended version should anyone want...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I am of the god
The slaughter I did see
I'll always be quiet
And March will leave like me

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on December 31, 2018, 04:18:45 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The big problem I'm having is the word "march" - I can't think of anything that really does that except humans, penguins and ants, and any items carried to war by humans (none of which I can make fit atm). I wondered if it obliquely references the month but figure that might be stretching.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on January 02, 2019, 08:59:06 AM

Here's a clue

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Quote

The big problem I'm having is the word "march" - I can't think of anything that really does that except humans, penguins and ants, and any items carried to war by humans (none of which I can make fit atm). I wondered if it obliquely references the month but figure that might be stretching.

All of the lines are not describing anything literally - they are all referring to idioms / sayings about the riddle's subject.

EDIT 1: I've probably made this far too hard, thinking about it, since if you don't know one of them then you won't be able to make all of the lines fit.

EDIT 2: Actually I think the wording on that last line is wrong!!! I have changed it to: And March will leave like me

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 02, 2019, 10:56:25 AM

In which case my guess is

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A lamb

I still can't make the last line fit, but it idiom or phrase-wise works for the other three I think?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on January 02, 2019, 10:59:28 AM

Jubal got it!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

You're right. The lines are:

Lamb of God
Like a lamb to slaughter
Quiet as a Lamb
The last one is March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

Probably not a very well know saying i suppose!
[/quote]

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 02, 2019, 06:28:38 PM

Yay! :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I think for the last line I did know that phrase, but I'd have needed a mention of the lion to get it. It's a decent riddle though, and evidently actually is guessable - well done :)

Here's my next one:

I, a snow of darkling white,
Shall fall beneath a glowing light,
For when his kingdom frost has got,
You'll make me though you want me not
I may be made of mine own name,
So tell me, can you guess the same?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on January 11, 2019, 11:35:02 AM

It's a very nice riddle poetically! I've had a good think but doubt I'm right  ???

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I thought along the lines of dust (or maybe ash). Which can match in the following ways

I, a snow of darkling white
- Perhaps this means grey? Ash / dust colour

Shall fall beneath a glowing light
- ash from a volcano? Dust in a room that you only notice moving in the light?

For when his kingdom frost has got,
You'll make me though you want me not
- the second line might match dust, since a lot of it is human matter. Although I can't see how it is relevant to the previous line, maybe an old man's greying hair (his hair being his kingdom) may be prone to more dandruff? Doesn't really relate to ash.

I may be made of mine own name,
- An ash tree is made of ash wood? A pile of dust is made up of dust particles... I'm not entirely sure what to make of this clue, I'm guessing that the made part is the main clue

So tell me, can you guess the same?
- I get the feeling this relates to the previous line, but ostensibly seems to be just asking for the answer and completing the nice couplet

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on January 11, 2019, 12:14:45 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I looked at Tusk's but I was thinking ash as well. When there's frost it's cold so you build a fire to get warm but then you have to deal with ash. Made of my own name, so wood ash in full?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 11, 2019, 12:28:26 PM

Yup, correct (Tusk's second guess and CG's first one) - well done guys.  :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I, a snow of darkling white, Ash does fall and build up kinda like snow but with dark bits
Shall fall beneath a glowing light, It builds up below the flames of a fire
For when his kingdom frost has got, That is, in winter
You'll make me though you want me not Nobody wants ash - they want the warmth from the fire
I may be made of mine own name, I was thinking this one because you can burn ash logs to make ash
So tell me, can you guess the same?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on January 12, 2019, 06:11:20 PM

Who's up. CG? I did one before jub

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on January 12, 2019, 06:49:44 PM

Not it.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on January 17, 2019, 08:12:59 PM

Looks like you're up again then Tusky :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on February 08, 2019, 03:06:07 PM

Oops - forgot about this one. I shall get thinking  :tusky:

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on February 20, 2019, 10:40:01 AM

I go with the flow.
I break things, you know,
When doing my role.
To save you's my goal.
It may end my life,
and cause you some strife,
but deep down you know
I just went with the flow.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 20, 2019, 03:03:47 PM

First guess:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

White blood cell?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on February 20, 2019, 03:10:50 PM

Nope. Good guess!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I guess it could fit the "cause you some strife" line in that in the process of fighting an illness you could get unpleasant symptoms. and "break things" could mean germ cells etc?

Not sure if a white blood cell specifically sacrifices itself in the line of duty, though, but then I am not a biologist.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 08, 2019, 02:18:45 PM

I'm not really sure what does break itself or die in the line of duty, it's a rather tricky one...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 08, 2019, 02:32:39 PM

Ah, it's tough to tell when something is too hard. I assume it's obvious since I thought of it!

Here is a clue then

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

On line 2 where I said:

Quote from: Tusky on February 20, 2019, 10:40:01 AM

I break things, you know,

It is in reference to the "flow" mentioned on the first and last lines

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on March 09, 2019, 12:34:59 AM

A somewhat different guess...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

An emergency airbag in a car

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 09, 2019, 06:33:18 AM

Nope. Good guess.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on March 09, 2019, 06:48:55 PM

Hmm. Two more guesses, then:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

either: a breakwater for a harbour (but I can't see how that would "go with the flow")
or: a sacrificial electrode (usually anode) for a piece of maritime equipment

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 09, 2019, 07:30:03 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Your second guess is very close - and I'm very tempted to give it to you. I had to google what they are, though... I'm not sure what a sacrificial electrode would break, other than itself? That would not fit with "things"

Here are 2 clues if you want to use them

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Every modern household is likely quite a few of these

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The thing being broken applies to both the "flow" mentioned on the first and last lines, and also the object it's in

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 09, 2019, 08:25:08 PM

Oh, it's

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a fuse?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 09, 2019, 08:33:08 PM

Ding!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 09, 2019, 09:46:10 PM

Neat :) It was it being electrical (rather than fluid) flow that was really what I was missing.

OK, here's my next one:

Walls without a fort surround,
Naught within but upturned ground,
If water the defenders keep,
Through dark holes away it seeps,
No roof or shelter can it give,
But those sent there are sent to live.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 10, 2019, 11:58:12 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Flower pot?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 10, 2019, 02:27:52 PM

Correct :) Not such a difficult one, but I liked the poem.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 22, 2019, 01:08:13 PM

Hold my arms around you.
You'll barely feel me there.
It's now clear, behold the day.
But come the night,
I must be away.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on March 27, 2019, 02:27:27 PM

Slightly bemused guess:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

sunlight (but I don't get the "my arms" bit)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 27, 2019, 02:34:35 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Good guess, but no. You are sort of on the right lines, though.

I think that my wording was a little off for the sake of making it poetic so I have made a couple of tiny tweaks

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 27, 2019, 02:53:17 PM

A guess of mine:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Glasses or sunglasses?
> They have two arms
> Often easy to forget you're wearing them
> They make things clearer to see in the day
> You take them off at night because you can't sleep in them

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 27, 2019, 03:05:17 PM

Yep. Spot on

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Was thinking of glasses specifically because of the "It's now clear" bit - but would have accepted either

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 27, 2019, 04:38:38 PM

Not sure if this is obvious or not, but here's another anyway:

Magpie's cousin
Found a tavern,
Found a door of heavy wood,
Then that cousin,
Cracked him open,
Tore his nails out where they stood.
Didn't need to sleep thereafter:
Cold as knives, no breath or laughter.
Tell me, friend, upon my oath,
What names pub and cousin both?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on April 10, 2019, 01:19:58 PM

It seems not obvious, alas.

A clarification question, if I may: does "What names pub and cousin both?" mean that the same word is used for both things?

And then the only guess I've been able to come up with so far:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

a raven or a thrush cracking open a snail

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 10, 2019, 01:31:41 PM

Quote

Does "What names pub and cousin both?" mean that the same word is used for both things?

No.

Hints:

HINT 1

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The answer to the riddle is a single noun (not "X that in this case is doing Y").

HINT 2

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Synonyms and wordplay are your friends.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on April 18, 2019, 11:19:09 AM

Ooh the poem sounds nicely dark and sinister, but is it referring to an

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

innocent crowbar

?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 18, 2019, 01:02:22 PM

It is! Well, not sure about innocent, but that's the right answer regardless :)

Right, your turn to do a riddle :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on April 19, 2019, 05:06:28 PM

Ok, no idea how obtuse or obvious this is, but here goes^^

I may be refined, I may be impolite.
My mere existence causes men to fight.
I am of ancient beasts long past.
You are frightened that I may not last.
I can take you far and wide.
From the heat I bring, you can never hide.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 21, 2019, 12:00:38 PM

The first time I looked at this, I started at it for ages without any idea at all, then it clicked, I think it's:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Oil?

Particularly liking the refined vs crude line :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on April 22, 2019, 09:45:12 PM

Yup you got it  :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Haha I wondered if polite was a close enough synonym for crude...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 22, 2019, 11:07:29 PM

Yay! My turn again I guess...

I need no food to keep me strong,
My belly's big, my one arm long,
My hat is hard, my bottom tough,
I drink and I eat, and that's enough,
For food I'm given; I give the same,
So tell me, can you guess my name?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on April 27, 2019, 12:31:21 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Is it like a stove or something?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on April 27, 2019, 01:56:05 AM

have to admit to being inspired by the above guess, but to be precise, is it a

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

cooking pot?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on April 27, 2019, 02:54:45 PM

CG along the right lines, but Ierne is right - I was thinking specifically a saucepan (hence one arm, and a "hat" being the lid).

Right, Ierne, your turn to try riddle writing I guess! :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on April 27, 2019, 10:42:32 PM

Penis.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on May 06, 2019, 12:46:37 AM

i've never written a riddle before and may have made this waaay too hard, but here goes:

i was a god once
until you made me an enemy and a thing of riducule
men run from me in terror
but children hold me close
i search for warm places and sweet things
you sing to keep me at bay
when you find me you do not want me
but you are frightened that one day i might never come back

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 06, 2019, 09:30:46 AM

My first thought is

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A bear, which seems to fit most lines, especially the men run and children hold me close bit. I can't think of any bear deities and I'm not sure about the singing bit though.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 06, 2019, 05:17:49 PM

Jubla is probably right but I'm going to try another way and say

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

innocence

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Clockwork on May 06, 2019, 07:56:43 PM

Quote from: Jubal on May 06, 2019, 09:30:46 AM

My first thought is

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A bear, which seems to fit most lines, especially the men run and children hold me close bit. I can't think of any bear deities and I'm not sure about the singing bit though.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

singing is the advice given to walkers as it's thought bears only attack people they accidentally bump into, singing lets the bears know where you are so they'll avoid you. From my anime-ing, Ainu is a bear god

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on May 06, 2019, 08:42:42 PM

Jubal got it right first, but Clockwork is spot on about singing if you are hiking :) The Ainu do have a bear god, as do the Sami (and there are probably others I don't know about, given how frequently bears appear in mythology as magical beings).

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 06, 2019, 11:28:10 PM

I hate rittles. :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 07, 2019, 10:43:43 PM

My comparative mythology evidently needs improvement, and I didn't know the singing thing at all. Hats off on those ones.  :tusky:

Let's see how you find this one (I think this may be an "easy but the poem is nice" one, but I may be wrong):

Within this court they say
A hundred servant lads are found,
Their messages a-carrying,
All told without a sound;
And all of them, yes all of them,
Within three walls are bound.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on May 10, 2019, 08:35:23 PM

right, I have an idea that's probably wrong, but I'm gonna say it anyway just in case:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

all i can think of is neurons carrying messages in the brain. no idea how the three walls would come into that though.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on May 19, 2019, 04:23:51 PM

i like ierne's answer, though i can't think of the three walls

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

(unless it's dimensions or the brain stem and hemispheres)

on a similar note, i could kind of see the

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

heart with its three chambers. i'm guessing the servant lads could be blood cells that may be reporting information on oxygen levels or something (if they do that^^)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 19, 2019, 09:59:19 PM

These are really interesting ideas but rather on the wrong track. :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on May 22, 2019, 11:22:41 AM

haha the three walls are very confusing,

what about

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

insects and other crawlies with male worker drones like bees or ants or termites? i think bees communicate through pheromones, which are silent. i guess some of the structures they build might be triangular :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 24, 2019, 11:29:57 PM

Again, nope. Hints maybe?

Hint #1

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

How do you, regularly, get messages that have no accompanying sound?

Hint #2

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There's a synonym for something here that'll be a giveaway when you find it.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on May 25, 2019, 05:40:47 PM

ok so it's not because of a

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

synonym and more a homonym, but now i can only think of books. they're bound(!) with a spine, a back and a front, and they contain loads of messages that don't make a sound. no idea about the servant lads, unless they're the letters or the words.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on May 25, 2019, 06:20:02 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I cheated and looked at Toad's answer but it made me think - is it the poem itself? Like contained within the beginning middle, and end?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 26, 2019, 12:14:18 PM

Toady is correct :) Though CG's idea is fantastic and I wish I'd thought of it first.

The bit you weren't getting:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_(servant) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_(servant))

Admin edit: fixed the URL

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on May 26, 2019, 07:52:12 PM

Ah that was great! Never would have thought of it^^

If I understand correctly, it's my turn now, so here goes again:

When it's in the dark, during a show, to remain silent take care.
It's a place where you run to put a sphere in a square.
It's where some of us outrageuos opinions share.
It's half of a way to get high up into the air.
It's even on a hitter's wood, beware.

What is it?

(Sorry, Yoda wrote some of those!)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on June 01, 2019, 12:02:56 AM

maybe helpful hints:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1. the shape of the little poem
2. where do you sit during a show in a theater or an opera house?
3. how are some of people's political opinions grouped together?
4. it's not really on the hitter's piece of wood but on something else that word describes

probably definitely giveaway

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

5. two of what thing help some animals and machines to fly

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 01, 2019, 04:43:52 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ah, is it a wing?

You have wings in a theater, political parties might be right wing & left wing (for the "outrageous opinions"), 2 would get you in the air. I guess the last line is for a bat?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 01, 2019, 07:56:38 AM

Yes, Tusky's guess makes sense. My other thought (which is clearly wrong from your hints) was:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ball, which fits some of them.
> Place to share outrageous gossip
> on a bat when it hits the ball
> balloon

Doesn't do first 2 as well though!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on June 01, 2019, 10:40:33 AM

yup, you're right tusky  :)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

and yes, it was a bat.
the line about the sphere and the square was about left wing and right wing as positions in football. not that the goal is really a square  :P

i guess this was a bit needlessly confusing, and from jubal's answer i see now that "opinions share" had more meanings i didn't think of.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 01, 2019, 07:54:45 PM

In terms of feedback, I think it's generally strong and basically works. I'd consider tweaking line 1 (mainly for scansion) and 3 (because political wings are usually treated as adjectives which will confuse people looking for a noun). The last line also could be shifted because you're asking people to guess "flight wing" twice, once in its own right and once for a bat, which isn't ideal. Maybe...

"While you wait for your cue, then be silent, take care,
In this place where you run to put spheres in a square.
If we're on the same one, then opinions we share,
And with two we've a way to get high in the air.
It's even on a hitter's wood, beware."

Still not sure of last line but I think the above preserves the ideas whilst being a bit neater (in my mind at least, others may disagree).

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 04, 2019, 06:09:02 AM

All you that compete
With victory a desire

You that may gather
To plot and conspire

No longer a guage
To reach destinations

Make an alleigance
And unite the nations

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: justatoady on June 04, 2019, 02:36:59 PM

thank you very much for the feedback : )

good to know about the political wings being more usually used like adjectives!
thinking about it, i agree with your point about guessing a physical wing for flight twice...
in general, it's maybe a good idea to not have quite as many different lines, all of which could be the solution all by themselves.
perhaps i'll try and describe individual meanings longer, who knows^^

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 14, 2019, 04:48:46 PM

Quote from: Tusky on June 04, 2019, 06:09:02 AM

All you that compete
With victory a desire

You that may gather
To plot and conspire

No longer a guage
To reach destinations

Make an alleigance
And unite the nations

Hm, thoughts.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A gauge and reaching destinations make me think of rail gauges, or trains. Competing with victory as a desire also feels like it might be train. Can't get it to fit to 2 or 4 though.

The other thought I have was something about wreaths - obviously the United Nations has a wreath on its flag, and laurel wreaths are the traditional symbol of victory. I can imagine that at some point wreaths were used to mark the houses of some sort of conspirators... and maybe were on trains at some point? I dunno, bit of a stretch.

Also, toady, check your PM inbox :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 15, 2019, 05:11:53 AM

Nope, good guesses though

Somewhat easy clues:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1: A group of sports teams
3: Old unit of distance

Very easy clues:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

2: to be in ____ with someone
4: the ___ of nations

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on June 15, 2019, 04:02:03 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

League, because I cheated  :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 15, 2019, 04:03:52 PM

yep!!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 15, 2019, 07:36:52 PM

CG's turn to do a riddle :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 26, 2019, 04:45:00 AM

I can only assume CG is thinking about what riddle to post in vast amounts of detail. Does anyone else want to post a riddle in the meantime?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 26, 2019, 11:12:56 AM

OK, not sure if this is too easy or too difficult, but try this one...

Coaxed into a Grecian play,
Then ten thousand eyes I lay,
Then comes no-legs,
Then comes long-legs,
Calling death at close of day.

Tell me, friend, who am I, pray?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on June 29, 2019, 06:23:34 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Autumn?

eye = middle of a flower so they are all losing their blooms
no legs = slugs coming out in the autumn rain
long legs = daddy long legs tend to appear in that season in the UK
death at the close of day is winter?

No idea about the Grecian play reference though

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Son of the King on June 29, 2019, 06:51:06 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Frog

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on June 29, 2019, 09:49:25 PM

SOTK is correct, though valiant effort from Tusky :) SOTK's turn to do a riddle!

Explanation:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Coaxed into a Grecian play,
"Brekekekex Koax Koax" is the famous call of the title choir in Aristophanes' The Frogs
Then ten thousand eyes I lay,
Frogspawn...
Then comes no-legs,
Tadpoles...
Then comes long-legs,
Frogs!
Calling death at close of day.
Evening is when frogs vocalise most, and "croak" - synonym for death.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 06, 2019, 10:37:49 PM

OK, since we're still sans a SOTK-riddle and I wrote some riddles lately:

Green the father, brown the daughter,
Avoid the arrow, witch to water,
Lake or river, earth or air,
Faces hid, they dabble there,
No nimble hands or lips to kiss,
What family, do tell, is this?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 06, 2019, 11:04:15 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Willow

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 07, 2019, 02:58:05 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

ducks

... though I don't see how witch to water fits.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 07, 2019, 03:41:27 PM

Glaurung is right and it's his turn to riddle :)

As to that line:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's a reference to "ducking stools" which were sometimes used to supposedly identify witches: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucking_stool

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 07, 2019, 05:08:12 PM

I don't have a riddle ready, and I'm unlikely to come up with one any time soon. If anyone's got one ready, please jump in.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 10, 2019, 03:00:29 AM

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Poems are hard
Beer

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on July 10, 2019, 03:52:20 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

... beer?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 10, 2019, 01:24:18 PM

We have a weiner! Winner.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 10, 2019, 03:27:44 PM

OK, here's a moderately tricky one from me:

There’s two cat’s feet that end their tread,
And if things start again, I’m dead
Two columns tell my life and death,
I lived so you could catch your breath.
But things must end, then start, because,
If I don’t die, I never was –
I speak no word, take up no room,
What name should stand upon my tomb?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on July 10, 2019, 05:08:35 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Pause

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 10, 2019, 07:46:48 PM

Very good! Most people I showed that one to were stumped. :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 10, 2019, 09:02:11 PM

Quote from: comrade_general on July 10, 2019, 03:00:29 AM

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Poems are hard
Beer

I actually saw this on the billboard for a pub.

My turn;

What do I have in my pocket?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 11, 2019, 02:28:57 PM

At least one nitrogen atom. Statistically pretty much a certainty.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 12, 2019, 04:30:00 AM

Wrong. Now we gets to eat it whole.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 12, 2019, 03:44:59 PM

Ah, rats.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: comrade_general on July 12, 2019, 09:43:02 PM

Rats is correct though.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on August 29, 2019, 08:35:53 PM

Bump.

I don't want to speculate on the contents of CG's pockets, but it appears to have been answered correctly, and so I think Jubal gets to pose a new riddle.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 19, 2019, 01:05:30 PM

Sorry, I've been very slow on this...

Murad's headgear, necks of swans,
Bottles from around the world,
Make them decorations, songs,
Feast when summer's leaves are furled,
Say it slow, a deity,
Is what these are, then, don't you see?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on September 19, 2019, 08:57:48 PM

Not to worry: you've had plenty of other things to do.

I'm looking forward to the answer to this one, since there's a stack of allusions, most of which I can't work out yet. About all I've come up with is...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Feast when summer's leaves are furled,
The time when summer's leaves are furled is spring, and a feast then is Easter. So a deity might be Eostre, the supposed Germanic deity of spring. But I can't see how this fits the first three lines at all.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on September 19, 2019, 10:41:11 PM

Hint/response to guess:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Wrong track! I'd argue summer's leaves could count as furled at either end of the season, reasonably...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on October 02, 2019, 09:34:45 AM

I am almost certain this is wrong...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Love / Love letter

Neck of swans
The shape of the necks of two swans is like a heart?

Bottles from around the world,
Make them decorations, songs,
A letter - a love song?

Feast when summer's leaves are furled,
Feast of st. valentine?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on October 02, 2019, 07:22:33 PM

You are correct, in the sense of correctly thinking that your answer is the wrong one :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on October 23, 2019, 12:29:59 PM

I keep looking back at this and can't work out any of the allusions (like Glaurung said).  Also I have no idea who Murad is.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on October 23, 2019, 01:11:02 PM

It's a Turkish name (including of a number of Ottoman Sultans).

Further clues:
1. Light clue

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Of the six lines of the riddle, each pair focuses on a different aspect of the solution.

2. Heavier clue further explaining 1

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In order, the pairs are varieties, then uses, then wordplay.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on October 23, 2019, 01:23:49 PM

I THINK I'VE GOT IT! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS RINGING A BELL

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Gourds!!!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on October 23, 2019, 01:31:03 PM

Perfect - yep. Ierne wins :)

(And gets the prize of setting the next riddle!)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on October 23, 2019, 11:35:57 PM

Blown glass, spun gold,
Coloured marbles, pink clouds,
Swans, mice, flowers, bowls,
Something pretending to be something it's not.


... I never have any idea how hard or easy I make these :'D

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on October 25, 2019, 10:16:46 AM

The only thing I can think of is

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

sugar. Sugar mice, sugar bowls, pink clouds = candy floss. But I don't think sugar swans are a thing, and I'm not sure how the marbles or glass work either there.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on October 25, 2019, 10:21:19 PM

youre right! sugar swans and sugar 'blown glass' are a thing in posh patiserie.
(https://www.sweetart.de/images/product_images/original_images/01zuckerschwaninternet(1)_2.jpg)

marbles, i was just thinking about boiled sweets :)

your turn!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on November 22, 2019, 11:15:35 AM

Whilst we wait for Jubal here is a nice (hopefully) easy one:

Before the new day breaks, I will be most strong
Some people might doubt you - but then they'd be wrong

If you don't comprehend, whatever you do
If you don't know but try, then I surround you,

You could look at the moon, I'm hidden - but there
Where could I be then? Perhaps anywhere

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on November 22, 2019, 11:52:34 AM

Is it

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Darkness?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on November 22, 2019, 12:21:00 PM

Sure is!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Before the new day breaks, I will be most strong
- darkness before the dawn / being afraid of the dark generally
Some people might doubt you - but then they'd be wrong
- dark horse

If you don't comprehend, whatever you do
If you don't know but try, then I surround you,
- in the dark / stab in the dark

You could look at the moon, I'm hidden - but there
- dark side of the moon
Where could I be then? Perhaps anywhere
- lots of things cast shadows

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 27, 2020, 01:04:25 PM

Right, finally wrote one. Probably a bit easy, but I felt it was a pretty rhyme:

I send my letters every year,
On parchments yellowed with their age,
I throw them up into the wind,
Unread, they scatter, page by page,
But when you write a letter, then
I write no more and I am gone;
For from my body, limb and heart,
Is made that which you write upon.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on February 27, 2020, 02:13:24 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

tree?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on February 27, 2020, 04:43:44 PM

Correct, your turn :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on February 27, 2020, 11:44:42 PM

in the old tales-
she is the rising sun
she is the guardian of the place of life
she is the giver of gentle days and nights
but I know an old joke-
you cannot sit beneath her leaves without perishing

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on March 25, 2020, 12:07:11 AM

IS THIS TOO HARD FOR YOU ALL or are you just not into riddles right now???

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on March 25, 2020, 07:21:35 AM

Too hard for me, I'm afraid - I can't even think of a guess for any of the lines, really :(

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on March 25, 2020, 08:23:28 AM

Too hard for me too; the last line might suggest a tree of some sort, but I can't see how that fits with the rest.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 26, 2020, 03:23:03 PM

Some notes and a vague guess:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

in the old tales-
This suggests the whole thing is kind of referential, as does the old joke line... but I'm not sure I'm getting the reference.
she is the rising sun
Could be a flower, given the last line? A yellow one?
she is the guardian of the place of life
This just really confuses me.
she is the giver of gentle days and nights
A sign of spring or summer when the days and nights get gentler? Or something that can be used in making bedclothes, like cotton?
but I know an old joke-
you cannot sit beneath her leaves without perishing
So I'm thinking a plant of some kind. Presumably not a tree - a plant you need to perish to sit under is presumably a low growing one, such that you're only under it when you've been buried.

My initial guess is therefore a daisy: it gives gentle days and nights, in that you need to step on a certain number of them apocryphally to show that summer is here. You also famously are beneath them once dead, hence "pushing up daisies" which might be your old joke. And they do grow and have yellow stamens, which could be the rising sun. Not sure how they guard the place of life (unless somehow roped off with daisy chains), so I'm probably way off, but some guess is better than no guess :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on March 26, 2020, 07:57:52 PM

oops! sorry for making one no one could get!
Jubal was close in getting a flower, but the answer is actually a blue lotus

In the old tales = Egyptian and Greek mythology
the rising sun= the Egyptians used the open blue lotus as a symbol for the rising sun
guardian of the place of life= blue lotus growing in the Nile, which the ancient Egyptians thought of as a place of magical life/ressureation, as well as a literal life source
gentle days and nights= a reference to the lotus eaters of Greek myth, the blue lotus has soporific properties
...and the joke is based around the idea that if you tried to sit under a water lily (of any kind) you'd drown

...I think I just proved I'm too much of an Egyptology nerd to function, oh well :P

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on March 26, 2020, 08:48:07 PM

Yeah, that's awesome, but admittedly beyond my Egyptological capabilities :) (Oooh, we should have some Egyptian smiley options...)

Whose turn is it now, then?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on March 26, 2020, 09:00:34 PM

Quote from: Jubal on March 26, 2020, 08:48:07 PM

Whose turn is it now, then?

Yours, I would say: you made the only thorough attempt at it, and you at least got a flower, even if it wasn't the right one.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Ierne on March 27, 2020, 12:56:56 AM

I agree, that was impressive!

(ooh and yes please to the Egyptian smileys :D )

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on May 25, 2020, 12:50:11 PM

OK, here's another one at long last:

With hey and wind and ho I come,
I build a bridge when joined with sun,
I nurture growing wheat and tree,
And in cold frost I am not me,
There's lots of me all round the wide world, and yet -
One of me only a monarch can get

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 03, 2020, 07:25:26 PM

Oops, I'd forgotten about this.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I can't see how the last line works, but otherwise I think it is: rain, or perhaps raindrops.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on July 03, 2020, 07:32:34 PM

Oh yeah

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 03, 2020, 07:53:22 PM

Glaurung's answer is correct :)

The last line:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

is a rain/reign pun.

Glaurung's turn!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 08, 2020, 07:44:44 PM

Quote from: Jubal on July 03, 2020, 07:53:22 PM

Glaurung's turn!

This is probably another reason I held off, because (as usual) I have no idea what riddle to post. It's open for anyone who wants it, I think.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 27, 2020, 10:49:54 PM

My first is in your head, then curved blade follows,
I defy the clouded sky, on limbs, in hollows,
I just hang on a little while,
Pointing to where I must go,
From fence and branch and bar and stile,
If you know my name, then tell me so!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Tusky on July 29, 2020, 10:23:52 AM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Icicle!

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on August 14, 2020, 11:05:45 AM

Correct! Your turn! :)

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 08, 2021, 08:10:24 PM

Take an oracle to the sea,
Then you have a sort of me,
Like a kind of deer I run,
My longer kin from north may come,
Push me out to try for fame,
So, friend, tell me: what's my name?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 21, 2021, 01:29:42 PM

I'm stumped on this one :( Each bit of the clue gives me an idea, but none of them seem to be connected. Maybe time for a hint?

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 21, 2021, 03:47:10 PM

There's at least one sound-based clue, at least one spelling-based clue, at least one idiom based clue and at least one historical based clue in there.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Glaurung on July 21, 2021, 04:21:55 PM

After some more thought, I have come up with:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

boat

Logic:
- longboats from the north (historical)
- "push out the boat" (idiom)
- after further idle musing aloud, and with a groan, "sea oracle" = "C oracle" = "coracle" (is that sound-based or spelling based?)

But I still can't get the link to deer running.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on July 21, 2021, 04:39:46 PM

You're correct :)

The remaining clue:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Is the sound based one - to get a boat to move, you row, or as this suggests, "roe" it.

I'll see if I can think of any more...

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Jubal on August 17, 2021, 09:41:09 AM

Okay, a new one:

I am the giver of sweetness before the wise moon's daughter:
Throw me once and I am here, throw me twice and I am gone.
You entrust to me that which you need to survive,
Then with cold steel take it swift anon.
I likewise am the launch of orbs to flight in summer haze,
And when I am over, 'tis my power to amaze.

Title: Re: Riddles in the Dark of Exilian
Post by: Spritelady on April 11, 2024, 02:57:55 PM

So I found this while browsing for possible riddles to put into an upcoming DnD game. I am terrible at riddles and don't have a good guess but I'll post some thoughts and maybe someone smarter than me will spot this and take a stab:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Wise moon's daughter" makes me think either of stars or possibly of a mythological deity. I have some knowledge of Greek more than anything else in this area, but then I don't think Athena (Goddess of Wisdom) was typically associated with the moon. Possibly a link with owls there that come out at night, although that seems a stretch...

"You entrust to me that which you need to survive, then with cold steel take it swift anon" makes me think of planting seeds and then harvesting crops, but I can't see how that fits elsewhere.

"the launch of orbs to flight in summer haze" makes me think of dandelions scattering seeds as well but then it's the wind that actually launches those and "wind" doesn't seem to fit either