Riddles and Puzzles

Playing D&D and the party encounters a lewd Sphinx, she says that she upgraded her game and now gives out prizes to people who can solve her riddles and gives us a book of custom Riddles the GM made.

>lewd Sphinx
But why?

..and?

>Part 1

The Deadly Card Game
Madam Sphinx was on her way to dine in her favorite eatery in Absalom when she found her favorite table was occupied. “Oh, what a bother,” she said, before turning to the waiter. “When shall my table be open, miss?”

Said the waiter, “My word, good madame, why there has been a murder here!”

“A murder! Well, that is quite a reasonable reason to have slow service, so I shant take it out of your tip, my good lady. When will my table be open?”

“Ah, Madam Sphinx, I am so sorry to say it probably shall not be available tonight. You see, the guard is come to investigate the killing and come to no conclusions. The body lays in your chair, slain as he sat in a private game of cards with three others. So your private table is unavailable for a moment.”

“And how long shall it take for me to get another table?”

“About three minutes, madam.”

“Well then,” said Madam Sphinx, “I suppose I shall solve the case, as it will take far less time.” Madam Sphinx went to the body with the waiter. “Who is the victim?”

“Ah, this is Mister Francois Bulvern. He was here playing Elysian Hold 'Em with three compatriots. First there was the redoubtable Miss Viona Verdiga, a secret Nidalese sorceress and maiden of Urgathoa that had chosen the path of unlife! She would steal the life force of everyone she met in order to maintain her own unnatural life. Perhaps she is the killer!”

“Well, good miss,” said Madam Sphinx, “Anyone could be the killer, for he was killed by a dagger in the back, not some arcane rite.”

Part 2


“Well, that certainly points to his other companion, the master criminal and rascal Skallagron. This Ulfen criminal is said to be deep in the criminal world of the City of Absalom, and to have a dozen different faces in every port!”

“Mayhap, miss, but you should tell me of the third suspect as well.”

“Well, Madam Sphinx, the third possibility is Gorlis of Daggermark. He is an assassin of great skill from that city, and surely capable of killing.”

“Indeed, he could be, though I would think a Daggermark assassin more likely to leave the deed done in secret rather than take up my favorite table with his antics.”

“Quite a quandary, Madam Sphinx. But I seem to think that Francois was leaving us a clue. Look at the chips on the table!”

“Indeed, it seems that Francois was bluffing heavily, hoping on a gut-shot straight draw to win a hand when two aces had already come down on the flop.”

“No, Madam Sphinx, I mean how he with his dying breath pointed to the final card of the hand, the four of swords!”

“Ah, yes, that. I saw that before, good madam. Now clear my table as I announce the killer to the guardsmen.”

Who dealt Francois a lethal card?

>a lewd Sphinx
Yeah, players go murderhobo on the Sphinx and remind you that you're now on your second strike before you get booted from the group for being a faggot

Aprantly she was the child of a previous game's player character from the same setting.

>Riddle #2


The Mark
In a monastery are acolytes with a holy vow to never speak nor write nor seek their own reflections. The acolytes believe any who are unworthy will one day suddenly develop a black mark upon their own forehead, and though every acolytes will see the mark upon his fellow's foreheads, no acolytes will ever see the mark on their own forehead, and no acolytes will tell another of the mark. The acolytes are quite serious about their oath and do not communicate to any with the mark that they have it by any means, nor tell each other they do not have the mark. Those with the mark are to leave the monastery forever at midnight.

On a winter's night Madam Sphinx comes to the monastery. She says but one thing to the acolytes, and that is, 'I see at least one of you has the mark on your forehead.' No acolyte breaks their vow, but the next morn they gather at once and and ask Madam Sphinx why such a fair and brilliant thinker with such a comely face would play such a cruel joke on them, which she says she was only testing the wit of the monks before she blesses them.

How did the monks discover the truth Madam Sphinx was testing them?

>Riddle #3 part 1


The Bloody Stage
“What do you mean, the play is canceled?” huffed Madam Sphinx.

“Well, you see,” said the theater manager, “we cannot continue the play on account of the lead actress being dead!”

“What a shame,” said Madam Sphinx. “I'd hope this would teach you the importance of always having an understudy.”

“Oh, we do, but the girl refuses to perform while a killer is on the loose. I'm so sorry, madam.”

“Hmm, I see I shall have to get a refund. Or catch the killer. Let us go to the body and see what we might find,” said Madam Sphinx. She followed the theater manager backstage, past all of the cluttered props and sets. There, they found the body of Miss Christine Stanner lying in a pool of blood, a crossbow bolt in her side. “Goodness,” Madam Sphinx said, “they not only killed the lead, but ruined her costume!”

“Yes, though the costume was insured,” said the theater manager.

“Well then, it seems the girl was shot here by the wings, then staggered off to where the costuming supplied. What a funny thing to grab in her last seconds – white face powder and a blonde wig,” said Madam Sphinx. “Who are the suspects?”

“Well, first, there was Vierna Freth, a priestess of Nocticula,” he said. “She had hated the girl and thought her a poor fit for the part, and had a niece which she thought would do far better.”

“Well, that is certainly enough for a drow to kill for, but tell me, why did you let her into the theater?”

“Madam Sphinx, do you think I would be crazy enough to tell her no?”

“A fair point. Any others?”

>Part 2


“Yes, there was a woman from Nirmathas, a Miss Fiona, a bard of some repute among her own people, who had been insanely jealous that Christine had the part. She had sworn her name would be the one to grace the sign outside my theater.”

“I see. And the third?”

“Ah, there was a nobleman named Erik from the Land of Linnorm Kings, the one there who is still galumphing about with the head of the linnorm.”

“I know of them, sir.”

“Yes, Madam Sphinx, well, he had been worked up into a righteous rage over Christine rebuffing his affections, and said he would allow his 'angel of music' to sing for him or no other.”

“Well then,” said Madam Sphinx, “Are you sure our list of suspects is complete?”

“It is, yet I have no clue!”

“But I do, and this is who to arrest,” said Madam Sphinx.

“Whom,” said the theater manager. Madam Sphinx bit him for correcting her.

Who cut the alto's noteworthy career breve?

>Riddle #4 part 1


The Gallery of Blood
“Madam Sphinx, this is awful!” said Lord Huffler, his face drawn up with tension. “We were all set to hold your gala affair for young artists of the Inner Sea when we find that we are out of brie!”

“This does not seem to be much of a tragedy, sir. Why not send off for more?” Madam Sphinx said.

“Ah, for the police are here on account of the murder, and they insist no one leaves until they have apprehended the killer!” said Lord Huffler.

Madam Sphinx said, “My, these murders are then bad for business. I suppose we shall have to again do the police’s job for them. Well, most of their jobs. We shall solve the case and finger the killer and then leave all the nasty, grotesque business of catching the killer to them, even though with strong wings and a powerful feline body, such a task would be trivial.”

“Indeed, it would be, Madam Sphinx, but nonetheless, we shall have done our part merely by naming the killer. And as I knew you would insist upon our getting more brie, I have narrowed down the list of possible killers to three. I even placed them in an exhibit I have titled, Suspicion.”

“Well done,” said Madam Sphinx. “And our victim? Victims always leave clues.”

>Part 2

“Here,” said Lord Huffler. He led Madam Sphinx through the admiring crowd to the dais where a great marble statue was marred by a copious amount of blood. The young painter, Vermano, lay there. He had since had the courtesy to stop bleeding, since without a heartbeat, he couldn’t really bleed anymore. He had also had the courtesy to paint one last painting, which the assembled nobles were bidding up in price now that the artist was dead. It was a minimalist rendition, one the dead artist had titled Minimalist Piano Sketch Done in Blood.

“Such an unfortunate fellow,” Madam Sphinx said. “My contracts pay after the showing, but not to his estate. Now we shall meet our suspects.”

“As you wish, Madam Sphinx,” said Lord Huffler, but not before he had ordered the final work placed in a frame for sale later that evening. Lord Huffler introduced Madam Sphinx to the brash Tatiana Dismitrifollafovanitrovski, there to show off her fine sculptures. There was also the soft-spoken Faviola Gamez-Moreno del Sol y Luna y Estrella, a most talented producer of pottery. Finally, Krograxthuroktar the Bloodied Demon Axe was there, a terrifying figure to most, with his delicate and quite dainty scrimshaws he had made to capture the gentle poet hidden in the screaming berserker’s soul.

“Send the boys for more brie, Lord Huffler,” Madam Sphinx said. “I am ready to unmask the killer.”

Who colored the painter red with blood?

>Riddle #5


The Mad Alchemist
A great and mighty Alchemist called upon Madam Sphinx for her great wisdom and charming company. He said, “Oh, Madam Sphinx, I have a real quandary. I have an experiment that would make of base metal pure gold, and I wish to make for you a royal gift. I prepared two batches of reagents, so I have six vials, with two doses of each of three reagents. But I made a foolish mistake and did not label the vials, and the reagents are identical to every test. I need to give precisely one dose of each reagent to perform this alchemy; if I use more or less than one dose of any reagent, the experiment will fail. Can you help me, Madam Sphinx?”

“Oh, silly alchemist, it is too easy!” Madam Sphinx said. “Here is what you must do…”

How did Madam Sphinx ensure that the experiment worked?

>Riddle #6 Part 1

The Greedy Pirates
“Yarr, Madam Sphinx, thar be treasure on the island!” said Able Seaman Cesar. “An’ now we pirates face another puzzle of our traditions!”

“And I suppose this means you wish for me to solve it, then, Able Seaman?” Madam Sphinx asked. “For such a service I will ask much is done, both in grooming and feeding. There is a grave indignity in having to eat grapes for oneself and not being fed them,” Madam Sphinx said.

“Yarr, it be a real honor to feed ye,” said Cesar. “But now onto our quandary! For you see, we have found a thousand coins of purest platinum on this island, and now we must divide it between we five; Captain Abelard, First Mate Botswanu, myself, Stumpy, and the cabin boy, Dumpy. Now, Abelard outranks Botswanu, who outranks me, as I outrank Stumpy and Stumpy outranks Dumpy. Dost ye follow, Madam Sphinx?”

“Of course, I do,” Madam Sphinx said, “Though I can’t imagine rank is so important here.”

>Riddle #6 part 2

“Yarr, rank be all to a pirate. That and our mighty sea logic, what makes a pirate a perfect logician when he be voting. An’ just so ye know, pirates be democratic too, yarr!” Cesar said. “Now, each pirate must vote how the booty be split,” Cesar went on, saying, “Now, each pirate, in votes, be perfect at logic. The highest-ranking pirate makes a plan, and arrr, we all votes on it. An’ if 51% of the pirates say aye, then the plan be what the pirates do. An’ if less than 51% of the pirates say aye, yarr, we toss the scalliwag off a cliff and the next ranking pirate makes a new plan. Now a pirate always votes as follows; a pirate always says aye to a plan if saying nae gets him killed. If a pirate can get more platinum later, a pirate votes nae on a plan. If a pirate cannae get more platinum later, he votes aye.”

“A marvelously simple system!” cried Madam Sphinx, pleased as could be.

“Yarr, Madam Sphinx! And I know I shall be blessed with the perfect logic of the sea when we vote tomorrow, but I want to know what will happen now.”

“Ah, goodness, such a simple matter, my friend. Who knew that the perfect logic of pirates only worked when they be voting!”

“Yarr, you said they be voting, heehee!” said Cesar.

“Yarr,” said Madam Sphinx.

What will happen when the pirates vote?

Final Riddle #7

The Secret Code
“My gods,” said the old general, “we have captured the enemy’s secret code word. With this, we will be able to read all of their encrypted orders.”

“Well then, it is not a very good code at all. Unless, of course, it is a code that the enemy meant for you to find which decodes their messages into false orders, while another code decodes their messages into the right orders. Which, in general, is the sort of code I can make for you.” Madame Sphinx licked her paws eagerly then smoothed over her dark hair.

“Ah, lovely and callipygian Madame Sphinx,” the general said, “I would pay most gear for such a code. However, I do not think this statement will need your talents. My cryptographers are already breaking the enemy’s communication with their new code.”

Just then, putting the lie to the general’s confidence, an aide-de-camp entered the tent and said, “Sir! We have tried the enemy’s code word into all of the secret means that we know, but were unable to successfully parse out a message. I’m afraid that it’s hopeless.” The aide-de-camp looked up and then said, “No! I will not despair, for lovely Madame Sphinx will surely help us.”

“Show me the code word.”

VFFGVFVQJEKVEKJTGQWJQUGFUFVGFUNKGGYHGCCUEYGKYDUTQQNTQGVGPTXUTTYF

Madame Sphinx spent the moment examining the word and then said, “Flattery will get you everywhere, though will not help you see a square. Think on this well; not one letter is wasted, yet this message could also not be one letter longer. There are two keys; eight and three. A wiser cryptographer might have thought to substitute, but this one has done something else entirely. The codewords number three, and they are saber, twelve, and red.”

“Ha ha! Now, thanks to our faultless feminine feline's intellectual ferocity, our foul foemen shall fall!”

If there are three code words, saber, twelve, and red, can you decode the secret message?

How are they supposed to kick the GM out exactly?

This is a famous logic problem regarded as quite difficult. I'm quite fond of it.

>a lewd Sphinx
[Kishibe] Sphinx-chan's Ultra Quiz

>four of swords
>only three guests
>stabbed in the back, so couldn't have killed himself
>Madam Sphinx was on her way to dine in her favorite eatery in Absalom when she found her favorite table was occupied.
The Sphinx did it!

Gently remind him that 4 adults can easily fracture his skull when they work together.

I will try checking if that answer is correct.

Also a good suggestion

If he was stabbed in the back, nobody playing at the table could be the killer. That leaves the waiter.

>In a monastery are acolytes with a holy vow to never speak nor write
>but the next morn they gather at once and and ask Madam Sphinx
>and ask Madam Sphinx
Now hold on a minute.

Taking a shot: because all four of the monks, thinking that they alone were the one with the mark on their forehead, left the monastery at midnight. Seeing each other leave at once, it became apparent that none of them had it, as all four would only jump to the same conclusion if none of them had the black mark in the first place.

Due to it requiring 51% of the vote. I would imagine that Dumpy would get all of the booty

Even if Stumpy and Dumpy were the only two remaining and Stumpy said he got 100% of the treasure he still only gets 50% of the vote.

Not sure if this is correct due to the way I read the question, but you can pour half of each vial on the base metal and it would work... I think

>Oh my god, TITS?! So fucking triggered by this lewd shit user... you need to get OUT or we'll fracture your skull!

Make me bright red at the tip and see my shaft drip the thick, white liquid from within me all onto my base. What am I?

Don't feed trolls, retard.

Glue?

Close, it was a candle, glad to see that you didn't went with the pervy answer.

>lewd

>I checked if this is the correct answer with the GM and he said this.

A person seated at the table could easily get up, move, leave the table briefly, or simply reach; people seated at a table side by side, say, a table with two people next to each other on each side could easily reach the back. The sphinx has no hands, and the waiter is not a suspect.

>We have a winner! Your guess is correct thanks for helping.

>The GM dropped some Hints

As for the murder mysteries, I will drop too hints: 1) one of the three suspects is always indicated by the clue left behind by the victim and 2) Elysian Hold'em seems to use exactly the same terms as Texas Hold'Em.

>And greedy Pirates

Stumpy realizes if it comes down to Stumpy and Dumpy, he has to give Dumpy everything - or Dumpy votes to kill and gets everything. But Cesar knows this...as does Botswanu...as does Abelard.

>'The 4 ofSwordsis a card that signifies a break (or need for a break) from normal life.'
While not guaranteed to be the answer, this might point to Viona, given her history with 'taking a break' from life - hers and others'.

Chip placement
Two Aces
Four of Swords is the river

I thought the two aces would be important but each character name has two a in their name, and four of swords isn't an anagram fany of there names. Are we sure it wasn't a group effort to' kill him.

WAIT A MINUTE the four of swords depicts a knight in a castle looking at three swords while he is laying down...and the GM said "A person seated at the table could easily get up" what are the chances Francois got up and when sitting back down laid on the dagger somehow...
IT WAS SUICIDE... three swords in front.. one in the back....

Me and some friends were discussing this one a few weeks ago. I don't remember the conclusion, but it's easy to arrive at it by induction.

Starting at the bottom, if you have 1 pirate, then he takes everything (100). Then, with 2 pirates, the lower ranking one will refuse any offer other than 100, and so the lower ranking pirate wins. With 3, the lower ranking pirate refuses any offer of less than 100, but the middle one accepts any offer of 1 or greater. And so on.

For I would say the drow Vierna Freth
For her niece to play the part, she would probably need a blonde wig and white face powder..
Though...now that I think about it that's incredibly racist.

As for I'm pretty sure this is an anagram puzzle somehow.but I can't see what name can be rewritten as Minimalist Piano Sketch Done in Blood?

What is with all these Encyclopedia Brown tier murder mysteries that seem to require somewhat obscure outside knowledge

Just a rnadom though, but a badly drawn piano and a badly drawn axehead can look pretty similar, so the killer might be the barbarian Demon Axe (the victim tried to scrawl an axe to indicate the killer's name).

so would the treasure be divided as followed?
Alelbard 0 platinum, he already has all the incentive to vote yes...
Botswanu 1 platinum
Ceaser 499 platinum
Stumpy 500 platinum
Dumpy 0 platinum cause that little shit has no incentive to vote yes.

But why would the victim name the painting minimalist piano sketch done in blood.. if it's an axe head...

I kind of thought that part was a joke. He was there to sell a great marble statue.Tatiana Dismitrifollafovanitrovski is also a sculptor, but that seems too easy.

Texas hold'em
I just searched up what gut shot straight draw meant...
Seeing as how Mr. Bulvern was hoping for one, with Twp aces on the table...and the four working in his favor maybe...
The cards on the table are ace, ace, two, three, and five.
AA235