Thread: The Riddle-Game

Originally Posted by lastalliance

Hmm... although a mountain probably could not be considered to have a "slim shape" a mountain range can. For example, the Pelori mountain range has one distinct shape that could be considered quite slim.

That backs up my guess of the lonely mountain, sinse it isn't part of a range. You sure that isn't the answer? It fits pretty well...

I'm just kidding

I've got one last guess on your riddle LA... I'm going batty over it!

Would it be Ered Mithrin?

I know it's not up to me, but I think it's time to admit defeat and move on hehe . I need to find out the answers to the 2 nemesis riddles now. They have confounded for long enough. If it's ok with everyone, how about giving the elusive answers, Dav16 and LA?
As a new addition in the meantime, I'd like to submit my latest effort. It's a tribute to my favorite of Silverlocket's riddles. The rapid fire rhyme scheme of his Samwise riddle (pg44) was classic. So i tried a pale imitation haha

From hills blue, came few, stout hearts, untrue
lusts brew, king slew, pierced through; slain
hate divides, took sides, curses cried, hands tied
fools died, widowed brides, both sides, pain

and in honor of the upcoming 1000 post mark of the riddle thread, Im putting together a greatest hits list of my favorite riddles from the thread. I'll try to post it at the 1000 mark. This is quite a task, lots and lots of reading haha, and lots of great riddling. Im thoroughly enjoying it

Ok I will give in, I was afraid I didn't give a fair riddle, perhaps to obscure, sorry all.

Originally Posted by dav16

My Fortune is held with no lock and no key,
And has neither front nor a back.
You felt joy when my fortune was heros set free,
You are irked if my fortune is black

Alright the answer was a barrel. Heres my explanation:

First of all, a barrel has no lock or key, it is round, so it has neither front or back. (told you it was literal) The memory I was trying to invoke was simply The Hobbit in general, and was assuming you might flip through the book. Eventually you could come across the chapter "Barrels out of Bond".

This is the solution to the third line; the fortune is what is being held within the barrel, and I assume noone was sad when the dwarves escaped from the clutches of the elvenking, so you felt joy when my fortune was heros set free.

The last line I needed to close up the riddle, so it may have been too obscure. I thought, what rhymes with latch(later became back). I couldn't find anything in tolkein so I looked at modern life, and thought "Black Fortune" which is oil. So I took the lines and reworded it in a way that it would sound like a possessive fortune, and desided that (unless you all are a bunch of entrepeneurs) noone likes the oil guys nowadays. So I decided you would be "irked if my fortune(the barrels) is black."

Could you have gotten that from the clues?

Alright, the answer was the Ithil Stone (Which was the Palantir of Minas Ithil, later Minas Morgul). here's my explanation:

Part of me is often denied the slim shape of the first,
Usually being quite wide in girth,
It's not always so wide that It'd burst,
So it sometimes holds the slim shape of the first,
But a part of me holds the gift of the second,
And I'm more akin to the second than the first,
I am not what I would seem,
And will be revealed when things are the worst.

The "slim shape of the first" was a crescent. The Pelori mountain range was shaped like a crescent. The moon is often denied the slim shape of a crescent, it is perceived sometimes as a crescent shape and sometimes as a big fat thing. So "Part of it" was the moon. The other part of it held the gift of the second; which was the Arkenstone, which was a stone, in a sense. I should have tried to make that a great deal more clear, I think. So the two parts went together to form the "Moon Stone" or "Ithil Stone." The last two lines you guys have managed to decipher.

Once again, I think I did a bad job writing this riddle, just to remind you all.

I think that's a fine thing to do Elvyen. NOBODY STEAL HIS 1000'th POST! IT'S HIS AND HIS ALONE! If you happen to make the 999th post, please remind everyone at the end of your post not to post anything until Elvyen does.

Could your new riddle be describing the civil war of Gondor, Elvyen?

Clever riddle Lastalliance, especially the part with the crecent, that sometimes it has one shape and sometimes another, I never could have guessed that myself.

Also, when Elevyn makes post #1000, I demand a sticky! Anyone second that?

Long before you even made that post, I was thinking of demanding a sticky at our 1,000th post as well. I'm glad you're like minded as me. Hopefully Berephon will check back here soon and we can start begging him to help us get a sticky.

heh, good riddle actually Last Alliance.
After someone figured out to look at the first and second riddles, I was looking at the mountain ranges on the maps, but didn't think to look at the actual shape of the Pelori range. Very tricksy!

So now I guess we just have Elvyen's new riddle?

Dav16, you wrote a great riddle! Don't feel bad about it, and dont let it keep you from offering lots more! I just couldnt get by the "no front or back" line when i was trying to think of any containers. But your absolutely right, a barrel HAS no definitive back or front, just a top and a bottom. And heroes set free totally shouldve led me too barrels out of bond. Oh well
And LA, that was a very clever riddle too, I dont think it was badly written at all, just incredibly tricky hehe. I think one of us would've gotten it eventually. Especially after Dav16 figured out that the sequence of 3 riddles was itself significant. Cdawg was closing in on the answer quickly I think.

Regarding the 1000th post, Id love to have it reserved haha my favorites list is getting lengthy though, and i may have to edit it to keep the post size manageable And if anyone else wants to do a greatest hits post themselves that would be excellent.

Oh, and a sticky would be GREAT! I didnt even think of that hehe, but by all means yes. How about it Berephon? Drop by again at 1000 and set us up.

-oh and regarding my latest riddle, no the civil war of Gondor isnt the answer

The 1000th post idea is fantastic, as is the sticky-request. I promise not to step on the 1000th post.

Elvyen, is the answer to your latest the Battle of Unnumbered Tears? It was one of my favorites, by the way... I loved it when king Azaghul was carried off the field by his kin.

To Dav16 and LA, true brainteasers those were, hopefully we'll be more adept at answering your future riddles! I hope Elvyen doesn't mind if I post a riddle before his is solved, but I thought a few up over the weekend and wanted to see how quickly you guys get it Shouldn't be too hard I think.

I will remain loyal to all the old kings
But cannot be swayed by any old rings
Plucked, pinched, bruised, chewed, spat
My charge is renewal, and I hold to that
Lesser, greater, refined, and pure,
Greater aid than even a wizard conjures
Earthborn, and with roots deep in lore
Take me by your side if you aim for the fore

Sounds like old Tom Bombadil, but the first line doesn't work and I can't see how the last line would fit that either...

looks suspiciously like athelas hehehe


it helps being a scholar, knowing my tiers of potions very well haha
great riddle


for my riddle, no it isnt the battle of unnumbered tears. great guess though

You are suspiciously correct... have you done this riddle thing before? Ok then, how about this one...

I can be fearsome or gentle - a guide in the dark
I'm made by great men and the tiniest lark
Though stealth I'm without, rarely I'm seen
If you wish my appearance, just ask where I've been

Man I should have guessed that, it makes waaay more sense....

could the answer to Womdon's be sound?

Elvyen, yours looks kind of like Dunlendings and men of Rohan having a quarrel... perhaps when Helm slew... that one guy... Wulf's father... or maybe when the Dunlendings captured Edoras... although I suspect I'm incorrect. ... .. . ........... ...


.... ...Sorry, I just like periods.

Correct you are, LA! My riddles are goin down like fish in a barrel, but I've got another for ya:


Inside or out, I'm with nearly all
Spots of resistance I have been called
Lined with care to the greatest deep
Till greedy eyes yearn to pick my keep
At times glamorous, at others, stark -
I was Bilbo's savior on a lark

Oh, and I'd also like to refine my earlier guess to "Dwarves of Belegost" rather than the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.

Inside or out, I'm with nearly all
Spots of resistance I have been called
Lined with care to the greatest deep
Till greedy eyes yearn to pick my keep
At times glamorous, at others, stark -
I was Bilbo's savior on a lark


A pocket perhaps?

oooooh beat me to it Cdawg! I logged in all excited too!

Erg, I'm sure that's the answer too...

Indeed it is, pocket is correct! Good job guys

Nice guess LA on sound
and Cdawg on the pocket
and great riddles womdon!

For my riddle, LA the Dunlendings/Rohan quarrel is incorrect. And Womdon, your getting closer.
Dwarves are definitely involved in this event, but not from Belegost. Very close guess

Elvyen, could your riddle be describing the time when those dwarves were forging the gold of Glaurung's hoard and they ended up slaying king Thingol?

Close enough Thingol asked the dwarves from Nogrod in the blue mountains
to come put Beren/Luthien's silmaril into the Nauglamir necklace. The dwarves
finished but then said "ooh shiny, we wants it" to which Thingol replied "Hmm... no."
and the dwarves got all murderous.
Lots of violence, death etc. resulted

yes, the dwarves forged the Nauglamir, among many other things, from the gold of Glaurung's hoard. Nice riddle.

Ok, here's a new one!


Look down and see
An echo of time
A very long climb
An infinite flight
Ravaged in fight
Which one of three
Am I?

Originally Posted by CDawg

Ok, here's a new one!


Look down and see
An echo of time
A very long climb
An infinite flight
Ravaged in fight
Which one of three
Am I?

Is this lotr related?

I'll guess The Endless Stair, even though it doesn't seem to fit the last line. I'll keep thinking...

Originally Posted by lastalliance

Is this lotr related?

I'll guess The Endless Stair, even though it doesn't seem to fit the last line. I'll keep thinking...

yes Lotr related, definitely

hmmm.... Nenya... Galadriel... her mirror... all wrong, of course. I'm still thinking...

Hold on... the peak of Zirakzigil.

Originally Posted by lastalliance

Hold on... the peak of Zirakzigil.

Yup, bingo!

You want to explain what the first two lines mean? You figured out the next two as the endless stair, and the 5th line as Durin's Tower.

ok ive got my post all ready for #1000 In the meantime let's have the next riddle

Lets put riddles in the game as quests. Someone post this in suggestions.

Originally Posted by CDawg

You want to explain what the first two lines mean?

Actually, I can't decipher them. what do they refer to?

Originally Posted by zepolac

Lets put riddles in the game as quests. Someone post this in suggestions.

There's already a quest called "The Riddle Game" that you can pick up from Bilbo in Rivendell ; it's a chain of riddles. More would certainly be nice, though.

For the sake of reaching the 1,000th post... I just threw this together in two and a half minutes! Huzzah for us!

We both have been sent from out of the West,
To give the free peoples a marginal rest,
We travel always into the East,
To battle the darkness, at the very least.

I hope it's not too obscure.

Originally Posted by lastalliance

For the sake of reaching the 1,000th post... I just threw this together in two and a half minutes! Huzzah for us!

We both have been sent from out of the West,
To give the free peoples a marginal rest,
We travel always into the East,
To battle the darkness, at the very least.

The Blue Wizards, whose names escape me at the moment? Pallando and something, I think.

SL

yep, Alatar and Pallando. 997... come on guys, make some useless posts!

Alright, I'm making a request. I request that someone make post 999 after this one asking nobody to make another post except for Elvyen. This way, we're getting two more posts. So we're getting closer, right? Someone make that post! (careful not to both do it at the same time or we'll be in trouble...)

ive got to go out for a few hours so i figured id put up my post before i go, so here's #999

Happy 1000th, riddle thread!!!

You’ve made us ponder, reflect, recollect, research, laugh, cry (well maybe not cry), and stare blankly into space for long stretches of time. You’ve brought triumph and frustration, and new friends.
Not to mention helping the occasional person through some very frustrating work days.

I wanted to put together a list of my favorites from the collection, as a celebration of sorts.
My compiled list was quite large. I forced myself to cut it down to a manageable size, so don’t worry if any of yours didn’t make the list. They probably originally did. haha
----------------------

Early on, riddler Nevyn threw this one up

Rich man's may be of gold,
Poor man's may be of wood.
Partner of emptiness,
underneath your hood.

His intended answer was buttons, but Renowiggum’s guess was false teeth, which Nevyn conceded to be a better answer, so the intended solution was changed. The partner of emptiness, haha great line
--------------

Riddler Thorondor offered this one, which I thought quite efficient and effective in it’s wording,

The earth I love,
The sun I hate,
And morning birds,
Unless they're late

Short and sweet, clever, and a lot of fun
--------------

Riddler Sdaorssorc (could never spell that right) threw this one in, which I thought was a lot of fun

Tavern gossip, local fool
Fells the tree, a wizard's tool
when travelers return to stay
He blows his horn and runs away

The always annoying Ted Sandyman haha
---------------------------

A recent riddle by Womdon was, I think, very creative. I really enjoyed it

What is my name?
It’s first is the first of he who loves in shadow
It’s second shares its form with he who reads these words
It’s third yields rolling peaks, but its valleys number one
It’s fourth bookends the firstborns' azure gift
It’s final is within this entire line's brigade

The answer being Gimli, just trust me lol
Very cool riddle Womdon
----------------------

I loved this riddle from Klapton!

I have touched purest flame and not been burned.
I have been consumed by Evil, but committed none.
My owner counted me small loss for his gain.
With a heavy hand I was recovered,
And my treasure was given to my brother.

master guesser Silverlocket got the answer: Beren’s hand.
Haha excellent riddle!
-----------------------------------

We even had a dev stop by several times to join the fun! Turbine’s loremaster Berephon visited us and guessed some tough lore riddles. He even offered one himself, though he said he had to save most of his others for in-game events. (c’mon Berephon, let’s see those events happen already!)

Shadow of the East am I,
Bound by sorcery to Sorcery.
Little do my eyes see,
But much my mind may ken.
Second to my Chief,
The Chief of all, I know best.

The answer, guessed by LA: Khamul, the second most powerful Nazgul, behind the Witch King himself.
--------------------------------

Lastalliance (LA), expert riddler, and resident lore-master, had a bunch of great contributions, involving a LOT of research, (being an enormous plus in my opinion haha) I’m grateful to him for vastly improving my knowledge of the lore. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable before, but like they say; the more you know- the more you realize you don’t know. Here are a couple of my favorites.

I am a scholar of great fame,
I dwell by the white tree,
Without me none could write their own name,
Now think deeply, who might I be?

The answer: Rumil, the elven loremaster in Tirion. He developed the very first writing system. This was a lot of fun to research!
---------------------

Then this one

Hear my hammer! Fear my anvil!
I joined the sun and moon to conquer darkness,
And darkness indeed did groan.
Hear my hammer! Fear my anvil!
A cleaver of iron and retriever of light,
This also I made on my own.
Hear my hammer! Fear my anvil!
Who gave life to a dragon greater than Angband's own?
It was I alone.
Hear my hammer! Fear my anvil!
For I have great renown.

The answer: Telchar; the legendary dwarven smith of Nogrod, forger of Angrist- the knife that cut the silmaril from Morgoth’s crown, the Dragon Helm that Turin wore, and of course Narsil- Elendil’s sword that later became Anduril, which we get to help reforge in LOTRO!
Awesome riddle LA! I love the battle hymn format, very artistic
-----------------

And then there was his more recent one:

Hear this noise: loud, strong, clear.
The very sound of it puts enemies to fear,
It foretells a stalker, a snow-troll if you will,
Hunting with his hands, intent upon his kill.

The answer: Helm Hammerhand on the prowl, snow-troll-ish in his fierceness hehe
Again, lots of fun to research
Thanks LA
-----------------------------------

And my 3 absolute favorites:

A very beautiful, very Tolkien-esque, very elven offering by Thorondor

Loved by the Elf who lives in my wood,
All of his kind live safe in my shade.
I bore a sweet fruit, the sweetest of all,
Born to live, but doomed to fade.

The answer, of course, was Melian, wife of Elu Thingol, and mother of Luthien, definitely the sweetest fruit of all. Divinely beautiful, and profoundly sad.
Awesome, Thorondor.
---------------------------------------

Silverlocket’s masterful rhyming blew me away on this one:

Most wise half-wise, small-size, brown eyes.
Laughs, cries, rope ties, tater fries, bard.
Though blenched bore stench -- Hope clenched, not quenched --
Marsh-drenched, heart-wrenched, never-flinched, guard.

Simply amazing…
------------------------------------------

And my favorite, the coolest use of metaphor in the thread; and one that I aspire to;
Brodomir’s contribution from the early pages; one that definitely helped make me a big fan of the thread!

I'm a slippery fish in a cloudy sea;
Neither hook nor spear will capture me.
With your hand you must hunt and seize this fish,
And see that it ends up in the dish!

…a bar of soap that has fallen in the bath.
I don’t think it gets better than that haha
-------------------------------------------

Thanks again riddlers. You’ve made a forum visitor of me, which is a first for me in any game. I’m glad to be a part of it.
And thanks also for letting me try to wax creative and put up all my riddles, and for all the guesses on them. I felt really good about a couple of them. It’s been a ton of fun.
Now I want the “Fathomer of Riddles” forum title like Andulinde.

So, like I said, there were lots of other riddles that originally made this list, but I had to cut it down to size.
(Please anyone feel free to post your own list if you want. Don’t let me hog the spotlight hehe)

Here’s to the next 1000!

Now how about a STICKY!!!!!


………………..ok next riddle