Which game's riddles are you interested in? <Arena> <Daggerfall> <Battlespire> <Redguard> <Morrowind>
Arena
These riddles are presented to you by each main quest dungeon. Typically, one has to guess the riddle prior to getting to the final chamber, the one where the piece of the Staff is kept. In some cases, however, a skilled mage can bypass the riddle be means of the Passwall spell. Maybe that's the reason why Passwall was promptly yanked from The Elder Scrolls grimoire right after Arena, never to reappear again.
I am twice as old as three times the age of |
I touch your face, |
If Cell 3 holds worthless brass, Cell 2 holds the gold key. |
From the beginning of eternity, |
In a marble hall, white as milk, |
My second is performed by my first, |
What is neither fish nor flesh, |
Crushed beneath trampling feet, |
Two bodies have I, |
What force and strength |
I tie and hold, capture and bind, |
What flares up |
More beautiful than the face of your God, |
I come out of the earth, |
What is the thing |
There is a thing, which nothing is, |
I daily am in Elsweyr and Skyrim, |
Elvish mithril and Argonian silver, crumble I can. |
I am the architect of this hall, |
I run smoother than any rhyme, |
Daggerfall
Thank Powers, Daggerfall's gameplay was not heavy on riddles. There were only two, and both were in Mantellan Crux (that's the final dungeon, in case you didn't know).
One speaks for me |
Speak not of love or hate, but tell me this; |
Battlespire
Some live in me, some live on, |
Through straightway is rightway |
I rise above the roofs below |
Armor bright |
Loadbearer, Warrior |
So dark, dirty, cold this place, |
The gift your mother gives you, |
What was the sight my eyes were giving |
We say some things improve with death. |
Who makes it neither needs nor wants it. |
Never watched by daylight |
Redguard
Redguard, due to its' genre, was positively supposed to have riddles. And there is one. It's a pretty old one, and I've heard many variations thereof. One would involve a City of Liars and a City of Truthfuls, for example...
Here is the text of the riddle that Clavicus Vile asks to Cyrus.
The context
Clavicus Vile is sitting in a chair with a dog at his right side in front of a little house in a green meadow. Cyrus has offered Clavicus Vile to play a game because Vile said he was bored. But Cyrus had to wager his soul against Iszara's soul in the contest. Now Vile has to choose a riddle and Cyrus has to answer right to free Iszara's soul.
Vile:
And now that I have your complete attention. You're ready for your test. But, before we start...
Cyrus, did you have a classical education?Cyrus says nothing
Vile:
Good, good, just checking. Just that a thinking man, a well-educated man might have an unfair advantage in this test. But no! You're a hero...a man of action, right?Cyrus:
You're talking to yourself Vile. I'm ready. Let's go.Vile, the riddle:
So you probably won't recognize this old chestnut, taken straight from Paulus's "The Stars on Their Shoulders". Ready? Listen carefully! I won't repeat it!Two doors. One leads to the loss of your soul, the other leads to the return of Iszara's.
- Two guardians. One always lies, one always tells the truth.
- You can ask one of them just one question. Just one!
The game begins... Choose wisely... Hee hee!
Cyrus, possible questions:
- Which door is corect?
- Which door is not corect?
- Which guard is lying?
- Are you the guard who lies?
- Is he the guard who lies?
- Is Clavicus Vile lying?
- Which door would Vile say is correct?
- Which door would the dog say is correct?
- Which door would the other say is correct?
- Do both doors lead to death?
- What is behind this door?
- What is behind the other door?
The only question that enables to guess the good door in all cases is:
9 - Which door would the other say is correct?
There are four cases but in all, the guard will indicate the wrong door, and Cyrus will have to choose the other one.
- if Cyrus asks the liar, this one knows that the other guard would say the good door, but as himself is a liar, he'll indicate the opposite door, the wrong door.
- if Cyrus asks the trusty one, that one knows that the other guard is a liar and would say the wrong door, so he'll report truely the lie of the other guard. In both cases the reported door is the wrong one, so Cyrus just has to choose the opposite door than the one reported.
- if Cyrus is answered THE RIGHT DOOR, he has to choose the LEFT DOOR
- if Cyrus is answered THE LEFT DOOR, he has to choose the RIGHT DOOR
For all the other questions, both of the doors are wrong. Obviously the game considers the other questions as non fitting ones and removes the 50% chance that one should usually have in choosing at random. So, that if the gamer asks another question than the #9, he has 100% chances to pass through the wrong door.
The original explanation was contributed by danibene.
Morrowind
All the riddles of Morrowind are supposed to be found on three books:
- The Red Book of Riddles
- The Yellow Book of Riddles
- The Blue Book of Riddles (strangely this one doesn't have anything, only a note)