A Harry Potter Quest: He who was not
- Thread starter Tabula Rasa
- Start date
- Location
- Germany
[X] I am the Ravenclaw
- Location
- Italy
Honestly i want to vote for Slitheryn just because I loved a theory that i read before but...
[X] I am the Ravenclaw
I also wonder if for the first step it can mean the first step into Hogwarts as a student and not the first step of the test...
[X] I am the Ravenclaw
I also wonder if for the first step it can mean the first step into Hogwarts as a student and not the first step of the test...
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[X] I am the HufflePuff
- Location
- Where Jokes Die
The main reason I'm not participating in these riddles is because I'm just really really really stupid! I can't solve these kinds of riddles at all! I have the self-esteem of a wet sponge, 3 years old and used every day!
Even in Chandagnac's Time Traveler Quest (shameless plug) which is fairly puzzle-oriented, I shamefacedly squirrel away because all I can do for them there is be a really lousy cheerleader. The puzzle you made is interesting, even to an inadequate punk like me, and trying to translate chunks of the poem using my (horrific) French skills was a good exercise.
Reading this chapter was great fun, and having the discussion be over the answer to a riddle is a fair amount less tense than an argument over morals and ethics. Not that I didn't enjoy that; it was incredibly engaging all-around, but it's a little draining to do too many times in a row. Would still gladly participate every single time, though.
I'd be perfectly alright with seeing more narrative puzzles/riddles crop up in the story; it'll really add to the whole Renaissance Man/Great Exploration thing that Jacob's got going on, and wow is it fun to play as such a character. It's such a delightfully interesting mix, and being able to see how such a character can develop is fascinating in its own right. I mean, seriously; Jacob in his 30s - 60s would be a major character in any story!
Even 6-7 years after leaving the Harry Potter fandom behind me, I'm really quite glad that I picked up this quest, I'm grateful to you for writing it, and I'm positively ecstatic that so many people want to discuss it.
It's just... fun.
I feel a similar kind of "magic" reading this as I did when I first read the Hogwarts Express scene in the first book, which is probably my all-time favorite scene in the entire series. It doesn't have any of the charged baggage or questionable teenage decisions that occur from then on; it's just a boy and his first steps into an intoxicating world, one so much bigger than he ever could've imagined.
A real dream, that transitory scene.
So yes, in summary: reading this quest has really just been fun! not the Dwarf Fortress kind though thankfully
Edit: just realized that "dream" line rhymed, kek
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- Location
- USA
After sleeping on it a bit, there is one other reason why I don't think Hufflepuff is the answer. That being that Jacob noted it was 'the steps' that are important, not one step or the first one, but all four of them. That goes against the logic that people used to decide the answer was Hufflepuff, that the 1st step was the only one that mattered. Let's take another hypothetical puzzle solver. You could have someone else encounter this puzzle and through some twisted logic somehow arrive at the conclusion that the steps were:
Basically, how can all the steps be important but only the first one matter at all? How can all the steps be important, but you only need the first step to be correct in order to solve the riddle? That is the one of the basic problems I have with the Hufflepuff answer. It means that the other steps don't matter when Jacob notes that all the steps are important.
- Hufflepuff
- Zebra
- Goblin
- Elephant
Basically, how can all the steps be important but only the first one matter at all? How can all the steps be important, but you only need the first step to be correct in order to solve the riddle? That is the one of the basic problems I have with the Hufflepuff answer. It means that the other steps don't matter when Jacob notes that all the steps are important.
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- Location
- Where Jokes Die
[X] Ravenclaw
Lying is bad!
Lying is bad!
Shyguy that is quite literally nonsense. It was literally pointed out in chapter that if you failed to beat the golem in the right way, the gate wouldn't even ask you the question in the first place.
You're just twisting a comparatively simple riddle meant for children into something it just ain't.
You're just twisting a comparatively simple riddle meant for children into something it just ain't.
SuperSonicSound
Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal
Yea pretty much this requires twisting yourself into a pretzel to be the right answer, it's Hufflepuff. Every step of the way matters but it's still Hufflepuff.
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[X] I am the Ravenclaw
The problem is exacerbated in this game by the fact that, until now, Jacob has been the one solving the riddles. Sometimes it is determined by roll, sometimes not, but, as you say, he has his own mind and it is by that mind that the riddles are solved. Jacob's mind doesn't matter right now; it doesn't matter what details he noticed or thinks are important, that has been placed in the hands of a plurality whose vote isn't based on what Jacob thinks about this. We aren't Jacob, we influence his actions, direct him towards certain paths, but ultimately Jacob has proven to have his own thoughts, personality, and, most importantly in this situation, problem-solving skills. If the thread had been solving the riddles from the beginning, this would either be less of a problem or not a problem at all, but Jacob has been the keen intellect up to this point, not the thread.
I'm probably going to mess up saying this, because I am bad at words and on the Autism Spectrum, but making the thread solve the riddle instead of Jacob breaks immersion, badly. Giving riddles and puzzles to the players instead of the characters means that no matter how smart, clever, or observant the character is, their problem solving skills have been removed from the equation. Whether or not we get the correct answer, this isn't Jacob solving the riddle, his deductive ability means nothing. In a game where one player controls one character, giving the players a riddle or puzzle can be problematic; in a game where one character is controlled by a plurality and their decision-making is often determined by debate, it means that even if the correct answer is obvious, it is possible to utterly fail to answer.--- The position of this post is completely random and has nothing to do with any kind of current discussion. ---
I am super glad that the riddle turned out to be a good idea. I had a lot of fun writing this and was trying for you to once again feel as if you are in Jacob's shoes. You learn of the world I'm presenting together with our little Ravenclaw Sherlock. Tbh I was somewhat wondering if I'd be able to pull this of, because it's a new genre for me as well, but I'm learning a lot from all of your reactions.
One thing I'd like to say is: You guys fucking rock. It's unbelievable how immersed you are at times, picking up on small clues (or falling over interpretations that may not be correct.)
I'm happy to say that the correct solution has been stated (if once or more than once, I will not say. All clues are only to be found in the story.) And it was even explained with most of the explanation to get to the solution. It's so much fun to see you analyzing the chapter, banding together and solving the problem.
I hope you guys are seeing that I was trying to show you what the riddle is trying to show Jacob: That sometimes people need to work together. Even if Jacob consequently shits on that haha I have started to love this character you guys created. It's so much fun to write him, because he has his own mind and it's fun writing of someone consequently swimming against the current.
For those of you, who don't want to participate in the riddle solving (I understand! It's not for everyone), I'd be happy for you to tell me how this chapter felt as a whole. I'm learning to write this genre and would love the feedback.
As I said before: Thank you guys for sharing this process with me, I'm having at least as much fun as you are
The problem is exacerbated in this game by the fact that, until now, Jacob has been the one solving the riddles. Sometimes it is determined by roll, sometimes not, but, as you say, he has his own mind and it is by that mind that the riddles are solved. Jacob's mind doesn't matter right now; it doesn't matter what details he noticed or thinks are important, that has been placed in the hands of a plurality whose vote isn't based on what Jacob thinks about this. We aren't Jacob, we influence his actions, direct him towards certain paths, but ultimately Jacob has proven to have his own thoughts, personality, and, most importantly in this situation, problem-solving skills. If the thread had been solving the riddles from the beginning, this would either be less of a problem or not a problem at all, but Jacob has been the keen intellect up to this point, not the thread.
SuperSonicSound
Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal
Also the answer is Hufflepuff and ya'll are screwing it up.
- Location
- USA
...damn, that makes sense. If the gate only asks the question if you beat the golem the right way, then I suppose the steps have already been completed then, and all that matters is the last part of the riddle because the middle steps have already been 'solved'. You may be right. If that is the case, then I suppose the Hufflepuff answer does make sense, or at least more sense than I originally thought it did.
I was originally 80% sure it was Ravenclaw, and 20% sure it was Hufflepuff. Now, it's more 50/50 for me. Idk. I'll admit that the Hufflepuff theory is more plausible now than I originally thought though. Ugh. I'll need to let this roll around in my head for a bit and come at it again. Until then I'm editing out my vote until I feel more confident about my choice.
The one thing that confuses me the most about this riddle is that last line, saying that our words need to be reversed. What are people's takes on that line?
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SuperSonicSound
Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal
The last step is the fourth, the fourth is the first.
For here to pass, your words must be reversed.
Well there's a couple of ways to take this this, I still think the answer is Hufflepuff, but it could be saying for us to list the steps in reverse order, but given the last part of the first I posted I don't think so. Your words must be reversed I think is exhortation to look backwards at what has happened again.
- Location
- Asia
Okay so results seem pretty clear. About two thirds are sure that it is Hufflepuff and around one third are supporting Ravenclaw.
SuperSonicSound
Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal
- Location
- USA
Yeah, the way I originally took it was to mean that we needed to list the steps in reverse order, one of the main reasons that I think it is possible for Ravenclaw to be the answer. The last part is the first though can be interpreted as pointing to Hufflepuff though depending on how you look at it. Either way, I do think we have narrowed it down to either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, which is good.
I don't know the consequences of giving the wrong answer, but I don't think it would lock us out of the place entirely, so we can probably try again if we fail. Though I do think it likely that if we give a wrong answer that we will probalby have to fight another golem. It did say that only one answer was safe after all. If we fail, we can probably give it another go though if we survive.
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Nando
they, them
First of all: I really liked the chapter.
But: I'm in agreement with Emissary, and couldn't put it into words either, so, thanks for trying, @Emissary !
Puzzles, for me, are always problematic, in quests more so than in stories: Either you show the complete puzzle and how the character solves it or fails at it (determined via a roll; and risk people pointing out that the character reaching the conclusion doesn't make sense/is unrealistic/... - which you can only solve with giving a really, really good, bulletproof puzzle + solution), or you show only an abstract puzzle (which solves all problems, but is not that immersive), or you end up with something like this, where the puzzle is taken out of context, more or less... *shrugs*
Overall, from a story-telling perspective, looking back on the chapter now, it feels a bit out of the blue-ish? Like, I can see how the situation could come to pass, but the set up of Jacob just going to fuck off into dungeon diving feels a bit like "okay, I've got this really cool place I need my character to be" and then he get's railroaded to that place. It ties, a bit, back to my questions from earlier: what all is included in the exploration action? Since this is kind of what I'd expected to happen, from reading the vote option, and something I would've like to avoid, at least partially (with maybe having Jacob seek refuge in the library, remembering that he could follow through with the exploration, but since it's the middle of the day, he looks up whatever he can find about the possible destination (and might realize, for example, that the mine that Binns mentioned is there), and then set's off at the same time as he did now).
Also, minor nitpicking, I'm not sure about some of the time scale mentioned? At some point Jacob knows exactly how much time he's spent walking (an hour, half an hour later) and the next time time is mentioned he has no idea how long he's walking and...does the tempus thing exist, and does he know it? Or...yeah, a bit confused about that.
But, as I said in the beginning: I really like it, it's really got the feeling of exploration and wonder.
- Location
- USA
I'm generally of two minds for riddle solving. On one hand, things like this tend to massively increase engagement for players. This is almost always a good thing and can lead to some memorable interactions. I recall a naruto quest where the QM made the players solve a collection of problems to pass part of the Chunin exam, where it was narratively explained that we found the answers from other people in the room like you're canonically supposed to for that test.
On the other hand, there's a whole host of issues that come with votes like this. If there's multiple ways something can be interpreted you often see factions form around their view and it can get a bit nasty especially the option that wins is the wrong one. There's also the fact that it removes the character's agency. Normally this is a non-issue since the MC tends to be worse at solving puzzles than the players, but here we're probably worse collectively than our MC. Even if we can get the right answer, the nature of quest format voting makes it much harder to guarantee the right answer gets chosen. That naruto quest I mentioned handled it by not presenting us any options to pick between and the GM saying if what we got was correct or not, removing voting from the equation and avoiding bad feelings from the right answer being outvoted.
There's also the fact that it can occasionally lead to player burnout, but that's only starts to be a problem if this starts to get much more common.
- Location
- Where Jokes Die
Considering we're doing this on our own for once, I'm wondering if we'll get any stat boosts for answering correctly.
Clearly, the stat that will gain experience is Luck. Definitely.
Clearly, the stat that will gain experience is Luck. Definitely.
- Location
- In the ocean of my heart
[X] I am the Ravenclaw
