What Hungers | Free Puzzle for D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e
Designed by Megan L. Garner
Pathfinder 2e conversion by Zac Chaney
A forgotten table, covered in dust and cluttered with strange relics, holds more than meets the eye—until a hollow voice echoes from a grinning skull. "My hunger persists until I perish! But what I consume, I return in a new form!" The challenge is simple, yet deceptively cryptic. What among the scattered objects must be fed to unlock the table’s hidden magic? The answer lies not in destruction, but in transformation—if the adventurers can unravel the riddle before them.
By the way, if you’re a busy GM without enough to time to prep like you know you should, Lairs & Legends can help. Grab an adventure, read it in about 15 minutes, and you’re ready to run your game! With over 700 pages of 5e resources, there’s no reason to feel stressed out and overwhelmed before your next D&D game.
What Hungers? - 5e
Difficulty: easy
A table laden with various items seems like a collection of junk at first glance—until a voice rings out from one of the items.
A dingy table cluttered with miscellany sits under a layer of dust: a skull with a gaping jaw, a small cauldron, a half-spent candle, a taxidermy rat, and stacks of moldy papers. Nothing gleams or otherwise seems valuable—until the gaping skull clatters to life. “My hunger persists until I perish! But what I consume, I return. And what I return arrives in a new form. Feed me now and see us transform!”
Puzzle Features
All objects on the table may be lifted and interacted with. The candle is half-spent, sticky, and smells of animal fat. The small cauldron has become the home of a large brown spider. The skull’s jaw clicks and sways loosely but does not speak again. The taxidermy rat has a nasty, bare-fanged expression.
Solution
The characters must light the candle to solve the puzzle. Fire “feeds” until it perishes or goes out. What it consumes (the wick and tallow) returns in a new form as heat and light. When they light the candle, the skull crumbles, its remnants and the rest of the dust disappear in an airy puff, and the rest of the objects on the table become revitalized. The cauldron bubbles, the papers are fresh and organized in stacks, and even the rat comes back to life. It quickly scurries off with a surprised squeak.
Hint Checks
Wisdom (Nature) DC 5. Each object on the table could, in a sense, be “fed.”
Intelligence (Arcana) DC 10. The table reminds you of a spellcaster’s worktable. Addressing the skull’s request may result in some magical effect.
Wisdom (Perception) DC 15. Though terribly faint, you smell a hint of burning in the air as if a fire went out recently.
Customizing the Puzzle
This puzzle could appear in a wizard’s tower, an abandoned dungeon, a derelict home, or a hermitage out in the woods.
Raising the Difficulty. Remove the objects from the table so the players have no visual reference to guess. They will need to solve the riddle themselves by supplying a fire, such as by lighting a torch or candle from their packs. In this more difficult version of the puzzle, the items will appear on the table as if out of thin air when the players solve it.
What Hungers? - PF2e
Difficulty: easy
A table laden with various items seems like a collection of junk at first glance—until a voice rings out from one of the items.
A dingy table cluttered with miscellany sits under a layer of dust: a skull with a gaping jaw, a small cauldron, a half-spent candle, a taxidermy rat, and stacks of moldy papers. Nothing gleams or otherwise seems valuable—until the gaping skull clatters to life. “My hunger persists until I perish! But what I consume, I return. And what I return arrives in a new form. Feed me now and see us transform!”
Puzzle Features
All objects on the table may be lifted and interacted with. The candle is half-spent, sticky, and smells of animal fat. The small cauldron has become the home of a large brown spider. The skull’s jaw clicks and sways loosely but does not speak again. The taxidermy rat has a nasty, bare-fanged expression.
Solution
The characters must light the candle to solve the puzzle. Fire “feeds” until it perishes or goes out. What it consumes (the wick and tallow) returns in a new form as heat and light. When they light the candle, the skull crumbles, its remnants and the rest of the dust disappear in an airy puff, and the rest of the objects on the table become revitalized. The cauldron bubbles, the papers are fresh and organized in stacks, and even the rat comes back to life. It quickly scurries off with a surprised squeak.
Hint Checks
Nature DC 15. Each object on the table could, in a sense, be “fed.”
Arcana DC 20. The table reminds you of a spellcaster’s worktable. Addressing the skull’s request may result in some magical effect.
Perception DC 25. Though terribly faint, you smell a hint of burning in the air as if a fire went out recently.
Customizing the Puzzle
This puzzle could appear in a wizard’s tower, an abandoned dungeon, a derelict home, or a hermitage out in the woods.
Raising the Difficulty. Remove the objects from the table so the players have no visual reference to guess. They will need to solve the riddle themselves by supplying a fire, such as by lighting a torch or candle from their packs. In this more difficult version of the puzzle, the items will appear on the table as if out of thin air when the players solve it.
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