The robed figure in the dungeon, asking questions, posing riddles, in possession of the knowledge the PC's need. Such a classic trope but rarely ever defined.
This is the fourth (I think) in my series of strange extraplanar humanoids, and its utility in a campaign seems obvious.
Riddler
by Cab Davidson
| Stat | Riddler* |
| AC: | 9 |
| HD: | 10** |
| Movement: | 90’(30’) |
| Attacks: | None |
| Damage: | None |
| Number Appearing: | 1(1) |
| Save As: | N/A |
| Morale: | 12 |
| Treasure Type: | Special |
| Intelligence: | 22 |
| Alignment: | Unknown |
| XP Value | 2500 |
Riddlers are tall (6’4” to 6’8”) humanoids with thin, stretched, paper like skin covering a near skeletal form as if they are starved humans. They invariably wear long, dark, robes that hide their faces and other features. They exist on many planes, being native to some of the outer planes of thought. They are supremely intelligent, entirely non-aggressive, mostly without humour and quite unrelatable in most ways.
Once per round a riddler can cross a planar boundary, for example from the prime to the ethereal, from the ethereal to the astral, or from the astral to an outer plane. They may teleport without error once per round on any plane on which such magic works. They are immune to all physical, magical and mental attacks from mortal creatures, and can only be harmed by immortals. They are incapable of attacking any creature, directly or indirectly, although this is less of a physical constraint and more a philosophical one. To cause harm is to have already given up, they believe, and they refuse to partake in such.
They are not, bound by any code to help other creatures, nor are they merely disinterested observers. Their involvement in the prime plane is entirely related to their means of sustenance, which is by furthering the boundaries of the sphere of thought through questions, puzzles, riddles and mathematics. They delight in this, and patiently await those in need of knowledge, often busying themselves with chess puzzles, mathematical formulae, etc. to trade that information for a riddling contest. If their terms are met (three riddles answered, a mathematical equation solved, a chess problem answered, etc.) they will impart that knowledge. The pay off for the riddler is that by doing so, by trading said knowledge for the process of thinking a problem through, they gain the capacity to make physical changes on their home planes of thought.
An encounter with a riddler is not one of combat, as any such engagement is completely futile. But XP can be gained equivalent to a proportion of the XP value of the riddler based on the skills shown in solving the problems they pose.