D&D 5E Sphinx riddles

[Quickleaf]

I'm back thanks to revivify or speak with dead (party cheapskates!)...

Seated high above the land,
I have a face; I have no hands.

Sun, Moon, and Stars come to mind.
The only other common usage of "face" I'm aware of is a Cliff Face.
A perching bird like an Owl miiiight qualify, but feels like a stretch.

Night might wax and day may wane:
Beneath me, no one walks unseen.

Sun, Moon, and Stars again seem like the best fit.

Ever at rest, but no rest for me,
I determine your destiny.

This part is throwing me off, since it's probably a metaphor for destiny or fate. Stars come to mind.
Other destiny metaphors — spiders, weaving, tablets, looms — don't fit the rest of the riddle.

You knew me not for all your lives.
Now, know me not, and you shall die.

Best contender so far was Stars, but this parts ruins that answer.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Death?

In a non-Pratchettian way.

 

[Quickleaf]

Oh no! Another one is going to be eaten! I can't watch.

This androsphinx is Lawful Neutral Hungry.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Yeah, I'm honestly stumped on the opening riddle. Nothing I can think of that has a face--but not hands--that can prevent things from "going unseen" under it, is also "at rest, yet no rest for me" AND unknown, until the point where not knowing it kills you. I can find things that meet any three of the conditions, but nothing that fits all four.

Good choice of a riddle if you never want your players to answer it properly, I guess?

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I'm back thanks to revivify or speak with dead (party cheapskates!)...

The sphinx generously allows them to cast speak with dead on her stomach, although your conversation is muffled.

Death?

In a non-Pratchettian way.

The sphinx happily (re)introduces you.

Good choice of a riddle if you never want your players to answer it properly, I guess?

My players got it. I has so happy with this riddle because it gave them just the right amount of false leads and head-scratching before the eventual eureka moment, in about the same length of time as a significant combat encounter. Worked perfectly.

 

[Rhogar_Rarr]

So it looks like it's not time, the moon, the stars, the sky, a mountain, death, the future, tomorrow, or history based on the unfortunate folly of previous adventurers. I can't seem to figure it out, so I will continue to wait and watch.

Gets out the popcorn and joins the munchie Sphinx in snacking.

 

[Imaculata]

I'm trying to think outside the pool of common riddle answers, such as time, death, the moon, the sun, the stars etc.

Could the answer perhaps be the sphinx itself?

Seated high above the land,
-A Sphinx can be a very tall statue overlooking the land.

I have a face; I have no hands.
-A Sphinx DOES have a face, but it has paws instead of hands.

Night might wax and day may wane:
-A red herring I think, since it says nothing about the answer.

Beneath me, no one walks unseen.
-You can't pass a sphinx unseen

Ever at rest, but no rest for me,
-A Sphinx is always sitting, even though it is always awake.

I determine your destiny.
-The Sphinx decides if your answer was correct, and if you will live or die.

You knew me not for all your lives.
-Again, most people never know a Sphinx

Now, know me not, and you shall die.
-But unless you know the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx, you will die.

​

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Could the answer perhaps be the sphinx itself?

Gyno: I'm sorry. My preferred pronouns are "she"/"her".
Andro: I thought they were "I"/"me". Used them enough in that riddle, you did.
Gyno: Oh, hush. Regardless, as you did not identify me correctly, I'm afraid I'm still going to have to eat you.
Andro: Come now, dear, I'm starting to feel stuffed just watching you eat. They got it fair and square.
Gyno: Did not.
Andro: And they answered in the form of a question.
Gyno: ...
Gyno: You may pass.

 

[AverageCitizen]

That is a great Sphinx riddle.

 

[Imaculata]

I agree. I love that riddle. It is really good.