I deciphered the meaning of a cryptic language out-of-game: should my character know what the meaning is?

Question

I have just started my first D&D 5e campaign, and have encountered a seemingly mind-controlled bandit who keeps writing the same thing over and over on the wall. Our DM wrote out what it looks like (character for character). It's supposed to be in Abyssal, the script of which my character can read.

I deciphered this cryptic writing with frequency analysis, but this used my real-world skills to solve the problem, before we're supposed to find the solution in-game. My character is a level 2 High Elf Wizard, so if given enough time (i.e. during a long rest), I think it would be reasonable for my character, with his vast knowledge of written and spoken languages, to discover the meaning.

Given that I actually solved this in the real world, would it be appropriate for my character to do the same? Can I transfer my real-world skill into the game in this way? And if so, what would be the best way to go about it?

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Aside: technically the way this cryptic text was implemented was as a simple substitution cipher. In reality, just because I can read the Latin character set doesn't mean I understand Italian. So maybe it's a bit paradoxical that I was able to understand the message at all, and that it maybe shouldn't transfer to in-game discovery because my character can read Infernal but can't speak Abyssal...

Answer 1

Ask your DM whether it's supposed to be viable to decipher it, or whether you were supposed to find the clues in game.

Given that they used a genuine (even if simple) cipher and a proper script hiding an actual message, it seems likely that they meant for cracking it in real life to be an option. But it might just be that they never expected anyone to bother. (Seems unlikely, though)

Personally, I'd bring it up before the start of the next game and ask whether I was supposed to do that during downtime.

Also personally, as a DM, I'd be thrilled if someone broke a puzzle like this during their time away from the game. DMs don't put in the work for nothing and usually enjoy it when people figure things out.

Answer 2

I'd be careful about metagaming, so I concur that you should bring it to your GM prior to bringing it in character as solved. If nothing else, the GM shouldn't go forward in the game thinking the writing is still mysterious, because then a lot of the mystery could be undermined if he gives clues that require deciphering of the text to understand, and you proceed with knowledge he doesn't know you have.

Answer 3

You already hinted at a solution:

My character is a level 2 High Elf Wizard, so if given enough time (i.e. during a long rest), I think it would be reasonable for my character, with his vast knowledge of written and spoken languages, to discover the meaning.

If you can bring this into roleplay, it is fine, after all you are a wizard who most likely is good in deciphering texts. What is your character's backstory? Does your character have previous experience with this kind of riddles? In any case, good roleplaying requires to play coming up with the solution convincingly, not in an ad hoc manner.

Answer 4

First, I would suggest you talk to the GM. Work out if there's any reason why your character would not (or would) have the background knowledge to do the work to crack the code.

The GM has several possible outcomes.

1. The code isn't meant to be cracked yet... for reasons... That's not a bad thing, if those reasons support the rule of fun or perhaps the rule of cool.
2. The GM says you might have cracked it. Now it becomes a skill check that then gets handled through the dice.
3. The GM lets you have it. Hey, you cracked it, so why not?

As a GM, I'd probably go with 2 unless 1 overruled it.

Present it to the GM that way: "I cracked this, so can my PC have done the same? Maybe it's just done. Or maybe you want me to make a skill check to see? Or maybe there's a reason my PC shouldn't crack it yet...?"

Try not to force the issue, but it's worth asking.

Answer 5

How sure are you that you've actually deciphered the "message"?

Back in the day when game programs weren't big enough to contain adventure text, they'd ship with a little booklet and the program would tell you to read paragraph 48. Often these booklets would contain decoy paragraphs which were never referenced, intended to mislead people about the plot of the game.

So, have you actually worked out something with meaning, or is it just prop text that wasn't supposed to be meaningful? Only your GM knows for sure. I mean, I can just write down ENITLAVORUOYKNIRDOTERUSEB and call it secret coded Orcish orders, for all that it's just a lousy commercial.

Play like the prop is actively trying to mislead you, unless and until the GM says otherwise.

Answer 6

As a concrete solution, you could just say in-game to other characters, "You know, I though about this message last night, and I think I can read it." Then things should flow out from this - probably them asking you to read it, or possibly the GM interfering, or something. RPGs are usually very much about improvising, and letting things fall where they may, and this solution, bringing this up in-game, would be very much in the spirit of that.

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Here's why to do it like this, in the open, and kind of force the issue:

Assuming you cracked it correctly, and actually cracked it as a puzzle, not e.g. by googling it (the GM could have found the puzzle from the internet), the only reasonable solution is that your character has cracked it as well. Pretending your character doesn't know things about the world, which the player does know, that's one thing. But pretending to not know things about the plot that the player does know, that will likely take out a lot of fun from the game.

If the GM didn't mean for players to crack it, they should have made it random gibberish, "cracked" through skill checks or gathering the clues or whatever. If the GM meant for players to crack it, well, then you did crack it, and if the GM isn't prepared for it to be cracked this quickly, they prepared poorly. Either way, your fun as a player shouldn't suffer because of this, assuming you played it fair and solved it yourself.

Note that the above two paragraphs have a bit of a confrontational tone; you definitely don't want to present the issue to the GM like this. The point above is, if the GM didn't intend things to go down like this, it's on them to figure out how to fit this into the campaign. It shouldn't be your responsibility to adapt your play like this (unless you yourself want to, of course).