Puzzle Brainstorming Time

[treehouse]

I don't think any of my Shadow of Evil players post here anymore, but if you do, stay away!

People who frequent 3ebb will probably realize that this is also posted over there. I'm trying to get as much help as possible - sue me.

On to my query...

I need to figure out some way to turn room #5

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/9991/puzzleroomqp7.jpg

into an interesting, thematic puzzle by Saturday. My PCs will be trying to get from the passage on the left side of the map to the big blue room on the right side. My initial idea involved them picking up an item called the Riddler's Skull (basically a human skull with a more versatile form of magic mouth cast on it). Once they reached this room, the Riddler's Skull would begin giving them a series of progressively harder (gasp!) riddles. If they answer correctly, he guides them down a safe square. If they answer incorrectly, he guides them into a deadly trap.

But I decided that would be too lame and time consuming for what I want to do. Because this is part of an extended sequence, I'd rather not drag things down here for hours on end, when they really just want to get the hell to the other side and continue with the action.

The size of the room is only moderately negotiable. I can expand it up to two rows on the north side. The pattern on the floor doesn't have to be checkerboard either, and I can incorporate as many different colors as needed. I'd prefer a visual puzzle if at all possible.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I suck at this sort of thing.

[nightinverse]

Well... you could do the letter pattern idea. Put say, eleven letters in an assortment on the different tiles, one per tile. Give a riddle that tells two correct sequences, one for each direction. The first sequence will take them part way in, the second allow them to move back to another square to do the first again and cross the room. Deviation triggers a random trap of CR = Party Level + 1d4. Three Deviations in a row teleports them back.

That was a one minute idea. Not great, but workable.

[Doomsmile]

You could do it Last Crusade style, where a tile with the wrong letter breaks when you step on it, dumping you down a shaft ala spiked pit trap...

[Mercutio]

What's in room 6? If I know what the end game is, it might help narrow my focus down. My first thought was a chessboard style game, dealing with statues and having to move the statues to the right squares on the board. I haven't thought out all the details, but perhaps some pattern of the flooring is the key to open the door to room 6, and the statues are how the pattern is recognized.

[BigRedRod]

That sounds like quite a good idea. Have it so the statues all point their arms in certain directions and the object is to arrange them so that no two statues are pointing at one anther or all appendages point towards another statue.

[treehouse]

What's in room 6? If I know what the end game is, it might help narrow my focus down.

Room 6 is a permanent teleportation circle connected to some old crypts that the Order of the Emerald Claw uses as a stronghold. The PCs are trying to capture a dangerous Emerald Claw agent named Bregan ir'Myrdral, who they will discover while exploring the rest of his manor (of which these two secret rooms are a part of) that he has entered the crypts to take part in something called the 'Blood Rite'. The Blood Rite is a ritual that will turn him into an 'unbound' vampire, which means he isn't a thrall of someone who blood drains him to undeath. You can read more about Bregan in my 'Are all of my PCs gonna die?' thread at 3ebb's DM Support forum.

For those unfamiliar with the Order of the Emerald Claw references, this campaign is set in Eberron. The only thing that you really need to know is 'terrorist organization associated with necromancy and war - serious conspiracies ahoy!'

[Mercutio]

Tree - I posted a more detailed thought on 3ebb. It's considerably more involved than BRR's take on it, though.

[treehouse]

Hope you don't mind if I quote your idea from the other thread, Merc. I'd like to facilitate conversation in both forums..

I made mention of my idea on ORP, but wanted to post it here too.

The checkerboard floor pattern could have some function. There are 10 statues currently lined up on the middle(top to bottom) squares. The statues need to be placed in some specific order. They move either up or down. The pattern I'll let you figure out. The pattern is necessary in order to get the door to room 6 to open. It's not hard to move the statues (DC5 strength).

Perhaps there are a few clues (like a number pattern. Say 5, 4, 5, 3, 1, 2, 5, 5, 3, 1,) That corresponds to the square the statues is on from north to south - 1 being the northernmost square, 5 being the southernmost square. I wouldn't give the whole pattern out, maybe there are some numbers missing.

Further expanding on that idea. Open the passage to the north 10 ft (2 rows) so that there are seven rows from top to bottom. The clue is "The Passage" You'll note there are 10 letters, but only 7 different letter. A = 1, E = 2, G = 3, H = 4, P = 5, S = 6, T = 7. Simply placed in alphabetical order. So the sequence for the statues would be 7, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 6, 1, 3, 2.

Anyway - that's my idea. It's visual.
Here's the statues in number order spelling out "The Passage".

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5113/picture1yv7.jpg

[Mercutio]

No problem. It seems complex now that I reread it, but it is much simpler in my head. If you want it to be a bit easier, you can place numbers on the floor. The hint could be a scrap of paper that lists a few letters and their numerical equivalent, but not all of them. It would be fairly easy with that though.

[treehouse]

I definitely see what you want to do, and I kind of like it...I'm not sure if I'm feeling "The Passage", though. Maybe something that has to do with the Blood of Vol or the Order of the Emerald Claw?

I also like BRR's idea, where you have to get all of the statues pointing at different statues. I'd need to create tokens with facing, though.


Hey, maybe those two ideas can be combined! The statues all pointing in different directions is a clue that points the PCs to the correct letter combination...I'm not sure how to explain it so it makes sense.

[Mercutio]

I didn't like "The Passage" either, honestly. I only spent 10 minutes really playing with letter and word combinations to get ten letters that had a total of 7 non repeating letters. 5 was practically impossible.

I'm not married to the phrase, and I don't expect you to be. It was more of "Here's a starting point" than "Here's the solution."

Hey - "Blood of Vol" works if you use only six rows of numbers. B = 1, D = 2, F = 3, L = 4, O = 5, V = 6

[treehouse]

Or 'Queen Erandis', if I cut the entry tunnel back two squares to open up another column for play.

Edit: Oh wait, I forgot about the cypher letter limit. Blood of Vol is good.

[Black Plauge]

Have the walls at the end of each column and row be decorated with a representation of the room with the statues in different positions. The statues can be set up in any possible configuration, but two are important.

One sets it up so that each statue points to another except for the last which points at a particular diagram. This diagram is the required arangement of the statues to get out of the room.

There should also be at least one traped arangement of the similar style. Here, instead, the first set-up has all the statues pointing at the same representation (perhaps multiple copies of the same thing if you don't want the statues to be turnable). When the statues are then put in that configuration, they animate (use thes stats for a medium animated object) and the party is forced to destroy them. When destroyed the statues return to their unanimated form so that the party can try again.

The Riddler's Skull could then simply say somthing like "The statues point the way."

It doesn't use a letter cipher, but it'll probably be easier for the party to figure out. Letter ciphers are obvious, if you know one is involved. Without knowing that a letter cipher is involved, however, they can take for ever.

[treehouse]

If I went that route, I'd have to come up with some sort of visual representation for each diagram to keep my players from becoming confused.

Now, what do you mean by this?


One sets it up so that each statue points to another except for the last which points at a particular diagram. This diagram is the required arangement of the statues to get out of the room.


The last statue points at the correct diagram? Is this necessarily intuitive?

I would think that the most intuitive solution has the last statue pointing towards the door.

[Mercutio]

He means that the statues in their initial positions are all jumbled, but one points to a diagram. That diagram shows how the statues should be arranged. The alternative is to have two of the statues point to diagrams. One is the correct one and opens the door. The other is incorrect and animates the statues. I like that idea. It's simpler than mine, but still incorporates the moving statues.

[treehouse]

Oohh. Okay, I like that.

So, let me try to organize a coherent puzzle out of all of these great ideas.

1) There are runes on every tile that the PCs recognize as Draconic numbers (theme: draconic heritage linked to Blood of Vol origins)

2) These numbers represent letters in the Common tongue, but a cypher is needed to discern which is which. The necessary clues to complete the cypher will be available to the PCs (use the Riddler's Skull for this?)

3) The statues will each be pointing in a direction. Most of them are pointing at other statues, but two are pointing at two particular diagrams out of the wall (out of perhaps ten diagrams altogether).

4) Both of these diagrams cause the statues to spell out a complete word or phrase; one of these opens the door, the other springs the trap.


Eh? Too complicated? Not complicated enough?

[Black Plauge]

Now, what do you mean by this?

I mean something like the attached picture. Note how the statues form a chain, the end of which points at the C (which represents a correct solution on the wall).

The last statue points at the correct diagram? Is this necessarily intuitive?

I would think that the most intuitive solution has the last statue pointing towards the door.
Perhaps, but that's too obvious a solution to make any kind of effective trap to prevent unwanted guests from accessing the last room. At best that'll simply delay them. The point of having a puzzle based trap is so that some one who knows the key to the puzzle (presumably an ally or the creator of the trap) can by pass it fairly easily. However, for someone who doesn't know the key, the trap needs to spring, hopefully preventing them from gaining access to what they want to access.

Given that you seem to want to include the cipher, I'd have it set up so that what is on the walls in various positions are actually cipher keys (easier to generate and keep track of than diagrams). The Riddler's Skull then would simply say one phrase (perhaps Blood of Vol) that needs to be translated via a particular cipher key into statue positions. How you choose the correct cipher key could then be related to statue positionings.

[Takkaryx]

Have statues with mirrors being held in their hands. Each of the statues can only be moved in certain squares adjacent to the statue. There's a rune on the right wall (From the bird's eye veiw you gave us.) When the rune is pressed, a light shines out, and reflects off the mirrors. If the PC's manage to get the light to hit the middle if the door they need to get through, the door opens. If the light misses the door, it starts reflecting around the room, making the PC's make reflex saves or take heat damage.