Post by curufin on Oct 6, 2014 1:37:55 GMT
This 70ft by 70ft roughly octagonal room is bathed in a silvery light emanating from 9 orbs resting atop pedestals of stone. Four statues of robed humans holding open books stand against the outer walls of this huge chamber. In each of the eight of the walls is a stone door, and next to each, is set two large pulley wheels connected with a chain of bronze. Carved into the floor forming a rudimentary sunburst , are eight snakes. In the silvery light you can see that each snake is painted a different color; starting at your feet and running clockwise around the room they are: green, brown, red, blue, yellow, white, orange, and purple.
Picture Key:
R=Room
O=Orb
P=Pulley
D=Door
S=Snake
The see-through light blue= anti-magic field
If a search is made in the room, the following things should be discovered:
1.) Cut in the archway above D5 are the words “Order from Chaos.”
2.) Behind the pedestal of O9 is a small, flat metal snake about the size of a human hand partially wrapped with an old ratty cloth. The eyes of the metal snake have been cut out, leaving only holes.
3.) Each statue’s open book contains a written passage (a riddle).
Statue A:
“A face that launched a million ships
And grounded not a few,
I grapple them with steely grips
Or touch them soft as dew.
Through many, many thousand miles
I travel every day
To batter ships with deadly trials
Or speed them on their way.”
Tide
Statue B:
“Our army marches ‘cross the field
So thickly that we hide the dirt
A million verdant blades we wield
Which cut but deal little hurt”
Grass
Statue C:
“A gruesome traveler, mud bemired,
Approaches here all warn and tired.
Upon the spot a trim bed makes,
And of her rest she then partakes.
Her silken sheets she wraps so tight,
They quite conceal her from our sight.
Now oft before I’ve heard it said,
That beauty marred is healed in bed.
But to me such talk was cheap,
I’ve not believed in beauty sleep.
Till I saw this traveler wake,
And she her silken bed forsake.
Who went to bed at best untidy,
Arose at length an Aphrodite.
Butterfly
Statue D:
Without a mouth I drink,
Without sadness cry.
Without goal I travel,
Without wings I fly.
Without life I’m born,
Without water I die.
Without form I’m formful,
To a child’s eye.
Cloud
Each of the orbs (O1-O8) project a 90 degree anti-magic cone out to the wall (but not beyond the wall). Each door is magically sealed and there is no mechanical lock or key hole visible . The anti-magic cone just barely touches the door, so no spell, supernatural or spell-like ability can affect the door. Pulling any bronze chain attached to the pulley (STR check DC12) turns off the corresponding orb (and the anti-magic field) and unlocks the door. Thus, pulling P3, turns off O3, which unlocks D3, which leads to R3 (and S3 is the color that corresponds to O3). The only exception is that the pulley and chain at P5 will not budge at all, no matter how much strength is applied. That pulley (P5) is controlled by the center orb (O9). To turn off the center orb (O9), the chains must be pulled in the proper sequence.
Each time a chain is pulled the corresponding orb turns off and that door unlocks. If another chain is pulled out of the proper sequence the first orb turns back on and the door relocks. When a door is unlocked it easily opens and closes.
Each room contains a monster(s). I have chosen to use undead for this puzzle, however, constructs or elementals may be a good choice too. If a door is opened, the monster(s) attack. If the door is opened and then closed, the monster(s) will continue to try to get through the door.
R2= 5x ghouls
R3= 10x skeletons
R4= 1x mummy
R6= 3x ghasts
R7= 10x zombies
R8= 3x shadows
Note: Many of the undead’s powers are supernatural, so clever players may try to lure undead into the anti-magic fields or even turn orbs back on that the undead are next to, cancelling certain powers. Refresh yourself on how undead/incorporeal creatures mix with anti-magic.
On the back wall of all the corner, triangular rooms (R2, R4, R6, and R8), are set three small stones forming a triangle. Surrounding the stones appear to be several letters and numbers (E, M,N,S,W,Z,3,5). These are in fact the same four letters written on their sides or up-side down. They are N,E, S, W (North, East, South, and West). The metal snake can be used to point to the proper directional letter by lining up the eye holes with the stones (think Goonies). The snakes tail points to the letter N (which will look like it is a Z because it is on its side). The tail also points the direction the sequence will follow (clockwise). Only R4 contains the stones that fit the metal snake. The metal snake will not fit the stones of R2, R6, or R8.
The Solution:
The players enter the puzzle room from R1. They find the metal snake and read the words over the door at D5. They discover the statue’s books contain riddles and solve them out. The answers being: Tide, Grass, Butterfly, and Cloud. Those answers make no sense, so they work out how they can apply them to the room. Tide is water, which is Blue. Grass is Green. Butterflies are multi-colored. Clouds are white. Using the words over the door at D5, they know there must be some order or sequence that will let them out. The players will likely open a few doors and discover that the metal snake can show them some sort of clue by lining up the snake’s eye holes with the stones on the wall. Eventually (or immediately) they will find the proper stone orientation (R4) to line up the metal snake. That shows them where to start the sequence and the direction to continue the sequence (North and clockwise). The players may spend some time talking that one out. The players will also have to figure out which way is North (might be a good time for that Intuit Direction roll or Know Direction spell). Armed with all this knowledge it’s time to solve the puzzle. The players start at the north snake (S3). That snake is red and there was no “red” answer to any of the riddles so the players move clockwise to the next snake (S4). It is blue, which is one of the answers. They pull the chain at P4, which turns off the orb (O4). The players continue clockwise until they hit another riddle answer color. At S6, the white snake, they pull chain P6. O6 turns off and O4 also stays off (proper sequence). The players continue clockwise until they hit another riddle answer color. At S1, they find the green snake and pull P1 to turn off O1. Now the orbs at O4, O6, and O1 are off. That is the proper sequence so the orb at O9 turns off. Now the chain at P5 can be pulled which turns off O5, which unlocks D5……and the peasants rejoice! The players have solved the Sun Snake puzzle.
The butterfly riddle is a red herring as no snake in the puzzle is multi-colored.
The Walkthrough:
The thing I love the most about the craft is: Inspiration comes from everywhere. I was in the dollar store buying spiders to rip off wilmanric 's underdark build and I saw a package of snakes. I bought them with no idea what I would do with them. I got home and was looking at them, struggling to come up with a single idea, when I noticed that they were about the thickness of a piece of cardboard.... the first piece of the puzzle.
Cat feet sold separately.
I grid the cardboard to make placement easier.
Arrange the snakes.
Trace a snake.
Make a stencil to draw all the snakes the same.
Cut out the snake with an X-acto knife making sure to leave the back layer of cardboard.
Test fit.
Continue around.
Test fit the rest.
We will now begin on the pulley system wall segments. Cut out small single layer cardboard circles and larger card stock circles.
Glue one side together.
Cut in half.
Glue the other side on. If your cardboard tile is warped at this point, weight it down with a cat.
Soak a brown paper bag with water and crumple it up. Unravel it and let it dry. Alternatively, you could use aluminum foil.
White glue to a piece of cardboard.
Cut eight wall sized pieces.
Make a stencil to mark where the pulley wheels will go.
Cut them out leaving the outer layer of cardboard.
Use a pencil to poke through the back layer to allow the chain to pass though the wall.
Hot glue in the wheels, being careful not to plug the holes you just poked through.
Craft chain.
Put the chain on the wheels and pass rest through the hole you made. The chain should be slightly taught.
Hot glue in place.
Cut eight pieces of double layer cardboard a little larger than the walls.
Cut out one layer so the chain will fit inside.
Hot glue together.
Trim to match.
I'm using some small rare earth magnets to attach the walls. Scratch up one side of the magnet with sand paper. Alternatively, you could use theDMG way of making walls.
Drill out craft sticks so the magnets will fit tightly in the hole. Super glue them in place.
Cut to fit the bottoms of the walls.
Hot glue in place and texture the backs and sides.
I am using tacks to attach the walls. Cut the points off. We only need the top.
I trimmed up the tile to shape and added normal walls. I also marked where the magnetic walls will go.
Trace the tack head and cut out the shape. Then hot glue it in place, making sure that it is flush to the top of the normal wall.
The magnets are incredibly strong.
Cut out some card stock squares for the dais.
Hot glue it together, and then glue it in place.
I got some ball bearing and some wooden spools for the orbs and pedestals.
The orbs fell off the spools so easily that I countersank the holes out.
Hot glue the wooden spools down.
Make the additional rooms using standard techniques.
Paint to taste.
Cut out a snake shape for the snake key.
Same crumpled brown paper bag, just like before. Use white glue to glue it to a piece of cardboard. You will need four of these.
Use some small stones to trace out the eye sockets of the snake. Cut out the eyes. Use the snake as a stencil to trace the eye pattern in the piece of cardboard. Cut them out leaving the outer layer of cardboard. Trace a third stone in the cardboard and cut it out like the others.
Test fit. Hot glue in the stones.
Using more stones, add them to the other pieces of cardboard. You want them to look as if the snake key could fit, but MAKE SURE it does not. Glue in stone in.
Using the snake key, mark the letters where the snakes tail is as if the eyes lined up with the stones. The Letters you will use are N, E, W, and S. You should draw them upside down and side ways to make them look like E, M,N,S,W,Z,3,5. The letter that marks where the key actually fits should be a "Z" (an N on it's side).
Cut the letters to make them look scratched in the wall.
Paint to taste.
I painted the snake to look metallic and wrapped it in cloth like a handle.
Paint the floor snakes: green, brown, red, blue, yellow, white, orange, and purple
NOTE: One thing not pictured: I painted a couple extra ball bearings black so I can switch them out with the shiny ones when orbs are "turned off".
Please let me know if something isn't explained enough or just doesn't make sense. And as always, all comments and criticism are welcome.