A Puzzle

[Quickleaf]

I'm checking to make sure this puzzle isn't too difficult/obscure (or too easy!).

Above the entry is written: Last words of the king. This hall, decorated with corroding gold murals of the kings of bygone days, opens into a viciously spiked pit filled with crawling centipedes. The way across is limited to a series of zig-zaging pillars emblazoned with letters (see below). Alcoves on the sides of the pit are reachable by certain pillars. A plaque at the beginning reads: Forseeing his death, King Lashizar dictated his history to the Scribe of Osiris Funsani, who recorded it in seven sittings. The Ka of the King is immortal. Only the purest in heart and fame-worthy in merit may face the king.

-------alcove---alcove---alcove---alcove--
----------H-------T--------Y--------R----
plaque--O---E---R---O---M---H---A---T--exit
--------------A--------F--------E--------
-----------alcove---alcove---alcove------

Each letter is about 3 feet apart, so a comfortable jumping distance is at most 2 letters, unless the PC makes a Jump check.

Note: It might be possible to bypass this with fly/teleport spells, but for argument's sake let's pretend that's not an issue for me.

 

[Wystan]

I have no clue what this is trying to accomplish, what is the reason for the 'Puzzle' I mean 'O Heart of My Heart' is plainly visible? Does the number '7' in the text mean anything?

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Possible solution:

Hear my art

Jump across the room on these letters.

 

[AuraSeer]

Is the "corroding" gold a clue? Gold doesn't corrode, or rust, unless something unusual is going on.

 

[iwatt]

Is the "corroding" gold a clue? Gold doesn't corrode, or rust, unless something unusual is going on.

You're trusting a medieval contractor......

 

[Quickleaf]

I have no clue what this is trying to accomplish, what is the reason for the 'Puzzle' I mean 'O Heart of My Heart' is plainly visible? Does the number '7' in the text mean anything?

The reason for the puzzle is to intellectually challenge my puzzle-loving players. If you mean, "what is the in-game reason?" - it was a deterrent to powerful tomb raiders so that only the tomb guardians could enter. The number 7 does mean something.

Possible solution:

Hear my art

Jump across the room on these letters.

Not the solution, though jumping across the room on certain letters is the right idea.

Is the "corroding" gold a clue? Gold doesn't corrode, or rust, unless something unusual is going on.

Not a clue, but an indication of an even worse acidic trap that is unseen, and can be found on an intensive search.

You're trusting a medieval contractor......

So, the hint for this puzzle (Intelligence check DC 12) is "The last line of the plaque holds the key to solving the puzzle."

 

[Wystan]

Hero My Hat?

 

[Richards]

I'll take a stab: the fact that it says "my face the king" instead of "may face the king" is supposed to be a hint to avoid the letter "A" tiles in the progression.

Johnathan

 

[reanjr]

Unless your players are fairly hardcore puzzlers, I think this one might be a bit too hard. On the other hand, if that's what you like, then cool.

My take so far:

Seven sittings probably refers to the number of steps to be taken.

Pure in heart may be referring to which letters in the word heart should be used, but I can't figure out which.

 

[Agent Oracle]

Only the purest in heart and commanding in merit my face the king.

Right... last line. gods i despise puzzles, this is why my characters always have Profession (Puzzle Logician)...

Wait, is that spelling error intentional?

Well, this is why i carry a bunch of 30 lb. sandbags in my bag of holding, specifically for Jumping puzzles. Since trap designers have to count on ANY of the various races acting as tomb robbers, the traps that don't detect as magic have to either function for weight. And since a scrawny halfling clocks in at about that much...

So, the first jump is either O, E, or H. I haul out the big, freaking heavy bag of sand and... using the 10' pole with a cargo-net attachment, move it over to the "O" and drop it, see if the O holds it's weight. if not, move over to E and retest, then to H. Since the furthest letter we can reach without having to make a jump check, it's a safe assumption that one of those three is the first letter. If all letters test as "safe", then it's anagram time.

Just jumping "O Heart of my Heart" seems illogical. though it's possible the puzzle could require backtracking, (yielding such amusing anagrams as "A feather or myth" and "A eater of rhythm" and "Try a home father" and "aft a homer hero")

Alternately it could require omission (much as "a" was omitted from the word in the last line, presuming it wasn't merely a spelling error) in which case you want to go "O hert of my hert"

Though the worst is anagram with omission. Dear gods protect us from the GM's that enjoy those.

overall, I'm probably just putting too much thought into it... but to be frank, I've seen too many "It's so blindingly simple" DM puzzles that required three to four hours of thought from the players.

Wait, i think i have it.

H-E-R-O is jumpable... can we presume only heroes would be allowed in?

but from O the puzzle breaks down.

"Hero after my heart" is doable, but requires extensive backtracking.