Defeated by puzzle - campaign over: Here is the offending puzzle!

[arscott]

Wow, lots of questions to answer. I will get back to them in a couple of hours, now I have to run, but for now let me just say that I have spoken to the former DM again about the puzzle and since the campaign is over, he gave me several powerful clues that I can share with you:

1) Algolei's answer of filling in the letters into the blanks is wrong.
2) The blanks are to be filled with only the three symbols that are present in rest of the grid.
3) The symbols have no significance outside of the puzzle and there is no significance to them being triangles or circles or arrows - you could replace them with any other three symbols and the puzzle would be unaffected.

Did you ask him if he's absolutely sure on those two sets of symbols that screw up the symmetry? It's possible he made an error (or his source did.

 

[A'koss]

Several large subblocks exist that almost fit various symmetries, in some cases if you interchange symbols. Most sets of symbols are highly compact and connected, which is probably significant.

Exactly. I did notice there was one grid that did work unadjusted (5 from the left, 10 from the left, 1 down, 14 down) but not helpful enough to solve it this way. I'm sure it's just those two little errors mucking up the works on a 5x5 grid. As far as puzzles in general goes... I generally like them myself, but (as a DM) unless I knew there were some puzzle gearheads in the group I'd never have thrown something like this at them.

A'koss.

 

[D-rock]

Well, are we going to have to resort to resurrecting all those people that lived during World War II that did nothing but try to decipher German code for years on end, link all the super computers in the world, and involve NASA to see if there really is a answer to this.

 

[Greylock]

Ya know? The more I look at the puzzle, the more it starts to remind me of the old Avalon Hill game Feudal.

Maybe it's a version of the tired old "You are the chess pieces" riddle, except the players are supposed to be a Prince, Duke or King. Maybe a troop of Pikemen or Sergeants...Oooh, I see where the Archers go....

 

[Mark]

How odd. On the basis of this same clue list, I no longer believe that the DM *didn't* have an answer in mind.

Then you have the solution? You know that what has been presented fairly represents clues that will lead to a solution? (Or are you just being contrary?)

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

More detail, Greylock?

 

[Mark]

(snip)

It's been a month, now. Fix your sig.

 

[Greylock]

More detail, Greylock?

Sorry, Patryn, but that was just a lark. Feudal makes much more sense than this puzzle. You all can thank it and many other similar games for my presence in gaming today. I sell myself not as a roleplayer, but as a tactician.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

It's been a month, now. Fix your sig.

Are you a Mod?

 

[Greylock]

*decided to not go there*

Ignore this post...