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

[Barendd Nobeard]

If our reasearch on the dark temple is correct (and so far it has been, so there is little reason to doubt it), the temple consists of 13 linearly linked rooms and the lich resides in the final 13th room. So far, this pattern has held and the rooms were linearly linked. We are currently in room 10. Going forward (if the puzzle was solved) would have left us with only 3 rooms to go through. The party might die in the process (or suffer losses), but it would be feasible. Going back through 9 rooms, where all the monsters and dangers have replenished to their full vile power (and they have replenished - that's what the summoning portals are there for and we could only destroy 5, as we only had 5 potions - 3 of the 5 are in this room, as we had to spend a lot of time here to solve the puzzle - the other rooms we just moved though as fast as possible - only destroying 2 other portals in the room where we used the resting dust) would be certain death.

Also the rooms are linked with long corridors filled with mists. The mists permanently and on a large scale drain stats of those who venture through them. In particular, just touching each mist requires 2-4 saves: One failed will save drains int or wis and forces you to make another will save which than results in the other stat being drained if it is failed. One failed fort save drains con or str and forces you to make another fort save or have the other stat drained too. Each stat drain is 1d10 (or so I think judging from the pattern of the drains) There are 9 of those corridors on the way back, while there should be only 3 on the way forwards. Plus of course, there are the nasty guardians at the entrance... Plus some of the monsters in the rooms on the way here that we barely escaped are now ready for us... Going back is not at all feasible.

Everyone, including the DM, agreed that a way back was basically impossible. As you can see, though, it was our decision to come here, so please stop the hate against my DM.

Well, it seems to me that the way back was only impossible because you had travelled so far into the linear PC-killing meatgrinder. As soon any PC of mine saw the second "very long corridor full of mist-o'-stat-draining" my PC would have left the dungeon. It was obviously beyond your characters' abilities at that point. Heck, it would be beyond almost any PC's abilities. Multiple save d10 stat draining mists between every room? With the linear design and 9 rooms, that's 8 excurions through the mists. Makes the Tomb of Horrors look like a kindergarten picnic.

So, I gotta ask. When your PCs came to the second mist-filled hallway, why did you proceed?

Sometimes, you have to retreat and live to fight another day.

 

[Gruns]

Sigh.

So... When are we going to get the solution to the World's Worst Campaign Ending Puzzle With No Solution?
If the entire community here isn't coming close after this long, something is definately wrong. And my OC disorder requires that I find the solution...
Later!
Gruns

 

[Kage Tenjin]

So, I gotta ask. When your PCs came to the second mist-filled hallway, why did you proceed?

Sometimes, you have to retreat and live to fight another day.

I'm kinda curious about this myself. I mean there's walking into a meatgrinder and then there's diving headfirst in after dousing yourself in seasoning.

 

[Roman]

...

I will definitely ask my former DM about this again. The next time I see him is on Friday, though, so it will have to wait till then. I will tell him that virtually half the internet will lynch me if I don't provide you guys with an answer, so I think he will budge.

(And hey, some gamer out there must know a MIT graduate.. or someone in MIT.. who could try to solve this.. or get some math club to try to solve this equation.)

Our group is usually pretty good at solving puzzles - I do think our DM thought we would be able to solve this one as we have the previous ones. The degrees of players in the group run as follows:

Mathematics - not surprisingly this guy is pretty good at math puzzles but others are not bad either
Engineering
Pharmacology (and Business degree in progress) - surprisingly good at solving various word puzzles in our experience
Computer Science
Political Science degree progress
Arts degree in progress

Formerly also:
History
Philosophy
'I don't know'

We do have mathematicians/computer people/engineers that are good at patterns and math - hence the likely expectation that we would be able to solve this.

 

[Gorrstagg]

I will definitely ask my former DM about this again. The next time I see him is on Friday, though, so it will have to wait till then. I will tell him that virtually half the internet will lynch me if I don't provide you guys with an answer, so I think he will budge.

No.. no no.. don't wait.. call him now!! Seriously.. call him right now.. don't wait till Friday.. just call him up. Tell him.. a massive portion of the gaming community at EN World are seriously trying to accomplish this.. and it's been, 87 hours 5 minutes.. with hundreds of people trying to solve it.. and nada..

Don't wait.. call him now!! *Grin*

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Our group is usually pretty good at solving puzzles - I do think our DM thought we would be able to solve this one as we have the previous ones. The degrees of players in the group run as follows:

Mathematics - not surprisingly this guy is pretty good at math puzzles but others are not bad either
Engineering
Pharmacology (and Business degree in progress) - surprisingly good at solving various word puzzles in our experience
Computer Science
Political Science degree progress
Arts degree in progress

Formerly also:
History
Philosophy
'I don't know'

We do have mathematicians/computer people/engineers that are good at patterns and math - hence the likely expectation that we would be able to solve this.

This and the fact that everyone on this board has been unable to solve this puzzle has pretty much convinced me that the either a) there is an error in the puzzle the DM missed or b) there is some detail from the campaign that makes this puzzle solvable, but the party did not pick up on it (obviously or they would have solved it)and as a result Roman is unable to convey to us what is needed to solve it.

 

[Anabstercorian]

(And hey, some gamer out there must know a MIT graduate.. or someone in MIT.. who could try to solve this.. or get some math club to try to solve this equation.)

As an MIT student, I'm flattered, but this puzzle is, simply, not what I play DnD for. I would not have been able to solve this and I would have been VERY torqued to have the campaign end because of it. But, eh, you guys kind of set yourselves up for it.

 

[Gorrstagg]

As an MIT student, I'm flattered, but this puzzle is, simply, not what I play DnD for. I would not have been able to solve this and I would have been VERY torqued to have the campaign end because of it. But, eh, you guys kind of set yourselves up for it.

Anabstercorian,

Do you think you could possibly see about showing this puzzle to the local math club, or puzzle club on campus.. seriously.. y'all are like our last best hope!

 

[James Heard]

I think after I got something sprung on me like this I'd have played it out to the bitter end, at least several more weeks of slowly starving the PCs and parcelling out the cannibal-tasty bits as we all slowly died. I'd nurse and express my hatred for "whatever forces brought us here" while glaring at the GM. Once my character had fully eaten the rest of the party and given himself over to the dark forces I'd promise vengeance...And plan my game, which would be nothing but puzzles, glorious unsolvable puzzles. When everyone, especially the former GM couldn't solve them, I'd laugh maniacally and mock them. I'd live to see my players bring their puzzles to ENWorld and laugh silently as the world threw themselves against the mastery of funny squiggles I'd shown...

So, Roman....You maybe know if someone's puzzled your GM into that sort of mindset before? It would explain things.

 

[Roman]

Well, it seems to me that the way back was only impossible because you had travelled so far into the linear PC-killing meatgrinder. As soon any PC of mine saw the second "very long corridor full of mist-o'-stat-draining" my PC would have left the dungeon. It was obviously beyond your characters' abilities at that point. Heck, it would be beyond almost any PC's abilities. Multiple save d10 stat draining mists between every room? With the linear design and 9 rooms, that's 8 excurions through the mists.

We are in room 10, so that actually makes it 9 rooms and 9 corridors... (not including the room we are currently in, as it no longer poses any danger).

So, I gotta ask. When your PCs came to the second mist-filled hallway, why did you proceed?

Sometimes, you have to retreat and live to fight another day.

I guess it is something like the famous experiment with frogs. When you throw a frog into boiling water it will jump out (or at least try doing so). When place a frog into cool water and gradually heat it up to boiling point it will happily boil. (Not sure if the actual experiment is true, but it is famous!)

So it was the same with our party - sure it was deadly in the temple but it was also not so overwhelmingly deadly as to make us run away like we have from some other things we have encountered. Gradually, of course, our resources were worn down that a return is out of the question. Mind you, going forwards it could still be possible (though not assured) to complete the temple ('only' 3 corridors and 3 rooms to go) if we had solved the puzzle and been able to proceed. Besides, this campaing did tend to be rather deadly beforehand, so its not as if we were treated in kids gloves before - hence the mists did not ring alarm bells to the same degree they may have for other parties.