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Post by a moderator on Oct 11, 2016 11:01:35 GMT
Something tumbling down stairs reminds me of the Horned Skeleton in Dead of Night. Beyond that in the book is a spirit or ghost or other spectral manifestation of your character's dead brother, and a fake corpse is as poor a match for that as a clockwork T-Rex for a Horned Skeleton. Still, in case I'm on the right track, this would logically lead to the discovery that Sid has taken my parents hostage.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 12, 2016 3:40:27 GMT
Despite the number of good ideas, no one is really close to solving the puzzle as I've written it.
I'm going to put this T-Rex to bed now: The T-Rex is not representing a dinosaur. Indeed you may mistake the thing it is for a human but it is not a human, rather something more lizard-like/reptilian. Nor is it clockwork - merely something moving of its own accord. Sid might reasonably have used a live trained lizard, except that it would have been unnecessarily difficult to train a lizard to walk on its hind legs like the T-Rex or the thing it's representing.
Btw, the book with the scene in question has been mentioned since I posted the puzzle.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 12, 2016 12:49:32 GMT
This is a total stab in the dark but is it that bit in Deathtrap where you go up a staircase and bats fly at you or am I amalgamating 2 books?
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Post by a moderator on Oct 12, 2016 15:52:46 GMT
Then I'm guessing that the book's Moonrunner, the T-Rex represents the Xen-Viper, and the mannequin is standing in for the body of Entador. If so, that's a note in its hand, which should provide a clue. And there may also be a poisoned letter addressed to me close by.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 13, 2016 5:03:15 GMT
a moderator carefully ascends the stairs watching for traps, paying particular attention to the last step. Sure enough there is a hole to the side of this step which might be mistaken for a mousehole, Dropping an empty boot onto the step results in a syringe being fired across the step at calf-level. On closer inspection the syringe appears to contain vodka. An injection of that into your leg could have erased your special skill of being able to walk. On closer inspection the mannequin is clutching a scrap of paper. It also has two small holes bored into its neck which are leaking what appears to be green food colouring. The holes almost obliterate the moulded words 'RETURN TO PRIMARK'. Your turn. (If you or anyone wants to use the scrap of paper or yet-to-be-discovered perfumed envelope as the kick-off for the next puzzle, go ahead.)
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Post by a moderator on Oct 13, 2016 20:19:49 GMT
Cautiously removing the scrap of paper from the mannequin's hand, you see written on it '19 wizard'.
The room beyond the mannequin does not look as you might have expected. Lying on the floor is what started out as a toy lion, now embellished with a Gandalf mask over its face, two fabric wings crudely stitched onto its back, and half a dozen nails attached to the end of its tail with an elastic band. At the far side of the room, a garden gnome stands atop a stack of three orange-spined books, next to a door decorated with numerous coloured circles. Above the door is what appears to be an unconvincing mock-up of a raised portcullis.
Walking around the grotesque creation on the floor, you get close enough to see that the fake portcullis is actually a row of darts, point downwards, embedded in a curious mechanism attached to the ceiling. Ominous.
Lowering your gaze, you observe that the books on which the garden gnome stands are all Puffin editions of the last Sorcery! book, and sticking out from between two of them is a key. Stuck to the handle of the key are three obviously fake gemstones, one green, one blue, and one colourless.
You take the key and turn your attention to the door, which, unsurprisingly, does not open when you cautiously try the handle. Each of the coloured circles surrounds a keyhole. There are a dozen of them in total, each one a different colour: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, grey, brown, pink and beige. No doubt the key will fit one, and only one, of them. The question is, which one?
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Oct 13, 2016 23:22:42 GMT
It's pretty clear that you are referring fo Deathtrap Dungeon, with the emerald, sapphire, and diamond, and the trialmaster gnome and perhaps the manticore. However I am not sure what wizard 19 refers to, maybe the section number? Don't have the book at hand and will check when I get home.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 14, 2016 11:12:43 GMT
The Deathtrap Dungeon trappings (deathtrappings?) are a continuation of the theme of Sid recreating scenarios from the gamebooks, but not actually relevant to the solution of this puzzle.
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Oct 14, 2016 14:18:19 GMT
Oh.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 16, 2016 18:45:57 GMT
I don't have a clue about the answer to the riddle (although I wondered whether 19 wizard was a reference to the 19th book published by Wizard - ie Temple of Terror?) but I am enjoying the descriptions, especially the manticore.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 16, 2016 21:28:31 GMT
The word 'wizard' would have had a capital 'W' if the clue on the paper had been intended to refer to the 19th FF book published by Wizard.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 16, 2016 22:08:26 GMT
Is it something to do with the 19th spell in Crown or one of the keys in Crown?
A play on words the gnome says 3 crowns in Deathtrap somehow links to Crown Of Kings?
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Post by a moderator on Oct 17, 2016 18:26:23 GMT
Good idea, but not right. The fact that the key is found in a stack of three Crowns is, like the 'gems' on the handle, an indication that the key is what you need to open the door.
Mind you, the fact that all the copies of the book are the same edition, even though there's more than one variant out there, might be a subtle hint of some kind...
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 17, 2016 20:23:40 GMT
Is this too obvious but put the key in the orange keyhole like the book spine?
Do I now have a dirty great dart in me a la Kryten?
Still not sure what the 19 wizard has to do with it?
It must be more difficult than copy the colour?
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Post by a moderator on Oct 17, 2016 20:40:24 GMT
Trying the orange keyhole will indeed get you a dart in the head. The tip has been blunted, so it's merely painful rather than fatal (Sid's not mad enough to want you dead), but it's not the sort of thing you'd want to experience repeatedly.
Only 10 more wrong guesses possible, but I hope someone can figure out the clue and get the right answer for the right reason.
One element of thealmightymudworm's suggestion was heading in the right general direction, even if not on the correct track.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 17, 2016 21:44:00 GMT
Trying the orange keyhole will indeed get you a dart in the head. The tip has been blunted, so it's merely painful rather than fatal (Sid's not mad enough to want you dead), but it's not the sort of thing you'd want to experience repeatedly. Only 10 more wrong guesses possible, but I hope someone can figure out the clue and get the right answer for the right reason. One element of thealmightymudworm's suggestion was heading in the right general direction, even if not on the correct track. In that case - though shielding my head with the manticore whilst doing this - I'd like to try the grey lock on the basis that there is a wizard in book number 19, Demons of the Deep, named Greylock.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Oct 17, 2016 21:58:38 GMT
if that's the right answer, it would be incredibly appropriate considering your avatar, mudworm
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Post by a moderator on Oct 17, 2016 22:17:40 GMT
No need to shield your head (though there's a nice irony to your shielding yourself with the Manticore rather than from it). When you try the key in the grey lock, the door opens. A still-sharp dart drops from above, but a little distance from you, so it sticks into the gnome's head.
Shaking your head at Sid's warped antics, you pass through the door, no doubt to confront another deranged FF-based challenge.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 21, 2016 17:01:39 GMT
if that's the right answer, it would be incredibly appropriate considering your avatar, mudworm Yes indeed. Demons of the Deep has always been a favourite of mine. Good puzzle greenspine. Sorry for the delay in picking up the baton.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 21, 2016 17:01:58 GMT
You step through the door, but to your disappointment your path is immediately blocked by an old cooker with a saucepan on it. You are not in a true kitchen, clearly, as this is a very small area, like a cupboard or a porch. In fact the cooker does not appear to be plugged into anything.
You peer into the saucepan and find some pretty strange contents under the water. The central item is a sheep's head which has had most of the flesh boiled or stripped off. It seems to have the remains of an octopus or squid stuffed into its mouth. Underneath it are some jointed legs, possibly from a crab or a lobster.
Now that you are looking directly down on it, you notice a note behind the saucepan. "Don't burn yourself by reaching into the pot. Add something to improve it instead."
This seems baffling. How can the water burn you if the cooker is not plugged in? But on closer inspection you see that there is a spatula in the pot which has been slightly warped beneath the surface. Clearly this is not just water. Perhaps you could just tip it out? No, silly you, the saucepan is of course welded to the top of the cooker. You consider tipping the whole cooker over but even if you could, Sid will have thought of that too. Probably safer to play the game.
On the wall to your left is an impressive spice rack, with at least a hundred little jars containing all the herbs and spices you can think of – or at least that's what the labels claim.
What will you pick? You suspect there are consequences for picking the wrong one.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2016 14:25:06 GMT
This is probably a more whimsical puzzle than my previous one. Perhaps I should say that the FF-reference is nothing to do with cooking, although some Earthly culinary knowledge may help.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 22, 2016 15:50:14 GMT
Are you supposed to create a recipe with a spice/herb?
Something to turn the water alkali? My 3rd year chemistry probably does not suffice?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2016 18:58:13 GMT
Are you supposed to create a recipe with a spice/herb? Something to turn the water alkali? My 3rd year chemistry probably does not suffice? Well Sid is relying on acids and alkalis for the set up, but don't worry too much about that. 'Recipe' sounds a bit complicated. The solution can be expressed in a sentence, or two short sentences at most. Still, with so many bottles on the rack you'd need even more luck virus than you would to get through greenspine's puzzle. Any thoughts on the contents of the pot?
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 23, 2016 15:34:48 GMT
I think I need Mutant meatballs to try to increase my brain power.
Sheep mollusc seafood stew? Mutton bouillerbase (spelling)?
Rack of lamb special a la Temple Of Doom? Was that snake surprise?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 23, 2016 22:33:02 GMT
The animal species from which the flesh-free head was taken isn't important - I decided that at the last minute.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 24, 2016 22:15:54 GMT
*Silence* Again, people shouldn't think about the cooking aspect. It may not be clear why Sid has set this up like this until after the solution has been found. Try to picture the thing represented in the pot. It's a crude recreation of something illustrated in a book. The octopus is stuffed in head first so that only the limbs are visible. 'Flesh-free head' might be thought to be a slightly unusual description.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 25, 2016 12:45:19 GMT
Anything to do with that floating octopus thing near the beginning of Khare(on a wrong route)?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 25, 2016 19:04:41 GMT
No - there are no actual sea-creatures involved. The legs are of the sort they are because I thought Sid thought they captured the hard, jointed, scuttley nature of the original. Nor is there an octopus involved - merely tentacles.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 25, 2016 22:15:37 GMT
It sounds like the Skull Beast from Keep of the Lich-Lord. Recalling the creature's weakness, I guess I should look for a herb called mace.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 26, 2016 22:18:51 GMT
a moderator takes the bottle marked 'Mace' from the rack and sprinkles a little of the contents into the pot. The substance does not look like the spice as you remember it, but more like a white powder. At first the 'water' fizzes angrily, but the more you add the less it bubbles and after a time the powder collects at the bottom. Tentatively you dip your hand into the water. It is very warm, but otherwise seems normal. You try to scoop the skull-thing out of the water, but it resists. The whole thing was coated in clear film to protect it from the liquid, and you find there seems to be a cord attached to the base of the skull which passes down to the base of the pan... and through it, through a valve of some kind. Sid has drilled right through the base of the saucepan and into the cooker, passing the cord through. You pull firmly up on the skull, drawing the cord up, and hear a clunk from within or behind the cooker, and the whole thing swings slowly round towards you as the door it was attached to opens. Hanging in the corner, tucked away until the cooker shifted, is a long black coat complete with a hood. You put it on immediately as cold air blasts through the doorway - and besides perhaps Sid intends you to take it.
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