The first thing I needed to do, though, was design the door and the completion detection. The detection was simple enough, when a d4 detected the appropriate speed, an if/then logic gate would tell a d8 to open the door. I could make this speed random with a d10. I started with a d12, just for more options, but I would have to do that multiplicatively, apparently, because the d12 was constrained in a way that let me set a specific rarity on each point, but they couldn’t be the same rarity, which i wanted in this instance. I chose not to have more than ten speeds for now, I could add more later if it wasn’t enough.
Actually, wait. If I have each of the ten speeds have ten possible puzzle configs, I would have to devote a ton of time to figuring out valid configs. But if I finally took advantage of Multithreading…
I could do that in the background.
Next, I started playing with building the door. This was simple enough, I made it akin to the vault doors from Fallout, and then connected the opening mechanism to it. I’m glad I only needed to do the logic, if I needed to move this thing with engineering, everything would be going way slower. Finally, the gears, and the method of effecting the puzzle. For each configuration, I’ll have the starting gear moving at the perfect speed, and then I’ll have it connected directly to a gear that is either larger or smaller than the open gear. I’ll call this randomized gear the key gear, and it will always be directly touching the open gear. I’ll put in a lever that stops the gears from rotating, so that the delvers can get the connectors off of the gears. Then I start putting in obstacles. The obstacles that can be in play are:
- Wall. This wall is impassable, you need to go around it.
- Gate. This door opens when a specific gear is turned, and sometimes needs that gear to be going a specific speed.
- Other gears, and gear ratio systems. These will need to be used to open the big door.
- Moving gears. These babies will move when another gear is activated, potentially changing the required belt length.
- see-saws. Pull these using your belt to change the other side.
I’ll-
[I’m building a puzzle.]
[The puzzle is to get a specific gear to rotate at a specific speed.]
[I haven't determined quite yet. It’ll be something nasty, though. Current ideas include five Lich-Ents, a couple dozen Fireballs, or other such nasty things. The door won’t open, though.]
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Back to work. I’ll give the delvers belts, gears, and see-saws to work with, different lengths and sizes. Then, I’ll figure out the minimum possible combination of resources required to pass the puzzle (size and length not factoring in) and give them only those. Some of the variations will be easier or harder, but that’s okay. Now, to refine the possible configs and come up with some solutions!
—
A few days later, I spotted the delvers again. I was in the middle of designing monsters at the time, but that could wait. They were doing things!
The party I had seen earlier was back, with friends. An official looking dwarven(?) woman, a clear elf mix (So they aren’t racist to each other in this world), clearly a mix of high and what I would guess as dark elves. There were also construction workers, people crying large bags that were also clearly enchanted (probably bags of holding, gimmie gimmie) and other officials. Finally, there were what were clearly some other five-mans, as well as what looked like a three-man, though they were at the same relative power as the dwarven lady that I would assume was the guild master and the walking elven yin-yang, so they might be a party.
I walked my avatar right out of the dungeon, info pamphlet in hand, and just jumped to the fortress that they were clearly setting up in.
“Ho, Adventurers! You look official, would you happen to be setting up a dungeon town?”
The guildmaster tried to speak up, but the Kitten was faster.
“Elise Fortpass, of the softclaw tribe. Welcome to my land!” She said, rather aggressively.
“Our land, twit cat!” Piped in the dwarven tank of her party. I decided then that I would call them the Done-With-Your-Bullshit party, because they so clearly were.
DWYBS-Kitten (pronounced Dibs, by the way) was still staring at me intently, so I spoke up.
“I would argue that it’s actually my land - hold your horses, I’m not about to try to fight the adventurer’s guild - but that’s semantics. I’m here to introduce myself. The guild leader, I presume?” I asked this of the dwarven lady.
“Yes, I am. Pray tell, why is it your land, exactly? It’s always better to get this stuff out of the way first.”
I handed pamphlets to anyone nearby, which mostly included Guildmaster, Yin-yang, and DWYBS.
“Well, I highly doubt that of the land the kitten claims is hers actually belongs to me, but I would reckon that the area surrounding my entrance is the most important part, isn’t it?”
I should note here that I mostly looked like a half-elf (human) at the moment, though my eyes were rather obvious, and I had a slight peach-fuzz. I had green eyes and brown, straight hair, cut short to look like a standard elves, though rougher like a dwarves. The easiest difference to spot was that I had decided to go with two sets of arms, one long, spindly, and dexterous, and the other stocky, powerful, and retractable. I had both on full display.
It took only a moment for the leader and Yin-yang to read through it (Enhanced bodies for the win!).
Yin-yang spoke up first.
“You!” He pointed at a random guilder. “Retrieve Verifier John and Mediator Doe!”
The guilder ran off.
The Guildmaster spoke up. “Well, Mr. Davies, if all of this is true, we must draw up a contract. I am Guildmaster Anna.” She held out her hand for a shake, and I took it.
“Pleased to meet you, Anna. I-”
At that moment, Marcy deigned to take notice of us plebeians.
“[Introducing myself.]”
“[Mar-]”
[Can a wisp be bound to more than one person?]
[Are you not already bound to me?]
[Very well. Remind me to bind you later.]
“[How nice of you to greet us, Elsa.]”
“Who are you talking to?” Kitten asked.
“My wisp.”
“Okay. I’ll remind you that I am a rather abnormal dungeon, and I had my avatar in the first week, spending very little mana to make it.”
“Mr. Davies, shall we?” GM Anna pointed to the fort, where there was a small desk put in just inside the newly-installed door.
“We shall.”