Pathfinder D&D Puzzles #29 - The Temple of Raxivort

In today's puzzle, our player characters have found their way to the final chamber of a Wererat/Xvart temple built to their deity Raxivort. Of course, the door in this room is locked and can only be opened by solving the puzzle. To make matters worse, the disease-filled shrine is filling up with giant rats and has alerted Wererats and Xvarts guards. The players will want to inspect the statue of Raxivort to get the clues they need to finish the adventure! This may be one of Wally DM's hardest puzzles yet!
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Link to Raxivort's Falchion:
www.treecityemporium.com/wp-co...
Link to the Dials in the Puzzle:
www.treecityemporium.com/wp-co...
Ambience from KZbin Library
Eviction - Silent Partner
Red Eye - E's Jammy Jams
Ambience was: Hydra - Huma-Huma

[@0xbane782]

I am making a dungeon revolving around Xvarts. Lots of magic items that they steal right out from under the party before they can claim them after the party solves some simple puzzles. This makes a great addition to my dungeon. Thank you!

[@WallyDM]

Heck yes! So glad that someone is using Xvarts. I've always wanted to start a campaign with them, but just keep missing the opportunity. This puzzle is a hard one, I'm interested to see how it goes. Be sure to check back and let me know. Also, the written version can be found in my Journal of Puzzle Encounters ;-) . Good luck, hope all goes well!

[@InquisitorThorn]

A little late but I'm reading through your book, and I noticed what I suspect is an unintended emergent property: the unused letters spell G-E-M. If I were to use this puzzle during an adventure, then I would include a second set of dials at end of the adventure, perhaps in a treasure room or vault. These three labeled "G", "E", and "M" - no additional clues necessary since the info was provided during the original puzzle. This could award a bonus treasure or either a Gem of Brightness or Gem of Seeing. Just something extra to reward players that are paying attention, taking notes, and recognize patterns, nothing plot-critical or necessary to continue.

[@WallyDM]

Oh wow, I had no idea! Thank you for pointing this out. And, 100% agree, doing the extra step is a fantastic idea. Side note, the Temple of Raxivort might be one of my toughest puzzles that I've created. Cheers, my friend!

[@remingtonsloan8331]

I thought the clues made it more confusing. I had it figured out, then you gave the clues, and they threw me off. That said, this is an awesome puzzle that I can imagine a story around. Thanks!

[@WallyDM]

I totally agree I am really looking forward to building a story and quest around the Temple of Raxivort... Thank you for the heads up on the clues. I will definitely consider reworking them before I use in my campaign. It's always great to have input one way or the other on whether or not they are helpful. Thanks again for another great comment!

[@remingtonsloan8331]

Thanks for another great puzzle!

[@Bluedanes]

I agree, mainly the first clues of "Clues are not 6, Clues are 28". I thought that was saying that one of the answers was not 6, and that somehow the four numbers needed to equal 28.

[@Boomclack]

Love it. Great puzzle. Had me stumped.

[@WallyDM]

Thanx Jay! This is definitely one of the harder puzzles on my channel, for sure.

[@Boomclack]

Wally DM I think you and I should start emailing each other. [e-mail]

[@WallyDM]

@@Boomclack Sure thing! I'll send you one so you have my email. Cheers!

[@asmodeusblint1427]

Dude thats a cool one GJ

[@WallyDM]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@spyrolad]

Hi, I love this puzzle! Do you have copies of the printouts from this puzzle? the links in the description no longer work...

[@WallyDM]

Fantastic! I'm glad that you like the puzzle! I have updated the links to the printouts. Let me know if there are any issues. Also... I recommend subscribing to the channel. I will be making an announcement in June of my D&D Puzzle Book! This puzzle along with 60 other puzzles will be available in the book. :)

[@spyrolad]

@@WallyDM Awesome thank you so much! and thank you for letting me know about your book, I will be buying it for sure! I use your puzzles in my games all the time!

[@WallyDM]

@@spyrolad Fantastic! Glad that I could help out a bit with your games. :)

[@ALJessica]

I would love if you could upload the pictures like Those of the door or the skeleton piles :)

[@WallyDM]

Actually, these came out of a 2nd Edition Supplement I bought many years ago. I will see if I can find the PDF somewhere online, but if you'd like to see more about where they came from, here is the video I did. It's a really neat set! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaaxlYVjYppmeas

[@Jader7777]

Great puzzle. Totally stolen. My hint would be SIX WORDS WITH SEVEN LETTERS COUNT THEM ALL ESCAPE THESE FETTERS

[@WallyDM]

Glad you liked the puzzle! No stealing necessary, it's all yours. :) Thank you for including the hint you would use. I dig it! It's always good to see more ideas. I will add this one to my game journal in case I need it when I run the puzzle. Thank you, as always, for great feedback and conversation!

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

...Once again, a puzzle that relies on Latin script spelling of English language words in a setting where England and Latium don't exist :/ From a diegetic standpoint, how and why would this puzzle work? What character designed this? What was their intent? What was their design philosophy? How is this supposed to diffentiate rats from non-rats? I love this series - but really, something like this can quickly destroy immersion.

[@WallyDM]

Thank you for stopping by again, much appreciated. You know what's funny? I was expecting this comment from you, lol. :) While I was editing this I had a pretty good inclination that you would stop by to point out the England/Latin alphabet/language shenanigans. No worries though. My D&D world is based on the English language, or Common, as they call it, so I'm comfortable running these type of puzzles in my games. I'm sure it can be adjusted for languages of different worlds if a DM/GM so chooses. :) You kind of got me on the other questions though. I put so much time and thought into the mechanics of presenting the puzzles and possible solutions, that I don't really develop back stories or reasons for existing in the first place. I guess that is kind of good because GMs can use the puzzle with whatever setting, background or plan they want. Also, my players like to roll dice, complete quests and defeat challenges. They don't really ask me a whole lot of questions about why something exists or why someone created it. They just want to overcome obstacles that are presented to them, build their character's legacy, and have some fun. Who knows, maybe I'll start a new video series where I take a look at some of my puzzles and delve deep into the lore of intent, philosophy, and possible reasons why. Off the cuff, I simply would have this puzzle concealing an object the party needs to complete a quest (or finish the quest) or as an escape route from a treacherous gaming session. As always, I appreciate your challenging questions. They are fun to answer! :)

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

You were expecting it, meaning I've made an impression~ Personally, I try to keep the game world internally consistent as much as I can. From that regard, it's important to consider how the puzzle is supposed to work from an in-character point of view - but I suppose ultimately that's a matter of what works for your table. At least you're not recommending any of those damn floor tile puzzles! They're as cliché as they are nonsensical, they're always poorly designed, they're usually easy to brute-force if you put any real thought into them... I've had a GM pull that crap once. True to my word, I threatened him with a shoe.

[@WallyDM]

Lol... no floor tile puzzles, okay. Haha, got it. I'm not even too sure what floor puzzles consist of, but I will do my best to stay away from those. :) Great story about your GM... I think I will make sure my friends take their shoes off at the door from now on, lol... Thanks again!

[@tsmorang]

I always adapt his ideas into my own campaigns, giving it context within the story I've created.

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

MarvelX42 I'm not getting the point? The point is interactive storytelling. If the game involves things designed by characters that those characters could not have designed, that's a fault in the story. Would you have characters in the iron age using 21st century cell phones? Would you expect stone castles to be an effective defense against post-industrial artillery? Would you expect someone in the real world to think Minas Tirith is a real city?