Use the Infamous Silent Hill Zodiac Puzzle in your DnD Game

[@Mr_Welch]

Pisces is the dead giveaway. If there's a zero in the numbers it can't be a numerical order. So you just have to look to see what it lacks with what the others have

[@WallyDM]

Pisces and Libra are definitely the two that provide the best clues, for sure. Well done, my friend! Cheers!

[@aces_games]

I remember you did this puzzle several years ago and I liked it so much that I added it into my game which is a first-person horror puzzle game that I've been working on for several years. I would love to show you the puzzle in action, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post any links here. I've found a lot of inspiration on your channel over the years which really is nice and helpful and I'm not even a D&D player.

[@WallyDM]

Thank you for the kind words, I truly appreciate it. Please reply with the link. I would like to check it out.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks Wally

[@WallyDM]

THank you Fred!

[@kquixotic]

I remember this puzzle from SH1 and will be using this in my game having been reminded of it; thanks!

[@WallyDM]

Awww yeah! Vintage puzzle time!

[@agilemonk6305]

Well done Wally. Thank you for another well made video, with nice options for exporting over into our games. ❤

[@WallyDM]

Thank you, my friend. As always... your support means a lot to me. Cheers!

[@demetrinight5924]

The built room that is in scale to the miniatures really adds immersion to the table. I would probably use handouts mainly because I don't want to build a one time use miniature room. I like the puzzle and the open chest/doorway sound.

[@WallyDM]

I would be using handouts as well. I only printed the images on the walls for demonstration in the video. But yeah, print-outs of the puzzle pieces so the players can hold them is the best way to go, for sure. Thank you for watching, cheers!

[@MistressMajora]

My players would 100% take at LEAST 3 sessions on this. Half of the time, they will be ignoring the puzzle entirely, trying literally every spell/item/ability to open the door. I love them, but they all have a collective INT score of 2 and a half. The players, not their characters, I mean. I'm going to throw this at them and see what happens.

[@WallyDM]

lol, I hear this a lot when it comes to puzzles. This one is definitely on the harder / trickier scale. If you run it, be sure to let me know how it goes. Good luck!

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

My primal maths brain immediately thought: Algebra! _with Libra being "equals"_ duh 😅 Then it went to zodiac order 😂

[@WallyDM]

Yep... this puzzle is definitely a get it or don't, for sure. I do like the path of thinking where the scales means equals. Hmm. I might be able to ......

[@mooxim]

I can say with 100% certainty that that riddle in St Mercy Road was written by Chat-GPT

[@WallyDM]

Oh, no kidding? Yeah, you know... that definitely would not surprise me. But, I am curious as to the indications?

[@mooxim]

@@WallyDM The structure is exactly the way GPT does it. Also, it loves saying that things dance, it loves using the words "where" and "schemes" and "unfold". What's more, it makes explicit reference to Zodiac, arms, legs and numbers without actually making a whole lot of sense. It prioritises rhyming over making sense. "Where stars align in curious schemes": This means nothing. It's just a line that references stars, to build up the structure of an aabb rhyming passage. Compare with the riddle from Creature Paintings puzzle from the back of Tasha's Cauldron: ""In order to gain all knowledge, one must know where to start. Count on your enemies to reveal the source of the secret. This room is dedicated to the defeat of all monsters within."" - No rhyming, just heaps of double-meanings like a proper riddle should have.

[@dr.feargood2669]

Nice puzzle. On to the Next! 😉

[@WallyDM]

On to the next, indeed! lol, thank you, my friend. 🙂

[@kbeazy_3050]

But a bow has limbs! 2 of them!

[@WallyDM]

Holy crap, I didn't realize that. Sagittarius was holding out on us, lol. Inspiration for you today, for sure! Ya know, I've been tinkering with my own version of this puzzle and I think a bow might be something to concern. Thank you for the insight and watching my video. Cheers!

[@greatmoustache8731]

Riddle makes it interesting, though I could see how it can make it more confusing too. Maybe doing the die hard fill the water jugs, but maybe adding some to it.... or leaving as is: At a key point in the film, McClane and Zeus are given a five-gallon jug and a three-gallon jug and asked to fill one with exactly four gallons of water to prevent a bomb from going off. So how do they solve the problem?

[@WallyDM]

Oh yeah, the infamous water jug from Die Hard! I remember seeing that. Hmmm. I'll have to consider this one. Thank you, my friend. Cheers!

[@bluesandman7566]

Gosh, do I feel stupid. The riddle would definitely help.

[@WallyDM]

Nah, don't feel stupid. There are a lot of puzzles and riddles that either click or they don't. I've been on the "I don't get it" side of things way more than the "I solved the puzzle" side. One of my biggest secrets is that I'm good at creating puzzles, but terrible at making them, lol. Thank you for watching! On to the next!

[@guilhermereis9520]

Really cool. Would only trade the scale for another animal so not to confuse ..

[@WallyDM]

Yep, I think that is a good idea!

[@chrs_lee]

Are we discounting fins as not being limbs?

[@WallyDM]

The original puzzle, I believe did imply that fins are not limbs. When I do an internet search on whether or not fins are limbs, I get mixed results. I think if you wanted to run the puzzle and believe the fish could be misinterpreted, perhaps Scorpio, the scorpion would be a valid replacement? I do plan on a video in the not-so-distant future where I present my own version of this puzzle. Spoiler: Pisces the Fish won't be included, lol. Anyways, not sure if this helps, but thank you for watching. On to the next!

[@zefiewings]

my only concern is the twins which seem to share an arm in this iteration, it doesn't look like they are holding hands it looks like they are conjoined and I feel even if I did manage to figure out it meant limbs I would wind up outfoxing myself by thinking they were conjoined and that was a trick

[@WallyDM]

Ah yes, you know, when I was putting the graphics together for this video, I had the same thought with the two arms looking to be connected. But, it was the best image I could find that was free to use and matched the others, so I went with it. If you run the puzzle and believe it could be an issue, I'd describe the image to the players as "two humanoids clasping hands" or "two humanoids with interlocked arms". Perhaps that will help? Or, find an alternative image to use. Thank you for watching! Cheers!

[@zefiewings]

@@WallyDM fair enough: we have the power to be descriptive as needed as the DM.

[@jackal7610]

I like it!!

[@WallyDM]

Thank you, me too! Cheers!

[@archmage_of_the_aether]

I like it... But I always wonder, why would a high level mage ever bother with all this? Permanency spells aren't cheap. Who are you keeping out, who are you allowing in? What is the nature of the filter? Wouldn't a password or a combination be a safer safeguard?

[@WallyDM]

Those high level wizards are something else, for sure. They are definitely on a level all their own and who knows what goes on in their minds, lol. But in all seriousness, here's the way I look at things, and I'd venture a guess that my view on puzzles leans more on the unpopular side of the discussion. I include puzzles in my games without worrying too much about their purpose. I choose puzzles that I find fun and interesting, and that I believe could develop into a unique and memorable experience. My players have never questioned why a puzzle exists or why it wasn’t simpler. Instead, they see puzzle encounters as just another challenge or obstacle to overcome in order to achieve their goals, make progress, or find great loot. It’s similar to how puzzles are handled in video games like Zelda, Uncharted, and Resident Evil - complete the challenge and advance the game. And of course, I totally understand when DMs want to know why everything exists, the backstory, the lore, the reason, and the purpose... but, I'm not one of those DMs. I concentrate on providing challenges, having fun and creating memorable events. Hope this helps!

[@archmage_of_the_aether]

@@WallyDM oh I love puzzles! I just can't make them cohere. Example: for my 2e campaign, I'm trying to build a conscious dungeon constructed by psionic dwarves (kineticists) that has been corrupted by evil for 2000 years, slowly brick by brick rebuilding itself into something nasty and coherent.. I'm just trying to figure out, will the PCs survive by besting each trap? Or will they get through because the dungeon didn't have the time to become a true 100% deathtrap? Or because they got clever and decided to think around the box somehow? But seriously, look at them old Basic modules. Fourteen magic pools! Revolving hallways when an intersection makes more sense! My PCs are smart, they look for reasons in order to be at the dungeon creator, and if there's no reason, I failed them in their quest for smarty-pants fun

[@WallyDM]

@@archmage_of_the_aether some really good examples here! I really dig the idea of your psionic dwarf dungeon, that sounds awesome. And, oh yeah, the old school modules were hilarious... you forgot about the green dragon in a 20x20 room, lol. The room way too small for such a large monster, but... how did it get here? lol. BTW, if you ever figure out an easy formula for making connecting encounters and making things cohere, be sure to come back and share with the rest of the class. 😃

[@archmage_of_the_aether]

@@WallyDM wah, coherence gets no huuman formula, we're all floating in the same "I was dreaming but then I was almost awake and I just saw it all and it was awesome but I didn't write it down because it was 3.24am"

[@WallyDM]

@@archmage_of_the_aether Haha, so true.

[@Rio-kk4pf]

That is the worst puzzle figure that i ever sovle in Silent hill. it tooks me 1 hour to solve it 😭😭😭😭