DRX - Mirrored Embers - 0/16

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#42

Common Room:

In the hall lined with dorm rooms, there are a series of comfortable-looking sofas around a table. What is odd is what’s lying on the coffee table in the room. There’s some kind of glass box there.

Glass Box:

On the table is a glass box, reinforced with a metal frame. The bottom of this glass box is carpeted, and on top of the carpet is a tiny table. On the tiny table inside of the glass box is a simmilarly tiny knife and a tiny notepad.

There are two metal devices indented into the box, each of them shaped disturbingly like an eye. Looking through the top of the box, you can see the same structure on the inside. Beneath the lids of both eyes is a button. The construction is identical on the other side.

Scratched into the metalwork on one is the word IN. On the other is the word OUT. What could this mean?

Notebook inside box:

Artifact Notes:

  • When IN button is pressed, takes first object in line of sight of outside eye then shrinks it, places in box.
  • When OUT button is pressed, fires object from inside box along line of sight of outside eye.
  • OUT and IN buttons work identically inside the box.
  • Artifact contains shrinking point. Any object put inside artifact will shrink to size appropriate for the room inside.

Detailed Notes:

This one isn’t actually a puzzle. It’s a tiny room that can be moved into other rooms. Essentially, when you touch the IN button, it moves you and all your items into the Minature Box™. The button on the table changes the glass to become opaque, not revealing what is inside the box. But it’s one-way. Inside the box, you can still see out.

If you throw an item at the Inside IN Button™, it will move an item (or possibly person) within line of sight inside the box against their will. If you throw an item at the Inside Out Button™ it will move you out of the box, with the catch that in order to leave you effectively have to either pass an AGI check or give up an item. Or wait for someone to come free you.

In other words, this one is for murder, and murder only. And it’s going to be interesting to see if somebody finds out a way to use it.

It’s made of glass because some smartass is going to try and break open the box and put a regular-sized item in it. And what will happen is a disproportionately small bit of glass will break, not small enough to put an item of any meaningful size in. Because it’s actually shrank glass.

(Also, might put in some lore details linking it to the Homunculus Box, since they function in relatively simmilar ways.)

#43

i think the big thing apart from puzzles
is how we’re going to give lore on the players without just spamming broken computers everywhere

1 Like
#44

also i think one of the rules of magic should be that all magic is inherrently tied to objects
and if those objects are destroyed so is the spell

However, rarely, individuals can be those objects. this kind of primal human magic should have like
there should be some kind of ritual item that can be used to tell if somebody has used Body Magic
which in practise can be used to track the use of Ultimate Abilities.

#45

i wonder
would people notice if one or two puzzles were just reskinned and slightly retooled puzzles from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (DnD sourcebook that recently came out)

#46

Shop:

As you enter the shop, you pass through a door with a faintly shimmering blue glow inside the frame. Lining one wall is a series of trays containing threatening sharp objects, each of which has a strange cube fixed into it. This warrants further explanation. There is a large screen on the desk that is showing the following message on repeat through means of an infographic:

HELLO

WELCOME TO ELDRITCH ELLIE’S MAGIC ITEM STORE.

You have just passed through our state of the art Product Gate™, using the latest in thaumoturgical technology to prevent unauthorised extraction of goods from the store! You may notice the black boxes implanted into all of our products. Well, the Product Gate™ won’t allow any item with a black box to exit the store unless they use the stamping machine next to the door to stamp the box… with blood.

Hah! Isn’t that fun! We have a supply of blood stamps that will last a while, but to prevent needless purchases, you will be limited to one stamping per Daily Life per person. Tap this computer’s screen if you want to see a log of extracted items (the anonymity of the buyers will be ensured, of course).

Now, what is the cost of stamping? Nothing, thanks to our Buy Nothing Get One Free:tm: scheme! We hope you have fun using our distinctive, powerful artifacts for whatever purpose you choose to put them to!

You turn to your left, and by the door there really is the stamping machine the compuer describes. A reinforced glass tank can be seen poking out of the machine, filled to the brim with blood.

Now, what is the significance of the machine stamping the items with blood? Well, one of the rules of the game is that bloodstained items cannot leave the building they were stained in unless they are no longer bloodstained. That’s the catch. It’s a cache of strong weapons that require extra work to extract, but can potentially be very very useful indeed.

My plan is to have the shop contain:

  • 2 “melee weapon but better kill chances” magic items.
  • 2 “ranged weapon but better kill chances” magic items.
  • 1 “what the fuck are ici and arete doing” magic item

The last one is the most important, obviously. The other two will be relevant once we calculate the kill chances of various generic weapons, I guess?

Also, the labels on the products should big the products up unnececarily without containing anything that is technically a lie.

#47

Spreadsheet for keeping track of items.

#48

Okay. I think I have it. I think I’ve figured out the lore for this one. Obivously, since it’s DR lore it’s gonig to… faintly resemble previous ones, since there aren’t that many reasons why somebody would create a killing game, but this one was in fact created not deliberately but as the result of a failed iterative process.

Essentially, the game takes place in a pocket dimension called The Knot, which is gaurded by an artifact called The Bear. The Knot was filled with magical artifacts and fifteen school students; with the intent of making those Ultimates unlock full control of their magical potential.

The system iterated like this. You can see the exact moment things began to go wrong.

Summary

Rules Of The Knot [1]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  3. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results:

  • Subjects ran election in order to determine who deserved most to leave based on magical prowess and ability to prevent the experiment’s continuation, and one subject won the election in a landslide and graduated.

Rules of the Knot [2]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. Graduation is decided by the results of an eleciton.
  3. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  4. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Subjects refused to vote, giving no conclusive answer. Instead, they attempted to find the location of a magical artifact strong enough to escape. Eventually, one of them did, and managed to escape. This was treated as them Graduating, even if they violated the rules of the game.

Rules of the Knot [3]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. The Bear will select the one to graduate based on whoever finds and demonstrates mastery of a certain artifact first.
  3. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  4. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Subjects were cooperative this time. A subject found this aritfact and managed to graduate legitimately. In particular, he succeeded due to finding the designated artifact first them hiding it from the others.

Rules of the Knot [4]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. The Bear will select the one to graduate based on whoever finds and demonstrates mastery of a certain artifact first. The identity of this artifact will not be revealed; it could be any.
  3. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  4. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Subjects were mistrustful of one another, and did not interact for much of the iteration. This peace was broken later in the iteration; however. An unknown subject killed another, seemingly suspecting them to have nearly mastered the artifact, in a vain attempt to save their own life. The remainder of the loop was spent attempting to find this killer, and an attempted trial to find them did not stop them from completing the artifact quest. They were prevented from graduating by a last-minute enchantment due to the amoral way of reaching their goal.

Rules of the Knot [5]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. The Bear will select the one to graduate based on whoever finds and demonstrates mastery of a certain artifact first. The identity of this artifact will not be revealed; it could be any.
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner.
  4. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  5. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results:

  • We expected the new rule to heavily disincentivise murder. Instead, we found a situation where rather than cooperate with the game, fearing a murderer to be among them due to the specific stipulation regarding killings, a mass suicide occurred. We did not feel that the only remaining student was worthy of graduation, given that they were the murderer from the previous iteration, and thus prevented their graduation.

Rules of the Knot [6]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  5. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • A series of five murders were committed, but in each case the Subjects found the killer in time. Eventually, they were stuck in a meaningless state where there would be no point in comitting a murder, and nobody was willing to, and the iteration ended in abject failure.

Rules of the Knot [7]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five murders have been committed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  6. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Only a single murder occurred; five subjects voluntarily sacrificed their life in order to save the maximum amount of people. A large number graduated; but we remain unable to stop the iterations. The Bear is beginning to show signs of insanity. The person who volunteered to kill the five is the same killer who initiated the Knot’s corruption.

Rules of the Knot [8]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  6. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • This iteration was profoundly bloody; in each and every trial more than one person was murdered. The most bloody murder, that of our recurring killer, killed five people with a magically created explosion. One subject alone survived and graduated without killing a single person.

Rules of the Knot [9]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. In each trial, a maximum of two people may be murdered. Any further murders will be prevented by The Bear.
  6. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  7. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Nobody committed any murders this time. A miserable attitude of fear and suspicion overtook the entire iteration, and mass depression was the only thing the subjects felt right up until the end of the simulation.

Rules of the Knot [10]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. In each trial, a maximum of two people may be murdered. Any further murders will be prevented by The Bear.
    5. Should no murder be committed for an arbitrary period of time, a Motive will be installed to incentivise killing.
  6. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  7. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • We are powerless to stop it. We found our repeated murderer got away with killing, and prevented their graduation. Anybody dangerous enough to routinely kill people like that is too much of a danger to be what we’re looking for.

Rules of the Knot [11]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by The Bear to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. In each trial, a maximum of two people may be murdered. Any further murders will be prevented by The Bear.
    5. Should no murder be committed for an arbitrary period of time, a Motive will be installed to incentivise killing.
  6. The Bear's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  7. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • We have lost control of the knot. We are monitoring our serial killer, but we have found something disturbing; they appear to be somewhat in control of the Knot, and are poisoning it. The Bear is calling itself M’No’Kuma now. We sent in a thaumaturgical pulse in order to end this iteration early. Nobody graduated.

Rules of the Knot [12]

Number of Subjects: 15

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by M'No'Kuma, God of Despair, to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. In each trial, a maximum of two people may be murdered. Any further murders will be prevented by The Bear.
    5. Should no murder be committed for an arbitrary period of time, a Motive will be installed to incentivise killing.
  6. M'No'Kuma's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  7. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results

  • Instead of leaving through the portal, after a predictable series of five bloody murders, the remaining subjects attempted to rat out the Mastermind among them, whose presence they uncovered using clues left in the Knot, but ultimately failed to do so within the time limit. The test ended, somehow, once again, in failure. Notably, our attempts to stop the iteration with a thaumaturgical pulse fialed this time.

Rules of the Knot [13]

Number of Subjects: 16

  1. There is only one way to exit the town; be selected by M'No'Kuma, God of Despair, to graduate.
  2. In order to be selected, a subject must demonstrate mastery of the matrial uses of magic by committing a murder and not being found by the end of the Class Trial
  3. Should a murder be committed, a Class Trial will be held a period of 24 hours after the body is found. If the killer is found, they will be executed and will "die" early, in a particular grusome and painful manner. If the kiler is not found, they will be allowed to graduate
  4. After five trials and a Final Trial to uncover the Mastermind, whose influence has created these rules, have been completed, all remaining survivors will be allowed to graduate.
  5. In each trial, a maximum of two people may be murdered. Any further murders will be prevented by The Bear.
  6. Should no murder be committed for an arbitrary period of time, a Motive will be installed to incentivise killing.
  7. M'No'Kuma's grounds for seleciton in the next iteration will be based on this iteration. This detail will not be revealed to subjects.
  8. After a certain amount of time has passed the iteration will end and all remaining subjects will "Die". The "dead" subjects will partake in the new iteration, as well as clones of the ones to graduate

Results:

  • TEST NOT FINISHED YET.

Essentially, the Mastermind remembers every previous loop and has long since given up on escaping. Their only goal now is to make the loop so miserable that the scientists on the outsifde have no choice but to stop the loops, not aware that they have no control over the Knot anymore.

The scientists are tryng to send in limited pieces of information in order to identify the Mastermind, but the test is double-blind and they don’t know who has graduated or who did the killings, only certain details of the simulations.

I’ll probably send details of the past murders the Mastermind has supposedly committed as part of the stuff for the Final Trial, like what we did with AZ Raphael in DR3.

Not sure how we’ll reveal this; I do like the file detailing the iterations but that should be a bombshell for Chapter 5, I think. But I think it’s a good bit of lore to work off of.

#49

As you write the word Stars in the diary, it immediately fades away, to be replaced by what looks like a printed photograph, slowly fading in. But what you see on the photograph is beyond horrifying.

Five mutilated bodies line the pavement of what looks like the Town Square. Their clothes are burnt to near unrecognisability. Ashes cover the ground. And as you look at their faces, their features have been burnt off. There is no easy way to recognise who these people are.

  • One of them is surrounded by a pool of splinters, and has many cuts over their body, concentrated on their hands.
  • One of them, even in death, is clutching a burning piece of paper, reduced to nothing but cinder at the time of the photograph.
    One of them has a piece of glass in their eye, with a little bit of melted plastic aside their corpse.
  • One has a few shards of ceramic next to them, all of them damp.
  • And one of them is clutching a small metal rod, covered in ash but seemingly unharmed by the explosion. The arm holding the rod is pointing towards the source of the explosion

All of them are now nothing but faceless dead bodies.

So, this is potentially one of the most important documents in the game, but it is not easy to figure out. It potentially clears 5 people of being the Mastermind (we’ll have to be careful not to put in information 100% clearing people like this one. However, in order to do that, you need to be at the end of the game, and to figure out that these people were holding their role items at the time of their death..

Solution to this puzzle:

Assuming these 5 to be the Mastermind’s victims in Iteration 8:

  • The first body is meant to be Alison Hutchinson, holding up her snowboard against the explosion to try desperately to save herself.
  • The second is Harleck Abode, franticly leafing through the Codex Arcanis at the last moment to try and find a way to escape his death.
  • The third is Sonja Erikkson, holding the remains of some of her chemistry equippment, trying to brew some kind of potion that would make her survive.
  • The fourth is Josephine Farrierson, drinking the Elixir of Things Past out of a ceramic bowl so she wouldn’t have to feel herself burn to death.
  • And the fifth is Alison Henderson, attacking the killer with Symphone.

I imagine some of these will be figured out, but not all of them, which is why I feel confident enought to put this in the game. Given the Final Dead Room puzzle seems the best place to put the details of the previous games, I think this one might end up being balanced.

Plus, it’s a shocking mystery people will want to solve from the moment they see it.

#50

Item A:

Eldritch Ellie’s Sparkling Sporknife

For cannibals and people who like LARPing as cannibals, this weapon will allow you to truly understand the Cannibal EXPERIENCE.

Attack bonus: +40%

Has two prongs attatched to it, as well as the distinctive Shop Cube that won’t let you remove this item from the shop unless stamped with blood.

Item B:

Eldritch Ellie’s Hungry Hungry Hammer

SPLOINK

Attack Bonus: +30%.

Looks like two steel tentacles curved around the stick in the rough shape of the hammer, with the distinctive Shop Cube that won’t let you remove this item from the shop unless stamped with blood at the back.

Item C:

Frightening Freddie’s Kunai Gun

Holy shit.

Attack bonus: +40%

Can only fire projectiles shaped exactly like kunai. Has a Shop Cube implanted in it, preventing it from leaving the Shop unless stampted with blood.

Item D:

Frightening Freddie’s Ridiculous Revolver

If the people who made silencers weren’t idiots.

Attack Bonus +0%.

Contains two bullets; makes no sound when shot. Has a Shop Cube implanted in it, preventing it from leaving the shop unless stamped with blood.

Item E:

Alarming Alan’s Larceny Linament

Well, this shouldn’t have any negative consequences.

Potion. When drank, gives you the ability to walk through a single wall on the map before wearing off. Also wears off after 5 minutes. Only contains a single dose; bottle vanishes once drank.

Bottle has a Shop Cube implanted in it. Cannot be removed from Shop until the Shop Cube is stamped with blood. In addition the bottle cannot be opened inside the shop, thanks to location tracking technology.

#51

okay i think that’s enough magical bullshit for chapter 1
the rest of the puzzles and stuff should be usual DR stuff

#52

Isometric DR Map (WIP)
Isometric DR Map (WIP)1861×1135 385 KB

do you think i should finish this
because if it doesn’t look good i should stop

#53

obviously the colours aren’t ideal and if i finish it it’ll likely have black and white ground but coloured walls but i want to see if you like it

#54

looking over it now that I’ve slooped
this looks good but the map isn’t suited for isometric style, and there’s more I could do with it
i think i should redraw the map with the same rooms but rearranged so they fit an isometric style?

#55

i think i have it
my problem with the old map was that there was no good way to represent multiple floors
so how about this
we keep the outlines on something simmilar to the old map, then key them to a series of isometric drawings representing multiple buildings
solves the problem i was experiencing of the space ending up too cluttered

#56

I’m going to be honest

I don’t have super strong opinions on map projections

I’m sure whatever you find will turn out great

#57

it’s more that i learned how to do “3D” isometric maps recently and i think it could solve that problem i had with my early map (the lack of verticallity on the different buildings- everything was a bungalow and that made no sense!!). also i think it will look good if i get it right.

thanks for the encouragement

1 Like
#58

DR3 Map
DR3 Map1530×1374 280 KB

Building Maps (expect me to edit more in later. same rooms will exist, just in different locations.)

A, B, C

Dorm Rooms

D

Deluxe Dorm Rooms
Deluxe Dorm Rooms717×711 117 KB

E

Feyshire University Hospital
Feyshire University Hospital1238×992 121 KB

F

Feybrook Arcane Ventures
Feybrook Arcane Ventures542×517 40 KB

G

Senate Building
Senate Building1783×1697 180 KB

H

Library Building
Library Building765×654 38.8 KB

#59

Side Note: I’ve decided to change things up on the dorm room front. A, B, C and D will all be dorm rooms, but they will be more like… houses with multiple bedrooms. Obviously, D will be significantly nicer than the others, containing more rooms and more interesting stuff, and that will obviously be where Mr. Fansleigh-Reynolds will live. He’ll also have access to unique stuff in that house due to his bedroom being nicer than everyone else’s.

#60

edited the global map because, like an idiot, i actually forgot to include all the areas on the original map that we’ve already done the work on. anyway, we’re fine now. i’ll continue my work.

#61

Chapter 1 map done!!!
Pog!!!