Water Puzzle

[Quickleaf]

I'm looking for inspiration to design a water-based puzzle, a more complex version of the water jug puzzle in Die Hard, which involves the whole party.

The story is the PCs journey to a flooded ruin to recover a lost crown. For this encounter they reach a waterworks control room of sorts and need to move water around flooded chambers to move onward. I'm planning on it being a solo puzzle, coupled with a skill challenge involving the ghostly guardian.

Any links or ideas are appreciated.

 

[malraux]

The 3,5,8 one is relatively common, so I wouldn't recommend that. A quick google reveals that 5, 11, 13, and 24 also work; actually, any 4 numbers that a relatively prime will work. The Three Jugs Problem. Introduction & a story from Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles

 

[Asmor]

What if it weren't water? It could be acid, lava, sewage, oil (with flames or sparks in strategic places), blood with some sort of evil enchantment...

 

[Nymrohd]

What if it weren't water? It could be acid, lava, sewage, oil (with flames or sparks in strategic places), blood with some sort of evil enchantment...

Hmm how about making it a bit more evil?
They reach a point with three rooms; one has the central controls and the other has a single valve each. There is an inscription suggesting that they open them all concurrently, so likely they will split in the three rooms. THen when they do so, the rooms shut down and start flooding. You need to solve a water puzzle to get all three rooms to open but moving the water from room to room takes time and will force the players in that room to make Endurance checks so as not to drown.

 

[Asmor]

Another idea... There are three fountains, with red, yellow and blue liquids in each. The red and yellow liquids, when combined, form lava (orange). The yellow and blue when combined form acid (green). The red and blue form a cold, viscous purple concoction which puts out fires, cools down the lava, and neutralizes the acid (i.e. it's a "reset button")

There is something they need to burn through, but it's made of wood and if they use the lava it will start a fire. Then there's a crucible attached to a pulley; the other liquids are not dense enough to weigh down the crucible, only the lava will suffice.

 

[Pyrex]

Another option is to layer the puzzle a little differently.

If it's a waterworks, with cisterns, pipes, flooded rooms & passages, you could layer it closer to a Towers of Hanoi puzzle instead where the character manning the controls has to shift the water around to enable progress.

Some tunnels might have pressure doors that will always be underwater, but can only be opened if the pressure on either side is equal, long passageways might have to be drained before the party traverses them (because low-con characters can't hold their breath that long), but in order to drain it you have to find somewhere to put the water that won't block the pressure door, etc.

 

[Quickleaf]

The 3,5,8 one is relatively common, so I wouldn't recommend that. A quick google reveals that 5, 11, 13, and 24 also work; actually, any 4 numbers that a relatively prime will work. The Three Jugs Problem. Introduction & a story from Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles

Thanks for that link...the 4 jugs puzzle is fairly interesting, but I can't find a solution for it on the internet. I'm assuming that since the smallest vessel is 5 units, and you have 24 units to split evenly among 4 vessels that 4 units have to be dumped. I'll keep puzzling it over, but if it takes me a while it might be too complex for the game.

Hmm how about making it a bit more evil?
They reach a point with three rooms; one has the central controls and the other has a single valve each. There is an inscription suggesting that they open them all concurrently, so likely they will split in the three rooms. THen when they do so, the rooms shut down and start flooding. You need to solve a water puzzle to get all three rooms to open but moving the water from room to room takes time and will force the players in that room to make Endurance checks so as not to drown.

Yep, I was thinking something similar, though 4e's rule about holding your breath for 3 minutes makes it somewhat difficult (I guess the water could take a long time to move from room to room). I'm brainstorming ways to combine this with what Pyrex suggests.

Another idea... There are three fountains, with red, yellow and blue liquids in each. The red and yellow liquids, when combined, form lava (orange). The yellow and blue when combined form acid (green). The red and blue form a cold, viscous purple concoction which puts out fires, cools down the lava, and neutralizes the acid (i.e. it's a "reset button")

There is something they need to burn through, but it's made of wood and if they use the lava it will start a fire. Then there's a crucible attached to a pulley; the other liquids are not dense enough to weigh down the crucible, only the lava will suffice.

Nice twist. I like the idea of reaching different areas via certain combinations, kind of like unlocking parts of a maze.

Another option is to layer the puzzle a little differently.

If it's a waterworks, with cisterns, pipes, flooded rooms & passages, you could layer it closer to a Towers of Hanoi puzzle instead where the character manning the controls has to shift the water around to enable progress.

Some tunnels might have pressure doors that will always be underwater, but can only be opened if the pressure on either side is equal, long passageways might have to be drained before the party traverses them (because low-con characters can't hold their breath that long), but in order to drain it you have to find somewhere to put the water that won't block the pressure door, etc.

That's totally what I envisioning, coupled with a flooding chamber trap element. However, I'm trying to avoid the "one PC left behind to man the controls" type of puzzle since I'll be using one like that later in the adventure borrowed from Dragon Age.

I'll keep working at it and post when I come up with something.

 

[malraux]

Thanks for that link...the 4 jugs puzzle is fairly interesting, but I can't find a solution for it on the internet. I'm assuming that since the smallest vessel is 5 units, and you have 24 units to split evenly among 4 vessels that 4 units have to be dumped. I'll keep puzzling it over, but if it takes me a while it might be too complex for the game.

Well, with the three jug problem, you divide it into 2. So for the 4 jug problem, you divide the volumes into 3, ie fill each of the three jugs with 6 units.

 

[GnomeWorks]

You could look into the various water dungeons from the Legend of Zelda games. I don't know if they fit the "water jug" idea, but I've found them to be rather solid inspiration when trying to design a water-themed dungeon.

 

[megamania]

Series of traped / locked doors that seperate rooms with air or limited air. This forces PCs to to constantly be on the go. Sources of air could be creatively hidden also.