D&D Orc Puzzle: The Wrath of Gruumsh

• Type: Knowlegde puzzle
• Location: an orcish temple
• Difficulty: Easy

Background:

You and your party have stumbled upon an ancient orcish temple hidden deep within a dense forest. The temple is filled with blood and skulls, a clear indication that it is sacred to the orcs. As you explore the temple, you come across a puzzle that you must solve in order to proceed.

The Puzzle:

In front of you is a large stone altar with three levers on it. Each lever is adorned with a different symbol: a skull, a drop of blood, and a pair of crossed bones. The levers are all in the down position.

Above the levers is a message written in orcish: “Pull the levers in the order of the sacred symbols, or face the wrath of Gruumsh.”

Players can make intelligence checks to see how much they know about orcish culture. Here are some hints:

• Power before afterlife.
• Strength before sacrifice.
• Honor before death.
• Skulls represent power
• Skulls represent strength
• Blood represents sacrifice.
• Blood represents honor.

The players only have one chance to pull the levers in the correct order. Fail, and an envoy of Gruumsh appears.

Solution:

To solve the puzzle, you must pull the levers in the following order: skull, blood, bones. This is because in orcish culture, the skull represents strength and power, the drop of blood represents sacrifice and honor, and the pair of crossed bones represents death and the afterlife. By pulling the levers in this order, you are demonstrating your respect for orcish tradition and avoiding the wrath of Gruumsh, the orcish god of war.

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