You enter a round temple chamber where bronze gears turn slowly behind latticed stone. The air smells of oil, wet limestone, and old incense. A waist-high panel holds four numbered brass keys beneath three rings of tiny gear-glyphs. Each key depresses with a crisp click, and the amber light behind the sealed door flickers whenever a key is pressed, as if the chamber is listening.
You step into a round chamber of slowly turning bronze gears. Oil, damp stone, and old incense scent the air. Four brass keys sit beneath three concentric rings of tiny symbols. A sealed doorway waits beyond the panel, and amber light pulses behind it when the mechanism moves.
The numbered keys depress and spring back. The rings are fixed in place, each with a triangular notch, and the nearby legend matches four symbols to the key numbers. Let the players inspect and discuss freely; checks can point out the reading order but should not conceal the printed key.
Give the table a few minutes to decode and test ideas. If they stall, use the tiered hints in order. On a wrong sequence, describe a clear reset and a harmless warning pulse rather than escalating damage; pressure should come from the situation, not from a countdown that blocks discussion.
You enter a round temple chamber where bronze gears turn slowly behind latticed stone. The air smells of oil, wet limestone, and old incense. A waist-high panel holds four numbered brass keys beneath three rings of tiny gear-glyphs. Each key depresses with a crisp click, and the amber light behind the sealed door flickers whenever a key is pressed, as if the chamber is listening.
The key legend and the ring notches make the cipher readable without a check. Investigation can reveal the intended reading order if the party overlooks it; Arcana can confirm the panel records a sequence rather than requiring a spell or special key.
GEAR-GLYPH KEY
☼ = Key 1 ☾ = Key 2 ○ = Key 3 ✣ = Key 4
INSCRIPTION
Begin at the marked tooth. Follow the turning hand. Start at the heart; let each wider wheel follow.
INNER RING
▲ ☾ ✣ ☼
MIDDLE RING
▲ ○ ☾ ✣
OUTER RING
▲ ☾ ☼ ○
The party must press the four numbered brass keys in the order encoded by the three rings. The legend translates the four glyphs into key numbers; the notches mark each ring’s starting point, and the intended reading proceeds clockwise, beginning with the innermost ring and then moving outward. Each correct press gives a bright click and a brief amber pulse. A wrong press makes the panel clack, resets the sequence, and locks for 1 minute. No check is needed to try a sequence; use the listed checks only to reveal clues. Once the full sequence is entered correctly, the rings align and the sanctuary door opens.
The puzzle activates when a character presses any of the four brass keys.
| DC | Check | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Intelligence (Investigation) | Notice the notch marking where to begin reading each ring and that the inscription is arranged in concentric rows. |
| 12 | Intelligence (Arcana) | Recognize that the glyphs are a simple keypress cipher and that the panel registers deliberate touches in sequence. |
| 13 | Intelligence (Investigation) | Determine the intended reading direction from the center outward, clockwise from each ring’s notch. |
No hint given yet.
The six correct clicks form a rising rhythm. The three rings rotate into alignment, the amber light becomes steady, and the sealed door withdraws into the wall, revealing the sanctuary.
The keys retract with a loud clack, the rings turn back to their starting positions, and a puff of warm dusty air escapes the panel. The mechanism locks for 1 minute, then resets. The party can try again; a wrong attempt does not deal damage or consume a required resource.
The temple’s clockwright-priestess, Ilyra Venn, built the lock to protect the sanctuary’s waterworks from raiders who could force a door but could not easily interpret its gear-script. The glyph key and nested inscription were meant to teach trusted attendants how to open it, while the mechanism’s harmless reset let apprentices practice without risking the temple’s floodgates.
For a less experienced or smaller party, let the Investigation check reveal the full reading order. For a more experienced party, keep the checks limited to observations and require the players to assemble the sequence themselves. Avoid adding damage at this level; the reset and 1-minute lockout already make failure legible without risking a disproportionate setback.
Keep the symbol-to-number legend visible to the players. The challenge is noticing the direction and order of reading, not guessing what the glyphs mean. A wrong press should always give feedback that the sequence reset. Do not require checks to attempt the obvious solution, and reward sensible alternate ways of entering the decoded sequence.
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