Cryptic Clue Fest I


 * This page is about the Cryptic Clue Fest that happened in 2009. For the 2010 one, see Cryptic Clue Fest II.

The Cryptic Clue Fest was a special clue-seeker event held around the weekend of the 2009 Thanksgiving event on both the RuneScape Forums and in-game.

This event was released on 26 November and removed on 8 December. Five clues were released.


 * An NPC clue pointed to the NPC players need to talk to.
 * These were revealed by the NPCs that take part in the event.
 * An item clue were the items needed to bring to the NPC.
 * These clues were released on the official RuneScape Forums by Jagex Moderators.
 * Noted items could NOT be used.
 * EXACT number of items had to be in the inventory. Any more or less would not work.
 * Players may also have had other items in their inventory alongside with the required ones.

Players could proceed one stage of the event once a day, as soon as the new clues were released. They could choose to do all the clues on the final day. Players wishing to complete this task, however, must have had visited each of the NPCs in this mini-quest in the order that the clues were given. Attempting to skip ahead and talk to the NPCs out of order would simply give the player the normal dialogue that would be given if there was no event.

Quickguide
SPOILER WARNING!

For those players interested in a compiled list of items and locations to complete this event without having to solve the riddles, this list is provided below:

Clue 1: 26 November
To solve Clue 1, players will need to solve a simple puzzle to identify what items they will need to bring to continue this clue quest.

The items you will need to bring is based upon this following matrix:

There are three riddles that must be solved using this matrix that will help to identify what items are needed to obtain the next clue:


 * "Hardly nutritious, but it can be frosted even during summer!"
 * "Oh my, sounds like a naked grizzly!"
 * "A judgement of quality you pass on things and people. Sometimes you do it highly, sometimes rather poorly."

For example, if the above statement means "RAKE", chop the word into "RA" and "KE". Refer these two coordinates to the above table to check the item needed. The number of items required is based on the following riddle:

Finally, the NPC that you need to deliver these items to is based upon the following riddle:

All of these items could be bought from the Grand Exchange, or obtained through any other means. Once players talk to the NPC with these items in their inventory, he will reveal the following information for the next clue:

Clue 2: 27 November
Next, players will need to visit the NPC revealed in the previous day's clue. The items required for Clue 2 can be found by looking between each of the lines of the clue. Using Ctrl+A on the keyboard (or by highlight the article using the mouse), look at the highlighted words that will become visible.

The highlighted text reads:
 * Item 1: When baking a cake, there’s a bucket of one ingredient you’ll need. Carry two of these.
 * Item 2: You’d never catch Herring with empty line, so carry seven of this item to catch your contact.
 * Item 3: Ever heard of Roman numerals? You’ll need to carry CCXXVII gold coins!
 * Item 4: The final item is a tool used in creating your dwellings and protecting your body from attack. Hit the nail on the head with four of these.

For those needing help, the items needed can be revealed by clicking "show":

All of these items may also be purchased from the Grand Exchange, or obtained through any other means. Once players talk to the correct NPC with these items in their inventory, that NPC will reveal a riddle to identify the next NPC for clue #3:

Clue 3: 28 November
The fest now brings players to the next NPC, where some additional items need to be found based on the following "brain teasers" or mathematical word problems:

Puzzle revealed
The items based on the puzzles can be revealed below:

Clue 4: 29 November
Finally, players must visit last and final NPC on this journey.

The item clue posted on the forums is as follows; it's a riddle Sir Tiffy Cashien came up with according to the newspost.

The NPC gives the following response when these items are brought to him:

{|class="collapsible collapsed" !Click on show to view an explanation of the clue given by the Day 4 NPC
 * This is a perfect anagram of "Creative gameplay - forum specific rules". Going to that section of the official forum gives you the final puzzles.
 * This is a perfect anagram of "Creative gameplay - forum specific rules". Going to that section of the official forum gives you the final puzzles.

Final forum clues
Well done Adventurer! Here lies the final hurdle in the way of the items you’ll need to claim your reward! Here I have written a selection of my toughest challenges. I’m afraid you’ll need to solve all of them in order to figure out which items you'll need to get me to talk!

Good Luck!

Puzzle 1
Solution: Kathy is telling the truth.

The reasoning:
 * 1) If Crow is telling the truth, both Mark and Kathy must be lying. If Mark is lying, Kathy must be telling the truth. (This suggests that both Kathy and Crow are telling the truth - but only one is telling the truth)
 * 2) If Mark is telling the truth, Kathy is lying, meaning Crow is telling the truth. (This suggests that both Mark and Crow are telling the truth - but only one is telling the truth)
 * 3) If Kathy is telling the truth, that means Crow is lying. According to Crow's second statement, Mark and Kathy are not lying. (but only one is telling the truth)

But from 1.) and 2.), only Kathy can tell the truth and Mark was lying. This proves that Crow's second statement is a lie, but the first statement is a truth.

Puzzle 2
No hints for this one!

Solution: Chisel ''The reasoning: All of the items, except the chisel, are able to be created from other materials. (Chisel has to be bought from the general store.)''

Puzzle 3
Solution: 234 coins The reasoning: 13 knights * 3 = 39 attendants 39 attendants * 3 = 117 mules 117 mules * 2 packs = 234 coins

Right, now you should have all the items you need in the correct quantities. Come and speak to me with those items in your inventory for your reward!
 * }

Rewards

 * Magnifying glass
 * Sleuth emote (wield Magnifying Glass and right-click to use)

Trivia

 * One of the clues refers to a "naked grizzly". However, the word naked is censored both in-game and on the forums.
 * As of 29 November 2009 at 16:31 UTC, Cryptic Clue Fest Day 4 was the top searched phrase on Google. Active game player rescues our cliff imp was one of most searched phrases.
 * Despite the fact that Jagex repeatedly said in every event-related thread that players were NOT to post spoilers, hundreds of players have attempted to post the answers to these riddles in the official Cryptic Clue Fest thread. This has resulted in an extremely high number of hidden posts in that thread. The rapidity with which these spoilers are hidden suggests an unusually high number of Forum Moderators and Jagex Moderators watching the thread continuously.
 * The original reward for the event was to be Roddeck's pipe, however it was changed to the Magnifying Glass before release. Also, if you type in items on quick chat 'Roddeck's Pipe' you will find it even though it was never released:


 * The Romulans in the Chaos Elemental clue are also a species in the science-fiction series Star Trek.