The Throat Chakra Puzzle is the last of the six puzzles on the first level of the Iron Labyrinth tryouts. If the players are attempting to complete all the puzzles, then this challenge will be attempted after the other five puzzles on the first level, as it stands in the way of the final Lotus Chakra Puzzle. The throat puzzle is easily the most confusing puzzle in that it is very easy for the game master and the players to make mistakes. If the players have seen the movie Labyrinth, then they will know where to start in solving this puzzle.

Note: For the game master, this is by far the most challenging puzzle to administer

When the players enter the room, it is mostly empty. There is a throat chakra symbol carved into the floor, two doors that lead toward the center of the arena, with two stone statues of otters beside each door. The statues are 3 feet in height, are well made, and depict otters standing on their back feet, hands at their sides. The otters are operated by unseen humans which can move the otter's eyes back and forth and speak through a tube that connects to the otter's open mouth

If the characters pass a Perception skill check (difficulty 3), or investigate the room and pass a Investigation skill check (difficulty 2), then they will notice a button on the far wall and a nearly invisible crack in the wall that makes a square outline, just above the button. There is no indication what the button does, but if pressed, The panel above the button will flip, showing the image shown to the right, carved in the stone. This image is included in the module download

If the characters approach the otters, they will speak in slightly warped voices:

Right Otter: We are the otters of the deep blue sea…
Left Otter: Remembering all that we bother to see
Right Otter: One of us always tells the truth…
Left Otter: and one of us always lies
Right Otter: One door leads to safety…
Left Otter: and one to your demise
(slight pause)
Left Otter: You may ask only one of us only one question
Right Otter: If you're wrong.. three points digested
Left otter snickers deviously

If the players ask you to repeat what was said, ask them to make a Recall knowledge check (difficulty 1). If they pass, hand them a printed transcript of what the otters said. At your discretion, the otters can interact with the players but will try not to divulge any information. If the players ask, they can do a Sense Motive check (difficulty 3) on one of the otters and if successful, get the sense that the operator of the otter is not being truthful. Each player may attempt this separately or cooperatively.

If the players try to open the doors before asking a question, the otters will warn them that they will only be able to open one of the doors

First let's cover the normal solution and then we will show how this puzzle is flipped on its end. The normal way to solve this problem is by asking a question like:

Yes or no; if I asked the other otter whether the left door leads to my demise, would they say yes?

The players would then need to simulate four possible scenarios:

1. I am speaking to the truthful otter and the left door leads to demise
2. I am speaking to the truthful otter and the left door leads to safety
3. I am speaking to the lying otter and the left door leads to demise
4. I am speaking to the lying otter and the left door leads to safety

By determining what the answer to the question would be in each scenario, the players have enough information to determine if they should take the left or right door based on the answer, “yes” or “no”. In this case, the answers are

1. The truthful otter claims the lying otter would answer “no” - which is a lie as the door is unsafe
2. The truthful otter claims the lying otter would answer “yes” - which is a lie as the door is safe
3. The lying otter lies, claiming that the truthful otter would answer “no” - but the door is unsafe
4. The lying otter lies, claiming that the truthful otter would answer “yes” - but the door is safe

So if the players ask this question and the answer is “no”, they know the left door is unsafe. If the answer is “yes”, they know the door is safe

The trick to this puzzle is that both otters are lying, and will tell the players the exact opposite of what they expect to hear if they believe the premise of the puzzle. If the players are duped by this, there are a series of three trap doors that will trigger as they move through the tunnel, and a blast of air will suck them down the trap door. Once a trap is triggered, the safe door will slide open. Players that are sucked down are directed by an attendant to a ladder which leads back up to the final challenge. The scoreboard shows a deduction of 3 points per trap that is triggered

The challenge for the game master is in properly administering this puzzle. Listen to the players as they solve the puzzle. If they solve it correctly, answer the opposite of what is expected. If they incorrectly solve the puzzle, you should also answer the opposite of what they expect. In both cases the otters are trying to drive the players into the trap. If it is unclear, simply answer as if they solved it properly and let the chips fall.

The actual truth is that the right side is trapped, and the otters pretend that the right otter is the lying otter for the sake of answering the question

The challenge is that the players can ask their question in 16 functionally different ways. I have made a table that shows you how you should answer each question “incorrectly”