MetaTerminal

Team 2 is now in third place, after they solved Keeping Up. Congratulations. Everyone: I have made two updates to puzzles to reflect last minute changes that didn't make it into the versions that went up. The flavortext for Puzzle 2 has been lengthened slightly, and the capitalization in Puzzle 3 has been updated. Apologies. I'll try and make sure that it won't happen again. As I will be asleep, answer submissions made for the next 12 or so hours will all be taken when I awaken. Several teams are very close to solves. Sorry, SNIRS.

Congratulations to Team SNIPR (Super Notoriously Intelligent Riddle Solvers), who have also solved Keeping Up With The Aspects, putting them in second place. It is coming close to nightfall in my timezone, so in a few hours I will be hitting the hay. Given that several teams are extremely close to solving puzzles (there is at least one team within striking distance of each), if you are going to submit answers while I am asleep please make sure to tag me and I will answer them all.

Congratulations to Team Voidapple on their solve of Keeping Up With The Aspects, which puts them in first place and is the first solve of the competition! @RShara

A reminder to everyone that there is both a step-by-step guide to solving (which you should use if you get stuck) and that each team has 2 hints available.

Sanderson Puzzlehunt Round 1: Earth The first ever meeting of your local Sanderson Puzzle-Solving Fan Club started moments ago. Local fans have congregated to discuss books, do shared readings, eat some snacks, and argue about whether or not Moash was a terrible person. Afterwards, you were going to break out a bunch of crosswords and help each other solve them to end the event. That was the plan, anyway, until a white-haired man crashed the party. It happened like this: an orb of light began to shine in the middle of the room, growing brighter and brighter, and a wind picked up, sending pieces of paper flying. The orb grew larger, shaping into a human frame, and with a final flash resolved itself into the white-haired man, holding an odd piece of stone in one hand and what looked like a fabrial in the other. And now you're all left standing, looking at the person who has just materialized in the middle of your meeting. "Oh dear," the white-haired man says. "That's quite unexpected." Most of you are shocked into silence, but one of you has the capacity to air a question: "Unexpected?" "Yes. I was aiming for Nalthis. Something must have gone wrong with the ritual. The power source, maybe. Never should have trusted that fisherman, the slimy git." "Aiming for... Nalthis?" "Nice to see that you can all speak a language. Any language works, really. Connection isn't fussy. But you would really be surprised how hard it is to come by intelligent lifeforms it is these days; I'll tell you about Sadeas some time." "But Nalthis isn't a real place!" you say, pulling at your hair and wondering at your own sanity. You're fairly certain you recognize the man, but you dare not hope. It isn't real - is it? "Of course it is. As real as... where are we? Earth? As real as Earth. More real, perhaps. I'm fairly certain you might be a figment of my stressed imagination." He taps at his head. "It's really the best it can do nowadays, the poor fellow. I apologize that you're not more interesting." "Do you come to Earth often?" "All the time. It's somewhat harder to get off the storming planet, but I usually manage. And in this case..." His eyes widen, as if he realizes something. "Time is of the essence. I need to leave as soon as possible. We need to get the ritual powered up again." "But how are you going to do that?" you ask, secretly hoping that you'll be able to be involved in some way. "I'm not sure," he admits. "But perhaps solving these puzzles will give us some ideas." Please make sure that you've read both the rules and the puzzle-solving guide. To briefly recap: Puzzles can be any sort of encoded information: a series of images, audio clips, obscure quotes... They also usually come with no instructions, although the puzzle itself almost always has a clue about the way forward. You won't need coding knowledge to solve the puzzle, unless it is explicitly indicated. Don't hack the site or fiddle with the code or anything like that. The answer to each puzzle is an English word or phrase, usually between 3 and 20 characters. There is only one answer to each puzzle. Each team starts with 2 hints, and gains one more each time they solve a puzzle. If you've followed the steps in the puzzle-solving guide, and are still stuck, then please use a hint to get going. If a provided hint isn't helpful, let me know and I will rephrase it to be more explicit. Everything within the spoiler box (including images and text) is part of the puzzle. Everything outside of the box is not part of the puzzle and has no hidden information. When you think you have an answer to the puzzle, tag me in your Team PM and list both the puzzle and your answer. Do NOT post any solutions, requests for hints, or clarifications on specific puzzles in the thread. Clarifications about the rules are fine. The Earth Round has 6 puzzles, which will be released in two waves of three. The second wave will be released once certain conditions are met. The complete Rules: Help! How do I solve a puzzle? The Leaderboard: Please read all of the above spoilers. They are essential information. And, finally, what you've all been waiting for: the puzzles. Puzzle #1: Keeping Up With The Aspects (warning: first image slightly nsfw) None of these artworks are mine. All credit goes to Ubeka, Jondesu, khal, Erosaito, Kyle Pearson and u/Kreitler for their excellent pieces. I will link to the individual works when the round has completed. Puzzle #2: A Beginner's Guide to Rithmatic Dueling Puzzle #3: As The Wheel Turns (by MacThorstenson) If you're confused, check out the 'How to solve a puzzle' spoiler box. Good luck to all solvers. NOTE: I have updated Puzzle 2 slightly: a sentence has been added to describe both Round 2's Ballintain defense and Round 4's winner more clearly, and the flavortext has been lengthened. The capitalization in Puzzle 3 has also been altered slightly.

Sanderson Puzzlehunt Round 1: Earth The first ever meeting of your local Sanderson Puzzle-Solving Fan Club just started. Local fans congregated to discuss books, do shared readings, eat some snacks, and argue about whether or not Moash was a terrible person. Afterwards, you were going to break out a bunch of crosswords and help each other solve them to end the event. That was the plan, anyway, until a white-haired man crashed the party. Rules Help! How do I solve a puzzle? Please read all of the above spoilers, as they contain essential information for the event. Signups are now closed. If you still wish to participate, please let me know and I will add you to the Spectator doc. All Team PMs have now been sent. If you have not received a Team PM, please let me know immediately. The first wave of puzzles will go up sixteen hours after the posting of this message (4pm EST). The second wave of puzzles will go up when certain conditions are met. Feel free to politely criticize other teams while waiting for the event to begin.

Not as far as I’ve currently planned them - in fact, I haven’t read any of the unpublished manuscripts as of now. My opinion on this is somewhat the same as the site has on spoiler suppression - if it’s unreasonable to expect teams to have read something, there won’t be puzzles on it. You’ll have to coordinate with MostLikely - however, I will be providing each team with a Google Doc that I highly recommend you use, and you will be able to communicate with them through that.

The Death part was a joke. We will, unfortunately, not have the Grim Reaper joining us in this Sanderson Puzzle Hunt. Although if you know him personally feel free to give him a bell and ask if he’s interested. @Snipexe and @Silverblade5, you’ll be joining MostLikelyHuman’s team, alongside a few non-17th Shard solvers. I’ll update the team listing to reflect this.

Er... *requests Aether as well* Sure thing. I’ll add you to one of the existing teams (possibly @MostLikelyHuman’s) - do you have a preference? (EDIT: same with @Snipexe, as well.)

I'm interested to see why this conversation only sort of counts. Go ahead.

Signups are still currently open, and should be for another day or so. Once I get confirmation from everyone about teams, signups will close and the hunt will (hopefully) begin. To everyone: please confirm that you're happy with the team that you're in, that you're happy with the balance, or highlight anyone you want to be in a team with that you're not with currently. Feel free to contact me via PM if you don't want to air it in the thread. Team selections are random: the only thing I did was shuffle people who highlighted workload issues so they wouldn't all end up in the same team. Team 1: Turtle373 xinoehp #Voidapple (Ark1002) RShara MistCLOAKed Mountains Team 2: Silva Dr. Dapper Karnatheon Invocation Wyndlerunner Team 3: Rhapsody Sorana NotarySojac StrikerEZ ITIAH Team 4: Jaywalk Furamirionind Xavier Iriate Nohadon Luckat Team 5: Alvron whattheHoid ExaltedDungeonMaster Blessed peace Rebecca Team 6: MostLikelyHuman Snipexe Silverblade 2 off-site solvers Apologies if you signed up but aren't in a team - I think I got everyone but it's entirely possible that I missed someone. Just let me know and I'll slot you in with a team.

The knife was knocked astray, but not out of his hand. Twenty five, and fifteen, and thirty seconds all at once. Alum wasn’t sure. He wouldn’t be sure until the second he died. “Listen here, friend,” he said. “If the barrier does not open, I will die. I will be killed by the Ghostbloods. The process has already started. I’m half dead. And all of my friends that your people slaughtered will have died in vain. I’ve spent close to a year preparing this. I’ve sacrificed more than you can ever imagine to get this close. So give me one good reason why I should even consider listening to you.” He drew the hand with the knife back, and plunged it again towards the Dakhor’s throat, with twice as much speed and force. @Gancho Libre @#Voidapple

Alum felt something grab his leg and he jerked upright, the knife shifting again and sending more pain squirming and clenching through his back. The monk was still standing, somehow, fueled by a kind of hate and rage that only the most dangerous opponents possessed. The kind that, when most others would accept their fate and lie down, kept going, in their complete and utter rage at the fact that they might be bested. Alum had seen them before in the Roughs. He had always hoped he would never see them again. He guessed thirty seconds left, plus or minus ten on either side. The storm was almost upon them as well. They needed to open the barrier now. That meant ending the fight. The bones of the creature blocked anything he attacked with it. But there were weak points consistent across most species, as least as he had found, and those were the eyes and the throat, which could not be protected for a number of physiological reasons. They also had the added benefit of killing the target instantly if you had a powerful weapon. And a Shardblade was a very powerful weapon. The Blade morphed again in his hand, turning into a thin, sharp dagger, and he swept it towards the monk. He aimed for the throat. Adonalsium willing, he would not miss.

It’s based solely on his published works - nothing with a spoiler ban (Skyward) or that most people wouldn’t have read (Aether of the Night, etc). You will see non-Cosmere puzzles (most of them in the first round, which I will again explain at a later date). I would say that the focus is on the Cosmere, especially during later rounds. In terms of spoilers - some puzzles might spoil certain stories. Most won’t. @Karnatheon The response to this has been phenomenal, and we’ve got more than enough people to start putting teams together. I’m going to leave signups open for at least another 24 hours - if you’re interested, but haven’t signed up yet, please do so within that timeframe. I wouldn’t want anyone to get snubbed.

I’ll cover the rules later, but: you’ll have a private team PM, through which you’ll submit all puzzle solutions and hint requests. The first to reach a certain condition (which you’ll know at a later date) will win the round. I’ll ask everyone to refrain from sharing or posting puzzle solutions or hints publically. @Xavier Iriarte

@MostLikelyHuman Puzzles will be released in rounds to everyone, and completing them will gain your team points. I’m fine with you working with people who don’t have accounts - however, if I could get the number of people you’re working with so I can judge team sizes that would be excellent. I’ll also provide a Google Doc that I recommend you work in, since that way I can monitor progress and adjust puzzle difficulty/handcraft hints if you need any. That being said, the puzzles will require knowledge of Sanderson’s works, and that is more of a focus than fiendish design, so I recommend that each of them has read at least some or most of the Cosmere.

@Furamirionind It depends largely on the individual puzzle, and your team’s activity (since they’re designed to be solved collaboratively). They can take under half an hour if you’ve got multiple people who all work out what to do - they could also take several days if you get stuck or it’s particularly hard. Hopefully your team will be able to work without you and you’ll be able to contribute where you can. On average, though, I’ve designed them so that a team of three working together could solve one in half an hour to an hour. @Silva Sure thing. Again, teams, so as long as your other team members are active it should be fine. (I’ll try not to have anyone with workload issues on the same teams.)

Do you enjoy solving puzzles? How about books by Brandon Sanderson? How about puzzles that are all based on books by Brandon Sanderson? If you enjoy escape rooms, reading books about people solving riddles and challenges (such as the 39 Clues), games that require you to think logically or outside the box, problem solving, or ARGs and similar puzzleshunts, then you'll love the Sanderson Puzzlehunt. We have designed a number of riddles and puzzles for teams to solve that require both puzzling skills and Sanderson knowledge. These teams will compete against each other to solve all the puzzles, climb the leaderboard and win the rounds. If you want to participate in this event, sign up below! In the spoiler I'll go into more detail about what we're planning. TL;DR If you like puzzles, crosswords, escape rooms, mysteries, fictional puzzlehunts, consider yourself a Sanderson Scholar, are good at either logical or lateral thinking, want to have some fun with a team of people, or are a human being, you should join the Sanderson Puzzlehunt! Mods for this event are @MetaTerminal. Huge shoutouts to @MacThorstenson, who was the original creator of the idea and helped design but was unable to mod due to timing issues. Links:

As he began to stand Alum felt a knife slam into his back, somewhere in his lower abdomen. His eyes went red for a moment, and on a sluggish instinct he turned around, Pyrus morphing from a shield into a blade in his hand, and swiped at his attacker. Then he fell backwards, and landed on his side. The ground nudged the dagger still stuck in his back and he screamed, the hot glass sizzling at his flesh. @Ark1002

Something powerful pushed against Alum. His gun tore out of his hand as he aimed at the monk, who dropped him, and began to stagger away. He felt it too, something powerful pushing against him, as if his body was made of metal. He leaned against it, and managed to not fall. Pyrus reshaped in his hands as a large shield and blocked the flames, and the heat wrapped around him, forcing him onto one knee. He screamed, and as the fire dissapated he spent a long time kneeling there. Far too long. He lost count by a little bit: five seconds away from forty, but was it forty-five or thirty-five? He'd find out soon enough. Alum stood, something jabbing in his stomach and causing him to limp, and called out to the detainment unit. There was little time to find a serum. He would have to hope that Voidus could heal him.

Alum felt the monk seize his arm and hold it out, beginning to turn it. The Ghostblood’s other arm lolled at his side. Pain sliced up along his joints. A few seconds and his arm would be broken. Sixty. A minute to live. If he made it that far. He brought his right hand - the one holding the gun - up, and rammed it once again towards the monk’s neck, pulling the trigger. Misdirection was a classic trick. @Ark1002

As the Dakhor sprinted towards him and went to grab his leg, Alum summoned Pyrus again in his left hand and swung it at the monk’s arms. Sixty-four. @Ark1002

Alum barely crested the monk, and as he began to fall the shotgun fired again, close to his stomach. Very close. The spray punched though his chest, and the last of his Stormlight went to heal the wounds, spitting out the lead and closing his arteries. They could not do much more. With almost supernatural speed, fueled by the Light, he cocked the gun and aimed. The tempest inside him stilled, and Alum hit the ground without the agility of a Surgebinder, and staggered, bringing the gun off slightly. The impact against his legs jolted upwards through his wounded stomach and Alum fell to his knees, feeling an acid pain curl up inside of him, a cold knife inside his warm flesh. For a moment, he lost the count. He brought the barrel back, squarely at the monk’s neck, and pulled the trigger. Sixty-five.

Shrapnel flew past Alum’s face as the wall broke, and he moved away from it with a few staggering steps. A scream from the other side from the Dakhor. Wind began to tug at his sleeve from the approaching storm in the distance. The time of seventy-three told him that he needed to end this quickly. He was running out of time. Alum grabbed his gun again, and cocked it, ready to fire. He was no expert, but Tuare had been a stationary target at close range. Easy to hit, if you had a little bit of experience. Aim at the target, brace and adjust, squeeze the trigger. The target slammed through the wall in front of him, and rocks cascaded against the ground. He growled something indistinct, and pointed the large gun towards him. No, further down - at the legs. An odd choice for aiming, since you usually went for centre-of-mass, or the head to end things quickly. The legs were for pain, and immobilisation. Instinct. The gun was off to the side. Too far. Alum sucked in Stormlight with a deep breath, draining the last of his spheres, and leapt over the monk, hearing the bang of the gun, and fired wildly at the monk while midair. @Ark1002