
New to the celebration? start reading from here. Otherwise, skip to the "16th-day" section to get the answer for the cipher and read about the new tags.
Greetings fellow Royal Travelers,
On this marvelous day of October 31st, we leveled up yet again. It's the birthday party, and everyone’s invited! For the celebration banquet, we’re kicking it off with a couple of entertaining events.
To match the celebratory mood for the next 24 hours, we have changed the standard avatar picture, as well as the base cover art.
We want to thank our loyal Royal readers and authors. Knowing you enjoy using the site keeps us passionate to continue improving it.
Recently, we implemented a new unique border feature to allow users to pick between every border they ever had as they leveled up. You can find it here: https://www.royalroad.com/user/borders. You can also read about the potential borders and how to level up here: https://www.royalroad.com/blog/23/leveled-up.
This year was a little tough, so we want to give our premium users a special thanks for supporting us financially. Accordingly, we will start adding new unique borders for premium users, which they can use to show off their status.
To receive a Premium profile border, you must have an active Premium Subscription during the timeframe in which it is available for adding.
If you have an active Premium Subscription during that timeframe, the Premium profile border will be added to your Border Wardrobe automatically, for use at any time while you have an active Premium Subscription.
You can check the available custom borders in the border wardrobe https://www.royalroad.com/user/borders.
Halloween themed border - will be available to be added to the wardrobe from October 31st to November 6th.
Birthday themed border - will be available to be added to the wardrobe from October 31st to November 30th.
For our starter event, we are kicking it off with our 3rd Writathon contest! This includes an opportunity to win a free premium membership for all the participants.
Royal Road WRITATHON!
Royal Writathon is Royal Road’s writing challenge to our users. To win, you need to write at least 55,555 words in 5 weeks.
You can only participate with an Original novel.
It can be a new story, or you can continue an old one. But the 55,555 words have to be over one story.
First Milestone:
Write at least 25,000 words by November 15th to qualify for the announced participants' list.
The list will be announced to everyone, and it will show the fictions that are seriously participating in this challenge to make it easier for readers to find those stories.
Second Milestone:
Finish writing 55,555 words before December 5th, 2020.
If you complete this milestone by the deadline, you will count as a winner of this challenge (even if you didn’t make it in time for the first Milestone)!
Rewards:
All winners will receive a 1-month author premium (can be used or gifted per request).
All winners will also receive an Achievement!
Extra Rule:
For the duration of the contest, the story can’t include sexual content.
The story can’t be a Fanfiction.
How to submit your fiction:
To participate:
Add [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] in the description of your story.
And register by filling this form after you submit your story:
If this is your first fictional story submission, you can follow these steps:
- Register for an account on Royal Road if you have not already. This can be easily done here.
- Click Write on the navigation bar, which will take you to The Author Dashboard.
- Click [Add New]
- Fill in the Title and Description. Select the genres and additional tags. Fill in your first chapter's title and the content of your first chapter.
- Upload a cover image that is 400x600 pixels or larger (this is optional).
- Click Submit.
- All new submissions are manually checked for appropriate tagging and plagiarism, so expect it to take between 12-24 hours for a submission to be approved. Please be patient.
- Note: Please do not include links in your description.
- Note: If you do not select fanfiction for stories based on others' work or do not choose the content Warnings appropriate for your story, the submission will be rejected.
- Once your fiction has been approved, you can find it by going to The Author Dashboard, found in your username dropdown menu “My Fictions” (top right corner), or by clicking on [Write] in the site header.
- Add additional chapters by clicking [Add New Chapter].
Solve The Code
Skip to "The 16th-day" section, to find the solution.
For the glory of the Empire, we need your help to decipher a code.
Our spy has spent the last year infiltrating Tadpoleon’s army. He always contacted us secretly with ciphered codes that no one else would think to check.
The person that usually works on this was lost to us when he succumbed to isekaitus. The last we saw of him, he was declaring himself to be the chosen one.
Tadpoleon’s party will be joining our celebration soon in an attempt to improve our diplomatic relations. Our spy will decipher it for us at that time - but we fear that it might be too late by then. What if there is important news in this message?
We need to know the truth as soon as possible. Please check this image and try to decipher the code!
Deadline: November 15th (IDLW timezone)
Reward: Special achievement.
We hope you will enjoy the celebration with us and that you will continue to enjoy using Royal Road.
If you have any suggestions to continue improving the site, please comment below or add it to suggest.royalroad.com.
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!
LimitNacho on
Happy Birthday!
Tilted_Axis on
Briizy on
Happy Birthday!
pewpewcachoo on
Happy birthday!
Ankur_93 on
Happy Birthday!
Nameless32 on
Thanks for chappy
SackOfSnails on
Happy Birthday!
starvingsloth on
How old is Royal Road now? I need to know to decrypt the image
MisterKaos on
Five years, of course.
batotit on
Happy Birthday! And may we have more birthdays to come :D
Astrowoud on
Happy birthday!!!
HMMH on
Happy birthday!
Nakkus on
Happy Birthday!
RavensDagger on
Happy Birthday!
Italo on
happy birthday!!!
Daniel on
Happy birthday
TheJammiest2 on
Happy Birthday guys!
Kraze Kode on
Happy Birthday!
Vera Anne Wolf on
Happy Birthday Royal Road and Everyone!
techcat on
Happy Birthday!
devoidofskill on
Happy birthday y'all!
Rivet on
Happy Birthday! The first anniversary I've been to!
Skaaly on
Happy Birthday!
CrumblingGolem on
Happy Birthday!
CrimsonEclipse18 on
Happy Birthday!
Vrelak Gadhur on
I demand birthday cake
mugiwarabaka on
🎂 bon appetit
Sushi223 on
Happy birthday! 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯.
staggen_mx on
Happy birthday!
Aosika on
Happy Birthday 🎁!
Pixelblade on
HAPPY BIRHTDAY!
TenkuKugan on
Happy Birthday🎁!!!
Doom607 on
happy birthday
Primate on
HBD!
Jossy on
Happy Birthday!
A Public Network on
Happy Birthday
memahalo on
Happy Anniversary Royal Road! Thanks for being an awesome platform for our drug literature needs!
Also shoutouts to all the admins, authors, and people who help keep this site running
starvingsloth on
Oh my, another new event!
Happy Birthday Royal Road!
Is the new border available after we no longer be premium user? For example I want to be premium for November only to get the new premium borders..
pewpewcachoo on
Sloths are my spirit animal.
Wing on
If you stop being premium, your collection in the wardrobe will not be affected. However, you can only "wear" the borders when you reactivate your premium account.
The purpose of the unique borders is to display better those that have active premium accounts. Previously we had the word [Premium] Under the username instead(in comments). Now to the same effect, we are displaying it in a better way.
Example: If you had a premium in November, you would get November's borders & you can publicly display them
In December, if you paused your premium, you won't be able to display the premium borders, but the borders you took earlier will remain in your wardrobe.
In January, if you decided to enable your premium again, you would be able to display November's borders (you would also get new borders from January).
starvingsloth on
Alright, thanks! Does that imply we'll get new borders from time to time? Will there be a new border each time there's an event? If I decided to be premium after November, will there ever be a chance for me to get these November borders, or it's strictly one time only for each premium borders?
Wing on
As it is planned now, there will be at least 1 border per month.
Some months will include 2 borders, with the first border being normal, and the second border having certain limitations.
For example, you can collect the border, but you need to be at least level 5 to wear it.
starvingsloth on
I see. If I missed some of the early premium badges, can I get the again somehow or will they be lost forever? Actually this question can also be extended to other special achievements. Is there a way to get all achievements?
Wing on
We already commissioned enough borders to last us for more than 2 years. The current idea is to never reuse the borders.
But, that will be decided based on the success of this program, which will be only be seen over the next 2 years.
TSUN on
Hopefully not any reputation requirements, getting up another level can take ages. Levels you can at least make a lot of reviews and comments bam bam bam. Idk
Endless Paving on
Yay!
All the things!
All the good things!
Briizy on
Quick question -- where do we submit our guesses to decipher the code?
Wing on
When you solve the code, the answer to this question will reveal itself.
Good luck.
redron1028 on
wow
wulfian on
anyone want to give a hint on what type of code it is?
wulfian on
or where to find a hint?
Cynici Humora on
probably from the contents of the comic page, specially the bar code.
LimitNacho on
Oh geez, I really want to do the puzzle this year. Let's see what I can learn about ciphers in a few weeks.
LimitNacho on
Thankfully, it was simple enough for a newbie like I am to complete. That was fun! See you all on the other side!
sabazurc on
You...show off!
LimitNacho on
pewpewcachoo on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIENDS!
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
HMMH on
I finnally solved the it but i didn't see any like confirmationor any new achievement,
HMMH on
I finnally solved the it but i didn't see any like confirmationor any new achievement
starvingsloth on
Where do we put the solution to the cipher code?
Wing on
One of the steps when you solve the code, will explain it to you.
Luke Scheffe on
Is the story text important to deciphering the code?
Luke Scheffe on
Nevermind, I figured it out.
Abendfeuer on
Please tell me, was it or was it not important? TT
wulfian on
Is it only the front page that we need?
wulfian on
@Crant has a really helpful tip. (near the bottom)
Nameless32 on
THANKS 4 CHAPPY
LimitNacho on
Thanks for the chapter!
Vowron Prime on
First!
Zogarth on
Quick question, one of the rules is that the story cannot include any sexual content; how is this determined? Does it just mean that any story with the tag can't participate? I feel like that will hit many authors (myself included) who just put the tag there as a precautionary.
Wing on
The rule is against sexual content during the contest: From when you "submit" your entry until December 5th, 2020.
If you tag the story for sexual content and intend to add sexual content AFTER the contest is over - that does not break the rules of this challenge.
While it is not 100% accurate, we have an automated system that scans the text for mature content. But not breaking this rule is mostly honor based.
Zogarth on
So, if my story is already tagged with sexual content currently (doesn't have any in it), and it won't have any in it for the foreseeable future, I am good?
I just put the tag there to be super safe.
Wing on
Correct. As long as the foreseeable future is not in the duration of the contest, you are good.
Raelik on
What if you're continuing an existing story that already has such a scene in it? Does it still count if I don't write any new sexual scenes for the duration of the contest?
Would deleting it for now work? Then replacing it in December? It kinda sucks otherwise. What exactly counts in this? Does non sexual nudity?
KurtMKing on
It's only in the chapters posted for the contest. Anything posted before or after doesn't count.
Mash_Potatoes on
Happy Birthday!
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Mash_Potatoes on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
FlyingRaven on
Is the comic page the code which we have to decipher? I am confused
Wing on
Yes.
l611 on
congoo!!
l611 on
is the code in the image metadata or is it encrypted in some form? or am I missing the 1st hint entirely?
Wing on
It isn't that complicated. It was made with the average user in mind.
pewpewcachoo on
Thanks for your comment, it makes me feel below average. I most likely just don't understand puzzles much, probably why i never do them.
Wing on
What I meant by the average user was in direct response to l611.
The average user doesn't know what metadata is, thus it wasn't included in the code. No deep knowledge is required.
The first stage is straight forward. But it isn't easy, which is why I ended up adding a hint.
pewpewcachoo on
Hello, below average here again. I thought i got it, and it seemed super simple but the instructions i was giving are "Remember to provide a description of where you see each....." Am i even on the right page? I think this might be left over from another event?
Wing on
You reached https://www.royalroad.com/pages/penguin ?
That is from the Easter event. Wrong link.
Just do what you are asked to do in the comics.
pewpewcachoo on
I haven't found the comic or i would 😰
Wing on
I meant this image:
https://i.imgur.com/KKUg0MO.png
mightykk on
Happy Birthday!
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
starvingsloth on
Can you give us a hint on the image? I've been bashing my head for two hours, and didn't find anything resembling progress....
How hard is the decrypting supposed to be? Is knowledge of steganography needed, or we can decipher it using only the available texts on the image? Am I allowed to ask this? Are we allowed to discuss how to decrypt this with other members?
Kato - san on
I don't know what I am allowed to say fellow decrypter but the answer is really straight forward, I'll take the liberty to quote our Sergent Wing from another comment: "Just do what you are asked to do in the comics"
And he quite literally means the page that is available to us
Pinguies on
Happy birthday !
Wing on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Pinguies on
Empress penguin = wing. Tadpoleon = ?
10--10-2020- x2
l611 on
barcode = 123567564.
nothign in metadata etc.
FlyingRaven on
that was the first thing i checked as well
tried a basic substitution cipher on the number but no joy
Pinguies on
you found ?
l611 on
my hint: it's waaaay more stupid than anyone is thinking
devoidofskill on
Seconded, it really was.
CrumblingGolem on
I feel like I have done everything obvious with the codebar and the comic instruction and I'm still not finding anything. And everything else I'm thinking of seems too farfetched based on what wing is saying.
vladerag on
Oh wow then I must be way off. I've been chugging through anagrams for half an hour now.
WOLF CRECENT on
123567564 + Double the trouble = 123567564 * 2
I thought but it did not work.
FlyingRaven on
Pinguies on
https://www.royalroad.com/blog/25/it-is-our-5th-anniversary-again
Why is it not a fifth anniversary?
Pinguies on
It is the fifth
fifth anniversary. The fifth
anniversary of fifth anniversary.
Kap on
Thanks for the help. Step three is scary!
Cynici Humora on
Dog turd level of internet speed will be the bane of my existence if I'd like to join the writathon.
Question: can I just dump all 55,555 words in a day and still be counted as a participant (though this would probably a detriment to the growth of my story, but I could still just repost them after the event right?)? also can revising older chapters count to the total word count?
Wing on
Yes.
But. you'd lose out on gaining readers with that. You are better off spanning your releases over multiple days.
I recommend reading this https://www.royalroad.com/support/faq#topic-61
Cynici Humora on
another question, solving the puzzle through groups are allowed right? since crowd sourcing data and information is also a way to solve problems, though the tadpoleon army can compromise the data collected. Though this could only happen if it would be sanctioned for discussion in the forums.
pewpewcachoo on
I've looked at it a few times, opened it in a new window and a few other things. I have no idea what i am looking for. I've never done puzzle stuff like this before.
Cynici Humora on
have you tried scaning the bar code yet? I don't have the means to do so myself, so I'm hoping someone could just share what it turns up as.
redron1028 on
it is not working
Whitenoise on
Barcode is 123567564
Wing on
I made the scannable part easier to scan.
Ariana Vivoni on
Grr, when you need high technology to get your password from a barcode! Can you be a bit more lenient next time to the ones of us that still live in the last century? But it was a cool concept, I have to agree here.
redron1028 on
if anyone is doing the puzzle can we work together? I have something in my mind but uncertain if this might be the key. We can do pm :D
Biyo on
Happy birthday
IthronMinya on
Happy Birthday!
13lack12ose on
Thanks RR crew. Happy birthday :)
Alchemyst on
Is this puzzle thing meant to be solved by your average joe or are you supposed to allready be familiar with codes and stuff?
Wing on
No need to be familiar with the code. I added hints to the blog post to make it easier.
DeathCrawler on
happy B-Day
Monitor on
What exactly does add to your wardrobe mean? Could you clarify that bit, please?
On the borders, maybe make it so that if you loose premium, you can still display them, maybe in a greased out form? Just an idea :-)
starvingsloth on
There's a new feature on royal road where you can change the border of your profile through your wardrobe, you can access it here https://www.royalroad.com/user/borders
I'm pretty your idea will be rejected 😂😂
Wing on
I updated the blog post to describe this better.
Once it is in your wardrobe, it is permanently there. As long as you have an active premium you can choose to wear it.
Newer members won't be able to add it to their wardrobe.
fanobody on
The name of the image is KKUg0MO.png
Royal Road
COMICS 10
the incredible tadpoleon& the super empress penguin
OCT 2020
DOUBLE THE TROUBLE!
Code bar = 123567564
Is the uppercase important?
1. To get to the next stage, you need this incomplete URL: www.royalroad.com/pages/
Do we complete the url or we use it to go to the search bar.
2. To get to the next stage, you need to be literal.
Len923 on
you likely need to complete the url, yes. I'm guessing we need to put a number at the end, the question is which number
fanobody on
https://www.royalroad.com/pages/comics/10/the-incredible-tadpoleon&-the-super-empress-penguin/OCT-2020/DOUBLE-THE-TROUBLE!/123567564/
https://www.royalroad.com/pages/123567564/
https://www.royalroad.com/pages/610310103577102020638123567564/
Don't work
starvingsloth on
She changed the picture once, so I don't think the name of the picture is important.
Uppercase is important since hint no. 2 says it's literal
My idea for the next step is to decode the message, and went to https://www.royalroad.com/pages/{decrypted-code} where there will be instruction for the next step.
Are we allowed to discuss out in the open like this?
Wing on
Regarding the image change, the only changes were to make the barcode more easily readable.
I updated the second hint as it was not understood as I meant it.
starvingsloth on
I'm through the first step 😎😎😎
It's not as complex as I thought.
Thanks for the updated hint, Wing. Really helps.
Won't help you guys, it's a competition 😉😉😉
BubblyGhost on
I wonder if I'm in the right place or just happened to stumble onto a RoyalRoad page that requires a password to access lmfao.
Aosika on
Nen, if it needs a password you're on the right path, find it and you'll have a text to decipher
Vantablack, The Devourer of the Multiverse on
Happy birthday
TinDevlar on
Happy birthdayy!!
Shadow Shard on
Double it?
SenescentSoul on
Happy Birthday!
I Don't Bite... on
HAPPY!!!
Aselo on
This is supposedly simple especially now that he changed the hint again but I must be seriously overthinking it because I still can't get it.
uiytt on
Same xD 2h I'm on it
Aselo on
Oh I finished. Good luck
HeartPiercingSpear on
Any hint for us?
HeartPiercingSpear on
Nvm I am in.
Plus1 on
Damn. Happy birthday.
esmecksart on
Happy Birthday!🥳
BO0KW0RM on
....I don't know hope to decrypt text...I got through the password but....Aaannyways Happy Birthday!
pewpewcachoo on
The story can’t be a Fanfiction.
I have a question about this. Is a story considered fanfic, if i am writing about the future of our world, but make it where people took certain things too far. An example would be jedi and force powers and people love the concept so much that they take it to the next level. That when we had technology advanced enough, they made implants to help them lift/push/shoot lightning stuff like that. Maybe even make swords and make their own jedi order.
The whole story would be a what if satire on what would happen to humans if we went to space too soon. I don’t wanna say more because it would spoil the story a little. I would have more than jedi fyi, i have notes for like 5 or 6 things that would fall under the fanfic tag. Also the story wouldn’t focus on most of these things and the MC honestly wasn’t going to be interacting with most of the lore I was gonna add. I was actually thinking of making a lot of the stuff like snippets from books, of journal entries from the MC about his thoughts on some of the subject matter.
starvingsloth on
Hello fellow sloth enthusiast! In my opinion, if your story happens in the same universe as its inspiration, or share a specific culture, or specific history, then it falls under the fanfiction category.
If you can use the idea, change the name, and sprinkle a bit of originality, then I would consider it original. For example, Instead of Jedi you can call it a space samurai with psychic power.
pewpewcachoo on
But by definition fanfic is fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc. and from the wiki, fanfic is fictional writing written by fans, commonly of an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual property from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing.
My story is a what if based satire on how humans can take things way to far and do some pretty stupid things. It wouldn't be a focus at all, and more of a footnote so people understand what i am talking about.
But i guess if i worded it like you said then most people would understand what i mean, but it just kinda loses the feel for me slightly.
starvingsloth on
Sssttt let them realize on their own
xramunas on
Happy birthday.
P. S. Content rule - story can’t include sexual content. Define 'sexual content' lol.
GamingWolf on
Vowron Prime on
First!!!
D.C.Veiling on
Happy Birthday!
Ashcheul on
Happy birthday! Thank you for you amazing idea to build this site and your efforts to maintain it! You rock.
uavgas on
Happy Birthday Royal Road! I've been here for a long time, ever since the website was here to host the novel Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and I have always been excited about the great changes I've seen. It is one of the fictions that really made me like the many of the genres I now go for. I am super grateful to the administrators and moderators of the website and forums for giving me such a great platform. Cheers!
Zethuron on
Happy Birthday RR!
JK-sama on
we did it reddit
Werkrat on
Can someone tell me what the changes were so I can see what it is highlighting?
Werkrat on
I'm at a dead end with the puzzle so idk
FlyingRaven on
only the barcode: it was made more visible and scanable
Med Aymen Ben Chaabene on
Happy birthday
CrumblingGolem on
Well, I feel really stupid, I got the code that everyone has here really quickly, then since it landed on 404, I did every action I could think of to the code according to the comic instruction but I'm still stumped... guess I'll see the answer at the end.
ChillyPepper on
Same.
karinberry on
This is awesome!
vladerag on
Happy birthday you odd penguin\human hybrids!
ElderDragon on
Happy Birthday! Thanks for providing an awsome platform for reading.
karinberry on
Anyway, what is deemed as sexual content? Is kissing/making out without nudity included?
just_patches on
Happy B-day! I just joined the site a week or two ago but I'd glad to be here
One question about the Writathon, being a newbie. I submitted and I'm curious if I'll be informed afterwards. Like a message saying "Your piece has been approved for the Writathon"
...Or will that be all after submitted and all I gotta do now is just write.
CrumblingGolem on
It must be so obvious that I can't see it because I tried doubling the value itself and putting it in, putting the number twice (123567564123567564) doubling each number (1122...), dividing by two since it's pair is there a doubling operation that is simple and that I'm not seeing (it seems from other comments that it really is simple)?
redron1028 on
ME: *types royalroad.comics*
Crazy_Beast on
Happy Birthday
Miraeki on
Happy Birthday RR!!🎉🎉
staggen_mx on
me after i tried to solve the puzzle with no results:
MrBadWithNames on
Oh shit! Happy Birthday lads!
Memzak on
Happy Birthday! Welp, looks like today is gunna be spent codebreaking.
Ariana Vivoni on
A belated happy birthday!
DoktorPrimat on
HeartPiercingSpear on
Happy Birthday!!
The puzzle is so irritting, the barcode was the first thing I checked, after that I am just just getting more and more confused.
HeartPiercingSpear on
I am in, its so stupid and obvious.
OK now the text is one I gotta do, hmm
Tomolone on
Even with some insider hints it took me way too long to solve the clue. Glad people are getting it haha.
Wing on
In fairness Tomo, it was less about insider hints, and more about testing which hints should be shared on the blog post
Giving an unclear hint could sometimes make it more difficult.
CrumblingGolem on
Will the solution be released after the 15th? I kind of losing hope and would like to at least know what I wasn't able to see once this is done.
mjkj on
Happy birthday RR! 😁
richiekim on
I know it's late, but I sincerely wish RR a blessed birthday! 💌
tarakis on
Happy Birthday!!
Nine Lizards on
I think my mind isn't wired up for something like this. I just don't see it.
Oh well. Happy birthday anyway! I'll try again in one more year... I admit defeat :-)
Ashcheul on
Attempts to interpret image:
1.1. faithful copy: https://www.royalroad.com/comics/10/THE INCREDIBLE TADPOLEON& THE SUPER PENGUIN EMPRESS/OCT 2020/DOUBLE THE TROUBLE/123567564
1.2. faithful copy, spin on com-ics: https://www.royalroad.com/ics/10/THE INCREDIBLE TADPOLEON& THE SUPER PENGUIN EMPRESS/OCT 2020/DOUBLE THE TROUBLE/123567564
2.1. cast to typical rrl-URL-speak: https://www.royalroad.com/comics/10/the-incredible-tadpoleon-and-the-super-penguin-empress/oct-2020/double-the-trouble/123567564
2.2. cast to typical rrl-URL-speak, spin on com-ics: https://www.royalroad.com/ics/10/the-incredible-tadpoleon-and-the-super-penguin-empress/oct-2020/double-the-trouble/123567564
Fail, fail, fail, fail.
Hm. Well, it seems I do not think in the same manner as person who designed this puzzle. Eh, life is full of trials and tribulations) Moving on) (I'm not going to let myself sucked into this black hole of trying out different combination of these strings and styles you could write 'em down, no, sir!)
Wing on
The comics tells you what to do in order to find missing word.
Don't copy, just do what you are asked to do in the comics.
Ashcheul on
That message prompted me to sink another 20 minutes of life into this brutal endavour ( ^ ^ )
I think it's time for me to man up, and admit defeat (and never return to this most insidious monstrosity). ( ^ ^ )
Ashcheul on
Anyways, even if I failed, it's not a reason to be all gloomy right now) Thank you guys for RoyalRoadL ! ( ^ ^ )
starvingsloth on
Don't give up!
First hint said that you only need to complete https://www.royalroad.com/pages/{decrypted-code}
For example, the previous easter event lead to https://www.royalroad.com/pages/penguin
Pay attention to the wording of hint 2.
You're close!
Ashish choudhary on
happy Birthday!!
oblueknighto on
Cool
WOLF CRECENT on
Happy Anniversary Royal Road.
May you have many many more.
Miles Trombley on
Happy Birthday!
DrBuller on
Happy birthday!
DrBuller on
Oh, how long it took, to actually get the code! It really was obvious.
Dradel Lait on
Well all of this does sound cool. I'm looking forward to read the new writathon stories.
ConnorBS on
I have just joined the community and started writing here. This community has been great and enjoying this event. Nice work RR!!
DoktorPrimat on
Happy birthday RRL! Here's to another year!
-Dok
All Hail the Penguin Empire!
BANANA!
Vertrex on
Happy Birthday, my friend! =D
ComingStorm on
Through the first part, past the password... and now im stuck. well, i guess my feeling of being smart had to end. this is as far as i can go.
l611 on
this seems like a good place to ask another question I had. what was this site's first name?
everyone refers to it as rrl but WHAT DOES THE L STAND FOR??
Pricey on
legends
yellingbrian2 on
I hate this puzzle. I know what I'm supposed to do, but I don't even know the order of which to eneter the varables
name="the-incredible-tadpoleon&-the-super-empress-penguin"
name_cap="THE-INCREDIBLE-TADPOLEON&-THE-SUPER-EMPRESS-PENGUIN"
title="double-the-trouble!"
title_cap="DOUBLE-THE-TROUBLE!"
comic="COMICS"
comic_cap="comics"
chapter_num="10"
chapter_num_doubled="20"
date="10/2020"
date_num="102020"
date_num_doubled="204040"
date_writen="oct-2020"
date_writen_cap="OCT-2020"
bar_code="123567564"
bar_code_doubled="247135128"
The issue is that there are 6 varables with diffrent possible combinations. Just from selecting the corrct varables from the above list meens there are 80 options (2*2*2*5*2) but WAIT because there is the possiblity one (or more) of these varables could be a red haring (and not actualy a part of the code) there is actualy 324 options (3*3*3*6*2) of varables that could be a part of the page's code.
Then we get into the issue of the ORDER of these varables which meens for every combination of 6 varables we have 720 ways (6*5*4*3*2*1) to arange those varrables in order.
THAT MEENS: There is 233,280 diffent ways of entering the web page code!!!
I tried writing a self-recursive function to check all possible urls to see what doesn't give a 404, but my personal laptop ran out of memory and I don't waant to use my work computer because I'm woried I'll get in trouble, and I already tried using the srearch function on RR to find the page!
Can you answere a couple questions to at least nerrow it down? PLEASE!!!
PLEASE HELP!
ChillyPepper on
As a person who struggled much in the first part, and did exactly what you did, I'll provide you with a hint.
The comic cover has orders, they are literal. Nothing overly complicated, just direct and literal order.
Ripplerz on
Does it have anything to do with the barcode?
ChillyPepper on
Not in the first part, no.
Zalpha on
That is used to enter the second part of the site - enter code to procced, has nothing to do with the url.
yellingbrian2 on
I found the solution! I think it's safe to tell you guys a few things:
Ripplerz on
Thanks for your help! I figured it out. I had it right yesterday but I kept getting a 404 message. This is a lot to translate though...
FlyingRaven on
Hint: just forget the numbers for the first stage. Happy solving!
starvingsloth on
Don't overthink it too much!
For example, the previous easter event lead to https://www.royalroad.com/pages/penguin
Pay attention to hint 2.
yellingbrian2 on
Thank You!!!
I finished the puzzle and your comment helped me a lot!
Astrowoud on
Could you please provide me with another hint for the first part. I’ve been trying flr the past 2 days but I can’t get anywhere
Astrowoud on
Nevermind.
It really is dirty and close to unfunny this time. I kept the word the and I did the wrong part double.
At least I found it now
Kt07 on
Happy birthday Royalroads
Kt07 on
Happy birthday Royalroads
Jossy on
Ehhh i think i may just be too stupid or too smart to understand this kind of simple things i give up this one
Jossy on
Im trying to put every combo possible with all the words given and the bar code and also trying to double it and leaving it as it is, i imagine is much more simple than that so i tried to take https://www.royalroad.com/pages/writathon32020 as a reference and write only 1 word but i still can't seem to figure it out after trying all the words and numbers on the comic cover, i will try again tomorow i refuse to lose against such an simple puzzle *grumble*
darkenedjawbone on
woo, just finished the puzzle (it's satisfying to do it yourself:)
do you think in the future it will be possible to customise your reputation gem as well? being able to pick your preferred colour(from those you've unlocked of course) would be pretty sweet, and i can see switching those getting far more use compared to level frames, where there's usually a single clear winner for what to pick.
Tali on
Happy Birthdayyyy
lightnovelreader on
I hate puzzles(it fucked me in the exams too stupid floor puzzle) because there simply is no method to solve them specially visual one, that's why math is good
CRANT on
For everyone still having trouble with solving the code, here are two hints. First: you are looking for a word, not a number to put at the end of 'www.royalroad.com/pages/'. Second: if you remove the word 'the' from the instructions, the instructions become much more obvious.
wulfian on
Thank you. You're a legend. I missed that possibility.
FlyingRaven on
thank you dude!!!! 2 days i spent on this...
FlyingRaven on
I had already spent so much time on the puzzle, that after getting the next page, the whole thing was done in 10 mins.
Vantablack, The Devourer of the Multiverse on
Thanks, it was really helpful
wulfian on
@Wing I had some trouble due to 'comics'. I was looking for several comics when there was only one (front) page. I know some others had the same confusion.
darkenedjawbone on
yeah, i sort of went back and checked just in case a couple of times
Zalpha on
Who ever created this puzzle I dislike you, a lot. I wasted so many hours trying to solve this all the while feeling like a complete idot for not being able to solve something so simple. I can only suggest removing the word "the" to make it more obivious and hopefully that removes the miss direction that it is causing everyone.
Wing on
Sorry
darkenedjawbone on
i feel like it might be better to just have that implied URL redirect to the real astral lock page. it doesn't make it easier, but is more forgiving and means you can be less obvious elsewhere
Zalpha on
I posted my message angry/anoyance as I just solved the puzle and was suffering form self loathing. I wanted to remove my post but couldn't after I cooled down. It wasn't really your fault. I do think it makes more sense without word "the" in it. As otherwise it was making me think the trouble was the code, or Tadpoleon and that needed to be doubled. Obviously only after a long while did I get it.
ChillyPepper on
I think its merely confusing because of the link and the hints. It wasn't made to be purposly evocative. A slight misfortune of events, sadly.
Still a good event though.
Jack0fheart on
Are we supposed to work out the password too, or do we simply have to find the page?
Wing on
The password isn't difficult at all. Just put in the codes you didn't use in the first part.
Avery Light on
Now that I finally cracked the code, I can sincerely say happy birthday ^^
Quick question though: I have successfully input the password then it takes me somewhere with incomprehensible things. Is that the finish line?
darkenedjawbone on
it isn't, don't give up just yet. i don't want to give spoilers for what to do, but you have to do something with that text for sure.
Wing on
That is the second part of the code.
Now you need to figure out what that page says.
You can use the comic page to compare a bit to figure out some letters.
Vampireman14 on
Happy birtjday
wman3 on
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

, soon to be my birthday
cracked the puzzles and I can't believe it was this simple
NesterII on
To anybody bashing their head against the wall in frustration on the puzzle, please take a day off and come back later, I did that after spending like 30 minutes on the puzzle yesterday and the new perspetive really helped.
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
Got the barcode, that was easy. I feel it has a lot to do with the order of everything in the image. But I'm super stuck! XD I'm better at wooden brain puzzles, this is a different story. lol
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
lol I literally started watching a video about decoding ciphers.
I've never felt so dumb-dumb in my life. XD My brain can't take this. It's probably the silliest thing ever, and I can't get it.
FlyingRaven on
It is the silliest thing ever.... focus on one instruction in that page and dont worry about numbers. And watching those videos about ciphers will help you in a later stage of the puzzle. Hang in there!
FlyingRaven on
Also look at a cooment by Zalpha on few comments above yours, he is more or less giving the solution to the first stage in his rant :p
Beerdog on
Still too stupid to see it...
Beerdog on
I'm*
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
OMG! facepalm it's so literal. lol I feel so stupid. Thanks again @FlyingRaven I finally got it. Good lord! XD
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
Holy crappers! The next part is leaving me with a full-on blank. lol
FlyingRaven on
easiest part actually, now the code would be usefu
Nigou on
I did it :). Honestly the first step was just stupid if you wanted to do something like that it's primordial that you make sure that everybody will write the same thing given the same information so if you're going to do something like that again make sure to tell people that they don't have to use capital letters, any spaces or grammar. Also if you want to do something aimed to a average person I don't think using a barcode is a good idea it's still take some knowledge use. The last one was nice but time consuming.
Nigou on
Sorry for my spelling
Drejzer on
Happy birthaday.
The first stem was the hardest one in the whole process.
I would have been banging my head on the wall for a mont and I wouldn't figure it out.
At first i was thinking that the barcode shows which letter from each word should be taken... but then it didn;t actually work.
Then I saw the hints, and I was absolutely stupefied.
It's so dumb.
I got that after few minutes... but i forgot to clean up after my previous tries (which included trying is there is something within pages/comics/ ...)
I'm deeply annoyed.
at least teh code was neat and tidey...
though i believ ethere is a typo in the message?
or is that part intentional?
Avadonia on
God damn i can't solve this even with all the hint i can find, i'm stupid as fuck, only thing asked in the comic is to double the trouble but i don't understand how to do that/what it mean.
Thanks for the event though :).
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
Ok...I'm hitting a wall again. lol What is up with this third cipher. After your pass the second part, it's a whole new world. XD I'm looking for different ways to decode ciphers. Well, at least I got past the second part.
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
Never mind, I think I got it now. lol Interesting and fun. Happy Birthday, RoyalRoad.
JosefinaFAAD-Jojo on
Well, I solved it all. But there is still one final step. I have no idea what to tell you. lol I got tired decripting that entire thing. XD
Wing
FlyingRaven on
Good Job @JosefinaFAAD-Jojo !!! Perseverance paid off
neilu on
Hello,
I (very) quickly went over the forums in case there is a thread with answers to these questions but couldn't find one.
I'm participating in the writing challenge, but what if I want to do major edits to earlier parts of my story? From the inscription, it seems the challenge will be followed through number of pages.
In the hypothetical case I completely bin a chapter of two and move lost stuff into other chapters (still overal slimming the story), will I lose wordcount for the challenge?
Opposite side of the spectrum, what if I add content earlier, in a chapter released before the challenge start date, will those count for the challenge?
And what about heavy modifications, if I completely transform a chapter, but the wordcount stays similar, should I keep the older version in a spoiler tag or something to make the new content count?
Thanks for any answer!
Jossy on
The first part can't be this hard... maybe it's becouse im not an native english speaker im having so much "trouble" hehe.. im dyinggg (;Д;)
Pinguies on
Double the trouble
Jossy on
Just finished! the first part was so simple it was hard to see it
Saddy Storm on
Happy Birthday
MrAlwaysRight on
I have no clue what to do with the cover. It's supposedly really simple, so I just typed every single word and number in the picture in the address bar, in any possible order imaginable. Spent 2 hours on this...
MrAlwaysRight on
What does "Double the trouble" even mean?
MrAlwaysRight on
Apparently this link: https://www.royalroad.com/pages/wing leads to an Astral Lock, but is this from something else?
ChillyPepper on
That is another event page, not the one you are looking for.
dachen11 on
hi so i found out how to get there.
Um okay so to get there the first hint is the beginning, while the second hint is a lot more helpful.
Only use the spoiler below if you really are desperate. It is something I found through trial and error and is not the actual answer.
Yeah, I thought about it, then realized it would make it way too obvious, even if it wasn't the answer. And that it took me a whole day after figuring this out before I actually found out how to get there.
umm, just screw around with pages first, and look closely at other URLs. there's a hint in that I guess.
dachen11 on
once you figure out the first part, the rest should be smooth sailing. Took 1 day to figure out the first part and then about 10 minutes for the rest.
And no, you do not need help. If I could do it while listening to my calculus teacher, then you can do it too.
JackBlank on
Happy Birthday! I also wanna say thanks to the ones who created the codes. It was really fun!
For those still stuck on the first part. Do exactly what the comic tells you to!!!
For those stuck on the subsequent parts. Every answer is in the comic page!!!
Good Luck everyone!
P.S. Dont overthink it.
JackBlank on
If you solve it and send the pm then what? do we get a msg back? or a notification?
King_H on
HBD in areas
evankarmis on
Damn I just started this puzzle and I feel bad for my wall
jacktank17 on
Happy Birthday
done on
belated happy birthday
wizard1234588 on
Happy Birthday! I finally solve the puzzle after spending over an hour getting confused by a leftover from an old puzzle, then when i enter the right password i get something about the 10th issue of the comic and alot of gibberish. Is that what is supposed to be there, a error, or maybe im supposed to do something further with the gibberish?
mugiwarabaka on
Congrats, you are on the right page. That's a letter and you have to decode it.
MelodieRivers on
Happy Birthday to my favourite literature website (yes, even if I don't have much time nowadays to use it... :( )!!!!
Vreasque on
When on the 15th is the deadline? I'm participating but I'm really going to be cutting it close on the first deadline so it'd be great if I could know exactly how much time I have.
Wing on
"We always upheld the deadlines with a simple rule:
If we specified a timezone, then according to that timezone. (Usually, there is a reason behind the specification of the timezone)
If we didn't specify the timezone, the contest shall continue, until the last place on earth passed that date. So basically according to the IDLW timezone. "
Vreasque on
When on the 15th is the deadline? I'm participating but I'm really going to be cutting it close on the first deadline so it'd be great if I could know exactly how much time I have.
jeseber-R on
Happy birthday!!
Salt Master on
I have a few questions about the writathon.
1. What did you consider the first day of the event. The 1st of November?
2. To qualify for the announced participants' list you need to publish 25k words by the 15th. Is that before the 15th or by end of day 15th? (Trying to schedule releases and don't want to dump a few on the same day)
3 I submitted the form and was just wondering if I was supposed to receive some sort of confirmation.
Kraggnog the Destroyer on
That code challenge is so cool! Royal Road never ceases to entertain me 😁 I'm glad I saw this before the 15th, or else I would have seriously missed out! Good luck everyone and happy hunting!
Klemnomaniac on
I almost didn't get it until the end. I felt kinda stupid for overthinking it but managed to get in before the deadline!
BO0KW0RM on
Haha same. I was trying to use fifty different decrypting algorithms... then I realized the key was right there.
FlyingRaven on
When is part 2 of the event starting?
redron1028 on
I think it will start eight hours from now November 15 at 11:59 PM IDLW timezone
BO0KW0RM on
Ooh those tags are going to be interesting...I do love a good loop story but it's hard to find one. Thanks!
scare.crow on
I hope we still healty and keep read good and awsome novel from RR, see u again all next year :D
DAFC on
Happy Birthday guys im a long time reader and altough i dont participate in challenges (mainly writting one) i really love how you display content and lore and incetivise everyone to write(maybe ill try in the future).
Thanks for everything
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
And sincere wishes of many more to come.
MrBadWithNames on
Hell yeah! Progression tag!
Soldieratarms on
The new tags are great, though the progression tag could use some clarification. Most stories here include some form of progress, so how much is required to qualify? Is there any minimum amount of growth? Does growth in undesirable directions ( ie from strong to weak) count? Overall, it could use some narrowing of intent, like connecting it only to measurable progress, while putting emotional/mental progress in another tag.
Venan on
I'm late, but happy birthday. This place has come a long ways. I am glad to be growing old with everyone here.
l611 on
@Wing you might as well include the lgbt tag as well. it's been missing from this site.
Yueko_chan on
13lack12ose on
That's awesome news about the new tags!
Thanks for all your hard work Wing and all other admins people behind the scene!
Superdoedoe on
Pog
regik on
I suspect you've got the definitions of hard and soft sci-fi mixed up -- hard sci-fi is supposed to be the crazy impossible stuff and soft sci-fi is supposed to be somewhat reasonable.
darkenedjawbone on
woo, plot progression
SillyScribe on
Happy Birthday!
sunandshadow on
Heck yes time travel tag!!! <3
CazXZX on
happy Birthday!!!!
RedPrincexDESx on
Well, I'm a couple weeks late to this but --- well done!
Rarufu_Ono on
boi the king on
Happy late birthday to this old server may u survive the peral of time
SketchyFrog on
Kiriaru on
I got stuck at the dang barcode
Wolfram1 on
it is possible to filter certain listings such as "best rated" or "trending" via the normal categories but i would love to be able to use some of the more obscure tags as well.
I understand that this isnt possible right now as it would clutter the filter and make it harder to search for the more common tags but at the same time it doesnt allow for quick filters of the tags that i want. And "advanced search" takes so long to fiddle with and cant be used to search for "trending" at the same time.
i'm probably too late and no-one will read this but at least i tried right, and let us join Tadpoleons Secret Cabinet of all things Milk for christs sake, Guilds are relics of the Past and Amphibians rule the Earth and beyond.