The Paradox Tower Quest/Spoiler

Legend

Surpass the wrath of a madman and subject yourself to his twisted taunting.

Location

Dangers

Wyverns
(Mintwallin): Minotaurs, Minotaur Archers, Minotaur Guards, Minotaur Mages
(Hellgate): Skeletons, Ghouls, Bonelords, maybe Elder Bonelord
(Plains of Havoc): Skeletons, Ghouls, Demon Skeletons, Orc Berserker, Orc Spearman, maybe Cyclops and Giant Spider

Reward

Up to two of the following: 10k gp, Wand of Cosmic Energy, 32 Talons and Phoenix Egg. You will also get the achievement Mathemagician.

History

It was originally implemented with the Darashia Update, before the quest system existed. Back then, the possible rewards were a Red Spell Wand, a Time Ring, a Magician Hat and a Violet Gem. With Update 7.24, almost 2 years after the quest had been implemented, its rewards were changed to 10k gp, a Wooden Wand, 32 Talons and a Phoenix Egg. Lastly, one and a half years later, the wooden wand was replaced by a Wand of Cosmic Energy on Christmas Update 2005.

Required Items

Shovel
Rope
Levitate or 15 Parcels to go up 4 levels outside Kazordoon and up 1 level get out of Hellgate.
Machete or Heavy Machete
8 Skulls

Required Items for the first visitor of the tower

Melon, Banana, Cherry, Apple, Grapes, and Coconut
1 White Knight Token and 1 Black Knight Token(can be obtained from the game rooms in Edron, Carlin, Kazordoon, Yalahar and Thais)

Note: If you have visited the tower already since the last serversave, you will only need the skulls to get to the tower, since the fruits and chess pieces are only required to uncover the ladders to the floors above, and only need uncovering once per day unless someone else went there and closed the leavers. Then you will need to go there with all the items again, so better take everything just to be sure.

Notes and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

This quest takes a long time, and there is a lot of time spent walking. You should bring a lot of food and blank runes with you.
The Paradox Tower and the entire area around it is a Protection Zone, so you will not regenerate any mana or hp, nor can you attack anyone or be attacked by anyone.
When you sacrifice the skulls to get to the tower, the skulls will be replaced by Poison Fields. If you arrive and find poison fields on the sacrifice stones, you do not need to wait for them to vanish - just place the skulls on top of the poison fields and walk onto the central strange carving.
You will need 4 skulls EVERY time you travel to the Paradox Tower.
You will need to cut the grass and wait for it to grow back EVERY time you travel to the Paradox Tower. Stepping into the doorway makes the staircase disappear again, so get your entire group inside the tower before stepping on the switchplate to reveal the stairs.
You will need to wait for the Ghoul to push the box EVERY time you travel to the Paradox Tower. When he pushes the crate into the top corner, go up the ladder QUICKLY, because he will move the crate, and the ladder will disappear again.
You only need to set the levers, sacrifice the fruit, and use the chess pieces one time. Only exception to this would be a server reset or server save, or if someone flips the switches back, then you will need to do these again. Bring the stuff just in case.
There is a question that the Riddler will ask you: "what is your favorite color?". Any color will do the first time you are asked the question (even though this spoiler says 'green' as the color); however you have to answer with the same color the following times it is asked, and when you talk to the prisoner. If you do not remember what color you said, just look the Paradox Tower entry of your Quest Log.
If you try to talk to the prisoner too soon, he will not tell you your number; instead he will reply "A Prisoner: I think you are not in touch with yourself, come back if you have tuned in on your own feelings."
If you step on ALL of the switchplates in the treasure room, you will LOSE ALL OF YOUR REWARDS, and receive nothing for the quest. Be careful where you step.
The area in Hellgate you are teleported to isn't very dangerous. You don't have to open backpacks of runes while you are going to answer Riddler's questions wrong. Follow the maps below to get out of Hellgate (Note: you do not need the Hellgate key, so don't waste 5k):

Method

Mission 1:
Oldrak (in Plains of Havoc temple, here)

player: hello
Oldrak: Welcome player! Only rarely I can welcome visitors these days.
player: hugo
Oldrak: Ah, the curse of the Plains of Havoc, the hidden beast, the unbeatable foe. I've been living here for years and I'm sure this is only a myth.
player: myth
Oldrak: There are many tales about the fearsome Hugo. It's said it's an abnormality, accidentally created by Yenny the Gentle. It's half demon, halfsomething else and people say it's still alive after all these years.
player: yenny the gentle
Oldrak: Yenny, known as the Gentle, was one of the most powerful wielders of magic in ancient times. She was known throughout the world for her mercy and kindness.
player: bye
Oldrak: Good bye, player!

Mission 2:
Zoltan (in Noodles Academy of Modern Magic in Edron)

player: hello
Zoltan: Welcome player, student of the arcane arts.
player: yenny the gentle
Zoltan: Ah, Yenny the Gentle was one of the founders of the druid order called Crunor's Caress, that has been originated in her hometown Carlin.
player: crunor's caress
Zoltan: A quite undruidic order of druids they were, as far as we know. I have no more enlightening knowledge about them though.
player: bye
Zoltan: Use your knowledge wisely.

You can get the chess pieces here in Edron. The game room is under the caste.

Mission 3:
Padreia (Druid Guild in Carlin, here)

player: hello
Padreia: Welcome to our humble guild, wanderer. May I be of any assistance to you?
player: crunor's caress
Padreia: Don't ask. They were only an unimportant footnote of history.
player: footnote
Padreia: They thought they have to bring Crunor to the people, if people did not find to Crunor of their own. To achieve that they founded the inn Crunor's Cottage, south of Mt. Sternum.
player: bye
Padreia: Farewell.

Mission 4
Lubo (North of Thais, South of Mount Sternum, here)

player: hello
Lubo: Welcome to my adventurer shop, player! What do you need?
player: crunor's cottage
Lubo: Ah yes, I remember my grandfather talking about that name. This house used to be an inn a long time ago. My family bought it from some of these flower guys.
player: flower guys
Lubo: Oh, I mean druids of course. They sold the cottage to my family after some of them died in an accident or something like that.
player: accident
Lubo: As far as I can remember the story, a pet escaped its stable behind the inn. It got somehow involved with powerfull magic at a ritual and was transformed in some way.
player: stable
Lubo: My grandpa told me, in the old days there were some behind this cottage. Nothing big though, just small ones, for chicken or rabbits.
player: bye
Lubo: Good bye.

Now you will visit the tower for the first time, First you will need the Key. Key 3899 to the tower is north of paradox tower in a dead tree(here), you need to go though Minotaur caves to get to it passing directly under the tower itself. Use a Shovel to enter the Minotaur caveshere, then travel as far north as possible. You will emerge here, north of the Paradox Tower. There are only Minotaurs and Minotaur Archers in the cave, and only Bears on the surface north of the tower.
The tree is booby trapped so you might lose 200hp and Poison Fields may block your path to leave the tree (this trap is not always triggered).

To reach the Paradox Tower, go here south of the entrance to Kazordoon and use Levitate spell or parcels to climb up the "stairs" on the mountain. On third level above ground level you will face two Wyverns. To get to next level from the wyvern cave, you have to be on the left part of the edge where you came up, face north and levitate/parcel yourself up to next level. If you are parcelling yourself up, some monster or player needs to be infront of you. A wyvern or a friend would do the trick.

When you come across 4 sacrifice stones, place one skull on each stone and walk to the teleport spot in the middle - you will be teleported to the tower

here. If you step on one of the four strange carvings here, you will be teleported back away from the tower.

Cut grass from point A, to point D. Then to point B as shown(including point C). Then sit at point B and wait until the grass at the door starts growing back. Right when it does, step on point C and run to point D where stairs will have appeared. (light green=cut grass, dark green=grass, grey=stone/stairs, pink=switch, blue=spot you stand on)
The next room will have a couple of bookshelves and a series of levers - they need to be in the following directions (from left to right): Right, Right, Left, Left, Right, Left.
The next room will have a Ghoul behind some Magic Walls. Flip the switch and a crate will appear with the ghoul. Wait until the ghoul pushes the box into the north-west corner of his area, and a ladder will appear. Go up the ladder before the ghoul moves the box again.
In this room you will need to use the Key 3899 that you got from the dead tree.

After opening the door, place the fruit on the tables in the following order(from left to right): melon, banana, cherry, apple, grapes, coconut. When the fruit is on the tables, flip the switch and a ladder will appear. Go up the ladder. As shown on the picture

There will be two statues on the far wall. Examine them and place the black and white knight chess pieces on the correct sides and pull the lever. Another ladder will appear. Go up again.

The first time with the Riddler:

Note: Riddler may ask different questions, which have unknown answer, just answer them uncorrectly and try again until he asks all questions with known answer.

player: hello
Riddler: player! HEHE! Another fool! Excellent!
player: test
Riddler: Death awaits those who fail the test of the three seals! Do you really want me to test you?
player: yes
Riddler: FOOL! Now you're doomed! But well ... So be it! Let's start out with the Seal of Knowledge and the first question: What name did the necromant king choose for himself?
player: goshnar
Riddler: HOHO! You have learned your lesson well. Question number two then: Who or what is the feared Hugo?
player: demonbunny
Riddler: HOHO! Right again. All right. The final question of the first seal: Who was the first warrior to follow the path of the Mooh'Tah?
player: Tha'kull
Riddler: HOHO! Lucky you. You have passed the first seal! So ... would you like to continue with the Seal of the Mind?
player: yes
Riddler: As you wish, foolish one! Here is my first question: Its lighter then a feather but no living creature can hold it for ten minutes?
player: breath
Riddler: That was an easy one. Let's try the second: If you name it, you break it.
player: silence
Riddler: Hm. I bet you think you're smart. All right. How about this: What does everybody want to become but nobody to be?
player: old
Riddler: ARGH! You did it again! Well all right. Do you wish to break the Seal of Madness?
player: yes
Riddler: GOOD! So I will get you at last. Answer this: What is your favourite colour?
player: green
Riddler: UHM UH OH ... How could you guess that? Are you mad??? All right. Question number two: What is the opposite?
player: none
Riddler: NO! NO! NO! That can't be true. You're not only mad, you are a complete idiot! Ah well. Here is the last question: What is 1 plus 1?
player: any number
Riddler: WRONG!

You cannot correctly answer this last question. When you guess, you will be wrong, and get sent into Hellgate.
Warning: If you answer any of the others questions wrong, you'll have to talk to him again to answer all the questions, because the prisioner at Mintwallin won't talk to you.

Hellgate Levels:

After following the path shown on 9th map, you have to levitate 2x then go up the ladder. When you'll go up as shown on the last map there will be a room with a switch. The switch opens bridge upstairs, pull it if after roping up there's no bridge. Now you should be able to go out to Ab'Dendriel. If you follow the maps you will only meet skeletons, ghouls, rotworms, Carrion Worms and beholders, but be prepared to face Elder Beholders, Demon Skeletons and The Evil Eye.

Now you need to go talk to another NPC. Go to Mintwallin and talk to the npc prisoner. The prisoner is two levels up in the prison in Mintwallin. The prison is on the west side of town. You may need to find Key 3620, which is in the guards sleeping quarters near the south gates.

If at this point you forgot your number, you can find it again by opening your Quest Log, select Paradox Tower and click button Show, then select The Secret of Mathemagics and you will see the number there after 1+1=. This was not possible before the Christmas Update of 2006.

RESEARCH NOTE:
The answer of the question "1+1=" seems to depend on your favourite colour that you choose before but it has not been confirmed yet, if you can just say the right colour and pass the last question without going to mintwalin.

player: hi
A Prisoner: Huh? What? I can see! Wow! A non-mino. Did they capture you as well?
player: math
A Prisoner: My surreal numbers are based on astonishing facts. Are you interested in learning the secret of mathemagics?
player: yes
A Prisoner: But first tell me your favourite colour please!
player: green
A Prisoner: Very interesting. So are you ready to proceed in you lesson in mathemagics?
player: yes
A Prisoner: So know that everthing is based on the simple fact that 1 + 1 = your number!
player: bye
A Prisoner: Next time we should talk about my surreal numbers.

The prisoner will tell you what "1+1" equals - this is different for each player, so be sure to remember the number he tells you or find it out in your Quest Log. Also, only answer "Green" (as above) if he asks you for his favorite color. He sometimes does not ask this question.

Go back to the Paradox Tower and talk to the riddler again. He will ask you the same questions, and they have the same answers - just be sure to tell him your correct number that the prisoner gave you.
After that you will be allowed into the treasure room. In the treasure room, there are four treasure chests and two rows of switchplates on the floor that you need to walk over to reach the Chests. Which of these switches you walk over determines what rewards you get. Each switch will DESTROY one of the rewards for you (you will see an explosion on the chest when you step on a switchplate)!

If you step on more than two switchplates, you will lose more than two rewards!

NOTE: The letters tells you which rewards you WON'T get. So, if you want 10k and 32 talons, walk over the two switch tiles E and W. This will remove Phoenix Egg and Wand of Cosmic Energy.

K = 10k gp
W = Wand of Cosmic Energy
T = 32 Talons
E = Phoenix Egg

WARNING: Walk over the items you don't want get!, so be careful. The light green words show what reward each chest gives.

Therefore, if you walk straight up the 2nd left, your rewards will be 100 Platinum Coins and 32 Talons (W and E removed).

Now you are done you need to walk through the teleporters to get back, all the way down the tower and past the Wyverns.