Since I spent a lot of time on this, I would greatly encourage everyone to actually visit the park and play the game rather than just acquire it by other means. If you want to differentiate yourself, I encourage you to post your character sheet as inspiration to others. The puzzle difficulty level is somewhat arbitrary, as you just have to follow the script, but it is quite a time commitment rather than a mental challenge but anyone can complete it without being a genius. I have upped it a bit to 3.5 difficulty for the time involved (several hours) and the terrain to a 2.5 for distance rather than obstacles as it is all nice paths and lawns, it is about the same walk as you would have at the mall, if you visited every aisle in every store.
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Welcome to my first "CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE" mystery cache inspired by my childhood love of TEXT ADVENTURE books in this style in the 1980s and the fact that the park floods in the spring. The hide for this cache is trivial in the end, but the joy will be taking the time to play the game to find it. It is designed to take 3-4 hours, but you can stop and play more later if you want to visit on multiple days.
Youtube video with a quick explanation of what you have to do
The way this works is that you print off the story, map, character sheet, and instructions, go to Riverside Park, and then make choices from the available options, walk to the locations in the park where the story says events occur, and interact with the park environment using your imagination as if it is a Dungeons and Dragons adventure or video game. Your game will start by simply filling out your Character Sheet for 1-4 players (and any dogs) in a few minutes, just their character name, sex, etc. Choose how rich or healthy you wish to start, and then just read the story and do what it says. You will acquire items and treasure, battle monsters, and in the end try to conquer the WATER ELEMENTAL that is holding RIVER STYX (the greek mythology underworld) hostage. You don't need any skill, just make choices as available in the script.
For instance, at area 87 you may get a description like this:
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"You are in a forest and meet a dwarf sitting on a chest. The path continues North and South" (Talk to dwarf 45, Attack dwarf 87, North 283, South 23)
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You would then pick one of the 4 options, and then turn to that paragraph in the story and see what happens, writing down information on your character sheet as needed. When you defeat the Water Elemental and find the cache feel free to post your Character Sheet on the cache listing and claim your smiley.
I have written the story to change during the seasons, which make certain things easier or harder, as things move around during the year, so it may be fun to play a few times. Since you are not expected to reach every option in the story, things like the simple choice of left or right at page one, make the adventure a completely different adventure with each choice. Most choices will lead to victory eventually, but sometimes you can choose wrong and your characters lives become difficult...they may even become ghosts...and then their adventure is even more weird.
ENJOY.
I have UPLOADED everything you need online in PDF format, to download and print (or store on a tablet) links below.
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Individual parts (character sheet, general instructions, map, and the story) are uploaded separately here to view and download:
http://craigmusselman.com/geocaching/riverstyx/charactersheet.pdf
http://craigmusselman.com/geocaching/riverstyx/generalinstructions.pdf
http://craigmusselman.com/geocaching/riverstyx/mapriverstyx.pdf
http://craigmusselman.com/geocaching/riverstyx/story20pages.pdf
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All 4 parts in one .pdf combined are at this link to view and download and print.
http://craigmusselman.com/geocaching/riverstyx/everything.pdf
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The story itself is 20 pages 8.5x11". I have been printing them on BOTH sides which makes a nice booklet and easy to handle. I have been doing this at a big box office supply print shop for a couple bucks. Feel free to lend your copy to others if you enjoy it. The other sheets combined are 4 pages.
additional animated gif showing how combat works:
combat example