Hadean Lands: new hint thread

Playing Game Hints
41

The Gaian precipitate recipe is in a room that you’ve visited, but there’s an obstacle keeping you from getting the piece of paper. It doesn’t show up in DOORS. Try to think of something you couldn’t get that wasn’t inside a locked cabinet. In InvisiClues order of spoileriness:

It’s in the Deep Stacks.

There’s a huge yellow piece of coral on top of it, though.

You can modify a ritual you already know to get rid of the problem.

Coral is a living organism.

How did you get rid of the last living thing that was in your way?

Modify the Fungicide recipe so that it kills coral.

42

Thanks Inconstant Reader, that was exactly what I needed. Thanks for taking the time to write that up invisiclues style.

43

So. I’ve visited all four lairs, and I’ve been to every non-fracture-blocked room on the map except the Chancel, the Tertiary Lab, and the Deep Lab. I have not activated any of the dragons, and I do not know how to fix fractures.

From other posts, I have found out that I must be able to fix at least a few fractures before I can get into the Chancel.

I have no idea how to get into the Tertiary Lab; the game won’t even let me examine the lock, so I assume it’s just a key I have to find somewhere.

Deep Lab musings below:

Clearly I have to fix a dragon to get to the Deep Lab, but I can’t make a fulcrum because I don’t know the proper sealing, and attempts to say dragons’ names returns ‘no such formula’.

Marriage musings below:

I haven’t performed the Great Marriage, either, because I can’t “invoke the Dragon”. The scribbles on the sheet with the Fulcrum ritual make me think that “Dragon’s name” is something I have to figure out. “Multidimensional” etc. I tried reading the graffiti in the Nave at the end of the ritual but that didn’t work.

Here’s my RECALL DOORS output:

You have yet to deal with the following locked doors and barriers:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab door
the Chymic Lab door
the Opticks closet door
the Deck Suite Venture door
the Tertiary Lab door
the Airlock outer door
the Portico main doors
the Exoscaphe hatch
the Chancel gate
the South Chasm bridge
the Garden Maze crawlway
the Barosy crawlway
fifteen fractures

DOORS notes:

All those doors are fracture-blocked, or they open into a vacuum, or they’re dead ends because of malfunctioning dragons. For the Chancel Gate, I can do Aura Imitation (quartz) but I have no one to imitate. I can’t wait to get into the Tertiary Lab.

Confusing Cracks notes:

It seems like I should be able to invert the Lodestone of Centrality ritual to get somewhere interesting in the Confusing Cracks. Using a G-flat chime instead of H yields an interesting reaction, but I can’t figure out how to finish the ritual in a successful way.

Ritual experimentation notes:

I’ve made six solvents, four alloys, and glass- and aluminum-permeability inscriptions. Out of all that, I’ve only used marble and obsidian solvents. I can’t ignite electrum regium yet because platinum is the only catalytic item I know of.

That’s all I can think of. Can anyone VERY GENTLY point me at something interesting to do?

Complete dump of RITUALS, FORMULAE, FACTS, PLACES, and THINGS below:

[spoiler]>rituals
You have learned forty-six rituals: (* marks rituals you have not yet completed)
malachite solvent synthesis
chalk solvent synthesis
soapstone solvent synthesis
slate solvent synthesis
aluminum permeability inscription
aura imitation inscription (with quartz)
lodestone of centrality creation
universal tarnish cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
yang oil synthesis
marble solvent synthesis
dragon fulcrum inscription ()
obsidian solvent synthesis
fire-devourer synthesis
granite solvent synthesis ()
lead weight decrease inscription
counter-Gaian precipitate synthesis
Gaian precipitate synthesis
coralicide synthesis
copper percalcinate synthesis
glass permeability inscription
clock tincture synthesis
metal attractor inscription
lead weight increase inscription
bamuriatic acid synthesis
perfect mud synthesis
prophylactic scalpel inscription
Great Marriage ()
dispersal brush creation
lodestone of purity creation
sublime spirit synthesis
viridigris synthesis
electrum phlogistication ()
aura impermeability inscription
aura invisibility inscription
gold ignition
planetary lens creation
breath-holding synthesis
aura imitation inscription (with jade) (*)
fire-resistance synthesis
resonant oculus creation
fungicide synthesis
universal tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)
doubled rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
doubled tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)
basic rust cleansing inscription (with the steel bolt)
basic tarnish cleansing inscription (with the brass pin)

formulae
You know an impressive list of alchemical formulae:
the Mithraic Sealing
the Greater Phlogistical Saturation
the Sealing of Shamash
a Mediate Anima
a Relative Anima
a symmetric sequence
an antisymmetric sequence
a Major Animus
the Marcher’s Sealing
the Ka Sealing
a Minor Animus
the Crystalline Tempering
the Binding of the Celestial Sphere
a phlegmatic sealing word
a word of emulgence
the Phlogistical Catalysis
an isomorphic group
an idempotent group
a word of anaphylaxis
the Chi Binding
a syllable of counterbalance
a resonant tone
the Anodyne Evocation
a word of entension
a word of culmination
the Hermetic Sealing
the Binding of Antipathy
the categorical imperative
the Lesser Phlogistical Saturation
an elementary word of binding
a word of essential nature
a simple sealing word
an unsealing mantra

facts
You have picked up assorted facts:
the soul mirroring fragment
a lecture on aither poisoning
the Chancel defensive stricture
the emergency dragon subsumption
the echo vibration fragment
the vibration technique fragment
a lecture on the theory of dragons
the transition echo fragment
the store safe combination
the Cold Crucible gossip
the Blinovna Limitation effect
the electrum substitution
the spiritual environment
the white-fuse challenge
the exhilarant environment
the recursive metaphor technique
the periodic table of stone
the Birdhouse defensive stricture
musical theory
the nature of aura clouds
a lecture on potions
the percalcination procedure
the elemental earth loan
a lecture on gestalt shelves
the copper calcination demonstration
the crawlway access combination
the catalytic environment
the work assignment
the resinous note
a lecture on aromas

places
Since the accident, you have visited these notable locations:
the Secondary Alchemy Lab
the Mech Lab Crawlspace
the Void
the Herbarium Nook
the Chymic Lab
the Mechanica Lab
the Materials Store
the Opticks Lab
the Opticks Annex
the Pyrics Lab
the Pyrics Store
the Main Store
the Storage Nook
the Library
the Lab Wing Hallway
the Nave
the Airlock
the Medical Wing
the Medical Workroom
the Portico
Junior Quarters
the Deck Suite
the High Tower
the Master Rector’s Quarters
the Study Room
the Under Ward
the Scaphe Arcade
the Dressing Room
the Exoscaphe
the Paper Garden
the Paper Maze, Center
the Observatory
the Aithery
the Grand Stair, Top
the Grand Stair, Bottom
the Birdhouse
the Burning Hall West
the Antechamber
the Barosy
the Edge of Chasm
the Deep Stacks
the Confusing Cracks

things
Since the accident, you have found (or created) these (portable) items:
twelve potion bottles (breath holding, fire resistance, clock tincture, fungicide, coralicide, fire devourer, marble solvent, obsidian solvent, chalk solvent, slate solvent, malachite solvent, and soapstone solvent)
eight chymic vials (sublime spirit, copper percalcinate, bamuriatic acid, Gaian precipitate, counter-Gaian precipitate, yang oil, perfect mud, and viridigris)
nine chymic flasks (saline, rubbing alcohol, mineral oil, muriatic acid, vitriolic acid, vinegar, lubanja, alum, and sand)
five impets of essential oil (ginger, peppermint, citronelle, kelp, and eucalyptus)
eleven metal rods (lead, platinum, nickel, moon-metal, ring-gold, whitgold, moongold, orichalcum, gold, electrum regium, and phlogisticated gold)
eight lengths of wire (lead, gold, electrum regium, platinum, nickel, moon-metal, whitgold, and moongold)
six stone chips (granite, sandstone, flint, basalt, marble, and obsidian)
seven wooden splints (elemental wood, cedar, maple, winter-oak, blackwood, green linden, and swamp pith)
four chimes (bronze F-sharp, bronze B, glass G-flat, and glass H)
four clay molds (for Medical, Alchemy, Aithery, and Venture Files)
three seals (lead Aithery, lead Venture, and rutilum Alchemy)
a scratched bubble
a shard of elemental earth
a capsule of elemental water
a brass pin
a steel bolt
a length of silver chain
a length of silk cord
a glass loop
a concave glass lens
a convex glass lens
a lump of rock salt
a fluorspar crystal
a long quartz prism
a broad quartz prism
a rough diamond
an iron bead
a sprig of rosemary
a pinecone
a sprig of honeysuckle
a dried mushroom
a chunk of coral
a pinch of mustard seed
a pinch of zafranum
a plain white feather
a lump of camphrost
a torch-lighter
a clean scalpel
a dispersal brush
a resonant oculus
a planetary lens
a lodestone of purity
a lodestone of centrality
a brass coin
a silver coin
a horn coin
a measuring block
an ivory bead
a Chinese amulet
a rotor card
a blank tin slip
an ephemeris billet
a pair of tarnished calipers
a thick key
a porcelain paten
a labyrinth tile[/spoiler]

44

Someone upthread commented that trying rituals you’re not fully ready to perform nonetheless has value.

Try the Great Marriage.

IIRC, things happen without any dragon name (when you do it the first time that is). If you tried it and nothing happened, maybe you didn’t perform the ritual correctly up to that point?

I can’t tell for certain from your RECALL FACTS list, but it sort of looks like you have not done the needful to supply the correct “token of the marcher’s location”.

You need to get the tin slip embossed in the Observatory.

The Clock Tincture should do the trick.

45

tgl, thanks! I’ve opened your first two spoilers and it occurs to me that I should have mentioned something: I don’t know how to make the correct ephemeris billet. I’ve only made one with random coordinates, and during the Marriage it keeps saying “You have a sense of being in the wrong place.”

Am I supposed to add a correct signifier of the Marcher’s location when doing this the first time? If so, then that’s what I’m going to need hints for. If not, I’ll open the next spoiler in your previous message.

46

Yup, absolutely. See the remaining hints in my earlier message about how to do that. One additional hint,
even more spoilery:

AFAIK, the only way to find out the Marcher’s location is to use the Clock Tincture on the Calculator. This will use up most of your pure elements, so you will have to reset again before attempting the Great Marriage. If you pay attention though, you can create a new billet without doing Clock Tincture again in subsequent resets.

47

Ah, geez. Thanks. I never would have thought of that.

I falsely stored the Clock Tincture in my brain as something to fix brass objects, instead of something to make brass objects into exactly the way I want them. In fact, I almost posted here calling this a game design flaw, saying that there weren’t enough hints that the Calculator was broken, before I realized that the brass padlock wasn’t broken, either.

Thanks again!

48

Yeah. To judge from earlier entries in this thread, you’re far from the first to have trouble with that leap of logic. The description of the ritual says

to repair or realign clockwork

but actually it’s only the second part that there’s any use for in the game (as far as I’ve found, anyway). You seem to have come at this the other way than I did — I saw the connection to this puzzle immediately, but it would never have occurred to me to use that ritual on the brass lock had I not come across a mention of that in previous hints.

49

BTW, can anyone slip me a clue about where one learns the

Blinovna Limitation effect?

I thought I’d been through the whole game, but I’ve not come across that fact.

50

It’s not a spoiler, it’s a wink to the player about the game’s mechanics. Try to make two of the same thing.

51

Ah so. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to be all that easy to provoke that response: the first several things I tried just led to “the is in your hand” or “the is in , as you recall” or some variant of you-used-up-the-required-ingredient-already. That’s probably how come I learned not to try to do that before actually getting the Blinovna Limitation response.

Thanks for the tip though!

52

It only shows up when manually creating something, not when using the CREATE command.

(The game can block CREATE with a sensible error, but it can’t block SAY with that same error.)

53

Actually, I successfully provoked it by saying PERFORM BREATH rather than CREATE BREATH.

54

Same for me. I guess from zarf’s response that the game treats PERFORM as a synonym for SAY.

55

No, never mind. I was misremembering the code structure. Two different code paths but they call the same message output.

(You wonder why I don’t answer questions about the game code more often?)

56

Can anyone give me a hint for

cleaning the scalpel in the medical wing? I’ve tried universal cleansing, fungicide, acid, …I’m running out of ideas!

I feel like almost everything I need/want to do is tied to what I know is there but I can’t move forward once there!

Thanks in advance!

57

Greekartemis, absolutely everything you need to do what you want is right where you already are.

You don’t need a potion or a ritual to clean the scalpel.

Examine the medical equipment more closely.

58

headdesk. Thank you. Apparently I only need help when I miss very obvious things.

Do I assume correctly that I’m somehow supposed to get elemental air into the scratched bubble from the aeroclave as well?

59

Yup, filling the bubble is 90% of the reason to enter the Med Wing at all. But the aeroclave isn’t involved in that.

Examine the tank.

60

Thanks! Apparently I needed to be more specific in my commands. :smiley: