Trial by spikes was used in Series 7: Level 2. To complete this, the team must have the combination, which could be obtained mainly by spying on Lord Fear.


The spikes went up and down, and the dungeoneer would need to move according to the combination (eg: 1 forward, 4 right, 2 forward, 3 left etc).


Teams 4 and 5 died in Trial by Spikes. Team 4 had the combination, but mistakedly moved in steps and not squares. Team 5 needed a darkness powder, and the dungoneer was killed by a troll.


Some teams used magic for extra vision.

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From TES issue 11 (September 2001)

Series 7. Level 2.
THE TRIAL BY SPIKES
 
This challenge was set on a chess board. Each of the squares had a long spike sticking out of it to begin with. When the dungeoneer was about to attempt the puzzle, the first row of spikes would disappear, only to reappear momentarily with one spike missing. The spike-free square was the safe square in that row. Each row had a safe square, which the team had to find as the dungeoneer progressed across the board, otherwise they would be skewered. The team would have learned how many squares to step to the left or right for each row before the puzzle was attempted. In this way, they could find the safe square each time.
 
Nicola II and Naila learned the combination from spyglasses, Julie II learned it from Grimaldine, Ben III learned it from Marta, Barry read it on a scroll and Alex II's advisors had to watch Romahna complete the puzzle and write down the sequence themselves. Most teams managed to find all the safe squares and cross the board. However, Naila and Ben III met their end here. Naila's advisors got totally lost because they didn't really understand how to use the combination, and backed Naila into a spike. Ben III was a different matter. This team had made a mistake in a previous chamber by not using a clue object to find part of a vital spell, so they were killed off here. A huge troll entered the room and blocked the advisors' view, so they could not see where Ben was standing. He got skewered. For the viewers at home, it certainly looked like a nasty challenge. The tension was high as it felt like a race against time to find the correct square before the spikes shot up.
 
Difficulty: 6 Not too many problems, but some tricky footwork required.
Killer Instinct: 7 Deadly on occasions.
Gore Factor: 10 A spike up the bottom is not to be ignored.
Fairness: 5 Fair enough, but possibly would be more suited to level three.

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Trial_by_Spikes is the username of a member of the Knightmare Discussion Forum who began posting after joining in February 2003. During his time on the forum, Trial_by_Spikes revealed that he once mentioned Knightmare during a stand-up comedy routine, and regularly did the same while presenting a show on Radio Warwick.

[Previous version: 2005-11-22 18:54:42]

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