Reddit RAW Competition: Hidden Places

Welcome to Outer Island, the last island in a mysterious archipelago. A square shaped rocky outcrop jutting out of the ocean, the only obvious point of entry is a rickety dock.

You and your team have heard tales of this place. The islands are naturally rich with deposits of gold, silver, and jewels. Legend has it the ancestors of the locals who inhabit this chain of islands grew weary of attacks upon their homes from outsiders searching for valuables. All the treasures were gathered up and deposited on Outer Island seemingly ripe for the taking. But the locals had some tricks up their sleeve to hinder would be thieves...

Stepping foot upon the island your team is greeted with direct up front warnings. You are not welcome here. A stone structure with three dials and arcane symbols looms in front of you.

The island teems with life. Flowers and trees as far as you can see. Birds nests from songbirds and sea birds are nestled in trees and on the rocky shore.

The trees are ancient and twisted and their roots criss cross the island.

You can hear the croaking of frogs echoing across the island as your team cautiosly walks along the muddy paths. (I attempted some scultping from milliput for this project, made myself a lovely frog, some rough looking bones and some rather cheerful mushrooms dotted around the island. Also note the grafftitied tally notes that the bored island guards use to track their captured victims).

Slimy snails crawl along decomposing logs (again attempting to learn sculpting!).

Lady beetles scurry in the dirt and a bottle glints in the sun after washing ashore. Is it trash or a mysterious message in a bottle? In the distance bones of ancient victims sink into the forest floor.

As you walk along the shoreline you notice a hidden port. A sturdy post and a long rope allows the islands guards to dock safely and in secrecy. Supply bags are stashed upon the shoreline.

The first of two bunker doors can be seen buried in the forest ground. These bunkers provide safe hiding places for the islands guards. And any good guard needs a snack while they stay on duty. Plates of bread, cheese, and pickles remain hidden behind the foliage.

The paths on the forest contain hidden traps. The first trap consists of rope snares, pulled by hidden island guards waiting to snare pirates feet.

The second path takes you past flying spikes ready to pierce passerbys. Watch where you step or you might trigger a dart! A suspiciously calm robin raises its family.

Make sure you keep an eye on the path ahead, a deep spike trap awaits those who don't pay attention.

At the end of each path is a stone monolith with a rune carved upon it.

As you start to look around you see graffiti left behind by bored guards.

The stone monolith contains the combined treasures of the archipelogos citizens. The monolith only opens to those who know the secret code. The code can be found by those who survive each paths hidden dangers and returns with the secret rune in the right order.

The box is made of foamboard, woodfiller, and tinfoil. It does lock.

When you turn the code to the proper runes and in the right order (A,C,O) the dials turn and actually open.

Once the right code is entered the monolith opens to reveal the tribes secret treasures.

Some WIP pics, the trees are all made from wire and twist ties, bulked up with hot glue.

The trees were dipped in latex, painted, oil washed, and flocked with various woodland scenics products.

The base was carved from XPS foam, smoothed with wood filler, painted and oil washed. Twisted wires were pushed in to represent roots.

The island was decorated with various tile grouts, soils, tufts, and flocks.