Kiss of the Revenant

Kiss of the Revenant
Completed
Type	Official
Creators	Alice & Smith & Funcom
Discovered	2017-06-16

List of Investigations > Kiss of the Revenant

Kiss of the Revenant was an ARG related to Secret World Legends. Kiss of the Revenant was released shortly before the "re-launch" of Secret World Legends, which had initially released in 2012 as The Secret World. By completing the ARG puzzles, Secret World Legends players could claim in-game rewards after the re-launch on June 26, 2017. Kiss of the Revenant was created by Alice & Smith in collaboration with Funcom, the developers of The Secret World and Secret World Legends.

Initial Announcement

The puzzle hosted on mmorpg.com

A "cursed soul" being clicked

On June 16, 2017, the official Black Watchmen Twitter page posted a link to kissoftherevenant.com on Twitter.

Following the URL redirected to mmorpg.com/puzzle.cfm, which contained the following message:

THE SPIRITS ARE CHANNELING THEIR ENERGIES INTO REVEALING THE NEXT CHAPTER.

The bolded letters in the message spelled out AHEOET. In the page's source code, every big letter's HTML tag also contained a number; the numbers were 98 105 116 46 108 121. When converted from decimal to ASCII, these numbers read bit.ly. This was combined with the bolded letters to get the link bit.ly/AHEOET. This link redirected to the following image, which showcased a new "Shadow-Bound" weapon, one of the Kiss of the Revenant rewards:

Animated GIF showing the shadow bound weapon, one of the possible rewards, in action.

Furthermore, on the puzzle page, a "cursed soul" would occasionally appear at a random position, and could be clicked by the player. While the purpose of these cursed souls was not initially clear, eventually they were used to unlock "group rewards" after the conclusion of the ARG.

First Chapter

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The secret page included with the first puzzle

On June 17, 2017, the first puzzle unlocked. Clicking on the puzzle would play a short video, where the player is addressed by a narrator:

Step closer. Let me see you. Mmmh. You'll do, you'll do. So then, let me tell you a story.
Time was a family lived around here. Tragic. But someone like you? I'm sure you have heard it all before.
Old man Henderson tried to walk away from power. Instead he lost everything... he ever built, everyone he ever loved.
But this story isn't about him, but about his younger daughter, Samantha, and her struggle to be free of him.
I see you found Sam's notebook. Maybe you can finish her work in binding the revenant.
Hangs around here, y'know. Takes a lot of brains and a lot of guts. But the weapon you make sure'll be worth it.
Come on, see if you can make heads or tails of it.

"Henderson" refers to Archibald Henderson, a character in Secret World Legends. The video doesn't contain any clues needed to solve the puzzle.

After the video, a puzzle with the prompt "Draw first upon the ground" was displayed. A "secret page" was accessible from this screen, containing four tarot cards and the hint "That which is lost more than others". The cards displayed are tarot cards from the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana:

• Three of Swords, without the swords
• The Moon, without the moon
• Five of Cups, without the cups
• Page of Wands, without the wand

• 
  The first puzzle.
• 
  The first puzzle, solved.

The only tarot suit that isn't represented in the four tarot cards is the suit of pentacles. As well, pentacles may be drawn "first upon the ground" at the start of a ritual. As such, the answer to the first puzzle was pentacles.

Second Chapter

The secret page included with the second puzzle.

At 17:34GMT 2017-06-18 the second puzzle unlocked. People who signed up to be notified received an e-mail stating:

Not bad, not bad.
Maybe you're enough like Sam to get the job done.
She was smart as a whip, half again as clever as anyone ever gave her credit for...

Clicking on the puzzle would play this video. Here's a transcript of the video:

Not bad, not bad.
Maybe you're enough like Sam to get the job done.
She was smart as a whip, half again as clever as anyone ever gave her credit for...
Took after her old man like they were peas in a pod. That is why they never got along.
Her pap tried to hide his past from the whole family. But Samantha was well aware of all his secrets.
She never got to Innsmouth herself. Shame. Given she had a talent for power.
When she learned a little from watching her paps, and a little more while rifling through his papers while he was out.
Y'know, what they say. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, friend.

The first part is the same as the email. Innsmouth refers to Innsmouth Academy most likely.

After the video a hint is displayed again, this time being 'Dried and held under the tongue'. Another secret page was given as well, this time containing the hint 'That which is distilled', together with an image annotated with the text 'green bottle, square faced... father's basement'.

• 
  The second puzzle.
• 
  The second puzzle, solved.

1st tip: <spoiler>'That which is distilled' refers to the ingredient of something distilled. The ingredient is displayed in the image as well.</spoiler>

2nd tip: <spoiler>The image depicts a type of berry.</spoiler>

Solution: <spoiler>The berry pictured is a Juniper berry, used to make gin.</spoiler>

Third Chapter

The secret page included with the third puzzle.

The third mission was unlocked when 13000 souls were reached at 23:47GMT 2017-06-22 during the Beyond the Veil stream with Tilty and Anashel. Again an e-mail was sent out, this time with the following text:

I see you're making progress on Sam's little project.
This was her act of desperation, this ritual she made up...

There was also a video with more of the story. Here is the transcript:

I see you're making progress on Sam's little project.
This was her act of desperation, this ritual she made up...
She was trying to make her tools control her paps creations.
When she was a pure heart and uncorrupted by the darkness around her.
She didn't want power for its own sake, no. She wasn't fighting for the world or against it.
She just wanted something to protect herself so she could escape with her sweetheart and escape from old man Henderson once and for all.
*female laugh* And freedom is sweeter. Keep going, and see how you do.

The hint this time was 'Place replica at the center of the pentacle for the new moon'. The secret page contains additional clues, stating 'That which is precious' as well as two pictures: one labeled 'My visit to the St Mary's Cathedral' and 'Uncle George, Bishop of...'. A piece of text saying 'M&W 1910 replica of uncle's treasure'.

• 
  The third puzzle.
• 
  The third puzzle, solved.

1st tip: <spoiler>The Cathedral is located in Ireland.</spoiler>

2nd tip: <spoiler>Try to find out who the Bishop pictured is. You got the Cathedral and his first name to help.</spoiler>

3rd tip: <spoiler>Try to find out what happened during that Bishop's time as Bishop in the Cathedral.</spoiler>

Solution: <spoiler>The Cathedral is St Mary's Cathedral of Limerick, the Bishop is George Butler. The Ardagh Chalice was discovered during his time as Bishop. Hence the reference to uncle's treasure. The fact the piece of text says replica ties in with the main hint. The M&W refers to Mappin & Webb, who made a replica of the Ardagh Chalice in 1910</spoiler>

Fourth Chapter

The secret page included with the fourth puzzle.

The fourth chapter was unlocked around 16:24GMT 2017-06-24. As usual, an e-mail containing a part of the introduction video was send:

You know Sam's story doesn't have a happy ending,
and nothing you do here can change that.

As with the previous chapters, there is a video with some more of the story. Here is the transcript:

So far, so good.
You know Sam's story doesn't have a happy ending,
and nothing you do here can change that.
There is one moment of true happiness for Sam and her true love. Stealing kisses along the pumpkins.
They say that Jack the Lad had sweet talked Samantha. But it went the other way around. She had a plan and Jack was part of it.
That midnight embrace was an invocation that depowered her weapon. And it almost worked. Almost.
... Let's see if you could take that a little further.

The hint this time was 'Spill the blood of the cat'. The secret page contains additional clues, stating 'That which strike terror and fear'.

• 
  The fourth puzzle.
• 
  The fourth puzzle solved.

1st tip: <spoiler>What would a witch use to spill the blood of a cat?</spoiler>

2nd tip: <spoiler>It is a special type of dagger used for ceremonies.</spoiler>

3rd tip: <spoiler>B. II C. VIII refers to Book 2, Chapter 8 of the Key of Solomon, which is entitled:

"OF THE KNIFES, SWORD, QUILL KNIFE, IRON PEN, SHORT LANCE, WAND, [STAFF,] AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS OF MAGICAL ART"</spoiler>

4th tip: <spoiler>The phrase that which strike fear and terror is found in this chapter in the following paragraph:

'But as for the knife with the black hilt (see Figure 62) for making the circle, wherewith to strike terror and fear into the spirits, it should be made in the same manner, except that it should be done in the day and hour of Saturn, and dipped in the blood of a <black> cat and in the juice of hemlock, the characters and names a shown in Figure 62 being written thereon, from the point towards the hilt. Which being completed, thou shalt wrap it in a black silk cloth.'

From this the obscured sentence can be decoded: Witch's Knife with the Black Hilt

To add to this: the symbol in the top left corner of the page is Saturn's Sickle.</spoiler>

Solution: <spoiler>A ceremonial dagger used by witches are also called an athame. The clues from the secret page, especially the obscured sentence, also point towards this.</spoiler>

Fifth Chapter

The secret page included with the fifth puzzle.

The fifth chapter was unlocked around 18:58GMT 2017-06-25. Again there was the usual e-mail:

And here we take our sharp turn into tragedy.
Sam and Jack found fleeting happiness together,
but their moment of sweetness was cut short.

And the usual story video. Here is the transcript:

And here we take our sharp turn into tragedy.
Sam and Jack found fleeting happiness together,
but their moment of sweetness was cut short.
Nobody can say for sure if Old Man Henderson found them together or if his scarecrows did.
But I'm sure that Sam didn't get to end her invocation. She lost her life to her father's scarecrows instead.
You might think this means that she failed. But you are wrong. She didn't fail at all. She was successful, beyond her wildest dreams.
You are almost there. You can't stop now.

The hint this time was 'Fix your gaze on high'. The secret page contains an additional clue: 'That which is brightest' along with an image.

• 
  The fifth puzzle.
• 
  The fifth puzzle solved.

1st tip: <spoiler>Going off the image, the word 'brightest' and 'gaze on high', it is easy to see that the clues are talking about a bright star. The map is a map of constellations.</spoiler>

2nd tip: <spoiler>Some constellations are easy to recognize: Scutum on the left side, Scorpius on the bottom right side. The big one in the center has a star marked in white however.</spoiler>

Solution: <spoiler>The constellation in the center is Ophiuchus, whose brightest star is Rasalhague.</spoiler>

The Ritual

Immediately after completing the Fifth Chapter, it became possible to do the ritual. One weapon had to be selected for the ritual, and then the correct sequence of runes had to be selected. Five dots would light up in Mastermind style: red to indicate on of the selected runes is on the correct position, followed by grey dots for every correct rune in the wrong position. Every guess would take up some energy, and once the energy bar got empty there would be a short cooldown before it filled up again.

There was a choice out of six runes for five positions, so at least one rune wasn't used. By trying to fill up all positions with one rune, for every run, it was easy to guess which rune(s) didn't get used, and how often the other runes should be used. After that it is simply a matter of guessing a rune in the first position and filling the rest up with an unused rune until the first rune is guessed correctly (indicated by a single red dot lighting up). The same process can be repeated for all the other positions until the correct sequence is found.

Once the ritual completed, players could leave their e-mail to receive the code, which would be send during the waxing crescent. The moon started its waxing crescent on 2017-06-24 and it will end on 2017-07-01.

• 
  Selecting a weapon.
• 
  A weapon is selected.
• 
  The ritual itself.
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  The ritual is completed.
• 
  The end.

After the ritual, there was a final video. Transcript:

Well, I'll be damned. You did it. You captured the monster and lay poor Samantha Henderson to rest at last.
Be careful with that thing though. The revenant is always in there, waiting. He'll come and fight with you. And for you from time to time.
But it is always going to be in there. So if you are not careful... well you know what revenants do.
Watch your back, friend. Or else someone might have to fend this your story too.

Rewards

The possible rewards..

After the first puzzle was unlocked, the rewards screen became available, giving a preview of all possible rewards. These rewards include:

• A 'Shadow Bound Weapon' which has a 20% chance to summon a revenant with every hit. The revenant will cast raven blade which deals physical damage. The preview video is the same as the gif found at the start, except with a higher quality.
• Weapon/talisman distillates. This reward got changed from 3 200xp distillates of each type to one 600xp distillate of each type during the puzzle.
• Black Watchmen hoodie
• +5 AP and +5 SP potion
• Black Watchmen jacket

Only the weapons were unlocked when the rewards screen came available. The rest of the rewards had to be unlocked by collecting souls.

The second reward was unlocked at 19:27GMT 2017-06-17, when 2500 souls were reached.

The third reward was unlocked at 17:16GMT 2017-06-18, when 5000 souls were reached.

The fourth reward was unlocked at 21:04GMT 2017-06-19, when 7500 souls were reached.

The last reward was finally unlocked at 03:47GMT 2017-06-25, when 15000 souls were reached.

Around 13:17GMT 2017-06-19 people started reporting that the souls had reset to 2500. Anashel confirmed this was a bug in the Discord channel at 13:24GMT, and the issue was resolved a few minutes later.

(Yeah, we had to change the way the site is tracked because we are hitting the limit of 10m hits per month for google analytics... I guess it's a good news. :) - And in the process of tweaking it, we left a test variable on. Sorry for that)

A piece of artwork is also given as reward for completing each puzzle.

Media

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  The full background, only the center is visible in the frame.
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  An image showing various icons used. Note that the chapter numbering isn't correct.
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  The rewards page as of 08:39GMT 2017-06-18.
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  The rewards page as of 20:41GMT 2017-06-18.
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  The rewards page as of 20:36GMT 2017-06-20. Notice the updated second reward.
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  The rewards page as of 16:19GMT 2017-06-26, with all rewards unlocked.
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  The first puzzle is unlocked.
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  The reward of the first puzzle. The image shows The Black House in the Savage Coast, and is also a loading screen in TSW. According to the file's metadata, this image was created 2012-05-01.
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  The 'home' screen after the first puzzle is complete.
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  The screen shown when clicking on the second puzzle while it was locked.
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  The reward of the second puzzle. The image shows the graveyard used in the first part of the new tutorial.
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  The 'home' screen after the second puzzle is complete.
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  The reward of the third puzzle. It is a concept art of Jack dating back to 2008 (4 years before TSW launched).
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  The 'home' screen after the third puzzle is complete.
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  The reward of the fourth puzzle, showing some concept art of a revenant.
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  The 'home' screen after the fourth puzzle is complete.
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  The reward of the fifth puzzle, showing a design document for the revenant.
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  The 'home' screen after the fifth puzzle is complete.
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  The 'home' screen after the ritual is complete.