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I think that's a very reasonable guess!

Due credit to TheBrollachan, who had already suggested it earlier in the thread:

TheBrollachan wrote: 17 May 2004, 13:33 Suppose that you may have to rearrange the letters plus the missing ones to make the word/spell.

So if the missing letter was "E" then the word/spell could be:
D-I-C-E

With no theory as to what a DICE spell would have done in this situation, and little challenge for the team in solving a four-letter anagram, my money is still on DEVICE.

DEVICE seems more likely to me also from the clues pointed out earlier.

If Tim was in a particularly (ooh) nasty mood he may have given them two virtually impossible, (*nods to knowing readers) ways into level 3 and a DECIDE spell made one doable in some way.

Drassil wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 18:47 and little challenge for the team in solving a four-letter anagram

Oh you mean like "P-a-t-h" and "F-i-n-d" in the great causeway of level 3 in Series 6 as the final challenge before the quest object room? LOL. Indeed.

With that in mind, I can easily believe it to be DICE.

There's absolutely nothing to indicate number of letters here be it 4 or 6. There is equally nothing to suggest anything chance-like such as DICE but Lissard's plan hints much more to DEVICE.

Quote: 'one of which the kidsies need for access to level 3'

Thanks to David earlier for pointing this much more clearly than me!

You're right; with no way of knowing if there were any more rooms following the Trial by Spikes (and, if so, how many), it's impossible to guess. My guess of DICE was based on the idea that whatever was in the room with two stools was needed to complete a spell in its entirety.

I don't think that that's what it would have done, on watching this again. Needless to say the troll was just introduced to give the team a more dramatic death, since life force running out probably wasn't really a reasonable threat in series 6. I'm not sure any spell would need to be used in the middle of a floor puzzle to get rid of a troll (unless it was DICE and the troll would have been sliced into little pieces, but that's incredibly unlikely!).

Mashibinbin wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 19:22If Tim was in a particularly (ooh) nasty mood he may have given them two virtually impossible, (*nods to knowing readers) ways into level 3 and a DECIDE spell made one doable in some way.

I like that idea. David's idea of DEVICE might also work, as in: empty room, reveal the Descendor.

I think ACID is a possibility too. Either as an attack spell or a way to make a hole in the floor as a route onwards.

AriadnesLayer wrote: 28 Mar 2020, 02:29

Drassil wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 18:47 and little challenge for the team in solving a four-letter anagram

Oh you mean like "P-a-t-h" and "F-i-n-d" in the great causeway of level 3 in Series 6 as the final challenge before the quest object room? LOL. Indeed.

With that in mind, I can easily believe it to be DICE.

In the case of the Great Causeway, I think the FIND & PATH anagrams were more decorative than anything else, to keep the focus on it being a navigation and speed challenge.

Although every Series 6 team would likely have faced FIND & PATH had they got far enough, I agree that that particular team, Team 5, seemed to be under-challenged (which is not unique among winning teams). Here's my previous post about that.

You could take your argument further back: all the way back to Series 1 Quest 1 Room 1, with the letters of OPEN on the floor. (Though if a simple challenge was going to be anywhere, it would be early in Level 1, and other starter challenges were simpler still.) However, I'm still not sure how closely we can compare any floor challenge with a dedicated letter collecting & rearranging challenge.

The suggestions for ACID sound plausible - an ACID spell could also have dissolved a barrier - but without a theory for what DICE would have done, it's harder to see it as a possibility here.

I think people are misunderstanding where I'm coming from.

I'm not advocating for D-I-C-E. I'm not even saying I think it was D-I-C-E.

I'm simply pointing out that it COULD have been, and we have NO way of knowing that it wasn't.

All we can go by is what each person subjectively thinks is "likely". Most people do this by looking at what happened in other episodes/quests. But Knightmare is also full of one-offs. Teams that randomly got a super easy or super difficult challenge in a quest that is never used again. Clue tables which are ridiculously easy in one team. Clue tables with way too many objects and not enough hints in the next quest.

With that in mind, i think DICE is just as likely as anything else.

I do really like the DEVICE theory. I think it fits well. I just don't think liking something is a reason to write off other suggestions. Especially in a show with so little rhyme or reason to so many aspects of it.

Team 5 collected the first piece of a spell, then chose the key & "darkness" powder. Not a difficult choice. The scroll stated that they should use the "darkness" and they could actually see a chest further down the undercroft, which they would probably need to open. (Traditionally it would have been Elita inside, but now it's anybody's guess.) Given the hurry-up by approaching troll footsteps.
Further down the undercroft they collected another spell letter, then unlocked the chest. It was apparently Marta's turn to be locked inside by Hands this week. She gave them the trap combo as reward. Footsteps still approaching.
Next-up was a room with no apparent purpose. This was where they went wrong. They were prompted that there should be another spell letter here. They looked around, but didn't act. As they had no spells and the only item they had was the "darkness", it seemed the obvious thing to use. Presumably it would have illuminated a spell letter. My guess is that it would have appeared on the tabletop to the left, there is a very slight obscuring of the image there. Footsteps closing-in forced them to leave without the spell letter.
They then encountered Sly Hands in an amusing scene. He was having a (first ever) day orf and was fishin' in a barrel. They took too long to realise there was a letter under his barrel and way too long to move him so they could collect it. Troll footsteps began to approach again.
Arrived at the trial by spikes. Ben moved too slowly and the troll finally arrived, obscuring their view and Ben made a wrong step. Oooh naaasty!

Team 6: Treguard seemed to have difficulty getting the helmet of justice on Julie. Not sure why, she didn't look exceptionally big or have huge hair. They're gonna need a can-opener to remove it when her quest ends.
Assigned the quest for the sword and immediately encountered Brother Strange who advised them to seek the apothecary.
Found a spyglass and learned that Raptor was gonna trap Romahna. Great description of Romahna: long legs and short temper. She then conveniently arrived, so they warned her and received some advice.
At the level 1 clue area they chose gold and catnip.
Reached Rothberry's stall and wanted to trade their gold for an "INSIGHT" potion just as the gong sounded.
Team 6 look like their quest will move along at a lively pace.

The troll stalking Team 5 all through Level 2 was an unusual and effective addition to this quest. It's very sinister.

It's a shame the team messed up and the producers had to bring the troll in prematurely to kill them off.

Presumably, had the team played the level successfully, there would have been a face-off with the troll at the end or near the end of the level. Probably using the letters they collected to cast a spell to escape it.

It's an interesting idea that I think could have been used again (not necessarily with a troll but with other antagonists as well). Just to have a running threat all through a level. It's funny they didn't revisit this idea again.