TFMC

Research

Research is an item-based deduction puzzle. Make a research paper at a Cartography Table, study it at a Lectern, and test materials to uncover and fill its hidden aspects.

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Make a paper and start a project

  1. Sneak-right-click a Cartography Table to open the Research Station. Combine one vanilla Paper and one Alchemy Powder for one Parchment Paper. It takes 5 seconds.
  2. Combine one Parchment Paper with the subject ingredient. Ordinary papers take 5 seconds; an Unknown Research Paper takes 15 seconds. Every station recipe grants 10 Herborist EXP. Recipes hide when you lack their ingredients.
  3. Hold the resulting paper and right-click a Lectern. Each lectern has one owner, so find another lectern if one is occupied. A Staff Runestone can start its own project without first becoming a paper.
  4. Choose an experiment item, inspect its point preview, then confirm. Each different item may be tested once per project. Items with no aspect tags cannot be used.
  5. Use the Testing, Confirmed and Rejected labels to guide your next experiment. Fill every required aspect completely, then collect the result that drops above the lectern. It is not placed directly in your inventory.

Warning

Breaking the lectern destroys the project. The Scrap button also destroys it after a confirmation and does not refund the project.

How experiments reveal the answer

RuleMeaning
Primary / secondary aspectAn item contributes more strongly to each primary aspect than to each secondary aspect. One item can contribute to several aspects.
RejectedAn aspect outside the hidden recipe is rejected after enough testing. An experiment containing only rejected aspects is blocked.
Undiscovered AspectIts row appears after you make some progress toward the required points. Intelligence makes it appear sooner.
ConfirmedIts identity appears after further progress. Intelligence makes it appear sooner. Confirmation is not completion: keep filling it.
Product revealThe product appears after enough aspects are confirmed. Intelligence can make it appear sooner, but early reveal is not assured.
CompletionEvery hidden aspect must reach its full required points. Total points are not an experiment count, because tests may contribute to multiple aspects.

A concrete experiment example

Arcane Crystal is a primary Arcane item, so it supplies 2 Arcane points when tested. Crying Obsidian is secondary Arcane and supplies 1. These are distinct items, so each can be tested once. The Arcane Crystal project requires 3 Arcane points, plus its Earth, Energy and Machine requirements.

Budget your Mental Points

Maximum Focus
150Stored per RP character; shared with Magic meditation
Each experiment
1 point
Base refill
10 per real hourRegenerates offline; 15 hours from empty to full

Wisdom adds 0.5 points per hour per attribute point; Intelligence adds 0.25. The regeneration interval is one hour. When exhausted, the lectern tells you that you are too tired to research. The aspect table counts distinct primary and secondary items; it is not a recipe or a list of required quantities.