Temple Guard Locations

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Up next is "Lion-Slashed Jacket of Sacajawea."

Guards Encountered: Tomb of the Headless Kings (interestingly it came from the back door rather than waiting in the front corner of the room), King's Storeroom (as a side note, did anyone else think that guard went a bit over the top in how excited he was to capture Lauren?)
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Quicksand Bog, Dark Forest, Jesters' Court, Ledges

Notes: There were a number of people who thought the piling of Styrofoam blocks in the Quicksand Bog was evidence of there being a guard in that room. Other people believed the last guard had to be in the Ledges. Some people also suggested the Dark Forest as a possible room to hold the last guard.

My Thoughts: Mike found the half pendant above the left-hand column of markers in the Chamber of the Sacred Markers.

-- Mike tried all of the armors in the Ancient Warriors, and the Jesters' Court never held a guard, so those rooms can easily be eliminated from consideration.




-- The image above, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf, was taken during the unique "Sacajawea" temple rundown. It is clear that the piling of Styrofoam blocks was not high enough or organized in the right way to be concealing a temple guard. Furthermore, I don't believe that the "Sacajawea" team would have been forced back down into the Dark Forest/Quicksand Bog because when time ran out at the end of this run, Kirk said they were just one room away. He probably would not have said that if the team was going to be forced down into the Dark Forest or Quicksand Bog, since then the Jacket would not have been one room away. I don't think that Kirk's saying "one room away" would have been a Fogg-up, either, since this team scaled the entire central shaft en route to the artifact; the "Aurangzeb" and "Imperial Wizard" teams, who were the only Season 3 teams that had to go down into the Quicksand Bog in order to enter the Secret Password, did not have to scale the whole central shaft in their runs. Forcing the "Sacajawea" team to scale the whole central shaft and additionally enter the Quicksand Bog would have been unusually grueling, especially considering the paths for the other runs from its production day.

-- Even though the only room left is the Ledges, I am slightly skeptical of a guard being in that room as well. The image below, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf, shows that the Ledges were well-lit and a guard was not easily seen as being at the top or in the depths of the Ledges during the credits. Still, I think that the Ledges makes more sense as the room to house the final guard.

[The Red Jaguars]

The Green Monkeys in "Sacagawea" were already forced up the central shaft enroute to the artifact. It would be pretty brutal to force them down into the Quicksand Bog. Plus, all three guards would've been pretty much forced if that was the case. But then again, that pretty much happened in the "Lost Taj Mahal Turban" temple run where all three guards were forced and the team had 1.5 pendants. I do think the last guard was in the Ledges too.

As for Kirk and the whole one room away thing, I only take what Kirk says with a grain of salt. He was the same one who told Elise that she could just slide down from the Secret Password in the "War Fan" run. 

[PurpleParrot4Life]

The Green Monkeys in "Sacagawea" were already forced up the central shaft enroute to the artifact. It would be pretty brutal to force them down into the Quicksand Bog. Plus, all three guards would've been pretty much forced if that was the case. But then again, that pretty much happened in the "Lost Taj Mahal Turban" temple run where all three guards were forced and the team had 1.5 pendants. I do think the last guard was in the Ledges too.

The "Lost Taj Mahal Turban" team only entered the Chamber and King's Storeroom. They did not enter the Tomb of the Headless Kings, so they did not scale the whole central shaft. And yes, all three guards in that run were forced. While having all three guards be forced is a possible scenario for "Sacajawea," I find it unlikely.

As for Kirk and the whole one room away thing, I only take what Kirk says with a grain of salt. He was the same one who told Elise that she could just slide down from the Secret Password in the "War Fan" run. 

Fair enough. However, I cannot recall Kirk ever saying that a team had to enter more rooms than necessary, besides the times when he thought Jonathan ("William the Conqueror") and Gator ("Apanuugpak") were both heading for the King's Storeroom, when in reality they were both going directly to the Chamber of the Sacred Markers.


Another thing I'd like to mention about the "Sacajawea" run is that after Lauren pulls the books in the Crypt, she runs into the Pit of the Pendulum, but the cameraman points the camera down to the ladder leading into the Ledges. That camerawork gives me a fairly certain feeling that the Ledges held the last guard in the "Sacajawea" run.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Now we turn our attention to "Secret Map of the Bandit Queen."

Guards Encountered: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (left tree)
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: King's Storeroom, Chamber of the Sacred Markers, Ancient Warriors, Ledges

Notes: Most people believed the final guard was in the Chamber because that door, along with the door to the Tomb of the Headless Kings, opened from the Pit. Some people suggested the Ledges as another option.

My Thoughts: I agree that the last guard would have been in the Chamber of the Sacred Markers.

-- In most 1 pendant runs (and also some other 1.5 and 2 pendants runs) from Season 3, multiple doors opened from the Pit of the Pendulum, and there were guards stationed along both segments of that split path. Take "Useless Map of the Chibcha Chieftain," for example. In "Secret Map of the Bandit Queen," the doors opened to the Chamber and Tomb of the Headless Kings, and we know that the Headless Kings allowed access to the rest of the bottom floor. Therefore, the team could have entered the Chamber, which would have led them down to the Tomb of the Headless Kings, or they could have gone directly into the Tomb. By choosing the latter, Miriam and Zac avoided the "detour segment" of the path, as well as the third guard.

-- I have included an image of the Pit after Miriam knocked over the column, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. You can clearly see that both doors opened. Based on the series of open doors and the path this team took, it should be clear that the Chamber of the Sacred Markers would have been the extra segment of the path that would have held the other guard.




-- And for those who still have inklings that the Ledges may have held the final guard, I have provided an image of the Ledges, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. The room is brightly lit, and there isn't any hint or trace of a temple guard in the room.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

"Thornwood Gavel of Judge Roy Bean" is up now.

Guards Encountered: King's Storeroom, Chamber of the Sacred Markers, Room of the Secret Password
Number of Unencountered Guards: 0

All of the guards were encountered during this run, even though they all could not be met on one single path.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Next on the list is "Snow Cone of Mount Kilimanjaro."

Guards Encountered: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (right tree)
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: King's Storeroom, Chamber of the Sacred Markers, Ancient Warriors, Shrine, Secret Password, Quicksand Bog, Ledges

Notes: There was only very brief discussion about this episode; it seemed like this run was forgotten about. The only comment regarding this run claimed that the guard was in the Quicksand Bog, since there was a suspicious piling of Styrofoam blocks in the room.

My Thoughts: The half pendant can be seen in the Jesters' Court, on the door leading to the Dark Forest. I have provided an image below, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. The image of the half pendant is a little blurry, but if you go back and watch the video, the half pendant can clearly be seen there every time the camera shows that doorway.




-- Unlike the past users, I don't think that the last guard was in the Quicksand Bog. The image below was taken during the final seconds of the run, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. The Styrofoam blocks are clearly not stacked that high, nor are they organized in a pile like when a guard was in the room. Also, considering the half pendant was in the Jesters' Court, my guess is that the only guard after the half pendant was the one in the Dark Forest.




-- The Ledges were well-lit, and the Secret Password was quite out of the way of the path, so I doubt a guard would have been in either of those rooms.

-- When Casey kicked over the column in the Pit of the Pendulum, both the Tomb of the Headless Kings and the King's Storeroom opened. A supplemental image is provided below, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. It would not surprise me if the last guard was in either the King's Storeroom or the Chamber of the Sacred Markers, since it was common for a guard to be stationed in one of the extraneous rooms of a detour/split path.




-- I am hesitant to place a guard in the Shrine because the "one room away" guard was not as prominent in Season 3. Additionally, if the guard was in the Shrine, then this team would have been forced to find the half pendant in order for the run to not end in triple capture, regardless of whether they went up to the King's Storeroom or directly into the Tomb of the Headless Kings. I find that scenario hard to believe.

[The Red Jaguars]

Now that I think about it now, I definitely think the last guard in "Kilimanjaro" would've been in the King's Storeroom or Chamber of the Secret Password. The producers would not just open up two additional rooms without there being a temple guard in one of them. It would be basically be like the "Useless Map" run but only this time the team is forced down the central shaft and not up it. In the Useless Map run, the temple guards were in the Tomb of the Headless Kings and King's Storeroom. In the Snow Cone run, the central shaft would basicaly be the opposite with the King's Storeroom detouring the team downwards.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Now that I think about it now, I definitely think the last guard in "Kilimanjaro" would've been in the King's Storeroom or Chamber of the Secret Password. The producers would not just open up two additional rooms without there being a temple guard in one of them. It would be basically be like the "Useless Map" run but only this time the team is forced down the central shaft and not up it. In the Useless Map run, the temple guards were in the Tomb of the Headless Kings and King's Storeroom. In the Snow Cone run, the central shaft would basicaly be the opposite with the King's Storeroom detouring the team downwards.

Chamber of the Secret Password... now that would have made for a very interesting room... 

But in all seriousness, it would make the most sense to have placed a guard in "Kilimanjaro" in one of those upper central shaft rooms since the door leading to the Pit allowed access to the King's Storeroom. It was very common in Season 3 for a guard to be placed somewhere along the extra rooms of a divergent path. Now the biggest question is, was it the King's Storeroom or the "Chamber of the Secret Password"?

-- In the other Season 3 episodes where the teams were forced down the whole central shaft ("Dried Apple Half" and "Belle Boyd"), there was ever only a guard in the Tomb of the Headless Kings. Even though the "Kilimanjaro" run would have broken the pattern if the last guard really was in the upper central shaft, I still think that was the best place for him to be.

-- There were many Season 3 runs where the team scaled the entire central shaft by ascending; among those runs are "Chibcha Chieftain," "Pirate Captain," and "Sacajawea." A common temple guard combination for those runs was the Chamber/Ancient Warriors and the Tomb/King's Storeroom. Even though the "Kilimanjaro" team would have been trekking the central shaft in the opposite direction, I still think that those same temple guard combinations would have been used. Therefore, I think the King's Storeroom would have been more likely than the Chamber to hold the final guard in the "Kilimanjaro" run.

[PurpleParrot319]

Honestly, that box pile in the Quicksand Bog looks big enough to put a temple guard in it. After noticing it a long time ago, I always thought the last guard was in there.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Honestly, that box pile in the Quicksand Bog looks big enough to put a temple guard in it. After noticing it a long time ago, I always thought the last guard was in there.

Compare the image from "Kilimanjaro" with this image below, taken from "Lost Taj Mahal Turban of Aurangzeb," which we know had a guard in the Quicksand Bog (image courtesy video posted on youtube.com ChargerTheWolf). The Styrofoam boxes in the "Aurangzeb" run were piled much higher and more uniformly to conceal the guard.

[The Red Jaguars]

I use to think the last guard in "Snow Cone" was also in the Quicksand Bog. But now I really think it was in the King's Storeroom or Chamber of the Sacred Markers. If Casey went up into the King's Storeroom, he would've been forced down into the Tomb of the Headless Kings. This was basically a longer path for the Silver Snakes if they started in the King's Storeroom. It is basically similar to certain runs like Madame Tussaud, Egyptian King, Useless Map, and Pirate Captain (the King's Storeroom should've been accessible) where starting in the bottom of the central shaft meant a longer route and additional temple guards. I believe the "Benzibab" temple run also mimicked the Kilimanjaro layout. But we will save that one for later.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, the third temple guard had to be in the King's Storeroom, since that door also opened from the Pit. Also, aren't half pendants supposed to be room away from the "third" temple guard? The half pendant that's clearly in the Jester's Court would imply that.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, the third temple guard had to be in the King's Storeroom, since that door also opened from the Pit. Also, aren't half pendants supposed to be room away from the "third" temple guard? The half pendant that's clearly in the Jester's Court would imply that.

Yeah, a lot of temple runs in Season 3 had the half-pendant before the location of the third guard. It certainly would make sense in context with the "Snow Cone" runs. But there were a couple of temple runs in S3 where the half-pendant was located before even one temple guard encounter. The two temple runs that come to mind is "The Golden Spider Web Robert the Bruce" and "The Mystical Spellbook of the Imperial Wizard". In those temple runs, the half-pendant was located in the Pit of the Pendulum. But all three temple guards were encountered after the location of the half-pendant. Plus, the second runners made the same mistake in those runs where they both missed the half-pendant in the Pit.

[PurpleParrot319]

Imperial Wizard was a 2 pendant run.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, the Green Monkeys swept the temple games in Imperial Wizard. So that doesn't work at all.