Usurper was the first logic puzzle style plot on Neopets, and was released on the 9th of July, 2001 (Year 3). It followed directly on from the end of the Brucey B and the Lucky Coin plot, which introduced the Lost Desert. Usurper however fleshed out the characters within the desert, and lasted until the 16th of July.
The plot began with King Coltzan III throwing a great dinner party to celebrate the defeat of Dr. Sloth and the saving of the city. He invited five guests to dine with him, each an influential politician in the city. Unfortunately, disaster struck. Coltzan collapsed and died, with poison in his meal discovered as the cause. The five guests were immediately put under the spotlight, as they would have had access to the food at the table. It was up to the quick thinking Neopian public to deduce the murderer, and their motives.
In order to help with the investigation, the palace released details on the five meals the guests ate, the number of courses they ate, and bad habits they showed during the meal. The five suspects were:
At last, it was revealed that Princess Sankara had murdered the King, hoping to put Vyssa on the throne and manipulate her into sending troops back to her homeland to liberate it. Sankara was arrested, while Vyssa assumed the throne.
Users were asked to guess the identity of the murderer, which meal each guest ate, how much of that meal they ate, and which bad habit they had which annoyed the King. The correct answers were:
Numerous awards were handed out for those who participated:
Only the first 100 people to correctly guess all answers received an item prize, a random Lost Desert themed item. In addition, the first 10 correct users received 2 million Neopoints. Consolation prizes of 2000 Neopoints were also awarded to correct guessers who were not within the first 100, though they received no item prize.
A trophy was awarded to correct guessers, though it is unknown exactly who received one as their usernames were kept secret. Only the top 100 guessers received the trophy:
This page was written by Herdy and last updated on October 15, 2018.