Here is the grounds puzzle in detail:
You have the correct combination however you have it reversed. For example, the first blink is on your left but it is the demon's right eye that is blinking. Each blink tells you the direction to start walking (from the demon statue). When you reach a point where there is a choice of directions you must go in the direction of the next blink. When both eyes blink it means to go straight.
Brass locks throughout the Keep are opened by lockpicks. These areas will never have anything that is required to progress.
Riddle key:
"equated to seven" I believe you refer to the last riddle before you find the key. Seven steps west.. refers to the teleporter that brings you to the 1st boss. The demon you need to stand by is 7 squares west of the teleporter.
2 gates and pedestals solution:
The important door to open here requires the blood orbs placed on the pedestals. The other door is optional and you will have to recall what you first found in this room.
3x3 plates (fire / frost room) hint:
This is a pattern puzzle, there are 4 different patterns and each opens one of the doors in this room. There are clues for each pattern, most of them are found on notes. Only 2 patterns are required to solve, the other 2 are optional.
Grounds forcefield:
This one is hard to hint at because you mentioned "closed door west of rope". In order to disable the forcefield you will need to be able to access the Grounds from both the West and East sides of the map. I think once you do this the solution might be more evident.
There are other various blue barriers similar to the forcefield that are disabled with the Sharp Mind skill. There are 3 in total:
Grounds, Crypt and Keep 2nd Fl (library). Accessing these areas is not required.
Garden key and button panel will be accessed a bit later in the game.
So for where you are at now, the most important item you need is the rope. To get that you must be able to enter the Grounds from both sides of the map. Here is a hint if you can't get in from the West:
Revisit the 2 demon statues in the Keep 1st fl, in the room with the spike traps.
I definitely did not want the puzzles of this mod to be solved with brute force or trial and error. There are some that require a bit of guess work, such as which tome to use in the Grounds and what to place on the pedestals with the 2 gates. But overall I feel there are enough clues to solve everything without the use of force. If you feel that a lot of it is trial and error, and are willing to provide feedback on the puzzles I would love to hear about it, I am always looking for ways to improve the design. It may be helpful to keep in mind that there is a lot a lot of backtracking. And because of this, you will often find clues for puzzles you have not discovered yet. And you will come across puzzles that you may not have all the clues for just yet.
Thanks