Bellclap is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 and is © 2004 by Tommy Herbert. This game was entered in IF Comp 2004 where it took 17th place. It was also a finalist for Best Use of Medium at the 2004 XYZZY Awards.
You play as a god, directing one of your worshippers, a man named Bellclap who is stranded at one of your mountain temples without sufficient food and in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. You must guide Bellclap so he can continue his journey.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
Temple
The player character in this game is a triad: you, the god; Bellclap, the mortal; and the voice who is your go-between. Direct communication via "ask" or "tell" isn't supported, so don't bother trying to use "ask" or "tell".
> x me. x you. x bellclap.
Check out Bellclap's inventory:
> i. x tunic. x coat. x sandals. x bag. x food. x hooks.
> x knife. x leggat. x hammer. x nails. x axe. x pouch. x cement.
Examine the temple:
> x statue. x altar. x archway. x rain. x lightning. no.
Some miscellaneous things to try:
> pray. sing. score.
How to give Bellclap some courage to leave:
> s. s. x statue. s.
Moor
> x sheep. x rain. x sky. x temple. x vegetation. climb it.
Roof
Caution: You can kill Bellclap by making him walk off the roof via any of the compass directions.
> x hatch. open it. break it. x it. d.
Moor
> take sheep. s. n.
Temple
You can try to eat the sheep, but Bellclap won't eat it raw, and there's no way to cook it. I guess Bellclap left his flints in his other sheepskin coat.
> put sheep on altar. kill sheep. x blood. put sheep on altar. x sheep.
I'm not sure how you're supposed to guess you're to do this part. If you mix the cement with rain, the goo will be grey, and so will be the model. If you put a grey model of the statue on the altar, you'll be told that the grey colour is not good enough.
Note that you can also get blood by cutting Bellclap's finger, but there's nothing in the game to suggest that a finger is implemented. Other body parts aren't implemented. You can't accidently cut Bellclap's finger by trying to take a thorn.
> mix blood with cement. x goo. mold goo. g.
> mold goo into statue. x model. cut model. x it.
> take model. put it on altar.
> x statue. x statuette. take statuette. s.
Moor
> x beam. x star. u.
Roof
This repair work is optional. If you send Bellclap to safety without repairing the hatch, the voice will remind you of the damage. And Bellclap does have a lot of roofing tools, doesn't he?
> repair hole. i. repair hole with leggat. remove handle.
> x patch. repair hatch with patch. d.
Moor
> w —or— follow star.
*** You have saved him, sir ***
It's curious to note that although Bellclap is certain that you created the thunderstorm, you can't use your godly abilities to do anything with it directly, e.g.: "stop storm". Nor is Bellclap's hunger ever satisfied directly in the game; you're simply told that he'll probably get a good meal in the village.
All things considered, if I was in Bellclap's position, I think I'd eat the food in my pack and wait out the storm in the safety of the temple. But that wouldn't be much a game, would it?
This walkthrough is provided free of charge since I wrote this walkthrough prior to January 2015 when I began my Patreon account. I've since reformatted this walkthrough to use my currently preferred style. I hope you enjoy it!
I'm still creating new walkthroughs! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.