Key & Compass presents:
Spellbound
by Adam Perry

In this wordplay game, you play as a graduate student of the Institute of Orthographic Studies. Professor Spruce has given you a mission: find all 26 (twenty-six!) letters out in the wilderness of Phoenicia!

(Note: In the IntroComp release, you will obtain somewhat fewer than 26 letters.)

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 (IntroComp release) of the game.

Maps
- Map 1: Phoenicia Forest
- Map 2: Phoenicia Underground
Walkthrough
Extras
- Amusing, Characters, Endings, Inventory, Score, Spell
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
External links:
- This game at Homepage, IFDB, and IFWiki.
- Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Maps

Map 1: Phoenicia Forest

Map 2: Phoenicia Underground

Walkthrough

Institute of Orthographic Studies

> about.

> x me. i. x case. x frame.

> spell tea. (+1)

> x prof. talk to prof.

> s.

Aleph City

> x streets. e. ne.

West Wall

> x cyclops. spell ate. (+1)

> x archway. x ruins. x vines. climb vines.

> e.

West Entrance to Phoenician Ruins

> x R. take R. (+1)

> d.

Darkness

We'll need light to see down here.

> u. w. s. e.

Lake Phoenicia

CAUTION: You can't take the C yet.

> x log. x crocodile. x C.

> w. s.

Western Phoenicia Forest

> x trees. x elephant.

> spell rat. (The elephant runs north.)

> n.

Clearing

> spell rat. (+1. The elephant runs east.)

> e.

Lake Phoenicia

> take C. (+1. With the elephant here, the crocodile stays distant.)

> w. s. se.

Deep Within Phoenicia Forest

> climb tree. s.

Kobold Warren

> x kobolds. take G. (They want to see magic.)

> spell ace —or— spell act. (+1)

> take G. (+1)

> x sticks. take stick. x stick.

> x fire. spell rag. x rag. tie rag to stick.

Unfortunately, tar isn't what your almost-torch needs, so we must explore more.

> n. ne.

Eastern Phoenicia Forest

> x waterfall. x river. x outcropping.

> take S. (A leprechaun grabs it first!)

> x man. talk to man.

There's three ways to deal with him, choose one:

> spell age. take S. (+1)
> spell tag. (+1. You take the S automatically.)
> spell tar. take S. (+1)

Let's continue:

> n.

East Wall

> x hole.

Hm. You can't get past the hole here. Return to the warren:

> s. sw. s.

Kobold Warren

> spell gas. x torch. light torch. (+1)

> n. nw. n. n. e. d. e.

West Ruins Corridor

> take O.

You are surprised by a woman entering from the east with her own alphabet case and letter frame. She reacts first and you fall into a PIT.

Pit

> spell sea. (+1)

You escape the pit and you've also dealt your new rival a setback, wherever she is now.

West Entrance to Phoenician Ruins

> d. e.

West Ruins Corridor

> x mural. x pit. e.

Grand Staircase

> x staircase. e. e. u.

East Entrance to Phoenician Ruins

This is the other side of the hole you first saw at East Wall.

> d. w. w. s.

Underground City of Phoenicia

CAUTION: Don't take the four-letter frame if you want to explore the city!

> save. x buildings. x four.

> s. s.

Plaza

> x fountain. x benches. w.

Amphitheater

I don't know what we'll employ against the mole. Maybe RACE or RAGE?

By the way, the letter here is the Y, confirmed by TAKE Y.

> x mole. x letter. take letter. (The mole is in the way.)

> se.

Market

> x stalls. ne.

Great Hall

> x contraption. x lever. x platform. x rails. x hatch.

> stand on platform. pull lever. (You hear gears moving, but the device doesn't work.)

I assume that in the full game, we'll SPELL KEY and unlock the hatch with it, then SPELL GEAR and put the gear into the hatch to fix the lift device.

> sw. s.

Owlbear's Lair

I'm guessing SPELL CAGE might help us here in the full game?

> x owlbear. n. n. n. n.

Underground City of Phoenicia

If you're done exploring, feel free to take the frame.

> take four. (+1)

Take this opportunity to play with the four-letter frame. Avoid spelling plurals like CATS or TEAS; the game will chide you against being greedy.

> spell arse.

> spell cage. x cage. spell cart. x cart.

> spell case. spell cast.

> spell gear. x gear.

> spell race. spell rage. spell rate. spell rats.

> spell sage. x sage. eat sage.

> spell sate. spell scar. spell scat.

> spell sear. spell seat. spell stag.

> spell star. spell star. spell star. spell star.

> spell tear. spell tsar.

To end the intro, go south into the city with the four-letter frame:

> s.

*** So long for now ***

> amusing

Extras

Amusing

The response to AMUSING after winning:

Did you try... ...spelling a fish (e.g. GAR) at Lake Phoenicia? ...all three ways to get S from the leprechaun? ...generating a few varieties of ADS, ART, CAR, or CAT? ...adding a few more STARs to the sky? ...and much more to come in the full release of the game. The author recognizes and apologizes for the ambiguous nature of letters and spelling words in this game (for example, to whom the spelled word should apply, or what physical actions are involved in arranging letters from the alphabet case into a letter frame). Certain concessions were made in the name of keeping things simple for both player and author as well as creating an entertaining game out of a rather ridiculous premise. I hope you have enjoyed your time in Phoenicia. Please direct your praise, complaints, and suggestions to email redacted or @hoursgoby on Twitter. Thanks so much for playing!

Characters

Professor Spruce is in the Institute of Orthographic Studies. He'd like a cup of tea.
Some residents are in Aleph City. Ignore them.
A cyclops has some serious tummy rumbles at West Wall.
A crocodile tries to imitate a log in Lake Phoenicia.
An elephant is in the Western Phoenicia Forest. It's afraid of mice and rats.
Some kobolds are in the Kobold Warren. They like to see magic.
A leprechaun appears in the Eastern Phoenicia Forest when you try to take the S there. He's a nimble dancer.
A woman surprises you in West Ruins Corridor. Who is she?
A goliath mole is in the Amphitheater. Boy, is he lazy.
A rock owlbear is in the Owlbear's Lair and hates visitors.
Also a cat, a gar, a rat, a stag, and a tsar can be spelled into existence briefly.

Endings

You have been devoured

if you SPELL EAT near the hungry cyclops; he eats you.

You have been chomped

if you SWIM or TAKE C in Lake Phoenicia when the crocodile is free to attack you.

You have been trampled

if you SPELL RAT when both you and the elephant are at Lake Phoenicia.

You have been shredded

if you attempt to TAKE K (or just stay too long) in the Owlbear Lair when the owlbear is there and able to attack you.

So long for now

if you enter the underground city while carrying the four-letter frame in the IntroComp release of the game.

Inventory

your alphabet case (list of letters in the case). This is in your initial inventory. All the letters you take in the game are automatically inserted into the case.

A is in your case from the start.
C is in Lake Phoenicia, guarded by a crocodile. SPELL RAT near the elephant twice to move the elephant to the lake; then you can take the C.
E is in your case from the start.
G is in the Kobold Warren. SPELL ACE or SPELL ACT to impress the kobolds with your magic, then you can take the G.
R is in the West Entrance to Phoenicia Ruins.
S is in the Eastern Phoenicia Forest, but when you try to take it, a leprechaun grabs it first. SPELL AGE or SPELL TAG or SPELL TAR to deal with him, then take the S again.
T is in your case from the start.

a three-letter frame. This is in your initial inventory. You need it to SPELL three-letter words, using the letters from your alphabet case.
a stick. Take it from the Kobold Warren. Tie the rag to it; see torch.
a rag. SPELL RAG to get it. Tie it to the stick; see torch.
a torch. You need to construct this one. Tie the rag to the stick then SPELL GAS to soak the combo in the gasoline cloud; this turns the stick into a torch. Light the torch in the Kobold Warren, using their fire. Take the lit torch underground as a light source. You can't seem to burn anything with it, though.
a four-letter frame. It's in the Underground City of Phoenicia. With it, you can now SPELL four-letter words.

CAUTION: If you want to explore the underground city in the IntroComp version, don't pick this frame up until after you're done there.

a cage. SPELL CAGE to create it. It's empty.
a cart. SPELL CART to create it. It's empty.
a gear. SPELL GEAR to get it.
some sage. SPELL SAGE to get it. It's edible.

Note:

K is in the Owlbear's Lair. You can't get it in the IntroComp version of the game.
O is in the West Ruins Corridor, but it's taken by a woman before you can reach it. Perhaps you can find the woman again or another O in the full game.
Y is in the Amphitheater, but the mole's on top of it. You can't get it in the IntroComp version of the game.

Score

So far, you have the following accomplishments to your name: served tea satiated a cyclops discovered the letter R scared an elephant discovered the letter C impressed a group of kobolds discovered the letter G discovered the letter S assembled a lit torch escaped a pit acquired a four-letter frame You have earned a total of this-many points in several turns, granting you the rank of ranking.

The rankings are:

Lousy Letterer (0 to 3 points)
Amateur Alphabetist (4 to 7 points)
Ordinary Orthographer (8 to 11 points)

The maximum score in the IntroComp version is 11 points.

Spell

The main gimmick of the game is spelling words out of the letters you collect. You cannot use a letter twice in the same word unless you have two of that letter in your alphabet case. For example, you may not SPELL TAT to give yourself a nifty tattoo at the start of the game. You are further restricted to words that exactly fit any of the letter frames you have.

Note that you can also DISMISS items that you SPELL, although this isn't a necessary action in the IntroComp version.

As you may expect, most words that you can spell have no in-world effect, and many items you create are automatically dismissed. You also cannot have two of an item in play at the same time. Usually you'll be told to use the item you already have, or it will be summoned to your location if it's not with you. Attempts to spell plurals (or words that the game thinks are plural) will be rebuffed with a "don't be greedy" message.

On the other hand, many words that normally have no useful effect in most situations may be very useful in specific situations, particularly if another character or creature is present.

Three-letter words (known useful ones are in boldface):

ACE, ACT, AGE, ARC, ARE, ART, ATE,
CAR, CAT,
EAR, EAT, ERA, ERG, ETA,
GAS, GAR, GAT, GET,
RAG, RAT, REC, REG, RET,
SAC, SAG, SAT, SEA, SEC, SET,
TAE, TAG, TAR, TEA.

Four-letter words:

ACRE, AGER, ARSE,
CAGE, CARE, CASE, CART, CAST, CATE, CRAG,
EAST, EATS, ERST,
GARS, GATE, GEAR, GEST, GETS,
RACE, RAGE, RATE, RATS, REST, RETS,
SAGE, SATE, SCAR, SCAT, SEAR, SEAT, SECT, SETA, STAG, STAR,
TARE, TEAR, TSAR.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with

the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Jason McIntosh, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, and Phil Tatro;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen and Matthew Foxley;
the very generous support of Karl Ove Hufthammer;
the extremely generous support of Emily Short, Allen Garvin, Jesse McGrew, Jacqueline Ashwell, Marius Müller, and Jennifer Rexrode;
and the invisible support of several anonymous patrons.

Key & Compass presents: Spellbound by Adam Perry