The Vambrace of Destiny is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2023 by Arthur DiBianca. It was an entry in IF Comp 2023 where it took 5th place.
In this one-keystroke-per-command fantasy game, you play as Mr Bartholloco, an apprentice watchmaker. The Society of Wizardry hired you to recover the Staff of Many Powers, stolen by a wizard now hiding inside the Halls of Morok. To aid you, you have the vambrace of Morok's daughter Destiny. Every gem you find for the vambrace adds a new spell you can use. Solve puzzles, defeat monsters, and earn treasure!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
>> SPACE
Entry
> b
Goals:
> h
To type a special command like SAVE, LOAD, or RESTART, first press the backquote/tilde key.
Standard commands:
> in
Grand Hall (south end)
> n
Grand Hall (north end)
You can't deal with the bat quite yet.
> w
Feast Hall
> i (Note the motto: "Shields before Swords".)
> w
Kitchen
> s
Larder
> i (Gain GUST (G) spell!)
> nee
Grand Hall (north end)
> g (Bats are stable when they aren't flying.)
> n (Now the bat is flying.)
> g (Now the bat is knocked out.)
> n
Ceremonial Hall
Note the "JANOBUS" seal.
> e
Painted Corridor
You find the wizard with the staff, but he casts a spell and teleports away before you can stop him.
Now a voice whispers, "Which way to [somewhere]?". Answer the questions by moving in the appropriate direction correctly until the whisper is satisfied.
Since you don't know the answers at first, the only way to solve this is by guessing and noting when your guesses are correct. Of course, I'll tell you which way is which.
After four correct answers in a row, all doorways flash, and you hear a sound like breaking glass. The doorways are no longer warded against you.
> s
Meeting Hall
Nothing here. Did you expect donuts?
> ne
Stage
> i (Gain RADIANCE (R) spell!)
Note that RADIANCE creates a holy light that dispels the undead. You don't need to worry about dispelling mere darkness in these halls.
> wn
Guard Room
> i (The door is locked.)
> swsse
Tall Chamber
> r (The skeleton collapses into dust!)
> e
Gallery
> in
Portcullis
> iggg (The portcullis is open.)
> es
Shrine
The spinning creature blocks the altar. GUST and RADIANCE have no effect on the spinning creature. Come back here later. Much later.
> nn
Library
> i (Gain KEEN (K) spell!)
Uh, turn around and return to the Ceremonial Hall and go west from there:
> swsww
> nnw
Waiting Room
> ik (Large-eared goblins can't stand shrill noises. It runs away.)
> n
Statue Corridor
Note the statues.
> iw
Parlor
Note the mirror.
> w
King's Room
> i (Gain TAG (T) spell!)
The TAG's sparkling side-effect only works on some things. Sometimes you'll get info but no sparkle. Note which items do sparkle, since that'll become more important later in the game.
> e
Parlor
> t (The mirror sparkles! Was used for cheating at games.)
> e
Statue Corridor
> t (One statue sparkles! It's Belthelius, a Krotonian hero, the bane of all orcs.)
> n
Display Hall
> ikgrt (Nothing works against the glass golem yet.)
Return to the Library and go north from there:
> ssess
> eenenn
Workshop
> r (The skelmage utters a counterspell.)
> t (The shield sparkles! The skelmage is distracted.)
> r (The skelmage turns into ash.)
> w
Armory
> ig (Can't get the out-of-reach iron key yet.)
> enn
Guard Quarters
> i. (Gain JANOBUS (J) spell!)
> sw
Conservatory
> z (The sprite points its wand; the KEEN gem glows.)
> k (Extremely high wail.)
The KEEN gem will stops glowing after a few turns. Go to the glass golem as fast as you can, and yes, you must teleport to be fast enough:
> jwnn
Display Hall
> k (The glass golem shatters!)
> nww
Annex
You can't deal with the bees yet.
> eees
Arched Hall (south end)Level 2
If you stay and watch what the troll does, you should note that he periodically smashes the floor with his hammer, making the floor crack.
> e
Servants' Wing
> i (The paper is too faded to read.)
> n
Laundry
> i (Gain QUAKE (Q) spell!)
QUAKE is a more versatile spell than it first appears to be. If you cast QUAKE near a foe, it might shake part of its armor off, loosen some rock above to fall onto it, or topple your foe into a nearby pit.
> sen
Servants' Quarters (north of Common Room)
> r (The elemental restores the ghost!)
Deal with this pair later.
> se
Servants' Quarters (east of Common Room)
A sprite says it's gonna enchant you.
> z (Your drab clothing becomes colorful.)
The enchantment wears off a handful of turns later. Something to remember for later.
> www
Arched Hall (at troll)
> z (Repeat waiting until the troll raises its hammer.)
> q (The troll's hammer combined with the quake breaks the floor and the troll falls out of sight.)
> s
Chasm
Note the VALOK seal.
> s
Dungeon Entrance
The wizard creates a hostile artifact to block the southern gateway before he vanishes yet again.
> i (The artifact looks fragile.)
If you wait here for a few turns, you hear the artifact beep strangely. Remember that.
> nw
Damp Corridor
To defeat the weirdling by dropping a brick on top of it, you must first remove its ability to protect itself.
> r (The holy light dissolves the weirdling's mist.)
> g (The wind knocks the weirdling down so it can't dodge.)
> q (A falling brick destroys the wierdling.)
> w
Brewery
> t (The cauldron sparkles!)
> s
Moss Chamber
> i (Gain OPERATE (O) spell!)
Note that your burly Krotonian friend only operates simple equipment for you, like turning cranks or pulling levers. He never fights creatures; that's not his job.
> nw
Mold Chamber
Watch what the mushroom does and act accordingly:
When the mushroom is gone:
> i (New treasure: platinum engraving!)
> i (The pit is too dark.)
> eeenw
Square Room
> i (The apparatus is like a giant three-horned trumpet.)
> o (The Krotonian starts turning the crank, and the apparatus starts playing a pleasant melody.)
> z (The goblin removes one earplug to listen.)
> k (The goblin runs away. The Krotonian vanishes.)
> w
Artificer's Lab
> i (The contraption is a cage with a brass disk, part of which is viewed through a window. There's also a pinwheel on the top, and a heavy crank on the side.)
> g (The pinwheel spins, but that's all.)
> n (Door has no handle and can't be pushed open.)
You need the Krotonian's help plus precise timing. The disk's sections display either a shield or a sword. You're trying to light up two shields, then two swords on the disk, in that order, as suggested by the motto "Shields before swords" as seen on both the coat of arms and the stone shield on Level 1.
> ozg (First shield glowing)
> zg (Second shield glowing)
> g (First sword glowing)
> zg (Second sword glowing, and north door opens!)
> n
Private Quarters
> i (Gain MAGNET (M) spell!)
> sw
Forge Chamber
> it (The forge sparkles!)
> ozzzzzi (That got the room warm, but so what?)
> eees
Chasm
> m SPACE
Iron Platform
> s
Sphere Chamber
Note the glyph on the pedestal.
> i (The sphere has small holes.)
> t (The sphere sparkles!)
Worry about that later.
> ne
Vault (west)
Over time, the hobgoblin removes his boot or his helm to shake it out.
> z (Repeat waiting until it removes its helm.)
> k (It drops its mace.)
> m (You get the mace. The hobgoblin flees, and you toss the mace aside.)
> s
Vault (South)
> i (Gain VALOX (V) spell!)
> ne
Vault (East)
To get this treasure, you just need to take the right actions in the right order:
> g (Spider goes up and repairs its web.)
> q (Spider falls on its back!)
> o (Krotonian pulls the lever.)
> i (New treasure: jade carving!)
Return to the Armory on Level 1:
> jssee
> nennw
Armory
> m (The iron key is yours.)
> jen
Guard Room
> n (The key unlocks the door, but the key stays in the keyhole.)
> m (Nice try.)
> n
Dusty Hall
> g (The blown dust makes you sneeze.)
> n
Contraption Room
> i (There's a pinwheel, an iron slide, a circular track, a miniature brass man, and a silver dragon.)
It's story time, starring the brass man. The GUST spell operates the pinwheel, which moves the brass man to the next station on his track. The MAGNET spell operates the iron slide, which makes the brass man do whatever is appropriate in his current circumstances.
> gggm (The man takes a coin.)
> gggm (The man buys a pie from a baker with the coin.)
> gggm (The man trades the pie for the spear from a guard.)
> gggm (The man pokes the dragon. The man's head is now on fire.)
> gggz (The flame burns the twine. The dragon falls out of the contraption.)
> i (New treasure: silver dragon!)
> gm (The man does a short victory dance.)
> sw
Livery Room
A sprite enchants your OPERATE gem.
> o (The vambrace produces several weird beeps.)
Did you remember the beeping artifact on Level 2? Hurry, before the enchantment wears off:
> vs
Dungeon Entrance
> ooo (The angry artifact is off balance.)
> q (The artifact topples and smashes to bits.)
> ss
Cell (with message)
> i (Seven objects in this domain can sparkle.)
> nes
Cell (with armor)
You can't defeat the armor yet, but you should at least QUAKE to see its possible weaknesses.
> i (The armor stops you.)
> q (A greave falls off, revealing a piston.)
> z (It puts its greave back on.)
> q (The helmet falls off, revealing gears.)
> z (It puts its helmet back on.)
> q (A cuirass plate falls off, revealing a flywheel.)
> z (It puts its plate back on.)
Further quakes continue the cycle.
> nes
Cell (far east)
> i (Gain the PULL (P) spell!)
You also learn about the CATALOG command. Test them:
> p (The sphere from the Sphere Room appears!)
> zzz (The sphere vanishes.)
> c (Lists six things known to sparkle, with the most recently tagged item in bold.)
> nwwww
Dungeon Corridor (west end)
> ik (The ice monster only vibrates a little.)
Return to the forge:
> vnwww
Forge Chamber
> t (The forge is now the tagged object.)
Now make it hot again, before returning to the ice. And it has to be done here, since the bellows doesn't get pulled with the forge.
> ozzzzz
> vssww
Dungeon Corridor (west end)
> pzz (The ice monster melts into a puddle.)
> ssenen
River BankLevel 3
> i (The river is swift.)
> n
Ledge (south end)
Note the YORNAK seal.
> n
Ledge (middle)
> i (It's a fluid-filled blob.)
> q (A rock bounces off the blob.)
> n
Ledge (north end)
> i (The troll must've fallen past here.)
> n
Cave
> i (Gain FREEZE (F) spell!)
> ss
Ledge (middle)
> fq (The frozen blob shatters, then the pieces fall apart, thaw, and seep away.)
> w
Hewn Cave
The wizard drops stone doors over all four exits. A square section of the floor rises slightly. The wizard vanishes.
> i (The platform could be pushed down.)
> o (The Krotonian's weight only pushes the platform down a little.)
Go find and tag the cauldron, then return here.
> vww
Brewery
> t (The cauldron sparkles.)
> vssww
> ssene
> nnnw
Hewn Cave
> p (The cauldron drops onto the platform and the stone doors open!)
> ww
Wolf's Den
> z (Repeat waiting until the wolf takes a drink from the pool.)
> f (The wolf is trapped!)
> i (New treasure: ebony statuette!)
> ees
Anteroom
> i (Gain ACTIVATE (A) spell!)
> o (The Krotonian turns the crank and the west door opens.)
> w
Hexagonal Room
> zzz
Note the mention of "drab room". I think the eyeball wants to see colors.
> enn
Echoing Cavern
> r (No effect; you hear soft ghostly laughter.)
> i (Its helmet is a treasure.)
> f (Wraith likes the cold.)
> q (Wraith is uneffected.)
> g (Wraith ripples eerily.)
> k SPACE (YOU flee!)
Hewn Cave
Perhaps deal with the wraith later. Go back to the winding passage and go north from the middle part:
> essswn
Bell Room
This is a confusing room. There's two structures and each has a bell, but the second bell doesn't show unless your Krotonian friend is pulling its chain.
You can ring any visible bells with the GUST spell, but that's not important.
The kobold blocking the way west doesn't like quakes, and will shelter in whichever structure is empty, but the kobold blocks you regardless as long as it is in the room.
Finally, the glyph on the first structure, when activated, makes whatever's under it vanish! Vanished items don't ever return.
> a (The first bell disappears!)
> oq (The kobold shelters in the first structure.)
> a (The kobold disappears!)
> w
Unfinished Room
> i (Gain UNHURRY (U) spell!)
> t (The brazier sparkles!)
Return to the river bank:
> esen
River Bank
> uf (The swift river slows then freezes.)
> ene
Low Corridor (east end)
> i (Gain YORNAK (Y) spell!)
> ne
Bottom of Stairs
> is
Stone Chamber (eastern)
> q (The stones fall out of the way.)
> w
Stone Chamber (middle)
> m (The ball is pulled down a little and the door opens.)
> w
Stone Chamber (western)
Note the DALMOR seal.
> i (Gain DALMOR (D) spell!)
> a (The door opens.)
> w
Wizard's Chamber
The wizard's attacks are randomized. Every attack requires only a single spell response. Z to wait in-between attacks.
If you take too much punishment, you stagger out of the room and should Z repeatedly until you're no longer drained; remember to use the X command to check your status.
If the wizard takes too much punishment, he drops the Staff and flees.
> z (Wait before his first attack.)
After the wizard flees:
> i (You acquire the Staff of Many Powers!)
You should now collect up all the remaining treasures.
> x (You have four treasures out of twelve. Eight more to get.)
Go tag the mirror:
> jwnw
Parlor
> t (The mirror sparkles.)
> deenwn
Lair
CAUTION: If the basilisk looks directly at you, you're petrified for five turns. You can move again after that.
Use GUST and KEEN to rouse it. When it opens its eyes wide, that's your cue to summon the mirror.
> gk
If its eyes aren't wide open yet, insert a Z here.
> pi (New treasure: jeweled circlet!)
> sswss
Rocky Passage (northwest corner)
> i (The creature dashes east.)
The creature, who is almost certainly a cat, always runs away from the way you came. Don't chase it. Go counterclockwise to the opposite corner:
> se
Rocky Passage (southeast corner)
> a (The glyph pulses unpleasantly.)
The pulsing only lasts for four turns, so hurry, going clockwise this time:
> wne
Rocky Passage (northeast corner)
> i (Afraid of the noise, it dashes east instead of south. Now follow it.)
> e
Small Chamber
> a (You feel drowsy, and the creature sleeps.)
> i (New treasure: diamond-studded collar!)
> ynwn
Echoing Cavern
> umri (New treasure: gold-inlaid helmet!)
> vneee
Servants' Quarters
Once more, the sprite makes your clothing colorful.
> ynwsw
Hexagonal Room
The eyeball looks at colorful outfit.
> e (The eyeball follows you)
Anteroom
> o (The Krotonian tries to close the door but only gets it partway closed. That traps the eyeball in here.)
> w
Hexagonal Room
> i (New treasure: flawless sapphire!)
> vsses
Cell (with armor)
The trick here is to UNHURRY the flywheel, then repeatedly QUAKE until the armor collapses.
> q (Repeat until flywheel exposed)
> u (flywheel slows)
> qqqi (New treasure: rare onyx cameo!)
> ysswnw
Unfinished Room
> t (The brazier sparkles.)
> vneen
Servants' Quarters (north)
These two normally protect each other, but you can distract the lava elemental with the brazier.
> prfi (New treasure: porcelain egg!)
> vms
Sphere Chamber
> t (The sphere sparkles.)
> a (The sphere starts to pour out a gray smoke with a pleasant fragrance.)
Quickly go to the bees in the annex.
> vnnwww
Annex
> pzi (New treasure: gold bracelet!)
> eess
Statue Corridor
> t (The statue sparkles.)
Head to the shrine:
> sess
> eenes
Shrine
> u (The whirling creature is an orc!)
> p (The orc flees from the statue.)
> i (New treasure: silver relic!)
> nwsww
Grand Hall (south end)
> s
You return to the Society of Wizardry, where you are congratulated. Abraca Lathron (president) takes the staff. Rufus Cromarkio (treasurer) admires your treasures and awards you some silver florets.
If and only if you found all twelve treasures, the wizards invite you to join their society and become a wizard. Otherwise, you return to your watchmaking apprenticeship.
THE END
Note: There is no QUIT command. Just close your interpreter.
This game displays an ASCII art map at the lower right of your screen to show where you've explored and where you are. These are the completed maps, with the player in the room where the seal is on that level.
HALLS OF MOROK (Level 1)
+-----------------------------+
| Ann-Sto-Lan>> Con Gua |
| | | | |
| Dis Liv-Dus Con-Bac |
| | | | |
| Kin-Par-Sta Gua Arm-Wor |
| | | | |
| Wai-Cer-Pai-Sta Lib |
| ^|^ | | |
| Kit-Fea-Gra Mee Por-Eas |
| | | | | |
| Lar Gra-Tal-Gal Shr |
| | |
| Ent |
+-----------------------------+
LOWER HALLS (Level 2)
+-----------------------------+
| Pri >>Arc Lau Ser |
| | | | | |
| For-Art-Squ-Arc-Ser-Com-Ser |
| | |
| Mol-Bre-Dam-Cha#Iro-Vau-Vau |
| | ^|^ | | |
| Mos Dun Sph Vau |
| | |
| Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun |
| | | | | |
| Cel Cel Cel Cel |
| | |
| Tig>> |
+-----------------------------+
DEEP CAVERNS (Level 3)
+-----------------------------+
| Cav |
| | |
| Ech Led Lai |
! | | | |
| Wol-Une-Hew-Led Top>>
| | | | |
| Hex-Ant Led Low-Low |
| ^|^ | |
| Unf-Bel Riv#Eas |
| | | | |
| Win-Win Roc-Roc-Sma |
| | | | |
| >>Win Roc-Roc |
+-----------------------------+
THE BOTTOM (Level 4)
+-----------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| >>Bot |
| | |
| Wiz-Sto-Sto-Sto |
| ^ ^ |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------+
When you win, one of two versions of the final artwork replaces the map.
+-----------------------------+ |##### (T) (T) #####| |### ###| |# (T) *_* (T) #| |# *(_)* #| |# / * #| |# (T) / (T) #| |# / #| |# (T) / (T) #| |# / #| |# / #| |# (T) / (T) #| |### ###| |##### (T) (T) #####| +-----------------------------+
+-----------------------------+ |##### (T) (T) #####| |### ###| |# (T) *_* (T) #| |# *(_)* #| |# HOORAY! / * #| |# (T) / (T) #| |# / ONE #| |# (T) / HUNDRED (T) #| |# / PERCENT! #| |# / #| |# (T) / (T) #| |### ###| |##### (T) (T) #####| +-----------------------------+
Adversaries on Level 1:
Adversaries on Level 2:
Adversaries on Level 3:
Adversaries on Level 4:
Friends:
Mentioned:
Credits are displayed after the game's banner at the start of the game:
Special thanks to Andy Fleming, Lorne Harris, Aubrey Orf, Luke Pebler, Brian Rushton, and Daniel M. Stelzer for testing, and to Nadia Bellazola for cover art.
There is no INVENTORY command in this game; instead, use H (HELP) to see your current commands, and X (STATUS) to see your current status.
If the game did use a standard inventory system, these would be the items listed:
Each spell is a associated with a gem. Whenever you pick up a gem, you automatically put it into your vambrace and can use its spell whenever you want.
Teleporting is very straightforward. You cannot take any of the seals. You will need to teleport to make effective use of all three of the sprites' enchantments, and teleporting is the only way back across the chasm after you use MAGNET to cross it.
As far as I know, the teleport spell names don't mean anything; perhaps they're just the names of famous Krotonians?
Instead of a SCORE command, this game has an X command to display your status. The response to X is:
Your mission has lasted several turns so far. You have acquired number spell gems.
[The following lines are added when applicable:]
You have obtained number treasures [if have staff} out of twelve [end if].
You have an iron key.
You have recovered the Staff of Many Powers.
The KEEN gem is currently glowing.
The OPERATE gem is currently glowing.
Your clothes are unnaturally colorful.
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