Infocom adventure 'Spellbreaker' walkthrough

 This is the solution to the Infocom adventure 'Spellbreaker', 

 

(c) 1992 Erik Futtrup, Denmark (email: futtrup@daimi.aau.dk) 

     and Twan Lintermans, Holland 

 

 

 

Before we start off, two important things: 

 

1. At random places a spell won't work and you'll get comments 

like "your fingers grow numb". Since there is nothing you can do 

about this, I advise you to save frequently. Sometimes 'wait' 

will help to make spell casting possible again. 

2. After a while, you'll get tired in the adventure. You will 

have to sleep then. Be very careful, because after you wake up, 

you'll have forgotten all the spells you learned before you 

started sleeping!! 

 

Keeping these things in mind, we can begin: 

 

wait (4 times): s: take bread: s: learn lesoch: lesoch: take cube 

[25]: write "1" on cube: learn blorple: blorple 1 [15]: frotz 

burin [don't frotz yourself, because this will be very 

inconvenient much later in the adventure]: d: d: wait (5 times): 

take stained scroll [10]: examine stained: gnusto caskly: learn 

blorple: blorple 1: e: s [write down the description of the 

'Ruins room' since you'll need it at the end of the adventure]: 

take zipper [10]: open zipper: look into zipper: reach into 

zipper: look into zipper: take flimsy scroll [10]: read flimsy 

[girgol]: learn blorple: blorple 1: s: take dirty scroll [10]: 

read dirty [throck]: gnusto throck: u: wait [until it says:  "If 

you don't do something soon, you will die!"]: girgol: u (4 

times): take coin: examine coin [500 zorkmid]: w: learn caskly: 

caskly hut: take cube [25]: write "2" on cube: e: put 

coin,bread,knife in zipper: learn blorple: blorple 2: s: pull 

plant (2 times): learn blorple: blorple 1: w: n: learn yomin: 

yomin ogre [hay fever!]: plant weed: learn throck: throck plant: 

d: take dusty scroll and gold box [20]: u: s: examine dusty 

[espnis]: gnusto espnis: open box: take cube [25]: write "3" on 

cube: put box in zipper: learn blorple: blorple 3: take bread: 

learn blorple: drop all except bread: s: drop bread: take 3: take 

bottle: blorple 3: open bottle: look into bottle [damp scroll]: 

take damp [10]: read damp [liskon]: take all: gnusto liskon: n: 

learn liskon: liskon me: frotz bottle: learn blorple: drop all 

except bottle and 3: enter outflow pipe: w: take cube [25]: w: 

climb out of pipe: blorple 3: n: take all: write "4" on cube: put 

bottle in zipper: learn blorple: blorple 1: e: n: learn liskon: 

liskon snake: n: n: learn malyon and espnis: malyon idol: wait: 

espnis idol: wait: climb idol: look into mouth: take cube [25]: 

d: write "5" on cube: learn blorple: blorple 5: n: take white 

scroll [10]: learn blorple: blorple 5: w: examine white scroll 

[tinsot]: gnusto tinsot: e: examine blue carpet: take coin: point 

at blue carpet: buy blue carpet: offer 300: offer 400: offer 500: 

inventory: take blue carpet [10]: learn blorple: blorple 3: learn 

tinsot: again: again: put all in zipper: take burin: close 

zipper: n: rezrov door: tinsot channel: again: wait (3 times): 

tinsot water: climb ice floe: u: take cube [25]: open zipper: 

take book: write "6" on cube: e: n [make a note of this location, 

since it will prove useful in the future!]: rezrov cabinet: take 

moldy book [10]: learn caskly: caskly moldy book [15]: read moldy 

book: gnusto snavig: s: w: u: drop carpet: sit on carpet: u: w (4 

times): d: get off carpet: take cube [25]: sit on carpet: wait 

[for fun]: u: e (4 times): d: get off carpet: take carpet: d: 

write "7" on cube: learn blorple: blorple 3: learn blorple: learn 

snavig: drop all: s: take 3: snavig grouper: d: wait [until you 

become yourself again]: take all [25]: u: blorple 3: take all: 

write "8" on cube: n: learn blorple: blorple 8: w: learn tinsot: 

tinsot fragment: take fragment: learn blorple: put all in zipper 

except book: take 4: blorple 4: n: take compass rose [10]: learn 

blorple: blorple 4: w: put rose in carving: take rose: n: touch 

nw rune with rose: nw: touch w rune with rose: w: touch ne rune 

with rose: ne: rezrov alabaster: w: take cube [25]: take burin: 

write "9" on cube: learn blorple: blorple 9: s: sit on green 

rock: take fragment: give fragment to green rock: sit on green 

rock: look [this piece of the adventure is random, so I can't 

give the exact commands: Once you're on the green rock, you can 

move around on the lines on the ground, using commands like:  

rock, west. You should try to get in the same location as the 

brown rock, since he's carrying a cube on his back! Every time 

you let the green rock move one location, the brown rock moves 

one location too. You should try to get the brown rock into a 

corner, because when he makes his move then, you can always get 

to him! The best way to do this is to map the area and use two 

different coins, representing the green and the brown rock, so 

you can keep track of their whereabouts. I found out that the 

best way to start is:  w.ne.s.e and then you're on your own, but 

it's random, so it could be different when you play it! Good 

luck!]: jump on brown rock: take cube [25]: write "10" on cube: 

learn blorple: blorple 10: d: learn snavig: drop all: take 10: 

take book: d: snavig grue: d: climb on pillar: take cube [25]: 

wait [until you are yourself again]: learn blorple: blorple 10: 

d: take all: write "11" on cube: learn blorple: blorple 11: n: 

take box: examine box [notice the figures on the box, which are 

different for every cube you put in the box: this gives you the 

chance to know which cube you should use, when you've given them 

different names from the names I use: see the list below]: put 10 

in box: take 10: throw box at outcropping: learn blorple: blorple 

10: u [this is one of the directions you can't use normally, 

although it seems to be there: this leads you to where the gold 

box is and works with all these exits, provided you put the 

corresponding cube in the box first!]: take box and cube [25]: 

write "12" on cube: put all in zipper: take 7 and book: learn 

blorple: blorple 7: s: ask belboz about me [He will ask you a 

question to find out if you're not the cloaked figure: answer 

this question correctly! If the program recognizes the answer, 

but it's not the right one, you'll find out that you did 

something wrong when you try to open the cabinet, much later in 

the adventure!! Belboz should give you a key.]: ask about cube: 

ask about figure: learn blorple: take 9: blorple 9: e: rezrov 

door: put all in zipper: take book: [if you want to save before 

the next puzzle, you'll have to do it here, since 'save' won't 

work once you're in the outer vault!]: n: [* this puzzle is 

random too, so I'll try to explain it:  There are 12 cubes here 

and you should try to find the most powerful one. This can be 

done using the jindak spell, which makes the pile with the 

powerful cube glow more brightly. You only get three chances to 

use the jindak spell! The trick is to make three piles of four 

and compare two of them. The one that glows more brightly is the 

pile with the powerful cube in it. Now swap two cubes from this 

pile with two from the other pile and jindak again. This way 

you've just two cubes left that can be the powerful one. Swap one 

of these with any of the cubes in the other pile and jindak. Now 

you know which cube is most powerful! See to it that you learn 

the blorple spell before you jindak for the last time! Blorple 

the powerful cube right away!! As an example I'll give you the 

commands that worked with me:  take x1,x2,x3,x4,x7,x8: put x7,x8 

in first: learn jindak (3 times): learn blorple: jindak [However, 

the first pile is glowing more brightly:so the powerful cube is 

either x5,x6,x7,x8]: take x7,x8: put x7,x8 in second: take 

x9,x10: put x9,x10 in first: jindak [However, the first pile is 

glowing more brightly:powerful is x5 or x6]: take x6: put x6 in 

second: take x12: put x12 in first: jindak [However, the first is 

glowing more brightly: cube x5 is the powerful one!!]: take x5: 

blorple x5 :one final note:  when the piles glow with identical 

brightness, the powerful one is in the pile you're holding 

yourself! *]: [getting the cube is 25 points]: d [after blorple 

powerful cube]: take key: unlock cabinet with key [here you find 

out if you answered the question from Belboz correctly!]: open 

cabinet: take vellum scroll [10]: examine vellum scroll: learn 

all spells: again (6 times): [remember the description before? 

Leave everything in the room the way it was when you first 

entered it, otherwise you're memory will be confused and you die 

using blorple]: put book in cabinet: close cabinet: lock cabinet 

with key: rezrov door: blorple .. [powerful cube]: u: open sack: 

take flimsy scroll: take burin: copy flimsy on vellum: take sack: 

empty zipper in sack: put flimsy in zipper: close zipper: drop 

zipper [this way you leave everything as you encountered it 

before, remember?]: take 12: blorple 12: e: wait (3 times): take 

knife: wait (6 times) [until it says:  Chortling gleefully, it 

prepares to jump into the hypercube!]: girgol: take 11: put sack 

in tesseract: wait. [This gives you 600 out of 600 points and 

solves the adventure completely!!] 

 

List of spells and their effect:  

 

blorple       explore an objects mystic connections 

lesoch        gust of wind 

yomin         mind probe 

rezrov        open even locked or enchanted objects 

frotz         cause something to give off light 

gnusto        write a magic spell into a spell book 

malyon        animate 

jindak        detect magic 

caskly        cause perfection 

girgol        stop time 

throck        cause plants to grow 

espnis        sleep 

liskon        shrink a living thing 

tinsot        freeze 

snavig        shape change 

 

List of cubes, where they lead to and the figures they show when 

you put them in the gold box:  

 

1   packed earth   moles 

2   soft room      rabbits 

3   water room     dolphins 

4   changing room  butterflies 

5   air room       eagles 

6   boneyard       worms 

7   string room    spiders 

8   light room     fireflies 

9   no place       owls 

10  dark room      grues 

11  fire room      salamanders 

12  magic room     unicorns 

x5? sand room      turtles (powerful cube from vault) 

 

List of possible questions that Belboz might ask you, with their 

proper answers  

 

Question: Which of our esteemed colleagues was fabled for his 

skill at Double Fanucci? 

Answer: Forburn 

 

Question: In Borphee, who was famed for his skill with fireworks 

displays? 

Answer: Dimithio 

 

Question: Of the necromancers, who other than (harumph) myself is 

best-known? 

Answer: Berknip 

 

Question: Who wrote the Coconut of Quendor? 

Answer: Gustar 

 

Question: Who invented the golmac spell? 

Answer: Barbel 

 

Question: Which mage had the motto, "The hardest trick is making 

it look easy?". 

Answer: Barsap