Inferno

The Inferno is a graphical text adventure for the Apple II.

In ancient days, there gradually became a divergence of swordcraft and wizardy. Those that had the ability to do well in both arts were relegated to a lower status. At the School of Magic in the East, the greatest wizard of the time became drawn to the black arts. As his power grew, he became leader of his order... and then the land! His name was Cossa.

At about the same time, a great warrior arose from the people. As the great wizard's power grew, the warrior became more uneasy. He began to sow dissent among his people, and soon, as he expected, he was summoned to Cossa's palace. Once inside, he drew his magical Elven sword, and began to slay all evil that opposed him.

Sensing his impending doom, just as the warrior's sword was about to bring death upon him, Cossa cast a great spell that banished the warrior to the Inferno far below the earth, at the cost of Cossa's own life. You play as that warrior, as you strive to find your lost equipment and return to the surface.

All commands are entered via VERB NOUN commands. Each room has a short description, and there are obvious exits that are described, and non-obvious exits that must be found through guessing available directions. The player starts with 500 constitution points, and loses one point for every move or action they take. The player must explore the lower depths of the Inferno. The player's goal is to recover their sword, armor, and other equipment to allow themselves to defeat the monsters hiding through the Inferno. Many areas have randomized instant death if the player answers The player is constantly hunted by an orc, which the player can choose to fight or flee, but they must first obtain weapons to defeat the enemy. Fleeing is randomly successful. The player must ultimately defeat Astaroth and move upwards out of the Inferno.