Wrath of Denethenor

Last updated: January 11, 2026

Overview

Wrath of Denethenor is a fantasy role-playing game developed by Christopher Crim and published by Sierra On-Line in 1986 for the Apple II and Commodore 64 platforms.¹ Set in the war-torn world of Deledain, the game tasks players with defeating the evil Lord Denethenor, who has embraced dark mysticism and plunged the realm into chaos.² The game represents one of Sierra’s ventures into publishing third-party developed RPGs during the mid-1980s, offering an accessible entry point into the genre for novice players.³

Often described as “the most competent Ultima clone that we’ve seen,” Wrath of Denethenor draws heavy inspiration from Richard Garriott’s Ultima II and III, employing a similar top-down graphic tile perspective while attempting to add its own complexities and expanded scope.⁴ The developer later acknowledged this influence, noting “It’s easy to see the influence of Ultima II and III, games which led me to want to make a game using a similar graphic tile style.”⁵ Despite the similarities, the game introduces several innovations including a classless character system, ten unique magic spells with visual effects, and dimension doors for inter-continental travel.⁶

The game was notably priced at $24.95atthedesigne{r}^{\prime }sspecificrequest,withCrimbelievingthat"Sierrawillsellthreetimesasmanycopiesofmygameat$25 as opposed to $50.”³ This pricing strategy, combined with the removal of copy protection also at Crim’s request, made the game unusually accessible for its era.¹

Game Info

Developer: Christopher Crim¹ Designer: Christopher Crim¹ Publisher: Sierra On-Line² Engine: ASSM (6502 assembly)⁵ Platforms: Apple II, Commodore 64¹ Release Year: 1986 Series: Standalone Protagonist: Unnamed adventurer Sierra Lineage: Third-Party Published

Story Summary

Welcome to Deledain, an imaginary world ravaged by the torrents of war.⁷ The realm is divided into four major lands—Nisondel, Cestiona, Arveduin, and Mystenor—each once ruled independently and peacefully by its own Lord.² However, a small border skirmish mushroomed into the destruction of their four lands, plunging the entire realm into devastating conflict.⁷

On an evil day, one of the lords, Lord Denethenor, became interested in the dark side of mysticism.² His corruption transformed him into a powerful and malevolent force, and his dark magic now threatens all of Deledain. The game’s title is notably a play on Denethor from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, reflecting the fantasy literature influences common in RPGs of this era.⁴

The player takes on the role of the most unlikely of heroes—a young scoundrel explorer initially out to pillage the war-torn countryside.⁸ As the protagonist reflects: “Perhaps youth and cunning are the ways to defeat Denethenor.”⁹ Despite being challenged by others who doubt their abilities, the character becomes determined: “They had challenged me with their words, but I knew in my heart that I could reach Denethenor’s castle and destroy him.”¹⁰

The journey spans five continents of Deledain, requiring the player to traverse dangerous territories, collect ten powerful spells, and ultimately confront Denethenor in his stronghold.¹⁰ The adventure involves dimension doors that allow travel between the different lands, adding a layer of complexity to exploration and progression.⁶

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Wrath of Denethenor employs a keyboard-only control interface, though the Commodore 64 version also supports joystick input via Port 2.¹¹ The game presents the world from a top-down perspective, using graphic tiles similar to the Ultima series to represent terrain, buildings, and characters.⁵

The combat system has been described as particularly challenging to master. As one reviewer noted, “The combat system is horrendous, forcing you to use control-(direction) and then to decide where to strike.”¹² Combat offers high, mid, and low attack options, requiring players to choose their strike location strategically.¹¹ Another player observed that “Took awhile to figure out the attack commands, but now that I got it, man. Its great.”¹³

Structure and Progression

The game world consists of five large outdoor areas that can be teleported between via dimension doors.¹² This structure, while expansive, led some critics to note that “the game feels artificially constructed with teleports between worlds.”¹²

• Nisondel: One of the four main kingdoms of Deledain⁹
• Cestiona: Another of the realm’s major territories⁹
• Arveduin: Third major land to explore⁹
• Mystenor: The fourth kingdom, home to various challenges⁹
• Denethenor’s Domain: The final area containing the evil lord’s castle¹⁰

The game features over 300K of game maps, providing substantial exploration content for players.⁸ A day and night travel cycle affects gameplay, with a complete 12-hour cycle taking approximately 3,600 in-game actions.⁴

Puzzles and Mechanics

One of Wrath of Denethenor’s most distinctive features is its classless character system. Unlike most RPGs of the era, “You didn’t roll for attributes or choose a class, just name the character.”¹¹ Designer Christopher Crim explained his philosophy: “I wasn’t much interested in creating a stats-heavy RPG or rolling characters with predefined roles. It was my intention that your character started out generic and you played it as you wished.”⁵

Players commented positively on this approach: “Best part was you didn’t have to pick between fighter, magic user, thief, main character had components of all character classes.”¹⁴ Characters begin with standardized stats: Strength 5, Intelligence 5, Hit Points 1000, Stamina 600, and Gold 300.¹

The magic system includes ten different spells, each with unique visual effects.⁶ Some spells require components to cast, adding a resource management element to gameplay.¹¹ Players can interact with townsfolk for information, though attacking them triggers law enforcement responses.¹¹

Equipment progression includes eight weapon grades and four armor grades, allowing for character advancement through gear acquisition.¹ The game state is written to all four game disks, meaning NPC deaths are permanent and saved to the game world.⁴

Enemy Types:⁸

• Orcs: Savage but stupid creatures who attack any wandering adventurer
• Dragons: Multiple varieties exist, including winged dragons that can fly over mountains and multi-headed dungeon dwellers
• Crachen: Denethenor’s front-line soldiers, imp-like creatures that can blind players with their breath and fight to the death

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

InterAction Magazine awarded Wrath of Denethenor a perfect 10/10 score in April 1987, praising its accessibility for novice gamers.¹ The review highlighted it as one of the first fantasy RPGs that didn’t end with a sequel promise, offering a complete and self-contained experience.³

Scorpia, the influential RPG critic for Computer Gaming World, offered more measured praise, describing the game as “well-crafted” while noting that “it offers nothing fresh to the RPG genre.”¹ This assessment reflects the game’s competent execution of established Ultima-style mechanics without significant innovation.

A review in an unnamed magazine by Saul Cohen in November-December 1988 gave the game 2/5 stars, suggesting that critical reception varied significantly depending on the publication and reviewer expectations.¹¹

Modern Assessment

Chester Bolingbroke of the CRPG Addict blog revisited the game in March 2017, calling it “the most competent Ultima clone that we’ve seen, perhaps excepting, if we’re extending that term to it, Questron.”⁴ He rated it 31/100 on his comprehensive GIMLET scale, describing it as “Difficult and complicated, it at times exceeds Ultima I-II, although that might be faint praise for 1986.”⁴

GameFAQs contributor ASchultz provided a walkthrough in 2007, noting that “Wrath of Denethenor is a fun retro 1-player RPG despite its faults.”¹² Forum discussions on Lemon64 have been generally positive, with one user calling it “a real solid Ultima clone” and noting improvements over contemporary Ultima titles.¹³

Aggregate Scores:

• MobyGames Critics: 58%¹⁵
• Giant Bomb Users: 4.0 stars (based on 4 reviews)¹⁶
• MyAbandonware: 4.67/5¹⁴

Development

Origins

Christopher Crim developed Wrath of Denethenor during his final year of high school and first year of college, programming the entire game in 6502 assembly language using the Merlin compiler.⁵ The system required 64K of memory to run.⁵ Crim was directly inspired by Ultima II and III, wanting to create a game using a similar graphic tile style while adding “various complexities (and sheer size) to make what I thought would be a fun adventure.”⁵

In hindsight, Crim reflected that he “probably should’ve avoided many of the tropes that Richard Garriott used in Ultima so that Denethenor wouldn’t seem so similar.”⁵ This self-awareness about the game’s derivative nature demonstrates a thoughtful approach to game design, even if the final product remained firmly in Ultima’s shadow.

The designer’s philosophy emphasized accessibility: “I wasn’t much interested in creating a stats-heavy RPG or rolling characters with predefined roles.”⁵ This design choice distinguished the game from more complex RPGs of the era, making it particularly suitable for players new to the genre.

Production

Development began around 1984-1985 on the Apple II platform, with a Commodore 64 port following in 1986.⁵ The game was designed as a hack-and-slash adventure, focusing on exploration and combat rather than deep character customization.⁵

When selling the game to Sierra On-Line, Crim made two unusual requests: that the game be priced at half the typical rate (around $25insteadof$50), and that copy protection be removed.¹ His reasoning for the lower price reflected an understanding of market economics: “I honestly think Sierra will sell three times as many copies of my game at $25asopposedto$50.”³

Development Credits:⁹

• Designer/Programmer: Christopher Crim
• Graphics: Kevin Christiansen
• Documentation: Annette Gerth Childs

Technical Achievements

The game’s technical foundation was built using 6502 assembly language, with graphic routines constructed by Kevin Christiansen.¹ This low-level programming allowed for efficient use of the limited hardware resources available on the Apple II and Commodore 64 platforms.

Notable technical features included ten different magic spells, each with unique animated visual effects, and special visual traps throughout the game world.⁸ The dimension door system for inter-continental travel represented an ambitious approach to world connectivity for the era.⁶

One user praised the graphics extensively: “This game contained many improvements over the ultima games that came out at the same time.”¹¹ The game featured over 300K of map data spread across four game disks, making it one of the larger RPGs available for these platforms at the time.⁸

Technical Specifications

Apple II Version:⁸

• Memory Required: 48K minimum
• Media: 5 1/4” Floppy Disk (4 disks)
• File Size: 314 KB¹⁴
• Copy Protection: None (at designer’s request)¹

Commodore 64 Version:¹⁰

• Memory Required: 64K⁵
• Media: 5.25” Floppy Disk
• File Size: 149 KB¹⁴
• Control: Keyboard or Joystick (Port 2)¹¹
• Language: English¹¹

Technical Issues

The game had some notable technical problems, particularly on the Commodore 64 version. One forum user reported that the “Game could potentially crash near the final stronghold,” creating a frustrating experience for players close to completion.¹³ The original source code is no longer available, preventing potential bug fixes or fan improvements.¹³

The combat control scheme proved particularly challenging for many players to master, requiring the control key combined with directional inputs followed by target selection.¹²

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
1.0	1986	Apple II	Initial release6
1.0	1986	Commodore 64	C64 port6
-	January 1987	Both	Retail distribution15

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• The name “Denethenor” is a play on Denethor from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings⁴
• A mysterious message “UrenDuirEsex” appears in the game, purpose unknown⁴
• The game hints at a potential sequel after the credits, though none was ever produced³
• The game was one of the first fantasy RPGs to provide a complete, self-contained story without promising a sequel³

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

Sales figures for Wrath of Denethenor were modest, with estimates suggesting between 3,000-5,000 total copies sold across both the Apple II and Commodore 64 platforms.⁵ While not a commercial breakthrough, the game found an appreciative audience among RPG enthusiasts of the era.

The game’s low price point of $24.95 was unusual for the time, reflecting designer Christopher Crim’s belief that accessibility should take priority over maximizing per-unit profit.³ This pricing strategy may have limited the game’s revenue potential but aligned with Crim’s goal of reaching a broader audience.

Collections

Wrath of Denethenor was not included in any known compilation releases. The game exists primarily in its original retail form, now preserved through abandonware archives and emulation communities.¹⁴

Fan Projects

No significant fan remakes or modifications of Wrath of Denethenor are known to exist. The loss of the original source code has prevented potential fan improvements or ports to modern systems.¹³ The game is primarily preserved through disk images available on the Internet Archive and other retro gaming repositories.²

Related Publications

• Original Game Manual: Included with retail packaging, contains detailed background on Deledain and gameplay instructions⁹
• Documentation by: Annette Gerth Childs⁹

Critical Perspective

Wrath of Denethenor occupies an interesting position in the history of computer RPGs. While firmly derivative of the Ultima series, it represents a competent example of the “Ultima clone” subgenre that flourished in the mid-1980s.⁴ The game’s classless character system was actually progressive for its time, anticipating the more flexible character development systems that would become popular in later RPGs.⁵

The game also demonstrates Sierra On-Line’s willingness during this period to publish third-party developed titles beyond their signature adventure games. This openness allowed independent developers like Christopher Crim to reach audiences they might not otherwise have accessed.

From a modern perspective, the game serves as an important data point in understanding the evolution of computer RPGs during the 8-bit era. Its strengths—accessible design, substantial world size, and visual polish—reflect the priorities of developers attempting to make the RPG genre more welcoming to newcomers.³ Its weaknesses—derivative design, clunky combat controls—illustrate the challenges of innovating within an established formula.¹²

Downloads

Download / Preservation

• Internet Archive – Wrath of Denethenor Manual
• Internet Archive – C64 Disk Images
• MyAbandonware

Manuals & Extras

• Manual Text (DJVU)

Developer Resources

• Christopher Crim’s Official Page

Series Continuity

Wrath of Denethenor is a standalone title with no prequels or sequels. While the game’s ending hints at potential continuation, Christopher Crim never developed a follow-up.³ The game represents a self-contained adventure in the world of Deledain, offering complete closure to its narrative without requiring additional installments.

The game exists outside Sierra’s major franchise families (King’s Quest, Space Quest, etc.), representing the publisher’s occasional ventures into third-party RPG publication during the 1980s.

References

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia – Wrath of Denethenor – development history, reviews, technical specifications, credits ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Internet Archive – C64 Disk Images – game description, release information, setting details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Sierra InterAction Wiki – Review – pricing details, InterAction Magazine review, developer quotes ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. CRPG Addict – Game 246 – modern review, GIMLET rating, gameplay analysis, trivia ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

5. Crimdom.net – Developer Website – first-hand development account, design philosophy, sales estimates ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

6. Sierra Help Wiki – technical details, engine information, features ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

7. VideoGameGeek – game description, setting background ↩ ↩²

8. Eli Software Encyclopedia – package description, features, enemy types, technical specs ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

9. Internet Archive – Manual Text – storyline, credits, world details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

10. Crimdom.net – Walkthrough – protagonist quotes, gameplay details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

11. Lemon64 – Game Page – user comments, technical specs, ratings ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

12. GameFAQs – Walkthrough – gameplay analysis, criticism, combat details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

13. Lemon64 – Forum Discussion – user experiences, technical issues, source code status ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

14. MyAbandonware – user ratings, file sizes, platform details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

15. MobyGames – Wrath of Denethenor – critic ratings, release dates, credits ↩ ↩²

16. Giant Bomb – user ratings, game description ↩