![]() The freedom, detail, and creativity put into this part of the engine is part of what made the Gold Box games what they are. Your chosen-designed characters could flank, setup a defensive line behind a choke-point, and generally do whatever you'd want your characters to do in a paper and pencil game. ![]() Instead of the standard text messages sweeping by as character abstractly move and attack, you are presented with a full tactical engine which included missile weapons, magic, facing, and morale. The combat mode was very innovative for its time. The fact that you only switched out of this particular setup for combat kept the pace smooth and even. The design of the walls and other physical structure in the first person view are often well done, despite the necessary 'flat' appearance of the time and this window would switch to show you the creatures you encounter/people you are talking with. Similar to games like Might and Magic and Bard's Tale, you have a small first-person view in the upper left corner of the screen, a party status along the bottom, and a menu/descriptive box on the right. The game engine established in this game was done so well that it survived years with only minor tweaking. These levels of personalization not only made it easier to pick what character was which in combat, but made the characters much more personal and the player's 'property' than simply pixels on the screen. As a finishing touch, you could even design how your character looks in combat by playing with various color settings and body/weapon types. While this can be used for its intended purpose (or to cheat and make every stat an 18), it also allowed one to create a character exactly like you wish, saving the time re-rolling one's character over and over. Because SSI wanted people to be able to import their paper and pencil characters, there are options to modify a recently created character, altering the stats. Pool of Radiance allowed players to create most of the basic AD&D race/class combinations, which, once you start talking split classes for demi-humans, does add to a considerable amount of variety in the party. It was close enough to the rules system to be familar to those who played the AD&D paper and pencil role-playing games and did most of the number crunching behind the scenes, like any good conversion should. Pool of Radiance was the first game in the long-running 'gold box' series by SSI, the first successful attempt to truly bring the rules and worlds of AD&D to the PC. Gameplay feature: Character development - Automatic leveling.Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting: Forgotten Realms.Dungeons & Dragons (D&D / AD&D) licensees.A randomly generated dungeon feature was also removed. Battles were significantly reduced in size, the graphics were overhauled and redesigned so that the game could be controlled with a control pad, and music was written for it. It removed references to the Adventure's Journal and some of the more complex features of the computer versions, like different currency units. The NES version was substantially different from other versions. Non-human characters can also "multi-class" (learn the abilities of another class) when leveling up. Fighters gain more attacks, thieves become proficient in backstabbing, while clerics and wizards can memorize more spells to cast before they need to rest. Experience points are awarded for defeating enemies, and characters level up after having accumulated set amounts. Enemy encounters are random and take place on separate isometric combat screens, where player-controlled party and enemies take turns fighting each other. The player can tweak the attributes of the characters and assign a moral alignment to each one.Įxploration of the town and hostile areas (dungeons) is viewed from a first-person perspective in a pseudo-3D world. Six races (human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, and half-elf) and four classes (fighter, cleric, wizard, and thief) are available. In the beginning of the game the player can use a pre-made party of six characters or create each of them from scratch. Pool of Radiance is the first adaptation of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing system in a computer game format. A party of adventurers, attracted by these news, sails towards Phlan and accepts the quest. In order to clean the nearby Barren River and rebuild Phlan, local authorities spread rumors about alleged riches hidden somewhere in the city. ![]() Only New Phlan remained under human control, but its inhabitants are afraid to venture into the monster-infested areas. However, lately monsters began settling in it, gradually turning whole districts into ruins. Located on the northern shore of the Moonsea in Forgotten Realms, Phlan was once a flourishing trade city.
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