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This was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D or D&D) fantasy role-playing game for home computers. It is the first in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games. The other games in the "Gold Box" series used the game engine pioneered in Pool of Radiance, as did later D&D titles such as the Neverwinter Nights online game. Pool of Radiance takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting, with the action centered in and around the city of Phlan. Just as in traditional D&D games, the player starts by building a party of up to six characters, deciding race, sex, class and ability scores for each. The player's party is enlisted to help the settled part of the city by clearing out the marauding inhabitants which have taken over the surroundings. The characters move on from one area to another, battling bands of enemies as they go and ultimately confronting the powerful leader of the evil forces. During play the player characters gain experience points, which allow them to increase their capabilities. The game primarily uses a first-person perspective, with the screen divided into sections to display pertinent textual information. During combat sequences, display switches to a top-down perspective. You have the ability to export player characters from Pool of Radiance to subsequent SSI games in the series. |
