Hail Adventurers! 😊
DM Wyvern here. I would like to invite you as I descend into the
Pool of Radiance and attempt to liberate the ruined city of Phlan.
About the Game:
Pool of Radiance is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms campaign settings of Dungeons & Dragons; it was the first Dungeons & Dragons video game series to be based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The series reached combined global sales above 800,000 units by 1996. And the turn-based combat is still addictively simple fun.
I discovered this game when I was a kid and still have vivid memories of playing through Champions, Death Knights, and the beginning of Dark Queen of Krynn. I have dipped into this series a few times in the past off-screen and always found the gameplay a good time. I am excited to begin this LP and add my own experience with this amazing series to the great LPs that are already out there.
And if you're looking to find out more about the Gold Box series and SSI in general, you couldn't go wrong spending an evening reading through The Digital Antiquarian write up on Pool of Radiance and the storied history of SSI with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer game license. Check it out here:
Opening the Gold Box, Part 4: Pool of RadianceThe Essentials:
Pool of Radiance A Forgotten Realms Fantasy Role-Playing Epic, Vol. 1
https://www.gog.com/game/forgotten_re...
Get the Gold Box Companion here:
https://gbc.zorbus.net/How the LP Works:
I plan to accompany every LP episode post with A) an out of character Field Report about my experience,
an in-character journal from Bargle the Black, one of the magic users in the party and C) and three screenshots previewing the action ahead.
The Rules of the Let's Play:
No modifying starting attributes and HP (this is retroactive)
No re-rolling HP (this is retroactive)
No-reloading unless I encounter a full party wipe or game-breaking bug
Table of Contents:
Episode 1: The Wyverns of Waterdeep arrive in Phlan |
YouTube |
Bargle's Journal, Entry 1
Episode 2: Slumming it in Phlan |
YouTube |
Bargle's Journey, Entry 2
Episode 3: LOL OHLO |
YouTube |
Bargle's Journal, Entry 3The Story Backdrop:
Once the jewel of the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms, the city of Phlan has been destroyed and since overrun by forces of evil. After a flight of dragons ravaged the city and weakened the hold of the monstrous warlords that control much of the city, now a bastion of civilization is looking to reclaim the city with the aid of mercenaries and adventurers. The following pamphlet has been distributed far and wide throughout the realms to attract the sellswords and magic users that can turn back the tide for the good people of Phlan:
The Wyverns of Waterdeep have answered the call. And one of the magic-users,
Bargle, has begun a journal about the looming campaign in Phlan...
THE WYVERNS OF WATERDEEP:Ali Al-Qadim - Chaotic Neutral Dwarf Fighter / Thief
Warduke - Chaotic Evil Dwarf Fighter / Thief
Aleena - Lawful Good Human Cleric
Venger - Chaotic Evil Human Cleric
Bargel - Human Wizard
Khalida - Chaotic Good Human Wizard
Field Report Episode 1:
The game deposited my party on the docks of Phlan without so much as a dagger between them all. The first stop was the weapons and armor shop. Fortunately, the Pool of Radiance is very generous with starting money so I quickly snapped up Banded Mail for all my frontline warriors and class appropriate weapons for everyone. Kitted out, I took a quick rest in a nearby inn and memorized my cleric and magic user spells and then made my way to the City Hall. Here, I was able to read a number of proclamations and get my first quest from the city clerk to clear the slums to the west of the Civilized District. And so, I entered the slums with my newbie adventuring party...
CHECK OUT EPISODE 1 HERE:
GrimjackMV
Member Posts: 114
Comments
In EPISODE 2 the Wyverns of Waterdeep strikeout to finally rid the slums of the monsters that have overrun it...
Field Report Episode 2:
Clearing out the slums street by street, I mostly encountered roving bands of Kobolds, Goblins and Orcs - nothing too hard for my beginning party to handle. I ran into my first difficult fight in Room 10 - filled with Monster Guards, my Sleep spells eventually wore off and I lost both Fighter / Thieves in subsequent rounds. I did not max out HP and this has left my party extremely fragile. I was worried that my two clerics would soon be wiped too leading to a reload...
Meeting a Seer
Slaughter in the Slums:
Party meets Ogre, Ogre, pwns party.
CHECK IT OUT HERE:
In EPISODE 3 the Wyverns of Waterdeep run an errand for a strange mage and get more than they bargained for...
Field Report Episode 3:
I thought I had just about cleared the slums after defeating the monster leaders. Turns out there is more work to do! I think in this episode I take down every set encounter and except for the ogres and trolls in the Rope Guild maze but I am reluctant to try and take that encounter on until my mages have Stinking Cloud. Also, the Gold Box games do not play around, When I ran the fetch quest for OHLO I tried to ask for more coin, little did I know that it would trigger an impossible encounter for a level 1ish party. Yikes! I make it to the edge of Kuto's Well at the end of the episode and am hoping to pick a level up here and then backtrack to finally clear the slums once and for all.
Meeting OHLO
Trying to bargain with OHLO
OHLO going LOL and ROFLSTOMPING my party into the ground...
Venturing into Kuto's Well and encountering Lizardmen for the first time
Tough little newts, these Lizardmen
CHECK IT OUT HERE:
Hey! Thanks for that advice! I think you need to clear the Ogres and Trolls in the maze too, in order to clear the Slums. It's been awhile but I am getting back to this LP soon, keep the advice coming!
Very cool! I will have to keep in mind your advice on the Kobold Cave! I have read that there are multi fight encounters to look forward to in Pools of Radiance! Good luck at the Pyramid!
Are you using Gold Box Companion, by the way?
https://gbc.zorbus.net/
I'm not using the Gold Box Companion, though I have tried it. I prefer the raw experience of the original games, with all of their clunky limitations, but that's just a matter of personal taste.
Sleep, Stinking Cloud and Fireball are the Holy Trinity of the Gold Box games, for sure! Thanks for great tip!
And lastly, I salute you sir for taking on these games without the use of the Gold Box Companion! You are one OG RPG'er!