I can't think of any other game so far with so much variety in the types of encounters that you face. In this game, they still have minds of their own-as the final battle with Tyranthraxus made all too clear. Might & Magic offered it, but once you hired them, they essentially became part of your party. The ability to take on NPCs in your party is a fun addition. NPCs like the dutiful clerk, the traitorous Cadorna, and the pious Dirten are memorable even if you don't get to talk much with them. Sometimes these are basic-"talk" or "attack"-and other times they are quite extensive-as when I had dinner with the Zhent commandant and had options to talk about politics, magic, the city, and so on. Although the game doesn't go so far as to offer "dialog options"-the only game to really offer that so far has been Starflight-it does offer various options at certain NPC encounters. And appearance can be an important step in role-playing, allowing you to create (literally) a white knight or an assassin dressed in black. In games that give you a standard icon, like Demon's Winter, I often forget who's who. I thought the character portrait choices looked silly, but I did appreciate the ability to customize the icons. To make up for the lack of character customization in the adaptation of the AD&D rules, the creators did allow some customization of appearance, which is rather rare even today. Perhaps the only exception is that if you have a thief, there's one section where some other thieves show you a shortcut. My biggest complaint is that the game doesn't use any of the races, sexes, classes, and alignments in a way that changes the game encounters. But overall leveling is well-paced (barring setbacks from level-drainers). The level caps on certain races are annoying and simply discourage use of those races, and the level caps on mages and clerics-which you reach well before the end of the game-are infuriating. You have your basic set of six attributes, and a standard selection of races and classes. The first edition AD&D rules didn't offer a lot of customization, and this game strips it down even more. I can hardly think of anything negative to say about this aspect, but I want to reserve 10s for games that offer a truly original experience and really pack it full of lore (e.g., Morrowind, Dragon Age). Game's attention to an evolving game world. One quibble: I never did get the guards next to the gates to the slums to stop looking at me suspiciously.įrom the beginning of the game and one from the end, epitomize the It's satisfying to reclaim the blocks of Phlan, one by one, and see signs that the entire city is improving from the effort. Heck, it's rare even now-most games deal with this issue by constantly propelling you forward and refusing to let you re-visit older areas, where they'd have to program new reactions from NPCs. This sort of dynamic game world is rare in the era. If you make friends with the nomads, they stop attacking you in the wilderness. Once you solve quests, you can't do them again. Break cover after sneaking, and the entire area is on alert for you-even after you leave and return. If you kill Yarash, the land around the Barren River stops being polluted (the game even changes the look of the map). Particularly notable is the way that the game responds to character actions. As the game moves forward, the player learns about the land and its lore through conversations with NPCs and entries in the Adventurer's Journal. At the outset, the player knows the important history around the Moonsea and the circumstances that have led to the party's immediate quest. Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Planescape, and other settings are more interesting (if more confusing sometimes!).Įven judging solely by what is presented in the game, however, the game world is evocative, thorough, and well-built. It's a sort-of generic high fantasy realm, large enough to include derivatives from almost every mythology. I grant you that it is not the most exciting of D&D campaign settings. It's tough to evaluate this, because Pool of Radiance is part of a larger Forgotten Realms campaign setting that has more history and lore than I will ever read in my lifetime. Incidentally, I'm drinking an actual gimlet right now-a tradition I will continue when writing "final rating" postings from now on.ġ. The variety of encounters is rivaled only by Might & Magic, and the tactical combat system is unparalleled. I knew it would be from the second or third day. You don't need to read to the end to get to the important news: Pool of Radiance is the best game I've played since starting this blog.
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