Beginning in 1988, SSI released the first of four AD&D games lovingly known as The Pools Saga. Together, they formed one long, directly connected adventure, with characters transferable from one game to the next.
I’ve only ever played the first game in the series, Pool of Radiance, back when I was a kid on our family’s Amiga 500. Sadly, I’ve never beaten it.
And so, this shall be my quest—and the FIRST entry in The Floppy Files: to beat all four games with the same party of adventurers, beginning with Pool of Radiance.
It is an epic fuckin’ quest, to be sure, and I’m bringing you all along for the ride.
I’ll be documenting the adventure primarily in third person, telling the story of these four characters as it unfolds, while occasionally stepping in as the player to explain my decisions, react to the game’s bullshit, and—when necessary—let the dice decide their fate.
I’ll include screenshots, keep you looped in on each character’s progress, and do my best to cut down on the boring bits.
Before we get started, I’m giving myself a few simple rules.
I get what I’m given. There will be no endless rerolling in search of perfect stats, and I have to carry the same four adventurers through all four games.
The game allows you to create up to six characters while leaving room for two NPCs you can recruit along the way. I’ve decided, however, that it might be much more fun to tackle the entire saga using only the four classic classes: a fighter, a cleric, a magic-user, and a thief.
If a character dies, they die. If treasure is lost, it’s lost. In-game resurrection is allowed, but reloading to undo death isn't.
I can save whenever I want, but there’s no going back for better treasure or to prevent a character death. The only exception will be a total party wipe. Then, and only then, can I load a previous save.
I can only use the supplemental materials provided with the game—namely, the manual and the Adventurer’s Journal.
No walkthroughs and no Google!
I am aware that various “upgrades” have been tacked onto the game over the years to make life easier, including an automapper.
Fuck that.
I have actual physical grid paper, and I’ve been itching to use it!
And that’s it. Simple.
A running record of every total party wipe!
All four games are available together in Forgotten Realms: The Archives - Collection Two:
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.