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Pool of Radiance

Game Mechanics

The game system Pool of Radiance is based on the rules of the role game Dungeons and Dragons. As in this, the game starts with a stage of creation of the characters in which the player can choose the race, sex, class, characteristics, alignment and appearance of the characters. Six races 'human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfelin and half-elfe' and four classes 'warrior, priest, magician and thief' are thus available in the game. The non-human characters also have the possibility of being multi-class, allowing them to have the capacities of several classes at the same time. When creating a character, its features are randomly generated by the computer but the player can adjust them if he wishes. The player also chooses the alignment of his characters, that is, his moral philosophy, which influences the reactions of non-player characters to the group. The player can finally customize the appearance and color of icons that represent each character. Alternatively, the player can use a predefined group, intended for beginners. The group can accommodate up to six characters, two remaining places available for possible non-player characters.

By making progress in the game, the characters controlled by the player gain experience that allows them to become more powerful. The amount of experience they have determines the level of the character, each passing at a higher level giving access to training that allows to become more powerful. This training is done in a specific area of the city of Phlan. In addition, magicians can learn spells by transcribing them from parchments found exploring the region. To strengthen his characters, the player can equip them with weapons and armor that are on enemies who died in combat or buy them at one of Phlan's merchants.

During the exploration phases, the environment is displayed in three dimensions with a rectangle at the top left of the screen that shows what the group sees, the rest of the screen being occupied by textual information about the group and the area being explored. The player can access menus to give orders to his characters: use, exchange, buy or sell an object, parliament with an enemy, and learn or launch a spell. It can observe the movements of the characters from different angles, including an aerial view. The game uses three versions of each sprite to indicate the distance difference that separates the group from the next encounters.

In the civilized districts of Phlan, the characters controlled by the player can go to several shops including a jewelery, a salesman of sacred objects and a coat of arms in which they can buy weapons and armour. The city also houses three temples, each dedicated to a divinity. These temples help to treat injured, poisoned or sick adventurers and the player can raise a dead character in combat. By walking around the city, the player-controlled group can also deal with the board officer, for which he may be required to perform missions. He can recruit experienced adventurers to accompany his group. By listening to the declared proclamations in the city hotel and discussing with the non-player characters encountered in the city, the player can collect information that can prove useful. Some stories told in Phlan's taverns may nevertheless be wrong and lead the group to a great danger.

During the combat phases, the game is displayed in view of top in a dimetric perspective. The player can then decide which actions will realize his characters in each turn, these actions taking effect immediately and not at the end of the turn as it is often the case in other role games. Optionally, the player can let the computer decide the movements of the characters in each turn. If the points of life of a character descend below zero, it must be treated by another character under penalty of dying. The group is likely to meet enemies randomly; according to the magazine Dragon, these meetings follow the same pattern as « meeting tables » in Dungeons and Dragons. Options are available depending on the character class. Thus, a warrior can arm himself with a weapon of mingled or fired remotely, the magicians can cast spells and thieves can attack an enemy behind. When they gain levels, warriors become able to attack more than once per turn and « sweeping » the close enemies, thus injuring several creatures of one stroke. Magicians can memorize and launch a number of spells every day. Once launched, a spell must be memorized again before being reused. This requires an hour of rest for the whole group, when they stay at their camp. This rest also helps to treat injured characters.