Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures (FRUA) thread

[Fluent]

I didn't really understand what you wrote, but there's this rule here that Dark Sun is considered so good you can post about it anywhere, anytime!

I remember we had a dedicated DS thread but I don't think anyone cares. Do post your stuff anywhere and someone will shortly be there to complain that your main character wasn't a Three-kreen or whatever it was called so you missed some content (which is true, as I'm sure you know ;-))

Sounds good! If I get the urge to update my early Dark Sun LP I'll post here.

Ok, quick update on ToEE FRUA. Neutralize Poison is cast by Jaroo, sweet! However, it does not bring back the poisoned dead, unfortunately. I had Wonnilon open the chest and be the test subject. Didn't work so I re-loaded my save and...an enemy you don't want to fight at level 5? WILL-O-WISPS! Had a little bit of a chance but eh, gotta get better weapons methinks. Still having a blast per usual. But yeah, no way to really deal with poison needles until I hopefully get a random drop of a Staff of Resurrection very deep in the temple. Then perhaps I can backtrack and open the poison needle chests. Thanks for reading! <3

Dorateen slowdive

 

[Fluent]

As for DARK SUN...

Well, it's been a GREAT first impression. Love that all characters have access to psionics, that's a game-changer, folks! Don't sleep on that small but significant addition. Next, you'll really want to read the manual first, that's a must. Read the parts u need to know about how it's a hacked-type version of 2nd ed. Very cool tweaks have been made here.

Anyway, my Hafling Male Thief, Khammar, is now Champion of the Slave Pens! He got a killing blow (a sweet backstab ) on a certain former, now deceased champion. I don't want to give too much away here, so sorry for slight spoilers and what not. Next, they threw some REALLY BAD GUYS at me and I decided to NOT fight in the slave pens anymore and make my escape. Currently exploring the pens a bit, seeing what loot i can gaffle when nobody is looking.

But yeah, just been an absolute blast so far, right up there with FRUA in terms of pure CRPG entertainment. Love the psionics, adore the combat, blown away by the lore and world and charm of the whole thing. A+. Hope if you're reading this u are checking out either of these two amazing gems! Cannot go wrong here, no sir.

 

[Elwro]

The first game gets even better. It's really an amazing achievement.

Do go out of your way to explore. There are some nifty things hidden even before the game opens up.

 

[Fluent]

The first game gets even better. It's really an amazing achievement.

Do go out of your way to explore. There are some nifty things hidden even before the game opens up.

Awesome! Can't wait to play more really.

I'm definitely going out of my way to explore. I'm not sure if I''ve found anything hidden so far but I'm enjoying the exploration.

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys. Can someone point me to a character editing app so I can edit the attribute scores of a party member? Also, that won't mess anything up with my game, right? Thanks!

 

[eXalted]

Hey guys. Can someone point me to a character editing app so I can edit the attribute scores of a party member? Also, that won't mess anything up with my game, right? Thanks!

Gold Box Companion of course.

 

[Fluent]

Thanks eXalted ! I actually used a CHAREDIT.EXE thing, heh. Worked though, so I'm gravy. Thanks! <3

 

[dacencora]

Just wanted to make people aware that there is an awesome module for FRUA called TMNT1. If you liked TMNT as a kid at all, it's pretty freaking cool. Maybe I should do a LP

 

[Fluent]

Still having a blast in both FRUA & Dark Sun.

Dark Sun, it's a special game. The way they give u so many options in combat, it truly stands out as a remarkable combat system. It may not be fully balanced (lol), but it's certainly great FUN!

ToEE (FRUA), what can I say? It's the best dungeon I've ever explored in 30 years of RPG gaming. It's *that* good. There should be a monument built for Ray, lol. Absolutely amazing stuff here. I'm deep in the temple on sort of the mess hall level. Surprises around every corner, in every room, and it's all held together by the awesome FRUA/Gold Box ruleset and systems implementation. Very special stuff here.

I also do LPs for both of these on YouTube if anyone cares. See u guys around! <3

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Hey, Flu! Do you ever need to use mapping software or something for any of the FRUA modules you play? I have all of Ray's modules in my archive but I heard he absolutely doesn't believe in automapping. That's one thing I just can't go back to in grid-based RPGs or blobbers anymore - using external means (ie graph paper) to map a dungeon. I enjoyed Krome's remasters of Bard's Tale 1-3 very much but it had the nice automapping features for a pleasant QoL experience.

 

[Fluent]

Hey, Flu! Do you ever need to use mapping software or something for any of the FRUA modules you play? I have all of Ray's modules in my archive but I heard he absolutely doesn't believe in automapping. That's one thing I just can't go back to in grid-based RPGs or blobbers anymore - using external means (ie graph paper) to map a dungeon. I enjoyed Krome's remasters of Bard's Tale 1-3 very much but it had the nice automapping features for a pleasant QoL experience.

Hey Jack. Yes, I do map some areas by hand on loose left paper (don't have graph paper at the moment), and it works well for me. I enjoy it! That said, the Temple of Elemental Evil is so huge, but after awhile your brain starts to grasp it by memory. So, on the 2nd level of the Temple I gave up mapping for the moment, and have just been using memory. That said, I may need to go back to mapping if the areas get as large as the first level, but we'll see. My scrawled, scratchy maps helped on the first level, so if I need to go that route again I can.

But yeah, mapping is a thing in at least the huge dungeons of Ray's designs. But your mileage may vary. Honestly, u should give it a shot on paper with a pencil. It's not that bad, honest! It's kind of an enjoyable process, although it seems it could be more tedious on graph paper (counting each square, etc.), but graph paper would be more accurate, so it's your choice.

Hope that doesn't stop u from enjoying Ray's *outstanding* work! If u have any other questions feel free to ask. Take care, buddy! <3

 

[Fowyr]

As for DARK SUN...

When you will encounter a special shadows, and you don't have both special thingies, don't give only one of them. Trust me, I stuck in the one of my many Dark Sun's playthroughs because of this.

 

[ProphetSword]

Hey, Flu! Do you ever need to use mapping software or something for any of the FRUA modules you play? I have all of Ray's modules in my archive but I heard he absolutely doesn't believe in automapping. That's one thing I just can't go back to in grid-based RPGs or blobbers anymore - using external means (ie graph paper) to map a dungeon. I enjoyed Krome's remasters of Bard's Tale 1-3 very much but it had the nice automapping features for a pleasant QoL experience.

I mean, all you have to do is use Gold-Box Companion or use the Area View in FRUA (there are special tools to turn on Area View in dungeons where designers have turned it off...or you can even do it manually by saving the game, entering edit mode, going into the dungeon and turning it on). It's not an insurmountable obstacle, by any means.

EDIT: I suppose someone will point out eventually that some modules are password protected. But, the passwords in FRUA are so criminally easy to break, I figured out how to do it on my own two days after I bought the game back in 1993. Even that can easily be overcome. And, wouldn't you know, there are tools for that too.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Hey, Flu! Do you ever need to use mapping software or something for any of the FRUA modules you play? I have all of Ray's modules in my archive but I heard he absolutely doesn't believe in automapping. That's one thing I just can't go back to in grid-based RPGs or blobbers anymore - using external means (ie graph paper) to map a dungeon. I enjoyed Krome's remasters of Bard's Tale 1-3 very much but it had the nice automapping features for a pleasant QoL experience.

I mean, all you have to do is use Gold-Box Companion or use the Area View in FRUA (there are special tools to turn on Area View in dungeons where designers have turned it off...or you can even do it manually by saving the game, entering edit mode, going into the dungeon and turning it on). It's not an insurmountable obstacle, by any means.

EDIT: I suppose someone will point out eventually that some modules are password protected. But, the passwords in FRUA are so criminally easy to break, I figured out how to do it on my own two days after I bought the game back in 1993. Even that can easily be overcome. And, wouldn't you know, there are tools for that too.

I think Fluent was on to something when he said that typically you don't even need it. My personal experience with the main non-FRUA Gold Box games (I only played three or four of them) on my Commodore 64 when they first came out was that I rarely if ever used the area map thingy, but it could have been that I just didn't like it; it seemed like this tiny, detail-less thing in the corner of my screen, easily ignored and not very useful. At the same time I played PoR in 1990, I played Dragon Wars (also on the C64... my favorite port, even over the Amiga one) which had a huge full screen automap that I loved. But I suppose some FRUA dungeon designs might be too convoluted to memorize or figure out so mapping might be necessary. But the tips you gave were useful.

 

[Fluent]

I think Fluent was on to something when he said that typically you don't even need it. My personal experience with the main non-FRUA Gold Box games (I only played three or four of them) on my Commodore 64 when they first came out was that I rarely if ever used the area map thingy, but it could have been that I just didn't like it; it seemed like this tiny, detail-less thing in the corner of my screen, easily ignored and not very useful. At the same time I played PoR in 1990, I played Dragon Wars (also on the C64... my favorite port, even over the Amiga one) which had a huge full screen automap that I loved. But I suppose some FRUA dungeon designs might be too convoluted to memorize or figure out so mapping might be necessary. But the tips you gave were useful.

I'm currently on the 2nd floor and I don't really need to map. That said, the 1st floor is a bit of a beast, but once I ditched the map approach and just ran through it looking for new encounters I may have missed, I realized it wasn't as large as I originally thought it was. Still big, though, but manageable. As Prophet said, just use other means to automap it, you'll love it! Hope you enjoy if you do play. Cheers!

 

[Fluent]

Welp, I don't want to ruin it for any potential viewers of the series on my YouTube channel, but I am actually quite close to finishing The Temple Of Elemental Evil in FRUA! This marks the farthest I've ever gotten in said module, in any form, and will also be the first time I've ever completed it. The journey was amazing, looking forward to what happens next and possibly ahead to War Rafts Of Kron (or some other adventure). It's been one heck of a ride that constitutes one of my favorite dungeons/settings I've ever explored in the 30 year history of me playing RPGs! Heh. The Temple itself was/is glorious to explore and delve thru. Truly had a blast.

So if anyone wants any guidance in starting The Realm to experience all these amazing designs for yourself, just let me know! I probably cannot help that great with setting up FRUA, but I can point u to the right places to grab the designs and choose your path/route in the epic The Realm campaign.

Thanks for listening to me ramble over some time here about these designs. They've been so fun to play and also share, here and on YouTube and the like. Hope u guys are enjoying some good FRUA or something similar, too! Cheers! <3

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

370 Unlimited Adventures images created with EGA graphics:

 

[Dorateen]

370 Unlimited Adventures images created with EGA graphics:

Spoiler

These are fantastic, and would make a great addition to the FRUA archive site for art assets.

 

[Fluent]

hey guys! Can i get a quick answer to this - I slew Dagolar in his dungeon in the sewers - do I need to report back to the skulls/chief? Sligs are spawning relentlessly and it's very slow to fight them as they appear on the other side of the sewer and such. Do I have to go back and report to the skulls though, about Dagloar? Thanks!! <3

 

[Fluent]

so my FRUA is officially on ice for now. Did everything up to a big battle and will tackle that at a later time. Focused on Dark Sun now and soon Grimoire. Dark Sun is going great, it really seemed to expand a bit since I've escaped the sewers. Looking forward to collecting more of that sweet magical loot!

 

[Dorateen]

I wanted to upload some new content to the channel I have showcasing various versions of Hearkenwold, so I just posted a glimpse at the design in FRUA.



Earlier this year, I put together a video of the same encounter in the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. It is interesting to see how the two scenarios play out. While of course there is more going on in KotC2, combat in the Gold Box engine could still be deadly. Again, initiative is vital and an enemy acting before the party can spell a messy end. To further complicate things, this battle includes a mummy so the start always requires the party to make their saves against fear. If the rolls go badly, it is pretty much game over. Then there are still a couple of level draining undead to deal with. In this FRUA version, the wraiths have the ability to cast an aoe spell, so it is important to neutralize them because multiple castings would be enough to kill party members.

 

[Fluent]

Nice, Dorateen !

I've reached what appears to be my home base in Dark Sun. Sweet stuff! I got some treasures from the peeps there and hopefully can use their merchants now. I'm pretty excited to hit all the merchants in the village and see what's what. Then I guess I'm headed west to another settlement, or doing more work for the merchant where the sage was on the previous map. What a game. Really treasuring my time with this gem, heh. Thanks for reading! <3

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys! Quick question about Dark Sun.

My Preserver/Psionicist has leveled up to about level 8 or so now, and now when she attacks with her bow, using regular arrows mind you, she also shoots out a magical attack as well. When hasted she will fire the magic attack multiple times in a turn! I'm trying to figure out what's going on here. It's not a spell that I'm aware of, I didn't cast anything, and they are regular wooden arrows. Yet every attack she gets also included a magical missile of some sort (that isn't magic missile, hah). Any ideas here?

 

[Dorateen]

when she attacks with her bow, using regular arrows mind you, she also shoots out a magical attack as well.

Phrain's Bow
+1 wooden bow, Acid Arrow on hit
Gift in your house in Teaquetzl after the first village joins the alliance.

Is it possible she has this magic bow equipped?

 

[Fluent]

Phrain's Bow
+1 wooden bow, Acid Arrow on hit
Gift in your house in Teaquetzl after the first village joins the alliance.

Is it possible she has this magic bow equipped?

Ah, of course, that's it. Forgot I equipped that, heh. Very nice bow, really useful. I forgot about the Acid Arrow on hit! Thanks, Dorateen.