Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Dorateen]

Stinking Cloud!

Eh, that might be a possible tactical option, or it could be the response from some members of the party when faced with that encounter.

 

[octavius]

Stinking Cloud!

The very first thing that came to my mind as well.

 

[Luzur]

that and a follow up Fireball.

 

[Erebus]

Fuck bros, fuck fuck

If it's any comfort, I think that the second fight involving dragons in Champions is much tougher than this one. :D

Stinking Cloud might work. You could also charm some of the hobgoblins in the hope that the dragons will target them instead of your PCs.

that and a follow up Fireball.

There's no way his mages can cast Fireballs so early in the game.

 

[Wyrmlord]

OK guys, I have gotten really out of touch with tinkering settings and txt files to make old games work, and also don't have the same level of perseverance as I used to have.

At the risk of me being called a popamole moran, can anyone link me to an idiot proof .exe file that will install Buck Rogers and Matrix Cubed on a Windows XP, 7, or 8, while keeping it perfectly compatible? I have been thinking of giving them a shot again, but got frustrated with the game crashing on character creation.

I am sorry, but ever since I used a Windows XP compatible exe file for installing Return to Chaos, I have been spoiled.

 

[octavius]

IIRC you have one Wand at this stage; a Wand of Ice Storm. White Dragons take full damage from Ice Storm, and they only have 16 HP IIRC, so you have almost 50% chance of killing them outright with the Wand.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

There is no way a White Dragon is only going to have 16 hit points unless it's a baby or adolescent dragon. I thought mature white dragons had a hit dice of 6 or 7, which means on average they should have 30+ hit points.

Now, his character in the screen shot has only 16 hit points, which doesn't bode well for him.

 

[Cynic]

I beat them fairly easily. Yeah I used stinking cloud but it only got one of them. My max level at this point was 3, so no chance of Fireball. To be fair though, these were pretty weak dragons, they hit really hard but only had 14 HP each.

 

[Cynic]

One question I have about these games; I never played the Pools series as a kid, I'm wondering what makes them so much better than the Krynn series as ITT Pools of Radiance by far has the highest rating. What are the biggest differences?

 

[octavius]

One question I have about these games; I never played the Pools series as a kid, I'm wondering what makes them so much better than the Krynn series as ITT Pools of Radiance by far has the highest rating. What are the biggest differences?

Nostalgia. Pool of Radiance was the first. But to be fair it was also one of the best designed ones with some of TSR's "real" module designers working on it, and felt the most like table top AD&D. It also had the biggest fights in all the GB games, with the bar brawls and several armies of Orcs and Kobolds.

Overall I personally think the Krynn series is better than the Pools series. Demi-humans are not useless (in fact multi-classed elves are the most powerful characters) and there are more options, with more classes (Knights, White and Red Mages, and Clerics that worship named deities instead of the generic Cleric of the Forgotten Realms games), more races (the loveable Kender), more unique monsters (Draconians, Death Knights) and items (Dragonlances, Hoopaks). Having read and enjoyed the Dragonlance books also made the games even more enjoyable, IMO.

Champions of Krynn is the weakest of the Krynn games IMO, due to sub-par encounter design in some areas, and nothing whatsoever to dicover on the overland map. But Death Knights of Krynn (very open game with lots to explore) and Dark Queen (best encounter design of all the GB games IMO) are both brilliant.

Also, the Krynn games are more hard-core. Only way to bring back a dead elf is Power Word: Load. Same with characters who fail their saving throws against Disintegrate; in the Pools games only their items are gone, while in the Krynn games the character is Gone.

 

[Cynic]

Awesome bro.

Yes for me these are the games that have the most nostalgic feeling.

I read the books when I was a kid and while I don't remember much at all about them, the feeling is still there.

I'm not a huge FR fan, I find the world to be really over used now as well as being the setting for almost every D&D cRPG since this series.

I never got to play Dark Queen properly so I'm really looking forward to it now that you've said it was the best.

 

[Erebus]

There is no way a White Dragon is only going to have 16 hit points unless it's a baby or adolescent dragon. I thought mature white dragons had a hit dice of 6 or 7, which means on average they should have 30+ hit points.

Almost all the dragons in Champions are very young, as a low-level party wouldn't stand much of a chance against adult dragons. They can still be a serious threat, especially when initiative is in their favor.

I never got to play Dark Queen properly so I'm really looking forward to it now that you've said it was the best.

If you intend to keep the same party throughout the series, pay attention to the level caps. Non-humans are limited to level 10-12 in most classes, which would be very low for DQK.

 

[mondblut]

One question I have about these games; I never played the Pools series as a kid, I'm wondering what makes them so much better than the Krynn series as ITT Pools of Radiance by far has the highest rating. What are the biggest differences?

Dunno, I never got the POR fanboyism. It's the only GB game I never finished despite restarting many times across different platforms. It has shittiest graphics and some horrible interface issues the following games have mitigated (like having to reselect the spent spells all over again when you go memorizing, or casting your cures manually at camp without the fire-and-forget "fix" command of the later games). No paladins and rangers either, making the game fairly useless for party transfer. Design-wise, it's a fine game, but hardly superior to others. Nostalgia, I guess, and maybe also the "bawww, AD&D on levels 3+ is unrealishtick!11" butthurt. Me, I'll take POD or TSF over POR any day.

As for Krynn games, they suffer from some extreme railroading. Only DKK allows you to explore the world at your leisure, the others are essentially mission-based beneath the hood.

 

[Cynic]

If you intend to keep the same party throughout the series, pay attention to the level caps. Non-humans are limited to level 10-12 in most classes, which would be very low for DQK.

Serious? So what you have to have an all human party to be viable throughout the whole series? That's a bit shit.

 

[Erebus]

If you intend to keep the same party throughout the series, pay attention to the level caps. Non-humans are limited to level 10-12 in most classes, which would be very low for DQK.

Serious? So what you have to have an all human party to be viable throughout the whole series? That's a bit shit.

Replacing level caps with something more sensible was one of the things 3rd Edition did right.

Non-humans fortunately aren't limited in all classes. For instance, dwarves have no level caps as Fighters and kenders have no level caps as Thieves, but they are seriously limited as far as other classes are concerned (in some cases, they can't go beyond 8th level). Elves are usually a better choice, as they can reach any level in several classes (such as mages, clerics and rangers, if I remember correctly).

 

[octavius]

One reason I don't think PoR is the best GB game is that it gets too easy in the later stages. The Zhentil Outpost and the Buccaneers hardly pose any challenge, and the last areas of Phlan are not terribly exciting. If doing the missions in the order that you get them the Graveyard is the climax of the game.

 

[Cynic]

Replacing level caps with something more sensible was one of the things 3rd Edition did right.

Non-humans fortunately aren't limited in all classes. For instance, dwarves have no level caps as Fighters and kenders have no level caps as Thieves, but they are seriously limited as far as other classes are concerned (in some cases, they can't go beyond 8th level). Elves are usually a better choice, as they can reach any level in several classes (such as mages, clerics and rangers, if I remember correctly).

Hmm well I have two humans as a knight and a fighter, one Kender cleric, a half elf fighter Mage a half elf ranger cleric and a fully elven Mage. I guess they are screwed for DQoK?

 

[octavius]

Replacing level caps with something more sensible was one of the things 3rd Edition did right.

Non-humans fortunately aren't limited in all classes. For instance, dwarves have no level caps as Fighters and kenders have no level caps as Thieves, but they are seriously limited as far as other classes are concerned (in some cases, they can't go beyond 8th level). Elves are usually a better choice, as they can reach any level in several classes (such as mages, clerics and rangers, if I remember correctly).

Hmm well I have two humans as a knight and a fighter, one Kender cleric, a half elf fighter Mage a half elf ranger cleric and a fully elven Mage. I guess they are screwed for DQoK?

Basically, yes.

A Kender Cleric only advances to lvl 12. A Cleric/Thief is much better, so they can reach max level as Thief, and can be useful for backstabbing with their Hoopaks.

Unless your name is Tanis Half Elves are rather useless in Dragonlance. Their only advantage compared to pure bloods is that they can be resurrected. So a Human Mage would be safer choice than an Elf Mage.
A Half Elf Fighter/Mage can only reach lvl 9/10. A Qualinest Elf is the best choice since they can reach lvl 14/max.
A Half Elf Ranger/Cleric can only reach lvl 11/max. A Silvanesti Elf can reach max levels in both.

 

[Cynic]

Oh well I'll just create a new party for DQoK then no biggie.

 

[Erebus]

Hmm well I have two humans as a knight and a fighter, one Kender cleric, a half elf fighter Mage a half elf ranger cleric and a fully elven Mage. I guess they are screwed for DQoK?

Well, the elven Mage is fine. The kender Cleric will be limited to level 12, the half-elf Fighter/Mage to level 9/10 and the half-elf Ranger/Cleric will be limited to level 11 as a Ranger (but able to reach any level as a Cleric). It will make completing DQK rather difficult, though not impossible.

Mind you, you can probably just replace some of them with new characters when you start DQK.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Unless your name is Tanis Half Elves are rather useless in Dragonlance.

Tanis was pretty useless in Dragonlance... ask Kitiara. :D

 

[octavius]

So how would you guys rank the GB games compared to each other?
For me it would be something like this:

Dark Queen of Krynn
Pools of Darkness
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Death Knights of Krynn
Pool of Radiance
Treasures of the Savage Frontier
Champions of Krynn
Countdown to Doomsday
Secret of the Silver Blades
Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Matrix Cubed

 

[mondblut]

So how would you guys rank the GB games compared to each other?
For me it would be something like this:

Pools of Darkness
Treasures of the Savage Frontier
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Dark Queen of Krynn
Countdown to Doomsday / Matrix Cubed
Death Knights of Krynn
Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Pool of Radiance
Champions of Krynn
Secret of the Silver Blades

can't really distinguish between the two BR games, so tag them as one.

 

[Zetor]

Death Knights of Krynn
Countdown to Doomsday
Treasures of the Savage Frontier
...
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Pools of Darkness
Pool of Radiance
Secret of the Silver Blades
Champions of Krynn
Matrix Cubed
Gateway to the Savage Frontier
...
Dark Queen of Krynn

 

[deadalcoholnudes]

Are most of these games available for free? I ask because I've seen people mention they should be available for purchase on GOG.