Tips for a neophyte who wants to play Pool of Radiance

[Denim Destroyer]

* This game doesn't require Gold-Box Companion (none of the Gold-Box games do). People will tell you it is "essential," but people are dumbfucks.

Call me ADHD but I use Goldbox Companion since it offers the ability to play music while in-game.

 

[Siveon]

Does the music sync with what's going on? That'd be pretty cool. If not you could just play some music in the background.

I don't see any problem with preferring to use some add-on.

 

[Denim Destroyer]

Goldbox Companion is designed to switch between tracks in combat and exploration but what song gets played seems to be random. It is incredibly easy to add new songs so visiting tabletopaudio.com can provide plenty of new music.

 

[Cunt Dickula!?]

Admit it! You didnt play past the slums. HAHAHA! Silent thread! HA!
Game is too shitty and you quit, OP! LOL!

 

[Null Null]

There have been a lot of complaints about it. The interface is cumbersome (POR is really not made for four buttons) and the graphics lack the pixelated charm of the original according to many.

 

[ProphetSword]

Does anybody know if NES port of AD&D PoR is any good?

I hated it. The interface is clunky. The graphics lack color and charm. The text has been simplified due to the limitation of the system (and I don't think it uses journal entries). I've played just about every version of the game that exists, and this is always the one I recommend people avoid like the plague if you've never played a Gold-Box game (talk about a way to drive someone away from the series). If you have played the Gold-Box games, you might find it interesting, but it's such an inferior version that it probably won't scratch the same itch as the other versions.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I think I listed just about all tge different POOLS in another thread. A true champion finishes them all.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Goldbox Companion is designed to switch between tracks in combat and exploration but what song gets played seems to be random. It is incredibly easy to add new songs so visiting tabletopaudio.com can provide plenty of new music.

I'm curious about the music on GBC. So any video examples?

 

[ShaggyMoose]

As someone who has beaten the game multiple times, here's what I recommend:

* Be careful if you use the "Modify" button. Making your party too powerful will make the encounters much more difficult. Fight the urge to max out your stats.

Really? I am pretty sure I modified to 18/00 on strength a few times when rolling characters (because I could), didn't realise I was shooting myself in the foot...

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Psh... either way. Uber challenge is modifying them to be uber wimps with 1 hp and crappiest stats possible.

 

[ShaggyMoose]

Maybe put on a blindfold and cut your hands off as well?

 

[mondblut]

Fight the urge to max out your stats.

What?

 

[ProphetSword]

Fight the urge to max out your stats.

What?

If you max out your stats, the game will compensate by making the encounters harder. Instead of 15 orcs, you could face 30. Since the majority of low level XP comes from completing quests, this isn’t worth it.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Or 55 or 70 or 99. Lol, so many of those battles and your wizards will soon pump their loads in a fiery bukake and be empty.

 

[ProphetSword]

Or 55 or 70 or 99. Lol, so many of those battles and your wizards will soon pump their loads in a fiery bukake and be empty.

Pretty sure the encounters are capped at 50 enemies. At least, they are in FRUA, which is even more advanced than the engine in POR. I’m sure it was due to memory restrictions.

Still, fighting 50 enemies instead of 15 because you maxed all your stats is only going to make things harder for a neophyte.

 

[mondblut]

If you max out your stats, the game will compensate by making the encounters harder. Instead of 15 orcs, you could face 30.

I call it win-win.

Plus, as a bonus you can mock challengecucks because by not maxing their stats they end up playing on game journo difficulty.

 

[KafkaBot]

Admit it! You didnt play past the slums. HAHAHA! Silent thread! HA!
Game is too shitty and you quit, OP! LOL!

If I recall correctly, I made it to Mendor's Library. I sadly had to interrupt my playthrough to deal with some professional obligations (I've been silent on the Codex as a whole), but I intend to get back to the game soon. This is a game that, in my view, requires longer sittings to be properly enjoyed, but I've had precious few opportunities to just sit down and play a game for several hours on end (doesn't help that I also have other hobbies and a girlfriend); as a result, my gaming time has been mostly consumed by RPGs and visual novels I can enjoy in shorter bursts. The game is quite fun, though: significantly different from what I'm used to, but the experience is refreshing. If everything goes well, I intend to finish this and try out some other Gold Box titles afterwards, since I bought the whole package on GOG when I got this.

EDIT: Just checked my game, it was the Library, not the well.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Welp, gonna necro this since I cant find a better thread. (Is there even an official PoR thread?)

Just started playing after finally figuring out that I had to push the keys that correspond with each first letter in each option during character customization, for the life of me I was unable to put two and two together until last night. So far I've cleared the entirety of the slums sans a single troll encounter with absurd difficulty, really enjoying it now that I've percolated my way through the byzantine UI which did its best to filter me.

Three questions though:

How the hell can you tell which items are identifiable before looting them? I've realized that I left behind several items already that had no indication whatsoever that they were unique. Missing out on a Flail+1 is big-sad for my cleric.
How do I know what spell is on a scroll? I took them to be identified and the guy took my money but literally told me nothing, they're just labeled "Magic user scroll with one spell" or "Clerical Scroll with two spells".
Lastly, is there any way to slow down the flavor text that pops up when entering certain areas? It's going so fast I can't even read it. I tried to lower the clock speed to 1000 cycles or whatever, but it didn't seem to make any real difference and resets itself whenever I reload the game.

 

[CryptRat]

How the hell can you tell which items are identifiable before looting them? I've realized that I left behind several items already that had no indication whatsoever that they were unique. Missing out on a Flail+1 is big-sad for my cleric.

You need to cast Detect Magic.

How do I know what spell is on a scroll? I took them to be identified and the guy took my money but literally told me nothing, they're just labeled "Magic user scroll with one spell" or "Clerical Scroll with two spells".

Just give all your mage scrolls to your mage and select Scribe in the Encamp->Magic menu so he will be able to learn the spells he got in the scrolls he owns. For the cleric ones you might have to ready and use them to know what's on.

 

[Glop_dweller]

...ready and use them to know...

Specifically, choosing the use option for a cleric (or an identified mage) scroll will display the available spells on the scroll; casting is optional.

 

[octavius]

With some experience you will be able to determine which items are likely to be magic. Monster leaders may wield magic weapons, for example, and random magic items are at the end of the loot list. You can equip items to check how your stats change. If THAC0 goes down, you have a magic weapon (except Elves wielding mundane Long Swords and Longbows also get a bonus). But random items may be Cursed, so there is a small risk.

To slow down the text speed, there shuld be an option in the Camp menu to adjust it.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

To slow down the text speed, there shuld be an option in the Camp menu to adjust it.

Thanks, this worked.

You need to cast Detect Magic.

You can equip items to check how your stats change.

Don't know how I'm gonna swing Detect Magic since it would require wasting a spell slot that's needed for healing. I'd have to camp after every fight too which seems to attract ambushes as often as not. Equipping items one at a time when there's more shit dropped than I can even carry after most fights seems mighty tedious. Are all unidentified items always at the end of the list, or are they sometimes mixed up among the rest? If they always come last on the list at least I can metagame that.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Pack everything you can and detect magic in town using the inn. Sell the rubbish. Murder hobo bottles & cans collector classic mode.

 

[octavius]

Items equipped by monsters will be listed in an orderly fashion. So if you fight 10 Orcs and 2 Orc Leaders, you'll see two Battle Axes in between all the Short Swords or whatever the regular goblins use.
The random loot will always be at the end, and will usually be different items from the rest of the loot list.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Something else came up. In regard to leveling up dual classers or multi-classers, it says I have the XP to level them, but not for the class I want. Do I have to wait until I can afford the particular class or do each of the classes of the multiclass have their own XP pool?

To clarify, I have a fighter/mage that's ready to level, but only the fighter portion. If I level the fighter portion would I need to start grinding XP from scratch for the mage portion again? Do I need to hoard the XP until I have enough to level up the mage bit?