Pools of Darkness

The final Gold Box game in the Pool of Radiance series.

Pools of Darkness is a role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1991. It is the fourth and final entry in the Pool of Radiance series of Gold Box games, continuing the story of Secret of the Silver Blades. Set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting from Dungeons & Dragons, the game involves stopping an invasion by an evil god.

Quick Facts

Developer

Strategic Simulations
MicroMagic (Amiga)
Marionette (PC-98)

Publisher

Strategic Simulations; Pony Canyon (PC-98)

Designer

Ken Humphries; David Shelley

Composer

George Sanger; David Govett

Series

Gold Box

Released

1991 (MS-DOS) (NA)
1992 (Amiga, Mac) (NA)
March 19, 1993 (PC-98) (JP)

Genre

Role-playing game, tactical RPG

Modes

Single-player

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

In the Amiga version, scrolls could be joined into bundles, while the MS-DOS version did not feature this option.
The novel Pools of Darkness, loosely based on the game, was released in 1992.

Story

The party begins in Phlan, tasked with escorting Council Member Sasha on a diplomatic mission. After leaving the city, Lord Bane claims all of Faerûn and magically teleports, destroys, or removes many cities. The goal is to restore order by destroying Bane's minions one by one and returning light to the land.

Features

Unlike earlier Forgotten Realms Gold Box games, the party travels to multiple dimensions, including Thorne's Cave, Kalistes' Land, Moander's colossus body in the Astral Plane, and Bane's Land in Acheron. Mages can reach level 9 spells, with Delayed Blast Fireball being a popular spell that is cast immediately. The party can have up to six adventurers plus two NPC slots, and characters can advance to level 40. Late-game combat features some of the toughest AD&D creatures and new enemies like the Pets of Kalistes and the Minions of Bane. The game is the most extensive in the series in storyline depth and advancement possibilities, and supports VGA 256 colors. The font is less stylish but easier to read.

Reception

Pools of Darkness sold 52,793 copies, much less than the first Gold Box games. In Dragon #178, the Lessers gave it 5 out of 5 stars. Scorpia in Computer Gaming World praised the graphics and called it 'the best of the lot' and 'the ultimate challenge for the experienced Gold Box gamer,' but criticized the ending, sounds, and having to abandon weapons between dimensions. Jim Trunzo in White Wolf #31 noted the system was cleaner and quicker, with a deep plot and varied scope. GameSpy stated it was not the most memorable Gold Box game but worth playing for those who completed the previous three.