Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

Did You Know?

• The game was originally designed using Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules but was converted to 3rd edition rules partway through development.
• A novel based on the game, written by Carrie Bebris, was published by Wizards of the Coast and included with the collector's edition except in Europe.
• The Collector's Edition contained a copy of the book, an original pen and paper module called Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor, an audio CD, and a bag of polyhedral dice.

Gameplay

The game uses an isometric third-person perspective with three-dimensional characters over pre-rendered two-dimensional backgrounds. Combat is turn-based rather than real-time, unlike Baldur's Gate and other Infinity Engine games. It is a dungeon crawl focused on hack and slash combat and exploration of large dungeons, with minimal story progression and character interaction.

Plot

The story is set in New Phlan. A dracolich named Pelendralaar and his sorcerer queen Kya Mordrayn have seized control of the Mythal, the ancient magic that once protected the abandoned elven city of Myth Drannor. They intend to expand their domination one city and one soul at a time. Athan's band of heroes, sent by Elminster, are tasked with stopping them. The player party consists of volunteers defending Faerun against spawn pools that are extensions of a pool of radiance. The heroes witness a magical portal, hear a man crying for help, and enter it, arriving at the ruins of Myth Drannor. They must acquire the gauntlets of Moander, given by Elminster to Athan's band, to destroy the newly formed pool of radiance. They also need to learn the correct word of power to open the gauntlets, find the ring of calling to open the seal of Mythanthor, and escape the dungeons to reach areas like Windrider glade. The Baelnorn Mirroden Silverblade tells the party the gem of the weave has been destroyed, and Kya Mordrayn will lose control of the Mythal if a new gem is attuned. The party enlists the elf priestess Annorweyn Elvensong to attune a new gem, but discovers the original gem is still intact. Mirroden is confronted by Annorweyn, and the heroes learn the cult possesses the gem beneath castle Cormanthor. The party traverses catacombs, enters the castle, reaches the pool of radiance via a magic portal, slays Kya Mordrayn, destroys the gem, and then slays Pelendralaar after he breaks through a cave wall. They use the gauntlets of Moander to destroy the pool.

Reception

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor had a strong start, hitting number one on the U.S. sales chart for the last week of September 2001 and staying there for a second week before dropping to ninth. Ubisoft announced it sold over 150,000 copies in its first two weeks. However, according to GameSpot's Desslock, early sales were strong but negative word of mouth and poor reviews soon killed momentum. Some stores even put warning notes on displays about the game's bugs. By November, U.S. sales had reached 55,211 units. The game was widely criticized for being buggy. One major glitch deleted system files when uninstalling the game, and other issues affected installation, saving, graphics, and gameplay. Chris Chan of the New Straits Times said most of the game involved mindless fights and constant health and spell recovery. Mark Meadows of The Wisconsin State Journal called it a half-finished adaptation of D&D's 3rd Edition rules, rushed out despite being over a year late. GameSpy gave a negative review. Later patches fixed some stability problems. Branislav Babovic of mania.com described it as a disk full of bugs trying to be a slow Diablo based on AD&D third edition rules. Johnny Wilson of Dragon magazine praised how the new D&D rules were integrated and liked the focus on drow and undead.