Pool of Radiance - Gameplay

Gameplay

Pool of Radiance is based on the same game mechanics as the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule set. As in many role-playing games (RPGs), each player character in Pool of Radiance has a character race and a character class, determined at the start of the game. Six races are offered, including elves and halflings, as well as four classes (fighter, cleric, wizard, and thief). Non-human characters have the option to become multi-classed, which means they gain the capabilities of more than one class. During character creation, the computer randomly generates statistics for each character, although the player can alter these attributes. The player also chooses each character's alignment, or moral philosophy; while the player controls each character's actions, alignment can affect how NPCs view their actions. The player can then customize the appearance and colors of each character's combat icon. Alternatively, the player can load a pre-generated party to be used for introductory play. These characters are combined into a party of six or less, with two slots open for NPCs. Players create their own save-game files, assuring character continuation regardless of events in the game. On an MS-DOS computer, the game can be copied to the hard-disk drive. Other computer systems, such as the Commodore 64, require a separate save-game disk.

The game's "exploration" mode uses a three-dimensional first-person perspective, with a rectangle in the top left of the screen displaying the party's current view; the rest of the screen displays text information about the party and the area. During gameplay, the player accesses menus to allow characters to use objects; trade items with other characters; parley with enemies; buy, sell, and pool the characters' money; cast spells, and learn new magic skills. Players can view characters' movement from different angles, including an aerial view. The game uses three different versions of each sprite to indicate differences between short-, medium-, and long-range encounters.

In combat mode, the screen changes to a top-down mode with dimetric projection, where the player decides what actions the characters will take in each round. These actions are taken immediately, rather after all commands have been issued as is standard in some RPGs. Optionally, the player can let the computer choose character moves for each round. Characters and monsters may make an extra attack on a retreating enemy that moves next to them. If a character's hit points (HP) fall below zero, he or she must be bandaged by another character or the character will die. The game contains random encounters, and game reviewers for Dragon magazine observed that random encounters seem to follow standard patterns of encounter tables in pen and paper AD&D game manuals. They also observed that the depictions of monsters confronting the party "looked as though they had jumped from the pages of the Monster Manual."

Different combat options are available to characters based on class. For example, fighters can wield melee or ranged weapons; magic-users can cast spells; thieves have the option to "back-stab" an opponent by strategically positioning themselves. As fighters progress in level, they can attack more than once in a round. Fighters also gain the ability to "sweep" enemies, effectively attacking each nearby low-level creature in the same turn. Magic-users are allowed to memorize and cast a set number of spells each day. Once cast, a spell must be memorized again before reuse. The process requires hours of inactivity for all characters, during which they rest in a camp; this also restores lost hit points to damaged characters. This chore of memorizing spells each night significantly added to the amount of game management required by the player.

As characters defeat enemies, they gain experience points (XP). After gaining enough XP, the characters "train up a level" to become more powerful. This training is purchased in special areas within the city walls. In addition to training, mages can learn new spells by transcribing them from scrolls found in the unsettled areas. Defeated enemies in these areas also contain items such as weapons and armor, which characters can sell to city stores.