Q &A with Pool of Radiance Producer Chuck Yager

Q: When will Pool of Radiance be released?
A. We are polishing and tweaking the final version now and it's looking great for being on the shelf by early October, 2001.

Q: Who is developing/publishing Pool of Radiance?
A: POR is being developed at Stormfront Studios and published by Ubi Soft Entertainment under the SSI brand. Stormfront has been associated with SSI's classic "gold box" RPG offerings such as: Gateway to the Savage Frontier, Treasures of the Savage Frontier and the original Never Winter Nights on AOL.

Q: Where is PoR set, exactly?
A: PoR is set in the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms®, and starts in the port city of New Phlan, the original site of the first Pool of Radiance. From there, the characters go to the ancient City of Myth Drannor, located in the forest kingdom of Cormanthor.

Q: I've heard of Pool of Radiance before, is this a different game?
A: Yes, it's a sequel. The original Pool of Radiance launched in 1987 and was first D&D game on a computer to use the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game license. It was followed by 12 titles, often referred to as the "gold box series". This release of Pool of Radiance will take up the story 10 years after the old one ended. A new Pool of Radiance has been discovered and your novice party of heroes will be dispatched to uncover the source of the new evil. No knowledge of the prior PoR game is required to enjoy this sequel, but it should be a lot of fun for the many fans of the original.

Q: How has using the 3rd edition rules changed PoR?
A: Drastically! Originally the game started off as a 2nd Edition product as the 3rd Edition rules hadn't been announced yet. After we made arrangements with Wizards of the Coast to get copies of the rules, we immediately started re-shaping the game to conform as best we could. Naturally, we already had a significant code structure in place, and while we were able to implement nearly all of the new rules, certain changes just didn't make sense for our game or work within the code. However, the bulk of changes earned the game the title of being the first RPG to show off the new 3E rules. We have everything from concealment and cover in combat, to delaying and refocusing your initiative, to brand new magical items, skills, feats, and special class abilities for players to use at their disposal.

Q: Are there going to be new Spells and Monsters?
A: Yes. There will be over 100 spells, some of them will be new 3rd Edition spells and others will be the traditional spells. We have a wide variety of monsters and some are straight from the pages of the new Player Handbook for D&D®. We even invented a new creature called the Arraccat for players to face, which is sort of a combination of a spider, scorpion, and a lion with a nasty temper.

Q: What are the races and classes?
A: We are supporting the basic Classes and Races per the 3rd Edition Rules: Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Sorcerer, Monk and Rogue. Races we'll support are Half-Orc, Human, Halfling, Dwarf, Elf and Half-Elf.

Q: Can we play specialty priests?
A: No, Basic Clerics make more sense for adventuring in Myth Drannor due to the fact that they are better suited for a variety of roles.

Q: How many NPC's can we get?
A: You can create 1-4 players to begin the game and have up to six characters in your party with NPCs that you meet along the way. Once an NPC joins your party, he/she is under your control.

Q: Will the NPCs ever do their own thing? Do members of your party interact? Why a mandatory two slots for NPCs?
A: Throughout the course of the game, you run across a total of 8 NPCs that will join your party and a host of others that won't. It is up to you whether or not you let them join up; if you changed your mind, they can usually be found later on in sections of the game. As for doing their own thing, some NPCs have their own agendas, but if they are in your party, they are doing your thing. We didn't want to create conflict within the party nor confusion about which mission was more important. We left two slots open for NPCs to give the player the chance to try out some different characters if they wished…after all, you might decide you rather like the sorcerer/fighter more than your ranger and want to swap them out.

Q: Is Pool of Radiance turn-based or real-time?
A: It's turn-based style gaming with a controllable twist. The turn times are adjustable. You can set them for unlimited time, which is the most like traditional D&D gaming or for as little as 6 seconds. At fastest setting each character will have no more than 6 seconds to react, and if the turn is not taken, the game will move to the next character.

Q: How long (approximately) is the game play ?
A: For most people it will take a minimum of 100 hours to get through the entire game.

Q: Is the multi-player game different than single player?
A: Yes, the multi-player mode is more hack and slash adventuring and features Random Dungeons.

Q: Since Sorcerers are going to be the mages of the game how are you handling their spells? Are you putting the normal limit of 4-5 spells per level on them or will they get a spell book much like a wizard's and have free run of those?
A: Sorcerers are handled exactly as they are in 3rd Edition. They get new spell slots as they go up in levels and can cast any spell they know as many times as they have slots in that spell magnitude. Every time a sorcerer gains a level where they would learn a new spell, an interface screen pops up giving the remaining spells of that magnitude that they can choose from.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of the look or feel of the game?
A: I still come back to the character models themselves. Sure the backgrounds are beautiful and the monsters are engaging, but the actual characters themselves move, breathe, run and look more alive than any other RPG I have seen thus far. I personally love the half-orc, who stands 8 ft. (and which we measured against the other races in the scale of the game to keep accurate) and can wield the largest weapons with ease; dress him up in some plate mail and you've got a big issue on your hands! A second thing that I am enamoured with is the spell visuals in game…it just seems to add more flare to the fireball when it trails smoke behind it and sends sparks shooting up when it detonates.

Some Special Comments from the Producer regarding the 3rd Edition Rules New 3E Elements in PoR:RoMD

By now most of you already know the bulk of what is in PoR:RoMD as far as 3rd Edition rules go. It's been no secret for some time now as we've drawn closer to the end of the project. But for those of you who are new to the site, or for others who strictly want to reference some of the different rules we are implementing, I've compiled a list of most notable mechanics from 3E D&D that have made it into the product. Here goes:

Combat Features:
Concealment modifiers
Cover bonuses
Defensive Fighting
Delay
Favored Enemies for rangers
Flanking
Full Attack option
Line of Sight
Rage for barbarians
Ranged Weapon modifiers for extreme distance
Refocus
Smite Evil for paladins
Sneak Attack for rogues
Turn Undead for clerics

Skills:
Concentration
Disable Device
Heal
Hide
Listen
Move Silently
Open Locks
Search
Spellcraft
Spot

Feats:
Blind Fighting
Cleave
Combat Casting
Combat Reflexes
Great Fortitude
Improved Critical
Improved Initiative
Iron Will
Lightning Reflexes
Mobility
Point Blank Shot
Power Attack
Precise Shot
Run
Skill Focus
Spell Penetration
Toughness

Spells:
Over 100 spells including new ones such as Divine Power (cleric), Cat's Grace (sorcerer), Searing Light (cleric), Repulsion (sorcerer), and Shield of Faith (cleric).