Pools of Darkness (game)

This article is about the computer game. For other uses, see Pools of Darkness (disambiguation).

Pools of Darkness is the final title in the four-game Forgotten Realms series of computer role-playing games developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It is the sequel to Secret of the Silver Blades. The novel Pools of Darkness by James Ward and Anne K. Brown was based on the game.

Plot

Angered at the party's successes in the prior games in the series, the evil god Bane seizes control of the Moonsea region. The cities and towns of the region (with the exception of the evil cities of Zhentil Keep and Mulmaster) are ripped from the earth, leaving only craters. Storms prevent entry to the region and darkness covers the sky at all times.

Control of the region is given to Bane's three lieutenants: the marilith Kalistes, the glabrezu Tanetal, and the balor Gothmenes. Now Bane's followers work to amass armies that will pour forth from the Moonsea region to invade the rest of the Realms.

Having anticipated Bane's plot, the sage Elminster summons the party to Limbo and tasks them with stopping Bane's evil. Elminster provides the party with access to magical portals called pools of darkness, which enable travel to the outer planes where Bane's servants have their power base.

Gameplay

To play Pools of Darkness, one simply needs to create characters and form a party. The gameplay basics are identical to all games in the series. The game does come with a pre-designed party, but many players prefer to create their own characters. One can modify the appearance and some colors of the character's combat icon and then name the character.

A maximum of six characters may be added to the party and it's highly recommended to use all six spaces as the game does not give any handicaps for smaller parties. NPCs sometimes join the party in the game, making it possible to have more than six characters. Characters can also be transferred from Secret of the Silver Blades.

In the Amiga version, scrolls could be joined into bundles, while the MS-DOS version didn't feature this option. Also games could be loaded in the camp menu of the Amiga version. MS-DOS users had to restart or enter a training hall and remove all their characters from the party to load a game.

Index

Characters

Companions: Dennia • Nacacia • Priam • Raizel • Ruoln • Silk • Storm Harngrim • Traned • Vala
Other: Aeghwaet • Arcam • Arta • Bostell • Brimwulf • Elminster • Cadorna • Cynthia • Daris • Dave • Gothmenes • Gragnak Ulfim • Hern • Kalistes • Kardal • Kimarr • Laurellin • Liil • Locaste • Mabril • Manshoon • Marcus • Modthryth • Petra • Quil • Sasha • Shal • Shest • Tanetal • Thorne • Tyranthraxus • Ungleow • Valardis • Xohan

Creatures

Balor • Banshee • Basilisk • Beholder • Bit o Moander • Black Dragon • Blue Dragon • Bulette • Carrion Crawler • Cloud Giant • Cryo Snake • Death Tyrant • Displacer Beast • Dracolich • Dracolisk • Drider • Drow • Dwarf • Earth Elemental • Elder Orb • Electric Spider • Elf • Ettin • Fire Elemental • Fire Giant • Gaze Spider • Giant Spider • Giant Cockatrice • Giant Skeleton • Giant Zombie • Glabrezu • Gnome • Great Basilisk • Green Dragon • Half-Elf • Halfling • Harpy • Hill Giant • Human • Iron Golem • Ki-rin • Lich • Mammoth • Marilith • Margoyle • Medusa • Neo Otyugh • Ogre • Otyugh • Phase Spider • Purple Worm • Pyro Snake • Rakshasa • Salamander • Spectre • Stone Spider • Treant • Umber Hulk • Vampire • White Dragon • Wight • Wraith

Locations

Inns & Taverns: Purple Plume Tavern • The Sleeping Dragon Inn • Twisted Horn Tavern
Shops: Mystic Talismans
Settlements: Melvaunt • Mulmaster • Phlan • Zhentil Keep
Wilderness: Myth Drannor
Regions: Moonsea
Planes: Limbo

Referenced only

Vaasa

Magic

Magic items: Amulet of Stillness • Boots of Speed • Blessed Bolts • Boots of Speed • Cloak of Displacement • Cloak of Protection • Elixir of Youth • Essence of Pure Light • Fire of Night • Gauntlets of Ogre Power • Girdle of Giant Strength • Javelin of Lightning • Necklace of Missiles • Periapt of Health • Potion of Haste • Potion of Invisibility • Potion of Speed • Ring of Blinking • Ring of Cold Resistance • Ring of Electrical Immunity • Ring of Fire Resistance • Ring of Protection • Ring of Protection from Evil • Ring of Vulnerability • Ring of Wizardry • Scroll of Protection from Dragon Breath • Scrying Mirror • Stone of Good Luck • Talisman of Bane • Wand of Fireballs • Wand of Lightning • Wand of Magic Missiles • Wand of Paralyzation • Ward of Safe Passage
Spells: Barkskin • Bestow Curse • Blade Barrier • Bless • Blink • Burning Hands • Cause Blindness • Cause Disease • Cause Critical Wounds • Cause Light Wounds • Cause Serious Wounds • Charm Monster • Charm Person • Charm Person or Mammal • Cloudkill • Cone of Cold • Confusion • Cure Blindness • Cure Disease • Cure Critical Wounds • Cure Disease • Cure Light Wounds • Cure Serious Wounds • Curse • Death Spell • Delayed Blast Fireball • Destruction • Detect Invisibility • Detect Magic • Dimension Door • Disintegrate • Dispel Evil • Dispel Magic • Energy Drain • Enlarge • Entangle • Faerie Fire • Fear • Feeblemind • Find Traps • Fireball • Fire Shield • Fire Touch • Flame Strike • Flesh to Stone • Friends • Fumble • Globe of Invulnerability • Harm • Haste • Heal • Hold Animal • Hold Monster • Hold Person • Ice Storm • Invisibility • Invisibility to Animals • Iron Skin • Knock • Lightning Bolt • Magic Missile • Mass Charm • Mass Invisibility • Meteor Swarm • Mind Blank • Minor Globe of Invulnerability • Mirror Image • Monster Summoning • Neutralize Poison • Otto's Irresistible Dance • Poison • Prayer • Protection from Evil • Protection from Fire • Protection from Good • Protection from Normal Missiles • Raise Dead • Ray of Enfeeblement • Read Magic • Remove Curse • Resist Cold • Resist Fire • Restoration • Resurrection • Shield • Shocking Grasp • Silence • Slay Living • Sleep • Slow • Slow Poison • Snake Charm • Spiritual Hammer • Sticks to Snakes • Stinking Cloud • Stone to Flesh • Strength

Organizations

Cult of the Dragon • Swanmay • Temple of Tyr • Zhentil

Religions

Bane • Moander • Tyr

Miscellaneous

Items: Crucible of Flame • Crystal Ring • Horn of Doom • Lamp of Vigilance • Lindenwood Staff • Mirror of Kalistes • Oakroot Staff • Silver Mirror • Vial of spider venom antidote • World Stone
Materials: Platinum
Weapons & Armor: Arrow • Awl Pike • Banded Mail • Bastard Sword • Battleaxe • Bracer • Broad Sword • Chainmail • Club • Composite Long Bow • Composite Short Bow • Dagger • Dart • Dart of the Hornet's Nest • Drow Chain • Drow Long Sword • Elfin Chain • Flail • Halberd • Hammer • Hand Axe • Helm • Javelin • Kardal's Dagger • Leather Armor • Light Crossbow • Longbow • Long Sword • Mace • Military Pick • Morning Star • Plate Mail • Quarterstaff • Ring Armor • Scale Armor • Scimitar • Shield • Shortbow • Short Sword • Silver Shield • Sling • Spear • Staff Sling • Trident • Two-Handed Sword • Vorpal Long Sword

Gallery

Appendix

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Pools of Darkness. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Forgotten Realms Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. Additional terms may apply. See Wikia licensing policy and Wikimedia projects Terms of Use for further details.

Game credits

Game creation: SSI Special Projects Group
Developer: Ken Humphries, Dave Shelley
IBM Programmers: Russ Brown, Jim Jennings, Kerry Bonin
Music: George Sanger, Dave Govett
Testers: Phil Alne, John Kirk, Andre Vrignaud, Brian Lowe, Alan Marenco, Glen Cureton, Mike Balajadia
Artists: Maurine Starkey, Richard Payne, Fred Butts, Jean Xiong, Mike Provenza, Cyrus Harris, Ed Trillo, Kevin Thompson, Laura Bowen, Mike Nowak, Mark Johnson
Encounter Authors: Chris Carr, Ken Eklund, Lori White, Tom Ono, Gary Shockley, Dave Georgeson, Cynthia Hwang

Connections

Video Games

Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate (Tales of the Sword Coast • Enhanced Edition • Siege of Dragonspear • The Black Pits) • Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Throne of Bhaal • Enhanced Edition • The Black Pits II – Gladiators of Thay) • Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound (cancelled) • Baldur's Gate III

Dark Alliance

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance III (cancelled) • Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Icewind Dale

Icewind Dale (Heart of Winter • Trials of the Luremaster • Enhanced Edition) • Icewind Dale II

Neverwinter Nights

Neverwinter Nights AOL • Neverwinter Nights (Shadows of Undrentide • Hordes of the Underdark • Pirates of the Sword Coast • Infinite Dungeons • Wyvern Crown of Cormyr • Enhanced Edition • Darkness over Daggerford • Tyrants of the Moonsea) • Neverwinter Nights 2 (Mask of the Betrayer • Storm of Zehir • Mysteries of Westgate) • Neverwinter

Eye of the Beholder

Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder • Eye of the Beholder • Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon • Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor

Pool of Radiance

Pool of Radiance • Curse of the Azure Bonds • Secret of the Silver Blades • Pools of Darkness • Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

Savage Frontier

Gateway to the Savage Frontier • Treasures of the Savage Frontier

Others

Blood & Magic • Descent to Undermountain • Dungeon Chess • Dungeon Hack • Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War • Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale • Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter • Dungeons & Dragons Online • Dungeons & Dragons: Warbands • Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone • Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures • Hillsfar • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms • Lords of Waterdeep • Menzoberranzan • Sword Coast Legends • Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation • Warriors of Waterdeep

Other settings Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse • Planescape: Torment (Enhanced Edition) • Ravenloft: Stone Prophet • Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession • Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace
Collaborations Dragonheir: Silent Gods • Stumble Guys

Pool of Radiance series
Pool of Radiance • Curse of the Azure Bonds • Secret of the Silver Blades • Pools of Darkness Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor