Gold Box gameplay

The Gold Box series of games were published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and developed by SSI and Stormfront Studios, and were one of the best-selling video game franchises during the period 1988-1993. All of the games use a very similar engine that changed very little over the course of the series of games.

The main focus of this article is to help users better understand the gameplay basics of all Gold Box games and some of the small differences.

Party Creation
The first step in playing the games is to form a party. Some games give a pre-made party, though many players will typically prefer to create their own. To do so, one simply needs to select "Create new character" from the menu. From here, one can select the race, class, alignment, and gender of the character.

After the basic character options are done, a player is brought to the stats screen of the character with the 6 basic attributes and hit points randomly generated. A player may re-roll these numbers, if desired. When satisfied, a player can now name the character (up to 15 characters). After adding a character to the party, the player could freely modify the stats further (possibly setting all of them to the maximum values). This had to be done immediately after a newly-created character was added to the party and was implemented as a way for players to easily import their favourite characters from the pen and paper game. Some players consider this cheating, although it is a built-in option.

The final step is selecting the appearance of the combat icon. This is a simple 2-D sprite of sorts that has different parts loaded for the head, body, arms, and legs. The player can alter these and can change the colors. The player can also change the appearance of the weapon to anything, regardless of what the character actually has equipped. A good practice, however, is to make the characters easily discernable so that one won't be confused in combat.

When finished, the final step is to save the character and add it to the party. The party may consist of 6 characters. It is generally recommended to have the maximum.

In Neverwinter Nights, the online massively multiplayer implementation of the Gold Box engine, the players began the game in the town of Neverwinter and could learn of quests and form up parties there.

Movement

All games follow a first-person point of view when the party is exploring the map and is not in combat. To move, the player first must select the "Move" option and then uses the arrows to move around. The up arrow will move the party forward in the direction it is facing. Down turns it around, and left and right will turn it counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively.

Some places in the game allow the "Area" option which lets the player see a map of the place and can allow for easier navigation. It is typically not available in the harder dungeons. Doors may appear as walls in most "Area" views.

When the party is not moving, the player can bring up a list of things to do such as viewing stats of a party member, equipping items, encamping, or searching. The Search option lets the party get more details on some things when it moves, though it brings the encounter rate up. Some secrets can only be found with the search turned on.

Encamp
One very important option is Encamp, which is used to rest and learn spells for mages or clerics. Both casters may select from a list of spells and, when satisfied, would need to rest for a period of time to memorize those spells. After use, the spells would need to be selected again. Pools of Darkness implemented an option of saving all previous used spells to conveniently memorize them again rather than having to reselect them from the list.

One other option called "Fix", which was implemented in Curse of the Azure Bonds will allow a party to be healed very quickly by assuming a cleric casts and re-memorizes spells.

Depending on the area, an Encamp may be interrupted by an encounter and sometimes resting is impossible. The game will typically give clues on the safest places to rest. It's very important to have any used spells memorized again, so players should remember these areas.

Overworld and Wilderness Travel

Most Gold Box games feature an overworld, a feature which grew in sophistication over time until it became a separate game mode called wilderness travel.

The player's party is visible by a small icon on the overworld map. In all games, except Curse of the Azure Bonds, the player may move the party icon one space in any direction at a time by using the arrow keys. In Curse of the Azure Bonds, the player simply navigates the party with a list of destinations to travel to. When the party comes to a location or if an event occurs, a list of options becomes available and the player must select one.

There are random encounters in the various overworlds, some of which give options such as attacking the enemies directly or other options such as avoiding the encounter by fleeing or talking. Other encounters sometimes result in an immediate battle with no options. In some games, sometimes fleeing can give a party member bonus experience points for successfully doing so.

The overworld concept was expanded into a full-blown wilderness travel mode starting with Gateway to the Savage Frontier in 1991. When traveling between cities or locales the party's progress was tracked on a map, and the danger level of each area was factored into the frequency and nature of random enemy encounters.

Weather effects in overworlds were introduced with Treasures of the Savage Frontier in 1992, enhancing or impeding the rate of travel and the kinds of wandering enemies the party encountered.

Combat

The games feature many battles to fight, but the battle system is relatively simple to follow. Each character and opposing monster have one turn per round to perform some action. Turn order is randomly decided at the start of battle unless one side surprises the other, then that side is favored. The turn order is then randomly selected after each player and monster have acted.

The characters and monsters can move freely about the battle field in order to attack each other. One move consists of moving to an adjacent square. A character or monster has a determined amount of moves that can be made on one turn. To actually move, the arrow keys or the arrow keys on the numpad may be used. The numpad is recommended as one can use it to move diagonally in one move by using 7 to move up and left, 9 to move up and right, 1 to move down and left, and 3 to move down and right. Diagonal movement takes 2 movement units away on the first move and 1 away on the second.

The amount of moves can be reduced depending on how much weight the character is carrying. Higher strength allows for more weight to be carried, thus reducing the penalty. An item called boots of speed can double the movement of a character.

If a player wishes to end the turn of a character, the option of "End" may be selected. A more strategic approach, however, is to use the "Guard" option, which is available to a character using a melee weapon. This will end the turn, but if an enemy comes within range, the guarding character will get to attack that enemy one time. If any additional enemies approach the guarding character, however, they will not be attacked.

If a player (or a monster), steps away from either one of the other, they will be attacked from behind. For instance, if you move away from a goblin, he will have a chance to attack that will have a higher than normal chance of succeeding.

A player's character, if using a melee weapon, may attack a monster by simply using the arrow keys and moving right into the monster. Ranged weapons require aiming at the desired target first and then firing. A ranged weapon may only be used if the user is at least one empty space away from the monster. Spells may be targeted in similar methods to ranged weapons. Monsters follow the same rules. If a player accidentally selects an ally as a target, the game will warn and give the option to attack the ally. This warning does not appear with spells, however. It is strongly not recommended to attack an ally. In some games, attacking an NPC ally will result in that NPC becoming hostile to the party.

One final option, available to clerics and paladins, is "Turn". This is used only against undead monsters. Turn can be used to invoke fear into or even destroy undead monsters. The power of turning undead depends on the level of the cleric or paladin. In some games, the undead monsters will flee while in others, the game simply says they "have been turned" and the monster simply disappears from the battle field. In all games, if an undead monster is destroyed it will disappear as if its hit points were dropped to 0 or lower through other means. If the undead monsters are too powerful, turn will generally not be successful. A paladin's turning ability is not as strong as a cleric's.

Any monster that loses all hit points will be dispatched and disappear from the combat screen. When all monsters are defeated, the battle is won and may be ended. A battle may be continued, if desired. A cleric or paladin can heal characters with spells if the battle is continued, which may prove useful if another combat is going to be triggered afterwards. Once the battle is over, the party will receive experience points divided equally among the survivors. The party may then help itself to any treasure the monsters may have, be it their equipment or other bonus items. Not all monsters have treasure.

If a party member loses all hit points, it will go down. If the character takes damage to drop to EXACTLY 0 hit points, it will be unconscious. If it goes to -1 to -9, it will be in a "dying" status. A fellow character may bandage any dying characters to bring them back to unconscious status. If the character is in "dying" status, it will continually lose hit points unless bandaged. Anyone reaching -10 or lower will be dead. Another method of a party member becoming inactive involves being turned to stone by certain monsters such as a Basilisk or Medusa. A party member may not be revived, be it from death, stone, or unconsciousness until combat is over and if no other combat is immediately triggered afterwards. If all party members fall unconscious, die, or are otherwise incapacitated, the game will be over and the player will need to reload their last saved game. Reviving a dead character using the Raise Dead spell incurred a penalty of permanently losing of one point of constitution to that character. Using Resurrection, however, does not cause this penalty to happen. Resurrection was first available in Pools of Darkness.

It is possible to run away from battles by moving a character to the very edge of the combat screen. To successfully escape, the character must either have a movement speed faster than the enemies or not be in the visible sight of ANY of the enemies. Any character that flees will gain no experience from the battle, assuming the battle is won. If the party flees and there are any dead/inactive characters, those characters are lost permanently. It is generally not recommended to run away from battles.

Training
After gaining a certain amount of experience points, a character may be eligible to train and reach the next level, thus becoming slightly stronger. In some games, eligibility to train is indicated by a character's name being colored in purple instead of blue. Not all games give an indication, however.

Unlike many RPGs, a character has to actually go to a training hall in order to train and gain a level rather than the action simply happening after a combat or an event. In some games, training costs money. If possible, it is highly recommended to quickly seek out a training hall after becoming eligible because gaining levels is an important part of the game.

Any spellcaster, be it Ranger, Paladin, Cleric, or Mage, will typically be able to memorize additional spells after training. Mages that gain a level will have the option to add a new spell to the possible spells that can be memorized after training.

One problem with training is that non-human characters have cap on the maximum level they can reach for any class other than thief. This is not a problem in the original Pool of Radiance since the cap is about the same as the cap for the game. In the following games - Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools of Darkness a non-human, non-thief character will be hopelessly outclassed. This level cap is consistent with first edition AD&D rules though.

Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

The games feature a wide assortment of non-player characters, who provide information or items useful to the party. Some NPCs may even join the party, thus giving an additional member in combat. Parties consisting of the maximum six members would then have a seventh. Typically, NPCs only join the party during a quest and will leave when the quest is finished or if the party leaves the area where the quest is taking place. NPCs were typically controlled by the computer, though some games allow the player to actually control the NPC.

Sometimes meeting an NPC may grant additional allied units for the party during combat. For instance, in Pools of Darkness there is an NPC the party can meet during a quest called Priam. He commands troops called Red Plume Warriors and these soldiers will help the party in combat as long as Priam is with the party.

In Pool of Radiance, the party could hire mercenary NPCs at training halls. These particular NPCs will take a portion of the treasure after any combat. A player can circumvent this loss by attacking and killing the NPC prior to the end of combat. This is also a viable early game strategy to equip the player characters with the gear that an NPC would have which was better than the PCs could afford.

In Treasures of the Savage Frontier the player character may fall in love with one of the NPCs, but only if the way they conduct themselves in the game is honorable.

Item duplication trick
There is a trick, arguably a bug, in the games that can allow a player to make many copies of items and distribute them among their party. This trick will work in any of the games.

To perform this trick, one simply needs to make a party normally, but create a 7th dummy character. The directions are as follows:
*When one gets to a point in the game where a good item is acquired, one simply needs to save the game and exit to DOS.
*Next, one needs to reload the saved game, but before beginning the adventure again, remove one of the characters that's not in possession of the item and add the dummy.
*Give the desired items to duplicate to the dummy, then remove the dummy and on the first time, choose YES to overwrite him.
*Add the dummy again and give the items back to the character.
*Remove the dummy, but this time choose NO to overwrite him and then type in a new name. Doing this will put the dummy back in the character pool and he will be unaltered from when he was last added (meaning he'll still have the items, but the other character the items were given to will also have them) and this will then create a new dummy without the items.
*To keep making copies, keep adding the dummy with the items and keep choosing NO to overwrite him. One trick to save computer space, if desired, would be to type in the name of the 2nd dummy who loses the items and keep overwriting him.

Copy Protection

All games have a form of copy protection built in, so that pirated copies may not be easily played. In order to play the games, a player must have a valid copy with a complete manual or, in the case of Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds, a translation wheel. The game will prompt a user to find a word in the manual under a certain section, such as "What is word 3 of journal entry 46 on page 37?". The translation wheel requires players to line up one Espruar and one Dethek glyph and identify a word or letter under one of three dotted lines after doing so. Guessing incorrectly or misspelling the word will bring another prompt. Some games even try to further ensure protection by randomly bringing the prompt up when a player tries to save the game. Three incorrect guesses on any prompt will force the game to exit and nothing will be saved.

Another indirect form of copy protection was the use of the journal entries. During the course of the game, there would be events that occur and the game would tell the player to read a certain journal entry in the manual, which would typically provide some form of information. Most of the information would be useful, though some could be aimed at furthering the story or simply entertaining the player. It is recommended, though not required, to read the journal entries if the player wishes to receive all the hints and story elements. The manuals also had some false journal entries to discourage players attempting shortcuts by "reading ahead." The translation wheel was also used in this way, letting players translate words into useful phrases within the game.

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See Also

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