![](/uploads/1/2/7/6/127682432/193472584.png)
TitleAuthorSarion the WiseSubmitted / Updated / CategoryClassic PnP ConversionExpansionsHOTU-1.65SettingForgotten RealmsNumber Players1-4LanguageEnglishLevel Range6+RacesAnyTricks & TrapsMediumRoleplayLightHack & SlashMediumClassesAnyDMNeededNo DM RequiredSingle or MultiplayerSingle Player or MultiplayerMax Character Level12Max # Players04Min # Players01Min Character Level06Content RatingEveryoneAlignmentsGood PreferedDescriptionCurse of the Azure bonds Final Version 1.20b. This is a reproduction of the origional ssi computer game. You start in tilverton and will need a character of atleast 6th level to start (Although you can start with a lower level character). Mulmaster beholder corps have been added. A number of fixed applied and some feedback based updates added as well. Added Cutscene and bigger Ashabenford. Changed the XP rewards as well as they were too small.
![Azure Azure](http://www.c64copyprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/curse_codewheel.jpg)
A good module to play, but the henchman interface was one of the most disappointing that I have seen. I have had helpers not be able to equip what you give them before and when they level up before, but in this case you lose any of the nicer stuff you donate, without even realizing it! And there is virtually no way to get it back! I finally gave up and went without, not a big deal anyway. Really could stand an improvement if possible. The author DOES warn you, but typically the level up occurs and you forget about it, until you see the naked henchie!
You can ask them to unequip and then drop the gear, I suppose, but that is clunky and non-intuitive.Aside from that issue, not a bad module, but hard to figure out where to go. Starts out alright, but design problems become apparent even in the first quest. Long hallways with the same enemies thrown in over and over, with some containers here and there for mediocre randomised loot.
Mar 07, 2006 Curse of the Azure Bonds Duplicate a character’s inventory items Remove a character from the party and save the game. Reassign the character to the party, transferring all of the items to be duplicated into his or her possession. Remove the character again. Load the saved game and reassign the character to the party. Playing paladin or ranger in Pool of Radiance. Can be exported to Curse of the Azure Bonds. Very experimental monk class for Pool of Radiance. Can be exported to Curse of the Azure Bonds. What's new in v2.50 (03-July-2019) Support for cloud saves folders of the GOG-versions. There is a checkbox to check if you want to use them.
After leaving the first town, it 'opens up', in that you can do main objectives in the order you wish as you can choose to explore North or East first. However, the following areas are so bland, generic and oversized, there's little incentive to explore.Furthermore, story execution is really poor. In the beginning, you are shown that your PC has been branded with 'bonds' that supposedly makes him/her susceptible to mind control / posession, and something about a Flaming Aura or Pool of Radiance. Sounds dangerous right?
Um actually no. Afterwards, there's no sense of danger or urgency regarding these bonds, it ends up being a convenient excuse for you to hunt down the key items needed for the main quest.
@BowshatterBelieve it or not, that isn't the converison's fault. That was something of an issue with the original.I still have the Apple II version of the Gold Box game 'Curse of the Azure Bonds', and without it I probably would have never bought NWN. Getting that for Christmas back in 1990 is what got me into AD&D.Anyways, due to storage issues, they could only have so many monsters per disk side. An Apple II 5.25' disk only held 140K of data per side and there were 8 sides on four disks (Unlike 1980's MS-DOS 5.25' double sided, double density disk drives which held 360K and could read both sides at the same time, the Apple II's 5.25' drive was designed in the mid to late '70s for single-sided, single-density disks. You had to use a hole puncher to use both sides of blank DSDD 5.25' disks).
Also the long empty cooridors had random encounters in them with hidden treasure rooms/caches that made exploring worth it as that's where you found most of the 'good stuff', and without that 'good stuff' the game was much harder.For example, in Yulsh, you get a map in the journal that tells you where the Cultists of Moander are holed up. However, you are also given a clue that somebody had passed through with something they were confident would destroy the shambling mounds that plague the area. You can go right for the cult, or you can explore the city topside and eventually find a Wand of Defoliation, which helps GREATLY when you face 3 'Bit of Moanders' and a bunch of Shambling Mounds.In any case, repetitive monsters and great areas to explore were present in the Gold Box version, it's keeping with the spirit of the original.
Translation Decoder WheelRunes on outer and inner circle (Easpruar/Dethrek) on this codewheel are the same as at the others SSI's Golbox game codewheels like and, but words under the paths are different.After the title screen, a copy protection screen was displayed consisting of two pictures (symbols of Espruar Rune and Dethek Rune) and a line (Path). The player was required to use this decoder wheel to line up the pictures, then enter the word revealed on the code wheel under the Path line. After three unsuccessful attempts, the game automatically shut down.
In Pool of Radiance the Codewheel is used also for some in-game puzzles like translation of ancient elf runes to english from parchement scroll in Sokal Keep.The GamePool of Radiance, released in 1988, was the first of a long series of tactical role-playing games that shared a common engine that came to be known as the Gold Box Engine. The game takes place in the AD&D: Forgotten Realms setting, in and around the Moonsea region and the City of Phlan, which has been overrun by forces of evil. The city had originally held off many attacks, but the forces were marshalled by a bronze dragon which was believed to be possessed by a powerful spirit named Tyranthraxus.Just as in traditional D&D games, the player starts by building a party of up to six characters, deciding the race, sex, class and ability scores for each. The player's party is enlisted to help the settled part of the city by clearing out the marauding inhabitants that have taken over the surroundings. The characters move on from one area to another, battling bands of enemies as they go and ultimately confronting the powerful leader of the evil forces. During play the player characters gain experience points, which allow them to increase their capabilities.Instructions:You can turn the wheel by drag & move the mouse over or press the left/right arrow keys on your keyboard or by click on arrow-buttons.At the top of the page, click on layer buttons to select Active code wheel layer.
![](/uploads/1/2/7/6/127682432/193472584.png)