Curse of the Azure Bonds (game)

Curse of the Azure Bonds is the second 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 Pool of Radiance. The game was based on the novel Azure Bonds and the module Curse of the Azure Bonds. Characters from the novel appear in the game to aid the party.

Plot
Picking up where Pool of Radiance left off, the party has departed Phlan for Tilverton where they plan to search for the runaway princess of Cormyr. However, before they arrive, they are waylaid by brigands who render them unconscious. The party wakes up in a Tilverton inn, finding themselves healed, but with their equipment missing. Even more worrisome, each party member has five azure bonds imprinted on their forearm.

The party must uncover the meaning of their bonds and learn how to free themselves from their terrible curse. In doing so they will need to confront the evil powers behind the scheme, who call themselves the New Alliance.

Gameplay
A party of up to six player characters and two non-player characters is required to complete the various quests in the game. Player characters from Pool of Radiance can be transferred to Curse of the Azure Bonds, although players need not have played Pool of Radiance to play this game. Characters can likewise be transferred from Hillsfar, another contemporaneous AD&D-based game. The paladin and ranger are two new character classes available in this game.

A player can generate new characters, choosing from six races, nine alignments, two genders, and six basic character classes. Multi-class characters can be created for Half-elf, elf, dwarf, halfling, and gnome characters. New characters begin with 25,000 experience points, which starts single-class characters at level 5. Multi-classed characters have the total number of experience points divided equally amongst their classes, giving either 12,500 or 8,333 experience points, for two or three classes, respectively. This means multi-class characters generally start at level 4, although a triple-classed character would start as a level 3 magic-user. The player can modify any character's stats before the game begins.

Curse of the Azure Bonds follows along the same style as Pool of Radiance, with the main adventuring action using a first person perspective. The player uses the top left window to view the current location, with the status panel on the right and the commands along the bottom. Through these commands, the player can select a wide range of actions and tasks including spell-casting, swapping weapons, or resting and memorizing spells. The player creates an icon for each character, which can be customized to taste.

When combat occurs, the screen display changes: the right half of the screen becomes the status panel, and the left half shows an overhead view of the combat. Characters can use spells and ranged weapons by lining up targets.

Characters

 * Companions: Akbar Bel Akash • Alias • Dragonbait
 * Other: Azoun • Binky • Crimdrac • Dracandros • Dimswart • Filani • Gadriel • Giogioni Wyvernspur • Helmud • Leonardo • Naccacia • Tyranthraxus

Creatures

 * ankheg • beholder • black dragon • bugbear • centaur • crocodile • displacer beast • dracolich • drow • efreeti • ettin • hippogriff • giant slug • griffon • lizardfolk • manticore • gargoyle • medusa • minotaur • mogion • monkey • ogre • otyugh • owlbear • rakshasa • salamander • shambling mound • thri-kreen • troll • vegepygmy • worg • wyvern

Locations

 * Settlements: Ashabenford • Dagger Falls • Essembra • Hap • Hillsfar • Phlan • Shadowdale • Teshwave • Tilverton • Voonlar • Yûlash • Zhentil Keep
 * Wilderness: Myth Drannor
 * Realms: Cormyr
 * Regions: Battledale • Dalelands • Daggerdale • Mistledale • Moonsea • Teshendale

Magic

 * Items: blue ioun stone • cloak of displacement • dart of hornet's nest • deep red ioun stone • dust of disappearance • gauntlets of dexterity • girdle of the dwarves • girdle of giant strength • gloves of thievery • green ioun stone • incandescent blue ioun stone • javelin of piercing • pink ioun stone • ring of invisibility • ring of protection • ring of wizardry • scarlet ioun stone • wand of magic missiles
 * Spells: bestow curse • bless • blink • burning hands • cause blindness • cause disease • cause critical wounds • cause light wounds • cause serious wounds • charm monster • charm person • cloudkill • cone of cold • confusion • cure blindness • cure disease • cure critical wounds • cure light wounds • cure serious wounds • curse • detect magic • detect invisibility • dimension door • dispel evil • dispel magic • enlarge • entangle • faerie fire • fear • feeblemind • find traps • fireball • fire shield • flame strike • friends • fumble • haste • hold monster • hold person • ice storm • invisibility • invisibility to animals • knock • lightning bolt • magic missile • minor globe of invulnerability • mirror image • neutralize poison • poison • prayer • protection from evil • protection from good • protection from normal missiles • raise dead • ray of enfeeblement • read magic • remove curse • resist cold • resist fire • shield • shocking grasp • silence • slay living • sleep • slow • slow poison • snake charm • spiritual hammer • sticks to snakes • stinking cloud • strength

Organizations

 * Zhentarim

Religions

 * Moander

Items

 * Weapons & Armor: battleaxe • bo stick • bracer • broadsword • crossbow • dagger • flail • longbow • mace • padded armor • plate mail • quarrel • quarterstaff • staff sling • two-handed sword

Game Credits

 * Amiga:
 * Project Director: Jason T. Linhart
 * Project Manager: Lester Humphreys, Charles J. Kroegel Jr.
 * Design: Kiri Naiman, Stephen Linhart
 * Art: Carol Tanguay, Kiri Naiman
 * Programming: Jason T. Linhart, Lester Humphreys, David Blake, Richard Filoramo
 * Playtesting: Kiri Naiman, Richard K. Ware, Stephen Linhart, Thomas A. MacMahon, James Jennings, James Kucera, Rick E. White, Robert V. Daly
 * Project Leader: George MacDonald
 * Development: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Oran Kangas
 * Artists: Tom Wahl, Fred Butts, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Mark Johnson
 * Music: David Warhol
 * Sound Effects: David Warhol
 * Additional Playtesting: Graeme Bayless, Victor Penman
 * Documentation: George MacDonald
 * Art, Graphic Design, and Desktop Publishing: Peter Gascoyne, David Boudreau
 * Pre‑Press Production: Kirk Nichols
 * Printing: Muller Printing Co.


 * Apple II:
 * Project Manager: Charles J. Kroegel Jr.
 * Project Leader: George MacDonald
 * Programming: Keith Brors, Paul Murray, James Jennings
 * Development: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Oran Kangas
 * Artists: Tom Wahl, Fred Butts, Mark Johnson, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley
 * Music: David Warhol
 * Sound Effects: David Warhol
 * In House Playtesting: James Jennings, James Kucera, Rick E. White, Robert V. Daly
 * Additional Playtesting: Graeme Bayless, Victor Penman
 * Documentation: George MacDonald
 * Customized Apple Disk Operation System: Roland Gustafsson
 * Art, Graphic Design, and Desktop Publishing: Louis Saekow Design, Peter Gascoyne, David Boudreau
 * Pre‑Press Production: Louis Saekow Design, Kirk Nichols
 * Printing: Muller Printing Co.


 * Atari ST:
 * Project Director: Jason T. Linhart
 * Design: Kiri Naiman, Stephen Linhart
 * Programming: Jason T. Linhart, Lester Humphreys, David Blake, Richard Filoramo
 * Project Manager: Lester Humphreys
 * Art: Carol Tanguay, Kiri Naiman
 * Playtesting: Kiri Naiman, Richard K. Ware, Stephen Linhart, Thomas A. MacMahon


 * Commodore 64:
 * Project Manager: Charles J. Kroegel Jr.
 * Project Leader: George MacDonald
 * Programming: Keith Brors, Paul Murray, James Jennings
 * Additional Programming: Westwood Associates, Raymond J. Huges, Peter Schmitt, Eric Nickelson
 * Development: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Oran Kangas
 * Artists: Tom Wahl, Fred Butts, Mark Johnson, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley
 * Music: David Warhol
 * Sound Effects: David Warhol
 * In House Playtesting: James Jennings, James Kucera, Rick E. White, Robert V. Daly
 * Additional Playtesting: Graeme Bayless, Victor Penman
 * Documentation: George MacDonald
 * Art, Graphic Design, and Desktop Publishing: Louis Saekow Design, Peter Gascoyne, David Boudreau
 * Pre‑Press Production: Louis Saekow Design, Kirk Nichols
 * Printing: Muller Printing Co.


 * DOS:
 * Project Leader: George MacDonald
 * Programming: Scot Bayless, Russell Brown, Michael Mancuso
 * Graphics / Artwork: Fred Butts, Mark Johnson, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Tom Wahl
 * Music: David Warhol
 * Sound Effects: David Warhol
 * Playtesting: Robert V. Daly, James Jennings, James Kucera, Rick E. White
 * Project Manager: Charles J. Kroegel Jr.
 * Development: Oran Kangas, Michael Mancuso, David Shelley
 * Additional Playtesting: Graeme Bayless, Victor Penman
 * Documentation: George MacDonald
 * Customized Apple Disk Operating System: Roland Gustafsson
 * Art, Graphic Design and DTP: Louis Saekow Design, David Boudreau, Peter Gascoyne
 * Pre‑Press Production: Louis Saekow Design, Kirk Nichols
 * Printing: Muller Printing Co.
 * Cover artwork by: Clyde Caldwell


 * Macintosh:
 * Project Director: Jason T. Linhart
 * Project Manager: Lester Humphreys
 * Design: Kiri Naiman, Stephen Linhart
 * Programming: Jason T. Linhart, Lester Humphreys, David Blake, Richard Filoramo
 * Art: Carol Tanguay, Kiri Naiman
 * Playtesting: Kiri Naiman, Richard K. Ware, Stephen Linhart, Thomas A. MacMahon


 * PC-98:
 * Project Leader: George MacDonald
 * Programming: Scot Bayless, Russ Brown, Michael Mancuso
 * Development: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso
 * Graphic Arts: Tom Wahl, Fred Butts, Susan Manley, Mark Johnson, Cyrus Lum
 * Playtesting: Jim Jennings, James Kucera, Rick White, Robert V. Daly
 * Pony Canyon Inc.: Kunihiko Kagawa, Yoshiaki Matsumoto
 * Group SNE: Hitoshi Yasuda, Miyuki Kiyomatsu
 * S.R.S: Seishi Yokota
 * Music: Takeshi Yasuda
 * Marionette Inc.: Yoshiaki Sakaguchi, Masato Kobayashi, Shuichi Takeda, Hiromi Sato, Mariko Sakurai