Secret of the Silver Blades

Secret of the Silver Blades is the third title in the four-game Pool of Radiance series of computer role-playing games developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc.. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. and WizardWorks. It is the sequel to Curse of the Azure Bonds.

Main Story
The party is magically summoned to the mining town of New Verdigris, located in a valley deep in the Dragonspine Mountains, in hopes that they will save the town from the overwhelming evil that threatens it.

New Verdigris is located on the ruins of a much older city that was suddenly covered by a glacier three hundred years ago. However, the glacier is now receding, which led to the town being reestablished and the resumption of mining operations. While New Verdigris initially prospered, three months ago, a new mineshaft was opened and monsters began pouring through from an unknown source.

Previous efforts to stop the monsters have failed and they have made it to the ruins and are threatening to invade the town. The party is the town's last hope of finding the source of the evil and clearing the scourge.

Gameplay
To play Secret of the Silver Blades, one simply needs to create characters and form a party. The gameplay basics are identical to all games in the series. Characters can also be imported from Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds. Secret of the Silver Blades is similar to its two predecessors in gameplay and graphics. There is no overworld in this game, however. It takes place entirely in the first person maps. Graphics did improve slightly, though everything was still drawn in 16 colors.

The game includes some new features introduced with Champions of Krynn, and adds a difficulty selector that the player can used to change the power of the enemy creatures. The game world was the largest yet for a Gold Box game, and it included cut scene illustrations of the story. It is the first Gold Box game in which random encounters do not stop after a certain point.

Mages have the ability to use spells up to level 7, while clerics can reach level 6 spells.

The arrow keys are conveniently usable to select menu options as opposed to using hotkeys, which was the only way in earlier titles, though the hotkey option is still available.

Characters

 * Protagonists: Champions of Verdigris
 * Companions: Deric • Vala
 * Other: Derf Strongman • Eldamar • Marcus • Oswulf • Priam • Sargatha • Vala
 * Azoun • Dhazheal • Elminster Aumar • Flaming One • Gragnak Ulfrim • Grimdra • Jhaele • Nacacia • Oswulf • Sasha • Valgur
 * Azoun • Dhazheal • Elminster Aumar • Flaming One • Gragnak Ulfrim • Grimdra • Jhaele • Nacacia • Oswulf • Sasha • Valgur

Creatures

 * basilisk • bugbear • canary • cloud giant • cockatrice • displacer beast • drider • dwarf • elf • ettin • fire giant • frost giant • gargoyle • giant crocodile • giant slug • giant snake • giant spider • gnome • griffon • gynosphinx • half-elf • halfling • hell hound • hill giant • hippogriff • human • hydra • iron golem • lich • lizardman • margoyle • mastodon • medusa • megalo-centipede • minotaur • mobat • neo otyugh • ogre • otyugh • phase spider • purple worm • pyrohydra • red dragon • remorhaz • sphinx • storm giant • umber hulk • white dragon • worg • wyvern
 * demon
 * demon

Items

 * Armor: banded mail • chain mail • leather armor • plate mail • ring armor • scale armor • shield
 * Weapons: bastard sword • battleaxe • broad sword • club • composite longbow • dagger • dart • flail • halberd • hammer • handaxe • javelin • light crossbow • longbow • longsword • mace • morningstar • scimitar • shortbow • short sword • sling • spear • staff sling • trident • two-handed sword
 * Misc: bat guano • Oswulf's Confession • sulphur

Locations

 * Buildings & Sites: Castle of the Twins • Well of Knowledge
 * Inns & Taverns: Minotaur and Mermaid Pub
 * Shops: New Verdigris Magic Shop
 * Settlements: New Verdigris
 * Wilderness: Dragonspine Mountains
 * Regions: Moonsea
 * Abyss • Ashabenford • Cormyr • Dalelands • Hillsfar • Mulmaster • Myth Drannor • Phlan • Pool of Radiance • Waterdeep • Yûlash • Zhentil Keep
 * Abyss • Ashabenford • Cormyr • Dalelands • Hillsfar • Mulmaster • Myth Drannor • Phlan • Pool of Radiance • Waterdeep • Yûlash • Zhentil Keep

Magic

 * Armor & Clothing: boots of speed • bracers of defense • cloak of displacement • cloak of protection • eyes of charming • gauntlets of ogre power • girdle of giant strength
 * gauntlet of Moander
 * Potions: elixir of youth • necklace of missiles • periapt of health • potion of extra healing • potion of invisibility • potion of speed
 * Scrolls: scroll of protection from dragon breath
 * Spells: barkskin • bestow curse • 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 disease • cure critical wounds • cure light wounds • cure serious wounds • curse • death spell • delayed blast fireball • detect magic • detect invisibility • dimension door • disintegrate • dispel evil • dispel magic • enlarge • entangle • faerie fire • fear • feeblemind • find traps • fire shield • flame strike • fireball • friends • fumble • globe of invulnerability • harm • haste • heal • hold monster • hold person • ice storm • invisibility • invisibility, 10' radius • invisibility to animals • knock • lightning bolt • magic missile • mass invisibility • minor globe of invulnerability • mirror image • neutralize poison • poison • power word, stun • prayer • protection from evil • protection from evil, 10' radius • protection from good • protection from good, 10' radius • protection from normal missiles • raise dead • ray of enfeeblement • read magic • remove curse • resist cold • resist fire • shield • shocking grasp • silence • silence, 15' radius slay living • sleep • slow slow poison • snake charm • spiritual hammer • sticks to snakes • stinking cloud • stone to flesh • strength
 * Trinkets: amulet of Eldamar • ring of fire resistance • ring of protection • ring of Tyr • ring of wizardry • stone of good luck
 * Wands: wand of fireballs • wand of ice storm • wand of lightning • wand of paralyzation
 * Weapons: dart of the hornet's nest • staff of Oswulf
 * Weapon Qualities: vorpal
 * Weapon Qualities: vorpal

Organizations

 * Beholder Corps • Black Circle • Cult of Moander • Fire Knives • Silver Blades
 * Red Plumes • Red Wizards of Thay • Zhentarim
 * Red Plumes • Red Wizards of Thay • Zhentarim

Religions

 * Bane • Gond • Moander • Tyr

Game Credits

 * Amiga:
 * Story and development: David Shelley
 * Amiga Producer: Daniel Cermak
 * Amiga Development: David A. Lucca, Nicholas Beliaeff
 * Musical Score: John Halbleib
 * Encounter Design: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Ken Humphries, Graeme Bayless, Rick E. White
 * Playtest: Jeffrey Shotwell, Cyrus G. Harris, Dennis Zahina
 * Graphic Arts: Mark Johnson, Laura R. Bowen, Fred Butts, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Michael Provenza, Tom Wahl
 * Programming: Ken Nicholson, Russell Brown
 * Box artwork: Larry Elmore
 * Project Director: Jason T. Linhart
 * Design: Kiri Naiman, Stephen Linhart
 * Playtesting: Herb Perez, Kiri Naiman, Richard K. Ware
 * Programming: David Blake, Jason T. Linhart
 * Art: Carol Tanguay, Herb Perez, Kiri Naiman
 * Music: Doug Hewitt


 * Commodore 64:
 * Programming: Paul Murray
 * Encounter Design: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Ken Humphries, Graeme Bayless, Rick E. White
 * Story and Development: David Shelley
 * Graphic Arts: Mark Johnson, Laura R. Bowen, Fred Butts, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Michael Provenza, Tom Wahl
 * Musical Score: John Halbleib
 * Playtest: Cyrus G. Harris, Don McClure, David A. Lucca, Clifford Mann, Rick Wilson, Erik Flom, James Young, Larry Stephen Webber


 * DOS:
 * Project Development: David Shelley
 * Programming: Russell Brown, Ken Nicholson
 * Encounter Authors: Graeme Bayless (Middle Level of Castle), Ken Humphries (Mines / Temple of Tyr / Ice Giant Village), Michael Mancuso (Ruins / Well of Knowledge / Dungeon / Ice Crevasses), David Shelley (New Verdigris / Castle Entrance / Finale), Rick E. White (Drider Base)
 * Art Director: Mark Johnson
 * Graphics / Artwork: Laura R. Bowen, Fred Butts, Mark Johnson, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Michael Provenza, Tom Wahl
 * Music: John Halbleib
 * Sound Effects: John Halbleib
 * Writing / Dialogue / Story: David Shelley
 * Playtesting: Erik Flom, David A. Lucca, Clifford Mann, Don McClure, Larry Stephen Webber, Rick E. White, Richard Wilson, James Young, John Kirk
 * Documentation: Rick Wilson
 * Project Manager: Victor Penman
 * Art, Graphic Design & DTP: Louis Saekow Design, Peter Gascoyne, David Boudreau
 * Pre‑press Production: Louis Saekow Design, Kirk Nichols, Ray Garcia
 * Printing: Muller Printing Co.
 * Clue Book Writter: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Ken Humphries
 * Clue Book Art, Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing: Louis Saekow Design, Peter Gascoyne, David Boudreau
 * Clue Book Printing: A&a Printers and Lithographers


 * Macintosh:
 * Mac Producer: Daniel Cermak
 * Mac Playtest: John Kirk, John C. Boockholdt, Mike Balajadia, Glen A. Cureton
 * Encounter Design: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Ken Humphries, Graeme Bayless, Rick E. White
 * Story and development: David Shelley
 * Mac Development: David A. Lucca, Nicholas Beliaeff
 * Graphic Arts: Mark Johnson, Laura R. Bowen, Fred Butts, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Michael Provenza, Tom Wahl
 * Programming: Ken Nicholson, Russell Brown
 * Project Director: Jason T. Linhart
 * Design: Kiri Naiman, Stephen Linhart
 * Playtesting: Herb Perez, Kiri Naiman, Richard K. Ware
 * Programming: David Blake, Jason T. Linhart
 * Art: Carol Tanguay, Herb Perez, Kiri Naiman
 * Music: Doug Hewitt


 * PC-98:
 * Story and Development: David Shelley
 * Programming: Ken Nicholson, Russ Brown
 * Encounter Design: David Shelley, Michael Mancuso, Ken Humphries, Graeme Bayless, Rick White
 * Musical Score: John Halbleib
 * Graphic Arts: Mark Johnson, Laura R. Bowen, Fred Butts, Cyrus Lum, Susan Manley, Michael Provenza, Tom Wahl
 * * Playtest: Rick White, Don McClure, David A. Lucca, Clifford Mann, Rick Wilson, Erik Flom, James Young, Larry Stephen Webber