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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.[note 1]

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.

Index[]

Characters[]

Companions
Akabar Bel AkashAliasDragonbait
Other
AzounBinkyCrimdracDaemirDexamDracandrosDimswartFilaniGadrielGharriGiogioni WyvernspurHelmudLeonardoNaccaciaTyranthraxus
Referenced only
Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco

Creatures[]

ankhegbeholderblack dragonbugbearcentaurcrocodiledisplacer beastdracolichdrowefreetiettinfighting doghell houndhippogriffgargoylegiant sluggiant spidergriffonlizardmanmanticoremargoylegargoyle medusaminotaurmogionmonkeyneo-otyughogreotyughowlbearphase spiderrakshasasalamandershambling moundthri-kreentrollvegepygmyworgwyvern

Locations[]

Buildings
Dracandros's tower
Dungeons
Sewers of Tilverton
Realms
Cormyr
Regions
BattledaleDalelandsDaggerdaleMistledaleMoonseaTeshendale
Settlements
AshabenfordDagger FallsEssembraHapHillsfarPhlanShadowdaleTeshwaveTilvertonVoonlarYûlashZhentil Keep
Wilderness
Myth Drannor

Magic[]

Items
bracers of defensecloak of displacementdust of disappearancegauntlets of dexteritygauntlets of fumblinggirdle of the dwarvesgirdle of giant strengthgloves of thievery ioun stone (deep red, incandescent blue, pale blue, pink and green, scarlet and blue)necklace of missilesring of invisibilityring of protectionring of wizardryrobe of powerlessnessrobe of verminsphere of annihilation
Potions
potion of giant strengthpotion of healingpotion of invisibilitypotion of speed
Spells
bestow curseblessblinkburning handscause blindnesscause diseasecause critical woundscause light woundscause serious woundscharm monstercharm personcloudkillcone of coldconfusioncure blindnesscure diseasecure critical woundscure light woundscure serious woundscursedetect magicdetect invisibilitydimension doordispel evildispel magicenlargeentanglefaerie firefearfeeblemindfind trapsfireballfire shieldflame strikefriendsfumblehastehold monsterhold personice storminvisibilityinvisibility to animalsknocklightning boltmagic missileminor globe of invulnerabilitymirror imageneutralize poisonpoisonprayerprotection from evilprotection from goodprotection from normal missilesraise deadray of enfeeblementread magicremove curseresist coldresist fireshieldshocking graspsilenceslay livingsleepslowslow poisonsnake charmspiritual hammersticks to snakesstinking cloudstrength
Weapons
dart of the hornet's nestjavelin of piercingsword of dragon slayingwand of defoliationwand of fireballswand of ice stormwand of lightningwand of magic missileswand of paralyzation

Organizations[]

Company of the SwanmaysFire KnivesRed PlumesRogues of TilvertonZhentarim

Religions[]

BaneMoanderSune

Miscellaneous[]

Armor
banded mailbracerdrow chain mailleather armorpadded armorplate mailring mailscale mailsplint mailstudded leather armor
Items
mirrorshield
Materials & Substances
oilpaper
Weapons
awl pikebardichebastard swordbattle axebec de corbinbill-guisarmebo stickbroadswordcomposite longbowcomposite shortbowdaggerdartfauchardfauchard-forkflailglaiveglaive-guisarmeguisarmeguisarme-voulgehalberdhammerhandaxejavelinjo sticklong swordlucerne hammerlongbowmacemilitary forkmorningstarquarterstaffquarrelranseurscimitarshortbowshort swordslingspearspetumtridenttwo-handed swordvoulge

Gallery[]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

  1. The timelines of the original Pool of Radiance series of video games, and the FRC series of adventure modules cannot co-exist with the canon novels. The video games and modules start in 1357-1358 DR. However, due to the release of content related to the Time of Troubles, the Pool of Radiance novel was shifted backwards to 1340 DR. This spoils the continuity for the video games that originally took place from 1358 DR to 1368 DR (which now starts in 1340 DR), and the adventure modules (Curse of the Azure Bonds took place directly after Ruins of Adventure). For this reason, the events and timelines of the Pool of Radiance video games and the FRC adventure modules are considered non-canon. However, the background information about characters, creatures, locations, and items etc, may still be documented.

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

Further Reading[]

External Links[]

See Also[]

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