Introduction
This journal is your guide to Pool of Radiance Remastered. It is intended to get you started and contains useful information about Phlan and its surrounding areas. More information about the things your character finds out and is up to, can be found in your in-game journal.
Installation Process
Pool of Radiance Remastered is a custom campaign. It requires Neverwinternights 2 with patch 1.10. It works perfectly with the Mask of the Betrayer add-on.
We will check all future patches for compatibility and make sure that new versions are available when necessary.
The downloaded archive contains three directories: modules, campaigns, override.
Extract these directories and all their files into your \My Documents\Neverwinternights2\ directory.
You should find:
a) A PORR directory now in \My Documents\Neverwinternights2\Campaigns directory.
b) The three modules Pool of Radiance – 1.mod Pool of Radiance – 2.mod Pool of Radiance – 3.mod
In your modules directory
c) A series of files porr_nar*.* in your override directory.
Choose “Start New Game” and “New Campaign” from the Neverwinternights 2 main menu to start Pool of Radiance Remastered.
- 1 - Character Selection and Role-playing Background
Like the original Pool of Radiance, Pool of Radiance Remastered is a story about a mundane adventurer that rises from obscurity to the status of a renowned hero. While no race, alignment, or class restrictions are enforced in this module per se, the following recommendations should be followed to maintain the spirit of the story:
Race: The story focuses on a mundane adventurer. Thus, it is recommended that your character be of a race that would be considered "mundane". As a rule of thumb, half-drow, half-orcs, and any race that has an ECL associated with it would not qualify as mundane. Aasimir would be singled out as hero material and pressed into service, while the other races mentioned would be seen as potential threats and treated as such. This module does not account for these prejudices.
Alignment: The story focuses on a character that becomes a force of good in society and a renowned hero. This basic fact prevents this module from supporting a path that would allow an evil character to play “in character”. Neutral characters are borderline, while good characters are encouraged. This module provides dialog options for both Lawful and Chaotic characters.
Class: Any base class will work for the purposes of the story, as will most prestige classes. However, prestige classes that require a character to be of an evil alignment will not work for the reasons stated above. In addition, this module does not grant the prerequisite feats required for prestige classes such as Harper Agent or Shadow Thief of Amn.
Pool of Radiance Remastered is strictly single-player. It does not support more than one player. We understand that many players like playing multiplayer games but we had to make design decision and we chose this single player form to emphasize atmosphere and story.
- 2 - People of Phlan (in order of appearance)
Large parts of Phlan are ruined and inhabited by savage hordes and monsters. But it is still a living city with many inhabitants, some evil, and some friendly. This is a selection of NPCs you will meet during your adventures.
Sasha Guidarrma
Council Clerk Sasha Guidarrma is a polite and very formal person, dressed in expensive but otherwise unspectacular robes. Sasha is not exactly the prototype of an attractive woman, but she has class. Being responsible for the practical realization of the Council‘s decisions, she is the acting arm of Phlan’s government. You have heard that she is the one handing out jobs to the adventurers and eventually paying the rewards.
Roldd Adams
Roldd Adams is a seasoned adventurer. His face is always neatly shaven and under his helmet he wears his hair cut short, as most disciplined soldiers do. Roldd is a calm, silent man at the end of his twenties and he seems used to following orders, another sign of extended service in the military.
Captain Salish
Captain Salish is a warrior in his late 50s and a legend amongst Phlan’s Mercenary Guard. Although the last bit of color has turned to grey in his hair and moustache, his attitude and drive are that of a much younger man. Being in the service of different kingdoms, Salish has seen many battles, including the legendary Moonsea War of 1306. Most men in the mercenary guard consider Salish as sort of a father figure and are fiercely loyal to this commanding officer.
- 3 - Dirten Andorias
Dirten Andorias is a middle-aged man who has spent the greater part of his 38 years in juristic education, philosophical studies and in the service of his god Tyr, mostly as a lawyer and a judge. Dirten is well educated in doctrine and is a scholar, but has little, if any practical experience.
Ren o’ Blade
Ren o’ Blade is one of those people without a past who are often found in places like New Phlan. He has worked as a tavern hand, but the way he carries himself and easily deals with trouble- makers, shows that he is much more than a barkeep. Ren has a strong affinity for Shal Bal, and quit his job at the Laughing Goblin to help her with her search for answers.
Shal Bal
Shal Bal is an apprentice mage from Cormyr. She is extraordinarily large for a woman and is stronger than most men, nevertheless she is a natural beauty. Shal is determined to find out what happened to her master and mentor Ranthor.
- 4 - Tarl Desanea
Tarl is one of the twelve monastic brothers of Tyr, who brought a powerful Tyrran artefact to New Phlan. He was the only one of the brothers who made it to the settlement, and it is rumoured that the artefact was lost on the way to New Phlan.
Bishop Braccio
Bishop Braccio is a cleric of Tyr in his 80s. He has lived through the destruction of Phlan 30 years ago. Being confronted with the loss of his life’s work for the church of Tyr, he has spent the last phase of his life in exile, waiting for a chance to rebuild Phlan to its former glory. Braccio is a thoughtful, melancholically calm man. Old age has brought about a tendency to the conservative, and some degree of stubbornness. His wisdom and knowledge of law and justice are beyond question. Braccio holds a seat in “The Council of Phlan” and he is one of the three survivors of the fall of Phlan who came together to rebuild the city. Braccio‘s field of expertise at the council is justice, law and order. He fulfils this role with technical perfection, with an almost inhuman coolness. His claim to creating the perfect society strays far outside what most would consider reality. Most common people don‘t like him, and call him “The old Dreamer“.
- 5 - Werner van Urslingen
Werner van Urslingen is a well-known mercenary commander of Melvaunt. Having had no connection to Phlan in its time of glory, but is a close friend of Ulrich Eberhard. Being retired at the age of 55, Van Urslingen spent the last few years on his large farm. Contradicting many rumours about his motives, Van Urslingen did not come to Phlan for the gold. A successful career as a mercenary has left him rather wealthy. There is one thing his gold could not buy – social notoriety.
Most commoners call him “King Werner“ due to his preference for expensive, almost royal clothing.
Ulrich Eberhard
Ulrich Eberhard is a rich merchant, who at the age of 65 has no plans of retiring. His family was one of the wealthiest families of Phlan during the Valjevo era, with a large network of trading posts all over the Moonsea Area. The loss of Phlan was a major setback for Eberhard Trading, but it was no disaster. He simply moved to Melvaunt and ran his family’s trade empire from there. Today it is Ulrich Eberhard‘s gold that fuels the resettlement. The greatest part of the city’s supplies and the salaries of most mercenaries are paid from his treasury. Some say council member Eberhard is the shadow king of Phlan. Most commoners call him “The Trade Lord“.
- 6 - Timeline
367 D.R. Phlan founded as a trademeet.
400 D.R. First destruction of Phlan.
712 D.R. Milsor Valjevo and his friends clear the ruins of Phlan. The city is re- established and ruled by Valjevo and his descendants
747 D.R. Zhentil Keep is founded and at this time Phlan is the most powerful city of the Moonsea area.
902 D.R. The Plant Rust plague leads to the war between Phlan and the other Moonsea cities.
906 D.R. The treaty of the “Moonsea Ride” brings back peace and trade to the Moonsea cities.
1016 D.R. Phlan repels a dragon horde at high costs. Large parts of the city are levelled. Only one heir of the Valjevo clan survives.
1023 D.R. The last prince of the Valjevo line dies in a foolish attempt to cut a path through the Quivering Forest. Phlan descends into civil war over his succession.
1026 D.R. Phlan civil war ends with the installation of a Council of Ten.
1288 D.R. The human kingdom of Thar is established after the defeat of the ogre king Tharkul Maulong
1303 D.R. The ogres reclaim Thar and the human kingdom falls. The ogres advance against Phlan and lay siege on the city. Phlan’s fleet becomes the vital food source of the city.
1305 D.R. The river Stojanow turns poisonous and is renamed “The Barren River”. Phlan has fully lost control of its surrounding lands.
1306 D.R. Mulmaster joins Phlan’s enemies and their fleet cuts Phlan’s vital food shipments. Phlan collapses under the pressure as a dragon rises to lead the final assault. The city is looted and abandoned.
1338 D.R. Wandering settlers establish a stockade in the ruins of Phlan. The mage Denlor takes residence in a tower of the city defences.
1339 D.R. Ulrich Eberhard, Werner van Urslingen and Bishop Braccio come to Phlan and establish a new settlement called new Phlan. They rule this new settlement as the Council of Phlan. Porphyrys Cadorna arrives shortly thereafter and claims his own seat in this council.
1340 D.R. The Council of Phlan is calling for adventurers to help in their efforts to reclaim the ruined parts of the city.
Journal Entry 1
The harbor district of Melvaunt wouldn't have been the first place where I would have expected to find a bookshop, let alone a good one. It was hidden in a shadowed back alley, away from the path beaten by drunken sailors between many taverns. It was there that I found a drawing of Phlan in its heyday. True to Melvaunt, the owner was charging a small fortune for the drawing, but I’m sure other adventurers would have paid even more than I did.
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- 8 - Journal Entry 2
They sold maps of the civilized parts of Phlan at the harbor. It’s pretty clear that this is just a cheap trick to make good coin from useless paper but who knows?
- 9 - Journal Entry 3
My bag was on my shoulder and my feet were almost on the path that would finally take me away when Tymora played her hand. I met an old man who looked cold and hungry. Melvaunt is a cruel city with many starving people, but this pityful waif of a man had something about him that touched my heart. Although my purse is not heavy I bought the fellow a warm and hearty meal and we shared a flagon of ale. It was fortunate that I did, because he started a tale of his hometown - Phlan. It turned out he was a scholar and possessed a collection of old papers and books at his lodgings. He invited me to look at them as a reward for my kindness and offered to make me a copy of anything I liked. Amongst poems, old heraldries and older tax records I found two articles that will help me in the next few weeks. I’ve added them as the following pages of this
- 10 - Geography of the Moonsea Reaches
(An excerpt from Faerun – A geographical overview by Calimbal of Waterdeep)
To most inhabitants of the lands of the Inner Sea, the Moonsea and its cities represent the border between civilization and barbarism. To one side of it lie the mountains of Vaasa and to the other the Nomad Steppes. The Moonsea protects the civilized lands of Cormyr, Sembia and the other southern territories from the savage incursions of fierce Northerners, who roam in and out of the immensely cold and unforgiving wastes. On the occasions when the southern kingdoms find themselves threatened by orcs, dragons or other such fell creatures, they find comfort in the fact that it’s even worse around the Moonsea.
The Moonsea Reaches are defined as being those lands bordering onto the Moonsea itself and lying around its major contributory rivers. The River Tesh flows past the blackened and bloodied battlements of Zhentil Keep. The Wyrmflow, a cold stream flows from the east. The Duathamper, or the Elvenflow, begins deep in the heart of the Elven Court and flows north, and the Barren River flows south out of the Dragonspine Mountains and emptying into the Moonsea at Phlan. All of these waters are carried by the Lis to the Inner Sea.
The Moonsea is an odd combination of abysmally deep troughs, ship-ripping shoals and rich freshwater reefs, and is also the main means of trade and transport for the people. Travelling across its chill waters is generally much safer than making the journey by land. Safer does not mean that the Moonsea is not dangerous. The creatures that call it home are far more powerful than their land-bound cousins. Numerous ghost ships have been sighted, which lead to several regions being marked as haunted on most maps.
C.B. The Rebirth of Phlan
(An essay by Duncan, the Sage)
The destruction of Phlan in the Year of Thunder, should have been the end of its history. However, this was not the first time it had been destroyed and some remembered and took heart from the tales of Valjevo. Whereas others took their counsel from forbidden powers, adventurers and smugglers. With tales of Phlan being under the control of cruel masters. Although many buildings were burnt, others had been spared. What was once Tyr’s temple was now dedicated to some darker more sinister god, and Zhent spies and agents of evil Vasaan nobles met and planned there.
- 11 - But in time, more modest men, inured to such stories, returned to Phlan and built a fortified community. They intended to take advantage of the fact that Phlan occupies a prime trading position on the Moonsea. However, before Phlan could begin to regain some of her former glories the bulk of the old city, which lay beyond the stockade’s walls needed clearing, the Barren River needed cleaning and the influence of the competing city states of Moonsea needed removing.
Two years ago, in the Year of the Worm, there were a couple of events that changed New Phlan’s future. The first was the Flight of the Dragons that surged through the northern regions of the lands of the Inner Sea, destroying all in their path. Many of the Moonsea and Daletowns suffered massive damage in the battles that followed. Yulash was annihilated and Hillsfar suffered greatly when the body of an ancient dragon fell into its harbour, blocking the entrance and more importantly trade for over a month.
Phlan was also affected by this airborne menace but not negatively. Instead the violence of the dragons worked in the favour of New Phlan since nearly all of the damage occurred in the older, ruined section of the city, which was home to various evil warlords. The Flight broke the power of these warlords and finally, the honest men of Phlan had a chance to emerge from their shadows.
The second thing that happened was the second founding of the Council of Phlan. Descendants of the former council had survived the turmoil of the Year of Thunder and several wished to return to the land that their forebears had called home. These leaders were not great mages or mighty fighters. Rather they were traders, merchants and clerics. Today their leaders count amongst their number the shrewd and successful trader Ulrich Eberhard; the retired mercenary captain, Werner Von Urslingen; Braccio, bishop of Tyr and young Porphyrys of the ancient house Cardorna. The council of New Phlan has formulated a plan which is a replica of that formulated by Valjevo - the old city will be cleared by recruited adventurers.
The old city holds the lure of great treasure, which will be ample reward for men who are willing to risk life and limb. To achieve this goal, the Council has published notices and paid travelling bards to make sure that the story of Old Phlan’s waiting riches is spread around Moonsea and beyond.
It is a good strategy and it appears to be working well for Phlan. However, whether this is the birth of a new Moonsea power remains to be seen.
CB This is all I could find about Phlan so far. My bags are packed and my ship is waiting. Adventure, I’m coming!
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Contributing members of the Pool of Radiance team were:
Markus ‘Wayne’ Schlegel: idea, storyboard, concept, lead design, project management, area building, scripting, and artwork
Denis Douette (Hoar): area building, scripting
Patrick Smith (Kiaransalyn): journal entries
Snerft: movies
Iain Douglas: voice acting
SirChet editor
Special thanks to:
Walker Schlundt, Isaak Everett, David Godwin, Panajotis “Omadon“ Oikonomou, Carsten Schöps (Agrafes), Maximus of NWVault and all those many testers who helped us improve this module during the last 12 months.
Pool of Radiance Remastered is based on the Pool of Radiance computer game by SSI (1988), the Pool of Radiance novel and the AD&D campaign set "Ruins of Adventure". All rights of the fantasy background are owned by Wizards of The Coast and their contractors.
All artworks of Phlan and its surroundings were created by Markus "Wayne" Schlegel. The Pool of Radiance cover was created by Rico Holmes. Some of the pictures used in the movies were taken from printed sourcebooks of Wizards of the Coast.
This module is no stand-alone product. It was made with the Neverwinternights 2 Toolset and requires this computer game for playing.
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