PetrusOctavianus
Retro Gamer
I like this topic.
During the past two years I (re)played all of the Gold Box games, except the second Buck Rogers games, which was just too much random encounters for my taste, and didn't offer anything new compared to the first game.
IMO, the Dragonlance trilogy is the best series.
There are three schools of magic, and Clerics actually worship named deities, which give different bonuses.
And the demi-humans are actually wothwhile to have in your party. Half-elves are rather useless though (unless you are Tanis). Elves and Dwarves are not nearly as restricted as their bretheren in the Forgotten Realms, and humans can't dual class, so there is more of a balance between the races. Dwarves can reach max levels as Fighters, and Elves max levels as magic-users.
Since humans can't dual class, the most powerful character will be a Qualinesti Elf Fighter/Magic-User. IIRC Ranger/Magic-User is not allowed, but Q.Elves can reach lvl 14 as Fighters.
But the Krynn games are much more hard core than the FR games. In the Krynn games Elves can't be Resurrected! And Disintegrated characters are GONE and can't be resurrected either. So if you play the Krynn games more or less Iron Man, you'll have to think long and hard about including elves. I included elves in my party and found that my playing style was affected by it, and I always tried to keep them away from things that could insta kill them, like Beholder rays and Dragon breath.
The Krynn games also have the Kender. I'm probably the only person who will admit to actually liking the Kender. They are funny, and they are useful, at least in the two first Krynn games, where their Taunts can be useful. Also, they make the usually useless Cleric/Thief combo viable, since they can backstab with their Hoopaks. And being immune to Fear can be useful at crucial times.
Champions of Krynn is actually the weakest of the Krynn games IMO. Things really pick up in Death Knights and Dark Queen is my favourite of all the Gold Box games.
Some tips:
The enemy AI was still very basic in COK. In later games enemies can move and then cast spells. This means if you are more than 12 squares away from a Magic-User and more than 6 squares away from a Cleric, you are safe from the Charm and Hold spells.
I largely agree with the OP's comments about modern AAA games. So now that I've played and replayed the Gold Box games, I'm having a good time with the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA) modules. Nearly 600 modules of variable quality are available and the community is still active.
During the past two years I (re)played all of the Gold Box games, except the second Buck Rogers games, which was just too much random encounters for my taste, and didn't offer anything new compared to the first game.
IMO, the Dragonlance trilogy is the best series.
There are three schools of magic, and Clerics actually worship named deities, which give different bonuses.
And the demi-humans are actually wothwhile to have in your party. Half-elves are rather useless though (unless you are Tanis). Elves and Dwarves are not nearly as restricted as their bretheren in the Forgotten Realms, and humans can't dual class, so there is more of a balance between the races. Dwarves can reach max levels as Fighters, and Elves max levels as magic-users.
Since humans can't dual class, the most powerful character will be a Qualinesti Elf Fighter/Magic-User. IIRC Ranger/Magic-User is not allowed, but Q.Elves can reach lvl 14 as Fighters.
But the Krynn games are much more hard core than the FR games. In the Krynn games Elves can't be Resurrected! And Disintegrated characters are GONE and can't be resurrected either. So if you play the Krynn games more or less Iron Man, you'll have to think long and hard about including elves. I included elves in my party and found that my playing style was affected by it, and I always tried to keep them away from things that could insta kill them, like Beholder rays and Dragon breath.
The Krynn games also have the Kender. I'm probably the only person who will admit to actually liking the Kender. They are funny, and they are useful, at least in the two first Krynn games, where their Taunts can be useful. Also, they make the usually useless Cleric/Thief combo viable, since they can backstab with their Hoopaks. And being immune to Fear can be useful at crucial times.
Champions of Krynn is actually the weakest of the Krynn games IMO. Things really pick up in Death Knights and Dark Queen is my favourite of all the Gold Box games.
Some tips:
The enemy AI was still very basic in COK. In later games enemies can move and then cast spells. This means if you are more than 12 squares away from a Magic-User and more than 6 squares away from a Cleric, you are safe from the Charm and Hold spells.
Each area has a limited number of random encounters, but they are reset each time you re-enter the area.
I largely agree with the OP's comments about modern AAA games. So now that I've played and replayed the Gold Box games, I'm having a good time with the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA) modules. Nearly 600 modules of variable quality are available and the community is still active.
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