Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Zomg]

How many mantes are there in the game anyway, like one weird overworld random encounter maybe? I don't think there are any fixed ones unless I am forgetting an entire area or something. I can believe I've just never happened to run into it.

Edit - lol http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=34486

 

[GarfunkeL]

Lol indeed. I don't remember ever encountering that bug - either it's really rare or SMA is quite unlucky and playing some crap shit version.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

I'm playing the DOS version 1.3 that came with this pack.

 

[Lord Haw Haw]

I'm playing the DOS version 1.3 that came with this pack.

Ah, the Silver Archives.


The book that comes with that pack is one of my most prized possessions. Every GB Forgotten Realms Games Booklet (along with EOB and the rest) in one meaty tome. No code wheels, no bullshit.

 

[damicore]

So... I was planning on starting the krynn series as my first goldbox games and I actually had a couple of questions:

Can you play them without the manuals? If not, where can I get the manuals?

Do I need a significant ammount of D&D knowledge to play them? I fired up champions of krynn and didn't know how the fuck I should assemble my party, what the differences between the races were, etc.

How long are these games? And the ones from the savage frontier series?

Isn't playing whilst constantly reading the manual to get extra bits of information the same chore or even worse than going through a 1HR cinematic shitfest in FFVII?

Do any of the goldbox games feature music during battles? Musicless battles seem kind of anoying, and the battles look to be pretty long.

Also, any suggestions on preparation whatsoever before getting into these games would also be great.

 

[Excidium]

You can get all the game documents here: http://www.oldgames.sk/en/game/champions-of-krynn/

 

[damicore]

The downloads on that page don't seem to work, it just keeps loading.

 

[FeelTheRads]

http://replacementdocs.com/search.php?q ... loads&r=10

And the manuals are more than necessary I would say.

 

[Fowyr]

Re: Skyrim & The Sims 3 VS. Champions of Krynn & SF

Can you play them without the manuals?

No. You need password from journal entry to progress in the first part of CoK.

If not, where can I get the manuals?

replacementdocs.com

Do I need a significant ammount of D&D knowledge to play them? I fired up champions of krynn and didn't know how the fuck I should assemble my party, what the differences between the races were, etc.

A little. Read the manual.

How long are these games? And the ones from the savage frontier series?

Not very long. Savage Frontier games were pretty short. (But awesome)

Isn't playing whilst constantly reading the manual to get extra bits of information the same chore or even worse than going through a 1HR cinematic shitfest in FFVII?

No, I like reading. Journal entries were pretty short and far between. Also martian story from Wasteland manual was hilarious.

Do any of the goldbox games feature music during battles? Musicless battles seem kind of anoying, and the battles look to be pretty long.

Any mp3 player to the rescue.

Also, any suggestions on preparation whatsoever before getting into these games would also be great.

Just try to take all classes/races. I can't remember about demi-human levelcaps, though. Probably they was not here.

 

[mondblut]

Re: Skyrim & The Sims 3 VS. Champions of Krynn & SF

Can you play them without the manuals? If not, where can I get the manuals?

Without manuals, no problem. Without journal entries, barely. Technically you can, but you'll miss a lot of info and will just stumble about like a blind kitten seeking for someplace to continue further. I did though

Do I need a significant ammount of D&D knowledge to play them?

Nope, a basic knowledge of what classes do what and which stat controls what are enough.

I fired up champions of krynn and didn't know how the fuck I should assemble my party, what the differences between the races were, etc.

Differences between races is everyone but humans are worthless past level 5 to 11 at best, except for thieves. Classic goldbox party is 3 meatshields (rangers and 1 knight), cleric and 2 mages, or swap one for 4th meatshield. You don't really need thieves.

How long are these games? And the ones from the savage frontier series?

Fairly short. I completed 2 of them (Champions and Gateway, IIRC) back to back in under 3 days, doing little else though. Champions is totally railroad, Death Knights extremely short plotwise (several hours at best) with lots of optional side content, SF somewhat bigger.

Isn't playing whilst constantly reading the manual to get extra bits of information the same chore or even worse than going through a 1HR cinematic shitfest in FFVII?

Alt-tab to the rescue.

Do any of the goldbox games feature music during battles? Musicless battles seem kind of anoying, and the battles look to be pretty long.

Don't think even Dark Queen/FRUA had music in battles themselves, only before them.

 

[Erebus]

Re: Skyrim & The Sims 3 VS. Champions of Krynn & SF

Do I need a significant ammount of D&D knowledge to play them? I fired up champions of krynn and didn't know how the fuck I should assemble my party, what the differences between the races were, etc.

I knew next to nothing about D&D when I first played Champions of Krynn and I still managed, though it took me some time to understand some details (saving throws aren't very well explained in the manual, for instance).

As for the party :
- You must take at least one cleric, preferably two (they can be multi-classed) ; they're pretty much your only source of healing
- You should take a knight
- You should take at least one single-classed mage

The races you choose aren't extremely important in "Champions" or even "Death Knights". They can become a problem in "Dark Queen" because many non-humans will find themselves unable to gain levels above 10-12. Also, if I remember correctly, Raise Dead doesn't work on elves.

The team I used the last time I went through the series was :
- one knight, one ranger, two mages (all humans)
- one ranger/cleric and one mage/cleric (elves)

 

[GarfunkeL]

Yes, Elves requires Resurrection which is a higher level spell than Raise Dead.

It's best to go with all-human party if you intend to play all three games with the same party. Utilize dual classing for min-maxing if you want.

 

[damicore]

Well I guess I'll be playing with an MP3 player, too bad because I was hoping for some good chiptune battle music.

Fairly short. I completed 2 of them (Champions and Gateway, IIRC) back to back in under 3 days, doing little else though. Champions is totally railroad, Death Knights extremely short plotwise (several hours at best) with lots of optional side content, SF somewhat bigger

3 Days for two games? Were you eating or sleeping at all?

 

[Metro]

Red mage over white mage, imo. It's been a while but the only in-game differences I remember are that red mage level faster/have lower experience curves. Other than RP stuff external to the game I believe that's all. There might be some spell limitations but I don't think they were very significant.

 

[Mackerel]

Demi-humans in the Dragonlance Goldbox games are much more viable actually, they all have at least one class they can gain unlimited levels in, with Qualinesti elves being able to max every class except fighter. White Robes get extra higher level spells for slightly higher experience costs and less lower level spells than Red Robes.

 

[Metro]

Kender are immune to fear which can be helpful in a few key encounters.

 

[Jaesun]

Kender are immune to fear which can be helpful in a few key encounters.

And their Shout ability, which every effected creature will now only target the Kender. VERY useful in some battles.

 

[glasnost]

But when would you *not* target the kender, really.

 

[mondblut]

Red mage over white mage, imo. It's been a while but the only in-game differences I remember are that red mage level faster/have lower experience curves. Other than RP stuff external to the game I believe that's all. There might be some spell limitations but I don't think they were very significant.

With the exception of 1st and 9th spell levels, almost all spells are either white OR red. Only 1-2 spells on levels 2-8 are available for both. If you don't want to be crippled magic-wise, you need both red and white wizard.

 

[someone else]

Shouldn't we be raging over the fact that it doesn't allow us to play black mages?

 

[Metro]

That's only for Raistlin fanboys.

 

[Jaesun]

Also the moon phases effect things as well. It's a rather interesting rule system.

 

[damicore]

What about maxing stats? Is that cheating? I don't quite get why the game lets you max some stats.

 

[someone else]

^ You might have difficulty in DQK if your mage doesn't have high dex. Anyway the AI cheats as their mages gets buffs before battles unlike you.

 

[Erebus]

With the exception of 1st and 9th spell levels, almost all spells are either white OR red. Only 1-2 spells on levels 2-8 are available for both. If you don't want to be crippled magic-wise, you need both red and white wizard.

I think most of the important spells are available to both. Red Mages have Mirror Image, Invisibility, Knock and Haste, while White Mages have Globe of Invulnerability and Power Word Kill, but both have Sleep, Stinking Cloud, Magic Missile, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Ice Storm, Cone of Cold, Fire Shield and Delayed Blast Fireball.

Still, I agree that it's safer to have both types of mages.

Regarding clerics, I think it's better to have them worship Mishakal, who gives a nice bonus to healing spells.