Ruins of Adventure


Ruins of Adventure is a Dungeons & Dragons module that served as the basis for the popular "Gold Box" role-playing video game Pool of Radiance, published in 1988 by Strategic Simulations, Inc.. According to the editors of Dragon magazine, Pool of Radiance was based on Ruins of Adventure, and not vice versa. The plot loosely tracks that of the computer game. It is now out of print.

Plot summary

Ruins of Adventure contains four linked Forgotten Realms miniscenarios set in the ruined town of Phlan. The scenarios form the core of the Pool of Radiance computer game, and include clues to that game's solution.
The adventurers are hired to remove evil forces from Phlan, presumably by killing them. They hear rumor of a Boss controlling them and seek him out. This Boss proves to be a worthy adversary, but in the end the adventurers defeat him.

Locations

There are various locations in the fictional city of Phlan. Each of these locations comes with a map and detailed area description. These locations include:
There are numerous pre-generated characters in this book. Monsters each have their own stats prepared and there are quite a few non-player characters.

Publication history

Ruins of Adventure was written by James Ward, David "Zeb" Cook, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, with a cover by Clyde Caldwell, and was published by TSR in 1988 as a 96-page book.

Reception