Curse of the Azure Bonds

Curse of the Azure Bonds is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1989. It is the second in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, continuing the events after the first part, Pool of Radiance.

An adventure module of the same name, coded FRC2, was written based on the game. There is also a prequel novel, Azure Bonds, that was written by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, and is the first book of the Finder's Stone trilogy.

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 (POR) can be transferred to Curse of the Azure Bonds, although players need not have played POR 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 is 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.

Game differences
Curse of the Azure Bonds contained new features compared to its predecessor, Pool of Radiance. The game primarily takes place in the Dalelands, and the overland map allows a player to select an adjacent location and automatically travel there. There are random encounters with monsters when traveling to locations. The player may now choose the classes of paladin and ranger for characters in addition to fighter, thief, mage, and cleric. A Fix command was added to the Encamp menu, which allows a party to be healed very quickly as long as a living and conscious cleric or paladin is in the party. The graphics were improved slightly, though everything was still drawn in 16 colors.

Setting
Curse of the Azure Bonds takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting. The adventure begins in the city of Tilverton, a relatively small town that nonetheless contains all the essential shops and services to equip the party. Although the characters begin the game with no equipment, each character does receive money at the start of the game with which to buy weapons and armor. Outside the city of Tilverton, the characters may explore underground caverns, sewers, and outside in the wilds. Other locations include the Elven Forest, Zhentil Keep, the temple at Yulash, and the citadel at Hap, though these locations cannot be freely explored by the party. Instead, the player can use a menu to select places within the locations to visit. Yulash is under siege by marauders, and characters entering the town are also in danger from crumbling walls and sinkholes.

Plot summary
At the start of the game, the player characters are adventurers of great renown who wake up from a magic sleep to find themselves in a small inn in the city of Tilverton, with all of their possessions stolen and no memory of how it happened. A passing landlord informs the characters that they have been unconscious for over a month after suffering an attack. Each of the player characters has five azure-colored tattoo-like markings, called bonds, on one arm. The party had been ambushed while traveling on the road to Tilverton. They were captured and cursed with the magical bonds embedded on their arms; the characters' quest is to get rid of them. Characters can visit the sage Filani, who will give them information about the bonds. Each bond represents a different evil faction, and through the bonds, which are the result of a possession-like spell and glow when active, the factions can control the actions of the characters.

The first bond forces the characters to attack the royal carriage as it goes past, resulting in a fight with some royal guards. The characters begin searching for the first controlling faction, a band of assassins known as the Fire Knives. After defeating the Fire Knives and ridding themselves of the first bond, the characters are banished from Tilverton for trying to kill the King. The characters may then journey to Shadowdale or Ashabenford. The player then spends the rest of the game deciding where to go next to remove another bond. As the story continues, the adventurers confront the King of Cormyr and his princess, rescue Dimswart the Sage, locate three artifacts, and explore Dagger Falls. Princess Nacacia of Cormyr went missing a year ago, when she fled to escape a marriage arranged by her father, and it is up to the party to find her. The game combines mini-adventures with major adventures in the quest to remove the Azure Bonds. In the game's climactic battle, the adventurers take on an old foe back from the dead.

The remaining four bonds are controlled by Mogion, leader of the cult of Moander, Dracandros the Red Wizard, Fzoul Chembryl and his beholder allies, and Tyranthraxus, the main antagonist from Pool of Radiance. The cult of Moander is based in Yulash, where the characters encounter Alias and Dragonbait, who can join the party. After defeating the cult, the party must also defeat three Bits O' Moander, which behave as powerful shambling mounds. Dracandros is found in the Red Tower in Haptooth, and the characters will face a beholder in Zhentil Keep, along with a troop of minotaurs and a medusa.

After removing two bonds, characters may use the Search command on the wilderness map to locate mini-dungeons under certain towns; these caverns are dangerous, but the party can gain both experience and treasure in them. When four of the bonds have been removed, the characters go on to the final showdown with Tyranthraxus, who takes the form of a storm giant, in the ruins of Myth Drannor. After defeating Tyranthraxus, the game ends.

Development
The game comes with a manual explaining game play, and an Adventurer's Journal which contains contextual paragraphs which are read at designated points in the game. The game also includes a rune code-wheel for piracy protection; from time to time during play, the player will be asked to enter a letter from the wheel before the characters can continue their journey.

Curse of the Azure Bonds (1989) was the first of three sequels to Pool of Radiance (1988), and was followed by Secret of the Silver Blades (1990) and Pools of Darkness (1991). New adventures for Secret of the Silver Blades may be started by using characters generated in Curse of the Azure Bonds. Curse of the Azure Bonds was released on the Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS in 1989, the Amiga and Macintosh in 1990, and the Atari ST in 1991. It was distributed in the UK by U.S. Gold. A Nintendo SNES videogame version was planned as a sequel to the NES conversion of Pool Of Radiance, but was abandoned; the publisher in both cases was FCI.

The game is closely tied to an AD&D game module and novel by the same name. The adventure module is based on the computer game.

Novel
The novel Azure Bonds is a Forgotten Realms fantasy adventure book, written by Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak and published by TSR. The story begins with an adventurer named Alias awakening in an inn with amnesia and a set of magical blue sigils on her arm. She soon learns that they represent five evil masters that can control her mind, forcing her to do their owners' will. With the aid of a mysterious lizard-creature named Dragonbait, a southern mage called Akabar Bel Akash, and a halfling bard named Olive Ruskettle, she sets out to learn more about the sigils' creators, and free herself of them.

Reception
Tony Dillon reviewed the game for CU Amiga-64, giving it an overall score of 89%. He commented, "The graphics are more or less the same as PoR, which is no bad thing, and thankfully the game is still as entertaining and involving as the original." He noted that the game's first-person perspective is similar to that of The Bard's Tale, and also features an overhead view similar to that of Gauntlet. He concluded the review by stating, "I've said it before... but this is brilliant."

Paul Rigby of the British magazine The Games Machine previewed the game, noting that he was not happy with Pool of Radiance, which he felt was more like basic D&D due to certain classes, spells, and other elements being unavailable. Rigby said that Curse of the Azure Bonds allayed his criticism, as "Six extra character classes, 20 extra high-level spells and a bunch of new monsters make CAB a very promising product." In the following issue of The Games Machine, Rigby gave Curse of the Azure Bonds an overall score of 90%. He considered it to be a dramatic improvement to Pool of Radiance, with introduction of new classes, better storylines, and an improved combat engine. Rigby stated, "Overall, CAB is an excellent RPG, much improved and polished over POR." He concluded, "With a good storyline and excellent graphics, CAB is recommended whatever version you have."

Scorpia reviewed the IBM version of Curse of the Azure Bonds in Computer Gaming World No. 63. The review noted that transferring characters from Pool of Radiance is a good idea, as this "will give you a headstart in the game." Scorpia found the ending disappointing, as once Tyranthraxus is defeated the game ends. Scorpia also notes that the random number generator seemed to be weighted towards the low end for characters and towards the high end for monsters. She noted that the graphics and animations were improved over the first game, but felt the game speed was still a problem. She was also disappointed that that nothing much new had been added to the game except for the ranger and paladin class, and that the emphasis was still on hack-and-slash as opposed to puzzle-solving and genuine role-playing. Scorpia concluded the review by calling the game a "standard follow-up", saying it was "better than POR in some ways", but that "combat still predominates".

Zzap reviewed the Commodore 64 version of Curse of the Azure Bonds, giving the game an overall score of 86%. The reviewer felt that the addition of more character classes "allows the player more choice and a lot more scope to create a truly mixed band of adventurers, mirroring the original RPG well". The reviewer felt the monsters were better drawn and the game's plot had more depth than previous RPGs from SSI, although some innovation was lost because the game is a sequel. However, the reviewer stated "With its intricate plot and superb player interaction Curse creates a very strong atmosphere with authenticity lent to the proceedings by the mass of options and the well executed tactical combat display." The reviewer concluded by saying "Curse certainly proves a worthy sequel to one of the better RPGs around".

The game was reviewed in Dragon No. 149 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.

Doug Johns and Alex Simmons reviewed the Amiga version of Curse of the Azure Bonds for Amiga Action, giving it a 72% overall rating. Johns felt that it was a very good RPG worth getting hold of, although he felt it was a bit too similar to other AD&D computer games and less polished than Champions of Krynn. Simmons found the game decidedly average and less appealing compared to previous releases such as Champions of Krynn, but felt that RPG fanatics who enjoyed SSI's other titles should consider purchasing it. Judith Kilbury-Cobb also reviewed the Amiga version for .info magazine No. 37, giving the game four out of five stars. She felt that the graphics and animation were noticeably improved, and that combat encounters were still emphasized while being made more manageable. She concluded by stating that "Azure Bonds is the most playable AD&D game yet." Zzap reviewed the Amiga version as well, noting that this version of Curse is "a game that has fallen victim to the steady trudge of progress" while rating it 71% overall. The reviewer felt that the game was so dated by 1991 that Amiga AD&D devotees might want to buy the game to add it to their collections, but the reviewer could not "help but wonder why SSI have bothered to release this conversion when they should be concentrating on bringing prompt Amiga versions of their newer titles".

According to GameSpot, "In terms of gameplay and structure, Curse of the Azure Bonds followed its predecessor more or less directly, though it broadened the path considerably." They felt that the game system benefited from material that had been missing from Pool of Radiance, such as the ability for clerics and magic-users to attain higher character levels, the ability to enlist characters of paladin and ranger character classes, and the option for human characters to become dual-class characters.

According to the book, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, SSI ran into a play balance dilemma by allowing players to import experienced characters from Pool of Radiance. In order to make the game playable for both beginners and players with built-up characters, the designers had most of the characters' weapons and equipment stolen at the beginning of the game. SSI received criticism for this decision, and had to come up with new solutions to balance play in future games.

According to GameSpy, "Azure Bonds was a more than worthy addition to the series, and was, in many ways, superior to its prequel".