Dungeons & Dragons: Krynn Series

This set contains three of the lesser, but still good "Gold Box" RPGs from famed publisher Strategic Simulations Inc. While by this point the engine was showing it's age, especially with the last game 'Dark Queen of Krynn', it still has some of the best combat of any of the early RPGs. For those not familiar, Krynn is the world of the Dragonlance setting, for Dungeons and Dragons. At the time of these games' releases, the rules system was in it's Advanced Dungeons and Dragons era, straddling the 1E and 2E versions of the system. AD&D was a bit clunky, rules and lawyers heavy, and had THAC0. It was not where near as refined as the 3.x edition of the ruleset, though vastly superior (like everything except FATAL) to 4E. The Gold Box engine utilized a Wizardry-like first person exploration with a 6 character party (with a few slots for npcs). Combat was, unlike Wizardry and it's many derivatives, on a isometric tactical map. This gave the Gold Box games the best combat system out of any of the major cRPG series in the 80's. By the 90's it was growing stale, as around a dozen games and an early MMO shared the basic engine. It was also more heavily story driven than many contemporaries. Games like Wizardry and The Bard's Tale had bare framing stories, and little lore in the game. Champions of Krynn was by far the best, with a great story and challenging combats through to the end. Death Knights wasn't quite as good, and Dark Queen seemed like an effort to cram as much high level stuff into the engine as they could, but both are still worth a play through. All this said, if you're a jabroni who needs bright and shiny arrows to point the way, this series ain't for you. It's brutal, unforgiving, and you have to figure out the way to go for every single step. It is not accessible at all, and the graphics and sound have not held up at all. The UI remains clunky as well. Still, if you love RPGs, these are classics for a good reason. Check them out.

As a longtime Dragonlance fan, I'm very happy with these games being able to get more story based on this world. But I'm also very disappointed that GOG did not remove the tedious copy protection questions that pop up, since it's supposed to be DRM-free.

There was a series of these games from SSI - and for me, this one captured my attention the most. (OK, it's hard to beat the idea of Pool of Radiance) - but as an avid fan of Dragonlance, I enjoyed being able to play as this character. Granted, by today's standards this game is VERY clunky and VERY dated, but if you played it back then (or any of the SSI games) - it all comes rushing back. It is a computer game, so naturally, it won't even compare to the story found in the books; but it's still a great adventure.

These are some of the best D&D computer games ever made, beaten out only by Temple of Elemental Evil. These turn-based adventures set in the Dragonlance setting are among only a few D&D computer games not tarnished by either realtime combat or the Forgotten Realms. Their only flaw is their dated graphics and controls.

Even i liked the earlier Pool of radiances and other D&D titles, This was the best by far. It adds when you have also been readin the Champions of Krynn books and you know the famous NPC characters by nature. Will be buying this as soon as i have time and then my social life will consist only from this. Best D&D series by far!