One of the more ambitious Dungeons & Dragons RPGs of the early 2000s is getting another chance to find an audience, as Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is being restored for modern PCs. Publisher SNEG, working with Wizards of the Coast, has announced that the cult classic will arrive digitally on Steam and GOG on November 6, while players can try the adventure early through a limited-time Steam Next Fest demo available until October 26. Progress made in the demo will carry over to the full game.
Originally released in 2001 by Ubisoft and developed by Stormfront Studios, Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is a turn-based party-based RPG set in the Forgotten Realms. The story sees a new Pool of Radiance emerge, unleashing a wave of corruption that curses everything it touches. With the threat spreading across Faerûn, the legendary wizard Elminster calls upon a group of adventurers to investigate its origins and put an end to the evil lurking beneath the ruined elven city of Myth Drannor.
Players can assemble a party of six characters, creating up to four heroes before recruiting two companions along the way. Drawing on official Dungeons & Dragons rules, the adventure features a range of species, classes, spells, sprawling dungeons, and tactical battles. Characters can advance to level 16, with spellcasters gaining access to spells as powerful as eighth level. Combat can also be approached in two ways, with traditional turn-based encounters or an optional turn timer that adds pressure and speeds up the action.
The restoration aims to make the original RPG more accessible without losing sight of its roots. The updated release includes widescreen support up to 4K, upscaled background assets, a reworked camera, full controller support, and an improved user interface featuring a new action bar and additional tooltips. Players can adjust combat animation speeds to suit their preferred pace, while Steam Achievements, Cloud Saves, and Steam Deck support provide further conveniences for modern players.
Those who would rather experience the game as it originally appeared can also enable an optional Legacy mode, preserving its classic gameplay and visuals. A range of bug fixes and other quality-of-life improvements round out the restoration, with additional settings allowing players to decide how much of the original experience they want to retain.
“Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor was an ambitious game for 2001,” said Artem Shchuiko, director at SNEG. The publisher’s goal with the restoration is to preserve what made the game special while addressing the technical issues that have made it difficult to play on modern systems.
With its November release approaching, the Steam Next Fest demo offers an early opportunity to revisit this Forgotten Realms adventure or discover it for the first time. Those interested can begin their journey now, with their progress carrying into the full release on November 6.