Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Character Creation

Start a new game and the character roster opens immediately — you build up to four heroes there, one race/class/alignment/point-buy step at a time, before the party ever sets foot in Myth Drannor. That is the whole process of Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor character creation, and it is unchanged in the 2026 digital re-release described on the official Steam store page. If you want to see the screens before committing, SNEG's free demo includes the first location and your demo progress carries over to the full game.

What the game gives you at creation

The core party is four player-made characters, not six. Per the official Steam page, you create up to four heroes and recruit two more along the way, for a party of six, so two of the six slots are filled by companions you meet during the adventure rather than by anything you build at the start. The game uses the Dungeons & Dragons rules with different races, classes and spells, and over 90 spells are in the game overall.

Creation itself follows 3rd Edition conventions. An IGN review of the original 2001 release notes that instead of rolling stats you get a pool of points to distribute, and that feats and skills are automatically assigned as a package when you pick a class. Some races or classes in that build also had no gender choice, and wardrobe colors could not be customized.

The creation steps, in order

One player video of a fresh playthrough — "Trying Out Pool of Radiance Ruins of Myth Drannor" on YouTube — walks the full creation flow from the roster screen to the finished party, and it lines up with the point-buy and class behavior the IGN review describes. The screens appear in this order:

1. Open the character roster from a new game

   When you start a new game you land on the character roster, which already shows the shipped pre-made party (names like Corin, Darcy, Derwin, Kestrel and Glennena in that recording). You can play the pre-mades, but the video author treats building your own as the normal route — and IGN agrees the shipped party is not what most players use.

2. Pick a race

   The race list is human, elf, dwarf, half-orc, halfling and half-elf. Each race carries its standard 3rd Edition racial adjustments; the recording shows half-orc granting plus two Strength and minus two Intelligence and Charisma, applied on top of your point buy. Gnomes are not on the list — IGN notes that gnomes, druids and wizards are missing from this game entirely.

3. Pick a class

   The class list in the recording is fighter, barbarian, ranger, cleric, paladin, sorcerer and rogue. There is no wizard — sorcerer is the arcane caster here — and no druid or bard. IGN notes there are no longer race or class restrictions beyond those gaps, so any listed race can take any listed class.

4. Choose an alignment

   The standard D&D alignment grid appears next, but some classes gate it: the recording shows all lawful alignments greyed out for a barbarian, which matches the 3rd Edition rule that barbarians cannot be lawful. IGN adds that alignment has no discernable effect once play begins, so pick for flavor.

5. Distribute ability points

   You do not roll stats. You get a pool of points to spread across the ability scores, with the racial adjustments already applied on screen — the reviewer calls this the 3rd Edition point-buy system and notes it produces fairly even characters. There is no reroll button to fish for high numbers.

6. Choose a miniature and confirm

   You pick a miniature portrait for the character, then the game shows the derived combat block — armor class, initiative, base attack, melee and range values and the max dex modifier — plus the starting inventory and the class's pre-assigned spells, skills and feats. You do not hand-pick skills or feats here; each class comes as a package. Confirm and the hero is added to the roster.

Repeat the process until you have the party you want, then head into the game. The intro cinematic plays and you arrive in Myth Drannor already in the middle of a fight, so a sensible starting party matters more than in most RPGs.

Building a party that survives the opening

Because the game is heavily combat oriented, IGN's reviewer observes that sorcerers and rogues are less useful — and less alive — during the early levels than barbarians and paladins. A melee-heavy start with one healer (cleric or paladin) is the safe baseline. Keep in mind:

• At least one divine caster for healing — the recording shows cure spells and the Heal skill carrying a wounded party through the first battles.
• At least one melee frontliner; the orc encounters right after the intro hit hard.
• Remember there is no turn undead-style safety net for a cleric-free party, and fights start immediately.
• Leave the two remaining party slots in mind — two more companions join during the adventure, per the official Steam page.

For which combinations pay off later, see the classes page and the best party page; the companions page covers the two recruits you cannot create yourself.

Multiclassing and long-term growth

Characters level up to 16th level and can cast 8th-level spells, per the official Steam page — so ninth-level spells do not exist in this game, which IGN flags as a caster limitation. Multiclassing, however, is real. IGN highlights the 3rd Edition multiclass rules as enlarging character growth, noting that switching from one class to another is simple as long as you watch each race's favored class, since multiclassing into the favored class avoids experience penalties.

In play, the option shows up on level-up: the playthrough video levels a barbarian and is offered a ranger multiclass on the spot. The same recording also shows the catch — leveling up presents no visible choices for spells, skills or feats, so the game assigns growth automatically. That means your creation-time choices are the main decisions you actually get to make about a character.

Next steps

• The classes page details each of the seven classes so you can finalize race/class pairings before the point-buy screen.
• The best party page helps you settle the four starting slots once you know the creation rules.
• The companions page covers the two recruits who join later, which changes which roles you need at creation.

FAQ

How does Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor character creation work, step by step?

You start a new game, reach the character roster, and build up to four heroes through race, class, alignment, point-buy ability scores and a miniature choice. Feats and skills are assigned automatically with the class, and two more party members are recruited during the adventure, per the official Steam page.

Can I roll my stats or choose my feats and skills?

No. IGN confirms the game uses a point-buy pool instead of stat rolling, and feats and skills are automatically assigned — sometimes with odd priorities. The playthrough recording shows the same: class packages, and even level-ups grant no manual spell, skill or feat choices.

How many characters can I create?

Four. The official Steam page states you create up to four heroes and recruit two more along the way for a party of six. One player recording of the roster screen appears to show fewer free creation slots, but that contradicts the official four-hero figure, so treat any shortage on screen as a quirk to work around by removing pre-made characters.

Why is there no wizard class?

Wizards, druids, gnomes and bards are simply absent from this game, as IGN notes — sorcerer is the arcane caster and there are no race or class restrictions otherwise. Alignment is chosen at creation but has no discernable effect during play.

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Check note: the official Steam store page (checked 2026-11-07) supplied the party size, level cap and release details; the IGN review supplied the point-buy, class gaps and multiclass observations, and the YouTube playthrough supplied the first-hand screen order. The exact point-buy totals, favored-class list and level-up assignment behavior remain unconfirmed in detail.