Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor re-locked doors fix

The re-locked doors fix is to hex-edit your save file and swap a sacrificial item's 12-digit code for the key's code — for the first two main dungeon doors, Key of the Living is 4A 03 00 00 3D 9E and Key of the Dead is 49 03 00 00 3F A0. Per community documentation, this bug is still unfixed for at least those first two doors despite what the official patch notes claim, and no in-game workaround exists.

When this bug hits you

Doors can re-lock after you opened them with a key, and the key is consumed on use. The classic trigger reported by players: you explore a section of the first dungeon level, find Beriand's staff and return it to him — then on the way back, the doors are locked and you cannot finish the game. When it happens, some (not all) loot containers also refill, so the level appears to partially reset; enemies, however, do not respawn.

Before resorting to the editor, try loading an earlier save made before you used the key. If you have none, the hex edit below is the only remaining route short of restarting.

Hex-edit the key back into a save

1. Locate the save file

   Saves live in <path-to-game>\Pool of Radiance\savegames. You need the .sav files, not the .sav.sta files.

2. Prepare a sacrificial item

   Pick one character, strip them of everything (give it to other party members) except one unimportant item — a light healing potion works; the merchant sells them and restocks when you change areas. Put that single item in the character's top-left inventory slot. Save the game as a new save file, then close the game.

3. Find your character in the file

   Open the .sav file in a hex editor and do a text search for that character's name (a long or unusual name helps avoid matching a game function). Shortly after the name you should find the code for the single inventory item, surrounded by mostly empty code.

4. Replace the item code with the key code

   Each item code is 12 hex digits, followed by a hex 01. Example: a standard light healing potion starts 06 03 01 00 plus four more symbols (e.g. 06 03 01 00 20 00); merchant-sold potions start 16 00 01 00 (e.g. 16 00 01 00 0C 00). Overwrite all 12 digits with the key code you need, then save.

5. Load and confirm

   Load that save in the game — the sacrificial item should now be the key. Use it on the re-locked door.

Check note

Save locations and hex codes come from the community-maintained PCGamingWiki page, last checked 2026-11-07. The official Steam page for the SNEG re-release (released November 6, 2026) lists "fixed numerous original game bugs" but does not specifically confirm the re-locked doors bug is fixed in this version — whether the hex method and codes apply unchanged to the Steam re-release is unconfirmed, so verify on a backup save first.