Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Walkthrough Guide

The complete start-to-finish route is AIssil's Guide and Walkthrough on GameFAQs, a full Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor walkthrough that beats the game through 137 ordered Events using only in-game landmarks, with no outside maps required. The decisive first action for a new player: build the default four-hero party (Paladin, Sorcerer, Cleric, Rogue), then fight the two Orcs you surprise when stepping out of the portal on the Surface Map. This page summarizes that route area by area so you know exactly where you are and what comes next.

Before you start

The walkthrough below reflects the 2001 PC game, which the official Steam page re-released digitally on November 6, 2026 for Windows at $17.99, with bug fixes, widescreen and 4K support, an improved UI, full controller support, and an optional "Legacy" mode. The Events are the same underlying game, but if anything in the re-release's enhanced UI behaves differently, that re-release is the newer context, and part of the detailed navigation is unconfirmed against the 2026 build.

Prerequisites from the walkthrough's own notes:

• Create up to four heroes and recruit two NPCs along the way, for a party of six.
• Pick the manual's recommended mix: one good fighter, an offensive caster, a healer, and a Rogue. The Paladin, Sorcerer, Cleric, Rogue default set works and matches the guide throughout.
• Set the turn speed to off (or low). The guide's author found the game much fairer with the timer disabled, since you are not rushed while using right-click menus or targeting spells.
• Set Character Occlusion to maximum so you can see and target characters and enemies through walls.

The route, area by area

The full solution is divided into 137 Events. Vital Quest-advancing Events are the spine; clearing everything keeps your party at full strength for the finale.

1. Surface Map: arrival and the elves (Events 01-04)

   Your party steps out of the portal and can ambush two Orcs scavenging nearby. Use the surprise round, then attack; Magic Missile, Bless, Shield of Faith and healing spells cover you. Afterward you rescue the peddler Nottle from two Zombies; he gives the Knocking Word and points you to the tree house glyph. Speaking the Knocking Word introduces Beriand and Faeril, who hand out most of the game's Quests (Death's Bane, Bone Whispers, Sharpest Tooth, Nightmare Walking, Heart of Stone and more). Reading the book beside Beriand grants the Word of Mystra and completes Knock, Knock, pushing everyone to Level 2.

2. First Cellar and Main Halls (through Event 36)

   Clear the undead-filled Cellar and Main Halls event by event: Zombies, Skeletons, Skeleton Knights and Ghouls, most vulnerable to the Cleric's Turn Undead. In the Main Halls you fight the Scarred Mage Ozbort and learn the Scarred Ones are the Cult of the Dragon. The guide notes the Main Halls are fully cleared once you reach the stairs up and down.

3. Deep Halls (Events 37 onward)

   Here you find and compose the remains of the elf Garras; his ghost pledges aid against the Lifespring Guardian. Expect heavy undead fighting - Ghouls, Ghasts, Ancient Zombies - and remember Freth Drow robbers and Orog Marauders patrol areas you backtrack through.

4. Halls of Stone, Halls of Light and Speculum Grounds

   Free the ice-shrouded Rhonglyn Device and use the blue pillar to reach the Hall of Wizards, where the ghost Caalenfaire teaches the Word of Oblivion and the Scrying Mirror reveals the villains: sorceress Kya Mordrayn and the dracolich Pelendralaar. In the Halls of Light you take the Ring of Calling from the House of Gems and use it on the Seal of Mythanthor to ascend to the City Heights. Along the way: free the golden serpent Odelinde's Temple of Shaundukal by destroying the idol of Gruumsh, meet the ghost dwarf Harldain Ironbar, and collect Orrery planets to reactivate the Spinning Spires for fast travel across Myth Drannor.

5. Nightingale Court, Sully Marsh and Windrider Glade

   Defeat the Dark Naga in the Shrine of Mystra, restore Anorrweyn Evensong by placing the Glittering Stone on the Altar of Mystra (she teaches the Word of Necessity), kill the usurper Ormyrr King Pujik in southeastern Sully Marsh, and free the Red Planet from the Tusk Lord in Windrider Glade.

6. Catacombs, Lower Keep and Castle Cormanthor

   Enter the Catacombs through the Circle of Ualair using the Wizard's Torc, fight through Cult soldiers and Dark Nagas (Sleethuur included), and mind the Dwarven "Last Repose" rooms: taking coffin items without paying tribute in matching basins triggers very tough Dwarven Statue guardians. In the Silverspear Armory you help Nathlilik destroy the Soul Vessel, completing the Vessel of Souls Quest.

7. Pool Cavern: Kya Mordrayn (Event 136)

   You cannot rest in the Pool Cavern, so enter with full resources. After clearing the Cult Overseer and allies, power up in the guide's order: Sorcerers cast Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace on all six; the Cleric casts Freedom of Movement, Aid, Shield of Faith, Spell Resistance, Bless and Prayer; a Sorcerer casts Haste. Make a separate save. Approach the Sapphire of the Weave so the Word of Redemption is spoken, then Kya Mordrayn splits into three and opens with a Fireball ambush round (Spell Resistance reduces the damage). Close with melee fighters immediately to stop their casting; the guide's party won in about two rounds after the ambush.

8. Pelendralaar, the dracolich (Event 137)

   Pelendralaar is immune or highly resistant to magic - only melee fighters matter. Keep casters behind the lines with healing salves and Heal, make normal steady attacks rather than Power Attacks (which miss constantly), and grind him down; the guide's author needed 15 hits and 914 damage. Anorrweyn heals your party between the two battles. Afterward, pick up the three special weapons he drops, search the treasure before the portal, and step through it. The Pool is destroyed, The Pool, Awakened Quest completes, and you have beaten the game - though your characters are left wandering Myth Drannor in the ending.

Habits that carry you through

• Use the Cleric's Turn Undead early and often; it shuts down most of the game's enemies. Give initiative-boosting items to the Cleric so Turn Undead lands sooner in battle.
• Watch the turn order: target monsters that have not yet acted that round.
• "Fancy barrels" (brighter and more ornate than plain brown ones) hold items and stat bonuses - search them all.
• Failed lockpicks can sometimes succeed on repeated attempts; have the Rogue try again.
• Open chests found already open in a fresh room may give a reward if you close and reopen them.
• Money is nearly useless; leave junk loot behind. Healing salves can be used on anyone, but potions only by their holder.
• Continuous-damage spells like Melf's Acid Arrow can disrupt enemy casters, and unconscious characters lose their active spells.
• Listen for Quest music - it plays whenever your Quest Log updates.

For navigation help inside the first dungeon level, see the page on clearing the center of the First Cellar, and for item hunting the guide's Aasirak's Ebony Twin Ring of Power page covers one notable treasure.

Next steps

• If a locked area stalls you, the Prison Key Ring guide covers the keys the walkthrough assumes you are carrying.
• The Myth Drannor maps page helps if you prefer not to number your own in-game maps as the walkthrough suggests.
• The First Cellar clearing page gives focused detail on the first dungeon's central fights.

FAQ

Where can I find a full Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor walkthrough?

The complete one is AIssil's Guide and Walkthrough on GameFAQs (Version 1.0, February 21, 2002). It covers all 137 Events from arrival on the Surface Map to the dracolich, plus reference lists of Quests, Keys, Words, companions and Curiosities. GameBanshee also hosted a walkthrough section for the game, though the GameFAQs document is the detailed, self-contained one.

What party should I use?

The game manual's recommendation, which the walkthrough follows: a Paladin, a Sorcerer, a Cleric and a Rogue. You create those four and recruit two more characters during the game, reaching a party of six.

How do I beat the final boss?

Two fights. Power up all buffs before approaching Kya Mordrayn, close to melee after her split-and-Fireball ambush to stop her casting, then fight Pelendralaar with melee only - he resists magic - while casters heal from behind.

Is this walkthrough for the new Steam re-release?

The guide was written for the 2001 original, but the re-release on the official Steam page (released November 6, 2026) is described by the publisher as the same 2001 game with bug fixes and UI enhancements, and it offers a Legacy mode preserving original gameplay. The route should hold; only re-release-specific UI details remain unconfirmed against it.

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Check note (2026-11-07): The route, party advice and boss tactics come from AIssil's Guide and Walkthrough on GameFAQs; release details, price and features come from the official Steam page. Whether every navigation step behaves identically in the 2026 re-release build is unconfirmed.