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Part 2 – Creating your party.

  In Pool of Radiance you’re allowed a total of 6 members in your party, plus you may hire 2 more, for a total of 8.  Since they have very little use in the game, I would recommend not using a thief, while their backstab is nice (And can be set up with ease using a “stalking horse” maneuver) , they just cannot compete with the other classes for raw power.  I would recommend renting a thief for the two areas of the game where they are useful, and then dropping them for a hero.  The reasoning for this will be shown later on.

  When you create the party, most walkthroughs recommend using single a mix of different types of classes, but this is generally based on flawed understanding of the game’s engine.  In the notes and charts below I’ll cover exactly what your party should be made of, why, and if you want, some options that are not too bad to use to mix it up a little.

  First, we need to pick what races, sexes, and classes to use, these are all the options:

1. Single classed:
   1. Cleric
   2. Fighter
   3. Magic-User
   4. Thief
2. Dual classed:
   1. Cleric/Fighter
   2. Cleric/Magic-User
   3. Fighter/Magic-User
   4. Fighter/Thief
   5. Magic-User/Thief
3. Triple classed:
   1. Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User
   2. Fighter/Magic-User/Thief
4. Races and Sexes

  If you’ve seen my notes on the SSI game series, you know I’m a big fan of human dual-class, but this is not an option for these games, there’s no dual-class options, so humans have to be single class.   The largest notes on each class are for the single classes, the dual and triple classes talk more on how the classes work together, the advantages and disadvantages of the mix, and what races are best for them.

  After reading the notes for the above, you can gather what class I recomend using in the game, the male half-elf Cleric/Fighter/Magic-user for all six party members (From now on refered to by the more common Fighter/Magic-User/Cleric, or F/Mu/C).  Another high-ranked choice is the half-elf F/Mu, but as you can see in the notes, the math just doesn’t work out too well for them. 

  Another class that is fair is the male dwarf Fighter/Thief.  While they have no spells, if you like to do damage via a backstab, these are fun to use, but the half-elf Fighter/Magic-User/Thief works out well too.  But there just aren’t that many monsters to use backstabs on in this game, and a cleric’s hold person spell does make the back stab look a bit silly.

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