The Curse of the Azure Bands: Secrets of an Ancient Ritual

The Curse of the Azure Bands is a phenomenon that has plagued the land of Valeria for centuries. It is said to be a curse bestowed upon those who possess the powerful Azure Bands, a set of magical bracelets crafted by an ancient sorcerer. Legend has it that the Azure Bands were created with the intention of granting their wearer immense power and control over the elements. However, the creator himself was corrupted by the immense power of the bands and became a malevolent being known as the Azure Sorcerer. The Azure Sorcerer wreaked havoc upon the land, using his newfound power to subjugate and control the people. Realizing the devastation he had unleashed, the sorcerer regretted his actions and attempted to destroy the bands.

My Mum bought me this on my birthday and I absolutely fell in love with it. I'd never played such a "free roaming" game before, it just blew me away. I loved creating the characters and the whole adventure. This is undoubtedly "the" game of my childhood. Afterwards I played the other SSI dungeons and dragons games but non of them lived up to this one (probably just because it was the first one). I also enjoyed Pool of Radiance and Chamions of Krynn, but not like this one.

I played this on C64 and since you needed a separate floppy to save your game, I thought what if I saved my game on a second disk, then I would have clones of everything I picked up. Once you complete the game and are ready to transfer from Pool of Radiance then you should go to the training hall, enter one of the 4 training rooms for fighters, thieves etc and then select the option Remove Character From Party for all characters you intend to transfer.

Realizing the devastation he had unleashed, the sorcerer regretted his actions and attempted to destroy the bands. In his final act of repentance, he cursed the bands so that anyone who possessed them would face great hardship and misfortune. Since then, the Azure Bands have been sought after by treasure hunters, adventurers, and power-hungry individuals alike.

Curse of the Azure Bonds

One of the best tactical CRPG's on the C64. The final fight wasn't as memorable as the fight with the Drow Elf Lord with a party needing to level up more at the tower. Also, the optional Beholder army fight in a side quest was a hoot. This and Pool of Radiance were outstanding. Secret of the Silver Blades was the weakest.

Yeah, player this one but I don't recall ever playing it to the end like I did Pools of Radiance and the other titles that followed. I think the thing I remember most is running amok through the Fire Knives hideout wiping them out. Good times.

I played this one on the C64, Amiga, PC and even Atari ST. I even looked into the Apple II version. Nothing more to add to this great game than "fighter kills a snake"!

Warhol's theme song for this is one of my favourite SID tunes.

Nothing beats kicking the crap out of Tyranthraxus in Pool of Radiance and then transfering all your pimped out guys into Curse

or you could just (M)odify your stats. Meant to transfer real D&D characters from paper into game, but used to have walking gods instead

Ill never forget storming through the fire knives hideout, blasting fireballs down the halls. Classic!

A timeless RPG and prob. The top 5 best RPG's on the C64.

TSR SSI did an amazing job here.

I had hours and hours of fun and I still play it now and than.

@Underfly: nobody likes long loading times, but we all accepted the idea of it. I personally played ALL of the AD&D RPGs on my C64 (except for Hillsfar, which I never played), and I enjoyed them all. The game is worth the candle!
The C64 versions were EXTREMELY playable, in spite of the long loading times.
My fave was Champions Of Krynn, but Curse is a close second!
Great job SSI!

My Mum bought me this on my birthday and I absolutely fell in love with it. I'd never played such a "free roaming" game before, it just blew me away. I loved creating the characters and the whole adventure. This is undoubtedly "the" game of my childhood. Afterwards I played the other SSI dungeons and dragons games but non of them lived up to this one (probably just because it was the first one). I also enjoyed Pool of Radiance and Chamions of Krynn, but not like this one.

Personality, I don't know how you people enjoyed these D&D conversations on the C64, due to the tremendrous loading times, a whole evening is gone before you know it, just to get a few simple things done, and that was with the "fast-load" option, never tried it with normal load. The Amiga version is almost exactly identical, minus the long loading times and a lot less disk swapping. The C64 versions were so unplayable unless you enjoy long loading times.

Been looking for this game for ages. Darn publishers wont re-do it. It would be a good one to re-do. Imagine the possibilities, I have all tghe books that have to do with Alias and Dragonbait.
One hell of a story and one hell of a Game. Bring it on I want to Kill Kill .

I played this on C64 and since you needed a separate floppy to save your game, I thought what if I saved my game on a second disk, then I would have clones of everything I picked up. The details are too difficult to explain, but I figured out how to make infinite clones of anything. This was especially helpful with money and arrows, but it also allowed me to equip all of my characters with items that only showed up once in the game (e. G. Girdle of storm giant strength). I also used the "SAVE BEFORE THE BATTLE" technique described by John Maccaro. And you bet your +3 elven chain that it took LOTS of time.

Yep, this has got to be my favourite of the gold series box D&D roleplaying games. I do recall that it was the most fun of the group, and the battles were great but each encounter created dreaded long drive loads. The battle sequences were awesome. My favourite was the battle with the beholders in the caves, heavy experience points. The trick I used to make this easier for my party was saving the game before the battle, send in the party, having them win, saving each back to disk--- THEN reload the game before the battle, adding my newly saved party to rack up more experience points in the same battle. Oh those were the perks.. When gaming took time, luck anc lots of patience!!

Not as good as Pool of Radiance (IMHO) and the early battle(s) in the sewer is a PAIN. I didn't like this game as much as I did POR, but it is still a great game for those who haven't yet tried Computer AD&D.

The Amiga version is definately the one to play as loading times weren't so horrendous! Still this is a very interesting advanced RPG game, it was just the long loading times and disk swapping that put me off the C64 version.

This was my favourite of the AD&D gold box series as well. I must have replayed this game 10 times, never getting sick of it. I can even remember my exact party, which consisted of a paladin, mage, elf mage/thief, ranger, cleric, and a dwarf ftr/thief. Those drow were damn tough to kill, too. In terms of game greatness, Curse of the Azure bonds is probably the equivalent of the old AD&D module "Against the Giants. " Anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyhow, what a blast.

My favourite of the 'goldbox' series. Excellent storyline unrivaled in the series with plenty of difficult battles to challenge even the best parties. Remember the 100 hp drow in the castle? The battle with all of those Black Dragons? Bits 'O Moander? So many great memories!

My first introduction CRPG's was this masterpiece. The amount of dungeons, scope of the story and of course the various 'bond bosses' made it very addictive and huge for the time. Rather than leaving things open for more exploration, there is an actual ending to this one!
The battle in the BeholderCorps (DaggerFall) is astonishing! (harder than Moander, I think)

I didn't like this one as much as Pool of Radiance, in that it was more linear. But I still had a blast playing it! A great CRPG.

Pieces of Moander could be finished with simple Stinking Cloud or Staff of Striking.

This was my favourite of the three Pool games. Much harder than the first one, although a little too quick to finish. The fight with the 'pieces of Moander' was the toughest. They had over 100hp each, and once they hit you, they killed you the next round. OW!

Being the sequel to Pool of Radiance, it was almost a given that Curse of the Azure Bonds would be just as awesome. And just as awesome it truly was. Not a touch of the greatness of Pool was lost in Curse and there were even a few new features that make it an absolute classic.

All of the gold box games are classics
to me. I have played most of them. There is a disc that you can buy that
has 9 of the games on it. Try them and you will see what I mean.
LATER

Many have tried to claim the power of the bands, only to be met with tragedy and catastrophe. It is said that those who possess the bands are plagued by terrible nightmares, haunted by vengeful spirits, and are hounded by misfortune in every aspect of their lives. The curse of the Azure Bands is said to be unbreakable, with no known way to lift the curse once it has been bestowed. It is believed that the curse is a form of divine retribution, punishing those who seek to wield power without regard for the consequences. Despite the warnings and tales of the curse, there are still those who are willing to take the risk. The allure of ultimate power is simply too great for some to resist. However, the stories of those who have fallen victim to the curse serve as a cautionary tale to all, reminding them of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the consequences of playing with forces beyond their control. In conclusion, the Curse of the Azure Bands is a powerful and mysterious force that has haunted the land of Valeria for centuries. It serves as a reminder of the dangers of seeking power without humility and the inherent risks of tampering with dark magic. May those who encounter the Azure Bands be warned and tread carefully, for the curse is ever-watchful and unforgiving..

Reviews for "The Azure Bands Curse: Is there a Way to Break the Spell?"

- David - 2 out of 5 stars

I found "Curse of the Azure Bands" to be incredibly boring and unoriginal. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked any depth or development. The plot was predictable and offered no surprises or twists. The writing style was lackluster, with uninspired descriptions and dialogue. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others.

- Sarah - 1 out of 5 stars

"Curse of the Azure Bands" was a complete waste of my time. The story was convoluted and confusing, making it hard to follow along. The pacing was extremely slow, and I found myself losing interest after the first few chapters. The writing was mediocre at best, with weak descriptions and dull dialogue. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging fantasy read.

- Alex - 2 out of 5 stars

I had high hopes for "Curse of the Azure Bands," but it fell flat for me. The world-building was lacking, and I struggled to understand the setting and the rules of the magic system. The characters felt flat and unrelatable, making it difficult to connect with their struggles and motivations. The plot was predictable and offered no surprises. Overall, I found this book to be disappointing and would not recommend it to others.

Breaking the Curse: Strategies for Overcoming the Azure Bands