Companions in Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

How do companions fit the six-character cap?

You build four characters at New Game (/guides/character-creation/). As the story progresses, up to two joined NPCs fill the remaining roster slots while eight different companions can appear across the full campaign (FAQ). You cannot field everyone at once—dropping or skipping recruits is part of squad planning.

Companions fall under your control after recruitment (FAQ), same as created heroes for tactics, rest, and loot. Unverified in the remaster: AI behavior, banter, or permadeath rules versus 2001.

If your created team already follows Fighter / Cleric / Rogue / Sorcerer (/guides/best-party/), companions usually duplicate or amplify roles rather than fixing a missing class you never took—unless you deliberately skipped Rogue and wait for Tudo.

Who are the eight recruitable companions?

All rows below are Original (2001) data from GameFAQs AIssil (2002). Levels are join snapshots, not endgame potential.

Unverified in the remaster: Every number in the table; whether multiclass splits match; whether Jarial still joins ahead of your Sorcerer in effective spell tiers.

The FAQ’s “eight companions” count aligns with this list (seven named in the walkthrough table plus Athan). Event numbers (Event 13, 51, 76, etc.) exist in the source but are omitted here per site style—you can cross-check GameFAQs AIssil if you need exact flags.

Which companion covers which party gap?

Match recruits to weaknesses in your created four, not to redundant roles unless you want power spikes.

Faeril is a functional Cleric replacement but the walkthrough author warns that keeping her in the active party can nudge certain conversations (Original note, not fully reproduced here). Unverified in the remaster whether that flag still exists.

Athan can be refused when first offered and recruited later at a Mystra-linked shrine according to the walkthrough (Original). Treat other companions’ reject paths as undocumented unless you verify in-game.

Should you swap companions mid-campaign?

With only two slots, pairs like Kellan + Bronwyn consume both at once when you accept the Silver Fire temple recruit (Original Event 107 context—location name only, not a full walkthrough). That can be ideal if you already run a four-role core and want ranger/fighter coverage without multiclassing your mains (/classes/multiclass-guide/).

Dismissing or benching companions is possible in many CRPG rosters; our fact set does not document a safe drop mechanic—Unverified in the remaster. Save before roster changes.

Spoiler: where companions sit in the story (light)

Sources and what we haven’t verified

Sources: Sorcerer’s Place FAQ (companion count, player control); GameFAQs AIssil Reference §Companions and per-Event notes (2002-02-21); Steam store six-member party text (2026-11-07); romd-facts-C-world-story.md C2 table.

Unverified in the remaster: All join levels and class splits; recruitment prerequisites; Faeril story friction; Athan re-recruitment; companion inventory; XP sharing; permadeath; voice/localization changes. Compare class priorities on /classes/best-class/.