iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I started another stupid fucking project. Questionable Authority is my Police Quest playthrough, told by Sonny Bonds himself: bad decisions, Sierra logic and way too much confidence. One badge. Several crimes. Very little oversight. samthul.com/pages/floppy... #RetroGaming #PoliceQuest #Sierra

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 14h

Not far away, I met a pretty hot centaur selling produce, so naturally I tried the old Brundy charm. “Hey there, sexy! Nice, um… legs!” “Hi!” “So, you selling fruit?” “Yes! Ten apples for one silver!” And that’s how I bought ten apples. #QuestForGlory #RetroGaming #DOSGaming #GamingHumor

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 15h

I have some amazing memories of one of the later ones but never realized you could take the same character through all the games (importing from the last game). So far it’s providing me some grade a content to journal about too haha

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 15h

Oh yeah! I actually forgot about the select a word thing! I fully plan on adding this game to me playthrough journals .. I think it would be a good one to roleplay out in first person

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 15h

New project: GLORYBOUND. I’m playing all 5 Quest for Glory games, starting with the 1989 EGA original, and carrying the same thief through the whole series. Episode 1 + rules: samthul.com/pages/floppy... #QuestForGlory #RetroGaming #CRPG #AdventureGames #DOSGaming

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We walked into a room with a Medusa. Merrick: “DON’T LOOK AT ITS BOOBS!” Lucian: “It is her eyes you’re supposed to avoid.” “I panicked!” The Pools Saga: my 18-episode journal of playing the 1988 DOS D&D game Pool of Radiance. samthul.com

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sometimes context is optional.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We found an item called: “25 Dust Covered Bootss” Bootss. With two S’s. “Hey, Aldren.” “Yeah?” “What’s a bootss?” “A what?” “A BOOTSS.” “Merrick, what the everloving fuck are you talking about?” Pool of Radiance, 1988. #RetroGaming

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I fucking finished Pool of Radiance. 18 episodes of a 1988 AD&D game became The Pools Saga: hand-drawn maps, dice decisions, party wipes, and four assholes I somehow ended up caring about. Start at Episode 1: samthul.com/pages/floppy...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I finally fucking finished Pool of Radiance. 18 episodes of hand-mapped DOS D&D, dumb decisions, party wipes, and four idiots becoming characters I actually cared about. Start here: samthul.com/pages/floppy... #RetroGaming #DnD #DOSGaming

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

You are seriously amazing! Thank you for indulging in my now absolutely obsessive hobby! If you ever find the time I’d love it if you signed my guestbook as well! Thank you again you made my night!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Apparently a bunch of you are visiting The Pools Saga page and then leaving without reading a single episode. What the fuck. 😂 At least read Episode 1 before you shatter my tiny retro-gaming heart. samthul.com/pages/floppy... #RetroGaming #CRPG

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I have an adventure journal of 75k words spanning 17 episodes for Pool of Radiance for DOS

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is not the pool you seek! 😂

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m actually playing this masterpiece as we speak AND attempting to journal the entire misadventure. I’m at 75k words and 17 episodes lol. 😂. I’m kinda a psycho.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Just set up GitHub properly for updating my website moving forward. I feel like I’ve discovered fire haha

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It's time for more 'As The Pool Turns'... We asked Ohlo for a little more money. He responded with approximately a fuckton of enemies. Lucian panicked, cast Sleep on himself, then got shot with an arrow. Everybody died. Negotiations went well. #dosgaming #retrogaming #crpg #dnd #retro #dos

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’ve published on my own website. I think I have gotten two reads lol. 75k words and 16 episodes in samthul.com/pages/floppy...

samthul.com

The Pools Saga • The Floppy Files • Sam Thul

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I wanted to log my playthrough of the SSI Pools saga, starting with Pool of Radiance (1988). A month later: 75,191 words, and this stupid thing is basically becoming accidental LitRPG. Come read and yell at the party. samthul.com/pages/floppy... #LitRPG

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’ve been playing Pool of Radiance (1988) and writing the whole stupid adventure up as I go. Episode 17 is up: pirates, a diplomatic mission gone to hell, a fort full of corpses, and Merrick dying. Again. samthul.com/pages/floppy... #Retrogaming #DOSGaming

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

You know what I miss? Saturday afternoon movies. 🍿

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Episode 7. We met a spectre. Every time this asshole touched somebody, they lost TWO LEVELS. He didn’t just kill the party. He erased their fucking résumés. Fuck ghosts. samthul.com/pages/floppy... #DOSGaming #CRPG #RetroGaming #retro #dungeonsanddragons #dnd #indieweb

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Uninvited on the Amiga 500 may still be my greatest gaming memory. As a kid I beat it with graph paper, handwritten notes, no internet, walkthroughs or saves. I still remember the dead spider, the occultist, the hidden attic, and being able to pick up fucking everything. What's your gaming memory?

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Random share for all my #dungeonsanddragons #dnd peeps out there!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I've been turning samthul.com into the kind of website I miss. A webring. A guestbook. The Floppy Files. Old-ass GIFs. Static pages. No algorithm deciding what I see next. Just my little corner of the old web, where I post fuck all. Fuck yeah! Stop by! #OldWeb #RetroComputing #retroweb #fuckyeah

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My party launched one last Hail Mary assault. And then - Nothing. No trolls. No boars. No extra fucking wave. Aldren had 1 HP left, but all four were still standing. They fucking did it. That’s how it goes in Pool of Radiance, an RPG from 1988. #retrogaming #dungeonsanddragons #rpg #litrpg

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I absolutely love everything from my childhood. God I grew up in the best times ever.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I did set up some rules before hand for the entire experience namely I went for the classic four classes humans random rolled stats and alignment and I didn’t get to change anything lol. Among a few other rules.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It’s exceeding my expectations for sure. I had it as a kid on the Amiga but I never got close to beating it back then!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm doing Pool of Radiance right now. It's been a journey and I still haven't beaten the fucking thing!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I AM playing POR! And turning it into an episodic journal with screenshots. It's been a journey so far!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Just started a complete playthrough of the entire series myself! I also picked that same portrait for my fighter, Aldren. I'm also turning it into a ridiculous episodic adventure journal with screenshots. I'm on episode 15 right now!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm right there with you! Currently playing through all 4 Pool games right now!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Kinda doin that right now lol. I'm on episode 15!

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hell yeah! I'm currently doing an entire playthrough of all 4 games in the Pool Saga and turning it into a ridiculous episodic adventure journal with screenshots. It's been.. something lol

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Been playing the 1988 DOS version of Pool of Radiance. Finally reached Tyranthraxus, Lord of Phlan. Big dramatic showdown. Ancient evil. Final-boss energy. Merrick killed him with a fucking rock. Not a magic sword. Not a Fireball. A rock. I love old games.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

How's it going? Well, we made it back to the kobold king, survived the trolls, the war boars and his stupid ass ballista, got the little bastards to surrender… …and then the game immediately started another fight and made all my characters dead. 1988 did not give a shit about your feelings. 🤣

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

We went looking for Norris. Mara paralyzed him, Lucian put his men to sleep, and Merrick murdered him with a fucking sling. Then we got paid, found a secret hideout, and were promptly murdered by ghouls. Pool of Radiance is going great. 😛 samthul.com/pages/floppy...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I finally added Art Fucking Bell to the Digital Attic. Late-night radio, UFOs, ghosts, Area 51, Mel’s Hole, terrified callers, and a voice that could make the whole world feel weird at 2AM. If you remember, you remember. samthul.com/pages/digita...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

“Hail, lizards!” — Aldren Kestyr, approximately six seconds before everyone died. Pool of Radiance continues to reward confidence with immediate consequences. 😂 Episode 4 of The Pools Saga: samthul.com/pages/floppy... #PoolOfRadiance #RetroGaming #CRPG #DnD #DOSGaming #GoldBox

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Back into the kobold king’s cave we go. Still playing Pool of Radiance like it’s 1988, bad decisions and all. Before we kicked the door in again, Aldren apparently decided this was his Goonies moment. Episode 14: samthul.com/pages/floppy...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I did a very 1998 thing: I built a webring. 😎 ThulNet is for personal, independent, creative, retro, nerdy, or just plain weird websites run by actual humans. Got your own little corner of the web? Come join the ring: samthul.com/pages/webrin...

samthul.com

ThulNet Webring • Sam Thul

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Lucian finally used the Fireball scroll. Fire. Fucking everywhere. The local orc population entered a sudden and dramatic decline. Merrick: “You could do that THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME?” Lucian: “I was saving it.” Merrick: “For WHAT? Our fucking funerals?” #RetroGaming samthul.com/pages/floppy...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I believe it might have been Ultima 7 that came with the cloth map? As well as a slew of other in box materials. The craftsmanship of video games was way larger but I also tend to think the overhead to make em was a lot smaller.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

3. Something old as shit that I never got to beat or play from my childhood 😂

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

lol 😂. Funny you mention this. I happen to adore anachronisms in my own writing, as well as the occasional fourth wall break.

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Playing Pool of Radiance with a Decision Die because we can’t be trusted to make our own choices. We found an elf’s skeleton in Sokal Keep. The die decided Mara should smash it. Mara smashed it. Archaeology was briefly attempted. #DOSGaming

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I’ve been playing Pool of Radiance, a 1988 D&D computer RPG, the old-fashioned way: graph paper, no walkthrough, no save-scumming, and a dice roll when my party disagrees. We beat 4 trolls and a kobold army. Then came 100 more kobolds. And 5 fucking boars. We died. samthul.com/pages/floppy...

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Sam Thul @samthul.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A tip (and just the tip)… Want to stop biting your fingernails? Get your fingers tattooed. Turns out you care a whole lot more about how your hands look afterwards! 😂

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