D&D 5E Solasta - is it worth playing?

[Rya.Reisender]

I played the original game for a while. I found it enjoyable, but the devs had some really weird interpretations on some of the rules that annoyed me a lot like that I couldn't target creatures that I cannot see. They didn't follow the errata and especially not Jeremy's Sage Advice. And even if you stretched and say the rules could be interpreted that way, why interpret things in a way that makes the game less fun to play?
I tried to explain some of the rules to the devs but they didn't listen.

Also the game unfortunately only includes freely accessible D&D 5e stuff, so many spells and class traits are missing.

I got tired of the game at around the 20 hour mark, but it was still fun until then, so I think it's worth a try.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

like that I couldn't target creatures that I cannot see.

That's standard 5e rules for most spells. Targeting things you can't see is the "weird interpretation"!

 

[Rya.Reisender]

That's standard 5e rules for most spells. Targeting things you can't see is the "weird interpretation"!

No that's wrong.

The base rules for spellcasting only require a clear path to the target, it even specifies what happens if you target a point you can't see. Nowhere it says that you need to see a target to target it with a spell.

So only spells that specifically say "a creature you can see" require sight.

This is also confirmed by Jeremy in Sage Advice.
To quote him:
"A spell tells you if you must see its targets."
"The clear-path rule is about there being a path clear of total cover. It's not about visibility."

Slow spell, do you need to have line of sight on creatures to affect them?

D&D Sage Advice ·

www.sageadvice.eu

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The base rules for spellcasting only require a clear path to the target, it even specifies what happens if you target a point you can't see. Nowhere it says that you need to see a target to target it with a spell.

Yes it does, in most spell descriptions.

But how is a character supposed to target something if they don't know where it is? Targeting something your character can't see is metagaming.

The Slow spell, the one being discussed, in Solasta targets an area (as it does in every other CRPG implementation of D&D rules). So long as you can see the target point for the cube, it will affect enemies in the AoE, even if you can't see them.

 

[Oofta]

Yes it does, in most spell descriptions.

But how is a character supposed to target something if they don't know where it is? Targeting something your character can't see is metagaming.

The Slow spell, the one being discussed, in Solasta targets an area (as it does in every other CRPG implementation of D&D rules). So long as you can see the target point for the cube, it will affect enemies in the AoE, even if you can't see them.

There is a bit of weirdness with targeting, but it's not what you can see. It's where you can walk. This is a limitation of the game engine though, not a rules implementation.

There are times when you can't walk somewhere. Based on the art it looks like a pit or some terrain feature that would block movement but should be a valid point for targeting a spell.

But I guarantee that targets that you can't see get hit all the time if you have an AOE spell.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think what gets some people is they can't cope with is Solasta actually implementing lighting rules. If you have 60 ft. darkvision you can't see something that is more than 60 ft. away (unless it is illuminated).

But you can get round the walkable square issue if you target the air (you can toggle 3D targeting on and off on the minimap). I use this a lot. Fireball AoE too big? Cast it over the targets' heads.

 

[Oofta]

I think what gets some people is they can't cope with is Solasta actually implementing lighting rules. If you have 60 ft. darkvision you can't see something that is more than 60 ft. away (unless it is illuminated).

But you can get round the walkable square issue if you target the air (you can toggle 3D targeting on and off on the minimap). I use this a lot. Fireball AoE too big? Cast it over the targets' heads.

I was today days old when I learned that trick. You still can't target absolutely everywhere, for example I have a room that I can't target above a table but if I turn the horizontal plane off I can center on an area I can't walk. But I was able to target over other non-walkable areas. Thanks.

 

[Seramus]

Yeah. There are a lot of benefits to everyone in the party having Darkvision so you can ignore many of the illumination rules in Solasta, but it's easy to forget Darkvision is only 12 squares.

 

[Oofta]

Yeah. There are a lot of benefits to everyone in the party having Darkvision so you can ignore many of the illumination rules in Solasta, but it's easy to forget Darkvision is only 12 squares.

You can get a ring of darkvision in case you're, oh, I don't know, replaying the base game and don't realize you accidentally selected human for your paladin instead of half elf like you had intended. After you've already replayed more than you want to redo of course. Not that I would be dumb enough to do that, but in theory it could happen.

 

[Zaukrie]

I liked the challenge of worrying about light! It was like the olden days of gaming. Or shadowdark....

 

[Brainwatch]

Remember, the light cantrip can be cast on just about anything. Human fighter, have light on that necklace you're wearing, now no matter what weapon you chose, you're in light.

Also Dancing light becomes a very nice cantrip, long range, movable. There's a surprising number of fights that happen at range and in the dark.

At higher levels Daylight can be very useful also.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I've just completed the Palace of Ice campaign (single player), so I thought I would give it a quick review.

Narratively, it's a direct sequel to the original Crown of the Magister campaign, with lots of returning NPCs as well as the party. It's very much the same style of generic fantasy. It feels a little flat, but I put that down to the lack of mo-capped cutscenes and professional voice actors that you find in more expensive games. It's really just there as an excuse to kick some demon butt anyway. It is livened up by some slightly meta comments on the differences between Solasta and licenced D&D, including the use of a spell that is not on the Solasta spell list but features in a certain D&D movie.

As with regular 5e, combat at this level is a case of throwing everything at the PCs and watching them mop the floor with it. Random encounter: ambushed by dragons? Only 5 dragons? Meh. Being a computer game, it does allow a lot more units in a fight than is practical in a tabletop game, and you will often find yourself with allies in the fight too. Which don't act too stupidly most of the time. Speaking of allies, you do have significant NPCs joining the party for a short span, but the game still does not allow you to access their inventories or level them up.

For DLC, this is a good length, a similar size to Lost Valley and the original campaign, but I did hit the level 16 level cap before the mid point, so there wasn't a great deal of progression in much of the adventure, aside from finding a few powerful magic weapons. Note that I didn't find any more powerful crafted weapons, not much use for crafting apart from making paralysis ammo, which is a bit too good.

The final conflict tries to up the difficulty by throwing a series of boss fights at you without letting you take a long rest. Suddenly I was glad I had dragged that warlock along for 16 levels! I guess the point is to use all those scrolls and potions you have been hording since the start of the game. Speaking of warlocks, I did find their high level spell list rather lacking in good choices, since you don't get slots you can's upcast. But that's 5e rulz.