Solasta: Crown of the Magister's Future Looks Good

Solasta: Crown of the Magister is one of two modern Dungeons and Dragons games out now and it’s only going to get better. While the ruleset is based on Fifth Edition mechanics, there is only so much developers Tactical Adventures can do when translating it to a video game. But now the team is working on adding even more ways to make Solasta just a bit more like the tabletop version.

A game as epic and large as Solasta has some big shoes to wear considering it’s pulling from one of the bestselling TTRPGs ever. Solasta is still in Early Access and it’s always evolving. The January patch is the second update since its launch in October 2020 and is full of plenty of interesting information to discuss. For instance, being silenced by a spell now makes a character unable to cast spells that require their voice. Or a character that is restrained can’t cast spells with a somatic component. These two instances are often and easily overlooked in a fast-moving game of D&D, but not in Solasta.

Other details simply change cutscenes, so they flow better. A few items got on overhaul as well, so they aren’t over or underpowered. The list is lengthy but worth a look to see what changed. Tactical even made sure to include some humor so reading the list didn’t feel like a chore.

However, the most interesting details are featured in the final paragraph of the patch notes. The development team’s next project will fundamentally change the flow of the game but at the player’s choice. Tactical is working on adding difficulty settings to Solasta so players can choose to dial down the game if it’s too hard or increase the scale making everything hit harder. It’s like adding a dungeon master to the mix but without having to do all of the prep work for the next session.

The new difficult settings will also allow players to change how an ability modifier works. Instead of sticking with the dice roll and adding or subtracting from the roll, the settings would allow players to forgo the modifier altogether. The settings will also change how enemies function as well. Instead of using their weakest attack and not adding a modifier, they may instead use a more powerful one repeatedly. They’ll even go after unconscious characters in an attempt to fully kill them.

Continuing to follow the ruleset of 5E, characters will notice new rules to encumbrance. Which in a video game is easier to control than in at the table. Another feature is the addition of weighted dice such as metal ones. They would completely change how RNG works.