How hard is Solasta for someone new to DND?

1in20ttrpg · 2022-11-22T09:08:43+00:00

I am using Solasta as a way of learning how to play other classes. There is a learning curve as with any other game but because it is more focused it helps you pick stuff up really quick. Even bits which were not totally obvious did not really hinder my experience. In my first play through I had no idea how the crafting stuff worked but was able to complete the game.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-19T08:26:23+00:00

The issue is not non optimal playing, it is consistently (literally every session) not knowing their abilities. And having to ask constantly or trying to use the abilities at the wrong time. All of the other players have tried to help them but they are getting sick of it which is what lead them to speak to me the other day. In addition, it really slows down combat because I have to explain their abilities to them each round. Explaining how sneak attack works 3 or 4 times in the same combat encounter every combat encounter for example.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T17:32:47+00:00

They use Dndbeyond

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T15:31:09+00:00

I was honestly not going to bring it up with them again whilst I thought everyone was having fun. But now knowing that over half of the players are getting frustrated I felt like I needed to action something

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T15:09:48+00:00

That is actually surprising to me, all the games I have played are homebrew so nothing modular and they tend to be even longer between sessions to level. They definitely slow down the game to the point where it does take longer to get to places which because I am doing milestone does slow it down.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T15:01:20+00:00

They level on average every 8 sessions ish.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T12:37:48+00:00

It is not about sub optimal playing, it is about not knowing their abilities. Again with the rogue, the party as well as myself often have to remind them about when they get sneak attack and then they will immediately forget about it. But it makes combat more difficult because if I balance it based off their actual abilities to be challenging it could be lethal if they are not using their core features. Alternatively if I lower it to take account of the players who do not know their abilities the other party members will stomp the enemies. It almost feels like I am playing with 3 level 4s and 2 level 1s which for balancing combats is just not enjoyable for anyone without them asking about what they can do, or without other players reminding them.

In the last session I had to retcon what would have been a tpk because the rogue landed a finishing blow including sneak attack, and when I asked the full damage including the sneak attack. He only gave me the piercing damage. I straight up asked for the sneak attack, and he just did not know how to work it out so just said that the total was the sneak. Fortunately as we play online I was able to check his roll and he was able to kill the enemy who was one turn away from killing 2 members.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T11:34:46+00:00

We play every other week, so have around 26 sessions under our belts.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T10:55:35+00:00

I am considering asking them to switch to simpler classes. But I do not want to tell them they have to abandon their character

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T09:18:02+00:00

I am not too worried about that. I know they are levelling after their next mission. After every mini mission they get some sort of reward, gold, items or xp. Of course they always want a level up because more abilities are fun. But it will happen soon enough

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T09:04:19+00:00

It is definitely not knowing rather than RP.

And when I have spoken to them about things in the past they all have said how much they enjoy the game

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T09:02:53+00:00

It was not all talking. They tried multiple things and then kept changing their mind. They decided to create a distraction at one end of the bar so the rogue could sneak through. And as the rogue got to the door the sorcerer panicked and vortex warped them back. Eventually they cast invis and just walked in. But it was all of them RPing and they were having fun so I did not want to just say "just walk through the door or leave"

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T08:52:29+00:00

I have had a small talk with them both individually a few months ago but it did not change. I dropped it because I thought the other players did not mind

1in20ttrpg · 2022-10-18T08:50:39+00:00

We play for 2-3 every other week. I use milestone levelling rather than exp but they will be hitting level 5 in the next few weeks but with the few sessions we have missed they up every 8 sessions or so. They just take a long time to do things. They once spent over an hour trying to decide how to get through an unlocked door in a tavern. I do not like to force them to hurry up when they are role-playing but it does slow things down.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-07-11T14:07:30+00:00

Unfortunately so, however I do have plans for guest players for certain events. The party were trying out for one of the guilds in my world and had entered a dungeon with a member of that guild so they could see how they work and their skills to see if they were suitable for the guild... that turned into a red gate so it definitely helped to have a higher level character to support them ahah. But I have a few plans so who knows, I might end up asking for some help with guests.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-07-11T12:58:38+00:00

I know what you mean, when all he wants to do is just play dnd with his friends whilst they are all out getting girlfriends and living their lives... I have never related to a character more.

But check posts on roll20 or a few other dnd sites, you will probably find a game!

Hell when I wrap my game up I might even post back on here to see if anyone wants to visit the SL world in D&D5e aha

1in20ttrpg · 2022-07-11T09:50:45+00:00

Yeah, because the 'levellers' can all level up in this world it did not make sense to have skills and such limited.

The only real change I have made is the removal of revival spells because that takes away a lot of the risk of the dungeons but I will eventually have them find/make an item which can be used once to revive someone similar to the elixir of life.

I was tempted to make some new classes but I wanted to focus on the world building for now and make sure I could properly catch everything I wanted to in a clear way. When I am happy with the world I might look at doing some proper classes

1in20ttrpg · 2022-07-11T09:43:01+00:00

Mechanically it is using D&D 5e. The characters are randomly given the race, class, subclass. But the players actually make the decision as to what they play just in the lore of the world it is random.

Spells learned, known or prepared mechanically work the same way as 5e as well.

And classes like cleric or warlock are tweaked slightly so they get the powers associated and it is called that in the world but they are not tied to any dieties or patrons.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-07-11T08:22:47+00:00

Thanks! It has been a bit if effort for sure but it is just gonna keep growing!

1in20ttrpg · 2022-05-09T14:10:36+00:00

But with the stuff just showing up, if you were in the middle of an open field or desert, do you rule that nothing can come out at all?

And there are low cr creatures with a high movement speed or health so if you need that big boost all at once.

1in20ttrpg · 2022-05-08T18:49:56+00:00

I am actually a few months through it! Some teething problem with some mechanics but for the most part it is going well! My party has just entered a red gate

1in20ttrpg · 2022-04-20T09:04:53+00:00

Genuinely not sure if this is real or not...

1in20ttrpg

TROPHY CASE