KickStarter Solasta: Crown of the Magister Thread - now with Palace of Ice sequel DLC

[lukaszek]

I tried shooting him with arrows and crossbows and kept missing. My cleric's spiritual sword knocked him down.

early encounters are great, here devs were showing you how good is shield spell reaction.
Anyway if you attack with advantage - you cant be stopped in such fashion. Part of the reason why I value rogue restealth capabilities this much, keeps casters in check.

 

[Lagole Gon]

"We have defeated Soraks so now they evolved into funny colors and are stronger then ever."
Welp... typical.

But I unironically appriciate how they throw a trash Sorak here and there. Just to remind you through mechanics that you are a badass now.

 

[Roguey]

I tried shooting him with arrows and crossbows and kept missing. My cleric's spiritual sword knocked him down.

early encounters are great, here devs were showing you how good is shield spell reaction.
Anyway if you attack with advantage - you cant be stopped in such fashion. Part of the reason why I value rogue restealth capabilities this much, keeps casters in check.

I was seething when I fired a scorching ray at the mage and his shield made it harmless(?!). It's supposed to be magic missile-only.

 

[J1M]

They start sucking as soon as other classes get another attack, so from level 5 on.

At level 5 sneak attack deals 3d6 damage, I'm pretty sure it's on par with anything martial classes can get ot of their extra attack.
One of the best rogue's abilities is the Cunning Action though.

Depends what you consider on-par. Sure 1d8 1 + 3d6 is about the same as 4d6 + 2. But is another +5 damage from ability modifier being applied again on par (16 vs 21 damage)? What about if feats are involved and now those melee dice get rerolled on 1 & 2 (16 vs 23.6)

I tried shooting him with arrows and crossbows and kept missing. My cleric's spiritual sword knocked him down.

early encounters are great, here devs were showing you how good is shield spell reaction.
Anyway if you attack with advantage - you cant be stopped in such fashion. Part of the reason why I value rogue restealth capabilities this much, keeps casters in check.

I was seething when I fired a scorching ray at the mage and his shield made it harmless(?!). It's supposed to be magic missile-only.

It made you miss via +5 AC.

 

[LabRat]

Both Solasta and Pathfinder CRPG have same the problem. There aren't many useful and interesting spells. Especially 5E removed or nerfed Save or Die spells, poor concentration mechanic is bad for the caster.

 

[Parabalus]

Why do warlock spells stop scaling after lvl 5?

 

[Cryomancer]

Especially 5E removed or nerfed Save or Die spells, poor concentration mechanic is bad for the caster.

4E removed it. 5E just maintained the removal.

As for pathfinder, they have lots of OHK spells, you can get phantasmal killer at lv 7.

2 rogue/

Maybe this works for martials, but for casters, losing the capstone and 2 caster levels is a huge problem.

Why do warlock spells stop scaling after lvl 5?

Because very few people play 5E past lv 10. And WoTC wanted a more limited amount of high level spells. 3E kinda banalized high level spells, making them too common. For eg, in 3E, a 14th level sorcerer with high CHA can easily cast 4 tier 7 spells + 6 tier 6 per day. In 2E, a 14th level magic user can cast only one or two if a specialist + 2 tier 6. And he can't learn spells by leveling up. He needs to find scrolls which in some settings are extremely hard to find, not mentioning the insane high XP requirement past lv 10 in AD&D.

 

[Larianshill]

Why do warlock spells stop scaling after lvl 5?

Because warlock regain spells on a short rest, and being able to cast 9th level spells four times per short rest would be busted. So warlocks get their weird short rest spellcasting up to spell level 5, and everything higher than that is Mystic Arcanum - meaning, one spell slot that recovers on a long rest.

 

[Larianshill]

Practically, that means that - assuming two short rests per day - a wizard* gets to cast 4 level one spells, 3 level two spells, 3 level three spells, 3 level four spells, 3 level five spells, 2 level six spells, 2 level seven spells, 1 level eight spell and 1 level nine spell.
Warlock is able to cast 12 level five spells, 1 level six spell, 1 level seven spell, 1 level eight spell and 1 level nine spell.

* - assuming he doesn't use Arcane Recovery

 

[Parabalus]

Why do warlock spells stop scaling after lvl 5?

Because warlock regain spells on a short rest, and being able to cast 9th level spells four times per short rest would be busted. So warlocks get their weird short rest spellcasting up to spell level 5, and everything higher than that is Mystic Arcanum - meaning, one spell slot that recovers on a long rest.

No, I get they don't get more slots and higher level spells, but why cap casts at lvl 5 instead of letting them scale to 6,7,8?

Doesn't seem to be a balance issue.

 

[Ol'man]

Not seen any legendary monk stuff, while when it comes to finesse weapons or simple weapons you get a ton.

Think I'm gonna dump the monk then, was already annoying in the main campaign.

Any weapon with the tag 'monk weapon' will use your martial arts die. Not just gauntlets. So there are several monk weapons that are legendary.

My monk is using some +3 legendary dagger which is ridiculously buff for 5e. 1d8 (martial arts die) +3d4 (acid) crit on a 18+. It was the first I found an hour or two in.

TA really wants the Wotr crowd.

 

[Larianshill]

WotC ran the numbers, and found out they could save thousands of dollars by not wasting the ink on an additional line of text in the Mystic Arcanum feature. I don't think there's actually a good reason for not allowing the warlocks to use their Mystic Arcanum slots for upcasted lower level spells.

 

[Cryomancer]

In the new ice palace dlc, is resting too limited?

I am in doubt between another shock arcanist main or wlk. No point in warlock if I can rest after each encounter. And will have a barb, a druid and a cleric in the party. Dint brought the dlc yet but after i go to home(i am in the gym right now) I will buy it. Seems good.

Other question. Is truth that in 5e playtest, warlocks where int casters and wotc changed it?

 

[Ol'man]

In the new ice palace dlc, is resting too limited?

I am in doubt between another shock arcanist main or wlk. No point in warlock if I can rest after each encounter. And will have a barb, a druid and a cleric in the party. Dint brought the dlc yet but after i go to home(i am in the gym right now) I will buy it. Seems good.

Other question. Is truth that in 5e playtest, warlocks where int casters and wotc changed it?

They've leaned into long resting it seems. Heavily disincentivizes short-rest classes, like warlocks.
Warlocks used int for a while in the playtest.

 

[notpl]

rogue can restealth for free as soon as lvl2. As such hitting targets with a bow is not a problem. When it occurs you can often still try your dagger. Honestly its only at 10+ when rogue starts getting behind. Before I consider it main dmg dealer.
Sneak atack alpha strike makes sure to disrupt caster concentration too.
Sure, having 4 melee characters sounds nice, but its hard to utilize them fully in many fights.

Ranger is superior, but in late levels. Marksman can disengage and even restealth now, although its late. If I were only to start fresh in dlc Id think again about not having a rogue, but as I plan to experience main campaign with less bugs, its optimal to have one. Also Im interested to push shadowcaster AC high. Mage armor appear to work with empress garb and bracers. Add shield and you can tank if dashing away is not an option. I do even consider grabbing shield feat...

It's important to consider that the shadowcaster rogue can now sneak attack with spells at level 13 (so pretty much as soon as you start this new DLC). As a high elf you can take fire bolt which will scale up to 4d10+7d6 at that point, which is a Pretty Fucking Good use of your rogue's turn. I have no idea how the other rogue archetypes are supposed to compete with that.

 

[lukaszek]

rogue can restealth for free as soon as lvl2. As such hitting targets with a bow is not a problem. When it occurs you can often still try your dagger. Honestly its only at 10+ when rogue starts getting behind. Before I consider it main dmg dealer.
Sneak atack alpha strike makes sure to disrupt caster concentration too.
Sure, having 4 melee characters sounds nice, but its hard to utilize them fully in many fights.

Ranger is superior, but in late levels. Marksman can disengage and even restealth now, although its late. If I were only to start fresh in dlc Id think again about not having a rogue, but as I plan to experience main campaign with less bugs, its optimal to have one. Also Im interested to push shadowcaster AC high. Mage armor appear to work with empress garb and bracers. Add shield and you can tank if dashing away is not an option. I do even consider grabbing shield feat...

It's important to consider that the shadowcaster rogue can now sneak attack with spells at level 13 (so pretty much as soon as you start this new DLC). As a high elf you can take fire bolt which will scale up to 4d10+7d6 at that point, which is a Pretty Fucking Good use of your rogue's turn. I have no idea how the other rogue archetypes are supposed to compete with that.

thief can cast fireball from scroll for free... Its what I wanted to do since beginning but items to use for free were just never there

 

[Parabalus]

Not seen any legendary monk stuff, while when it comes to finesse weapons or simple weapons you get a ton.

Think I'm gonna dump the monk then, was already annoying in the main campaign.

Any weapon with the tag 'monk weapon' will use your martial arts die. Not just gauntlets. So there are several monk weapons that are legendary.

My monk is using some +3 legendary dagger which is ridiculously buff for 5e. 1d8 (martial arts die) +3d4 (acid) crit on a 18+. It was the first I found an hour or two in.

TA really wants the Wotr crowd.

This isn't happening for me - main hand strikes normally with dagger 2x, but flurry of blows doesn't benefit. If you swap to gauntlets it gets it's bonus.

 

[notpl]

rogue can restealth for free as soon as lvl2. As such hitting targets with a bow is not a problem. When it occurs you can often still try your dagger. Honestly its only at 10+ when rogue starts getting behind. Before I consider it main dmg dealer.
Sneak atack alpha strike makes sure to disrupt caster concentration too.
Sure, having 4 melee characters sounds nice, but its hard to utilize them fully in many fights.

Ranger is superior, but in late levels. Marksman can disengage and even restealth now, although its late. If I were only to start fresh in dlc Id think again about not having a rogue, but as I plan to experience main campaign with less bugs, its optimal to have one. Also Im interested to push shadowcaster AC high. Mage armor appear to work with empress garb and bracers. Add shield and you can tank if dashing away is not an option. I do even consider grabbing shield feat...

It's important to consider that the shadowcaster rogue can now sneak attack with spells at level 13 (so pretty much as soon as you start this new DLC). As a high elf you can take fire bolt which will scale up to 4d10+7d6 at that point, which is a Pretty Fucking Good use of your rogue's turn. I have no idea how the other rogue archetypes are supposed to compete with that.

thief can cast fireball from scroll for free... Its what I wanted to do since beginning but items to use for free were just never there

What do you mean "for free"? He can use his turn to cast the spell, sure, but the scroll is still consumed and it takes his action. If spamming fireball scrolls is the most interesting thing you can imagine for your rogue to do, why isn't he a sorcerer?

 

[Ol'man]

Not seen any legendary monk stuff, while when it comes to finesse weapons or simple weapons you get a ton.

Think I'm gonna dump the monk then, was already annoying in the main campaign.

Any weapon with the tag 'monk weapon' will use your martial arts die. Not just gauntlets. So there are several monk weapons that are legendary.

My monk is using some +3 legendary dagger which is ridiculously buff for 5e. 1d8 (martial arts die) +3d4 (acid) crit on a 18+. It was the first I found an hour or two in.

TA really wants the Wotr crowd.

This isn't happening for me - main hand strikes normally with dagger 2x, but flurry of blows doesn't benefit. If you swap to gauntlets it gets it's bonus.

Oh - I see what you're saying. Unarmed strikes (the bonus attacks) using anything but your naked fists is straight up Solasta home-brew vs. how it's RAW.
No legendary gauntlets so far, then.

 

[lukaszek]

What do you mean "for free"? He can use his turn to cast the spell, sure, but the scroll is still consumed and it takes his action. If spamming fireball scrolls is the most interesting thing you can imagine for your rogue to do, why isn't he a sorcerer?

thief kit can use items as cunning action. Problem is that scrolls are not permitted to him until dlc when they can use anything

 

[Parabalus]

Not seen any legendary monk stuff, while when it comes to finesse weapons or simple weapons you get a ton.

Think I'm gonna dump the monk then, was already annoying in the main campaign.

Any weapon with the tag 'monk weapon' will use your martial arts die. Not just gauntlets. So there are several monk weapons that are legendary.

My monk is using some +3 legendary dagger which is ridiculously buff for 5e. 1d8 (martial arts die) +3d4 (acid) crit on a 18+. It was the first I found an hour or two in.

TA really wants the Wotr crowd.

This isn't happening for me - main hand strikes normally with dagger 2x, but flurry of blows doesn't benefit. If you swap to gauntlets it gets it's bonus.

Oh - I see what you're saying. Unarmed strikes (the bonus attacks) using anything but your naked fists is straight up Solasta home-brew vs. how it's RAW.
No legendary gauntlets so far, then.

So monks are even worse in tabletop?

Bummer. They would be quite nice if there were gauntlets with +1d10 elemental/extra damage.

 

[Ol'man]

rogue can restealth for free as soon as lvl2. As such hitting targets with a bow is not a problem. When it occurs you can often still try your dagger. Honestly its only at 10+ when rogue starts getting behind. Before I consider it main dmg dealer.
Sneak atack alpha strike makes sure to disrupt caster concentration too.
Sure, having 4 melee characters sounds nice, but its hard to utilize them fully in many fights.

Ranger is superior, but in late levels. Marksman can disengage and even restealth now, although its late. If I were only to start fresh in dlc Id think again about not having a rogue, but as I plan to experience main campaign with less bugs, its optimal to have one. Also Im interested to push shadowcaster AC high. Mage armor appear to work with empress garb and bracers. Add shield and you can tank if dashing away is not an option. I do even consider grabbing shield feat...

It's important to consider that the shadowcaster rogue can now sneak attack with spells at level 13 (so pretty much as soon as you start this new DLC). As a high elf you can take fire bolt which will scale up to 4d10+7d6 at that point, which is a Pretty Fucking Good use of your rogue's turn. I have no idea how the other rogue archetypes are supposed to compete with that.

PoI shits out legendaries, including crossbows, that's how they'll compete.

 

[Skorpion]

Anyone playing the new dlc and has thoughts?
Just curious whats improved, what continuing criticisms etc before I buy

 

[Lagole Gon]

Anyone playing the new dlc and has thoughts?
Just curious whats improved,

People are more often sitting on stuff during conversations.

 

[Artyoan]

Anyone playing the new dlc and has thoughts?
Just curious whats improved, what continuing criticisms etc before I buy

I'm not done with the campaign yet but my thoughts:
-in story presentation it remains the very same Solasta, which is to say its not great, though the plot is the most interesting of the three official campaigns so far
-the actual balance of the campaign has been way too easy on authentic. If you're wanting a challenge here, I'd probably tweak the custom parameters or set it on cataclysm. I'm mowing down fodder all over the place and only some enemies with legendary actions have posed any threat at all.
-the only bug I've had so far is a fire giant jumping on one of my characters, sending him flying onto a nearby cart prop, which inexplicably killed him and I had to revive. Not a big deal.
-combat now adds a freezing weather mechanic if you aren't taking care to warm yourself during combat, which I like. Its another system in addition to verticality and lighting that adds a dimension. It only happens in snowy areas. Dragons I fought had disadvantage to saves due to being frozen.
-Palace of Ice adds four locations and numerous enemies/npcs to the dungeon maker so if you ever plan on playing any custom campaigns that aren't already made, you're gonna need this DLC.

If you're only playing it for the official campaign I think the price point is fine but you could wait a while and get it a few bucks cheaper down the line. If you want to play and/or make custom campaigns, its well worth it.