Most videogame RPGs cite Dungeons & Dragons as their primary inspiration, but few directly adapt its rules. In a world of cooldowns and mana bars, D&D’s dice rolls, bonus actions, spell slots, and long rests can feel clunky and restrictive when applied to a videogame. Even Baldur’s Gate 3 makes many notable changes to make D&D more user-friendly, while indie RPG Solasta wears the 5e ruleset as a badge of honor, warts and all.
This is a game where combat is on a grid, where every d20 rolls on screen, and where jumping away from enemies is a sometimes-treat rather than a regular part of every meal.
While it may forever lurk in the shadow of Baldur’s Gate 3, its crunchy, dice-heavy combat is just what I want in a lean adaptation of the tabletop RPG.
Town Musicians of Bremen is a one-shot based on the German folk story of the same name. Designed for Tier 1 (levels 1-4), the adventurers meet multiple D&D versions of the four animals from the folk story on their way to Bremen.
Starring: Kaelan, level 14 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock Scarlet, level 14 human Oath of Devotion Paladin Gillian, level 14 triton Champion Fighter/College of Lore Bard Kethra, level 14 half-elf Assassin Rogue TIM, level 14 warforged War Domain Cleric
We barely hear each other over the roar of the rapids. Scarlet and Kethra work furiously to keep our little rowboat from capsizing.
TIM is mumbling and waving his hands, magically calming the water around us. I nearly break his concentration when I scream, “Waterfall!”
Ninety feet. Eighty feet. We’re soaking wet, crashing waves slamming into us as we approach the drop. Seventy feet. The boat lurches sideways, but Scarlet grunts and keeps us upright.
Forty feet. TIM is unnervingly calm, fighting nature itself. Styx, flying somewhere above, cackles gleefully.
Twenty feet.
A school of fish darts away. Was that a larger form in the water? It’s my last thought before we hit the sky, and my stomach drops out.
I open my eyes. We’re in the air, still in the boat, gently descending downward. My hands are still desperately clinging to the side of our battered rowboat. TIM is still chanting, keeping some water around us, but the rest of us look around in bewilderment.
Then we see her. Gillian. Triton. Emissary of the Sea, floating beside us, keeping us gently wrapped in her Featherfall spell.
Taking a cue from the much-loved co-op series Overcooked,Unrailed is a zany co-op survival adventure in which a team of players hurry to mine resources and lay tracks to keep their unstoppable train from crashing.
Unrailed lacks the visual charm of Overcooked but adds more dire stakes as the tracks stretch farther and farther.
Making fun of the United States of America isn’t exactly a challenging endeavor. Our culture of celebrities, excess, and ignorance pretty much mocks itself at every opportunity. Satire can be a bit more difficult, but when carefully crafted and applied, can contain a multitude of messages and realizations draped in humor.
Monsters of Murka is an effective satire of American culture and politics, a sourcebook for a fantasy world that reflects our current (or at least, circa 2016-17) state of political divisiveness alongside huge leaps in social media, technology, and globalization. Not all of it is overtly clever, but there’s more than enough content, including new player options, to craft an entire campaign in the tumultuous land of Murka.
When Apex Legends released last year, my friends and I were overjoyed. Here was a battle royale we could get into. Crisp shooting with lots of guns, fun characters with unique powers, and a helpful ping system left us hungry to jump into this explosive multiplayer genre.
Then we died. A lot. And died some more. Meeting an enemy team was near-instant death, every time.
At the risk of further humiliation and demoralizing evenings, we ultimately shelved Apex Legends. I continued to watch the genre from afar, my hands pressed against the glass of the battle royale sweet shop, not daring to venture inside. Until Spellbreak appeared in the window.
Starring: Kaelan, level 14 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock Scarlet, level 14 human Oath of Devotion Paladin Gillian, level 14 triton Champion Fighter/College of Lore Bard Kethra, level 14 half-elf Assassin Rogue TIM, level 14 warforged War Domain Cleric
I led them through the forest. A living forest, very much aware of our presence. The warforged, TIM, tried shouting at it, only to get a mass of barbed vines waving in his face. “Calm,” I reminded, as if speaking to unruly children.
We’d survived a night and a day in here, and I was not about to be killed because these fools wanted to poke and prod.
Muttering to myself, I turn a corner, stopping suddenly in my tracks. A red-skinned woman is floating off the ground in front of us. Her lower half is a mass of writhing tentacles, and she’s armored in black iron.
When she speaks, her voice barely raises above a whisper, yet echoes ominously through the woods.
“Hello there little mortals, it’s lovely to meet you,” says the demon. “I am Irathon. What might your names be? And what exactly are you doing here?”
My hands fly to my crossbows and aim them at her head. I whisper one word in response, not taking my eyes off her. “Demon!”
The Psion Class tackles a popular character class option, the mind-based Psion, who has access to an entire unique list of nearly 200 new spells, though ultimately falls into the same trap of re-theming the Wizard and Warlock classes.
![Solasta may be the dice-obsessed D&D RPG you’re looking for [PC Gamer]](https://roguewatson.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/keyart_exploration_1920x1080_72dpi.png?w=1200)
![Unrailed Review [Pixelkin]](https://roguewatson.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/unrailed.png?w=1000)
![Spellbreak Is the Spell-Slinging Battle Royale for the Rest of Us [Escapist]](https://roguewatson.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/spellbreak_official_launch_cinematic_trailer.jpg?w=960)
