Even though I already own all parts of NwN2 on CD, I am seriously contemplating buying NwN2 Complete on GOG so I can play it again. It's up there with BG1 as my most beloved D&D video game, and not being able to enjoy BG3 has made me feel nostalgic for NwN2 as the most recent good D&D game.
I really struggled with a few aspects of NWN2. I hated the camera, it drove me crazy at times. I really enjoyed the story though right up until the end.. the ending kinda put me off a little bit. But in general I did get a lot of enjoyment out of the game. I’ve never played the official expansions and I keep meaning to. I have the GOG version and I might try to find some time to give the expansions a go.
Am I crazy, or did I hear there is a mod that makes the Camera waaaaaaaay less awful? I havent used it, just remember hearing that said in the past.
I think NWN2 is pretty meh. Mediocre game through and through. Never did play the expansion packs, and I've heard those are better. At least one of them is, I cannot remember which one that is...
Yeah, you can mod the camera.
I'm surprised how little attention the NWN2 fan made modules get. Some of them are of such high quality it is a wonder they aren't talked about more often. Far superior to the NWN2 OC, without a doubt.
And I thought Storm of Zehir was a great IWD-like adventure.
it's due to the tool set being harder to use compared to the one for nwn 1.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
Well, firstly, you're assuming these games will all be RPGs. That's not a solid assumption. The head of WotC has specifically said he envisions even D&D strategy games. And certainly there will also be card games, and also games that are exclusive to mobile platforms and/or consoles. So we may very well not get any other D&D cRPG besides BG3. At most we may get one more (I hope), but I am not counting on it.
Then, on top of all that, there is the question of whether that one other D&D cRPG we MAY get will be RTwP. I have even bigger doubts about that. And like @ThacoBell said, hack n' slash action games, or even dungeon-crawls, do not count.
Bottom line, I don't have any hope I will get a game that is: D&D + cRPG + RTwP, and as such I will remain excluded from the D&D RPG market.
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort Once again, you are reading a lot of things I didn´t say in your head. Maybe we could finally have an exchange of opinions when you start replying to something I actually said.
Aaanyway... We already know Solasta and BG3 are CRPGs, that´s a solid 2 out of 4. At least that's a good ratio considering what type of games had the D&D license the previous years (sword coast legends, Neverwinter heroes... shudders).
There´s also Knights of the chalice 2, for 3.5 fans. I call it good news.
Oh please. My comment directly addresses your comment.
Furthermore, your inclusion of Solasta (and now even Knights of the Chalice 2?) tells me you don't really know what you're talking about here. The head of WotC said in an interview this February that there are seven D&D games in the works between now and 2025, two being released this year and then one per year thereafter. He specifically mentions the two games from this year as BG3 and DA. Neither in this interview nor in any other interview of him in the past does he ever mention Solasta or any other similar OGL game as one of his D&D games. So you want to include games like Solasta in there to artificially boost your count of D&D games. Feel free to keep doing that. I, and clearly WotC as well, reject counting games like Solasta as D&D games. So in our world, BG3 is the ONLY D&D cRPG.
Just to be clear: Solasta, afaik, has an official DnD 5.1 license from WotC. Can not say why WotC does not count that (very) interesting game as their DnD game, but it is as DnD as cRPG can get.
Solasta uses the free OGL (Open Gaming License. I don't remember if those are the correct words or the correct order. I'm improvising) version of 5e. This means that they are free to use the entire mechanical system of 5e DnD but are not allowed to use any setting- or product-specific DnD-related IPs such as, among many others, Faerun, Mind-Flayers, Forgotten Realms, Monster Manual, and importantly also the term Dragons & Dungeons. The last one is important because it means that if WotC refer to these DnD-in-all-but-name creations as DnD products they risk voiding the trademark and making it public domain property.
3.5 had a similar OGL and all games made with it, such as Star Wars or Pathfinder, were known collectively as d20 games instead of DnD games.
The 5e OGL is also how share-your-own-creations-sites like Dungeon Master's Guild are legally allowed to operate (though DMG is run by WotC themselves and come with the additional license features of being able to use dnd-related IPs as long as you only publish through DMG).
We had a long fruitless discussion about whether it's the settings that makes a product DnD or whether it's the DnD game mechanics that's the most important some time ago in some thread or other brought on by Solasta and people referring to it as a DnD game. I believe no minds were changed.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
Well, firstly, you're assuming these games will all be RPGs. That's not a solid assumption. The head of WotC has specifically said he envisions even D&D strategy games. And certainly there will also be card games, and also games that are exclusive to mobile platforms and/or consoles. So we may very well not get any other D&D cRPG besides BG3. At most we may get one more (I hope), but I am not counting on it.
Then, on top of all that, there is the question of whether that one other D&D cRPG we MAY get will be RTwP. I have even bigger doubts about that. And like @ThacoBell said, hack n' slash action games, or even dungeon-crawls, do not count.
Bottom line, I don't have any hope I will get a game that is: D&D + cRPG + RTwP, and as such I will remain excluded from the D&D RPG market.
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort Once again, you are reading a lot of things I didn´t say in your head. Maybe we could finally have an exchange of opinions when you start replying to something I actually said.
Aaanyway... We already know Solasta and BG3 are CRPGs, that´s a solid 2 out of 4. At least that's a good ratio considering what type of games had the D&D license the previous years (sword coast legends, Neverwinter heroes... shudders).
There´s also Knights of the chalice 2, for 3.5 fans. I call it good news.
Oh please. My comment directly addresses your comment.
Furthermore, your inclusion of Solasta (and now even Knights of the Chalice 2?) tells me you don't really know what you're talking about here. The head of WotC said in an interview this February that there are seven D&D games in the works between now and 2025, two being released this year and then one per year thereafter. He specifically mentions the two games from this year as BG3 and DA. Neither in this interview nor in any other interview of him in the past does he ever mention Solasta or any other similar OGL game as one of his D&D games. So you want to include games like Solasta in there to artificially boost your count of D&D games. Feel free to keep doing that. I, and clearly WotC as well, reject counting games like Solasta as D&D games. So in our world, BG3 is the ONLY D&D cRPG.
Just to be clear: Solasta, afaik, has an official DnD 5.1 license from WotC. Can not say why WotC does not count that (very) interesting game as their DnD game, but it is as DnD as cRPG can get.
Solasta doesn’t have a D&D licence. No where is WotC mentioned in the game.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
Well, firstly, you're assuming these games will all be RPGs. That's not a solid assumption. The head of WotC has specifically said he envisions even D&D strategy games. And certainly there will also be card games, and also games that are exclusive to mobile platforms and/or consoles. So we may very well not get any other D&D cRPG besides BG3. At most we may get one more (I hope), but I am not counting on it.
Then, on top of all that, there is the question of whether that one other D&D cRPG we MAY get will be RTwP. I have even bigger doubts about that. And like @ThacoBell said, hack n' slash action games, or even dungeon-crawls, do not count.
Bottom line, I don't have any hope I will get a game that is: D&D + cRPG + RTwP, and as such I will remain excluded from the D&D RPG market.
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort Once again, you are reading a lot of things I didn´t say in your head. Maybe we could finally have an exchange of opinions when you start replying to something I actually said.
Aaanyway... We already know Solasta and BG3 are CRPGs, that´s a solid 2 out of 4. At least that's a good ratio considering what type of games had the D&D license the previous years (sword coast legends, Neverwinter heroes... shudders).
There´s also Knights of the chalice 2, for 3.5 fans. I call it good news.
Oh please. My comment directly addresses your comment.
Furthermore, your inclusion of Solasta (and now even Knights of the Chalice 2?) tells me you don't really know what you're talking about here. The head of WotC said in an interview this February that there are seven D&D games in the works between now and 2025, two being released this year and then one per year thereafter. He specifically mentions the two games from this year as BG3 and DA. Neither in this interview nor in any other interview of him in the past does he ever mention Solasta or any other similar OGL game as one of his D&D games. So you want to include games like Solasta in there to artificially boost your count of D&D games. Feel free to keep doing that. I, and clearly WotC as well, reject counting games like Solasta as D&D games. So in our world, BG3 is the ONLY D&D cRPG.
Just to be clear: Solasta, afaik, has an official DnD 5.1 license from WotC. Can not say why WotC does not count that (very) interesting game as their DnD game, but it is as DnD as cRPG can get.
Solasta doesn’t have a D&D licence. No where is WotC mentioned in the game.
Correct. Using the OGL is NOT the same as a D&D-licensed game.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
Well, firstly, you're assuming these games will all be RPGs. That's not a solid assumption. The head of WotC has specifically said he envisions even D&D strategy games. And certainly there will also be card games, and also games that are exclusive to mobile platforms and/or consoles. So we may very well not get any other D&D cRPG besides BG3. At most we may get one more (I hope), but I am not counting on it.
Then, on top of all that, there is the question of whether that one other D&D cRPG we MAY get will be RTwP. I have even bigger doubts about that. And like @ThacoBell said, hack n' slash action games, or even dungeon-crawls, do not count.
Bottom line, I don't have any hope I will get a game that is: D&D + cRPG + RTwP, and as such I will remain excluded from the D&D RPG market.
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort Once again, you are reading a lot of things I didn´t say in your head. Maybe we could finally have an exchange of opinions when you start replying to something I actually said.
Aaanyway... We already know Solasta and BG3 are CRPGs, that´s a solid 2 out of 4. At least that's a good ratio considering what type of games had the D&D license the previous years (sword coast legends, Neverwinter heroes... shudders).
There´s also Knights of the chalice 2, for 3.5 fans. I call it good news.
Oh please. My comment directly addresses your comment.
Furthermore, your inclusion of Solasta (and now even Knights of the Chalice 2?) tells me you don't really know what you're talking about here. The head of WotC said in an interview this February that there are seven D&D games in the works between now and 2025, two being released this year and then one per year thereafter. He specifically mentions the two games from this year as BG3 and DA. Neither in this interview nor in any other interview of him in the past does he ever mention Solasta or any other similar OGL game as one of his D&D games. So you want to include games like Solasta in there to artificially boost your count of D&D games. Feel free to keep doing that. I, and clearly WotC as well, reject counting games like Solasta as D&D games. So in our world, BG3 is the ONLY D&D cRPG.
Just to be clear: Solasta, afaik, has an official DnD 5.1 license from WotC. Can not say why WotC does not count that (very) interesting game as their DnD game, but it is as DnD as cRPG can get.
I backed Solasta and I like how it has turned out. I will be happy to play it eventually when it leaves EA. But for me, it is not a D&D game and I will never count it as a D&D game.
Probably a minor quibble with nuance I'm not aware of (or awake enough to figure out), but Solasta does have a "license" to use the SRD 5.1 ruleset from WoTC. Skimming the 5.1 PDF from the link below, it looks like all the major character races and classes are there. I think the only thing it really lacks are the world settings.
So, I count Solasta as a D&D game, but it's definitely not a Forgotten Realms game if that's the major sticking point.
Edit:
As to why WoTC doesn't consider it one of their games: that's probably because they have no creative control over the game, and I would bet it's not a (major) monetization source for them.
I would consider it an unofficial D&D game. I wouldn’t consider it a WotC game. A game like Solasta, a player is only going to get the basics - such as no playable Githyanki, no unique subclasses and established lore (Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, Ravenloft etc) isn’t going to be present.
We know there are at least 4 games of D&D in the making or planning.
Some of them would be TB, like Solasta and BG3, some like BG: Dark Alliance, would be RT.
Well, firstly, you're assuming these games will all be RPGs. That's not a solid assumption. The head of WotC has specifically said he envisions even D&D strategy games. And certainly there will also be card games, and also games that are exclusive to mobile platforms and/or consoles. So we may very well not get any other D&D cRPG besides BG3. At most we may get one more (I hope), but I am not counting on it.
Then, on top of all that, there is the question of whether that one other D&D cRPG we MAY get will be RTwP. I have even bigger doubts about that. And like @ThacoBell said, hack n' slash action games, or even dungeon-crawls, do not count.
Bottom line, I don't have any hope I will get a game that is: D&D + cRPG + RTwP, and as such I will remain excluded from the D&D RPG market.
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort Once again, you are reading a lot of things I didn´t say in your head. Maybe we could finally have an exchange of opinions when you start replying to something I actually said.[/quote]
Oh please. My comment directly addresses your comment.
Still waiting to see where in my comment says RPG Games or such and such but I´m used to your usual stance of discussing topics with the forumites of the parallel world inside your head instead of the ones here.
Probably a minor quibble with nuance I'm not aware of (or awake enough to figure out), but Solasta does have a "license" to use the SRD 5.1 ruleset from WoTC. Skimming the 5.1 PDF from the link below, it looks like all the major character races and classes are there. I think the only thing it really lacks are the world settings.
So, I count Solasta as a D&D game, but it's definitely not a Forgotten Realms game if that's the major sticking point.
Edit:
As to why WoTC doesn't consider it one of their games: that's probably because they have no creative control over the game, and I would bet it's not a (major) monetization source for them.
Yeah, the thing is just a matter of semantics. For some purposes D&D is the name of the ruleset, that does not necessarily include the different settings made by WoTC (Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Ravenloft, etc) and as said before, that´s what is included in videogames and tabletop games like Knights of the Chalice, Solasta, etc. In the page of Solasta it´s even included https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096530/Solasta_Crown_of_the_Magister/
TRUE TO THE TABLETOP
Wizards of the Coast granted Tactical Adventures a license to use the Dungeons and Dragons SRD 5.1 Ruleset, further anchoring our will to make the most faithful video game adaptation with the Tabletop Ruleset and craft the game you are hoping for!"
The D&D SRD ruleset was used to make different versions from witcher 5e to Starwars 5e or even a total furry conversion of the races with penguins and man-spiders like el RDD.
And there are games like Neverwinter online or Sword coast legends, etc, that does not follow the traditional rules of the tabletop in the slightest but has the seal of "Forgotten realms" and include iconic places and characters of the Forgotten Realms.
So there´s room for interpretation and confusion. for some to be a D&D game you need to have it all, for others you only need the ruleset, not the setting, others think you only are playing D&D if you are playing in the world of Faerun, etcétera.
Even though I already own all parts of NwN2 on CD, I am seriously contemplating buying NwN2 Complete on GOG so I can play it again. It's up there with BG1 as my most beloved D&D video game, and not being able to enjoy BG3 has made me feel nostalgic for NwN2 as the most recent good D&D game.
I really struggled with a few aspects of NWN2. I hated the camera, it drove me crazy at times. I really enjoyed the story though right up until the end.. the ending kinda put me off a little bit. But in general I did get a lot of enjoyment out of the game. I’ve never played the official expansions and I keep meaning to. I have the GOG version and I might try to find some time to give the expansions a go.
Am I crazy, or did I hear there is a mod that makes the Camera waaaaaaaay less awful? I havent used it, just remember hearing that said in the past.
I think NWN2 is pretty meh. Mediocre game through and through. Never did play the expansion packs, and I've heard those are better. At least one of them is, I cannot remember which one that is...
Yeah, you can mod the camera.
I'm surprised how little attention the NWN2 fan made modules get. Some of them are of such high quality it is a wonder they aren't talked about more often. Far superior to the NWN2 OC, without a doubt.
And I thought Storm of Zehir was a great IWD-like adventure.
The NWN2 base campaign is definitely not unique. But its so trope filled that I can't help but have fun with it. There's that court scene too...
If Solasta is a D&D game, then so are the Knights of the Old Republic games. They use the same license that Solasts does, just under an earlier edition. Same for old Pathfinder. So unless someone wants to get into why Star Wars is canon with D&D, there isn't really a foundation for the "OGL=D&D" camp to stand on. There's a reason that they are called "d20" games and not D&D games.
I would consider it an unofficial D&D game. I wouldn’t consider it a WotC game. A game like Solasta, a player is only going to get the basics - such as no playable Githyanki, no unique subclasses and established lore (Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, Ravenloft etc) isn’t going to be present.
I like this: official versus unofficial D&D games. An excellent way to separate them out.
If Solasta is a D&D game, then so are the Knights of the Old Republic games.
Yes. They pretty much are. The extent that they aren't DnD is directly equal to the extent they modify the rules.
Anyone who considers the game system to be the cornerstone of what makes something DnD would say as much. That doesn't make Star Wars canon to any of WotC's settings. That doesn't enter into the equation unless one, like I assume you do, consider the settings to be what makes something DnD. You have to separate the two.
@scriver "Yes. They pretty much are. The extent that they aren't DnD is directly equal to the extent they modify the rules."
WotC doesn't seem to agree Since its sepcifically the settings and characters that require their express permission to use.
Yes, and I think this is where people like @ThacoBell and I have the advantage, @scriver, because we are where WotC is at. Yes you are correct that it is a subjective judgment whether just the mechanics or just the setting or both are needed for a game to be called a D&D game. But WotC clearly sees it as a game is a D&D game only if it has both, possibly with an emphasis on the setting because the setting is what it most zealously guards, being willing to openly license out the mechanics (OGLs) but not so its settings.
@scriver "Yes. They pretty much are. The extent that they aren't DnD is directly equal to the extent they modify the rules."
WotC doesn't seem to agree Since its sepcifically the settings and characters that require their express permission to use.
Yes, and I think this is where people like @ThacoBell and I have the advantage, @scriver, because we are where WotC is at. Yes you are correct that it is a subjective judgment whether just the mechanics or just the setting or both are needed for a game to be called a D&D game. But WotC clearly sees it as a game is a D&D game only if it has both, possibly with an emphasis on the setting because the setting is what it most zealously guards, being willing to openly license out the mechanics (OGLs) but not so its settings.
And I think you are mistakenly interpreting actions taken for legal and trademark control reasons as proof of this.
For me, all the definition I need is that when my friend asks me "wanna play some DnD?" it doesn't matter to me whether we sit down and play a game in set FR or some other WotC setting, in LotR's Middle Earth or ASoIAF's Westeros, in medieval Europe, or a setting entirely made up setting -- it's the game system that makes it DnD.
@scriver "Both require their express permission to use. The OGL is their express permission to use the system."
Not equivalent. One is a ling standing open license since at least 3ed, the other requires specific permission on a case by case basis. There's a big difference between "help yourself to the guest fridge" and "I'm giving you permission to go down into my personal wine cellar to grab a bottle."
It's like requiring one license to cook from their pantry and another to use their product and company names on your dishes rather than your own. Because all it comes down to is WotC wanting separate control over their game system IPs from their trademarks for business and legal reason. They take extra precautions to make sure that their "product identity" trademarks are not in danged of being encroached upon and do not risk lapsing into the public domain.
@scriver "Both require their express permission to use. The OGL is their express permission to use the system."
Not equivalent. One is a ling standing open license since at least 3ed, the other requires specific permission on a case by case basis. There's a big difference between "help yourself to the guest fridge" and "I'm giving you permission to go down into my personal wine cellar to grab a bottle."
Yup. Also, the OGL simply says you can use whatever's in it. So you can use as much as or as little as you want. Someone can use just one little thing from the OGL and that's it, with everything else in their game being custom/home-brew. But with a D&D license, WotC gets to oversee and supervise the game, and reject any custom/home-brew changes they don't like. Huge difference.
They haven't mentioned any possibility of increasing the level cap for the Early Access period. However, they said the previous info about maximum lvl 10 in the game is no longer relevant.
1) The good path seems more interesting than the evil one... I will try again when I finish the EA with my evil drow follower of the Spider Queen.
2) Why is everyone throwing acid or fire on me? I certainly didn't expect to be hit by acid thrown by a skeleton...
3) The bugs are not that bad considering it's EA... I particularly like the Journal notifications that do not say what is being updated. Well just an excuse for me to check the journal anyway.
Still have fun although I have to dance through fire and acid.
Wow. Thanks for sharing, that's amazing. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Game Music Festival. I have only listened to the DOS2 part yesterday, which was beautiful, and now I'm curious about the BG3 part.
Those musicians deserve support for their work.
Any detail if they will increase the lv cap to at least 5 soon?
I wanna know if they nerfed animate dead and other spells
Level 5 brings a whole new can of worms into the equation. I personally believe they're going to want to iron out all other known issues prior to increasing the cap.
1) The good path seems more interesting than the evil one... I will try again when I finish the EA with my evil drow follower of the Spider Queen.
2) Why is everyone throwing acid or fire on me? I certainly didn't expect to be hit by acid thrown by a skeleton...
3) The bugs are not that bad considering it's EA... I particularly like the Journal notifications that do not say what is being updated. Well just an excuse for me to check the journal anyway.
Still, have fun although I have to dance through fire and acid.
Well, at least you can return the favour: with dip as a bonus action, you basically have free 1d4 fire attacks always if you just take a candle with you or use firebolt anywhere.
It seems Larian just want to watch the world burn (read it with Alfred´s voice).
Now being serious, I think the damage of burning is excessive for low-level gameplay since it´s fairly easy to have access to it (firebolt, dip, oil+fire, etc) and it´s persistent 1d4 fire damage and it easily surpasses your defences. Acid is annoying but fire is deadly. And I meant it´s too much for enemies and players alike, IMHO.
I hope they nerf it somehow or save it for higher levels. Or maybe repurpose the help action to allow you to quench fire in a companion like in dos? Right now I´m using the staff of "create water" a lot. It´s a lifesaver.
It seems "absorb elements" and races like tieflings with fire resistance would be the way to go if you want to make the "solo challenges" or play in hard difficulty modes when it´s available.
More than a third of players rated it with the WORST possible rating.
One thing that I hate on most non faitfhful D&D adaptaions is the hp bloat. On DDO, I have a epic level warlock but play on epic levels where every mob require dozens of EB to die is so boring. I like kill & die fast. The unique thing worse than HP bloat is cooldowns.
"But missing is not fun"
Says who? Also, this mindset assumes that everyone is playing as a human fighter like an jrpg. On the stream that I watched before deciding to buy the game, most people was asking for warlock over and over and having to hit an enemy 20 times with eldritch blast is not fun or engaging. Is more easy to just nerf enemy AC on the beginning and give a "non increased hit chance" option.
I cannot speak a great deal to the whole HP bloat situation, as I havent played the game. I will say that 5e did seem to take the approach of making/keeping ACs a bit lower, increasing the HP of enemies, and giving the players the ability to roll more and bigger dice when they attack.
At low levels, its jarring - but by midlevel content, it has generally made the game play more enjoyable, not less. That's my experience with 5e, at least.
I cannot speak a great deal to the whole HP bloat situation, as I havent played the game. I will say that 5e did seem to take the approach of making/keeping ACs a bit lower, increasing the HP of enemies, and giving the players the ability to roll more and bigger dice when they attack.
At low levels, its jarring - but by midlevel content, it has generally made the game play more enjoyable, not less. That's my experience with 5e, at least.
5e already has a lot of bloat. Back on 2e, lv 0 commoners had d4 hp(1~4) and Vecna, a demigod lich? 150 hp. Even greater deity's avatars rarely goes above 200s. But dealing even 1 damage to Vecna was hard. BG3 takes the 5e hp inflation and crank up it to Zimbabwe levels of inflation.
Comments
it's due to the tool set being harder to use compared to the one for nwn 1.
Just to be clear: Solasta, afaik, has an official DnD 5.1 license from WotC. Can not say why WotC does not count that (very) interesting game as their DnD game, but it is as DnD as cRPG can get.
3.5 had a similar OGL and all games made with it, such as Star Wars or Pathfinder, were known collectively as d20 games instead of DnD games.
The 5e OGL is also how share-your-own-creations-sites like Dungeon Master's Guild are legally allowed to operate (though DMG is run by WotC themselves and come with the additional license features of being able to use dnd-related IPs as long as you only publish through DMG).
We had a long fruitless discussion about whether it's the settings that makes a product DnD or whether it's the DnD game mechanics that's the most important some time ago in some thread or other brought on by Solasta and people referring to it as a DnD game. I believe no minds were changed.
Edit: the specifics of the OGL can be downloaded from here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd
That page also shows the differences between publishing just under the OGL and publishing your works on the DMG site.
Solasta doesn’t have a D&D licence. No where is WotC mentioned in the game.
So, I count Solasta as a D&D game, but it's definitely not a Forgotten Realms game if that's the major sticking point.
WotC granted us a license to use the D&D SRD 5.1 Ruleset!
Edit:
As to why WoTC doesn't consider it one of their games: that's probably because they have no creative control over the game, and I would bet it's not a (major) monetization source for them.
And for me, it is a DnD game and I will always count it as a D&D game
But we've been over this before, I just wanted to state my opinion too
This again? I assumed nothing of the sort
Still waiting to see where in my comment says RPG Games or such and such but I´m used to your usual stance of discussing topics with the forumites of the parallel world inside your head instead of the ones here.
Yeah, the thing is just a matter of semantics. For some purposes D&D is the name of the ruleset, that does not necessarily include the different settings made by WoTC (Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Ravenloft, etc) and as said before, that´s what is included in videogames and tabletop games like Knights of the Chalice, Solasta, etc. In the page of Solasta it´s even included
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096530/Solasta_Crown_of_the_Magister/
TRUE TO THE TABLETOP
Wizards of the Coast granted Tactical Adventures a license to use the Dungeons and Dragons SRD 5.1 Ruleset, further anchoring our will to make the most faithful video game adaptation with the Tabletop Ruleset and craft the game you are hoping for!"
The D&D SRD ruleset was used to make different versions from witcher 5e to Starwars 5e or even a total furry conversion of the races with penguins and man-spiders like el RDD.
And there are games like Neverwinter online or Sword coast legends, etc, that does not follow the traditional rules of the tabletop in the slightest but has the seal of "Forgotten realms" and include iconic places and characters of the Forgotten Realms.
So there´s room for interpretation and confusion. for some to be a D&D game you need to have it all, for others you only need the ruleset, not the setting, others think you only are playing D&D if you are playing in the world of Faerun, etcétera.
The NWN2 base campaign is definitely not unique. But its so trope filled that I can't help but have fun with it. There's that court scene too...
If Solasta is a D&D game, then so are the Knights of the Old Republic games. They use the same license that Solasts does, just under an earlier edition. Same for old Pathfinder. So unless someone wants to get into why Star Wars is canon with D&D, there isn't really a foundation for the "OGL=D&D" camp to stand on. There's a reason that they are called "d20" games and not D&D games.
Yes. They pretty much are. The extent that they aren't DnD is directly equal to the extent they modify the rules.
Anyone who considers the game system to be the cornerstone of what makes something DnD would say as much. That doesn't make Star Wars canon to any of WotC's settings. That doesn't enter into the equation unless one, like I assume you do, consider the settings to be what makes something DnD. You have to separate the two.
WotC doesn't seem to agree
Both require their express permission to use. The OGL is their express permission to use the system.
And I think you are mistakenly interpreting actions taken for legal and trademark control reasons as proof of this.
For me, all the definition I need is that when my friend asks me "wanna play some DnD?" it doesn't matter to me whether we sit down and play a game in set FR or some other WotC setting, in LotR's Middle Earth or ASoIAF's Westeros, in medieval Europe, or a setting entirely made up setting -- it's the game system that makes it DnD.
Not equivalent. One is a ling standing open license since at least 3ed, the other requires specific permission on a case by case basis. There's a big difference between "help yourself to the guest fridge" and "I'm giving you permission to go down into my personal wine cellar to grab a bottle."
I wanna know if they nerfed animate dead and other spells
1) The good path seems more interesting than the evil one... I will try again when I finish the EA with my evil drow follower of the Spider Queen.
2) Why is everyone throwing acid or fire on me? I certainly didn't expect to be hit by acid thrown by a skeleton...
3) The bugs are not that bad considering it's EA... I particularly like the Journal notifications that do not say what is being updated. Well just an excuse for me to check the journal anyway.
Still have fun although I have to dance through fire and acid.
Wow. Thanks for sharing, that's amazing. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Game Music Festival. I have only listened to the DOS2 part yesterday, which was beautiful, and now I'm curious about the BG3 part.
Those musicians deserve support for their work.
Level 5 brings a whole new can of worms into the equation. I personally believe they're going to want to iron out all other known issues prior to increasing the cap.
Well, at least you can return the favour: with dip as a bonus action, you basically have free 1d4 fire attacks always if you just take a candle with you or use firebolt anywhere.
It seems Larian just want to watch the world burn (read it with Alfred´s voice).
Now being serious, I think the damage of burning is excessive for low-level gameplay since it´s fairly easy to have access to it (firebolt, dip, oil+fire, etc) and it´s persistent 1d4 fire damage and it easily surpasses your defences. Acid is annoying but fire is deadly. And I meant it´s too much for enemies and players alike, IMHO.
I hope they nerf it somehow or save it for higher levels. Or maybe repurpose the help action to allow you to quench fire in a companion like in dos? Right now I´m using the staff of "create water" a lot. It´s a lifesaver.
It seems "absorb elements" and races like tieflings with fire resistance would be the way to go if you want to make the "solo challenges" or play in hard difficulty modes when it´s available.
HP bloat is the most hated homebew rule made by larian.
sources
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_zTtm53C_D4DgXm8PmuhGl3qdH_eKI0I_zM01Me0q_2q5Dg/viewanalytics
https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=712680&page=1
More than a third of players rated it with the WORST possible rating.
One thing that I hate on most non faitfhful D&D adaptaions is the hp bloat. On DDO, I have a epic level warlock but play on epic levels where every mob require dozens of EB to die is so boring. I like kill & die fast. The unique thing worse than HP bloat is cooldowns.
"But missing is not fun"
Says who? Also, this mindset assumes that everyone is playing as a human fighter like an jrpg. On the stream that I watched before deciding to buy the game, most people was asking for warlock over and over and having to hit an enemy 20 times with eldritch blast is not fun or engaging. Is more easy to just nerf enemy AC on the beginning and give a "non increased hit chance" option.
At low levels, its jarring - but by midlevel content, it has generally made the game play more enjoyable, not less. That's my experience with 5e, at least.
5e already has a lot of bloat. Back on 2e, lv 0 commoners had d4 hp(1~4) and Vecna, a demigod lich? 150 hp. Even greater deity's avatars rarely goes above 200s. But dealing even 1 damage to Vecna was hard. BG3 takes the 5e hp inflation and crank up it to Zimbabwe levels of inflation.