Dev Update #25 - New Content Sneak Peek

Hey there folks!

How are you all doing? Winter is starting show its nose, it's getting pretty cold here in Paris! However, that also means we're getting closer to the Winter Update, which we will be talking about a bit more in today's Dev Update. But before that...

Sometimes I wish I could swap places with our pets. Sneaking a nap under a sofa sounds pretty fantastic right now.

Remind me what's in the Winter Update?

Worry not, we've got you. After all, it's already been 3 weeks since we first announced the upcoming Winter Update, and not all of us picked Keen Mind during character creation (though I sure wish I did, now where did I put those damn keys again...). So here is a reminder of what you can look forward to:

• An overhaul of the Lighting System, we're going back to the Tabletop Ruleset with no disadvantage in Dim Light and Darkvision working as its name implies.
• A new area and its set of quests, taking place after the Necromancy Main Quest
• The Scavenger System - no more lugging around all the junk you see lying around
• New combat features, such as hiding during combat and applying Poison onto your weapon
• More customization options in Character Creation, and a bit of plastic surgery on some faces
• Inventory and Shopping improvements, hand picked from your suggestions
• Optimization to the Food mechanic, so your party won't end up starving as often

Be prepared, this new location is absolutely gorgeous. Are you ready to enter the Wizard's Tower?

After Necromancy comes... which school again?

We'll talk about the light below, we've been talking non-stop about it these last weeks. What about the new content? Well friends, you're in luck - for I snatched two screenshots to share with you. To avoid spoiling too much, I'll simply show - and not tell. 

New monster, coming through!

A new area means new monsters. Today the star of the show is the winner of the February Community Vote, let us give a warm welcome to... the Minotaur!

That's a big boy! You better be prepared, the Minotaur does not joke around.

The Minotaur's Charge, which deals extra piercing damage and can knock you down on a failed Strength Saving Throw.

The Minotaur's Reckless Attack, which grants it advantage on attack rolls in melee combat

Let there be Light, again!

You talked about it, we talked about it - Solasta's Lighting System had quite a few flaws. It wasn't properly explained, meaning a lot of people thought their constant disadvantage was caused by bugs. It was eating into the party's action economy, which was frustrating for some more experienced tabletop players. And to top it off it didn't affect monsters, who happily received a free coupon for a superior darkvision upgrade graciously offered by the MAAA (Monster Association Against Adventurers).

So we went back to the drawing board, and decided that sometimes the best solution is also the simplest - we're reverting the lighting system to the original Tabletop one. For those who may not be familiar with it, this means you will no longer suffer disadvantage to attack rolls while in Dim Light - only Perception Checks will be affected (meaning you're still advised to have a torch out if you don't want to run blindly into traps). Darkvision will also now allow characters to see in non-magical darkness up to a certain range, making it as if it were Dim Light for them (again, it won't help you against traps). 

As you may already imagine, this made some encounters quite a lot easier - and some monsters much less scary. In order to rectify that, monsters who specifically relied on the darkness will now get extra bonuses while they remain in the dark. So... you should definitely get some light out, because as a wise adventurer named Zork once said: "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue". Worry not though, we've added two new cantrips to help with that!

One Goblin, bright and shiny thanks to the new Shine cantrip which lights up an enemy

Light up to three wall sconces at once with the new Sparkle cantrip

For those of you who enjoyed the previous Lighting System, we'll consider adding it back as a difficulty setting. Some people enjoy their dungeons dark. Very Dark. Like, the Darkest of Dungeons (if you never looked at Darkest Dungeon, do yourself a favor and go check it out).

The fun doesn't stop here

There is still plenty of content we're working on for the final 1.0 version that won't be in the Winter Update, but that doesn't mean we can't show it to you! Here is a selection of some of the work our team's been churning out these last few weeks.

Research on armor texture to create magic variant for the Leather Armor (+1 / +2)

Studded Leather Armor Concept Art

Research work on tabards and robes to recognize faction NPCs more easily

Concept Art of a future undisclosed questline. This one is going to be a fun one!

Alright folks, this is the end for today! Thank you for reading, and don't hesitate to drop by our Forums or our Discord Server.

Read our previous articles here:

• Dev Update #24 - Community Feedback & Sourcebook Update
• TL;DR #9: A New Lighting System
• Dev Update #23 - Winter Patch Preview

Article by Tactical Myzzrym