Playing Dungeons & Dragons’ battles, but it also highlights how far Virtual Tabletops fall short of what I had hoped they would offer. Solasta used the 5e DnD System Reference Document (SRD) to create a video game that faithfully adapted the rule set, more so than even Baldur’s Gate 3. The battles offer a fun way to experience a gaming system I am familiar with in a different medium, but its use of vertical space and interesting terrain set it apart from the typical tabletop experience. VTTs, theoretically, should bridge the gap.

Some players weigh D&D Beyond Maps against Project Sigil, but there are already several popular VTTs many players and DMs swear by, like Foundry, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds. When I first dabbled in VTTs, I imagined they would open the door to complex battle maps similar to the ones I see in Solasta. The game regularly features flying creatures, raised platforms with gaps to jump, and creatures concealed within structures. Sightlines and cover come into play, and all of it flows smoothly with minimal issues regarding movement or targeting; I had genuinely expected VTTs to offer all of this.

Complex D&D Battles Call For Expensive Props

Three-Dimensional Terrain Is Stylish, But Bulky & Costly

Even the purported best VTTs for running DnD campaigns seem to hit the same roadblocks where battles are concerned. With my home games, I was always content with a wet-erase map and miniatures. I could show that an enemy was flying by placing it atop a dice box. I simply drew any structures as walls with effectively transparent ceilings. There were still some complications with this, as when one character attempted to move in a square beneath or above another. These were not ideal solutions, of course, but the better options can become pricey, like actual three-dimensional castles and towers.

VTTs do not combine the ease of sketching a map with the immersion of three-dimensional terrain, by any means. They have a distinct learning curve, both for the players and the Game Master.

Accessories like the DnD Campaign Case Terrain Box might save time drawing out specific terrain types, but they do little to address cover, structures, or verticality in battles. I have splurged on a few sculpted or 3D-printed accessories to improve our experience. Narrow raised platforms for miniatures can help clarify vertical positioning, but the odds of them staying in place if a battle is paused for a week are slim. I only own a few 3D structures, and I’ll it, it was far too tempting to make every battle take place near the same castle and tower for a while.

Despite their appeal, the costs of such accessories can add up quickly, unfortunately. When I run a game at a venue other than my home, it means more gear to lug with me. If the party circumvents a planned combat, then it’s a bulky, fragile item I took to the session for no reason. When COVID hit, and I experimented with VTTs, I expected an experience more like Solasta. I had assumed VTTs would be presenting three-dimensional environments at the click of a button, with site lines and cover automated, and any vertical movement handled as seamlessly as horizontal travel.

Solasta Showcases D&D Combat Differently From BG3

The Battlefield Matters As Much As The Combatants In Solasta

Though Baldur’s Gate 3 certainly outdid it in storytelling and character development, Solasta is a solid DnD adaptation. It elegantly worked around the limits of the SRD with its new feats and subclass, many of which made their way into the excellent Solasta tabletop RPG campaign setting book for 5e DnD. There are areas where Solasta outdid Baldur’s Gate 3, and the biggest is the use of unique terrain for its battles and its focus on verticality. Solasta does not shy away from flying enemies or enemies with climb speeds, like spiders scurrying along the sides, and undersides, of platforms.

It may seem odd that Solasta’s DnD authenticity exceeds BG3, but it takes fewer liberties with the core rules of the game and its changed elements are only due to the limits of the SRD. The handling of lighting and vision is also a key part of the experience in Solasta. Complex vertical movements like flight and wall climbing, and real-time vision calculations, are all things that would be complicated in a gaming session of DnD. Sticking a miniature with a climb speed to the side of a wall of 3D terrain is certainly not the easiest thing to do.

Far too many VTTs try to integrate the mechanics of DnD into the program itself, which is of no value, considering the extreme simplicity of the 5e system.

Solasta reminded me all over again of my expectations of VTTs, and just how far they fall short of them. I had expected VTTs to calculate vertical squares of movement with the same ease they do horizontal movement, right out of the box. I assumed vision, lighting, and cover would be a default part of the VTT experience. For those who have tinkered with VTTs like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20, they know this is far from the case. Owlbear Rodeo and all the others each offer similar options. Most require mods and expertise to get the most out of them.

Official VTTs For D&D Are A Long Way From Solasta

VTTs Put Too Much Focus On Mechanics Instead Of Their Maps

There are some best practices for online DnD campaigns, but one not often mentioned is to temper your expectations. VTTs do not combine the ease of sketching a map with the immersion of three-dimensional terrain, by any means. They have a distinct learning curve, both for the players and the Game Master. Many of them are capable of some impressive things, but getting them up and running often requires ing mods, trial and error, and spending time on forums. They are certainly a far cry from the ease of simply placing a piece of premade terrain on a grid map.

There are a few VTTs that focus on maps and miniatures instead of integrating game mechanics, like Dudes On A Map: Virtual Grid Paper, and the original Owlbear Rodeo, but most VTTs are strangely preoccupied with putting stats and dice rolls into the VTT itself.

Even the time from booting a VTT up to getting minis moving on a map of any kind can be vexing. Far too many VTTs try to integrate the mechanics of DnD into the program itself, which is of no value, considering the extreme simplicity of the 5e system. Few experienced players need a VTT to track the basic math involved with 5e combat, but any group could use a VTT that allowed a flying wizard to clearly be displayed ten feet above another flying enemy. VTTs mistakenly prioritize Dungeons & Dragons’ rules over Solasta's vertical movement and complex terrain.

Source: Tactical Adventures/YouTube