moralinth: Gloom edition
What is the d20 system?
The d20 System is a role-playing system created and published originally by Wizards of the Coast and was developed along the System Reference Document (SRD) which allowed third-party developers to make their own games using the d20 through the Open Gaming License (OGL).
Through the use of the OGL, many entirely new games came into the market that used their own variants of the original d20 rules.
Games such as Arcana Unearthed, d20 Modern, Mutants and Masterminds, 13th Age, Carbon2185 - and of course, Dungeons and Dragons - all use The d20 System or a variant of them at their core.
By far the largest and most popular alternative to WoTC's Dungeons and Dragons came in the form of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game developed by Paizo Publishing in 2009. In 2018 Paizo released Pathfinder: Second Edition which was a complete overhaul of their interpretation of the d20 System and it is upon this new Second Edition version of Pathfinder that the Gloom Edition of Moralinth is based.
why use the d20 system?
Like many others involved in the hobby, I was playing Dungeons and Dragons for many years and was there when the 3rd Edition morphed into DnD3.5. When Wizards of the Coast moved on to Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, Paizo Publishing decided instead to release their own game under the OGL and using the DnD3.5 rules. This game was the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. My gaming group played Pathfinder as our primary TTRPG for the entire run of its 1st Edition (2009 - 2018).
Work began on Moralinth in 2012 and at that time, it was being built around the Pathfinder iteration of the d20 System. When Pathfinder: Second Edition was released in 2018, we were left at a bit of a crossroads as a publisher as to whether we wanted to continue working on Moralinth using the older 1st Edition rules of Pathfinder or move production over to the 2nd Edition. It was at this point that we also tried using Moralinth in the Cypher System.
Ultimately, we went with the decision to produce the game for both systems to give our players the option to play Moralinth in whichever system suited them best. The Cypher System-powered version of the game became the Uncanny Edition, and the one that was built around the Pathfinder: Second Edition interpretation of the d20 rules became Moralinth: Gloom Edition.
By using the d20 system to power the Gloom Edition, our intention is to develop our product using a system that is familiar to many: one that is behind some of the largest and most popular TTRPGs on the market. The mechanics of the d20 system are well-known to many, whether they play Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons, or any other myriad other games that have the d20 system at their core.
The d20 system works around a core mechanic of resolving an action by rolling a d20, adding modifiers, and attempting to get equal to or higher than a Target Number (often called a Difficulty Class or DC) set down by the gamesmaster.
Pathfinder's version of the d20 system is especially suited to the game presented when playing Moralinth: Players have a swathe of options to build and customize their character meaning that Player-Characters are unique and memorable individuals with their own distinctive skills, abilities, quirks, and weaknesses.
Moralinth: Gloom Edition comes bundled with its own selection of Ancestries (species Players can choose to play), Origins (sub-species, cultures, or a specific bloodline), Backgrounds, and Classes. Just like other d20 games these characters develop and level up by using Experience Points (XP). While all of this might be familiar to d20 veterans and Pathfinder: Second Editon players, Moralinth takes its own spin on these established features.
For those unfamiliar with the d20 System (specifically the Pathfinder: Second Edition iteration), a copy of the rules can be viewed for free on the Archives of Nethys website.
Moralinth: Gloom Edition is made in accordance with the ORC License.
What does moralinth bring to the d20 system?
A brand-new I.P. and campaign setting, Moralinth uses the d20 System to form the structure upon which the entire setting is based. Though the campaign setting introduces many new features, the primary portion of the rules is identical to those found in the Pathfinder: Second Edition SRD.
A large and expansive tome, Moralinth includes much of what can be found in the Pathfinder SRD, but also adds a slew of brand-new and setting-specific features, including:
a victoriana gothic-horror setting
Moralinth is set in a unique world that mirrors Earth in many ways. Technologically equivalent to the late 1800s but with entirely different geography, cultures, religion, and history, Moralinth pulls inspiration from literary and cinematic Gothic horror but moulds it into a victoriana-like aesthetic with steampunk and Lovecraftian overtones.
Mankind exists in massive walled communities called Enclaves that consist of many cities banded together and the Wilderness outside is lost to chaos and ruin.
Players control individuals with "The Spark", an ability that allows them to see past the veiled illusion of reality to peek behind the curtain and witness what really lurks in the dark. This power also grants them fantastical abilities, yet less than 2% of the world's population have The Spark. Those with The Spark refer to themselves as The Uncanny.
insanity & corruption
The minds and souls of the characters in Moralinth are in as much jeopardy as their physical bodies - perhaps even more so. Encountering secrets and entities that the mortal mind was not meant to know, characters are at constant risk of their minds breaking and their souls falling to damnation.
Moralinth introduces brand-new rules for corruption into the d20 System as well as greatly developing and enhancing the insanity rules found in the SRD.
Along with the usual statistics included in the d20 System, characters also gain and lose Insanity Points and Corruption Points which range from 0 to 10. Characters gain "Corrupt Boons" and "Mental Disorders" as they pass thresholds in Corruption and Insanity respectively, and reaching 10 in either of these marks the end of that character.
The more a character learns about the supernatural world that exists in the shadow of the material one, the more powerful they become but their humanity is damaged along the way. Spending time in temples and asylums can sometimes reduce the character's corruption or insanity, but this balance of power is one of the central themes running in the Moralinth campaign setting.
the primordial darkness
In Moralinth the world is - unbeknownst to its current inhabitants - in its 3rd Age. In the distant past magic and the supernatural were very real, potent powers and in fact were the driving force during the 2nd Age of the world.
In modern times society has embraced the practices of science and technology, and the ways of magic are nothing more than legends and fables: stories to entertain or frighten. The average citizen of the Empire knows full well that magic and the supernatural are not real.
They are of course, quite wrong.
Magic, the supernatural and the occult, the creatures of darkness... all are starting to reappear in the world as if a great Darkness was awakening from a millennium-long sleep. Few see or recognize this insidious reemergence, blinded by science, faith, or The Delusion but a rare few see the world for what it is. These rare few are The Uncanny.
A little over three centuries ago, a single near extinction-level event birthed the return of these forces into the world: a maddening of sentient life that would later become known as The Blight; a catastrophe so major that humanity was forced to wall itself in to survive and even the most scientifically-minded or religiously faithful were forced to admit that some things were beyond the understanding of Man.
Magic and the supernatural have gone by many names and monikers but the oldest recorded name for it is The Dark. In Moralinth the majority of people are completely unaware of the existence of The Dark with The Blight being the only indicator of forces outside of their comprehension present in the world around them.
extra content
Along with the Victoriana-Gothic Horror Setting, the re-vamp of Insanity rules, the new Corruption rules and the overarching effect of The Dark you can also find the following features in the Moralinth Role-playing game:
-
3 Ancestries to choose from, each with their own distinct Origins.
-
12 new Callings each with their own Specialties, Feats, and abilities.
-
A newly implemented stamina system that powers magic, special moves, and other abilities available to the Uncanny.
-
An Insanity Point tracking system along with 20 sample Mental Disorders to get narrators started
-
A Corruption Point tracking system along with 20 Corrupt Boons for players to acquire.
-
'Dark Passengers': the darker side of the character's psyche made manifest
-
'The Sight': a special ability afforded to all characters allowing them to see the world of Moralinth as it truly is.
-
Equipment tables for weapons, armour, vehicles, gear, and even housing, as well as a plethora of occult items.
-
Updated and improved social interaction rules for navigating polite society within The Empire.
-
A fully realized and fleshed-out world of eighteen separate countries as part of one expansive Empire, with a particular focus on the Imperial Capital Enclave of Elysium.
-
Advice for narrators on how to perpetuate the mood and atmosphere of a Moralinth game along with tips and tricks to make the horror-based game-play memorable and fun
-
New creatures and Non-player characters, custom character sheets, Pantheons, and more!