"The Blight has decimated mankind, forcing the survivors to retreat behind ancient Enclave walls and abandon the Wilderness to corruption and entropy - Now Creatures of Darkness to hunt the shadows unabated.
And yet hope thrives: within the great Enclaves the citizens of The Empire are enjoying a golden age of industry and progress, cultural evolution, and a paradigm shift that could lead to a more equal society for all.
Behind this semblance of order, however, shadowy forces are at play.
After more than a thousand years magic has begun to quietly return to the world, bringing with it both the glorious and the monstrous in its wake. Once again the Old Gods stir...."
- Excerpt from the Moralinth Core Rulebook
MORALINTH - Gothic horror role-playing
What is moralinth?
What system does moralinth use?
'From Darkness:
Light.'
Moralinth is a tabletop role-playing game of Gothic horror for 2 - 5 players and a narrator, as well as the debut game from Roguelike Games.
Moralinth is also the name of the world the game is set, a world not dissimilar to Earth in that it shares many common geographical features as well as flora and fauna.
As with Earth, the predominant form of intelligent sentient life is Humanity, though unlike Earth, humanity is not alone. A world at least as old as our own, much of Moralinth will seem familiar, though there are many aspects that may feel altered or fantastical in nature.
For example, despite the world being in a technological era roughly equivalent to Earth in the late 1800’s, artificial life exists in the form of mechanically-created humanoids called “Clockworks”.
In a world that has lived through monarchical rule and guided by the belief structure of organized religion, the people of Moralinth are in the process of an industrial revolution and these two opposing forces clash in the paradigm of the citizens while in the background ancient, sinister forces have begun to re-awaken in the shadows.
Moralinth is both a deeply personal game and a collaborative one where a person's demons can literally devour them, and overwhelming odds can often bring despair.
Despite this, there is much beauty in this world, and the good in people can be a powerful force against the corruption of evil.
Bring friends, lest you wish to become nought but memory or whispered fable.
Moralinth offers a play style that meshes several popular genres, drawing inspiration from literary and cinematic Gothic sources with themes familiar to fans of such titles as Wizards of the Coast's Ravenloft Campaign Setting and Chaosium Inc's Call of Cthulhu Role-playing game. An 'alternate-earth' mirroring our own Victorian Era (specifically the latter part, from 1880 onward), the game incorporates various steampunk and fantastical elements into the mix as well.
Moralinth is a socially-focused game: a crossed word or tip into the right palm can do as much damage as a sharpened blade or the smoking barrel of a pistol.
Moralinth will be available on three different role-playing game systems upon release.
Despite initially being designed for use in The Cypher System by Monte Cook Games via the Cypher Open License (CSOL), the game will also launch as a compatible campaign setting using the Year Zero Engine by Free League Publishing via the YZE FTL (Free Tabletop License) at the same time, with the plan of releasing it as a dual-system platform and supporting that going forward. All supplements, adventures, and extra material will be designed with both systems in mind.
Additionally, a third edition of the game is in development and will be released after the initial two versions have completed crowdfunding. This edition uses a version of Paizo's Pathfinder Second Edition (Remastered rules) by use of the Open RPG Creative License (ORC)
Moralinth: Uncanny Edition is the name for the Cypher-compatible version of the game, and all rules and information required to play will be in the one core rulebook.
You can read more about Moralinth - Uncanny Edition by following THIS LINK.
Moralinth: Enclave Edition is the name for the YZE-compatible version of the game, and all rules and information required to play will be in the one core rulebook.
Moralinth: Gloom Edition is the name for the Pathfinder: Second Edition-compatible version of the game, and all rules and information required to play will be in the one core rulebook.
You can read more about Moralinth - Gloom Edition by following THIS LINK.
when will moralinth be available?
The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania
(Moralinth world book)
Moralinth is a large and expansive world and the task of making it compatible with two entirely different game systems is no easy feat.
The glue that holds it all together is 'The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania', a separate lore-focused volume that is not tied to either of the game systems, containing information intended primarily for the Narrator to add extra flavour and nuance to their game.
Whereas the System Books integrate the world of Moralinth with the various game mechanics, The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania concerns itself with fleshing out the geography and history of the world of Moralinth, and exploring the various cultures, religions, civilizations, and cosmology that make it such a memorable setting.
Though primarily a tome of background information, there are sprinklings of additional rules and components present in The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania, and where this occurs there will be rules for integration into both game systems.
The plan is to have The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania released either at the same time or shortly following the release of Moralinth: Uncanny Edition and Moralinth: Gloom Edition.
You can follow the progress of The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania here.
At present, there is no fixed release date for Moralinth (either edition) as they are still in development.
Moralinth - Uncanny Edition is in active development.
It is currently in the proofreading and editing phase as well as undergoing internal and external play-testing.
You can follow the progress of the Uncanny core rulebook here.
You can follow the progress of the Uncanny Edition Quickstart rules here.
Moralinth - Enclave Edition is in active development.
It is currently in the development stage but is due to head into the proofreading and editing phase by mid-2025 as well as undergoing internal and external play-testing.
Moralinth - Gloom Edition is in active development.
It is in the design stages at the moment, adapting and adding to the existing Pathfinder: Second Edition ruleset to fit the Moralinth feel as well as adding in all the narrative and lore elements.
You can follow the progress of the Gloom core rulebook here.
You can follow the progress of the Gloom Edition QuickStart rules here.
