Morea Souls Rules

Character Creation

• We use the 2024 updated Player's Handbook rules for character creation
• Starting at level 5
• Level up by milestones
• Fixed hitpoints average: 1st level max hit points + CON modifier. Subsequent levels average hit points + CON modifier. Hit point calculator.
• Abilities: standard array or roll (4d6 per ability score and take the 3 highest die for the result. You may take one reroll.
  Standard Array options:
  • 18, 17, 16, 13, 12, 10, 8
  • 18, 17, 14, 13, 14, 10, 8
  • 18, 17, 16, 13, 14, 10, 6
  • 18, 17, 16, 15, 12, 10, 6
  • 18, 17, 16, 15, 10, 10, 8
  • 18, 18, 17, 13, 12, 9, 7
• Discuss with the DM if you want to customize your character or use material from partnered content such as Hitpoint Press or Critical Role
• Optional rules are allowed
• Choose starting equipment, you may spend up to 150gp on additional [common] items, weapons or armor and keep the difference on your character sheet. You can find equipment costs here: Equipment list
• Pick one [uncommon] item

Ironman Rules

• Resting rules:
  • Short break resets limited class abilities as described in the Player's Handbook and takes 1 hour.
  • Short rest is 8 hours and lets you spent hit dice and reset spell slots. If you don't spent hit dice you recover 1 instead. You recover 1 level of exhaustion.
  • Long rest is 7 days in a comfortable setting like an inn. Recovers hit dice, spells slots and resets exhaustion.
  • Pushing On: Every 8 hours without rest gets 1 level of exhaustion. If you hit exhaustion level 6 you go unconscious for 8 hours and cannot be woken up.
• Ration rules:
  • In town, you spent coin according to the level of comfort: Wretched 2cp, Poor 1sp, Comfortable 5sp, Rich 1gp, Royal 5gp per week
  • In the wilderness, you need to spent 2 ration per day. If you don't you take the following penalties:
    1. 1 day: Hungry - You can only spend 1 hit dice per short rest and you don't recover hit dice
    2. 3 days: Very hungry - You can no longer spend hit dice on rests nor recover them
    3. 7 days: Starving - You can no longer spend hit dice, you move at half speed and all checks are at disadvantage
    4. 14 days: Death.
  • Foraging Rules: There are survival checks involved in finding food and water in the wilds at the discretion of the DM. If you have feats or class abilities that allow you to auto-succeed in finding food or water instead you may add +5 to the check.
    1. Survival proficiency: If you are not proficient in survival you'll make the check at disadvantage
    2. Paradise: You only fail with a natural 1
    3. Abundant food: If you're in an area where food and water is abundant then the check is between DC5 to DC12
    4. Scarce food: If you're in an area where food and water is scarce then the check is between DC13 to DC19
    5. Dead zones: If you're in an area that is devoid of life then the check is between DC20 to DC30

Injury Rules

• When you drop to 0 hit points you take 1 level of Exhaustion.
• Injuries are not healed by resting.
• When the creature fails a Death Saving throw they take:
  • 1 Failure: Superficial injury. Your character gets a scar.
  • 2 Failures: Your character gets a serious injury and lose one point of an Ability Score. 1d6 to find which ability score is reduced permanently:
    1. Strength
    2. Dexterity
    3. Constitution
    4. Intelligence
    5. Wisdom
    6. Charisma
  • 3 Failures: You take a crippling injury. 1d12 to find out your condition:
    1. Your hit point maximum is permanently reduced by 10% rounded down.
    2. Your movement speed is permanently reduced by 10ft.
    3. You lose one Saving Throw proficiency of your choice.
    4. You lose one Skill proficiency of your choice.
    5. You lose two points of an Ability Score. 1d6 to find which ability score is reduced permanently:
       1. Strength
       2. Dexterity
       3. Constitution
       4. Intelligence
       5. Wisdom
       6. Charisma
    6. You lose one arm.
    7. You lose one leg.
    8. When you see the same type of creature that crippled you, you become Frightened. Make a WIS Save DC15 at the start of your turn to resist the condition for 1 hour. When the creature is incapacitated or leaves your sight then you lose the Frightened condition.
    9. You become blinded in one-eye. Perception checks based on sight are at disadvantage. If you lose sight in both eyes you become permanently Blinded.
    10. Your hands become seriously injured. All skills and attack rolls that require your hands are reduced by -2. This stacks with the same injury.
    11. You get brain damage and all skill checks are reduced by 2. This stacks with the same injury.
    12. You are mortally wounded and have only 7 days to live.
  • 4 failures: Death.
  • You can heal injuries by:
    • Lesser Restoration: Heal 1 injury affecting Ability Scores.
    • Greater Restoration: Heal 1 injury affecting Ability Scores, hit points or movement speed.
    • Heal: Heal 2 injuries of any type.
    • Wish: You heal all injuries.
    • Resurrection or Reincarnate raise the creature from the dead without any injuries.
  • You can make a case for healing or reducing an injury. Up to the DM if this works or if there's any skill checks involved.

  Action economy

  • Action: Use for an ability check, skill check, attack, cast a spell or use a special ability
  • Bonus action: Use for specific abilities classified as bonus action
  • Reaction: Use a reaction to perform actions outside of your turn
  • Movement: Use your movement speed to move around the map

  Special actions

  • Step: If you are engaged in melee you can step 5ft without triggering an opportunity attack
  • Raise Shield: Use an action to raise your shield to double it's AC bonus
  • Hunker Down: When in cover you can improve the cover factor by 1 e.g. a 1/4 cover can improve to 1/2 cover
  • Take Aim: When trained with crossbows or firearms, use an action to end your turn and focus on aiming. At the start of your next turn to fire with double your attack bonus. You can also use your reaction to fire with your normal attack bonus.
  • Rapid Shot: When you haven't moved you can sacrifice your movement to use your bonus action to make an extra ranged or thrown attack with disadvantage
  • Focused attack: When you haven't moved you can sacrifice your movement to use your bonus action to make an extra melee attack with disadvantage
  • Focused magic: When you haven't moved you can sacrifice your movement to use your bonus action to to cast a cantrip. If the cantrip uses your spell attack bonus you roll with disadvantage and if it has a saving throw the target rolls with advantage

  Combat Rules

   

  The rules below apply to both players and antagonists in combat.

  • Flanking: If you are opposite an ally in combat and you can draw a line center-to-center through the center of the target between you and your ally you will get a +1 Attack Rolls when on opposite side or a +2 when you're facing their rear but you get no bonuses when facing the front of the creature.
    • Some creatures such as Slimes are immune to Flanking.
    • You can take the Flanker feat as an Origin feat on some backgrounds or as a Fighting Style Feat that will double the bonuses.
    • Sneak Attack damage applies on Flanking.
  
   
  This also applies to ranged attacks (the red line get the flanking bonus):
  
  1. Healing potions may be taken as a bonus action. If you use your action you can take max healing.
  2. Swapping weapons is a free action
  3. You can choose to go on Shared Initiative (whole group or by players) by rolling initiave and choosing the lowest number
  • On shared initiative you can discuss and make combo moves
  4. On a nat 20 you can choose to do max damage or double your damage dice
  5. Nat 20 saving throw negates all damage and spell effects
  6. On a nat 1 attack role you or the DM will role a d4 for an effect from the list below:
  • 1: Trip and go prone; lose your turn
  • 2: Damage yourself; roll damage and take half
  • 3: Drop weapon; spend bonus action to pick it up.
  • 4: Nothing
  7. Spell components only need to be used if the language of the spell specifically says it consumes the components.
  8. You can cast spells without a spell slot by taking a level(s) of exhaustion. (spells must be prepared!)
     • Spell levels 1 to 3: 1 level of exhaustion
     • Spell levels 4 to 6: 2 levels of exhaustion
     • Spell levels 7 to 8: 3 levels of exhaustion
     • Spell level 9: Max exhaustion and drop to 0 hit points (unconscious but stable)
  9. You can use limited abilities like rage, action surge, bardic inspiration, etc. at 2 levels of exhaustion
  10. Hitting level 6 exhaustion drops you to 0 hit points (unconscious but stable)

  Stealth Rules

  • If a hidden creature avoids line of sight of all enemies they can only be noticed with passive perception.
  • When a creature succeeds a passive perception check, they can no longer be surprised but have to succeed an actual perception check afterwards to notice the hidden creature. When hiding and out of line of sight a hidden creature can only be heard or smelled by passive perception (or any other enhanced sense). If the creature does not have some sort of enhanced smell or hearing add 2 DC to passive perception difficulty.
   
  • Out of combat suspicion mechanic: NPC's have a suspicion meter up to 20/30 depending on the difficulty Players make stealth checks as normal When a player fails DM rolls secret dice:
    • 1d6 low failure
    • 1d8 medium failure
    • 2d6 high failure
    • Crit fail doubles the dice
  • When the suspicion meter is exceeded, the area goes on high alert and NPC's will actively seek the players out. Combat/Initiative will start.
  • Hiding in combat: Creatures with disadvantage on stealth checks due to armor or otherwise need to make an Acrobatics, Intelligence, Perception Etc. check to even attempt hiding while in combat unless they have the Stealth skill.

    Stealth - Hiding in Combat

    ---

    Cover	Bright Light	Dim Light	Darkness
    Exposed	Auto Fail	Normal Roll	Success
    50% Cover	Disadvantage	Normal Roll	Success
    75% Cover	Normal Roll	Advantage	Success
    Total Cover	Advantage	Success	Success

  Special Rules

  The below applies to both players, NPCs and antagonists.

   
  1. Nat 20 is always a success and special things may happen
  2. Nat 1 is always a failure regardless of feats, modifiers, etc. You may use features, feats or conditions to reroll. Bad things may happen.
  3. When you exceed a check by 10 points it becomes a critical success and when you have less then 10 points it becomes a critical failure.
  4. Outside of combat all healing potions and spells are maxed
  5. Use of the Help action for other players only if you can explain how your character helps
  6. Luck points may be donated to other players if you can see each other and you can explain how you give them luck
  7. You may roll a Sleight of Hand check to cast spells covertly. DC goes up by spell level (DC10 + spell level; cantrips count as spell level 0).
  8. Players start the campaign with 3 Group Inspiration dice which can be used to reroll any dice (skill checks, saving throws, damage, etc.). More dice can be earned by being awesome!
  9. Personal inspiration can be earned by doing cool stuff, impressive narration, funny jokes and bribes to the DM :-)