Hey guys so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on this front. I'm running a campaign where the player characters are starting out dead meaning of the players are going to be controlling their souls and Kelemvors domain. I'm wondering if you guys have any experience / any ideas for how mechanically speaking running a soul should be different than running a living character.
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D&D 5E The mechanics of player character souls
- Thread starter ArtaSoral
- Start date
Ath'kethin
Elder Thing
Not specifically souls, but you might gain some useful ideas from the 3e book Ghostwalk. All PCs using that supplement we're ghosts, and it details a city of ghosts as well. There are rules in there for how (invisible, intangible) ghosts - called eidolons - could and couldn't interact with mortals.
I'm not sure if it's what you want, but it might have some ideas. Older game books (most particularly old Planescape stuff) had info on petitioners and souls of the recently deceased as well if memory serves.
I'm not sure if it's what you want, but it might have some ideas. Older game books (most particularly old Planescape stuff) had info on petitioners and souls of the recently deceased as well if memory serves.
ccs
41st lv DM
Let me start by saying that I have zero idea how Kelemvors realm of the dead works in the FR. So....
Questions:
I assume that since you said the PCs will start out dead, that they'll eventually return to life?
HOW will they be returning to life?
Have you considered what lv the characters will start at? What lv were they when they died?
Do the players know that they're going to start off dead/in the afterlife?
If I were running this:
1) I would not tell the players they were starting off dead.
2) I would tell the players that the minimum Cha score for any character is 12. I would not tell them why.
Let them make 1st lv characters as normal otherwise.
Then adjust everyones starting lv to = their Cha mod.
This is because only those with a strong sense of themselves can resist losing lvs & fading away into mere shades. And the longer your in the afterlife the greater the erosion of your "self". Given long enough (beyond the scope of the game) everyone fades away.
What you're seeing at the beginning of the game is whatever is left of the PCs souls.
Wich is why you can't play someone with a +0, or a negative, Cha mod. - such a character would've already faded out to the point of being a mere unplayable shade.
When a PC reaches zero HP? Do not make death saves (their already dead afterall!). Instead the PC loses 2 pts of Cha. & simply stands back up the next round.
When a PCs Cha mod drops to +0 Their dead. Really dead. As in only coming back via Wish or Kelemvors direct intervention dead.
Thoughts on lv up:
Yes, you can gain lvs.
Yes, you can increase your Cha. No it will not give you a bonus lv, it just increases the buffer before you're completely subsumed by the afterlife.
Thoughts on creating new characters:
Once players see how Cha influences character survival you'll see any new characters created that max out this score in an attempt to game the system.
So once PC creation is done? Roll a d5 to see how much Cha damage they've suffered & set their starting lvs accordingly.
1-2 = 1 pt
3-4 = 2 pts
5-6 = 3 pts
7-8= 4 pts
9-10? = no loss - because this would be unplayable.
Questions:
I assume that since you said the PCs will start out dead, that they'll eventually return to life?
HOW will they be returning to life?
Have you considered what lv the characters will start at? What lv were they when they died?
Do the players know that they're going to start off dead/in the afterlife?
If I were running this:
1) I would not tell the players they were starting off dead.
2) I would tell the players that the minimum Cha score for any character is 12. I would not tell them why.
Let them make 1st lv characters as normal otherwise.
Then adjust everyones starting lv to = their Cha mod.
This is because only those with a strong sense of themselves can resist losing lvs & fading away into mere shades. And the longer your in the afterlife the greater the erosion of your "self". Given long enough (beyond the scope of the game) everyone fades away.
What you're seeing at the beginning of the game is whatever is left of the PCs souls.
Wich is why you can't play someone with a +0, or a negative, Cha mod. - such a character would've already faded out to the point of being a mere unplayable shade.
When a PC reaches zero HP? Do not make death saves (their already dead afterall!). Instead the PC loses 2 pts of Cha. & simply stands back up the next round.
When a PCs Cha mod drops to +0 Their dead. Really dead. As in only coming back via Wish or Kelemvors direct intervention dead.
Thoughts on lv up:
Yes, you can gain lvs.
Yes, you can increase your Cha. No it will not give you a bonus lv, it just increases the buffer before you're completely subsumed by the afterlife.
Thoughts on creating new characters:
Once players see how Cha influences character survival you'll see any new characters created that max out this score in an attempt to game the system.
So once PC creation is done? Roll a d5 to see how much Cha damage they've suffered & set their starting lvs accordingly.
1-2 = 1 pt
3-4 = 2 pts
5-6 = 3 pts
7-8= 4 pts
9-10? = no loss - because this would be unplayable.
The question I believe you're driving at is, "Do souls need to eat, sleep, and breathe?"
Really, it's up to you. There's no official guidance on the matter. Canonically speaking, the afterlife is just another plane on the Great Wheel; the destination for the recently departed, yes, but also accessible to mortals with the right magic. The god who presides over the plane gets to decide what requirements the denizens (and visitors) must fulfill to sustain themselves. Broadly speaking, I would assume they enable souls to partake in food, sleep, and breathing if the soul chooses to do so, but do not require it.
For a campaign like you describe, I would:
1) Eschew biological imperatives. No need for food or sleep. However, I would still include some form of short and long rest state of mind to manage resources. Maybe something like all PCs get a feature similar to elven Trance. The frequency and effect of this state of mind would be beholden to the same mechanics as normal rests.
2) Treat gravity the same, including falling damage.
3) Make drowning/suffocating impossible. Certain spells or effects whose description suggests respiration is a required part of being affected do nothing, unless the soul decides to breathe it in.
4) Make PC death permanent and irrevocable, as the soul itself is destroyed. That might be a little more hardcore than you or your players like, so I'll restate this is what I would do. Treat this point especially as a statement of preference, not a suggestion.
Really, it's up to you. There's no official guidance on the matter. Canonically speaking, the afterlife is just another plane on the Great Wheel; the destination for the recently departed, yes, but also accessible to mortals with the right magic. The god who presides over the plane gets to decide what requirements the denizens (and visitors) must fulfill to sustain themselves. Broadly speaking, I would assume they enable souls to partake in food, sleep, and breathing if the soul chooses to do so, but do not require it.
For a campaign like you describe, I would:
1) Eschew biological imperatives. No need for food or sleep. However, I would still include some form of short and long rest state of mind to manage resources. Maybe something like all PCs get a feature similar to elven Trance. The frequency and effect of this state of mind would be beholden to the same mechanics as normal rests.
2) Treat gravity the same, including falling damage.
3) Make drowning/suffocating impossible. Certain spells or effects whose description suggests respiration is a required part of being affected do nothing, unless the soul decides to breathe it in.
4) Make PC death permanent and irrevocable, as the soul itself is destroyed. That might be a little more hardcore than you or your players like, so I'll restate this is what I would do. Treat this point especially as a statement of preference, not a suggestion.
MechaTarrasque
Hero
The other thing to consider is what type the souls are in terms of spells and magic. Do you want them to be humanoids? undead? celestials? fiends? Normally I am a strong proponent of "whatever a PC is, that is humanoid (at least for the PC)", but the main reason for that is so that everyone is largely the same as far as magic goes. But if everyone is undead (or any other type), that has the same effect.
