[February 2025]
Greetings all, and welcome to the February (2025) update for Roguelike Games!
We began the new year with the exciting announcement that Moralinth: Enclave Edition is being developed. We rounded off our last update by letting you know that we would be bringing you more information on this new edition as soon as possible, so here we are!
Moralinth: Enclave Edition is on course to release alongside Moralinth: Uncanny Edition, with exceptional progress being made on it since we started preliminary concept work in late 2024. In fact, as of this development update, the Enclave Edition is already over 25% complete at 1st Draft level - that's a lot of writing in two months!
What can we expect from Moralinth: Enclave Edition?
As mentioned in our January update, Moralinth: Enclave Edition is the latest version of the Moralinth: Gothic Horror RPG, utilizing the same worldbuilding and lore as the Uncanny and Gloom editions, and is based on a variant of the Year Zero Engine (YZE). Designed to be compatible with the Free Tabletop License (FTL), Moralinth: Enclave Edition is structured in a way that is familiar to fans of YZE games while remaining accessible to newcomers.
Divided into 10 chapters, the book is completely self-contained and requires no additional books to play.
The Enclave edition is progressing quickly, and a roadmap is being created to keep interested parties informed about its progress between updates. Based on the content being written, it seems that this edition will be as extensive as the Uncanny edition.
An Overview of the Enclave Edition Content
Moralinth: Enclave Edition is crafted to resemble other games utilizing the Year Zero Engine, along with its contents. Divided into 10 chapters, each providing essential details on playing or managing the game, the Enclave edition is straightforward to navigate and quickly reference. This ensures that both Narrators and Players have all necessary information readily available during gameplay.
Working contents of Moralinth: Enclave Edition:
CHAPTER 1: | INTRODUCTION |
CHAPTER 2: | RULES FRAMEWORK |
CHAPTER 3: | UNCANNY INVESTIGATORS |
CHAPTER 4: | SKILLS |
CHAPTER 5: | THE SIGHT & OTHER TALENTS |
CHAPTER 6: | CONFLICT & DISCOVERY |
CHAPTER 7: | ITEMS BOTH MUNDANE AND MAGICAL |
CHAPTER 8: | THE DARK & OTHER STRANGENESS |
CHAPTER 9: | THE KNOWN WORLD |
CHAPTER 10: | RUNNING MORALINTH |
In more detail:
INTRODUCTION
The Introduction, as the opening chapter of Moralinth: Enclave Edition, sets the stage.
This introductory chapter contains a preface and a brief description of what a roleplaying game entails, intended for newcomers interested in understanding its allure.
Additionally, the chapter is divided into two sections:
'Welcome to Moralinth', Similar to its Uncanny Edition version, this section describes what Moralinth is (both as a game and the world it is named for) and delves into the themes of the gothic horror genre, The Blight, the Empire and its Enclaves, the role of religion in society, and the ancient magic known as The Dark.
'Key Themes'
This section is typically present in the majority of YZE games, outlining the primary themes and key aspects of the setting. It explores themes like mystery, horror, and the supernatural, as well as how these elements can influence the mortal mind and spirit. In addition to the fantastical elements, it also covers more realistic topics such as technological progress and levels of social conflict.
RULES FRAMEWORK
The Rules Framework chapter contains minimal lore. As expected from its title, this chapter focuses on the rules of the game Moralinth. It describes the main roles in the game, specifically the Players and the Narrator, along with the essential aspects of the YZE system.
'Dice Pools' The basics of how to use the dice are described here, as well as an introduction to the stress and push mechanics.
'Tools of the Game' discusses the items players and narrators alike will be looking to utilize in a game of Moralinth, such as character sheets, custom cards, and the trusty dice themselves.
UNCANNY INVESTIGATORS
A chapter dedicated to creating Uncanny Investigators for the game, this part of the book will likely get referenced frequently by players.
'Creating an Uncanny' gives an introduction on how to make a character for the game and how to use the character sheet to track that character's progress.
'Ancestry' gives all the rules and information a player needs to make their character either a Human, Clockwork or Enshrouded. This section details the origin options for the Ancestry, as well as the derived attributes and Ancestry Talent associated with that Ancestry.
'Eldritch Event' is a section that considers the characters' background, looking into how they became Uncanny, and what drove The Spark to awaken in them and change their life forever.
'Attributes' explains how the four core Attributes - Strength, Agility, Wits and Empathy - work, what Key Attributes are and briefly touches on the characters' Health, Sanity and Virtue scores which they use to combat physical damage, madness and corruption respectively.
'Calling' covers the twelve character Callings you can choose for your character. All the information you need to add to your character sheet about a Calling - such as Key Skills, Talents, and equipment - can be found here.
'Quirks' represent unusual character traits that your character displays when under extreme pressure. Quirks are also a building block for Dark Passengers.
'Health', 'Sanity' and 'Corruption' These three sections cover the three main dangers to a character in Moralinth, namely physical and mental trauma as well as corruption. It explains how such damage is done and how it can be restored, as well as subsystems connected to these three states.
'Dark Passengers' Every Uncanny (read "every player character") has a Dark Passenger: a manifestation of their darker side created through their connection with The Dark. This section goes into detail as to how to create a Dark Passenger as well as how they are used in games.
'Starting Equipment' This section details what equipment your character begins with for free at the start of the game, as well as their expendable income.
'Experience and advancing your character' Like most roleplaying games, characters in Moralinth are not static entities but change and evolve along with the story. This section explains how to gain and spend experience points (XP), the resource used to upgrade characters.
SKILLS
Skills serve as a form of assessment for characters to undertake different tasks throughout each session of Morlainth. This chapter provides an in-depth look at these skills and explains how to utilize them in the game.
'Skill Checks' This section covers the basics of making skill checks in the game, explaining how to read the dice, how success and failure work, pushing rolls (and the stress mechanic associated with it), as well as how panic works and conditions character can occasionally have to deal with.
'Only one chance' a rule governing how skill rolls are made, this section explains why you normally only have one change at each skill check as well as some of the exclusions to this rule.
'Group Rolls' and 'Passive Skills' detail the outliers on regular skills checks, explaining how a Narrator deals with characters working as a group, or dealing with skills when characters aren't actively using them.
'Modifiers' Most skill rolls in the game of Moralinth are fairly straightforward, but for events when outside factors can influence how a roll is made, we have modifiers. Able to be both positive and negative in nature, these modifiers are covered in this section.
'Help from Others' Helping other characters in the game most frequently happens when skill rolls are involved, and this section explains how your character can help another, or how others can help you when you attempt an action.
'Opposed Rolls' On the flip side of helping others, when your character is competing with another individual to achieve success, they need to make an opposed roll. This section explains how to go about doing so within the game rules.
'Gear' Some gear can offer modifiers on rolls, assisting players in certain ways (such as using a magnifying glass when looking for clues), and when that is relevant, that information is included in this section.
'The 20 Core Skills' This section goes over the games' twenty skills, and what they can be used for. For each of the four Attributes of Strength, Agility, Wits and Empathy there are five different skills associated with them.
THE SIGHT & OTHER TALENTS
The Uncanny are characterized by their close ties to The Dark, a magical force that remains unknown for most people, yet bestows incredible—and dreadful—power upon those who can harness it. This chapter focuses on the Talents accessible to The Uncanny, highlighting their distinctive power: The Sight.
'The Delusion' This section describes The Delusion: a strange phenomenon where the mortal mind protects it from the fantastical and supernatural by simply not perceiving it. It is because of The Delusion that nobody seems to realise monsters and magic are real, and that everyone is not checking themselves into mental asylums. As members of the Uncanny, the player-characters can see through the Delusion and see the world as it really exists.
'The Sight' The ability that allows the Uncanny to pierce The Delusion, The Sight is a universal Talent known by all Uncanny. Through using The Sight, Uncanny can sense magic, see through illusions, awaken dormant magical energy in mundane items, and even unmask Creatures of Darkness. This section covers The Sight and how to use it in-game.
'Talents' Talents are special manifestations of The Dark that allow characters to influence the world around them in often fantastical ways. Each Calling has its own list of specific talents for players to choose from when making their character, but there is also a universal list which can be selected by characters of any Calling.
'Corrupt Boons This section covers Corrupt Boons: special traits that are gained the more corrupt a character becomes. These are powerful and often enticing but come with a cost.
CONFLICT & DISCOVERY
In the tale of Moralinth, the narrative unfolds as characters reveal frequently unsettling truths. With truth comes danger, and most Moralinth sessions are rich with exploration and drama. This chapter delves into both of these aspects of the game.
'Combat' This section covers all the main rules around combat and conflict in the game of Moralinth, but also how combat interacts with other aspects of the game such as distance, damage, conditions and critical injuries.
'Mounts & Vehicles' This section covers the rules around domesticated animals and mechanical vehicles for use as transport in the game. Rules for chases and combat while riding mounts or operating vehicles are also included in this section.
'Investigations' Moralinth is primarily a game about discovery and investigation, and this section describes the rules on how to research the mysterious secrets around The Dark and the world of Moralinth as a whole.
ITEMS BOTH MUNDANE AND MAGICAL
Physical, touchable objects often aid in keeping the mind anchored when faced with indescribable horrors or bizarre strangeness. In an effort to maintain a sense of normalcy, many Uncanny individuals hold onto keepsakes from a more ordinary life. This chapter explores these items, objects, and curiosities.
'Collections & Carried Items' This section creates a distinction between items carried on one's person when undertaking an investigation and items stored in a safe space such as a Residency.
'Encumbrance' Some items in the game weigh so little that it is not worth recording on the character sheet, but some weigh more which can affect your character especially when trying to perform strenuous activities while carrying items. This section covers the rules behind item weight and how much a character can carry.
'Consumables' This section is dedicated to the rules behind items which can only be used a select number of times, often as little as once.
'Weapons & Armour' All of the weapons and armour available in the book are listed in this section, along with their costs and specific rules associated with them.
'Vehicles' In the same manner as armaments and armour, this section has all the available vehicles (and mounts) listed, as well as the cost of owning such items.
'Residencies' This section is dedicated to Residences, a character's home in Moralinth. More than just a place to rest and recuperate, Residences can be upgraded with renovations which offer temporary modifiers to characters. As such, this entire section is dedicated to these homes.
'Other Items & Services' This section covers all the miscellaneous items as well as various services such as food and lodging, messengers and the like.
'Enchanted Items' This section is intended primarily for Narrators, detailing all the enchanted items and artefacts in the game, rules on how to make new ones for players to enjoy and expanding the rules on awakening dormant enchanted items.
THE DARK & OTHER STRANGENESS
In Moralinth, The Dark exists within all things, though most people remain blissfully unaware. This chapter explores the elusive connection between The Mortal Realm and... elsewhere.
'The Dark' This section of the chapter deals with what The Dark actually is and how it affects the game, going into detail on how it manifests and also permeates all things across The Known World.
'Spells & Incantations' A very specific and ancient form of reality manipulation, spells are specific Talents available to Mediums, Occultists and Priests. This section explains how magic works in the game and gives a detailed description of the various spells and rituals.
'The Gloom' Both the name given to a side-effect of too much Dark energy collecting in one area, and also the dimension just beyond our own Mortal Realm that spawns all manner of supernatural oddities, The Gloom is explained in this section as well as potential ways to use it in a game.
'The Blight & The Blighted' The catastrophic event that nearly decimated all life across The Known World, The Blight is a condition that permanently transforms living creatures into ravenous, cannibalistic monsters. Uncurable and barely containable, The Blight is the main reason that what remains of civilisation cowers behind the massive Enclave walls. This section covers information on The Blight as a condition as well as the things it leaves in its wake: The Blighted.
'Creatures of Darkness' a catch-all term for any supernatural being not native to The Mortal Realm, Creatures of Darkness for the most part come from The Gloom and prey upon mortals in secret. Hiding behind The Delusion, Creatures of Darkness are beings of myth and nightmare that only the mad and the Uncanny can perceive. This section is strictly for the Narrator and explains more information on the Creatures of Darkness and their various agendas.
'Corruption' An underlying theme across all of Moralinth, corruption is the entropic force that slowly feeds The Dark and turns the hearts of the innocent cold. This section details how to make corruption checks in the game and covers the rules on becoming corrupted.
THE KNOWN WORLD
This chapter enriches the game's mechanics by providing extensive setting details and descriptions of the locations and characters that bring the world of Moralinth to life.
'The World of Moralinth' This section concerns itself with the geography of the game. Referred to as The Known World, this expansive continent comprises eighteen nations under a single Empire. As a section, it goes into detail about the various countries, the formation and operational hierarchy of the Estanina Empire, and the Enclaves as well as the capital of Elysium. The information in this section is also expanded upon in an upcoming free expansion book entitled The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania.
'Technology & Faith' Ideologies clash when traditional religious beliefs mesh with the current industrial revolution happening across the Empire. This section examines the influence of these two progressive forces in the Age of Reason, delving into The Church of The Multi-Faced Pantheon and the Empire's first megacorporation: The ITC.
'Moralinth Cosmology' Ask anyone but an Uncanny and they will tell you there is only the Golar System: eleven planets and their respective moon orbiting the bright Gol star at the centre of the system. They know that beyond that is the expanse of space, but they know little of it. Beyond that, some pious folk might believe in Aeternum, the land of the Gods and its associated Underworld, but only the Uncanny know that other dimensions intersect with The Mortal Realm, such as The Gloom, the Wyld and the Void. This section delves into Moralinth's cosmology, exploring the various other realms that lurk outside our own.
'A Brief History of the World' This section is mostly for reference only, but contains a timeline of major events from the forgotten Age of Mysticism right up until the Age of Reason: Moralinth's current time era.
RUNNING MORALINTH
This chapter is meant solely for the narrator's use and is not intended for players to read. It includes numerous secrets and surprises that the narrator might want to reveal at the appropriate moment.
'Victorian Gothic' This section of the final chapter concerns itself with injecting the "Victoriana" element into the game. While taking cues from the Victorian Era, obviously Moralinth is not identical so this section covers information for the narrator on how to approach the game. It covers how the game is both 'Victorian' and 'gothic', how it is different from many other TTRPGs and also references the social side of the game.
'The Delusion' expanding on the Delusion rules covered in "The Sight and other Talents", this section goes into more detail about The Delusion phenomenon for the narrator.
'The Supernatural' This section delves into the supernatural as a whole, offering the narrator suggestions on how to handle manifestations of The Dark and how the supernatural interacts with people in The Age of Reason.
'The Uncanny & The Sight' The origins of the Uncanny and their signature ability - "The Sight" - are explored in this section.
'Using the Rules' This section is designed to house and explain all the remaining rules that either do not have a dedicated article earlier in the book or are written to remain obtuse to allow the narrator to foster a sense of mystery for their players, Balancing the story with the game's mechanics, awarding XP and even using the optional "Horror Mode" are all covered here.
'Running a Moralinth game' Despite the streamlined YZE ruleset, there is a lot for narrators to grapple with and this section is designed to alleviate that somewhat, with rules on creating the right theme, playing logic vs magic and even offering some props to expand the game in thematic and practical ways.
'Creatures & Characters' The final section of the game's final chapter, this section contains all the information the narrator needs to run other characters in the game, from Non-Player characters to Blight-infested individuals to Creatures of Darkness.
Maintaining the Moralinth Legacy
While we're developing Moralinth: Enclave Edition to align closely with both the Uncanny and Gloom editions, some adjustments were necessary to accommodate the YZE system.
However, wherever feasible, we've aimed to maintain consistency across all three versions.
Moralinth: Enclave Edition features the same twelve Callings as Moralinth: Gloom Edition, and it includes the same three Ancestries of Human, Clockwork, and Enshrouded across all editions. The Enclave edition offers an equal number of options for customizing each player's Uncanny Investigator, with Talents, Corrupt Boons, and twenty different skills to master.
Certain elements of Moralinth, such as The Sight, Dark Passengers, The Gloom, and The Delusion, are distinctively Moralinthian. They are fundamental across all editions, serving as the basis for the game's mechanics and reflecting its lore. As with the Uncanny and Gloom editions, Moralinth: Enclave Edition will uphold this tradition by incorporating these key features, though it will utilize the YZE for this purpose.
Website Updates
During the past month, we have been revising the Roguelike Games website to incorporate the latest details for the Enclave edition. This involved creating a dedicated page for it and modifying various other pages and links throughout the site to reference it. The specific updates include:
The home page now has a link to the Enclave Edition in the drop-down "Products" menu, as well as a direct link to the Enclave Edition toward the bottom of the page.
The main Moralinth page now has links to the Encclave Edition page, as well as including it in the description of edition lineups for the game.
The Callings page now references the Enclave edition as well as the Gloom edition. 'Key Attribute' descriptions for the Enclave edition have been added to those of the Gloom edition.
A page has been created dedicated to The Enclave edition.
With this completed, we'll be looking to create a page all about The Imperial Encyclopaedia Estania next (a non-system lore book all about the world of Moralinth for the uninitiated).
Roguelike Community
The Moralinth Official Facebook Group is the place to visit for quick and concise updates for those who only want the summarised details of what is happening with Moralinth and is a great place to see the artwork, lore snippets, and updates. We're looking to add more to it so that we can add extra information, but we need your help! What sort of things would you like to see included in the Facebook Group that isn't there already? Feel free to leave comments so we can know what is a priority for everyone - and make sure you tell your friends!
DISCORD:
For a more in-depth and interactive playground for all things Moralinth, you can head over to the Morlainth Official Discord Server. We're looking to foster the community and grow it out, and a few of the messages we've received of late have asked for more ways to interact with the game world as well as an increase in setting information. We're looking to try and grant both requests simultaneously, so keep an eye on Discord for more information! Feel free to invite anyone who you feel might want to follow the project but please remember they need to verify their account when they first join the server (you need to click the little "tick" to be granted the Uncanny role and gain access to all the Categories, Channels and Events).
Future Plans
In much the same way that the last few updates of 2024 focused on specific parts of the Uncanny and Gloom editions, we will be doing the same with the Enclave edition across the months of March, April and May. Come back next update to see what we have in store, but spoiler! it'll be Enclave edition related.
....and that wraps up our update for this month! Feel free to drop us a message or come visit us on our Facebook page or our Discord Group if you'd like! Until our next update in the new year,
Happy Gaming!
- Adam
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