Celestial Saga

Karma is a concept found in several Eastern religions, and it refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect. In simple terms, it means that your actions will have corresponding consequences. If you perform good deeds, you will receive good outcomes, and if you perform bad deeds, you will receive bad outcomes. Karma is often seen as a cosmic justice system, balancing out the actions of individuals across their lifetimes or even across multiple lifetimes and even beyond…

On the other hand, morality refers to the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality is more about making choices that align with these ethical principles, and it’s possible for someone to make a morally correct choice that doesn’t result in immediate positive karma, or vice versa.

In the context of a role-playing game like D&D, a character’s morality might guide their actions and decisions, while their karma could be a game mechanic that represents the consequences of those actions.

Karmic System

The Karmic System is a unique and innovative approach to rewarding players who exemplify the pillars of good role-playing and decision-making. It is designed to encourage players to immerse themselves in their characters and the world around them, making choices that reflect their characters’ beliefs, values, and motivations.

At the heart of the Karmic System is the concept of a Karma Rating and Omni-Dice. A Karma Rating is a measure of a character’s standing within the cosmos of the ttrpg world, reflecting their actions and decisions throughout the game. This rating is not static; it can increase or decrease based on the player’s actions, allowing for dynamic character development and moral complexity.

Karma Rating is determined by the aggregate score compiled by the DM recording a character’s current aspects.

Virtue	Description
Honesty	Respect for truth.
Compassion	Love of others.
Valor	Courage to stand up against risks.
Justice	Truth, tempered by love.
Sacrifice	Courage to give oneself in the name of love.
Honor	Courage to seek and uphold the truth.
Spirituality	Embodiment of truth, love, and courage.
Humility	Recognition of one’s limitations.

Sin	Meaning
Pride	An excessive belief in one’s own abilities, also known as vanity or vain glory.
Greed	An excessive pursuit of material possessions, also known as avarice or covetousness.
Lust	An uncontrollable passion or longing, especially for sexual desires.
Envy	The desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.
Gluttony	Overindulgence and overconsumption of anything to the point of waste, including food and alcohol.
Wrath	Extreme anger that can manifest in different ways, including impatience, revenge, and self-destructive behavior.
Sloth	A lack of physical and spiritual effort, leading to failure to fulfill one’s responsibilities.

A character starts the game with every Sin and Virtue value at 0, with the maximum values being either +100 or -100. Over the course of the game, these values will change by a positive or negative amount, or remain unchanged. Having a positive score in a virtue will contribute towards raising your Karma Rating calculation, whereas having either a negative score will contribute to lowering it.

Sins operate in an opposite manner, where a positive score in one of the sins will contribute towards lowering one’s Karma Rating.

It is important to note that while a character’s virtue scores can increase or decrease, one’s accumulated sin scores can never decrease.

After adding up all of the individual scores, A character’s Karma Rating is established.

Examples:

Character A: Virtue score +12 and Sin score of 5 equals a Karma rating of 7

Character B: Virtue Score of +20 and a Sin score of +50 equals a Karma rating of -30

Character C: Virtue score of +10 and a Sin score of +10 equals a karma rating of 0

Character D: Virtue Score of +20 and a Sin score of 0 equals a karma rating of +20

Omni-Dice

Omni-Dice are a tangible reward for players who accumulate a positive Karma Rating. These dice can be used in a variety of ways to influence the game, from supplementing rolls to reducing damage taken. The number of Omni-Dice a player receives is directly proportional to their Karma Points, creating a clear link between a character’s actions and their abilities in the game.

Omni-dice are formless dice which can take the form of one of the many denominations of die depending on the purpose they are used for. They represent a player’s ability to transcend the fabric of the real world, to better influence the fate of their character.

Using Omni-Dice

Omni-Dice can be used in a variety of ways:

1. Supplement Rolls: Before making a saving throw, ability check, or attack roll, a player can choose to expend one or more omni-dice. They may add 1d4 to their roll for each omni dice spent.
2. Reduce Damage: When a player takes damage, they can choose to expend any number of omni-dice. Reduce the damage taken by 1d10+proficiency bonus for each dice expended.
3. Increase Damage: Before dealing damage, a player can choose to expend one of more omni-dice. add an additional 1d6 per omni-dice spent to the damage roll.
4. Revive: A player may expend 10 omni-dice to cast Revivify on a target. They may also expend 20 omni-dice to cast true ressurection

gaining Omni-Dice

A player may roll upon the table after each level up to accrue a budget of omni-dice. A player may also roll upon the table at the end of each long rest.

d10 Roll	Omni Dice yielded
1	0
2	0
3	0
4	1
5	1
6	1
7	2
8	2
9	3
10	4

Karmic Bonus

A character’s Karma Rating is applied to the omni dice yielded from the table roll.

Examples:

Character A: rolls a 10 on the Omni-dice table, and has a Karma rating of +5 equals 15 Omni-dice yielded.

Character B: Rolls a 1 on the Omni-dice table, and has a Karma rating of 2 equals 2 Omni dice yielded.

Character C: Rolls a 10 on the Omni-dice table , and has a Karma rating of -20 equals 0 omni dice yielded.

Character D: Rolls a 2 on the Omni-dice table, and has a Karma rating of -2 equals 0 Omni Dice yielded.

A player’s Omni dice are not permanent, and thus will vanish when they finish a long rest or once 24 hours have passed.