Gameplay

The gampeplay of Moogles & Myrrh Trees derives heavily from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, but many systems have been designed around the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles video game, and also draw minor influences from other Final Fantasy games. The intent is to preserve the spirit of the Crystal Chronicles setting while allowing players the flexibility and freedom of a tabletop RPG. That being said, all rules described here may be altered at the discretion of the Game Master.

If any term or concept, such as Grappling, is not described within this Guide Wiki, please refer to the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player's Handbook or related media. This adaptation is meant as an expansion and, in some cases, alteration of D&D, not an outright replacement or copy.

Characters
Players may currently select from one of the four Tribes that inhabit this world, and may select from any of the hometowns. They may also choose a starting weapon, assign ability scores based on their Tribe and the game's starting level, and up to three Skills in which they are proficient. While M&MT derives a lot from D&D, one of the key differences is the lack of classes, favoring weapon techniques and Tribal Instincts that allow players to customize their roles more freely, or even reconstruct classic Final Fantasy jobs.

Abilities

 * STR: Strength determines your physical power, ability to lift and move heavy objects, as well as accuracy with heavier weapons.
 * DEX: Dexterity determines your agility and precision, and influences accuracy for light or ranged weapons.
 * CON: Constitution determines your endurance and resilience, such as the ability to remain active longer, fight off infection, or survive without food or water. This stat directly influences your maximum Hit Points, and early levels improve your mobility with heavier armor (see Equipment below).
 * INT: Intelligence determines your ability to problem solve and your education, such as figuring out how a machine works, discerning why it works, or already knowing these things in advance. This ability also directly influences your magic damage.
 * WIS: Wisdom determines your empathy, insight, and perception, such as being able to read body language, understand a philosophy, or notice details about your surroundings. This ability also directly influences your healing magic.
 * CHR: Charisma determines your social skills and ability to influence others, as well as perform music or dance.

Ability Scores and Modifiers

 * Ability scores are a raw number in each ability that players can improve as they progress through the game. 6 Ability Points (AP) are earned each time a character gains a level. For player characters, all ability scores are set to 8, and 12AP are available to assign at Level 1 (see Levels below).
 * Ability modifiers are derived from the ability scores to influence the success of certain rolls. An ability modifier increases by 1 for every 5 points in the ability score. (e.g., a Strength score of 20 results in a Strength Modifier of 2, or 20Str / 5 - 2 = 2StrMod). The modifier is always rounded down to the next integer, with a minimum modifier of -2. Player characters have all base ability scores set to 8, or a modifier of -1.

Levels
Levels are rewarded by the Game Master either by an experience point system, where each enemy slain earns the players points toward gaining their next level, or by story milestones. For the sake of simplicity, it is recommended for GMs to balance quests so that players gain 1 level at the end of each quest line or dungeon.

At Level 1, a character is granted 12AP to spend on their Ability Scores. Of these twelve, three must be designated based on their Tribe, and one by their starting main-hand weapon's attributed modifier (STR, DEX, etc.). The remainder may be assigned freely.

Upon level up, players will earn 6AP to be spent freely.

Skills
See Main Article: Skills

Skills include anything a character can do beyond their combat abilities, such as investigating an area, performing an acrobatic maneuver, or recognizing a historical reference. A player can choose from three of the primary list of skills in which they are proficient, thus adding their proficiency bonus to any relevant rolls.

More specific skills, such as languages, tools, or musical instruments, may be added to your character's skills list. A player may choose one language and one other skill of their choice at the start of a campaign.

Achieving proficiency or acquiring new skills requires 1000 hours or 6 months (assuming 8hrs per day) of study as a base, though some Tribes may have Instincts that reduce this time.

Movement
Movement is largely consistent with rules found in Dungeons & Dragons 5e, including jump height and distance, difficult terrain, and swimming or climbing speed. Many Instincts, especially for Selkies, affect movement, and Techniques often cause a character to move in a straight line toward their target.

Miasma
See Main Article: Miasma

''Note: This ruleset only applies to the Miasma Era of the Crystal Chronicles setting and is completely optional. As in the original game, it is designed to provide an additional challenge to adventurers by restricting their movement, keeping them grouped and limiting travel. Please note that forgoing this ruleset requires that you use alternative Instincts to those related to Miasma.''

During the Miasma Era, the entire world is covered in a toxic mist known as Miasma. Simply standing in the Miasma, whether breathing it in or not, causes a character to take 1d8 Miasma Damage and 1 point of Miasma Sickness, suffering this penalty again every 6 seconds. Miasma Sickness is a form of Exhaustion that stacks with normal Exhaustion, and if both combined reach 6, the character dies instantly. However, returning to pure air reduces your Miasma Sickness by 1 point for every 6 seconds. Miasma Sickness cannot be negated by Resting, as the character would die within the first minute if not returned to pure air.

Locations with thicker Miasma seem to attract stronger Monsters, though the exact relationship between Monsters and Miasma remains unstudied. Animals and plants are mostly unaffected, though they may transform or evolve in surreal ways if exposed to dense Miasma for long periods. Humans (or rather, the four Tribes), appear to be the only creatures to experience extreme and deadly symptoms.

Miasma Streams
Miasma Streams are dense currents of Miasma that make travel through certain mountain ranges impossible without a Crystal of the matching Element.

Crystals
See Main Article: Crystal

The Miasma can be repelled by charging a Crystal with pure Myrrh collected from Myrrh Trees. Crystals come in many sizes, but there are two worth noting:


 * Town Crystals are enormous, building-sized Crystals that require three full drops of Myrrh to fully charge. This charge fades after a little more than one year, so each town proactively employs a Crystal Caravan every summer to collect Myrrh from the Myrrh Trees found in the most remote and dangerous locations in the world. A Town Crystal's safety radius encompasses the entire town and a short distance more, so travelers need not enter the town's threshold to enjoy its purity.
 * Tiny Crystals can be found as inert stones in the field, but if processed by skilled alchemists, they can be used to syphon negligible amounts of Myrrh from nearby Town Crystals or other Myrrh sources to generate a protective bubble with a 25ft radius. A Crystal Chalice, almost exclusively used by Crystal Caravans to contain and transport Myrrh, has a Tiny Crystal mounted at its top that also syphons a negligible amount of Myrrh.

Myrrh
See Main Article: Myrrh

Myrrh is used to charge Crystals so that they can repel Miasma and provide safety to the four Tribes. Little is known about Myrrh, except that it can be collected from Myrrh Trees one drop per year per Caravan. The exact reason it restricts collection to once per year has been the subject of many debates in both scholastic and casual settings.

Tainted Water
Unlike open air, water tainted with Miasma takes up to a full minute to purify. Drinking Miasmic Water can be lethal except at extremely low concentrations, though the long-term effects of drinking mildly tainted water remain undocumented. Rain drops carry little enough Miasma that their effects are negligible within a Crystal's radius. However, rain accumulating in pools and floods adds to the existing dangers, and Monsters are empowered by precipitation.

Initiative
When combat commences, all players must roll Initiative. This is calculated as 1d20 + DEX modifier + any additional bonuses from Instincts or Equipment.

Attack Rounds (Turns)
Just like with Dungeons & Dragons 5e, each attack round lasts 6 seconds, during which each character takes their turn in order of their Initiative roll. A character's turn consists of three main parts: Movement, Action, and Bonus Action. However, performing/readying a Technique or a Spell consumes an entire turn, and no movement or bonus actions may be used.

In the uncommon event that a character ends their turn at least 24 feet above the ground, unless they can fly or perform any other mid-air movement, their next turn's movement is fully consumed in freefall. Ranged attacks or techniques may be made during a freefalling turn, as well as bonus actions.

Equipment
See Main Article: Equipment

Any Tribe can equip any weapon, guard, armor, or accessory, unless the item itself specifies otherwise. Heavier weapons and shields require a character's Strength Modifier to meet certain requirements, while Armor requires Constitution.

Weapons
See Main Article: List of Weapons

Weapons are the core of a character's attack set. Weapons equipped in the Main Hand will increase a character's Skill with that weapon upon Level Up (assuming this weapon was used most between levels). A character's Weapon Skill Level unlocks Techniques (see below), and the character may only use Techniques for an equipped weapon (e.g., no using Dagger Techs if no Dagger is equipped).

Sub Hand
See Main Article: Guard

Your Sub Hand may hold a variety of things:


 * Gauntlets are tough hand armor that may improve a character's Armor Class and still allow enough finger movement to use two-handed weapons. Only one Gauntlet may be equipped as a Guard.
 * Shields improve a character's Armor Class a great deal, but can only be used with one-handed weapons. If a character does not meet the required Strength Modifier, the Armor Class for the shield is halved.
 * Sub Weapon is a secondary weapons equipped in place of other Guards. This weapon will have its damage die type reduced (e.g., from 1d6 to 1d4), loses any Armor Class bonuses, and cannot improve your Skill Level with that weapon type upon Level Up. Techniques may be performed with either weapon on your turn, allowing more versatility should you have Skills developed for both, but the Technique's damage is only determined by the weapon used unless otherwise specified.

Armor
See Main Article: Armor

Armor is crafted in full suits, only leaving the hands free to equip weapons and guards accordingly. It's usually responsible for the majority of your Armor Class. A character's Constitution modifier must meet required levels to equip heavier armor or their movement is reduced by 5ft for every point below the required CON Modifier, and all STR or DEX actions are rolled with disadvantage.

Armor Class
Armor Class is the difficulty check all attacks against a character must meet. All Armor and Guards, as well as specific weapons, add to this value. Anyone can equip any armor, but their Constitution must meet required levels to equip heavier armor or suffer a movement speed penalty and roll all physical actions with disadvantage.

Basic Attacks
Simple attacks function the same as in Dungeons & Dragons. While dual-wielding, each weapon is rolled separately. Depending on your weapon type, attacking this way on consecutive turns may Disrupt a target, disabling them from using Techniques or Spells on their following turn.

Attacks of Opportunity
When a creature moves away from an enemy creature without disengaging, the enemy may make a basic attack. This attack is rolled with disadvantage if the creature uses a Tech to move away.

Hit Points
A character's Hit Points (HP) are the amount of damage they can take before falling unconscious. When a character takes damage, their HP falls by that exact amount. A character's maximum hit points are ten times your level, plus your Constitution modifier.

Knockout and Death
When a character runs out of HP, they are knocked unconscious. If a player character starts their turn with 0 HP, they may only roll 1d20 as a Death Saving Throw. They will succeed the "Death Save" by rolling 10 or higher, and fail if they roll lower. Whether the character lives or dies depends on whether they succeed or fail these rolls three out of five times. If they succeed three before failing three, their condition stabilizes and they recover 1 HP on the following turn, allowing them to stand and fight once more. If they fail three before succeeding three, they die permanently.

Any damage taken after falling to 0HP will automatically add one failed death save (two for critical hits). If the character has stabilized, any damage taken will restart their death saving rolls until they either die or stabilize again. If any one attack (or total damage from one creature's attack round) brings their HP below 0 by an amount that equals or exceeds their maximum HP, they die instantly, whether they were conscious or not. Otherwise they remain at 0HP.

(Example: If a character with 20 maximum HP has only 10HP remaining, and they're struck for 30 damage, they die instantly because their HP reached -20 in one hit. If they're only struck for 29 damage, they merely fall unconscious and remain at 0HP. If they are struck again while at 0HP, they add one failed death save to their count, unless the attack deals at least 20 damage to kill them instantly.)

Conversely, if an unconscious character is healed above 0HP by any method, they may stand and act as normal. If no healing is available, a Medicine (Wisdom) check can be made to instantly stabilize them by rolling 10 or greater.

Hit Die
A character has a number of Hit Die equal to their level. Using your Hit Die, either during a Short Rest or through an ability, will recover your HP by an amount equal to the sum of a 1d8 roll and your Constitution Modifier. Hit Die are fully restored at the end of a Long Rest.

Resting
Basic resting functions the same as in D&D 5e. Any Rest is a period of sleep or light activity. A Short Rest lasts at least 1 hour, and players may spend as many of their Hit Die as they please during this hour. A Long Rest lasts at least 8 hours, during which a character fully recovers their HP and Hit Die, also reducing their Exhaustion by 1 point. A character must spend at least 8 hours sleeping per in-game day or they will gain 1 point of Exhaustion.

Healing
See Main Article: Healing

There are a variety of methods to heal a creature, either by using items, Techniques, Instincts, or even Magicite.

Weapon Skill Levels
When a character gains a Level, they also gain a Skill Level in whichever weapon type they used most in their Main Hand since they last gained a Level. This Skill Level is relevant to a few Instincts and other systems, but is mostly involved in acquiring new Techniques.

If a player character used more than one weapon between Levels, and it's unclear which was used most, it's at both their and the GM's discretion to decide which gains the Skill Up. For a weapon to qualify for a Skill Up, it must have been equipped in the Main Hand for roughly 1/3 of battle encounters, regardless of whether it had been used to attack, as the player may claim to have been training with it during down time to give it priority. This avoids any need for constant tracking of usage, and allows a player to claim credit for encounters that ended before they could attempt to attack.

(Example: "I know I've been using my Daggers most of the time, but I've been training really hard with my Staff every morning since we left Marr's Pass and I want to learn some healing Techs. Can I apply my Skill Up to that instead?"

Instincts
See Main Article: List of Instincts

Tribal Instincts are gained as Ability Modifiers meet certain requirements. These are mostly passive traits, but may affect how other actions are performed.

Techniques
See Main Article: List of Techs

Weapon Techniques, or "Techs", are one of the three main facets that make up your character's combat abilities, the others being Instincts and Magicite. Techs are learned by improving your Weapon Skill Level, and you may only use Techs related to an equipped weapon, and a Tech will only apply this weapon's damage unless its description or an Instinct allows the inclusion of a Sub Weapon.

Using a Tech consumes the full 6 seconds of your turn, preventing you from moving or taking bonus actions in the same turn. Some Techs cause you to move in a specified direction, such as in a straight line toward your target, but this is independent of your Movement Speed, though such Techs cannot be performed while Bound or Grappled. However, moving away from your opponent using a Tech gives you advantage against their Attack of Opportunity.

Magicite
See Main Article: Magicite

Magicite is one of the three main facets that make up your character's combat abilities, the others being Instincts and Techniques. A spherical Magicite stone, such as a stone of Fire, exists as an item found in the world, whether laying idle or emerging from the death of a Monster. A creature with Magicite in their possession may cast powerful Spells in the same manner as using Techniques, forgoing any movement or bonus actions on the same turn. All Spells have a 100% base success rate, though some creatures may have abilities or resistances to magic or specific elements. Elemental attack spells have additional effects attached to them, and all enemies hit must roll a Constitution Check against a Spell DC of 5 + the caster's INT mod, though natural Elemental or Status resistances may apply. Spells have a base range of 30 feet and a base Area of Effect of 5 square feet. Spells may also be Fused, either with other Magicite or with Techs (see below). Any Spells or Techs, including Fusions, may be used to influence the environment, such as burning a tree or freezing a lake, but nothing except a Crystal charged with Myrrh may repel Miasma.

For reasons known only to the most studious scholars, once a "human" interacts with a Magicite stone it begins to lose its stability, causing it to dissipate after 6 hours. (Generally a dungeon crawl should take no longer than 4hrs in-game, unless a long rest is taken).

See Also: Element

Fusion
See Main Article: Fusion

Fusion is the merger of a Spell with another Spell or Tech. To perform a Fusion, one character must specify a target, Ready their Spell or Tech with clear intent to Fuse, and wait for other players to join on their turn with another Spell or Tech. These players are known as "Fusion Participants", and each Participant may hold their Spell or Tech indefinitely until the Fusion is cast. The final Participant must successfully roll an Ability Check against a fixed Difficulty Check - the "Fusion DC" - to combine the energies of all Spells or Techs involved into a single, devastating attack, dealing the combined damage to all targets in range and adding bonuses depending on the type of Fusion (see below). If the final Participant fails the ability check, all Spells or Techs are executed independently with no Fusion bonuses. Attack or Damage rolls are made at the end of this process whether it succeeds or fails.

Fusion is broken into three categories:


 * Magic Blasts are the Fusion of two to four Spells of the same type, increasing the Spell's "Tier" by the number of Participants. When successful, the Spell's Area of Effect radius increases from the original 2.5ft by an additional 5ft each Tier, allowing for spells up to 35ft wide at Tier 4. The bonus damage die and Spell DC also increase each Tier, but so does the Fusion DC. The Difficulty Check is either Intelligence (INT) for attack Spells or Wisdom (WIS) for healing Spells. Higher Tier Spells use suffixes in their names.

The only exception to this system is the powerful Raise spell, which only needs two Participants to reach the Tier 3 spell: Arise.




 * Advanced Spells result from the Fusion of two to four Spells where one is different from the others. They follow similar rules to Magic Blasts, but are more focused on utility than raw damage. The resulting Advanced Spell is determined by the final Participant at Tier 2, or the unique Spell mixed in at Tiers 3 or 4. (e.g. casting Stone on Aero makes Float, while casting Aero on Stone makes Blind, but if a second Aero is added, the resulting spell is Floatga because Stone was the unique Spell of the three. If a second Stone is added instead, the resulting spell is Blindga because Aero is deciding spell.) Advanced spells don't all have the same bonus damage, radius, Spell DC, or even Suffix, so refer to the tables on the Fusion page for further details.

For the most part, Advanced Spells comprised entirely of Elemental Spells may only Fuse up to Tier 3. Advanced Spells that include Healing Spells behave differently, such as combining any Elemental Spell with Raise to make Holy, which may be improved up to Holyga with four Participants. The Ability Check weighed against the Fusion DC for Advanced Spells depends on whether the resulting spell is Offensive (INT) or Support (WIS).


 * Magic Strike is the merger of one Elemental Spell and one Tech by casting the Spell onto the weapon used in the Tech. The results may vary based on the Tech, but unless otherwise specified in the Tech's description, a Magic Strike adds the Spell's base elemental damage to every target hit by the Tech, bypassing any resistance to physical or magical damage (unless they're resistant to both), applying the bonus 1d4 Fusion Damage of the same element, and increasing the Spell DC for the Elemental Status Effect to [INT Mod] + 8.

Unlike Magic Blasts or Advanced Spells, where the final Participant must overcome the Fusion DC, Magic Strikes require the Participant using the Tech to overcome the Fusion DC. This Fusion DC is determined by adding 5 to the Weapon Skill Level at which it was learned. The Ability Check used for this is determined by the Ability Modifier used in the Tech (e.g., a Magic Strike performed with a Chakram's Level 2 Tech, Ricochet, would need to pass a DEX check against a Fusion DC of 7).

It should be known that Monsters, while unable to perform Fusions with each other, are naturally capable of more powerful magic and bizarre abilities. It's not unheard of for a Lizardman to cast Firaga on his own.