The existence of a soul in sentient creatures (or at least sentient humanoids) is ingrained in a lot of D&D, just like the existence of gods, devils, demons, and planes representing the afterlife, heaven, or hell. The biggest game mechanic would be resurrection spells which require a soul to function but there are other more specific features which affect the playable races too.
That said, constructs and a lot of undead are technically “soulless” as they either never had a soul, or aren’t currently in possession of one. But they are also typically unintelligent and not usual candidates for player characters, but they may be a good place to start if you want to homebrew something.
In the Curse of Strahd adventure, there is some lore stating that some of the people living in Barovia were born without souls. These people aren't necessarily any weaker or stronger than a normal person, but they are just a bit more dull than a person with a soul.
That is the only thing I can think of
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I appreciate all the responses. they are all helpful
I should add a little clarification here and say:
what if a player or central NPC lost their soul? perhaps selling it to the devil, perhaps they angered some voodoo witch doctor that somehow stole it.
do they lose control of the character, do they lose levels, ability scores, does alignment change?
in theory; this condition is reversible as it often is in film and literature. but the character is somehow different during their soulless time. That soulless period was the purpose of the original post.
now it seems there are no hard rules, but a little direction. I may create some homebrew ideas and post there.
I appreciate all the responses. they are all helpful
I should add a little clarification here and say:
what if a player or central NPC lost their soul? perhaps selling it to the devil, perhaps they angered some voodoo witch doctor that somehow stole it.
do they lose control of the character, do they lose levels, ability scores, does alignment change?
in theory; this condition is reversible as it often is in film and literature. but the character is somehow different during their soulless time. That soulless period was the purpose of the original post.
now it seems there are no hard rules, but a little direction. I may create some homebrew ideas and post there.
thanks again all
There are a couple of references here and there in 5e. There is a ton more in other editions.
For monsters, he closest official 5e stuff is probably covered under the Night Hag entry as far as a soul that has been taken. Most of the other references with Devils and the like is that you sold it, but they take possession upon death and whisk you away to the lower planes then, but not before. Also, see the DMG entry for larva under the section discussing the plane of Hades.
The spell Soul Cage has some mechanics of a soul of the recently killed is stuck for a while under the casters' control. Imprisonment has some related stuff, but it isn't specifically about souls.
None of this prevent other interpetations (the Straad one above for example, not familiar with it). But a soul is kinda important unless you are undead or a construct.
Basically, every reference to souls in 5e is of it leaving the body after death or returning to the body when resurrected. Resurrection spells even mention you can't revive a creature if its soul can't return.
The only creatures described to function without souls are not mortal (celestials, constructs, elementals, fiends, and undead).
One might think that vampires might be a good candidate for comparison. Perhaps there is a Reddit on Plane Shift Zendikar where you can ask this question.
But I was looking for this as well and figured I'd bump it to be easy for others and also give some Van Richten's based updates.
It looks like in a normal circumstance having no soul means you cannot function. (see the items indicated above)
The exception seems to be the Domains of Dread, where it sounds like the bulk of the populous are soulless. There is indication that a soulless person can end up with the soul of someone else in which case there will be a mix of memories from those of the acquired soul and those of the individual's own experiences.
It is likely that escape from the Mists is effectively impossible for the soulless since they will cease to operate once they leave the Demiplanes like other soulless bodies. Whether or not they are truly sapient or just sort of like biological robots with an advanced behavior routines is left unsaid. The supplement says it's generally not going to be important unless you're trying to touch on themes of existential dread.
Are there any existing rules, official or otherwise, governing how a character without a soul is handled in 5e?
Perhaps it will be covered in the new adventure.
Anyone know?
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Well, that isn't an official character option. So, no, there are no official rules that cover a specific house rule...
I would ask your DM how the homebrew will be handled.
Actually Critical Roll has a Class choice for this. I can't recall the name off hand but look around.
Nothing official I'm aware of, however there would be no resurrection since the spell requires a willing soul
The existence of a soul in sentient creatures (or at least sentient humanoids) is ingrained in a lot of D&D, just like the existence of gods, devils, demons, and planes representing the afterlife, heaven, or hell. The biggest game mechanic would be resurrection spells which require a soul to function but there are other more specific features which affect the playable races too.
That said, constructs and a lot of undead are technically “soulless” as they either never had a soul, or aren’t currently in possession of one. But they are also typically unintelligent and not usual candidates for player characters, but they may be a good place to start if you want to homebrew something.
In the Curse of Strahd adventure, there is some lore stating that some of the people living in Barovia were born without souls. These people aren't necessarily any weaker or stronger than a normal person, but they are just a bit more dull than a person with a soul.
That is the only thing I can think of
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Re-imagining unpopular subclasses as part of FIFY WotC. Let us know what you think of our changes!
I appreciate all the responses. they are all helpful
I should add a little clarification here and say:
what if a player or central NPC lost their soul? perhaps selling it to the devil, perhaps they angered some voodoo witch doctor that somehow stole it.
do they lose control of the character, do they lose levels, ability scores, does alignment change?
in theory; this condition is reversible as it often is in film and literature. but the character is somehow different during their soulless time. That soulless period was the purpose of the original post.
now it seems there are no hard rules, but a little direction. I may create some homebrew ideas and post there.
thanks again all
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Spitballing Ideas, If their soul is in the control of another being I'd give them penalties to any will/charisma saves against that being.
There are a couple of references here and there in 5e. There is a ton more in other editions.
For monsters, he closest official 5e stuff is probably covered under the Night Hag entry as far as a soul that has been taken. Most of the other references with Devils and the like is that you sold it, but they take possession upon death and whisk you away to the lower planes then, but not before. Also, see the DMG entry for larva under the section discussing the plane of Hades.
The spell Soul Cage has some mechanics of a soul of the recently killed is stuck for a while under the casters' control. Imprisonment has some related stuff, but it isn't specifically about souls.
Items that do muck with them include, Nine Lives Stealer, Deck of Many Things (see the Void card), and Blackrazor All of which implies that a normal person can't function without a soul.
None of this prevent other interpetations (the Straad one above for example, not familiar with it). But a soul is kinda important unless you are undead or a construct.
Basically, every reference to souls in 5e is of it leaving the body after death or returning to the body when resurrected. Resurrection spells even mention you can't revive a creature if its soul can't return.
The only creatures described to function without souls are not mortal (celestials, constructs, elementals, fiends, and undead).
One might think that vampires might be a good candidate for comparison. Perhaps there is a Reddit on Plane Shift Zendikar where you can ask this question.
I know this is about 2 years out, sorry.
But I was looking for this as well and figured I'd bump it to be easy for others and also give some Van Richten's based updates.
It looks like in a normal circumstance having no soul means you cannot function. (see the items indicated above)
The exception seems to be the Domains of Dread, where it sounds like the bulk of the populous are soulless. There is indication that a soulless person can end up with the soul of someone else in which case there will be a mix of memories from those of the acquired soul and those of the individual's own experiences.
It is likely that escape from the Mists is effectively impossible for the soulless since they will cease to operate once they leave the Demiplanes like other soulless bodies. Whether or not they are truly sapient or just sort of like biological robots with an advanced behavior routines is left unsaid. The supplement says it's generally not going to be important unless you're trying to touch on themes of existential dread.