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I just stumbled over this campaign setting, and thought it looked good... but to be honest, in some ways it looked too good. My impression was that it might be one of the best things ever made, or a really bad setting hidden by a pretty cover written for and by emo teens.
Before I sink money into it I am wondering if anyone can tell me what thier experience with it has been, both players and DM's.
Also telling me which support books were better than others would be great.
Thanks!
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I will be playing it sometime in the fall so I can't give you a playing experience. It is a great concept although I thought they took the "evil wins over all" a little too far. Just as a world gets boring if the good guys have complete control and never have problems, the same could be said for Midnight's concept.
For a good review of midnight, go to youtube: Game geeks by Kurt Wiegel.
Imagine if Sauron won, and now rules the world.
I own the hardback book plus a couple of the softback supplements. My view of it is that it is very mature, very dark, and incredibly well crafted. To address each in turn:
Very Mature Slavery, murder, inhuman rulers, the need for constant subterfuge, resistance movements, counter-resistance movements, your greatest allies turning against you ... not a game for children. Not a game, in truth, for most people. The best way to play Midnight would appear to be to use it as a setting that you return to once in a while for a change of pace. I would say it really suits 15+ age group, and ideally 18+ to really be able to exploit the true horrors of oppression that the campaign setting describes.
Very Dark The setting is almost unremittingly dark. The enemy has won. This is not a campaign arc where you may *just* be able to stop the BBEG from winning. He won, a long time ago, and the world has succumbed to his oppressive ways. Humans are either complicit, slaves, or living in fear. Openly displaying weapons will get you killed. You live in a world where you know that to rise up against the evil is going to get you killed, and quickly. Of course, people do still rise up, and private acts of great goodness are done, but for each of these, there is a tattered corpse, or a decimated village, to remind would-be-heroes that their actions are dangerous.
Being an adventurer in Midnight made me imagine a little of what it must have been like to be in the resistance in, say, Poland, fighting against the holocaust. The evil is so great that you cannot defeat it, but you know you still have to do something.
Well Crafted The book is full of evocative ideas. Someone obviously thought to themselves one day "I wonder what would have happened if Sauron has won?" ... and then they went all the way and created an entire alternate history. Everything fits very well together in the setting. The history, the races, the countries, the leaders, the resistance movements (and their fragmented nature); they all entwine beautifully. It is an excellent read, even if you never play it.
So, in short, a great piece of work, probably available for quite cheap somewhere (given that it has been around for a while and may be on clear out somewhere that is moving to 4e, if you get lucky), and a real change of pace from most RPG settings.
Could someone please give a link to this. I might just be very interested in it. Thanks!
Not a game, in truth, for most people.
I agree with this assessment. I tried to get players to try Midnight when it was first released and could not get any interest. While the setting is not quite as dark as most people will claim it to be, it is dark enough that players tend to ask "Why would I have fun playing this?"
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Could someone please give a link to this. I might just be very interested in it. Thanks!
Link to Paizo store Midnight section.
Could someone please give a link to this. I might just be very interested in it. Thanks!
It is here
Thanks!
With a good GM, who can tailor the horror level to the comfort level of the players, this is an excellent game. It is dark, and there is an ever present feeling of hopelessness, which may get to some groups.
FFG has a once-or-twice a year sale (probably one around Christmas) where they knock a lot off on their RPG stock. Last Christmas, all the splat books were $5 a pop.
Midnight is a great setting- the hopelessness of Call of Cthulhu with the danger of operating in Nazi occupied Europe. Magic and carrying weapons are capital offences, the people are cut off from their Gods and the dead have no afterlife, trapped under The Shadow. Orc overrun the lands and the Dark Ones Legates scour the huddled slaves for magic users and heresy.
I'd expect that all the 3.5 materials will be going cheap during their $5 Black Thursday Sale (I picked up the whole range last year).
This was simply the best setting to come out of 3rd. In my mind it gave me the feeling of hopelessness I haven't felt since Vampire the Masqurade. It was simply increadible. I was reminded about how many players would talk back with foundness and fear in regards to Ravenloft, well this is how I feel about Midnight. Your heros will be fighting the lost cause, but for sheer roleplaying value there is little better outthere.
I will give you the most honest opinion i can give about Midnight: it's the best campaign setting i ever read in 15 years+ of gaming. I'm not joking.
Of course it's not for everyone taste or for all players. In fact, it's so good and well written that you need to have a DM and players that can play at the level of beauty and greatness (and drama) of the universe.
It's a game where roleplay really shines and really find his sense. Where, for the first time in long years, you will find what it is to be a real heroe, what a burden it can be and what is the true evil, and the true heroism.
So, in a few word, it's epic, dramatic and powerfully evocative.
The universe is definitely one of the most perfectly crafted i've ever seen. The authors took the best of Tolkien, the best of their own ideas and of the fantasy, to give life to Aeryth (the world of Midnight).
There are ideas by billions. You read a chapter and BAM, massive inspiration is pooring into your veins!
The fey races (dwarves, elves, halfelins and gnome) are shining again, they have each their own culture, deeply detailled, deeply captivating. Humans are not forgotten my friend! From the bald Dorns (which shaves their head in shame, for having bowed before Izrador) to the complex and sophisticated caste-based Sarcosan, you can create true and interesting characters.
Everything else is handled with the same goodness: magic (point-based), new classes (you will be surprised by how they created such good ones), feats, enemies (SCARY orcs, it was about time!), new rules...i'm pretty sure you will love it.
Because the rules are there to reflect and expand the universe, they are tied to it, they don't exist in a vacuum.
Well, i'm talking too much :-). My best advice: buy it, read it, find players ready to truely invest themselves in order to have the best rpg experience of their lives and play it!
I can't imagine how anyone could be disappointed by such a game. Sure it's not easy, it's not something that you can play just to relax. I never say that it's a game you will love if you search one more setting, not surprising, not really dangerous, not really heroic.
But it's something you play to live the more epic sessions i can imagine.
So i guess it's a choice (for me the choice was not difficult!) ;). Want to save a dying world today? ;-).
I will give you the most honest opinion i can give about Midnight: it's the best campaign setting i ever read in 15 years+ of gaming. I'm not joking.
Did you ever play it as a player or a DM? I see a lot of people who sound like they read parts of it, but very few who describe actual play events.
Did you ever play it as a player or a DM? I see a lot of people who sound like they read parts of it, but very few who describe actual play events.
Here's a play-by-email game that I used to follow. I didn't play in it, but it was interesting to read, anyways. I think it requires a good DM, though.
There are 2 editions of it out. I got the 1st edition to mine for ideas but never used it as a setting. Overall, I thought it was a valuable resource - a lot of really good fluff you could insert into a nonMidnight campaign. I'm not sure what the major changes were with the second edition.
You might want to check out Darkness Falls - kind of a d20SRD for Midnight (ie. open parts with no fluff) to pick up a bit of the flavour.
I played it as a DM for 1 year (after what, sadly, some of my players where moving far away, in other regions of France :( ). I own all that has been published in english for Midnight and some in french and i had the pleasure to read through the books a lot of times (i'm always doing, waiting to have a new group to play with ;) ).
The setting ask for a bit of work because you really, really, don't want, as a dm, to waste such a game ;).
Want some play events? Well, english is not my native tongue, so it's always a bit hard for me to do that but i can try!
- During one of the session, (one of the first) my players were coming back to an old surface-holdfast of the Durgis clan (a dwarf clan, which accept near anyone as a member if they are willing to fight alongside against Izrador terrible minions). They were escorting wise elves, emissaries of their Queen.
Elves hadn't been seen in this area of the continent for hundred of years. So my human, dwarf and halfling players were stunned: the emissaries were displaying such a nobleness, wisdom and lore, such weapons too!
In fact, words were even circulating that the entire elf race was dead, or was conspirating against the humans for supremacy...Izrador is using every mean to destroy unity and confidence..
Well my players travelled carefully into the beautifull area when they sighted the dwarf holdfast, home of the family of one of them by the way.
And suddenly they smelled fire. And carrion. And the dreadly drums of orcs and goblins.
Orcs had submerged the holdfast. The elves emissaries, who had come such a long way and endured so much things to ask an ancient secret of the dwarves, were desperate.
In the holdfast, horrid constructs maned by goblins were destroying everything and orcs were gathering the corpse to eat them or burn them. Only some women and the child were alive, promised to a life of slave, or to be tortured,or sacrificed to the Dark God.
My players knew that their chances where small, but they HAD to save what could be saved. The powerfull elves offered to fight the constructs meanwhile the characters could infiltrate the fortress by a secret way and see what could be done.
Etc..
Im' not very talented to describe rpg session in english, but all i can say is: we had GREAT time! Some of my players loved it so much that now, they don't really want to play something else, finding some settings too "watered down" or bland O_o.
So, i imagine that i'm condemned to find new players and return into Midnight :-)).
I love Midnight! It's one of my two favorite settings that I've discovered the last two years (the other being Dawnforge, also by FFG).
It's not an easy setting to run a campaign in, or play in, but it's damned rewarding if you're willing to give it a shot.
The characters are beacons of hope in an otherwise hopeless world. There's something satisfying about that.
I say give it a shot. If you can borrow it, or can afford to purchase it, just some of the mechanics contained with in are worth having it on the shelf for.
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I have seen Midnight on the shelves of my two FLGS since it came out, but did not actually buy anything for it until just recently...
My mistake, and a big one at that!
I have yet to use it, as I am trying to convince a player who can't seem to get past the whole "Tolkien" element of it (it comes across to him as being cheesy)...
That trouble aside, my initial purchase of the books was from DriveThruRPG.com.
(the PDFs are cheap)...
If you are reluctant, give the cheaper price of the PDFs a shot (just to see if you like it, then later buy the actual books)...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
I agree: One of the best D&D settings ever.
It's not exactly horror, but it sure is dark. Just as others have said: It't like Middle Earth would be if Sauron had won. Actually, it might be worse: Izrador (the Shadow, think of him as Midnight's Sauron or, better yet, Morgoth) was once thrown down from the heavens onto the earth, but he turned this defeat into a resounding victory, by sealing away the material plane behind the Veil. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. Nothing. Nothing! No gods. No prayers. No wizards who want to nip out for a bit to use teleport. No souls. No outsiders that were summoned here.
That means that the only divine magic available is that of Izrador himself (meaning that the only clerics around are his Legates - strictly off limits to player characters unless you play an evil campaign - which totally changes the flavour of the setting).
The dead cannot go to their afterlife (and hence the fell - Midnight's undead - were born).
For a long time, he couldn't do anything (being powerless after the fall), but eventually, he amassed armies and started to try and take over the world. There were three big wars. The last one (100 years ago), he won.
Now, the humans live under the Shadow's occupation, most halflings are pitiful slaves, gnomes survive by playing along (and secretly being spies and helpers for the resistance), the elves have retreated into their forest and fight back his forces (but have to retreat ever more as Izrador's weather magic and his troops arsoning burn down more and more wood), and the dwarves are holed up in their mountain halls (where every inch is paid for with the blood of countless orcs, but orcs are there aplenty...). In occupied lands, the Shadow's rules hold sway: No knowledge, no magic, no fey creatures, no weapons. The lands plunge into a government-enforced dark age.
It is only a matter of time before the last bastions of the resistance will fall and Izrador will achieve his goal: Gather all magic, destroy it to increase his power, and destroy the whole world in order to power his return to the outer planes.
In Midnight, the heroes have no chance to save the world. Their hope is to delay the inevitable, to make people's lives at least a bit better for as long as they can. Since they usually carry weapons, use magic, or acquire knowledge, they have to take a very low profile, because the Shadow's servants are everywhere, his priests have companions that can smell magic, and the people you help are not unlikely to betray you to the Shadow's servants to get to eat another day or even just left alone.
One of the greatest parts of Midnight is the races: In Midnight, all the races are interesting - especially gnomes!
Also, halfbreeds are great: Since humans don't share a common ancestry with the other races (which all descend from the Elder Fey), there's no half-humans. Instead, there's elflings (half-elf, half-halfling), dwarrows (half-gnome, half-dwarf), and dworg (half-orc, half-dwarf)
Dworgs are the most interesting of them all: Orcs and Dwarves are mortal enemies, so none - NONE - of the dworgs are lovechildren. They're invariably the result of orcs raping dwarves. Their physique is most impressive (+con and +str), but they're to be pitied, and they're probably the only race that hates orcs more than the dwarves do.
There's a lot more to the setting than I can write down here. I can only recommend it to everyone. If you and your players are okay with the fact that this time around, they will definetly not save the world, you find a very well-written setting with tons of great ideas.
My biggest problem with Midnight (though it's written by Fantasy Flight Games, one of the best independant developers out there) is that it feels very much like a rehash of Lord of the Rings. There's a big, ultra-evil unseen evil badguy who rules from a big tower. He's got these Darklords, I think there's even nine of them, who are shadowy ringwraith guys who do his will. His armies are orcs and trolls.
Clerics and mages are both stripped of much of their abilities. In fact it seems like there's pretty few of the classes that get away without having a bunch of their powers stripped. It would probably, in a lot of ways, work much better as an Iron Heroes game.
But yeah. Too Lord of the Rings for me. I always really wanted to like it--because I really like what the FFG guys did with Dragonstar, but I just never could get past that. I like a game that takes all of the D&D game and adds it's own thing to it. I really am not much of a fan of settings that take D&D and chop a bunch of parts off of it and give you stuff you can't do. I mean what's the fun of that.
Edit: Heh. Wow KaeYoss just about said everything I just said. Whoops.
There's a big, ultra-evil unseen evil badguy who rules from a big tower.
That's not exactly a clone yet.
He's got these Darklords, I think there's even nine of them, who are shadowy ringwraith guys who do his will. His armies are orcs and trolls.
Actually, there are only 4, one of them being an actual dragon. They don't resemble the ringwraiths too closely. No black steeds, no weird vulnerabilities.
Clerics and mages are both stripped of much of their abilities. In fact it seems like there's pretty few of the classes that get away without having a bunch of their powers stripped. It would probably, in a lot of ways, work much better as an Iron Heroes game.
That's not really LOTR-like.
Plus, no class has been stripped of anything. You just have different classes: Fighters, Rogues and Barbarians pretty much work as before (though fighters get a boost as far as I know). Instead of the Ranger, you get the Wildlander (who doesn't have magic abilities). Instead of the Monk, you have the Defender (without the overly mystical abilities, but this one does get full BAB). Paladins are right out, and instead of Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard and Druid, you have the Channeler (well, bard is actually something you will best achieve through multiclassing), who gets all the spells (except those that are exclusive to paladins and/or clerics) on his potential list.
Magic just works a lot different.
And there's Legates, which are like Clerics, except that they also get the Astirax companion.
All in all, magic is less much fire and forget than 3e (which would make it absolutely unsuited for 4e really), since even a Channeler only gets spell power points equal to his class level plus his spellcasting ability bonus (with maybe an extra couple of points added for race and such). Every spell costs spell points equal to his spell level (level 5 spell costs 5 points), and if you run out of points, you have to burn your con for extra magic. That and the fact that summoning and blasting magic is a lot less effective here (costing more, basically, than they should) means that arcane artillery is not nearly as effective here as in standard D&D.
And the lack of cleric and paladin magic (at least for the good guys) means that healing is a lot less common, too.
But the races are more powerful than D&D standard races, and in addition to race and class, you get a heroic path, which grants you an extra ability or bonus each level.
Beyond the fact that magic items and magic in general are quite rare, the characters aren't stripped of much. Certainly a fighter won't mind too much (he might not have a super-magic sword, but neither does the enemy, AND he gets nice extra boosts from his better race and his heroic path)
But yeah. Too Lord of the Rings for me.
Only on the very surface. The races are different. The situation is different. The enemies are different. The world is different. Saying that it's too much like Lord of the Rings because both have an evil god as enemy is like saying that Soccer and Tennis are the same because both are ball games.
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It's not an easy setting to run a campaign in, or play in, but it's damned rewarding if you're willing to give it a shot.
This is well worth repeating. Took a bit of extra work as a DM (in fitting adventure's to Midnight's style) and for players (making the best out of the necessary flavor limitations on character creation) but if stuck out it soon gels into a very unique gaming experience.
My players loved their campaign in Midnight and hope to return for another someday.
-DM Jeff
I haven't played it, but after reading what everyone wrote I like the premise. Looks like this setting could lead to some rather unique roleplay, and that is something I always look forward to.
I fully agree with what wrote KaeYoss. The "Tolkien" reference in the setting are cleverly done. That's not just something throwed in to lure some players ;).
For anyone interested in the setting, we should send them to:
Against the Shadow
It's the best fansite about Midnight. People there are awesome, full of ideas, friendly and enthusiast. You will find lot of things to improve your sessions here, maps, npc, adventures, even two fully detailed fanzine (Tome of Sorrow), top notch quality.
My biggest problem with Midnight (though it's written by Fantasy Flight Games, one of the best independant developers out there) is that it feels very much like a rehash of Lord of the Rings.
This is true and not true. First off I don't think FFG ever tried to hide the fact that they were inspired by the "What if?" things had gone wrong and Frodo failed. On the other hand all the D&D elements are still here its just that the bad guy (in this case God won). Its very much a worse case situation that could in theory happen to any high fantasy D&D setting, except for maybe Ravenloft (hate to see something worse take over that place). I could even see using a lot of Midnight in a what if game, send your players to a future where the bad guy won.
As to playing it. I'll agree with most posters its not easy to run, but that has nothing to do with the rules. The game works fine and the rules run somoothly in there own universe (not a lot can be ported to other games, mainly to the magic factor in standared D&D) and a good DM who knows 3.5 rules well isn't going to have a problem using the game as is.
My experince is that Players often don't want to play Heros in a world that is so evil. Had a group who first thing they did was kill a group of Orcs who were attacking the children of a villiage for daring to learn how to read. My Players saved the day and killed all five Orcs, and were then attacked by the villiages for doing so because they knew the wrath of Izador would come down upon them. Having little choice they defeated the locals most of whom ran for the woods and by night fall were fighting the risen dead of everyone they killed that day. The next day a company of Orcs came to town to kill everyone, the heros ran for the woods where they encounted the local beast that feed upon the fleeing viliagers who ran from the heros the night before. After killing the beast they were attacked by Elves who thought they were working for the Dark God.
Midnight is fantastic, but its very very dark.
Midnight is fantastic, but its very very dark
Which is pretty obvious from your description of your game.
I think that your post also indicates that there's a certain amount of subtlety involved with the game or things can go even further south than they already are.
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Midnight is a good setting in a lot of ways, but it's steeped in utter hopelessness. You CAN'T win, there is NO way to make a real difference, and by just daring to lift a finger against the powers that be (or maybe by just existing) you have doomed yourself, to, at best, be murdered. At worst, you will be tortured, corrupted, turned into an agent of the evil that you once opposed and sent out to slaughter everyone and destroy everything you have ever cared for. Oh, and when you do die, it's likely that your soul becomes the personal pincushion of Izrador. Heaven's there, but you can't get to it. Ever. By any means. And the powers at the top of this will do it not because they have to, but because it's fun or out of curiosity. An army of angels, 20th-level heroes, and good deities MIGHT stand some chance of taking back the world of Midnight, but anything short of that is doomed. As a PC in Midnight, you HAVE to accept that, if anything, you are even more doomed than a call of Cthulhu player. Izrador has eyes everywhere. You can expect to fail at everything and die a meaningless, painful, terrified, sick death in a muddy ditch and then go on to be tortured for all eternity as the toy of wickedness personified.
I couldn't play or DM this setting, but it's very well-written, in a "this writer needs a hug" kind of way. I'd go so far as to say that if you're actually enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.
Our campaign, though dark, still held glimmers of hope. The PCs, exiled nobles whose titles were stripped and barely escaped execution, set out to harass the occupiers of their domain. After a series of supply raids and inflicting some general mayhem on the forces of shadow, they watched horrified from a distance as the family of farmers who selfless hid them from authorities were butchered by gleeful orcs. Seeking a safer way to conduct their guerrilla war, they learned of an abandoned dwarven hold in the mountains. The PCs spent several adventures searching for the hold and cleansing the monsters that took residence there. They fortified the bastion, stocked it with stolen supplies, and made an expedition to dwarven lands where they exchanged retrieved dwarven artifacts for the spores of a resilient species of nutrient rich fungus around which the dwarves based their diet. After suitably comfortable with their base, and confident with their food and water supplies, the PCs set about liberating as many slaves as possible and leading them back to their safe haven. The campaign was cut short because several players moved, but the last few adventures involved the PCs stealing several ships, sailing to Elven lands, and then trying to organize an expedition across the ocean to ascertain help from foreign powers, or if that failed at least locating a distant sanctuary for their people. Granted the campaign was filled with constant fear of betrayal, and worries that the secrecy of their base would become compromised, but all and all, the players enjoyed the dark rich setting and their stoic attempt to be a thorn in the shadow's side at the cost of martyrdom. Certainly, there are few, "So you're all sitting in a tavern..." games and the players actions have staggeringly different repercussions than in a normal session of D&D, but if done right the game becomes a many layered experience that can be satisfying in its' own way. I always enjoyed the idea that money meant little within the framework of the setting. The normal campaign staple, "How much is this job paying?" quickly dissolved into, "If we go through with this plan, what is the long term effect on the people we protect?" and "Can we escape, if we attempt our plan?" A different experience entirely.
I'd go so far as to say that if you're actually enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.
Ouch.
I'd go so far as to say that if you're actually enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.Ouch.
You know out of context this really sounds, oh never mind its too easy.
I'd go so far as to say that if you're actually enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.
No, I'd say that if you're enjoying yourself, you're doing it right. Enjoying yourself is the whole point of playing RPGs.
After all, people watch movies with a sad plot and/or ending and are enjoying themselves while doing it. Same for books and so on.
Midnight is a good setting in a lot of ways, but it's steeped in utter hopelessness. You CAN'T win, there is NO way to make a real difference, and by just daring to lift a finger against the powers that be (or maybe by just existing) you have doomed yourself, to, at best, be murdered. At worst, you will be tortured, corrupted, turned into an agent of the evil that you once opposed and sent out to slaughter everyone and destroy everything you have ever cared for. Oh, and when you do die, it's likely that your soul becomes the personal pincushion of Izrador. Heaven's there, but you can't get to it. Ever. By any means. And the powers at the top of this will do it not because they have to, but because it's fun or out of curiosity. An army of angels, 20th-level heroes, and good deities MIGHT stand some chance of taking back the world of Midnight, but anything short of that is doomed. As a PC in Midnight, you HAVE to accept that, if anything, you are even more doomed than a call of Cthulhu player. Izrador has eyes everywhere. You can expect to fail at everything and die a meaningless, painful, terrified, sick death in a muddy ditch and then go on to be tortured for all eternity as the toy of wickedness personified.
I couldn't play or DM this setting, but it's very well-written, in a "this writer needs a hug" kind of way. I'd go so far as to say that if you're actually enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.
This is a fantastic description of the setting - it would make a good back cover copy! If a DM tried to sell me on starting a campaign with this, I would be drooling to play. Obviously, to each his own, but what you describe gets my rebel backside up and leaves me aching to jump a Legate. In other words, playing the underdog, even a hopeless underdog, has appeal to some people. Someone of more philosophical bent could probably describe it better, but there is something liberating in complete hopelessness. Having just bought the DVD set for Angel, the series finale is a good example of a similar scenario, and how heroes may respond.
After reading this and checking out the Darkness Falls link, I went to amazon and bought this. I'm very excited to play it, although I think I'm going to add a glimmer of hope....IF the characters make it to 20th level....
I just got it as well in my quest to gather up really good 3rd party 3.5 edition resources and settings. The artwork really impresses me and I think it would be a great campaign with the right players.
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This looks like it could be interesting...
(I chose the smallest to link as it is the quickest to DL)
It says to be released 2006, but they (obviously) fell behind. Their cast and crew screening is at the end of this month however, which means it should be publicly available soon (I hope)...
More can be found Here
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
I explained the setting to my players that the struggle is similar to WWII. There is no quick win. No magic widget that could defeat the leader. No power source that could be turned off to destroy the enemy. It would be a long, slow slog.
When the campaign I had run for over two years had ended. Only one player still had his original PC.
During that time they had cut off a Night King's source of supplemental power. Another Night King was injured so badly that it was forced into a regenerative sleep at the cost of a near TPK. Another Night King was lured into a trap and buried in an avalanche, to become a new mountain if the dwarves have anything to say about it.
After long searching the group discovered the lost source of magic only to be found out by the Night King High Priest. Using weight of numbers they sacrificed themselves to drag the High Priest into the well of mystic power and destroyed him utterly.
Finally they learned that after Izrador had been cast out the gods realized the Veil would lock them away too. Three gods could not leave the mortal realm defenseless and abandoned their divine homes before the Veil was secure.
These gods lend their power to mortals as much as they can as a part of the sun, the moon, and Aeryth itself. All the while, the stars are the souls of the brave, the valiant, and the pure who can sometimes answer the prayers of the devout and the desperate.
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One of the supplements actually gives what happens to the world in the near future. I think you could actualy run the Age of Worms in this world without changing too much.
The thing I like most about this place is the smart undead Zombies. As long they eat, when I had the group of school children "wanting to save them" only to start to eat them. There is a novel with the same type of zombie called Wet Works.
Wow, just watched the trailer. Nice stuff. Does anyone know how the movie will be released when it comes out?
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Wow, just watched the trailer. Nice stuff. Does anyone know how the movie will be released when it comes out?
From what I've read, they don't seem to care, they just want whichever (medium) will get the film out and watched...
But as far as I know, they have not released who is backing them distribution wise (if anyone is at this point really)...
We'll probably have to settle for a web release (kinda like Drawn by Pain, but at least they are working on a DVD release)...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
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The thing I like most about this place is the smart undead Zombies. As long they eat, when I had the group of school children "wanting to save them" only to start to eat them. There is a novel with the same type of zombie called Wet Works.
That's kinda like these "two-stage" zombies I created a while back. They were caused by a supernatural disease created accidentily by a cursed carrion gauntlet.
A regular carrion gauntlet simply allows the wearer to cast Vampiric Touch. The cursed version let characters cast it 3 times with no ill effects. Afterwards, it sunk needles into the wearer's arm, and would randomly make the wearer take increasingly difficult will saves to resist the urge to use Vampiric touch on people.
We never got into the explaination as to how it happened, but the last wearer managed to gnaw his own arm off to rid himself of the gauntlet, but it was too late, as the damage was already done. He had basically became half-zombie(and since my friend and I refered to him as "Frank", this particular breed became known as "Frank Zombies"), most of the time he was fine, but at least once each day he would have to make a will save or go and eat the flesh of the living.
He then went on to try and kill someone, they fought back, and survived. Frank was captured by his town and sealed away in an old underground wine cellar. This is the point where he "removed" the gauntlet. However, since the curse was not lifted, it stayed with him. Since he could not cast Vampiric Touch, he would have to eat. Somehow, he bit someone and passed this supernatural curse that way, kinda like lycanthropy. More people got sealed away in the wine cellar.
Frank Zombies were not dead, so they could move somewhat fast, though not as fast as a regular human. They were capable of sustaining non-lethal damage, and in their hungered state, could still show signs of logic and reason, but their hunger would control them(so they may run through fire, even though it hurt, if they only available prey was on the other side). They also became supernaturally strong when hungered, but not too much. When they were not hungry, they were just like any other person, and they were aware of their actions. Finally, Frank Zombies were left to turn into regular zombies when killed(1d6+1 rounds later) if they were not beheaded or completely destroyed(which is why they're "two-stage" zombies).
My players both hated and liked them.
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I love the Midnight Campaign Setting. I discovered it last year at a FLGS in Provo, Utah. I am very happy the store owner pointed it out to me. I think it is a very well designed setting with an almost singular uniqueness. The Second Edition is a must have for the RPG collector, just because it's a gold mine of ideas and original conceptions.
It is a 3.5 product, as of now. I don't know what Fantasy Flight Games is going to do with Midnight. Hopefully, they continue to deliver product in one form or another. I'm to opposed to a 4th Edition Midnight, as long as Fantasy Flight maintains the integrity of the Heroic Paths, Core Classes and Player Options. Of course, the theme and mood of Ayrth and Eredane must be preserved, too.
My short "must have" list of Midnight products are:
Midnight Campaign Setting, Second Edition
Fury of Shadow
Minions of the Shadow
Against the Shadow
Those four items can guarantee years of Tolkienesque gaming. I love this setting, if ya couldn't tell. Hewligan and Icanus provide a great summaries of the setting's mood and central story elements. If anything they noted appeals to you, definitely invest in at least the Midnight Campaign Setting, Second Edition hardcover and give it a good read-through.
Don (Greyson)
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if you can manage all that you should be good to go.
Your powers are great indeed, for you have managed to revive a thread that has been inactive for almost exactly 7 years...
I bow to your powers of thread necromancy. :-P
All kidding aside...
First off, welcome to the boards! :-)
Secondly, you really should look at the date of the last post when looking through the archives to see how long a particular thread has been dead/inactive, as the topic may no longer be relevant.