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We are 'dealing with it'. Right here in this thread. Didn't you notice?? Oh, please, tell me it's ironic. If, by "dealing with something" you mean "throwing blind psychological interpretations and abusive generalizations away" then i fail to understand how it will solve anything or make anything better.
I don't quite understand the purpose of this thread, aside to complain about people using rough generalizations and taking the chance to allow yourself to think how "better" some other people can be O_o. Obviously, there are morons and/or people you disagree with, everywhere and anytime, in every given group of people. Deal with it. But please, don't use that to draw dubious conclusion about anything related to our hobby and those which practice it.
There are no "dragonborns" or eladrins in Birthright, and no tieflings. The races of Cerilia are described in the campaign setting box.
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:
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.
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! Spoiler: - 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..
So, i imagine that i'm condemned to find new players and return into Midnight :-)).
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 would like to see these racial gestalt rules too (that's very original!^^), please DeadDM :).
Thank you very much! It seems to have so much success, that i'm guessing these types of rules are filling sort of a need/vacuum in the current rules: a need for more racial differentiation, more racial goodness as you climb up the levels, tied to the culture/history of the races. That's something i always wanted to see (and the Midnight settings, or Dawnforge by example, achieved that) so i'm very intrigued by these rules :-).
This is not shocking nor is it a bad thing. It makes sense. Why would WotC encourage companies to support an old edition of its game when they no longer support it. It would be like Microsoft supporting Windows 95. It also means that publishers can focus on either the OGL or the GSL. I see that as a good thing. I see what you mean. But you have to keep in mind, that, really, everybody doing anything do things because it make senses and seems good for them (or for someone else they respect by example).
The point that i want to highlight is: perhaps it "makes sense" for WOTC, but it's a seriously bad thing for me and for a lot of people, and, in my eyes, to the hobby. A lot of things that makes sense for someone hurts other people or their interests. And WOTC could have chosen another path, less heavy-handed and, in the long term, perhaps more beneficial to them. Now it makes sense for me to not support this decision. The games i play and the vision of the rpg hobby i support are hurted by this decision. Something like the utterly amazing Midnight setting could not have been with this licence. And its future could well be threatened by this, as is the future of a lot of 3rd party books and creativity. It's a forced choice. My best "interest" (what a bad choice of word, well you see what i mean) as a die-hard rpger is to have the MORE choices possible, the more writers free to create the more things in the way they choose, they love and they prefer. To have multiple universes, not constrained by something like "you cannot change the characters creation rules" or "you cannot change how magic work" or "your world as you developped it will be forbidden to be republished (or you have to change its rules) in (insert an arbitrary date) X years because we will revoke the GSL" etc...You see the idea. If some publishers are caused to drop their "old" OGL supplements lines and campaign settings because the GSL is too restrictive or force them to do this, it is, in my eyes at least, very sad and i will not support it, and do my best to tell other friends around me to think twice before supporting it. WOTC has of course, legally and economically the right to do it. Of course they have ;). But does it makes this a wise and good decision for the hobby and for us, rpgers? Not for me. It bends creativity and decision to a cleaver.
For me, if WOTC is saying or thinking in a manner or another "we are doing this only because this is good for us and we are not bothering at all with you, fellow rpger or you, other writers and publishers around there" that's their "right" but it doesn't make it right or wise. It gives me the right to say "something so self-centred and ignorant of global consequences for the hobby i have a passion for, should not be encouraged in any way and i must do what i can to reduce theses consequences (by not buying their books, by example, and by promoting another vision for the hobby, a vision where creativity with any rule system and universe is encouraged and not hostage to the arbitrary of only one company and of a contract). Uf. Sorry for posting a so long and labyrinthic post, but i'm deeply sadened by this decision and cannot stay here saying nothing :/.
I'm shocked and disgusted. That's exactly what we do NOT need for our hobby. People and writers forced to "choose a side", as if there were sides at all.. And that hurts a lot the people that just want (by example) to continue to use their 3.5 and to have it supported, so i'm taking it personnally. Perhaps WOTC has the "right" to be nasty, to make a short-sited decision but they can't hope to have the "butter and the butter money" as we say here. They can't do that and expect people to just say "oh ok, it's normal, it's not nasty at all, it's just fair for the rpgers who bought their books and for other writers who want to write with their favorite rules set". And we have the right to be as short-sited and nasty. So, no more money for them coming from me. I will make sure to propagate the information to my fellow dm's and players, and i'm pretty confident they will be as upset as i'm right now. Can't believe it.
Not wanting to sound too sarcastic, but i'm pretty surprised. So basically, that's exactly what we DM, have been doing for years, except now they feel the need to verbalize it. Usefull for fresh new DM, for sure (in fact that was already really easy with 3.5, even for me) but i totally fail to see anything new or essential here. After all these rants about how muuuuuuch easier it will be to customize monsters and how beautifully good and different it will be etc etc...i was at least waiting for something phenomenal..if we were to believe what the PR said. And now, that? Wait..it will be as complicated or as easy (depending how you thought it was) then before. It's more like presenting an absolutely old and banal thing (like the DM customising the opponents)as a "new feature". Go, go, marketing :-(.
Hello, fellows DM and players of the SCAP ;-). I would like to ask some advices from you ;). I just began to DM the SCAP (hardcover) and with my five players, we played trough the very beginning of Chapter One, after a short (and dangerous!) trip to Cauldron. My players helped Rufus to escape the guys who were assaulting him. But i have a little problem. No one have seen Jill. And i need to introduce her rather quickly to the group, because i want to establish a strong relationship between her and one (or more) members of the group. She is secretly the old rogue teacher of my player's rogue, who vanished long years ago :-). How could i do that without forcing the event? Any advice would be welcome. One last question: my players have rather strong characters (the races i use are something like EL+0,5 and they have very good stats) but i usually play with four players (the fifth is not with us each week). I think Jzadirune, the skulks as they are etc..could be too easy for them. What could i do? Give one rogue level to each skulk? What would you do if you were me? Thanks!
On a random question, has anyone ever gotten around to "unoffically" tweaking Planescape or maybe even Spelljammer? I couldn't recall if RPGA journal did or not? For Planescape, the answer is yes. The absolutely astounding team at http://www.planewalker.com/index.php has released a FULL conversion of Planescape for 3.5. You can download all the fluff and crunch you need to play in Sigil and beyond! You have a large community which keep improving all the stuff and keep ading conversion. Planescape was already fantastic and Planescape with 3.5 is...a blast :-)). For Spelljammer i'm not sure but it seems to me that another site do it too. There is something like Planewalker for Birthright too! So! 63. You can play one of the best universe ever created, Planescape, with 3.5 :-). No need to do all the dirty work with the rules^^. |
