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Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jun 2013 : 01:17:11
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Well, you could probably count the number of sites I can go to on Black Dog's hand, I simply can't do an internet search to obtain the answer to this question, which as the title suggests, is about the Midnight setting from Fantasy Flight games.
So... what can folks tell me?
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We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jun 2013 : 03:04:16
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It's a wonderful setting.
I know it's usually "sold" as a speculative "What If?"-type scenario in which the potential customer is asked to consider what would happen in a fantasy world like The Lord of the Rings if Sauron had won? But it's so much more than that.
The premise is simple enough. Evil has already won a great war and sealed the world off from it's celestial powerbase -- plunging the setting into a deep and depressed era of a fantastical post-apocalypse. Most of the major races have been brought down, surviving on the very edges of their once great holdings. The very bounds of society have been shattered. Writing and reading for the general public is virtually no-existent in most places. Lives are cheap, and the servants of the victorious dark god continue to pillage what little the human and demihuman races have left.
But this world isn't really set up as a "Grand Heroes enter the world and cast the dark god from his lofty throne and restore goodness to the civilised races." No. A campaign ends on a high note if the heroes can achieve even the merest of attempts to improve the lives of a local shattered holdfast or lingering township against the predations of the deadly Legates.
In the world of MIDNIGHT, you're simply not meant to win. Only survive as best you can in the world as it is.
It's truly a remarkable departure from the classic fantasy-worlds of that publishing era. I know it's a concept visited in my sci-fi RPGs, but MIDNIGHT was the first fantasy setting that I can see which really achieved this sense of post-apocalypse in an admirable way.
There's about 20 or so supplements [most are around 60 pages of content that are heavy on lore and rules-lite] for the setting, with an original rules-set and revised rules-set published [to coincide with the 3.5e D&D update], as well as a low-budget [but still thoroughly enjoyable] live-action film based on events in the world's history. Plus it was one of the few campaign settings of the 3e era to offer a genuine 2e-era-styled boxed set -- complete with campaign books, maps, cards, and various other tidbits... and all in plastic wrapping! [It was such a joy when I purchased the Fury of Shadow boxed set. It brought back all the fondest memories I had of the classic boxed sets from the days of AD&D.]
Overall, it's a great setting, though an especially tough one to run successfully -- but well worth it if you're looking for a departure from the standard run of typical fantasy worlds. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jun 2013 : 04:07:52
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I like to win, so it doesn't sound like something I would leap at the chance to play... and yet the Sage-Ad makes me want to try it.
GMing it might be pretty fun. I'll have to make a note to practice my cackle and my muahaha. 
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jun 2013 : 06:12:12
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In the interests of clarity, I'll address the following:-
quote:
Originally posted by xaeyruudh
I like to win, so it doesn't sound like something I would leap at the chance to play... and yet the Sage-Ad makes me want to try it.
As a whole, the MIDNIGHT setting is designed around the "Evil has won" dynamic I noted earlier. But that's not to say that there aren't ways around that dynamic. And I think the world's designers realised that such a model wouldn't please every GM. So they did often present potential alternate campaign hooks and paradigms that GMs could use to turn the dynamic into something more in-line with traditional fantasy worlds. But they weren't usually incorporated into the canon progress of the setting. Instead, they were offered as possibilities for deviating from what was presented as canon in the various sources. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jun 2013 : 16:49:26
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Reminds me a little of Masque of the Red Death -- not in a big "these are so much alike" kind of way, but from the perspective that the PCs aren't going to win the day.
I don't like playing in a place where I can't win; the goal is simply to survive as long as I can (that becomes winning), with the knowledge that I absolutely will die in some horrid way, most likely soon and possibly at any moment... that may not be what you're saying; I think it's one extreme, and I try to avoid it.
I do kinda like the idea of presenting players who are accustomed to slaying tarrasques and taking the thrones of empires with a revised perspective. Charging into battle will get them killed every time. They're going to have to think and plan, and hope... and even doing these things and doing them well will not guarantee success. They're going to really struggle, and with luck, win some small victories before being discovered and snuffed out. Many successful heroes, working all over the world for generations, if they were all somehow aware of each other, might be able to start shifting the balance... but not one little band of fleshy mortals.
It's appealing as a GM with an overactive imagination. Not so much as a player with ADD, but I definitely respect the perspective-tweak. 
In my own weird estimation, Masque of the Red Death was one of TSR's more valuable settings, for its potential to teach players not to take success for granted. I think it's important for every gamer to experience and understand that type of setting at some point. It sounds like Midnight might be something that more players can relate to than The Red Death, and thus better equipped to serve lessons in both playing and GMing.
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Sightless
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2013 : 01:33:35
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| Given what I’ve heard, thanks Sage, for all the info, I can use the setting to make a point. At least to the people I’m playing with at least, that deals with something that they consider a complete waste of time and energy. I however do not, and this game sounds like it could be a pretty good analogy for my purposes. |
We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.
Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all. |
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Midnight?
