12-hours...
I had an opportunity to look through the book at length late last night and early this morning.
There is some really good stuff in here:
Background - this stuff is phenomenal - the first 24-30 pages are full color - very "Tolkienesque". I think the setting will be a benchmark for all other publishers moving forward.
Character races - again, well thought out and looks pretty balanced against each other (this is important - balanced against each other). The book states that character races and classes are going to be tougher than those found in the core rulebooks primarily because of the lack of high-magic items.
Character classes - as stated above nicely balanced against one another. Having seen the Channeler in the Midnight preview, and the Defender on the FFG website, I was prepared for similarly well thought out core classes. I was not disappointed!
Feats & New weapons - these fit the setting well - I would say they are good seasonings for the setting, but I would have preferred to see more weapons - perhaps Against the Shadow will address this?
Location details - I gleened over the these details, but will comment on them later after I give them a better review.
Running a Midnight game - these are the kind of things that should have been in the DMG. This stuff is great for a GM to read in order to estalish the necessary mood for the game, as well as, guidance on how to maintain the mood.
Monsters - damn cool! The Legate (new core class - read as the Shadow's host on Aryth) companion is wicked (Their name is on the tip of my tongue). They are incorporeal and can possess the bodies of animals. My mind was racing at the vile ideas on how I could use these critters to F- with the players. The undead are very well thought out and implemented as well. Hooray for template undead!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! After someone dies on Aryth, they are required to make a saving through or else the rise from the dead. They may not even be aware they are dead! This is because the Shadow severed the ties between Aryth and the other planes of existence. Initially they are not mentally hindered, with the exception of their craving for living flesh (read as living flesh from creatures with a 5 INT or higher). Slowly they decay (if they do not feed on living flesh) and progress throught the other stages/templates of undead. More on this later when I have the book in front of me. Also Urruks (sp?) make an appearance - being an Orc/Ogre cross - and these guys aren't stupid - these are the elite foot soldiers of the Shadow. I am really looking forward to a monster book for this setting. I think it could be a real contender to the really cool monsters and graphic design that appeared in the Monsternomicon.
This book has a good table of contents, a great spell listing in the back, as well as, a great index.
Nice work guys!
Greg - you can buy my vote any time with prizes!
Will - sorry I didn't reply sooner - had to hang a ceiling fan! Also - did you ever address the new souls question from the Midnight Yahoo group?
More to come this evening!