Midnight-Is it worth it?

[Derulbaskul]

Quoting S'mon:

As has been mentioned elsewhere I think, in most respects the Midnight setting most closely resembles the situation in the Silmarilion towards the end of the First Age, when Melkor/Morgoth is triumphant, before the rest of the Valar step in to kick his butt.

Yes, I agree. My comment about LotR was referring both to a combination of the backstory and also a sense of the "cinematic" about the campaign, that it would be large in scope and scale and emphasise character development over rules lawyering.

From what I know of the Midnight setup, mortal PCs ought eventually to be able to challenge and defeat the Night Kings, whereas Izrador probably still doesn't have a physical form that can be beaten as such, so somehow restricting, banishing or imprisoning him would seem to be reasonable ultimate goals for a campaign. By contrast Tolkien's Morgoth did have physical form which could be harmed by mortals but his spirit wasn't killable, he could only be banished.

I think the key to weakening Izrador is to target his mirrors but, of course, this is easier said that done. However. a commando force striking simultaneously at several mirrors, supported by a large-scale diversionary attack (possibly massed dwarves and elves, may be enough to really weaken Izrador.

Another option, the "Elric option", is to find an artefact of the darguul similar to the Horn of Change found by Elric... and destroy Aryth and create a new world. Enter Dawnforge....

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Midnight is the first campaign in 10 years to make me truly consider setting my homebrew to the side (temporarily) to run... I likely would have considered it for Oathbound, too, but I'm fortunate enough to play in an Oathbound game, so...

My "vision" for Midnight is actually a multi-generational affair, with the Players making character's for a series of quests/adventures that are interlinked in some regards, possibly taking a thousand years (and thus 10 or more PCs per Player over the entire campaign) to finally "line things up" in such a way as to destroy the Dark One. Essentially, a long string of minor victories with "unsung heroes" that culminate in the final quest for the last generation of PCs that determines if Evil will rule forever.

Doubt I'll ever get to do it, but it's still a neat idea.

 

[S'mon]

I think the key to weakening Izrador is to target his mirrors but, of course, this is easier said that done. However. a commando force striking simultaneously at several mirrors, supported by a large-scale diversionary attack (possibly massed dwarves and elves, may be enough to really weaken Izrador.

My PC doesn't know anything about any mirrors... but I think I'll keep that in mind.

(Our Midnight DM has asked us to come up with plans for our PCs, my PC Zana Than, being a good Midnight PC, is very focussed on defeating Izrador, saving the world et al).

 

[S'mon]

Quoting S'mon:

Yes, I agree. My comment about LotR was referring both to a combination of the backstory and also a sense of the "cinematic" about the campaign, that it would be large in scope and scale and emphasise character development over rules lawyering.

I agree completely with this. One way Midnight differs from the Silmarilion or most ultra-high-fantasy is that its setup strongly supports the archetypal D&D 1st level PCs, grubbing for survival and wondering where their next meal's coming from. Most high-fantasy is set pre-Apocalypse, and the PCs/protagonists need to be very powerful straight off (Thomas Covenant, or Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum & Erekose, or Beren, Feanor, & Fingolfin) if they're to make any mark on unfolding events.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Bendris Noulg -> I just noticed I got quoted.

Good subtext too. I agree.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Bendris Noulg -> I just noticed I got quoted.

Good subtext too. I agree.

What can I say? I read that and it made it's way into a soft, fuzzy spot in my heart.

 

[StalkingBlue]

My PC doesn't know anything about any mirrors... but I think I'll keep that in mind.

(Our Midnight DM has asked us to come up with plans for our PCs, my PC Zana Than, being a good Midnight PC, is very focussed on defeating Izrador, saving the world et al).

Well, it certainly is the first time I've seen a PC in a game of mine formulate a plan for taking over the world before she could be sure she'd live to 2nd level. Complete with long-term military strategy laid out and all that.

So going by that, yes, Midnight appears to encourage grand-scale heroism.

 

[Nightfall]

Any DM worth their salt should at least run one or play in one Midnight game.

 

[Banshee16]

The only real complaint I have is in regards to the Channeler class. After level 4-5, it starts to fall behind as a well-balanced class, in my opinion.

QUOTE]

This is something that's worried me about Midnight. The Channelers. Because magic is so rare, and you can cast so little of it, my concern is that Channelers would become increasingly irrelevant the longer you remain in the campaign. Even a 20th lvl Channeler gets only like 24 spell points.....2 9th level spells in a day would expend most of that energy.

And in return, they get D6's for hp, the medium attack advancement, and simple weapons. To me it's just not a fair return, given that fighters etc. continue getting their feats, D10's etc.

Very flavourful, but I'm interested in hearing from someone who's actually been running a campaign.

That said, despite this core reservation, the setting rocks. I haven't run it yet, but I'm dying to give it a try. It looks like a blast.

Banshee

 

[d20Dwarf]

It's funny, you know something's balanced when 1/2 the people complain that it's weak and the other 1/2 say it's broken. Of course, those that have actually played channelers don't seem to have a problem.

A bit of the trouble seems to be in the paradigm...if you think spellcasters are supposed to be fireball-hurling, wish-granting monsters then yes, the channeler is going to disappoint you. If you can recognize that every magic spell has a greater impact in Midnight than it does in a normal campaign, and the fact that channelers are better in every other way, then you'll definitely have a fun time playing a channeler.

Tons of skill points, medium BAB, the channeler gift, a familiar....personally I think they stack up quite well against all the other classes. Don't forget the fact that their spells are spontaneous and there is no limit to the amount they can know! Now take a wizard or druid prestige class and watch them start to really lob the spells around, while still having tons of skills and fighting ability to fall back on.