I'm thinking about picking up the Midnight setting. I was curious though as to how the lack of armor, magical and normal, is handled. I mean, do characters get defense bonuses or have the ability to actively defend themselves in the game?
Hey, Kirowan.
Let me start by saying that Midnight is NOT for everyone. It's very much a harsh world, and some players may have a hard time adjsuting to the grim setting.
If you DO pick up Midnight, make sure you pick up the Revised Ruledbook; it smoothes out some fo the hinks of the original book, and also incoropartes the "Against the Shadow" players guide.
To more specifically answer your question:
So they have a fighting chance, beginning characters have been ramped-up, power wise compared to standard D+D characters.(More feats, skill-points, and flexibility in general.)
There are more "hybrid" races;
*Dworg (Dwarf/Orc)
*Elfling (Halfling/Elf)
And a few others I can't recall offhand.
Most all of the "Core" classes have been tweaked, if not revised completely.
For instance, the Socrerer/Wizard has been replaced by the "Channeler", who uses a spell-point system, rahter than the Vancian method of core D+D. (Takes some getting used to, but very rewarding and flexible.)
Loosely speaking, "Rangers" have changed into "Wildlanders", and "Monks" into "Defenders", with according rules/ stat changes.
There are no Clerics; the only "Clerics" (called "Legates" in Midnight) worship Izrador, the Dark God.
To make up for this, and to give the PC's a fair chance, there's also the addtion of "Heroic Paths"; essentially, it's a :Outside Force: taht shapes your character; your Path goes up at the same rate as your level, giving you additional powers. (But, as with most things D+D, my group has found that the Heroic Paths are NOT all equal; some (Juggernaut/Ironblooded) are much more powerful than others.)
Best of all?
The books are reasonably priced! (It's about $15 for a supplement, and they put out a supplement every couple of months, so that even I can keep up!!)
Hope this brief primer helps; you can also point your browser to:
www.fantasyflightgames.com
http://www.pathsoflegend.org/ (AWESOME fan site w/ tons of useful stuff.)
Let me know how it turns out!