What If Sauron Won? Check Out This Trailer For The MIDNIGHT RPG!

By Edge Studios, which currently produces the official Star Wars RPGs, this upcoming RPG is based on the 2000s-era campaign setting originally released for D&D 3E. The setting is dark, in a world where an evil god won their war of conquest and where evil dominated. Think what it would be like if Sauron had won.

This iteration of the world will be powered by the D&D 5E rules, and will be appearing on May 27th.

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It has been one hundred years since the Shadow fell. A century ago, the forces of darkness swept down from the North. The crushed the free cities of Humanity, drove the Elves back into the depths of the forests, and besieged the Dwarves in their mountain holds. Now the corrupted lieutenants of a dark God rule these broken kingdoms with an iron fist, while hunting down those brave few who still struggle defifiantly against the evil that consumes their world.

 

[Omega9999]

So...I bought a couple of those from DriveThru (Under the Shadow and City of Shadow) and while there's some neat stuff in there, it's all in a format/style (pages upon pages of long form prose) that I just don't have patience for anymore, and honestly doesn't really help me prepare for a game any more than would a novel. I've been a real grumpy old man lately about RPG writers who are either being paid by the word or just love to read their own writing, but I really wish most of the superfluous prose (which is about 90%) could be stripped away and replaced with useful content.

I tend to agree.
while it's nice to have a more detailed setting, there is like a LOT of prose and descriptions. What the new edition need is more content regarding how to run a campaign set in Eredane and more plot hooks for DMs to follow. I really hope the new edition has those

 

[Bill Zebub]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your purchases. It really sucks when that happens.

That said, I guess we'll just disagree on what's "superfluous prose" and what's "useful content." I hope the 5E version generally follows the model set out in the 3.5E products. IMO, the flavour and atmosphere are what make Midnight an interesting setting, much more so than rules, rules, rules.

But again, that's strictly a matter of opinion.

Oh I thought the flavor was great, and lots of interesting plot elements. And I’m not looking for “rules”. I just don’t like having it presented entirely as long form prose.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I tend to agree.
while it's nice to have a more detailed setting, there is like a LOT of prose and descriptions. What the new edition need is more content regarding how to run a campaign set in Eredane and more plot hooks for DMs to follow. I really hope the new edition has those

I think that’s been the trend in RPGs over the last 10 years. Free League games tend to be a good example (although my beef with them is they choose fonts and colors and backgrounds that make it hard to read).

 

[Micah Sweet]

So...I bought a couple of those from DriveThru (Under the Shadow and City of Shadow) and while there's some neat stuff in there, it's all in a format/style (pages upon pages of long form prose) that I just don't have patience for anymore, and honestly doesn't really help me prepare for a game any more than would a novel. I've been a real grumpy old man lately about RPG writers who are either being paid by the word or just love to read their own writing, but I really wish most of the superfluous prose (which is about 90%) could be stripped away and replaced with useful content.

My primary entry to the hobby was 2e, which I used as much as reading material as gamebook, since I never got to play as much as I wanted, so that style is right up my alley.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Oh I thought the flavor was great, and lots of interesting plot elements. And I’m not looking for “rules”. I just don’t like having it presented entirely as long form prose.

How would you prefer it be presented? What's a good example of the style you want?

 

[maceo]

The setting really is a love letter to Tolkien, but the dark twist makes all the difference. The 3E supplements can still be found and are available in .pdf format via DriveThuRPG. Under The Shadow is my favorite, detailing the insurgency in the city of Baden's Bluff. Legends of Shadow details the Night Kings (think Nazgul) as well as the Witch Queen (think Galadriel). City of Shadow covers Theros Obsidia (think Barad-dur) and Heart of Shadow the frozen north. Others cover various geography of the setting.

Great stuff.

Is there a reading order you would recommend if I want to pick some up before the 5E book is released?

 

[Bill Zebub]

How would you prefer it be presented? What's a good example of the style you want?

Kelsey Dionne's adventure modules are a great place to start. I recognize there's a difference between an adventure module and a regional sourcebook, but the style could still be useful.

The One Ring also organizes information in a way that I find usable. Sure, there are also chunks for prose, but it's still more like reading a recipe book and less like reading a (mediocre) novel.

 

[Bill Zebub]

My primary entry to the hobby was 2e, which I used as much as reading material as gamebook, since I never got to play as much as I wanted, so that style is right up my alley.

I was roughly the same era...1e...and back then, in 8th/9th/10th grade, I would have happily stayed up all night reading every word of the Midnight supplements. But, as Clint Eastwood says in Unforgiven, "I'm not like that anymore."

I find my imagination is more active looking at abbreviated descriptions, lists of traits, summaries of histories, than it is reading somebody else's long-winded description of the same.

 

[Yora]

Ultimately, a campaign setting is supposed to be a tool for GMs. Not all great worldbuilding makes for a good campaign setting. (Planescape being another major offender.)

 

[JCS]

Is there a reading order you would recommend if I want to pick some up before the 5E book is released?

No, I don't think there's a particular reading order. There's no meta-plot like Forgotten Realms; there's no story progression. I'd note the 3E setting book is quite large and actually has a great deal of background in it; the sourcebooks just go deeper.