Midnight: Epic Fantasy in an Age of Shadow [d20 system] [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Barber (Author), Wil Upchurch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2003

Midnight describes an exciting, highly detailed campaign setting for the d20 System. Players enter a world where evil rules and darkness has fallen across the land. They must fight for hope and justice in a realm where heroes are condemned and the elder races are hunted to the brink of extinction.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games; 1st edition (March 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589941144
• ISBN-13: 978-1589941144
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Setting in Years, April 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Midnight: Epic Fantasy in an Age of Shadow [d20 system] (Hardcover)

To agree with the former review, yes, there is a lot crammed into this book, but it is mostly flavor text. Most of the gritty rules are already referenced in the PH, DMG and MM, so that left plenty of room for the writers to go wild. The setting is a clever blend of Middle Earth and Martin's books, so that some of it seems very famililar (end of the Third Age, orcs, elves, etc) but the real twist comes with Izrador (not unlike Sauron). This diety of evil controls the world now after being thrown down from heaven (the Sundering) but in turn, the good gods can no longer touch the world either. Evil rules, the Dark One has spread his fingers across the land, and the rule is to obey or die.
Right from the start, EVERYTHING seasoned players are used to in a typical D&D campaign are turned on end. Gold is rarely used in commerce, quality items are very hard to fine, magic is ancient and rare, weapons and armor are illegal and punishable by death, civilization is mostly ruled by orcs, pockets of deep, distant lands crawl with trapped demons, and one by one the major races are dying. Soon, Izrador will rule all, and in time he will regain enough power to take revenge on his celestial brothers.
That is, unless the champions of the earth can stop him, which is where the players come in. The earth, in a last ditch effort to preserve itself, embues certain men and women with powers above the norm. Nothing flashy, just bonuses here and there that replicate what you might find in the core rule books. The feel, flavor and nature of the campaign is about as far from Greyhawk, the Realms, and Dragonlance as you can get. Very well balanced and lot of fun, this is a setting for players and DM's who want some dark fantasy, and aren't afraid of the dark themselves.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great campaign setting, February 12, 2005

By 

Michael J. Thompson "aspiring game designer" (North Attleboro, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight: Epic Fantasy in an Age of Shadow [d20 system] (Hardcover)

Having actively DMed with many campaign worlds over the past 25 years I have to say that the Midnight setting is the best, most well-thought out world to be released in many years.

How to describe it to the uninitiated? Think of it as a "what if" Middle Earth setting where Sauron wins, and the world is all but conquered. The authors unashamedly took that core concept and built an amazing, dark world where the dwarves are locked in a never-ending war of attrition in their mountain fortresses, doomed to lose; the elves remain free in their enormous forest home, but it is slowly and inexoribly being burned away by orc legions; halflings serve only two purposes--slave labor and food; gnomes are river traders allowed to remain free only as long as they serve the needs of their orc and legate masters; and the human lands are subjugated by legates and traitorous nobles.

You won't find standard half-orcs and half-elves in Midnight. Only the fey (non-human) races can interbreed, so we instead get elflings (jungle elf/halfling mix), dwarrow (gnome/dwarf mix), and dworgs (orc/dwarf mix).

This is a low-magic world, for reasons I leave a mystery so that players may discover it in their own time. Any use of magic unsanctioned by the dark god Izrador is punishable by death. Openly carrying weapons or wearing armor is punishable by death. In fact, just about every crime is punishable by slavery, torture, death, or some combination of these. It's not a happy place.

Players may have a tough time adapting to a world where gold is just another rock and food & water is the greatest commodity. They are more likely to be chased out of town by a mob than cheered for killing the local orc garrison (the orcs will only return to punish the townspeople once the "heroes" have left). Magic items are few and far between, but those that they do find have interesting powers. A new type of magic item, called a covenant item, provides new powers based on the experience level of its owner. Great touch and a great opportunity for DM creativity.

While to many it may seem like there's no sense playing in a world where the heroes can't win, the real fun is in making an impact in even the smallest of ways, slowly learning the "big picture" about the world, and hoping that the next battle will be the one to turn the tide in favor of the forces of good.

Midnight can make good players and DMs great. Give it a try, you will not be disappointed!

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark fantasy the right way, May 15, 2003

By 

Albert Baird (VT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight: Epic Fantasy in an Age of Shadow [d20 system] (Hardcover)

I hardly ever write reviews of books, especially RPG books, but feel compelled to put in a good word for Midnight. This work is a well thought-out campaign setting that is done right. I was looking for a setting that held the same feel as an Elric or Fafhrd & Grey Mouser grit, grime and hopelessness story, and am truly satisfied with Midnight. Pick it up, it's worth it.