Riddle of Midnight

[MonkeyWrench]

It sounds like it's working out great for you. Were your players excited or nervous about switching systems? It sounds like they're fairly open-minded about that sort of thing.

You mentioned something about the Mirrors draining magic energy, but do they also drain life force as well. Is Izrador gathering the life energy of channellers world wide to help him pierce the Veil? On a similar note do Astari drain Spell Pool dice or life energy?

It's good to hear that the SAs are really driving the game and helping your players get excited about their characters.

[Judd]

It sounds like it's working out great for you. Were your players excited or nervous about switching systems? It sounds like they're fairly open-minded about that sort of thing.

They are really open minded.  The d20 system wasn't particularly working for us.  The last game two of the players gamed with me in was Ars MAgica and we missed that kind of magic system.  I had showed JJ the system, ran him through a combat and had made PC's with Barry and JJ for a game that never happened.

The Ars Magica game was a fantastic gaming experience and we really trust each other, know where we're all going with this and what we want.  

You mentioned something about the Mirrors draining magic energy, but do they also drain life force as well. Is Izrador gathering the life energy of channellers world wide to help him pierce the Veil? On a similar note do Astari drain Spell Pool dice or life energy?

Yes, Izrador is gathering both life energy and magic.  I'll have to re-read what Black Mirrors exactly do to make the rules up for TROS.  SHoudn't be too hard.

Yes, sniffer demons will drain some spell dice along with their damage, I figure something like one die of SP for every level of damage.

It's good to hear that the SAs are really driving the game and helping your players get excited about their characters.

They are sold on the SA system and as I explained it, using Inigo Montoya as a guideline.  They really watched it workand are enjoying it immsensely.

[Sigurth]

Glad to see you on these boards also, Paka. Really liked you Enworld SH and I see that you are behind on that  ;)

Your SH got me interested in TROS and we playtested the Quickstart Rules last night. We all liked the deadliness and the characters were intrigued by the SA's.

We can't wait to get the Real Rules and play. More than likely we will run using HarnWorld or the TROS homebrew.

[Judd]

We can't wait to get the Real Rules and play. More than likely we will run using HarnWorld or the TROS homebrew.

I'm glad to hear that another convert to the Riddle has been made via me.  Pleased as punch to hear that.

Check out the Forge, browse around and look over the TROS links in the Riddle's forums.  The intro links are pretty valuable and helped alot in my running a game and coming up with rules twinks here and there.

[Judd]

In Midnight, there is an addition to the normal d20 rules called Heroic Paths.  These are paths that give characters new powers at each level, in a theme, like Northborn or Shadowborn or Painless, etc.

My PC's already had chosen their Heroic Paths and they had become a part of their characters.  So, I added a sixth slot to Spiritual Attributes.  The Heroic Path became more like a header in Sorcerer.  

It was at 5 at the beginning of every session but couldn't be used for character improvement, only for dice in a situation that fell under the perview of the Path.  The PC's in my game are Ironblood, Healer and Seaborn.  The places where the dice will come into play are fairly obvious and given that Midnight is a truly brutal, almost Mad Max meets Tolkien kind of world, I don't feel the least bit bad in giving them more dice to cope with the Shadow.

[Sigurth]

How different is the Heroic Path from the Destiny?

[Valamir]

Sorry for intruding into this thread with a tangental question.

I've been waffling on Midnight as a setting for a while.  On the surface it looks pretty much like "Middle Earth if Sauron had Won" with the seriel numbers filed off.

My question are these.

1) Is this a fair or unfair assessment.  Having played in the world now how do you rate the worthiness of the setting as something worth spending money on.

2) An aspect I really found intriguing are the Hero Paths.  How developed are these.  Are they just another way to get "power ups" or is there actually some good setting tie in with these that make them more than a source of Kewl Powerz.  Is there any place you know where all 20 are summarized?

Thanks, sorry for the tangent.

[Judd]

How different is the Heroic Path from the Destiny?

A Heroic Path is more of what powers are in the character's blood, rather than a path the player wants the character to head down.

[Judd]

Sorry for intruding into this thread with a tangental question.

I've been waffling on Midnight as a setting for a while.  On the surface it looks pretty much like "Middle Earth if Sauron had Won" with the seriel numbers filed off.

My question are these.

1) Is this a fair or unfair assessment.  Having played in the world now how do you rate the worthiness of the setting as something worth spending money on.

2) An aspect I really found intriguing are the Hero Paths.  How developed are these.  Are they just another way to get "power ups" or is there actually some good setting tie in with these that make them more than a source of Kewl Powerz.  Is there any place you know where all 20 are summarized?

Thanks, sorry for the tangent.

1)  I think it more or less is Middle Earth, Sauron won with the serial numbers filed off.  I also think it is that premise done well.  I like the choices they made and the way they evoke tone.  I lost my taste for d20 but I found their rules choices for d20 quite good.

I got Midnight as a gift and have since bought every book they've come out with.  They are now making, in my opinion, too many books.  I like my white space on the map and they are beginning to fill in blanks I like to fill in on my own.

I think Fantasy Flight Games puts together a nice fantasy world.  The presentation and writing are solid.  I think it is a worthy d20 buy.  Keeping in mind that I hate published worlds.  Making a homebrew, as a collaborative act with the players, is half of the fun of a game to me.  This campaign just clicked with me, though and the players took to it.

2) On Midnight boards and a forum there have been theories about Heroic Paths but I don't believe they are ever explained in the text.  Let me get back to you on that when I have more time.

I think Paths are more of a kewl powerz thing, in a world where player desperately need them.  I'm not sure where all 20 are summarized but I'll search around a bit on www.againsttheshadow.org when I have a chance.

[Valamir]

I think it more or less is Middle Earth, Sauron won with the serial numbers filed off. I also think it is that premise done well. I like the choices they made and the way they evoke tone.

So it stands up on its own, with a depth and interest that goes beyond being an anticlone?..it looked pretty interesting, but I haven't been able to kit passed the cynic telling me I'd be paying money for something I could kit bash together in a couple of hours.  

I guess that's probably a stupid question, since you're playing you must think so.  Perhaps when you have time you could PM your thoughts on what works and doesn't work about the setting.

Thanks.

[Judd]

SA's brought the group to an interesting place during my last game.

The party came to one of their rare safe spots, a place to rest for a while with food and shelter.  In the Midnight setting, you can almost feel the players sigh in relief when a place to rest and not fear the next Orc attack comes.

Looking at their SA's the players realized they all wanted to go in vastly different directions.  No, not vastly different...entirely different.  in the end, two of the three players ended up going north while the third stayed behind in an effort to go south.

Splitting time up just didn't make sense.

This is what we did.

The odd man out made up a character.  He will get to keep all insight points, put them towards his main character.  

The other two players will make up traveling companion when we switch to his characer's adventures.  Likewise, they will get to keep their insight with their new character.  The new characters are made just like a starting character...shite.  I should have allowed them to use their accrued insight.

Hmm.

This is yet another way TROS has changed a campaign that last year was being played with the D&D system.  In D&D, JJ's character would have gone with them and would have had no real reason to go there.  JJ would have been rather shiftless.

I really had no plot for him on this adventure.  The other character who went, I managed to hook his SA's into the adventure but I flat out told JJ that I had nothing for his character if he headed north.

It worked, story served, players happy, gaming on with the RPG with an edge.