 Midnight: 2070, A campaign concept |
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 Apr 6 2006, 03:32 AM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684  |
I posted this on another forum, but the good folks there don't seem particularly familiar with shadowrun or the d20 game Midnight, whih I am basing my campaign on, so I thought I might get more traction here.
For those who aren't familiar with the world, Midnight is loosely based on the idea of "What would happen if Sauron had won the war of the ring?" In that game the evil god Izrador is cast down and eventually rises to conquer nearly the entire world. Only the deep wilderness is (thus far) safe from the depridations of the dark god and his orc horde. Only a few heroes are left to fight as a resistance movement while the vast majority of humanity lies enslaved. So, my point is, that I think this would make for a good setting for Shadowrun. Now, I love the metaplot as much as the next guy, but I thought the new edition was a good excuse to try out something different with my new campaign. My thought is that, when magic came back in 2011, it brought with it the god Izrador and his minions, who quickly set about capturing the world's governments. By 2070 he was nearly complete. Sure, a few examples had to be made along the way, a city destroyed here, a civilization wiped out there, but in the end he was completely sucessful... Nearly. Magic and magical races have been outlawed. Carrying weapons or high technology are punishable by death. Only Commlinks are aloowed and everyone must carry one that projects their identity at all times. Only the servants of Izrador have access to all but the most basic technology needed to run the modern world. Enter the runners. Instead of hiding in ancient elven woods or deep swamps the PCs hide in the urban jungle and long forgotten sewers. Smuggled cyberware and stolen spell formulas help them to even the odds, but still even survival is as difficult as any run. So, any thoughts? |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:21 AM
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#2
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,283 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 7,398 |
Except that it would have invaded when the US was still unified. I really doubt it would have access to anything better than axes and swords for its orc troops, so they'd get ripped to bits by any modern military. Sure, it has powerfull magic. As soon as it proves to be a legitimate threat (and uses its magic as a WMD), it will get nuked. Repeatedly.
The US has a policy to nuke our own cities if we start losing a land war against a fascist or communist army. I doubt that this would fail to trigger that plan. |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:29 AM
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#3
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
it should be noted that nukes fail to go off with improbable frequency, post-2011. whatever the source of that behavior is, i'd think a god would be able to tap into it. |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:34 AM
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#4
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,000 Joined: 17-November 05 From: Halifax, Canada Member No.: 7,975 |
I would suggest you read the SR history of the world.
Note Middle Earth and our Earth have little to no semblance, best not to confuse the two. Controlling medeival lands that require days of riding to reach is a lot easier than trying to take over countries 100 times the size with a global communications grid. You wouldn't even be able to take over a continent let alone the entire world. [edit] The SR world is harsh enough where the poor live as if they're in a 3rd world while those who work for corporations live in the lap of luxury. How is it that people insist on combining it with anime, other game worlds, other gaming systems for that matter? There's a fair bit on the web, if you need ideas, read into the game world and run with it. SR may not be perfect, but it does well enough on its own. |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:34 AM
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#5
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
ehh.... the ones triggering the crash seemed to do pretty dammed well. But then again, that was the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-Im-scared-shitless.
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Apr 6 2006, 04:38 AM
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#6
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
sure, some nukes go off. but there are a lot of nukes that didn't go off. it's also worth noting that the Crash 2.0 nukes were thaumaturgically modified in some manner.
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Apr 6 2006, 04:48 AM
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#7
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Target Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684 |
Funny, magic seemed enough for the Great Ghost Dance, which, in the terms of this game, would much a lesser power compaired to that of a fallen god. |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:53 AM
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#8
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ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333 |
OH NoOo!! Somebody wants to do something that isn't CANON!!!11!!!11oneone
(I love sticking to canon as much as the next DSer, but when someone goes "I have this idea for a cool game, and it has nothing to do with canon", yelling about how it isn't canon makes you look silly. This handy tip brought to you by the letter 7.) On topic, I have Midnight, but I've never run it. Mostly I just skimmed it enough to know what you said in your first post, and it's been a while. Normally, I avoid the idea of direct deific influence in my games, but mixing the two might be cool. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around placing an actual deity in the SR world, mostly because of the "what in the hell do you do against a god" factor. Even in my D&D games, the most players will ever see is minions of various power levels, and if they're lucky, avatars of their patrons. If you do more, post it up. I'd like to see how you present it. |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:57 AM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 464 Joined: 3-March 06 From: CalFree Member No.: 8,329 |
Right, Midnight just has some similarities to LotR (much like D&D does), but it's not set in Middle Earth. I'd say that our Earth and the Earth of SR have a large number of differences, too. Maybe it'd be better to say "Imagine if instead of UGE and the Ghost Dance, the return of magic started with a huge organized horde of Shedim, or Horrors, or whatever". |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:59 AM
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#10
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
If you really want to do it, might as well use the horrors since they're already an established system for fucking over the world. Just have someone like Bonecrown elected President of the U.S. in 2012. That'd be a good start. Just remember the lesson that Shredder learned (good ol' lessons from Ninja Turtles). It's a lot easier to take over the world than it is to rule it. Look at Iraq for example.
It could be a lot of fun, and should at least be interesting to see how it runs. I ran a game like Midnight a while before the setting came out and it was a lot of fun. It wasn't ruled by one great evil god. It was more along the lines of this great army of evil that rose up and tried too take over the world, but eventually failed. But they had been along for so long, and their infrasturcture so prevasive, that when the army finally collapsed, the land was irrevocably changed. A couple of continents are still "standard" for D&D, but a good chunk of the world is ruled by fractionalized, warring forces of evil .Warlords and evil wizards, dragon kings, goblin and orc cities. All fighting each other and hunting down the last of the elves and dwarves. Good times it was . Have fun. |
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Apr 6 2006, 05:10 AM
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#11
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Target Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684 |
I have, in fact, read the history of shadowrun. I have, in deed, lived it in many ways, having played through the metaplot for some 17 years now. I own every edition of the game including the DMZ "board game," and have, as far as I'm aware, all of the US releases made to date. Do not assume that someone who wants to try something new does so out of ignorance. No one is "confusing" different histories, or disputing that history would have to change to make the game work. It is simply a matter of making it work. Neither would I concider maintaining a mideaval tech level in a shadowrun world. As for people who "insist on combining it with anime or other game worlds," don't confuse your own lack of imagination for ours. I have no issues coming up with my own missions. I've done it for years. I simply don't feel the need to be constrained by someone else's ideas. I've run Shadowrun as is for quite a long time. I'm ready to work a little bit with the new system to create something different now. Certainly the world is good enough on it's own. But just because I like peperoni on my pizza doesn't mean I don't want to give sausage a try every once in a while. |
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Apr 6 2006, 05:32 AM
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#12
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,000 Joined: 17-November 05 From: Halifax, Canada Member No.: 7,975 |
I must appologize for my outburst...
I've seen so much of 'I just got SR4, I haven't really read it yet, so how about this whacked out idea?' lately. Guess it doesn't help that I recently read LoTR and couldn't fathom putting the two together. Like my accusations towards you, you probably should go accusing someone for a lack of imagination if you have no idea who they are. I guess, like many, I've been trying to focus on the cyberpunk of SR instead of the magic aspect that some feel gets overused and abused. How would corporations play in this distopian game of yours? Or better yet dragons. What other metahuman races would be present? And how is technology advanced, yet restricted from everyday use? You mentioned that High Tech is forbidden, yet everyone has a commlink? The whole wireless network would be outlawed by that description, as well as the Matrix. Or am I reading this wrong? |
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Apr 6 2006, 05:41 AM
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#13
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Target Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684 |
Yeah, most people I know that have the game say they've never run it. It's one of the reasons I want to try the mesh. So many games, so little time... I also worry about the deity issue. One of the designers of Midnight played in a DnD game I ran for a while and we discussed it a bit. The general consencous was that you don't really do anything with the god. I'm not sure I totally agree, but I see the point. Basically you don't win. You fight the good fight. Not that it'd be hopeless, just that direct confrontation (in most cicumstances) is useless. Like in LotR, the fellowship never confront Sauron directly, they interrupt his plans, defeat his minions, and render him powerless. Like I said, at this point it's just the glimmer of an idea. When I have more I'll post it. I don't know how I'll work out the logistics of it quite yet, but I'm open to ideas. Anyone play TORG? The Nippon Empire managed to take over Japan without anyone noticing. Perhaps that might be a good place to start. |
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Apr 6 2006, 06:02 AM
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#14
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Target Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684 |
I was, perhaps, a bit overly defensive. My apologies. I read your post as a personal attack. A great many of my games, particularly earlier 1st edition ones, dwelled on the "street" aspect of the game, so at this point I'm actually branching out into a higher magic version. I will, however, admit to a third edition "stop the horrors" game that was, funnily enough, set in 2070 :). Of course, the metaplot was still on 2060 then, so I used the 10 year advancement to further awaken the world. As for your questions, I wish I had better answers for you, but at this point I'm not really sure. In Midnight you have gnomes, who theoretically work for Izrador to supply his army. Everyone hates them and sees them as part of the problem, but little do they know that these gnomes are a vital part of keeping the resistance supplied. They work against the shadow from the inside. Perhaps some of the Corps function this way as well. Many others, of course, have sold out.... As for dragons, considering the power of a great dragon they are nearly as much of a wild card as a deity. I'm not sure what to do about them. Perhaps most serve Izrador like the corps, with a couple leading the resistance. Maybe I'll have to eliminate the greats from the setting altogether. I'll sleep on it and post more when I have a clearer idea. The tech thing, perhaps I wrote poorly. It's 1AM here and I'm too old for these late nights ;) What I had intended was that Izrador's minions would have tech, they'd just carefully monitor its use by the general public. Nor would all tech be exactly banned. That which is necessary to run our modern lives would still be around. Public transportation, personal vehicles, even computers would be legal, just closely monitored. Comms would be required to keep tabs on citizens. Also, I foresee there being large portions of sprawl where the shadow's influence is less than complete. Perhaps (for now) Izrador and his minions overlook some particularly bad areas so long as they don't spread or cause problems while they consolidate their power. The real problem I foresee is making it all work in the 59 years between the rise of magic and the current timeline. I may well have to extend Izrador's influence before his actual fall. Perhaps a masonic cult of some sort dedicated to his rise that had already insinuated itself within important cops and governments to pave the way for future conquest. |
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Apr 6 2006, 06:08 AM
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#15
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ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333 |
Tell me about it! :( On my "if there was time" docket currently are Alternity (far future space opera), Alternity (near future space grit), Alternity: Dark Matter (Hoffman Institute campaign), Alternity: Dark Matter (greys campaign), D&D game using nothing but the "Cyclopedia", D&D 3.5 "try and justify having bought the books, surely I'll like the system more if I actually get to play it" campaign (not really expecting much from that), a good AD&D 2nd Edition game, some Cthulu, a "low-to-no magic" SR game, ...well...you know how it is.
Ooooh! You're talking about Shadowrun. ;) I imagine I'd probably end up handling it the "never actually meet the god" way. I understand your frustration, but I just don't know how I would justify the god not just outright wiping the PCs from existance. The one thing I could see is the whole "rise to deific might" type thing,PCs becoming "gods" in their own right, but how hard must that be in the world of SR? Especially considering the lack of an in-place system for handling gods. D&D? New god? Easy. Just make one up. Bam! Instant deific might, followers, etc. But in SR? No template, no precedent. You might have some luck porting over the existing idea of gods from Midnight/D&D. Followers' faith gives them power, etc. (Granted, I think that's mostly a FR thing.) Or just say that they "are". Either way, you're going to have to ret-con the gods, say that people have been following them, etc. Actually, you could use the "existing" gods of the world, I suppose. Just say that various gods actually exist, and maybe go off the flavor given in the religion section of MitS saying that it's reality rather than perception. Hmmm. Lots to do there. |
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Apr 6 2006, 06:11 AM
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#16
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ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333 |
For some interesting takes on "big oppressive group has the tech and carefully releases it to the barbaric masses" you might check out Rifts: Australia.
The two tech cities hoard all pre-Rifts and post-Rifts technology. However, they need natural resources from the Outback in order to exist, so they let tiny amounts of the tech trickle out in exchange for things like lumber, ore, etc. Pretty interesting setting. |
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Apr 6 2006, 06:30 AM
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#17
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
I've alwasy considered the dragons in SR to, for the most part, be "True Neutral". Back to the whole idea of dragon kings and realms . They're going to have their own little areas. I mean really, I don't care who the hell is out there. Lowfyr is either going to have his realm, or be dead. I imagine Icewing wouldn't be that different. Hestaby perhaps be the type to support the resitance. The evil army would just write off Amazonia as not really worth the effort. So you've got great dragons that rule their little "extraterritoral" realms, and some dead greats.After all, Thera proves the Great's can be taken down with numbers. With modern teech and ancient magic, that should keep them in check at least. No way you're going to subjugate greats, but a certain understanding could be reached. Once again, look at Thera Pre-Scourge.
I still think "BoneCrown for President" would be perfect |
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Apr 6 2006, 10:19 AM
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#18
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,283 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 7,398 |
I'll point out that while the evil deity might have magic as good as the Great Ghost Dance, the Native Americans had one advantage over the Giant Invading Horde: they were guerrilla fighters. You can't just nuke them out of existance. Now, the GIH, on the other hand...
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Apr 6 2006, 03:36 PM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
I've seen many allusions and vague references to the Horrors but I don't recall reading anything really concrete on them. Were they detailed in an old sourcebook or is this material coming from Earthdawn that is "implied into" SR? (For a really obscure reference, that Midnight RPG sounds a lot like the Palladium game Nightbane, anyone else know that one?) PS People apologized for inflammatory or insulting posts? Appreciating someone else's views? THIS CAN'T BE DUMPSHOCK! :eek: ;) |
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Apr 6 2006, 04:14 PM
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#20
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Target Group: Members Posts: 87 Joined: 12-January 05 From: Brazil, RN, Natal (Also known as Amazonia) Member No.: 6,968 |
Masterofthegame,
I am in the process of converting Midnight to GURPS (on which me and my players spend most of the time, aside SR), and one of the first things that came to mind was "that would be great on SR". Maybe Izrador doensīt need to go all bang-bang. Like the dragons, he can go with a certain subtlety, and when you notice it, heīs already king of the world. No need to strike lightning down, or use large armies of creatures from the dark. Just his own personal influence. He may be the ruler of a large and powerful and influential country (like pre-dance of the great ghost USA), or a unified Europe, and slowly work his way up, from 2011 to 2070. Itīs not a big deal when you are a immortal god. Need money? Your create some gold. Lackeys? You call your shapeshifter allies and spirits. I feel it has a real, original SR nature into it, like was said in this thread: opossition not against all odds, but against impossible odds. What could be more fun? |
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Apr 7 2006, 04:43 AM
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#21
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ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333 |
Know it, play it, like it. Just played in a NB campaign last year actually. |
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Apr 7 2006, 05:50 AM
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#22
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
mdynna: the horrors are touched on a lot in the earlier editions, but the metaplot has moved away a lot from that being the 'hidden theme' of the game. If you want to know more about them, pick up one of the many editions of Earthdawn.
In essence, think of them as demons that feed on negative emotions like hate, pain, betrayal, sorrow, agony, all that good stuff. The most powerful is called the "Hunter of Great Dragons" and according to the dragon creation myths, was the first being to exist in the world. The least , called gnashers, are basically like large dogs with fanged mouths the size of half their bodies that mindlessly devour everything in their path. They come through when the mana level gets high enough to support them. |
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Apr 7 2006, 05:54 AM
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#23
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
BoneCrown, BTW , is a very intelligent horror that makes it's self appear to be a normal metahuman in a position of authority. The more people that follow it, the more powerful it becomes. It's true form is human-ish, exept that it's skin is covered with thousands of small faces. It has a cool power call "aura of awe" that basically makes people blindingly loyal to it. So if it was president, not only would he be awesomely powerful, but he'd also have the best approval ratings ever. Because UCAS citizens wouldn't have any choice.
It's just to bad Azvhat died before the creation of the CD. |
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Apr 7 2006, 03:40 PM
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#24
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Target Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 4-May 02 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 2,684 |
I'm really liking this idea. I've used the horrors before, but more as a threat than a reality. Right now I'm rereading the Midnight book for a bit of inspiration before I make any final decisions, but the more I look into it the more I decide that I really want the themes of the game more than any kind of re-creation of the game itself.
To that end, I may well be able to use existing horrors to capture the feel that I want. It's still going to require a whole new world history, but that's really the easy part. I wanted to use Shadowrun rather than some existing d20 product because I believe that no one does the mix of magic and technology better. After playing SR4 last week, I also think it'll fit the gritty, dangerous world I want to create as well. For some reason combat just doesn't seem dangerous when you have 100 hit points and guns do a d10 damage. |
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