[RPG]: The Edge of Midnight, reviewed by C.W.Richeson (3/2)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12644.phtml

Christopher W. Richeson's Summary:

<i>The Edge of Midnight</i> provides a dark and mysterious noir world with a dash of magic and mayhem to make the mean streets even more dangerous.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Praetorian]

Great review Mr. Richardson, very balanced and sums up my thoughts on the product as well. You are a bit more forgiving than me withe the backstory. Honestly, I feel a great genre game is really hampered like a lodestone by the backstory. Surely, you can do away with the backstory if you want, but it seems so integral to how the setting is developed that it seems such a waste. Its especially wierd since there seems to be a finite amount of gameplay built into he setting, with the backstory creating a sort of "endpoint" that isn't really needed.

I really wish this would have been a noir setting set in a nWoD-style alternate Earth without the need for a backstory that riminds me a bit too much of SLA Industries backstory (and two SLA Industries is one too many). In fact, i would have been much happier with just a more generic noir game... no need to come up with a convoluted backstory... the genre and the game really don't need it or benefit from it.

So, if I can ever get a EoM game together, the backstory takes a flying leap. Unfortunately, at that point, other things like Warlock and Gaunts lose their luster as well.

[C.W.Richeson]

Thanks, Praetorian!

For my own purposes I'm considering mixing it with Shadowrun for a noir world where the few folk who really want to make a difference perform night time raids on government holdings, mob dens, and other such locales. I'll likely replace the White Light with a similar event where magic comes into the world and begins to shift this reality away from our own.

[Dan Davenport]

Great job, CWR!

I appreciate you including the Big Secret, as I'm always annoyed by reviews that keep them from potential GMs. (But then, I'm even <u>more</u> annoyed by <u>games</u> that keep the Big Secret from the GM. ) And I agree with Praetorian that the Big Secret in this case seems rather limiting.

<spoiler>Is the explanation for the White Event as understood by the characters in the setting something that people cooked up after the fact to explain it? And if so, who came up with it?</spoiler>

Speaking of spoilers, you might want to consider using spoiler text for Big Secrets.

Regarding the mechanics: since attributes are on a 1-8 scale and skills are on a 0-5 scale, doesn't the system strongly bias in favor of attributes? Or does the partial success issue balance that out?

[sbca1995]

It sounds like Dark City but more noir and less Kafka. That people are openly aware that magic exists and the secrets behind the magic almost gives the EoM setting a Deadlands feel (e.g. ghost rock, addiction to ghost rock, etc.) I can easily imagine a Savage Worlds version of EoM that is more pulp, more over the top, and less dark.

I do like the backstory and setting, and I like how the system and classes are connected to the setting. The magic schools sound straightforward enough.

In the end, though, the cost is too prohibitive for what I'd be getting.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. I've been curious about this one for a while now.

[C.W.Richeson]

Hey, Dan! As always, thanks for the positive comments!

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

*Dan asks a question about the metaplot*

The White Light is known to characters in the setting as an atomic bomb drop with magic, more or less. It was some sort of great, powerful attack that destroyed the big enemy city and ended the war. Everyone generally knows this and other bits of history - this reality came into existence with people fully formed and with basic explanations for the way things are. You could say that the universe came up with it.

Speaking of spoilers, you might want to consider using spoiler text for Big Secrets.

*nods* I've done it before in reviews and I don't care for it so much. I have to change the background to black, since vb code doesn't work, and then folk have a really big block of black text. I hope that when folk get to the part that's clearly about all the big secrets they can skip it without having the surprise spoiled. If some folk object I'll change it in future reviews.

Regarding the mechanics: since attributes are on a 1-8 scale and skills are on a 0-5 scale, doesn't the system strongly bias in favor of attributes? Or does the partial success issue balance that out?

That's an interesting observation. IIRC (I'm far away from my book right now) Skills and Attributes may both be raised to 10 after character creation.

[Praetorian]

Originally Posted by Praetorian

Great review Mr. Richardson, ...

Mr. Richeson... sorry.

[C.W.Richeson]

Originally Posted by Praetorian

Mr. Richeson... sorry.

It's a common mistake, but thanks for the correction!