The Erenlanders.

Their land is conquered, their kingdom shattered. They are the defeated, serving the Shadow with backs bent and weary.

But those backs are not yet broken. They carry more than just the burden of servitude: They also carry hope.

The Erenlanders. The true children of the kingdom of Erenland. Their northern lands are haunted by the specter of shattered pride, while the south is tangled in webs of intrigue. But in the heart of Eredane, a storm gathers. The legacy of a noble past is not forgotten, and secret forces now move to cast off the black shackles of the Shadow.

If freed of their fears and doubts, will the people of Erenland rise united once more? Will someone rise to lead them? Uncertain times lie ahead in this land of destiny and shadow.

A sourcebook for Steel Hill, the dark lord’s foundry and armory.

The dark lord Izrador has conquered the free lands of Eredane with merciless magic and savage steel. At the heart of his army is a dark forge where slaves and sorcerers labor day and night to equip the orcish hordes with weapons, armor and equipment. It is called Steel Hill, and it is the Forge of Shadow.

Despite their overwhelming numbers and their dark spells, Izrador’s forces are not all-powerful. No matter how many orcs the dark lord breeds, he cannot keep his enemies in check if his soldiers bear no weapons and their backs are unarmored. This makes Steel Hill one of Izrador’s most valued strongholds, and one of his few weaknesses. Will the PCs be brave enough to sneak behind enemy lines and sabotage its precious products? Can they free the enslaved blacksmiths and kidnap or kill the dark enchanters who enhance the weapons? If they can take Steel Hill, will they destroy it from within, or will they try to capture it in a desperate attempt to gain an armory for the forces of good? In the battles ahead, many eyes will turn toward the Forge of Shadow.

Determination and defiance in the face of the Shadow.

A century ago, the forces of darkness overran Eredane and subjugated all its peoples to the will of the dark god Izrador. Almost.

In what remains of their mountain holdfasts in the Kaladruns, the dwarves still resist. It has been barely a dwarven generation since the Shadow fell, and living dwarves still remember freedom. They have the finest weapons and armor on the face of Aryth, traps devilish enough to kill a thousand orcs, and a legendary stubbornness in the face of adversity.

It is not enough. Every day in the world of Midnight the dwarves are losing their war against the numberless servants of Izrador.

Corruption and redemption in the last age.

Embrace the darkness of Midnight with this supplement for the award-winning campaign world. Midnight usually puts the players in the role of desperate freedom fighters waging war against overwhelming forces of evil. Hand of Shadow at last gives them the power to become that which their characters have hated and feared for so long ... minions of the dark god!

Whether they play devoted legates, barbaric orcs, corrupted channelers, or clever collaborators, this book allows players to turn the usual Midnight campaign on its head, and to explore whether even the most evil of foes have a chance at redemption.

For the past century, the dark god Izrador has ruled with terrible brutality over Erenland. But in the frozen north, the Shadow has held sway for millennia, corrupting all that it touches. The dark god, reborn from his own grave, drains all sterngth and vitality from the land, granting it in turn to his chosen servants.

Yet there is life in the Northern Marches, albeit twisted and warped by the dark god's presence. This isolated land, long thought uninhabitable by humans and fey alike, has been a crucible for some of the most terrifying creatures on Aryth. It is the birthing placee of the orcs and the harsh realm in which those savaage warriors are trained. Likewise, magic itself is corrupted here, and strange new breeds of creatures arise while undead legates and ancient orc crones twist reality itself with the help of their dark master.

This sourcebook is ideal for DMs who wish to set a single adventure or a whole campaign in the Northern Marches, or for those who simply desire more insight into the workings of the world beyond the norther edge of the map in the world of Midnight.

Honor cannot be eclipsed.

The Dorns have always born the brunt of the Shadow's wrath, from the time before the Fortress Wall to the Last Age. Their lands are beyond conquered: the dark god's forces turn to the other races of Eredane for less troublesome slaves, more easily bought mercenaries, more capable traitor princes. In the black eyes of the orcs and legates, the Dorns are good for nothing but extermination.

The Northmen are shamed by their failure and by the betrayal of so many of their lords, but in that shame lies strength. Weapons unseen for a thousand years are pulled from moldy scabards, and battlecries unheard for generations ring out from desperate throats. Starving children resolve to avenge the crimes of the past, and crippled warriors sacrifice themselves to protect the secret hopes of the future.

In a cold realm of empty halls and pillaged lands, civilization has been reduced to stony keeps ruled by corrupted tyrants. These traitor princes have gained long physical life, but at the cost of letting their souls be slowly devoured. Outside of their grim fortresses, the land lies fallow and at the mercy of orcs, breeding like maggots in the dusty earth. Even they, the Shadow's chosen, must face the depredations of roaming Shadowspawn, fell, and spirits.

If a final battle for freedom comes, it will not be in this forsaken place. If a people is to survive and live on in the next age, it will not be the Dorns. Like the doomed dwarves in their mountains, like the all-but-exterminated halflings of the plains, their tale nears its end. But the ancestors of these proud warriors have awakened from their sleep among the eternal spirits of Aryth; the royal bloodlines of some clans are yet untainted; and the dark god's forces spiral ever closer to a state of constant infighting, paranoia, and self-destruction. Yes, the time of the Dorns may be coming to an end, but it will be such an end! An end that will be told in tales, sung in sungs, and lived in dreams for the rest of time.

Thus far, the tales of Midnight have been the tales of mere mortals. The players have been warriros against the darkness, heroes drawn from the common folk, desperate fighters, spies, messengers, and saviors. Their foes have been likewise: the orcs of the dark host, the legates of the Order of Shadow, the Fell and the Trapped and the Lost.

All that is about to change.

Go beyond the battles and the hidden fights and discover the most powerful beings in the world, the legends of the Last Age: The Night Kings.

The Sarcosans united the humans of Eredane into a single great nation that befriended all the fey, but their way was rife with intrigue. Their culture became fertile ground in which the Shadow planted seeds of corruption and dissent. While the other races fought against the coming of the Last Age, most Sarcosan towns simply surrendered to the dark god’s armies. The cities of the south are entirely subjugated, the Sarcosans his puppets.

Or are they?

Izrador may have captured the cities and outlawed literacy, but the Sarcosan freeriders still control the vast plains of the south. Their respected sages still pore over the lore of old to find signs of their enemy’s weaknesses. In a war where hope is all but vanquished and the future is uncertain, a Sarcosan has only two options: to fight for the hope foretold by the stars, or to give in to the Shadow that lies between them.

This sourcebook is appropriate for players looking for new prestige classes, feats, fighting styles, and weapons, as well as for DMs that want to focus on a more martial Midnight campaign. All of the new rules are reinforced with setting material detailing the the cultures that created the weapons or skills, round out this exciting new book. In a world where an evil demigod strives to claim the world for himself, every weapon matters.

In Midnight more than in any other world, a place of sanctuary is needed to continue the fight. This sourcebook for Baden’s Bluff is appropriate for players looking for organizations to join, for new equipment and feats designed to evade the magehunters and assassins of the dark lord, and for new classes that allow PCs to bring the fight to the treacherous legates on their own battleground of intrigue and intimidation. DMs will find a wealth of setting material that describes Baden’s Bluff as both a place of refuge for their campaign’s heroes, as well as one of adventure and danger on the dark streets and the sewers below. Baden’s Bluff is an ember of hope, as well as a culling ground, for those who try to survive under the shadow.