Topic: Adapting Greyhawk to Rolemaster

[EltonJ]

I have this wild idea of running Greyhawk with Rolemaster. Maybe because it's the 50th Anniversary of D&D, or maybe because I want to try something simple at my home. I think I'll do it for my home game (using both Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins and Greyhawk Player's Guide for AD&D 2e.)  I do have the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer as well, but I don't want to overwhelm my players with certain options.

I can either use RMC/RM2 or RMSS/FRP.  Just that my RMSS collection is more or less complete.  I have managed to get RoCoI through RoCoIV for RM2. (I had to get a copy of RoCoII from ebay).  So, I can accept ideas from RMC/RM2 and RMSS.  I know this is my home game.  I'll probably invite my cousin into the game once he moves.

Anyhow, should I keep it simple in regards to the gods of Greyhawk?

[katastrophe]

I ran a campaign based on this previously.  I found that it is just adventuring in the world of rather than translating the adventures to RM. D&D adventures are vastly different than RM and therefore you will have to dismantle the adventures, remove a lot of the HP attrition encounters, decide what critters/threats are appropriate and make sense.

The campaigned worked nicely ran the slaver series, Saltmarsh, Elemental Evil and began the Demon Web series, though Giants does not translate at all the way one would need. Beware, you will only be running the idea of the adventures rather than direct translations - due to systems being so different and some of the continuity needed to make things make sense is not necessarily there after the many years.

[EltonJ]

Running the world, got it.  (Same thing with Eberron).

Although, I still have Tales of the Loremasters I and II as examples of Rolemaster adventures are written. I was planning on getting Tales of the Loremasters I so that I can return my cousin's copy.
 

I wasn't planning on running the classic series of adventures, though.  Your advice is still good.

[nash]

I'm sure someone will disagree... but I personally found the first Tales of the Loremasters pretty poor.  The second one was better, but more as filler.   Having said that the cover art on that first one I always found amazing.

Norek, Sel-kai (the more recent version especially), Orgillion Horror, Green Gryphon Inn all come to mind as better modules.

[edit; finish sentence]

[Green Manalishi]

I use Greyhawk as my world for my Rolemaster campaign. It is a terrific setting, enough information to get going yet open for the GM to tailor.

I use RM races as per the books, and assign certain human cultures, such as High Men are Suiel, Baklunish people are common man, Flan are common man, and mixed cultures are mixed men (big surprise!) but I think next campaign I may move away from the RM2 races and humans having as many stat modifiers.

[Thot]

Do you guys who DO use Greyhawk in RM translate the magic to RM, or just go with regular Spell Law?

[katastrophe]

Just use spell law.

[chook]

I played in a RM campaign for five or six years that was based in Greyhawk.  No need to convert anything as others have said you just play the game and you are in Greyhawk so to speak.  If you want to have any of the unique things that are in Greyhawk be they critters, dudes, spells, or so forth, then you just make them up.  Critters are easy, dudes are even easier.  Spells aren't hard but they are harder then the other two.  We just used Spell Law and moved on with our lives.

[DerGraumantel]

You should at least convert the named spells (Bigby's Crushing Hand fx) or maybe make a whole list out of it (Bigby's Hand). The rest is making it up on the spot, I agree.

[nash]

Bigby's Hands and Mordenkainen's[1] Defences could be really cool lists.

[Green Manalishi]

I just use Spell Law.

[EltonJ]

I'll just use Spell Law.

[Green Manalishi]

I'll just use Spell Law.

Elton, what races do you plan on using? RM or more D&D like? What about classes?