I am a bit confused. I am looking at the various cultures in the MERP second edition book (e.g. Gondorian, Eriadoran). Are these considered different races or different cultures within the broader context of Human? How does this translate to the two Rolemaster games? For instance, how would I distinguish between ten different kinds of humans in RF or RC?

Is there a master list of races, professions, and cultures for all the games that I can review?

What are the major differences between RF and RC?

It looks like MERP 2nd edition was published in 1986, so I'm guessing that they were intended as different races.  Using cultures as a separate thing really didn't fully take off until Races & Cultures (RMFRP) in 2004. 

The way I ended up going with my worldbuilding was to determine if there were any physical differences other than cosmetic.  It there are (for instance, one has Darkvision and the other does not), I treat them as different races.  If the physical differences are strictly cosmetic (skin color, etc.) then I list them as different ethnicities under a single race.

Cultures come down to skills and traditions for me.  If they start with different skill bonuses, that's a different culture.  A lot of background things are cultural.

I don't know where there is a master list, but I'd like to see it if you ever find one.  Hope this helps.

Both MERP and Rolemaster technically treat race and culture differently, but in many cases there is exactly one culture for a given race:

For the Noldor, Sindar and Silvan elves as well as Half Elves, Dwarves, and Umli (only in MERP 1st Ed.), these cultures also had exactly one corresponding race template in MERP. The same is basically true for Hobbits; their fluff describes three slightly different branches but the Stoor, Fallohide and Harfoot Hobbits are identical with regards to their game stats.

Humans are different in that they have a broad range of different cultures which all share the "common man" racial template. The exception are the Dúnedain who are treated as a separate race, and I think the Woses, too. Notably, both the Black Númenoreans and the Corsairs are considered common men, not Dúnedain, under the rules.

Like common men have with the Dúnedain, orcs and trolls both have a "buffed" variant (Uruk-hai and Olog-hai), and there are also half orcs as a separate race. But unlike men, the base orc and troll race is represented only through a single cultural template, despite the many sub-cultures both races apparently have.

Rolemaster is essentially using the same mechanics as MERP which is not surprising given that MERP was a downscaled Rolemaster system. In fact, most (but not all) of the culture descriptions from MERP 2nd Ed. also exist verbatim as Rolemaster FRP cultures, just with a different name.

I don't own MERP.  Are there any game mechanics differences between the different "common man" cultures?

Not really.
Under MERP rules you don't pick a race, you pick a culture which is then tied to a specific column in the race table - and which will be common man for almost all mannish races.
Race (common man) just defines bonus to attributes and RR. Everything else - languages, adolescence skill ranks, special skills, background options, available professions, etc. is defined through the culture.

And the rule mechanics are essentially identical for all characters.
Caveat: There are some minor differences, as some culture quirks exist that could arguably be seen as racial differences. Examples are the increased resistance of Lossoth against cold and snow blindness, the increased heat resistance of Haradrim or the higher Dorwinadan tolerance (RR bonus) against poison. Or how Beornings can become shapeshifters with a background option as a special rule. It is a bit blurry around the edges but that does make it a simple system with an undeniable charm.

Thank you.  It sounds like neither system really treated race and culture as separate, fully developed things until much later.  I still appreciate the way Races & Cultures started treating it.  I think it gives much more versatility.  Much better than some of D&D's "we will just replace race with culture because the term is less charged" in later versions and third party supplements.  I hope that RMU eventually develops fully fleshed races and cultures that have more options and a higher level of detail.

RMU completely separates race and culture. There can never be *official* stats for the MERP races/cultures, but RMU does include rules for creating your own races and cultures, so if you feel the included ones don't cover what you need, you can make it.

The only effect Culture had in MERP (at least 1st ed) was adolescent skill ranks.  We used culture to assign weapon skill costs and limit some spell lists in RM 1st and 2nd ed but that was more world building than Rules as written.

Quote from: NosArtur on July 13, 2026, 11:32:21 PMThe only effect Culture had in MERP (at least 1st ed) was adolescent skill ranks.

That's the only effect they have in RMU too.