For comparison, RMFRP and RMU do not give bonuses for flank and rear to any kind of ranged attack, including bolt spells. But the bonus for a stunned target would apply.

It is actually ambiguous, partly because in RM1/2 the attack tables and bonuses for spells are contained in Spell Law, while the attack tables and bonuses for weapons are contained in Arms Law.

So, Spell Law lists bonuses that specifically pertain to spells. These do not include positional mods.

However, Arms Law gives general mods in a table (8.2.7, p. 15 in Red Band edition of RM2), and some of these clearly should apply to bolt attacks. E.g. the table gives a mod for movement. The text describing the positional bonuses (5.2.7) also just talks about 'OB' bonuses for superior or inferior position; it doesn't say anything about only applying to mundane weapons.

So, it is actually a bit more ambiguous than anyone would like. We always played that the positional bonuses did apply to elemental attacks. But I can see an argument both ways.

  Indeed!

Quote from: bayne01 on March 25, 2025, 05:25:07 PMOK thank you.  Now it makes sense in my brain haha.  Would be cool to go Full Conan and wear legs bracers and a helmet with no shirt.  I think at that point you would not have a MM penalty!

Sorry for the pedantic comment, but that would be comic book Conan, not the original Robert E. Howard Conan, who wore regular armour when it was available.

I would use the general attack modifiers (such as position, stunned, and so on, but also shield and cover) for directed spell attacks, which are basically attacks with a magic projectile.

They aren't "human", but Shadow World has the Jhordi.

OK thank you.  Now it makes sense in my brain haha.  Would be cool to go Full Conan and wear legs bracers and a helmet with no shirt.  I think at that point you would not have a MM penalty!

I was wondering if any of you have a telepathic human race in your game.

Hi,
On Rolemaster Classic, an elemental attack like Fire Bolt does not benefit from the attacker position (Rear, Flank, etc). Nothing about this appear on the Elemental Attack Roll Modification Table on Spell Law.
A player questioned me about this absence, comparing a fire bolt to a missile attack like a long bow shot.
I upholded the book rules sticking to the table, remembering that a "no helmet bonus" is granted to elemental attacks and not to missile attacks.

My reasoning is that an elemental attack engulfes the opponent and is not as precise as a missile attack.

Any other opinions about this difference?

Leg and arm protection on the AT level have the following impacts on game, from what I can remember:
1- The weapon damage tables take the arms and legs protection into account, so weapons that could be very effective against arms and legs have the damage dimished when this kind of protection is present, mainly on Criticals. For example, a Falchion attack on AT 8 (arms and legs protection) needs 85 to achieve a Critical Strike A, while on AT 9 (no arms and legs protection), a 71 will result in a Critical Strike. In my opinion, this difference is caused by the additional protection provided by arms and legs armour, avoiding slashes and stuns that could be caused by Critical Strikes.

2- On the other hand, arms and legs protection are more punitive on Quickness and Missile Attacks of the player wearing them. For example, AT 8 has a 15 missile attack penalty while AT 9 has none. And the quickness penalty correctly impacts skills like riding, climbing, etc.

3- Some criticals have lesser effects when leg and arm armor is present. It usually protects agains bleeding. It is true that this lessened effect does not appear a lot in Arms Law Attacks (Punture, Krusk, Slash, Tiny, etc) but on Spell Law Critical Strikes( Heat Cold, etc), they are very common. 

For example:
Spell law C Cold Strike 51-55:
"Blast is strong but low. Foe is
stunned for 2 rnds. If foe has no
leg armor, he takes +5 hits per rnd
due to shock and pain. Frostbite."

Puncture E Critical Strike, 36-45:
"Thigh strike. If foe has leg armor,
+3 hits. If none, +2 hits, 3
hits/rnd."

So, legs and arms armor adds no additional protection against leg/arm strikes without explicit statement on the critical strike.