Topic: Future of RM Classic

[Modric]

With RMU to be released shortly, is Rolemaster Classic dead or will people still use this system? I'm debating whether to divest from RMC in favor of RMU. Or is RMC Iron Crown's answer to the OSR movement?

[intothatdarkness]

I think much depends on the final form RMU takes. There will certainly be some who keep using RMC/RM2 or RMSS. If those products will be supported or not is another question, of course.

[PhillipAEllis]

Personally, I'll be switching to RMU, with designing in RMC & RMFRP as I write material for use with Rolemaster Rome.

I can easily see that peeps will be using the older iterations, as that is happening even now.

(One point of contention with my ex-partner and I was that, since I had the older iterations I could play with, there was no need to pick up RMU. My... ex-partner. )

[JimiSue]

With any game there is a sedt of users who for whatever reason choose to continue using the older rules. E.g. in my gaming group we have not converted to D&D 4th edition as we don't consider it superior to 3.5. We play Pathfinder for preference when doing d20 now. I am still using the SM2 rules (which are essentially RMC) because I consider it a better ruleset than Privateers (although I still don't own the core rulebook so I could yet be converted).

Use what you and your group like - people don't often judge You could even pick and choose yourself what to use or not - when D&D 2nd came out my group of the time did that and played a mishmash of rules for a couple of years before eventually going 100% 2nd ed.

[Cory Magel]

I have no idea what the official plan is, but I suspect you'll see RMU be the only supported Rolemaster product once it is 'officially' launched for a number of reasons that will hinge mainly the amount of work and/or oversight it would take (remember, ICE is no longer a company of full time dedicated RPG industry employees).  Then toss into that supporting the old versions would pretty much defeat the point of creating a new version (i.e. obtaining new non-current RM users and also trying to bridge the RM2/RMSS gap between the existing RM users).

[Cory Magel]

With any game there is a sedt of users who for whatever reason choose to continue using the older rules. E.g. in my gaming group we have not converted to D&D 4th edition as we don't consider it superior to 3.5. We play Pathfinder for preference when doing d20 now. I am still using the SM2 rules (which are essentially RMC) because I consider it a better ruleset than Privateers (although I still don't own the core rulebook so I could yet be converted).

Use what you and your group like - people don't often judge You could even pick and choose yourself what to use or not - when D&D 2nd came out my group of the time did that and played a mishmash of rules for a couple of years before eventually going 100% 2nd ed.

If I was to play D&D again I'd want it to be the 2nd Ed.  But then, that is because if I went back to D&D it would be because I wanted simple... and I don't want simple.

Assuming we like the final RMU product I suspect our group still wouldn't bother seriously looking at RMU until it's caught up to what RMSS had put out.

[JimiSue]

If I was to play D&D again I'd want it to be the 2nd Ed.

I like 2nd edition, I think it's the best and most flexible set of D&D rules so far. 1st edition was needlessly restrictive and complex, 3rd edition is good at combat and not much else, 4th is a skirmish game rather than a roleplaying game, 5th... will be interesting to see where they go as I understand 4th did not do so well.

[Modric]

I miss AD&D2d.  It was the deficiencies in D&D that pushed me to Rolemaster. I'm still working through RMU rules, but I still prefer RM2nd to RMSS or RMFRP.