So I have been reading about Combat Companion and have some questions.
Does this replace the Arms Law/Spell Law tables?
Only in the specific circumstance of you using the new Armor By The Piece (ABtP) system. If you are using that, THEN you will need to use the new combat tables.
Is this compatible with all versions of RM? We typically play RMSS hopefully that works.
The majority of the book is fully compatible with all versions of RM. The only thing not compatible with RMSS/FRP is the 3 new professions, which are RMC only (the plan being to release RMFRP versions in a later RMFRP product).
What does it add other then some new charts. I noticed it said the armor is completly different, how?
ABtP Rules -- In the normal Rolemaster, each AT given is a specific suit of armor, including such things as greaves and bracers. In the CC rules for ABtP, there are 10 Armor Ratings - which represent the combination of the material used and the construction method (i.e. plates & leather vs plates & chain vs chain vs hard leather vs soft leather, etc..).
The AR is assigned to the piece of armor that covers the chest/abdomen/groin areas. Other pieces of armor add to the total DB of the character. This makes a full suit of plate armor be AR 10 and have a base DB of 30 (IIRC). To this, you add your quickness bonus (adjusted by the maneuver penalty) and any other factors.
This system allows for you mix and match armor of various types and construction to create your own unique suit.
Because the AbtP system makes such radical changes to the Armor rules, we have included new combat tables. The tables are part of a condensed combat system (if enough people like, we may do a full book just for the tables), and the tables are set up according to the basic way that a weapon is used (i.e. short bladed weapons versus long bladed weapons, bows on one table, crossbows on another, etc...)
Armor Creation Rules - Special materials will increase the DB of a given piece of armor, and so can quality and so can other factors.
Combat Styles -- rules for creating combat styles -- if used, they would replace the existing weapon and special attack skills (or at least the majority of them). EA #8 gives a new option that allows the learning of Specific Manuevers in a manner that does not change the DP cost of the skills.
