Dear all,
Rolemaster is one of my favourite RPG games and I have been playing RM for some years. In this message, I would like to concentrate on the last version, RMC, and particularly on the manuals that I know (CL, AL & SL).
1) The overall opinion is that RMC is a very good game, excellent in some aspects but far for being perfect.
2) I also think that the basic game has been improved compared to RMSS (removing talents, training packages and some not necessary stuff), but the manuals are less clear.
I am in favour of having the same information in one single manual: professions, monsters, spells? instead of spreading it all over the volumes.
3) Even if the game system is pretty consistent, it should be more consistent. I am convinced that making the RM system more consistent would definitive improve roleplaying, and the quality of the game in general.
In fact, considering the amount of information (skills, spells, weapons, monsters etc?), the best solution would be to reduce the number of exceptional and optional rules at minimum. Ideally, you should only have one dice roll type (let?s say, 1d100 open-ended), trying always to make the biggest result, adding user bonus and removing opponent malus, and finally checking the result.
Considering that RM is highly dependent on tables, different ?actions? should be possible to be dealt in the same way, by using the same type of rolls and different tables.
4) For example, I would like to have the skills working on the same principle (like, roll + bonus, then: failure, partial success, success, super success). It is not the case, because there is no common principle for handling: initiative (why 2d10?), item breaking rolls, burnout due to channelling (in this case, better to make less), static manouveurs, attacks, spells, resistance rolls, ambush, runes and staves etc.
Moreover, there are too many special skills; I personally do not like and do not use ambush and adrenal movements.
5) I think that the character sheets in CL are incomplete. For my campaign, I had to create a character sheet for each profession, by adding some representative skills for the profession, with relative skill costs and level bonuses. By the way, I had to dedide how to handle level bonunes for secondary skills (I added a column on the secondary skill table to link the skill with the level bonus).
4) The section on item cost calculation (in CL 8.0) is a nightmare: the explanations are not really clear, the formulas not intuitive? maybe it should be better to have something simpler.
5) AL is well done, but the combat system has too many tables, and it is really painful to look for tables and tables. I am aware that the CC has a ?quick? system, with attacks, criticals and failures in one page and I should look into it as soon as possible.
6) SL is the best RMC manual so far, and I really like the spell list system described over there. On the other hand, chapter 5.0 on item creation is unclear: I still have some open questions on those 24h spells.
7) Demon types and undead types are not consistent with the character system: why not using levels instead? conversions between types and levels are not the same thourought the books (tables, spell lists, etc,).
8) It is incredible that there is no GM screen to collect the most important tables for roleplay on a few pages (less than 10!). I did a house version (still incomplete and of low quality)? maybe I could put it on the VAULT if you will give me access to it.
I hope that all my comments will be useful, and I hope that RM will become more consistent and easy to play? without losing the realistic touch that characterises it.
Have a good day.
