I'm hoping this topic is read by the higher-ups in I.C.E. and at the very least, by the advertising group for RMU. This is a true story and it touched on a topic that has been mentioned in other threads regarding the advertising of RMU and what RMU is supposed to be when completed.
1989 - I was introduced to RM 2ed. (the box set, red border) and from that moment on, I was hooked. No other game system played like this. No other game system had so many options available. The additional companions were fantastic. Sadly, that's when the misnomer "Rulemaster" (among others) started. People who did not know the game system incorrectly assumed that every companion contained additional rules to add to a massive game system. No. A million times, no. They were OPTIONAL rules. They were collections of rules to tweak little things here and there so suit a group's game style, or power level, or breadth of topics.
For those of you not familiar with the game world we use in our group, it takes place in what is the Renaissance period for that world. "Magic" is being displaced by science and what passes for science. Magic potions are just medicines, mind control is just hypnosis, illusions are just that... Penn & Teller, David Copperfield, Harry Houdini's of the time - entertainers. Only the magic and spells found in Elemental Companion are allowed in the game. Later, after Alchemy Companion was released, Alchemy was allowed. These are the new sciences, the cutting edge of knowledge and enlightenment. Those who practice magic are seen as heretics or charlatans and are shunned or even persecuted.
1993 - At Rapier's Point is released. Reading the press release and advertising for it, there was no indication that it was another companion for the RM game system. It read as though it were a fictional novel based in the RM setting. D&D had novels based in the various D&D settings. Warhammer had novels based on the Warhammer World. I thought this was a novel based on a RM setting. I had no interest in reading novels. I was in college, trying to keep up my grades, working two jobs, teaching class. I was too busy to read. I never gave At Rapier's Point any real consideration. A few years later as I was rounding out my collection of the RM Companions, I looked at At Rapier's Point again and the copy still read as something that would not interest me.
2019 - There is mention in one of the threads of At Rapier's Point. Another contributor listed the cool things included in the book. Other people added what they liked and didn't like about the book. I find out it's actually a companion! I jump on Amazon or E-Bay and I find the book. When it arrives, I read through it in 3-4 nights. It's amazing! It takes place in the Renaissance period! Magic is on its way out. Science and alchemy rule! Gunpowder is just starting to come into use!
This is my gaming world! This is the exact setting I have been playing for 30 years! This is something that would have been really nice to have years ago. From just a single read through, I came up with a bunch of ideas to inject into my game world. Why did I wait so long to get this book? Oh yeah... I had no idea what is was about and what it contained.
What to take from all of this - Advertising! Proper advertising! Make clear what RMU is and what it entails. Is it a full re-make of RM2? RMFSS? Is it compatible with previous versions? Is this just an entirely new game system? Should the die-hards look at this as a new system? Should new players look at it as a beautiful and harmonious blend of the all the cool things from previous versions?
Avoid the confusion from all of the RM2 Companions and the mistaken belief that those are all tomes of rules to add into a game. Make clear that the rules have been hacked/slashed, and simplified. RMU is cleaner, simpler, smoother to run. RMU is fighting the history of previous RM versions, ignorant prejudices based on bad information.
