Topic: Poll: Which versions of Rolemaster do you play?

[Dax]

Warning Off-Topic:

If you don't really care for balance, it is easy to add new skills to RM2/C:

• Get RoCo II with 300 skill listed - perhaps hard to get.

or

• Take the skill and cost from RMSS/FRP (no category to develop).

or

• Look at your short RM2/C skill list. Choose a similiar skill (e.g. climbing for rappelling) and give the new skill (e.g. rappelling) the cost of the old one (e.g. climbing - maybe with some changes).

And welcome to the forum

[markc]

Avatar,
 First I would like to say welcom to the forums.

 As to your question about adding skills to RM2 or its updated version RMC is a bit difficult. RMSS/FRP has a category skill system with skills in the category generally costing the same as the category. In RM2/C/X which is the soft books you have uses a primary skill section and a secondary skill section, skills in the secondary section have there DP cost set basicly by GM choice. By this I mean they the people at the prevous ICE created the secondary skills and basicly used there judgement on the DP cost.
 So you as the GM are going to have to determine if the new skill is primary or secondary. After that useing the table use your own judgement on what the DP cost is going to be.

 What skills are you thinking of adding?
MDC 

[Allen]

I was first intoduced to RM2 back in '91 or so and fell in love with it. Sadly, almost all fo the gamers I knew for the alst few years here in the Denver area were all about D&D. I got some of them to try RM2 and they loved it but the group fell apart.
when I heard about RMC I was skeptical at first but now love it and the guys I play with now are all about SS.
Having said that, the next fantasy game I run will be RMC with some of the RM2 classes broguht into play and set in Nate Piekos' Atland world (bot not the exact setting).

~A

[Deepfire]

fresh to Rolemaster - got the new german translation, so a vote for RMF here

[Nasty_Harpy]

All I know is I use all the companions and the original rules.  Not sure what that ranks as.

[kevinmccollum]

I play RM2. I tried RMSS but don't like it.

To be more precise, I play RM2 without the companions. I have extended skill selection (much of RMCII skills) and i use smoothed stat progression but that is about it.

[markc]

fresh to Rolemaster - got the new german translation, so a vote for RMF here

 Deepfire, welcome to the forums I think you will have fun with RMFRP as I have for about 10 years.

MDC

[GrumpyOldFart]

I *have* played RM1, RM2, RMSS and RMFRP. I'm not running anything now as too many of my players have too many commitments on their time to game. I prefer the depth and the tiered skill system of RMSS/RMFRP, but as always there is always tweaking needing to be done so that play will move FAST. And yes, I have noticed that character generation seems way too complicated for anyone except truly hardcore gamers.
Guess I should be glad to be around truly hardcore gamers, huh?

[Deepfire]

Thanks a lot, hope it will :-)

We will "just" use it once a months, after we started with MERP first, with a slow transformation to RMF - while our regular (weekly) games stay gurps and cthulhu.

Deepfire, welcome to the forums I think you will have fun with RMFRP as I have for about 10 years.

MDC

[chukoliang]

Our group was taken from D&D (literally dragged yelling and screaming) we tried RM Classic first. After we converted fully to RM, RM classic was just to overpowered for our tastes (no diminishing returns on skills). Then we tried RMSS and have been with it for quite a while. We have 2 great gm's (one is high fantasy, the other is gritty, your so poor it hurts), and we have been playing campaigns for 12ish years. So the RMSS is the only one for us. One or guys tried RMFRP books with us, but it just didn't seem worth it (you had to buy 3 spell books, where you only used to have to buy 1, to have the same info. And then he had to buy other source books to get the same stuff we had in the core rule book. It just seemed like the same system, just with alot more books to buy.

As others stated RMSS has a long character generation process, but once you get into the game 99% of the arguements are settled right there on your  character sheet. Add the companions (seems to have the most supported products) and the system is just too solid for our group to leave.

[thrud]

chukoliang> RMC has diminishing returns for skills.

[thenovalord]

Hi

first post, so be nice

Started with M.E.R.P in 1984....and then moved to RM a few years laters. Havent played any RM for about 10 years until about 8 weeks ago, when it introduced it to my group of 6 others in derby, england. Only 1 had played i before. We have switched from D&D to play it.

Its going remarkabley well and everyone has slotted into it. Luckily most of us like games with lot character option/crunch. I think they had heard or been warned how 'terifying it can be to play chart-master etc', but all is running smoothly.

I guess we are playing Classic? I dunno exactly....using my books from the 80's plus as many RM companions 1 to 6 as we can mop up from ebay.

Running a grmimish and grittyish urban campaign....so party has burglar, nightblade, dancer, mountebanc, ,astrologer and sorceror. Playing quite sandboxy game so stuff made up on the fly, anybody that adds to the story that becomes 'canon' and wel all go with it..

everyone is 5th level at the moment....dunno if we will get to the heady heights of the level ~25 stuff ive played in my past

nice to be back

John

[markc]

thenovalord,
 Welcome to the ICE Forums.
MDC

[jolt]

Sounds like you're playing RM2 which was later revised into Classic.

Welcome to the boards!  

Started with M.E.R.P in 1984....

Wow, breaking the censor in your very first post; way to use those periods!.  That beats me (or, at least, I think it does...I have no recollection of my first post).  


jolt

[thenovalord]

sorry

i dont get that comment?

[markc]

sorry

i dont get that comment?

The Tolkien people are very vigorous in there monitoring of these boards so in general we ask people to try and keep the MERP talk to a minimum. At least that is what I was told long ago and since I am a volunteer mod I have heard nothing different from the higher ups.

MDC 

[thenovalord]

eh?

ah i see, if you dont put the full stops in it does the not rm green thingy

[markc]

eh?

ah i see, if you dont put the full stops in it does the not rm green thingy

Yes

MDC

[Cory Magel]

eh?
ah i see, if you dont put the full stops in it does the not rm green thingy

Ridiculous isn't it? Those T.E. people are such Not-Nice people aren't they?

[thrud]

Looks like it's a close race between the systems.
Lumping togeather RM2/RMX/RMC and RMSS/RMFRP we get pretty close to a 50/50 split.
Guess why no-one is ever winning a "my system is better than yours" kind of argument... 

It is kind of bizarre that the T.E. actually cares?
I agree that ICE should not endorce a franchise that they do not have the rights for, that's all cool.
However this is a message board and people discuss anything they want. So what if people like talking about an old game from the 80's.
ICE can't be held liable for the words of a regular Joe posted on the bords? Like I said, bizarre.

Otoh I can understand ICE wanting to disassociate themselves from the old stuff but still I think it'd a waste of time and effort to ativly trying to prevent people from talking about it. It's like going to a Modern Volvo board and and not beeing allowed to talk about my old favorite 242turbo because Ford didn't own Volvo at the time...

Sorry about going so far O.T.
I started playing RM2, changed to RMFRP and played that for some years. When RMC was launched we changed to RMC and havn't looked back at all.