Official ICE Forums
Iron Crown Enterprises => ICE News and Discussion => Topic started by: NicholasHMCaldwell on June 26, 2012, 03:07:10 AM
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This is a special Director's Briefing.
In the United Kingdom and indeed throughout the Commonwealth, we have been celebrating
the diamond (or 60th) jubilee of the accession of Elizabeth II as Queen during June. This year also marks another jubilee, and one of interest to all the readers of these Briefings. In 1982, Rolemaster was first available as a complete game system, thus 2012 by that reckoning is
the thirtieth anniversary and pearl jubilee of Rolemaster.
Which begs the question of how we (Guild Companion Publications Ltd and indeed Aurigas) plan to mark this special occasion. We will not be having a river pageant on the Thames, a pop concert at Buckingham Palace, or a vast street party. We might still have a giant adventuring party...
In this anniversary year, it is time for the division of Rolemaster into RM 2nd Edition / Classic and RMSS/RMFRP to end.
It is time for the reunification of Rolemaster.
It is time for a new edition of Rolemaster.
This new edition of Rolemaster will include the best of all versions of Rolemaster as well as new enhancements and improvements to the Rolemaster system for the 21st-century.
The vanguard of the new Rolemaster edition will be five books - Arms Law, Spell Law, Character Law, Creatures, and Treasures. In due course, these will be followed by other products such as a multi-adventure set, a new Campaign Law, a Rolemaster System Handbook for Shadow World, and many more to come.
These products will be available in pdf, in print-on-demand and via publishing partner distribution channels into game stores and other fine hobby outlets.
This reunified Rolemaster will still be a modular system, and with its derivation from both key editions, it will be usable with material from existing editions and vice versa. All of the material that we've already rebranded and republished for the existing editions will still be available to buy and we are continuing with our efforts to bring back these and additional existing products in print-on-demand formats.
Look to the ICE forums and future Briefings for more news and ways in which you, the fans, can contribute to Rolemaster's pearl jubilee!
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
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That sounds awesome!!! ;D
Looking forward to it no end!! :)
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Waiting for it with open arms.
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Amen to reunification. Can't wait. I hope that there will be a deluxe hardcover edition!!
One edition to rule them all, one edition to find them.... ;)
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YES! It's about time :)
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Sweet deal! Can't wait to check it out!
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Great news, I look forward to taking a look at it. It will probably also put a stopper in doing some rather creative home rules system I was working on also but what the heck. ;D
MDC
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Awesome stuff.
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Get real. Get Rolemaster!
Bring it on.. :)
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Fantastic news! I can hardly wait for the beginning of a new era.
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Finally!!!
Excellent news!!
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These are very exciting times. I cannot wait to see the results
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I am actually speechless, this is so awesome!
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Any news on what is planned for this merging of editions? It both excites me, and scares me :)
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Great news! Hope to get a first glimpse at the results soon.
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YEAH!!!!!
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While a new edition is probably the best option for ICE at this point, the idea that this will "reunify the factions" is a pipe dream and always has been. When has a new edition of a game ever caused unification rather than division? Some games, like Call of Cthulhu, have changed so little between editions that there's never been an issue, but for those where the editions have serious differences, a new edition always means the addition of a new faction of the game's fandom. Some of the existing player base will adopt the new system, others will stay with what they are using now. The value in a new edition is in ICE presenting a unified front to new customers, not some magical conversion of the old. This will be the edition to buy for kids, all you parents.
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While there are always hazards in new editions, and many conflicts to be reconciled between RMC and RMSS, I do think it's probably best for the system to be unified. A bold move, but in the long term a necessary one.
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I for one am looking forward to the Unification. I know I run a hybridization (nicer than the word we use at the table) of the two rule sets. I hope we cn agree on the changes and move forward together.
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Whatever the RAW,
I'll be playing my version of RM just as most people here will do the same. But I'm excited about the idea and I'll support the endeavor with my $. My version of RM could always use fresh ideas and I can't wait to see what happens. Besides, the game needs new players. :)
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Fantastic news!
I have a steady gaming group and we mostly play DnD, but only because of the difficulty in getting some of the Rolemaster books. With a new edition, that won't be a proble. I'm really looking forward to the new edition!
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...I'll support the endeavor with my $...
Exactly, we need to put our money where our mouths are. I'll be supporting also with €€€
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I'm excited to hear that ICE is throwing their weight behind a singular Rolemaster. As great as it is to see a company support the various gamers that enjoy the different iterations of their game, it doesn't look too cohesive to an outsider. Having a single version that ICE can say "this is Rolemaster, it's all you'll need" really builds consumer confidence. I would also like to see some support behind this product line in terms of convention appearances, and Free RPG Day quickstarts/adventures/whatever.
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...I'll support the endeavor with my $...
Exactly, we need to put our money where our mouths are. I'll be supporting also with €€€
And my £ ...
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Good news! All the luck to you!
But, will the new version be a collection of "best" rules, or a heavy revision?
Will the weapons table revised? Will the spell point progression tuned down? Bookkeeping lessened, armors more real-world based, locational hits, ecc.?
After three version of RM (RM2, RMSS, RMC) I really have difficulty to buy a new edition of RM that will collect "the best".
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...I'll support the endeavor with my $...
Exactly, we need to put our money where our mouths are. I'll be supporting also with €€€
And my £ ...
And my axe! ;)
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Great news guys. Thank you
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I've been following these forums and playing Rolemaster for years, but I don't think I've ever posted anything before. This, however, definitely deserves a nod. For the record I will be buying this, at least, as one person put it, for the next generation. I am incredibly curious to see how it comes out and what rules are kept from each system. I highly doubt I will use the system in the near future as there are too many "optional" and house rules I implement regularly that could never be covered in the Core Books, but I'll still buy it. If GCP continues to support "their" system and put out supplements that's when I'll really get excited. Until people know the new system will be supported, most won't commit to the switch.
The big questions I have for now for the developers is what is the timetable and will there be a playtest/preview.
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Oh my. And now I have both a reliable income (so I will be able to support this) and no reliable group (which means I'll have to convince my FLGS that it is fine to introduce people to RM during a D&D meet-up).
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Very nice. I'm looking forward to this.
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I'll trown my Norwegian Kroner (currency) at this as well, all though it's gonna be hard convincing some of our players to start learning a new (?) set of rules. It would be great if we could get some hints on where all this is going. E.g. what simplifications will be made?
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The vanguard of the new Rolemaster edition will be five books - Arms Law, Spell Law, Character Law, Creatures, and Treasures.
No "core rules" book?
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I, for one, cannot wait. Cool!
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The vanguard of the new Rolemaster edition will be five books - Arms Law, Spell Law, Character Law, Creatures, and Treasures.
No "core rules" book?
The rules of RM are ultra simple : roll + skill + mod, compare to a table or a value and you are done. I guess everything will be explained in the law books.
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These are simply awesome news!
Rolemaster has a huge gaming tradition to back it up, and a new edition bringing all that history together in a fresh and inspiring format, with rules that both build, reform and expand on the older versions, should have no problem putting its unique stamp on the rpg market.
I look forward to this with heaps of enthusiasm and anticipation!
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Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
Call me excited, can't wait to hear more.
:wave:
And yes, I want the new edition as print-products. Either PoD or even better as hardcover.
:worthy:
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Details before you get my $ but I'm excited & looking forward to it. Since I own only RM2 , RMX & RMFRPG (which I don't use), I'll either buy POD of RMC (if I don't like the changes of the new RM) or the new RM if I do like the changes.
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I am also of the very excited and a little wary. While I am curious about what the changes will be made, existing material will have to be modified to fit the new system. Then again we all have been modifying it for years so that won't be that much of a stretch.
If anything at least it should give some ideas for additional house rules that will be actually be written down somewhere.
So in conclusion would our group play exclusively with yet another version? Definitely not since we haven't played in a 'pure' version of RM, well, ever. However it won't stop us from picking up at least some of the books to see what has been changed, or perhaps more interestingly what hasn't. Am definitely excited about the Shadow World tie in.
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What I think would be great would be if some of the rules modifications and changes reflected some of what's been happening and been said on these forums - which are populated by dedicated, articulate and experienced RM players. I remember one of the producers of 2nd edition D&D saying that he knew he had got it right when he was talking to gamers at a convention, describing some new rule, and the players nodding, before saying "You know, we've been doing that for years."
There is a huge reservoir of creative ways to get around some of the shortfalls inherent in RM, or to make what is already good so it becomes great. So definitely what I don't want to see is a system produced by a couple of people writing in isolation, or just a reprint of existing rules from both versions, loosely stitched together.
This is a great step forward for the longevity of RM though, whatever happens :)
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At the risk of sounding churlish, I hope that the team pays utmost attention to the presentation of the new edition: art, layout, graphic design, as well as editing. Issues of organisation aside, I think RMFRP was exemplary in these regards, although of course the look would need to be updated for the present decade. I'd like to hold some really beautiful RM books in my hands, and this would be one of the best things to get new people interested in the game.
It will be hard to equal those Angus McBride covers though...
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At the risk of sounding churlish, I hope that the team pays utmost attention to the presentation of the new edition: art, layout, graphic design, as well as editing. Issues of organisation aside, I think RMFRP was exemplary in these regards, although of course the look would need to be updated for the present decade. I'd like to hold some really beautiful RM books in my hands, and this would be one of the best things to get new people interested in the game.
It will be hard to equal those Angus McBride covers though...
I can fully agree, but regarding the art, I'd rather see something along the lines of RM2(.5) than D&D 4e, I just so dislike the "too busy" art style of 4e, and Pathfinder falls into this as well.
And yes, oh those McBride covers, also really like way they kinda tell a story between the books, when I was a kid starting out with RM, those covers always paused me to think about what was happening to the group and how they ended up in the situation, the way art is meant to do.
I really do hope the books won't be too big, I think the ~200 page softcover book is very nice, but anything bigger and it gets a bit too unwieldy. Again, I refer to the RM2 books ;D
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I prefer a bigger cheaper book to a lot of smaller more expensive books.
MDC
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And yes, oh those McBride covers, also really like way they kinda tell a story between the books, when I was a kid starting out with RM, those covers always paused me to think about what was happening to the group and how they ended up in the situation, the way art is meant to do.
I have said it before on these boards, and I am here saying it again: Art matters! As they say in cooking, "we eat with our eyes first." (For better or worse.) Also, think of real estate, curb appeal is a big deal, because if it doesn't look good as they drive up, they are much more likely to drive away without ever going inside and seeing all the great features.
Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books. In the beginning, with character creation, they would be young/new, with little detail, and as the book goes on, and these character's experiences grows, they get more and more developed, and are shown to be dealing with and doing more and more dangerous things (& beasties). Until, at the end of the books, you have these high-level characters, richly detailed in both look and history. Along with the art could be information on the web about the character's stats and abilities at the various stages of development and experience. Or, that can be in the book as well, though I am pretty sure it is too late for that now.
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And yes, oh those McBride covers, also really like way they kinda tell a story between the books, when I was a kid starting out with RM, those covers always paused me to think about what was happening to the group and how they ended up in the situation, the way art is meant to do.
I have said it before on these boards, and I am here saying it again: Art matters! As they say in cooking, "we eat with our eyes first." (For better or worse.) Also, think of real estate, curb appeal is a big deal, because if it doesn't look good as they drive up, they are much more likely to drive away without ever going inside and seeing all the great features.
Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books. In the beginning, with character creation, they would be young/new, with little detail, and as the book goes on, and these character's experiences grows, they get more and more developed, and are shown to be dealing with and doing more and more dangerous things (& beasties). Until, at the end of the books, you have these high-level characters, richly detailed in both look and history. Along with the art could be information on the web about the character's stats and abilities at the various stages of development and experience. Or, that can be in the book as well, though I am pretty sure it is too late for that now.
I agree with everything you say here. A book needs to compete on the bookshelf against all the others. If it ain't got no sparkle for the eye, your wasting your time putting it on the shelf.
I also like the idea of the same character(s) through the book.
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Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books. In the beginning, with character creation, they would be young/new, with little detail, and as the book goes on, and these character's experiences grows, they get more and more developed, and are shown to be dealing with and doing more and more dangerous things (& beasties). Until, at the end of the books, you have these high-level characters, richly detailed in both look and history. Along with the art could be information on the web about the character's stats and abilities at the various stages of development and experience. Or, that can be in the book as well, though I am pretty sure it is too late for that now.
Yes, this is pretty much what RQ did with it's rule explanations (I think MRQ2 has it, but I'm not foo far into the books yet, I'm talking about the old Chaosium/Avalon Hill books) in Cormac's story, but they never had any art to go with it, that would be awesome to see.
Imagine, if you will, a group of characters, let's say they are the standard 4 mains (Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Cleric), pictured on the stat page, along with the descriptions of their different stats and in the illustration you could see some of those differences (lean, sneaky thief; bulky, muscular warrior and so on).
Of course stats are one thing, but it would go a long way to explaining the issue I mentioned with armors too.
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Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books.
I totally agree - and that's exactly what I'm already doing in the Shadow World books.
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Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books.
I totally agree - and that's exactly what I'm already doing in the Shadow World books.
Excellent. I am sure you already got characters in mind, but I have a totally awesome (IMO, of course) character idea if you would like to hear it. PM me if so.
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Also, I really think it would be cool if the same characters ran through the books.
I totally agree - and that's exactly what I'm already doing in the Shadow World books.
Excellent. I am sure you already got characters in mind, but I have a totally awesome (IMO, of course) character idea if you would like to hear it. PM me if so.
Terry and Matt have already chosen the group for the Shadow World series which made a cameo appearance in the 'Players Guide - World' and we'll be seeing more of them in the Guild Adventurer #4 and Emer 3.
Maybe their arms could be twisted for another member unless you want to keep the idea for the new Rolemaster books alone. I'm not working on those titles as far as I know - but that's certainly not because I don't want to. I'd love to be a part of the Rolemaster history as it was the first RPG I played (it was RM2 or MERP) back in college and fell in love with Angus McBride's work as well.
But regardless of whether you want to keep the character for RM:U alone or you're willing to add him/her to the SW group, I'd love to know what it is! :)
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OK, I will gather my notes and put together something for you - it might take a couple of days, as I have quite a bit of material to go through and not all of it is in one place.
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I'm not working on those titles as far as I know - but that's certainly not because I don't want to. I'd love to be a part of the Rolemaster history as it was the first RPG I played (it was RM2 or MERP) back in college and fell in love with Angus McBride's work as well.
Same here, only it was RM1 back in the early 80s.
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I'm not working on those titles as far as I know - but that's certainly not because I don't want to. I'd love to be a part of the Rolemaster history as it was the first RPG I played (it was RM2 or MERP) back in college and fell in love with Angus McBride's work as well.
Same here, only it was RM1 back in the early 80s.
Likewise, although I started in 1985-6 with RM.
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Terry and Matt have already chosen the group for the Shadow World series which made a cameo appearance in the 'Players Guide - World' and we'll be seeing more of them in the Guild Adventurer #4 and Emer 3.
Ah, the navigator summoning scene? I think that is the only picture with more than 1 person in it.
Now, question, are all the new SW books going to be stated for RMU or are they perhaps statless?
Also, and of course you can decline to answer this, is there a new atlas coming as well or will 4ed. be it for RMU as well? What SW books are under works?
I can't wait for more SW stuff, that player book was very cool, but all too short.
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I'm not working on those titles as far as I know - but that's certainly not because I don't want to. I'd love to be a part of the Rolemaster history as it was the first RPG I played (it was RM2 or MERP) back in college and fell in love with Angus McBride's work as well.
Same here, only it was RM1 back in the early 80s.
Probably just as well that I'm not part of that project, I'd be trying to integrate something very similar to the HARP spell system into it... complete with the different mana types.
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I'm excited too about the great news! Just hope the new system won't only be an update of old rules. I expect changes, and even big changes, things left behind, new ones.
It makes me remember the same feeling I heard about the (old) Star Wars movie being reprojected in movie theaters: I began being a fan of it during its downtime (?) in the mid-90' when a majority of people didn't know what "Star Wars " was. Some years later, back on the screen!!! I was so thrilled at the time! Now, it's Rolemaster: maybe I will see it again on the shelves of the RPG bookstore? ;D
RM:U --> new accronym? I suppose it means RM unified?
From what I read on this thread, it confirms what I suspected: many long-time users of the ICE forum are (or were) developers of RM. (: Not necessarily obvious with pseudo only. Happy to read some snippets of the upcoming products!
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Probably just as well that I'm not part of that project, I'd be trying to integrate something very similar to the HARP spell system into it... complete with the different mana types.
Different mana types??? :o Like RM? Will there be some links between the HARP spell system and RM?
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Probably just as well that I'm not part of that project, I'd be trying to integrate something very similar to the HARP spell system into it... complete with the different mana types.
Different mana types??? :o Like RM? Will there be some links between the HARP spell system and RM?
Instead of having RM's "realms of magic", HARP makes a distinction in where the power is drawn from:
Personal mana - From inside you.
Granted mana - From an entity capable of granting it, such as a God.
Ambient mana - From the planet you're on.
Fixed mana - From objects, such as the classic "components", eye of newt, virgin's tears, etc.
So the fact that you are learning spells from "the Cleric sphere" doesn't automatically mean you are using Granted mana to cast them.
Will there be some links between the HARP spell system and RM?
Can't tell you that one, as I'm not the one doing it.
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Ah, the navigator summoning scene? I think that is the only picture with more than 1 person in it.
Yes, they are Denivor, the Lotana wizard and a female Changramai (but she's never been given a name). There are 3 others yet to be revealed. The Changramai is also on p23 and Denivor (along with another member of the party) are at the Nomikos Library on p28.
Now, question, are all the new SW books going to be stated for RMU or are they perhaps statless?
Re-statting for the different RM books is underway and I'd imagine that RMU will also be done. Any future SW product will be multi-statted.
Beyond that, I cannot say. :-X
Also, and of course you can decline to answer this, is there a new atlas coming as well or will 4ed. be it for RMU as well? What SW books are under works?
I can't wait for more SW stuff, that player book was very cool, but all too short.
There are a lot more books planned but I know of only 2 that have got to or very close to being finished - The Guild Adventurer #4 (which unfortunately is being held up by me at the moment I'm afraid) and Emer 3.
There will be more Atlas' to come but they're going to be called something different as well as more Continent specific Player Guides.
Beyond that, I cannot say (and I may have already said too much). :-X
RM:U --> new accronym? I suppose it means RM unified?
You are spot on.
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Second those comments. My group keeps making fun of me when I make a comment about a gaming books' decorative index - i.e. lots of nice words and page numbers but basically useless half the time for what you are looking for.
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While Im not currently playng ANY ICE games, I'll probably get these books too to get a feel for the new system.
They tend to get the creative juices flowing, which is always good!
Regards
Jason Brisbane
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There are a lot more books planned but I know of only 2 that have got to or very close to being finished - The Guild Adventurer #4 (which unfortunately is being held up by me at the moment I'm afraid) and Emer 3.
Thanks for the answers, I doubt you can get into trouble for those, I think some of those might be covered elsewhere as well, just hard to remember where.
Regarding The Guild Adventurer (as a whole), why no PoD option? I don't own any, but from what I can figure they are more like magazine size, so wouldn't they only need staples and not a whole new layout?
Yes, I want my stuff in print format whenever possible :P
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Sweet, anyone know when these new books will be availible? Do ICE have a set date for their release?
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Sweet, anyone know when these new books will be availible? Do ICE have a set date for their release?
The books are in the draft phase so it will be some time or no I do not think they have a release date.
MDC
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Sweet, anyone know when these new books will be availible? Do ICE have a set date for their release?
The books are in the draft phase so it will be some time or no I do not think they have a release date.
MDC
We have target release dates in mind.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
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Are you planning any sort of customer survey to determine items that customers feel need to be fixed?
If you want commercial success I would recommend following Paizo's approach rather than Wizards of the Coast.
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With three days of August remaining... Any news on the Rolemaster Beta?
;D
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With three days of August remaining... Any news on the Rolemaster Beta?
;D
We have a shiny new logo, we have a cover framing with the inset artwork already started, we have a draft layout template, and the developers and the gammas are frantically trying to finalise for handover. As I'm away this weekend (my brother is getting married), I think the first public playtest will shift into September by a week.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
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With three days of August remaining... Any news on the Rolemaster Beta?
;D
We have a shiny new logo, we have a cover framing with the inset artwork already started, we have a draft layout template, and the developers and the gammas are frantically trying to finalise for handover. As I'm away this weekend (my brother is getting married), I think the first public playtest will shift into September by a week.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Congrats to your brother. :D
MDC
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Another week has whizzed by and we were wondering if there was any news for the playtest? My group is excited! ;D
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1st book has escaped from Gamma.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
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We anxiously await on tenterhooks.
(what the heck is a tenterhook, anyway??)
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1st book has escaped from Gamma.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Well gods speed or what ever speed they need to move the other books from alpha-gamma to Beta-Alpha.
MDC
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Gah I can hardly wait! I am so up for some bloody swordswinging playtesting!
Btw. Has it been decided on how long the open playtest is gonna be? All I know it is gonna be a short one. But how long a short one is I don't know. :D
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1st book has escaped from Gamma.
Excellent news! Any idea on timescale, given that we are well into September?
;D I hate to seem cheeky... yet the group is hoping to meet and play soon.
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We anxiously await on tenterhooks.
(what the heck is a tenterhook, anyway??)
It comes from one of the processes of making woollen cloth. After it had been woven, the cloth still contained oil from the fleece, mixed with dirt. It was cleaned in a fulling mill, but then it had to be dried carefully or it would shrink and crease. So the lengths of wet cloth were stretched on wooden frames, and left out in the open for some time. This allowed them to dry and straightened their weave.
These frames were the tenters, and the tenter hooks were the metal hooks used to fix the cloth to the frame. At one time, it would have been common in manufacturing areas to see fields full of these frames (older English maps sometimes marked an area as a tenter-field). So it was not a huge leap of the imagination to think of somebody on tenterhooks as being in an state of anxious suspense, stretched like the cloth on the tenter. The tenters have gone, but the meaning has survived.
Tenter comes from the Latin tendere, to stretch, via a French intermediate. The word has been in the language since the fourteenth century, and on tenters soon after became a phrase meaning painful anxiety. The exact phrase on tenterhooks seems first to have been used by Tobias Smollett in Roderick Random in 1748.
(Source: World Wide Words http://www.worldwidewords.org)
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We anxiously await on tenterhooks.
(what the heck is a tenterhook, anyway??)
It comes from one of the processes of making woollen cloth. After it had been woven, the cloth still contained oil from the fleece, mixed with dirt. It was cleaned in a fulling mill, but then it had to be dried carefully or it would shrink and crease. So the lengths of wet cloth were stretched on wooden frames, and left out in the open for some time. This allowed them to dry and straightened their weave.
These frames were the tenters, and the tenter hooks were the metal hooks used to fix the cloth to the frame. At one time, it would have been common in manufacturing areas to see fields full of these frames (older English maps sometimes marked an area as a tenter-field). So it was not a huge leap of the imagination to think of somebody on tenterhooks as being in an state of anxious suspense, stretched like the cloth on the tenter. The tenters have gone, but the meaning has survived.
Tenter comes from the Latin tendere, to stretch, via a French intermediate. The word has been in the language since the fourteenth century, and on tenters soon after became a phrase meaning painful anxiety. The exact phrase on tenterhooks seems first to have been used by Tobias Smollett in Roderick Random in 1748.
(Source: World Wide Words http://www.worldwidewords.org (http://www.worldwidewords.org))
Nice bit of history this am.
MDC
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1st book has escaped from Gamma.
Cry havoc and let slip the hounds of beta-test, we'll run it down.... I won't promise it'll be in pristine condition after we catch it, but we'll run it down.
;)
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Excellent news
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I simply can't wait to see what the new Arms Law brings.
Is there a forum where we can begin bs-ing um, that is, speculating as to what it will look like?