How can anyone claim that a system of abstracted armour, abstracted hit points, weapons which have been reduced to essentially 2 variables (damage amount and damage type), with restricted character paths, ultra-linear progression, and the almost game-breaking rules for AoOs.... is realistic? Most gamers I meet are reasonably intelligent individuals, but that sounds like one shop I want to avoid.
And if they were talking about 4th edition, then :boggle:
I do not know. Really.
But really, I went to a local gaming house here and all the players played that "System" and swore it was the most realistic RPG. I guffawed and walked out, knowing they were too closed minded to be taught differently.
Back in the day when I talked my gaming group into converting from AD&D to RM1, the method I used was a single mid-high level orc rogue.
Once these D&Ders had had half their party knocked off and the other half badly wounded by one orc, they were sold.
Another thing I did not mention is that all these "System That Shall Not Be Named" players were still using these dinosaur notebooks networked through a dinosaur desktop machine to create a dinosaur LAN. In actuality, it was seeing that setup that made me initially laugh and them asking me what was so funny. I then tried to tell them how my current SM FtF group were playing and how the RM/SM system was much better.
Another point, the gaming house was in the back half of gaming hobby store. Want to know what the hobby store sold? About 75% of the products were from that "System That Shall Not Be Named" (stsnbn).
When I tried to describe the "believable realism" of the RM/SM, they constantly interrupted me to tell me that the (stsnbn) was more realistic. I actually asked one of them, "What happens when you get a critical against your opponent?"
Him: "I hit for double hit points."
Me: You mean you don't sever his arm? You don't spear him through the chest with your sword? You don't literally chop his torso in half?
Him: No. Why would I do that?
It was actually at that point I guffawed (ROTFLMAO) and walked out. Definitely not intelligent enough to be True Role Players. Although most looked to be in their 20s (GM looked in his 30s), they were still adolescents when it came to Role Playing. Then I began asking myself, "Why are they using such old dinosaurs for their computers?" I then realized, most of them may be monetarily challenged. Hmmm...
However, one of the members actually tracked me down (and I ain't figured out how) and asked me to show him this RM/SM system. I did and he got his friends to come over. Now we have a session every Sunday, 1000 to 1300 hours. Excepting the Super Bowl, of course. They have been converted. They now say the (stsnbn) "is a joke." (Their words, not mine.)
Basically, all one can do is perhaps get that one to ask, "What if he is correct?" Then he may get others to join. Then you might get others. And those others might get others. Et cetera. Spread like a virus, eh?
rmfr