I was playing a game (rpg) this weekend and it had some rather nice random adventure tables. The way the rules were written had it so you needed to roll one of every polygon dice. The first roll you give you a fact and direct you to a sub-table, the next roll gave you the next fact and moved you on to the next table and so on.… Read the rest
The Mirror Tells Her Lies
Way back last year sometime I did a direct comparison between RMu, RMSS, RMc/RM2 starting PCs and those of other d100 systems like vsDarkmaster and BRP.
In all cases the starting skill bonuses were within a handful of percentage points of each other.… Read the rest
RMU Update: No Maneuver Chart Required!
Perhaps the most common criticism of Rolemaster over the years is that it is ‘Chartmaster’: overly reliant on charts for basic actions. I think everyone should rejoice to hear that RMu has now dispensed with the need for a chart to handle basic movement.… Read the rest
Action Economies: Pathfinder 2 vs. RMu
Pathfinder 2 launched at Gen Con this weekend and I was lucky enough to play it there firsthand. The thing I liked the most about it was the action economy, which I think gives Rolemaster players (especially RMu players) a lot of food for thought.… Read the rest
Box of frogs
It is a rare day that I don’t know what I am going to blog about. Today is not exactly one of those days but one where there is so much I could write about that I am not sure where to start.… Read the rest
Spell Law Deconstruction: Charm and Charm-like magic.
The Charm Spell. One of the four foundational spells that are required in fantasy RPG’s. (Sleep, Fireball, and Fly being the other 3). Rolemaster Spell Law includes several type of “Charm” magics, but they don’t feel well thought out in requirements, applications or effects.… Read the rest
Gen Con Initial Impressions
I’m here at Gen Con in Indianapolis, and hope write several blogs about my experiences. I’ll talk about what I’ve learned about mechanics — action economies, playstyles, and my personal favorite, shield usage — in later blogs, but since this is my first time here, I thought I’d just post general impressions first.… Read the rest
Shadow World Mechanics: Essaence and the Moons.
I’ve blogged quite a bit about game setting driving rule mechanics over the years, and one of the fundamental issues of Shadow World is how “magic” works in a world that exists in our own reality and universe.… Read the rest
Cities of Hârn
We have an English saying, which is in the same sort of vein as Murphy’s Law ( Anything that can go wrong will go wrong ) and Finagle’s Law ( hope for the best, expect the worst ). This one is to describe something as ‘just like busses, you wait for hours for one and then three come along at once.’
I know I have already posted today but I just got an email about the Hârn kickstarter and it fired two thoughts.… Read the rest
Testing Professions
Hurin write a forum post about how most of the RMu professions shape up. I have a little thought experiment to keep you all amused.
(I have included some Sci Fi, modern and post apocalypse stuff here because I know people have turned RM to all sorts of settings and I personally have used this with Rolemaster and Space Master.)
The Experiment
I want you to imagine a map.… Read the rest