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Using technology. Texting during gameplay.

A post over at Gnomestew got me thinking more about this issue. It’s pretty hard now not to have players looking at their phones during gameplay. Maybe they are bored or the story isn’t focused on their character; maybe they are just conditioned to continually check their devices. For younger players, multi-tasking with a smart phone is almost reflexive, but it can be distracting to gameplay, slow things down or work against the immersive experience of gaming.

We’ve always used post it notes during play: players send me spells they are casting, players talk to each other without the group knowing, I send players privileged info etc. Would text messaging facilitate these communications or does it take players out of the game? I’m thinking of trying it but feel that once I let that genie out of the bottle I won’t be able to put it back.

Interested in others thoughts and/or experiences with this.

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RM Forum Revisited: The Argument Against Character Classes in Rolemaster. PT 1.

Reaching into the archives! One of my first forum posts in the RM forums was way back in 2011. I posted an initial post and then several responses and subsequently have touched upon this in several RolemasterBlog.com posts. Looking back, I see my forum post suffered from push back on profession/class belief and an unrealistic acceptance of my rule proposals! Either way, I think this in a topic worth exploring and I’ve posted a slightly revised version below.

Since its introduction, Rolemaster’s appeal was as a versatile system add-on integrated into traditional  Dungeons & Dragons.  In RM there are supposedly no class limitations: a fighter could learn spells, and a magic user could wield a sword.  At the time (c. 1982) this was a revolutionary feature in fantasy role-playing compared to the strict restrictions imposed in DnD and other gaming systems.  The wide adoption of a class based systems was driven by fantasy literature but ultimately led to a creative dead end for the following reasons:

1.   Character classes reinforce fantasy tropes.  By continuing to use class titles, RM has ultimately embraced a model it was attempting to challenge.  Over time, it made it harder to differentiate RM from other established gaming systems as they in turn have adopted some of RM’s ideas.
2.   Character classes tend to reinforce the need for the balanced party.  While the adventure group is a foundation of traditional fantasy role-playing, it may also pigeon holes players into class defined roles. Furthermore the game balance then breaks down when there are less than 4 players or there is an odd mixture of player classes in the group.
3.   Character classes should be driven by the setting, not the other way around.  RPG classes have become solid memes: each profession carrying fixed conceptions of its abilities, behavior, appearance or power.  The term wizard or magician may conjure up personal fantasy motifs that can overwhelm a GMs unique campaign setting or dispose us to specific actions based on our understanding of that class.

Rolemaster has always identified itself as a skill based system but it didn’t take the concept far enough.  The fantasy RPG genre is now a mature industry and new game systems and literature are trying to innovate.  Now may be the time for Rolemaster to fully embrace its original mandate: to become a system where a character is truly defined by the sum of his skills and not by accepted class restrictions and aptitudes.  By doing so, RMs system can be more easily adapted to any fantasy setting, regardless of its similarities (or lack thereof) to Middle Earth, Greyhawk or any other high fantasy setting.

Discarding character classes does not make the dozens of professions already defined in the original rule set or companions obsolescent: these professions can always be used as Templates.   The question of what character class fits into any given world setting never need be asked; instead GMs can create or choose skill cost sets that fit the society, guild, group or organization rather than trying to shoehorn RM character class into their setting

Do you really need different professions for a fighter and barbarian?  Are not those differences more defined by racial type, dress, armament and behavior than skill costs?  Do you need 3 different classes for magician, alchemist and illusionist? All are Essence users, defined by the family of spells they specialize in rather than a few arbitrary differences in skill costs.

A basic examination shows that skill development costs are still driven by the very tropes that RM should avoid:  thieves are weak fighters that rely on stealth; clerics are good and heal; magic users can’ t wear armor etc.  If the goal is to eliminate class limitations, then why reinforce fantasy stereotypes or channel character development into these stereotypes?

Problems with my approach.

Moving to a classless system would alienate current RM players.  There are already several versions of RM on the market that players can continue to use.  Personally, I’ve always used the original RM system and never chose to adopt the new versions.  However in terms of changing markets and ultimately RM as  a commercial product; does it make sense to undergo a system evolution rather than just another iteration?  The development discussion around Arms Law is more than a polishing so why not take a new approach to Character Law?

There is some comfort is settling into traditional gaming roles.

We are currently playing through an Expert D&D module using Castles & Crusades rules.  While it feels like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers, its lack of flexibility is already apparent to our group of experienced players.  It may just be that if you played a long time, eliminating these stereotypes and expectations can lead to a novel gaming experience.   Certainly the latest fantasy literature is moving away from these traditional memes: Erickson, Lynch, Rothfuss are all good examples and it is popular literature that can drive contemporary game design.

There is a strong argument for classes, predispositions etc.

Eliminating classes would homogenize characters and/or create the optimized (min/max)  profession.  While I haven’t gotten to some suggested solutions yet, I see a place for both a classless system and classes as templates.   And no, I’m not suggesting the No Profession option already included in the rule set.  There seems to be a belief that an open skill system would lead to player optimization: maximizing key spells, weapons and a few other skills to produce the ideal character.  While new rules can still account for that, I would argue that this  already occurs under the current system.  A quick review of the new character classes, optional rules, talents and background options all point towards the trend to balance individual classes out and then expand their abilities beyond their designed skill cost assignments.   In the end you have an exhausting list of optional rules and exceptions that complicates the system and perhaps leads to game imbalance.  And all of it really driven by one base motivation: more character flexibility.

A few last thoughts:  Is there any really guidance, rules or balance to the current character class generation process?  Besides an arbitrary assignment of perceived primary abilities is there a really way to balance classes?   Does anyone believe that character classes are equal in balance and playability?

So let’s move on to few ideas.

Step 1.  Skill Bonuses.

Before we tackle a skill driven based system we need to look at both skill progression and costs.  Perceived character balance is created by the careful structuring of skill costs but may not take into account player motivations.  These decision points can be simplified as the sum of three components

1.   Additional benefit = (skill bonus increase)
2.   Cost of additional benefit  = (development point cost)
3.   Opportunity Cost = (decision to forego a different skill)

The three of these act as a measure of Marginal Utility, a common economic measurement of consumption and decision making.  In simple terms, players look at the cost of a skill, the additional bonus against other skills they may need or want when making their skill picks.  Even with high DP costs, most players can afford a versatile selection of skills.  That’s because the first 10 ranks offer the highest marginal utility per DP cost AND most skills are limited by a maximum gain of 2 ranks per level.  By capping skill rank increases per level you force players to choose the skills that provides them better cost/benefit than CORE skills.  In effect this system has an unintended consequence of reinforcing character classes/tropes. So the marketing effort is ‘no limitations’ but is really ‘play by the common rules’.

One way to address this is to modify the skill rank bonus progression.  The current system is simple: +5 for ranks 1-10, +2 for ranks 11-20.  I would suggest a different approach, starting with Rank 1 a bonus of: +1, +2, +3, +4…..+8, +7, +6, +5, +4 down to +1/2 after Rank 20.  Ultimately this gives you the same bonus at Rank 20 you have under the current system.  Not only would this change players skill picks since buying 1 rank of a new skill has less utility,  but the progression has a more intuitive curve.

As discussed previously, a change to the skill bonus chart will have an affect on player skill picks.  This would then be combined with a change to the skill DP costs: basically making skill acquisition limitless at each level with a marginal cost increase per rank per character level.

So while this system can allow a player to increase a skill at a much faster pace than the current system it comes with a much greater DP and opportunity cost.    If Caylis had chosen to gain 1 rank per experience level his total DP cost for 8 ranks of that skill would be 16.  Instead he used 29.  The combined effect of this change to the skill rank bonus and DP cost adds a third dimension to decision making.  A player that wants to excel at a particular skill early will be able to do so, but at a substantial opportunity cost of other skills.

The added benefit to this system is that it can not only standardizes character class creation but also allows for a classless system as well.  The best of both worlds.

In response to forum feedback:

Despite the thread title, which was meant to be evocative, I’ve carefully stated that this system works for both a skill driven system or applied to the current RM classes.  I did skill cost allocations for all of the original 18 classes in about 45 minutes.  If players/GM’s want to use the existing classes then it’s easy and quick to adapt.  If a GM wants to generate a new class based on his campaign setting then he has a toolkit that allows for an efficient and flexible method.  If a player wants to tweak the skill costs on his character than there is baseline for doing so(in this case 162 pts to allocate as skill costs assignments).

 

I was never arguing removing professions.  “Argument against Professions” was meant to strip away preconceptions and then rebuild the class/skill/cost framework consistent with the rules and spirit of the original RM.

 

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Retrospective: the genesis of the Rolemasterblog.com.

So, this is my 3rd blog of the day! Since I have some renovations this weekend and I’m feeling like writing, I thought I would post up a few posts now and not worry if I can’t post this weekend!

This one is short, but worth the review. A few years ago, a discussion was stared on the RM Forums about blogging–specifically about Rolemaster. I happened to read it again and found it interesting to see Peter’s first thoughts and ideas, and now, a few years later how the actual RM Blog has developed in terms of those early thoughts and actual performance.

Read that original blog linked above and share your thoughts. Inez…where did you go? I’m going to blog about your blog in the next few days or weeks. Come to the light and blog here occasionally! Peter, what are your thoughts, reflections or feedback on your blog?

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Rolemaster Combat Maneuvers: Fighting Naked.

So RM & RMU has introduced a variety of combat maneuvers and combat penalties: blind fighting, close quarters, protect, mounted combat etc. How about a new one: Naked Fighting.

Sure you might not have the advantage of armor, but you would, or could, have the advantage of “shock & awe”. Maybe an extra “stress” or “depression” critical is dealt when the naked fighter crits?

How about a whole cadre or group of warriors that went into battle naked?

So, I did have one naked NPC attack the group once years ago. But I like the theatrics of a group of naked beserkers rushing the group. Thoughts?

btw: look who did that picture!!!

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Shadow World Spin Cycle: Court of Ardor pt. 3

I started SW Spin Cycle almost a year ago and wanted to get back to it again. Today I want to discuss one of the cooler and larger fortresses found in the Court of Ardor: Mirisgroth. I remember when I first saw the drawing, the size and scope of the MERP/ICE products really struck home. This was something more than simple dungeon layouts on graph paper…it felt MONUMENTAL. Not only is Mirisgroth just cool (supposedly Fenlon used a similar fortress in one of his projects later?) but it can substitute for one of the Secrets of the Jerak Ahrenrath: the Ahrenraax in Thuul. I’ll admit that it might not be as good a match as some of the other Ardor fortresses to Shadow World, but to me it just feels right.

Here are the descriptions:

Mirisgroth from Court of Ardor:

Mirisgroth (S: “Mine of Jewels”)

A vast mining complex, Mirisgroth is basically a natural formation , a volcano which collapsed in upon itself not once. but twice in the distant past. Now dormant. it is two concentric rings of steep, jagged volcanic stone in the center of which, built upon a rocky spur, is a small hexagonal hold. Radiating out from the castle are six iron bridges which connect to the inner ring, and resume to join the inner ring to the outer. The rings of slag proper are laced with interconnecting tunnels and chambers, and deep mine shafts. For details of this area, see the plan diagram. The outer circle holds a garrison Of 1000 Orc miner/guards. In the inner circle resides a mixed population of 500 Human and Dwarven miner/guards. The entire facility is administered and supervised by Cambragol, ‘The Monk”, or Persuvious in his absence.

Ahrenraax from Powers of Light & Darkness:

The citadel of Ahrenraax (Ir.: “Secret Claw”) was located in the cool waters southwest of Emer. Stewardship of this volcanic island fortress was given to the Lord Ordainer Morloch (once known as Shúraax the Fire Claw, bodyguard of Kadæna).

In but a few decades Morloch had built Ahrenraax into an unsubtle palace of crude splendor. He marshaled forces and subjugated the northeast regions of Thuul by TEI 1204.

I think very little needs to be changed to utilize this fortress in your Shadow World campaign—assuming your players would even want to mess with the Secret Circle! I’ve utilized Morloch in my “Priest-King” module so I had some interest in fleshing this out on the off-chance my players actually wanted to infiltrate the fortress. A few items to consider:

  1. Althan Teleport System. Some of the Secrets built on Althan installations were connected via a Portal system (Bakuul Portals) that might be a convenient way to get the players into the fortress.
  2. The Fortress is overseen by Morloch—a powerful Ordainer Demon who was once bodyguard to Kaedena! As powerful as he is, he might also be a better arch-villian for the group than one of the members of the Circle. Morloch’s power is greatly reduced as his empire around Thuul has been absorbed by the encroaching Alliance.
  3. Crystal Shard. Each Secret has a splinter of the Crystal. Looking at the layout, this could be placed in # 36 in Court of Ardor:

Shrine. There is a 8′ long slab of granite set on a pedestal on a small altar at the far end of the room,. flanked by ever-burning fire-pits. The granite slab has a shallow trough running along the perimeter, and a slot at the foot of it for runoff to flow into a golden cup which sits just below. There are many dark stains on the slab. There are also four iron manacles, set into stone to hold wrists and ankles, On a narrow pedestal to one side lies a long dagger made of red laen. It, too, has stains on it . although laen does not usually stain. This is Cambragol’s altar to Morgoth, and he comes here secretly at times, bearing a sacrifice: usually a young Elven man or woman. Here he enacts a grisly ritual, and as a result is able to commune as a Cleric for the night. He can do this but once per month.

That sounds like it would work!

  1. This is a large fortress with a huge population of Lugroki (outer ring) and Thesian soldiers (inner ring). Like any large facility, it requires a constant stream of supplies and its mining operations continually export mined valuables. There are a lot of moving parts that should make it easy for the PC’s to gain access (if they disguise themselves) to the fortress proper but exceedingly more difficult to enter the inner parts. (I think of these fortresses as a James Bond villain fortress)

Overall, I think Mirisgroth works well here and with other Secrets described in Emer Boxed Set and Emer III, that makes at least 4 Secrets that players can explore!

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Random Reading: Red Sister

This is not a book review…I recently started reading a great book, Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. Mark is the author of 2 other series: The Broken Empire and the Red Queens War. Like his other series, Red Sister takes place in a fantasy world with a lost high tech heritage—a bit like Shadow World!

When I’m reading a new fantasy series with a magic system I try to figure out if the portrayed system can be based on Spell Law/Rolemaster or if there are any cool spell ideas I can incorporate into Project BASiL. Having read quite a bit, I can say that many of favorite spells and lists were inspired by fantasy fiction.

Red Sister offers up several ideas that feed into recent discussion and posts here on Rolemasterblog. First is the idea that setting drives the rules and second, that Channeling could be rolled into Esssence (or eliminate realms entirely).

Of particular note in the book (no spoilers)

Races. The population was descended from 4 races. One that had great size and strength; one that had incredible speed, one that could tap into lesser magics and one that could tap greater magics. While this is a common trope, sometimes I do miss more differentiation between the races in RM and SW. Barring some stat bonuses (whose impact are minimized at higher levels) most races are defined by physical characterization than special abilities or extremes of nature.

Religion. The story focuses on a convent, one that trains young women in the esoteric arts. Holy Sisters, the most common are focused on maintaining the faith. Grey Sisters focus on stealth and poisons and have a talent for “Shadow Work” (mentalism?). Mystic Sisters manipulate threads (magic) and Red Sisters excel on armed and unarmed combat (warrior monks). What I like, and what’s been discussed here on this blog, is the idea of “agnostic magic”—magic defined by aspect, focus or effect rather than Essence, Mentalism and Channeling. Religions and churches train in magic and have access to this special knowledge, but magic use isn’t tied to or dependent on a diety.

So far it’s been a good read. If you like “Monk” stories I would also recommend Witches Blood.

Any books you’ve read that could fit the Rolemaster/Spell Law system?

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Shadow World Flavor: Cool suits of Armor.

Just a few days ago I posted up some of the unique armors that I had developed for Shadow World cultures and groups. This included a laminate process, slate armor and various hide armors using Wyvern and Quarnak skins. You can download the file HERE (you need an RM Forum user account)

So it was interesting to see this short article on historical armors HERE. I thought the crocodile armor (pic above) was really neat!

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Breaking News!!!! ICE to publish special, limited edition of RMU!

Rolemaster Unified, the in development new RM ruleset , is planning on releasing a limited set of premium books. This edition will feature individual tomes, parchment pages, sheathed in 24k gold leaf and personally signed by the authors and developers.  The limited set is priced at $999 with only 500 editions planned.

With the purchase of this premium set you also get access to “RMU University”. This individualized program will give users in depth training into the rules and gameplay by trained, top level GMs and RMU specialists. There will be 3 levels of training at RMU University:

 

Bronze Elite                                                          Retail Value

RMU Game Retreat                                 $5,000

Campaign Quick Start Retreat           $5,000

Total Value                                      $10,000 you pay $7,000!!!

Silver Elite                                                       Retail Value

RMU Game Retreat                                 $5,000

Campaign Quick Start Retreat           $5,000

Creative Adventure Retreat                 $3,000

Training your Players Workshop        $2,500

Total Value                                          $15,500 you pay $10,000!!!

Gold Elite                                                             Retail Value

RMU Game Retreat                                 $5,000

Campaign Quick Start Retreat           $5,000

Creative Adventure Retreat                $3,000

Training your Players Workshop        $2,500

Personal GM Workshop                         $4,000

Creature & Profession Design            $2,000

Advanced RPG Techniques                   $4,000

Gold GM Life Membership                    $5,000

Total Value                                             $30,500 you pay $20,000!!!

An official spokesperson, John Miller, on the new RMU limited edition and RMU University:

“Rolemaster has been the best RPG rpg game of all time, with more players and games sold than any other competitor. With RMU we’ve brought in an experts, the best people, to offer a fantastic product to the market. The other games on the market are losers, just bad and are failing badly. RMU will appeal to every player, with better more expansive rules and at a cheaper price. RMU limited edition is amazing, a premium product and RMU University will teach and train attendees to be amazing and successful GM’s using knowledge and techniques by hand picked experts all over the world. With RMU limited edition and RMU University we will create the #1 RPG and a community of role-playing winners!”

 

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Rolemaster Rule Hack: Inherent stat abilities.

Well I got sidetracked yesterday and missed my attempt to post “A blogpost a day”.

In one of Peter’s blog posts, he sparked an idea for establishing character abilities that are dependent on Stat scores rather than a developed skill, stat bonus or level. For those that follow my blog posts, I’ve been in the process of reducing the # of total skills and trying to decouple level from intrinsic ability so this had an immediate appeal. Tying into RMU and past RM optional rules, I’m calling them “Feats”. Each stat has a corresponding function that uses the full stat value for resolution. Some benefits:

  1. Despite a strong argument for eliminating stat 1-100 scores and just using stat bonuses, this adds functionality for the use of d100 stats.
  2. Stat dependent abilities are “level-less” and give even low level players competencies.
  3. Inherent abilities improve the potency of 1st and low level characters despite the lack of skill levels.
  4. It makes sense. ie Even a 1st level character with a very high strength should be able to perform acts of strength as well as a high-level character with the same stat score.

This is a work in progress and needs much more thought and testing, but I have sent the outline to my players to incorporate into the next game session. (they call them “Interoffice Rule Memos”—I generally make changes or adjustments every session). We will try to assess and fine tune based on gameplay and feedback.

Each Stat gets a corresponding “Feat”. When performing a feat, the GM assigns a difficulty level (+30 to -150) and the player rolls adding their STAT SCORE. If the roll is over 100 that attempted Feat succeeds. Depending on the Feat, the GM may elect to use % success as well.

Feats:

Of Strength. Attempts at a short, finite burst of strength to lift, move, break or bend an object. Use RMU Feat of Strength rules for guidelines)

Of Quickness. Used for “Alternate Initiative Rules” or quick bursts of speed. (replaces quick draw and similar skills)

Of Constitution. Used for saves vs. Poison and Disease. We replaced normal level assignments for poisons and disease with Difficulty rating.

Of Agility. For use in responding to general maneuvers requiring hand/eye coordination, bodily movements. Also replaces “Dodge” skill. (opposing roll between dodge and attack OB, dodger can’t attack or parry, if Dodge skill fails, dodger loses DB vs attack)

Of Intuition. This is the “Sixth Sense” of the character. This could work passively—a GM could ask for a perception roll and use the Intuition stat score instead. Players shouldn’t rely on this as a skill, but in very rare or special circumstances. A GM could also just roll for the player with the highest Int. Score.

Of Memory. Used when a character/player wants to recollect something from the past.

Of Presence. Used when trying to influence another: charm, convince, persuade, intimidate etc.

Of Self Discipline. Used for saves v. Fear, Shock or Disorientation.

Of Empathy. Hmmm (this needs more work?)…the ability to sense others mood or temperament or to soothe/calm an animal or emotional person.

Of Reasoning. The ability to correlate info, make conjectures or make mental assessment of facts.

You’ll note that these Feats merge some skills, some RR’s and some special rules into a simpler framework. This ties these abilities directly to the player’s inherent abilities (stats) and not a level based resolution or a skills with marginal utilitity. I especially like taking the level assignment from poison, disease and even fear and using the maneuver penalty scale instead.

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Shadow World Weapon: the Urumi

I was doing some research and looking for ideas for a interesting cultural weapon and came across the Urumi. Functionally it’s a steel whip–deadly to opponents and deadly to use for the wielder!

Using RM weapon tables, the whip table makes the most sense with only slash criticals. To differentiate even more, I can devise weapon specific performance using our “Weapon Modifier Chart“.

Of note:

urumi-wielders learn to follow and control the momentum of the blade with each swing, thus techniques include spins and agile maneuvres.[2] These long-reaching spins make the weapon particularly well-suited to fighting against multiple opponents

The benefit of our optional rules for weapon stats is that it allows for  customization and differentiation beyond their efficacy against AT’s and their hit & crit thresholds on the attack chart. RMU established fixed penalties for several combat maneuvers (reverse strike, dual attack, protect etc) when it should be the particular weapon that decides that penalty. Shouldn’t unarmed combat have a lower multiple attack penalty than a warhammer?

Anyway, the Urumi would have a low multiple attack/opponent, flank and rear attack penalty but have a VERY HIGH fumble range and no real ability to parry.

Also:

When not in use, the urumi is worn coiled around the waist like a belt

I have a few cultures or groups where this would be a great weapon: the Daughters of Inis and a special group utilized by the Alliance in Agyra.

I’m sure if I looked the Urumi is probably already included in Combat Companion or some other past publication, but I don’t have those so it struck me as very cool!