BriH – Page 40 – The Rolemaster Blog

July 20, 2016

Rule sets and settings. The gap between Rolemaster and Shadow World.

A recent forum thread started me thinking about the “tensions” between a game setting and a game system. Specifically rulesets and worlds published by the same company (not like Peter’s use of FR for his RM game). Certainly Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms were designed to incorporate the full breadth of the D&D rules, but what issues are created when a game world doesn’t fully embrace the system it’s meant to support? MERP is a good example of this. The original modules used the RM rule set, but that rule set never really fit the low magic world of Tolkien. ICE eventually introduced MERP, which stripped out many of the professions to better fit the setting.

So let’s examine RM (in all its’ variations) and Shadow World. The two always seemed slightly “out of phase” to me. While some argue that SW is very “kitchen sink”, it has elements and mechanisms that break from normal RM standards. RM’s origins as a slot in system meant that it duplicated a lot of D&D material and had quite a bit of generic content. Shadow World however, is a very specific setting that often throws away RM rules or requires some re-calibration to make things work just right. Some examples:

Gods, death and resurrection. RM spell law contains specific rules about resurrection, lifekeeping and death but doesn’t make any inferences about the larger world and how that might work. Shadow World has Eissa, the Goddess of Death who appears to be the “gatekeeper” to the afterlife. But this begs a whole set of questions. Does this gateway to the afterlife only appear on Kulthea or is there a standard mechanism throughout the universe? How does Eissa control this gateway given that the Lords are more extra-dimensional beings than real gods? As discussed in the previously noted thread, can other Dieties provide resurrection powers to their priests?
The planes. D&D has a well fleshed out world of planes and other dimensions that tie into specific spells and effects. RM describes the Void and demonic planes, has spells about summoning demons and other entities but it’s all very general. SW embraces and used the Pales much more but doesn’t really touch upon other dimensions.
What are undead? RM has the usual suspects: Mummy, Vampire, Wraiths, Shadows etc but are they anchored evil souls? Summoned spirits? Cursed individuals? If they are souls how does that work with #1? Can Eissa block souls from being dragged back to Kulthea?
What are the Navigator and Loremaster Base lists? Reviewing the NPC stats, Loremasters and Navigators are all assigned standard RM professions but also have access to these new added organizational base lists. How does that work? Should be ignore it since they are NPC’s?
I already blogged about my disdain for D&D style Giants, but the full roster of RM creatures doesn’t really work in the specific SW setting.
There isn’t much discussion about advanced technology in RM, but SW brims with it.
SW is enveloped with the flows of Essaence (not to be confused with the Essence Realm). This magical energy is then….parsed into three different unique flavors? Doesn’t it make more sense to just have the Essaence be the “motive” power for spells rather than this cumbersome split into three realms energy types, each with its multiplier devices? And then you have the Hybrid realms which mix them back together…

This ambiguity between RM and Shadow World is much different then Numenera whose rule set and setting were created hand in hand. The setting informs the rules and the rules drive the setting. Is there a solution? Does there need to be one? Perhaps not, but it probably doesn’t help to have this divide between the rules and the setting. Like MERP before it, I think the Shadow World setting would be helped by having a modified RM rule set.

Can you think of any other companies that have a rule set and setting that don’t quite match up?

July 18, 2016

STRANGER THINGS: A tropey love story to the 80’s.

I thought I would go a bit off normal topics to discuss Netflix’s most recent series: Stranger Things. The series is a nod (actually more of a trope head-butt) to 80’s science fiction and fantasy and written and directed by brothers steeped in early fantasy gaming. The show starts with a group of boys playing D&D in their basement—the game narrative establishing the plot and structure of the rest of the series.

Unlike E.T., which depicted some type of RPG’ing, the boys in ST are clearly playing D&D and the show references the game several times—plus it contains a few D&D product placements as well. These young boys are the protagonists of the story, and while they are characterized as “brainy nerds that get picked on”, the show clearly frames them in a positive light. The values of trust, loyalty, friendship between the boys is clearly contrasted against the shallow friendships of the bullies and popular kids. In a longer story arc, character redemption is not portrayed as the nerd who triumphs and gets their girl but as the popular rich kid who learns the lessons of friendship and learns humility. (Pretty in Pink?)

Without tackling the technical details of filming, it seems that almost every shot is evocative of an 80’s movie. On the most basic level, the show is an homage to Spielberg, Carpenter, Stephen King and Cameron but tropes and references are so dense and wide ranging that they still keep popping in my head.

Just a few that struck me:

The sheriff driving the “Body” blazer in Jaws.
The Underneath evoking both Pan’s Labyrinth and Legend (the drifting debris/petals in the air)
Every time Jonathan pulled up in his car in front of his house I thought of Ash’s Delta 88 in the Evil Dead.
Will’s cocoon and “facehugger” screamed Alien(s).

There is no doubt that early 80’s gamers have become key players in Hollywood/TV myth making and this show is a love story to that era. I think it was a positive depiction of gaming and just maybe it will spur a few 40-somethings to get back into gaming or teach their kids!

What references did you pick up on?

July 15, 2016July 16, 2016

Revisiting Rolemaster Magic Realms

Rolemaster’s 3 realms (Essence, Channeling, Mentalism) creates conflicts and limitations. Certain spell lists never fit well in certain realms and casting mechanism were basically the same between realms even when the spell called for very different methods (alchemy imbedding, runes, circles, bard/singing etc). As part of our own Spell Law Redesign (Project BASil) we deconstructed the whole system and started from scratch. Step 1 was to define Realms into more specific parameters of effect and mechanism. During that analysis we found that we really needed to expand our system into more than the 3 standard realms.

The net effect has been a better delineation and flavor of magic between realms, the elimination of hybrid realms, more unique spellcasters and a better system for slotting in new spell lists. We also redesigned spells lists by power/similarity and not by a theme or Profession requirement. Our “realms” are: Essence, Channeling, Mentalism, Rendered, Notational, Investiture, Incidental, Intrinsic and Arcane Magic. Not all of these realms are equal: they vary in power, scope, ease of learning and accessibility.

Essence

Scope: Manipulation of physical forces, objects, the elements, overt manipulation of physics

Casting Mechanism: Requires verbal and gesture to cast

Casting Bonus: Magical Language Skill

Advantages: Very powerful spells; effective against multiple targets or area affects

Disadvantages: Costly to learn; Less effective on non-physical targets (souls, spirits, mind); affected by encumbrance; verbal/gesture required

Mentalism

Scope: Mind manipulation and extensive self-modification

Casting Mechanism: Thought, concentration

Casting Bonus: Mental Focus Skill

Advantages: No verbal or hand gesture, potent against single targets, no encumbrance issues, no casting time, cast and maintain multiple spells

Disadvantages: Limited target, no AoE, must concentrate to maintain effect, easiest to defend against

Channeling

Scope: Spirit, healing, qualitative, “buffs”, “miracles”

Casting Mechanism: Vocal component

Casting Bonus: Prayer Skill

Advantages: Most effective on living creatures, powerful healing, no armor/encumbrance issues, access to patron god, followers

Disadvantages: Few directed spells, powers may be limited by patron god, but maintain good standing with god (prayer skill)

Notational Magic

Scope: Written magic: runes, bladerunes, glyphs, sigils, symbols, signs, skin runes

Casting Mechanism: Drawing, writing

Casting Bonus: Rune Skill

Advantages: Broad utility, less costly to learn, “stored” spells

Disadvantages: Takes time to draw, subject to medium and materials

Rendered Magic

Scope: Performance based, large audience

Casting Mechanism: Song, dance, art, music etc

Casting Bonus: Performance Skill

Advantages: Varied powers, effective against multiple targets

Disadvantages: Target must be aware of performance, performance must be maintained

Imbedded Magic

Scope: Making magical invested items

Casting Mechanism: Repeated investiture

Casting Bonus: Spell List Bonus

Advantages: Make magic items!

Disadvantages: Long work times, costly, failure could destroy object

Incidental Magic

Scope: Small magical effects, cantrips, hedge magic

Casting Mechanism: Minimal

Casting Bonus: None

Advantages: Simple, easy to learn, utility

Disadvantages: Very limited, not powerful

Intrinsic Magic

Scope: Defined spell-like abilities

Casting Mechanism: Varies

Casting Bonus: None

Advantages: Intrinsic abilities

Disadvantages: None

Arcane/Primitive Magic

Scope: Elemental, Dimensional

Casting Mechanism: Wyrds, Rituals

Casting Bonus: Spell List Bonus

Advantages: Very powerful but hard to control or predict outcomes.

Disadvantages: Not subtle or focused. Can create undesirable side-effects or collateral damage.

We’ve found that at higher levels in RM2 there is a little differentiation between casters. By 20^th lvl casters can have almost all available spell lists in Spell Law. I prefer a system where casters have fewer spells overall and more defined abilities. Since we use a “NO PROFESSION” style in our SW campaign, mages-types have spells from at least 2 different realms and even fighter types pick up some spells. This makes for a very creative character creation process, broadens out the party’s skill sets and makes for “mages” with very specific and focused magic abilities. The advantages, disadvantages and costs of improving balance these abilities out.

If you want to see our revised Spell Law, we’ve posted early versions of our Channeling and Essence lists on the RM Forums and will have Mentalism up next!

The files can be found here, but need a Rolemaster Forum Account to see them and download them.

Channeling Lists . A compiled file is posted at the end.

Essence lists are here. Compiled file posted at the end

on a last note, there was some work done on this and an article written in the Guild Companion years ago but I couldn’t dig it up to link to.

July 12, 2016

RM Stats & Labeling. Quantitative vs. Qualitative

While Peter is off “riding horses” and drinking Earl Gray I thought I would toss this issue out and see if anyone had some thoughts on the subject. on a side note….(Peter is off to some mysterious locale, Peter is English, all villains have an English accent; ergo Peter is a villain up to some nefarious scheme!)

Anyway, I wanted to start off with a factoid I was told years ago that stuck with me. A friend of mine in the Navy said that the nuke dept. still used analog gauges in their instruments instead of more accurate digital displays. Why? Because while less accurate, we can better perceive “rate and severity of change” with a needle than a rapidly changing digital number output.

So this leads me to RM (and perhaps RMU). The RM system uses a number of qualitative labels as stand-ins” for actual numerical modifiers. This requires a GM or player to read the label and then look up a chart to convert the label to an actual number used in the game play. To me this seems horrible in-efficient and counter-intuitive. Plus it just adds to the “chart count”—an easy target and common criticism of RM. Let’s take a look at a few:

The most obvious one are maneuver difficulty labels: routine, easy, hard, very hard, absurd etc. While the words create a scale of difficulty, they are meaningless without the corresponding difficulty penalty. If you are using the original RM MM chart with individual columns for difficulties than this might make sense, but if you are using an absolute or partial success 100scale maneuver resolution than the labels are just proxies for the penalty modifier.
Walk, Jog, Run, Sprint etc. Again, while those labels have an intuitive meaning to us, for game play purposes they are just multipliers: 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 5x etc.
Creature stats have a speed (actually two I believe). Slow, Normal, Fast, Very Fast, Blinding etc. What does that mean? You have to look it up in a chart.
Creatures are assigned sizes: Diminutive, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, etc. Depending on your rule set, those sizes may have a material impact on combat and damage results.

When I’m writing adventures I find myself slowed down by that conversion process: either looking up labels/mods on a chart or the actual modifier needed to represent the challenge properly. It seems to me that all of these can be simplified:

If you are using a 100scale maneuver resolution than difficulty can be assigned by a penalty only. The added benefit is that you can set any penalty to a maneuver/challenge/trap etc. than the pre-set ones. Rather than write “pit trap, V. Hard to Detect” I can write “pit trap, -50d). This does not require referring to a chart to convert “V. Hard” to a number and it’s less text!
Isn’t easier to say you’re going to move at an x2 pace than to say you’re going to “jog” and then convert jog to 1.5? It’s a simple process but why add the extra step? With creature stat blocks it’s then easy just to assign a max multiplier, rather than assigning a max pace label.
We just apply a number to the Speed stat that is used for our d100 initiative system.
Using Beta 2 size rules, we use numbers and not labels for creature size from I-X. The difference in size sets both the hits and critical adjustments.

While our solutions depend on our own house-rules, it’s clear that many of these labels can be converted to a simple number. What’s the down-side? I think there is an argument that these labels offer flavor and texture to a game. Looking at a creature stat that says it’s “Blinding Fast” gives a qualitative attribute to the creature. But in the end, what’s important is how that label translates into game mechanics. Why translate at all?

July 6, 2016

“All that glitters is not gold”: Currency in Shadow World

The gold coin. Since the introduction of basic D&D, the gold coin has been the foundation of fantasy gaming. Experience is awarded based upon gp’s collected; superior equipment is bought and encumbrance rules are built around the ability to carry loot and coinage. There is broad consensus that under the gold coin is silver, then bronze, copper, tin (steel) and above are platinum and perhaps some setting specific coins (mithril or laen).

But all coins are not created equal. Mercantile economies tend to use widely accepted and valued metals for their base, while more insular societies can use lesser metals or unique materials and price controls to establish value. In general however, the value of coinage is driven the type and content of its metal base. Given this, the intrinsic value of a Gold Crown from Rhakhaan could differ greatly from the Gold Note issued is Sel-kai. With all the varied cultures in Shadow World it became quite a project to map all the various currencies, establish a baseline value and create a currency exchange chart. An easier approach is to heavily discount foreign currency when used is another culture.

However, if you are running a geo-political or commerce style campaign, then currency values may play a greater role and require some additional guidelines. For our SW setting, I decided to focus on the three major currency/economies as a baseline and then apply exchange rates as needed for other local currencies. Despite the presence of Essence Flows, Kulthea has 3 major economic forces: governments or institutions with a world reach, engage in commerce or practice sophisticated monetary policy. These three groups are: Eidolon/Sel-kai government, the Navigators and the Alliance.

Eidolon/Sel-kai

Due to its central location the reach of its mercantile and banking businesses and the trade routes established by its Sky Ships, Eidolon is probably the most powerful economic force in the hemisphere. Sel-kai also has benefited from the Minister of State Enik Foor, who helped introduce representative currency (Diamond, Platinum and Gold notes) and added milled edges to the coinage to reduce coin “clipping”. Eidolon coinage can be found in most any tradeport throughout the hemisphere and is considered a stable and trusted currency. For our campaign, we use Sel-kai currency as the baseline exchange.

Diamond Note dn = 100 gp

Platinum Note pn = 10 gp

Gold Note gn = 1 gp

1 gold piece (orlin) gp = 10 sp

1 jade piece jp = 2 silver pieces

1 silver piece (sellin) sp = 10 bronze

1 bronze = 10 cp

1 cp = 10 tin

The Alliance

The Alliance aggressively expands its empire through trade and colonialism and not militarily. Once they’ve replaced or subdued leadership they institute a number of administrative and cultural innovations: legal contracts, taxation, trade and monetary policy. The Alliance uses a unique currency that mixes representative, fiat and fractional value currency which it aggressively promotes for major trade and commerce but allows local currency to continue for daily life. The Alliance currency are “trade bars”, (mini ingots 6” x 1” x 1” serial stamped made from a variety of bullion but whose value is set and backed by the Alliance) and credit notes (Letters of Credit backed by the Alliance). The small size of these trade bars and the disconnect between their commodity value and trade value facilitates ease of use for merchants and eliminates debasement (clipping or sweating).

Gold Bar = 20 Silver Bars

Silver Bar = 20 Copper Bars

Copper Bar = 50 Gold Notes (Sel-Kai)

Credit Notes: Amounts as required.

Navigators

The Navigators have introduced a true fiat currency that was initially used for Navigator services but is now accepted as legal tender by merchants in larger cities. These Navigator tokens are 5 sided “coins” approximately 2.5” across and made of a goldish metal holding a flat crystal disk in the middle. (These are actually memory storage disks from the Taranian civilization and are virtually indestructible. The Navigators uncovered a huge cache of them late in the Second Era). The Navigators will use these tokens whenever possible to promote their use and as a profit center to fund their activities.

1 “Guilders” = 10 Gold Notes

For a great book series that combines emerging economics, monetary policy and high adventure in the 17th and 18th centuries I highly recommend The Baroque Cycle.

July 2, 2016July 2, 2016

The Essaence: Thoughts for magic in Shadow World.

As we gather here, of primary importance is to answer this question: what is this “Viir”, as we now call it, this seeming essential force that permeates our planetary system? Let us review. It’s been almost 75 years since our orbital sensors first detected these energy emissions. Tachyon detectors, plasma traps, electron screens and a variety of other particle shields all registered this force—all of them. Is it all of these? Or is it something altogether new to our reality?

We are close to locating its source within our system—perhaps in the gravity well between the planet and its second moon. What do we know? It’s unclear if this energy is modifying and transmuting our physical laws or subsuming them. The “Viir” seems to fundamentally change both ionic and covalent bonds for molecular and macromolecular structures. In practice this energy field is also distorting chemical interactions and material structures most acutely—its effect on life forms and our planetary biome is still under analysis.

…Perhaps most perplexing and disconcerting is that the background level of the field seems to be growing….

…..We are now monitoring two dozen subjects that have exhibited unusual sensitivity to the Viir. We have yet to isolate the specific epigenetic mechanism that allows for this, but our experiments lead us to believe that the subjects are increasing their sensitivity through time and effort. It is our belief that sensitivity acts as a feedback loop, allowing these subjects to conversely manipulate these fields to some unknown effect.

Notes on the “Viir”

Excerpts from Emergency Meeting,

Althan Imperial Science Committee

Like every fantasy game setting, Kulthea is a world of magic, bathed in energy flows (Essaence) which provide the underpinnings for magical abilities. Unlike many other settings however, the Shadow World is also identified as being in our “known universe”, (the planet Ceril VII). This makes Kulthea somewhat unique: a fantasy setting within our real world with an aberration of the physical laws of existence. Of course this is a game, so a bit of hand waving can gloss over any logical discrepancies.

For those that play a cross-genre setting (other Sci-fi and fantasy) or want a consistent framework for the magical systems then some more details need to be considered. Over the years we’ve put together a framework during our own rewrite of Spell Law and for arbitrating Essaence effects during gameplay.

We’ve also posted up some basic rules for magic and technology on the RM Forums here.

What is Essaence?

The Essaence is a fifth energy along with the Strong Force, Weak Force, Electromagnetism and Gravity and interacts with and modifies our physical laws. Unlike these other forces which are normally produced or manipulated with technology (depending on technology level), the Essaence is also “bio-manipulative”; able to be controlled by living beings who have or developed sensitivities to this energy. Because this is a non-native energy, alien to the established physical rules of the universe, it interacts with the other forces in unusual ways.

Source. Where does the Essaence come from?

Per the MA, a rift was created by interdimensional travelers allowing energy to seep into the Kulthean system. But what does that mean? The Kulthean planetary system is moving through the galaxy—is the source a fixed point? If so, where? The Essaence gateway is a keystone between dimensions that allows the continual seep of Essaence. This object (asteroid) is at the Lagrange Point between Orhan and Kulthea—providing a continuous stream of energy to the planet and the moon. Depending on their orbital positions, the Essaence will also interact with other moons/planets. (Most notably Charon, Essaence power there will wane and wax. The Night of the Third Moon coincides with the greatest amount of Essaence energy reaching Charon.)

Is Essaence unique to Kulthea?

Apparently. A group of Ka’ta’viir left Kulthea in the 1^st Era looking for other manifestations of the Essaence. (the Old Ones-who later came back in the Interregnum as the Earthwardens). This means that Essaence powers will not work outside the Essaence envelop around Kulthea, Orhan and on occasion the other satellites. However, unique Essaence imbued materials and alloys (Laen, Eog Ethloss etc) will retain their material qualities, (i.e. pure crystals that are fabricated in zero g).

Fundamental Impact.

The Essaence is a physical force but non-native to our plane of existence. On Kulthea this means it has changed reality on a quantum/physical level. We see two obvious effects. Chemical interactions and material changes. Both of these shoe-horn well into the established SW narrative. Chemical reactions and associated technologies are both rare and unreliable in SW. Also, Kulthea has a number of native “magical” /superior materials and alloys beyond normal material science. Changes to the established physical laws on Kulthea are the result of the Essaence interacting with the other 4 forces.

Spell Casting.

The Essaence was first discovered by a handful of sensitives and then explored by Althan scientists. Over the millennia, the Essaence has become fully immersed in the biology of SW. Humanoids, creatures and flora have absorbed this power, imbuing special natural abilities and/or the ability to willfully shape the Essaence into unique effects (spells). Now, almost all native flora and fauna have developed Essaence sensitivity to some extent, although the ability to manipulate it may take training.

The Realms.

Spell casters draw Essaence directly from their surroundings and into their “well”—through practice their ability to hold more power and draw it more quickly grows. The standard RM “Realms” are just different mechanisms to call upon the Essaence and manipulate the physical world. Therefore we don’t differentiate between energy sources by realm: multipliers, adders etc. are Essaence. There is no need for pools of PP’s for each specific realm, or averaging PP’s for hybrid users. Channelers provide their own power just like Essence or Mentalism, but the spell formation is drawn from their patron God.

Foci and Flows.

Casters can tap into both Foci and Flows but there are dangers as well as benefits. Adventures taking place after the loss of the Northern Eye should see an increase in Essaence fluctuations, spell failures and other random effects of spell casting.

Treating the Essaence as the “fifth force” gives us a solid framework for creating new spells, set unclear parameters on spell effects and provides a solid framework for magic in our campaign.

June 28, 2016

The Many Flavors of Shadow World

One of the great qualities of Shadow World as a game setting is the number of different “styles” that can be found in the various books. No matter what type of fantasy game you play, you can probably find a place or time in Kulthea that can work for you.

Cross-genre. SW’s sci-fi elements and tie in with Spacemaster were pretty novel for a fantasy setting in the late 80’s. For GM’s that like the “ancient astronaut” angle or want to run a Gene Wolfe style campaign, SW has a great back story and cool tech that co-exist with the more traditional fantasy elements.

Low Fantasy/Gritty. While arguably a pre-cursor to SW, The Iron Wind has a very dark feel to it. Ancient citadels, Demonic lords, icy plains and frigid waters gave the module a more mature feel than the “cartoony” D&D modules published in the early 80’s. Part of this was the artwork, but the prose was a marked difference as well. The Iron Wind is still one of my favorites with a distinctive grimdark atmosphere.

Anime. Eidolon brought a certain anime feel to SW. The sky-city, flying ships and interesting Elves evoked a more “wondrous”, lighter feel to SW than previous books. For GM’s that want to run a whimsical campaign in the spirit of Castle in the Sky, or Howls Moving Castle, Shadow World has all the right stuff!

Steampunk. Shadow World is the perfect setting for a steampunk campaign. Skyships, dirgibles, leather clad Navigators, the Elves of Namar-tol all have a great retro- tech feel. GM’s that want to run a Butcher style campaign can easily create adventures in Shadow World.

High Fantasy. It’s a common criticism that SW is too high powered but for GM’s that want a high fantasy setting, SW works great. World spanning cults, an expansive timeline, powerful villains and the Grand Campaign make SW a perfect setting for high fantasy.

Horror. Emer, the Great Continent and the Atlas addendum brought a darker feel to SW. The Jerak Ahenrath, Aogthu, the Soulstone and the Ark of the Worlds is reminiscent of the Cthulhu mythos. Want to terrify your players—introduce them to Shards or a Herald of the Night!

Hyborian Age. The Interregnum, covering over 100,000 years is a great time to run Conan/Hyborian style adventures. Powerful Dragons, Earthwardens, scattered Elven empires and the ruins of the 1^st Era. Perfect!

This is just a few ideas–what style of campaign have you run in Shadow World?

June 23, 2016June 23, 2016

Shadow World Adventure Hooks: “Rock Star” fortresses!

My campaigns have never featured a lot of traditional RPG dungeon crawls; I’ve always felt they were a little contrived and disrupted the grittier/realistic feel I was striving. Instead of stocked underground mazes filled with traps, puzzles and commensurate rewards I challenge my players with fortresses, strongholds, castles and lairs. Creative architecture is not my strongest skill, so I look to real life examples for ideas and templates. A google image search under “archaeological floorplans” generates a wealth of great layouts that can be printed and used for gaming. Most of these archaeological layouts are for ancient sites destroyed years ago and forensically recreated from the remnants of historical records, foundation stones and building science so I’m always excited to see an intact site.

Structures and fortresses built on isolated rocks are my favorites. They look cool, they are manageable projects to map out, they represent a controlled finite game environment and they can be a challenging mission to infiltrate/access. Here are a few of my favorite “Rock Star” fortresses.

Aragonese Castle

During my trip to Italy I came across a fantastic fortress: Aragonese Castle on the island of Ischea. Just looking at it makes you want to explore it! The island is skirted with sheer cliffs and the only access is through a long causeway into a tunnel that accesses the fortress. A perfect adventure site.

Mont St. Michel Abbey

This famous site is more of a walled city/castle than a small fortress. Nonetheless it makes for a great adventure setting. I see this as inspiration for the fortress of the Raven Queen in Shadow World.

Sigiriya

A huge exposed rock sticking out of the jungle? A winding staircase up to a fortress? An entrance gate flanked by huge carved lion’s paws? What’s not to love!

Agia Triada

Some of you will recognize this as the monastery featured in James Bond “For your Eyes Only”. That movie came out in 1981—the heights of the D&D craze for my friends and I. The assault on the fortress in the movie—the crossbow, rock climbing and the rope basket elevator was pure awesome.

Those are a few of my favorites—do you have any real life examples you’ve used?

June 12, 2016

Rolemaster: Too Cool for School.

1982.I was just introduced to Rolemaster by my best friend. He had moved to the next town over and found a new gaming group; one that had found Rolemaster through a Dragon Magazine ad. His stories of their gaming experiences were VERY different than my experiences with AD&D.

I headed down to the local game store and picked up a copy of Character Law. (Blue cover with Jorgenson artwork). I distinctly remember pouring through that book to background music of “Safety Dance”! I remember the artwork was different—more gritty?—but the rule were a massive shift from AD&D where “skills/abilities” were bestowed upon certain levels. Looking back, skill based abilities seem commonplace now but back then it was something else.

I never saw Campaign Law or Arms Law but did look through the 3 Tomes of Spell Law. Truth be told I’ve mostly GM’d but when I was a player it was mostly a Warrior Monk or Rogue. I never liked the intricacies of spell casting and our GM at the time was a bit of a “genius” who loved to argue over rules. Spell Law was a revelation and I may blog more about this as I cover my own redesign/rewrite but the first thing that punched me in the gut: Alchemy spells and Lay Healer “Prosthetics”. A mechanism for creating magic items? Too cool! A spell list for creating magical Prosthesis? Uber cool. It didn’t matter that the healing spells in SL allowed for total regen…

That early on in ICE we had Court of Ardor. There is so much that’s cool in that module—much of it spilled over in Shadow World. Check out “Valmorgul”. He had a Red Laen Arm. Fully functional, made him immune to fire, casts Firebolt, flames on command, strikes as a mace and can parry melee attacks. How kick-ass is that?

What a great early introduction to the possibilities of the game system and magical item mechanics. Remember this was in the EARLY 80’s and it fit in well to the Elric fiction and other early fantasy tropes. However, even then we knew that the “prosthetics” list was alchemy and that alchemy should be a “Closed List” rather than a profession.

Anyway just another reason why RM was a ground breaker and “Too Cool for School”.

June 9, 2016March 31, 2017

RM Combat Hack: Simplified armor & encumbrance

While both encumbrance and fatigue are critical elements in our game it’s always added an extra step of record keeping that was onerous. We’ve played around with several mechanisms but found that the new piecemeal armor and fatigue rule in RMU work great but we’ve taken it one step further.

First, we’ve eliminated the Maneuvering in Armor skill. I’ve always had an issue with it in concept and it unnecessarily complicated encumbrance rules by having this “dual path” calculation of min/max armor penalties, encumbrance by weight and the Quickness penalty. Since MnvArm is a skill that basically ties a characters ability to wear better/heavier armor to their level. I’ve heard the argument that it’s “for game balance”—I think that’s absurd. Can you imagine a game system that says a fighter can only use a dagger at 1^st level, then moves up to a short sword, than a long sword and finally at higher level can use a 2-handed sword? That’s the same thing.

I’ve always seen armor as a “handicap”—it adds weight and restriction of movement. There are benefits (protection) and negatives (penalties) that a player has to balance out. I don’t think it’s something that’s “trainable” like other RM skills. Getting rid of MnvArm eliminates a skill (good) and eliminates the dual process of armor penalties & encumbrance calculation.

Second we’ve adopted the RMU encumbrance calculation as a % of body weight and applied adjusted %’s to armor pieces. I’ve inserted the table below. For example, a character wearing full plate would have an armor encumbrance penalty of 66% (Plate 40, Plate Sleeves 8, Plate Leggings 12, Full Helm 6). We’ve also added some armor penalties for Perception and Missile weapons. This simplified armor/encumbrance also makes it easy to create new armor types for cultures or materials.

With armor simplified, encumbrance becomes a pretty easy calculation. Tally total weight, convert to % of body weight, add armor encumbrance % and reduce by the weight allowance. I like encumbrance to have a real impact and armor should have appropriate draws backs to reduce the incentive for everyone to wear the heaviest armor. For weight allowance we use a much lower threshold than RMU: 10% + str bonus. So a character with 100str could carry up to 25% (10 + 15 assuming no racial Str mods) of their body weight before incurring penalties. That makes sense to me—a 200lb person could carry 50#s without penalty. If anything that’s still too generous. If that character were wearing Full Plate and carrying nothing else they would have a 41% (66-25) encumbrance penalty. For GM’s that want to lessen the impact of encumbrance just use a higher weight allowance: 10% + Str bonus x2 or even x3.

Finally because we have one simple encumbrance number that represents carried load and armor it can be applied in a variety of ways.

Encumbrance Penalty (Load – weight allowance)

Modifies MMs or any action where weight is a factor.
Modifies fatigue rolls.
Reduces pace/distance. (replaces the encumbrance/pace chart)
Cancels Quickness bonus for DB or optionally reduces DB.
Total encumbrance % is used to modify Essence SCR.
Calban, a 5^th lvl fighter with a 100 str weighs 200lbs. His weight allowance is 25% (50lbs). Calban decides he’s going to wear Full Chain/Mail armor and a half helm. His armor encumbrance would be 47%. He’s also carrying 30lbs of gear (15%) for a total load of 62%. His encumbrance penalty is 37% (62-25).

Calban attempts to somersault over an opponent. In addition to difficult modifiers and his acrobatic skill bonus the attempt will be modified by the -37% encumbrance penalty.

Calban is required to make a fatigue roll—it’s modified by -37%.

Calban wants to sprint x5. His base rate is 20’rnd so he’s attempting to move 100’ but the distance moved is reduced by 37% (63’) due to his encumbrance penalty.

Calban has a -10 DB which is cancelled out due to his encumbrance. Optionally, if a GM wants encumbrance to have an even greater impact than his DB would be -27 making him easier to hit due to his lack of maneuverability! (does that sounds harsh? Keep in mind that he’s basically carrying a 134lbs load).

For our game these rules work great.

The reduce skill bloat.
They disconnect the idea that heavier/better armor use is tied to character level.
Creates one encumbrance number that can be applied in a variety of situations.
Eliminates encumbrance pace chart, min/max armor penalties.
Allows us to incorporate strength buff spells and weight reduction spells in our Spell Law which have a real impact.
Creates advantages/disadvantages to armor that fits into our “free market”, “no-profession” game.
Creates a quick way to generate new armors for cultures/tech.
Easy to adjust. A GM can change the armor %’s, the weight allowance calculation or both!
Utilizes RMU piecemeal armor rules which we like!

To aid in record keeping we have a game work sheet for each player that tracks encumbrance, hits, damage etc, In the margin of the worksheet we include a chart to convert total weight to % based on the characters body weight. We usually round off the penalty to simplify even further. Most of the players can separate out their kit so in combat they can drop a pack or sack and immediately have and know their adjusted encumbrance.

Armor	AT	Type	Percept	Miss Pen	Enc.
None	1				0
Heavy Cloth	2	VL			2
Soft Leather	3	VL			5
Hide Scale	4	L			10
Laminar	5	L			15
Rigid Leather	6	M			20
Metal Scale	7	M			25
Mail	8	M			30
Brigandine	9	H			35
Plate	10	H			40
Leather Sleeves		VL			1
Hide Sleeves		L		5	3
Mail Sleeves		M		15	5
Plate Sleeves		H		20	8
Leather Leggings		VL			3
Hide Leggings		L			7
Mail Leggings		M			10
Plate Leggings		H			12
Leather Cap		VL			0.5
Half Helm		L	5		2
3/4 Helm		M	10		4
Full Helm		H	15		6
Target	15				2
Normal	20				5
Full	25		5		10
Wall	30		15		20
Reinforced Cloak	5				5