Mid-Week Musings on Rolemaster, Self Publishing and RMU.

I have a number of more comprehensive blogs I’m working on, but Halloween, work and other items put those off. On the plus side, I have a number of smaller items I thought I would collate into a mid-week blog post.

  1. Too Harsh? While it was generally ignored, was I too harsh on Hurin’s post on “shield use” in RMU? Of course, if you don’t have a RM Forum membership this might seem obscure since you CAN’T SEE THE FORUM W/O A FORUM LOGIN. If you have one, a whole new world of RMU discussion is available–it’s like a secret forum, but yet available to anyone that can hurdle the insurmountable barrier of yet another USERNAME/PASSWORD.  Anyway, my response was less substantive than emotional: I balk from complicated rules and more so as the RMU process unfolds. Bringing in new users is not about complexity (verisimilitude) but the NEAR APPEARANCE of reality and EASE OF USE. Later rule adds can complexity and options but despite my harshness (Hurin, sorry just having fun) I still get a laugh at my rules for shields: Here is my idea.“After the proposed attack, defender are able to expend variable AP’s to engage and counter, subject to a pro rate percentage of action based on the residual action available subject to situational awareness modified by the skills and offset by combat expertise. From this result consult the “Random Awareness Chart” for a “compliance factor” to be offset by the perceived  success roll on the perception static action awareness table.”                                                                                                               If those rules sound good, I literally made them up as I WROTE THEM. It’s crap. Worse than crap–its meaningless bureaucratic speak. the problem with the rule discussions is that it’s closer to my above “Word Salad” than rules bringing RM into the new market realities.
  2. New Rule: Wield Strength. While I haven’t posted up my own RM optional rule set–SWARM–I have posted up many sections of the rule set on the RM Forums. One item I left out, because it was so simple, was the MIN wield strength. Each weapon is given a min strength for use: any St under that applies a -1/1% to use AND the same penalty applies to fatigue checks. For example, a short sword has a wield of 75 so a user with a 60str would be at -15.
  3. 50 in 50. So we’ve started publishing our 50 adventure hooks. Most of these are meant to be hooks–but have also evolved into much more comprehensive adventures. I started with small “hooks” that were meant to be available via here at the RM blogs. IP issues, formatting and publishing expertise required a more complex process. The first, Spire’s Reach, is available now on RPGNow. Later submissions got more complex.
  4. I’ve put up almost 200 pages of RM/Shadow World material for free download on the RM Forums that I will start porting over to this site so it doesnt require a forum account to access.  If you haven’t checked it out, look at my Rolemaster 50th level adventure series: Legends of Shadow World, the products Peter writes and Azukial Games.
  5. Members. Peter doesn’t require a username to access this site–we believe is free access and information to better reach the RPG community. At the same time, we don’t and can’t really track users, users online or even downloads (unless they are set up as such). We have much less user info than a Forum system. With that, we appreciate every member or new member that takes the time to comment or add to this blog site. Thanks!

6 Replies to “Mid-Week Musings on Rolemaster, Self Publishing and RMU.”

  1. The comments may seem a bit harsh, but I understood the spirit in which they were intended, and I think JDale did too.

    I think we could really do away with the entire concept of ‘passive’ Shield and Running/Dodge skill bonuses, and RMU would probably be the better for it (and it would certainly more compatible with older editions). We already have the option to parry, partial shield block, full shield block, partial dodge, and full dodge. That seems a sufficient panoply of defensive options for the core book.

  2. Maybe having the RMU development forums “hidden” is a good thing. Some of the behind the scenes sausage making and discussions only add to the general perception of RM complexity.

      1. I think what is needed is a much bigger audience for the beta so we get more and better testing. These people then become advocates for the new system once it is released. The view of the Beta forums is then greater but only with with people who know full well that they are testing a system still in development.

        1. I liked your proposal you made on a “RMU lite” for wide release etc… But that’s not going to happen. I track a wide array of RM/RMU discussions on other forums, sites and blogs and there was an uptick in interest a few years ago on the new RM version. Sadly, much of that enthusiasm has waned.

          1. Not everyone gets excited about a beta. The beta began years ago (literally in 2012), so it is understandable that people are waiting now for the final release. I do very much like the suggestions on the boards here though about a playtest packet; I think that has the potential to really get more people engaged, whether for the beta or for the final release.

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