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Flawless
2007-08-27, 07:58 PM
So, I'm planning on playing rolemaster, that's to say rolemaster 2. What I'd like to know now is: What are the core books? Which books do I need to play the game. All I found were books like Arms Law or Character Law.

I'd appriciate any help on what books I need.

Oh, and is Rolemaster classic the same thing? If yes, again, what books?

Thanks in advance.

horseboy
2007-08-27, 08:01 PM
Arms Law & Claw Law
Character Law & Campaign Law
Spell Law

If you want more than those three:

Creatures and Treasures
Rolemaster Companion 1
Rolemaster Companion 2

That's really all you'll need.

(It's kinda like Metallica, the more recent, the more wonky)

Flawless
2007-08-27, 08:23 PM
Thanks.

So those are actually the core books. The names sound more like splat books ;)

horseboy
2007-08-27, 08:39 PM
No problem, always happy to see someone playing the "big boy" games. :smallwink:

Arms Law: That's all the charts for the weapons. Xerox off the weapon charts the party uses most often and leave the copy by their crit chart. (Makes combat faster)

Character Law: How to create characters. Warning! Semi-spell casters (Rangers, bards, monks) really suck in this game. Be very careful with them.

Spell Law: All the spells and damage charts for them.

Companion 1: Has the paladin in it. Also the mega-fun skill at arms/magic background charts.

Companion 2: Has way too many skills in it. We usually only use it for the chart in the back and the expanded list of skills for the level bonuses.

bosssmiley
2007-08-27, 08:48 PM
Freaking masochist OP!

See if you can find the old Middle Earth Role-Playing Game for a 1 volume RoleMaster Lite experience. If you can still face the game after that, then move onto the "* Law" books with all the other calculus and programming fans.

Sorry, I'm a game > rules guy myself. Any game where you need to roll-and-lookup on multiple tables in each round of combat is too slow and cumbersome for my tastes. A well-designed game is one where the mechanical aspects become almost transparently intuitive during play.

"big boys game"? As if. "Spreadsheet lover's wet dream", maybe. Why play Rolemaster in a world where "Ars Magica" exists? :smallannoyed:

CASTLEMIKE
2007-08-27, 09:02 PM
Any thoughts regarding the @2007 Rolemaster Express CD?

horseboy
2007-08-27, 09:32 PM
Freaking masochist OP!

See if you can find the old Middle Earth Role-Playing Game for a 1 volume RoleMaster Lite experience. If you can still face the game after that, then move onto the "* Law" books with all the other calculus and programming fans.
I don't know, that's a lot like comparing 3.5 to red book. Very different games.


Sorry, I'm a game > rules guy myself. Any game where you need to roll-and-lookup on multiple tables in each round of combat is too slow and cumbersome for my tastes. A well-designed game is one where the mechanical aspects become almost transparently intuitive during play.

Why I recommended he Xerox the weapon charts. That way they're right next to each other. The player rolls his attack, rolls his crit, and he doesn't know it's any different from D&D, except, of course, that it's dead.


"big boys game"? As if. "Spreadsheet lover's wet dream", maybe. Why play Rolemaster in a world where "Ars Magica" exists? :smallannoyed:
Never got into Ars, and Rolemaster is the only generic system I can tolerate.



Any thoughts regarding the @2007 Rolemaster Express CD?
Nope, haven't seen it, sorry.

Flawless
2007-08-28, 11:39 AM
Freaking masochist OP!

Now I'm curious. It seems rather complex, yeah, but surely it's not that bad. It's not as fast as D&D or similar systems but as many people play it, it can't be that bad. Or why did you say that?

Matthew
2007-08-29, 07:15 AM
(It's kinda like Metallica, the more recent, the more wonky)

Always with the back handers, they say betrayal by the ones you love is the worst...


Now I'm curious. It seems rather complex, yeah, but surely it's not that bad. It's not as fast as D&D or similar systems but as many people play it, it can't be that bad. Or why did you say that?

Well... if MERP is Basic D&D to Rolemaster's as 3e, then you're in for a world of pain. MERP was convoluted enough... That said, I think there's a Rolemaster SRD out there, which I didn't think was too complex.

horseboy
2007-08-29, 10:23 PM
Always with the back handers, they say betrayal by the ones you love is the worst...

I'm just saying they've obviously been replaced by by the same evil synthoids that got George Lucas.


Well... if MERP is Basic D&D to Rolemaster's as 3e, then you're in for a world of pain. MERP was convoluted enough... That said, I think there's a Rolemaster SRD out there, which I didn't think was too complex.
MERPs was difficult because it was too condensed.
(For anyone interested)
Rolemaster 101

d100+skill=all a player's got to do while playing. Characters are front loaded outside of play, that way the game (should) run smoother. (Once you're over the learning curve)

Whenever you pick up the dice, they call that a maneuver. There are three types of maneuvers: Static, combat and opposed. Yeah, they call them different things, but this is the play version. A static maneuver uses the static maneuver chart. This is stuff like a thief trying to pick a lock. Opposed is when you're comparing a skill vs a skill. A thief rolling stalk vs the guard's roll of perception. Then there's combat. There's a lot of combat modifiers, I'm not going to lie, but ultimately not really any more than in D&D.

Quirks
When mounted, you use your riding skill as a percentage of your OB (offensive bonus).
Base hits: Yeah, good luck on that one, surely the "Grapple rules" of Rolemaster. :smalltongue:
Don't be afraid of streamlining the rules. We skip the whole "declaration phase" and the "orientation phase". You know, no point in going back over stuff over and over on the same round.

Matthew
2007-08-30, 02:34 PM
I'm just saying they've obviously been replaced by by the same evil synthoids that got George Lucas.

Nah, he was just a jerk to begin with.


MERPs was difficult because it was too condensed.
(For anyone interested)
Rolemaster 101

d100+skill=all a player's got to do while playing. Characters are front loaded outside of play, that way the game (should) run smoother. (Once you're over the learning curve)

Whenever you pick up the dice, they call that a maneuver. There are three types of maneuvers: Static, combat and opposed. Yeah, they call them different things, but this is the play version. A static maneuver uses the static maneuver chart. This is stuff like a thief trying to pick a lock. Opposed is when you're comparing a skill vs a skill. A thief rolling stalk vs the guard's roll of perception. Then there's combat. There's a lot of combat modifiers, I'm not going to lie, but ultimately not really any more than in D&D.

Quirks
When mounted, you use your riding skill as a percentage of your OB (offensive bonus).
Base hits: Yeah, good luck on that one, surely the "Grapple rules" of Rolemaster. :smalltongue:
Don't be afraid of streamlining the rules. We skip the whole "declaration phase" and the "orientation phase". You know, no point in going back over stuff over and over on the same round.

Heh, heh. Yeah, I took WFRP, MERP and what little I knew about Role Master as the basis for my own RPG. 1D100 turned out to be too huge a range. It was interesting to see how the various different concepts related to one another.