Roll Master Adjustments

[tstewt1921]

So me and my group just had a buddy of ours run Roll Master for us, for the most part we love the system however we aren't the biggest fans of the charts and the time it takes to go from one to the other, even though the descriptions are wonderful. So we are wondering if we are able to convert it to remove the charts. Our ideas;

1. For the attack/defense portion it would just be opposed rolls, the defender would use their Total DB vs. the Attackers total OB (with any minuses for called shots and such)

And that's actually the only idea we have at the moment, the issue we have is when it comes to determining hits...would we need to make a flat damage per weapon or do we do it when there is a difference in attack and defense? Any ideas on how to do this would be wonderful!

Everything else within the system is perfectly fine and is easily adjustable, it's just the hits portion that we can't think of how to change.

[Mordar]

So me and my group just had a buddy of ours run Roll Master for us, for the most part we love the system however we aren't the biggest fans of the charts and the time it takes to go from one to the other, even though the descriptions are wonderful. So we are wondering if we are able to convert it to remove the charts. Our ideas;

1. For the attack/defense portion it would just be opposed rolls, the defender would use their Total DB vs. the Attackers total OB (with any minuses for called shots and such)

And that's actually the only idea we have at the moment, the issue we have is when it comes to determining hits...would we need to make a flat damage per weapon or do we do it when there is a difference in attack and defense? Any ideas on how to do this would be wonderful!

Everything else within the system is perfectly fine and is easily adjustable, it's just the hits portion that we can't think of how to change.

I'm a huge fan of Role Master (yes, the "roll" master joke thing is funny...not sure if you did it intentionally, but that line has been around for decades, along with Chart Master).

I've got to tell you, I think you'd be making a big mistake to strip away the weapon/armor charts. They reflect the advantages and disadvantages of specific kinds of weapons and specific kinds of armor...trying to model, for instance, the difference between using a slashing weapon and a piercing weapon against chain mail, or a crushing weapon compared to a slashing weapon against plate armor. And as you gain more proficiency in the system the perceived difficulties drop away.

So rather than stripping away something that is a real strength of the system, find a way to use that system more quickly. I specifically recommend making photocopies/printouts of the primary and secondary weapon chart for each character. You throw your attack dice, add your OB and modifiers, subtract the DB and look up the result. It takes longer to write that line than it does to use the system in practice. On the rare occasions you get a critical, the GM can tell you the result. This both reduces the burden of lookups on the GM and spreads the math around to the whole table.

- M

[tstewt1921]

I'm a huge fan of Role Master (yes, the "roll" master joke thing is funny...not sure if you did it intentionally. - M

It was not done intentionally just me misspelling it like an idiot lol.


So rather than stripping away something that is a real strength of the system, find a way to use that system more quickly. I specifically recommend making photocopies/printouts of the primary and secondary weapon chart for each character. - M

Do you know the best place to find them in PDF form, or what book the specific charts or in for me to find and print the specific pages?

[LibraryOgre]

It was not done intentionally just me misspelling it like an idiot lol.



Do you know the best place to find them in PDF form, or what book the specific charts or in for me to find and print the specific pages?

The Mod Wonder: You might check ICEs website, but remember that such files would technically be a breach of copyright.

[Mordar]

Do you know the best place to find them in PDF form, or what book the specific charts or in for me to find and print the specific pages?

It depends on which edition you guys are using...back in my day they were in the Arms Law basic book, but that was 2nd edition. Yup, we chiseled our dice out of stone or dinosaur bones, but it was worth it! Just ask the GM and go from there!

- M

[FaerieGodfather]

Do you know the best place to find them in PDF form, or what book the specific charts or in for me to find and print the specific pages?

You are probably looking for the version of Arms Law compatible with whatever version of Rolemaster you're playing.

You're looking for page 54 in Arms Law for Rolemaster Classic and page 4 in Arms Law for Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying. My copies of Rolemaster V, unfortunately, are pre-release and I can't guarantee the page numbers haven't changed.

[LibraryOgre]

Classic Arms Law (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/88653/Rolemaster-Classic-Arms-Law?affiliate_id=315505)

Arms Law 2003 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/92632/RMFRP-Arms-Law?affiliate_id=315505)

Arms Law 1999 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/95668/RMFRP-1999-Arms-Law?affiliate_id=315505)

[Knaight]

Check out Middle Earth Roleplaying Game. MERP uses a lighter offshoot of Rolemaster, and will probably work better for you. This also prevents the need for customization.

[Malak'ai]

Ahhh, good ol' Role Master. Used to love it.

I second the idea that you get print outs for your weapons and do the math yourself
And remember you never want to get hit with a crit then have the GM role a 66...