#Rolemaster

[thydungeongal]

I think I may have enough time in my calendar to consider running Rolemaster. Here are a few ideas I have:

Gonna run Classic. It's the simplest version and it's already a complete game; no need to wait for Creature Law like with unified.

Might use some of the optional rules backported into Classic from some of the Companions. Actually, might use some of the optional rules from the companions regardless. I love that there's a second-based combat system like in Hackmaster.

Not gonna use an official setting but instead something of my own creation. Working inside out: sketch a small region of the world and fill in the greater context of the world as needed. Something that can accommodate everything from Rolemaster mechanically but possibly with some things being reflavored.

To account for the fact that I don't want to make coordinating schedules too difficult I will probably run this using an open table format: I will run games intermittently (aiming at around once a month) and whoever can make it can come and play. I work a nine to five job so games will take place on weekends (probably Saturdays, starting no earlier than noon and going no later than 10 PM my time which is UTC+3 at the moment)

Also related to that open table format, I will try to prep enough content so players will have meaningful choices as to which places to explore. There'll be no grand overarching narrative as such, but a focus on exploration and adventure for its own sake.

Anyway tagging in @maniculum @hanavesinauttija @unseenphil @summoningspark because you four had at least expressed some interest uh how does that sound to you?

#rolemaster

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played ROLEMASTER ?

By Coleman Charlton, John Curtis, Pete Fenlon, Steve Marvin, et al

Rolemaster is an extremely complex fantasy role-playing game from the 1980s characterized by its reliance on large lookup tables, extremely granular rules, and a desire for simulation. While supposedly a "realistic" game its myriad tables actually conceal a game with a quirky sense of humor, which albeit gritty has much more in common with a gorey action comedy than any simulation of reality.

#tabletop rpg #ttrpg #rolemaster #usa #1980s #poll #poll time

[oldschoolfrp]

“There was a blow on the door that made it quiver; and then it began to grind slowly open, driving back the wedges.”  (Angus McBride cover for Moria, Middle Earth Citadel supplement for MERP, Rolemaster, and the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game, 2nd ed, 1994)

#Moria #MERP #Angus McBride #LotR #Tolkien #JRR Tolkien #Middle earth Role Playing #Rolemaster #orcs #troll #goblins #Balin's tomb #The Fellowship of the Ring #tomb #Lord of the Rings Adventure Game #Middle-earth Role Playing #Middle earth #Middle-earth #Gandalf #The Fellowship #hobbits #halflings #Chamber of Mazarbul #Chamber of Records #Khazad-dûm #MERP Moria

[open-hearth-rpg]

#RPGCovers Week Ten Rolemaster series (1985 on) Angus McBride

In my youth, there was a cohort of players about five years older than me, some of them part of my sister’s crew and others just among the rabble at the game shop. There was a certain kind of “elitism” to what folks played. When Champions came along, Villains & Vigilantes became passe for example. Rolemaster, in its original incarnation of heavy stock parchment booklets and glossy magazine-style supplements, was one of those. It was the fantasy rpg the cool, older kids played. 

And throughout high school it was what I gravitated towards, giving up on AD&D entirely for the more rarified air of RM (ironically paired with Harn, but that’s another story). Rolemaster at that point was a weird set of printings and editions, a mess which looked incoherent and made it hard to tell folks exactly what they actually needed to buy.

Then in 1985 Iron Crown Enterprises consolidated everything into a set of books with a standard cover design and unified art. These became the standard for years (if you ignore the layout and design of the weird Rolemaster Companions). What really pull them together, beyond the book design, was McBride. 

Angus McBride had already been doing Middle Earth RPG covers for years. They were all great. Before that he’d been an illustrator for various Osprey Men-at-Arms series, bridging that gap between wargaming grognards and role-players. These RM were great because we got to see repeating, iconic characters– kind of a first I think. I don’t know that we’d had other games with recurring figures and an implied story. 

The first three books: Character Law & Campaign Law, Arms Law & Claw Law, and Spell Law used them effectively. Plus you could now buy a box that had all of them bundled together. Ten years later, ICE would reuse these images with a new cover design for their Rolemaster Standard System, with a few new books with new illustrations by McBride that sort of fit in with the existing story and sort of didn’t make any sense (see Creatures & Monsters). But as Rolemaster began to crash and go through multiple editions and changes, they lost control of their cover designs, leading to an absolute chaos that, ironically, felt more like first edition’s mess.

#ttrpg #rpg #rpg covers #rolemaster #angus mcbride #iron crown enterprises

[vintagerpg]

Demons of the Burning Night (1989) came out the same year as the Shadow World Atlas and re-establishes what to expect from a Shadow World module (structurally, they are very similar to the older Loremaster modules and, honestly, many of the MERP books, which should be unsurprising since Shadow World creator Terry K. Amthor had a hand in all of that as one of Iron Crown’s founders).

The focus of this book is the island of Aranmor, which is kind of like the Isle of Dread from D&D but with a black metal soundtrack. Everything living there is evil. Like, really, really evil. To the point that most adventurers avoid the place, despite the fact that it is a treasure trove of first age technology and magical artifacts. You kind of get that sense from the Tony Robert’s excellent cover.

Even the good stuff is kind of terrible. There is a horn that when blown, basically annihilates whatever is in front of you. But if you blow it twice before the moon Varin turns fully (ten days) the thing explodes, basically nuking everything in a 50’ radius. It’s beautiful, really.

The majority of the book is given over to detailing the ruined city of Tarek Nev, a horrible place full of danger. Even the trash pit is deadly (it's a demon, concealed by sand, that just exists to digest garbage and whatever adventurers happen to step into its mouth). A fantastic resource, if you’re in need of a demon haunted city.

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #Roleplaying Game #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Shadow World #Terry Amthor #Jennell Jaquays #Iron Crown #Rolemaster #Demons of the Burning Night

[unseenphil]

It is definitely @thydungeonguy 's fault that I came to the defense of rolemaster earlier today because someone was talking shit about it and were completely wrong.

They called it roll-under d100 with single digit percent chances!

None of that is how Rolemaster works!

#rolemaster #Rolemaster had the idea of mixed successes decades before a lot of other games TBH.

[thehauntedrocket]

Vintage Magazine - Dragon #093 (Jan1985)

#Fantasy #Dragon Magazine #Weretigers #Tigers #RPG #Gaming #Magazines #Vintage #Art #Ads #Advertising #Rolemaster #D&D #AD&D #Dungeons And Dragons #Advanced Dungeons And Dragons #Druids #Were Tiger #Weretiger #Rakshasa #1985 #1980s #80s #TSR #Dragon

[adventuresandshopping]

Rolemaster Core Law - RPG rules PDF on DriveThruRPG

(link to product description page above - affiliated)

#Rolemaster #TTRPG #RPG #DriveThruRPG #iron crown enterprises

[1-50thofabuck]

Caster's Companions: Familiar Spirits and... Unfamiliars?

A somewhat new take on an old favorite: Familiars! And what is this unfamiliar thing? I can have one of those?

New rules and new fluff/lore(as the kids call it today) for your games. A work eternally in progress!

Caster's Companions - Penny Thought Exchange

#OSR #osr rules #rpg #rpgs #original rpg #homebrew #familiar #familiars #witch's familiar #wizard #mage #magic-user #witch #D&D #AD&D #rolemaster

[adornesibley]

Went to the tip shop to forage for magazines and came across a treasure! I’ve never heard of the Rolemaster system or Iron Crown, but this looks delightfully crunchy~ This book is A3 and was lovingly tape bound with the cover on backwards and upside down by its previous owners. XD

#ttrpg community #rolemaster #ttrpg osr #tip shop finds #classic ttrpg #it uses matrices #roleplaying games #tabletop gaming

[thydungeongal]

Anyway on a brighter note: in Rolemaster the Mystic has a level 50 spell that allows them to create an alternate persona for an indefinite amount of time that is so strong that not only does this persona not have any of the Mystic's memories for all purposes of magical detection and mind-reading it literally is a completely different person and the Mystic's original personality will remain dormant in their subconscious until it awakens after a set time.

And like that spell is so fucking cool and high concept and I absolutely can not imagine how that would be run in practice it's so weird.

#rolemaster

[smiteworks]

New Release Creatures & Treasures III Iron Crown Enterprises

This bestiary presents a host of new animals and monsters.

#iron crown #rpg #vtt #fantasy grounds #fantasy grounds unity #rolemaster

[oldschoolfrp]

BALIN SON OF FUNDIN LORD OF MORIA

(Liz Danforth, Moria, Middle Earth Citadel supplement for MERP, Rolemaster, and the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game, Iron Crown Enterprises, 2nd ed, 1994)

#Moria #Liz Danforth #LotR #MERP #Tolkien #JRR Tolkien #Gandalf #The Fellowship #Balin's Tomb #The Lord of the Rings #The Fellowship of the Ring #Middle earth Role Playing #Chamber of Mazarbul #Book of Mazarbul #Chamber of Records #Rolemaster #ICE #Iron Crown Enterprises #Middle earth #Middle-earth #Middle-earth Role Playing #Khazad-dûm #Lord of the Rings Adventure Game #1990s #tomb #MERP Moria

[jeffs-gamebox]

Magic Shops In Fantasy TTRPGs

Today we're taking a break from the Hasbro layoff drama and talking about magic items shops. I've had this debate with players and fellow GMs alike for many years. It led me to think about the nature of magic in my games.

This topic became a much deeper dive than originally imagined. I would like to thank the OG GM for covering this topic on YouTube. Link to the video here. It’s a good video and brings up a lot of good points about how to administer magic shops in a fantasy game.I would like to delve a bit more into the why and the deeper ramifications of magic in fantasy worlds. This actually went from a simple…

View On WordPress

#BareBonesFantasy #CastlesandCrusades #dccrpg #oldschoolessentials #pathfinder #pathfinder2E #rolemaster #rpgblog #rpgblogger #rpgwriter #Shadowdark #shadowdarkblog #shadowdarkblogger #TTRPGblogger #ttrpgdesign #ttrpgwriter

[vintagerpg]

This is Tales of the Loremasters Book II (1989) and man, I gotta start by saying: how on earth did they get all this stuff (and more beside) all out in one year? This is a sequel?! How?!? There is a metric ton of 1989 Shadow World stuff and it boggles my mind. Did Iron Crown employees just not sleep?

Like the previous volume, this is a collection of adventure sites, all illustrated by Jennell Jaquays (I really like how she approaches landscapes in her Shadow World material). This one feels more varied in its locales. No nucklelavee, so you can’t have everything, but this one is a handy one to have around — you can drop this stuff into any campaign and make it work without a lot of conversion work. The one with the mysterious meteor is my favorite. The details are fine, but honestly, I mostly appreciate the prompt of “mysterious meteor” — there should be more of those in RPGs, generally, I think.

Wanted to post about this primarily for the cover art by David Martin. Granted, I would call this a cockatrice, not a basilisk (those, for me, are snakes who wear adorable crowns) but I love the idea of whatever it is turning everything to stone, gorgon-like (basilisks traditionally kill via venom and pollution, while cockatrices usually cause people to just drop dead by looking at them). I’ve talked before about the quality of smoothness in David Martin’s work. I often find it off-putting, but here it works so good. Maybe that is the influence of Ellisa Martin, who is also credited on the painting (though not inside in the actual credits)

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #Roleplaying Game #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Shadow World #Terry Amthor #Jennell Jaquays #Iron Crown #Rolemaster #David Martin #Tales of the Loremasters

[unseenphil]

Playing with Rolemaster Classic chargen for reasons and eyeballing the companion additions.

I had forgotten about the Bear Tribes. I think it may be time for Bear Tribes and seeing if I can get one of the randomly generated background options that lets him go full Beornling. (Probably not.)

As for class: one of the semi-spell types like Ranger or Paladin or Nightblade. Nightblade would be very funny in terms of aesthetics as a huge hulking dude who may literally turn into a bear whose skill developments and spell list are for a sneaky magical thief

One of the nightblade spell lists, for example, has entire chain of spells that are literally just 'vanish in a cloud of smoke and light and reappear anywhere from 30 to 300 feet away.'

What if Arsene Lupin was built like a pro wrestler and might turn into a bear.

(Ursine Lupin)

#rolemaster #HULK IS SNEAKIEST ONE THERE IS