Issue 10
Woohoo 10th edition of the show, So its a long one..
http://www.itstime4games.com/Portals/0/sound/itstime4games10.mp3
Rolemaster, MERP (Middle Earth Roleplaying) and HARP (High Adventure Roleplaying)
Today I am going to talk about my favourite roleplaying system which has given me and many folk I have run games for endless entertainment over many years.
Indeed I realised today that it is twenty years since I first saw the MERP main rule book in a games shop in Manchester where I was a uni student there in 1985 to 1990. I had just started a 1st edition Adand D game but when I read the MERP rule book I immediately abandoned it and got the players to roll up new MERP characters. It was the start of a campaign that ran for two years at university.
MERP" stands for Middle-earth Role Playing. This is the name of the fantasy role playing game series published by Iron Crown Enterprises which in 1982 was awarded the rights to produce adventure games based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ICE were able to continue making MERP products over the next seventeen years until in 1999 Tolkien Enterprises revoked the license.
MERP was a simplified version of Rolemaster which I dicuss later and designed to get charactes from 1st to 10th level when the intention was that players would move across to Rolemaster.
What was it about MERP that excited me so much? Well you have to remember that in 1985 the main RPG about was 1st Edition Adand D in which the characters were VERY limited. Only magic users could cast spells, only theives open locks. MERP offered a system in which ANY character could in theory do ANY skill. D+D had a very limited number of things that your character could do whereas MERP characters could do dozens.
Then there was the critical and combat system. No more chopping away at characters hit points to kill them. Now you could lob off a head or skewer them through the heart. The system was fast, brutal and great fun. And it was tense. IN D+D a mere 1st level goblin often CANNOT hit a higher level character – even in 3.5e. IN MERP you often hear players yelling “take out the archers, kill the magic users” because even a lowly orc can get a lucky hit. Crits are in my opnion the essence of a good RPG.
Then off course was the chance to mix it up with nazgul, run away from Balrogs, loot Moria, sneak into Mordor. I mean come on – who could resist. ICE produced many many modules. All these came with glorious artwork and the best maps in Roleplaying games- covering (if you bought them all) most of middle earth at 1cm=20miles. Many had plans and maps of dungeonas and complexes all over middle earth and some great adventures – like the quest for the lost palantir. The modules still are available second hand, or in some game shops or on ebay and are well worth picking up.
I ran a MERP campaign at UNI and then again a long game from 1991 to about 1997. I also ran not one but two campaigns based on merp with additional rules at The October club. In all over twenty gamers have been through the Richard Denning MERP world.
In time my home group who still meet to play Rolemaster now several times a year coverted to Rolmaster 2. Then in 1998 we moved to Role master Standard System. WE are still in the same game universe as all the previous campaigns. Indeed old NPCs turn up – and often old enemies.We have time travelled and battled in The first and second age of Middle Earth and even gone to alternate worlds. There have been many fatalities for Rolemaster like merp is not forgiving in combat. But the deaths have always been memorable.
So what about Rolemaster. Well it is now the main Fantasy Roleplaying system from ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises). It is very detailed. Probably the most detailed system out there. However it is not as complex as folk make out. That is because the same core mechanics apply throughout the game. The game is modular. You can take or leave sections as you like.But like MERP it is very flexible- allowing for a great variety of character classes, back ground options,spells and skills. Long before D+D started buggering about with skills in second ed (and failing to make it work) Rolemaster had skills sorted. Long before 3rd ed D+D dreamed up FEATS Rolemaster had Talents and Flaws or background options to add depth to characters. Forget D+D and its two or three spells – in RMSS you may know dozens even at low level.
It does take time to learn – indeed you are best starting with MERP or HARP or learning from an experienced player. BUT the Roleplaying experinece is by far the best I have tried or run – and I am not a greenhorn in this respect.
There have been four versions of the game produced. First Edition and Second Edition Rolemaster are really the same and produced in the 1980s – very compatible and only slight differences. Then there was then a fairly major revision to the game in the form of Rolemaster Standard System (RMSS) which game out about 1996. After this ICE went down a blind alley a bit and more or less rereleased RMSS in smaller chunks caled Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying (RMFRP). Since anyone owning RMSS would not buy RMFRP as there were the same product these two version were in effect competing against themselves and I think it was this that lead to ICE going bust in 2001. Fortunately they reemerged stronger and relaunched themselves. Both RMSS and RMFRP are available from ICE and in stores.
All versions of Rolemaster are based around the core books Currently you can buy the main rule book which has the character rules and skill system once called character law, Arms Law which details the combat system and Spell law which details the magic system which in Rolemaster is broken down into the three main areas of Essence ( magic drawn from the universe, elemental magic, magic in the world about you and used my mages), Chanelling ( magic drwan from deities and chanelled through the believer and used by cleric types) and Mentalism (the power of the mind). RMSS also has Arcane magic which is kind of an ancient less controllable magic. Spells in Rolemaster are a joy as there are hundreds available. You have to be willing to pour over the spell books but the reward is a spell for every occasion. Combat with spells uses critical tables as well for direct physical damage and a resistance table for spells that you might be able to ignore – maybe like a sleep spell. The main book, arms law and spell law are all you need to play rolemaster but there are many other additional books produced. These vary dependant on the version but include Alchemy companion, treasure books, Martial Arts companions, Creatures and Monsters (the undead section rocks), and various Companion volumes which add hundreds of new rule ideas and combat options. Rolemaster is modular so you dip in and use what you like.
Now you might be saying – that is an awlful lot of reading – and cash. And yup you are right. Its worth it in the long run providing the group you play in is willing to invest time and effort- and look around the internet and you will find RMSS and MERP have a thriving following. However for some it’s a bit daunting. There is an alternative.
A couple of years back the relaunched ICE came out with a trimmed now version to replace the slot that MERP occupied in the past- a sort of low end beginers RMSS. That is HARP. HARP is a revised and simplified version of RMSS and there is much new in it and novel but the core game system is still a percentile based low is bad, high is good type system. It is still the case that all classes can learn all skills and that all classes can cast spells – with varying success. Combat is still critical based and bloody. Ive played it a bit and quite liked it bt never quite took to it as I do Rolemaster. Still if you want a system which is refreshingly different to the domination of D+D 3.5e and quite fun and not too hard try it out. There are additional companion volumes available but all you really need is the main book. ICE have come out with a new game world which is differnet and original. I have not seen the atlas yet- it seemed eternally delayed when last I looked.
So that’s a look at some 20 years and more of ICE products. There are not every ones cup of tea. However I can say truthfully that I have played all versions of D+D, Runequest, Call of Cthulu, Spycraft, Traveller (all versions) , Paranoia, Deadlands, Sword and Sorcery, Judge Dredd and Babylon 5 amongst others and the greatest pleasure I have had when rolling dice in a RPG has been had time after time from MERP and Rolemaster.
If you want to know more look at the ICE web site and also my own website.