From: maillet@tls-cs.cert.fr (Luc Maillet)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Rolemaster
Date: 27 Jan 93 10:46:33 GMT
Organization: CERT, CS Dpt. Toulouse, France

In article <1993Jan27.100655.91110@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au>, apm272v@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au writes:
|> In article <2703@cix.cict.fr>, maillet@tls-cs.cert.fr (Luc Maillet) writes:  
|>  
|> >   About Shadow World, well, I have the distinct opinion that the supplements
|> > quality is decreasing.
|> 	I would have agreed with you a year ago, but I really like the Eidolon
|> book ... I suppose I've felt that since the line jumped from the tiny
|> Loremaster series to the ShadowWorld stuff we've got both good and bad
|> material, as some of the new stuff _is_ good, but there's also lot's of
|> mediocre supplements being carried along (they seem to have cut the number of
|> new supplements though, so perhaps that's a good sign.)

  It's better than before, but it's still not up to the Tanara/Iron Wind standard
( not to mention the little gem named Vog Mur ).

|> 	I agree entirely, though my personal favourite is the Iron Wind, the
|> new stuff has never gotten that good, but it's okay, and I think it's 
|> improving from a low during the mad rush to publish lots of supplements at
|> the start of the ShadowWorld series.  I didn't like Nomads, it wasn't awful,
|> it just wasn't as good as it should have been.

  I like Iron Wind a lot, but my GM just doesn't want to GM in it... ( snif ).
About the newer supplements, I think that Jaiman isn't as detailed as it should
have been ( too much 'adventure' stuff, not enough info... ). Star Crown wasn't
bad. One of the best things was - oddly enough - the Bladestorm box. The back-
-ground presented there is better and more complete than in most "campaign
modules", which is good for Bladestorm but bad for the rest.
|> 
|> > As a side note, we have departed from the given timeline since
|> > 6050 TA. Our Kulthea is more quiet, more concerned with subtle plots than with
|> > full-scale wars, especially since both Ondoval and Andraax left the world ( one
|> > of them dead ).
|> 	Must be quite a serious crater somewhere :-)

  Oh, it was underground, under the Island of Votania. Not much scars on the
surface... the Jerak Ahrenreth still exists, but is diminished and divided -
powers like Lorgalis and Voriig Kye trying to get as much as they can since the
big bosses Schrek and Ondoval are no more.
|> > 
|> >   About Rolemaster in general, the various compagnons are of inequal quality.
|> > One of my friends said about the RC6 : 20% that can be used, 80% useless. I
|> > think there are some good ideas ( rules for weapons lengths, unified skill sys-
|> > -tem - even if this one is not quite to my taste ), but not enough IMHO to fill
|> > a book that size.
|> 	I'm surprised you didn't like it ... it's my favourite since RMC2 ...
|> What in particular would you have like to have seen more of ... I'll grant
|> that the book was more about concepts than rules, but that's part of why I
|> liked it (I really _don't_ need more spells) ... the alternative views on
|> ShadowWorld were a big step forward, interesting in their own right, and
|> setting a powerful precedent for ICE publishing variant background.

  The new 1-die roll combat system still hurts my head... I guess I'll have to
look at it another time. There's certainly an interesting idea beneath it, but
too many calculations when you don't use a computer.
  The bit of info about diff. weapon lengths was good, but I made a house rule
that suited me before.
  The Unified Skill System was a very interesting idea, perhaps one of the best
in all the RC. Too bad it's still unfinished and IMHO not playtested enough.
  As for the rest, I can't remember anything else useful... the 60+ level spells
are just a waste of paper, as are the new professions IMHO.

  Don't get me wrong : I still think it's better than some of the other RC. But
I also think that 20% useful is not enough. 
					
								Redwing
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:11642 rec.games.frp.advocacy:3867