It's obligatory!

So, we have a group of four. I know one is planning on making a Magician, and another a Healer. If we also have some sort of front-line warrior, and a scout-type, I think we'll have everything covered.

If you want, I can also put up an ad to see if we can get one or two more players, but I'll leave that up to a group vote.

Let me know if you have any questions -- and if you spot a race you want, I'll find its details and put them up for you. I'll probably do that as a PM to reduce clutter.

EDIT: One request. When you have your character name assigned, please PM me. I like to have a PM thread for each character, and if it's from that character it'll show as such in the "from" field so I can find it easily in the future.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:09, Tue 09 Feb 2021.

Happy to play the warrior role. Per your Character Creation thread, I don't have a copy of the Shadow World Master Atlas, just the 4th edition rulebook and Character Law supplement. If you can clue me in on my options, we can go from there.

So, fixed Potential Stat modifiers, or Rolled?

Your choice -- but you have to stick with it. No taking the rolling option, then asking to switch to fixed 'cause you rolled poorly.

Rogue, let me know which race from the list interests you. An interesting one for a warrior-type might be a dwarf (called Nomari in this setting). One interesting thing they have is that they are vulnerable to cold, but they can voluntarily hibernate for however long as they want, and when they wake up they get to ignore this penalty for an equal length of time. They don't have the traditional distrust of elves, given that two of the elf sub-races share their love of crafting and mechanical invention.

Among the races I've listed, Talath make the best warriors stat-wise (+6 Strength, +4 Constitution).

Hah! Yeah, that would be a 'sore roller' thing. Nah, I will see which one offers the better options, and then I will let you know of the results. If I roll, you will see the official rolls here on the Dice Roller.

By the way, I am using something called Rolemaster Office, which is a small java program that helps you to create a RMFRP character and has all the Shadow World and even MERP races and info.

It is supposed to be able to print out a nice stat block sheet and PDF, but I haven't tried it  yet.

I just wanted to mention that this tool is available if others want to take a look at it.

Question: the core book mentions certain background options (table with rolls). Are the options different in the Shadow World setting? Same question for adolescent skills and apprenticeship.

One more question: where can I find a line describing how many ranks can be put into a skill and/or skill category?

My question is actually this:

If a single development cost line says I can put two ranks into a skill category, can I also put two ranks into the skill itself? Is the development cost the same for a category as it is for a skill?

So, for a 2 rank/level listing, can I then put two into the category and two into a subskill for a total of 4 ranks?

Nice! I'll take a look at it. I was considering paying out for ERA (the official character builder and GM assistant); it'd be $20 for the core package, plus another $10 for the Shadow World-specific info.

I'm using the Talents & Flaws option from Character Law -- this replaces the background options. The default method uses the original quantity (i.e., "5 Background Options"), and lists how many of these it costs for each tier, depending on power level and whether or not you take a flaw.

There's a secondary option, where each BO translates to 10 Talent Points, and you can take flaws to add more. If you would prefer to use that method, we can, but only if everyone is on-board with it.

All skills cost the same amount of DP as their parent category; if a category is listed as 2/5, then the category itself and each skill within it costs 2/5.

The number of ranks you can buy at any one time depends on the number. If it only has one number ("12"), then you can only buy one rank at each stage or level. If it has two ("2/5"), you can buy two -- the first number is the cost of the first rank (2, in this example), and the second rank costs the second (5, in this example, for a total of 7). If there are three numbers ("3/3/3"), it works the same way but with a limit of three.

Some skills forbid you from buying the category (such as Combat Maneuvers) because they're related but not </i>linked</i>. If they're listed as "Combined", then each skill rank gets you the same bonus as one rank in the skill and the category. A few skill groups (like Awareness • Perceptions) are "Limited", in that each rank only improves a small amount.

For standard skill categories, you generally only need a single rank in the category in order to unlock all of that skill group, then put however many ranks you want in individual skills. Improving a category is really only beneficial if you have several trained skills within that category, and even then only when the individual skills are at rank 10.

So, what I am understanding is that I can buy 1 rank in a skill category and put in 30 ranks into an single individual sub-skill at level 1?

Or are the category limits also the sub-skill limits? (Barring restricted or combined categories.)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Wed 10 Feb 2021.

The idea I see here is that this character could advance 'faster' if he invested points in Category ranks and Skill ranks. Sure, the skill ranks give more bonus per rank, but the category ranks also give a bonus. I would find no sense in not recognizing that a character who has invested in both will have a higher skill than one who hasn't, especially if the costs are very low for the first and/or second rank per level.

Hence my question.

I see now that there are build philosophies that will vary from player to player.

The latter. Let's say the Technical/Trade • General category -- which costs 3/7 for everyone. So if you want the whole category, it'll cost 3 for one rank, 10 for two. And you can't buy any more at that time. It works the same for the First Aid skill -- 3 for one rank, 10 for two.

That limitation on number of ranks applies to each stage of development; adolescent development is a fixed set of skill ranks based on the environment where you grew up and doesn't count here. But your apprenticeship (essentially, level 0) is one set of skill purchases, and level 1 is another. You could buy two ranks in First Aid each time, to have 4 total.

Whenever you gain a level, those limits reset for that round of spending, so you could add another 2 ranks in that skill at level 2.

Category ranks improve all skills under it, but at a reduced amount. At low levels, each category rank gives you +2 to all skills within it, but each individual skill gains +3/rank. If you're only going to have one or two skills in a category, you really don't need more than one rank in the category for starters. (Having zero category ranks is bad, as it's considered untrained and penalizes all skills in that group.)

For skills that are very inexpensive (with a cost starting with a 1 or 2), you could easily drop an extra category rank every level without breaking a sweat -- this would give you more options, as it would improve even untrained skills. A Fighter who's good with all 1-handed edged weapons will be happy using an axe, dagger, or sword, even if he never bothered training with that specific weapon. A Magician is going to have a smattering of Lore skills, while a Rogue will be good at all sorts of stealth.

As you advance, you'll probably be picking up a smattering of individual skills the same way -- ones that only cost you 1 or 2 points -- just to get rid of the untrained penalty.

Ok. So the category costs are the same as the skill costs. Got it.

Now, where in the core rulebook do I find that line?

If you're looking for an explanation of buying skill ranks, that's on page 22.

Ever stared at the same text so much you could not see it anymore?

Yup, there it is, in page 22. I've been looking for that line that declared both the category AND the skill cost. Now I see it.

Thank you. =)

Happy to help. I've only been looking at RM rules since 1st edition, when the crit tables were hand-written. And 2nd edition, which was full of Companion books that were just 140 pages of overanalyzing the rules.

Don't get me wrong, they had some really neat concepts in there. One of the Companion books even had a metaphor for time travel that made paradoxes impossible. But boy did they overthink things sometimes.

In my personal opinion, I dislike random talents and flaws. The points option leads to stronger characters, but it gives more control over what the character is like. I am all for that, so consider me on board.

Oh, and hello everyone!

I like the Nomari idea, let's run with that. I'll name him Lugard Breakmountain.

This is my first go-round with Rolemaster, so please forgive any dumb questions or slowness on my part, as I'm still working my way through the rulebook, and thanks in advance!

Ok, got my talent choices.

Based on the "Talent Cost" option, I would like to choose two Greater Talents without Flaws:

- Exceptional Magical Ability: Essence [Greater, 30]
- Aura (Greater) [Greater, 20]


Talent Backstory:

When Salinus was young, he would wander off into the forest to play by himself. His brothers and sisters thought he was odd, perhaps a bit 'touched'. But in reality, he had been playing with fae beings, small sprites and faeries, who had taken a special liking to him, and had taught him 'fun tricks' (magic spells). He promised not to tell the grown-ups, and he managed to keep his promise for many years. Unknown to him, he had been born with a 'gift for magic'. Many generations back, one of his ancestors had been touched with magical blood, having mated with a mystical being in 'human form'. The offspring had unusual magical qualities, some inspiring, some abhorrent, but as the generations passed, the blood thinned, and the new offspring became further and further removed from this ancient gift. With Salinus, this gift made a small showing. He was luckily spared the physical changes, and no part of his appearance diverged from human, but the intensity of his magical talent demonstrated itself in his natural ability to command great power and to be resistant to magical effects. If he had only known that all those little quirks meant he could be a powerful wizard, he might have taken the choice to study earlier. As it was, the gift was present, but without education, it simply waited patiently to be of use.

On his 16th birthday, Salinus went to see a travelling stage show with a 'wizard' showman, who liked to visit every year to trade and give one or two performances in the arts of 'Arcane Power'. It was a fun show, full of lights and surprises, and a puppet show of the old folk tale, Sir Kayllan and the Beast, always a favorite with young audiences. It was during this performance that the 'showman' discovered Salinus' exceptional magical aptitude when he cast a spectacle spell over the audience and Salinus' natural protection turned it around on him. No one in the audience was any wiser on what had happened, but the 'wizard' knew. The next day, he approached Salinus' parents seeking to explain to them that they had an exceptional young man as a son. Salinus loved the idea of casting spells in the open, and helping people with them. He was glad to show what he could already do, to his parent's shock, and the wizard's surprise. In his mind he could see himself as the hero of the story, Sir Kayllan, so he agreed to an apprenticeship. With his parent's blessings, he travelled with the wizard to his study, and began his magical path in earnest.

He learned many things about magic, about the world, and about people, but he never learned that he was exceptional as a mage, especially one of his human blood, as he was the only apprentice to the wizard. And the wizard never told him. He merely instructed his young student as was needed for him to reach the pinnacle of his potential, something Salinus took to eagerly and with great abandon.

So, on his 20th year, as his apprenticeship formally concluded, Salinus set off into the world. He had a modicum of spells under his command (entirely unaware of his exceptional nature), a measure of esoteric learning, and a wide-open sense of wonder at the world. Perhaps a bit apprehensive at now travelling on his own, he decided to seek the company of like-minded people, and make a name, and some wealth, for himself. What better way than seeking risk for coin. There was a name for people like that. Was it mercenaries? Nah, that was too martial. Was it assassin? No! He never wanted to hurt people on purpose, but he would be willing to defend them. Bounty hunter, then? No, he didn't want to track criminals for a living. It sounded dull. He finally reached his answer: Adventurer. There were stories of people who travelled to far away places and lands, and who underwent great trials and risks, but came back wiser, stronger, and richer, to become heroes in the land. Of course, all those stories omitted how many other tried and failed, who left and were never heard of again. But those were insignificant details. The promise of fame, riches, and an easy life once he finished, made Salinus eager for the next step.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:46, Thu 11 Feb 2021.

Also, I am picking fixed Stat Potential points.

Let me know if these Talents are acceptable. While they are both greater, it seems very fitting for him, and it doesn't strike me like they would be too unbalancing since he can be overwhelmed by conventional means, like everyone else. He's just really good with spells and has a good resistance to the Essence realm.

Both of those are fine -- and your backstory is exactly the right length. Just a few paragraphs, but a nice neat summary that still gives me some pieces to work with.

Consider looking through the list of flaws anyway -- some of them are not strictly flaws but applying mechanical aspects to traits you were going to play anyway. There might be a few extra points you could translate into a special item or a bit more starting wealth. If you want your relationship with your mentor to continue, you'll need to take the Patron status to be able to claim any benefits.

I'm considering either starting you out in Bodlea (which is a lot like the Scottish Highlands), or Danarchis (which strongly resembles ancient Greece). Neither is particularly high-tech -- you won't be starting with any gear involving high-tensile steel -- but that'll make the high-end materials that much more valuable when they turn up later.

Regarding Flaws,

I did check on the flaws, and I found that almost all of them were not to my taste. The only ones that caught my attention were 'Aura', but not when he was under emotional duress. Instead, the aura burns whenever he uses magic, the more points he spends, the brighter it gets and the longer it lasts. He would not be a good candidate for "infiltration specialist". =)

The other one might be... I forget the name, I don't have the book with me, 'Unusual Appearance', I think? I am thinking that perhaps as he studied magic, the more magic he used, the more the 'blood' became active in him, eventually 'warping' his appearance into something 'odd'. Since my original thought was that his 'mystical being' heritage was a dragon in human form, he might develop something like long warped finger nails, or slit-pupil eyes with nictitating membranes, or even develop a thin wiry lizard tail, or a small set of horns, or even scales on parts of his body.

Those are the only two Flaws I can see fitting this character. Let me know what you think.

As for starting location, I would be more inclined to the 'highlands' area than greek, since the European sensibilities are more apt for him than the Mediterranean ones. High tech is not necessary, since he relies more on his spells than on equipment.

The longest amount of time I will be spending on him will be on selecting how to spend his development points. I have finished correctly assigning his Cultural points, and am now spending his hobby points. I should be able to finish his first level as Magician over the weekend. His equipment will be easy: normal travelling stuff, as the Core book mentions, a set of robes, a quarterstaff, and one stint in the Amateur Wizard training package, which will give him one or two bits of exceptional equipment.

The more complex part of this is selecting the right spell lists. I am examining them to see favorable interactions between them, and I already see Runes as a way to create scrolls, and Spell Storage as a way to keep one spell readily available for him to cast right away in case of emergencies. I am favoring Light Law because he can already Shock Bolt I at 2nd level in the list, which would be useful in a confrontation. With his bonuses due to stats and Talents, he should have a moderately easy time casting spells above his level.

Question: Do Development Points carry over to the next level if you find yourself unable to spend them all in the present level? I can see this happening if you have two or three points left over but the few skill-costs left are in the 8 or 12 per rank range.

Ok, I am working on a fixed-text character sheet for RPoL. Might take me a while to finish. I am cutting a few corners on them otherwise they will get huge.

I will also be combining the levels into a single sheet entry. Players just have to do the work of writing in extra lines.

Lonepaladin has put a fixed character sheet in your chracter details section.

Indeed he did. Just checked it out.

And quite a sheet it is.

I shall stop working on mine then. =)

What is the appearance stat? It is not in the Core rules among the listed stats.

Apperance is based on Presence and is eauivalent in vakue.  It is adjusted by race.  Think of it like Comeliness.  It isn't used for much.

Cool. What book do I find it in?

RMFRP, p. 28, under "Role Traits".

---

I could see the "visible aura while casting" part, especially because you have the Aura talent that increases your Power Points. It won't grant you any extra ability -- it won't be bright enough to see your way around, but if you use a light-creating spell that can target yourself we can easily say that your aura is the reason.

The Unusual Appearance one might be something to consider as you gain levels, thinking of it this way. It'd be like in the old Fable games, where improving in magic skills would visibly age your character along with giving them glowing eyes and veins. We could do something like that, give you that Flaw (with an accompanying Talent) after you gain a few levels.


I definitely recommend looking at Training Packages -- the Amateur Mage is poorly named, but certainly a must for you. A second package would be worth it if you find a good match (making sure you don't have two Lifestyle packs), as it would use up a chunk of points and take care of some decisions for you.


Keep in mind that casting over your level is risky. If you want another show-stopper spell for combat, the Spirit Mastery list (closed Essence) is good -- its 1st-level spell can KO several targets at once, which makes up for the casting time.


No. If you have points left over, you need to find something to put them in. You have no shortage of skill categories that cost small amounts -- and a single rank in an otherwise unknown skill has a significant benefit. You want to specialize, yes, but having a range of 1- or 2-rank skills is better than having to use your untrained mod.

Where do I find Spirit Mastery?

Nm, it's a basic list. Found it.

A couple thoughts regarding gameplay before I go to bed.

I want to try to adhere closely to RM's experience system, but I'll be watching your numbers as we go. If it looks like it's taking too long, I'll likely start applying a multiplier. There's already going to be one in place, because of the "novelty" bonus, and using Idea XP can effectively add another 50% to that -- and I'll be handing that out based on who comes up with a plan, not just who does it. Because coming up with a plan should be rewarding. (Plus it gives the less-combative types a steady XP stream.)

Anyway, point is I'll be adjusting the numbers as we go so that you actually gain a level once in a while. I'll probably tend toward more in general, 'cause there's no harm in letting you have a few levels under your belt.

In general, I'll handle the game mechanics. If you're obviously doing something that entails a die-roll, and you know the factors involved, by all means roll the dice -- otherwise I'll take care of it so you can worry about describing your actions. Whenever possible, I'll feed you the info, like telling you some possible courses of action and their difficulty. When you get into a fight, I'm simply going to tell you their AT and DB so you can look up the attack tables if you want to roll your own.

I do try to enforce the activity percentage rules. They're there for a reason. I also enforce the penalties for taking damage and using up power points. Play-by-post makes it a trivial matter to do the math on those. I'll help you work out the numbers on those (like whether you take a –10 penalty at 15 hits, or 16).

I'll put the setting in Bodlea to start. Basically low-tech highlands, I'll put up a post tomorrow with the description and start piecing together a timeline of recent history. It's Tech Level 2 (bronze age), so iron tools and weapons are scarce. They do some trade with their neighbors so it's possible, they just don't have the tech to make their own. (Be aware that bronze weapons and armor cost 10 times the listed price, but are just as effective in combat -- albeit a bit weaker.)

I've added an extra player; they're someone I've run games with here in the past, and even though they're new to RM they've very enthusiastic about learning.

They're also interested in playing a scout-type, so I'll probably make them something both combative and stealthy. That could be a Thief, Rogue, or Warrior-Monk.

Fantastic. Welcome new [scout/thief/monk]!

On my side, I think I've finished the apprenticeship skills. I opted to NOT take any training packages, and instead just focused on the skills I wanted this character to have.

Please double check him on the math. I've added a bookkeeping set of lines along the skills areas, so I could keep track of the level to level acquisitions. [C: Culture, H: Hobby] They also help for GM tracking of skills. I haven't added the numbers together for final skill bonuses, I've only finished assigning skill and category rank buys.

Other notes: If you are ok with the modified Visible Aura Flaw, I'll take it. For it I'd like to have a Spell Adder II, in the shape of a long hardwood and quartz quarterstaff. Let me know if this is ok with you.

I agree with the idea of slowly making Salinus warp with the use of his magic. We can work on a Talent later, as he makes his levels, assuming he lives that long. I am thinking by the time he reaches level 20 he should look distinctively "inhuman" and more "draconic". That should make for amazing story and roleplaying opportunities.

Not exactly an optimal choice, but okay. The Training Packages give a discount for taking a fixed set of skills, along with the chance of some extra items, money, and/or stat gain rolls. They take a lot longer in-game to acquire after character creation.

But you know what you're doing with this -- I'm mainly bringing this up for the others' benefit.


Both of those are fine with me. Bear in mind that your Visible Aura won't substitute very well for a light source, but it will make you stand out while you're casting a spell. It'll make it harder to be subtle about it. I might let you develop a special Aura Suppression skill (probably in the Power Manipulation group) later on.

Hmm... that's what I get for scanning things very quickly. I think I will work with the Training Package after all. I hadn't seen the two stat gain rolls. That's 16 points right there. With the skills and the equipment, this is certainly worth it.

I will rework that Apprenticeship level with one 'Amateur Mage' package, which I will call 'Apprentice Mage'. =)

Again, too fast on the draw. That Stat gain roll was reserved for Empathy, not Quickness. It was a "Realm Stat" roll.

I trust you. ;)

It was a good stat roll, definitely deserving of Quickness. But when I went back to check on what else I needed to upgrade, I saw "Own Realm". So, the only option was Empathy. =)

The Memory stat roll, though, was excellent. Almost at max.

So, I've finished factoring the skill numbers on my sheet. Please double-check if you are so inclined. It was a long process. I now have earned my honorary doctorate in RoleMaster Character Generation Studies. (Flips tassel to other side, in my head my speech is going on: "I'd like to thank the Academy...")

All that's left is finishing up the small details in the sheet and some basic equipment.

Talking about equipment, let me know what the results on the Amateur Mage special equipment is. If I get the Spell Adder bonus I won't be picking it as a Special Equipment from the list. I'll pick something else. Or maybe another Talent.

You got one item: a wooden rod with a bronze cap on one end, and a clear crystal on the other. When activated, it glows enough to light a 10-foot radius, lasing for 30 minutes. Activating it only requires a mental command, as long as you have the item in hand. At the time of activation, you can touch the crystal to something (an object or creature), and the light will emit from that point instead. If the target is mobile, the light will move with it.

It's a Daily II item, casting Light I (from the open Mentalism list Brilliance).
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:00, Sun 14 Feb 2021.

That is indeed a perfectly fine item for a wizard to have. What would this world come to if a wizard was not able to cast light at will? I'll take it. =)

Well, twice a day, but that's a light-source that works without fail and won't accidentally start a fire. Plus the option of putting the light on something (or someone) can be totally exploited.

Wanna be a target? Here, have some light. ;-)

On an unrelated topic, I added a version of my backstory to my profile. Please have a look and tell me if anyone sees any points where we could have gotten to know each other. Ayami has been in a big city the last nine years, so I don't know if anyone is old enough to have met her before.

I know, right?. Guess what? My character IS the target. You see, whenever he spends power points, his entire body glows! The more points, the brighter the glow. "Have some light", indeed! =D

On that note, GM, we have to come up with a scheme to define how much he glows based on how many points he spends, how long the glows lasts, and, optionally, if the glow diminishes slowly over time or stays at full power until time runs out.

Fun, fun, fun with (more) charts. =)

I was thinking it primarily happens during the rounds in which you're doing spellcasting -- it wouldn't linger. The brightness would depend on how many power points you're pushing around, but it will mainly serve as a visual cue for others. Not enough to light your way around for more than a few seconds, but enough to make it hard for you to be subtle about casting.

Hey, that's great. I'll take that.

In my mind I was thinking something like:

1-3 points: small glow
4-6 points: medium glow
9 + points: big glow
15+ points: huge glow

Then the glow would go down one degree per round afterwards, unless Salinus casts another spell, in which case it would grow to the larger of the two spells, then begin fading from that point on.

I clearly overcomplicated it. I'll take your solution. =)

Quick question regarding training packages.

For each iten its an open-ended roll and if you get it half the chance for the rest of the items.  However the notation on the last entry changed from 100 in the main rulebook to 0 in Character Law.

This changes the chance to get the last item - for example Scout would have a +50 of getting a mount as their second item if they were primarily successful, while a crafter would have a 0 percentage of getting +5 crafting tools as a second item.

Which way would you want to rectify this mistake (in which book is the mistake?)


Second question - For adolecence skills do you want to use race entries (base rules) and humans pick a subculture or are given one based on the region picked for the region or are communities more the focus over race?

I'm using the race rules from Races & Cultures, so your adolescence skills are determined by the environment you grew up in. Each race has a list of recommendations for suitable environments.

With Training Package items, the last item is intended to be a fallback -- if you didn't roll well enough to get any of the items listed, you get the final item without having to roll. It's also a GM option to give you that item anyway, if (say) you only scored something minor.

Also, we had a player drop out; ironically, the player that first proposed a RM game in GMW. We need to figure out if we want to try recruiting anyone else, or stick with what we have. It'll be worth taking a look at what everyone is making. I'll go over the posts and make a list.

Our original RM requester dropped out? Funny! =)

Despite the fact that the Rolemaster Cover shows a three-person party, I think we could use one more at least semi-martial class. (Says the wizard who's looking for his meat shields.)

I'd say let's get another player to replace them. I think if you announce this game possibility on the Iron Crown forums, you might get more people to bite than in here, where so few people know this game.

I just posted an ad in the Rolemaster Discord channel. I'm pretty sure I'll get a bite or two. It's a small group, but very enthusiastic.

Nice. I didn't know RM had a discord channel, but it makes sense. There's gotta be one for just about 'anything' in this world.

Hmmm... purple poodle groomers?

Pickle Rick pickle collectors?

5-sided hexagon designers?

I'm considering picking up one of the commercial programs for this game. ERA is really thorough -- it handles character creation and advancement, travel stuff like foraging for herbs, and combat. I can't say I care for the interface though, a lot of useful information is hidden behind buttons and widgets. It's intended for a group to use at the table, with the players using tablets or phones to look at their character stuff while the GM does the same with a tablet or laptop. I'm not sure if there'd be a way for any of you to see it, except for me sending you output files (which wouldn't be much help).

There's also Combat Minion, which is strictly for handling fights. Fewer visual doo-dads, but it's also more straightforward for that. It would only be for my use, they're really strict against sharing.

Both have free "play around with this and try it" modes, but unlocking the full data on either would cost a bit. That'd include all the attack and critical tables, and ERA would also include everything about character creation and NPCs and monsters. (It would require adding an extra item to make it include all the Shadow World-specific stuff.)

Sure, if you feel it helps, go for it.

Digging through the ICE forums about ERA, it looks like it may be possible for you all to access it through me -- by catching me when I'm online and connecting through a specific address in your browser. I already do something like this with a VTT program.

So that's a selling point in its favor, giving everyone a program to make characters and ensure we're on the same page. Granted, if it's just making characters we can lean on RMOffice for that.

Interesting. So this is a server program that allows others to connect to your computer? I doubt it is just for characters. Does this program handle combat? I know there are multiple versions, for different subjects. Which one are you aiming to use?

I had to step away from RMOffice for a moment there. I wanted to take all the Magician bonuses, and there was a +20 as one of the profession skills, but RMOffice had it +10 only. I went looking for a way to edit that, but I could not find enough on how to do it. So I had to revert to good old-fashioned pen and paper to finish that part. Otherwise the program is excellent.

Combat Minion just handles combat. It's local only, tied to my IP address to discourage sharing. Getting the full list of attack and crit tables costs $20.

ERA handles character creation and advancement, combat, foraging for herbs, travel pace and random encounters, rolling treasure. They have packages for all of the books, as far as I can tell. $20 for Character Law + Arms Law + Spell Law + Creatures. An extra $10 for the Shadow World material. That program runs as a server on my PC, intended for others on my wifi to access it on their tablets/phones -- but the creator said it's possible to use port forwarding to allow remote access.

I can poke around in RMOffice, see if I can figure out how to edit data.

Don't expect us to be online at the same time. I'm in Europe for example, so anything that would need me to be online during the US evening for example would severely impact my sleep cycle. ;-)

Salinus: The profession bonuses in RMOffice are correct -- they're based on the list in Character Law, which includes categories that aren't in the core rulebook.

Really? It had not occurred to me that Character Law would change the options for Magician. I am using the ones in the Core rulebook.

I will read up on it right now. Thank you for the heads-up.

Ok, I see what they did. It looks like the Power Manipulation Skill Category was added into the mix, splitting the original +20 into Power Awareness into +10 to Power Awareness and Power Manipulation.

Got it.

This is a lot to read. Thank you for catching that.

More questions:

The Talent 'Exceptional Spellcasting Ability' grants a +25 to "Spell Casting" and "Using Items" in a realm. This applies to all 'realm' lists, and when doing 'Static Spellcasting Maneuvers'.

Does it in any way apply to Spell Mastery rolls?

That's not something that's come up before. I'd have to say no -- considering that Spell Mastery can end up giving you a modifier to the casting attempt, that would essentially double the bonus.

Sounds good. I will have to explore the Spell Mastery 'possibilities'. It looks like a good skill to have.

So... I am looking at the Treasure Companion with all those luscious magic item creation spell lists. I didn't think I could afford 50 DPs for a spell list of my character's spell realm but another profession.

So, of course, the question arose: can you change profession in Rolemaster? Putting aside the actual story development requirements, do you just pick a new profession to follow and then pay points with the new skill costs?

Not normally, no. It's something that's been brought up in the past, but is generally so complicated as to not be worth looking into.

If you're really interested in it, you could play one of the Alchemist professions -- there's one of each realm. Each gets a set of spells that imbue items with temporary enchantments, and they have other base lists in common. But making permanent items can take a lot of time: an item requires one week per level of the spell(s) used in its making. It also costs a fair chunk of money.

As an example, making an iron +5 broadsword would require daily casting of work hard iron (4th-level Inorganic Skills) for four weeks, then a daily casting of weapon I (4th-level Weapon Enchantments) for four weeks. So eight weeks total, with a total cost of 64 gold in materials.

A basic +5 magic weapon takes between 7 and 11 weeks to craft, and costs 50-77 gold. That's assuming ash and/or iron; it only goes up if you want stronger material.

If you're interested, there's one thing they don't spell out but I'll allow. You have to take the first step -- actually creating the base item -- in a forge or workshop or other facility. That's where most of the materials will go. But once you have the item, you can take it with you on an expedition, as long as you make sure you cast the required enchantment spells each day.

Thank you. I will pass on that. It was more of a game mechanics question as to how easy it is. I am presently also playing a HARP game, and all it takes to change profession is to pay for a "talent" that allows it. Then, PRESTO, new profession.

I was just curious if it worked like that in Rolemaster as well, since I haven't read all the books yet.

Yeah, RM wasn't built around the idea of changing professions. They figure that the training you do in your adolescence kinda sets up patterns for what's easy and what ain't.

Just got the RM ERA. Nice package. It works as a local virtual webserver on your computer, so most of the stuff it does is web pages. Interesting idea.

I was trying to add a Training Package, but found no way to add ranks without taking out from my non-package development points.

Have you figured out how to do that?

I have a question about starting money.

I have two training packages with listing of "Normal + d10 (open-ended)."  If I purchase a "poor" wealth roll and roll the first money roll with its +40 bonus, do I roll  d100+2d10+40 for it or do I add extra money?  Or does each d10 rill count for each roll on the tabke?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:16, Thu 18 Feb 2021.

I see it saves the character files as an XML file. Although I haven't opened the file yet, it should be easy to edit. It is XML after all.

I'll see if I can modify the character to reflect both the Training Package and the new Power Point Development list benefits from the Talents.

No I haven't. Hadn't had much of a chance to play around with the demo, I'm probably going to go ahead and buy the core bundle and SW pack though. Then, when I know one of you will want to access it to do some character maintenance, I'll fire up the local server, open the port, and leave it running while I go do other things.


The extra money from training packages is a direct roll for extra coin -- silver, in this case. So if you roll a 5, that's 5 extra silver in your pocket. If it says "open-ended", then if you roll a 10 you get to roll again and add it, continuing to do so if you keep rolling 10s.

Your normal starting money is a roll on the wealth table in Character Law (Table 6.3, p. 80). You get one free roll, the column depends on whether or not you paid up for a higher level -- it defaults to Very Poor, which is free. That initial roll gets a bonus that guarantees you get 20 sp worth at minimum. Higher wealth levels are more likely to get higher results, which means more coin.

You can also buy extra rolls -- they have to be at the same level, and the cost depends on that initial level. These extra rolls don't get that first-roll bonus. Lastly, you can spend points on modifying your wealth rolls; it's 3 points for +10 before you roll, or 5 points for +5 after you roll.

I liked the bundle. It was the Core bundle for $20, RM Cultures and Races for $10, and the ERA package program is free, so only $30. I found that affordable.

And yes, you can modify the XML of the file easily enough. It is just text. I will tinker with it to see how I can make all those ranks present without taking out the non-package points.

Once complete I will make the character file available to you and you can load it into your copy for review/editing.

Hi all! I am the “scout”. I am very new to the system but really enjoying character creation so far.

I am going with the rogue profession and focusing on archery for combat and sneaking and investigation stuff for out of combat.

Still have some core things to work out but I am really looking forward to playing with you all!

And if you haven’t had the pleasure of a game GM’d by LonePaladin, you are in for a real treat. He’s so great!

Awesome! =)

On a related note: So I found out that you can add ranks to skills and categories outside of a leveling up process. That allows me to add the ranks for a Training Package. The downside is that a "level up" on ERA creates a record of ranks taken during the level-up process, and if I add the package ranks outside of the level-up, no history of it will be recorded. Or at least, I have not yet seen how or where, if at all, it is recorded.

I may still be missing details on how exactly a training package is applied, but neither the YouTube tutorials nor any other documentation mentions how to use it to my satisfaction.

I will just have to cut corners and do what I can with it.

It just occurred to me, as I type this, that perhaps I can add the package skills into the history file if I find where the history file is kept and how it records those values. If it is XML it will be tedious, but possible.

Well, if it is not in the XML definition list, it won't work with the program.

So, looks like the solution is to just add the given ranks of your package after (or before) the level up process. When you add the package all it does is subtract the cost from your available development points.

In the end, the GM can then check on all developed skills to make sure the assigned ranks are present, and can compare them with the actual development history (on leveling up) to see what is part of the package purchase.

It would be nice to be able to add notes to a character. These details could go there nicely.

Shouldn't the program do that? Substract the cost of the training package from your available development points that is? That is how it works, the package gives a small discount, but you still have to pay the development points for it.

Yes, it does that.

What I was looking for is a "history" or "log" of ranks taken that belong to the Training Package only. Right now, the only "history" kept is for ranks taken when leveling up.

So, I have to add the package ranks outside of the "level up" process.

Ok, I think I got it complete. I am taking the equipment part lightly, as I am still managing it, but I won't be needing much special stuff as most of the basics are covered under the normal equipment and weapons rules, plus common sundries.

Here's a link to the ERA files.

Double check me at your leisure, please.

Notes: I added the stat gains from the Training Package by hand, as well as all the package ranks.

https://drive.google.com/drive...vbJURV9T?usp=sharing

Let me know if this doesn't work for any reason.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Sat 20 Feb 2021.

I haven't bought ERA yet, gotta make sure we're okay financially first. I'll definitely get it on the first of the month if I haven't before then. Can't open your file until then.

In the meantime, PM me with the main choices you made -- race, culture, profession, training packages. I'll put the numbers together manually and let you compare them to your totals. This way you can see what you'd have before applying your manual purchases, and make sure that ERA is adding everything properly.

Also, I've removed the player "Ivorwigwam" from the game. They joined me through a Discord chat, then never posted anything nor responded to PMs.

I've copied the character table from earlier into the Character Creation thread. We have a team of four -- a ranger, rogue, lay healer, and magician. If you think that'll be sufficient we can stick with that. Otherwise, I'll go post an ad to see if we can get a fifth (or, if you *really* think we need more warm bodies, a sixth).

Hello,

I am almost finished my Ranger.  I have the last hardest part to finish.  He's going to be struggling at combat but he should bs capable of combat.  He's a scout like character.

I have a question of materials and cost/weight/effectiveness.  I want to purchase a target shield and a handaxe.  What can I  buy these at our tech level or below?  My character has a limited amount of money and comes from a dwarven rural nomatic culture.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:32, Sat 20 Feb 2021.

Heheh... I think four of us is enough. Considering how lethal Rolemaster is, we should be able to handle... what? ... a badger? And that's probably with two of us dying from the critical damage after the fight. =)

[Remember, honey badger don't give a shit!]

I will update my character sheet here on RPoL to reflect all the scores on ERA.

I believe we agreed to use the point system for character generation.

If you trust the ranger to be the primary melee combatant we are going to die.

Here's what you get to start with:

• Whatever special items you got with Talent Points (and, yes, we're doing point-based)
• Any items gained from Training Packages
• Two normal weapons of your choice; you have to have at least 1 skill rank in them
• One suit of armor corresponding to whichever armor skill has the most ranks
• Clothing (including a cloak and boots), scabbards for weapons, a weapon belt if needed, a belt pouch, and normal personal effects
• Whatever money you got through your wealth roll(s) to buy additional gear

And it sounds like you're wanting an extra to be a front-liner, like a Fighter or Paladin or Warrior Monk.

That sounds like a good addition to our team.  I'm pretty new to this game and I'm sure this character is not even close to being 'optimized.'

We have a martial artist healer, a ranged combat mage, a magician, and a low armoured ranger with lower than average OB and DB.

I hope we have bleeding flows covered.  I will also take first aid for bleeding hits.

I am a Rogue who is much better at ranged than I am at melee. I think we lost one of the 4 you listed above. Not sure which one though. I could try to pivot to something more melee focused but I might need some advice on that one.

In reply to Quorf Greybeard (msg # 90):

I'm the Lay Healer, but I am level 1. That means there is not that much I can do yet. I can stop bleeding up to 3 hits/rnd, but then you cannot move anymore, or it opens up again. It will get a lot better with higher levels.

No worries. We just need to make sure you carry a decent supply of herbs that can do all that for you until your spells are able to manage it. Although, at the speed of PbP, this might take three to five years. =)

Ok, I think my character is complete enough for basic accounting.

I have stats, modifiers, hits, power points, skills & categories, base movement rates, and some very basic equipment. I haven't fully accounted for the cost and weight of the equipment, but considering that he's not wearing any more armor than his clothes and robes, has a few daggers and a big stick (quarterstaff), and basic things like a backpack, roll, and some food and cutlery, he should be easy to manage.

The core details are complete, and I am taking it easy on his stuff right now. I'll spend some extra time over the weekend/Monday finishing up his equipment details down to the weight and exact coin.

LP, the skills on the sheet now reflect the skills on the ERA version.

Let me know if I missed anything important.

I am going to go enjoy my honorary degree. =)

Howdy folks, I have just read through the OOC thread and have decided to play a warrior class of some type.  Please forgive the fact I have never played in Shadow World before and know next to nothing about the setting.  However, I do own the World Atlas and Players guide.

I have read there will be use of outside programs, ERA to be exact.  This is optional, I am hoping?  I have looked at the cost of ERA and combined with the cost of the books, decided it was not necessary for me.  I do however use RMOffice, a free character generator.

I just finished picking up ERA -- none of you will be required to buy it. I'll be using it to help me with recordkeeping and handling combat and such.

If you do want to use it, you can connect to my copy, I verified that it's permitted. We'll just set up a time, and I'll have it running with the appropriate port open and send you a link to it. I'll probably run a chat with you in Discord at the same time so I can walk you through it.

I'll go over everyone's sheets tonight and tomorrow. One thing that needs to be added is a space for noting talents and flaws and racial abilities.

I have one more person, familiar with the game, asking to join. Considering we have all the major roles done, he can pretty much do whatever. I'll see if I can get him to fast-track making his character, given that all of you are real close to being done.

Good deal.  Hey Paladin, what kind of pace are you looking at for your game?

I plan on making a significant post about twice a week, depending on your actions. I can check in pretty often. When a fight breaks out, I'll try to keep things moving as fast as people can respond.

I'm also going to be paying close attention to how much XP everyone gets. If it looks like it's dragging, I'll apply a multiplier to everything -- but I also plan on actually using the novelty multiplier ("First Time" bonus) and Idea XP. So the people who comes up with the plans will get a share of the XP earned by the people doing the plans.

OK folks, I have completed my character and NOW I am hyped to get things rolling.

And we have one more asking to join, not yet sure what they're going to make. I'll get everyone's numbers plugged into ERA to look for things that still need doing, but we're not far from starting.

Heeeyyy...

This is looking good. We should be upgrading our threat level from "badger" to "moose". =)

All kidding aside, this is shaping up to be an interesting party.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Fri 26 Feb 2021.

I'm actually thinking of trying to encourage the other player to try an Alchemist. Yeah, they have the whole "making magic items that takes a long time" part, but I've already ruled that the non-physical part of that can be done while still getting in some exploring. Plus, they have spell lists that give temporary bonuses to people's gear -- much like a D&D artificer. It's odd, but I think it could be a viable support class.

It would definitely give you a reason to go explore and travel, hunting down rare materials for his next project, and something to invest your money into. You'd want to take a slower pace on adventuring, but you probably are going to do that anyway with how long it can take to recover from injuries -- and that's not even including the optional rules for training time.

Point is, you shouldn't be going from level 1 to 10 in just a month of game-time. Don't rush, except for when you HAVE to. Play it cautious, learn what's in your path and make plans.

Playing cautious is something that is a very important hint for Rolemaster. This is not a system where you happily rush into every combat, just take a look at the criticals and you know what can happen to you. In that sense, RM is much more realistic than D&D for example.

Palying careful in combat means using part or all of your OB in your DB to help reduce the amount t of damage you take as well as reducing the severity of your critical taken.

For the people who have minimal experience in RM, the system is DEADLY.

I was reading the examples of combat.  Choosing between snap/normal/deliberate action looks to make a big difference (default to deliberate) and gang up on your opponents if you can.

Unrelated observation:

I am learning that none of the spells this character would cast are instantaneous. This means that a Static Spell Casting Maneuver roll will be required with all of them. Which also means at least a few rounds of preparation.

I might as well start working on Spell Store learning over time.

Good thing this caster is very good at 'casting'.

With the Combat % of actions you still have to worry about your action taking up that %.  Snap actions allows you to use upto 20% of you allowed action.  An example of this would be using that to close the distance to the mob you want to attack.  Another example of a snap action would be hiding an attack from the previous round, such as taking aim on a target to gain a bonus, then firing during the snap phase of the next round.

So yes, we could hold our actions until the Deliberate phase and get a +10 to our action.  However, will Pally hold the actions of our adversaries the same way?

So we just have to be ready for anything to be honest and hope thr dice gods are in our favor.

A lot of the instaneous spells tend to be enhancement spells, defensive or offensive.  As you gain levels you spells will require less prep time and can be cast in 1 round.  But even still, you can forgo the prep rounds and cast a spell in one round, but you get some penalties based on how many rounds of prep you skip.

If you level is greater than the spell level by 3, you can lose a round of prep.  If greater than or equal to 6, you can lose 2 rounds of prep without penalty.

This mechanic make low level casters weak in the beginning of their adventuring career.   But they get pretty powerful once they achieve level 7 or greater because of the lack of prep rounds.

Sorry, but that's not completely true. There is no limit on what % you can take in each phase with the exception of movement (and you can't take more than 100% for all three phases together). So you could make a melee attack in the snap action at 100% activity for example.

Okie dokie, I stand corrected.  Good looking out.

I have a question.

My character Quorf is in combat with an orc and it chooses the normal phase to attack.  Quorf chooses the deliberate phase to get the +10 bonus and puts his entire OB into DB.

When does Quorf get the +10 bonus?  Can he apply it to his DB even though he is attacked in the normal phase because it was declared in advance or does it have to be applied to his attack OB because it applies to that phase only?

You'd get your +10 DB bonus. Most melee weapons also give an extra +5 for a full parry.

Because you declare what you're doing and when before any actions happen, any OB/DB shifting applies for the entire round. There are restrictions -- any weapon skill you use to parry has to apply to the enemy you're attacking. Also, even if you decide to "full parry" and put 100% of your OB into defense, you still have to make a +0 attack; it's possible to accidentally hurt someone while you're fighting defensively.

How you declare a melee attack also matters. If your target is adjacent, you can declare a "full attack" which gets a +10 bonus, or you can declare a "pressing attack" which allows you to pursue your target if they move away. You can also declare a "reactive attack" which doesn't require specifying who you hit; instead, you take a –10 penalty, and at any point you can move up to 50 feet and attack whoever you want.

Parrying ranged attacks is different. You have to use a shield (or some form of cover), know that it's coming, and use 50% of your activity to parry. You can use your weapon OB for defense, but that 50% means you don't have enough left to attack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:46, Sat 27 Feb 2021.

The potential sixth player bowed out, insufficient free time.

I want to get us started soon. Everyone go over your character sheets. Fill in as much as you can. Make sure to put in notes about your Talents and Flaws and race traits if I haven't already done so for you. Even if you have a character made up in ERA or RMOffice or some other program, kindly transfer those numbers here.

I'm now setting a deadline. The game will officially begin this time next Friday. Please be ready by then. I'll start sooner if everyone's updated early. I plan on starting you in media res, with something that gets everyone excited -- a quick fight scene. It won't be anything too dangerous, for RM, probably just a few goblins or the like. An explanation of why you're in a fight will come as soon as you win.

Chime in if you have any questions.

We're looking good for this Friday, possibly even a little early.

Once we've started, I expect to see some cases where some of you might realize you forgot a vital piece of equipment, or decide that some of your skill selections might not be right. I'll allow for some ret-conning on that, within reason. I plan on using this first adventure of yours as a sort of tutorial -- teaching the newcomers how it all works, and giving you veterans a chance to shake off the cobwebs.

Plus, I'm going to be using the "novelty XP multiplier" heavily during this initial run, so expect to get a LOT of XP. Feel free to say something if you think a particular event should have a different multiplier than what I list. I'll be adding an XP-tracking post that records everything.

Good to go. Let's Rock & Roll!

Good deal.  Earlier is better IMHO.  Who are the newbies to the system?

I am quite new to the system!

Also, I believe one or more of the other players was a bounty hunter until recently. I was hoping to piggyback off that and would love to have some shared background/history with a fellow bounty hunter.

Welcome and congrats on having the courage to take on RoleMaster.

While the system is not complicated, the organization of the core rulebook makes it an onerous task to get all the information you want in a easy to access way.

The system, however, is lethal. Don't get too attached to your characters. =)

Oh I don't doubt it, the GM walked me through a basic attack as a means of introducing me and helping me sort out my skill bonuses and I rolled a crit that killed the enemy in 12 rounds. It was pretty neat :)

In reply to Suladriel (msg # 118):

Welcome to RM, I believe you will love the character building options that are available within the system

LOL! And you will love the character "killing" options that are available, too. =)

I thought everyone was going to be walking shields for me so that I can fire an arrow, and then draw an arrow halfway on my first round, finish drawing it and fire it on my second and then have to wait until round 4 to fire my third arrow :)

Heh... that's blazing fast compared to the five or six rounds my character will need to cast a spell. =D

Well, I suppose I could do it in less rounds, but I would have to roll real well. =)

I forgot, I took a trait to cut the speed of my drawing arrows in half :) So I still should be able to fire every round after all :) But it's amazing that I had to spend some of my trait points on that.

That is very nice. That should make loading and firing very quick for you.

In reply to Suladriel (msg # 121):

Just remember, those crits can be done to you too.  I had a warrior back in the day who took a crit to back of the neck.  Down and out, once healed he still had a -70 penalty to all MM he performed.  Needless to say the character was retired, but i still use him as an npc in my world.

"I was once an adventurer like you, but then I took arrow to the knee neck."

I'm fairly new to the system.  My character is probably the bounty hunter you are thinking of and I haven't written up his history although  I have a good idea of what it is.  He's certainly a hunter, just more of an ambush predator.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Thu 04 Mar 2021.

When my main RM game was RMSS -- the edition prior to this one -- all of the books were three-hole punched, and perforated near the spine. I took advantage of this.

Everything in the main book that related to character creation -- the chapters on making characters, all the races and professions -- went into one binder. Another one was nothing but the chapter on skills (including the Moving Maneuver Table in the front). A separate binder for each realm of magic, and another one for weapons. Every page was put into a plastic sleeve, protecting the sheets and making it easier to flip through them.

Every character received photocopies of all their weapon and spell pages, and I kept the book on skills sitting on the table within their reach. Players looked up their own maneuver results, attacks, critical hits, spells.

The system looks daunting, especially for face-to-face play, but if all the players have the tables and references they need, it flows surprisingly fast.

I get that!

I think we're close enough to 100% ready to begin. Any last-minute adjustments in skill ranks or gear can be ret-conned as needed. I will also be pretty lenient about making alterations as we go, for a bit, if you decide that something needs more or less emphasis. Once you reach level 3, however, I'll want you to have it figured out -- if you're lacking in something at that point, you'll need to wait until you gain a level and improve normally.

When you finally end up in some sort of hostilities -- either here or later on -- I'll use that opportunity to explain the combat rules in detail for the newcomers. This first critter is potentially dangerous, it has a high OB even while wounded. If you fight it up close, you'll definitely want to go on the defensive.

If anyone has seen Swamp People: Serpent Invasion, that's exactly what I'm picturing right now, but they are hunting non-venomous snakes so that's the main difference here, I think :)

You also haven't yet seen this thing attack.

For whoever wants to apply the killing blow -- and yes, there's still some XP you can gain here -- you'll make a melee attack with a +105 bonus. It's possible to fumble, or roll so poorly that it doesn't result in a kill.

Salinus, your spell technically lasts two rounds. This means the magic keeps it asleep and unable to wake up from normal means, then it is just naturally asleep. So if the others are quick about it, they can afford to have a botched attempt at slaying it. Unlikely to happen, but you never know.

You don't really need to kill it, unless that's you doing you. Salinus wouldn't mind having it picked up in a sack and released elsewhere.

What if it's poisonous or bites through the sack?

I am going to update my post and take care of it because I can get there quickly and at least get a decent blow down with a +150 (45+105)

Once I know the snake is dead, I will honor it in some way, but I didn't want to assume I'd killed it even with the very high roll.

You know it's nine feet long, right? It's *big*.

Also, just noticed -- this snake is "Large" mechanically which means it uses a different crit table. Also means it ignores any "A" criticals. But for Suladriel's hit, the end result is the same. Only real difference, for later, is that crits against Large creatures are open-ended high.

May I roll again to try and kill it? Do I get the same +105 to my initial roll again?

Give one of the other martial types a chance first.

sounds good!

Y'all need to forgive me, but I do not post towards the game during the day while I am at work.  Simple posts such as this are not a problem, but dialog, dice rolls, etc are a pain I the butt on my phone.  Those type of posts are done when I am home on my desktop.

I'll be happy to take care of any dice or table-referencing for you as needed. Just let me know.

Something else. The way XP works in Rolemaster, everyone gets different amounts pretty much from the onset. Martial types can rack up a lot of XP for scoring crits, spellcasters can tally up a lot if they cast a few risky spells. Being the Idea Guy can net you a lot by osmosis.

But it is a lot of recordkeeping. I'm handling that, with a thread outside of your view right now, but there's the issue that some of you will gain levels earlier than others.

So here's what I'm thinking: I won't tell you how much XP you gain at any one time. I'll keep track of it like I'm doing, with each of you having different totals. And when at least half of you have enough to make the next level, I'll simply say you all gain a level. That way the people who are a bit behind don't fall further behind.

In reply to GM (msg # 147):

I'm all for that. I do not want people to make decisions based on how much XP they get. ;-)

In that case, may I suggest just having a "group total" based on common "goal experience". Since every character works off the same experience table, you could simply give goal experience and bonuses for "individual contributions".

That way you have full control over when we level and it may fit better based on story telling.

And this way you don't need to keep track of anything.

Heck, you could just skip all xp and say "this is a good moment to level", and presto, we all go through the leveling process.

Just take ALL the burden out of it. =)

Lone i like the idea above of shared xp thrown into a pool.  When the group reaches the goal for next level, i.e. 5 players x 10,000 xp would be a goal of 50,000.  Once that is obtained, then we level/train, not sure sure if you are doing training required for skills to level them up with appropriate costs applied.

Hadn't thought about the training time requirement, actually. It's not terribly restrictive, give that it's measured in days and any skill increase will take less than a week until you get to rank 9 and up. It can be reduced a bit -- a teacher, stuff to train with, and reference material all reduce the time. Plus it would slow down the pace a bit, you're not going to be adventuring full-speed 100% of the time.

Not like in those CRPGs where the hero never sits down.

There is nothing to forgive. Post when you are at home!

Sorry Ayami, but you have become Jangor's Master of Knowledge on Murlogi.  lmao

Ironically, she doesn't have any skills for backing that up yet, and only a +2 to any attempt to recall anything about them. But she probably has the lowest DP cost for Lore skills (1/3), so once she reaches 2nd level she can easily stock up on a bunch of subjects.

I have a horse too. But let’s not put any meat on it. I don’t know that I can keep my carnivorous flying squirrel in check around raw meat.

I think you've forgotten to mention the squirrel in-character. Or given it a name. I mean, it's the size of a cat, it'll be hard to miss.

You have a carnivorous flying squirrel that everyone can see? I'd like to read that in a post. Will you post about what the squirrel is doing?

GM, doesnt matter what her ability is, she just had a tidbit of info for my character.  So she is the Master of Murlogi knowledge.  lmao

I realize that Ayami doesn't have skills for everything, but she gets around in her profession and has heard things. She is also interested in politics of Emer, therefore I assumed she knew about Stroane.

Yes. I will do that eventually. It didn’t seem pertinent yet. But now it is. I will get on that later this evening. The squirrel is mentioned in my description :)

And here I thought everyone had an animal like the characters on the cover.  ;)

Nice to see someone else appreciates how everyone has a pet.

Salinus doesn't have a pet. =(

No, he's referring to the cover art on the main RM books. They all depict a party of adventurers -- crossing a waterfall, fighting a construct, stuff like that. And every one of them has a pet.

Ah, I see what you mean. While I rarely paid attention to those little animals, yes, it makes sense. =)

Actually, suladriel, I have no clue how we came together or got where we are except through GM fiat.  I am sure there is a backstop there somewhere.  So since your little man-eating squirrel was never mentioned until now, nope never noticed it.  Lol

Understood. I was assuming that we had at least ridden out to this spot together so you'd have likely notice it running around from time to time, but it's funnier that you didn't.

Quorf, as we likely have some sort of shared history in the bounty hunting world, I'm going to say you were familiar with Shadowtail and knew to keep your fingers clear.

I kind of like that we all appeared here, we can create our shared backstory together in real time :)

yeah that is good point

I know it seems a little odd, but I have a habit of asking for minimal back-story on characters. Anything more than three paragraphs or so is too much -- all you really need is something describing your early life, an indication of where (or why) you learned your profession, and something bringing you to the present. A reason for adventuring, an event that got you moving, a question left unanswered. Something like that.

Keep in mind that the volume of information you put in front of me is multiplied by the number of players. Three or four regular-sized paragraphs, with a group of five, means 15-20 paragraphs for me to take in. There's also an expectation -- if you include something in your history, it's assumed that the item interests you and you want to see it become relevant in the story.

If you have one or two things like that, it's easy. I can make myself a checklist and try to work everything in over time. But if everyone gives me a dozen such elements? I'm now under pressure to try to incorporate sixty things.

And let's be honest here. I'm more interested in what your characters are going to do than what they have done.

So feel free to add things to your history as we go. Or not, we could go the entire game without hearing about a character's family and be just fine if that player doesn't want to bring it up. Use your Talents and Flaws, and your choices for Training Packages and skill ranks, to inform your backstory. But I won't require any of you to go into more detail than you already have -- not unless I pull it into current events.

Quorf, do you want to point out the tracks to me? I can see if I can get lucky with them?

Sorry about not chiming more recently. Been fighting a bad cold, and haven't been doing well with my resistance rolls.

I'll point out the tracks tonight.  I had to get a new tablet and just got through setting up the basics.

Salaries, Quorf's reputation as a bounty hunter is a little dark.  He used to take jobs where they didn't  want or care if the target lived or not.

I'd like to remind everyone that I'm allowing retroactive changes, within reason. If you forgot torches, you can buy some. Same goes for stuff like rations or rope or arrows.

I have a rough.  I was giving others a chance to post.  Besides, we have two ways of making torches available to us.  The trick is making fire.  I have plenty of trade goods, just no actual money to buy things.

Cool, thanks GM.  SO, the next question is, what do we need, aside from torches.

I have no pot  rope, nor grappling hook.  I will probably trade my firebox for flint and steel if I have the money - I tried to make my 8 sp stretch and sell my goods when we hit town.  I'll get some boots then.

An extra sack might be useful.  I have a bedroll which I would like to leave on the wagon.

Dont even fret Quorf, I took a bonus wealth roll.  So if we can list the items we need, they will be found in the wagon.  There is already a pot there with appropriate items.  I can add the rope & grappling hook as well.  Torches are being added as well.  So is there anything else that is needed?

I have three goods worth 40 sp, 21 sp, and 1 pp plus a partial snakeskin.  I need to trade them.  Money is not the primary concern, its character concept.

A shovel, tool hammer, and pitons are a good idea.  A pick, chisel, saw, and ladder might be useful but probably unnecessary.  Rations for next trip would work, and Quorf should have a food preservation spell next level.  Extra waterskins so we don't have to boil water daily are a nice to have but not required.  A candle is a good backup if we can't start a fire normally (Quorf should have a spell at 3rd level).

Quorf had the right idea -- I assume he was expecting a chance to start things in a settlement to make some in-character trades. Bodlea doesn't have its own coinage, most of their trading is through barter. They do take coin from neighboring countries, especially the places that get passing merchants, but it's rare for any place but the larger towns to have any coin at all.

I'm going with the assumption that you had at least a rough idea of what you were getting into before coming out to this site, so that's why I'm allowing retroactive trading to have supplies you might have thought of.

Suladriel has a few torches just in case. :)

I'll post in character, the weekend was crazy busy with household chores and building things...

Suladriel would likely be bringing up the rear. If someone else would prefer the rear then he would be in the middle. But my guess is our marching order is most likely:

Quorf/Jangor
Ayami/Salinus
Suladriel

Thoughts?

Sula?  Who is taller, you or Quorf?  LEave the short one up in front with me and the taller in the rear.  I believe the two of you are the bow users?

I am the tall one

Quorf is armed with a sling and his handaxe/farget shield.  He is likely shorter at 4'10".

Salinus is definitely tall, being Laan and all.

I'm 6'3" and Erlini.

I don't know what a Laan is :)

So I think the right order is likely as follows for single file:
Quorf
Jangor
Ayami
Salinus
Suladriel

For wider corridors we can go as follows:
Quorf - Jangor
Ayami - Salinus
Suladriel

I will be a brief cushion in the back to keep Ayami and Salinus "safe" but I emphasize brief as I'm a bit fragile myself :)

Well, at 6' 2", Suladriel is just a bit taller than Salinus. This is definitely the tall part of the party. We should go in the middle of the "boat", not on the edges. =)

My only concern for height was for missile weapons.  Jango is well over 6' tall, towering over the 2nd tallest member.  I would not want to see arrows or other missiles flying into the combat zone leaving me between saud missile and its target.

Since we're comparing heights: Ayami is 5'5" (which is also in her profile). I don't think that matters, but I wanted to say something as well. ;-)

Jangor is 6' 7". He's the tallest so far. =)

In reply to Salinus (msg # 190):

Lol

Then you may need to duck :) Kidding :)

You are also the strongest melee fighter and meat shield, so we want you in front of us, hopefully I'll be able to shoot around you :)

That was the intention of making this character to be the meat shield.  Normally I like to play thieves leaning towards assassin.

I think I need to go over everyone's list of langauges. Some of you have only one listed and I know that ain't right.

Yeah, I would be one of the ones who hasn't finished taking all their languages. However, Salinus would have picked cultural languages around him, like Emer, or *dwarven* or *elven*. Murlogi is far too specific and there would not have been enough exposure to it.

Might also be worth pointing out a few things that are common knowledge about Murlogi. They have a penchant for mechanical devices, especially implements of torture. They're very sensitive to sunlight -- mainly coming out at night to hunt for food. This includes human (or elven) flesh.

Murlogi are not a potentially sympathetic race. You might run into a solitary exception at some point, but that would be a very noteworthy case.

Should we clarify that I haven’t actually loosed an arrow but that I have declared that as my action (not a snap action)?

Drawing the arrow back triggered the hostilities, so you haven't fired yet.

Oh! So this is inaccurate, then?

Yep. I don't allow combat actions outside of a tactical environment. Even if you've prepped an ambush and are starting things off, there's still the odd chance that one of the targets could notice something quickly enough to react.

Oh, and to clarify: Each phase has a distinct action. You can't wait until the deliberate phase to fire, and still be able to draw your next arrow this round. Likewise, if you want to move during the normal phase, something like spell preparation has to be done on a separate phase.

Consider each phase to be good for a single action. Movement, making an attack, preparing a weapon, spellcasting, each is a separate action. Technically, if you're fast enough at reloading, you could fire a bow in the snap phase, grab an arrow as a normal action, and fire again in the deliberate phase. You'd be taking some hefty penalties to do so, but it's possible.

Oh, there's a single exception to this sort of multi-attack thing -- spellcasting. Instantaneous spells only take 10% of your activity to cast, but the rules explicitly state that you can't cast more than one spell per round.

So next round can I draw the arrow as my snap action?

I will update my IC post to reflect reality.

Yep, that's right. Note that if you have the ability to reload faster, you could technically fire your bow as a snap action, grab another arrow at the normal phase, then fire again as a deliberate action. Both shots would have penalties, most likely, but it's possible.

Ok. I have updated the list of actions I originally posted to consider the nature of a single action per turn stage.

Correct me if I am wrong there.

Also, what is the normal activity cost for reloading an arrow on a bow?

For a short bow, 50%. This means you can only fire twice (like I described above) if you have a talent that specifically reduces this, like Sul has.

Reloading is something that can carry over between rounds. You could fire with a full 60% activity, then spend the other 40% preparing another arrow. On the next round, you'd only need to use 10% as a snap action to finish readying another shot.

Did you get a bow from somewhere? I don't see one on your sheet.

Ah, I see what I did. I am also playing HARP, where reload times are in the 200% to 300%. I am confusing the two, so the question was in my mind, but it was misplaced.

Here in RM, rounds are 10 seconds. In HARP, they are 2 seconds. So, things take a lot longer to get done: movement is far less, attacks are swift, and with the right talents and skills, shooting a bow can be just as deadly and fast. However, spells can go very fast in HARP, although I am comparing it to RM, where it will take several rounds of prep to get a spell off.

This is true, combat in HARP is a totally different pace. And spellcasting is a totally different animal -- it'll take you several levels before you can reliably throw out a low-level spell with no prep time.

The good news is, if you meet certain conditions you don't have to make a skill check to cast a spell -- there's a whopping 2% chance for a non-attack spell to fail regardless, but you don't risk failing just by rolling a middling result. For Essence casting, these are your conditions:

• The spell is not higher level than you
• It's an Essence spell that isn't from another base list
• It's not cast as a snap action (unless it's instantaneous)
• You haven't used more than 25% of your Power Points
• You've prepared the spell long enough — 2 rounds if the spell's level is within 2 of yours, or 1 round if it's within 5 levels
• You have a hand free
• You're speaking the spell's key words in at least a whisper
• You're not wearing armor or a helmet
• You're carrying less than ~50 pounds of living organic material (so no carrying people)
• You're carrying less than ~10 pounds on nonliving organic material
• You're carrying less than ~5 pounds of inorganic material

Essence-users in RM are assumed to be traveling really light. It's like the classic "D&D mage not wearing armor" trope, but taken seriously. They explain that too much stuff on your person interferes with your ability to manipulate the world's energies, and inorganic stuff like metal and stone really tamp it down.

Okay, round 1 is resolved. Not much happened, but there was a lot of defensive actions so that's not a surprise. Start off careful, get an idea of what you're up against before going all out.

I made a couple assumptions where there were gaps, like what weapon Quorf had in hand, or what combat skill Ayami was using for defense.

Jangor, I'm a little confused by your post.  I think you want to tumble the goblin off his feet.

1) We are both left handed.  If Quorf needs to shield bash he can push to the right without pivoting assuming he is in front of you because  we were marching in single file.  Given Ayami's attack I'm not sure of everyone's position.

2) To pivot would leave Quorf without a shield and with a flank bonus to his own opponent.  Are we using grids or hex positioning?

3) The space is open by 15 feet behind the goblin as the tunnel widened.  He can't push him into the wall.

4) Quorf's one-handed blunt weapon skill is non-existant and he does not have a blunt weapon skill in shield bash.  He has a -30 base for this skill.

5) Quorf has no two weapon skill so I would have no OB or DB and parry with my axe for a total of +5 to DB (total DB -1).

I understand that you want both of us to attack one opponent but I don't think we can this round.  You might want to rewrite your actions.

I think Jangor has a different mental picture of what's happening. I *think* he's trying to sandwich one goblin between your shields, except the goblins aren't between the two of you -- and somehow turning this into a strike with the edge of his shield while simultaneously hitting that same goblin from above.

I *think*. It sounds like he's trying to use you to force his opponent to move to a disadvantageous position.

The latter part, hitting with both the mace and shield at the same time, is allowed -- he has the Two-Weapon Combat skill with that particular pairing, so he'd use that skill bonus (+43) as his OB for both hits. I believe his shield OB here may be higher, based on some talents he has; I'll have to find them again and see, I don't have them listed on his character sheet (yet).
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:24, Sun 21 Mar 2021.

So we stepped into the widened area.  ok my bad....I thought we were still in the passage way.

Since that is the case I will edit my post to reflect this.

Thanks. Something to be watchful for -- dictating the others' actions. Suggesting things is fine, even giving orders. And you can have your own actions contingent on someone else doing something. But if you describe someone else as taking certain actions, then describing the consequences as if it has happened that way, that's "god-modding" and you want to avoid that.

Caveat: I do that some times with you, in order to keep the story moving, but that's partly my responsibility as the GM. But only with situations where doing so should be obvious (like assuming the entire party moves when you're exploring), and if someone quickly responds to say they were doing something different I would reverse my description.

I didn't think it as god-moding, only suggestions ns for coordinating actions.
There are just things obvious to the situation that he would notice that would make it impossible to do so - s bour posion, both characters being left handed, etc.

I will reply in the morning.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:22, Sun 21 Mar 2021.

A quick note, something seems to be wrong here:


Yet, Goblin #2 does not show any damage in the status.

That's because I marked the damage on #1 instead. Good eye.

Is Jangor retconning his move?

Looks like he decided to ghost us. I sent him a PM here yesterday with no response. I had been talking with him on Discord before, so I tried contacting him there, and got a notification that the message didn't go out. There was a list of reasons why, and the last one is being blocked by the other user.

So, given that I had no other contact with him, I can only assume that's why.



Guess we need to find another player willing to take over his character.

Oh, that is unfortunate. I hope that is not the case, and that other technical issues are responsible, but vanishing from a game is actually fairly common.

Are you going to open the board to recruitment again?

Well, let's just carry on with his actions: he'll go two-weapon attack, both on the same goblin, with a 50/50 split on his OB for DB. That ought to keep him safe and still give him a pair of good strikes.

We can steer him by committee. =)

Good idea. Let me get that set up and get things moving. I'll have it by this evening.

Typical RPOL player attrition I guess, these things happen. I agree, let's just have him take the most likely actions for now.

There was a LOT of missing in this round. The die-roller did not favor anyone this time going.

I tried to get fancy with the Bleed result and get it to post an actual blood-drop character, but RPoL didn't like me doing that. :\

Hmm. A 67 results in 1A in my table vs. AC 8. What table are you using?

Woohoo! I am going to do the same thing again next round and try to take out the goblin’s last hits. Can Jangor and Quorf hold off the others for now?

I'm willing to bet that ERA is looking at the generic "Bash/Grapple" table in the core rulebook instead of the Arms Law table I told it to use. Even that table would have had a result of 1 hit.

I don't know for certain, because ERA doesn't show me the final total, so I can't be certain that it didn't modify a number somewhere. Regardless, I've edited the post (again) to account for your hit, and rolled a crit for you.

Quorf can hold out next round.  I think if "Must parry" means that Goblin 2 has no attack.  Am I correct?

I am not following the math very well in the attacks and defense (my OB and DB) but are my numbers decent or is Quorf substandard at combat?  I may want to change a couple of things on my character.

Suladriel is built around being a good archer. So I wouldn't judge yourself against that. I used my starting talents to have a special bow and a talent that allows me to draw an arrow faster than usual.

If an enemy gets up close, I am in trouble though so I think getting a replacement for Jangor is essential to our group survival.

A big factor in that is your stats -- your Agility is above average... for a dwarf. And your Strength is at the low-end of average. So you have a net bonus of +2 in each stat, meaning that your stat bonus for all weapon attacks is only +6. That's still an advantage over an ordinary person, but it also means that you are getting most of your OB from your training.

Once you gain a level, you'll find your stats taking a big jump upward, except that your Strength is still very low and it's not going to be exceptional by any means. Your potential is only 73, which is only a +1 bonus, so you're never going to be extremely strong. Your Agility will eventually get up to a +8 bonus, reduced to +6 for your race. And since melee is two parts Strength, your stat bonus will only get up to +12.

So, no, you're never going to be a melee power-house. You'll do a little better at range (stat bonus will max out at +15), but it still means you'll be relying on training for the most part.

You only have one weapon category with a multi-number cost, so weapon combat is a secondary concern for you. Most of your abilities are going to lie in dealing with the wilderness and being aware of your surroundings, plus your spell lists.

I figured that I would be focused on training, I am wondering id Quorf will at least be comparable to the average opponent of his level.  I ×@!/ him to have a chance to hold his own in a one on one with an opponent of his equivalent level.

NPCs and monsters aren't figured the same way as PCs. There's a table in the book with typical NPC stats by profession and level, and according to it your average 1st-level Ranger NPC will have OBs of 20. But it also assumes that your average 1st-level fighter or rogue has an OB of 50, so all of you are way above the average.

Plus, goblins are agile little buggers -- their base DB is 30, and they sometimes use shields which makes that even higher. So it's not uncommon to have to get past a DB of 50-60 to hit these guys.

Today was a whirlwind. Got my Covid vaccine in the morning, finished my errands just in time to get the kids from school. And they were a handful all day. Tantrums, accidents, roughhousing, you name it. They ended up earning themselves an early bedtime with no late-night screen time like we sometimes give them.

I'm bushed.

I'll get the game updated tomorrow, then post an LFP here to see if we can get someone to fill Jangor's shoes.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter. Salinus, you might want to pick out an action for the next round.

I've got someone taking over Jangor (which may mean they're going to be making a few changes). If they can't get in by this afternoon to post an action -- given that this is likely to be the last combat round -- I'll take care of it myself.

Welcome Jangor's replacement player.

Welcome!

Thank you all.

GM, please do post the final action for my character this combat.... I need to spend some time reading to catch up with the rest of the team!

Welcome!

I imagine we'll need Rope Mastery to get this critter knotted up properly. Anyone have it?

I have a whopping -16 in that skill. Quite normal for level 1. ;-)

I am not trained in that...

Yeah... Salinus' skill presently allows him to recognize a "rope", but I don't know if he qualifies in "handling one". =)

Lol, I suspect -16 might be our highest skill level then! Give it a go! You might always roll well, and if the Murlogi escapes at a dramatic moment it's just more FUN.

Yeah, I'm going to say that tying up a sleeping goblin would be an Easy (+20) Rope Mastery static maneuver.

So nobody needs healing? I'm holding a spell for that.

If not, sure, I can have a roll with effectively +4, but don't blame me if the Murlog runs pretty soon. ;-)

Ayami Mori rolled 63 using 1d100+4 with the Role/Spacemaster system (fumble range of 1 to 5).  Rope "Mastery".

Well, at least I didn't tie myself up...

Looking at the charts I think I did take a few hits...do you want to heal me quickly before tying the goblin up?

Done. :-)

How’s everyone doing?

Eh... crazy world.

Good. How's pacing been in past on this game? Fairly slow post rate?

Actually, our GM has been fairly responsive, for a game that just started. This episode of quiet is a bit long.

Well, let's wish them the best in whatever has them occupied.

I agree with Jangor. And I am good myself.

Well, according to the cast page, our GM hasn't logged in since April 9th.

I suspect he's out of commission, or out of the game.

With apologies, I'm not continuing the game here. I'd had a year-long hiatus from RPoL, and having been back the past couple months I've come to the decision that it's not for me any longer. It's nothing to do with the site itself, just that the way things are going IRL for me I need a PbP gaming platform that's a bit more mobile and responsive. I only have one other game I'm handling, and it's on Discord -- and because of the differences in accessibility I've had an easier time keeping it going.

I'm also thinking that I might have a change of opinions regarding this game system. Maybe I need to take a closer look at the new version they're working on, perhaps it'll address the issues I'm having.

You can all reach me on my Discord account if you don't already -- my ID there is LonePaladin#3806.

Sounds good. Thank you for letting us know. Running a game is a lot of work and investment, in personal time and energy. You should be able to enjoy it as much as the players. If this isn't working for you, moving away from it is a good idea.

Best to you! =)

Sorry to see you go. Happy gaming!

I'm sorry as well, but it's better to stop earlier than later, so no hard feelings!