Games - Rolemaster

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	Games - Rolemaster

Rolemaster is a table-top role-playing game published by Iron Crown Enterprises. Rolemaster has come in four separate editions. The 3rd edition, first published in 1995, is also known as the "Rolemaster Standard System" (or RMSS for short). Since 1999, the current edition is called "Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying" (or RMFRP) and differs from RMSS only cosmetically, and in its organization.

Basic game mechanics

Rolemaster uses a percentile dice system and employs both classes (called "Professions" in Rolemaster) and levels to describe character capabilities and advancement. Character generation can take neophyte players quite a long time, and even some experienced RMSS players can take an hour or two to create a new character. Rolemaster is sometimes derisively called 'Chartmaster' or 'Rulemonster' for depending upon a large number of tables and charts for resolving game actions, and for its perceived vast array of rules covering every possible situation. In fact, the game system is relatively simple, with a single mechanic resolving all actions, and relatively few situational rules.

Task resolution is straightforward; roll percentile dice, apply relevant modifiers, and look the result up on the appropriate chart. There are, however, a lot of charts (though many of these are optional, and many rolls can be made on a relatively small number of tables unless the group desires otherwise).

Combat is similarly intuitive. Each combatant has an Offensive Bonus (OB), which takes into account one's natural physical adeptness, weapon skill, and other factors, and a Defensive Bonus (DB), which takes into account natural agility, the use of shields and "Adrenal Defense", the ability of martial artists to avoid blows seemingly without effort. In addition various modifiers for position, wounds, and other factors are present.

An attacking combatant thus rolls percentile dice, adds his or her OB to the total, applies any additional modifers, and subtracts the defender's DB. The resulting total is then applied to a table for the attacker's weapon, whether that be a natural weapon like a claw or talon, or a manufactured weapon like a spear or broadsword. The result will be a number of concussion hits dealt, which are then subtracted from the defender's running total. If sufficient hits are dealt, the defender may go unconscious, but death seldom results purely from concussion hit damage.

In addition to concussion hits, however, a critical hit can be dealt by the result on the weapon table. These are described by type (slash, crush, puncture, etc.) and by severity (generally A through E, with E being the most severe). Critical Hits (or simply "crits"), can inflict additional concussion hits, bleeding (subtracted from concussion hits at the start of each new round), broken bones, loss of limbs or extremities, internal organ damage and outright death. If a crit is inflicted, a second roll is made on the appropriate critical table.

Thus, unlike, for example, Dungeons and Dragons, Rolemaster describes wounds not only in the number of points of damage dealt (which are then subtracted from an abstract pool of 'Hit Points'), but with specific details of the injury inflicted. Death occurs, for both player characters and Gamemaster-controlled adversaries, primarily through this critical damage, and not through loss of hit points. In addition, specific injuries carry with them injury penalties, which inhibit further actions on the part of the wounded part, and loss of concussion hits (which represent overall health), can bring about similar penalties.

Also, it will be noted that strike resolution in Rolemaster requires one, or at most two, die rolls, with no additional modifiers made to the second (critical) roll, except in certain circumstances when specific special abilities are in play. In addition, the common flaw pointed out in pure hit point systems (such as D&D's), where a fighting combatant functions at full ability until the point he or she drops unconscious or dead, does not exist in Rolemaster.

Also, almost all die rolls in Rolemaster are 'open-ended', meaning that if a result is high enough (or low enough,) you roll again and add (or subtract) the new roll to the original result - and this can happen multiple times, so in theory, there is no upper limit to how well (or poorly) one can roll. This means that the Halfling does have a chance, however slight, to put down that troll with one well-placed (and lucky) dagger strike.

However, the fact that one's opponents also fights using these same rules can make Rolemaster a very deadly game for both PCs and NPCs; a lucky shot may let Joe-Bob the Ignorant Scullery Boy kill the Mighty Thargad, Orc Warmaster of the North with a kitchen knife, but Angar the Strong, 30th-level fighter in full plate with a wide array of combat skills, can die to a very, very lucky kobold fighting with a broken bottle.

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Games - Rolemaster

Basic game mechanics

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