Rolemaster FRP

The Rolemaster FRP books have always been the nicest in the series, and this game edition is the most complex. That said, this version of the game feels the best supported, the art is fantastic, the books are laid out very professionally, and the library is the largest and most complete of any of the versions.

When I had trouble understanding a concept in Rolemaster Classic, I came here and understood it better. These books feel the easiest to learn from and read, except the Arms Law book, which was fixed in the 2003 version (above), which reprinted and streamlined the tables in an easier-to-read format.

The argument is that if you are going Rolemaster, go for the best edition. I grew up with the 1990s version, which was my first introduction to the system. Many still prefer the Classic (2nd Edition), and you can get those books as softcover print-on-demand books.

The new books are excellent and filled with bug fixes and optimizations, and this version is well-supported on VTTs. However, the library is currently incomplete. I support them and keep up with the PDFs and hardcovers, but my heart is in the 1990s with the system I first knew as Rolemaster. The company supports both systems, but Unified is the path forward for the future game. At this point, it is a matter of preference and personal comfort.

Unified is also the more straightforward game, better laid out, streamlined, and organized. The art is okay, and the collection of races is strange. 90% of people will define their own custom races and worlds, so the ones they give are good examples, but most will just DIY their own race choices.

Unified is also well-play tested, with many edge-case rules thrown out. The system felt like it had been redesigned to incorporate the best of the Classic and Standard systems, with bloat and endless details cut out of the game for the best parts.

I wish the RM FRP had PoD hardcovers. The RM RFP Creatures & Monsters is the game's current "best monster book." I hope they release the two planned monster book volumes this year. I need my monster books!

HARP is also a strong game. Sometimes, I read through Rolemaster, and I give up and go right back to HARP. Even the new edition of Rolemaster has its strangely written parts and outright contradictions in the text that throw up a stop sign in the middle of an expressway, and I am left scratching my head and wishing it was all a little easier to play. HARP is that game, and it can have the same (or better) crit charts in one of the expansion books.

Parts of Rolemaster United are still horribly overwritten and obtuse. In many cases, they lack clarity in the summary and examples that clarify what is going on. The game was written by people who understand it, and just breaking into it means understanding not only what is going on now but also how it used to be done in past versions.

An example on page 32 of the new Spell Law is where two identical level 30 magicians get a new level 23 fire spell on the Fire Law spell list. When they each have an existing level 23 fire spell and are "doubling up" on spells at that level, one pays 1 DP and the other 2 DP. It isn't explained why one pays 2 DP versus 1, and the example explains what developing the 31st and 32nd ranks of Fire law would cost, which has nothing to do with what is presented in the example.

The red books RMSS/FRP simplified how many spells you learned per level, removed the "spell gain roll" mechanic of classic, and made "knowing spells at a purchased level" automatic. Universal goes back to the earlier mechanic, but only for "extra spells doubled up at a level," which is confusing since this seems to be for "player developed" spells only, and the spell lists don't double up on spells at a level.

So, we get a broken example that covers an edge case. It seems a lot more critical than it is and confuses the entire mechanic of answering the question, "How many DP does it cost to learn spells at a given level of a skill?"

The answer is zero, "The first spell on the level is free if the level is already paid for."

To be fair, United aligns with RMSS/FRP and makes sense. However, the research rules in United confuse things, especially since they are only for player-developed spells.

The game is transitory, and they needed to release the core books and books "usable with other systems" first, such as the Treasure book. We still use the older monster book. The new game is worth checking out and supporting. I have a soft spot for the red-book classics, but the future looks bright for this game, and I hope more people rediscover a true classic.