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Currently, there are two main versions of Rolemaster, Rolemaster Classic and Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying. Each has its own distinct flavor and set of rules. Under Rolemaster Classic, there is also the product known as Rolemaster Experss.
Rolemaster is ICE's premier fantasy roleplaying game. It has been in print, in one form or another for over 25 years. Kalu (Kaspar Lundsby) has come up with an excellent description of the Rolemaster system:
"Rolemaster is - contrary to common belief - not a very complex system. It is a very detailed system, but since it's generally very consistent and intuitive, it is a simple system to understand and use. At the same time it's a highly customizable system, which, paired with the fact that it's so consistent, makes it very modular.
The main features of the system are the number of skills it contains and the combat system.
Since Rolemaster is a skill based system, all abilities of a character are recorded as skills with a certain proficiency in each skill. All skills in the system are available to all professions -- what differentiates one profession from the other is the cost of developing certain skills. The result of this approach is that characters are more thoroughly described than in most other systems.
The combat system in Rolemaster is often considered one of the most deadly combat systems in role playing games. It is based on the expectation that combatants parry as a natural part of the fighting in order to avoid getting hit. Once hit, damage consists of hit points and often also of a critical that can give various additional effects (e.g. stun, bleeding, penalties to maneuvering or even death) -- and it is often said that it's not the hits that kill; it's the crits! Thus it is possible for the lowliest peasant to kill the best knight in the realm on an incredibly lucky shot.
Note: What Kalu forgets to mention in his description is that Rolemaster also utilizes what is called an open-ended roll. Simply put, if you roll a 96-100, you get to roll a second time and it to the first. Open-ended rolls are used with almost all types of rolls in the game, and it is how that lowly peasant can get a shot lucky enough to take down the best knight in the realm.
However, combat is certainly not just arbitrary -- usually the most skilled combatant will win, but in the end, skilled characters are never invincible, and unskilled characters are never completely hopeless. The result is that combat is always very tense."
The greatest RPG system of all time is back! Rolemaster Classic marks the return of the original revered System. The rules have been re-organized, updated, and expanded to bring you the rich experience that is Rolemaster.
For more information, click on the following link: What is Rolemaster Classic?
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Rolemaster Express (RMX) is made from the core of Rolemaster Classic. It is the same core engine, but with almost all of the options stripped out, and a sub-set of races and professions. RMX does implement a few options to help smooth out low level play, and all of those options are listed on a single page of the product. For more information, click on the following link: What is Rolemaster Express? |
In 1995, ICE released a new version of Rolemaster called the Rolemaster Standard System (RMSS) that brought together many of the disparate elements of previous versions of Rolemaster into a single unified whole. A few years later ICE repackaged and renamed the system into Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing to make it easier for gamers to get into the system.
For more information, click on the following link: What is Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying?
There is often a lot of confusion over the differences between Rolemaster Clasic and Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying. The systems are related so there are a number of similarities, but the differences are also large enough to be problematic. Therefore, we feel that it would be a good idea to give you good comparison of the two
For more information, click on the following link: What is the difference between Rolemaster Classic and Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying?
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Iron Crown Enterprises, I.C.E., ICE, Rolemaster, High Adventure Role Playing, HARP, Spacemaster, Cyberspace, Shadow World and Bladelands—and all products related thereto—are all trademark and copyright 2002-2008 © properties of Aurigas Aldebaron LLC, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 USA. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, the products listed on this website or bearing the ICE imprint are publications of Mjolnir LLC dba Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE), 112 Goodman Street, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 USA under license from Aurigas Aldebaron LLC. They are copyright © properties of Aurigas Aldebaron LLC and all characters and places therein, are trademark properties of Aurigas Aldebaron LLC. All rights reserved. Silent Death: The Next Millennium is a trademark of Mythic Entertainment LLC.
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