MERP would be my recommendation.

I have had a long history with Rolemaster, it dominates my RPG book collection and all the books are well worn from many years of use.

Basically I agree with others here, the mechanics aren't all that difficult and the charts are pretty easy to use. Early on it can be easy to get overwhelmed but we used to just keep the handy charts copied with the character sheet.

SpaceMaster was the gateway drug to RM for me, then MERP and I would suggest either of those as a nice way to slip into playing the system. My personal favourite flavour of the system is RM2 and we still break RMSS out once or twice a year for some play (since that was the group favourite).

Quote from: tellius;429810*snip*
SpaceMaster was the gateway drug to RM for me, then MERP and I would suggest either of those as a nice way to slip into playing the system.
*snip*

SM is the only ICE product in my collection. Just picked it up a fewdays ago allong with SMC1. Asides from the sheer volume of content in SM I would say it is a good inro into the RM system.
Played many a game of MERP and it is a concise game system though still front heavy Chargen...I think MERP 1ed./1st print is 104 pages while 1ed./2print is 128. Have seen these at LFGS for 10$. 2ed. (black cover version) is bulkier (over 200pages) and more expensive.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the system if you get into it!

Rolemaster Express is a fun and inexpensive way to start the game. It builds easily into Rolemaster Classic, which I especially recommend with the Combat Companion, featuring armor-by-the-piece, which was the only thing I felt RM was ever missing.

Any of the other cuts of Rolemaster are well worth your time and energy to learn. I liked RMSS. It's extremely versatile. But there is a learning curve with Rolemaster, and the path I outlined offers a whole lot of fun without fighting that curve too much.

Quote from: The Butcher;429730I don't have a lot of experience with RM, as I've played it only once. I do remember character generation being painful, taking some 3 hours, and featuring lots of seemingly overlapping skills.

And as it's been mentioned in other threads, I have so many great games that deliver the same RM offers me, that I never did bother with it.

For us it didn't take anywhere near 3 hours. Like an AD&D 2e character (out main other option at the time), it took maybe 20 minutes after you had done it once.

Yes there were a lot of charts, but as a player you mainly just needed a photocopy of *your* chart, for your weapon. The game was easily broken into manageable chunks; ICE just took the philosophy that there should be a lot of options.

Quote from: Daedalus;429733Ok, there has been some really good information about Rolemaster provided in this thread.

I am not against games that are difficult (I used to play Champions/Hero system after all).

I guess my next question is if I were going to look into Role Master where should I start?

I third Rolemaster Express. RM in less than 100 pages for $10, how can you go wrong? And it's fully playable.

It leads into RM Classic, which is only 3-4 non-huge books and should be a breeze once you've picked up the concepts in Express.

Or if you really like the crunch, you can go for RMFRP (almost identical to the 1990s edition known as RMSS). Be warned this is something of a behemoth, but perfectly doable if you're someone who likes HERO or GURPS, and it definitely has its rewards.

Rolemaster is lots of fun. It's undoubtedly a gamer's game, but I've seen newbies pick it up quickly. Hold their hands a little for chargen, give them their weapon tables and a lot of folks take to it enthusiastically. Rolling d100 and looking up a chart is easy, and the results give a sort of quirky variety and even verisimilitude that is unique. I also love the chargen, I really feel that I'm building a rich and unique individual who is part of a fantasy world.

Quote from: The_Shadow;429844I third Rolemaster Express. RM in less than 100 pages for $10, how can you go wrong? And it's fully playable.

It leads into RM Classic, which is only 3-4 non-huge books and should be a breeze once you've picked up the concepts in Express.

Or if you really like the crunch, you can go for RMFRP (almost identical to the 1990s edition known as RMSS). Be warned this is something of a behemoth, but perfectly doable if you're someone who likes HERO or GURPS, and it definitely has its rewards.

Rolemaster is lots of fun. It's undoubtedly a gamer's game, but I've seen newbies pick it up quickly. Hold their hands a little for chargen, give them their weapon tables and a lot of folks take to it enthusiastically. Rolling d100 and looking up a chart is easy, and the results give a sort of quirky variety and even verisimilitude that is unique. I also love the chargen, I really feel that I'm building a rich and unique individual who is part of a fantasy world.

Do you know where one can pick up Rolemaster express?  I dont think my FLGS has that

Quote from: Daedalus;429856Do you know where one can pick up Rolemaster express?  I dont think my FLGS has that

The only legitimate looking place I could find it at the moment was at Paizo.
http://paizo.com/store/downloads/ironCrownEnterprises/v5748btpy80dt
It's a $5 download.

I need to see if I can get some old ICE download links restored. They have an all new store, now.

Quote from: stu2000;429867The only legitimate looking place I could find it at the moment was at Paizo.
http://paizo.com/store/downloads/ironCrownEnterprises/v5748btpy80dt
It's a $5 download.

I need to see if I can get some old ICE download links restored. They have an all new store, now.

I have downloaded it and I will take a look at it.  Thanks

Back when I played it, we called the game Rollmaster since rolling up characters seemed to take forever. Even Phoenix Command was faster and more concise.

Quote from: Elfdart;429896Back when I played it, we called the game Rollmaster since rolling up characters seemed to take forever. Even Phoenix Command was faster and more concise.

ouch...WELCOME Elfdart!
like the avatar,great movie!

Quote from: Elfdart;429896Back when I played it, we called the game Rollmaster since rolling up characters seemed to take forever. Even Phoenix Command was faster and more concise.

Phoenix Command gets a bad rap.

Anyhow the big issue with RM character creation is totalling the bonuses on all those skills.  I still think totalling more than the five or six you're likely to use in combat is wasted effort.  Do the others when you're waiting for the DM to get to you or as needed.  Doing one doesn't slow things down that much.

Also, for pity's sake, when you're starting out with RMSS, don't do it with all the dials turned on.  RMfrp might have cut back the combat a bit much but cutting back the options and removing Talents from the core helps.

Quote from: Elfdart;429896Back when I played it, we called the game Rollmaster since rolling up characters seemed to take forever. Even Phoenix Command was faster and more concise.

You say that like it's a bad thing...

A big part of what Rolemaster has to offer is the unparralled character creation system.  No, it's not as flexible as GURPS or Hero, or Risus for that matter, that's a good thing.  Rolemaster gives you flexability without having a party of one legged leppers in motorized wheel chairs carrying shotguns.  It integrates the character culturally into the setting, rewards class appropriate skill choices, rewards setting appropriate characters.  And yes it takes a while the first couple times but that's partly because gamers generally try to hard to min/max things instead of taking what they should have and moving forward.

I know people who'll spend a week tweaking a hundred point GURPS character if you let them.

Quote from: David Johansen;429916Phoenix Command gets a bad rap.

Anyhow the big issue with RM character creation is totalling the bonuses on all those skills.  I still think totalling more than the five or six you're likely to use in combat is wasted effort.  Do the others when you're waiting for the DM to get to you or as needed.  Doing one doesn't slow things down that much.

Also, for pity's sake, when you're starting out with RMSS, don't do it with all the dials turned on.  RMfrp might have cut back the combat a bit much but cutting back the options and removing Talents from the core helps.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Phoenix Command! Any game where you can take 5 million points of damage to the heart is the stuff of legend.