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Post by Agrarvyn on Apr 18, 2008 18:14:23 GMT -5
I always liked the ridiculous ones, where you slice open the top of their head and have to wear a hat in the rain.
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Post by zipp on Apr 18, 2008 18:34:07 GMT -5
Yeah, I remember. Rather well, actually, as I pull those old Rolemaster tables out on occasion just to give myself a good laugh. 'You trip over an invisible, imaginary, deceased turtle. You are very confused. Stunned one round.' I don't remember if that was the exact wording, but it's close enough; and just one example of outcomes that still provoke a snicker...so long as one doesn't do something silly like actually run a Rolemaster game (in which the first challenge is Surviving Character Creation). Yeah, isn't RM the one where your character can die of old age during character creation? |
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Post by Maerin on Apr 18, 2008 20:44:01 GMT -5
Character? No. Player? Definitely!
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Apr 20, 2008 10:53:35 GMT -5
Rolemaster was definitely a game for accountents. You had to keep track of who did which damage to which monsters and every single dice roll in the entire gaming session so the GM could factor it all into awarding xp at the end of it.
This did unfortunately mean that character progression rates were very random so large power gaps could appear because of a few dice rolls.
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Post by Agrarvyn on Apr 20, 2008 19:11:17 GMT -5
I'd imagine it would be. Didn't the play-testers ever catch this eensy little flaw or wasn't it considered that important in the 80s?
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Post by Maerin on Apr 21, 2008 11:30:32 GMT -5
Maerin shrugs. The ideas, philosophies, and mentalities that guided (and directed) game design in the 70's and 80's were very different from those we see in more recent times, Agrarvyn. It was not so much that playtesters did not catch the flaw as, for that time and place so far as RPGs were concerned, it was not recognized as a flaw at all. One could write a fairly lengthy essay on the changes that gaming design and methodology underwent in the early- to mid-90's, but it probably suffices to say that A LOT changed in that five years or so (and for a variety of reasons).
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Post by Al on Apr 21, 2008 15:38:59 GMT -5
Mearin's points are extremely valid, but I think if it is a concern then an online roller that emails the results is the obvious solution - just email the dice results to the GM.
When Grek-Al was dying, he needed to roll two 20s, and before I made my rolls I thought to myself "if I roll this, NO ONE is going to believe it!"
Of course I died, and I am saddened I lost my death post, I thought it was a great exit post - not too many players get to prepare for their own death!
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Post by Al on Apr 21, 2008 16:05:35 GMT -5
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Post by zipp on Apr 21, 2008 17:17:19 GMT -5
Mearin's points are extremely valid, but I think if it is a concern then an online roller that emails the results is the obvious solution - just email the dice results to the GM. When Grek-Al was dying, he needed to roll two 20s, and before I made my rolls I thought to myself "if I roll this, NO ONE is going to believe it!" Of course I died, and I am saddened I lost my death post, I thought it was a great exit post - not too many players get to prepare for their own death! Player deaths can be a powerful tool for the forces of good! I remember losing Valestar at the penultimate battle in KL's game. I was always a little lost in that game... it's back history was so rich that having missed out on the first half I was missing out on tons of character interactions and established stories. But Valestar was a character I really enjoyed playing, and it was sad to know that he would be of the greatest help to the others if he were to sacrifice himself. I could also sense that KL was ready to end the game (RL reasons, I'm sure), and I was running out of time myself, so it seemed like a fair compromise. |
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Post by Maerin on Apr 21, 2008 18:56:45 GMT -5
When Grek-Al was dying, he needed to roll two 20s, and before I made my rolls I thought to myself "if I roll this, NO ONE is going to believe it!" Considering what you were pitted against, I wouldn't have worried overly much one way or the other.  That said, I ran that game the way I did, after the dice roller went down, as a proof-of-concept (if only for myself) to establish that an online dice roller was not necessary to a play-by-post game. I honestly did not know if such would prove the case or not, prior to making you all guinea pigs. That said, I think Sir Bors used an off-site one throughout. And, as I recall, that off-site one really did not like him on occasion....  |
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Post by zipp on Apr 21, 2008 23:01:03 GMT -5
When Grek-Al was dying, he needed to roll two 20s, and before I made my rolls I thought to myself "if I roll this, NO ONE is going to believe it!" Considering what you were pitted against, I wouldn't have worried overly much one way or the other. That said, I ran that game the way I did, after the dice roller went down, as a proof-of-concept (if only for myself) to establish that an online dice roller was not necessary to a play-by-post game. I honestly did not know if such would prove the case or not, prior to making you all guinea pigs. That said, I think Sir Bors used an off-site one throughout. And, as I recall, that off-site one really did not like him on occasion.... Sad, I was just about to join you guys as Jyhipp  |
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Post by Al on Apr 22, 2008 6:51:57 GMT -5
That said, I think Sir Bors used an off-site one throughout. And, as I recall, that off-site one really did not like him on occasion.... I used the irony dice server, and I know it sometimes did not like me - although other times it did - randomness of the dice and all that! I can say though that while that game proved it can work, I would be dubious about going in that direction with established power players/munchkins. |
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Post by Agrarvyn on Apr 22, 2008 12:10:30 GMT -5
The Irony site is an excellent one for all sorts of roleplaying, complete with a board for getting people to join your PbP games.
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Post by Maerin on May 15, 2008 11:43:37 GMT -5
So, the recent news from Mongoose implies that the new RPG (the "multiplayer gamebook", as they are calling it) will not see print until early next year at the soonest. So I guess my waiting for that to come to be before launching a new board play-by-post game has been rendered pointless for the time being.
I do not have the time anymore to run something as incredibly complex as "A Twist In Time", but will be seeding together something new shortly. I guess I'll run it using the existing LW RPG since that is the game system the most people here are likely to be the most familiar with. At least to an extent anyway, though available character concepts are not going to be limited to merely the character classes in the published materials (which is one of the prime failings of the old RPG, in my opinion). Keep an eye here for more details in the next couple weeks.
Where, here on this forum, would be the best place to run this thing?
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Post by Beowuuf on May 15, 2008 12:33:32 GMT -5
The Lorehall of Light seems quite quiet as long as you keep the thread count down
Or perhaps FA can create a new forum
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That said, I ran that game the way I did, after the dice roller went down, as a proof-of-concept (if only for myself) to establish that an online dice roller was not necessary to a play-by-post game. I honestly did not know if such would prove the case or not, prior to making you all guinea pigs. 
