What does it take for an RPG to die?

[Micah Sweet]

The art for RMU. . . leaves a lot to be desired. ICE's outright refusal to crowdfun for better art doesn't help matters. Unfortunately, a lot of people need to be sold by the art of a product first before even looking at it further and the RMU art does itself no favors in that regard. It looks like amateur hour compared to what some people are putting out for projects on DMs Guild.

That's really too bad. I've never seen art as all that important.

 

[chuckdee]

The art for RMU. . . leaves a lot to be desired. ICE's outright refusal to crowdfun for better art doesn't help matters. Unfortunately, a lot of people need to be sold by the art of a product first before even looking at it further and the RMU art does itself no favors in that regard. It looks like amateur hour compared to what some people are putting out for projects on DMs Guild.

I mean, the art is bad- don't get me wrong. The rules though. They went in the wrong direction. That's what turned me off.

 

[soviet]

It did have some pretty cool lore for Middle-Earth. Not necessarily accurate, especially given current Tolkien scholarship, but cool. And Rolemaster itself is an interesting system. I'm interested in revisiting it, but I'm not sure what version I should look into.

Rolemaster 2 100%. Accept no substitutes. RMSS adds a heap more complexity for little reason, and all subsequent editions appear to have been poisoned by the need to somehow merge the different threads together. RM2 is also the closest to MERP itself, you could very easily just take MERP and add the additional spells from Spell Law and the additional attack and crit tables from Arms Law as you saw fit.

 

[Reynard]

If I became a billionaire I would get the rights to RM2 and reprint it, and try to do the same with MERP.

Isn't Rolemaster Classic essentially RM2?

 

[Jd Smith1]

It did have some pretty cool lore for Middle-Earth. Not necessarily accurate, especially given current Tolkien scholarship, but cool. And Rolemaster itself is an interesting system. I'm interested in revisiting it, but I'm not sure what version I should look into.

The most recent: RM United.

They have retained the RM goodness, while trimming away the excess; for instance, cutting armor classes down from 20 to 10. That made the charts a lot easier to read, and cost the game nothing, as the variety of PC armor is barely ten.

 

[Jd Smith1]

The art for RMU. . . leaves a lot to be desired. ICE's outright refusal to crowdfun for better art doesn't help matters. Unfortunately, a lot of people need to be sold by the art of a product first before even looking at it further and the RMU art does itself no favors in that regard. It looks like amateur hour compared to what some people are putting out for projects on DMs Guild.

The cover art is what sells, and RMU is first-rate in that regard. Since they are pdf-intensive, that's all they need.

 

[Jd Smith1]

That's really too bad. I've never seen art as all that important.

The cover art is great. Other than illustrations of gear and monsters, RM has traditionally not wasted much space on art.

 

[Bravesteel25]

The cover art is what sells, and RMU is first-rate in that regard. Since they are pdf-intensive, that's all they need.

You and I simply disagree on what makes cover art first-rate. No big deal, art is subjective.

 

[Bravesteel25]

That's really too bad. I've never seen art as all that important.

It’s the front man of the RPG book. I’m not saying it’s going to be the reason people buy a book, but it certainly entices someone to take a look at something they might not have otherwise.

Rolemaster is already fighting against the current, being a (relatively) rules intensive game compared to what the majority prefer these days. The cover is just creating another barrier to potentially pulling someone in.

Just my experience in marketing and business.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It’s the front man of the RPG book. I’m not saying it’s going to be the reason people buy a book, but it certainly entices someone to take a look at something they might not have otherwise.

Rolemaster is already fighting against the current, being a (relatively) rules intensive game compared to what the majority prefer these days. The cover is just creating another barrier to potentially pulling someone in.

Just my experience in marketing and business.

Oh, I understand it. I just don't care about art personally. Publushers, unfortunately, need to care more than I do.