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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 917
Location: Spain
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 Posted: 18-Jan-2004 17:50 Post subject: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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you know the game? Middle Earth Roleplaying game? the Lord of the Rings rpg? by Iron Cross Enterprises (RIP)
Supposedly one of the pillars of rpgs. You know, it's the quintessential fantasy rpg.
Well, nothing can compare with the setting, but reading this game... I cannot help thinking it's just an overly complicated version of AD&D from TSR (Attack Destroy and Disembowel from Tear Slash Rip industries)
I had misgivings about the game, I had only played a couple times years ago, and last night I had the chance to play it again. I was eager to play and give it a try. I really wanted to enjoy the game, but when we reached the first combat I was like "What the F***??!! He does WHAT? now happens WHAT? You gotta be kidding, you can't be serious, this is not real man...what an utter crap" The game ended in a heated argument and I quit in disgust amazed that people can play such crap.
Seriously... this game looks like it has been written by a damn programmer, a wargamer and a bunch of ruleslawyers and AD&D munchkins.
This game was written by nerds for nerds. Just how the **** I'm supposed to introduce newcomers to roleplaying with a game that has paragraph headers like these "Actions in the tactical environment" and a character sheet that looks like a tax form and scores of tables for everything!??
I mean... take a look at the character sheet. It's all about weapons! Characters haven't non combat skills at all but for a footnote!
It's all geared to a "I smash and search for treasure" mindset. Hell, most of the published scenarios I've seen are dungeons set in Middle Earth.
And the amount of math and number crunching is plain insane. I hate doing math because I'm lazy, but I take the effort to memorize complex rules set to a degree, like Battletech or the turn procedure for a wargame. But this "game" is plain ludicrous in its abstruse complexity!
Well combat is complex, the more detail and realism degree, the more complex the rules, so complexity could be justified if it produced results. So it's this crud realistic?
Not at all. Oh, the tables of critical hits and fumbles are amusing (if gruesome) the first times, but let's face it, the novelty soon wears out. Results will unavoidably repeat, and what irks me is the complete randomness of it all.
One of my main gripes is the combat system, it''s just so *random*. Never mind how much bonus or armor you have, some klutz with a dagger and a lucky dice roll can inflict you a critical and ruin your day. It's unpredictable and unbalancing... mathematical probabilities are distorted too much by the random factor.
Another major distorsion is the experience levels system. Levels!!! *swears*
Is there anything more idiotic than the concept of experience levels? I mean, they are just a "score system" for players that only care about competing and scoring points. I always wonder why those people are playing rpgs at all instead of a "shoot em up" computer game, but I digress.
I mean, the whole level thing was crap from the start of D&D... I sometimes wonder that from such pointless, mechanical and crappy thing as D&D could evolve roleplaying as an art form.
Experience levels just foster a mentality of "killing for the experience points"
I also loathe the power curve... I was stunned to see my character, that it was a meatgrinder killing machine maximized for combat ( dwarf warrior with +100 to axe, beginner character at 3rd level) was utter crap and completely outmatched by a puny human scum bandit with a sword that was just one level higher.
So basically it all comes down to this, for all the mathematical complexity and the imposing numbers in the sheet, a low level character is crap stuck to the sole of your shoe, it's as shitty as a low level character in AD&D!!
And for that I spent half an hour rolling dice and adding numbers up?
I truly despise experience level systems. It makes high level characters unbeatable, and unlike any decent game where player characters are assumed to be heroes a cut above the rabble, or at the very least average people in an even playing field with NPCs, it makes starting characters *worse* than most of the things outta there.
I mean, the whole concept is ludicrous... the wargame consideration of troop quality types as green, regular, veteran and elite, is much more accurate.
Even the most elite soldier, fighter pilot or tanker (or 'Mechwarrior) is *mortal* and can fall to insurmountable odds, like the Spartans of Leonid at the Thermopylae, or fall victim to a lucky shot like the Red Baron, , or by a fatal mistake , like Panzer ace Michael Wittman.
I know I may seem like I'm contradicting myself. On one hand I'm complaining about the steep power curve of levels, and on the other I'm complaining about the randomness of open ended rolls and criticals, supposedly that serves as a balancing factor.
The randomness of dice rolls only make things unpredictable. In fact, I think it only reinforces the distortion of the power curve, because higher levels can shrug off the effects of the roll of the dice.
What else to say... the whole combat system sucks... it's just an exercise in boring number crunching. There's nothing more deppressing than to see a "combat" consisting on endless charts consultations and other players doing math to decide how much percentages to be assigned to attack and defense against each opponent, so I waited in boredom until somebody calculated the odds for me and told me to roll dice and tell me the outcome. Sheesh.
But what really grates my nerves is seeing all that complexity and tables to supposedly create a detailed combat system ... and armor is reduced to 4 armor types, unarmored, leather, chain mail, and plate.
That's all. Obviously the writers didn't bothered in researching at all. So much complexity in creating the rules system, and such a display of lazyness in something that is vitally important.
So the system encourages a curious distortion. Wearing a shield is vital, when historically the shield lost much of its value with the evolution of armor. It makes the use of any 2 handed weapon suicidal because the loss of the protection of the shield.
And the armor is a joke... armor is supposedly worn to avoid injury, but arm and leg defenses and helms are just there to survive in case of a critical hit... they offer no protection against normal hits.
So you can have situations where a character with a full plate armor suffers repeated wounds from somebody with a sword when battle experience says that you have to use something like a heavy mace or axe to even make a dent on it. So much for realism and accuracy.
And my final gripe is that you have to sacrifice some of your attack bonus for the purposes of parrying, well, ok, so if you are faced against a better opponent, it's advisable, that's logical.
What infuriates me is that the percentage spent on defense is wasted if the attacker misses his strike. So if you attack without covering yourself you will be wide open for a blow. If you protect yourself, it will not help much since you are going to be hit anyway, and your attack will not have any chance of succeeding at all.
So when faced with an enemy that has just a slight advantage over it... you are lost. Best you can hope for is to defend yourself and hope the enemy fumbles.
I mean, it's plain absurd that you cannot counterattack with all your full offensive bonus if the enemy strilkes first and misses!
What a **** of a game. It's not roleplaying but *ROLL* playing to it's worst expression. It's age it's not an excuse, as Runequest from Chaosium system is of the same time and infinitely better. (as a side note, I think RQ is the best medieval fantasy combat system ever)
What pains me is that D&D clones crap is still alive and well with the D20 system. We are doomed ! Doomed I tell you!
*end of rant*
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Memento audare semper
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Nightmare
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 03-May-2002 00:00
Posts: 2214
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| Posted: 19-Jan-2004 00:40 Post subject: RE: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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My group tried MERP a few times in the nineties. It was bad. Too much complexity for too little gain.
There's only one system I loathe more, and that's because I've played it more: Hârnmaster. Complex calculations for getting all the stats and skills, six (?) different kinds of damage to keep track of and fatigue, too. You'll lose points from all rolls depending on fatigue from working/fighting and also for taking damage, even if it wasn't critical. Combat gets bogged down after a few rounds since the survivors can't hit each other anymore. It usually ends only when someone gets a lucky critical.
And of course, incredibly slow advancement. The slow advancement in particular irks me, since the risk of losing points from your statistics to combat criticals is so large. Blah, I say. This isn't high fantasy, or even low fantasy. It's a game of accounting that only masochists could enjoy.
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A tree fall in the forest, and no one is around, and it hits a mime. Does anyone care?
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Ronin
ComStar
Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 908
Location: United States
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| Posted: 19-Jan-2004 12:27 Post subject: RE: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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| I tried MERP once. I twas wonderful for the information on the setting, but I noticed that as my group played, we soon threw out the MERP rules and fell back on the standard AD&D rules. The MERP game is good for little more than source material (which it does an excellent job of, btw.)
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Oafman
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1657
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 11:59 Post subject: RE: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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I hate Roleplaying games that turn into ROLL-playing games.
*simulated exerpt*
Your character wakes up. Roll to get out of bed. YOU FAIL!!! Now you must roll for dextarity to see if you miss the night stand. Good you mad that one. Now Roll again to stand up... etc.
I have seen people play games like that and just shook my head a laughed.
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Festina Lente!
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4899
Location: United States
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| Posted: 30-Jan-2004 06:26 Post subject: RE: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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Roll-ing should be kept to a minimum. Role-ing however should be incouraged...
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 30-Jan-2004 11:24 Post subject: RE: Rolemaster-MERP sucks |
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I think that Merp was released because TSR was cashing in on the fantasy game systems. That and its close enough to D&D to NOT get sued, AND it appeals to the Tolkein fans. Ive only seen it played a few times, but yeah, it struck me as a very very labor-intensive game, and thats just to get your character through breakfast. Im sure that if you dont mind having to use 9 different rules to get boots on your characters feet, then its fine.
I also have to agree that when I game, I like to PLAY, not spend X hours rolling dice just to tell someone 'hello'.
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Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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