Fantasy Grounds II at Gen Con 2009

[Thore_Ironrock]

If you’re looking for Fantasy Grounds at this year’s Gen Con Game Fair, you have no further to look than booth #1807. At this year’s show Digital Adventures, LLC is representing the popular virtual tabletop gaming software, along with an array of officially licensed Fantasy Grounds II publisher products. Premiering at this year’s show is our RoleMaster Classic Rulesest, an update to our popular Savage Worlds Ruleset, and the conversion of savage setting Slipstream! We’ll also be showing off our new Call of Cthulhu Ruleset, and the conversion of Castles & Crusades along with its eight most popular adventures!!

RoleMaster Ruleset for Fantasy Grounds II
Featuring some of the most innovative Fantasy Grounds programming to date, this product conversion gives both game masters and players all the tools they need to play this classic RPG online:

• The complete text of the core Rolemaster Classic rules: Arms Law; Spell Law; Character Law; and Creatures and Treasures.

• Fully automated look-up for combat and spell rolls: resolve attacks and spell results in just a few clicks.

• Resolve critical strikes and spell effects, plus fumbles and spell failures with ease.

• Includes 30 individual weapon attack tables, seven spell attack tables, and dozens of criticals and fumbles.

• Includes more than 2,000 spell descriptions, across 162 spell lists, and three realms of power.

• Rules for 20 character professions, including 15 spell-casting professions, and over five dozen skills from which to choose.

• Descriptions and stats for hundreds of monsters, animals and fantasy races, including Dragons, Demons, Elementals and Giants.

• Hordes of treasure, both sparkling and magical, with guidelines for generating the treasures to go with your monsters.

• Supports optional rules to add depth and flavor to your RoleMaster campaign

• Drag and drop weapons, skills and spells directly onto your character sheet from the core rule books.

• Automate the combat sequence, with a fully-featured combat tracker linked to graphical battle maps.

• Play this much-loved role-playing game with remote friends all over the world, old and new


Savage Worlds Ruleset Update v3
Also at this year’s show we’re happy to announce (and demo) updates to our Savage Worlds Ruleset. This update (v3) fixes minor issues we’ve been following since v2, and other updates that include dynamic bennies, character and mini-sheet updates, and other interface updates that improve play with the look and feel of the Savage Worlds Explorer Edition rules. More information on upgrades for existing ruleset customers after the show.

Call of Cthulhu Ruleset
Last winter we tested the sanity of the RPG community by introducing the Call of Cthulhu Ruleset for Fantasy Grounds II, and the Internet has been losing sanity every since! Now with hundreds of Keepers hosting games around the world, this officially licensed Chaosium product brings horror fans from across the globe together online. With this Ruleset you get:

• The full text of the 6th Edition rulebook, published by Chaosium Inc. and converted to Fantasy Grounds II modules.

• A Keeper’s toolkit, covering situations both mundane and bizarre, from car chases and equipment tables to mental disorders and alien technology.

• Over 100 creatures, deities and monsters from the Cthulhu Mythos and horror literature, most of which are illustrated with original artwork from the rulebook.

• 220+ spells and arcane rituals for the Keeper and players.

• Four complete ready-to-play adventure scenarios: The Haunting, Edge of Darkness, The Madman, and Dead Man Stomp.

For a demonstration on Fantasy Grounds and all licensed publisher product conversions find booth #1807 at this Gen Con’s 6th year in Indianapolis. We’ll have specials on all products, including specials of rulesets bundled with Fantasy Grounds II.

Hope to see you there!

[Doswelk]

Just a quick screen shot I threw together to show some of the changes (and the slipstream extension which adds Rocket Ships and drag and drop weapons to them).

Most of my in-game shots use custom skins etc.

Just realised what I did not show (one of the possibly most requested features of the new SW ruleset!) fully functional SW Templates including the cone! This just requires a FGII Grid and it scales correctly.

Ammo tracking (on the mini-sheet), if a weapon is set to ranged and ammunition is set then an ammo counter is added to the mini-sheet, when you expend ammo just click on the bullet and it will increase the used ammo count.

The Bennies work really well and the extra damage die modifier and automatic rolling of wild die speeds up game play, if an NPC is a wildcard then wild die will auto-roll if not it does not.

[Veldehar]

So, should I be optimistic and assume this means that the RM version is on schedule for a GenCon release date?

That could elicit a happy dance. Gaming releases and on schedule typically makes me as skeptical as power hitter with no steroids, these days.

[Thore_Ironrock]

So, should I be optimistic and assume this means that the RM version is on schedule for a GenCon release date?

That could elicit a happy dance. Gaming releases and on schedule typically makes me as skeptical as power hitter with no steroids, these days.

We'll have a demo there along with copies for sale. The RMC ruleset will be released for sale online after the show.

:)

[Sorontar]

Rolemaster , Rolemaster, Rolemaster !!!!

:D

[Veldehar]

Rolemaster finally, I'm all tingly, heh heh. Now to apply all the house rules! Muwahahahahaha!

[unerwünscht]

Fear and Loathing in gaming central 2009

What most of you already know is that we are covering GenCon this year. What many of you didn't know is that I happen to live in the city GenCon is held in every year. The convention itself won't start for another two days, but the frenzy has already started. The Piranha are already setting up for the blood bath, and Sharks are setting up their booths, while the swine do their ritualistic dance.

The convention center is still closed to the press today, but that doesn't leave us with nothing to cover, it's way to early in the game to give up now. Besides, I have already been playing the game for weeks now. An interesting fact about gaming conventions is you never have to do the leg work for an interview. The CEO's of gaming companies (and subsequently there advertising departments) are all so hungry for the free publicity, that they will come to you. I have been screening emails and phone calls for days now, and have a very interesting line up for everyone over the days to come.

If you would like to follow the blow by blow action all you have to do is visit the site in my signature.

[Culdraug]

Since you are obviously close, is it possible to pre order? What is the price?

Thanks!

[Thore_Ironrock]

Since you are obviously close, is it possible to pre order? What is the price?

Thanks!

Pre-order for Rolemaster? If so, since it is an electronic download we don't do pre-orders. The pricepoint for the RMC ruleset will be $20, which considering how this product runs RMC that is a deal. The auto-chart lookup alone is worth the price. :)

[Culdraug]

Thanks for the reply! You are correct, $20 is very fair.

As for the pre-order. i was thinking of pay now, send a link to download when its ready :)

Either way, count me as a guaranteed customer!

[unerwünscht]

Ok.. at the risk of sounding like an idiot, I am going to ask....

What is RMC? I am guessing the RM is Rolemaster.... but cant place the "C"

and where can I find more information on the "Call of Cthulhu Ruleset"

[Tenian]

• The complete text of the core Rolemaster Classic rules: Arms Law; Spell Law; Character Law; and Creatures and Treasures.

I'd guess the C is for Classic

[unerwünscht]

Ok.... I will take that guess... Seams very logical....

Now whats rolemaster, and rolemaster classic? Seams there is quite a bit of interest in it... is it something cool enough to get me actually playing RPGs again? We can move this to another thread if needed. However I see it might being a useful conversation here... Might help sell more copies. :-)

[Foen]

Rolemaster was originally a set of stand-alone extensions which could be added to other RPGs (back in the early 1980s) to add more interesting ways of dealing with combat, spells and character generation. These extensions (called Arms Law, Spell Law and Character Law) were then combined into its own RPG.

In terms of flavour, combat focuses far more on the impact of specific wounds (broken shield-arm, stabbed through the kidneys) which arise from critical hits, and far less on hit point loss. Critical hits and fumbles are immense fun in RM! It is worth noting that armour typically makes a character *easier* to hit, rather than harder, but that those hits result in much fewer criticals.

Combat is very lethal and you can die quickly (think David and Goliath: your 8th level Warrior can be felled by a lucky roll from a 1st level kobold), so there is more tension in combat than with games based solely on a HP war of attrition.

Spells use a system of lists, covering similar types of spell: if you learn a list, you can cast any spell from it which has a spell level equal or below your own level. Although spell casters therefore tend to specialise slightly (which is good) there is an enormous variety of spell lists from which to choose.

Character progression is based on a point-buy system, with skills and spells costing different points to acquire at each level-up depending on your character class. Combat classes can buy weapon skills cheaply, but find spell lists very expensive, and the opposite is true for spell-using classes. As just about every skill is available to every class, you can build a fighter who can cast spells from a particular list too, but you'd have to compromise elsewhere on that character build so that he could 'afford' the spell list.

In play, nearly everything is resolved using d100, with some rolls exploding updwards (if you roll 96-100, roll again and add the results, called upwards open-ended) and some rolls exploding both upwards and downwards. Typically the result of the roll is compared to a very large table and the outcome is read from the table. This slows down combat in particular, but is automated largely in the FG product.

There have been quite a few iterations of Rolemaster roleplaying over the years, including RM1, RM2, RM Fantasy Roleplaying (RMFRP), Rolemaster Express (RMEX) etc, and the most recent incarnation (Rolemaster Classic) is a bit of a rewind and bug-fix, and is close the RM1/RM2.

The Rolemaster RPG can be found on the ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises) website here:

https://www.ironcrown.com

By way of a footnote, Iron Crown released a series of products based on Tolkein's Middle Earth which is now long out of print, but was created with stats for three parallel systems: Rolemaster, AD&D and its own system called Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP). MERP itself was a simplified version of Rolemaster, similar in some ways to Rolemaster Express. RM followers sometimes hold these Middle Earth products in very high regard, as they were beautifully crafted with stunning maps. It is possible to run the Middle Earth modules with the FG RMC ruleset and using the RM stats from the modules, provided you can lay your hands on the out-of-print material.

Hope that helps

Stuart

[unerwünscht]

Oh awesome.... My first RPG experience was with the original Middle Earth game back in the 80's. I just might have to go check it out.

[Stuart]

RM followers sometimes hold these Middle Earth products in very high regard, as they were beautifully crafted with stunning maps. It is possible to run the Middle Earth modules with the FG RMC ruleset and using the RM stats from the modules, provided you can lay your hands on the out-of-print material.

The Middle-earth modules and Campaigns are out of print but pop up on e-bay and are well worth buying. Pete Fenlon's maps are still some of the most beautiful examples of fantasy cartography around and fortunately, can be duplicated if you have CC3 and a few add-ons.

The story-lines and details within the Middle-earth modules and campaigns were carefully put together to add to Tolkien's legacy. I'll certainly be running a Rolemaster game set in Middle-earth and hopefully, starting near Christmas.

[unerwünscht]

Ok... thats at least the 2nd reference to how good those maps are, anyone know if there are any examples on the net? I have the original print paperbacks of the actual books, that had a rough map in them, and the leather bound special editions that have some absolutely wonderful maps in them, but am very interested in seeing these maps as well.

P.S. just got back from the GenCon pre-party, and I am little drunk, so if the post doesnt make sence I am sorry.

[Foen]

Way off topic, but here is a small extract from his map of Bree and the barrow downs, showing the road from Bree to Weathertop.

[Culdraug]

The story-lines and details within the Middle-earth modules and campaigns were carefully put together to add to Tolkien's legacy. I'll certainly be running a Rolemaster game set in Middle-earth and hopefully, starting near Christmas.

Sign me up!!

[Sorontar]

starting near Christmas.

*The rogue enters the building, his shield and falchion at the ready*

dum de dum ;)

[Tenian]

I seem to remember when ICE lost the MERP license, all the remaining printed materials were ordered to be destroyed. I can't find an actual reference for it, but I seem to remember this being cited as to why the materials are so rare these days.

A lot of the MERP books (at least the ones I seem to own) were more detailed campaign settings and less pure adventures. My Minas Tirith city guy has no less than 50 pages of descriptions of buildings, their owners, and simple maps. The settings did a very good job of fitting into the world of Middle Earth and keeping true to the original material.

The Rolemaster system (and the MERP version) was a decent fit. Combat definitely had a different feel than the d20 based systems of it's day. I seem to remember magic being a little too common for the Middle Earth setting. Using the Rolemaster stats (I remember using Arms Law, Claw Law, Spell Law) tended to make the system a bit more bloody and graphic than J.R.R.'s works.

I do remember that the combat system used "typed" damage (pierce, crush, slash) and various weapons/armor/criticals were keyed off these types. Back in high school we thought it was very cool that a swordsman would disembowl people on his crits and the archer would put arrows in people's eyes.

[Veldehar]

MERP was awesome. I remember opening that Middle Earth map for the time, was a great experience as I'd probably finished reading LOTR the first time when I was 10-12, and I would've been 14 in 1982 when MERP came out.. I've still got most of the books laying around, first edition anyhow. Pete's maps are awesome, someday I will work with his style in CC3.

Hard to remember if I was just getting into RM right before that, or soon after MERP came out. It almost seems like I had Arms Law before then, and was happy to have a simplified version. Old now, I like the Arms Law mass of charts, LOL.

$20 sounds great! Looking forward to the release to say the least!

[mr_h]

Wow, MERPS. I think I still have a couple of those books around. Character generation was cool, but we never managed to get around to doing an entire campaign. Would love to give that a shot some day again.

[Thore_Ironrock]

Just a note ... RoleMaster Classic was the best selling product today. The auto-attack-chart-crit resolution was enough to sell each copy after seeing it live. Of course, then they wanted to see all the charts and monsters and everything else, but I was happy to take their money first. :)

[RiverRat]

That's great :D

How soon will these be available for the rest of the masses that are unable to attend Gencon?

Thanks

RR

[Stuart]

Just a note ... RoleMaster Classic was the best selling product today. The auto-attack-chart-crit resolution was enough to sell each copy after seeing it live. Of course, then they wanted to see all the charts and monsters and everything else, but I was happy to take their money first. :)

For a good few years in the UK Rolemaster and particularly the MERP product line comfortably outsold TSR's Dungeons & Dragons. However, it's detailed character creation, combat and skill resolution meant that it was often very off-putting to new rpg players or the young.

This ruleset has so much automation that combat resolution is almost as fast as D&D.

The automation and coding that Foen has built are doubtless why it is doing so well at GenCon and I sincerely hope that old RMC players return to the system and a whole new bunch of new RMC players are attracted; I suspect the average age of an RMC fan is around the 35 to 45 mark.

[Veldehar]

I would love to see the reemergence of RM. As often as I still applied piles of house rules, it still smoked D&D in its day. Funny thing is, as D&D editions moved along, it seemed to resemble RM a little more, bit by bit. A tad like Windows ripping off Mac OS.

Another thing I love about a RM FG2 coming out will be the ability to go in a make some alterations to the rules to fit my world with a D100 system without having to bash my head on the programming wall... as much as if converting from D20 at least.

This reminded me of one of my biggest issues with Rm, which I should take up on their boards! LOL.

[Ged]

For me the RMC ruleset is the biggest RPG-related release of the year (well, several). A big thank you for making it!


Funny thing is, as D&D editions moved along, it seemed to resemble RM a little more, bit by bit.

At least there are some former RM developers/designers who were involved in the third (+3.5) edition of D&D. Not sure about the 4th, or pre-third, haven't checked.

[Thore_Ironrock]

That's great :D

How soon will these be available for the rest of the masses that are unable to attend Gencon?

Thanks

RR

Within 10 days of me getting back from the show. Not long. :)

[incarn]

To quote the Simpsons (badly)

"This industrial size deep fryer can cook an Ox in 30 seconds"

"30 seconds? But I want it NOW!"

[Culdraug]

Are there plans to create adventure modules for the RMC ruleset?

If so, when?

[Thore_Ironrock]

Are there plans to create adventure modules for the RMC ruleset?

If so, when?

Bruce from ICE is hip to do several RM product conversions, including adventures, accessories, and maps. When is TBD, as we've been focusing on getting the ruleset done and out to the gaming community first. Best I can say is stay tuned. :)

[Ebonfyre]

Having been one of the primaries involved in making this ruleset, I can't wait to hear what you all think of it!

Having played MERP and RM2 heavily growing up it I've always felt there was a need in the system for some sort of GM assistance. There have been a long line of homebrew Excel sheets and character generators for this game but nobody ever went the distance until now to create real automation to help the GM.

Do keep in mind, Rolemaster is a very complicated game and you will find even with some of the amazing things that were able to be done, there is a level of complication that inextricably pervades the system, automated or not, so temper expectations with that truth.

Still, if you've ever played the game, the minute you see the combat tracker you will squeal like a little girl given cake!

[mr_h]

I'm looking forward to seeing this come out to everyone and seeing what folks do with it. As I stated before, I haven't played MERP in ages, and I think we all didn't fully understand the game at the time. But I'd jump into a game happily if someone who knew how to run it did so.
(I still love the combat table where you trip over your imaginary pet turtle...)

[Thore_Ironrock]

One thing to keep in mind with the RMC ruleset is that is it based on the revamped version of the rules put out by ICE a few years ago -- https://www.ironcrown.com/index.php?page=igames/IntroRMC.

If you haven't seen RM in a few years, you might want to check out the PDFs. While it is very much the same game, the organization and presentation of the RMC PDFs is much nicer than the original game I was introduced to some 20 years ago. It was from these revamped rules that our product was converted.

[Cosmo]

Ok, how about a YouTube of the system in action??

BTW: Wonderfully interface, i love the look.

[Ebonfyre]

I know creating a video to teach the many unique elements in the ruleset was discussed during development, but I'm not sure how far along that is considering how much work went into getting it ready for GenCon. It certainly would be helpful both promotionally and instructionally.

And thanks for the compliment on the UI, that was my contribution to the project. I tried to make the art feel very close to the real Iron Crown books, using some imagery directly from them in a few key places. ICE's black and orange title inspired the color palette and to keep it rooted in high fantasy tech I chose stone, paper, and copper as the core materials. The mimicked antiquated copper etching plates I thought were a perfect fit for the buttons.

[Indarien]

The Interface is very slick and does a good job of replicating the old Rolemaster look. Good job there.

[yondar]

Can we expect this sometime soon?

[Thore_Ironrock]

We are waiting on final docs from ICE. Should be soon.

"How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees."
--William Shakespeare

[Sorontar]

We are waiting on final docs from ICE. Should be soon.

"How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees."
--William Shakespeare

I'm afraid that even quoting "the bard" won't save you from rabid RM fanboism Kevin :D

Luckily I am away for the next 5 days with no t'internet or I'd be bouncing off the walls of this forum ;)

[yondar]

We are waiting on final docs from ICE. Should be soon.

"How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees."
--William Shakespeare

Hope its not like the art for Harp Sci-Fi, we'll still be waiting at Christmas.:)

[Gladmire]

Is there a release date yet for RM.....its driving me nuts..lol. FG has RM on the front page but nothing to download....its gotta be a conspiracy. "Put the lotion in the basket kiddies" the excitement is overwhelming.

[Thore_Ironrock]

Is there a release date yet for RM.....its driving me nuts..lol. FG has RM on the front page but nothing to download....its gotta be a conspiracy. "Put the lotion in the basket kiddies" the excitement is overwhelming.

As I said, I'm waiting for one last thing from ICE. Once that is resolved the file will be up for sale. Hopefully by the end of the weekend.

[RiverRat]

Are you waiting to put the RM ruleset and the SW ruleset up for sale at the same time?

[Thore_Ironrock]

Are you waiting to put the RM ruleset and the SW ruleset up for sale at the same time?

No ... as I said ... once more ... I'm waiting for something from ICE. Until I get that I cannot release the RMC ruleset online. Sorry ... but there are legal considerations for releasing licensed products that I have to follow.

The SW3 ruleset is a completely different kettle of fish ....

[RiverRat]

Yeah, sorry I was inquiring about the SW3 ruleset.

[Thore_Ironrock]

Yeah, sorry I was inquiring about the SW3 ruleset.

The update to the SW ruleset is a bit more complicated, considering there are three customers bases to cover -- OBS, DA Store, and the FG Store. That all has to be coordinated before the emails go out to existing customers. Currently I'm waiting on how SmiteWorks wants to proceed on this front for those that purchased the ruleset via the FG Store, since I do not have ready access to this list of customers.

Hope that clears things up.

[RiverRat]

Yes, it does. Thanks.

[Thore_Ironrock]

The RMC ruleset is now up for sale, see this post:

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=77937#post77937

[phloog]

Is OBS OneBookShelf, and does this include DriveThruRPG? (where I bought my SW ruleset)?

Also, a tiny aside I couldn't get answered elsewhere: Right now if you Ace a roll for damage with /Damage SWEX engaged, you get a Wild Die even though you aren't supposed to...it properly avoids giving you a Wild Die for damage unless you get an ace, then it throws one in...fixed?

[Thore_Ironrock]

One Book Shelf (OBS) is RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, and anyone that has an affiliate store that is able to sell OBS products.

Not sure about your SW question ...

[phloog]

One Book Shelf (OBS) is RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, and anyone that has an affiliate store that is able to sell OBS products.

Not sure about your SW question ...

Not sure of the answer, or did I not explain myself very well?

When you tell it to use the SWEXplorer's edition damage, but you have Wild Dice enabled, it throws wild dice for trait tests, but it does NOT roll a Wild Die for damage, and this is CORRECT.

However, when I roll damage and it Aces, the program suddenly forgets the rule about no Wild Dice on damage and throws a Wild Die. So for example, if the damage is a d8, it properly rolls the d8 and gives you the damage...UNLESS the die ends up an 8, in which case it CORRECTLY rolls another d8 for the Ace, but INCORRECTLY then tosses in a Wild Die, as if when it gets the roll for the Ace it 'forgets' that it's still doing damage.

Hope it's not just me who's seeing this...or maybe I'm setting something wrong.

[Thore_Ironrock]

Not sure of the answer, or did I not explain myself very well?

When you tell it to use the SWEXplorer's edition damage, but you have Wild Dice enabled, it throws wild dice for trait tests, but it does NOT roll a Wild Die for damage, and this is CORRECT.

However, when I roll damage and it Aces, the program suddenly forgets the rule about no Wild Dice on damage and throws a Wild Die. So for example, if the damage is a d8, it properly rolls the d8 and gives you the damage...UNLESS the die ends up an 8, in which case it CORRECTLY rolls another d8 for the Ace, but INCORRECTLY then tosses in a Wild Die, as if when it gets the roll for the Ace it 'forgets' that it's still doing damage.

Hope it's not just me who's seeing this...or maybe I'm setting something wrong.

Both :)

I've referred it to my SW experts.

[Thore_Ironrock]

Not sure of the answer, or did I not explain myself very well?

When you tell it to use the SWEXplorer's edition damage, but you have Wild Dice enabled, it throws wild dice for trait tests, but it does NOT roll a Wild Die for damage, and this is CORRECT.

However, when I roll damage and it Aces, the program suddenly forgets the rule about no Wild Dice on damage and throws a Wild Die. So for example, if the damage is a d8, it properly rolls the d8 and gives you the damage...UNLESS the die ends up an 8, in which case it CORRECTLY rolls another d8 for the Ace, but INCORRECTLY then tosses in a Wild Die, as if when it gets the roll for the Ace it 'forgets' that it's still doing damage.

Hope it's not just me who's seeing this...or maybe I'm setting something wrong.

I've consulted my SW ruleset experts, and this issue has been resolved in the Savage Worlds Ruleset version 3, which we'll have information on in the next few days.

[Dayson]

This is great work. Do you know of anyone running a Slipstream game? I would like to play.


Just a quick screen shot I threw together to show some of the changes (and the slipstream extension which adds Rocket Ships and drag and drop weapons to them).

Most of my in-game shots use custom skins etc.

Just realised what I did not show (one of the possibly most requested features of the new SW ruleset!) fully functional SW Templates including the cone! This just requires a FGII Grid and it scales correctly.

Ammo tracking (on the mini-sheet), if a weapon is set to ranged and ammunition is set then an ammo counter is added to the mini-sheet, when you expend ammo just click on the bullet and it will increase the used ammo count.

The Bennies work really well and the extra damage die modifier and automatic rolling of wild die speeds up game play, if an NPC is a wildcard then wild die will auto-roll if not it does not.

[ddavison]

Slipstream was delayed with the switch-over of ownership of the product and has just been submitted for publisher review this evening. It should be available at the store within a week.