Is anyone using this?

[bpowell]

Is anyone successfully using FGII and the RMC modules to run a game? We are looking at moving toward this method of gaming (we have folks all over the US) and I would like to see if there are any folks running this now? I am sure i would need a large amout of help getting up to speed.

-BP

[Alq Veers]

I'm a member of Ardem's group (Aus), we use the Fantasy Roleplaying ruleset.

And there is the Forgotten Realms - Lost Mine Campaign thread just below. :)

[bpowell]

Are you having any issues? I have heard the following, and wondering if it is sour grapes or an actual issue.

1) System crashes - One person posted a message that the last two times thye have played the system crashed causing them to restart the session.

2) Ease of map use - I have heard that moving maps around the screen is a royal pain

Wondering if going this route is valid option.

-BP

[Alq Veers]

Personally as a player, (I'm going to try my first GM attempt soon) I wouldn't say I've seen or experienced any of those issues.

I've been learning to use the maps as a GM, and while it may take 15 minutes to get your head around it. Shouldn't be any issues unless it doesn't share to the players properly. Which is normally due to file sizes and transfer rates to everyone. But we've had that once in the 14 months I've been playing.

So, its all good on my end. But I'm sure Ardem or one of the more experienced Rolemaster users can detail further.

[dulux-oz]

Are you having any issues? I have heard the following, and wondering if it is sour grapes or an actual issue.

1) System crashes - One person posted a message that the last two times thye have played the system crashed causing them to restart the session.

2) Ease of map use - I have heard that moving maps around the screen is a royal pain

Wondering if going this route is valid option.

-BP

Whether its sour grapes or not, FG is like any other piece of software: if you learn to use it properly you'll have very little if no problems with it; on the other-hand, if you "think you know it all", come across as an @sshole, don't accept the help that the community offers, and generally don't learn how to use the program, then you'll have a PITA with it - its up to the individual.

Personally, I've been using FG for years and haven't had any issues with it - in fact, I like it so much I completely abandoned work on my own VTT and shifted all my attention to FG. Now I write Extensions and other community creations (including Tutorial Videos - see the FG Wiki and/or my sig).

Is it perfect? No. Does it have its issues? Yes. Are the Devs quick to get things fixed when they do go wrong? Yes. Is the Community helpful and friendly? Best I've ever been involved with - period, ever!

You'll have a lot of fun and get a lot of help if you ask, so my advice is jump in - you will be glad you did. :)

Cheers

[Trenloe]

If you're used to playing Rolemaster with all the books and tables "manually" then playing Rolemaster in Fantasy Grounds will be a godsend for you. After a few games (once you've got used to the app) you'll be wondering how you ever played manually with the tables before. Combats will be resolved so much quicker, critical results tracked and you can concentrate on the game rather than looking up info all the time.

One person reporting a crash is really nothing to worry about, they've more than likely managed to corrupt their local data which can be easily fixed. If lots of people were reporting crashes then I'd be concerned, but they aren't.

Using maps is fine, once you spend a few minutes learning the interface. You can open/close, resize, zoom, pan, minimise, reset and fix the size horizontally or vertically. If someone is saying that moving maps around is a royal pain then they either don't know how to do it, have just taken a disliking to the interface or have the worlds smallest screen (in which case maps will be a pain in any application, bout just FG).

[Trenloe]

Is anyone successfully using FGII and the RMC modules to run a game?
Over 2600 RMC FG sessions ran last year: https://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?3134-Which-Games-Were-Most-Played-On-FANTASY-GROUNDS-In-2015-(Hint-D-D!)#comments

I'd say that's quite a few people successfully running RMC games. :-)

[JohnD]

Strange question.

[bpowell]

You'll have a lot of fun and get a lot of help if you ask, so my advice is jump in - you will be glad you did. :)

Cheers

So here is how I see it. If I pay for the Ultimate Lifetime license my players can all just use the Free app, correct?

-BP

[Trenloe]

So here is how I see it. If I pay for the Ultimate Lifetime license my players can all just use the Free app, correct?
Correct.

You'll need to buy the RMC ruleset as well: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=DGA080. Your players don't need to buy anything, they'll use your ruleset and library modules when connected to your FG campaign session.

[bpowell]

Strange question.

Not so strange when you consider that Rolemaster has not produced anything really new in over 15 years. Most people at Gaming Cons have never heard of it.

-BP

[Dakadin]

I've been using the RMC ruleset for almost 5 years now usually weekly with occasional breaks for the holidays and vacations. There used to be reports of crashing but that was a few years ago before I made a change to how the table data is stored in the modules. Basically it was pushing FG to past its maximum memory limit which would cause it to crash. I haven't heard of any crashes with the RMC ruleset in a long time.

I've been working on improving it for about 4 years now. Things are much smoother now than they were when I started using it. I do have a new build version that I am close to turning over to Smiteworks which should resolve the module issues that were brought up recently and make targeting much easier.

Send me a private message if you decide to pick it up and would like a walkthrough of how it works.

[JohnD]

Not so strange when you consider that Rolemaster has not produced anything really new in over 15 years. Most people at Gaming Cons have never heard of it.

-BP

Pretty sure that there are a few new products, some even in the FG store. But in general, yeah there's been a dirth of new. Still, I don't see how or why that would be relevant to an officially supported ruleset on FG.

I am however, not looking to win my race in the Olympics, so agree to disagree and all that.

[bpowell]

Pretty sure that there are a few new products, some even in the FG store. But in general, yeah there's been a dirth of new. Still, I don't see how or why that would be relevant to an officially supported ruleset on FG.

I am however, not looking to win my race in the Olympics, so agree to disagree and all that.

Sorry to be confusing. Before I went overseas this was "the next big thing" I come back after a few years and the folks that were in my circle are very cool on the product. I was even told it was unsupported. Before I dropped the money on the system I wanted to be sure it was a supported and used product.

I am sorry to have caused confusion.

-BP

[bpowell]

Thank you for the information and the offer. I will probably get the set next month or so. And once it is in hand I am sure I will have A LOT of questions.

[Dakadin]

If you want to do the walkthrough before you get it let me know. It might help you decide.

And don't hesitate to ask any questions if you have them.

[Blackfoot]

Sorry to be confusing. Before I went overseas this was "the next big thing" I come back after a few years and the folks that were in my circle are very cool on the product. I was even told it was unsupported. Before I dropped the money on the system I wanted to be sure it was a supported and used product.

I am sorry to have caused confusion.

-BPThere was a period of time when it was relatively unsupported for a while (that was over 4 years ago)... since Dakadin took over development there have been a lot of enhancements... It is a complex ruleset for a complex game system.

[JohnD]

Thank you for the information and the offer. I will probably get the set next month or so. And once it is in hand I am sure I will have A LOT of questions.

When I found FG, I was super excited, but wary of picking the right VTT for me from among the choices. The community here was very helpful.

I asked if I could watch a Rolemaster session or two, knowing how much of a beast it can be. RMC isn't my favoured iteration, much prefer RMSS, but any RM is better than no RM. Anyways, a very nice group of people, including Dakadin, Trenloe, Blackfoot and Lachancery gave me a great introduction to the power of the Dark Side... er FG and I was hooked on my purchase.

[Ardem]

JohnD RMFRP is better <wink>

Not the module the game rules, Dakadin do not get your knickers in a knot. hahahah

When I bought FG and rolemaster the modules was adequate, enough for me to make the FRP extension, but dakadin has taken it to the next level and the soon to released version of RMC woohooo its another level again. So definately support and players and a great community. Even better since I joined, sorry in a cheeky mood today guys.

[Bale Nomad]

I am an old time ICE fan. My friends and I used to play MERP with RM/AL and RM/SL mixed in back in the mid-80's. I introduced my kids and their cousins to MERP and RM1 nearly 15 years ago. Now they are introducing me to VTT with Roll 20 and Pathfinder. With D&D/PF taking the lion's share these days, I face an up hill battle to get their generation re-interested in RMC, though my old college buds have expressed some interest in brushing off the old books.

Long story short, would it be necessary or advised for any of us to invest in the actual RMC books, or are they browseable in FG2? I have watched videos of how much the D&D and PF books are integrated with FG2. I understand that Dakadin is a busy guy, so I was wondering if the RMC books are integrated to the same degree.

[Ardem]

The RMC books of magic, arms law, core rules are included, in a cut down way but enough to get the rules, I would say 90% of what the books cover.

All the tables etc that you need to play are included and integrated into the system, as well as monsters, arms and magic lists. So you could play RMC without purchasing any books is my opinion.

On a side note I am prepare to run a teamviewer meeting for all aspiring GM's, in how to use the RMC and create your own adventures at any time. So pm me if you wish a complete run down on getting the most out of your RMC game.

[JohnD]

It's a very good implementation of a complex ruleset, although it lacks the last few years of updates that the rulesets based on Core RPG benefit from.

[Blackfoot]

It's a very good implementation of a complex ruleset, although it lacks the last few years of updates that the rulesets based on Core RPG benefit from.Are you sure about that? It was my understanding that a number of the newer features had been incorporated into the ruleset.

[JohnD]

Are you sure about that? It was my understanding that a number of the newer features had been incorporated into the ruleset.

Well, I've recently started looking at the ruleset again after not using it since early 2014 or so. This inherently involves an updated perspective on what to expect from a ruleset after using multiple rulesets that were transitioned to Core RPG (my terminology may be wrong here... no idea... but hopefully the point is understandable). Also, I'm certainly not trying to troll or be a **** disturber or disparage anyone's work/dedication/etc....

Let me start with the caveat that, even without the last ~ 3 years of advances, RMC did and does handle a Rolemaster game like a scalding knife through soft butter. In fact, way back when observing the RMC ruleset in action and playing in a game we were both part of is what sold me on choosing Fantasy Grounds in the first place. The RMC content was my first purchase after I push my chips all-in to the middle of the table with an Ultimate license - so I was sold then and I'm sold now... but that doesn't mean I don't see the GM's job made more difficult by the absence of a number of items.

There have been statements that RMC isn't built on Core RPG; as I am not a programmer, I don't really understand the significance of this, other than the statement also came with a follow-up statement that as a result the advances in Core RPG aren't built into RMC. I could very well be wrong about this, but at first blush I'm not seeing it. Again, I have no frame of reference, but I suspect that moving RMC to be a Core RPG ruleset would fall under the "difficult", "time consuming" and "likely financially or otherwise impractical" categories.

There are a lot of things that aren't present today that have been added to Core RPG rulesets over the past 3 years. Their absence doesn't mean you can't run a game in RMC, just that you need to adjust how you do things. During the recent refresher Ardem was nice enough to host for Andraax and I, most of my questions revolved around "how to you work around not having (a,b,c,d,etc...)?" Some of those questions Ardem answered on his own without me even having to ask... so that tells me IMO at least, that functionality adds would be a Great Thing. Some of the answers were of the "you don't" variety.

Targeting has been updated - that much I notice.

I understand that RMC is possibly one of the least utilized commercial rulesets on FG, just based off of having been very active on the boards and seeing relatively little activity in the dedicated section, the LFG section and the common discussion areas. I know you can't base your full opinion off of that, but the yearly usage rates information shows RMC and C&C are close to equal, and since C&C is my other favourite ruleset, I can compare and contrast a bit.

But... I go back to my caveat - the FG ruleset handles the Rolemaster system amazingly - it just doesn't have a lot of the things that have become common. This makes using it more "fiddly". I also suspect that preparing for RMU plays/played a part in this.


Party Sheet and all the functionality that goes with it (easy to reference stat/skill blocks for the party, marching order, watch order, XP monitoring and awarding from Quests and Encounters).
Ability to open the Images folder in game.
Old style flags across the bottom instead of the new sorting through all/selected resources methodology - applies to Images, NPCs, Items, Story entries, Encounters, and possibly a few things I'm forgetting.
Treasure Parcels and the ability to easily distribute contents.
Quests and Encounters that a GM can easily distribute XP automatically (understanding that much of the XP gain methodology is different in Rolemaster and without an automated tracker built in, some of this just can't be done).
Automated XP tracking as per standard RMC.
Token facing functionality.
GM Ownership on the Character Selection screen.


If any of these things are present, I would be very happy to have their presence pointed out to me. There's probably a few things I'm missing on that list... I blame the perpetual fog of a number of years of chronic insomnia resulting in an average of 90 minutes of sleep on an average night.

[Stuart]

John, I've been absent from FG for a number of years so I don't know what modifications have been made to it since it's creation by Digital Adventures. As one of the people who built the thing many years ago I'm pleased that it has some loyal fans (much like the pen and paper system I guess). Sadly, the coding that went into automating combat (which is the probably THE biggest selling point) is beyond my geriatric brain to engineer or add to but ... I bet those of us who love this system could put together a wish list and maybe find people "out there" to help bring the RMC up to date? I've just started a 5th Edition (don't judge me) game and have been amazed at how much is now automated ... it would be lovely to see this in the RMC too. However, as it stands (missing many bells and whistles based on your post) it's still enough to make running a game plausible. Well, I guess I'll soon find out.

[JohnD]

Oh most definitely the ruleset is up to the task. Doesn't mean it couldn't be better though.

I just spent 3 hours tonight with a couple of people walking them through most of a character creation session.

I'd love to see the added functionality, but I have no idea how gargantuan a task that would be.

[Blackfoot]

Honestly, Dakadin is probably the best equipped to answer your issues. The Ruleset has had several major upgrades since it's creation.

[Ardem]

DEfinately it has some major additions since the creation. Most notability are the stat generation , and skill generation pages. The targeting via the map instead of the combat tracker, phases included. Movement Manevuer included, static manevuer included. This is just a few there is a ton more I have not mentioned

There has been a lot done by Dakadin.

I think what the Core version could bring to the table with the points specific about by JohnD would be great as well, but it comes down to really someones free time and ability to code it. RMC is a beer making product, what i mean by that is there not a lot of copies sold, and really makes enough money to purchase a free case of beer over time. So it the love of the ruleset that why people do it. There is no fulltime developer, it relies on the generosity of a coder or two.

If it get done great if not, the existing ruleset still does a great job.

[JohnD]

Well, I've recently started looking at the ruleset again after not using it since early 2014 or so. This inherently involves an updated perspective on what to expect from a ruleset after using multiple rulesets that were transitioned to Core RPG (my terminology may be wrong here... no idea... but hopefully the point is understandable). Also, I'm certainly not trying to troll or be a **** disturber or disparage anyone's work/dedication/etc....

Let me start with the caveat that, even without the last ~ 3 years of advances, RMC did and does handle a Rolemaster game like a scalding knife through soft butter. In fact, way back when observing the RMC ruleset in action and playing in a game we were both part of is what sold me on choosing Fantasy Grounds in the first place. The RMC content was my first purchase after I push my chips all-in to the middle of the table with an Ultimate license - so I was sold then and I'm sold now... but that doesn't mean I don't see the GM's job made more difficult by the absence of a number of items.

There have been statements that RMC isn't built on Core RPG; as I am not a programmer, I don't really understand the significance of this, other than the statement also came with a follow-up statement that as a result the advances in Core RPG aren't built into RMC. I could very well be wrong about this, but at first blush I'm not seeing it. Again, I have no frame of reference, but I suspect that moving RMC to be a Core RPG ruleset would fall under the "difficult", "time consuming" and "likely financially or otherwise impractical" categories.

There are a lot of things that aren't present today that have been added to Core RPG rulesets over the past 3 years. Their absence doesn't mean you can't run a game in RMC, just that you need to adjust how you do things. During the recent refresher Ardem was nice enough to host for Andraax and I, most of my questions revolved around "how to you work around not having (a,b,c,d,etc...)?" Some of those questions Ardem answered on his own without me even having to ask... so that tells me IMO at least, that functionality adds would be a Great Thing. Some of the answers were of the "you don't" variety.

Targeting has been updated - that much I notice.

I understand that RMC is possibly one of the least utilized commercial rulesets on FG, just based off of having been very active on the boards and seeing relatively little activity in the dedicated section, the LFG section and the common discussion areas. I know you can't base your full opinion off of that, but the yearly usage rates information shows RMC and C&C are close to equal, and since C&C is my other favourite ruleset, I can compare and contrast a bit.

But... I go back to my caveat - the FG ruleset handles the Rolemaster system amazingly - it just doesn't have a lot of the things that have become common. This makes using it more "fiddly". I also suspect that preparing for RMU plays/played a part in this.


Party Sheet and all the functionality that goes with it (easy to reference stat/skill blocks for the party, marching order, watch order, XP monitoring and awarding from Quests and Encounters).
Ability to open the Images folder in game.
Old style flags across the bottom instead of the new sorting through all/selected resources methodology - applies to Images, NPCs, Items, Story entries, Encounters, and possibly a few things I'm forgetting.
Treasure Parcels and the ability to easily distribute contents.
Quests and Encounters that a GM can easily distribute XP automatically (understanding that much of the XP gain methodology is different in Rolemaster and without an automated tracker built in, some of this just can't be done).
Automated XP tracking as per standard RMC.
Token facing functionality.
GM Ownership on the Character Selection screen.


If any of these things are present, I would be very happy to have their presence pointed out to me. There's probably a few things I'm missing on that list... I blame the perpetual fog of a number of years of chronic insomnia resulting in an average of 90 minutes of sleep on an average night.

Add rollable tables to my list above and the ability to assign links to items, story entries, encounters etc... to said rollable tables.

[Blackfoot]

Personally, I doubt anything new will happen until the Unity thing goes through. Plus, I haven't seen any posts from Dakadin in a bit so I'm guessing he's tied up with life currently.

That aside.. the RM ruleset is a very useful tool for running RM.. a game with LOTS of cool complexity that is all brought together into the ruleset.

[JohnD]

Personally, I doubt anything new will happen until the Unity thing goes through. Plus, I haven't seen any posts from Dakadin in a bit so I'm guessing he's tied up with life currently.

That aside.. the RM ruleset is a very useful tool for running RM.. a game with LOTS of cool complexity that is all brought together into the ruleset.

Agreed on all accounts. I'd settle for an answer on that scripting error I'm experiencing though.

[Ardem]

John if Dakadin does not fix it in a week, I will take a look at it, I am no level near the coder dakadin is but might I be able to formulate a temp patch. However I do not recall the issue in FRP, so might be i already fixed it without knowing.

On a side note there are issues, where the GM drags into combat tracker from the Character button not from the picture at the top of the page make sure your grabbing from there. Make sure to delete them from combat tracker and readd from the desktop. This may or may not resolve your issue, but I found times where I had to drop them out of combat tracker and drag them back on occasion.

[Dakadin]

Agreed on all accounts. I'd settle for an answer on that scripting error I'm experiencing though.

I just replied to it. Sorry for the delay. It is an issue only with NPCs and has to do with a new option I added a while back. I will try to get a new version to Smiteworks in the next day or so but it will take them time to process it on their side so I don't know when it will be available.

[Dakadin]

I haven't complete the conversion to CoreRPG so the Rolemaster Classic ruleset is missing those features. I am not a profession programmer. I just started making small changes to improve the existing ruleset when it was version 1.2. It started as an extension and eventually I started making updates directly to the ruleset. With Lachancery's help, we contacted ICE and Smiteworks so we could make them available to everyone. Most of those changes were things that people suggested or things that I felt would speed up my game. There have been improvements but it is missing some of the cooler features.

Life has taken a couple crazy turns lately so I don't have nearly the free time that I had in the past. This has made it difficult to complete the conversion to CoreRPG. I am hoping to have a bit more free time in April which will hopefully allow me to work on it consistently but no promises.

Please definitely let me know if you see issues or things you would like in the ruleset.

[Dakadin]

RolemasterClassic v1.7.6 is available now with a couple of things on your list JohnD. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?37165-RolemasterClassic-v1-7-6

[Trenloe]

RolemasterClassic v1.7.6 is available now with a couple of things on your list JohnD. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?37165-RolemasterClassic-v1-7-6
Are you now having to post in the dozens (??) of threads JohnD spammed to try to fix his liddle error?!?

;)

[Dakadin]

LOL. Yes, I wanted to at least hit the recent ones since it would send notifications to them. :D

[JohnD]

Are you now having to post in the dozens (??) of threads JohnD spammed to try to fix his liddle error?!?

;)

No need I can spam on my own.