But the rules shall be what make most sense for the participants at the gaming table. Now, of course there have to be some rules. But after Pete Fenlon had completed publishing all of his optional D&D rules, he had his own game.īut what does this have to do with my topic? Well, I think I have arrived at my first definition for old school (and this is not news at all to most people interested in the OSR): the rules are optional.
Returning to MERP, I was surprised to learn recently that this is what Rolemaster was (is?) as well: a highly detailed and optional modular rules set that was designed to be plugged into any D&D or FRP (fantasy roleplaying) game (and this is why I can easily convert monsters from my voluminous Swords & Wizardry and Pathfinder bestiaries!). At any rate, what the OSR provides outside of reprinted Basic and Holmes is “more.” Some of these rulings, for sure, might be “simpler” or more elegant ways of resolving game mechanics, but some obviously are more complicated.
The fact is that the multitude of OSR iterations of what basically is D&D are people’s house ruled versions of the d20 system. It’s been a while since I’ve played, but my recollections are that there was a bit much to TMNT, specifically in character creation. When I took a photo for my own Grognard Gaming Group, I included Palladium’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as one of our three representative games (the other two being AD&D1e and MERP).
I consider Champions old school (and I am surprised at how much I’ve been hearing lately about how “crunchy” people consider my beloved Hero System). And I think it is helpful for us to immediately throw out the oft-made assumption that an old school game is inherently “simpler” than the new school. What qualifies as an “old school” game? Well, Matt Finch’s Quick Primer for Old School Gaming definitely helps us here, and in my forthcoming comments I shall be making observations specific to MERP/Rolemaster that Finch makes for old school gaming in general. Yggdrasill, on the other hand, though evincing some indisputably old school qualities, clearly is informed by rpg innovations that began in, let’s say, the 90s. I’m seeking to understand what my gamer might have liked about Yggdrasill and therefore perhaps what he doesn’t like about MERP.įirst, some broad strokes: Despite its reputation for complexity (or perhaps because of it!), I identify MERP as solidly an “old school” game.
Because my lost gamer so very much enjoyed Yggdrasill, I have consequently framed my thoughts by comparing Rolemaster to that Vikings fantasy rules set. A player quitting my MERP ( Middle-Earth Role Playing) campaign has caused me to think really carefully about the Rolemaster system.
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