Any plan for à third édition ?

[SkinnyOrc]

i now have to check skinnyorc's combat options document, it's a hard life

Hopefully you didn't just before I changed it.

i like the combat options.

wouldn't use the extended critical hits table personally.

I guess you mean the alternative critical hit effects table (option 4). Of all of it that's the bit which isn't trying to solve a problem, it's just for fun. But like you said, each option is modular so you can use just the ones you like.

[Dawndeath]

Alternative crit effects are my favourite part. Makes combat a bit more exciting. And scary.

And in the case of Rolemaster's epic critical tables, downright mental.

[SkinnyOrc]

And in the case of Rolemaster's epic critical tables, downright mental.

I remember the one's in MERP were pretty scary too, and I think they were a cut down version of Rolemaster's!

[Dawndeath]

I remember the one's in MERP were pretty scary too, and I think they were a cut down version of Rolemaster's!

They were indeed.

I remember GMing the MERP introductory adventure for my gaming group years ago - the one where the PCs go up against that 9th level wizard (whose name I forget). It came to the final confrontation between the PCs and the wizard, and I was a little worried that the bad guy was going to wipe the floor them, they being 1st level and all. Well, the first character to act in the combat was a PC - also a wizard. He fired off a puny little shock bolt at the bad guy, only expecting to do a few hit points of damage. But he happened to roll really well to hit, and managed to score a critical. So he rolls again and we check the electricity critical table (we were using the crit tables from Rolemaster). Suddenly the entire group erupts into laughter, and I've got my head buried in my hands. The crit result: he gave the bad guy a heart attack, killing him instantly. Combat over. Mission accomplished.

I know I could have fudged the result somehow, but everyone seemed happy with the outcome, so I let it stand. It could have been a really anticlimactic end to the adventure, but everyone loved the way things had gone. Even though it cut the final battle really short, the descriptive critical made for a memorable combat. I've been a devoted fan of descriptive criticals ever since.

[SkinnyOrc]

I got a good chuckle out of that, those are the moments that become legendary in your gaming group! The only problem of course was the MERP and Rolemaster criticals were lethal both ways, and players are bit less happy when their favourite character dies just as suddenly.

I discovered I'd miscalculated the numbers for the graph of my adjusted WSS bonuses (Combat Option 1). I forgot to include the XP for the WSS advances that don't give an AS bonus, with those in the progression is a bit slower yet. That graph's fixed now here.

While I was at it I added to the graphs of the WSS half SKILL and special skill x20 options to show each with starting SKILL of 5 and 6. Those are here.