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My very first roleplaying game was MERP, Middle Earth Role Playing, which was a simplified version of Rolemaster. It was a class/level system, but advancement was handled through a point-based system when the levels went up. I thought it was great, and when I went on to my next game, West End's Star Wars, (also a point-based system) that was even better. Every game I've played in since then has usually been some form of point-based one, and I never got into D&D. When I finally looked at D&D, I was amazed by how non-intuitive and limiting the magic system was (you forget the spell after you cast it?), and how limiting the character advancement was. I haven't played any fantasy RPG's since my early MERP days, I've been mostly playing sci-fi or modern dark fantasy.
Anyway, now that I have found HARP, which is sort of a newer, better, even more flexible version of MERP, I'm thinking about getting into a fantasy campaign, either playing in or running it. I have two concepts I'm kicking around. The first is the idea of having a party consisting entirely of dwarves, or dwarves, halflings and gnomes only. Loosely, this is based on The Hobbit, at least as concerns party makeup, if not plot, but aside from that, I just really like dwarves and would like to play around with the conventions of the various cultures of those races.
The other concept I'm kicking around is that of completely eliminating the cleric profession from the game, and instituting a newer religious system that more accurately reflects polytheistic culture. As I pointed out in my comments to this RPG.net column, which rightly points out that the cleric is pretty much a priest from a monotheistic, authoritarian religious structure, most historical polytheistic cultures didn't have those types of authority figures. What I'm thinking of doing is eliminating the cleric and letting his abilities be available to anyone who wants to spend the points to buy them. I haven't quite figured out how to do this logistically yet, but the idea is that I'm going to set up something based (very loosely) on Germanic/Norse culture, where the religious elements are fairly clan-based, and that everyone participates on a fairly equal basis in what religious observances there are.
Now, I'm still trying to make it fit the high-adventure aspect of the game, not recreate actual religious traditions, so there will still likely be things like healing spells and what not, but I think that anyone should be able to "pray" for divine intervention. This, I think, will have the advantage of not burdening anyone with the somewhat stereotypical role of the cleric who hangs back until the fighting is over, and then heals the injured, but will also contribute towards what I regard as a more accurate depiction of polytheistic life. If anyone has comments or suggestions, I welcome them.
Anyway, now that I have found HARP, which is sort of a newer, better, even more flexible version of MERP, I'm thinking about getting into a fantasy campaign, either playing in or running it. I have two concepts I'm kicking around. The first is the idea of having a party consisting entirely of dwarves, or dwarves, halflings and gnomes only. Loosely, this is based on The Hobbit, at least as concerns party makeup, if not plot, but aside from that, I just really like dwarves and would like to play around with the conventions of the various cultures of those races.
The other concept I'm kicking around is that of completely eliminating the cleric profession from the game, and instituting a newer religious system that more accurately reflects polytheistic culture. As I pointed out in my comments to this RPG.net column, which rightly points out that the cleric is pretty much a priest from a monotheistic, authoritarian religious structure, most historical polytheistic cultures didn't have those types of authority figures. What I'm thinking of doing is eliminating the cleric and letting his abilities be available to anyone who wants to spend the points to buy them. I haven't quite figured out how to do this logistically yet, but the idea is that I'm going to set up something based (very loosely) on Germanic/Norse culture, where the religious elements are fairly clan-based, and that everyone participates on a fairly equal basis in what religious observances there are.
Now, I'm still trying to make it fit the high-adventure aspect of the game, not recreate actual religious traditions, so there will still likely be things like healing spells and what not, but I think that anyone should be able to "pray" for divine intervention. This, I think, will have the advantage of not burdening anyone with the somewhat stereotypical role of the cleric who hangs back until the fighting is over, and then heals the injured, but will also contribute towards what I regard as a more accurate depiction of polytheistic life. If anyone has comments or suggestions, I welcome them.
