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Mark Skarr · 02-19-2020, 01:18 PM

I'll be honest, all of it.

It seems to be overly-complicated. I've read the book more than a dozen times and still have a hard time wrapping my brain around it.

The overall explanation of the system is convoluted.
The decision of which paths are involved sometimes seems arbitrary (more on this below).
The defining line between Lesser and Greater effect can be incredibly fuzzy.
The energy costs are widely inconsistent for their effects. (Air Jet and Fireball are both 18 energy, but Ghost Shirt is 135?)
Effects seem randomly, and inconsistently, applied. (Why doesn't Fireball have a range while Hunger does?)
More time is required to define all the relevant rituals you might need for a game than would be expected, and creating them on-the-fly is extremely cumbersome.
It really exacerbates GURPS reputation as being maths heavy.
Pg 49. The Box: The "Right" Way gives me a horrible headache. I get it, but it makes my whole paths issue even worse. It confirms that the choice is arbitrary and there is no right way to do it. So, if you're having a hard time grasping the system there's no way to effectively check your work.

My final opinion of the system is "it's for specific types of games, which aren't the kind I play."

I would gladly read any book written to try to make RPM easier, however.

02-19-2020, 01:18 PM	#6
Mark Skarr Forum Pervert (If you have to ask . . .) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere high up.	Re: RPM Problems You Have I'll be honest, all of it. It seems to be overly-complicated. I've read the book more than a dozen times and still have a hard time wrapping my brain around it. The overall explanation of the system is convoluted. The decision of which paths are involved sometimes seems arbitrary (more on this below). The defining line between Lesser and Greater effect can be incredibly fuzzy. The energy costs are widely inconsistent for their effects. (Air Jet and Fireball are both 18 energy, but Ghost Shirt is 135?) Effects seem randomly, and inconsistently, applied. (Why doesn't Fireball have a range while Hunger does?) More time is required to define all the relevant rituals you might need for a game than would be expected, and creating them on-the-fly is extremely cumbersome. It really exacerbates GURPS reputation as being maths heavy. Pg 49. The Box: The "Right" Way gives me a horrible headache. I get it, but it makes my whole paths issue even worse. It confirms that the choice is arbitrary and there is no right way to do it. So, if you're having a hard time grasping the system there's no way to effectively check your work. My final opinion of the system is "it's for specific types of games, which aren't the kind I play." I would gladly read any book written to try to make RPM easier, however.