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Welcome to Lamentations Xid. There's no limitations in the main rules for when or how newly created chars rejoin the party. You could have them fall out of a dead monster's belly if you wanted.

I'm just looking to run a game that doesn't rely on character development addiction to run long term =-)

Very cool stuff Libertad, thanks for sharing it here. I have been running the same world for decades now, it has evolved. As I get older fantasy races become more uncommon and stranger. The older elves are almost not able to relate to men at all. Currently players can play mountain elves which are the shortest lived of that race and most likely to interact with humans.

All demi humans have lost infravision per Lamentations, and so the deep dwelling dwarves are only creatures of story and legend. Actual dwarves live on the surface in communal fortresses, they are indeed excellent craftsmen who have little patience for outsiders.

Your adventure ideas are a nice touch.

Welcome to the forum Planar. The flame princess is now painted with a long peg leg. Both Warhammer FRPG and Hackmaster featured crippling injuries. Characters seem to lose ability and power as fast as they gain it in some games. I personally love that environment; it is much more suited to gritty low-fantasy and the anti-hero.

High-fantasy PC's turning into super heroes as the game progresses just seems contrived and theme-park to me, like sugary cartoons for little kids. I like savory beef reduction and burnt onions with bourbon myself, like Valhalla Rising, The Seventh Seal, or No Country For Old Men. Just a matter of taste I guess =-)

Yeah its funny people talk about getting beyond Gygaxian games, I'm starting to think that we haven't even caught up to him! Rez may well be required to keep the game part or RPG's viable as the RP part becomes more central to the theme.

@ Yuritau; lulz group facepalm! I'm with you there though, whether wargaming or role-playing I always take fluff over crunch, its just more fun to play.

Nice re sticking to Lamentations. I did a video review of LotFP on youtube and that is how I felt; just put it on the table and say "this is what we are playing." Players are eager enough to play that they will happily roll up a character.

Do they get into char development as much as in PF? I have no experience w PF, but I am under the impression that it is very much about character creation and development. My current theory on RPG's is that very involved/mechanically complicated characters are more difficult to kill because the players have such a time investment in them. The simple characters in Lamentations should have the opposite effect and be more easy for players to let go of. Have you noticed anything like this with your group?

Review LotFP

Seems like a pretty flat result for the specialist, he is going to make that 97% of the time or something. idk somehow mods over about 30% of the max roll just seem to overpower the random element for me. i.e. on a 2d6 a bonus of 5+ seems too heavy. You looked at a 3d6 curve though right, and that was tougher to integrate?

Really if it works at the table and makes sense in your head that's all you need.

I'm going to take a page from West End Games D6 Star Wars and have the character roll 1d6 for each skill point, max will be 6 dice. So a char with Stealth of 3 would throw 3d6 and to succeed any one die needs to come up 1. That way even with maxed out skill of 6 there is still a chance of failure. And it still allows everyone a 1 in 6 chance to do anything, I like that.

I'm considering allowing an additional die for ability mods to be used. With the 6 die max this would give the char a higher chance of success early on and it would max out the skill dice sooner effectively giving them more skill points latter on. Idk again though, it might make abilities too weighty.

I think this will be my final:

Familiars:

The magic user gains a familiar; a small toad, snake, or cat is common.  The familiar can also take the form of a token such as a broach, ring, or pendant; it can make the transformation once per day per level. The familiar is the magic user 's spy, and with total concentration (no movement, fighting, casting, etc) the magic user can see through the eyes of her familiar. This vision is dreamlike and not always accurate.

In the event that the familiar dies, the MU immediately knows how it died, regardless of distance. The MU receives a vision of the familiar's last moments (5 rounds or so), as seen through the senses of the familiar. This vision takes no time to receive, but is deeply shocking to the MU, and very likely to interrupt ANYTHING (save vs, paralyze at –6) he is doing, as will any significant (>25% HP) wound. The destruction of such a deep magical bond leaves a raw wound on the MU's connection to the arcane, effectively giving him a penalty on saves versus Magic and Magical Devices, roll 1d10 for penalty. The MU also loses 1/3rd of her HP’s rounded up; these hit points cannot be regained except through long rest.
If the familiar is killed, the magic user loses all of the bonuses of the familiar until the next full moon, when a new familiar can be attached to her.

The familiar has HP equal to half of its owners. AC will equal 14 + casters level.
The familiar can attack once per day per level, it hits automatically for 1 point and stuns the opponent for 1 round unless a ST vs. paralyze is made. The familiar is stealthy, it gets 2 dice + 1 per level to remain unseen. 
Spell like powers: At second level and every even level thereafter the familiar may develop a spell like power. These powers are each useable once per day at the will of the familiar. The owner may request that the familiar use an enchantment, this is treated as a command (make reaction check to see how closely the familiar follows instructions). The familiar is not sentient while in totem form, it must therefore be in animal form to use spell like powers. As long as the totem is on the person of the magic user then the conjurer gets +1 hp per level.
The only caveat is that no one must ever see the familiar use magic of any sort, including transformation. If someone does witness the animal performing acts supernatural then the magic-user must kill that person within 24 hours, or the familiar will attack the magic-user. The familiar will attack as if it has HD equal to the MU and will do 1d4 damage per round until it or the MU are dead.
Spell like powers: 1. Unseen servant  2.Audible Glamour  3.Knock          4. Locate object   5. Hold portal  6. No power but animal develops new personality quirk. 7. Polymorph into small bird (1 turn / level) 8. Limited charm person (this will often be used to get food. Only available to MU on a d6 roll of 4 and up. And the familiar will only maintain it for 10 minutes per level.)  9. Detect magic 10. cure light wounds 11. Develops extreme dislike for one of the party members. Presents caster with gemstone (d6 + level x 500 GP) in value. Hated party member loses this amount. 12. Roll twice more but familiars diet now costs (level x 10 gp/ day)
The familiar is not sentient while in totem form, it must therefore be in animal form to use spell like powers. As long as the totem is on the person of the magic user then the conjurer gets +1 hp per level.
    Although its owner usually plays the familiar it is an NPC with its own quirks and personality that the DM may play at any time. It is smart for an animal, but not un-naturally so. The owner can communicate telepathically with the familiar as she can with all animals. Single word commands issued once per minute or so, a smart animal will understand a verb followed by a noun. Make a reaction check to gauge how closely the animal’s actions match the Magic-users intentions.

Yeah, I don't want to force anything on a PC; that's why I wrote the totem option: "The familiar can also take the form of a token such as a broach, ring, or pendant; it can make the transformation once per day per level." Do you think the bonus HP are enough to warrant keeping it in totem form instead of having a willing and able spy.

And as for permanent loss of stats; I'm with you there. But I do want to make it an ordeal to loose a familiar, just to keep its spy ability edgy and something that the PC will worry about. Do you think 50% loss of HP that can only be recovered through rest is too much? I am now considering 25% loss of HP and a hit to the MU Save vs magic until the wound is healed, still only through rest, no magical healing.

Thanks for your time.

Here's what I have so far:

Familiars:
The magic user gains a familiar; a small toad, snake, or cat is common.  The familiar can also take the form of a token such as a broach, ring, or pendant; it can make the transformation once per day per level. The familiar is the magic user 's spy, and with total concentration (no movement, fighting, casting, etc) the magic user can see through the eyes of her familiar.

If the familiar is killed, the magic user loses all of the bonuses of the familiar until the next full moon, when a new familiar will be attached to her. The MU also loses half of her HP’s rounded up; these hit points cannot be regained except through long rest.

The familiar has HP equal to half of its owners. AC will equal 14 + casters level.
The familiar can attack once per day per level, it hits automatically for 1 point and stuns the opponent for 1 round unless a ST vs. paralyze is made. The familiar is stealthy, it gets 2 dice + 1 per level to remain unseen. 
Spell like powers: As the magic-user gains power so to does her familiar. The familiar may choose to cast a spell on its own or at the request of its owner. The only caveat is that no one must ever see the familiar use magic of any sort, including transformation. If someone does witness the animal performing acts supernatural then the magic-user must kill that person within 24 hours, or the familiar will attack the magic-user. The familiar will attack as if it has HD equal to the MU and will do 1d4 damage per round until it or the MU are dead.
-At second level the familiar may cast unseen servant once per day.
-At fourth level the familiar may cast Audible Glamour once per day.
-At sixth level the familiar may cast Knock once per day.
-At eight level it can locate an object once per day.
-And at tenth level it can assume gaseous form, also once per day.
The familiar is not sentient while in totem form, it must therefore be in animal form to use spell like powers. As long as the totem is on the person of the magic user then the conjurer gets +1 hp per level.