[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I used to run games using the MERP system as a basis. I agree that some of the details are a tad off for well-known characters, but that's easily adjustable. What we found most troubling was how long it took to set up original characters, due to the amount of detail and choices that have to be made. I finally wound up asking the players what they wanted their characters to be like, generally speaking, and I did the setting up for them. Turned out that worked very well, as I was able to tweak the characters for the planned campaign, so that nobody would wind up feeling left out because they'd accidentally designed a character that was just not well suited for the situations. Of course, I've never stuck to the rules as a GM; I always adjusted things on the fly to account for problems the group was having, or situations I just couldn't resist tossing them into. It turned out to be fun for all involved.