Hi guys, we are transferring over from The Window into ICRPG this Saturday and hoping to get this tweaked and ready to go for that game. We have played once as a group and almost all the players are 100% new to the concept of RPG’ing so malleable. While ICRPG is practically a video game on table top with pen and paper… I’m looking to move away from that vibe and more to a traditional but simple version of the earliest form of D&D where its heavier on the role playing and I think ICRPG is doing that pretty damn close. So… Below in several posts (because of text limits) are the rules. I think there are some things that can be tossed, tweaked, reduced, increased etc and hoping you experts can work with me on this. Thanks in advance.
Home brew rules
What?
Influenced heavily by The Window system by Scott Linenger and ICRPG by Brandish Gilhelm, this is my home-brew rules system. What is “home-brew”? It’s when you take existing rules and alter them for your own game or you might even construct them entirely from scratch all on your own. This is a hybrid.
Thanks a ton to Scott and Brandish for their genius.
Why?
I personally despise the rules heavy and math centric rules systems that abound but I love the role playing aspect the most. I don’t want to spend hours crunching numbers to eventually beat 5 skeletons. I would rather spend hours crossing an entire continent, meeting NPC’s (characters the GM plays) in the tavern or the stores and so on.
Back when The Window was in its first or second year I think it was, I came across it and at that time… it was the way to go for my style of GM’ing. I wanted to role play. Up until then, all my life I had been using the basic rules of D&D. I have used The Window system up until this year actually and just recently discovered ICRPG. Very cool btw. ICRPG is still a bit rules heavy for my liking but what rules the system does have… they make sense. As I read through it I started to see many similarities between these two systems and as I did… the gears started turning. I could fix some of the things I didn’t like in The Window by melding with ICRPG and vice versa. So, that said… here we go… The ICRPG WINDOW system. 
How?
Character race:
Figure out what race you want to be. For an idea, here is the page on races. You will see that there are certain bonus’ available to those races. Those +X and -X numbers will be discussed further down when we get to the character sheet.
Character class:
What kind of class do you want to be? There are just so many options available. You might even want to be a hybrid of several. For example… a Rogue bard magician. You are sneaky, stealthy due to training… always been musically inclined with a great voice and while studying magic at the wizards tower, in-between classes you practiced your lute a great deal. As such… you can cast spells, sneak around like a thief does and your music can soothe, charm or possibly even inspire. Why not? If you are new to the game and don’t know what kind of classes are out there, a simple google search using key words like “D&D RPG CLASSES”. As a first timer… you have a lot of reading ahead of you. Sorry, there is just no way around it. You gotta do the leg work just like all the rest of us did. Btw… feel free to make up an entirely new class if you like but you will need to run it by your GM to see if it fits with the game they have in mind for everyone. ICRPG has some great classes available that Brandish has come up with. Check out some examples here. For more on this… just keep reading. We come back to it.
Dice:
No matter what, RPG’s are a numbers game. All of the things your character does in the game that has any kind of importance will require a dice roll. You can think of the dice as fate. Whatever the result is… that would be fate to blame because fate dictates all things right? With that assumption in mind… you need to learn what the dice are, do and how they are used in the game. Read on:
There are several types of dice, a 4 sided, 6 sided, 8 sided, 10 sided, 12 sided and lastly a 20 sided. You can get many more cool types of dice out there but for the sake of this system, these are the dice we will use.
*Note: The Window system utilizes a 30 sided dice and a "Rung" system. This will not be used but rather the ICPRG dice system in its place.
Attributes:
Your character has certain attributes which are used in this game to decide all things that can possibly come up. An attribute is a piece of data (a "statistic") that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice. Some games use different terms to refer to an attribute, such as statistic, (primary) characteristic or ability.
Strength - aka Body, Might, Brawn, …
A measure of how physically strong a character is. Strength often controls the maximum weight the character can carry, melee attack and/or damage, and sometimes hit points. Armour and weapons might also have a Strength requirement.
Agility - aka Dexterity, Reflexes, Quickness, …
A measure of how agile a character is. Dexterity controls attack and movement speed and accuracy, as well as evading an opponent’s attack.
Constitution - aka Stamina, Endurance, Vitality, Health …
A measure of how sturdy a character is. Constitution often influences hit points, resistances for special types of damage (poisons, illness, heat etc.) and fatigue.
Intelligence - aka Intellect, Mind, Knowledge…
A measure of a character’s problem-solving ability. Intelligence often controls a character’s ability to comprehend foreign languages and their skill in magic. In some cases, intelligence controls how many skill points the character gets at “level up”. In some games, it controls the rate at which experience points are earned, or the amount needed to level up. Under certain circumstances, this skill can also negate combat actions between players and NPC enemies. This is sometimes combined with wisdom and/or willpower.
Wisdom - describes a character’s willpower, common sense, perception and intuition. While Intelligence represents one’s ability to analyze information, Wisdom represents being in tune with and aware of one’s surroundings. Wisdom is the most important ability for clerics and druids, and it is also important for paladins and rangers. If you want your character to have acute senses, put a high score in Wisdom.
Charisma - aka Presence, Charm, Social, …
A measure of a character’s social skills, and sometimes their physical appearance. Charisma generally influences prices while trading and NPC reactions. Under certain circumstances, this skill can negate combat actions between players and NPC enemies.
Luck - aka Fate, Chance, …
A measure of a character’s luck. Luck might influence anything, but mostly random items, encounters and outstanding successes/failures. In this system, everyone is born with max luck (3 points) which at any time in the game, you can “cash in” a point in order to roll again. You can roll over and over until your 3 points are spent and you now have no more luck in this lifetime if you like. This is handy in the event that the dice roll result means you die or maybe another player is dying and you try to save them but fail. Just cash in some luck, roll again and hopefully nobody dies.
*During character creation, you can "cash in" your Luck at a value of 1 luck = 2 other attribute points. Your choice on just how lucky or unlucky you want to be.
Magic - aka sorcery, witchcraft, …
Magic is the utilization of spells summoned either from your own life essence or the life essence of others (see GM for alternate rules on this concept) to influence and effect the world around you through mystical energies. The magic attribute is used to define your skill level in magic use, control of it and so forth.
*Spell burn - Magic users who can cast every turn end up being often over powered and dominate game play. One way to control that is to establish exhaustion through continued magic use. For example, every 4 turns (4 spells cast) have the player roll for mental fatigue vs Intelligence for example or perhaps just vs Magic attribute. A fail and the player loses the ability to cast a spell for 1d4 turns after which they have gained enough rest and can go at it again. If they succeed the roll… then restart the 4 turn counter.
*Spell backfire/blunder - If a critical fail is rolled on the d20 when casting or when keeping a spell active then the spell has either blundered or backfired. A blunder is less dangerous than a backfire. To establish which… roll the skull dice. Roll a skull (3 on the dice) and you blundered. Roll the shield (1 on the dice) and you backfired. A blunder can simply be losing control of the casting by losing concentration or maybe the wrong words were used or other. The result can be something mundane like fingers get shocked or get a short dizzy spell and see spots for a second. Basically lose a turn. A backfire however can be major. You can change physically, you can kill friends, you can blow up a city, and so on. The GM will consult the critical magic fumble chart and go from there.
Putting it all together:
Using the above… here are your standard tropes that most people generally use for making characters:
Barbarians are for people who enjoy combat strategy and high-adrenaline fights. They rely on instinct, pick fights and often put themselves in risky situations.
Bards are for people who love to role-play and enjoy talking their way out of problems. They’re a good class for natural-born storytellers who don’t play D&D for the combat.
Clerics are for people who love to have big goals and wield big weapons. They lean on D&D’s religion system to explore mortality and strong incentives for or against killing.
Druids are for people who love animals, enjoy resourceful, magic-based solutions to complicated questions and want to stand up for what they believe in.
Fighters are for players who enjoy experimenting with different combat styles and dealing lots of damage. Fighters are diverse—they can wield all sorts of weapons and come from all sorts of backgrounds—so they’re great for players who want to carve out their own path and not great for players who easily fall into role-playing ruts.
Monks are for players who enjoy combining magic and physical strength, fighting only when it’s worth it, following cultural traditions and coming up with full and involved backstories.
Paladins are for players who want to have lots of HP and risk themselves to selflessly protect their allies. They’re good for people who want to role-play a crusader against evil and deal with questions of morality.
Rangers are for tactically-minded players who might enjoy role-playing loners, fighting from a distance and using the game’s landscape to their advantage.
Rogues are for people who want to be the first to smell danger (i.e., sense traps), steal things, fight using precision and planning rather than brute strength and blur moral lines in role-play.
Sorcerers are for people who may want to act impulsively, wield enormous power, weave an intricate backstory and customize their character’s personality based off a list of spells.
Warlocks are for players who enjoy learning about D&D’s demons and interplanar beings, harboring secrets, and wielding great power.
Wizards are for players who enjoy appearing intelligent (not necessarily being intelligent), piecing together repertoires of spells, and offering knowledge on a variety of topics.
Which attributes to which class ideally?
Strength
Barbarian : “A fierce warrior of primitive background who can enter a battle rage.”
Fighter : “A master of martial combat, skilled with a variety of weapons and armor.”
Paladin : “A holy warrior bound to a sacred oath.”
Charisma
Bard : “An inspiring magician whose power echoes the music of creation.”
Sorcerer : “A spell caster who draws on inherent magic from a gift or bloodline.”
Paladin : “A holy warrior bound to a sacred oath.”
Warlock : “A wielder of magic that is derived from a bargain with an extra planar entity.”
Intelligence
Cleric : “A priestly champion who wields divine magic in service of a higher power.”
Druid: “A priest of the Old Faith, wielding the powers of nature—moonlight and plant growth, fire and lightning—and adopting animal forms.”
Monk : “A master of martial arts, harnessing the power of the body in pursuit of physical and spiritual perfection.”
Ranger : “A warrior who uses martial prowess and nature magic to combat threats on the edges of civilization.”
Wisdom
Wizard: “A scholarly magic-user capable of manipulating the structures of reality.”
Agility
Monk : “A master of martial arts, harnessing the power of the body in pursuit of physical and spiritual perfection.”
Fighter: “A master of martial combat, skilled with a variety of weapons and armor.”
Rogue : “A scoundrel who uses stealth and trickery to overcome obstacles and enemies.”
Ranger : “A warrior who uses martial prowess and nature magic to combat threats on the edges of civilization.”
Magic:
Just like classes mentioned at the start, there are just so many types of magic users in the RPG world. Several are mentioned above… Warlocks, Sorcerer, Wizard, Witch and more. And then there is areas of specialty such as:
Abjuration.
Conjuration.
Divination.
Enchantment.
Evocation.
Illusion.
Necromancy.
Transmutation.
*For this game… who cares! That is not so much a question but more a statement. Seriously… do you really have to only specialize in one area of magic? Like a musician… can they only pick the Blues and they are not allowed to play Folk or Rock? Ridiculous. For this game… feel free to scour the web for spells in general and pick a bunch. Discuss first with your GM just how many spells you have and the details on them. I suggest you start with max of 10 memorized spells. Scrolls and magic books can come later in the form of treasures. If your character is young, naive, perhaps not very educated yet in magic… maybe pick 6 spells. Often a character that is weaker is the most fun to play.
The MAGIC attribute is used to test if you are keeping a spell active. Roll d20 with TN set by GM. Add any bonus’ that you may have beside your magic attribute. Next roll effort.
Getting started:
On your character sheet you will see:
Strength
Agility
Intelligence
Constitution
Wisdom
Charisma
Magic
Luck
Put beside luck: 3 points.
Beside the rest… you have 8 points. Spread them out as you see fit. For example:
Strength
Agility 1
Intelligence 2
Constitution
Wisdom 1
Charisma 1
Intelligence
Sanity 1
Magic 2
Luck 3
What do these numbers mean? Stay tuned… more to come on that.
The rolls:
In the game, you will come across opportunities in which you need to roll those dreaded dice. Be it smashing a door (strength), solving a riddle (Intelligence), Making a tough choice (wisdom), Spotting a trap (perception) and more. We will use the ICRPG rules on this stuff.
All things your character will do can be referred to as "effort". The GM will choose a target number between approximately 9 and 16 with 9 being the easiest and 16 the hardest. You will use a 20 sided die to see if you accomplish the effort you are trying to do be it smashing that door, jumping over a chasm or cutting a giants leg off. You must roll higher than the target provided.
For example… TN set at 13. You roll a 12 and its an agility effort you are attempting. Lucky for you, you put "2" beside agility so your roll is actually a 14 - you succeed.
Difficulty mods to the TN: The GM might decide that while the effort is a target number of 13 for the group… for you it might be different because perhaps you are weakened or carrying more gear, etc and that the TN has a “HARD” modifier to it. Modifiers are either HARD +3 or EASY -3. This means the TN of 13 for you is actually 16. An EASY modifier would translate from 13 to a 10. This might be because you failed on the first attempt so naturally you would be better on the second attempt. Or perhaps this is just a bit easier for you due to race or size, etc. Its all speculative and at the GM’s discretion. At any time you can ask “due to my smaller stature, would this be an EASY effort for my character”? for example.
Now that you know if you succeeded in your roll (failing means try something else or roll again when it’s your turn), you need to know what happens next. On your sheet you will see EFFORT and below that:
BASIC WORK D4
WEAPON DAMAGE D6
MAGIC EFFECT D8
ULTIMATE D12
Just like your Attributes, you will put numbers beside these. Through the game you might get gear (loot as it’s called in ICRPG) which gives you some bonus’. Such as a Sword +2. Beside WEAPON DAMAGE you would put +2. Or perhaps some other kind of thing has happened which gives you a bonus. Some races have bonus’ that can be applied here potentially.
To better understand, let me explain:
BASIC WORK D4 - This is anything done with your bare hands. Lifting a rock, pushing someone over, choking a Goblin, slapping an idiot at the bar, etc. You roll the d4 for all actions related to this. Add your strength bonus to this.
*WEAPON DAMAGE D6 - This is the dice you roll for all weapons used. Sure, a giant axe will do more damage than a dagger but maybe in the right hands… not so much. Plus there is the bonus’ that can be applied. Add your strength bonus to this for bludgeoning, hacking, slashing weapons, agility bonus for hand held piercing weapons and wisdom bonus for missile weapons. If you are a monk that uses martial arts… your hands are considered deadly weapons so you would roll this dice as a result (this does not apply to a trained boxer though as they are not trained to kill but to pummel).
MAGIC EFFECT D8 - If your weapon is a magical weapon or you are using a spell, use this dice to roll results. A magic spell that levels up will just get +X modifiers added to it. For weapons… Add your strength bonus to this for bludgeoning weapons, agility bonus for hand held piercing weapons and wisdom bonus for missile weapons. and for spells, apply your Intelligence bonus to this.
ULTIMATE D12 - If at any time you roll a critical success (20) on your d20 roll, you get to roll your applicable damage die above (4,6 or 8 sided die) plus you roll the 12 sided die for damage. You also roll the skull dice.
Critical hit and the Skull dice : You will see this dice has 3 skulls on it and a shield. You only get to roll this when you roll a critical hit. Rolling a skull = +2 hp damage on top of your damage already calculated. Rolling a shield = KILL! This means you were deadly accurate (and maybe a bit lucky) and hit that sweet spot and killed the beast. It’s possible you could kill a dragon with this. Man, talk about being the talk of the town after that one!!
Critical fail: When you roll the d20… what if you roll a 1? Well… this would be a critical fail and the GM is going to have all kinds of fun with you on that one. You might trip and stab yourself. You might have your spell go awry and turn everyone into mushrooms for 10 minutes. So many bad things can happen. May the dice gods be forever in your favor. Using the skull dice, a skull = minor result. Shield = major result.
Nice rules hack, man. 
