Indeed! Me and my crew have always run classless. They are there for pure inspiration and boy have they been inspired.
ICRPG is a Classless system. Change my mind. (sips coffee)
Vihar
#5
I’ve toyed with the idea of adding Cypher system’s Foci like this… A little bit extra fluff that conveys some mechanical use. Nothing game breaking but useful in some occasions. http://cypherguide.com/foci/
Alex
#6
Hey, that’s an awesome list and right in line with adding tags that have some mechanical importance. Really cool.
I’ve also been toying with the idea of making some loot “Experience” with tags like Tomb Robber, Sticky Fingers, Merciless, Sawbones etc that grant bonuses under certain circumstances— they mark a character growing and shifting “class”.
Kreeba
#9
I wrote a little on how some of the mechanics and resources from Knave can be used in ICRPG Knave with ICRPG
!
GMagnus
#11
Honestly I think Tags that featured in Blood&Snow (surely Weapon Tags too!) is the new IT for ICRPG anything-creation!
Weapons. Bioforms. Abilities. Vehicles. Monsters (already comes with them IMO). Hell even Magic!
Nimlouth
#15
Ok so… I LOVE this idea, but let me first let you know about my personal experience with ICRPG progression/customization, how I handle it and how I see your TAGs idea blending into an already up’n’runnin’ game of mine so you get a little bit of perspective/pseudo-testing to get started!
So character creation at my table always starts like this:
- I Describe the world that we play in, and present the adventure primer
- I Handle my box full of printed minis to the players and say “pick one”, even monsters are allowed!
- I Ask the players to distill their character concept into a 5-3 words sentence
- I let them allocate stats and present/work out race choices with them
- I ask the players to distill the idea even further into a single “class/archetype” concept
- I let them pick starting loot as I choose/design their starting “class” item.
- Done!
I have a homebrewed “xp” system inspired by dungeon world so when they “level up” I start a “micro quest” to give them their milestone reward (like finding a blacksmith to forge their meteorite sword). I let my players ask me for rewards that they find in the paths system, core classes and even other games! (Shadow of the Demon Lord, DCC and 5e are constant sources of reward ideas for my players). They also get a “modified” hero coin when they lvl up, which i call “destiny points”
What usually happens is that their character concept bounce around a lot between sessions, like a character that started as a “wizard” and ends up as a “druid”. So here is where I see your TAG idea shining, as an extension for the “distill your charaacter concept into a class” idea. For each “level up” they should write down a TAG for their character, which represents the aspect of their character that they want to explore for the duration of this level period.
Example?:
Class: Barbarian
TAGs (in lvling up order): Strong, unrelenting, intimidating, resourceful, tough…
Rewards (also in lvling up order): Strength Bracers, Second Wind Tattoo, Warchief’s Axe, Backpack of Supplying, Cloak of Endurance.
So more than a “classless” system, I see it like a “build your own class” thing, if that makes any sense 
ScottyRoberts
#17
I never did like the idea of classes in rpg’s. I always imagine our life set in the genre and how we would behave. Would we for example as a guitar player never be allowed to play blues or rock if we chose jazz as our class as a guitarist? It makes little sense to me. A religious person who swings an axe or uses a whip to enforce the word of their god… they wear heavy armor and read from a random spell book they found one day. Why not? I know I would do that. Perhaps a wizard… plate armor and sword in hand because hey… dad raised me that way. I cast magic sure but I also stick the pointy end in things too. A being will do what they want to do and who says they can’t wear something, pick something up and swing it, read from a book or throw shiny stabby things I figure.
slingstone
#18
I really find this concept fascinating! 
So to clarify based on your example, if I want to work at being a barbarian I choose “strong” as the tag (aka character aspect) I want to work on. Once I’ve worked on that tag for that “level” duration I am then rewarded with something like “Strength Bracers” which give me a stat benefit (e.g. +1 STR or EASY strength rolls) 
Anthony_C
#19
One of ICRPG’s greatest strengths is that classes are presented as archetypes, paths you can follow if you so wish. You can always detour off the path at any time, of course.
Vihar
#20
It makes sense from a “milestone” perspective. Before seeing this interpretation, I might have just given a bonus. Quick thoughts just using Nimlouth’s example:
Class: Barbarian
TAGs (in lvling up order): Strong (+1 Str), unrelenting (extra attack), intimidating (bonus to init), resourceful (I like usage die, so I might have this be ignore the first step down), tough (+AC)…
Rewards (also in lvling up order): Strength Bracers, Second Wind Tattoo, Warchief’s Axe, Backpack of Supplying, Cloak of Endurance.
But now I am looking to tack on the foci from Numenera/Cypher system. Those will absolutely confer some mechanical boons/banes. I kind of like Nimlouth’s ideas on TAGs.
slingstone
#21
I agree! Sometimes I think “classless” is almost another way of saying “multi-class”.
Just to be clear, I typed “multi-class”, not:
Nimlouth
#22
I’m still self-debating if it is better to let the player write down the tag and reward them instantly at lvl up or let them write it down and then reward at the NEXT lvl up for that tag… I like the first better i think haha
Vihar
#23
So I like the idea of tying the milestone reward to the Tag being worked on. But I also like the idea of actually gaining benefit from the chosen Tags. These are supposed to be character defining after all. I think I’d do both.
I also LOVE the Numenera stuff. Here is a stab at converting a couple of Tags(Descriptors):
Adaptable - You flex and sway with changes both physical and mental. When something bad happens to you, you feel the pain and the loss, but soon, you’re back on your feet and in the action. When you have to learn a new skill, you don’t back away, but instead, you jump in and try your best. Being adaptable means that you’re often cooperative, because you know that, by working together, a group can overcome things that might be impossible for an individual. Some seek you out because of your adaptability, but others don’t see it as a positive trait and instead see you as someone who always changes their mind-- someone without a foundation. You laugh at those accusations. That’s just the sort of thing someone would say if they had never changed their mind about anything in their life—a way for that person to feel good about their lack of growth.
You gain the following benefits:
- Versatile: +1 to any one Stat, which you can reassign after each 1/2 day.
- Skill: You’re trained in all tasks related to pleasant social interaction, putting other people at ease, and gaining others’ trust. You gain advantage to CHA checks realted to these (i.e. HARD becomes NORMAL, NORMAL becomes EASY).
- Resilient: You’re trained in all actions that involve overcoming or ignoring the effects of deprivation, sorrow, or pain. This includes tasks related to ending an ongoing condition such as being dazed, blinded, stunned, and so on. (However, you are not trained in tasks to resist effects that confer those conditions in the first place.) You gain advantage to all checks realted to these (i.e. HARD becomes NORMAL, NORMAL becomes EASY).
Beneficent - Helping others is your calling. It’s why you’re here. Others delight in your outgoing and charitable nature, and you delight in their happiness. You’re at your best when you’re aiding people, either by explaining how they can best overcome a challenge or by demonstrating how to do so yourself.
You gain the following benefits:
- Helpful: +1 to your CHA
- Devoted: Allies who have spent the last day with you add your CON to their recovery. You also gain this benefit if at least one other ally gains it.
- Skill: You’re trained in all tasks related to pleasant social interaction, putting other people at ease, and gaining others’ trust. You gain advantage to CHA checks realted to these (i.e. HARD becomes NORMAL, NORMAL becomes EASY).