I'm very interested but I have few concerns

question

#1

I posted this on reddit but it was suggested I visit the official forums as there’s more traffic.

I’ve been watching some videos about ICRPG and now I’m very interested. That said, I’ve got a few concerns I was hoping someone might be able to address.

Losing Loot
Players spending time to get the loot they want to define the character they want - only to have that loot stolen/broken/lost/etc which in turn renders the character they want to play, less than appealing.

Flexible Character Builds
It seems you can change your character given enough time to acquire the necessary loot. This is both a positive due to the options players have, but for me, it may be a negative. Reason being, a rule that allows you to play anything sort of character, runs the risk of making choices meaningless.

Longevity
I assume the above rules, whilst having possible issues for me, allow a campaign to last for a long time, possibly years. Primarily down to the fact you can change your character merely by obtaining loot. I think I love this idea. Is ICRPG built for long term campaigns?

Other Settings Other Adventures
Can you use ICRPG to run standard D&D module/adventures in whichever setting you fancy? Is the conversion painless?

Thanks all in advance :slight_smile:


#2

These questions are really great. They show that ICRPG is for you as you are questioning the rules already. At it’s heart the system is designed to be cut up and mixed around to play as you like. Take what you like. Add other things.

To address your questions directly:

  1. Yes, it can mean that players can lose loot. But if you want a more linear character progression then don’t do it. Some use milestones, which can be described more like feats or abilities. More of these were added in the WORLDS suppliment. The other option is to even increase loot loss! I have described how you can take the mechanics of equipment condition from something like Knave and add it to your game if you want that. Think how your want the game and your world to feel and find a mechanic to facilitate that.

  2. One way this is addressed is the Origin and Destiny of the character. Their story is probably a more interesting arc for them to develop rather than their abilities? Once Thanos had achieved his destiny he hung up his armour.

  3. Long term campaigns can be achieved if you are careful about giving out milestones. If you make the campaign about the characters completing their Destinies then the campaign will be as long as it needs to be, and no longer.

  4. Of course! Go crazy. If you look at my posts I have a post with most of the settings listed, including a few third parties. Take the skeleton of the setting and it will all work.


#3

There’s no rule that says anyone has to lose loot, ever.

ICRPG is flexible in both directions. There are definite classes, and one can quite easily play traditional fighters, archers, rogues, priests, mages, and tanks. The loot choices a player makes define the character. If you want to play a thief, only select loot that amplifies that class. Or if you want to make a battle cleric, take loot that moves the character in that direction. There is no hard and fast rule in either direction. Play the way you want to play.

Yes. You can definitely play a long term campaign with ICRPG. If you’d like to see a few, check out the Roll For Effort channel on YouTube. Possibilities for progression are endless. Milestone loot. Epic loot. Stat points. Hearts. New spells. Abilities. Hero coins. A lot of us who run long campaigns alternate between handing out these items each session or every other session over the long haul.

You can literally run ANYTHING with ICRPG rules. Again, check out Roll For Effort for some ideas. I have used it to run almost any setting or adventure you can think of (robotech, Aliens, starship troopers, guardians of the galaxy, high fantasy, low fantasy, dark fantasy, weird west, cyberpunk, etc.), and the prep to convert anything is super simple, especially once folks let go of these notions that things have to be black and white.


Okay, now stop letting fear and worries about this system prevent you from checking it out. ICRPG is the fastest, most flexible system I have played in 30+ years of gaming while still retaining that D&D feel. Perhaps the best part about it is that the rules just “get out of the way,” so that everyone can focus on telling a great story, rolling dice, and having fun, which are the most important parts.


#4

Yup, after reading these replies and watching a couple more vids, I think I’m already sold on ICRPG.

It really looks interesting, gives a fresh lick of paint on what I’ve experienced in the past, it’s got fun ideas without being gimmicky, and I can see already how the rules will fade into the background and let the roleplaying stand front and centre.

Thanks both for the replies.


#5

Let me welcome you to our family.

Like Kreeba and Alex said, you can do anything you want with ICRPG. It is basically a simple, minimalist DIY framework you can adjust, mold and shape to create your ideal RPG, no matter the setting or style like combat heavy or RP heavy.

Just imagine something and use the tools to create it. There are many tools you can use and they are all as simple as it gets without being too simple. Combine whatever you need and you have yourself a game.

It is best RPG I have ever seen, period.


#6

Does ICRPG focus solely on dungeon crawls or does it lend itself to political skulduggery in a city, overland exploration adventures, etc?


#7

@Blackadder A better question is: “Do you, as a DM, focus only on dungeon crawls?” No system of mechanics is going to answer that for you.

It’s totally up to you how you want to play. The heart/effort system has been a game-changer for some folks running intrigue style games, but how anyone plays is totally up to them.


#8

I totally agree, hearts and effort are game changers. Dang, I mean, I’ve even seen it used as a way to run stealth encounters Stealth/infiltration encounter? . I have used ICRPG for every genre under the sun, in both one shots, and even full fledged campaigns. Using Effort as a narrative tool on progress is a great way to run just about every scenario. Say for a political encounter, since that was something that was brought up, the hearts of Effort could coincide with winning over the nobleman to back your faction at an elegant soirée. If you make a good bit of role play maybe your roll is easy, if you say something that offends him it may be hard. Failed attempts may subtract your progress and if you go into “negative hearts” the encounter is over as a failure… or perhaps there’s a rival faction vying for the nobleman’s support, and (with competing rolls)whoever completes their effort first gets his favor. Sorry for the long post, TLDR; if you think of encounters as Effort towards a goal you can run pretty much anything you can dream up.


#9

Thanks all

It looks like ICRPG is a solid game.

Is there an errata sheet for it?


#10

No. Maybe that’s because Hank is a one-man operation, or maybe it’s because an errata sheet really isn’t necessary to access and enjoy the game. The Core, second edition, is about as dialed in as it gets, and beyond the supplements, the majority of us are using the rules with very few changes. Between first and second edition, the biggest change was the removal of “learning requirements” for loot and spells and the lessening of effort to get into chests. But if you are just now coming to the game, those concepts really aren’t worth discussion.

Finally (and I am poking a little bit of good-natured fun at your question), I can’t ever think of a time where I have been planning a night of gameplay or about to roll dice and thought, “Gee, I really wish I had an errata sheet.” :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: If you’ve been around here long enough, you’ll find that the majority of us have shed the trappings of “form” and focused more on the substance of having fun.


#11

As you already know from other replies the answer is yes. But something people sometimes overlook is that ICRPG can also be plugged into other RPG systems, especially systems like D&D. When you get the ICRPG Core 2 rulebook (and you definitely should if you haven’t already), check out page 81. I’ve plugged it into other systems to help transition players from another system to ICRPG, or just to make the other system more fun to play. :wink: The one thing I use the most as a plug-in is the single room target.

Page 81 Image


Image Copyright Runehammer Games


#12

I feel like the heart of DIY roleplaying is taking the parts you like and ditching the rest. I don’t know how many people run ICRPG completely by the book–but I certainly don’t think you need to feel any obligation to. I certainly haven’t approached it that way.

Don’t like the idea of having essential loot taken from a player? Come up with a reason why it can’t be. Maybe PCs have the ability to Soulbind a number of essential bits of loot that resonate with them. Maybe some of the loot isn’t actually loot–maybe it’s more like Traits, nonphysical items that can’t be taken that define a class or bioform. Come up with a mechanic, give it a catchy name and you’re all good.

Part of what ICRPG was created to be was a mixer that you add to other games to make them a little more rock n’ roll. So yeah, if you want to use it with a D&D module you should be fine. Decide how much of the D&D stuff you want to keep (use the original monsters but convert their stats and abilities) and how much you want to replace with stuff from the ICRPG books. You can stick with the room by room flow of the particular adventure as written, or rework it in “board” sized chunks or a bit of art that represents the core concept of the area. It should be pretty easy to make mods like this.

It’s a pretty chill kind of system that doesn’t sweat the details so much.


#13

Thanks all for the feedback.

I assume those cards work just as well for overland adventures?

[Cave]–[City]–[Bridge]–[Faerie Glade]–[Ruined Keep]–[Watchtower]–[City]

That kind of thing?


#14

I like the idea of art for anything that can be gone over to or interacted with. At the macro scale yeah it could make for a great world map view: Lay out a forest at the north end, a creepy farm off to the west, a castle to the east, a big lake surrounded by ruins in the middle, some smoking mountains down south. All of a sudden you have a good sandboxy representation of a big part of your world.