So after hearing about other people running and playing Orvald’s Tower I decided it to be my next foray into GMing ICRPG. My first attempt at running ICRPG didnt work out as well as I hoped, so I wanted to jump back at it with something more contained.
PREP
Since playing online I built each level of the tower using assets from 2-minute Tabletop and used index cards off to the side of the map to signal important details when needed. I also made pre-gens for the players cause they didnt have the time and ended up giving them a couple of buffs (one milestone upgrade and random loot roll) due to being a smaller group. I ended up floundering a bit as game day hit about making sure I had everything I needed setup or if I was forgetting anything, but that anxiety went away as we started chatting and jumped into the game as it usually does.
PLAY
Once we kicked it off it took a little bit for the players to get into the groove and start taking risks as the timer counted down. There was some things that I should have put more thought into before running, like the well. I wasn’t sure if i should have it activate at the start of the player’s turn or mine. After having run it, I think it should definitely be on mine. As we got to the final floor the players really threaded the needle with it, all of them were injured with little time left to escape. The final turn was super intense, a nasty maelstrom roll plunged the chamber into darkness, a character was down and another refused to leave them behind. In the end they all managed to escape just as the tower was completely consumed, ending in one of the most climatic session I’ve run and everyone having a blast!
Afterthoughts
So after finishing my 2nd time running ICRPG I have grasped the system the system a little bit more and its quirks. I still have a ways to go before it fully sticks in my mind but very happy how the session went over my first and that is in part to how fun Orvald’s Tower is. I’m excited to try to run it again and improve from what ive learned. If you haven’t had the chance to play it or run it I would highly recommend it!