Potential new GM here. I have some questions


#1

Hey! I have been reading reviews for this game and have become very interested in trying it.

Here’s my current situation: i have a group of friends who have been playing 5e for a couple years. We only play once every two weeks for about six hours a session. We are all late thirties and a couple of my players seem to forget how to play their characters every session. It really slows the game down.

I have been trying to find another system without as many fiddly bits as 5e (which really isn’t too bad compared to some other systems I have ran).

I was looking for something less swingy than Savage Worlds (my personal favorite non D&D system), more customizable than an OSR system, and less fiddly than 3/4/5th edition D&D.

I want to run a classic OSR style game with more character options. I want my players to feel like they have options as far as upgrades goes. Like some sort of feeling of progression.

Sorry for the long post, but can I get that with this system?


#2

May I know how those couple of players seem to forget how to play their characters? Is it by lack of interest? How does it slow the game down?

ICRPG is certainly less fiddly than 5e, but I do not know what swingy means in this context?

I think that there are less character options for ICRPG, but that’s because the focus is on loot, another way of doing progression which might be good or bad for your group: you have to try it to get to know it. :slight_smile:

However, remember that ICRPG is a DIY system, so you can certainly look up other posts on this forum to cobble up something to your tastes. Check out the EXP Bowl for example!


#3

I’d say you’re in the right place. The mechanics are going to feel familiar to your players. It’s d20 system, there’s a target number, roll a d20, add applicable bonus, if you hit, roll a polyhedron and subtract points. Nothing new. It’s really about the philosophy behind it imo. It’s very freeing as a gm. You just do what’s right for your game in that moment. There’s not a rule for every single thing. There’s a few rules and you can use them for everything.

As far as customization goes, you’re gonna like it here. It’s pretty free form. There’s plenty of classes, or types here, with a few abilities or unique loot items to lick from when you “level them up” but there’s no strict progression of abilities. You can choose whatever you like in whatever order you like. And you’re free to make up your own as the gm if you think something is better for that character in your game. Hank won’t mind

Character builds are about the loot. All loot does something. So two players can play the same type and have completely different builds depending on what loot they’re carrying. And there’s tons of loot to choose from and they’re easy to write if you wanna make your own.

That’s my take away from it so far, I’m still new too. But I’m having a blast with it and I’m able to focus on my gm’ing instead of looking up rules. It’s freeing. Ooh! Go read the gm section too! Good stuff and my new adopted method of prep


#4

ICrpg is great. Simple, hackable, quick, … really great.
The feel might be a bit more epic than Dnd5e and i mean by that : the players can become really powerfull quickly.
And i think this is soooo cool. You just need to find monsters that will meet their “powerfullness”.

I suggest that you run a oneshot, a five rooms dungeon to test with your players the system.


#5

I’d recommend do a one-shot!

Use the free Quickstart if you’re on the fence about Master Edition and don’t want to throw down for the full version. That said, I used the GM sections from ICRPG long before I convinced my 5e group to move over. So I’d recommend it just as a resource. And Master Edition has the most polished version of the content.

The other popular way folks use ICRPG with their 5e groups is they slowly start hacking it into 5e. Start adding things like timers, the three D’s, the three T’s, D.E.W., single room targets, meaningful stat differences, and then a few sessions later you’re running ICRPG.

I’d say ICRPG is less fiddly than 5e.

I don’t think ICRPG is swingy. There aren’t a lot exploding dice for instance. But the math is small, so most characters are going to start with 10hp and it’s not hard to get dropped with a single unlucky hit.

I’d say it’s more customizable than OSR games. Heavy emphasis on DIY mindset. A lot of “take this ability from this class, and choose this loot item for your next advancement.” etc.

ICRPG has tons of options for progression, but a lot of it is about discovering upgrades through play. So there’s less of a D&D 5e mindset of something like a D&D beyond app where players plan a build in advance. More of a roll on a d100 loot table and get a weird item, and that becomes an important part of that character’s journey going forward.


#6

Thanks for all the responses! I am really liking some of the ideas you have posted. I might just get the QuickStart and run a solo game or two to get comfortable with the system before running it for a couple friends.

I’m excited to try it out. It seems like a really fun and unique rpg system.


#7

Welcome to the fold!

I’ve had great success running games that were transferred from D&D 5E, L5R, my own Viking War game, Low Fantasy OSR adventures, and complete meat-grinders.

People love their characters in 5E and love all the fiddly abilities. My recommendation is to look through the rules in ICRPG and find pre-made abilities that match what the players want to do with their characters and give them those or slightly modify the flavor to match.

Just focus on the big things! Anything small that they used to do, I’d give them the option with a roll.

If you have any particular examples of characters that need to be transferred, I’d be more than happy to assist you in simple and fun translations.


#8

Adding to the best advice here (try the quickstart, then buy the master edition if you feel it) I would add that ALL of the game is stuff you can take piecemeal as far as the mechanics go. I have used bananas distance in combat, room DCs with ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ rolls, and my own hack of ‘hearts’ represented as x d6 per monster on the table. Hank’s videos on YT really give lots of good ideas in and out of the system. I would add that it is about middle ground between 5e and osr in some ways, and in others it leans toward one or the other. While Old School Essentials is probably the most ‘faithful’ way to run osr games, icrpg is MUCH easier to run and play from a forgetful character standpoint, and it is extremely easy to hack, use parts of, and houserule as needed. The Advice in the gm section is fantastic. There are cheaper copies of core 2e out there, but Master edition is definitely more refined and less swingy than it was, so it’s definitely worth it to me (But I bought the pdf, not the book. I like to just print the tables and rules sections as I need them in smaller booklets, OSE style.) And of course, I think the community here is one of the most supportive out there.