Trying to discover ICRPG as a GM. What do I read and use?

question
#1

Hello everyone,

I’m an aspiring GM (GM’d a bunch for Lancer, played a bunch of DnD) and I have aquired the ICRPG CORE 2E on drivethru. I’m excited to start learning, but… It seems like over the years the game got a bunch of updates that didn’t quite overwrite each others?

I have downloaded the Core 2E Digital 1.3 pdf, and the Master edition digital core 1.3 PDF. It looks like they overlap a lot, but explain things differently? Also the character sheets are different, there is a new “Word” line in the Master.

My question is, what do I read? Why are there overlaps in the PDF, and which should I use for what?

Thanks in advance

#2

Master edition is the revision of 2E. The world material is set later in the future of Alfheim. And there a tweaks to the system.

So, start with Master Edition to get you going.

#3

It looks like the Master is missing pages, mostly on the world and monsters. So I guess I should use it for rules and the other for material?

#4

Master Edition (ME) is the consolidation and update of ICRPG 2e/Core - so it is the best place to start.

The nice part is you don’t need to get ICRPG Worlds or Magic as that info has been updated and included in Master Edition.

Oh and Monsters have been GREATLY streamlined as well.

You can still use 2e/Core things in ME with a little DIY - example ME doesn’t have Hill Folk in the Alfheim bio-form, but you could easily port them from 2e/Core to your game. I’d say +1 STR, +1 BASIC Effort off the top of my head.

#5

Ok it turns out the pdf I have for the ME is the free core rules update. It doesn’t have a monster listing. I can see that it recommends building monsters with a single roll bonus for all abilities, which 2E do not do. Are there other differences? Should I worry about that, or is it really a minor difference?

Also, are there any actual play casts, streams or shows for ICRPG somewhere? That would help me get my head around some of the mechanics. Especially having a shared target for every single check in a scene, that feels so weird to me and I have a hard time seeing how that actually plays

#6

Kane’s Kiln channel and Alfmarches channel have a bunch:

ALFMARCHES: End of Prologue! - INDEX CARD RPG - RUNEHAMMER

#7

Even though are differences between the two versions, nothing invalidates one or the other. ICRPG is the ultimate diy toolbox that allows you to play however you want with anything you find in CORE or MASTER EDITION. There’s a lot of people playing both versions and combinations of all the different supplements and worlds.

Definitely recommend jumping into a game as the best way to learn the system and get a feel for it over all. All that said, we’re happy to have you!

#8

When he originally published, Hankerin promised to always give future updates free to other editions. 2e is a great place to start. The supplementals give you what are essentially streamlining hacks with some improvements and some unifying of the other published settings, magic, etc. The main difference is that 2e is still mostly loot based character growth, while ME uses both abilities and loot. 2e has less material in some areas but more in depth explanation in others. I also recommend watching Hank’s ICRPG deep dive videos, etc. on the Runehammer YouTube channel to get a feel for things. This system is straightforward, easily hackable, and the mechanics and advice make it very easy to create your own adventures. Welcome!

#9

Also world is just to specify setting, and there are great live play videos on the roll for effort YouTube channel.

#10

Here is a playlist of some of the 2e stuff. The core of the game is the same so this should be enough for you to get a good grasp of the game.

#11

Ok, I’m starting to see how I will approach this. Thank you all so much for your replies!

#12

Can’t go wrong either way with 2e or Master Edition. What I suggest is just run 2e straight up, get comfortable with the system by just jumping in. Then layer in the Master edition stuff as you’d like. It’s really fluid to mix and match between the editions.