Art © Jörg Drühl
Here we go!
I’m presenting the latest incarnation of my tag-heavy, freeform ICRPG.
Character Creation
- no stats
- write down 6 tags – they can be as short or long as you want, single words or whole sentences
- mechanically, each tag counts as +1 to your roll
- weapons and armor are tags
Example:
_E. Honda, _
Class: Sumotori
Bioform: Human
extremely heavy, strong as an ox, one of the best sumotori in the world, tough as nails, Buddha Thousand-Palm-Slap, deals massive damage
Combat
-
Method A:
In a fight, add all relevant tags to your d20 roll. If there are any disadvantageous tags, subtract 1 from your roll for each. The gamemaster/referee does the same for monsters and npcs.
Higher roll does damage.
If one side has severely more powerful tags, add +1d4 to that side’s roll. -
Method B:
Count the number of relevant tags.
If 0–2, roll 1d4
if 3–4, roll 1d6
if 5–6, roll 1d8
if 7–8, roll 1d10
if 9–10, roll 1d12
if 11+, roll 1d20
You roll vs GM/referee’s roll.
Higher roll does damage.
If one side has severely more powerful tags, add +1d4 to your roll.
optional:
Principle of Narrative Truth
- Everything the players describe happens exactly how they describe it, when they describe it.
- Narration must not describe the defeat of a character if they still have hit points/heartbeats left.
- Higher rolls in combat now grant the right to narrate, and the side with the lower roll also takes damage.
- This way, when winning a roll, a player could also describe how their character gets hit and/or injured, only to have a sensational comeback (when, mechanically, the opponent has been reduced to zero hearts).
One fighting against many
Your total result (roll+tags) counts against every single opponent – or you treat the horde as one single opponent
Checks and Attempts
roll d20+relevant tags vs. target number
Hearts
either roll damage+relevant tags and subtract total from hp
or
1 heart = 3 heartbeats
1 hit = -1 heartbeat
1 crit = -1d4 heartbeats
Spells/Loot
have tags, GM/referee determines
when using loot or casting spells, GM/ref rolls 1d20; 18+: loot/spell has extremely beneficial effects, maybe even functionality it usually doesn’t have
Superheroes
Every tag is a +3 instead of a +1 to your roll.
THE ABOVE IS THE OLD VERSION. THE NEW, EVEN SIMPLER ONE IS ALMOST FINISHED.
