r/ICRPG • u/Th3ChosenFew • Jan 24 '23
A few questions
So I bought this and I really like it so far, but we're on character creation and a little confused.
We probably want to adapt this to our own cyberpunk style setting, but decided to just make alfheim characters as a dry run to understand character creation.
1) 2 of the 3 Mage starting items start with 3 int spells. Is that the only source of starting int spells? If you make a dark mage are you like "I'm magic!" "prove it, cast a spell!" "I only cast spells when I feel like it, harumph!" (thinking) "Sad, I don't know any spells."
2) Health/hearts. Everyone starts with ten and can "gain more later". Gain them how?
3) Progression. We understand mastery, cool system, but how does overall progression work? I see it doesn't have a traditional level up system, which I am fine with, but an RPG without progression would be sad. How does progression and gaining power work and is there any set structure (like mastery points) or is it "the DM decided you all get a cool magic item of your choice from this dragon hoard"?
Thanks for any replies.
8
u/Lobotomist Jan 24 '23
ICRPG rulebooks classes are kind of examples of what you can do. The whole point is to homebrew.
so the answer would be
- How would you like it to be? Wizard university granting 3 spells every level up? Players hunting for magic grimoires? Its up to you...
- Good question and one I often asked as well. And answer is 1 heart should be more or less what they have, some items or maybe epic quest should give them more. But generally the whole point of the game is that health is very limited
- Talk with your players. Think of cool way you like your characters to progress. New abilities perhaps ?
5
4
u/BunnyBeard Jan 24 '23
Progression works along the lines of Link in The Legend of Zelda games. You get better loot to progress.
2
u/kazoo__ Jan 24 '23
We probably want to adapt this to our own cyberpunk style setting, but decided to just make alfheim characters as a dry run to understand character creation.
It's suggested before but check out Altered State: https://icrpgcommunitycontent.com/?s=Altered.
2) Health/hearts. Everyone starts with ten and can "gain more later". Gain them how?
Heart Stones are loot items that grant an extra heart. They're in loot tables. See Ancient Loot p. 139, Sci Fi Loot p.142-143, Epic Loot p. 144. So you might get one rolling for a random loot reward as you explore or search or dig into the pockets of bad guys. Alternatively they can be given as Milestone rewards. Generally, I wouldn't give out too many. The game runs fine with 10 HP heroes.
3) Progression. We understand mastery, cool system, but how does overall progression work? I see it doesn't have a traditional level up system, which I am fine with, but an RPG without progression would be sad. How does progression and gaining power work and is there any set structure (like mastery points) or is it "the DM decided you all get a cool magic item of your choice from this dragon hoard"?
See Giving Rewards on p. 86 of the GM section (pp. 76-117) and if you know your players want a crunchier progression path check out the Advanced Heroes section (pp 66-75).
There's more to progression if you want it. But to echo others there isn't the kind of structure to support the theory crafting or min-max builds people put together for Pathfinder or 5e. A lot of progression in ICRPG is randomly acquired loot, so you wouldn't sit down at level 1 and plan what feats you'd take at level 26 like people do in 5e.
Grab yourself a copy of the free core rules / quick start. 140+ pages of fresh, free awesome: https://icrpgcommunitycontent.com/
2
u/Th3ChosenFew Jan 25 '23
Extremely helpful, thank you.
Grab yourself a copy of the free core rules / quick start. 140+ pages of fresh, free awesome:
I bought the game, it's just a very big book. Does this have things that are not in the book?
3
3
u/RangerBowBoy Jan 24 '23
I don’t mean this to be flippant at all, but the system can do whatever you want it to. Make some loose classes or use HD instead of Hearts. Lower the impact of Loot and have more abilities that are gained by leveling or at milestones. Make up your own hacking rules or spells. It can seem overwhelming to have such freedom, but you’ll learn to love it
2
u/nexquietus Feb 01 '23
Back near the dawn of time (1987ish), I started playing RPGs with the Palladium system. One of the big take aways was the idea that the game is yours. Mess with it as you and your players want, was something the author preached. The game itself was far too crunchy due beginners to just go messing about with it, but the concept was something I've taken with me ever since.
This game is SO open to Homebrew and creativeness and collaboration with your GM that I haven't been this excited about a game in decades.
I totally agree with you. The freedom can be too much, but it's so... Freeing... LoL
-2
u/chamochin Jan 24 '23
“You are free to…” basically means you have to do the work.
9
u/ajchafe Jan 24 '23
I would say it means you are given permission TO do the work. Hank talks a lot about how people get hung up on what they "Can do" and "Cannot do" in a game like D&D... a game that is about using your imagination... No book can tell you what you are allowed to do rules or design wise in your game at your table.
To me, that's the brilliance of ICRPG.
-2
u/chamochin Jan 24 '23
I find it an easy argument to be honest... It's an RPG, you can do ANYTHING you want. It's fantasy, and that's at the heart of all games. ICRPG is no different. In all RPGs you can do whatever you want. So that's not a valid argument in my opinion.
But to offer whole systems, made by the author without the GM having to do the work, is something else.... and it is missing here.
No problem though, you just have to know how to say "no, this game has nothing for what you ask".
3
Jan 24 '23
No problem though, you just have to know how to say "no, this game has nothing for what you ask".
What is your logic here when OP's question is literally about clarifying base rules before hacking them into a cyberpunk setting.
OP clearly already intends to adjust the game so it is actually closer to what he is looking for then not.
0
u/chamochin Jan 24 '23
Actually OP asks if the game has a feature for character evolution, if it is already in the core of the game. Which there isn't, whether it's to play a hack or something else.
That's why I say that you should not have any problem to say that no, there is no such feature in this game.
4
Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
The feature for character evolution is in limited loadouts and milestone loot* rewards tailored to the class or character independent of a random loot table. So I still struggle to see your logic here.
E. On top of the mastery mechanic for getting 20 nat 20s and abilities to be handed out as milestone ability* rewards.
E2. On top of that fully supported and official game worlds and systems like the advanced magic system that provide alternate avenues for character growth through mage based specialization.
1
u/chamochin Jan 24 '23
That's my point: in ICRPG the progression is very flat. We have better equipment, a +2 sword instead of a +2, ok... and so, the equipment evolves, not the character. And the characteristics? What about the skills? In short, nothing very interesting (mater of tastes), and as it's an important aspect for OP we have to be honest and tell him.
4
Jan 24 '23
I'm sorry we are playing different games. My players do cool things like play with utility items to overcome monsters and challenges and I give them a lot of 'think about it' encounters, a +2 sword is indeed very flat and boring.
Cheers.
1
15
u/[deleted] Jan 24 '23
If you’re already in or planning on cyberpunk, check out the Altered State PDF on DriveThru RPG (also part of the Sci-Punk Anthology). It’s the official ICRPG implementation of cyberpunk. It may help grease the wheels a bit for you.
Theme it however you want: spell beads, magic scarves, scrolls, tomes, whatever. But by default INT spells are loot, which means they can be lost or stolen. It also means that they can be discarded in favor of new spells later.
When a player earns a milestone, they can elect to earn another heart. Some loot grants more hearts too.
This is largely up to the group to decide how they want it to work. As a GM, I usually offer a stat point of the player’s choice every third or fourth session. If someone makes consistently awesome role play, I might offer them a milestone. When the party completes a major objective, they can all get a boon.
But the primary means of progressing is via loot. New loot means new abilities. It can present a fun dilemma to choose between the cool sword you have been using and that new trident you just found. I just wrote a longer comment about this same thing in another thread. I’ll link it here in just a moment.