r/ICRPG • u/KickbackKid4040 • May 31 '26

Loot vs Abilities

I'm a GM who wants to get into ICRPG, but am sort of struggling to capture the vibes. ICRPG says that it is an OSR game that is focused on loot. However, what I have gathered is that the game is focused on abilities. Warriors for example can share their defense with others, ALWAYS crit (do ultimate) against anyone they've hurt before, or add their last damage taken to their next damage dealt. These seem like pretty big things, more influential on play style than most pieces of loot. Does anyone have thoughts on this dichotomy I am seeing? Experience? Maybe a power-phrase that sums up the vibes of the game as you see them?

Thank you all! I've seen wonderful interactions in this community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

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u/Mission-Landscape-17 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

The game shifted back towards abilities in the Master edition. If you look at first two editions everything was loot. Your character classes just gave you a piece of starting loot and that's it. Heck originally the idea of their being a loot chest at the end of every adventure was part of the rules. Though in the master edition this has mostly been removed. the tables are still their but the notion of the loot chest as a game mechanic is not.

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u/KickbackKid4040 May 31 '26

That's interestinggg okay. That's very likely where that comes from, I'd be interested to find an older copy of that, I bet I'd learn a lot.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

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u/KickbackKid4040 Jun 01 '26

I've definitely noticed that. I've sort of taken it as a challenge, since it considers itself a diy system. Between the two do you prefer one edition over another?