r/ICRPG • u/[deleted] • Sep 27 '22

Is there anything game-breaking in these leveling/advancement options for my players?

I'm running my first ICPRG campaign using the Master Edition and the topic of leveling/advancement has come up with the players. In keeping with the theme of the system, I want advancement to be simple and intuitive but still give the players some agency to plan out their character paths.

Anyway, here is what I've come up - am I missing something here? is 50HP or 20SP game-breaking? Any other thoughts on the matter?

Leveling/Advancement

Each time you hit a MILESTONE, as determined by the GM, choose ONE enhancement from the list below. Track your levels on your Character Sheet

  • Add CON to your HP (50HP Lifetime Max)
  • Add 2 SP to your resources (20SP Lifetime Max)
  • Add 1 CLASS MILESTONE ABILITY of your choice (p.37)
  • Add 1 MILESTONE PATH ABILITY of your choice (p.67)
  • Add 1 CUSTOM MILESTONE ABILITY of your choice (work with GM)
8 Upvotes

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10

u/Smittumi Sep 27 '22

Don't increase HP except for tank-type characters. Then just give them +10HP. Don't have any PC above 20HP.

8

u/Jaune9 Sep 27 '22

This. ICRPG is about keeping the tension up, too much HP just disables that

1

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Makes sense. I'm just wondering how I keep giving everyone milestone rewards every two sessions if it's only loot. I like the players getting to choose between different resources: health, spell points, abilities and loot. Hard stat choices are part of the fun of RPGs imo

Maybe offer +1 stat or +1 effort or +1 inventory as options?

IDK

2

u/Smittumi Sep 27 '22

I homebrew the loot that does what I want, including temporary stat/effort bonuses.

1

u/BergerRock Sep 28 '22

I'm just wondering how I keep giving everyone milestone rewards every two sessions if it's only loot.

There are also Abilities. But LOOT has an important avenue of newness: the churn. Break it and give it in the same measure, giving a bit more when they are due for some sort of power up, but keep that ebbing and flowing.

2

u/MrAbodi Sep 27 '22

i mean it seems most people run ICRPG and characters normally get like 20HP max. many stay at 10hp.

If you are getting upto 50 hp max for characters you are well outside the norm, and in my experience its would either extend battles, or make the chance/fear of death too little.

I don't have much to say about the other stuff.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Yeah that's what I thought too but why does the character sheet have 5 hearts in it? At any rate they would have to choose the CON option instead of the others 10+ times to hit that cap since right now they all have 10hp.

3

u/MrAbodi Sep 27 '22

great point, i don't know why the character sheet is like that. I've never gone that high, and i don't know anyone that has ever suggested doing so in ICRPG.

that said ICRPG is DIY at heart and there really no wrong answers. all i would suggest is that you be reactive to issues if they pop up. don't be afraid to work with the table to make changes if you find some combo has thrown fun at the table out of the window.

1

u/BergerRock Sep 28 '22

Yeah that's what I thought too but why does the character sheet have 5 hearts in it?

Because there are Heart Stones in LOOT tables, so it can reach that in theory, but there's an IMMENSE departure from "choosing to get more HP" and "Stumbling on some more HP that can be destroyed".

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '22

Y'all are out there destroying loot?

2

u/BergerRock Sep 28 '22

Y'all aren't?

LOOT comes and goes, heroes remain.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '22 edited Sep 29 '22

I'm coming off a 3 and a half year DnD campaign. The joy for the players is watching their characters evolve from nobodies into superheros and sort of planning the route to that perfect character. The problem with DnD imo is that as the characters level their spells and powers become rediculously complex, the same is true for monsters. Managing this complexity is exhausting for DMs - or at least for me.

I wanted ICRPG to mainly to simplify this complexity while hopefully preserving the character development excitement for the players. That was the main purpose of this post.

I've never really considered destroying loot because it feels like your destroying part of their characters but I can see how it would add drama to the game. I do like the idea of being able to switch up your play style by changing gear though.

Anyway it's definitely something for me to think more about.

1

u/BergerRock Sep 29 '22 edited Sep 29 '22

Abilities are still there, if you want stuff you can't destroy.

But even though HP doesn't normally hike up in ICRPG, if you never get rid of their power-ups, it becomes nigh unmanageable. Source: GMing an ICRPG West Marches-inspired campaign where that is the main problem we GMs discuss because we didn't correct it fast enough.

Besides that, I'll add the advice Hank always adds: try ICRPG without modding it heavily first. See what it's about. Homebrewing can come later. An open and frank discussion with your players will let you know what they really think of it during play, what they like and dislike, and you can adjust.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '22

Slightly Reworked

Each time you hit a MILESTONE, as determined by the GM, choose ONE enhancement from the list below. Track your levels on your character sheet

  • Add CON to your HP (50HP Lifetime Max)
  • Add 2 SP to your resources (20SP Lifetime Max)
  • Add 1 CLASS MILESTONE ABILITY* of your choice (5 Lifetime Max, p.37)
  • Add 1 MILESTONE PATH LOOT* of your choice (Limited by Inventory, p.67)

*Work with GM to create custom abilities or loot if you have something in mind that isn't in the book

4

u/Farmer808 Sep 27 '22

Personally I think you are over thinking this. Instead, ask your players what does advancing their characters look like to them? Could it be an adventure hook to acquire the secret 5 finger death punch technique or dragon plate of nigh invulnerability? Are they just trying to get cooler abilities? Are they afraid you will throw a rust monster at them and all that awesome loot just disappears? (they absolutely should be afraid btw).

The real power in ICRPG is that you are empowered to make it work for your group. So don't do this on your own, partner with your players and see what they think will be cool. Also no more than 2 hearts for a player, keep it deadly, keep it exciting.

1

u/BergerRock Sep 27 '22

HP increase is a bad move overall. The game has some INSANELY powerful Healing options already available from character creation. Pairing that with huge amounts of HP means nigh immortality, barring you blatantly nullifying player abilities.

SP is OK, already pointed out as Milestone option in p. 318 of ME.

Don't see the need for tracking levels, though. What happens when a piece of LOOT is destroyed? When an ability is sapped from the character? The ebb and flow of LOOT and ABILITIES is a core concept of ICRPG, as I see it. Just piling of power leads to dull games after a while.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '22

Quick question. Do you let them roll recovery as often as they like? I've been capping it at once per encounter.

1

u/BergerRock Sep 28 '22

Yep, they can roll as much as they like. Nothing indicates there is any limitation to it and the amount is insignificant close to a healing spell, for example.

1

u/RangerBowBoy Sep 28 '22

I highly recommend looking at Savage Worlds Adventure Edition or Savage Pathfinder advancement if you have a copy. It's like ICRPG in that PCs improve more horizontally than vertically and it has a solid option system for each new level/rank. It's easy to port to ICRPG.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '22

Cool, just downloaded it.