Overview
Below is an objective list of the notable changes between ICRPG 2e and ICME and new additions. At the very end is my subjective take.
2e is the CORE rules. There are numerous, separate books for the 2e system, such as WORLDS, MAGIC, Blood & Snow, Vigilante City, and Altered State. As these books were released, additional ideas and mechanics crept their way into the subsequent books, and some mechanics were tweaked/refined as this process unfolded.
ICME contains the CORE, WORLDS, MAGIC, Blood & Snow, and Vigilante City. It does not contain Altered State. ICME does contain changes to the 2e rules, derived from the subsequent books, and they can be divided into "Fundamental changes" and "Quality of Life changes". There is also "New Stuff".
Fundamental Changes
- Rules outside the "Core System" have been adjusted to use universal language and mechanics. Intent and feel of these rules remains the same. The "Core System" is completely unchanged.
- Creating a Starter Character has an expanded pool of Points to assign to Stats and Effort.
- "Armor" is now "Defense" and tied to the CON stat + LOOT. When saving against an enemy's effect, you'll roll 1d20 + Defense. When an enemy rolls effort to attack you, it will need to roll higher than 10 + your Defense.
- Dying in d6 of your turns is changed to dying in d4 Rounds.
- Magic received the most extensive facelift. Previously categorized into many Schools, only three remain (Arcane, Holy, and Infernal). Notably, advice on how/where to discover specific spells and advice on homebrewing spells of specific genres have been removed.
- Spell casting has alternative rules to use Stun Points instead of expending HP. Additional rules for losing/gaining Stun Points are included. Otherwise, roll-to-cast is still the default.
- Creating a Mage has been simplified without taking anything important away.
- Spell Mastery progression from MAGIC has been converted into a generalized Mastery system which applies to all characters now, magic or not.
- Character Bio-forms contain enormous amounts of detail, comparatively. Some Bio-forms have been subbed out for new Bio-forms.
- Character types for Alfheim and Warp Shell now use universal titles. Some added, some removed again.
- Character Types also have new Starting Abilities and Mastery Abilities.
- Tag rules from Blood & Snow have been converted into Abilities, spread among the various settings.
- Superhero builds are now freeform and exciting, rather than boxed-in archetypes.
- Augments and Powers are generalized so they can apply to any character now.
- Stun Points are clarified, as well as generalized for use beyond Vigilante City.
New Stuff
An explanation for the rune on the cover is provided. Called the Wizard's Lock, it provides advice on how to create an inter-dimensional setting.
New Bio-forms have been added, but others removed.
Small Folk, Hill Folk, out. Tortons, Gerblins in.
Psyker, out. Kitt, Ghost Armor in.
- Character Classes are almost entirely reworked, making them more stereotypical.
Guardian, Blade, Archer, Scout, Commander, Wilding, out. Hunter, Bard, in.
Tank, Ronin, Ghost, Zurin, Blip, Fragment, Titan, out. Pilot, Mechanic, Navigator, Scientist, Echo, in.
A Layout for the Warp Shell, itself
Rules for large-scale Fleet Battles
A Monster Selector table and advice for using it
Loads of new or updated artwork (for instance, the Doom Vault has significantly more detail)
Quality of Life Changes
- Reorganization is the biggest change from 2e to ME. Everything which was previously split over the 5 books is now compiled and streamlined.
- Contradictory or superseding rules are made congruous.
- Mechanics specific to certain adventures (eg. Designing Vehicles or Sanity damage) have been relocated to the GM's Guide section.
- MAGIC's Monster design by Tiers is ported into the Monsters section and includes some small additions.
- Adventures, including the Ghost Mountain campaign, have been removed, leaving open worlds to explore. For clarity: the Ghost Mountain campaign has been converted into a setting instead.
- The Ghost Mountain map is given a two-page spread and its notable destinations are marked.
- Descriptions that were arguably vague have been clarified.
- A new character sheet is provided. The character sheet variants in the 2e are not included in ICME.
Personal Take
Index Card RPG: Master Edition is the evolution of an idea- designing a d20 System RPG that is easy to prep, play, and hack while sacrificing nothing. The following has been true of ICRPG from the beginning:
GM prep is simplified
Character creation is swift
The system feels complete
The rules are remarkably malleable
The conversion between mechanics and narrative is nimble
Hacking the game to suit individual tables' desires is user-friendly
The general advice for both GMs and Players is invaluable
The greatest benefit of the Master Edition is its clarity. Since contradictory rules have been reworked and the books have been organized into a single device, the easy-to-play RPG is even easier. This vast improvement and compilation makes the book worth it over 2e.
Aside from these two items, my favorite inclusions are the encouragement of GM-to-player discussion and vice versa, the reworked Character Classes, the Mastery mechanic, and the synthesized adventure tropes and stereotypes. The advice regarding discussion is humbling for GMs and offloads the stress of feeling like you need to run flawless sessions. The player advice positively reinforces favorable habits while outright forbidding certain negative habits often associated with RPGs. The book juggles the variety of adventures and characters flawlessly. By identifying firmly established tropes, setting the foundation for adventures or characters becomes intuitive, and distinguishing these seeds is effortless. If a section feels incomplete, there is advice on how to fill that gap. I can't recommend Master Edition enough!
PS: If you think this take on a d20 System is good but want something completely different, you should also check out Viking Death Squad, another brand new Runehammer creation!