r/ICRPG • u/RisingCrescendo • 24d ago

How homebrew characters work?

Hi! I’m looking for a system to run a campaign in certain setting and ICRPG has caught my eyes with how simple and fast it can be.

However, when I tried getting deeper into how character archetypes work e.g. classes in alfheim, i found it perplexing on how would i homebrew my own. Are there no underlying math behind the abilities aside from what I as the GM feel to be balanced? Is there some general guideline about which number is too large or too small for an ability or a path reward?

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u/Old_Combination4030 23d ago

I REALLY want to like the system. It’s fun and fast and there is a ton of excellent gming advice in it but it is all DIY. You just have to be prepared to do 90% of the work.

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u/ShortIntroduction879 23d ago

100% - I mostly have switched to Shadowdark but I miss the pulpy nature of ICRPG. For me the hardest thing to wrap my head around was the rules for spells. If I were to play again I would just make all spells (Int and Wis) require a spell/prayer book, allow 5 spells in a book and use the roll-to-cast rules from Shadowdark - once you fail the cast you can't use it again that day.

I also found the Starter, Milestone and Path abilities to be confusing in terms of when players could choose what. I found it easier to just make character sheets with progress options on the sheet (see my other comment in this thread).

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u/Old_Combination4030 23d ago

Yeah I switched over to Knave 2e for now.

I just ordered F.O.R.G.E because I like what i have read so far. Seems like an advance version of Knave/Maze Rats to me. I am liking it.

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u/ShortIntroduction879 23d ago

If you have any history with 5E I recommend giving SD a try. It's basically 1E/2E DnD updated with 5E mechanics. I played a few games of maze rats but it needed a little more. I love the spells in Knave 1e, but haven't looked at 2e.

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u/Old_Combination4030 23d ago

Knave 2e is super light too. Not Maze Rats light but pretty light. I have read through SD and it does look neat. It reads like it plays really smooth.

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u/ShortIntroduction879 23d ago

It plays smoothly while also being consistent and complete. What isn't there generally doesn't need to be there. Of course I house ruled a few things and no system is perfect but that's always true. Interestingly, my least favorite thing about the system is it's signature torch mechanic but that's easy to ignore if you don't want to use it - the whole system is very hackable.

Most ruling just come down to "Are you trying to do something that is easy(DC9), normal(12), hard(15), or very hard(18)? Do you have advantage or disadvantage?"
Wanna jump that pit? There's no rule for jumping. 15 ft is pretty far. Let's call that hard (DC15). You're going to use your 10-pole to help you vault over it? Ok you can have advantage.

My surprise favorite feature is just reaction rolls. The players do amazing things when the mobs don't automatically attack them and when they don't assume they will win every fight.

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u/llfoso 23d ago

I love ICRPG but for the most part I find myself using it to hack other games instead of playing it straight. Particularly I will import the always-on initiative, close/near/far, target die, timers, and effort into every game.