Ol' Hankerin has created a masterpiece. The rules are simple to grasp, and very clearly state that if a situation isn't covered by the rules, the best thing you can do is be honest with the players and do whatever comes across as the most fun for the table. The system of a class being based of loot instead of inane abilities means that you can drastically change your play style on the fly with the right gear, or really terrify those players as a DM when they get captured and their stuff is taken. The challenge rating applying to a room as a whole allows the DM more freedom to think on the fly and run a fluid game, rather than suddenly having to pull an arbitrary difficulty number for an unexpected challenge.

I also own the Worlds book, as well as the cards volumes 1-3. The art style is both wonderful and whimsical, and comes across as nothing short of unique and fun. No other RPG to my knowledge is going to have an art style that feels as aesthetically pleasing as an inked noir comic. The worlds book is filled with interesting content, campaigns and ideas. There are also classes specifically tailored to those worlds! (Looking at you Ghost Mountain!)

In short, I cannot recommend this system enough. If you feel bogged down by prior systems being too heavy on specific rules for situations that may never happen (GURPS 4e), or feel that your combat system doesn't strike the fear of death into the hearts of your players (D&D 5e), then ICRPG 2nd edition will be a breath of fresh air into you. No longer will you need to sit there wondering if it really matters that Orc #4 has 18 hit points as opposed to the others at 15. When your players are fighting 1 heart monsters, and that bad mamma-jamma shows up with 2 hearts, your players will know things just got real.

All-around excellence! A clever and streamlined system that manages to be rules-lite without sacrificing important fundamental concepts. Great fun. Thank you!

This is the system that truly made RPGs fun and exciting again.

ICRPG is very approachable and manageable. I spent years wanting to run a D&D campaign, but was very overwhelmed, never felt prepared enough, and terrified of screwing up or not making it fun, ect. ICRPG changed all that, and I have successfully run a fun campaign. ICRPG helped me take the plunge and I am thankful. Runehammer has a very relatable Do It Your Way, take what you need, Inspirational, Idea infested approach to an RPG game, and its wonderous to behold once the roots start to take hold.

Love it. And if you like RPGs to be simple, fun and different - get into this system. I thought I would get index cards with the core package and am still figuring out if/how they are rolled into any packages. But yeah, love it.

From a guy who played tabletop rpg for a wild this is the best rpg ever!!! GO

I’ve been gaming for almost 4 decades and it is a rare gem that comes across my desk that changes and challenges my ideas and ideals about gaming. I cannot say enough good things about ICRPG. Your product and the contents inside from the layout to the rules have changed the way I look at gaming.

For the consumer, if you are wondering about ICRPG and wether or not it is worth the purchase. I can say with all sincerity that you will find many nuggets of goodness that will make you stop and look at what you are doing as a dungeon master. The around the table initiative, time as turns, simplicity of gaming, attack mechanics, loot as advancement and so many more. Room design, monsters, story ideas.... this book is chalked full of amazing material.

I am an absolute fanboy.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

I was listening to a Podcast that referenced the RUNEHAMMER youtube channel for running D&D games like a Badass. I looked into it and found myself really enthralled by the writer and his enthusiasm for the hobby. He explained some great rules and ideas that he had written in ICRPG. I had heard of this game before and heard it had a heck of a following. I bought it on Amazon, but then after I had it in physical form and ingested all of it, I bought it on PDF here.

This game has allowed me to run hard and fast games for my players using an OSR style of thinking with a LOOT based milestone system! The simplicity of HARD and EASY rolls and having a ROOM difficulty instead of individual stats: It was just all so logical and it got me super-pumped about running an old school dungeon romp! I ran some one-pagers I found online using this system to great success! I just finished running a Fire and Ice Spire that was directly inspired by one of the creations from the Author, and not only did it feel ultra-dangerous going through the dungeon, but the players felt like badasses when they completed it and stopped an otherworldly Dragon Tyrant from entering their world! However, they had failed to stop this monstrosity from entering, but the priest had a spell that allowed him to rewind time to a few rounds earlier and they were able to do it! They failed and then succeeded by literally going back in time mechanically and thematically!

This game has a goal of making you feel awesome in a very dangerous world and has also taken the time to explain that mechanical rules feed to narrative rules that feed to mechanical! I love this game and I've only had it for a few months, but it's my GO-TO for dungeon story arcs or One-Shot adventuring!

Strength and Honor!

We tend to start a lot of rpg reviews by saying the game is impressive and/or outstanding, The Index Card RPG 2nd Edition lives up to that standard and more. It’s not just a remarkable starter game. It’s not just a good generic RPG engine. It’s also packed with unique concepts, print-and-cut minis, and functions as a plugin to other RPG’s. The thing I like the most is- it’s a world designer’s dream come true. It might not be the greatest system ever invented, but it is ridiculously useful.

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a new game. Although I was shocked a second edition followed so closely on the heels of the first one, I was pleasantly rewarded once the waiting was over. It reminded me a little bit of opening that certain red box all those years ago. The funny thing is, there really aren’t any startling new concepts, genres or worlds in this game. Originally, when it was first released, I glanced at it, scoffed and moved on. It wasn’t until I downloaded the free QuickStart that I saw how ridiculously flexible the system is and how it could fit with several pre-published worlds.

ICRPG breaks several tried and true game designer rules when it comes to organization and layout. It wastes no time teaching you how to jump right in and make the most of your game using its very simple rules. It threw me off slightly when I went digging for the standard indices of character creation, races, combat, vehicles and spells. While all of those things are there, they are scattered throughout the book, especially the vehicle rules. As a writing teacher once told me, “do it all wrong.” The approach this game has to layout and organization is unique and wonderful. Please, keep it up. I am thankful the PDF is fully indexed and searchable, though.

I like how combat in this game has the potential to be an impeccably bloody affair if the GM so desires. The character death rules are even very well spelled out early on in the book. A solid hit or two from a weapon or monster and you could find your character down for the count. It definitely makes you think before you act.

That brings me to my next point. I love, love, love the turn taking and initiative mechanics in this game. If I come away with nothing else, I’m likely going to adopt this part of ICRPG for many of the other games I run. Not only does it cut down on cross-table chatter, but it makes people think before they act. The other amazing thing is the timer system. This game puts the clock into play for the characters any time the GM deems it necessary and there’s potential for a lot of heart-pounding, intense rounds with timers winding down.

ICRPG tends to be very medieval fantasy/sci-fi oriented. That’s not intended as disrespect, but just an honest statement of fact. Nor is this the time and place for a lengthy debate about whose genre is better. In fact, some of the world’s best, most well played, well loved rpg’s started out this way, or just doing one or the other very well. While the rules allow for kit-bashing almost any genre together, it just doesn’t seem suited very well toward non-magical modern espionage or modern warfare types of games. The skill system, turn-taking and timers work well. But, I'm still working out how a loot progression is going to work with an espionage or WW2 game.

I love the DIY attitude of this game. It took me a while to really grasp it and get behind it. (My apologies, Sensei Ferinale, I had not received your wisdom yet.) Your character in this game is pretty much defined by history, personality and, in terms of statistics- loot. Loot is the key to this game. It truly makes more sense this way. Screw big, chunky lists of feats, spells, and level bonuses.

The skill system in this game is just ingenious. No long list of skills to look up. No complex cross-referencing. And the best part is- complex skills are a matter of time and skill. Need to decipher a musty tome? It might take a few rounds. Need to disarm a bomb? You’ve got three turns. Better make them count. If it’s reasonable that your character might know what he’s doing, you can roll for it. If not, it might be a Hard roll and only a d4 Effort, but go for it.

Another advantage ICRPG has, as do many simpler games, is the ability to bring in creatures or characters from other games. Monsters convert in mere minutes. Other character classes with GM approval, are a simple matter of starter abilities and loot. Converting a race to your ICRPG bioform takes a description and some vague idea what they’re capable of. Role-playing games like Star Wars, D&D, Mech Warrior, and Deadlands are easily brought in. In fact, there are already examples within the ICRPG book for some of them. Of course, D&D or any other fantasy genre game is pretty easily emulated with ICRPG. A campaign world somewhat similar to Deadlands actually appears in the ICRPG Worlds book (sold separately, but well worth the investment.)

ICRPG is an amazing game to start kids on. I’m pretty sure this is going to be my own kids’ first experiences in role-playing. It’s what I would refer loosely to as a gateway game. If you can grasp the basic concepts of ICRPG, you can move up to any d20 based game easily. It covers the basic concepts of die rolling, skills, combat, gear, minis, and so on so much better than any game I have owned prior to this. I wish I had taken first ed more seriously.

Another thing I would like to point out is that my physical copy of the book came to me printed very poorly. It was lopsided within the binding. I hope this was an isolated incident. However, the nice folks at DrivethruRPG need to be commended for a prompt response and replacement of the book. Awesome job, guys!!!

The last thing I have to show a ton of praise for is the fan base for this game. It reminds me so much of the early days of D&D when a small but devoted cadre of game nerds sprouted up in Lake Geneva WI and blossomed from there to places like Des Moines, IA and all the way to California, and then the rest of the world. ICRPG has a remarkable fan following on Google Plus, Facebook, and even on DrivethruRPG itself. I see new posts every day on Google Plus that reminds me of my enthusiasm of being a new gamer, drawing maps for minis on brown paper grocery sacks in my parents’ dining room. I love the dedication and comradery shown even in the GM section of the book itself. It has brought back the love of the game and what it means for me to be a GM.

Thank you so much for the Second Edition Core Rulebook! You’re doing a great job with this game. Keep up the good work!

What jumped out at me the most is how good this RPG would be for introducing people to TTRPGs. The system is reminiscent enough of a board game that peoples minds can make the leap from playing board games to TTRPGs. Mechanics like always being in turn order, having the target number for players rolls clearly displayed and having all character progression bonuses condensed into loot (items) make things easier for new players to pick up. Probably my favourite mechanic is the "effort" system, where any task that takes more than one roll (killing a monster, picking a challenging lock, running an long distance race) is assigned so many "hearts" of effort (each heart being 10 points). You 'attack' this effort with the appropriate skill, succeeding if you beat the clearly displayed target number and getting to 'damage' the effort, gradually reducing it to zero. when you succeed. This unified system that treats monster battles and a negotiation the same, along with the games simple mechanics, means that new players won't be left going "uhhhh... what do I roll to do this" that you see in other systems (5e).

The book itself is very short, stylized and engaging. An entire system, plus adventure seeds, two settings and a bunch of monsters in under 220 pages. Not a burden on prospective players to read. I did find some small issues with the document structure though. In some places mechanics were mentioned but not explained (and no page reference for where they could be found). If you kept reading you would eventually find them but a reference e.g. "SPELL BURN (p.80)", would have been helpful as I kept finding myself searching the page to find where I had missed the explanation.

One thing I do not so much criticize as point out is that this is a devil-may-care system designed for fast paced play. People who enjoy slower and more crunchy systems might not like it as much.

I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get their friends into TTRPGs.

A great resource that's also fun to read. It's so packed full of ideas and advice that it's well worth purchasing even if you've no intention of using the system.

Simple but not limited rpg book, finaly a book that i can use to improve my dming. ^^

The writher is very dedicated to his work, there is a great community around his creation (https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/113794869422304907451 , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh5vto8JFstb9Sma9zV25g) , if you decide to buy this book you won't regret it. But, if still you hesitate just dawnoald the free quickstarter. ^^

A very fun and fast-paced D20 system. Great for New and Old Players who get bored with the long turns and complicated systems of other TTRPGs.

It's like someone took Elmore Leonard's famous writing advice "Leave out the parts people skip" and applied it as a principle to RPG rules.

This system came from outta nowhere and rocked my world. Simple, clever techniques baked right in to keep things moving. A just crunchy enough system with a few elegant guiding principles that allow you to add more crunch to just the parts you want to, when you want to. For the first time in too many decades, I'm not focused on building my own system anymore... able to just play with an RPG that "gets it" ... and it's GLORIOUS.

This kind of blew my mind.

ICRPG is a pretty rules light game, so if you want tons of different rules for everything THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. However rules light does not necessary mean mechanics light if that makes any sense to you. Hankrin (or if you wanna be technical Brandish) has some really interesting design ideas but what stands out to me the most is the GM chapter. If you're not interested in the system I'd still say get the book just for the GM stuff alone wich tbh is the main reason for me to buy RPG books in the first place: more GM Ideas. But where most RPGs come to the GM chapter and basicly just say hey you're a GM, go do GM-things, ICRPG actually gives you guidelines on how to GM.

Holy fly that GM chapter. I dont think I've seen a GM chapter before that was that gave you that many mechanical ideas about how to make your game faster and more dramatic. (apart from maybe some PbtA stuff but those are usually more focused on giving you narrative tips) The session-end roll might be the biggest wtf moment I had in a while. Also the chapters about story and encounter architecture are really refreshing. Remind's me a bit of Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeonmaster but better explained. It's all about being fast, keeping the pressure on your game. The chapter about Room design actually helped me finally understand how to make a room more interesting than just your ordinary "The room is 10 feet by 20 feet there is a goblin" (well ok I already knew how to make a room more interestign than that but hyperbole helps to bring the point across I hope) by actually categorizing rooms themselves as a kind of challenge.