The Index card RPG (ICRPG) system is a streamlined gameplay of DnD that tabletop fans can use for many other games. It allows for simple character creation, movement, combat, or the creation of encounters and plots for stories.
Hankerin Ferinale’s game of the same name brought in the concept through its Index Card RPG Core set and Index Card RPG Master Edition. Not long after its launch, many tabletop veterans realized that they could use the approach this game offers to run other games and, in the end, DnD itself.
Index Card RPG is Great for beginners
ICRPG is fantastic for everyone just stepping into the RPG world or people coming from DnD. It uses the same six stats (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA) and a d20 roll-over system.
Game mechanics
Index Card RPG makes things simple rather than getting caught in numbers when designing your character or attempting to remember different sub-rules that define what you can and cannot do at any given time.
Creating a character is simple: select a race, class, and write a one-sentence narrative. You then allocate six points to one of your six stats (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) and select an Ability to go with some equipment.
The GM can treat any situation (exploring a dungeon, walking around the city, being in combat, etc.) as a single challenge, regardless of how many creatures, traps, or other obstacles are present.
Loot
One of the main differences from DnD is that your character doesn’t level up. It gets loot that improves its power. This system is the central technique for you to develop and expand your character.
Loot isn’t your typical treasure. Along with the conventional weapons and armor, loot can be food (which restores health) and a slew of skills that look like spells.
I say “look like spells” because even though there is a Mage Class, anybody may learn magic. If you don’t like that your Fighter may cast spells, consider it an extraordinary ability, an item that must be activated, or a spell-like ability.
Having in mind that characters don’t have much vertical development but primarily specialize through gear, players aren’t stuck if they don’t like a particular play style or wish to switch.
Index cards
Index cards that are at the heart of this concept help GMs plan out and run the game. They can show anything from bridges and doors to scattered bones, prison cells, buildings, or roads.
I particularly like the idea that index cards replace the map or gridded mat from your typical RPG. GM can place cards down and tell a story with them.
Before everything else, index cards help you with the improvisation of the story. You will need to create a story around random cards you get (which can sound like a problem), but from my experience, it makes the gameplay much more straightforward.
Do you want to go to an adventurous location? Pick a card at random. Having trouble deciding on a boss? Take another card.
It’s fantastic for improvisation and ideal for time-pressed GMs – in my test session, we had fun coming up with explanations for the frequently weird cards we ended up with. It’s pure fantasy, and the effects are spectacular.
To the taste of the RPG veterans
The main selling feature of ICRPG for me is that it is reasonably rule-light while simultaneously being quite natural for all gamers. There are other similar story games available, but ICRPG is unique.
It gives you a modest number of mechanical elements that you may alter to create challenging and dynamic encounters across a wide range of genres.
When I look at it from a distance, I see that it has been utilized for anything from gothic sci-fi to cyberpunk to Lovecraftian adventure to bizarre west. Furthermore, any veteran coming in from DnD or any other TTRPG will find it quite simple to pick up.
ICRPG provides a universal solution method that allows you to do whatever makes sense at that moment while still engaging mechanically with the system as intended. Combat, exploration, and social interactions are all basically the same system, and any activity can add to the effort required to overcome a difficulty as long as it makes sense at that moment.
Conclusion
Having in mind its two significant advantages – less bookkeeping work for the GM and allowing new players to get into the game’s adventure faster than you can say “ability check,” the Index Card RPG has proven to be an excellent asset for any RPG player.
Since you always travel around the table in turns, regardless of what the group is currently doing, you never have to worry about things like initiative. This ensures that the spotlight moves at an even rate and that no one is left behind.
For me, a lot of thought was put into the fit and finish features, so I would recommend the Index Card RPG system for everyone to try.
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