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Index Card RPG Master Edition
Indie hit Index Card RPG and its much anticipated new ‘Master Edition’ has slowly built a die-hard following of DIY RPG creators and players over the past 5 years. Until now, it has been found in 3 hardcopy books and numerous PDF's published by its creator, Runehammer, via DriveThruRPG.
This newest edition, the MASTER EDITION, combines ICRPG's numerous worlds, streamlined D20 rules and critically acclaimed GM know-how all in one high quality hardback, all revised and updated with its latest playtest data, gathered from players all over the world. For the first time this edition will be available to fans across the world through their friendly local gaming stores.
- High Quality Sewn Hardcover
- 400 pages of straight-to-table D20-based tools, monsters, equipment and tidbits to hack into any system or style.
- Five complete worlds: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Weird West, Ice Age and Superheroes
- A massive collection of D100 loot tables, monster creation tables, and more
- A critically acclaimed, nuts and bolts GM section that transcends systems.
For those new to Index Card RPG or its author Hankerin Ferinale, the game is more than a system, but a way of thinking. The humble index card serves as an avatar for simplified thinking, doing-it-yourself with confidence and transparency, and letting the fun flow without rules overhead. ICRPG works, on every page, in every system, to reinforce this way of thinking. For many, this is crystallized most directly in the book's GM section, which has been critically acclaimed as a must-read for years. The DIY, don't-sweat-it mindset extends to character building to rolling dice, all the way down to where folks sit at the table. Its approach is simple, driven by LOOT and consolidated STATS, but filled with the kind of 'headroom' a homebrew table thrives on.
This newest edition, the MASTER EDITION, combines ICRPG's numerous worlds, streamlined D20 rules and critically acclaimed GM know-how all in one high quality hardback, all revised and updated with its latest playtest data, gathered from players all over the world. For the first time this edition will be available to fans across the world through their friendly local gaming stores.
- High Quality Sewn Hardcover
- 400 pages of straight-to-table D20-based tools, monsters, equipment and tidbits to hack into any system or style.
- Five complete worlds: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Weird West, Ice Age and Superheroes
- A massive collection of D100 loot tables, monster creation tables, and more
- A critically acclaimed, nuts and bolts GM section that transcends systems.
For those new to Index Card RPG or its author Hankerin Ferinale, the game is more than a system, but a way of thinking. The humble index card serves as an avatar for simplified thinking, doing-it-yourself with confidence and transparency, and letting the fun flow without rules overhead. ICRPG works, on every page, in every system, to reinforce this way of thinking. For many, this is crystallized most directly in the book's GM section, which has been critically acclaimed as a must-read for years. The DIY, don't-sweat-it mindset extends to character building to rolling dice, all the way down to where folks sit at the table. Its approach is simple, driven by LOOT and consolidated STATS, but filled with the kind of 'headroom' a homebrew table thrives on.
- GenresRole Playing Games
400 pages, Hardcover
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 2, 2022
Este manual cumple varias funciones, por un lado tenemos un sistema genérico con cinco ambientaciones diferentes (fantasía, cifi, Oeste, superhéroes y prehistórico) y por otro tenemos un montón de consejos y tablas para los directores de juego.
La parte de consejos me gusta más que la del sistema o las ambientaciones, aunque en general tampoco reinventa la rueda: todo lo has podido leer en este sitio o aquel, pero tienes muchas cosas reunidas en este libro. Creo que algunas cosas habrían necesitado una explicación adicional o que podrían haber sido más evocadoras, pero si te gustan las tablas, ¡VAS A ENCONTRAR UN MONTÓN AQUí! Pero como tiene algunas inconsistencias dentro del manual, por ejemplo el cambio entre gerblins y goblins sin un motivo aparente (por ejemplo que sean facciones diferentes) y despistes varios, se queda con un 3,5 de nota.
Creo que se le puede sacar bastante partido, más o menos como a Fate o Savage Worlds, que son parecidos en el sentido de que también son sistemas genéricos con numerosas ambientaciones disponibles.
La parte de consejos me gusta más que la del sistema o las ambientaciones, aunque en general tampoco reinventa la rueda: todo lo has podido leer en este sitio o aquel, pero tienes muchas cosas reunidas en este libro. Creo que algunas cosas habrían necesitado una explicación adicional o que podrían haber sido más evocadoras, pero si te gustan las tablas, ¡VAS A ENCONTRAR UN MONTÓN AQUí! Pero como tiene algunas inconsistencias dentro del manual, por ejemplo el cambio entre gerblins y goblins sin un motivo aparente (por ejemplo que sean facciones diferentes) y despistes varios, se queda con un 3,5 de nota.
Creo que se le puede sacar bastante partido, más o menos como a Fate o Savage Worlds, que son parecidos en el sentido de que también son sistemas genéricos con numerosas ambientaciones disponibles.
May 13, 2022
A stripped-down system that works well for a variety of genres. This is great for people who don't need every single possibility spelled out for them and for people who don't have time to memorize lengthy sets of rules and who want the flexibility to jump into any genre without studying a new rule set.
This book includes five different settings in the sci-fi, fantasy, prehistoric ice age, weird western, and superhero categories. There are enough material and story ideas here for years of gameplay. I'm most interested in the Ghost Mountain Weird Western setting, where an entire mountain and its surrounding environs have been ripped out of the earth and tossed into space, and where the lives of everyone on it hang in balance...based on the actions of the players.
This book includes five different settings in the sci-fi, fantasy, prehistoric ice age, weird western, and superhero categories. There are enough material and story ideas here for years of gameplay. I'm most interested in the Ghost Mountain Weird Western setting, where an entire mountain and its surrounding environs have been ripped out of the earth and tossed into space, and where the lives of everyone on it hang in balance...based on the actions of the players.
April 29, 2022
Just great. 5 stars. It's an alternative D&D system but you could just read it for all the tips, ideas, settings, loot, and add it to your 5e game (or other system) if you want.
As much an RPG philosophy as a fully fledged game.
As much an RPG philosophy as a fully fledged game.
April 6, 2022
Great ideas and tips even if you don't use the system.
August 6, 2022
This is better than Dungeons and Dragons. 5/5
September 19, 2022
This book is a great and innovative rpg with 5 playable worlds, but this book is also full of advice, items, ideas and all kinds of stuff for any roleplayer or GM.
January 30, 2023
Great ideas and an excellent GM section. Definitely worth a read.
April 11, 2023
Wonderful game filled to bursting with creativity. First thing, after I finished reading, I bought a pack of index cards.
October 3, 2025
A decent book, but with some notable issues.
First off, there are some infrequent but annoying typos: "leged" instead of "legend" on the bard page and numerous moments where "Gerblin" becomes either "Goblin" or "Goblings." The page on prehistoric women also has some extremely weird word spacing towards the end of the entry.
The text is seriously lacking in practical demonstrations of its mechanics. You'd at least expect, say, a quick run-through of a round of combat but there isn't one.
There's no index. Want to quickly look up what a term means? Good luck.
Some terms or mechanics are utilised in the text before they're actually explained. In some cases, like with supply, they're not explained at all and you simply have to infer what they mean.
The section of pre-made monsters consists of stuff that would be a huge pain in the arse to actually fight. We're talking ludicrously high HP (in some cases invincible, meaning there's no point in fighting it at all), insta-kill attacks, actions that either damage or outright destroy equipment (and in one case an ENTIRE CITY), regeneration abilities that can restore a creature to full health in a single turn, creatures that constantly reinforce (imps, for example, can spawn up to 100 additional imps per round!), or permanent stat damage.
I think I counted just a handful of usable monsters in the whole section. Even as an educational aid (ie. examples of what make an interesting monster) these examples don't really succeed: a lot of the abilities suggested will likely just annoy players. The section on building your own monsters that immediately follows this, however, is much more useful but still comes with a handful of suggestions that don't seem especially fun (eg. creatures that take control of player characters, or suggesting a boss ability that literally just destroys everything and ends a scene).
The section on worlds is pretty good, although you might struggle to utilise the "weird west" and "prehistoric" settings beyond simply playing them as written.
The tables near the back are really useful and contain a wealth of items that will spark the imagination.
In summary, a useful system, but not without some notable problems.
First off, there are some infrequent but annoying typos: "leged" instead of "legend" on the bard page and numerous moments where "Gerblin" becomes either "Goblin" or "Goblings." The page on prehistoric women also has some extremely weird word spacing towards the end of the entry.
The text is seriously lacking in practical demonstrations of its mechanics. You'd at least expect, say, a quick run-through of a round of combat but there isn't one.
There's no index. Want to quickly look up what a term means? Good luck.
Some terms or mechanics are utilised in the text before they're actually explained. In some cases, like with supply, they're not explained at all and you simply have to infer what they mean.
The section of pre-made monsters consists of stuff that would be a huge pain in the arse to actually fight. We're talking ludicrously high HP (in some cases invincible, meaning there's no point in fighting it at all), insta-kill attacks, actions that either damage or outright destroy equipment (and in one case an ENTIRE CITY), regeneration abilities that can restore a creature to full health in a single turn, creatures that constantly reinforce (imps, for example, can spawn up to 100 additional imps per round!), or permanent stat damage.
I think I counted just a handful of usable monsters in the whole section. Even as an educational aid (ie. examples of what make an interesting monster) these examples don't really succeed: a lot of the abilities suggested will likely just annoy players. The section on building your own monsters that immediately follows this, however, is much more useful but still comes with a handful of suggestions that don't seem especially fun (eg. creatures that take control of player characters, or suggesting a boss ability that literally just destroys everything and ends a scene).
The section on worlds is pretty good, although you might struggle to utilise the "weird west" and "prehistoric" settings beyond simply playing them as written.
The tables near the back are really useful and contain a wealth of items that will spark the imagination.
In summary, a useful system, but not without some notable problems.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews