RPGADAY2024 16
QUICK TO LEARN.
I’m going to go for Index Card RPG, I try and play new games every now and again, but I rarely come across a game where it clicks all at once, yes, I am slow.
I played Index Card RPG for the first time at 2023 Grogmeet, run brilliantly by Neil Old Scouse Roleplayer.
And YES, our characters fit neatly on an Index Card, a nice choice of abilities, and personalities and an easy-to-understand view of what role each of us perform. Lots of choice too in the archetypes.
The game is a classic, aliens invade midtown America, so it’s up to the school teacher, the geek, the jock and various other characters to come together and fight. It uses the Bearcats campaign setting and I think Neil or someone on the Runehammer forums did the conversion to ICRPG.
So a quick feel for ICRPG, firstly it’s not really about Index Cards at all. Play resolves through rounds, it’s quite strict in terms of each player taking their turn, I enjoy this, especially at a con, where you don’t know the players, it feels a safe way to approach a game. Next, there is much use of timers, Neil used dice for this, but Timers click down as the rounds progress - sometimes the GM explains the timer, sometimes not, but you know something is going to go down!
Timers are one of the three Ts in ICRPG, the others Threats and Treats always come up in a new scene, it sounds simple, but works well.
For example, we enter an abandoned apartment store, and the GM states that the area is clear of aliens, but that we can see more of them falling from the skies (Timer). We search the store and find ammo, food, water and… a chainsaw (Treat). As we get onto the roof, we see two alien warriors entering the car park (Threat).
As it progresses, the threats increase, and you may have multiple timers all going off at the same time, chaos! It’s a lot of fun and suits convention play. In my opinion, it is perfect for introducing new people to tabletop RPGs, given its structure and the cinematic style of play.
Here is the quickstart to get you going.