Treasure Trove: The Index Card RPG

 Okay, I know I just did one of these but there has been a bit of talk about rules from other systems lately and it got me digging through other games for see what I've plundered over the years for the games I run, so forgive me for making two treasure trove posts in a row.

 

The Index Card RPG from Runehammer is a really simple, really good system that has a lot of pieces and parts that can be used in other games, it even expects you to borrow and steal from it's rules. I personally have never actually played it but I have read through the rulebook dozens of times and thought about how clean this game is, how much good stuff is built into it. So without any further babble, my pilfered treasures from The Index Card RPG!

 

Weapon Tags:

In the equipment section there is a small list of weapon tags. Its short but it comes across really clean. I've used this to apply directly to DCC weapons, Heroes Unlimited Weapons, and even ninjas and super-Spies. I think it is a really good table to consult to just have something ready to make some weapons feel unique without making them outright magical or even just apply across all weapons to add a little bit of nuance back into weapon choices. Some people, myself included, really liked that older editions of D&D or Pathfinder did this and had weapons with different properties and this is a great way to include them in a more rules light way than some systems.

 

The Oath:

This is a sort of Judge/GM/DM/Storyteller/Admin's code. It says some good things, and other parts I don't really agree with. 

• I will let the torrent flow basically encourages you to write down anything and everything that you think is interesting, and run with your own version of it. I love this dearly and think it is great advice.  
• I will remember everything, I have beef with. The Judge should know the rules well and be able to make calls in the moment, the DCC book says "rulings not rules" which means that the game isn't about knowing everything flawlessly, it's about knowing enough to make a ruling in the moment and keep gameplay flowing. this book would have you making bullet points, memorizing sections and sources, which I really don't click with.  
• A world from their actions covers the world building around the players and their actions. It tells you to build very little world until the PCs do something, which I love deeply. I run a setting that breathes and lives and moves on without the players but none of that is ever seen by the players unless they interact with it, which is the heart of the matter. The only stuff that really matters in the moment of play is what is around the PCs or what they interact with, which can still be far reaching, even if they cant see it.
• I will be poetic is basically saying that you will feel for the actions of the players. Your world will react appropriately to the party's actions, their failures, their successes, the crimes they commit, the deeds they complete. Love this. A world should react realistically to the players actions. If the PCs roll through every town threatening people and demanding the small folk kiss their boots, then the world should appropriately react, not everyone is going to kneel and say "yes sir". This is deeply important to the storytelling integrity, in my opinion.
• I will be energetic covers saying you need to come to the table with some fire. You are where the story flows from and everyone's energy feeds off yours. I couldn't agree more. The Judge is the source of the story's flow and the source of energy everyone at the table is looking at, the game dies if you come to the table with no energy.
• I will lift them up and vanish is an excellent section, it tells us that the story isn't about you and the things you have carefully crafted, it's about the PCs. The heroes of the story, or at least the protagonists if they aren't really heroic. You should be invested in their success, your NPCs, locations, dangers, villains, all exist as stepping stones for the PCs to tell their story, a story you very much are a part of and get to have little twists and bends in.
•  A beacon of camaraderie mentions that sitting around the table with mugs and telling a story is one of the oldest hobbies on earth and you are part of a tradition now that stretches back as far as human language. We are here for friendship, teamwork, love, and togetherness. Always remember that. I often say one of the most important parts of the game to me, isn't even the game. It is breaking bread with friends. I love that the games bring me and the people I care about together. This ties back into my feelings of disconnect from playing online but even without the act of breaking bread, we are here for each other, to tell a story, to come together.
• I will be a terror to behold is possibly my favorite part of the oath. You want the PCs to succeed, yes, but you also want them to earn it. You are rooting for them but you will lay deadly traps at their feet, scheme, and plot their downfall, hoping they will overcome and triumph. This sections tells you to be a brutal teacher but forgiving and a little sadistic at the same time. Remember though, this is about how you treat the characters, not your friends... well maybe your friends a little. At the table I like to prod and maybe influence things a little, encouraging people to maybe make questionable choices from my position as Judge to stir up a little drama in the story we're telling. Sometimes they fall for it, sometimes they see through my schemes. 

 

Ending a Session, The Tribunal:

The end of a session is something near and dear to my heart. I am used to games in person, where we would hang out for another maybe hour or two after the game had ended to just talk, catch up on things, discuss our other hobbies, and talk about what just happened in the game. I have a very important post game ritual that signals the end of a the night and something similar to what they talk about in this book. It is important to me to hang around after the session and shoot the shit. This is one of those things that I feel is a little lost in this era of games played online, the session ends and people dip quickly. Maybe I'm just struggling to keep up with the times but I wish with all my heart that I could run games in person again.

Honorable mention in this section: Improv details, plan big stuff. I really run by this and think it is super important, have your big city with its named sections but don't bring it to life until the players interact with it and improv in the moment for that.

 

Dynamic Dice:

I'll admit this one is a little harder to implement in a digital format, my partner has had some ideas about this I'm going to bring into the next game I run. The idea behind this one is great and what I love about it is that, really it only matters at lower levels, so it helps mitigate some of that lower level time spent doing nothing on your turn. It introduces Battle Fury, Spellburn (which i call Arcane Feedback), & Dogpile. The idea behind these is that you place a die in front of you with the 1 up. each round, based on what your die represents, you gain a benefit. Battle Fury sees you placing a d6 in front of your character sheet. each time you miss you move the die up one facing and add that to your attack and damage rolls. Love this because there is nothing more boring than showing up to play and doing nothing all night because you can only miss. Magical Feedback I don't run as the book says at all. Instead I have a caster place a d4 in front of them with the 1 up. they add that to their spell checks. each time they succeed in casting a spell, increase it by 1. when it reaches 4, they have to make a roll under check on their spellcasting ability score or lose access to spellcasting for 1d4 rounds. Dogpile I run as Second Wind, Allowing a character in melee to regain some hitpoints over rounds of combat when their d4 reaches a 4, increased each round they take some damage.

 

Timers, Threats, and Treats:

To me, this section is just good Judge philosophy. Timers talks about the use of dangers as a timer, things like rising lava, goblins arriving in X rounds, or similar dangers to put the pressure on. Threats talks about the danger that they face in a given moment, the trap, the monster, the puzzle. Treats isn't about treasure but talks instead about solutions to challenges, things like a dragon missing a single scale, a boulder that makes for a devastating hazard the players could push down on an enemy, things of this nature. Together you have a really good guide for encounter and dungeon design that is laid out in an easy to understand way and really will improve how encounters feel to you and your players.

 

 

Tables:

If you have been here a while you know I love a good table to reference or roll on. The back of this book collects many of the tables in the book to one convenient place for your use but also has some that aren't present elsewhere in the book. It makes for a good section to open to and roll things quickly. Locations & Goals are great little tables for pulling something up as a quest for it moment. Monster Roller is a collection of tables that will give you something you can work with to make a monster and have its general attitude. I have things I prefer for actually making a monster but I really like this table for on the fly. Loot is a collection of tables divided into Ancient, Shabby, Cursed, Sci-Fi, Epic, & Bizarre. I find this section is good for on the fly loot the rules for items are in Index Card RPG terms but it is such a rules light system it is easy enough to convert on the fly with only minimal understanding of what the rules are.

 

    I want to close this one out by saying that I really love the ICRPG. In my hands it is a toolkit to bring to other games. But realistically that is every game to me, I am always saying on this blog to try other games and find pieces to take away. The system of ICRPG itself is really simple, really clean, and honestly looks like a lot of fun. I've seen people playing it in one of the game stores I used to frequent. It lends itself well to storytelling over crunch while still keeping good stakes. If you are interested to see what else this book might have for you, i encourage you to check them out. They even have a quick start rules for free on their website!

 

As always, thank you for reading my stuff. I'm always hoping to hear back from people and hear about their experiences and ideas. I really appreciate those of you who swing by for any reason. Hopefully next week we will be back with another monster, magic item, short story, or more of our regular content.