Izen's Escape
An Index Card RPG Playtest
Content Warning:
Language, Violence, Death, Imprisonment, Allusions to Torture, Gore
I'm going to create a character and run through an introductory scenario with them to find out if I like the experience of playing ICRPG after all and also share some of the fundamentals with you.
Character Creation
Looking at the character sheet and how it's outlined at the beginning of the character creation section, we have: Name, World, Lifeform, Type, and Story.
It doesn't matter what world we play in since this is just the introductory scenario, so I'll choose the race that bridges the gap, the Torton (they're space turtle people). Torton's get +1 Con and +1 Magic Effort by default...I have no compunction about changing or ignoring racial stats. I think I'll play a Mage so I'll keep the Magic Effort Bonus and give our Torton a +1 Intelligence instead. Boost my spellcasting ability ahead but I think I'll still make up for it by putting stat points into Con anyway. For story, I'll just choose Stargazer (character is trying to figure out why Tortons are refugees on this planet) since I don't know what the hell is going on anyway.
We'll call him Izen.
Ah, there are steps on the next page. Good, we're doing this right.
Step Two: Stats, they're dnd stats. You get 6 points to put into the 6 stats. I think we'll put 2 in Intelligence, for +3 total. Then, we'll be tuffwizard and put 2 in Con. I think maybe 1 in Dex and 1 in Wis.
Step Three: Boost Effort. 4 points to any of the Effort types. There is a type associated with each die type. d4 is Basic (raw ability), d6 is Weapons and Tools, d8 is Guns, d10 is Magic and Energy, and d12 is Ultimate (which is used when you crit). 3 to Magic, 1 to Weapons/Tools.
Step Four: Locate Status Info. This is moreso a familiarization with the character sheet. Everyone starts with one heart. Each heart, whether on a character, an enemy, or an object, represents 10HP. Everyone gets a Hero Coin. You can only ever have one. You can give to another character, you can spend it to reroll, or you can spend it to add a d12 to a roll. You have a dying section, represented by a skull on the sheet. When you reach 0 HP, you toss a d6 and you get that many rounds for someone to come save you or you're dead. Each round, you can make a d20 roll and if you roll a 20, you miraculously stabilize with 1HP. Finally, there's a Mastery track to keep track of the Nat 20s you roll. Get 20, get a Mastery, get any starting loot associated with that Mastery.
Step Five: Choose Abilities. For my Starting Mage Ability, I'll choose Dark Pact. This lets me sack HP for roll boosts. Put that toughness to use. I don't worry about Milestone Abilities until I "level up." There are no levels or xp in this game. You improve when it would be dramatically appropes, GM lets you know. And I don't worry about Mastery Abilities.
Step Six is for Super Heroes so we skip that one.
Step Seven is for recording Augments, such as you'd get in a cyberpunk game. I don't have any magitech stuff and this definitely sounds like one of those DIY steps anyway. Skip.
Step Eight: Loot. For my starting loot, I think I want the Astral Grimoire instead of the Master's Skull. Nothing says you have to go down the implied paths. Mixing and matching seems suboptimal sometimes but I'm good with this combo. I am going to tweak the Grimoire a little though, to bring it in line with the other two starting loots. So it'll still give me 3 INT spells but instead of sliding toward me via subtle kinetic force, I'm just going to say I can summon it from anywhere and it hovers in my presence if I want it to. Because that's badass.
I then choose 4 pieces of Basic Loot. I'll just use the Alfheim loot. I'll choose...Adventurer's Kit, Traveler's Garb (+1 Def), and Maps. I'm not sure about the weapon though. The spear seems a bit much, the sword a bit too little. I'm torn between an axe, a quarterstaff, or a pair of nunchucks.
[1d3] Roll: [1] Result: 1
Battleaxe it is. One bladed, I think. Less weight, more focused, cool silhouette for a wizard.
You can carry 10 items and you can equip another 10, so no worries for now.
Gotta pick my three spells. Suppose I coulda picked spells as loot too, since that's what they are (they come on books and scrolls). Oh, well.
I think I will take Hammer Stone, Identify, and Translocate. I'm going to retheme Hammer Stone to Gravity Well, however. Same effect, just a different description.
And that's it. Pretty quick.
To review:
--Pick a race, add the bonus to your stats.
--Pick a class.
--Assign 6 points to the 6 stats.
--Assign 4 points to the Efforts (think of this as universal damage against anything, combat or otherwise) you want to be good at.
--Mark 10 HP, Gain a Hero Coin.
--Pick 1 of the three starting Abilities for your Class.
--Pick 1 of the three starting Loot for your Class.
--Pick 4 of the Basic Loot available to you.
Should take 5 minutes to make characters if you already have a concept in mind.
And. AND. You and the GM can just make shit up SUPER EASILY if you want something not listed in the book.
The Grey Hill Inferno Scenario
I awaken with a start, unsure of where I am. The cold concrete floor presses against my beak and there is a flickering light above and just behind me tossing shadows on the stone wall before me. An old, rusted bit of chain with a broken link dangling from one end hangs limply from the wall. Where the hell am I? My body is temporarily paralyzed in that way it does when you're startled awake and your brain hasn't quite caught up to the fact yet. Pain swells in my chest, my arms, my head. Vaguely, I hear shouting and the sound of running feet. Metal scraping on metal. And...the sound of a terrible groaning. What is that?
My body finally receives the signal from my brain that it’s wake up time and I blink several times, slack jawed, before I get my arms under me. Gods, they're on fire! I sit up and try to wash the grogginess from my mind. The smell of acrid smoke hits me like a punch to the beak. Oh. My arms aren't the only thing on fire. The flickering light makes sense now as I stare through the bars of my cell door at the raging conflagration beyond. The table and chairs at the guard station are kindling at this point and the fire has spread to the green, glowing tanks in the back of the adjoining room. The junk they've been pumping into my system for days. I don't know what the game is but I've watched that vile goop melt men from the inside. I have no idea how I survived. The support structures holding the entire building groan even louder and I realize very suddenly that I won't survive unless I can get the hell out of here.
I have questions.
Now, I haven't had a chance to dive into Mythic II yet, so I'll just use what I know for now.
Whoever is doing this must've missed my last dose, for obvious reasons, so I think I'm far more clear headed than I have been since this whole affair started. That said, I don't think it's necessary for me to make any rolls concerning my Grimoire. For expediency, I'll just say that the storage lockers containing prisoner belongings are in this building. Obviously, if I don't rescue my items, they'll burn. But that's the least of my worries because according to the scenario, I have d4 rounds to escape or burn alive. To break the cell with Basic Effort (d4, bare hands), I gotta do 1 heart. That's...a lot in a very little amount of time. How much time?
[d4] Roll: [3] Result: 3
3 rounds, better than I hoped.
Is there another prisoner? This seems likely.
Ask the Oracle: Likely
Is there another prisoner?
Rolled 68 vs. 75: Yes
Forgot I could just ask.
Ask the Oracle: Likely
Has that prisoner broken free, given the extra time they've had?
Rolled 19 vs. 75: Yes
Ask the Oracle: 50/50
Is there a guard?
Rolled 95 vs. 50: No
"Hey! Wait! I'm in here! Can you get me out?" I yell, pushing myself to my feet and against the iron bars of my imprisonment.
He stops and stares at me, eyes wild with fear and pain. I can see the mottled bruises running up and down his bare arms and barrel chest. He's clutching at his right arm, which hangs uselessly to his side.
[d20] Roll: [5] Result: 5
Alright, not a great oracle, will have to supplement. Which is fine, to be expected. Anyway, I've rolled a HillFolk Hero here, built like a brick shithouse and for Basic Effort. Which explains why he's out. The question is...
Ask the Oracle: 50/50
Will the big man help me escape?
Rolled 76 vs. 50: No
He shakes his head and backs away, muttering a phrase in a thick tongue I don't understand over and over again. One of the support beams snaps and the ceiling between the hated tanks and us collapses. He startles and turns away from me, limping for the exit. I watch after him for a moment in shock, my fists wrapped around the bars. I curse. I can feel the effects of the goop wearing off but I can see the big man is much worse for wear. He grunts with pain as he moves and he's started dragging his right leg too. Every few steps, he yells out an exclamation of pain.
My eyes alight on the storage locker with my things inside, presumably the Big Man's too. The door to it has been knocked slightly ajar. I feel a snap in the air, like a clothesline coming taut with sudden force, the vibrations forming a solid line between me and my Grimoire stuffed hastily into the bottom of the locker. I don't hesitate.
A deep royal purple energy burns briefly in my gaze and with the sudden whoosh of displaced air, my Grimoire appears out of thin air beside me. It floats a foot away or so at about chest level, bobbing only slightly as if on the deck of a ship. One hand gripping the bars to hold me steady, I tear my gaze from the Big Man and settle it on my spellbook. I rap on its cover with my other hand and it opens as if by an invisible hand of its own accord. I place a finger on the page and read the words aloud.
Dunno how I want to do magic language. Doesn't really matter, since this is just an introductory scenario. For now, [Magic Words].
"[I walk in your footprints. You walk in mine. If ever there was a time to forge your own path, now is the time.]"
I got lucky, in theory, that this guy is a big dumb bruiser. Let's give it a shot.
Opposed INT rolls.
[d20+3] Roll: [9] Result: 12
[d20] Roll: [3] Result: 3
There's a puff of smoke that smells somewhat of sulphur, quickly lost in the thickening blaze all around us, that surrounds him and surrounds me. In a moment faster than the blink of an eye, I stand where he stood and he stands in my cell.
I spare him a glance as his confusion audibly sets in. "Whaaa?" He grunts. "Noooooo!" he wails as he grabs the bars and begins furiously shaking himself against them.
2 rounds left.
Ask the Oracle: Likely
Is the reason the guard isn't here because they're dead?
Rolled 98 vs. 75: No
They really did skedaddle.
I move over quickly and gather my belongings, as well as whatever else is in there. Let's do a roll on the Shabby Loot table.
[d100] Roll: [25] Result: 25
Ooh, nice. Stimulant Elixer. Food, on your next turn move FAR as if it was NEAR.
1 round left.
I kick one of the bars from his broken cell over to his new position in my old cell. "Good luck. It's more than you gave me." As he howls in rage, I exit the building.
Jesus, Izen is kind of dark.
I step out into the courtyard. Most of the Grey Hill Complex is ablaze. Grey Hill, that's what this place is called. I must have overheard a guard say the name at some point. In any event, it seems they've all fled now. There's a light snow fall drifting down into the massive ring of fire caused by the burning buildings. I push the nausea down and move out into the center of the courtyard, ash, embers, and snowflakes drifting all around me. The gate is the clearest path out. The guards and their masters are probably out that way, recovering in the dark safety of the snow covered night. The sound of snapping timber brings my attention back to the cellblock building behind me. It collapses in a cacophonous roar. I lower my brow, knowing my fellow prisoner has surely perished.
The shifting winds and collapsing buildings have opened what looks like a narrow, temporary path through the fire and flames. I pull some clothes from my pack, afix my axe in place, and shrug on my cloak. I think I'll take the narrow alley. They'll be expecting escapees to run through the front gate. I turn to make my way over and stop dead in my tracks as an unearthly howl fills the night. Surely the sound of a beast damned to the deepest Hell, no, this sound came from the throat of a man. A hulking form rises up from the wreckage of the cellblock, hurling stone and shattered wood aside with one massive, oversized, misshapen arm. The creature stands silhouetted in the flames, seemingly unbothered by their embrace. The horribly mutated form of the Big Man steps forward into the courtyard. The left half of his body remains human but hangs limp, as though dead or asleep. Only the leg moves, dragging itself along as his right leg had been doing earlier. The right side of his body is a swollen mass of writhing muscle, burst from the casing of his skin and slick with gore. The veins throb with a sickly, green glow and his right eye, the only one of the two actually open, is similarly shot through with the hated green goop. It rolls around in the socket wildly, seeing in every direction, before settling on me. The horrifying visage twists its expression from rage and pain to rage and hate and begins to lumber toward me like a massive gorilla, gaining speed with each thrust of its massive arm and leg.
Okay, so originally according the scenario, an "abomination" called "Weapon 13" is set on me by the guards to detain me. I thought this was cooler and more fitting. I'm also unsure if Weapon 13 is meant to be his name, the Target of the scene, or both. So I'm treating it as the TARGET.
So, here's one of the things I think really sets this system apart, in theory.
Each scene, the TARGET acts as the Difficulty Class for everything. The Armor Class too. You lose some granularity but you pick up speed and certainty. Everyone knows what the Target is. There's drama in the GM picking up the TARGET die and changing it to a new number. No one wastes time wondering what they need to roll and there's no ambiguity. So, theoretically, it gives players a lot more control and a sense of agency.
I have an axe now, so I can do weapon effort. The scenario gives you a jagged hunk of metal (from your escape) but, uh, I circumvented that whole thing. I have magic and my axe. We each have 1 Heart. I can do what I can do and it attacks me with two Basic attacks each turn.
There's not "initiative" in the classic sense but also there is. It's just a d20 rolloff at the table and whoever gets highest goes first. The reason this matters, though, is that the game always proceeds in Turns and it proceeds as such clockwise around the table. So seating order matters. The ideal situation being that your party healer goes last but before the GM, for example. This is not my favorite. But it doesn't matter here anyway, since there are only the "GM" and me.
[d20] Roll: [10] Result: 10
[d20] Roll: [10] Result: 10
Figures.
Don't remember where I saw that whole bit.
Oh well
[d20] Roll: [9] Result: 9
[d20] Roll: [16] Result: 16
Ok, it goes first.
Big Man picks up speed much faster than I anticipated and closes the distance almost instantly. He drives his meaty hammer of a fist toward me in a downward stroke.
It feels like this guy was already strong, so I'll treat his total STR as +3.
When monsters attack PCs, they don't roll on the TARGET, they roll on the PC's DEFENSE.
[d20+3] Roll: [14] Result: 17
A hit, a palpable hit.
[d4] Roll: [1] Result: 1
I scramble back as the hammerfist comes down but it still catches me on my shoulder and pushes me to one knee. Again, faster than I had given him credit for, he reverses the strike and delivers an uppercut.
[d20+3] Roll: [17] Result: 20
[d4] Roll: [1] Result: 1
Apparently, I'm pretty agile for a Turtle.
Two damage, I'm down to 8 HP. My turn.
On my turn, I can do an Action, I can Move NEAR and do an Action, or I can move FAR.
I will shuffle back and begin circling around him, drawing my axe out. I raise one hand and slap it down on the Grimoire which suddenly appears open and floating before me. I spit out the magic words, "[Born from Earth, Return to Earth without delay. The Mother's tight clutch guides the way.]" I cast Gravity Well right smack between us. The ground begins to crack beneath our feat and the air warps subtly like a funhouse mirror.
[d4] Roll: [1] Result: 1
Nice! It goes off next round. With that being the case, I will move NEAR, just outside the spell's boundary.
His turn.
He's too far gone to register confusion at the lack of obvious effect. He is pure rage now. He moves Near, right up on me but still inside the boundary of the Gravity Well, and delivers that rage unto me with two hammerhanded blows.
[d20+3] Roll: [20] Result: 23
fuck
[d20+3] Roll: [5] Result: 8
This could end the whole thing right here.
[d4] Roll: [2] Result: 2
at 6
[d12] Roll: [5] Result: 5
Hoooooly shiiiiiiit
I have 1 HP remaining.
He slams me into the dirt, cracking my shell, and then scoop-punches me away. I tumble like a ragdoll, bounce a couple of times, and skid to a halt mere feet before the blazing inferno. He howls in victory, raising his mutant fist to the sky. I cough, spitting a splatter of blood out and darkening the ground before me. I lift my head to watch as my spell goes off.
Big Man makes a kind of hurking-grunt sound deep in his gut as he realizes finally that something is wrong. The ground crumples beneath him into a perfect crater cut into the very earth. He stumbles and then realizes he can't quite keep holding his massive fist aloft. I watch him strain for a second, muscles bigger than my whole body shaking with the effort, before the bones in his arm snap and his massive meat hammer plunges straight down into his own head. The left eye of his still human half snaps open moments before it happens and his all-too human scream is cut brutally short. The rest of the grotesquery is compressed under the weight of the Well, muscles and bones popping and bursting as his easily 10 foot tall frame is condensed to the height of a tankard of ale.
I take a moment to collect myself.
I am now realizing I didn't roll to cast. Got a little confused with the rolls inside the spell. Transpo seems fine as an opposed roll for the cast roll but the Gravity Well might need a casting roll.
Oh, well.
I take this next turn to recover. The TARGET for this scene is still 13 but I think that now that the threat is gone, I'll treat it as an EASY roll.
Recover is sack a turn to roll d20+CON vs TARGET and if you succeed, regain CON+1 HP.
EASY rolls reduce the TARGET by three, so my aim is 10.
[d20+2] Roll: [7] Result: 9
Fail.
We always keep in turns, so I don't have enough time to try try again. In this case, the narrative demands I move out with my single HP before someone comes and finishes me off. I also have no idea if there are other Abominations lurking. I gotta go.
So I drag myself off the ground, pick up my axe, and make my way through the closing gap at the back of the complex. My Grimoire hovers dutifully behind me.
I swig the swirling cobalt blue Stimulant Elixer I found earlier. It crackles like Pop Rocks against the inside of my mouth and tastes vaguely of copper. I pull a face and chuck the empty bottle into the flames before moving into the hilly area beyond the complex. There is a forest a short sprint away but I can see the guards sweeping the area with their piercing lanterns. The lights bounce in the dark as they move toward me. I must move quickly.
[d4] Roll: [1] Result: 1
Wow, only 1 guard between me and freedom. Lucky!
I need to make a successful check to escape him or face him with his 1 Heart and 1 Weapon attack per turn. I can't afford to face him. He'll finish me off.
I could stealth this with my +1 Dex and the use of my Hero Point but I have something more devious in mind.
I pull back toward the flame. I intone the magic words, "[My mind to yours, reveal yourself to me. Flood my thoughts with your capability.]" I cast Identify on the guard I need to escape. In the distance, I can hear him say something, as though calling out, and he turns in my direction.
[d20+3] Roll: [16] Result: 19
Success! I want to know this guard's intellectual capability. Of course, the spell lets me learn everything else I want to know as well. So I get a sense of his fighting prowess, his awareness, how fast he can run and how in shape he is. For the sake of brevity and coolness, I think the Identify spell is one of those spells you can do as a Check (that's where you roll a pass/fail against the TARGET) or as an Attempt (that's where you roll against the TARGET as an extended thing, like combat, and then do Effort to wittle it down toward success). I think the longer you spend with it as an Attempt, the more information you can get. But cast as a Check, it just gives you the curt, perfunctory answer to your direct question. So I want to know his INT.
Ask the Oracle: Unlikely
Does he have a INT modifier?
Rolled 10 vs. 25: Yes
Ask the Oracle: Sure thing
Is it low?
Rolled 71 vs. 90: Yes
Again risking discovery, I intone, "[I walk in your footprints. You walk in mine. If ever there was a time to forge your own path, now is the time.]" I begin to rush toward the flames as I say the last part of the incantation. I leap into the air as I shout the word time.
[d20+3] Roll: [11] Result: 14
I spend my Hero point.
[d12] Roll: [10] Result: 10
24 result.
[d20+1] Roll: [6] Result: 7
There is a puff of sulphurus smoke (I need to look into getting that changed, maybe I can research the spell in more depth later). I appear in the place he was walking a moment ago, in the deep grass a few yards from the edge of the woods. I immediately crouch, knowing my form would be more visible than the smoke. He appears in the place I was a moment ago, several feet directly above the blazing fire of a compound building. He screams in surprise as he plummets directly down into the flames. And he keeps screaming as he catches alight. I watch from beneath my lowered brow. As one, several other lanterns swing in the direction of the fires. I move into the woods.
That's it, that's the end of the scenario. I earn a Hero Point for surviving the Grey Hill Inferno. I hope you enjoyed this exercise.
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