Welcome!
Icar is a free Science Fiction Roleplaying game by Rob Lang
Set in the far future, Icar is a space opera where you can
fly between the stars, fight a race of robots
or subvert the benevolent Imperium
The small and manageable tasks are being knocked out at a considerable pace. I have completed the new Botchery Clipper model - which was surprisingly difficult because I don't normally do renders where the object is caked in muck. The Botchery Clipper has been weighing on my mind heavily for some time. The old model (seen on the front cover of the version 3 scavenger setting book) was a shocker. I've vowed never to put out something I'm not happy with ever again!
The much maligned Dr. Sorex now has an Automaton sheet and I have improved some of the descriptions in the rules. The next steps are to include some more description on the Gaian (the Gaia News organisation) and a bunch of cheat sheets. Once they are done, I'll do another Alpha release.
By Rob Lang on 2011/11/14
An updated release for the Icar core rules is now on Google Docs. After stripping a lot of technology out of the equipment index, it needed to be re-rendered, better explained and added into the core rules. I've also included stat blocks for weapons and vehicles.
There is more left to do but this update was important because the equipment and bionics sections were a massive hill to climb and now it's over, the remaining tasks are smaller and more manageable. I thought it was only going to take me a few months but I changed jobs twice and this make it difficult to spend any spare time doing anything else but getting into the groove of my job. I'm in the groove now so I have time I can spend on Icar again. And it feels great.
I am a little concerned that on my next full read through of the rules I will want to change a lot. This is because I've been writing a guide to writing a free RPG for my blog and by doing so I've uncovered a lot of excellent advice I didn't know before. By distilling ideas to share with others I will no doubt become very critical of my own work. One piece of advice I've not been able to follow is one of continuous delivery: release small and release often. By using continuous delivery, I think I will try and do more updates and end up working more on it.
I've started sketching a new website too. This one is long in the tooth and is a nightmare on mobile devices. I'll be doing a responsive design for it so that it moulds to whatever device you're using.
If you've got any questions or feedback on this release then the forum is by far the best way to communicate with me. I'm all over there like a rash. A nasty rash. One you can't scratch without making it worse. You know what I mean.
By Rob Lang on 2011/11/06
Something of a milestone has just been hit! All the re-renders for the new Equipment Index have been complete. You can download it from Google Docs. It has been something of a struggle to replace old models and re-render them with shiney new textures but now they are done, I'm thrilled with the end result. The new equipment index is compatible with the old one but you'll find the statistics have changed along with the pictures. Also, I have replaced all the discs with simple numbers. Numbers in circles, naturally but numbers nonetheless!
I am now working on the Technology section of the core rules - which is actually a quick reference for the equipment index for those people who don't want to print out all the hand-outs. Although I think that's a bit sad, I understand that some people just want to write down the statistics. Now that all the models are remade and skinned, it is a much quicker process. I hope to have another version of the core rules Alpha out in the middle of May.
By Rob Lang on 2011/02/26
I had a very productive day today and managed to turn out no less than three new weapon models and the Automaton sheet for the new Equipment Index. An update like this demands a PDF update! You can download the updated PDF from Google Docs. The Equipment Index is still missing a few images but I think all the major ones are there now.
By Rob Lang on 2011/02/26
Hammering away at the Equipment Index has been a long slow slog - and it's not over. However, I feel that I have completed enough of the images to make it worth a look. This Equipment Index is designed for use with version 4 of the rules. Download it from Google here. Thank you to Byrn for donating some models and weapon ideas to the book.
What's with the version numbers?
To make things more obvious in the future, I have numbered the Equipment Index version 4 - the same as the core ruleset it goes with. If purity is your game, then feel free to scrub out the 4 and write an 8 in instead. No doubt my players will - when they see it.
What version should I be playing?
A good question to come from the forums was about which version is best to play. Version 3.5 Elements, Society, Scavenger Setting and Equipment Index 7 are the solid play-tested version of Icar. The system is clunky in places but it does work. If you are keen to stay on the bleeding edge with an untested, unplayed version then you want 'Version 4', both Core rules and Equipment Index. There are no other books for Version 4 but those two together should be enough to play. Be warned that version 4 is not finished and might well change!
By Rob Lang on 2011/02/05
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