Just asking, as I saw the link has popped up on the Popular entry in the discussion page. (I knew about it before because the designer used to work in the lab next to mine in university, but I could never get my head around the older versions of the game...)

Hello. I've played Icar for several years, since 1997, and had a fair range of characters, from a Special Forces medic to a heavy weapons and vehicle expert in a vigilante syndicate. I would be happy to answer any questions you have from a player's perspective.

Also, I was at the same university as Rob for a number of years.... is it possible we know each other ? ;)

MA

Could you tell us some about the game? I had some trouble grasping exactly what it was about and what the system was like, based ont eh web site. I'm interested in Science Fiction games, but so far haven't seen a reason to switch from Traveller (n.b.: I'm not classifying Star Wars as a science fiction game). Maybe ICAR can provide that reason.

Icar attempts to break many of the standards which have crept up in the general Science Fiction consciousness. It is set in the far future, beyond anything else in a time when human populate a 'fenced in' section of the galaxy. On the other side of the fence are a race of intelligence machines (cliche warning) but they are only really referred to in the game.

In charge of the human race is a benevolent organisation which strives to keep everyone alive while pushing back the boundaries of the fence, increasing their hold on the galaxy. While this organisation, the Imperium, attempts to help the human race, the people of the human world are doing everything to help themselves. Think of post war Britain where the black market thrived and organised crime was rife.

There are no specific settings available for Icar just yet. I am still writing the general society section but will post a setting very shortly on the site. There is almost enough to play. There will be enough to play at the end of the week! Icar is driven by its Technology, which for anyone with GCSE physics should be able to understand to the nth degree (not sure what grade that is in the US, the GCSE is an exam for 16yr olds). This technology description stops inconsistencies and allows the players to build their own technology from first principles. It also immediately avoids many "why can't you do this or that" questions which were often my bane. It's no Star Wars, there is no sound in space.

What makes Icar particularly different is the manner it is played. A GM's work is slightly different to normal. Old 'adventures' are now plotlines and the GM is required to write 3 or 4, these plotlines interweave with a Galactic plotline to produce a number a events (or perhaps "encounters") within a timeline. The players either witness the events first hand, through the news or by hearing about it from a third party. One event often leads to the discovery of another, such that if they want to follow the timeline, they can. The upshot of this system (detailed in the strings http://www.icar.co.uk/view/strings/10.htm) is that the players never feel railroaded. The can be investigating 2 or 3 different plotlines at the same time. Clearly, this is a method of gaming for more mature players who feel that linear quests are to easily identified and predicted. I know that if I tried a linear quest with my players, they would do everything in their power to fight against it!

Thankyou for the comment about the website, Clay. You're right, there does need to be a better explanation page somewhere and I will set about making one. As the website is the only portal for Icar to the web, I endeavour to make it as accessible as possible. After all, if it's not easy to download and start, why play?

Hyphz, Icar has been running in many forms in Reading, UK now for 7 years (5 years in London before that). With new players come new questions and comments that can then be answered by updating the rules. If the old version of the game was the one you played, I doubt it would have much resemblance to the current version. The setting is much the same but the system is more refined and quick to master.

If there are any other questions, I shall be returning here on a regular basis so please feel free to ask. Thankyou to those who have posted their interest, I often feel like I am alone when writing!

Rob Lang
Icar Author, http://www.icar.co.uk

brainwipe wrote: Hyphz, Icar has been running in many forms in Reading, UK now for 7 years (5 years in London before that). With new players come new questions and comments that can then be answered by updating the rules. If the old version of the game was the one you played, I doubt it would have much resemblance to the current version. The setting is much the same but the system is more refined and quick to master.

I see your point. I have organised it a bit better since. There is a chap in America having a go at running it. I wish him luck, it's not 100% finished yet!

That is my rant on the maison (http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/archives/00000029.html). I am curious now to who you are! Ah go on, tell me, it won't hurt! ;-)