The Grey Hill Trials are Fantastic ICRPG Tools

The Grey Hill Trials in CORE and Master Edition make great teaching tools and aids for playing Index Card RPG. Let's look at both versions and dissect them so we can really take advantage of these fantastic tools.
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**CREDITS**
Index Card RPG Master Edition by Runehammer Games (PDF)
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Index Card RPG Master Edition by Runehammer Games (B&W SOFTCOVER)
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FREE ICRPG Quickstart
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Artwork by Hankerin Ferinale
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Index Card VTT
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[@lilcwa]

This was EXACTLY the video for you to revisit. I point GMs new to ICRPG to your original Grey Hill video all the time. Well done.

[@KanesKiln]

Haha glad to hear! Thought it would be fun to revisit one of my earliest videos that was desperate for a new coat of paint. And thank you for all the recommendations!

[@HoneyBadgerLikesYou]

As a GM new to ICRPG, it was extremely easy for me to skip over the trial as a simple “here you can do a couple rolls to see what I mean about effort” instead of it actually being a proper trial adventure. I think the 1-page spread and small paragraphs made me assume it was mostly a nothingburger (cause when you first start reading the book you’re used to more extravagant games so you think “this doesn’t look like what an adventure looks like!”), but this video is giving me reason to go back and give it some more thought. Great job!

[@KanesKiln]

I know exactly what you mean. With all the goodies in ICRPG, the trials are really easy to skim over, but oh my goodness they really are worth checking out.

[@A.Elbereth.Gilthoniel]

In my first try, I barely managed to get out of the cell in 4 rounds. Then the PC fought the abomination and died. I assumed that the trial was meant for 3-4 players, but now I see it's just a design flaw. I appreciate the approach "No amount of reading teaches as much as a few dice rolls. Let’s dive right in," but this trial doesn't teach much either. Kane uses the rules we'll learn later (Defence, death and recovery), makes houserules (skip d20 after the first success and proceed to roll Effort), or just changes the narrative (he found an improvised tool in the cell, while the text clearly says it's just a d4 Effort). In the forums is is generally responded with "It's your game, your rules, make something up." It is true, but also reminds me of the official D&D5 DM-oriented resources. This trial has so much potential as a tool, and it's really not that hard to make it, as-written, into a proper introduction to ICRPG.

[@robin2117]

Yesterday i tried my first session on ICRPG, its a joke campaing set in the adventure time Universe and was so much fun, this video does help a lot!

[@KanesKiln]

I love Adventure Time so that sounds awesome! And way to go running your first session! Glad to have you try it out at your table.

[@robin2117]

@@KanesKiln My players asked to keep the system for the next games, so its a damn good game!

[@TrairFrair]

Excellent review of play for beginner players and GMs. These trials sure are brutal! A crafty GM might bake in some treats for players if they get low on health or need more toys- maybe they have time to do a round of Recovery between segments, or they discover something useful they can use against Weapon 13 and the guards. Or maybe i baby my players too much. 😁

[@KanesKiln]

I think you're on the right track! These trials are perfect opportunities for GMs to get a feel for what works and what doesn't, where to adjust and focus on, and helps get a feel for what the table is going to need as you play. I think you're thinking about the right stuff.

[@LillyMannhal]

The one thing I prefer in the grey hill fire rather than the inferno is that it always states options on what to do. In inferno the writing feels more imperative. Fire: Eliminate them OR reach far range. Inferno: Do 1 heart of BASIC EFFORT. There is no avoiding it. Do 1 heart of WEAPON EFFORT... it just kind of feels like inferno tells you what you have to do rather than giving you options.

[@macoppy6571]

I have run the CORE version several times. Solo, 1-on-1 (twice), and a party of 5 (only 2 survivors). The poisonous fog is a killer. Players that have been forewarned handle it in stride. Players surprised by character death so quickly may lose interest in the game entirely. I recommend having backup character sheets, just in case.

[@KanesKiln]

That's a lot of Grey Hill experience! Epic! And I agree, that poisonous fog can really get you and I can totally understand that that death can be a surprise, but I do think it opens up a lot of opportunity for conversation and team play. A slew of characters or even running a funnel could be a fun way to handle that concern though.

[@Ryuumen]

I have been trying to mix them into a one - shot. It went very well and kinda frustrating for my friend, because his roll weren't high enough to even meet the target xd.

[@adamdorris7104]

Is the continued effort without a roll to hit listed in the book somewhere? I remember seeing it used, but i wasn't sure if it was just a house rule. I like this presentation and comparison of the two trials, along with the variety of tweaks available. I just wish the book made more mention of those. It initially struck me as confusingly deadly for a demo. Desperate action to find an edge immediately is definitely required.

[@KanesKiln]

The continued effort without a roll isn’t really specified within the book per se. it’s an Effort roll. It spread throughout the community as a simple variant of an ATTEMPT because it doesn’t always make sense to make a check over and over again if you’re already doing whatever you’re doing.

[@BlakeFrancis]

If you, uh, ever want to showcase the discovery play with this I would be definitely down to be a player in the game!😂 Great video like always!! I still want to start a campaign with grey Hill inferno!! What I love about it and discovery play there's so much less lore dump!

[@KanesKiln]

I think that sounds like a great idea!

[@BlakeFrancis]

​@@KanesKiln If I ever do get that game started I'll let you know how it goes 😊 Here's to hopefully being able to hop in one of your games in the future!

[@KanesKiln]

You're more than welcome to hop on the Discord Server and maybe we can spin up a Grey Hill Fire Discovery one-shot.

[@BlakeFrancis]

@@KanesKiln I'm already there and will do!!!