Icar is a science fiction game by Rob Lang, and one well worth the attention of fans of science fiction roleplaying games.Though I am still digesting the rules, the setting of the game interests me the most. It it set in the far future of mankind (the 93rd setting). It is a setting with all of the fun components of space opera; FTL (Faster Than Light) ships, cybernetics, wild and weird weapons, habitable alien worlds and the like.
Though a cliche' the Icar setting went through a war with a "race" of intelligent robots dubbed Droids, who now control a great many star systems. Interestingly, these droids do not take the classical humanoid form most often deen in science-fiction, but are often quite vehicular in
appearance (see illustration below). If these droids were not busy fighting amongst themselves, it seems they would quickly flatten mankind. Whether or not they would do so, is not entirely clear.Mankind is controlled by an organization known as The Imperium that appears (despite the forces of cliche') to be good for mankind. It is the single greatest force dedicated towards mans survival and organization against the droids.
All-in-all, I like this setting. Its a nifty read and good to see such effort going into a creative endeavor. The game itself is free AND well done. Check it out!
1 comment:
Aaron, thanks very much for the very kind review of Icar! I am glad you like the setting, as it is that which really distinguishes the game from others (the rules are pretty stock D10/percentile).
Icar blends many cliches together and do so unashamedly. :) It also treads all over cliches (such as a truly benevolent Empire). The Droids are meant to be used as a far-away threat that is brought out for some terror every so often. I'll make that more clear in the next version of the Society book.
I'm always keen to build people's feedback into the books, so if you have any more, please do post it up (either here or on the Icar forum). Being free, I get to release as often as I like, without worrying about annoying those people who have bought early versions. People can always just download the lastest.
Many thanks again for the posting, it gives me a great boost!
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