I have played the FASA, ICON and CODA games a lot during the last couple of years. While I always felt that the FASA game was somewhat difficult to learn, it was fun to play in long campaigns because rules where highly detailed and therefore character progression was very detailed.
But when I started to work and had less and less time to play...the FASA system started to slip away and without "continuous training" it became more and more difficult.
Then LUG published their fine game. At first I thought it's just for money-making: having three rule books for the same game. Pah! But I bought it nevertheless. We played it. Well. It was easy! But it was somehow to easy. To few details. The contrary to FASA. We didn't like it in the beginning. Then we had this feeling (that everyone seems to have sooner or later with ICON) that it wasn't very balanced and that the drama die was overpowerful. Then we realized that the focus of the game was totally different. It was absolutely concentrating on the story-telling part of the game and therefore it was logical that it doesn't matter if a character has a one in a skill or a six. It was so different from other games. It wasn't a Rolemaster. It wasn't a d20. It was a way like West End Games d6. But still different. From that point on we loved it until today. We played CODA. It had it's great ups. But it is to clumsy.
We still play Star Trek and we still use ICON. It radically changed the way we pecieved Star Trek as an RPG. It's so heavily story driven and the rules jsut don't stand in your way.
We even played Dune for a long time and this was another great game where ICON suited very well.
Having another gameline for Star Trek using ICON again woud be the answer to all our pryers.
And yet I do understand that other gaming groups play ST differently and might find more joy in detailed rules with games with more emphasize on the rules itself and character progression. But as with power gamers and story tellers - there will never be a game that satisfies all desires.
We still hold on to ICON. And if I were ever to have to much money I would put all of it into aquiring the license for it to produce my own game based on it...
God bless the creators for having invented it and for making such a wonderfull Star Trek game in the first place. I thank thee, oh mighty authors, for hundreds of fantastic and joyfull gaming hours and gorgeous memories! Hail! Thanks for what has come from your brains. Thanks for all the lovely moments I have spend with your blessed game. You are a truly gifted lot for us...! Thanks to the folks of Last Unicorn Games! Never give up! Never let go! You are our heroes!
