Tell Me About Cortex Prime

[Reynard]

You've got a lot of good discussion going on here, but I'll add my take for whatever it's worth, on a few of the questions (though not all):

The general system is opposed dice rolls. Keep two and add them together to get a Total, keep a third to use as an Effect. Often, the players must "beat it to yeet it": they have to beat the opposed roll's Total, not just match it. The Effect die rates the degree of success/amount of damage/severity of inflicted complications or stress. There's a tight Plot Point economy and certain traits that key off them, allowing you to manipulate these basic rules: keep more dice for the Total; keep additional Effect dice; increase a die (d6 to d8, d8 to d10, etc.) in specific circumstances; use a d4 instead of the original die rating in order to gain a Plot Point. Etc. etc.

The complexity level can be pretty minimal (not adding much to the above paragraph), or considerably more complex, depending on what options you add. If you can peruse old reviews on past Cortex games, my opinion is that Leverage and Dragon Brigade (still available on DriveThruRPG) were very close to the "rules lite" end of the scale, whereas Marvel Heroic (and the later "Fantasy Heroic" that was in the Cortex Hacker's Guide and had a few 3rd party releases) were pretty complex. I'd still say at most it was rules-medium: close-ish to D&D 5e's core rules, but nowhere close to Pathfinder 1e or Anima Beyond Fantasy, etc. Smallville was somewhere in-between, but arguably maybe leans towards Marvel Heroic.

Tales of Xadia is interesting: the quick play rules are closer to the simple side, but the full rules have a lot of neat little options that add up to a more medium-crunch. Hammerheads -- available free on CortexRPG.com -- is pretty lite, but not quite as lite as Leverage.

Confused? Sorry. That's how a modular game like this works.

It's easy to learn IF YOU START SIMPLE. The most common mistake I see as the Reddit mod for the unofficial Cortex sub is that people dive in and say they want to make characters with 7 traits, use the full suite of Doom Pool + Crisis Pool options alongside every type of GMC (the Cortex term for NPCs), and they want to entirely re-work or bolt on some kind of non-Cortex subsystem for something like magic, equipment, or whatever. I'm exaggerating a little, but not much.

Like any rules-medium game, and most relationships, I think you gotta take it slow. Hammerheads and the Tales of Xadia primer are still available free, use the current chassis, and are pretty straightforward, all-in-one packages. You don't have to read the Cortex Prime Game Handbook to grok them: just read and play them on their own. Watch one of the (many!) official Cortex playthroughs on YouTube. The game plays WAY SIMPLER than it reads. Diving into the deep end on an entirely modular system is only good for a very specific type of person, and most people don't learn that way. It'd be like deciding to become a website developer one day and starting with an Advanced Python course. Sure, there's some genius that can do it, but there's an easier way.

I've posted a few simple hacks on my website, and the subreddit maintains a spreadsheet of something like 50+ games, all in various stages of development and various levels of complexity. I still suggest starting with Hammerheads or ToX's Primer for simplicity, but if you want a glimpse at the breadth of the game and something like 20+ takes on "how do you do magic in Cortex," it's all there.

Thank you for the detailed response. In the end, with limited mental bandwidth, it doesn't seem like there is any particular reason to learn Cortex Prime just to run (as an example) a Trek game, when I could just use Fate which I know pretty well.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The fun thing here is that there isn't only one basic mechanic. There's also the add all the dice mod, where you total all of the dice. But I can totally have multiple different "power systems" in Cortex that work and feel different at a fundamental "Stupid Dice Tricks" level. Tales of Xadia almost has this, because dark magic uses slightly different rules.

When you have enough optional rules, this is an argument you can always make, but I think I'm still going to suggest that Cortex is designed with the "count them all and use 2/3" and that when you're talking about that rule, you might as well be talking about one ported in from another dice pool game.

 

[RivetGeekWil]

When you have enough optional rules, this is an argument you can always make, but I think I'm still going to suggest that Cortex is designed with the "count them all and use 2/3" and that when you're talking about that rule, you might as well be talking about one ported in from another dice pool game.

The preferred method is to take two eligible dice and add them, and if required choose a third for the effect die, yes.

But all of it is "optional". That's the point.

 

[RivetGeekWil]

Thank you for the detailed response. In the end, with limited mental bandwidth, it doesn't seem like there is any particular reason to learn Cortex Prime just to run (as an example) a Trek game, when I could just use Fate which I know pretty well.

Enjoy!

Star Trek - Prime Directive

Star Trek: Prime Directive BUILDING DICE POOLS Building a dice pool consists of pulling a die from the categories as such: 1 Attribute 1 Value OR 1 Role 1 Distinction d8 (or d4 + Plot Point via the Hinder SFX) Optionally: 1 Signature Asset, if it applies 1 of your opponent’s Stress, if it app...

docs.google.com

Star Trek Prime Directive Datafile

Name Species: Assignment & Rank: Attributes Control Fitness Presence Daring Insight Reason Values Discovery Glory Peace Duty Liberty Power Signature Assets Asset — description. Asset — description. Asset — description. Stress...

docs.google.com

 

[Thomas Shey]

The preferred method is to take two eligible dice and add them, and if required choose a third for the effect die, yes.

But all of it is "optional". That's the point.

And my argument is that, for all of its official recognition, that particular rule might as well be from another die pool system for all of its integration.

 

[pemerton]

I mean, I literally asked for impressions from those familiar with it in order to make a decision about whether I should invest time and/or money in learning the game. I don't know how that isn't "a great idea." That's what asking for insight is for, no?

I don't have Cortex Prime, but have Marvel Heroic RP and the Cortex Hacker's Guide, and have used the latter to hack the former to play Cortex Heroic Fantasy.

Here's an actual play link to Viking fantasy play.

And here's LotR/MERP play.

The mechanics of the resolution system have been described in this thread. It works fine, but isn't the most interesting thing. The strong features of the system, in my view, are the use of Scene Distinctions to establish, step up, step down, etc the stakes of a scene - you can see examples in the LotR thread - and the use of the Doom Pool by the GM to manage the intensity and resolution of scenes.

Milestone are also interesting, because they allow players to address and add to the colour and the intra-group dynamics of scenes so as to earn XP, while the GM controls the "bigger picture" of what's at stake in a scene, by setting the Scene Distinctions and the opposition. It's good for a classic supers feel - like the X-Men doing their character development while fighting Doom or Arcade or whoever the villain of this month's issue is - but also works for epic fantasy stuff.

The flipside is that it's not a gritty system.

 

[Blue]

Prime is, to my knowledge, not in custom use for anything I've found - the Cortex Prime core is, like the Cortex Plus Hacker's Guide, a toolkit. He-Man is slated, may be out.

Tales of Xadia, the Dragon Prince RPG, is out.

He-Man is no longer slated according to Cam Banks (in an ENworld thread) once it was sold by Fandom to Dire Wolf Digital.

 

[RivetGeekWil]

And my argument is that, for all of its official recognition, that particular rule and might as well be from another die pool system for all of its integration.

Toolkits sometimes have oddball tools for specific purposes. The mechanic came from earlier Cortex games and, along with a couple other mods like Life Points, was included for completeness.

Tales of Xadia, the Dragon Prince RPG, is out.

He-Man is no longer slated according to Cam Banks (in an ENworld thread) once it was sold by Fandom to Dire Wolf Digital.

There are also third party games. There's Reality: Redacted and a superhero game called Lifted funded in June. Miriam Roby has a Patreon where she's building a fantasy game called Keystone. The first volume of the setting spotlights funded through the Cortex Prime Kickstarter is expected to deliver in November.

 

[Blue]

Thank you for the detailed response. In the end, with limited mental bandwidth, it doesn't seem like there is any particular reason to learn Cortex Prime just to run (as an example) a Trek game, when I could just use Fate which I know pretty well.

I think it would probably be more helpful to look at a specific example, so you can see what it is doing that Fate does not. And I enjoy Fate, it also does thing Cortex doesn't.

Marvel Heroic Roleplay is actually Cortex Plus, which a half step back mechanically, but still a good example.

First, it's designed not to be a superhero game, it's designed to be a comic book game. What I mean by that is that it plays to a lot of the conceits of the comic book. One of the things that leaps out from the very top of any character sheet (called Datafile) is directly below their name is called Affiliations. Basically solo, buddy, and team, with a d6, d8 and d10 scattered among them. Because in comic books these are very often the split ups. Spider-man was always acquiring a buddy, and it's the whole idea behind Batman the Brave and the Bold, or just with Robin, while Captain America is a tactician who elevates any team they are on. These dice are added to every die pool.

Next is distictions, much like Fate Aspects. And like Aspects you can use the positively for a large bonus die, or negatively for a plot currency and a d4 bonus die, which is usually more harmful then helpful, especially with 1s advancing the Doom Pool.

Next you'll have one or two power sets. For example, Cap is both a Super Soldier and has a Vibranium Shield - these are separate power sets. You describe your fiction, and you can grab up to one entry from each power set that fits what you are doing. For example the Vibranium-Alloy Shield had d12 for Durability and a d8 as a weapon. It has two Special F/X (SFX) that are stunts you can do, like Ricochet and the rules for it, and it has a limit, that it is gear and be shutdown, for which you gain a plot currency. And how to recover it (take and action vs. the doom pool).

Again, you can be creative. Want to describe Spidey as taunting one villain to shooting at him, dodging, and that shot collapsing something on another villain? Go for it.

The last part of your dice pool you make is your specialties, which are basically like skills, training, knowledge, and contacts.

Just like Fate, there can be things from scenes and from your target that can affect your total. Damage especially. Unlike in Fate where you have one free tag, target damage adds dice to your pool whenever it would be appropriate. Damage is in three flavors, Physical, Mental and Emotional. It's basically the effect die (the size of the biggest die after you take out your dice to succeed or fail).

Mind you, Spider-man quipping (doing emotional damage) can be just as effective if not more than punching someone. Adding another type of damage means bonus dice in later pools, and any of the three types going past d12 can take someone out.

Play generally alternates between action scenes and transitional scenes. Transitional scenes give chances to recover some damage, create assets (in Fate it would be creating an Aspect like "Radio Tracker" or "Codebreaking Library" or "Tactical Intelligence", though with a die so it could be used in upcoming dice pools).

 

[Thomas Shey]

Toolkits sometimes have oddball tools for specific purposes. The mechanic came from earlier Cortex games and, along with a couple other mods like Life Points, was included for completeness.

I know. I actually quite liked Cortex Classic (though thought it was woefully incomplete to be used as a generic system when it got to paranormal abilities). I'm just arguing that it really doesn't have much connection with most of the design in Prime (which is derived from Cortex Plus).