Cortex Prime - What are your ideas for custom made systems?

[MNblockhead]

Just got my unlock code for Cortex Prime. The book is sitting at home, waiting until I return from work abroad, but Fandom has done an excellent job making a highly readable, navigable, and searchable on-line version of the the Cortex Handbook. I am very impressed with the system and its flexibility to build nearly any kind of game you would like to run. The rules can be as light or as crunch as you like. I don't think it will suffer from the GURPS problem (you can play any theme of game but it still feels like GURPS) but only time playing will tell.

I'm interested in reading about games other Cortex Prime fans are building or thinking of build.

I'm thinking the rules would be very well suited for building a Quantum Leap style game or a dimension-travel/shifting game.

A Quantum Leap style game might get a bit too fiddly, but I think as long as you have no more than one leap per session you can easily skin the characters between sessions.

A dimension/time travel style game would allow players to keep their characters the same and challenge them in radically different settings, would be easier to GM, and would be preferable to players who are invested in their character builds.

I was considering using Cortex Prime to run a MAGE-style game. The rules would be much cleaner and having digital assets would make running it much more pleasurable than dealing with the god-awful massive MAGE rules book or PDF. But I don't see how I can capture the flavor of magic in MAGE with the Cortex Prime rules. MAGE's rules for magic are so unique and flavorful, it is what makes the game. This is one example where I just don't see using the Cortex Prime kit to capture that same feel.

Still, I see Cortex Prime becoming one of my most preferred systems to run games in.

 

[Aldarc]

My biggest roadblock to creating/running Cortex Prime now lies in ma deficiencies with creating workable/presentable character sheets. Nevertheless, I have some campaign ideas for Cortex on the backburner.

(1) Fantasy Renaissance "Venice": Take a one-shot that I ran with Fate in a fantastical version of a city based on Renaissance Venice, using 7 Virtues as one of the trait sets. Still undecided about the last 1-2 trait sets, whether to use roles, affiliations (i.e., nobility, priests, merchants, peasants), skills, or even relationships.

(2) Dark Crystal / Zelda: A mashup inspired by the Dark Crystal and Zelda. Off-brand elves (e.g, Hyrulians, Gelflings) questing in their magical, alien lands.

(3) Pirates of Dark Water: Not a straight-up conversion, but again something more inspired by the cartoon setting, plus probably Earthsea. Pirates on the fantastical high seas in an alien world.

 

[Umbran]

I missed the kickstarter, but I've since bought in for the PDF and website.

My first is apt to be an experiment - take Leverage (which is already Cortex+) and add some magic/supernatural elements, to enable fantasy or sci-fantasy capers.

 

[angille]

I think I should probably edit my sig to include this, but I've got a whole mess of builds I've thrown together, in various states of having rules or sheets. the ones I've put the most time into are:

• Mythikal — it started as my way to get D&D-like stories into a Cortex table, but it's something utterly different now. the two things it does that I'm proud of I stole from other places, lol. its pathways are from the System sans Setting blog, and doubling a single trait set (skills in my case) is from Dragon Brigade.
• coreTEK — I have no small feelings of both imposter syndrome and FOMO from having sketched this out before Lancer was announced, and still having nothing to show while they're fully published. anyway, think Lancer, but Cortex.
• Shuffle — a one-shot engine in a box of cards. very It's Not My Fault. I actually had my second, approved proof in hand when the Fandom buyout was announced.
• Whiskey, Grits, n' Demon Spittle — started off as a straight build of Brisco County Jr./Wild Wild West, but as I started world-building to strip the IP and decolonize the source material, it's turning into something altogether different.

I missed the kickstarter, but I've since bought in for the PDF and website.

My first is apt to be an experiment - take Leverage (which is already Cortex+) and add some magic/supernatural elements, to enable fantasy or sci-fantasy capers.

there's a similar convo over on rpgnet discussing this very concept. also Rob Donoghue threw together a build a few years ago.

 

[Aldarc]

Mythikal — it started as my way to get D&D-like stories into a Cortex table, but it's something utterly different now. the two things it does that I'm proud of I stole from other places, lol. its pathways are from the System sans Setting blog, and doubling a single trait set (skills in my case) is from Dragon Brigade.

The Japanese "table talk" RPG Ryuutama does something similar as Dragon Brigade. There are four attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Spirit. For given checks, players roll 2 dice composed of any two attribute (or even one doubled) and add them together. So a Sense check may require INT + SPI, while a Drinking contest may require STR + SPI, and Stealth may require DEX + DEX. Actually a standard traveling day for this RPG about traveling pilgrims consists of a Condition Check (STR + SPI), a Travel Check (STR + DEX), a Direction Check (INT + INT), and a Camping Check (DEX + INT).

Also, one thing that I like about what you do with your skills in Mythikal, which is also something I like in Blades in the Dark and Stars Without Number, is framing skills in terms of Actions or Verbs rather than Nouns.

there's a similar convo over on rpgnet discussing this very concept. also Rob Donoghue threw together a build a few years ago.

I'm a big fan of Rob Donoghue and his blogs, as he discusses a fair amount about Fate, Cortex, and Blades in the Dark. He has a good sense for the strengths of a system and isn't afraid to tinker and cross-pollinate ideas between systems.

 

[Aldarc]

I think I should probably edit my sig to include this, but I've got a whole mess of builds I've thrown together, in various states of having rules or sheets. the ones I've put the most time into are:

• Mythikal — it started as my way to get D&D-like stories into a Cortex table, but it's something utterly different now. the two things it does that I'm proud of I stole from other places, lol. its pathways are from the System sans Setting blog, and doubling a single trait set (skills in my case) is from Dragon Brigade.

Also I was looking over your attributes/skills for Mythikal (i.e., Body, Mind, People, and Soul). As Body, Mind, and Soul are fundamentally part of the human person, my OCD was thinking about the People category. I was wondering whether renaming "People" to "Heart" might be better for your purposes. I think Heart may work as we have several sayings that imply a distinction: e.g., "winning hearts and minds" or "I put my heart and soul into X."

 

[angille]

Also I was looking over your attributes/skills for Mythikal (i.e., Body, Mind, People, and Soul). As Body, Mind, and Soul are fundamentally part of the human person, my OCD was thinking about the People category. I was wondering whether renaming "People" to "Heart" might be better for your purposes. I think Heart may work as we have several sayings that imply a distinction: e.g., "winning hearts and minds" or "I put my heart and soul into X."

those are really just targets for SFX phrasing, and in context "people" sounds natural imo. the others might need adjustment I guess.

• Charismatic Combatant: When pairing a people skill with Fight or Shoot, boost your lower skill.
• Deep Reserves: When you push your Resolve stress, also boost a soul skill.

I use "boost" here as shorthand for "step up or double" — I found I was using that for... everything, lol. so in my games, it's just A Thing™. the four skill categories do more in the Fate version, where they also influence the stress pools.

 

[Aldarc]

It doesn't make Mythikal any less mythic, and you definitely have a stronger grasp of the system and the sort of game you want, so keep on trucking. I would love a chance to playtest Mythikal if it ever gets to a public playtest stage.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Just got my unlock code for Cortex Prime. The book is sitting at home, waiting until I return from work abroad, but Fandom has done an excellent job making a highly readable, navigable, and searchable on-line version of the the Cortex Handbook. I am very impressed with the system and its flexibility to build nearly any kind of game you would like to run. The rules can be as light or as crunch as you like. I don't think it will suffer from the GURPS problem (you can play any theme of game but it still feels like GURPS) but only time playing will tell.

I'm interested in reading about games other Cortex Prime fans are building or thinking of build.

I'm thinking the rules would be very well suited for building a Quantum Leap style game or a dimension-travel/shifting game.

A Quantum Leap style game might get a bit too fiddly, but I think as long as you have no more than one leap per session you can easily skin the characters between sessions.

A dimension/time travel style game would allow players to keep their characters the same and challenge them in radically different settings, would be easier to GM, and would be preferable to players who are invested in their character builds.

I was considering using Cortex Prime to run a MAGE-style game. The rules would be much cleaner and having digital assets would make running it much more pleasurable than dealing with the god-awful massive MAGE rules book or PDF. But I don't see how I can capture the flavor of magic in MAGE with the Cortex Prime rules. MAGE's rules for magic are so unique and flavorful, it is what makes the game. This is one example where I just don't see using the Cortex Prime kit to capture that same feel.

Still, I see Cortex Prime becoming one of my most preferred systems to run games in.

Is there a good summary or detailed review of Cortex? This is the first I've heard of it, and as a relentless tinkerer with systems, it sounds interesting, but my Google-fu is weak.

 

[pemerton]

I don't have Cortex Prime, so my Cortex+ RPGing is based on MHRP plus the Hacker's Guide.

This adaptation of LotR/Middle Earth might have some stuff that's interesting for Cortex Primers.