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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DammitVictor" data-source="post: 9129826" data-attributes="member: 6750908">This, really really this, but I'd suggest that it's not that every mod or every combination of mods is rigorously playtested-- they're not-- it's just that every mechanic is made of the same parts as every other mechanic. The scale of traits is always between 1d4 and Xd12, the number of traits is always somewhere between 3 and 5, and you can literally eyeball the relative potency of two different dice pools.Cortex isn't a marvel of precise engineering, it's a marvel of robust engineering. (Pun not intended.) Game elements do not have to symmetrical or even comparable to work together. For instance... you mention running MHR using different core traits for combat and noncombat encounters, and you testify that it works fine. You can have your NPCs and especially Villains using different core traits than your heroic PCs-- something I highly recommend for the eXiles games I run, because you're going to be writing a lot of homebrew Datafiles-- and the game will run fine. With a little improv on the umpire's part, you can run PCs from different Cortex games (using different Prime mods) together in the same session and they will largely work just fine.You wouldn't normally want to, and it would feel weird, but it'd work.If you want a resource attrition system like D&D, I'd suggest Usage Dice. You have X of them, they're dY, with X and Y derived from other traits. You can roll between 1 and X of them every time you "cast a spell", and every time you roll a 1 on at least one of them, or maximum value on at least one of them, you either remove one or step them all down (your choice).Some magical effects have a minimum number of dice, some have a minimum value of dice, so losing dice is losing options.Then, "casting a spell" involves assembling it out of temporary SFX which increase the chance of mishaps and the chance of reducing your spell dice."Cantrips" are just spells that don't require you to use any of your usage dice at all, so you can cast them when you're out of Usage Dice, and you can cast them without risking your Usage Dice unless you're deliberately heightening the effect.</blockquote>

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