Why do you play games other than D&D?

[pemerton]

Yes, and it's specifically why I chose it as a contrasting option and was quite specific in my language. As I understand it, it's not actually about solving a mystery - it's about what happens along the way. The truth isn't discovered through play, it's created.

I've never played Brindlewood Bay, but I think that this post draws a contrast between "discovered" and "created" that is sharper than the reality of play. There are a lot of ways the "truth" of a RPG's fiction can be emergent rather than prepped - and my impression is that a degree of emergence is an important part of the Brindlewood Bay experience.

 

[SableWyvern]

I've never played Brindlewood Bay, but I think that this post draws a contrast between "discovered" and "created" that is sharper than the reality of play. There are a lot of ways the "truth" of a RPG's fiction can be emergent rather than prepped - and my impression is that a degree of emergence is an important part of the Brindlewood Bay experience.

I'm quite comfortable with the way I've phrased it and, in this specific case, think that treating discovered vs created as meaningfully different to prepped vs emergent is quibbling over semantics. However, I'm not nearly invested enough to be drawn into an extended argument over terminology and you're certainly entitled to hold a contrary position.

 

[DammitVictor]

Speaking of being able to drive nails with anything if it's heavy and hard enough:

You can use Cortex Prime to build an incredibly traditional old school game, like a cross between Runequest or Pendragon and The BoL Hack.

Spoiler: Horrifying Details

Core Traits:

• No Distinctions. (Heresy!)
• Heritage: at minimum, includes one species, one culture, and one social class. May include subrace, magic bloodline, etc.
  • Attached to SFX, Limits, and Hinder. Since they're ranked, hindering adds a d4 to your pool and the Heritage die to the opposed roll.
  • Take as many as you want!
• Technique: At minimum, you get Defense, Melee, Ranged, Initiative(/mobility), Covert, and Expert plus at least one Power Source.
  • Attached to SFX and Limits. Power Sources have spells/powers with specific rules.
  • I deliberately exclude Social/Noble/Face; you do you, fam.
• Ability Scores: You can use any scheme you want here. Probably don't want more than six.
  • I'd use Might, Grit, Finesse, Agility, Cunning, Savvy, and Allure. (I give good advice; I don't follow it.)
  • There's no "Charisma"; this is also intentional. "Skill checks" aren't hard-coded to abilities, to leave wiggle room.
• Virtues & Vices: These are paired, d4/d12, d6/d10, d8/d8, with a Statement that applies to each pairing. These can be Challenged, and this is important to character growth.
  • Strife/Peace. Everyone chooses Peace but... plays a D&D character; it's hilarious.
  • Authority/Liberty.
  • Glory/Safety.
  • Honor/Pragmatism.
  • Loyalty/Avarice.
• Careers: Just like BoL Careers or D&D24 Backgrounds.

Mechanical Options:

• Plot Points are diegetic and can only be spent to represent extra effort, heroic determination, and the like. You can gain Plot Points by rolling 1s, Hindering your Heritage/Techniques, and following your Virtues & Vices into entertaining predicaments.
• Life Points: Starting Life Points are based on Might + Defense and your level.
• Stress & Trauma:
  • You might gain Stress when you take Life Point damage from an attack, depending on the Effect Dice.
  • You gain or step up Trauma when you're Stressed Out or reduced to zero Life Points.
  • Characters gain an extra Stress and Trauma level for every rank of Grit, so a character with d4 Grit has an extra d4 and a character with a d8 has an extra d4, d6, and d8.
• Power Points: Power Points are based on Power Source and an Ability based on the Power Source and increase with level. Spells/powers have levels for minimum level/rank and for power point cost.
• Combat: Standard Cortex attack roll versus reaction roll. Succeeding by 5 or more lets you step up your Effect Die or keep an additional Effect Die.
  • Weapon damage is Ability Die + Technique Die + all Effect Dice.
  • Reaction to most attacks uses Ability + Defender + Armor. Damage on a failed Reaction is reduced by Armor Die + Effect Die.
• Advancement: Hybrid between objective-based XP/level and Growth Pool. Some advancements are automatic based on level and/or Power Source rank. Whenever you gain a level, you can roll your Growth Pool against any Core Trait (except Virtues & Vices) to improve it.

 

[dbm]

Genre and style are definitely different things. You can run noir / horror / four-colour supers / fantasy / sci-fi with Fate, Savage Worlds, GURPS or HERO and each would deliver the same genre with a different feel through their approach. Systems like Cortex and Fudge are more like toolkits in my opinion (and Fate is close to a toolkit too) so you can adjust the style significantly with these frameworks.

A good IP related game matches genre and style, in a poor one these clash.

 

[Fenris-77]

I've never played Brindlewood Bay, but I think that this post draws a contrast between "discovered" and "created" that is sharper than the reality of play. There are a lot of ways the "truth" of a RPG's fiction can be emergent rather than prepped - and my impression is that a degree of emergence is an important part of the Brindlewood Bay experience.

The range of possible outcomes for a given mystery in BBay is far more limited than people sometimes suggest. The careful curation of NPCs and clues in a given mystery has the effect of narrowing that field quite a bit. I won't quibble with a description of BBay play as emergent, but I find it gets used (quite poorly) as an example of all kinds of things it doesn't actually do at the table in that regard, most of them anent the mystery mechanic.