The Cortex System is a game engine and generic role-playing game by Margaret Weis Productions, and the first incarnation of the Cortex game system. The original Cortex System is now generally known by the retronyms Cortex Classic or Classic Cortex to distinguish from the later version of Cortex, Cortex Plus and Cortex Prime.
Classic Cortex was designed by Jamie Chambers based on the Sovereign Stone RPG by Sovereign Press. It was developed initially for the licensed Serenity Role Playing Game,[1] and subsequently used for Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural RPGs, as well as published as a stand-alone system in the Cortex System Role Playing Game book.[2]
Serenity, using the Cortex System, was the 2005 Origins Award Gamer's Choice Role Playing Game of the Year.[3]
System[]
The system uses polyhedral dice from d2 to d12, and the basic resolution mechanic involves adding up the total on all your relevant dice and comparing it to a static target number. Dice that go into the dice pool represent a character's statistics, specifically Attributes (Agility, Strength, Vitality, Alertness, Intelligence, and Willpower), which range from d4 to d12+d4; Skills (from a list of 22), which range from d0 to d12; and any relevant Assets (positive character traits) or Complications (negative traits). Situational advantages can be represented either by changing the target difficulty number or increasing or reducing the number of faces on the dice rolled.
The Cortex System also uses plot points, which increase characters' survivability and give players greater control over events in the game. Players can spend plot points to gain extra dice when making a die roll, reduce the damage from an attack, or even make changes to the storyline. Some Assets also require the expenditure of plot points. At the end of a game session, excess Plot Points are converted to Advancement Points, which a player spends to improve his or her character's abilities.
Character creation[]
The game uses a point-buy system with a default initial spread between attributes, skills, and traits (the collective name for advantages and complications) based on the intended power level of the game. This is similar to the siloed point buy and special abilities and character flaws used in a variety of other role-playing games, such as Merits and Flaws in White Wolf Publishing's original World of Darkness, Qualities and Drawbacks in Eden's Unisystem, and Edges and Hindrances in Pinnacle Entertainment's Deadlands and Savage Worlds games (to which the Serenity system bears a resemblance).
Published games using the Cortex System[]
- Serenity Role Playing Game (2005)
- Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game (2007)
- Demon Hunters Role Playing Game (2008)
- Cortex System Role Playing Game
- Supernatural Role Playing Game (2009)
Reception[]
The initial reception to the Cortex System was good, with the Serenity Role Playing Game winning the 2005 Origins Award for Gamer's Choice: Best Roleplaying Game of the Year.[4] The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game gained praise from SF Weekly for the Plot Point mechanisms and the way they reproduced the all-or-nothing moments of the Battlestar Galactica series.[5] The Journal of Transformative Works said that the system itself could be considered transformative given that the rules were meant to evolve through play sessions.[6]
References[]
- ↑ "D6G Episode 18: Serenity RPG reviewed & interview with designer". The D6 Generation (October 30, 2008). Retrieved on March 31, 2013
- ↑ RPG.net review of Cortex Classic
- ↑ RPG Geek Serenity RPG page
- ↑ 2005 Origins Awards Template:Webarchive
- ↑ SF Weekly review of Battlestar Galactica
- ↑ Book Review: Supernatural role playing game, by Jamie Chambers - the Journal of Transformative Works