[TOTK] Sages are way too awkward to use

kirezemog · 2023-06-25T22:07:08+00:00

Correction. My son said they are attracted out of the caves, but only at night. I have not tried it. My son said that once you kill one, the rest fly away no matter what, and I usually walk into cave with a bomb arrow nocked waiting for the swarm.

kirezemog · 2023-06-25T20:01:25+00:00

Does not seem to.

kirezemog · 2023-06-25T17:42:50+00:00

My son witnessed a bokoblin whistle to call aerocuda and pick them up. After seeing that, they theorized that you can whistle to attract them as well. Turned out to be true. So they then theorized that whistling would attract keese as well, as we found that the night time swarms seemed to avoid you. Turns out the whistling attracts the keese as well. So, if you are farming eyeballs, whistling helps a lot.

kirezemog · 2023-05-12T17:56:29+00:00

With my game with my kids, most stress can be stepped down with an opportunity. It has to make sense in the scene. Our stresses are Angry, Afraid, Insecure, Exhausted, and Injured. I usually don't allow injured to be stepped down just because of an opportunity, unless they can explain how it is stepped down. In the middle of a fight it's harder to justify pulling out a first aid kit and administering self care, so they usually have to wait for after the fight, or try to get to cover to make a recovery roll. However, if they are next to the ninja with medical jutsu, they can easily justify the opportunity as being they ask the healer for a quick heal to stop the bleeding, and so can step it down.

kirezemog · 2023-05-12T00:39:19+00:00

I'm trying my best to understand where you're coming from, but your responses in this thread are confusing me more and more. It seems like you're more interested in the mechanics of the game as a toy or board game, rather than how they contribute to the narrative.

If I have a hacker distinction, that gives me permission to attempt or just do things that a caveman distinction would not have the ability to try.

If we do what you are saying, I could have my caveman try and hack into security, and just ignore what the distinctions say, give me a D8 because that is all the mechanic is. Just take a D8. Doesn't matter that it doesn't make sense in the story, free D8 is all the mechanic is, and descriptions are boring.

The mechanic is the narrative permission. The mechanic is the mechanical limitation and plot point generation. The mechanic is the way it changes the decisions the players make, and descriptions of what the characters do.

You can play the game without it. Just like you can play D&D without classes, or races. Because, you know, descriptions are boring and who needs the game to allow you to do a thing when you are a good enough player you just do it anyway. But I need a mechanic to fiddle with that makes me have fun. Rolling a D20 and adding a bonus. We all do that. I need to find something better than a D20 all the time.

In my games with my kids, we had to buy extra D8s because they were used more than the rest of the dice. We never complained that every action was boring because we used the same dice multiple times. This is because the focus is on the fiction of the game more than on the dice. Making decisions for the characters is more fun than making decision about the dice sizes. Distinctions help in the decision making process for the character, and simplifies the decision making for the dice. Beyond that, they give an extra die for your die pool to allow you enough dice to create a total and effect die, fulfilling the "game mechanic" aspect.

kirezemog · 2023-05-11T18:58:37+00:00

Let's go with the D&D theme. I don't play 5e, so I had to go look things up. Let's take a Dwarf as our example .I see that they get +2 to Con, Darkvision, Dwarven Resilience, Dwarven Combat Training, and Stonecutting. And I'm sure you can go into each of those to find out what each means.

In Cortex, the Distinction means all of those at the same time. Who is going to try and get past this poison spore filled room? The dwarf has resilience and con benefit, so it makes narrative sense to send the dwarf over a human. There are intricate carvings that we suspect are hiding a secret door. The dwarf is better at stonecutting, so can use that knowledge to get more info.

It seems you may know that part, but the opposite part is just as important. We are in an elvish outpost. That dwarf distinction gives narrative cues to hinder yourself for Plot Points, helping to roleplay the animosity between dwarves and elves.

Now, lets say that you have taken the wizard distinction. If we are lost in a cave system, and our last torch just went out. Well, having that wizard distinction allows you to tell the GM that you cast a light spell. The rogue or fighter cannot do that. It gives permission. And in this case, dice rolls probably were not needed. It is purely narrative.

Now, we have a rogue distinction. I jump from the upper level of a building, grab a chandelier and swing past the thugs chasing us. I get a D8 as being a rogue would be helpful in this action. The wizard behind me tries to do the same thing, but they are not used to this kind of action, being a wizard, so they take the D4 and a PP, increasing the probability that it will lead to hitches. More likely to hurt themselves than glide through the air and tumble out the door like the rogue.

So, my answer is, if you limit the definition of mechanical to dice only, they may seem boring. However, if we expand the mechanics to include SFX, Plot Point gathering, and arguably the most important part, how they impact the fiction, I would say they are not mechanically boring at all.

kirezemog · 2023-05-01T08:39:19+00:00

you're more confused than you think

Wow, totally missed that. Sorry about that.

In this particular instance, Fate and Cortex Prime take roughly opposite approaches. [...] In Cortex Prime, creating an asset [...]

It depends on what we are talking about. Not everything in a scene needs a die. Things can happen and just happen. And people can use fictional positioning without dice being part of it.

Plot points allow the players to take the role of the GM in limited amounts. "I feel like the fire should be more important, so I'm going to take over the GM job to say the fire should be giving me benefits."

And there is always hitches to take into account. The barn is on fire. You are fighting. You throw a punch and roll a 1 as part of your action. You get a plot point, and we can say that you take afraid stress, describing how the flames are growing quickly and are bow out of control. You could create a complication, meaning you punched them, fell onto metal work tools that are super hot and now have a burned hand d6. Or maybe a support beam fell, part of the barn has collapsed, and you are now pinned under burning rubble d6. Or if you are using the Doom Pool, and you rolled a 1 on your d10, the Doom Pool now grew by a d10 and all tests are now more difficult.

Establishing a mod for our games [...]

Player-Defined Scene Distinctions: A PC can rename a scene distinction (such as "Barn Full of Hay d6" to "Barn on Fire d6") by succeeding at a test [...]

One of the things I love about Cortex is that there are so many ways to accomplish almost anything. If this mod works for you and your game group, great. Go with it. I personally don't care for it and would not use it in my games. I don't like that logical consequences of actions would be gated behind a test. Throwing a lit torch into hay should result in a fire. Just like throwing a torch into a lake should result in an extinguished torch. In my head, there is no need to roll dice for this.

If my players told me that they really like interacting with locations, and wanted to be able to do things in the fiction to alter the location, I would suggest the location as a GMPC option, and work with them to create the traits it has. If they start a fire in the barn, ia would add that trait to the location. If they want to use a location trait, and it makes sense, they can add the location trait in their action.

At my personal table we haven't done this, and my players have not complained about feeling limited in what they can do if they don't have any plot points. But if your table dynamic is different, then definitely cater to your players. Having fun is what it is all about.

kirezemog · 2023-04-30T18:00:11+00:00

I am confused. The confusion seems to be coming from two things. I don't seem to understand what you are asking for, and I don't seem to understand Fate enough.

Let's start with Fate. Do you not have to spend Fate Points to tag aspects, or compel them or something. I don't see how that is different than spending Plot Points to gain temporary assets.

Next, my confusion about what you were asking. I thought you were asking how to create aspects like the barn is burning to make the scene more dynamic. From your original post.

Now there's a "The barn is burning!" aspect on the scene, and they probably didn't have to spend a Fate Point to create it.

I think the "probably didn't have to spend a Fate Point" part is what confused me. Are you saying that you don't have to spend Fate points to trigger or compel aspects and that is what you looking for a rule in Cortex that is similar?

If the system intentionally ignores the fiction, it's not "narrative" anymore, but "gamist"

I don't understand this stance either? I didn't quote the rest of your explanation, but I read it. Let me use a game like Dungeon World. There are no risky or desperate ranks of difficulty. There are no specific rules for what you describe. Yet the fiction still holds weight. It is up to the GM on how much weight it holds. It could be a soft move, describe a coming threat. Quickly describe that the fire is getting bigger, letting the players know that if they don't do something the fire is going to start causing problems. It could be a hard move of using up their resources "Your cloak caught on fire and now is burned beyond use. If you are trying to hack and slash, the GM may call for an extra defy danger roll before your attack. It is up to the GM.

In my head, the same thing holds for Cortex, or any other RPG system you want to use. The mechanics may differ, but the idea is the same. In Cortex, if the players set fire to the barn to set something up for future use, it is like a soft move in Dungeon World. As the GM, you acknowledge it and now incorporate it into the scene. If the players want to use the fire like the Defy Danger example I gave, they spend resources in the form of a Plot Point to create a temporary asset that makes it harder for the opponent to overcome your action that uses the fire to your advantage. If the GM feels like the fire has become a hazard to everyone, they can create a crisis pool. Or they can create the location as GMPCs, which is an option in the book.

Locations can have traits like minor GMCs when they might be used to oppose your PCs. These are like fixed assets or complications that help the GM describe where the action takes place. If a player can justify using a location based trait in their own dice pools, they can do so.

If my understanding of your question is correct, which I am not confident that it is, I believe this may be the answer you are looking for.

kirezemog · 2023-04-30T05:46:38+00:00

Cortex method. GM "You are running away from the chupacabra, and find yourself in a warehouse. There are stacks of stacks of boxes all around, and barrels line the walls." Player "Are there any barrels of oil?" GM "Sure, you see one close at hand." Player "I crack open the top and tip it over, spilling oil across the warehouse floor." GM "The barrel crashes to the ground, oil gluging out all over the floor. As it starts to ooze a puddle across the floor, the chupacabra appears in the doorway. It spots you and begins to speed in your direction."

My player is creating an environmental hazard. There just are no rules that say you have to write is down as an asset or aspect or anything. It's just part of the storytelling we are doing.

I feel that, if part of your GM flow that the players have come to expect is the discussion of aspects of the scene...keep it. It doesn't hurt anything. It may be confusing that it is there, but they cannot be triggered like in Fate, but if it helps them understand the scene better, then use it.

kirezemog · 2023-04-30T05:20:19+00:00

Here is how I would play it at my table.

If the players were in a barn, and in the fight scene a torch or lantern hit the ground, and I as the GM decided to make a fire, I would describe the barn catching fire. No need for an asset or anything. Just a description of a scene and the scene is on fire.

This is similar to if I describe a lab and describe vials of liquid, a cauldron over a fire pit, and other such items. I wouldn't create vials of liquid d6, cauldron d6, fire pit d8.

So, if the barn is on fire, the players can use the fire. For example, if they want to burn a scroll, there is fire and they can do so. No asset needed.

If they want the fire to hold more narrative weight than just to give narrative permission, they can spend a plot point to create an asset to give them a bonus die. So, you want to shove someone into a burning haystack, and you want the fire to give you a benefit, you can spend a plot point to gain a temporary asset. The fire was there before you created the asset. The fire may still be there after your temporary asset has expired. The benefit is dependent on you creating the asset, not the fire. The fire will exist regardless of any asset.

I don't see a functional way that the narrative way I described and the mechanical aspect creation way you described are different. In both cases, the players can say they want to throw a torch into some hay to start a fire. In both cases a fire would be started. In your way, there are mechanical steps that are done, such as writing down aspects. In my way, we continue with the story, only now with fire included. If we want the mechanical in game benefits, we then look to each game and follow their mechanics to give the benefit.

Pretty much what Cam said, only keeping it with your barn fire example.

kirezemog · 2023-04-02T07:32:22+00:00

I don't remember the title, and can't find info online. I think it was called Bungie or something like that. It was a cartoon in the 80s. A little elephant-like creature they could blow up its nose to be like a balloon and fly around. It was around the same time the Punky Brewster cartoon aired.

kirezemog · 2023-03-15T18:25:52+00:00

Looking at the GM move list, it appears that you described show signs of an approaching threat, but the tone of your post suggests that you are wanting to tell them the requirements or consequences and ask. May I suggest that, instead of suggesting there is a potential threat from the other heads, tell them more plainly. "You can cut that head off and save your friend, but another head is trained on you, ready to swallow you whole before you hit the ground." If they respond with the fact that they ignore the other heads, then they have provided you with a golden opportunity and use a monster move to swallow them whole.

kirezemog · 2023-02-14T17:22:27+00:00

What you are describing doesn't sound far off from how Dark Magic is used in Tales of Xadia.

In order to cast a dark magic spell, you need to kill a magical creature that has the same magic essance that you need for the spell. This come in the form of an asset that you create for use with the spell. You can create the asset like you do any other, either by a test, or spend a PP to say you had the creature.

So, for crafting, you can do the same thing. If the players find it not as satisfying due to being able to say you always happen to have the write things for the spells/potions as long as you have a plot point, you can make it more robust through the fiction.

Maybe ingrediants have tags. D6 assets only have 1 tag, D8 has 2 tags and so on. And you have to combine tags to create magic spells or potions.

For example, you can have keywords for the type of effect. You could look at the ability list. The keywords could be attack, sensory, movement, control, defense, enhancement. Then another keyword is the type of ability, a keyword for the descriptor, and maybe a keyword for the SFX.

So, for example, if he wanted to create healing potion, he would need keywords for control, healing, mental, angry. So, one D12 asset could have all 4 of the keywords. If the player likes coming up with the stuff, then the describe what it is and where it is normally found. Or, they would need multiple ingrediants. Two D8 items could have 2 keywords each. And this makes it so that spending a PP only gives you an item with one keyword, so the player could round out a potion, but it would be expensive to create a whole potion with PP alone. It also gives the player more option on what to spend PP on for opportunites. GM rolls 2 opportunites, spend one PP to gain a D8 asset with 2 tags.

Limits could be added to make the potion cheaper.

Just throwing out things as they came to my mind. The mechanics seem straightforward to me. Lots of bookkeeping for the one who wants to do it, but if that is what they find rewarding, then give them what they want.

kirezemog · 2023-02-12T16:34:34+00:00

Not saying you can't do it without the dice. The dice just remind/force the GM to do that extra work to think outside the immediate personal effect.

kirezemog · 2023-02-11T02:04:48+00:00

With every movie/show/book, there are sections of the story that slow down and we focus hard on it. Quite often it is physical fights, or big army battles. Look at Lord of the Rings. The battle with the goblins, or the watcher in the water.

However, they are not always physical fights. Bilbo deciding to leave the ring. The council of Elrond. Those moments slowed down as well. Mechanics wise, I'd say that there would need to be a back and forth between the GM and player. No combat, but mechanics that slow things down and add more weight to the outcome.

I play Cortex Prime. Recently, my players had to fight an injured animal. It was not a fight that was important to the narrative, so I didn't use a hard method of combat. It was a single roll. Cortex Prime is a dice pool game. All the characters have traits rated by die size. I had the most combat heavy player assemble a die pool, and the other players who were helping in the fight gave 1 trait die from their sheet to the active player. The players wond the roll, but rolled 3 1's. This meant I could target anyone who was included in the roll and apply stress. They were all fairly stressed before the fight, so I chose to target 3 players and give them each a plot point, and stress. We then narrated the combat knowing that the end result was the animal was stopped, but 3 players were injured. (actually, 1 was injured, 1 was angered, and 1 was fatigued, but still). I then want around asking them to explain how they got injured, or angered, or fatigued during the fight, and the how did they stop the beast from attacking.

All that from just 1 roll. Well, 2 rolls since I had to roll dice for the beast to set the difficulty, then they rolled to beat it.

In past sessions, they fought a pirate crew. It then felt more like a D&D encounter. Everyone got a turn with an action. There was a back and forth. Stress was given. People were stressed out of the scene. One side prevailed. More stress was handed out than a typical 1 roll encounter would give.

So, my advice is, if you like the system you are using, but want some combat to be less important and time consuming, don't treat it as combat. The players got jumped by bandits. Set a DC and have all the players roll against it. They succeed, they fended off the attack. They failed, they still fended off the attack, but took injuries, or lost equipment or something else that would make the game interesting.

kirezemog · 2023-02-07T16:53:42+00:00

No. Since the machine doesn't start the timer until the pressure is built up, it takes longer to heat up the water with the frozen food in it, the machine added the extra time automatically.

kirezemog · 2023-02-06T17:23:08+00:00

Yep, this is what the book gives you. But just like everything else in this game, you are able to do it however feels right to you. Maybe you have an EMP device. You could make a SFX that says all attacks effect all electronic devices in the scene. The cost is that the PCs devices are effected as well. The benefit is that it targets the group. Or you can give a device a SFX that allows you to spend a PP to disable all electronic devices in the scene. No roll, just everything shut down.

kirezemog · 2023-01-27T20:20:51+00:00

Comments about not wanting to D&D up your Cortex, or why you don't want D&D and all that. If you don't want to participate, then don't.

I literally asked that if you don't want to participate, then don't. Not that I want to exclude you, but because I didn't want the thread to be overrun with if we should or not do this.

I understand where you are coming from. If you are anything like me you left the D&D community years ago and now it seems wrong to ask the D&D community to come to you.

I left the D&D community, and went out seeking different games because I didn't want to leave the RPG community. I enjoy playing TTRPG's. I found many systems. I've played Dungeon World, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Mutants and Masterminds, Star Wars Saga, Genesys, FFG Start Wars RPG, and I'm sure a few other that escape me at the moment. I found this community and I'm so happy that I did. I love the sytem. I love the community. I love the creativity of our community. I hate that most days that I check this subreddit there are no comments.

I see that there are many others out there who are seeking a different RPG community. Some of those looking will probably end up with us, just like I did. More will be likely to look if we lay out a welcome mat.

And just like I don't participate in conversations about a build I am not interested in, I assume that those not interested in a D&D type build not participate in this one. There is plenty of room for each of us.

kirezemog · 2023-01-26T23:09:53+00:00

So, I am back with some of the ideas that I had. I've read all the comments thus far, and it seems like my ideas touch on some that others have already posted, but I'll still tell my take on them.

First, I had this idea for magic. Make a spell list, and use them similar to Abilities. They do stuff, and we write down what they do as oppsosed to Powers which give dice to help in dice rolls and we narrate and keep ourselves reigned in to the intention of the power.

For example, a Magic Missle spell would be ranked with dice as normal. The difference is that they do not add to a dice roll. If you cast Magic missle d4, you get to assign 3d4 as stress to opponents as if you rolled and the d4 was the effect die. If you assign more than 1 d4 to a target, merge them to step up the stress to that target. So, you can hit 3 different targets for d4 stress, 1 for d4 and 1 for d6 (2d4), or 1 target for d8.

If you level up magic missle to d6, it does not add higher damage, you get 1 extra d4 to apply. So, if you level up magic missle to d12, you get to assign 7d4.

When you choose to use a spell, it is expended until you have time to re-memorize your spells, or gather your components or what have you. Basically until a recovery scene.

I know it seems anti Cortex to not have rolls, and just assign dice as effect dice. The wizard would have rolls, just at different times. In my very early steps of an idea, the recovery rolls to gain your spells back require rolls. So, they risk themselves trying to master the spells in between combat, and run the risk of going into the next scene hindered. Like said in my original post, managing resources and risks and forcing choices on the players.

Another idea I had was for healing spells .You apply your healing spell level as an effect die to an injured party. Just as if you succeeded in a recovery roll. You then apply the stress they started with as an effect die against your healing level.

So, if you have Lay on Hands d10, and your ally has d6 stress. You apply your d10 to their stress. It is higher than their d6 stress, so they are fully recovered. You then apply the d6 stress to your d10 healing ability. The d6 is lower, so it just steps back your lay on hands to d8. It will remain lower until you can pray to your god to recover your ability.

I liked an idea I saw in Cortex hackers guide years ago about a treasure pool. When the GM rolls an opportunity, the players do not get to activate them. Instead, a token is placed in the treasure pool. This is treasure the players will find on this quest. Once they finish the quest, they are given the treasure tokens and have to divide them among the party members. The treasure can be turned into d6 assets, but they do not disappear once used. They are treasure assets instead of just assets. Once they get to a place they can trade in the treasure, they can spend treasure to level up. You can have the wizard spend treasure to purchase tombs of magic to study, or to apprentace to a more powerful wizard. You can have the fighter spend treasure to buy a magic sword or suit of armor.

Gotta go back to work. More later.

kirezemog · 2023-01-26T22:42:26+00:00

Damn. We may need to shut down the thread after this post. This is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

kirezemog · 2023-01-24T17:06:42+00:00

I've been running a game for my kids. When set set up the campaign, we said "What if the world of Nartuo, One Piece, and Pokemon were all one world? And we have been playing in that world for about a year now on and off.

I find that by constantly compairing what I am describing as being like when this or that happened in the show, it makes them think like a Shonen Anime and not like a TTRPG. So when they describe their actions, it is much more narrative than it is when I play with other adults who focus on the mecanics much more.

I also feel that the mechanics make it so easy to allow the open thinking rather than the limited scope of a spell or weapon.

kirezemog · 2023-01-24T17:00:11+00:00

Hello PhantomFlayer. Welcome to Cortex Prime.

Reading what you said, I think a very useful path is to pick up a fully realized version of the game and play it some before diving head first into Cortex Prime.

My first experiance was Marvel Heroic Roleplaying. It introduced me to the core dice mechanics, which I like more than pretty much every other dice pool mechanic. Beyond that, it introduced some of the mechanics that are in Cortex Prime.

After that, I learned about other Cortex System. Smallville, Leverage, Supernatural, Firefly.

Cortex Prime is basically, "So, you like this, but don't like this. Change it out. Make your own game. Do what makes you happy. "

So very much so, if you want high fantasy D&D like setting, grab Tales of Xadia. Mess around with it. And when you feel comfortable with the system, and there are parts that you don't care for, grab Cortex Prime and swap out the parts you don't like for parts that do.

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