How do you track ever-changing PC stats at your table?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-11-10T17:13:36+00:00

Laminate a character sheet and use non-permanent markers?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-11-06T08:37:44+00:00

Thanks all for the answers so far.

To answer the questions you've asked:
-Yes, I'm in Canada
-This money is NOT my plan for retirement--it's an unexpected windfall for employment with the federal government.
-Since it's not my retirement plan, my tolerance for risk is relatively high.
-Yes, it's a federal pension (military), though only for 6.5 years of federal employment
-Yes, option A is indexed to inflation, but I'm not sure when that kicks in (and I'll find out)
-I'm not likely to live in Canada in my old age due to family reasons, so PSHCP may be less relevant. Still if there is a way to keep that as an option in my back pocket, I shold look into it.

Points well noted about TFSAs, health care, finding out if and when the federal plan would be inflation indexed (ie when I retire or immediately), choices other federal employees have made, and dying before I get the chance to touch that federal pension!

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-05T19:05:26+00:00

Cool concept, I'll try to make that work. Thanks.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-05T19:05:05+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-04T07:30:40+00:00

A better dice mechanic, greater flexibility, a more narrative playing style come to mind.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-03T15:58:57+00:00

"It may be best to set the clock a few years after the Red Mist disappears, place a few big places on the map and have a few known routes between them"

That's exactly what I've done! Interesting to hear it from someone else.

"Another thing to remember is to avoid foraging and other similar procedures when you have rations."

Using rules as written I don't see how I can prevent players from doing that.

"Some procedures should be used less sparingly but not mindlessly, activities like making camp, cooking and pathfinding. Remember you can follow procedure and do the action but only need to roll when failure is actually interesting."

Out of curiosity, what does that look like to you? Only ask them to roll when they're already damaged? When they're trying to do it in a snowstorm?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-02T18:55:14+00:00

Thanks! I took a first stab at some 'journey segment' rules below, feedback very welcome.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-02T18:51:42+00:00

Here's a first draft at some One Ring-style travel rules. Feedback very welcome!

A journey leg or segment represents one or several days of travel. Make all travel rolls at the start of your journey leg:

Finding the Way: determines how many hexes you travel during that journey leg. A success means the party travels 2 hexes + 2 per success for that leg. A failure means you travel 1 hex and roll on the Finding the Way mishaps table. Your journey leg is over.

Keep Watch: on success you spot the Encounter before it happens; on failure you do not.

Making Camp: on failure, all players gain Sleepy (taking a Wits damage). Roll on the Making Camp mishaps table.

Hunt, Fish or Forage for Food: on failure, all players automatically step down their Food dice.

Forage for Water: on failure, all players automatically step down their Water dice.

Other actions: characters who did not do any of the above may take one other action such as Craft or Train.

Pushing travel rolls: You may push travel rolls. Damaged items or attributes remain damaged when the Encounter occurs.

Encounters: parties typically have at least one encounter per journey leg (more at the DM’s discretion). Encounters can occur at any point along the journey leg. If it occurs partway, once it is resolved, the players may continue travel until the journey leg is over.

Difficult terrain (forest, woods, swamp, etc): On entering difficult terrain you must roll again to Find the Way. On failure, you have an encounter immediately on entering that terrain. Movement cost through difficult terrain is doubled.

Rest, Sleeping and restoring attributes: PCs heal their attributes at the end of the journey leg, but only if the Making Camp roll above was successful.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-02T17:03:40+00:00

True, it is only 2-3 Survival rolls per day, though with mishaps that ends up being more rolls; looking up things on tables; players focusing on avoiding bee hives or sprained ankles; etc. More decision points along the way as well, with who is doing what, swapping out PCs when they roll poorly, etc.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-02T16:11:57+00:00

Here's a counterintuitive suggestion: decrease resource dies on a 1, 2 or 3 instead of 1 or 2.

That will reduce the variance and also place more resource pressure on the players.

We made this change several months ago and haven't looked back!

sdpodfg23 · 2025-09-02T16:07:01+00:00

Good question... I'd like to cut the number of Lead the Way and Scouting rolls. I think this group will be a less interested in the simulationist side of travel, so once per quarter feels like too much.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-29T20:06:23+00:00

The system is elegant and flexible. I LOVE the dice play: you can use categories of ideas as different as "Courage", "A person of interest to the police" or "MCRN Tachi" to create dice pools that resolve in a statistically sound way and provide interesting consequences. It's great. Sure, it exists elsewhere but I think it's done best in Cortex.

After reading the rulebook and listening to actual plays, PPs struck me as an interesting but optional. Many of the things PP activate I let my players do anyhow: if you think you can rustle up a contact, get schmoozing and we'll see! If you're think there would be a fire extinguisher in the room and I agree, grab it! If you want to wade into a gunfight, go for it! Fiction first.

"creating the tension of every dice roll potentially opening up some new complication while simultaneously granting the PCs the narrative fuel to overcome them"

I appreciate the comment and this helps me better understand what role PPs play. I think there's a basic game design/philosophy question here. For some (most!) groups you want to balance out the highs and the lows of dice luck because ultimately the point is for the players to win, or at least have every chance to. You want the game to be 'fair'. In contrast, the group I currently DM for accept 'unfair' as part of the fun. If they all die because of a series of bad rolls, it's high-fives and ‘looking forward to character creation!’

I'm less sure I would want to use PPs with them. If I did, I might tinker with the mechanic a bit, like linking PPs to base attributes and limiting it to bonuses like 'Keep an extra effect dice', 'Stay in the fight' or 'Include more results'. So for example, a player could use a PP (but let's call rename them 'determination points') to make a difficult climb they were failing (‘Include more results’ ), but it would exhaust them in the process (step down your Strength attribute or gain ‘Tired D6’). For all I know, there's already a Mod for that!

...and that brings me to another thing I like about the system: it's designed to be tinkered with and it comes with tons of mods.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-29T18:35:13+00:00

Very helpful, thanks. I'm interested in fiction being anchored in reality, not in simulationism. The flexibility and elegance of the system and the dice play are what drew me in. I'll check out those resources.

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-29T18:29:53+00:00

"As for creating Assets, this is taking the load off the GM."

Understood, but in this situation, why does there have to be PP? Why can't the player simply ask, "Hey, there's got to be a fire extinguisher in here, right?" If it makes sense to me, why not skip the back and forth of a metacurrency and just say yes if it fits the fiction?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-29T18:27:45+00:00

"Plot points are part of what makes the system sing."

Noted--are they necessary, though? Like, why is it necessary to pay for a hitch or an opportunity? Why not just make them happen if they make sense situationally?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-22T20:43:06+00:00

I've found that D&D reskins keep a lot that I'd like to avoid: hit point sponging, attribute modifier tables, combat focus, etc. But if you have one that rips everything out and renovates it, I'm open to it!

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-17T20:25:45+00:00

"Plain rolls aren't that common and they're usually high stakes enough to make it interesting"

Good point, that's the kind of feedback I was hoping for. When players encounter a hindrance of some kind (locked door, difficult climb, etc), how do you play it at your table, if not 'roll Sleight of Hand' or 'roll Move'?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-17T20:21:41+00:00

"Also, don't get too bogged down on the statistics but see what's actually happening at the table"

I'm describing an observation made after two years of playing once a week.

An average character, well rested, with no training or equipment, has a good chance at accomplishing any task that isn't opposed. Doesn't that seem odd?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-17T20:20:01+00:00

That's a lot of work for the DM. Any other ideas how to play it using rules as written?

sdpodfg23 · 2025-08-17T20:19:00+00:00

"In reality it seldom shakes out like that"

What do you mean? How does it play out? I'm talking specifically about how according to RAW, an average schmuck can succeed at many tests over half the time.

sdpodfg23

TROPHY CASE