Why I Like Cortex+
A little bit ago, I babbled about the things that I like about the FATE system. Today, I’m going to babble on about the things I like about Cortex+.
There are quite a few things about Cortex+ That I like. Here’s the list:
- Dice Pool
- Roll & Keep
- Plot Points
- Fluid Action
- Dice Mean Something
- Easy Difficulties
- All in Your Head
Dice Pool
Let’s face it, who doesn’t like grabbing a handful of dice, and rolling them? A dice pool is a very tactile and visual way of showing how cool your character really is! The more dice I get to roll, the more awesome I feel. Also, the dice pool flows directly into the next point:
Roll & Keep
One thing that I don’t like about some other dice pool systems is that when I’m rolling a bucketful of dice, it takes a long time to add them all up/count successes. With Cortex+, you roll as many dice as you can (depending on the version), but you only add the top two.
You’re still getting the benefits of a dice pool system—rolling lots of dice commensurate with your ability to do what you’re rolling for—but still keeping the math pretty easy. In addition, with rolling more dice than you keep, you have a more steady result. That is to say, it seems to be less swingy.
Plot Points
Plot Points are the meta-game currency…and I use that phrase in a good way! I touched on this with the Fate Point economy in my previous post. The same basic thing applies here.
When you really really really want to succeed, you can! Spend those Plot Points! Remember how we usually roll more dice than we keep? Spend that Plot Point and keep more! Since doing so requires the expenditure of a Plot Point, it’s the exception rather than the rule.
Also, let’s not forget about spending Plot Points for a Useful Detail/Asset. Heck, with Triggers in Smallville and Talents in Leverage, there is no loss of uses for Plot Points!
Fluid Action
Unlike most games out there, you don’t sit around when it’s not your turn. For Cortex+, you’re rolling along with those who are trying to do things to/against you. Action, reaction, rereaction, etc. It allows for more description for each roll instead of the same ‘ol “I attack. I attack. I attack.”
I know that it’s not all that way, but with the escalation of rolling, it feed the action and breeds description. At least, that’s been my experience.
Dice Mean Something
There’s a reason for each die rolled, and a reason for each roll. Each side of the conflict rolls their dice to see what happens. If you roll a 1, something bad happens. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you fail, but a Complication comes up, or things can get more Troublesome.
So even though your GM/Watchtower/Fixer/Storyteller/etc. knows how things are going to go in the big picture, those 1s make each moment a surprise for GM and player alike!
Easy Difficulties
Both current versions of Cortex+ has easy ways of figuring out how difficult it is to do something. If there’s not another character—PC or NPC—it’s easy to know what number you need to beat.
The Trouble Pool in Smallville is a constant reminder to all how crazy the game has gotten. For Leverage, the various Complications fill the same role. In Leverage, however, the Fixer does have a bit more work figuring out the base two dice for the difficulty, but it does give each roll a more personal feel.
All in Your Head
I remember when I started playing RPGs, we didn’t use maps and minis. Most of what happened took place in our heads, and we liked it that way1! I remember many games played with the WEG Star Wars RPG where we didn’t even draw a rough map, we just talked about what we were doing, and how we were trying to do it.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many games that can be done without a map or minis, but it seems to me to be more of an afterthought. Most games, to me, seem to be made for some type of maps. Weapons have ranges, vehicles have a speed in KPH, MPH, feet per second, or what have you.
What about y’all? What are your reasons for liking Cortex+?
1Yes, get off my lawn indeed :p
