Jul 2, 2023 5:21 pm
Hello All! I am new to Gamers Plane, but an old hand at PbP GMing. This game is created in response to this thread here.
Introduction:
The city of Ulentor is an important hub within the Lithien Kingdom. As such it has a diverse and active population with merchants, crafters, and guilds. It is here that a unique guild exists. It is a home for the outcasts and unordinary. And it is a guild gainfully employed as it accepts requests that other guilds find too difficult or weird for their tastes. And due to the extraordinary abilities of their members, these tasks are often completed. This guild goes by the name The Misfits.
---
You've always been an outsider to society. Very few interactions could be considered kind or even tolerant, but you have endured. It seems, despite your odd nature, there are powers above that prevent your outright persecution. Still, there are places that are more welcoming and you have found yourself within its walls. This place is called Ulentor. You had heard of this city, but never imagined such a diverse place could exist, or that so many different individuals could freely walk the streets without being singled out. You had heard of a guild that would welcome some of you skills and uniqueness and that is why you have found yourself here. Now you just have to navigate this city and find this guild.
---
Game System:
This game is going to be a 5e inspired Cortex Prime game, so a lot of the terminologies and ideas should have a translation here. The setting is medieval high fantasy with a mix of combat, social, exploration, and puzzle solving. Though, as players, you can opt to take quests that lean one way or another.
Player Expectations:
I am looking for players who enjoy narrative writing and not afraid to lead the story. I would expect IC posts roughly once a day (with weekends being probably lighter on my end) and being at least a paragraph in length. Currently open to any number of players. At the moment, there is no defined end to this game.
Adult Themes:
Characters are outcasts due to some aspect of their being. As such, expect some amount of prejudice against your characters when dealing with some NPCs. Also, I am not adverse to leaning toward realistic damage and pain, but I can pull this back if desired.
Player Experience:
No previous experience with Cortex System is necessary. If any part feels daunting, I am more than happy to help walk any player through the rules. However, I will provide a small primer for those who are completely unfamiliar with the system.
The system can be distilled to three major steps when dealing an impediment:
1. Build and roll your dice pool
2. Add the two highest values
3. Compare this value against an opposed roll or target value.
Success vs. Failure
If your value is higher, you succeed completely.
If your value is higher and you rolled any number of Hitches (1's on any die), you may choose to succeed completely and let the GM decide to add complications by granting you PP or succeed partially.
If your value is lower, you partially succeeded.
If your value is lower and you rolled any number of Hitches, you may choose to succeed partially and let the GM decide to add complications by granting you PP or fail the task.
If you roll all 1's, you fail, get a complication, and do not gain any PP. Such a roll is called a Botch.
Dice used in this system range from d4 to d12.
Every aspect of your character has a corresponding dice value.
Combining aspects is how you build your dice pool (e.g. To lift a heavy object combine Strength, Athletics, and your background as a laborer).
Plot Points (PP) are an important system level resource. There are many ways to gain and spend these. The primary ways of gaining these is when rolling a Hitch or activating a Hinderance SFX. The primary ways to spend these is to create/take control of a narrative aspect or activate a Benefit SFX.
Application:
Respond to this thread with a character concept and backstory. If you are up for it, include a complete character using the following rules below and the template below. Otherwise, we can build your character together in an separate thread.
Attributes:
Available Attribute Arrays:
1. d10,d8,d6,d6,d6,d6
2. d10,d8,d8,d6,d6,d4
3. d8,d8,d8,d6,d6,d6
Other Attributes:
Plot Points: (all characters start with 3)
Wealth: (all character start with 6, which will be reduced by purchasing Gear)
Initiative: Dexterity + Combat + Combat Specialization (Specialization is only included if you are holding a corresponding weapon, this is the only time Combat and Combat Specialization is rolled together. This roll adds all dice together and ignores Hitches.)
Health will be handled by complications tagged "Health". If the complication tries to step up above a d12, the player is considered knocked out and gains a permanent complication tagged "Scar".
Distinctions:
Four Distinctions each start at d8. They each have a Hinderance SFX (treat the associated die as a d4 before adding it to the dice pool to gain a PP) and a Benefit SFX (spend a PP to step-up or double a die in the dice pool).
1. Personality - Who are you? What are your interests? How do you interact with the world and others?
2. Background - Where did you grow-up? Who raised you? What was your childhood like?
3. Professional Experience - What have you been doing before you joined the guild? What skills have you learned to earn a living?
4. Racial Uniqueness - What do you look like? What is you most distinct physical characteristic? What makes people treat you like an outcast?
Benefit List: (non-exhaustive)
Step-up a die for the rest of the scene.
Double the largest die in the dice pool.
Reroll a die after rolling the dice pool.
Step down a complication (cannot effect Scars).
Skills:
Skills are broken down into categories and those are further broken down into specializations. Specializations can be upgraded into Expertise and further into Mastery. Characters can start with only one skill at Expertise.
Each character starts with 10 points to spend in skills.
Untrained skill categories are d4.
One point to become trained in a category which set it to a d6.
One point in a trained category unlocks a Specialization in that category which grants a d8. This can be done multiple times to become specialized in other actions in a skill category.
One point in a Specialization will upgrade it to an Expertise which sets it to a d10.
Skill List: (this is a non-exhaustive list, if you feel like you would like to add something, please let me know)
Athletics
Athletics Specializations: Running, Tumbling, Climbing, Lifting
Combat
Combat Specializations: Shooting, Slashing, Piercing, Smashing, Brawling, Throwing
Crafting
Crafting Specializations: Blacksmithing, Tanning, Woodworking, Tinkering
Knowledge
Knowledge Specializations: Investigating, Understanding, Recording, Recalling
Magic
Magic Specializations: Casting, Enchanting, Summoning
Medicine
Medicine Specializations: Healing, Potion-crafting, Operating
Skullduggery
Skullduggery Specializations: Sneaking, Stealing, Lock-picking
Social
Social Specializations: Performing, Persuading, Deceiving, Commanding
Survival
Survival Specializations: Hunting, Gathering, Cooking, Tracking, Perceiving
Gear:
Characters start with 6 Wealth. All gear has one of the following effect tags: Attack, Defense, Movement, Sensory, Control, Enhancement. Magical Gear gains an additional tag that describes the nature of the magic within it (Fire, Holy, Illusion, etc.) Consumable items will have their amounts tripled. Ammunition is not calculated.
-Normal gear (d6) costs 1 Wealth.
-Fine Gear (d8) costs 2 Wealth.
-Magical Gear (d10) costs 3 Wealth.
Spells and Abilities:
Characters start with two abilities that start at d10. Abilities are powerful and should feel powerful in the narrative. These have two effect tags. Additionally, they will have a weakness tag: Exhaust (needs to recharge after use), Limited (can only be used in specific situations), Unstable (each use after the first will automatically create complications), Draining (the d10 steps down to a d6 with a second use and steps down to a d4 with any subsequent use, recharging only steps the die up one step, needing multiple recharges to become fully powered)
Name:
Attributes:
Strength:
Constitution:
Dexterity:
Intelligence:
Wisdom:
Charisma:
Plot Points:
Wealth:
Initiative:
Distinctions:
Personality:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Background:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Professional Experiance:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Racial Uniqueness:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Skills: (only include trained skills and specializations)
Gear:
Normal item (d6) (effect tag): Description of item.
Fine item (d8) (effect tag, Fine): Description of item.
Magical item (d10) (effect tag, Magical, additional tag): Description of item, including how the additional tag empowers the item.
Spells and Abilities:
Ability Name (effect tag, weakness tag): Description of ability, including how the weakness manifests.
This game is friendly to everyone.
Introduction:
The city of Ulentor is an important hub within the Lithien Kingdom. As such it has a diverse and active population with merchants, crafters, and guilds. It is here that a unique guild exists. It is a home for the outcasts and unordinary. And it is a guild gainfully employed as it accepts requests that other guilds find too difficult or weird for their tastes. And due to the extraordinary abilities of their members, these tasks are often completed. This guild goes by the name The Misfits.
---
You've always been an outsider to society. Very few interactions could be considered kind or even tolerant, but you have endured. It seems, despite your odd nature, there are powers above that prevent your outright persecution. Still, there are places that are more welcoming and you have found yourself within its walls. This place is called Ulentor. You had heard of this city, but never imagined such a diverse place could exist, or that so many different individuals could freely walk the streets without being singled out. You had heard of a guild that would welcome some of you skills and uniqueness and that is why you have found yourself here. Now you just have to navigate this city and find this guild.
---
Game System:
This game is going to be a 5e inspired Cortex Prime game, so a lot of the terminologies and ideas should have a translation here. The setting is medieval high fantasy with a mix of combat, social, exploration, and puzzle solving. Though, as players, you can opt to take quests that lean one way or another.
Player Expectations:
I am looking for players who enjoy narrative writing and not afraid to lead the story. I would expect IC posts roughly once a day (with weekends being probably lighter on my end) and being at least a paragraph in length. Currently open to any number of players. At the moment, there is no defined end to this game.
Adult Themes:
Characters are outcasts due to some aspect of their being. As such, expect some amount of prejudice against your characters when dealing with some NPCs. Also, I am not adverse to leaning toward realistic damage and pain, but I can pull this back if desired.
Player Experience:
No previous experience with Cortex System is necessary. If any part feels daunting, I am more than happy to help walk any player through the rules. However, I will provide a small primer for those who are completely unfamiliar with the system.
[ +- ] Cortex Prime Basics
The system can be distilled to three major steps when dealing an impediment:
1. Build and roll your dice pool
2. Add the two highest values
3. Compare this value against an opposed roll or target value.
Success vs. Failure
If your value is higher, you succeed completely.
If your value is higher and you rolled any number of Hitches (1's on any die), you may choose to succeed completely and let the GM decide to add complications by granting you PP or succeed partially.
If your value is lower, you partially succeeded.
If your value is lower and you rolled any number of Hitches, you may choose to succeed partially and let the GM decide to add complications by granting you PP or fail the task.
If you roll all 1's, you fail, get a complication, and do not gain any PP. Such a roll is called a Botch.
Dice used in this system range from d4 to d12.
Every aspect of your character has a corresponding dice value.
Combining aspects is how you build your dice pool (e.g. To lift a heavy object combine Strength, Athletics, and your background as a laborer).
Plot Points (PP) are an important system level resource. There are many ways to gain and spend these. The primary ways of gaining these is when rolling a Hitch or activating a Hinderance SFX. The primary ways to spend these is to create/take control of a narrative aspect or activate a Benefit SFX.
Respond to this thread with a character concept and backstory. If you are up for it, include a complete character using the following rules below and the template below. Otherwise, we can build your character together in an separate thread.
[ +- ] Character Creation Rules
Attributes:
Available Attribute Arrays:
1. d10,d8,d6,d6,d6,d6
2. d10,d8,d8,d6,d6,d4
3. d8,d8,d8,d6,d6,d6
Other Attributes:
Plot Points: (all characters start with 3)
Wealth: (all character start with 6, which will be reduced by purchasing Gear)
Initiative: Dexterity + Combat + Combat Specialization (Specialization is only included if you are holding a corresponding weapon, this is the only time Combat and Combat Specialization is rolled together. This roll adds all dice together and ignores Hitches.)
Health will be handled by complications tagged "Health". If the complication tries to step up above a d12, the player is considered knocked out and gains a permanent complication tagged "Scar".
Distinctions:
Four Distinctions each start at d8. They each have a Hinderance SFX (treat the associated die as a d4 before adding it to the dice pool to gain a PP) and a Benefit SFX (spend a PP to step-up or double a die in the dice pool).
1. Personality - Who are you? What are your interests? How do you interact with the world and others?
2. Background - Where did you grow-up? Who raised you? What was your childhood like?
3. Professional Experience - What have you been doing before you joined the guild? What skills have you learned to earn a living?
4. Racial Uniqueness - What do you look like? What is you most distinct physical characteristic? What makes people treat you like an outcast?
Benefit List: (non-exhaustive)
Step-up a die for the rest of the scene.
Double the largest die in the dice pool.
Reroll a die after rolling the dice pool.
Step down a complication (cannot effect Scars).
Skills:
Skills are broken down into categories and those are further broken down into specializations. Specializations can be upgraded into Expertise and further into Mastery. Characters can start with only one skill at Expertise.
Each character starts with 10 points to spend in skills.
Untrained skill categories are d4.
One point to become trained in a category which set it to a d6.
One point in a trained category unlocks a Specialization in that category which grants a d8. This can be done multiple times to become specialized in other actions in a skill category.
One point in a Specialization will upgrade it to an Expertise which sets it to a d10.
Skill List: (this is a non-exhaustive list, if you feel like you would like to add something, please let me know)
Athletics
Athletics Specializations: Running, Tumbling, Climbing, Lifting
Combat
Combat Specializations: Shooting, Slashing, Piercing, Smashing, Brawling, Throwing
Crafting
Crafting Specializations: Blacksmithing, Tanning, Woodworking, Tinkering
Knowledge
Knowledge Specializations: Investigating, Understanding, Recording, Recalling
Magic
Magic Specializations: Casting, Enchanting, Summoning
Medicine
Medicine Specializations: Healing, Potion-crafting, Operating
Skullduggery
Skullduggery Specializations: Sneaking, Stealing, Lock-picking
Social
Social Specializations: Performing, Persuading, Deceiving, Commanding
Survival
Survival Specializations: Hunting, Gathering, Cooking, Tracking, Perceiving
Gear:
Characters start with 6 Wealth. All gear has one of the following effect tags: Attack, Defense, Movement, Sensory, Control, Enhancement. Magical Gear gains an additional tag that describes the nature of the magic within it (Fire, Holy, Illusion, etc.) Consumable items will have their amounts tripled. Ammunition is not calculated.
-Normal gear (d6) costs 1 Wealth.
-Fine Gear (d8) costs 2 Wealth.
-Magical Gear (d10) costs 3 Wealth.
Spells and Abilities:
Characters start with two abilities that start at d10. Abilities are powerful and should feel powerful in the narrative. These have two effect tags. Additionally, they will have a weakness tag: Exhaust (needs to recharge after use), Limited (can only be used in specific situations), Unstable (each use after the first will automatically create complications), Draining (the d10 steps down to a d6 with a second use and steps down to a d4 with any subsequent use, recharging only steps the die up one step, needing multiple recharges to become fully powered)
[ +- ] Character Template
Name:
Attributes:
Strength:
Constitution:
Dexterity:
Intelligence:
Wisdom:
Charisma:
Plot Points:
Wealth:
Initiative:
Distinctions:
Personality:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Background:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Professional Experiance:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Racial Uniqueness:
-Hinderance: Gain a PP and treat this as a d4
-Benefit: Spend a PP to ...
Skills: (only include trained skills and specializations)
Gear:
Normal item (d6) (effect tag): Description of item.
Fine item (d8) (effect tag, Fine): Description of item.
Magical item (d10) (effect tag, Magical, additional tag): Description of item, including how the additional tag empowers the item.
Spells and Abilities:
Ability Name (effect tag, weakness tag): Description of ability, including how the weakness manifests.
Last edited July 3, 2023 5:21 pm