Overview

Also, I started writing up some examples from a game I'm running. It's over here, but it's locked. Any questions or comments, please post them here. I'll answer/explain here, then try to update that thread with the answers so the examples are all together.

To me that's the fun, watching your character concept evolve through Pathways with the other players, watching them become attached to the world, NPCs, other players. Character creation IS worldbuilding and vice versa. It's so integrated you end up making a character that fits specifically into this world and is inextricably tied to it and the other PCs. I can't imagine any of my Cortex Drama characters playing in other games. Magic in this game could be as simple as a Distinction called "Witchcraft" with some definitions of what it means to be a witch, and specific SFX showing how your witchcraft will affect dice mechanics. One of my favorite mechanics for this is to add an SFX that allows you to use ANY power (to simulate casting a spell for whatever effect you want) but to do so you have to add a d10 to the Trouble Pool (the pool of dice the GM gets to use against you throughout the session), which means that sure, you can do anything, but then later, there will be dramatic repercussions... magic comes with a price just think about what kind of steampunk/weird west character you want to play... really until we get going, there's not much else to do, and I'm happy to help with the mechanics as we go. I assume a learning curve, but once you get it, it's really pretty simple.

I'm starting this as a new thread to keep it separate from the interested check. I'm hoping these examples from a game I'm still running on another site will give people an idea of how the game works and what to expect from playing it. Game Setup/Background This game was originally setup as a love triangle between 3 people in the future - a young woman in an arranged marriage, her future husband, and her secret lover. The future husband and lover are best friends. To escape and be together, the lover and woman plan to travel back in time, and the future husband pursues them. Garbage about how time travel works for this game To add an element of confusion and mystery to the game, we decided that only your mind can time travel and you steal a body back in time. They arrive in the past with amnesia, in bodies that are not their own. It is left to the will of the dice to determine which character is which. The players are playing their new selves in the past, letting this new character dynamic drive their interactions, and slowly unlocking their memories over time. Will they still love who they loved before they left, or will this new situation and the lives they live until they remember who they were change how they see each other? We rolled randomly to see who arrived first, and details about the new bodies they took. There is at least 1 gender swapped character since the future characters were 1 female, 2 males, and in the past it's 1 male and 2 females. They may have all been swapped. Derek was the first to arrive, male, aged early 20s, and through shady means he acquired money and seemed to thrive on exploiting others. He owns an auto body shop, runs a cam girl site, and secretly owns a drug lab. Elizabeth was the next to arrive, 2 years later, female, aged 16. She was put into foster care and taken in by Mrs. Bennett. She hung around the auto body shop for a couple years and when she became 18 she started being a cam girl on Derek's site. Nyssa arrived 3 years later, female, aged 18. Her amnesia is strong, and she is also put into foster care, taken in my Mrs. Bennett. The game starts when Nyssa arrives. Pathways Setup Here's part of the Pathways chart. Notice how there are two arrows between each of the main characters, and how they point in opposite directions. The arrow pointing from one character to another defines their relationship from the originating characters' perspective. For instance, the arrow pointing from Elizabeth to Derek says "I hate that he knows how to turn me on." That's how Elizabeth feels about Derek. This is rich with implication - Derek can turn her on. He knows how to push her buttons. But she hates that fact, which might imply her feelings for Derek may not be overall positive. The arrow pointing from Derek to Elizabeth says "loves my forceful ways" which is also filled with implications. On the surface, it tells is that Elizabeth is more submissive to a forceful Derek. It also implies an ego for Derek, but noticeably it doesn't show much in the way of genuine emotion from him toward her. She may just be a plaything to him. We don't know from this statement, but it feels like something fun to explore. These Relationship statements help to define the emotional stakes and action of the game. Based on those relationship definitions, I can assume that Elizabeth's player wants to have Derek turn her character on, and I can assume Derek can and probably will. It gives me as the GM ideas for scenes to setup to test theses characters, giving Derek chances to turn her on and her chances to despise that it works, or even try to resist. It gives us a potentially uncomfortable non-con situation that I'll have to be careful running to make sure we're not crossing any lines. The whole Pathways map is convoluted and crazy. I'll paste it later. Character Sheets There are a lot of details on the sheets that might seem confusing or daunting. I'll paste a couple sheets in here and then show how a scene plays out using their stats. The basic trait sets used in this game are: Values, Relationships, Distinctions, and then secondary traits for Assets (locations, extras, signature items, etc.) Every time a player rolls for their character they will always use 1 Value and 1 Relationship to build the dice pool. Sometimes a 3rd die can be rolled from Distinctions, Extras, or Locations if the player can make a case for it and the GM agrees it is relevant. More dice can be rolled by paying a plot point to add them. No matter how many dice are rolled, you only ever add 2 results for your total, unless you spend a plot point to add an additional die result. Nyssa Elizabeth With those two characters established, I'll make my next post showing how a scene plays out between them, when dice are rolled (far less often than in most games), and how and why different mechanics are engaged. I'm locking this topic for now to keep posts here specific to examples, but please ask any questions in the interest thread and I'll make sure to make clarifications here for future reference.

Oh god... OH GOD I MISSED ALOT! uh... where the hell do i even start? I opened a spoiler and on my phone it doubled the page size?... *overstimulated noises* For this whats like... the first things i should think about as someone really interested but whos life hit a busy period?

This is a good list.

Magic is actually pretty common in any sort of "Pulp" genre like Steampunk and westerns just more lowkey. Witches with mysterious works, magical societies, mystic power sources, the obvious inhumans and the like. Could fit in easy but plans and group decisions. I'm so excited for the possibility of this that I'm just de-facto building up my image choices for any sort of character that might fit in.

I see. So it's left to be seen still what the setting will actually be. I will be watching for the time being. I still like the idea of a Wild Arms theme (I mean, cow girls with fancy gun skills). I didn't have many but I could probably find something fun with this. But for now, yeah. I will be checking to see what is really decided. A lot of this is pretty new to me and the kind of character I might be allowed to use might differ. :)

We play in whatever world we decide when we start setting up the game. There may or may not be magic. I'd lean away from typical gamified fantasy magic, but really it's up to everyone playing to decide together.

So a Wild Arms type character would work. Minus the magic I suppose, assuming these stories are based on realistic rules. I have a few engineers as well, for some reason. One of the rare times I may have to pick a human if I decided to roleplay, at least as far as I understood this. But yeah, according to what I've seen of some games and movies, I can tell on that side what you're really going for with this.

I can provide a sort of tropey character list for the genres. Keep in mind, this list is not exhaustive. A mashup of two or more is always fun, too. Also keep in mind this isn't a traditional d20 tracking hit points fighting things trying to survive kind of game. A schoolmarm is just as valid as a Sky Pirate, and will have just as much mechanical impact on the story. Steampunk Character Tropes the Mad Scientist/Inventor, often eccentric and responsible for technological breakthroughs the Gentleman/Lady Adventurer, bored with society and eager to explore the Sky Pirate, a roguish individual who travels the skies the Automaton, a steam-powered mechanical being that can question human nature the Dandy/Femme Fatale, charming individuals who use their wit and looks to achieve goals the Engineer or "Wrench Wench", a capable mechanic or engineer. the Explorer, driven by a desire to discover new lands and experiences, they embody the spirit of exploration the Gadeteer Genius, they specialize in creating a vast array of intricate and often anachronistic gadgets the Gentleman Thief, a sophisticated criminal, often from the upper class, who uses his cunning and refined manners to commit daring heists the Spirited Young Lady, an independent and strong-willed female character who defies societal norms and often takes on roles or adventures not typical for women of the era the Gear-Ranger, a rough gunman equipped with steam-powered technology and bulletproof armor, representing a blend of frontier and mechanical elements the Street Preacher, a character who spreads a message, often related to the discovery of new technology or a unique interpretation of faith in the new mechanical world Western/Wild West Character Tropes the Lone Gunfighter/Drifter, a wandering hero, often a gunslinger or reluctant lawman, who lives by a personal code the Lawman, a character who upholds justice, either as a corrupt official or a righteous figure the Cowboy, a central figure defined by rugged individualism and self-reliance on the vast frontier the Prospector/Forty-Niner, a classic "old coot" searching for gold, often portrayed as a miner the Hanging Judge, an imposing and authoritative figure who presides over frontier justice the Bounty Hunter, a mercenary who hunts outlaws for a reward the Snake Oil Salesman, a charlatan or peddler of fake remedies the Hooker with a Heart of Gold, a saloon prostitute who reveals an inner goodness the Schoolmarm, a gentle, virtuous teacher often present in frontier towns the Preacher Man, a religious figure who brings spiritual guidance to the lawless West the Trapper/Mountain Man, a skilled outdoorsman and solitary figure of the untamed wilderness the Chinese Laborer/Launderer, represents the diverse immigrant communities that helped build the West the Noble Savage, a stereotypical image of a wise and dignified Native American the Savage Indian, an archetype of the barbaric, uncivilized Native American the Magical Native American, a mystical Native American character who serves as a guide or imparts wisdom. the Outlaw, maybe a cattle rustler, train robber, or bandito, the outlaw lives by taking from others the Arms Dealer, a wealthy man who sells guns to whoever can afford it the Cattle Baron or Railroad Baron, a wealthy figure who has made money by buying up all the land and now owns all grazing land, or by being a owner/president or majority stockholder in a large successful railroad the Professional Gambler, who makes their money playing cards or games of chance, often seen as a cheat the Army Scout / Cavalry Officer / Remnant Soldier, often a scout for hire, or an active duty officer in the military. Remnant soldiers are former confederate soldiers trying to survive on the frontier

Just so we are clear, you can check my spiritist in my albums. She is a sort of tabletop "class" character with a name so she doesn't have any real details to her except, well, the class she has and what specialty she can use. She is basically like choosing a DND class and making a character out of it. I made a character out of her. THAT IS, as long as it fits the fantasy setting. If the setting is something else, I'll switch. I wasn't exactly thinking about the setting when I made that comment, just a wish to do something with her. I didn't exactly take a look or made myself aware of what setting you're going for. Edit: After reading the main post, yeah, I think she might not fit that setting. I don't think I have a single character that does either. The mix between the themes shown might not fit any possible character I might make. Although, the mix of wild west/steampunk/weird science would basically be Wild Arms for me. Cowboys and ancient machines, etc. Reading the rest of the post doesn't do better to tell me what kind of character should exist in such world except for a possible Bioshock themed character. But yeah, never really delved in that kind of thing before. It's my bad for not reading well.

Thanks for being letting me know. Enjoy the other game!

João Franco

i'd like to pull myself out of the game, i already started a diffrent game with some diffrent people and i don't want to enivtable overwhelm myself by taking on more games then i can handle long term.

I might do a degree of that. But it will also at least somewhat depend on who I’m playing with and what they do (especially whether it is a man or woman. I’m open to playing both, but it could be influenced by who I am with and their characters).

By all means, come up with a concept that fits the original short description. Just keep it vague and... concept-y. You could end up connected to a weird organization, or your father could be the big bad guy, or it might work out that another PC fits as your sibling... The best thing to do for this is to embrace the #1 improv rule: "Yes, and..." meaning when someone says, "what if your character is my characters' brother?", instead of saying, "nah," try saying, "Yes, and... our father is the maniac turning people into zombies!" or something like that. "Yes, and..." is super powerful for improv, makes everyone's contributions integral parts of the whole, and lets you keep building atop each other instead of shooting each other down. Obviously, if someone tries to impose an element that's just way outside of what you imagined for your character, then nix it. But I find that it's a lot more fun and forces more creativity to "yes, and..." most ideas.

That is one of the more interesting points, I still have to read more on. Keep me from thinking too much about a character ahead of time. Figure out if there is anything that I should consider before that whole process begins, but keep it to the little bit that might be encouraged to pre-decide.

I would caution using pre-existing characters. While we go through Pathways, other players have a bit of leeway over connecting your character to locations, items, NPCs, etc or connecting them to you. So too detailed of an existing character might be problematic, but just general concepts might work, as long as you don't mind adapting it to the world/game we create. Oh, and I have no idea what the max is. I'm going to give it a few more days to make sure anyone interested has a chance, then we'll see what shakes out.

https://www.donbisdorf.com/cortex/players/ListenYokelBreath/ Found this on a basic search but don't know how specific you might need it but it can set up a room and we can see other rolls.

I haven't figure out how to do rolling yet. I'll find a site that will work for Cortex dice, or maybe I'll build my own Or we could do that, which I might opt for because the only price of failure is giving yourself more ability to advance in the future.

I'm able to bow out and spectate if need be or, if @IsabellaRose wants, I can be GM's assistant to keep it to the 8-10 player count.

Based on the 3-5 Isabella originally suggested, I think we are getting around the max for 2 games, but maybe a little more. See what she thinks. Will have to see too if everyone is still committed by the time all the information is given and set up is done, then figure out how to split people up (I have several people I would like to be with, but that is something for Isabella and the group to figure out).

So how many max people can join? I still have that spiritist character I wanted to use somewhere and it seems like the old board game attempt I tried to do didn't go further than just a few posts. As I mentioned in another club I think, I'd still be interested to see how and where this is going for the sake of the experience, I suppose? Plus Spiritist. She's anxiously waiting for a spot.

We use a trust model. Since Miro doesn't offer a die roller that I can see, I suspect @IsabellaRose will have us roll it how we want. Use random.org, a die roller from another site or your phone - hell, get your dice bag out and rattle the bones on the kitchen table. Cortex is fiction forward, it's about creating drama, so the "price of failure" is someone else decides what cool shit happens. But cool shit always happens. Sometimes it's just as much fun to be Tom as Jerry...

Miro looks like a pretty neat way to keep track of things or build it out. I've never used it before but it looks like a good way to reference things. I am curious how the rolling will be handled myself but I imagine the players will need to make sure to keep track of any changes as a group effort. Cortex, at least in the ones I played, did rely on constant communication which I'm good with. Kept notes and all that.