Cortex Steampunk Game 1 OOC Discussion

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

These things happen.

Sounds like a damn busy day.

[IsabellaRose]

A series of them. I'm basically doing 2 jobs.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Ah damn yeah that wouldn't make anything easier at all. Hope it clears up for you.

I hate when that's happens here. Not usually constant but deeply exhausting.

[WickedCadrach]

No worries at all! We'll be here. 

[WickedCadrach]

Quote

Aldert Helsink made sure no one missed it. "What is that bloodsucker doing up there?"

He stood near the side of the hall and pointed, calling all attention that wasn't already focused on fleeing to Alicia. "Look at her. Look at the blood on her hands."

I am concerned 

(also worried about Thane intercepting Jane, but... one crisis at a time)

@MagnificentBastard I'll wait on you here since Edmund has the reaction for this beat. (No rush, just didn't want you waiting on me or anything).

[Chiyako]

I am assuming that he is quite dead and, upon a quick examination, Alicia would determine that there is no way to save him? Even with strange medicinal potions. Otherwise she might attempt to give him one of her own.

[IsabellaRose]

12 hours ago, Chiyako said:

I am assuming that he is quite dead and, upon a quick examination, Alicia would determine that there is no way to save him? Even with strange medicinal potions. Otherwise she might attempt to give him one of her own.

If you want Alicia to have something that might bring him back from beyond, I'm open to seeing what happens, but the intent was that he's dead when he hits the floor. 

Remember though, this is OUR story, not mine, so if you want to try something that changes the direction I intend, it's entirely possible. I encourage players driving the plot!

[Chiyako]

The only thing I could think of would be to utilize Alicia's Alchemical Elixirs & Toxins. However I just noticed that I had reworked it before and her Regeneration is more of a built in thing now due to her weird chemically altered body (but then that could also be waved as her utilizing some injected elixir in the moment).

That said if his throat was gutted as thoroughly as it might sound like then there might not even be a chance for even her scientific prowess to save him, which I'm totally cool with, so I'm willing to swing with that.

[IsabellaRose]

That sounds good. The intent was "he's murdered! plot happens!" 

I just wanted you to have the opportunity to let Alicia do cool things if they sounded like fun things to do :)

[MagnificentBastard]

8 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

OOC: This feels like a perfect opportunity for our first contest.

Edmund is trying to get Aldert to cease point and placing blame on Alicia and assist with the evacuation, calling him out in front of everyone. Aldert wants to cast aspersions and won't be easily swayed.

You could build a dice pool (the most relevant Relationship + the most relevant Value + 1 Distinction, Ability, or Resource you can convincingly apply to the situation, if any) and roll to set the challenge. You would roll all the dice in your pool, then add the 2 highest results for your total (unless they're 1's, you can't add 1's to the total).

Aldert could give in (not likely), or roll. He would need to beat your total to volley the contest back to you. If he does, you roll again trying to beat his total. If he does not, he takes stress.

Let's see I have relationship with Alicia that seems quite relevant, I am claiming authority to tell him what to so Power? And Magical Legacy specifically has Persuasion as an ability assuming you are okay with all of that the roll would be D6+D12+D10. 

That leaves me to my next question. How/where do I roll?

[IsabellaRose]

34 minutes ago, MagnificentBastard said:

That leaves me to my next question. How/where do I roll?

I think I settled on CoyoteCode Dice Roller. Here's all the info:

CoyoteCode Dice Roller link

CoyoteCode Dice Roller help

Quick instructions are:  put in your character name or usnername, list your dice to be rolled using standard 1d12 nomenclature, separate dice with a semicolon, and add what the dice represent in the Notes field. In the example below I'm rolling d12 Relationship, d10 Value, and d6 Distinction. You can just put the Value/Person name and we'll figure out that it's a relationship or value.

Once you click Roll, you'll get results:

You can copy/paste the URL the into your post.

Sure, you can re-roll until you get your desired results - there's no way I can stop that. But keep in mind that in this game, failure doesn't mean death, it just means more challenges and more challenges means more stress which means more character growth at the end of the episode. The more you fail, the more powerful you become... eventually. 

I'm assuming it's pretty straight forward for everyone, but if you have any questions or issues using the dice roller, let me know. I'm going to put the link and these instructions in the Rules thread, too.

[MagnificentBastard]

2 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

I think I settled on CoyoteCode Dice Roller. Here's all the info:

CoyoteCode Dice Roller link

CoyoteCode Dice Roller help

Quick instructions are:  put in your character name or usnername, list your dice to be rolled using standard 1d12 nomenclature, separate dice with a semicolon, and add what the dice represent in the Notes field. In the example below I'm rolling d12 Relationship, d10 Value, and d6 Distinction. You can just put the Value/Person name and we'll figure out that it's a relationship or value.

Once you click Roll, you'll get results:

You can copy/paste the URL the into your post.

Sure, you can re-roll until you get your desired results - there's no way I can stop that. But keep in mind that in this game, failure doesn't mean death, it just means more challenges and more challenges means more stress which means more character growth at the end of the episode. The more you fail, the more powerful you become... eventually. 

I'm assuming it's pretty straight forward for everyone, but if you have any questions or issues using the dice roller, let me know. I'm going to put the link and these instructions in the Rules thread, too.

I assume the the roll I want is good then? I post it here or the roleplay thread?

[WritesNaughtyStories]

As an aside, if you use the same name at Coyote Code - say you character's name - your roll history appears to be stored for some period of time.

Edited January 27 by WritesNaughtyStories

[Chiyako]

I'll probably wait to post for Alicia until after this rolling engagement finishes.

[StarlitSiren]

apologies for my own sloe down but will try to catch up on everything tonight x

[IsabellaRose]

19 hours ago, MagnificentBastard said:

I assume the the roll I want is good then? I post it here or the roleplay thread?

I would put it right in the roleplay thread. You can hide it behind a spoiler tag if you want to make it look clean.

[IsabellaRose]

19 hours ago, MagnificentBastard said:

I assume the the roll I want is good then? 

I forgot to comment on this part, sorry...

TL;DR: unless Edmund wants to cast a spell of some sort, you would only roll your Value + Relationship dice. I don't see a Distinction that would apply otherwise.

 

Detailed explanation:

For the Value, you're looking at the core word, but also at the statement you made. Edmund's view of Power is that "The power of my will is the only power that matters." So yes, we can definitely use that Value. You could have also used Truth, since Aldert is clearly trying to muddle and play with the truth of the situation, and Edmund's Truth value says "Truth exists, lies are invented."

For the Relationship, absolutely Alicia would be the most relevant. Depending on WHY Edmund is stepping in, he could have used another relationship, as well. For instance, if he's stepping in to keep any of Aldert's defamation away from the perception of Kojo's interrupted performance, he could have used Kojo. So it's the intent behind the action that matters when selecting the dice to roll.

For Magical Legacy (which I have listed on my version of your sheet as "Esoteric Sex Magician"), Persuasion is a listed as a connected ability, meaning that if Edmund wants to add the Ability called "Persuasion" to his list of Abilities, he can do so later by simply spending dice out of his growth pool (which is currently empty). So that wouldn't really apply here. Magical Legacy/Esoteric Sex Magician is all about being able to do magic. So if he did want to use any linked abilities (or use his SFX that says "Add a d10 to Trouble to use a Special Effect from an Ability you do not have, connected or not"), he would have to do so using magic and spend a PP to do it. If it was not your intention to use magic, then this ability would not apply.

[MagnificentBastard]

On 28/01/2026 at 07:02, IsabellaRose said:

I forgot to comment on this part, sorry...

TL;DR: unless Edmund wants to cast a spell of some sort, you would only roll your Value + Relationship dice. I don't see a Distinction that would apply otherwise.

 

Detailed explanation:

For the Value, you're looking at the core word, but also at the statement you made. Edmund's view of Power is that "The power of my will is the only power that matters." So yes, we can definitely use that Value. You could have also used Truth, since Aldert is clearly trying to muddle and play with the truth of the situation, and Edmund's Truth value says "Truth exists, lies are invented."

For the Relationship, absolutely Alicia would be the most relevant. Depending on WHY Edmund is stepping in, he could have used another relationship, as well. For instance, if he's stepping in to keep any of Aldert's defamation away from the perception of Kojo's interrupted performance, he could have used Kojo. So it's the intent behind the action that matters when selecting the dice to roll.

For Magical Legacy (which I have listed on my version of your sheet as "Esoteric Sex Magician"), Persuasion is a listed as a connected ability, meaning that if Edmund wants to add the Ability called "Persuasion" to his list of Abilities, he can do so later by simply spending dice out of his growth pool (which is currently empty). So that wouldn't really apply here. Magical Legacy/Esoteric Sex Magician is all about being able to do magic. So if he did want to use any linked abilities (or use his SFX that says "Add a d10 to Trouble to use a Special Effect from an Ability you do not have, connected or not"), he would have to do so using magic and spend a PP to do it. If it was not your intention to use magic, then this ability would not apply.

Here is the roll.
http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=301028

[MagnificentBastard]

On 26/01/2026 at 08:37, WickedCadrach said:

She glanced back with a hot sigh, her nose crinkling as she considered rejoining Jane. Not because she thought it was the better plan. It was purely the idea that in these shoes and this skirt, she'd look as if she was scurrying after Edmund Blackwood like one of his harem. Missy was willing to entertain a great many misconceptions about her character, but that idea found space between the adrenaline of the public murder and the anxiety concerning Lady Montgomery's whereabouts to make her skin crawl beneath her opera gloves. 

"Damn it." Gripping her skirt, Missy plunged ahead, heels stamping the carpet as her shorter strides fought to regain ground she'd lost to hesitation. 

This made me laugh.

[IsabellaRose]

 

15 hours ago, WickedCadrach said:

For Alicia's sake, Missy's going to try to aid Edmund in shutting down Helsink here. I'm not sure how to do that though. If I find it, I'll edit. Otherwise, if someone can let me know in the OOC thread Thanks!

Aiding is the same as starting a challenge - build a dice pool (Value + Relationship + any one relevant Ability for free). Except when Aiding, you give your highest result to the person you're aiding.

The official rules say that you have to declare you're aiding and roll your aid roll before the other player makes their roll. But due to the fact that we're playing online in a forum and not real-time, I'm not going to adhere to that.

Spoiler

AIDING
Occasionally, two or more characters work together to pull off a single difficult feat. Sheriff Steve might be prying the armor plating off an automaton's mechanical innards just in time for Texas Pete to take a shot into the vulnerable inner workings, for instance.

When you wish to help another character, describe what you are doing and roll your pool as normal. You must roll your Aid before the other player makes his roll. Instead of adding two dice, however, take the highest die you roll and hand it over to the player you’re helping out. He may add the die’s value to his result.

 

[IsabellaRose]

I updated the Rules Reference. There's a section called "Rolling Dice, Assembling Dice Pools, Complications, Plot Points, and Contests/Tests" that covers the rules on assembling dice pools, Complications, rolling in Contests and Tests, using Plot Points, Aiding and Interfering in Contests, Inflicting Stress, and I think mechanically pretty much everything we need.

[IsabellaRose]

On 29/01/2026 at 09:52, MagnificentBastard said:

Here is the roll.
http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=301028

...and I re-read the rules and realized that (since Aldert is just an Extra and not a Feature) this is a Test instead of a Contest. So... I was supposed to roll first.

 

A quick "this is how it works" run down for everyone til we all get the hang of the system.

For a Test, the GM rolls the Trouble Pool, adds 2 highest dice together, Player assembles dice pool and rolls it, if player rolls higher, they win, if GM roll is higher, they don't.

 

 

I rolled for Aldert, he got a 9. So your 10 beats his and he'll have to go along. 

http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=301033

 

[MagnificentBastard]

2 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

...and I re-read the rules and realized that (since Aldert is just an Extra and not a Feature) this is a Test instead of a Contest. So... I was supposed to roll first.

 

A quick "this is how it works" run down for everyone til we all get the hang of the system.

For a Test, the GM rolls the Trouble Pool, adds 2 highest dice together, Player assembles dice pool and rolls it, if player rolls higher, they win, if GM roll is higher, they don't.

 

 

I rolled for Aldert, he got a 9. So your 10 beats his and he'll have to go along. 

http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=301033

 

Good that he knows his place

[MagnificentBastard]

@IsabellaRose

Is there any roll/check I can do to figure out if Red Jenny is an apparition? Magic? Fraud?

[IsabellaRose]

In this game you really only roll when the outcome is uncertain. So I'd say write yourself a scene where you Sherlock things up, look around and see if there's any obvious physical evidence one way or another, talk to witnesses, see if there's any details that give you ideas of places to look for further evidence. The most likely scenario is that I give you answers and you find things. Unless there's a good narrative reason to keep things from you I'll just give you info. It's not the kind of game where you have to search every 10 feet for clues and secret doors.

Like right now I'm digging the idea that people suspect Red Jenny might or might not be supernatural, so I'm not going to answer that question for you until you investigate. In your investigations, you have every trick on your character sheet at your disposal, but mostly just play... this system is narrative-driven, not dice-driven. The dice really only come into play during contests between characters. IF your character is good at a thing (like investigating) then they're just good at it and you narrate how they're being a badass investigator and I narrate how that badassery leads them to the clues. 

Checking your sheet, The truth isn't very important to Edmund (d4 Truth), but he's all about Power and Glory, so he could still be investigating, just not to find the Truth, but to find out how he can leverage this situation/individual for his own use. He has TIAL-V at his disposal, but he's been sent away to bring the women to safety. He doesn't have any of the Distinctions that would lend themselves to investigating (Clever, Investigator, Mastermind, Streetwise, etc.) From his sheet his most promising investigative technique would seem to be his magic - he could use any SFX from any ability in the Big List of Abilities by spending a PP and adding d10 to Trouble.

Right now Edmund doesn't know much other than that the lights went out, Jenny appeared when they came back, murdered Silas in view of everyone, then darkness returned, and now she's gone. After speaking to the person who saw her ascend up into darkness, you could use SFX like Telekinesis: "Fly or levitate a short distance. Spend another Plot Point if you want to carry others with you" to head up where she went or Super-Senses: "See through objects to find specific people or objects" if it weren't dark and you had an idea of where to look and what you were looking for...