I’m a contributing writer for one of the Cortex Prime Kickstarter spotlight settings. I did the gig, got paid. It’s done; I’d do it again. That is to say, I’m not a Cortex Prime staffer or on the Fandom payroll. There’s a lot of heat out there about the current license Fandom has put forth for Cortex. I’m not a lawyer. I hear there’s some activity to address the community license language. As a gig worker before it was cool, I gotta say I’ve seen a lot of licenses and contracts. You must understand what you’re in for and what you’re okay with and walk away from the rest. YMMV.

Anyhoo — I’m gonna take a swing at this community license for Cortex Prime. I’ll revisit my earlier musings of a West Marches game using Cortex Prime. I’ll run playtests over in my Discord and post my thoughts and stuff right here. I’ve been a fan of the Cortex games since the days of Marvel Heroic RPG and The Firefly RPG. I’m also a fan of the DIY culture of BX games. My BX games are mostly West Marches-styled sessions, large groups, and fast, lethal combat. Can I get that feel in Cortex Prime?!

Why not just play BX? Because some of us can’t help but tinker for that sweet spot of gaming experience. I want my peanut butter WITH my chocolate! From BX I like the differences in the XP rate of advancement in classes. I like the emergent play that comes from the simplicity of the stats and BX culture. I like how lethal combat can be with a few small, low-friction tweaks. I LOVE the sandbox. Cortex brings descriptive elements with mechanical weight; distinctions, for example. I like milestones as an advancement cycle for this project. There’s the Action Order initiative, which is tactical and fun, and the DOOM POOL, ‘nuff said.

On setting, well I’m inspired by The Dying Earth stories, The Dread Empire series by Glen Cook, UVG, Symbaroum, and for sure Crawford’s Worlds without Number tome.

So a series is made! Grab your Cortex rules and let’s dig in!