Supernatural...the one that started the addiction.

[MidnightBlue]

It is all the fault of this book.

Because of the Supernatural RPG, I've dropped a small fortune (and received more in return) to MWP for darn near all of their Cortex/Cortex Plus books.

My wife is a HUGE fan of those two pretty boys and while she considers herself a geek/fangirl, she isn't a gaming girl. I took a chance to meld my hobbies with my greatest love (my wife...not gaming...I swear). While we've talked about the Supernatural RPG...and I'm pretty sure there are drool stains on some of the pictures of the brothers...we haven't actually played.

Still, it has been a great bonding piece and introduced me to the world of story-driven Cortex.


Anyone playing/running Supernatural games?

What is your most memorable hunt?

[Connallmac]

Supernatural influences a lot of the games I run. However, I primarily run them in Savage Worlds. I have purchased pdf versions of all the MWP Supernatural books to use for source material.

[MidnightBlue]

Supernatural influences a lot of the games I run. However, I primarily run them in Savage Worlds. I have purchased pdf versions of all the MWP Supernatural books to use for source material.

Yeah...I was disappointed to see the Atlas didn't make it out of production. It's a shame.

But I guess it probably isn't something I couldn't come up with on my own (just less entertaining and eloquent) by using a Supernatural Episode guide and a US atlas.

[Kiera]

Anyone playing/running Supernatural games?

What is your most memorable hunt?

I played in a SN game mimicking the Season 5 storyline. Some of our group's fondest memories include:

In a battle with a demon and his hellhound, our strong/brawler character grapples it by the neck and succeeds on his ridiculous check to throw it down a well.

A battle where the demon stranded each of us in our own personal hell reality.

An encounter where a witch brought dolls to life, leading to the battle cry of "Kill it! Kill it with FIRE!"

Good times. SN is my favorite rpg now.

[Lord Nikon]

I played in a game at Gencon, that involved Crowley trying to raise Cthulhu -- was a fun day, the game was in 3 parts and I was very lucky to get into all three parts. The system is a blast to play, and I am sorry the Blue Cortex Rules games got the shaft with the plus system.

[Cam]

To clarify, when new licenses were picked up we developed a new version of the rules for each game, rather than use the same rules set for each. Cortex Plus is not itself a rules engine, but more like a design language with which we create all-new games with. Smallville, Leverage, Dragon Brigade, and Marvel are all quite different even though they share a lot in common with each other (and with older Cortex games).

Cheers,
Cam

[Lord Nikon]

To clarify, when new licenses were picked up we developed a new version of the rules for each game, rather than use the same rules set for each. Cortex Plus is not itself a rules engine, but more like a design language with which we create all-new games with. Smallville, Leverage, Dragon Brigade, and Marvel are all quite different even though they share a lot in common with each other (and with older Cortex games).

Cheers,
Cam

Yes I understand, but why drop support on a system that worked, that all your fans loved. Forget Supernatural or the rest. Why not take the blue book and make up your own fantasy campaign world with some minor adjustments?

[siebharinn]

To clarify, when new licenses were picked up we developed a new version of the rules for each game, rather than use the same rules set for each. Cortex Plus is not itself a rules engine, but more like a design language with which we create all-new games with. Smallville, Leverage, Dragon Brigade, and Marvel are all quite different even though they share a lot in common with each other (and with older Cortex games).

Cam, can you elaborate on this a little? I'm a software developer, and I definitely see the value of having a toolbox of components with which to build things. But what is the value of "branding" with that toolbox? Putting the same Cortex+ icon on the games implies a system, not a design language.

Are there any plans to ever release the "Hacking Cortex+" book that was under development?

[Zuldan]

i was hoping to cross games. one of the things i love about gurps, and the unisystem. however the rules tend to bog things down a bit. so when i saw the cortex system and saw a demo of it. i though it was grand.

now the truth. i am heavily disappointed that while the system has many thing similar to them, None as far as i can tell are compatible on a "user friendly level" meaning anyone and everyone could adapt the rules. I didnt figure it out until i got the basic Cortex rule book and the MHR. i figured out MHR fairly well. still a few snags but i can run it very confidently. Basic Cortex as i am calling it, not so much.

one of the main things that drew me to the system was when i saw smallville a DC franchise, and Marvel. i thought my dreams have getting a rule set that uses hero ideas from both comics has came true. well i dont dream anymore.

dont get me wrong though MHR is a really good game. my group and i enjoy it very much. even so one of our players who never ran a game before use the MHR and has done well. but the time draws near our group wants to do medieval fantasy setting and thus means Gurps comes back out of storage.

[Cam]

Folks have been hacking Cortex Plus games since we first put out the Leverage Quickstart Job. That's what inspired the Cortex Plus Hacker's Guide, which we still hope to put out (when we find a spare moment...) There are sufficient common ideas and concepts that we've seen them blended together in various ways. All very exciting, to say the least.

Dave Chalker, our assistant developer on Annihilation Event, hacked MHR recently for fantasy. Race and Class are basically Power Sets, and D&D Skills become Specialties. It works really well, actually. I played it at PAX East this year. It's inspired a lot of people to work more on a few MHR hacks on the same lines.

The point of the generic Blue Book Cortex rules were that gamers could come up with their own settings and use the rules for them. This is the same thing people have been doing since Serenity came out, and it's still happening - there are people running campaigns using the Classic Cortex rules and a variation on one or more of the Cortex Plus games. As to why we haven't made any generic stuff for these games? It's because we've established ourselves as doing licensed adaptations. You won't see a generic fantasy game sourcebook from us, for example, but you'll see games like Dragon Brigade (based on one of Margaret's worlds) or some other fantasy license.

Cheers,
Cam