Reddit reviews Smallville Roleplaying Game

Cortex Plus - You roll what you say, or can, different incarnations have different "Skill" names. In Smallville if you want to punch a dude you pick up your Justice, Love of Lois Lane, Kent Farm (where you are at), add in your Insecurity, and Super Strength plus your opponents Distracted by a Cute Girl condition. Roll them, take the highest, and compare, if successful pick a large die from your pool and narrate what it represents.

(you roll standard dice, also have special abilities, and most rolls are not this complicated)

The game system comes in a lot different flavors now...

Firefly (Space Drama Adventure)

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/128012/Firefly-RolePlaying-Game-Corebook?src=hottest_filtered&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

Marvel Heroic (comic book super hero action)

https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Heroic-Roleplaying-Civil-Premium/dp/1936685175/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483024737&sr=8-2&keywords=marvel+heroic

Smallville (soap opera with super heroes)

https://www.amazon.com/Smallville-Roleplaying-Game-Cam-Banks/dp/1931567891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483024847&sr=8-1&keywords=smallville+rpg

Leverage (espionage caper action)

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/85727/Leverage-Roleplaying-Game?src=hottest_filtered&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

Fantasy (generic'ish)

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149178/Fantasy-Roleplaying-A-Registry-of-Rules?src=newest&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

SciFi (generic'ish)

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186453/Worlds-of-Fantasy-Chronicles-of-the-Solar-Empire?sorttest=true&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

Hackers Guide (actually a core rule book, but kinda hard to use without prior knowledge)

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/117419/Cortex-Plus-Hackers-Guide?sorttest=true&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

Zombie Apocalypse

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185660/Head-Shot-Zombie-Apocalypse-Action-Roleplaying?sorttest=true&filters=0_0_45522_0_0

In the Firefly implementation of Cortex Plus, the closest "health equivalent" would be Complications. When bad things happen to your character, a Complication is created (or increased in severity).

The Complication can be anything from "Stabbed in the Gut" to "Angry at Michelle" to "Hunted by the Police" to "Afraid of Political Implications." When the Complication is relevant, the GM adds the value of the Complication (between d4 and d12) to rolls against the player when the complication is relevant. When a Complication escalates above a d12, the character is taken out of the scene.

In all versions of Cortex Plus, the characters can gang up on the big baddie.

I would highly recommend looking into the Smallville RPG, which is the implementation of Cortex Plus Dramatic, the flavor of Cortex Plus most focused on the interpersonal relationships of the PCs. Just because Clark Kent can shoot laser beams out of his eyes doesn't mean he's more capable of dealing with the complex social dramas of his life than Lois Lane or Lex Luthor.

Anima Prime and Anima Beyond Fantasy are not related in the slightest.

Anima Prime (the core rules are free and there is an awesome pre-packaged demo). The game is freaking awesome, but remember you are supposed to play BAMF's from the start so "advancement" is kinda minimal, which can annoy some players.

http://www.animaprimerpg.com/main/

Anima Beyond Fantasy RPG

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/anima-beyond-fantasy-rpg/

Also, if you like the idea of Exalted, but not a fan of rules. There is an AWESOME complete rules hack of the original Quickstart Rules they launched the game with that fix everything, and run smooth. http://aakin.net/wiki/doku.php?id=qwixalted_-_jarvisified

There is also a great Exalted hack for Cortex Plus. http://blackwingedheaven.deviantart.com/art/Exalted-Blood-and-Fire-Version-1-3-442414903

Cortex Plus (smallville) also is perfect for any sort of "drama" based anime. It is also just an amazing game all around. http://www.amazon.com/Smallville-Roleplaying-Game-Cam-Banks/dp/1931567891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457704346&sr=8-1&keywords=smallville+rpg

It comes in a few different flavors already.

Firefly

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/128012/Firefly-RolePlaying-Game-Corebook

Hackers Guide (all the rules for the different incarnations in one book, misses the "flavor" though)

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/117419/Cortex-Plus-Hackers-Guide?filters=0_0_44283_0_0

Leverage (Con Job / Spy Thriller)

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?keywords=leverage&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=

Marvel Heroic

http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Heroic-Roleplay-Basic-Game/dp/1936685167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396635239&sr=8-1&keywords=marvel+heroic

Smallville

http://www.amazon.com/Smallville-Roleplaying-Game-Cam-Banks/dp/1931567891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396635264&sr=8-1&keywords=smallville+rpg

Dragon Brigade

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/93882/Dragon-Brigade-Opening-Salvo

Just so you're aware, Cortex Prime is still in development. If you can find a copy of the Smallville RPG or the Cortex Plus Hackers Guide, you'll have the basis for Cortex Plus Drama. (I'd have to check my files on the Hackers Guide -- that book's last half was all SRD for at least two flavors of Cortex Plus. I think Drama was in there, but it's been years since I've looked that those files.) Right now, I'd go with Smallville and hack from there until Cortex Prime is completed.

Oh cool. Thanks. I'll definitely check out Cortex Plus & Smallville.

Is this it? I didn't see anything about the cortex system and I'd had to shell out $30 on the wrong book.