BESM vs Cortex Prime
Compare BESM and Cortex Prime side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| BESM | Cortex Prime | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Character Building, Cinematic, Heroic, Pulp Action, Anime | Narrative, Modular, Collaborative, Toolkit, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Tag-Based |
| Core Mechanic | Tri-Stat System: three Stats (Body, Mind, Soul) plus point-buy Attributes, Defects, and Skills built from a Character Point budget. Roll 2d6 + relevant Stat or Combat Value vs. a Target Number. Edges and Obstacles add or remove dice. Eight power levels scale from Sub-Human to Godlike. | Assemble a dice pool from trait sets (attributes, skills, relationships, etc.) rated d4–d12. Roll the pool, keep the two highest for your total vs. opposition, then choose an Effect Die from the remainder to determine magnitude. Plot Points let players add dice, activate abilities, or alter the narrative. Every mechanical element is a swappable mod. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d4–d12 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | Proprietary (Tri-Stat) | Cortex Creator License |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Dyskami Publishing | Dire Wolf Digital |
| Year | 2019 | 2020 |
| Best For | Groups who want to play anime and manga-inspired adventures in any genre: from magical girls and mecha pilots to demon hunters and high school detectives. | GMs who want to build a custom system from modular parts: homebrew designers, genre-mixers, and groups tired of forcing their stories into a pre-built framework. |
| Highlights | Highly flexible point-buy system can model any anime concept, free primer available, scalable power levels from slice-of-life to cosmic | Highly modular: 18+ mods for core rules alone, clear writing with worked examples, Plot Point economy creates dynamic give-and-take, powered well-known licensed games (Marvel Heroic, Firefly, Leverage) |
| Considerations | Point-buy character creation can overwhelm newcomers, balance depends heavily on GM oversight, anime-focused tone may not suit all groups, dense attribute list requires bookkeeping | Not playable out of the box: requires significant GM assembly, steep learning curve to understand which mods fit your game, every roll involves choosing which dice to keep plus an Effect Die which slows resolution |