Cortex Prime vs DABaM
Compare Cortex Prime and DABaM side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cortex Prime | DABaM | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Narrative, Modular, Collaborative, Toolkit, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Tag-Based | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Classless, Skill-Based, Narrative, Toolkit, Open Source, One-Shot Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | When an action calls for a Roll, it resolves on a d20 roll-under. The GM names the two Attributes that best fit the action and adds them for the Limit. If only one Attribute applies, its score is doubled instead. A relevant Background adds its score to the Limit, and situational Modifiers raise or lower it. The roll succeeds when the d20 lands at or under the Limit, and missing by three or less can still succeed at a cost. |
| Dice | d4–d12 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | Cortex Creator License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
| Cost | $$ | $ |
| Publisher | Dire Wolf Digital | La Torre de Dimirag |
| Year | 2020 | 2024 |
| Best For | 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. | Groups running convention demos, one-shots, or a first session for players new to tabletop RPGs. It also suits GMs who want a genre-neutral base to adapt to any setting. |
| Highlights | 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) | When a check is needed, one d20 roll-under resolves it by summing the two Attributes that best fit the action, so combat, social, and mental tasks share a single path. Backgrounds replace a fixed skill list with freeform descriptors the player defines, each adding its score to the rolls it applies to. The wound track escalates through named statuses from Beaten to Dying, each cutting the Body score used to resist the next injury. |
| Considerations | 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 | Special abilities such as magic or superpowers are left entirely to the GM to design, as the core rules provide no framework for them. Advancement has no automatic progression, leaving the GM to decide when and what each character improves. The GM must pick which two Attributes and which Modifiers apply to every roll, placing resolution difficulty on GM judgment rather than fixed rules. |