Cortex Prime vs Freeform Universal
Compare Cortex Prime and Freeform Universal side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cortex Prime | Freeform Universal | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Narrative, Modular, Collaborative, Toolkit, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Tag-Based | Rules-Light, Narrative, Improvisation, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Toolkit, Player-Only Rolls, Open Source |
| 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. | Roll a d6 and read it as a yes/no answer to a stated question: 6 = yes and (a bonus), 4 = yes, 2 = yes but (a cost), 5 = no but, 3 = no, 1 = no and (it worsens). Each Descriptor, item of Gear, or factor that helps adds a bonus die and you keep the best; each that hinders adds a penalty die and you keep the worst; helping and hindering dice cancel one-for-one. FU Points buy extra dice or re-rolls, and only players roll. |
| Dice | d4–d12 dice pool | d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | Cortex Creator License | CC BY 4.0 |
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Dire Wolf Digital | Peril Planet |
| Year | 2020 | 2020 |
| 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 who want to improvise a story in any genre with almost no prep, and pick-up or one-shot games where character creation needs to take minutes. |
| 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) | Every roll answers a yes/no question on a six-step ladder, so one d6 produces graded outcomes from "yes, and" to "no, and" without separate hit, damage, or opposed rolls. Characters are built from four plain-language Descriptors plus Gear the table reads literally, so any setting plays with no stat conversion. Situational advantage adds bonus or penalty dice that cancel one-for-one and keep the single best or worst result, collapsing all modifiers into one step. |
| 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 | Outcomes hinge on table agreement about whether a Descriptor applies, so play depends on shared interpretation rather than fixed numbers. There is no default combat, health, or damage subsystem, so injuries are tracked as freeform Conditions and lethality is left to the group. Advancement is minimal, so long campaigns give characters little mechanical growth. |