Cortex+ Sword & Sorcery Part One

I have a deep and abiding love of both the Sword & Sorcery and Sword & Planet
genres. Both genres got their starts back in the days of the pulp magazines, when
adventure fiction for its own sake was a fresh idea. The successors of early pulp
heroes like the Shadow and Doc Savage are modern comic book heroes, so what
better tool to emulate the astounding action and vivid intensity of those other
pulps, featuring swordsmen and sorcerers, than the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
game?
In order to emulate the lower-powered (usually) but still fantastic worlds of Sword &
Sorcery, we will need to hack character creation a little. MHR uses Affiliation dice to
represent how a hero goes about his tasks, either alone or with others. But Sword &
Sorcery heroes are most frequently found alone, or at most in pairs. Well need
another way to represent the how of an action.
Replace Affiliation with Means:
There are three Means ways for a hero to achieve his goals. Like Affiliations, only
one Means die can be a part of a roll, whichever is most appropriate to the action at
hand.
Steel whether its the steel in your fist or the steel in your nerves, if you are using
violence or the threat of violence to get what you want, roll Steel.
Guile if you misrepresent your intentions, yourself, or something else to get what
you want, roll Guile.
Lore if knowledge, secret or open, sacred or profane, is the means to your own
personal ends, roll Lore.
Each Means starts at a d6. Step up any of your Means dice a total of three times.
(This gives starting possibilities of d6, d8, d10; d8, d8, d8; or d6, d6, d12, in any
order.)
Distinctions
Characters have Distinctions as normal. Even more than in the standard game,
Distinctions for Sword and Sorcery should be atmospheric, describing the characters
relationship with his world.
Dice Scaling
Most Sword & Sorcery heroes are not truly superhuman, and often fight with only
their weapons and their wits, not with special powers. To account for this, we need
to adjust the scale of the dice:
d6 -- typical human levels of capability.
d8 -- ability at or near the maximum capability of a human being.

d10 a supernatural level of performance. (For explicitly supernatural effects, even

a d6 is startlingly impressive representing the ability to do something that no
typical human can do at all.)
d12 truly unearthly levels of performance; the provenance of Gods, demons, and
creatures from Beyond Mortal Ken.
For weapons, armor, and other objects with a die rating:
d6 -- baseline for daggers, short swords, arrows, leather or chainmail armor,
serviceable lockpicks, etc.
d8 -- heavier or sharper blades, axes or other massive weapons, flaming arrows,
metal plate armor, and other highly effective tools or devices.
d10 magical or ensorcelled items, the supernatural, or arcane technology.
d12 -- legendary artifacts; items that have either been touched by Gods or demons,
or which are so sophisticated in their operation that they are treated with awe and
reverence if not outright fear.
Power Sets
The two most common Power Sets in our Sword & Sorcery hack will be based
around (obviously) swords or other weapons, and Sorcery or other forms of magic.
But Power Sets can also be constructed based on the dice scales above to represent
exotic equipment, esoteric training, or skills specific to an individual and not shared
generally across all followers of a particular career.
For example: Practically anyone can fight with a sword, but the Grey Mousers skill
at counterattacking and disarming an opponent are the stuff of legend. His
companion Fafhrds occasional berserk fury is something not shared by every
barbarian in Nehwon.
Weapons, armor, and other personal items can easily be grouped into a Power Set
with the limit Gear, and SFX appropriate to their uses. The choice of SFX can really
help differentiate and make unique otherwise mundane Power Sets.
For the GM
Power Sets for signature villains and monstrous creatures are easier to create, since
it is common in tales of this type for the bad guys to have supernatural abilities far
outside the grasp of the heroes. Giant serpents? Villains who transform into giant
serpents? Hordes of near-human marauders? Writhing masses of shadow tentacles?
Teleporting, telepathic priests of a mysterious goddess? Any ability from the MHR
rules is fair game for the GMs use in creating such opposition.
Stay tuned for part two, where we look at Careers and Milestones for our Sword &
Sorcery heroes!

Cortex+ Sword & Sorcery Part Two

Here in Part Two, we will continue to hack Marvel Heroic Roleplaying into a Sword
& Sorcery game.
MHRs Specialties are very broad and very modern in their scope. We will need
something both narrower and more in line with the quasi-historical setting of most
Sword & Sorcery fiction.
Replace Specialties with Careers:
The following list of Careers should cover just about anything that a Sword &
Sorcery or Sword & Planet hero might need. (These have been shamelessly adapted
from the excellent rpg Barbarians of Lemuria.)
Alchemist, Assassin, Blacksmith, Dancer, Barbarian, Beggar, Farmer,
Gladiator, Hunter, Mariner, Merchant, Mercenary, Minstrel, Noble,
Physician, Pirate, Priest, Servant, Scholar, Sky Pilot, Slave, Soldier,
Sorcerer, Thief, Torturer
In some settings, not all Careers will apply or be available. Sky Pilot is not
appropriate for Robert E. Howards Hyborean Age, but its perfect for Edgar Rice
Burroughs Barsoom where Mariner, for obvious reasons, would not be available.
Heroes Careers should be listed in chronological order. You have four steps of dice to
spend on Careers. Each new Career begins as a d6, costing 1 step. (This gives
starting possibilities of d6, d6, d6, d6; d6, d6, d8; d8, d8; d6, d10; or d12, in any
order.) On a character sheet, this could be written as Barbarian d6, Thief d6, Expert
Mercenary d8; or Priest d6, Master Sorcerer d10.
Players will sometimes attempt to perform actions suitable for a Career not on their
characters sheet. Being a hero means pushing your limits, after all. When that
happens, roll a d4 for the Career. Unlike using a Distinction, this does not earn the
player a Plot Point. Any 1s on the roll especially if rolled on that specific d4
should represent the unfortunate side-effects of lack of experience in the Career.
Treat Careers as Specialties in all other respects. Resources based on d6 Careers are
only d4s players should draw upon them with caution! Allow Resources to be
stepped up during play in the same way that an Asset or Complication may be
stepped up.
For the GM
Non-humanoid monsters and other hell-spawned entities dont have Careers, as
such. Instead, give them Roles like Predator, Lurker, Guardian, or Fiend. These can

variously stand in for MHRs Combat, Stealth, and Menace Specialties. (Or stick with
the originals; either way works just fine.)
Milestones
Finally, we come to Milestones. These are treated normally, according to the MHR
rules. In this hack, they are perhaps even more important in shaping the characters
identity, since many characters will have fewer and less distinctive Power Set
abilities.
GMs are encouraged to create a Milestone relating to the plotline of each adventure
or adventure hook they create, allowing PCs to become entangled with the plots
and subplots of the campaign as well as their own personal subplots. If there is a
princess that needs rescuing, a Milestone concerning her rescuers relationship to
her is a possibility. If the villain of the tale is a corrupter, offering power to those
who would take it, build a Milestone around that temptation. If the adventure hook
involves a journey to a lost city or abandoned temple, include a Milestone that pays
off for exploration and triggering hazards!
Experience
Milestones generate experience, which means that we need ways to spend that
experience.
In addition to all the normal ways of spending Experience (except those related to
Affiliations and Specialties) we will need a couple of new ones.
You can spend 10 XP to
add a new Career at d6, or step up an existing Career.
You can spend 15 XP to
step up a Means die (to a limit of d12).
GMs may wish to impose tighter limits on stepping up Means to fit certain campaign
settings.
Hacking the Tone
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying has a default tone that matches the four-color comics
upon which it is based. Thats a good fit for most Sword & Planet stories, but much
of Sword & Sorcery fiction veers darker. Some of it, like Fritz Leibers Nehwon, is
both cynical and satirical. Other tales are sensual and bloody. Remember that the
rules mechanics are tone-agnostic: A Complication or Asset is mechanically what it
is; the tone is in how you describe it. In this hack, a floor isnt just slippery; its
drenched in clotting gore or marble, polished to a mirror gleam. The beautiful and
devious villainess doesnt just have you entangled; you are snared with silken
cords or perhaps enraptured by her mesmeric gaze. Genre emulation demands
the use of purple prose in descriptions!

Stay tuned for part three, which will include some worked-out examples, using
famous characters from Sword & Sorcery literature.

Cortex+ Sword & Sorcery Part Three

In Part Three, lets look at some of the seminal characters of the genre, as described
by our modified rules.
Conan the Cimmerian
Means:
Steel d10 Guile d8 Lore d6
Distinctions:
Cimmerian Wanderer
Quick to laughter, and to anger
Pantherish Grace
Power Sets:
Cimmerian Heritage
Mighty Thews d8 Wolf-like Stamina d8
SFX: Hardy. Spend 1 PP to ignore Stress, Trauma, or Complications inflicted by cold
or exposure to the elements.
SFX: Second Wind. Before taking an action including a Cimmerian Heritage power,
you may move your Physical Stress die to the Doom pool, and step up the
Cimmerian Heritage power by +1 for this action.
Limit: An Insult is a Challenge. Gain 1 PP and take d6 Emotional Stress when
civilized men casually offer insult to you or to an ally, especially when couched in
flowery language.
Limit: Distrust of Cities. Gain 1 PP if you step up Mental Stress or Complications
related to being in a city or urban area.
Belongings
Weapon d8 Armor d6
SFX: Dangerous. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action, and step down the
largest die in the pool by -1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
Limit: Gear. Shutdown any Belongings power and gain 1 PP. Take an action vs. the
Doom pool to recover gear.
Careers:
Barbarian d6, Thief d6, Pirate d6, Mercenary d6
Milestones:
Savage Superiority

1 XP When you display or express ignorance of civilized customs (essentially,

when you activate Distrust of Cities).
3 XP When a victory shows your barbaric heritage to be superior to civilized
ways, or when you take Mental or Emotional Stress from being defeated by
civilized means.
10XP When you convince a superior civilized opponent that savagery is
mankinds natural state, or when you choose civilized life and settle in a city (even
as its king).
King by Your Own Hand
1 XP When you fight for or against the forces of a nations Sovereign.
3 XP When you lead men into battle, or when your political cunning brings you
success.
10XP When you seize a throne by force, or when you decline the offer of a crown.
Elric of Melibone
Means:
Steel d6 Guile d6 Lore d12
Distinctions:
Albino
Accursed Exile
Chosen of Arioch
Power Sets:
Melnibonean Demonology
Sorcery d8
SFX: Eldritch Power. Step up or double any Melnibonean Demonology power for one
action. If the action fails, add a die to the Doom pool equal to the powers normal
rating.
SFX: Bound Demons. Add a d6 and step up your effect die by +1 when creating
Assets.
Limit: Growing Dread. Both 1 and 2 on your dice count as Opportunities when using
Melnibonean Demonology.
Stormbringer
Rune Sword d12
SFX: Dangerous. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action, and step down the
largest die in the pool by -1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
SFX: Soul Drain. For each step of Physical Stress done by Stormbringer, step down
the wielders Physical Stress by -1 (to a minimum of 0), and add a d6 to the Doom
Pool.
Limit: Inescapable. Change Stormbringer into a Complication and gain 1 PP. Add a
d6 to the Doom pool or remove the Complication to recover the power.

Careers:
Expert Noble d8, Sorcerer d6, Mercenary d6
Milestones:
Slave of Arioch
1 XP When you beseech Arioch for some boon.
3 XP When you accept a gift bestowed upon you by Arioch, or when you
accomplish a task set for you by Arioch.
10XP When you defy Arioch, and go to war with Chaos.
The Search for Tanelorn
1 XP When you make inquiries about the legend of the Eternal City.
3 XP When you abandon something you value in order to pursue your quest for
the Eternal City.
10XP When you become a protector of Tanelorn, or when you see Tanelorn
destroyed.
And, just because its topical:
John Carter, Warlord of Mars
Means:
Steel d10 Guile d8 Lore d6
Distinctions:
Man of Two Worlds
Cavalry Captain
Woola, faithful Martian hound
Power Sets:
Born of Earth
Leaping d8
Enhanced Strength d8 Enhanced Reflexes d8
SFX: Focus. If a pool includes a Born of Earth power, you may replace two dice of
equal size with one die +1 step larger.
Limit: Shutdown Born of Earth and gain 1 PP when you leave Barsooms lower
gravity. Recover by returning to Barsoom.
Tools of a Warrior
Sword d8 Radium Pistol d10 Warriors Harness d6
SFX: Dangerous. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action, and step down the
largest die in the pool by -1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
Limit: Gear. Shutdown any Tools of a Warrior power and gain 1 PP. Take an action vs.
the Doom pool to recover gear.
Limit: Honor. Shutdown Radium Pistol and gain 1 PP when facing a sword-wielding
foe.

Careers:
Farmer d6, Expert Soldier d8, Noble d6
Milestones:
A Cause to Fight For
1 XP When you declare yourself a neutral party in a conflict.
3 XP When you deny a plea for assistance, or decline to join someones cause.
10XP When you take up arms to fight for a cause, or when you walk away from a
cause for good.
A Princess of Mars
1 XP When you are in a scene with Deja Thoris.
3 XP When you risk your life to aid Deja Thoris, or through your actions put her in
danger.
10XP When you marry Deja Thoris, or see her married to someone else.
Now; take up your sword, and stride out into an age of high adventure!