RPG Review: G-Core PRIME

Hey everyone!

First off, sorry for the lapse between posts.  Real life has been a bit...hectic of late and has been keeping me from doing a lot of writing.  That being said I still tinker away at my slew of projects as much as I can!

Today I come to you with a review of the new version of Jay Libby's super-hero themed game G-Core.  This, the third version, is named G-Core PRIME and is easily the best version out there.  Born from the days of the highly vaunted FASERIP system, G-Core has taken away the need for the confusing chart and simplified things down to using a single roll of a d10 to resolve things.

Jay has gone to great lengths to take the last edition of his game and expand upon it.  Character creation has been re-worked extensively in such a way as to allow all manner of character types.  The first step in Character Creation is choosing Origins, and this is more important, and fun, than ever.  A characters Origin provides them with how they got their powers, and innate abilities that arise from that event, as well as special features that relate solely to that origin.

Instead of just a paper-doll character with a slew of numbers and nothing else you can build a rounded character with PRIME.  Your Origin and other character options, including Hero Types (Basically occupations) and Special Focuses (skills) you are able to craft anything you could want.  My favorite part of the new character generation is the inclusion of the Power Table.  When using the characters Origin and the Power Table the Player is able to determine the overall 'level' of character they will have as well as how potent their abilities are.

There is a slew of powers available for characters to use, as it should be.  And things such as Magic and Technology are handled well enough so as to not be cookie-cutter copies of other powers.  But what I do like is that the G-Core system is so simple to use that crafting new powers, heck even new Origins, is a simple matter.

Jay did an excellent job at taking a good product and making it better.  It plays, looks, and understands the genre better than ever, and at the great price of $2.50 for a 98 page, full-color book you can't go wrong!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/129071/GCore-GCore-PRIME

System Purpose

Hey Hey!

There has been a great deal of discussion, both internal and with colleagues of late, about the use of RPG systems.  What I mean is that there is a point where trying to adapt a system into something else becomes less than advantageous.  Is it possible to take a system intended for one thing, say Fantasy, and convert it far enough to portray a Comic-Book feel without 'breaking' the game.

I worry about this a lot.  You see, my own projects generally seem to be open-ended multi-genre based games.  It isn't that I don't want to work on just a single project/system, but as you all probably know I am obsessed with multiple ideas... Fantasy, supers, sci-fi, you name it I have ideas for it.

My current project involves adapting the BareBones Fantasy engine into a supers-system.  It has been fun and frustrating at the same time.  There are many aspects of BBF, and it's modern counterpart Covert Ops, that I really like, but I am afraid of changing it too much and losing the engines basic flavor.  I can't help but fear that is the case.

I have worked on a couple of adaptations to systems I like that take the basics too far.  The most notable ones would by my G-Core Sci-Fi/Supers, and the Monsters and Magic sci-fi/post-apoc.  I really like where both are going but they are quite a large departure from the most basic features of the game.

Is it wrong to change the fundamentals of a game?  Where does one lose the basic flavor and style of a system?

Interesting questions I think....  What are your thoughts on such a subject?