The CORE Philosophy
The CORE Engine is a game engine designed for dramatic Roleplaying and Storytelling. It is a completely open content Pen and Paper role-playing system with several settings under development. The games primary focus is on flexibility, drama, and modularity. It is genre independent and has been created to allow for quick play styles but can also be run with more complex sub-engines so you choose the level of complexity for the game. This means you can use the same system to run games of Zombie Armageddon as you use to play your Epic Fantasy game of tactical combat.
Dramatic- The CORE Engine is heavily based on dramatic storytelling and role-playing. It is contrary in many ways to the style of play encouraged by other systems. Although popular games often suggest that Storytellers should try to reduce rolling in games, to move the story forward, to be flexible in letting the players inform the story, etc. The CORE Engine actually has these concepts built directly into it.
So often the sorts of feats and stylish actions accomplished by characters in movies and stories are not the same sorts of actions that are fostered in Role-Playing systems. Too often characters get bogged down rolling for actions that players may not attempt stylish stunts because it may make them fail at a task. Imagine playing a game of hardboiled detective noir and for lack of a better option, the storyteller must insist on constant Perception checks because they feel as though they cannot give away important clues without player effort but have no other way to bring the clues to their attention. In the CORE Engine we have tried to provide several ways to solve such problems using character elements, style, and dramatic successes so players spend more time having fun role-playing, exploring a story and less time rolling.
The game system also tries to add tension when possible by forcing a character to prioritize their attentions on different actions so that when a character is undertaking one action, they always run the risk of being distracted from the real danger.
Universal- the CORE Engine is designed so that you can run many different settings with the same system. Although there are certainly game premises and ideas that would be better served by using more eccentric game mechanics, the CORE Engine has been designed to serve as many premises and moods as possible, and settings will be continuously developed by and for the the CORE Engine community.
Modular- Because different rules work well for different moods, the CORE Engine has been designed to be modular and extensible, meaning you can design your own settings by compiling the rules you want for your game. After all a highly sophisticated but complex system of combat may work well for a Fantasy game, it will not serve a game of survival horror.
Free and Open- Many games released under supposedly open licenses actually make very serious intrusions upon the rights of the players of their games. The CORE Engine and all it's settings will always be free to download, and all content in official the CORE Engine settings will be open and free for use in fiction, games, and media so long as the created works are also released under a free and open license.
Community Developed- The CORE Engine is YOUR game if you want it to be. How can an open and free game compete with professionally marketed games? The same way open source software often reaches the same standards as commercially available software. The community has to get involved. All you have to do is play, and if you come up with an idea for a new assembly, a gear, a widget, or even a lowly cog, write it and publish it or submit it for review by the players for official introduction into the CORE Engine.
