Goto [ Index ]

In Short

The Good: The token based resolution system means players have a greater opportunity to win when a situation is very important. Character creation is very flexible. Group setting creation during play is a novel and fun concept. The ‘feel’ of the book is excellent, evoking exactly the sort of modern magic mood I expected.

The Bad: The conflict system leaves a lot up to group consensus. The game is very focused on two characters opposing one another, but not other sorts of challenges. The conflict system can’t easily accommodate a conflict with more than two sides, typically forcing the participants to resolve a larger conflict two sides at a time.

The Physical Thing

An index, table of contents, and variety of illustrations showcasing token movement in play all lead to an easy to use product. Chapter summaries at the end of every chapter result in quick reference and an ideal refresher for the GM who hasn’t touched the book in a while.

Under the Cover

Setting creation is a group activity, and Mortal Coil is designed to accommodate whatever the group comes up with. While it stylistically works best with a modern or semi-modern game, there’s no reason you can’t use it to create a medieval fantasy setting or far future horror setting where magic is found in madness. As with other aspects of the game, the goal here is to create a group consensus that everyone is happy with.

Mortal Coil makes use of four types of Tokens. Action Tokens are used to act in a scene and typically take the place of a die roll in other games. Passion Tokens may be used to gain the benefits of a characters Passion in a scene. Power Tokens are a combination of metagame bonuses (kinda like Hero/Drama/FATE points) and XP. Finally, Magic Tokens are used to bring an individual character’s magic into play and to add new magical elements to the game’s setting.

Different Tokens may be used in different ways. Action Tokens may only be Committed in a conflict, which means they’re applied to the conflict and otherwise become temporarily unavailable. Action, Magic, and Passion Tokens may be Spent which means they’re, well, spent on some sort of effect (such as bringing a Passion into play for a bonus) and are out of play for now. Magic and Power Tokens (and, rarely, Action Tokens) may be Sacrificed which means they’re gone for good. So, some are removed for a short period, some are removed for the session, and some are removed forever. The core mechanic in Mortal Coil involves using these Tokens in one of the above ways.

While the group is creating the setting one decision they have to make is just how pervasive magic is. Will it be the subtle, rarely encountered magic of the shadows? Will every person possess at least a little magical aptitude? Will events focus on mortals or gods? The setting’s magic level determines how many Magic Tokens everyone begins with and how easy it is to purchase more Magic Tokens as the game progresses.

Magic Tokens are often Sacrificed at the setting creation step to add magical elements to the game. Want to play a vampire? Sacrifice a Magic Token and say “Vampires exist.” Whether you can go a bit further, such as “Vampires exist, they drink blood, and they lack souls” is probably going to be group dependent, but from the text it seems likely that every additional fact will require a point expenditure. Still, every player begins with 5 – 20 Magic Tokens so there’s plenty of room for everyone to add in whatever really interests them at this stage. It’s also worth noting that there’s no real point in adding in magical elements that won’t be featured in the game. Maybe there are vampires, but if no one wants to play one or desires them as a villain then there’s no reason to add that in.

Once the setting is fleshed out character creation begins. Players can continue to spend Magic Tokens to add more supernatural aspects to the game during this process, which is important if they suddenly decide they want to play a sorcerer or magical being. There are four power levels for a starting characters, and while the book suggests they can be mixed this seems like it could result in some problems in play. The most experienced characters, for instance, start with over twice the Aptitudes (user defined skills) as the least. The only balancing factor is that the more experienced characters begin with fewer Power Tokens, but I’m not convinced this makes up for it. Some groups may want to start characters at the same power level.

Let’s build a character!

Example: I’m playing a character in a game inspired by the Endless – immortal beings that each rule over a certain aspect of creation. I Sacrifice a Magic Token to establish that immortal god-beings that rule over concepts exist. I Sacrifice another to establish that they can manipulate whatever concept they represent. Someone else Sacrifices a Magic Token to establish that the price (there’s always a price in Mortal Coil) for the Endless to exist and watch over reality is that they are constantly burdened with other beings attacking the concepts they represent and the *less* they use their abilities the more likely these attacks are. Power, in this case, comes with the price of continuous, exhausting vigilance. I want my character to be Creation. He rules over things and concepts built by humanity, and often uses his power to stimulate new ideas in others. I’m building Creation under the Ageless character creation option, which gives him more raw power than any other. Very fitting, for an ancient god-like being.

Every character has Faculties, which are their raw ability, Aptitudes, which represent areas of special skill or training, and Passions, which represent strong emotion. Faculties include Force, Grace, Wits, and Will, while Aptitudes are player defined. In play, characters often combine the totals of a relevant Faculty + Aptitude + Action Tokens spent in order to try and beat an opposing value. Passions may also be added in to the equation, but they need to be carefully balanced. Calling on one Passion repeatedly will increase it at the expense of the other Passions, resulting in a character with only one big thing going on.

Example: Creation receives 15 points to spend among Faculties. I imagine his physical incarnation as being a towering blacksmith, a form he took on long ago that he has never changed. I assign 5, the maximum value, to Force. Another 5 points go into Will, resulting in a character who marshals on no matter what’s in his path. 4 points go into Grace and just 1 into Wits – I’m clearly imagining Creation as being a simple minded creature who Creates more with his hands than his mind, though civilization has largely moved away from that. I also have 15 points to spend on Aptitudes. Like Faculties, Aptitudes are rated from 1 to 5 with 5 representing true mastery. I purchase Domain of Creation at 5, Endless at 5, Powerful Build at 3, and Good Natured at 2. These are each defined only by me, and can be as broad or narrow as the group allows. Finally, I purchase Passions. All characters have 5 points of Passions at all times, and while higher Passions are more powerful they also carry the risk of obsession. I take Hate of Waste at 2. Creation really dislikes how the modern world produces things just to throw them away the next day. I take Love of Artisans at 2. Creation cares more for those who putter away and produce works of utility and beauty on their own, away from the factories of the modern day. Finally, I buy Duty to Create at 1. Creation feels an obligation to create works himself.

Be aware that pools of each type of Token are calculated in different ways, typically ranging between 1 and 7 or so.

I have a character and my group has generally decided on a game premise. Now what? During the game I’ve got two major things going on. First, I’m Spending and Sacrificing Magic Tokens to introduce magical elements to the game. I’m Spending them to activate my magical powers and to create short term magical effects, and I’m Sacrificing them to add new magical elements to the game world. Second, I’m engaging in conflicts with other characters. Whether it’s mental or physical, conflicts drive the action forward in Mortal Coil. Be aware that the rules only allow for conflicts between characters - Mortal Coil has no rules for applying skill against a task or inanimate object (so no actions to leap over a wall or break a sword). Such activities are probably best as color, and are less likely to really evoke a character’s Passions anyway.

During scenes that involve a conflict characters can perform a variety of offensive and defensive actions, but each one requires the use of a different Faculty. A character could fire a gun, work some magic, and trick a villain all within the same pace of events. For each action each participant bids a number of Action Tokens in secret and then reveals them at once. Whoever has the highest Faculty + Aptitude + Action Tokens + (other modifiers/Passion) wins the contest. What do they win? Each scene begins with explicit stakes setting, which means that both sides state what they’re after. Ex: “If I win I escape with the golden crown.” “But if I win I disable your character.” This may result in abstract scenes, depending on how specific the stakes are.

The above mechanic is the core of the game. There are several different supporting rules, such as “going all in” with Action Tokens and rules for representing damage. You may wonder how having a variety of players in the same conflict works. Each character takes however many relevant actions against one or more other characters and then the state of the conflict is eyed at the end of every action pass. So if it’s a fight it probably goes until someone surrenders or all of the opposition has been beaten with one or more opposed rolls. How many opposed rolls does it take? That’s not clear. I would think just one, based on the text, but examples suggest otherwise. The damage rules leave it up to the group to decide how hurt a person is based on the action performed. Wounds may apply to both physical and mental/social actions.

And so there you have it. Mortal Coil makes use of Token management and a healthy dose of group consensus and narrative to spin a tale everyone will enjoy.

My Take

All that said, I think there’s a fantastic game here and that Mortal Coil would suit some groups perfectly. In particular, if you enjoy games more like Amber Diceless and generally prefer to place the rules firmly in the background then Mortal Coil may work well for you. While it’s not as polished as it otherwise could be, many of its flaws could easily be overcome by a group willing to keep conflicts simple and character based. If you like the idea of a group narrating the game collectively with a GM only there to guide things along, group based setting creation, and token management then check out Mortal Coil.

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.