Fullmetal Alchemist Prime

A Cortex Prime Setting

Basic Rules
Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the following basic rules from the Cortex Prime Handbook.

Action Based Resolution and Action Order

Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the Action Based Resolution system and Action Order system
for conflicts from the Cortex Prime Handbook page 24 and page 98.

Stress and Trauma

Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the Stress and Trauma mod from the Cortex Prime Handbook
page 39 to 41. Use Physical, Mental, Social as the categories for Stress and Trauma.

Stunts, Resources, And Push Die

Fullmetal Alchemist Prime has action that is dynamic and exciting, and the game supports this
through the use of stunts, resources, and push dice. These player-created traits increase the
chance of success and make Action Scenes more exciting. Heroes can use them to develop
spectacular fighting combos or work together as a team. They each add to a dice pool before
the dice are rolled, much like any other trait, and they cost Plot Points to create.Assets also add
to a die pool, but they’re created through effect dice as a result of actions. So, you might spend
a PP to create a stunt to add to a dice pool in order to roll an action that creates an asset that
can be added to a subsequent roll.

Push Die
Any player can add a d6 to his dice pool just by spending a Plot Point. This is called pushing
your dice pool; while it’s the weakest way to use a Plot Point, it’s often the quickest and most
efficient means of adding dice to your pool. It represents the hero pushing himself, drawing on
his will, or just enjoying a lucky break. The die only gets used once—in the action it’s created to
help out with—and then goes away. It’s much more interesting to create stunts and assets,
though, especially as they start out at more than d6 and have a stronger hook into the story.

Stunts
A more powerful use of a Plot Point is to add a stunt die. Heroes constantly use their talents in
new or different ways. The game calls these thematic push dice stunts and they start out at d8.
The catch is that you have to come up with some cool description of what your hero’s doing and
the stunt must be tied to either a Skill or Talent your hero has. You can only create one stunt at
a time for any given Talent or Skill; once you use it in an action or reaction, it’s gone.
Resource Dice
A resource is a special kind of stunt linked to one of your Skills and created by spending a PP
during a Transition Scene, much as you would create a stunt die for a Skill in an Action Scene.
The difference is that a resource starts out as a d6 (for d8 Skills), d8 (for d10 Skills), or d10 (for
d12 Skills) and it lasts until the end of the next Action Scene. Resources represent people you
may know through your circle of contacts, information provided by your connections, or
locations you can make use of as a result of your background in the Specialty. If you activate an
opportunity with a PP, you can create a resource during an Action Scene that lasts until the end
of the Scene you created it in. Otherwise, resources must already exist for you to add them into
a dice pool during an Action Scene.

Alchemy and Transmutation

A key aspect of Fullmetal Alchemist Prime is the ability of characters to perform Alchemy.
Alchemy is the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter through the use of Transmutation
Circles. Through careful study and years of dedication, Alchemists learn to master the art.

Alchemy is a science, not magic. To perform Alchemy, a character must first state the intended
goal. The GM then checks to see the complexity of the goal of the Transmutation to determine
the difficulty. If the Materials used are the Alchemist’s Specialty, they should step down the
Difficulty by one step per the Alchemist's Alchemist Rank above d6. For example, a d10 Flame
Alchemist would only get a d8 from Transmuting their preferred Element rather than d12.

Table 1-1 Complexity: Material

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 Impossible

Earth Metals Gasses Animals Elements Human

Table 1-2 Complexity: Size

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 Impossible

Trace Significant Kilograms Tonnes Kilotons Megatons

Table 1-3 Complexity: Finesse

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 Impossible

Messy Controlled Disciplined Technical Precise Perfect

The GM can use multiple values from any table if the Transmutation requires more than one
Material or has multiple steps involved. For example, perhaps the Transmutation itself is
straightforward but the real goal is to get it to knock down an adjacent structure by hitting it
where it weakest. Instead of two separate rolls, the GM could use the Controlled for making the
actual battering ram and technical or precise depending on how hard the weak spot is to hit. In
short, the more the Transmutation is meant to do, even if indirectly related to the actual task, the
more difficult the Transmutation is to perform.

By doing Alchemy in this structure, it cuts down on unnecessary rolls. However, this difficulty
spike is not considered if the intended action is far enough removed. Making a spear with
Alchemy does not get more difficult because you also intend to use the spear, for example, as
the only Alchemic part that requires Alchemic Ability during the Transmutation is making the
spear itself. Contrast that with the aforementioned demolition Transmutation as one needs to
both be able to properly transmute the materials and line up the effects properly to get the
desired goal. It is obviously up to interpretation but most groups should be able to properly
discern what the situation calls for.

After the GM discerns the difficulty, the Alchemist can then decide if they are still going to
perform the action. After all, the Alchemist can discern then and there if the action is worth
performing using their own judgment. If they believe it’s beyond their ability, it would be best not
to take the risk, after all, and most Alchemists are trained enough to realize when they are in
over their heads.

Every Alchemist has a Speciality Material. If the Transmutation only uses that Material, they
may immediately begin the Transmutation process. If the Transmutation uses different
Materials, they must draw a Transmutation circle. Outside of Conflict, making a Transmutation
circle only takes as much time as it makes sense narratively. In Conflict, the action consumes a
turn, as Transmutation circles must be perfect and precise.

If the Transmutation uses Materials the Alchemist does not Specialize in, The Alchemist then
makes a Transmutation Circle Asset as per the normal rules of making an Asset. Alchemists
may spend a PP to simply make a Transmutation Circle Asset at their Alchemist Rank without
needing to roll.

When using your Specialty Element, you do not need to make a Transmutation Circle as it is
assumed you have it either on your clothes, tattooed into your body, or some other means. To
make up for the Transmutation Circle Assets, you use the value of your Specialty for the
Transmutation. You can still use your Alchemist Rank to make a Transmutation Circle Assets at
the same value as your Alchemist Rank by spending a PP. Since that makes an Asset, the
Assets can be used in conjunction with your Speciality and Alchemist Rank when performing the
Transmutation.
Human Transmutation, The Philosopher's Stone, and Red Stones
For the vast majority of characters, the above rules will satisfy all of their needs. However, there
is a deeper layer to Alchemy that is rarely seen due to the consequences it brings. That is the
experimentation with human life and attempts to amplify the power of Alchemy. Alchemists draw
the power to perform Alchemy from their souls, which is why homunculi can’t perform Alchemy,
as they are soulless. As such, Alchemy is tied to the nature of the soul and human life. Some
Alchemists have gone further than they should have in their studies of Alchemy.

The most well-known of these forbidden acts is the creation of a Philosopher's Stone. The stone
is extremely rare and attempting to obtain one can be the goal of an entire campaign. Only a
privileged few know how to make a stone and it is not a pleasant process. Numerous human
lives are sacrificed to make a true Philosopher's Stone, their souls stored in the stone as fuel.
These stones are dangerous and can allow one to perform Alchemy on Impossible Scales.

Philosopher’s Stones are an Item that have the following Stats:

Philosopher's Stone

Alchemy d12

SFX: When determining the complexity of the task, the GM steps down the difficulty of all tasks. This
includes Impossible Tasks, which become d12.
SFX: You can perform Transmutations even when the elements required are not present in your
environment or when you need more of the material than is currently present in the environment.
Limit: Every time the stone is used for an Impossible Task, step down Alchemy by one step. This effect
cannot be undone. When Alchemy hits d0, the item is lost. If the Impossible Transmutation was
bringing a person back from the dead or making a new life, set Alchemy to d0 but you do not suffer a
rebound.

It is worth noting that having such a stone will likely draw unwanted attention, not even
considering the moral implications in obtaining and using a stone.

By making Impossible actions possible, this brings us to the question of Human Transmutation.
Human Transmutation is the art of creating life -- be it new or bringing one back from the dead --
through alchemy. To many, Human Transmutation is Alchemy’s one forbidden act. It is
considered the ultimate form of hubris as it involves stepping into god’s domain. It is impossible
to bring the dead back to life as the souls have passed on into the afterlife. A severe rebound
occurs due to the law of Equivalent Exchange: that, for something to be obtained, something of
equal value must be lost. As there is nothing equal to a human soul, the Alchemist is often
brought to The Gate and meets God, losing a part of their physical self in exchange for universal
knowledge from the Akashic Records.

The results of the event can be severe and can permanently impact a person’s life. It is an
Impossible task to undo the lost body parts with Alchemy. However, a character can obtain
Automail, a form of advanced prosthetic, to supplement the loss of the limb. A character who
performs Human Transmutation is Taken Out and has an unremovable [Lost Body Part]
Complication at d8. These Divine Punishment Complications can be raised and take you out like
a normal Complication but reset to d8 after being Taken Out. They can't be removed without a
Philosopher's Stone.

In exchange, the affected Alchemist gains the ability to perform Alchemy without a
Transmutation Circle: whenever they perform Alchemy outside their Specialty, they do not need
to make a Transmutation Circle Assets and can instead make one automatically at [Lowest
Specialty Dice - 1 Step] without spending a PP. This action counts as making a Transmutation
Circle Assets and does not consume a turn. As such, the Alchemist can perform Alchemy
quickly and spontaneously outside their Specialty.

It is worth noting that, despite Human Materials being considered Impossible, making Human
Chimera is a d12 task. Making Human Chimera is not making new life, simply perverting it, and
thus doesn’t cause a rebound.

Even though Human Transmutation is Impossible, anyone can attempt it. It will simply always
fail horribly, as described above. Even the Philosopher's Stone cannot make the action
successful. All it can do is make it easier to avoid a Rebound. Performing Human Transmutation
with a Philosopher's Stone does not result in the subject losing a part of their body. Instead, the
stone is damaged as per its Limit.

In the 2003 series, the creators introduced the idea of a Red Stone. They did so to hype up the
Philosopher's Stone more by making a weaker, more dangerous version of it. Essentially, a fake
stone to wet the appetite of viewers about what the real stone could do. Red Stones function
like Philosopher’s Stones. However, they randomly break and lead to rebounds. They also are
not capable of protecting against the rebound involved in Human Transmutation. However, they
do amplify alchemic ability.

Red Stone

Alchemy d8

SFX: You can perform Transmutations even when the elements required are not present in your
environment or when you need more of the material than is currently present in the environment.
Limit: Every time you use this Item to perform a Transmutation, roll the Redstone's Alchemy by itself
before performing the Transmutation. If you roll a 1-2, the item is lost, the Transmutation fails
automatically, and the user suffers either d8 Physical or d8 Mental Stress from the rebound. Otherwise,
roll the rest of the dice and complete the Transmutation action.
Limit: If you attempt to do an Impossible Transmutation, the Red Stone immediately breaks, you fail
the Transmutation, and you suffer a rebound as established above.
Traits
Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the following Traits:

Values
Your first half of the Primet set is Values, as the Prime Set is Value + Skill.

Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the following Values:

● Duty: Your obligations to society.
● Humanity: Your concern for people.
● Knowledge: Your thirst for knowledge.
● Loyalty: Your loyalty to those close to you.
● Sacrifice: Your willingness to suffer for others.
Give them all trait statements. See Cortex Prime Handbook pg 49.

Skills
Your second half of the Primet set is Skills, as the Prime Set is Value + Skill.

Skills represent areas where one's aptitudes lie, such as athleticism or combat. The skill list is:
● Athletics: Your ability to perform feats of acrobatics and athletics.
● Biology: Your knowledge of biology, including human, animal, and plant.
● Chemistry: Your knowledge of Chemistry and alchemic materials.
● Combat: Your aptitude in battle.
● Engineering: Your knowledge of engineering and machinery.
● Influence: Your ability to make friends, provoke outrage, and sway people.
● Lore: Your knowledge of the world and its history.
● Medicine: Your knowledge of medicine and how to help others heal.
● Notice: Your ability to scan the environment and investigate details.
● Physics: Your knowledge of physics and its related mathematics.
● Ride: Your ability to command beasts.
● Stealth: Your mastery of disguise, stealth, and other such skills.
See Cortex Prime Handbook page 57 to 59 for rules on Skills.
Alchemist Rank
Your knowledge of Alchemy and its many functions is tracked by your Alchemist Rank. Your
Alchemist Rank ranges from d0 to d12 and determines how skilled of an Alchemist you truly are.
● D0: You know nothing of Alchemy.
● D4: You know the basics, but can only transmute as a parlor trick.
● D6: You are adept. You are proficient enough to perform basic tasks and can be trusted
to do basic alchemy effectively.
● D8: You are skilled enough to pass the State Alchemy exam. Whether you do so or not
is your choice.
● D10: You are a renowned Alchemist. Even most state Alchemists could not compare to
your ability. This is the peak most people can ever reach.
● D12: You know the deep secrets of Alchemy, beyond what even the most skilled
Alchemists know. You have uncovered lost truths that could topple nations and change
society if they were ever made public.
Your Alchemist Rank can be split whenever you roll: d8 can be split into 2d6, d10 into 2d8 or
3d6, and d12 can be split into 2d10 or 3d8 or 4d6.

Specialty Materials
Every Alchemist has a Material they are specialized in. When using said Material, they have the
advantage related to their innate familiarity. They add a D8 Speciality Dice to the Transmutation
check, the GM steps down the difficulty of the Material involved, and you are not required to
make a Transmutation Circle Asset before performing a Transmutation. Your Specialty Trait can
be increased through Growth.

To make a Specialty, first an Alchemist Chooses from one of the following categories:
● Earth: Rock, Wood, Dirt, etc.
● Metals: Steel, Iron, Bronze, Gold, etc.
● Gasses: Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, etc.
● Animals: Making Chimeras
● Elements: Fire, Water, Thunder, etc.

After picking a category, they then write in their Specialty next to the category. For example,
Roy Mustang is Elements (Flame) whereas Armstrong would be Earth (Rock). Their Specialty
is limited to only the specific item identified, not the entire category.

Distinctions
Distinctions are statements defining your character. They can be any statement that makes your
character unique. They could be a statement of belief or a statement about their identity or just a
unique fact. All Distinctions are rated at d8 and have Hinder.
● Hinder: Gain a PP when you switch out this distinction’s d8 for a d4.
Player Characters start with three Distinctions. See Cortex Prime Handbook page 50.

Relationships
Fullmetal Alchemist Prime also focuses on the interpersonal relationships of the characters and
how this can influence their actions. They may push themselves harder when a loved one is in
danger or someone can even use their loved ones against them. Characters have Relationships
with each other than are both rated as a trait and have a trait statement. Relationship
statements may be challenged. See Cortex Prime Handbook page 55.
Character Creation
To make a character in Fullmetal Alchemist Prime, use the following steps:
1. Assign d10, d8, d6, d6, and d4 to your Values. Give them trait statements.
2. All your Skills start at d4. You have 9 points. You can spend a point to step up a Skill.
3. Your Alchemist Rank starts at d8.
4. Choose a Category and pick a Specialty for your Specialty Materials. Set it at d8.
5. Create Three Distinctions. Give them Hinder.
6. Create a Relationship at d4 with each of the other Player Characters. You have 6 points.
You can spend them to step up a Relationship or make a new d6 Relationship with a
GMPC. Give them all Trait Statements.

Growth Pool
Fullmetal Alchemist Prime uses the Growth Pool mechanic from Cortex Prime Handbook page
83. See also Stress and Issues.

Fullmetal Alchemist Prime characters grow between sessions. The growth pool is generated by
Stress and by challenging Relationship statements.

You can get Growth Dice one of two ways:

● Challenging a trait statement.
● Taking stress

At the end of every session you have the opportunity to do a special kind of scene called a tag
scene, where you can try to improve your character’s traits.

Tag scenes shouldn’t be very long—just enough narration for everyone to get an idea of how
you want your PC to change. After that, you get to do two things: rewrite statements and step up
traits.

For every trait statement you’ve challenged in the session you get to make a choice: did your
PC change perspectives? If so, you can rewrite your statement to reflect your new belief about
the trait and put it back to its original die rating. Your Relationship statement with Jason may
change from Jason would never let me down d8 to Jason isn’t the friend I thought he was d8 or
Jason will answer to me d8.

If your PC didn’t change perspectives, you can keep the statement the same, but the trait it’s
attached to must stay at the reduced die rating. If you stay at the lowered die rating, add another
die to your growth pool equal to the new die rating. So, if you stepped down Jason from d8 to
d4, you’d add a d4 to growth in addition to the d8 you added when you originally challenged it. If
you step down a Value, step up another Value.
Start with a base 2d6 growth pool; for each of the five stress types, add a growth die equal to
the highest level of stress that was reached during the session. For example, if the character
took Angry d10 stress and Insecure d6 stress during the session, they can add a d10 and a d6
to their base growth pool, giving them d10 + 3d6 growth dice.Then, add the size of any Values
or Relationships they challenged during the session. Then, if they lower a Relationship by
sticking with it, add a die equal to the new, smaller Relationship die.

The maximum size of a growth pool is five dice— If you took more than five, you can replace
smaller dice with higher dice to optimize the size of the pool. For example, you can remove the
starting 2d6 if you already have five dice and have a d8 to add to the Growth Pool.

The difficulty of the task depends on the goal. First, the Trait being Grown determines the first
part of the difficulty as follows:

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12

Relationship Distinction Skill, Specialty Value Alchemist Rank

Then, you take the desired result of your Growth, which is always the current value plus one
step. For example, if your current Skill is a d8, then you can only grow it to d10 and thus you
add a d10 to the difficulty.

Then, you add either 2d8, if you took no damage nor challenged any trait statements in the
session or 2d6, if you did either of those actions.

With both pools created, you make a check. If the player succeeds, then their Skill grows and
they clear their Growth pool. If they failed, they simply lose the smallest dice from their pool.
Regardless, they cannot try to grow another Trait in this Tag Scene. If you step up a Value,
step down another Value.

Player characters can attempt to learn an extra Specialty Material this way. However, to do so,
the Trait is considered a d12 difficulty and the current Value is considered a d8, thus adding a
d10 to the difficulty. A Player character can never have more than two Specialty Materials.
GMPCs
Throughout the campaign of Fullmetal Alchemist Prime, you will encounter a variety of GMPCs.
These GMPCs will vary wildly in complexity based on their relevance to your adventure. These
GMPCs come in a variety of types: Extras, Mobs, and Bosses.

Vices
Some GMPCs are so evil they do not use Values and instead use Vices. Vices function like
Values but represent negative traits.
● Envy: Their covet of other's things.
● Gluttony: Their desire to consume.
● Greed: Their selfish wants.
● Lust: Their corrupted dreams.
● Pride: Their bloated ego.
● Sloth: Their one thing holding them back.
● Wrath: Their fury.
Like Values, they have Trait Statements.

Extras
Extras are the most common type. They can be generally defined as the individuals that the
Heroes will run across in their journeys. They can vary wildly in complexity based on their
relevance to the story.

Extra Light
Extra Light Extras are just a single trait, rated from d6 to d10. These Extras usually serve a
small function and are usually bit players to the player characters or their opposition. They serve
only to help that group achieve their goals, not accomplish their own goals. For example a
Shopkeep d8 can be an Extra Light Extra.

Light
Light Extras have their own goals, but usually only in service to others. They are attempting to
accomplish that task personally and not just as a part of another’s action.

Generally, Light Extras have an Alchemist rank of d0, three Values or Vices at (d4, d6, d8), one
to two Distinctions, and 2 Skill Points to spend on skills. They never have Specialty Materials, as
they can’t do Alchemy, nor do they Relationships.
Medium
Medium Extras are almost as important as the PCs, but not quite. They are bigger players, but
are usually just middlemen in the story. Where Extra Light and Light Extras have no names,
Medium Extras usually have a Title of some sort.

Generally, Medium Extras have an Alchemist Rank of d6, four Values or Vices at (d4, d4, d6,
d8), two Distinctions, 4 Skill Points to spend on skills, no Specialty Material, and one d6
Relationship with a Trait Statement.

Heavy
Heavy Extras are just as important as the PCs. They are the main players that affect the Heroes
adventure. They tend to have names, backstories, and relations with Medium and Light Extras
(usually they serve the Heavy Extra). They don’t need to be famous, but they do matter to the
plot.

Heavy Extras are made exactly the same as a starting character.

Extra Heavy
Extra Heavy Extras are big deals which are significant challenges to the Heroes. They are big
people behind the scenes who rarely directly involve themselves in the action. Not only do they
have names, backstories, and the such, but they usually have reputations and legacies that
precede them.

Extra Heavy Extras have an Alchemist Rank of d10 (maybe even d12), six Values or Vices at
(d6, d8, d8, d10, d10), 12-15 skill points to spend, a Specialty Material, and 3d8 to spend on
Relationships. You can split a d8 into 2d6 or combine 2d8 into a d10 or 3d8 into a d12.

Mobs
Mobs are a group of Extras that have begun to work together to achieve a common goal. Almost
universally, these mobs involve Light and Medium Extras. It’s unbelievably rare for Heavy
Extras to be in a Mob and impossible for Extra Heavy Extras to be in a Mob. Mobs replace their
Attributes with Mob Dice. Mob Dice function as Attributes for all rules that affect them, but serve
additional purposes. The number of Mob Dice determine how large the Mob is, as well as
establish how hard it is to take them out. The size of the Mob Dice is d4 for Light and d6 for
Medium Extras. To take out a Mob, you must remove all their Mob Dice. To remove Mob Dice,
your Effect Dice must equal or exceed the Mob Dice.

Mobs basically are made by making the type of Extra making up the Mob then replacing their
Values or Vices with 2-5 Mob Dice.
Bosses
Bosses are the endpoint. They are rare and represent an Extra who has taken center stage in
the plot, whose defeat can have wide reaching complications on the adventure of the Heroes.
Any Extra can become a Boss, but, generally, Heavy and Extra Heavy Extras are Bosses.
Bosses have Boss Dice that replace their Attributes. Boss Dice acts like Attributes whenever the
rules reference Attributes. Boss Dice are multiple dice that represent the Boss’ toughness. The
number of Boss Dice determine how mighty the Boss is to defeat. The size of the Boss Dice is
d4 for Light, d6 for Medium, d8 for Heavy, and d10 for Extra Heavy Extras. To take out a Boss,
you must remove all their Boss Dice. To remove Boss Dice, your Effect Dice must equal or
exceed the Boss Dice.

Bosses basically are made by making the type of Extra that the Boss belonged to then replacing
their Alchemist Rank with 2-5 Boss Dice.