Cortex Prime Setting by Rusty Sellsword Design
arth is freezing. Not metaphorically—glaciers are advancing on major cities, temperatures are dropping, and a new ice age has begun. The cause? Dimensional fissures connecting our world to Niflheim, a frozen realm of elves, giants, sentient wolf-packs, and honest-to-God sorcery, leaking arctic cold into our atmosphere.
The Snowfall Initiative by Nicolas Hornyak is a near-future military procedural crossed with Norse portal fantasy, set in 2044 aboard the UN’s elite interdimensional task force. You’re a specialist—soldier, diplomat, scientist, or civilian expert—trying to seal the fissures, survive Niflheim’s extreme conditions, and navigate relations with beings who were here long before we knew they existed.
Six attributes (Brawn, Endurance, Mettle, Grace, Grit, Smarts) give characters a wide tactical canvas, while a robust skills pyramid adds genuine depth. Special complications for Frostbite and Hypothermia make the cold itself a threat that must be managed as seriously as any enemy. The Gifts system lets characters acquire sorcery native to Niflheim—but only by being taught it by someone who already carries it, creating a narrative requirement that turns magical advancement into a story about trust across worlds.
The Snowfall Initiative bears one of the highest Setting ratings of all the Spotlights. It earns every step.
Military sci-fi / Norse portal fantasy | Setting d10 / Prep d8 / Complexity d8
The Cortex Prime Spotlights are fully playable RPG settings designed for the Cortex Prime system, spanning pulp adventure, space opera, kaiju action, supernatural drama, post-apocalyptic survival, and more. Each Spotlight includes a complete setting, rules variants tailored to its genre, sample characters, and everything you need to run a campaign or one-shot. All you need to add is the Cortex Prime Game Handbook and dice.
Snowfall Initiative is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.
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