Firefly RPG writer and Cortex Plus Action developer depart Margaret Weis Productions

Margaret Weis Productions’ troubled RPG system Cortex Plus has hit another big bump, as two of the project’s leading developers have announced they have severed ties with the game.

The publisher said that it would launch a Kickstarter for the game toolkit’s Action and Heroic rulebooks at the start of this year, which has failed to surface.

Now, Monica Valentinelli, who helped write and head up MWP’s Firefly RPG series (built on the Cortex foundation) and was developing the Cortex Plus Action corebook, has announced that she has departed the company and subsequently will no longer work on the system or its Kickstarter, which she acknowledged as having been “in the works for some time”. (via Purple Pawn)

A second blow came with the following news from Valentinelli’s colleague Matt McElroy, who quickly retweeted the announcement to confirm that he also was “no longer developing the Cortex + Heroic corebook, nor managing the previously announced Kickstarter”.

“That said, @WeisMargaret is one of my favorite authors and I'll always be deeply thankful for the chance to work with her,” he added.

MWP’s website was recently updated, removing all mention of the Kickstarter – but Valentinelli and McElroy’s comment suggest that the campaign is still on the way, albeit late.

I am sorry to announce I have stepped away from acting developer on the Cortex Plus Action corebook, and will no longer be working w/ MWP.

— Monica Valentinelli (@booksofm) 25 October 2016

Additionally, I am no longer developing the Cortex + Heroic corebook, nor managing the previously announced Kickstarter. https://t.co/cRjPw4etFB

— mmm666 (@mmm666) 25 October 2016