Cypher Universal?

I am curious whether the upcoming revision of Cypher is more about unifying the system with a single core book and presenting everything else as a setting book. This idea is supported in the character creator, in that you can "rename" the professions to a new title, given the world you are adventuring in.

This way, settings like The Strange and Numenera can be significantly simplified without needing to repeat the core rules in each book, and those books can focus more on monsters, artifacts, cyphers, the world, NPCs, and setting info. Eliminating all rule repetition would be a vast improvement, turning the setting books more into setting guides, like the GURPS add-on books are currently.

This would also focus all Cypher games around the character creation tools and unify and streamline the entire experience of playing the system. In the Diamond Throne book, I did not need the Cypher rules again, and would have liked far more monsters, NPCs, and setting info.

I get the point of making this a standalone set, but when it comes down to it, I am using the Cypher Character Creator (and Godforsaken) to build my characters for this setting, not the rules in this book.

With the Cypher SRD integrated, this could open up opportunities for many third-party creators to build for the system.

Additionally, making Numenera and The Strange into Godforsaken-like add-on books for the core system would allow them to better integrate with the character creation tools and be checked on and off as character options. Done this way, we can keep all the old add-on books just as they are, and the new settings would add to the tools we already have.

The d20 is Brutal

The d20 Beginner Box die that killed Pathfinder 2 for me.

You do not want to roll against a difficulty of 1 or 2.

Don't risk it, use effort to knock that down, and don't roll.

These d20 dice are brutal; they do not care what the number you have to roll is. You will be smiling and rolling against a 3 on the die, and a 1 will come up like a middle finger. One GM Intrusion later, I have a blown tire in a vehicle chase, and I might not have the XP to avoid it. This can change the entire course of the adventure and narrative.

I have d20 dice that hate me. One I got in a Pathfinder 2 Beginner box would not roll above a 6 after a dozen rolls. After a while, I was like, "Sorry, we will just retake the critical failure this turn."

In a horror game, a GM Intrusion could mean one of the group gets lost, wounded, or even killed. In a survival game, nothing good can happen from this, and you will be wishing you had knocked that easy roll down to not even needing to touch the dice.

I have had multiple "sure things" turn into disasters because I wanted to be cheap and save a few points. At least taking GM Intrusions outside of rolling a 1 will gain you and the group XP, which you can use as a buffer from dice-inflicted narrative wounds.

Don't chance it. The less you roll, the better off you are.

Cypher System is so much better than Daggerheart when playing a narrative-focused game, since it does not rely on hope and fear die roll mechanics, along with a massive framework of a hope-to-powers economy. I like Daggerheart, but Cypher System wins on narrative panache, simplicity, player-to-GM economy, and style.

Solo Play and Parties

I tried Cypher with a three-character party playing solo, and I did not enjoy it as much. There is a lot to keep track of regarding pools, XP, and Player Intrusions by each of the characters. I would inevitably split them apart to run solo, since the stories were better focused and more compelling. In the end, I was playing three characters solo, and there I was again.

I can play almost any OSR game, or even 5E, solo with a whole party of four all by myself. The characters lack significant depth. The healer is the healer. The DPS is DPS. The tank is the tank. Everyone has a job to slot into. That can happen in Cypher, but there is far more to track and manage in Cypher than there is in 5E.

Cypher characters look deceptively simple, but they hold more depth than a 5E character.

A lot is happening inside them, and even more externally, as each character can impact the narrative. With a party of three, I am shuffling XP around, tripping multiple Player Intrusions, and pulling GM Intrusions on them all. It becomes a bit much, and I prefer to focus on one character, keeping the lens tightly on that character's story.

There is also the issue of not having another player to give GM Intrusion XP to, so the player only gets one. I bank that other XP in a "story pool" which I will later use to determine other end-of-session rewards, such as money, favors, treasure, artifacts, lucky breaks, helpful NPCs, and benefits that NPCs and communities can give the players. It becomes an "NPC Intrusion Pool" that will favor the solo player at the GM's discretion, at 1 XP per favor or reward.

The solo player is still feeling the benefits, but can't spend or use those XP for themselves, as they are indirect rewards. If the player needs a helpful town guard to wander by as the character is losing a fight, I can spend an XP from that pool to give them a little help. The town (or any NPC) could also "help itself" with this pool, such as increasing patrols at night, which would make it harder for criminals to operate at night, thereby indirectly helping the PC by reducing enemy encounters after dark.

This pool could also be used to start Story Arcs for the town or NPCs, theoretically, and also to pay to advance them (instead of being rewarded by achieving each step). Like if the city wanted to build a bridge over the river, this pool could be spent to advance that subplot, since it will ultimately be helpful to the town (and the PC) if getting across the river were easier for everyone. The player could be called to help in this plot, too, so XP rewards could be earned there. If my solo character wanted a change to the city, such as a new blacksmith opening, and this did not require a plot, pay an XP from the NPC Pool to do an NPC Intrusion and open one.

With me running three or four characters, I get overwhelmed. With just one, I can use my XP smarter and pool them to advance the narrative.

Video: The Cypher System is Changing!?!?!?

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/568390d9-7e21-43c3-a5fc-8596ba4f1003/landing

A great video by the community member Qedhup today, along with a BackerKit link for a new edition of Cypher? Please like and subscribe to him, and he provides some of the best Cypher content on YouTube.

A new edition? With backward compatibility?

I just started this blog! But, no, they promise full compatibility. I am getting this as a cleanup and rewrite of the system, with more tools and a streamlined character creation process.

I like the sound of this, but I am being cautiously optimistic.

Games Without a Framework

Space gaming is hard. The first thing that happens is you sit there and wonder, "What do I do?" I have a universe out there so big I can never explore it all, there are the gears of civilization grinding on around me, and I feel so infinitesimally small that my brain freezes up, and I have no idea what I should be doing.

Some games give you frameworks to operate within, such as any of the Cepheus Engine games. When in doubt, you could always be a space truck driver and haul cargo. There are random tables and frameworks in here that get you started, and they sort of define the universe's "working model" for you.

However, this is somewhat akin to describing Earth as a world "having a lot of truck drivers, cargo ships, and passenger airliners." Nothing about the people, places, countries, religions, economics, conflicts, resources, society, or anything else. Earth is a place "where there is cargo."

The framework can put blinders on you, and focus the game too much in this area, and not in other places where you may want the focus to shift instead.

This is my "space game model," and it is heavily influenced by this sort of "2d6 gaming in space." When I start to play games like this, I take out a mortgage, buy a ship, go deep in debt, and take random cargo runs and have random encounters everywhere on the map. It is a fun game model and system, but it is not a science fiction game. It is sort of like playing a "truck driver simulator."

In my Car Wars-style "Road War" game, I had a nice setup. My PC was a delivery van driver in a desert outpost fortress town. They took jobs in town, and then shifted focus to out-of-town jobs. The desert town had a few unique story elements. This was a stop on a major trading route. The city relied on remote outposts with water pumps and solar panels. To the south is a fortified agricultural zone. Road bandits and gangs preyed on lone travelers. So:

• The town needs water from remote outposts.
• The remote outposts need supplies and solar panels.
• Raider gangs terrorize the desert.
• A significant trade route runs through town, with a truck stop.
• Food needs to be transported from the fortified farms to the town.

I have story hooks, and my first missions were cargo runs to the water pumping outposts, delivering solar panel replacements, and hauling supplies to them. I did not need random cargo tables to tell me this; the story of my setting did. The setting would have been less enjoyable with the cargo tables and generation systems, and since I didn't have them, I fell back on my setting's story and drew inspiration from that, which ultimately gave me a better game.

That setup still needs characters and specific stories, but it's far better than a book filled with random tables and trading frameworks. There is a flow of goods, those who need them, and those who want to take them. My PC works for a delivery service. If there are no stories and nothing is going on, I still have a job. This should not happen; there needs to be other stories happening to drive that 'personal involvement,' but I can't fall through the cracks and sit there with nothing to do.

I laid out a simple setting, five facts about it, and I can use that as my story canvas. This is my "framework," and it does not need a lot of work. It just needs a little fun designed in, and a character in a position to interact with the pieces.

With tables, I would not have felt the need to create a story that supports the need to run cargo across dangerous terrain. In a science fiction game, this is the same exact thing. I don't need the tables, I need a setting and a story first. That will give me much more mileage than tables that are nice to have, but they don't create plots and stories. Not having the charts made the stories and setting stronger.

This is a simple story structure: create a regular activity that requires the characters to face unexpected danger (or uncertain situations) periodically. In a space game, I could make a far-away system with a lost civilization, and make my characters the survey team. Alternatively, they could serve as the support team for the survey. Or the cargo haulers.

We have a mystery with that lost civilization, and we have a regular activity going back and forth to it. There are stories here! Add some enemy space aliens and space pirates, and you have even more happening. There are no tables here yet, but if there were, they would be focused on this story and not general-purpose random cargo tables. While random tables are good to have, they don't tell a story or drive campaign interest.

If you find yourself lost in space, write a few stories to help you find your way out. Ask yourself, who is here, and what is happening? Ask yourself about the current situation. Imagine who lives there, and what troubles they face. Then let those plots drive PC action.

Thrust Into an Infinite Universe of Possibilities

Whoa.

Once I completed my science fiction character, I felt the entire universe was ready and free for me to explore. This is a different feeling than other science fiction games, as I would need that "starter adventure" or to read the monster lists and figure out a few opponents that a starting character could fight.

Since I know how Cypher System works, that any opponent just needs a level (plus perhaps a few modifications and GM Intrusions), anything was possible. Space bugs? Not a problem rating them and adding an armored carapace and sharp claw arms to use in melee. Combat robots? Again, not that hard to work up a level and a few special abilities. Space pirates? We have Orcs, which is pretty close. Give them a few laser rifles and star swords.

I did not need sourcebooks, alien bestiaries, vehicle guides, starship identification manuals, or any other resources. I just need a universe. The only part of the system that feels a little soft is starships, but I can houserule a few fixes and make it work. Starships will still have levels, just the "hard points" will likely equal the level, and the armor will modify the ship's level when it comes to speed-based checks. Two points of heavy armor on that hull, you get -2 to speed-based checks for piloting rolls (maneuvers and escape, not gunnery).

• Fighters = Level 1, Speed 6
• Interceptors = Level 2, Speed 6
• Scouts and Patrol Ships = Level 3, Speed 5
• Frigates = Level 4, Speed 5
• Destroyers = Level 5, Speed 4
• Light Cruisers = Level 6, Speed 4
• Cruisers = Level 7, Speed 3
• Heavy Cruisers = Level 8, Speed 3
• Battleships = Level 9, Speed 2
• Dreadnaughts = Level 10, Speed 2

I will probably use an inverse level for speed, starting at 6 for the two smallest ships and decreasing by one every two classes up to the largest two, which will have speed 2. This will let smaller ships outrun faster ones more easily. So if you are in a fighter trying to outrun a destroyer, that will be a speed difference of 2, and a final difficulty of 4 - 2 = 2.

Hardpoints can be given up for weapons, an extra point of speed (up to 2), shields, and other installations. I can see the point of making the ships do "level damage" for all attacks combined, but letting them mount light, medium, and heavy weapons sounds fun too. Cypher is so easy to hack.

But I have not felt a science fiction game like this before. My character is created, and then, bang, the universe is open. With other science fiction games, I will need to design starships, create creatures using charts, have catalogs of planets, and operate inside structures of rules and frameworks. Some games feel more like "dungeons in space," and I am making maps with ten-foot (3-meter) squares.

With Cypher, it feels like an open-world game with no boundaries. Wherever I go, whatever I do, whatever alien planet I end up on, I am perfectly able to rate any enemy, challenge, task, or obstacle. My players can contribute to the narrative with Player Intrusions and Character Arcs. Part of my work is done by the players in exchange for giving up XP. If they want to discover an ancient alien civilization and open that door for me, I will play along and create that narrative for them. When playing solo, I need to keep that in mind, "What my character would want."

I can't always do that with other science fiction games. Some give me so much data that I freeze up, my brain has too much information, the ratings for all sorts of challenges are all over the place, the monsters are not designed yet, environmental challenges are not always clear, and I am more lost in a character's skill list and wondering how I can make things enjoyable for them. Or the framework is tightly tied to a specific dice roll, and while I can rate easy, modern, hard, and other challenge levels - those are just for tasks and not for enemies or other opposition. Different systems for different problems slow down my thinking and put mental blocks between the challenge in my head and expressing that in the game.

Yes, I can do the same things in other games as I do in Cypher, but it is never as easy. Nor do I have the constant tension of depleting resources. Or the story engine that drives the narrative forward. I may appreciate the ultra-realistic systems or the comprehensive space commerce game in other science fiction games, but the best story tools are found in Cypher.

Mail Room: The Diamond Throne

I like the Diamond Throne setting, and this one flew under the radar for many. With my changes to giants, making them head home and looking for someone worthy to take rulership is a good one, and turns the setting from static to dynamic. Otherwise, the setting feels set in stone, and it frames the giants as oppressors, which does not align with my view of them. It is best to set up the 'exodus' campaign, and have the giants be tragic heroes, heading home, and seeking those worthy.

I got my hardcovers today, and they are nice.

I want this setting to be integrated into the official Cypher Tools as a core book. I could probably use the "advanced tools" in this to rename the core classes, as the powers seem almost identical to the core Cypher rules, all that is needed are some renames and paring down of the choices. The race selections won't be available, and I wish the tools had a descriptor creator for custom races. Oh, and I want the other Cypher books, like Gods of the Fall and Predation, to be a part of these tools, too.

Even though there are many specifics in here, this can be as generic a campaign setting as you would want it to be. It pairs well with Godforsaken as a 'fantasy companion' for this book, and you could add your own custom races all you want. When in doubt, pick a descriptor close to how you see the race, and even close-enough will work, such as choosing 'elf' for a 'dark elf.' Otherwise, use the descriptors to come up with something close enough.

The equipment section is excellent, and it feels like 'Cypher does an OSR game' in some places. The book needs more monsters, but Godforsaken solves most of those problems. The monsters in here are brutal, from what I have seen, and hard-hitting.

The books are a stand-alone game, but they don't really need to be. I envision using Cypher as the system for this game and renaming the Cypher character types to match those in this book. However, I understand the goal; they wanted a 'boxed set' that people didn't have to buy other books to play with. This is, at heart, a standalone game, and an answer to D&D or other games.

Is it fun?

I would have to see. The only time I used fantasy was during my 'cozy gaming' period with Cypher, and my first run turned out to be horrible. This depends on whether you can have fun in fantasy outside of 5E, Pathfinder, or the OSR. Some people can't live outside of that world, which is sad.

The first book is the GM and setting book, while the second book is the player's guide. It's an interesting choice, selling the setting first and then letting the second book handle the characters.

This is a significant, premium, Cypher-focused fantasy setting in two hardcovers. Is it what the system needs? It's nice to have an official setting that can be used as a generic campaign base. This is like a non-technological Numenera, a good starting point for Cypher fantasy adventures, and it gives you just enough without overwhelming you.

It feels and hits differently than converting a setting over. This feels like Cypher, instead of "D&D run with Cypher." If you are looking for a setting that gits the game better than most ported-in worlds, this may give your Cypher fantasy games a home to build upon.

Followers and NPCs

There are three classes of NPC in the Cypher System: NPCs, NPC Allies, and Followers.

I went in looking for rules to create a "starship crew" for the game, and my first inclination was to give them all a level and potentially a modification based on their specialty. For example, my level 3 ship's doctor would have a modification in medical, allowing them to perform at level 4 in medical tasks.

This was the right call, and it matches the Followers rule on page 233. The Followers' rule says that an NPC Follower can have several modifications equal to their level, so my level 3 doctor could have medical, biology, and diseases as modifications and get another level when dealing with those fields. Doing this makes the NPC Follower-like, but they aren't a Follower unless a character's ability grants the PC one. We cross into creature and NPC design at this point.

Ordinary NPCs just have a level and a modification if you wish. For the most part, they will be a single number for their level. When an ordinary NPC fights another NPC, it is just level versus level, and the higher level is the winner. The rule for this is on page 215.

An NPC Ally, like a wolf pet of a PC, has a level, and their attacks are rolled for by the PC. This rule is on page 222. For the most part, this can be handled as a cooperative action, as outlined on page 226. Note that pets are not necessarily Followers as defined in the rules. Pets do not usually gain modifications unless the pet is obtained through an ability that grants a Follower.

These modifications granted by the Follower rules are essential! The NPC becomes "extra special" and starts getting bonuses in many areas. A follower can even be 'exceptional' and be one level higher than usual (page 233).

Now, how do you roll a leveled NPC attack against another leveled NPC attack? The game says "rolls for them," but how does my level 4 wolf attack a level 3 orc war chief? What is the difficulty number?

For "level versus level" battles, I use the Vehicle Combat system on page 230. Simply compare the numbers; if the attacker is higher, ease the attack by the difference in levels. If the defender is higher, hinder the attack by the difference in levels.

So, with our level 4 wolf versus the 3 orc chieftain, the difference in levels is one. Our wolf is one higher, so we ease one level. So the difficulty of the attack is the orc's level of 3, eased by one level, to a difficulty of 2, a roll of 6 or higher on the d20. What is the damage? A level 4 wolf would do their level as damage, normally, unless the wolf has a modification to damage, which would add one to five.

Followers are notable NPCs granted as allies through character abilities. For the most part, they act just like NPCs in most ways. They can grant PCs assets in various tasks. When the follower is level 3 or higher, they can grant a PC an asset to attack and defense, but only if they have a modification that allows them to do so, such as "assists defense" for a shield bearer. This is all on page 233.

If a Follower attacks another NPC, you have just ruled "level versus level" or handled it like vehicular combat. If you need extra depth and detail, take the time to play it out in wargaming detail; otherwise, use your best judgment and incorporate it into the narrative.

So, for my starship crew, all I need is a list of NPCs and any modifications they have. I won't go whole "Follower level" with any of them unless the PC gains one as a follower; they will all be standard NPCs with a few optional specialties.

The Cypher System makes this easier than any other game. If you are running a large starship crew, a superhero group, or a fantasy guild full of NPCs, no game makes it as easy as this. I remember in Star Frontiers needing a character card for every NPC, or in D&D 4E, having a full character sheet for everyone in the player's guild. It was a massive amount of bookkeeping for no good reason. If you run a guild where PCs take a group of NPCs out for an adventure, only the PC needs a character sheet; everyone else is an NPC with a level and a few modifications. Since a modification can be a power, you can simulate traditional fantasy classes this way easily.

Followers gain special modifications, can assist in attacks or defenses, progress in levels, and can be exceptional because they cost a character pick.

NPCs (and NPC Allies) are mostly the normal "everybody else" in the world, and should not be as powerful or versatile.

Soft No Conflict Gaming

The last time I stopped playing Cypher for a while was when I had a few games go soft, with zero conflict, story gaming, and no consequences nonsense. These games were the worst time I had with the system, and it isn't even the system's fault. This would have been terrible in any system.

There needs to be conflict, and there need to be permanent consequences. Even in a romance game, make rejection a serious thing; it should be. Make consequences real. You mess up at the party, push over the wedding cake, get kicked out of the hotel, and are on the street, looking for a new place to stay. You will face social hindrances due to poor hygiene. You have a new challenge of getting your luggage back. Forget about the relationship, we have to figure out a way to survive the next few days before your plane leaves. Oh, and the tickets were in your luggage. You could find a way back into her heart by then, but you have bigger problems to solve now.

Better yet, start the game in this horrible situation, put the world against you, and figure out how you are going to make things right, given your limited resources and skills. Give yourself a checklist of problems to solve, and figure out who is against you.

If you find yourself protecting your characters, get rid of them. I had a game where I wanted nothing bad to happen to a character, and it felt like a form of wish fulfillment. Looking back, I should have retired that character and started with a new one. Someone random would have been more interesting than my Mary Sue or Perfect Pete. Retire those characters to your personal Hall of Fame, and start new ones.

All this reminds me of the current crop of "cozy RPGs" out there, typically where you all play cute, human-like animals solving problems like the world was a giant Care Bear cartoon, and finding a way to get Mosey Moose's bicycle out of the lake is the session's equivalent of the boss battle. Sure. Fine. For some, I guess. But I tried that, and it made me put the game aside.

Also, remember that you can have an enemy that attacks you with a condition, and not damage. If you fail the defense roll, a condition is given to the player, and that can be just about anything you can imagine, such as unconsciousness, paralysis, or anything else. The Enthrall ability is used in the Cypher Rulebook on page 218, under The Effects of Taking Damage. If you are in a pie fight and fail your defense roll, you now have the (let me make one up) messy condition, which is a hindrance to social interactions. You could create mental conditions, too, such as afraid, demoralized, panicked, possessive, and so on. The game does not have a condition list, like it does not have a skill list, so you are free to create anything you want here.

I forgot about this when I played, and could have used these suggestions to liven up my non-combat game. If someone gets discouraged from a course of action, they may develop self-doubt or a mental block against taking it, and that becomes a "mental enemy" they must now defeat. The damage that the enemy may inflict may alter the character's actions, or even cause loss of intellect points. Yes, you can create an enemy out of anything in this game, and you should use that to your advantage. You can even do this as a GM Intrusion.

If your character really wants something, even in a cozy game, you need opposition to overcome, a conflict, and others in the story who may oppose them. Make whatever you want to happen worth getting, and don't "make it just happen!"

"So many adventures start with the characters sitting in a tavern, waiting for something to happen to them. Don’t do that to your PCs (unless they own the tavern and it’s being threatened by ogres or something). Instead, give them strong reasons to care about the situation and the people involved. While characters will often do something for the promise of money or because they know it’s the right thing to do, there are so many great ways to get them emotionally invested in what’s about to happen." - We Are All Mad Here, page 40.

For games with social conflicts, the Cypher book, We Are All Mad Here, gives you some great suggestions on getting players to care, and these can apply to any genre or any setting. Playing in a fairy tale world presents significant motivational challenges for players, as it can be difficult to get them to care about what is happening, given the stark differences from their own experiences. However, threatening a reputation or a beloved place or people can apply to anything, from a Western to a science fiction game.

"Character arcs are the means by which players can invest themselves more in great stories and character depth and development. Just like in a book or a television show, characters progress through their own personal story and change over time. A PC with a character arc decides for themselves what they do and why. Character arcs are like stated goals for a character, and by progressing toward that goal, the character advances." - Cypher System Core Rulebook, page 238.

Also, remember a core tool of the Cypher System: Character Arcs! You pay 1 XP to enter one, but get 2 XP for every step you complete to progress them, and 4 XP if you succeed at the climax (2 XP if you fail). Even the resolution phase gets you 1 XP. If you have a directionless, aimless, bored character, give them an arc, and the motivation of XP should get them going.

Looking back, my solo-play judgment got clouded, and I did not have a fun time with that game. There were a few things I could have done to liven things up, create challenges where there were none, and introduce non-violent conflict in my game. This was a toxic mix of pet characters, wish fulfillment, zero conflict, a lack of creativity, and not creating conditions or enemies, as well as not utilizing the rules to my advantage.

We can learn a great deal from those experiences about why things failed and how we can improve them for the next time.

Cypher: Deeper Characters

Cypher's characters are far deeper in design complexity than 5E. Before the Cypher Tools site, I would be hunting down the powers in the book, copying & pasting those into my character sheet, and building a character that way. The name of a power isn't always sufficient; I also need the cost, description, and whether it is an enabler, among other details.

Each power is like its own 5E power, and you are assembling a character out of building blocks. The character build system is far better than 5E, while you have archetypes, you don't have classes, set trees, and a strict progression of powers. Only the focus has a "leveled power" structure, but that is your character's "main thing." Everything else is pieced together as you wish.

And you can buy a second (or third) focus! There is a combination of powers at work that is truly amazing. The characters in Cypher System are so much better than D&D 5E, and even better than Daggerheart. Daggerheart is similar in that you are "picking and choosing cards" as you level, but in Cypher System, you get so many more choices, and you get far more than just fantasy.

Daggerheart also borrowed Cypher's resting mechanics, along with some ideas from Low Fantasy Gaming. Cypher does it better, resting does one thing, and it is straightforward.

Once you master character creation, infinite worlds are at your disposal.

Since Cypher's ability scores are pools, they "do more" than D&D. These are your health, extra effort, and spell points. They work for a living, and are also your character's health. Using them smartly helps you succeed, and managing your rests and levels leads to a tension I do not feel in D&D or 5E. In Cypher, I will be going into a situation where I'm down on my ability scores and short on rests, and I will start to worry. In 5E, I typically feel a constant state of safety.

5E's resting and resource depletion mechanics are straight out of an MMO, and they are terrible. They were created to address a problem that had become chronic in D&D 3.5E, the 15-minute adventuring day, where balancing encounters was done on complete resources, and that meant alpha-attacking an encounter and going all-out, and then heading back to the inn to rest a day before the next room.

It was the worst of video game logic, combined with a system that attempted to emulate the classic game. Many DMs just gave up, letting parties do this rather than drag the session out by saying, "The monsters prepared for your return." Or even worse, clearing out the next day and leaving a dungeon with no loot, filled with traps, and plenty of summoned creatures to chew on those who dared enter. The game took long enough to play, so why make it worse? Just let them reset and hope the night does not drag on too long.

In Cypher, I am focused on the story.

If I have a dungeon in Cypher, like a rescue the princess story, that is a one-shot, single-run, you only get one chance thing. This is not a video game board that you can clear one room at a time. There is no shuttling back and forth to the inn. You get one try.

The resource management in the Cypher System makes this possible. Everything is a resource. Recoveries are limited. You need to spend wisely to both avoid rolls and increase your odds. Cypher System is an excellent solo game, where you watch your pools tick down, and you begin to wonder if you will be able to make it through.

The game is loaded with tension and choices, and it does not protect you from them.

The Tariff Post

https://www.montecookgames.com/tariffs-mcg-and-your-games/

MCG's response to the current tariff situation is fine with me. It did not become political, struck an even chord, and was more business-focused than I expected. There is even a statement in there saying, "This is not political," and I trust them. I don't want gaming to be political, either. I want everyone to come together at the gaming table and share ideas, have fun, get to understand each other, and talk.

I like their games, too.

This must hurt them pretty hard, since a lot of their new games are there bug, boxed, "experience games" with lots of cards, dice, folios, trays, tokens, and other pieces. They are being honest with us, and I do not see that as a problem.

Would I like them to source more US manufacturing? Yes! People who have jobs here and can live the American dream, put food on the table, and get their kids through school, is what everyone wants.

I would also like to see overseas workers receive equal wages and a standard of living comparable to that in the United States, and for their industries to adhere to the same rules. You can't be for workers' rights and environmental protections here and ignore the plight of others overseas. Sorry, we care about everyone, and the current situation is causing damage to populations, economies, world stability, and health that is not sustainable.

I get the feeling the era of "cheap imported goods" is coming to an end.

This era has likely caused centuries of environmental damage overseas. It will only increase global tension as the massive population discovers that they have polluted their rivers and land for short-term gain, and they will need to migrate (or expand violently) to find new land to exploit and ruin. This modern, hyper-capitalist industrial era is like a never-ending wildfire; unless it is carefully monitored and controlled, it will consume and destroy everything it touches, making everyone else's lives worse in its wake.

I am still a capitalist and believe in free markets, but I am not stupid, either. I remember my mother talking about lead paint, DDT, leaded gas, toxic rivers, acid rain, chemical-contaminated land, cancer-causing agents, radiation from nuclear testing, rampant cigarette use, and so many more catastrophes in this country due to the same thing. Sustainability applies to everyone, even when we buy from overseas.

I hope this new era brings a few more assurances that the plastic pieces used in our games came from sources that did not cause worker suffering or environmental damage overseas. At least in this country, manufacturers have to play by the rules. Can I have fun with a game that caused harm and suffering overseas? If it means paying a little more, then it is worth knowing I did something to help.

A better world comes from billions of tiny decisions to do one small thing better each and every day.

Make yourself a part of that.

You will do more good by spending your energy on one minuscule positive thing at a time rather than trying to change everything all at once.

Be the change you want to see.

Would I pay more for these "experience games?" I would if I found them compelling and worth the value I was getting. Mind you, I play solo, so games with a lot of pieces and components aren't my focus, but if a game has a compelling setting and story, then I'm on board. Even a hundred-dollar boxed set will provide more than hundreds of hours of entertainment quickly.

Even Daggerheart is an experience game with all the cards, and I fully expect the next version of D&D to follow that model. It is only a matter of time, and D&D 6 will be almost entirely card-based, with each new adventure module giving you more cards to play with. It's five to ten years away, but Daggerheart established the model and opened the door to a potential nightmare future.

Your character won't be able to find a +1 sword unless it is on a card that came with an adventure module. Skills? Spells? Races? Backgrounds? All card-based, with special, rare ones being the most highly desirable ones. No cards? Not a legal character for organized play. Please buy some booster packs for the currently released adventure. I hope you get a few rare or unique cards, or your character won't be wanted at the higher levels of play.

Enjoy these games that are just written in books today.

The cost of these games is still inexpensive compared to the financial drain that mobile games put you under, and video games are going the same route. Card games are already lost, too. Remember, we are in the gaming market, and the recent collapse of Wizards' VTT project means that microtransactions for D&D have been pushed back by five years. I do not want to go that route with tabletop gaming.

Tariffs are a thing, just like recessions and market collapses are. Ultimately, they will be temporary. But if they give us a chance to reflect on what we were all doing over the last 10-20 years, that is a good thing. Part of me is happy we are waking up from this nightmare of cheap imported goods, and questions like this are being asked. Was the hobby indirectly causing suffering and harm for profit?

These are all valid questions, and honestly asking yourself, "How can I do better, and what have we learned?" is not political at all.

Slipping Out and Making Me Care

The one time I slipped out of Cypher System was because I lost faith in the difficulty system. When a difficulty rating means nothing, you need to take a step back. Cypher is a system where you can quickly slap down a fast number, goblin, difficulty 2, go! The pit trap, uh, difficulty 2! The next door is locked, difficulty 2!

You can see yourself start to question things after a while. What am I doing? Am I just rolling the dice against numbers? This is what I call "losing focus" in the system, and it puts you in a spot where you start to crave games with more depth. But the depth in other systems is often an illusion.

What is armor class or challenge rating in D&D? A d20 target number. This is the same level of "depth" as D&D, and it is an illusion. Cypher is the same exact level of depth, and the dicing is the same.

In GURPS, your chance of success is rolling a number or less on 3d6, such as 14 or less, and this is often modified by difficulty, like a +4 being hard. What is this in Cypher? We start with the difficulty, and ease the roll by your skill level. Cypher is the same exact level of depth, but the dicing is different.

Yes, you feel like you are getting more depth, but as any statistics professor would tell you, all you are doing is taking a different path to get to the same probability result. If your success chance was 40% in any game, you would get there via many paths, and always end up at 40%. How you rate difficulty, roll low or roll high, 2d6, 3d6, d20, 1d100, and difficulty and modifiers all get you to the same place.

At a point, the game you play does not matter at all. This is the beauty of the Cypher System; it goes all the way back to the core mechanic of difficulty versus factors that ease or hinder the roll. We are back to base statistics, on the metal. We build out from there. Our character matters. Our ability score pools matter as a resource to spend. Our edge and effort matter. Our health matters. The rest we have left matters. Our gear and skills matter.

And it all starts with difficulty.

In Cypher, to make those difficulty numbers mean something, change up the consequences of failure!

When edging along a mountain cliff, you may set a difficulty of 2 to maintain balance and move forward, but failure means a thousand-foot fall and certain death. I would allow a player intrusion to save yourself, but consequences are consequences. Best to reduce that to zero and not even roll, spend some effort, rely on your skills, and use assets.

I play solo, so I need to challenge myself to give meaning to the hardships I put my characters through.

Also, when you feel yourself slipping into the "grey zone" where "nothing means anything," toss a GM intrusion at your character, accept it, and make them lose a key piece of equipment, weapon, or armor. Put a consequence on yourself for slipping into the pit of meaninglessness and not feeling anything.

I like to call this "slapping myself" when I play solo. If I fall into a place where I'm not caring, I need to take a hit for that and make my character's life worse.

But, also, if you find yourself creating a sequence of meaningless, grinding the cog forward, ratcheting a series of rolls forward to the end, what are you doing? That isn't playing! That isn't a story! It is like going through the AD&D adventure The Tomb of Horrors, and you are rolling for every trap, every secret door, and every strange fresco and mosaic on the wall. Sure, you are neutralizing the threats as you go, but after the twentieth trap, your eyes glaze over, and you are telling yourself, "Was this an adventure written for D&D?" After a while, you are asking yourself, "Is there anything else to do in here?"

And after my fourth session of going in there, all your trap-finding and secret-door location skills are maxed out and easing everything by two levels. Some D&D adventures make terrible Cypher adventures, and not everything converts so well, since those adventures were never written with a narrative focus. Or even simple things like "the doors slam shut behind you!" or "a ticking clock before something terrible happens!"

There are plenty of tools these days to make an adventure like this much better. Ticking clocks, countdown timers, countdown dice pools, delayed secret effects, affecting perception, paranoia, body horror, strange happenings, losing items that you swore you had, using a horror mechanic, effect on random card draws, misleads, corrupting magic, uncertain magic, whispers, sanity, and so many other tools are at our disposal these days. We also have a whole genre book on horror, featuring Stay Alive, which is full of tools to make adventures like this better, beyond the fear of instant and random death.

I can see how my first attempt to play through Tomb of Horrors would be with Cypher System. Oh, this room, a deadly trap, that is a difficulty of 6. Please roll. Okay, this party member is dead. Let's go to the next room with the difficulty 7 trap and roll again. Hey, two dead, be happy the next room is a 5.

Either I don't care, the adventure is a poor choice, or a lot more work needs to be put into this to make it meaningful in a narrative-based game. You need to be able to read what is on the walls, the books on the shelves, and piece together clues that will give you an edge deeper in the dungeon. Part of the fun here is unlocking the mysteries, one by one, being smart, getting a deeper understanding, and finding the next clue.

The story of the demi-lich at the end should be woven through this story, and understanding the dungeon should be woven into every room, with one more thing to learn, which will help you avoid certain death later. We should know this demi-lich by the end, and we should be horrified at what he is and the story of his madness and downfall. And there should be one clue in there, if we are smart enough to put it all together, which should tell us his weakness.

Make me care. Grab my interest. Let me find secrets. Raise the tension. Give me a reason to cheer or cry. Tell a story.

That is what each die roll should do.

The Cypher Character Builder is Amazing!

The Cypher Character Builder is amazing. This is the first time I've tried this, and it can build a character in a few minutes, compared to about 15-30 minutes of flipping through the book and copying and pasting blocks of text from it into my character sheet. You can choose custom, random, or pre-generated characters. You can download a PDF that is editable and has working checkboxes and places for current values. You can spend XP and level up.

It supports multiple books, but not The Strange, Numenera, or the Diamond Throne. Most recent Cypher books are supported, and more will be added as they are released (as it appears by the dates). There are still a few manual steps, such as choosing equipment, armor, and weapons. Given the number of genres the game supports, just DIY these.

This is in the Cypher Tools link in the sidebar, which goes to the Monte Cook Games site.

If you haven't signed up (it's free) and tried this tool, you should. I wish all games had this.

First Look: The Diamond Throne

"Monte Cook’s Diamond Throne Roleplaying Game is about storytelling in the world of Serran, created by the imagination of Monte Cook some years ago. Each player creates a hero and teams up with other heroes (played by friends). In the preface you will find a lot of useful information about the world, like festivities, important ceremonies, timekeeping, colloquialism and many other things." -The Diamond Throne, Unearthed, page 3.

The Diamond Throne (TDT) is a unique, stand-alone Cypher System game that serves as a complete fantasy RPG, featuring a distinctive setting, rich background, and flavor. The game feels much like "Cypher does an OSR game" style of feeling in how it is put together, with a specific, yet generic fantasy world, with plenty of backstory to spur your imagination and plots in the setting.

This is one I wish to have gotten more attention, since it is every bit as capable as any 5E-based fantasy game, if not more so on the narrative front, since it is Cypher System.

The game's world has a D&D 3.5E feel, breaking the mold enough to feel different yet adhering to just enough fantasy tropes to feel familiar. It is not "so far out there" that people have trouble even conceptualizing a character within the setting. This is closer to OSR-style fantasy in structure, as it features a comprehensive equipment list, allowing you to purchase items such as bedrolls, candles, and tents. That "very low level" play where you are scrounging coppers together to buy a torch is the essence of old-school play, and TDT has that.

And you can ignore the game's world, or use it as much as you want. There is a premise here where three major factions are fighting, with humans and the typical fantasy races caught in the crossfire. The usual fantasy kingdoms were conquered by demons and ruled over for centuries. A race of benevolent, civilization-building giants (double-sized humans) came in and kicked the demons out, and now rule the land. The typical fantasy kingdoms now have freedom under the rule of giants. And now the dragons are showing up to fight with the giants.

That is the setup. Use it or ignore it as much as you want. The game even tells you to. You can insert "your fantasy race here" into the game, and it fits the structure. Want to play a "dark elf" - sure, you crawled out of a cave somewhere, and you were always down there, waiting to appear. It's fantasy, no one is going to complain. The setting has several preset races, but you can add your gnomes, halflings, wood elves, or anything you want to it.

It serves as a starting point, much like any semi-generic D&D 3.5E setting was back in the day. It saves you a ton of work developing history, locations, backstory, and everything else - and then tells you that you can ignore it all and do what you want. Again, this is an OSR-ism, and perfect. Why buy it? Well, when I am not feeling creative in an area, I fall back on the book and just use that.

One fatal flaw the TDT books have is that there are not enough monsters! I know what they are trying to do with the monsters they included: slow down, present each one as special and interesting, and give it a unique twist that fits the setting's flavor and history. As a result, the number of traditional monsters they have is a handful, and this game desperately needs its own bestiary with unique takes on the standard fantasy critters.

If you want more standard fantasy monsters by the dozen, pick up Godforsaken, the Cypher System fantasy supplement. While some of the other Cypher-based fantasy games have good monster lists, they do not come close to the number and variety of the fantasy standards in this book. This book is also the best resource for your standard "generic fantasy tropes," so it will be handy for a lot more than just a monster list, as you get magic items, spells, species, and much more.

Godforsaken is more of a "fantasy world-building guide," but the wealth of things in here makes it an excellent companion book to TDT.

The conflict between giants and dragons is the setting's next big fight. The giants here are not your evil D&D brutes; they are a civilized race of builders who create civilizations as their core ideals. They can be both good guy, or the force of conquerors the characters seek to depose.

And I do hope they make that "twisted fantasy bestiary" for this game, even as a resource for other Cypher games; that would be a handy book. A "tome of twisted magic" with more spells, magic backgrounds, artifacts, and cyphers would also be very welcome. Yes, I know about the generic magic book, 'It's Only Magic,' but that's for more modern magical settings. I want this setting to outdo the OSR with every release and raise the bar.

TM and © 2024 Cook Games, LLC
The Diamond Throne, Unearthed, page 44

The setting presents giants as too noble and mighty for my tastes, as they wiped out the demons completely. Demons are linked to the tenets of humanity and sin, and they will never truly disappear since they are more a physical manifestation of a metaphor for human failings and morality. Giants should not be portrayed as all-powerful and benevolent dictators, since any threat that appears, players will assume that "our giant parents" will be around to wipe them out, just like the demons.

That is not happening this time.

Giants need a fatal flaw, such as their numbers decreasing with every passing year, and they are always worried about passing on the legacy of freedom and civilization they have given the people of the land.  They need to worry about constantly being "called home" over the sea to help repopulate their homelands. They need to find worthy successors in these lands among the fantasy races to carry on their creations and legacy. Being an "evil giant" means turning your back on those you freed and losing faith in what the giants created here to seek power, wealth, dominion, or comfort. That is a powerful story with meaning in our world today, that "who shall take up the legacy of freedom" thing, and it needs that theme.

The giants are passing on the legacy.

Especially with the rise of the dragons. The need to find rules and worthy warriors to protect the legacy becomes urgent, and that is your call to adventure. The dragons are a metaphor of war and the barbarism of the fall of civilization, another theme with its foot in our world, so it takes on a deeper meaning.

The dragons are war and barbarism.

The game says you can bring demons back, but with this conflict made stronger, the setting doesn't need them as a direct force. They can sit in the background, scheming and plotting, corrupting souls, feeding into both sides, and making everything worse. That is the best use for demons, the hidden faction fanning the flames, spreading lies, turning giants to evil, whispering attack plans into the ears of dragons, and weakening both sides for their eventual rise and return.

The demons are corruptors.

With this story structure, The Diamond Throne becomes a passive setting where the default assumption is, "Oh, the giants shall take care of it," to an active setting where The Diamond Throne is waiting for a character to sit upon it and be declared worthy. The giants are still benevolent, but they have a foot out the door, and they are looking for someone to stand up.

This is very much a Game of Thrones setup, with factions seeing opportunity, and the characters picking sides and proving they are worthy to take responsibility for guiding the lands through the next major war with the dragons. Having a few factions willing to do evil things to grab power is also another strong story arc, and it can set up different factions seeking to hold power to take the throne for themselves.

The Diamond Throne is up for grabs.

What will dark hearts do to take it?

And what shall you do to prove you are worthy?

...And Then It Became a Favorite

I did a "Road Warrior" and "Car Wars" style campaign with Cypher System, and it became one of my all-time favorite games. Once I understood how it worked, everything fell into place naturally. It felt like the best d20 game ever invented.

I even invented my own vehicle combat system, a "monster versus monster" system featuring specific light, medium, and heavy weapons, each with its own special effects. A "battle delivery van" was a level 5 vehicle with 15 hits, with a medium weapon rocket launcher up top (4 hits, heat shells that ignored 2 points of armor), and twin machine guns up front (light weapon, but with one ease factor). The van had 2 points of armor.

A simple "battle cycle" was a level 2 vehicle (6 hits), one point of armor from the front and back, and a machine gun up front (light weapon).

This all operated on a "vehicle scale," so those weapons did not do that much to characters; you could count the lightest vehicle weapon as a heavy and go up from there by two points per level. Hand weapons were all treated at a level down and given a hindrance.

Other vehicles were just treated like monsters, and the game played as usual. Vehicles didn't have stats or pools; they just had hits. If a passenger car were normal and unarmored, it could be rated a level 2 vehicle, as it would go down quick and be cannon fodder.

In GURPS, I would break out spreadsheets and design them, or use the closest equivalent in a sourcebook. In Car Wars, I need to create these or use stock vehicles. In any other game, I would be sorting through vehicle combat rules and taking forever to run these battles. In Cypher, I would come up with an enemy car, give it a level, a weapon, maybe some armor, and get playing.

It was easy and fun.

Another fantastic aspect of the system was its speed. I could complete an entire full day of adventuring for my driver in about 30-45 minutes and feel satisfied. This involved multiple combat encounters, role-playing segments, exploration areas, oracle rolls, and NPC interactions, as I played solo. I accomplished a lot, and the tension continued to escalate as my driver's resources dwindled.

Vehicles could have "vehicle cyphers" as well, which were cool, like single-use drones, nitrous systems, homing missiles, road mines, tracking beacons, and other cool toys. If you found a new one, you bolted it on your piece of junk car and got back on the road.

Vehicles could also have artifacts, like computer systems, unique and rare weapons, or other highly sought-after toys and gear. These are depleted as usual.

This was my first time playing the system seriously, and I was able to mod in a relatively complex new system that worked perfectly. I modeled it after "what worked well in the game," and everything was fine. Outside the car, my driver acted as a typical Cypher character. Inside the car, I switched to "Cypher Vehicle Scale" and kept playing.

Were things "a step abstracted?" Yes, they were, but when you think about it, everything in pen-and-paper role-playing games is abstracted. What is an 18-strength, anyway? It is simply a number with a meaning attached to it, based on a scale provided by the game. The same with a "level 4 battle car."

No other game achieved this level of complexity so easily.

I Could Not Learn This Game...

When I first got Cypher, I felt I had wasted my money. I could not learn this game. I bounced off many of the concepts. I did not understand the sentence-based character creation system, how edges and effort worked, the pools, what easing was, how the descriptors worked, or anything else about the game.

I tried twice and failed both times.

I should have started with the Rules Primer (above), but I was an idiot and tried to start with the core rulebook. Looking back, I should have started with the Primer and learned the basics the first time.

There was something I learned from more crunchy systems, how things were supposed to work, the six ability scores, armor class, hit points, and skills. I needed those frameworks to play a role-playing game. My mind felt programmed to think of things one way, and I could not break out of that mold.

Years of D&D, GURPS, Palladium, Pathfinder, and other systems had forced me into a rigid, inflexible, one-way-is-right style of thinking. A role-playing game has to be one way!

And I kept stumbling over the Cypher System concepts. Difficulty times three, and roll that on a d20 or higher. What do you add to the roll? Where are my modifiers? What is easing and hindering? How does a monster attack? What do I do for initiative? And so on.

What frustrated me the most was watching YouTube and seeing people praise the game as the one they would take to a desert island. I couldn't understand the game, yet I wondered why people were praising it so much.

I had to slow down, read the game paragraph by paragraph, and force myself to understand it all. I tried creating a character, and that helped. The book's extensive cross-referencing was extremely helpful, and I could easily jump to the relevant pages to make my selections. I still did not understand the game, but at least I had a valid character. That was frustrating, because there was so much I wanted to do!

Then, I made a few rolls against challenges. There isn't the concept of an ability, save, or skill roll in the game, and that was one of my biggest hang-ups. The game has no skill list? But it has skills. The cliff in front of you is rated with a difficulty number.

• Do you have a skill that would help?
• Do you have an asset (equipment or beneficial situations) that would help?
• Are you spending points (effort) to reduce the difficulty of a pool?

Skills and assets can only ease the difficulty by two each. Effort reduces it by a maximum of the character's edge in that score, and the pool cost must be paid (make notes of the price above one level). Oh, this is starting to get easier. The ability scores are pools, and edge reduces the cost, providing the maximum level of ease when effort is spent.

Once I learned initiative and how effort could raise damage, how monsters worked, and the special numbers of the d20, I knew the game. That was it. Once you understand both character creation and how to make the rolls, you are 90% of the way there. Do not give up!

I played this solo extensively, and it is one of the best solo systems on the market. Use one of your dice as an oracle, and you are all set. Rating challenges is easy. The game plays amazingly fast and gives instant, cinematic results.

Then, I played with my sister, who is a first-time role-player, does not grasp things quickly, and has never really liked games like this. It was an instant hit for her, and it became her favorite game. We had a great time and laughed for hours with this. She grasped all the concepts, and she did all her own dice rolls. She knew how to strategize and use her abilities. She knew how all the systems worked together and what she could do. The grasp of the game she had was far faster than mine, and it was an instant to take to the game.

I, a long-time role-player, had these "ways things work" burned into my head by other games, and I could not break free of them. She had a much easier time.

Stick with Cypher, you can learn this.

It will become a favorite game of yours once you do.

Hello!

First post!