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.
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