I did some soul-searching about Cypher System. I love the original game, but I am a little cooler on the revised second edition. For me, my heart will always be with the first edition and its strongly typed characters. It does not sing to me, and my original collection will be decades of gaming.
I may give the new version a chance, but not right now. I bounced off the new version like I did Cypher when I started, and I am comfortable with the revised first edition and not looking to upgrade.
I don't want wound tracks either; I know the difference between 4 points lost from a pool due to injury versus 4 points lost from effort, and I don't need that spelled out for me. The character who exhausted themselves by dodging blows won't die when they reach zero, whereas the character who "ignored it all and took the hits" will likely die from wounds.
That difference makes the original a stronger narrative game for me. I can pull GM Intrusions off those wounds, where exertion is something different entirely.
I can see the need for wound tracks, but the system I fell in love with doesn't have them or need them, and the power is in my hands as the referee. Again, I may try them to see, but I am not hot on them. Just as we are supposed to know how a difficulty number works, we are supposed to know how pool losses work.
I know the difference between spending 2 points to dodge a dagger blow and standing there getting stabbed. Those aren't the same thing. The discussion around it has been muddled and confused, and sometimes thrown out as a bad-faith critique. If you know narrative systems, you know how this works. In FATE, that is like getting a "stabbed in the stomach" aspect, and then we move on.
But my books are coming out of storage, and I will have more to say soon.
Revised? I will need more time with the books, but it will be a challenge.
