After D&D’s misteps, the Cypher System is surging in popularity

When an internal document from Wizards of the Coast outlining proposed changes to Dungeons & Dragons’ Open Gaming License leaked in January, fan uproar led to record sales of rival tabletop role-playing games. One of the winners was the Cypher System from Monte Cook Games, which earned about three years’ worth of sales in just a few weeks, according to Monte Cook chief operating officer Charles Ryan.

“We saw thousands and thousands of new gamers investigating the Cypher System,” he said. “Now, some of those people made a rage purchase and then they’re just going to go back to their D&D campaign, but others are going to explore. There’s people that weren’t really paying attention to what else was out there, and now they’ve seen that there are other things and they’ll give them a try. In the months to come, we will be paying a lot of attention to how we can get those people that made a purchase to then move on to actually playing a game, because we’re pretty confident once they play that game, they won’t go back.”

What is the Cypher System?

In 2012, the Cypher System has been introduced with the world’s largest crowdfunding campaign. Numenera, Monte Cook’s science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set billions of years in the future. The game’s success inspired the formation of Monte Cook Games in order to use the mechanics of Numenera It was also used in different settings. This was its second appearance. StrangeA Quantum LeapA game that allows characters to jump between different dimensions representing various genres.

“Once we did that, we were like, This system is good for all kinds of situations,” Ryan said.

You can also find out more about the following: Cypher System RulebookThe guide offers guidance on running games, and how to create characters in settings from the post-apocalypse to fairy tales or superheroes. The key to the game’s versatility comes from how characters are made — by putting together a descriptor, type, and focus — for a huge amount of variability in concepts and plenty of options for reflavoring.

You can build, for example, a Graceful Warrior who Fights with Panache in order to become a pirate. Or, a Rugged Explorer who Drives like a Maniac to create a Mad Max inspired game. You can choose from a variety of options that will give you different skills and abilities.

“I think a great Descriptor gives you a great role-playing hook,” Ryan said. “It says something about your character right there in the name, and then it’s got some mechanics that back that up.”

You can use the flavor system to change special abilities, giving you even greater flexibility. For instance, a Speaker might get the magic flavor, indicating their ability to sway others comes from enchantment spells and that they can also use their power to shield their own mind from attack, while a Warrior could get knowledge flavor if they’re an assassin trained in subterfuge and lock-picking.

You can use your stats

These three statistics are the basis for all Cypher character stats: Intellect, Speed and Might. These represent both a character’s maximum values in these areas but also how many points they have to spend on challenges relating to them. Spending points from the speed pool is required if, for example, you are trying to use your skills to defend yourself against an attack and not just depend on your base scores. If you want to attack an enemy with a strong sword, it may be easier to spend points from your Might pool. Take damage from an attack, whether physical or psychic, and you’ll lose points out of a relevant pool. The trade-offs can be dramatic depending on the game genre.

“For a zombie apocalypse game I ran, the players can’t get bitten,” Ryan said. “If you go into combat against the zombies, it’s game over if you take any damage from a zombie bite. Because the Cypher System has a mechanic where you apply effort when you’re really trying hard to make something succeed and the cost of that effort comes out of the same pools that damage comes from, we would get to the end of a combat and nobody would’ve been bit, but they’re just as depleted as they would be if they’re taking damage.”

Pools are refreshed by taking 10 hours of rest, but even a good night’s sleep just gives you the opportunity for a recovery roll. This means that you should always keep an eye on your resources. One of a character’s most powerful abilities is an edge, which reduces the number of points needed to spend effort in one of their attributes, allowing them to push themselves more frequently.

Constant progress

The experience points that players accumulate can be used to upgrade their character by increasing stats or edges. Or, they could train a new ability, improve the points available for effort, boost their skills, etc. Once they’ve purchased each of those benefits once, they gain a new tier that grants them additional abilities based on their character descriptor, type, and focus.

In most cases, players will have earned enough XP per session to make an advance. However, XPs can be used on a new roll. It’s a trade-off that Ryan said can keep the dice from getting in the way of a good story.

“I ran a game of Numenera at a convention once, and at the end of the whole adventure there was an angry mob of villagers that was going to come because of what the players had done,” Ryan said. “The player of the Speaker character stood up and gave this rousing speech and then they picked up their d20 and rolled a four. But instantly that player said, ‘I spend an XP and reroll,’ and then he rolled an 8. Then somebody else had XP and said, ‘I’ll throw an XP in for that person,’ and then he rolled a 20. The adventure had this rousing conclusion that was super memorable.”

What is a Cypher?

It takes its name, Cypher System, from cyphers. These items were originally imagined as lost pieces of technology from Numenera, but have been re-imagined to be anything that has limited use, such as a magic potions, bombs or the blessing of a spirit of nature. Players can only carry a few cyphers on them at any given time, and you’re likely to gain new ones by exploring or defeating foes, meaning you need to use the ones you have or lose out.

“You’ve always got the standard character abilities that you’ve picked for your character, and then you’ve got a couple slots where ability is always changing,” Ryan said. “That encourages creativity.”

Cyphers are less well balanced because they only have a single use.

“Who cares if it has a big effect or a small one?” Ryan said. “If it has a huge effect on that one adventure, it doesn’t throw the whole game out of balance. This just made for a dramatic and cool moment. If it has a small effect, that’s fine too, because they’ll just use it and they’ll replenish it.”

What is required to play Cypher?

Cypher can be played with just a single device. Cypher System Rulebook and a set of dice, though depending on the setting or genre you’re interested in you might want to check out some other books. Numenera continues to be the most popular Cypher settings, though other options include Stay AliveHorror, Claim The Sky Superheroes are not just for kids Stars Are Fire Science fiction. The system across all books is identical, so you can easily mix it up if you’re into space horror or super heroes fighting aliens.

“They really go in-depth,” Ryan said. “The Godforsaken fantasy book talks about whether you want to run Terry Pratchett-style humorous fantasy or classic high fantasy or gritty stuff and every sort of element of the genre you would want to explore.”

BackerKit, the successful campaign that included a core rulebook, a fantasy and post-apocalyptic setting book and a new bestiary and adventure, is still accepting late backers. Each pledge comes with a PDF version of the Cypher System Rulebook So you should start to read before all the other material is released in January next year.

Join the Cypher Unlimited Discord Server if you’re looking for advice, or a place to play. Streamers such as Mr. Tarrasque, who once specialized in D&D, have been making content for Cypher along with other games since the proposed OGL revisions. Cypher added its own open gaming license last year, so expect the number of books using the system to continue to grow alongside Monte Cook’s upcoming releases, which include adaptations of the horror podcasts Old Gods in Appalachia The following are some examples of how to get started: Magnus Archives.

“I think seeing the Cypher engine drive different games will expose it to different audiences who will really enjoy it,” Ryan said. “There’s nothing more gratifying for somebody who’s involved in the creation of games than to see people playing and enjoying their games.”