Tell Me About the Cypher System

[TarionzCousin]

I've only played Numenera and a couple of sessions of the Strange with it. I'm solidly in the "wonderful setting concepts, kind of shame about the game engine" school of thought. Which is something I've come to expect from Cook's work, really. Great creative ideas, often let down some by the mechanical stuff behind them.

I love the Strange setting. That's got Bruce Cordell involved in it and his stuff is often great.

 

[CleverNickName]

I noticed there had been a lot of new votes and discussion, so I updated the "grade" in the original post. Cypher has a GPA of 2.23 (a solid C grade).
99% of voters have heard of it, and 65% have played it.
Of those who played it, 17% love it, 25% like it, 25% are lukewarm, 32% dislike it, and 2% hate it.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Cyphers are a great mechanic and easy to port to other systems, I think. Magic items are more-or-less single-use abilities, and hoarding too many of them causes actual physical damage from the body being unable to handle carrying that much powerful magic around with them, which encourages players to use them regularly.

Oddly enough, this was one of the bits that struck me as most intrusive, as I can't imagine even wanting a mechanic similar to it in most games. I thought it sort-of made sense in Numenera, but stuck out like a sore thumb in The Strange.

 

[demoss]

Oddly enough, this was one of the bits that struck me as most intrusive, as I can't imagine even wanting a mechanic similar to it in most games. I thought it sort-of made sense in Numenera, but stuck out like a sore thumb in The Strange.

I think the key is to consider "semi-unique single use thing, total number you can have is limited". Being OP or useless isn't a big deal since it's a single use thing, and you can't hoard them.

For non-magical games, it could be eg. specific favors and contacts. You'll probably need to handwave the limit instead of giving it a rationale, but eh. "The mayor will help someone get a job." "The gardener will loan you their tools." "The bartender will invent a named cocktail." "The president will pardon you." "The don will loan you an assassin."

For magical games the sky's the limit. Potions. Scrolls. Charms. Spirits.

Love 'em.

 

[Aldarc]

I love the Strange setting. That's got Bruce Cordell involved in it and his stuff is often great.

I have been trying to get Bruce Cordell and MCG to make a full-blown psionic setting with the Cypher System since the Strange, but MCG have yet to make it.

 

[Reynard]

There is a huge Cypher bundle currently and so I thought I would necro this thread and see if anyone has anything to add before I decide whether to jump in. I am specifically curious about the core rules and how easy they are to adapt to different genres, from Star Wars to Bladerunner to Conan to World of Warcraft.

 

[MintRabbit]

There is a huge Cypher bundle currently and so I thought I would necro this thread and see if anyone has anything to add before I decide whether to jump in. I am specifically curious about the core rules and how easy they are to adapt to different genres, from Star Wars to Bladerunner to Conan to World of Warcraft.

I've played the Cypher System in three different games/genres, and I know of a range of other genres it's been used for. The core rules should work very well in any game where character training and resources can be expected to predictably make uncertain actions easier, and the XP system encourages players to look out for each-other and take notice of what their characters are doing. It's also good for making characters feel competent, and making players excited to level up.

I can see it working very well in games like Star Wars and Bladerunner, because the Cyphers involved can represent single-use, powerful, high-tech items that give your characters to do really cool things - but only once. However, I think the biggest hurdle you might have is crafting; if characters want to reliably have access to the same Cyphers, they'll need to know how to make them, and also spend time gathering resources to make them, which is not a naturally smooth process in the game. Alternatively, you'd have to make shopping a bigger thing in the game, and characters would have to scrape together credits or focus themselves on missions if they want to get more and more Cyphers.

In fantasy settings like WoW, Cyphers could work as magical items, and would probably function similarly to how they do in Numenera. I hacked the game for a weird-fantasy setting and made the Cyphers things that players could find when they explored ancient ruins, but I took a lot of inspiration from the Cypher System core rulebook.

One thing that may be important to note is that the Cypher System is focused on building interesting characters, but not necessarily balanced ones. A very common criticism is that some players feel much more effective than others in situations such as combat or clearing obstacles, but if you have players that are more focused on roleplaying or exploring a specific concept, then that might not be as big of an issue.

 

[Thomas Shey]

There is a huge Cypher bundle currently and so I thought I would necro this thread and see if anyone has anything to add before I decide whether to jump in. I am specifically curious about the core rules and how easy they are to adapt to different genres, from Star Wars to Bladerunner to Conan to World of Warcraft.

I'd probably end up ranting about Cypher, as I'm rather unfond of a lot of elements of it, so I'm probably not a good one to respond.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'd probably end up ranting about Cypher, as I'm rather unfond of a lot of elements of it, so I'm probably not a good one to respond.

This isn't a "positive-only" thread, so rant away! I'd like to hear all the good and the bad about the Cypher system.

As long as we avoid insulting people, I think we're good.

 

[Swanosaurus]

I think the key is to consider "semi-unique single use thing, total number you can have is limited". Being OP or useless isn't a big deal since it's a single use thing, and you can't hoard them.

For non-magical games, it could be eg. specific favors and contacts. You'll probably need to handwave the limit instead of giving it a rationale, but eh. "The mayor will help someone get a job." "The gardener will loan you their tools." "The bartender will invent a named cocktail." "The president will pardon you." "The don will loan you an assassin."

For magical games the sky's the limit. Potions. Scrolls. Charms. Spirits.

Love 'em.

I get the reasoning behing it, but to me ultimately, it felt the wrong way round, even in Numenera. I can see how having a semi-unique thing where you don't need to worry about it being OP makes sense from a fun-with-rules perspective, but I can't think of many settings where it doesn't feel forced and artificial. It feels like "rules design first, setting verisimillitude second (or third or fourth)", which is a totally legitimate design perspective, but also one that really turns me off.