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Tell Me About the Cypher System
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<blockquote data-quote="MintRabbit" data-source="post: 9342147" data-attributes="member: 7044790"><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MintRabbit, post: 9342147, member: 7044790"] 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. [/QUOTE]
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