Cypher System
Cypher System is a groundbreaking tabletop game engine that allows for incredible flexibility to play any type of campaign, in any genre. One can play in the system’s flagship setting “Numenera” or in the worlds of popular podcasts such as “The Magnus Archives” and “Old Gods of Appalachia”. Additional settings can include Post-apocalyptic, sci fi, fantasy, cyberpunk, horror– if you can name it the Cypher System has it! Regardless of the genre, Cypher System games feature a narrative forward play experience that emphasizes discovery, problem solving, character growth, and meaningful roleplay over defeating monsters and getting XP. Character creation is simple yet elegant, as players make a three-part sentence describing who they are going to play. The rules are simple enough for beginners to learn quickly, and sophisticated and deep enough for veterans to unleash their creativity in surprising new ways.
Originally created by Monte Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, Sean K. Reynolds
How to Play Cypher
The core mechanic in Cypher System is rolling a 20-sided die, and comparing the results to a Task Difficulty table. Every task, action, creature and object in the game is assigned a level and players roll to meet or beat the difficulty assigned to what they are trying to do. There are critical successes rolling a 17 or higher and thrilling GM "intrusions" for rolling a 1. Players can improve their odds with skills, abilities, tools, and help from their friends. Characters can even tap into their XP pool to influence the course of the game with player intrusions! Players create a character by picking from a variety of options to form a 3 part sentence that includes a type, descriptor and focus. Each choice in a character sentence helps define the fantastic abilities and potential hindrances in the course of adventure.