OG-CSRD Old Gus' Cypher System Reference Document

version 1.94i (2024-12-09)

Table of Contents

The Cypher System

Chapter 1 Foreword

Welcome, reader—

If you're new to the Cypher System, the official Cypher System Reference Rules Primer and Cypher System Starter Set are a great place to start.

Old Gus' Cypher System Reference Document (OG-CSRD) is a hypertext version of the September 26, 2024 Cypher System Reference Document (CSRD) that editorializes content to align with the general chapter structure of the Cypher System Rulebook. Game Masters (GMs) and players should find it easy to "get on the same page", even if they are reading from different sources.

Purchase the Cypher System Rulebook

The CSRD also includes material first published in other volumes. Page number references for each have been added throughout as follows:

A few references to the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook and the 2024 deluxe edition of the Cypher System Rulebook are also made. CSRD material is incorporated in a way that keeps the the Cypher System's "box of toys"—as Monte Cook calls it—well organized. For example, content sourced from Claim the Sky appears primarily in Chapter 18: Superheroes.

While this document provides everything you need short of a few dice, the CSRD doesn't include everything in the informing material—far from it. In addition to spectacular artwork and the seductive odor of book glue, each product includes additional useful rules, helpful guidance, setting information, and adventure material that makes them well worth a purchase.

Alerts

Alerts provide definitions, rules subsets, examples, or other useful information.

Sidebars

Sidebars contain official clarifications, context, and references to other areas of the rules.

Quick References

The index provide a navigable overview of the OG-CSRD, including lists of Quick References that index large sections of content.

Editorial Additions

Editorial additions include a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the game rules, Optional Rules submitted by GMs with years of experience running the Cypher System, a list of Editorial Additions of original and edited sections of the CSRD, and What's In the Book?—a guide to products you can purchase to further supplement your adventures in the Cypher System. Content original to this edition of the CSRD are denoted as follows:

Editor's Notes — These unofficial annotations provide misprint corrections, clarifications, considerations, and cross-references to other sections of the document. Don't mistake anything in the editor's notes for "the rules", though—play it your way!

Cypher System Tools

Additional tools are available, including a Character Sentence Generator and a number of useful PDFs.

Acknowledgements

Marko Wenzel, Qedhup, Saki, JRBrabson, Caumen, Ganza Gaming, davebytemfg, JeremyT, synth, Shourn, Zantigoo, AfroSpartan, edralzar, keybounce, everyone over at the Cypher Unlimited Discord Server, and Monte Cook Games for this amazing resource. Thanks for reading, and may this record bring you and yours many happy adventures!

—Old Gus

Chapter 2 Cypher System Open License

The Cypher System is a setting-agnostic tabletop roleplaying game designed by Monte Cook Games.

This product is an independent production and is not affiliated with Monte Cook Games, LLC. It is published under the Cypher System Open License, found at http://csol.montecookgames.com.

CYPHER SYSTEM and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Chapter 3 How to Play the Cypher System

Quick Reference: How to Play the Cypher System

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 7)

This chapter provides a brief explanation of how to play the game, and it's useful for learning the game. Once you understand the basic concepts, you'll likely want to reference Chapter 11: Rules of the Game for a more in-depth treatment.

The Cypher System uses a twenty-sided die (1d20) to determine the results of most actions. Whenever a roll of any kind is called for and no die is specified, roll a d20.

The game master (GM) sets a difficulty for any given task. There are ten degrees of difficulty. Thus, the difficulty of a task can be rated on a scale of 1 to 10.

Each difficulty has a target number associated with it. The target number is always three times the task's difficulty, so a difficulty 1 task has a target number of 3, but a difficulty 4 task has a target number of 12. To succeed at the task, you must roll the target number or higher. See the Task Difficulty table for guidance in how this works.

Character skills, favorable circumstances, or excellent equipment can decrease the difficulty of a task. For example, if a character is trained in climbing, they turn a difficulty 6 climb into a difficulty 5 climb. This is called easing the difficulty by one step (or just easing the difficulty, which assumes it's eased by one step). If they are specialized in climbing, they turn a difficulty 6 climb into a difficulty 4 climb. This is called easing the difficulty by two steps. Decreasing the difficulty of a task can also be called easing a task. Some situations increase, or hinder, the difficulty of a task. If a task is hindered, it increases the difficulty by one step.

A skill is a category of knowledge, ability, or activity relating to a task, such as climbing, geography, or persuasiveness. A character who has a skill is better at completing related tasks than a character who lacks the skill. A character's level of skill is either trained (reasonably skilled) or specialized (very skilled).

If you are trained in a skill relating to a task, you ease the difficulty of that task by one step. If you are specialized, you ease the difficulty by two steps. A skill can never decrease a task's difficulty by more than two steps.

Anything else that reduces difficulty (help from an ally, a particular piece of equipment, or some other advantage) is referred to as an asset. Assets can never decrease a task's difficulty by more than two steps.

You can also decrease the difficulty of a given task by applying Effort.

To sum up, three things can decrease a task's difficulty: skills, assets, and Effort.

If you can ease a task so its difficulty is reduced to 0, you automatically succeed and don't need to make a roll.

Skills, assets, and effort are described in more detail in the Modifying the Difficulty section of Chapter 11: Rules of the Game.

Glossary

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 8)

The rules of the Cypher System are quite straightforward at their heart, as all of gameplay is based around a few core concepts.

Game master (GM)
The player who doesn't run a character, but instead guides the flow of the story and runs all the NPCs.
Nonplayer character (NPC)
Characters run by the GM. Think of them as the minor characters in the story, or the villains or opponents. This includes any kind of creature as well as people.
Party
A group of player characters (and perhaps some NPC allies).
Player character (PC)
A character run by a player rather than the GM. Think of the PCs as the main characters in the story.
Player
The players who run characters in the game.
Session
A single play experience. Usually lasts a few hours. Sometimes one adventure can be accomplished in a session. More often, one adventure is multiple sessions.
Adventure
A single portion of the campaign with a beginning and an end. Usually defined at the beginning by a goal put forth by the PCs and at the end by whether or not they achieve that goal.
Campaign
A series of sessions strung together with an overarching story (or linked stories) with the same player characters. Often, but not always, a campaign involves a number of adventures.
Character
Anything that can act in the game. Although this includes PCs and human NPCs, it also technically includes creatures, aliens, mutants, automatons, animate plants, and so on. The word "creature" is usually synonymous.

Editor's Notes — For more important game vocabulary, see Key Concepts. For an example of these concepts in practice, see An Example of Play.

When Do You Roll?

(Cypher System Ruleybook, page 8)

Any time your character attempts a task, the GM assigns a difficulty to that task, and you roll a d20 against the associated target number.

When you jump from a burning vehicle, swing an axe at a mutant beast, swim across a raging river, identify a strange device, convince a merchant to give you a lower price, craft an object, use a power to control a foe's mind, or use a blaster rifle to carve a hole in a wall, you make a d20 roll.

However, if you attempt something that has a difficulty of 0, no roll is needed—you automatically succeed. Many actions have a difficulty of 0. Examples include walking across the room and opening a door, using a special ability to negate gravity so you can fly, using an ability to protect your friend from radiation, or activating a device (that you already understand) to erect a force field. These are all routine actions and don't require rolls.

Using skills, assets, and Effort, you can ease the difficulty of potentially any task to 0 and thus negate the need for a roll. Walking across a narrow wooden beam is tricky for most people, but for an experienced gymnast, it's routine. You can even ease the difficulty of an attack on a foe to 0 and succeed without rolling.

If there's no roll, there's no chance for failure. However, there's also no chance for remarkable success (in the Cypher System, that usually means rolling a 19 or 20, which are called special rolls.

Task Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 8)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Task Difficulty
Task Difficulty Target Number Task Success Rate Description Guidance
0 (0) 100% Routine Anyone can do this basically every time.
1 (3) 90% Simple Most people can do this most of the time.
2 (6) 75% Standard Typical task requiring focus, but most people can usually do this.
3 (9) 60% Demanding Requires full attention; most people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
4 (12) 45% Difficult Trained people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
5 (15) 30% Challenging Even trained people often fail.
6 (18) 15% Intimidating Normal people almost never succeed.
7 (21) — Formidable Impossible without skills or great effort.
8 (24) −15% Heroic A task worthy of tales told for years afterward.
9 (27) −30% Immortal A task worthy of legends that last lifetimes.
10 (30) −45% Impossible A task that normal humans couldn't consider (but one that doesn't break the laws of physics).

Combat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 8)

Making an attack in combat works the same way as any other roll: the GM assigns a difficulty to the task, and you roll a d20 against the associated target number.

The difficulty of your attack roll depends on how powerful your opponent is. Just as tasks have a difficulty from 1 to 10, creatures have a level from 1 to 10. Most of the time, the difficulty of your attack roll is the same as the creature's level. For example, if you attack a level 2 bandit, it's a level 2 task, so your target number is 6.

It's worth noting that players make all die rolls. If a character attacks a creature, the player makes an attack roll. If a creature attacks a character, the player makes a defense roll.

  • Might defense: Used for resisting poison, disease, and anything else that can be overcome with strength and health.

  • Speed defense: Used for dodging attacks and escaping danger. This is by far the most commonly used defense task.

  • Intellect defense: Used for fending off mental attacks or anything that might affect or influence one's mind.

The damage dealt by an attack is not determined by a roll—it's a flat number based on the weapon or attack used. For example, a spear always does 4 points of damage.

Your Armor characteristic reduces the damage you take from attacks directed at you. You get Armor from wearing physical armor (such as a leather jacket in a modern game or chainmail in a fantasy setting) or from special abilities. Like weapon damage, Armor is a flat number, not a roll. If you're attacked, subtract your Armor from the damage you take. For example, a leather jacket gives you +1 to Armor, meaning that you take 1 less point of damage from attacks. If a mugger hits you with a knife for 2 points of damage while you're wearing a leather jacket, you take only 1 point of damage. If your Armor reduces the damage from an attack to 0, you take no damage from that attack.

When you see the word "Armor" capitalized in the game rules (other than in the name of a special ability), it refers to your Armor characteristic—the number you subtract from incoming damage. When you see the word "armor" with a lowercase "a," it refers to any physical you might wear.

Typical physical weapons come in three categories: light, medium and heavy.

  • Light weapons inflict only 2 points of damage, but they ease attack rolls because they are fast and easy to use. Light weapons are punches, kicks, clubs, knives, handaxes, rapiers, small pistols, and so on. Weapons that are particularly small are light weapons.

  • Medium weapons inflict 4 points of damage. Medium weapons include swords, battleaxes, maces, crossbows, spears, pistols, blasters, and so on. Most weapons are medium. Anything that could be used in one hand (even if it's often used in two hands, such as a quarterstaff or spear) is a medium weapon.

  • Heavy weapons inflict 6 points of damage, and you must use two hands to attack with them. Heavy weapons are huge swords, great hammers, massive axes, halberds, heavy crossbows, blaster rifles, and so on. Anything that must be used in two hands is a heavy weapon.

Editor's Notes — For more on combat, see Encounters, Rounds, and Initiative, Attack Modifiers and Special Situations, Effort and Damage, and Vehicular Combat.

Special Rolls

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 9)

When you roll a natural 19 (the d20 shows "19") and the roll is a success, you also have a minor effect. In combat, a minor effect inflicts 3 additional points of damage with your attack, or, if you'd prefer a special result, you could decide instead that you knock the foe back, distract them, or something similar. When not in combat, a minor effect could mean that you perform the action with particular grace. For example, when jumping down from a ledge, you land smoothly on your feet, or when trying to persuade someone, you convince them that you're smarter than you really are. In other words, you not only succeed but also go a bit further.

When you roll a natural 20 (the d20 shows "20") and the roll is a success, you also have a major effect. This is similar to a minor effect, but the results are more remarkable. In combat, a major effect inflicts 4 additional points of damage with your attack, but again, you can choose instead to introduce a dramatic event such as knocking down your foe, stunning them, or taking an extra action. Outside of combat, a major effect means that something beneficial happens based on the circumstance. For example, when climbing up a cliff wall, you make the ascent twice as fast. When a roll grants you a major effect, you can choose to use a minor effect instead if you prefer.

In combat (and only in combat), if you roll a natural 17 or 18 on your attack roll, you add 1 or 2 additional points of damage, respectively. Neither roll has any special effect options—just the extra damage.

Rolling a natural 1 is always bad. It means that the GM introduces a new complication into the encounter.

For more information on special rolls and how they affect combat and other interactions, see Chapter 11: Rules of the Game

Range and Speed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 10)

Distance is simplified into four categories: immediate, short, long, and very long.

  • Immediate distance from a character is within reach or within a few steps. If a character stands in a small room, everything in the room is within immediate distance. At most, immediate distance is 10 feet (3 m).

  • Short distance is anything greater than immediate distance but less than 50 feet (15 m) or so.

  • Long distance is anything greater than short distance but less than 100 feet (30 m) or so.

  • Very long distance is anything greater than long distance but less than 500 feet (150 m) or so. Beyond that range, distances are always specified—1,000 feet (300 m), a mile (1.5 km), and so on.

The idea is that it's not necessary to measure precise distances. Immediate distance is right there, practically next to the character. Short distance is nearby. Long distance is farther off. Very long distance is really far off.

All weapons and special abilities use these terms for ranges. For example, all melee weapons have immediate range—they are close-combat weapons, and you can use them to attack anyone within immediate distance. A thrown knife (and most other thrown weapons) has short range. A bow has long range. An Adept's Onslaught ability also has short range.

A character can move an immediate distance as part of another action. In other words, they can take a few steps over to the control panel and activate a switch. They can lunge across a small room to attack a foe. They can open a door and step through.

A character can move a short distance as their entire action for a turn. They can also try to move a long distance as their entire action, but the player might have to roll to see if the character slips, trips, or stumbles as the result of moving so far so quickly.

For example, if the PCs are fighting a group of cultists, any character can likely attack any cultist in the general melee—they're all within immediate range. Exact positions aren't important. Creatures in a fight are always moving, shifting, and jostling, anyway. However, if one cultist stayed back to fire a pistol, a character might have to use their entire action to move the short distance required to attack that foe. It doesn't matter if the cultist is 20 feet (6 m) or 40 feet (12 m) away—it's simply considered short distance. It does matter if the cultist is more than 50 feet (15 m) away because that distance would require a long or very long move.

Many rules in this system avoid the cumbersome need for precision. Does it really matter if the ghost is 13 feet away from you or 18? Probably not. That kind of needless specificity only slows things down and draws away from, rather than contributes to, the story.

Experience Points

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 11)

Experience points (XP) are rewards given to players when the GM intrudes on the story (this is called GM intrusion) with a new and unexpected challenge. For example, in the middle of combat, the GM might inform the player that they drop their weapon. However, to intrude in this manner, the GM must award the player 2 XP. The rewarded player, in turn, must immediately give one of those XP to another player and justify the gift (perhaps the other player had a good idea, told a funny joke, performed an action that saved a life, and so on).

Alternatively, the player can refuse the GM intrusion. If they do so, they don't get the 2 XP from the GM, and they must also spend 1 XP that they already have. If the player has no XP to spend, they can't refuse the intrusion.

The GM can also give players XP between sessions as a reward for making discoveries during an adventure. Discoveries are interesting facts, wondrous secrets, powerful artifacts, answers to mysteries, or solutions to problems (such as where the kidnappers are keeping their victim or how the PCs repair the starship). You don't earn XP for killing foes or overcoming standard challenges in the course of play. Discovery is the soul of the Cypher System.

Experience points are used primarily for character advancement (for details, see Chapter 4: Creating Your Character), but a player can also spend 1 XP to reroll any die roll and take the better of the two rolls.

Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 12)

Cyphers are abilities that have a single use. In many campaigns, cyphers aren't physical objects—they might be a spell cast upon a character, a blessing from a god, or just a quirk of fate that gives them a momentary advantage. In some campaigns, cyphers are physical objects that characters can carry. Whether or not cyphers are physical objects, they are part of the character (like equipment or a special ability) and are things characters can use during the game. The form that physical cyphers take depends on the setting. In a fantasy world they might be wands or potions, but in a science fiction game they could be alien crystals or prototype devices.

Characters will find new cyphers frequently in the course of play, so players shouldn't hesitate to use their cypher abilities. Because cyphers are always different, the characters will always have new special powers to try.

Other Dice

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 12)

In addition to a d20, you'll need a d6 (a six-sided die). Rarely, you'll need to roll a number between 1 and 100 (often called a d100 or d% roll), which you can do by rolling a d20 twice, using the last digit of the first roll as the "tens" place and the last digit of the second roll as the "ones" place. For example, rolling a 17 and a 9 gives you 79, rolling a 3 and an 18 gives you 38, and rolling a 20 and a 10 gives you 00 (also known as 100). If you have a d10 (a ten-sided die), you can use it instead of the d20 to roll numbers between 1 and 100.

A d6 is used most often for recovery rolls and to determine the level of cyphers.

Part 1 Characters

Chapter 4 Creating Your Character

Quick Reference: Creating Your Character

Optional Rules

PDFs

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 14)

This chapter explains how to create characters to play in a Cypher System game. This involves a series of decisions that will shape your character, so the more you understand what kind of character you want to play, the easier character creation will be. The process involves understanding the values of three game statistics and choosing three aspects that determine your character's capabilities.

Character Stats

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 14)

Every player character has three defining characteristics, which are typically called "statistics" or "stats." These stats are Might, Speed, and Intellect. They are broad categories that cover many different but related aspects of a character.

Might

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 14)

Might defines how strong and durable your character is. The concepts of strength, endurance, constitution, hardiness, and physical prowess are all folded into this one stat. Might isn't relative to size; instead, it's an absolute measurement. An elephant has more Might than the mightiest tiger, which has more Might than the mightiest rat, which has more Might than the mightiest spider.

Might governs actions from forcing doors open to walking for days without food to resisting disease. It's also the primary means of determining how much damage your character can sustain in a dangerous situation. Physical characters, tough characters, and characters interested in fighting should focus on Might.

Might could be thought of as Might/Health because it governs how strong you are and how much physical punishment you can take.

Speed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 14)

Speed describes how fast and physically coordinated your character is. The stat embodies quickness, movement, dexterity, and reflexes. Speed governs such divergent actions as dodging attacks, sneaking around quietly, and throwing a ball accurately. It helps determine whether you can move farther on your turn. Nimble, fast, or sneaky characters will want good Speed stats, as will those interested in ranged combat.

Speed could be thought of as Speed/Agility because it governs your overall swiftness and reflexes.

Intellect

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 14)

This stat determines how smart, knowledgeable, and likable your character is. It includes intelligence, wisdom, charisma, education, reasoning, wit, willpower, and charm. Intellect governs solving puzzles, remembering facts, telling convincing lies, and using mental powers. Characters interested in communicating effectively, being learned scholars, or wielding supernatural powers should stress their Intellect stat.

Intellect could be thought of as Intellect/Personality because it governs both intelligence and charisma.

Defense Tasks

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 23)

Defense tasks are when a player makes a roll to keep something undesirable from happening to their PC. The type of defense task matters when using Effort.

  • Might defense: Used for resisting poison, disease, and anything else that can be overcome with strength and health.

  • Speed defense: Used for dodging attacks and escaping danger. This is by far the most commonly used defense task.

  • Intellect defense: Used for fending off mental attacks or anything that might affect or influence one's mind.

Pool, Edge, and Effort

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 15)

Each of the three stats has two components: Pool and Edge. Your Pool represents your raw, innate ability, and your Edge represents knowing how to use what you have. A third element ties into this concept: Effort. When your character really needs to accomplish a task, you apply Effort.

Your stat Pools, as well as your Effort and Edge, are determined by the character type, descriptor, and focus that you choose. Within those guidelines, however, you have a lot of flexibility in how you develop your character.

Pool

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 15)

Your Pool is the most basic measurement of a stat. Comparing the Pools of two creatures will give you a general sense of which creature is superior in that stat. For example, a character who has a Might Pool of 16 is stronger (in a basic sense) than a character who has a Might Pool of 12. Most characters start with a Pool of 9 to 12 in most stats—that's the average range.

When your character is injured, sickened, or attacked, you temporarily lose points from one of your stat Pools. The nature of the attack determines which Pool loses points. For example, physical damage from a sword reduces your Might Pool, a poison that makes you clumsy reduces your Speed Pool, and a psionic blast reduces your Intellect Pool. You can also spend points from one of your stat Pools to decrease a task's difficulty (see Effort, below). You can rest to recover lost points from a stat Pool, and some special abilities or cyphers might allow you to recover lost points quickly.

Editor's Notes — One way to think about your stat Pools is a well of stamina, potential, and efficacy. The remaining points in your Pools are what you have left to give by using special abilities with costs, or applying Effort. You can increase your stat Pools through character advancement and special abilities like Enhanced Might, Enhanced Speed, and Enhanced Intellect.

Edge

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 15)

Although your Pool is the basic measurement of a stat, your Edge is also important. When something requires you to spend points from a stat Pool, your Edge for that stat reduces the cost. It also reduces the cost of applying Effort to a roll.

For example, let's say you have a mental blast ability, and activating it costs 1 point from your Intellect Pool. Subtract your Intellect Edge from the activation cost, and the result is how many points you must spend to use the mental blast. If using your Edge reduces the cost to 0, you can use the ability for free.

Your Edge can be different for each stat. For example, you could have a Might Edge of 1, a Speed Edge of 1, and an Intellect Edge of 0. You'll always have an Edge of at least 1 in one stat. Your Edge for a stat reduces the cost of spending points from that stat Pool, but not from other Pools. Your Might Edge reduces the cost of spending points from your Might Pool, but it doesn't affect your Speed Pool or Intellect Pool. Once a stat's Edge reaches 3, you can apply one level of Effort for free.

A character who has a low Might Pool but a high Might Edge has the potential to perform Might actions consistently better than a character who has a Might Edge of 0. The high Edge will let them reduce the cost of spending points from the Pool, which means they'll have more points available to spend on applying Effort.

Editor's Notes — One way to think about Edge is "effortlessness" or "efficiency"—Edge represents what a PC can accomplish with a stat without having to try very hard or spend points from a stat Pool. You can increase your Edge through character advancement and special abilities like Enhanced Might Edge, Enhanced Speed Edge, and Enhanced Intellect Edge. For more on Edge, see Effort Costs and Edge Reductions.

Effort

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 15)

When your character really needs to accomplish a task, you can apply Effort. For a beginning character, applying Effort requires spending 3 points from the stat Pool appropriate to the action. Thus, if your character tries to dodge an attack (a Speed roll) and wants to increase the chance for success, you can apply Effort by spending 3 points from your Speed Pool. Effort eases the task by one step. This is called applying one level of Effort.

You don't have to apply Effort if you don't want to. If you choose to apply Effort to a task, you must do it before you attempt the roll—you can't roll first and then decide to apply Effort if you rolled poorly.

Applying more Effort can lower a task's difficulty further: each additional level of Effort eases the task by another step. Applying one level of Effort eases the task by one step, applying two levels eases the task by two steps, and so on. However, each level of Effort after the first costs only 2 points from the stat Pool instead of 3. So applying two levels of Effort costs 5 points (3 for the first level plus 2 for the second level), applying three levels costs 7 points (3 plus 2 plus 2), and so on.

Every character has an Effort score, which indicates the maximum number of levels of Effort that can be applied to a roll. A beginning (first-tier) character has an Effort of 1, meaning you can apply only one level of Effort to a roll. A more experienced character has a higher Effort score and can apply more levels of Effort to a roll. For example, a character who has an Effort of 3 can apply up to three levels of Effort to reduce a task's difficulty.

When you apply Effort, subtract your relevant Edge from the total cost of applying Effort. For example, let's say you need to make a Speed roll. To increase your chance for success, you decide to apply one level of Effort, which will ease the task. Normally, that would cost 3 points from your Speed Pool. However, you have a Speed Edge of 2, so you subtract that from the cost. Thus, applying Effort to the roll costs only 1 point from your Speed Pool.

What if you applied two levels of Effort to the Speed roll instead of just one? That would ease the task by two steps. Normally, it would cost 5 points from your Speed Pool, but after subtracting your Speed Edge of 2, it costs only 3 points.

Once a stat's Edge reaches 3, you can apply one level of Effort for free. For example, if you have a Speed Edge of 3 and you apply one level of Effort to a Speed roll, it costs you 0 points from your Speed Pool. (Normally, applying one level of Effort would cost 3 points, but you subtract your Speed Edge from that cost, reducing it to 0.)

Skills and other advantages also ease a task, and you can use them in conjunction with Effort. In addition, your character might have special abilities or equipment that allow you to apply Effort to accomplish a special effect, such as knocking down a foe with an attack or affecting multiple targets with a power that normally affects only one.

When applying Effort to melee attacks, you have the option of spending points from either your Might Pool or your Speed Pool. When making ranged attacks, you may spend points only from your Speed Pool. This reflects that with melee you sometimes use brute force and sometimes use finesse, but with ranged attacks, it's always about careful targeting.

Editor's Notes — You can increase your Effort score through character advancement. For more on Effort, see Effort Costs and Edge Reductions and Effort in Chapter 11: Rules of the Game.

Effort and Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 16)

Instead of applying Effort to ease your attack, you can apply Effort to increase the amount of damage you inflict with an attack. For each level of Effort you apply in this way, you inflict 3 additional points of damage. This works for any kind of attack that inflicts damage, whether a sword, a crossbow, a mind blast, or something else.

When using Effort to increase the damage of an area attack, such as the explosion created by an Adept's Concussion ability, you inflict 2 additional points of damage instead of 3 points. However, the additional points are dealt to all targets in the area. Further, even if one or more of the targets resist the attack, they still take 1 point of damage.

Multiple Uses of Effort and Edge

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 16)

If your Effort is 2 or higher, you can apply Effort to multiple aspects of a single action. For example, if you make an attack, you can apply Effort to your attack roll and apply Effort to increase the damage.

The total amount of Effort you apply can't be higher than your Effort score. For example, if your Effort is 2, you can apply up to two levels of Effort. You could apply one level to an attack roll and one level to its damage, two levels to the attack and no levels to the damage, or no levels to the attack and two levels to the damage.

You can use Edge for a particular stat only once per action. For example, if you apply Effort to a Might attack roll and to your damage, you can use your Might Edge to reduce the cost of one of those uses of Effort, not both. If you spend 1 Intellect point to activate your mind blast and one level of Effort to ease the attack roll, you can use your Intellect Edge to reduce the cost of one of those things, not both.

Stat Examples

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 16)

A beginning character is fighting a giant rat. The PC stabs their spear at the rat, which is a level 2 creature and thus has a target number of 6. The character stands atop a boulder and strikes downward at the beast, and the GM rules that this helpful tactic is an asset that eases the attack by one step (to difficulty 1). That lowers the target number to 3. Attacking with a spear is a Might action; the character has a Might Pool of 11 and a Might Edge of 0. Before making the roll, they decide to apply a level of Effort to ease the attack. That costs 3 points from their Might Pool, reducing the Pool to 8. But the points are well spent. Applying the Effort lowers the difficulty from 1 to 0, so no roll is needed—the attack automatically succeeds.

Another character is attempting to convince a guard to let them into a private office to speak to an influential noble. The GM rules that this is an Intellect action. The character is third tier and has an Effort of 3, an Intellect Pool of 13, and an Intellect Edge of 1. Before making the roll, they must decide whether to apply Effort. They can choose to apply one, two, or three levels of Effort, or apply none at all. This action is important to them, so they decide to apply two levels of Effort, easing the task by two steps. Thanks to their Intellect Edge, applying the Effort costs only 4 points from their Intellect Pool (3 points for the first level of Effort plus 2 points for the second level minus 1 point for their Edge). Spending those points reduces their Intellect Pool to 9. The GM decides that convincing the guard is a difficulty 3 (demanding) task with a target number of 9; applying two levels of Effort reduces the difficulty to 1 (simple) and the target number to 3. The player rolls a d20 and gets an 8. Because this result is at least equal to the target number of the task, they succeed. However, if they had not applied some Effort, they would have failed because their roll (8) would have been less than the task's original target number (9).

Effort Costs and Edge Reductions

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on social media posts made by Cypher System designers Bruce R. Cordell and Sean K. Reynolds, and input from others.

While the description of Edge says "once a stat's Edge reaches 3, you can apply one level of Effort for free", that's not strictly true—your Edge of 3 is subtracted from the cost of spending the 3 points to use that level of Effort, negating the cost of using it. Furthermore, the final paragraph of Multiple Uses of Effort and Edge might lead one to believe that cost reductions for using abilities and using Effort are separate, potentially causing a remainder of Edge to go to waste, but this isn't the case. Instead, when resolving an action:

  1. Total all Pool point costs for the task stat—including Effort used, special abilities activated, Speed Effort cost for wearing armor, or an initial cost determined by the GM. Most of the time, all costs are paid from the same Pool as the task stat, and resolved with a single task roll.

  2. Subtract each stat's Edge from its total Pool point cost. Pay any remaining costs.

For example, if you attack with your Onslaught ability (1 Intellect point), and use one level of Effort to ease the attack (3 Intellect points), and a second level of Effort to increase the damage (2 Intellect points), the total cost for the action is 6 Intellect points. An Intellect Edge of 3 would then reduce the cost of the action to 3 Intellect points.

Pool Costs for Effort and Edge

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The following table displays levels of Effort, their effective change in task difficulty, and the number of Pool points spent, adjusted for Edge. Most of the time, you can consult the table, then add any costs from special abilities or initial cost incurred by the task for a total.

Pool Costs for Simplified Effort and Edge
Levels of Effort Used Target Number Modification Task Success Rate 1 Weakness 0 Edge 1 Edge 2 Edge 3 Edge 4 Edge 5 Edge 6 Edge
0 — — 0–1† — — — — — — —
1 (−3) +15% 4 3 2 1 — — — —
2 (−6) +30% 6 5 4 3 2 1 — —
3 (−9) +45% 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
4 (−12) +60% 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
5 (−15) +75% 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
6 (−18) +90% 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
  • † — Weakness is like negative Edge. If PC pays Pool points for performing the task from a stat with which they have a weakness, the cost is increased still by 1, even if no Effort was used.
Actions with Multiple Tasks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In the game rules, "action", "task", and "roll" are used almost interchangeably, but there is a kind of hierarchy to them:

Most of the time, PCs can spend Effort on each task they perform (and thus each roll they make). Let's examine a few examples:

  • Defending: Because the player always rolls, PCs often have to frantically perform actions and tasks—even when it isn't their turn. For example, let's say you are fighting a giant squid. You might end up spending Effort on several Speed defense tasks. Each of these is an action—one the PC didn't choose—but they can choose how much Effort to use on each one.

  • Complex Actions: A PC has lot more agency when it comes to the action they take on their turn. Most of the time, a PC's action is resolved in just one task, but there are exceptions. For example, let's say you use your action to move a short distance and make an attack. If you fail the assigned difficulty 4 Speed task, you don't get to make the attack at all. Using Effort might make the difference, so forcing you to decide how much Effort to withhold for a second task—one that might not even occur—only complicates your decision-making and slows down the game. By providing an opportunity to use as much Effort as you want on the prerequisite task, the game naturally creates an initial cost for pushing the limit of what can be accomplished with just one action.

  • Special Abilities: A few special abilities allow PCs to perform multiple tasks "as part of the same action", for example, Dual Light Wield and Fleet of Foot. Others create new uses for Effort, for example, Hemorrhage and Reveal. When this is the case, the ability will any explain special uses or restrictions on diving your Effort among multiple tasks.

  • Effort and Edge: Remember that while Effort use is limited by each task, Edge reduces stat Pool point costs only once for an action—even if that action prompted multiple tasks and cost expenditures.

Optional Rule: Using Other Pools to Pay Cost Remainders

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

If you lack the available Pool points to pay the cost of performing a task, you can pay the remainder of the cost from your other Pools, in the same order they are depleted by taking damage: Might, then Speed, and finally, Intellect. When you do, you don't change your position on the damage track as a result of the expenditure until after the task is resolved.

Using this house rule, a wizard who is out of "mana" (Intellect points) might resort to blood sacrifice, casting spells by spending points from their Might Pool instead. A battered warrior whose Might and Speed pools are nearly depleted might yet be able to mount a defense—or final heroic act—by mustering their willpower (Intellect points). In either case, this is a risky strategy—placing PCs at risk of quickly moving even further down the damage track. However, abilities like Mind for Might and Think Your Way Out might feel a little less special when using this rule.

Optional Rule: Using Effort After Rolling the Die

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

When you roll the die, you can choose to use Effort after result of the roll is determined. Using Effort in this way might turn a failure into a success, inflict additional damage, or do something else specified by a special ability.

Special Rolls: The GM decides if Pool point costs for using Effort in this way are regained after a special roll of 20.

Using this house rule, players never need to feel like Effort used was "wasted" because of a low roll. However, their newly acquired efficiency in Pool point expenditure might require the GM to find new ways of challenging the PCs.

Character Tiers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 17)

Every character starts the game at the first tier. Tier is a measurement of power, toughness, and ability. Characters can advance up to the sixth tier. As your character advances to higher tiers, you gain more abilities, increase your Effort, and can improve a stat's Edge or increase a stat. Generally speaking, even first-tier characters are already quite capable. It's safe to assume that they've already got some experience under their belt. This is not a "zero to hero" progression, but rather an instance of competent people refining and honing their capabilities and knowledge. Advancing to higher tiers is not really the goal of Cypher System characters, but rather a representation of how characters progress in a story.

To progress to the next tier, characters earn experience points (XP) by pursuing character arcs, going on adventures, and discovering new things—the system is about both discovery and exploration, as well as achieving personal goals. Experience points have many uses, and one use is to purchase character benefits. After your character purchases four character benefits, they advance to the next tier. Each benefit costs 4 XP, and you can purchase them in any order, but you must purchase one of each kind of benefit (and then advance to the next tier) before you can purchase the same benefit again. The four character benefits are as follows.

  • Increasing Capabilities: You gain 4 points to add to your stat Pools. You can allocate the points among the Pools however you wish.

  • Moving Toward Perfection: You add 1 to your Might Edge, your Speed Edge, or your Intellect Edge (your choice).

  • Extra Effort: Your Effort score increases by 1.

  • Skills: You become trained in one skill of your choice, other than attacks or defense. As described in Chapter 11: Rules of the Game, a character trained in a skill treats the difficulty of a related task as one step lower than normal. The skill you choose for this benefit can be anything you wish, such as climbing, jumping, persuading, or sneaking. You can also choose to be knowledgeable in a certain area of lore, such as history or geology. You can even choose a skill based on your character's special abilities. For example, if your character can make an Intellect roll to blast an enemy with mental force, you can become trained in using that ability, easing the task of using it. If you choose a skill that you are already trained in, you become specialized in that skill, easing related tasks by two steps instead of one.

  • Other Options: Players can also spend 4 XP to purchase other special options in lieu of gaining a new skill. Selecting any of these options counts as the skill benefit necessary to advance to the next tier. The special options are as follows:

Skills are a broad category of things your character can learn and accomplish. For a list of sample skills, see below.

Editor's Notes — For more on Character Advancement, see Chapter 11: Rules of the Game.

Character Descriptor, Type, and Focus

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 18)

To create your character, you build a simple statement that describes them. The statement takes this form:

"I am an [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]."

In this sentence, the adjective is called your descriptor. Your descriptor defines your character—it colors everything you do. Unless your GM says otherwise, you can choose from any of the character descriptors.

The noun is your character type. Your character type is the core of your character. In some roleplaying games, it might be called your character class.

The verb is called your focus. Focus is what your character does best. Focus gives your character specificity and provides interesting new abilities that might come in handy. Your focus also helps you understand how you relate with the other player characters in your group. The foci you choose from will probably depend on the setting and genre of your game.

You can use the Flavors chapter to slightly modify character types to customize them for different genres.

Cypher System Character Sentence Generator

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

To create your character, you make a simple statement that describes them. The character sentence takes this form:

"I am an [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]."

"I am a [descriptor] [type] who [focus]."

"I am a [Descriptor] [Type] [Flavor] who [Focus]."

"I [Character Arc]."

Character Creation Checklist

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Available character options and the use of any optional rules are determined by the GM.

  1. Choose a descriptor and focus first. These are the core parts of your character's identity.

  2. Choose the type that best completes your character concept. If you feel there's something missing, talk to the GM about adding a flavor.

  3. Choose a character arc. If the GM allows, you might be able to change your character options by completing certain character arcs.

  4. Talk to the GM about equipment or cyphers you will start the game with, or any further customization or optional rules that affect character creation.

  5. Gather together with the GM and PCs and start playing the Cypher System!

Online Character Sheets

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The official Cypher System Character Builder can create and share character sheets quickly, and exports characters to PDF or to the Cypher System by mrkwnzl for Foundry VTT, which has an optional Cypher SRD Compendium module, a Cypher System Community Content module that includes other useful tools for running the game (including Old Gus' Daft Drafts).

Alternatively, Roll20 provides a serviceable free Cypher System implementation, with a free version of the Cypher System Reference Rules Primer.

PDFs

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The follwing PDF files can help you organize your game, especially if you are playing in person.

Character Sheets

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Official PDF Cypher System Character Portfolios and Character Sheets are available for free from Monte Cook Games.

Old Gus' Unofficial Cypher System Character Sheet (OG-CSCS) is a high contrast, form-fillable PDF character sheet that allows for additional customization for your character or campaign.

Alternatively, Variarte's Cypher System Character Sheet is form-fillable, and features a simple layout with a quick-reference to help the GM teach others how to play.

Sidekick Character Sheet

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick character sheet is a high contrast, form-fillable PDF character sheet you can use to keep track of important followers, companions, and sidekicks.

Cheat Sheets

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Old Gus' Cypher System Quick-Reference provides a 2-page overvew of the game's most important rules for players.

Alternatively, try these options:

Player's Guide

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Old Gus' Unofficial Cypher System Player's Guide (OG-CSPG) presents a condensed version of the game rules and character options just for players. You can read it online or use the PDF to print excerpts for player portfolios for descriptors, types, foci, and more.

Cypher Decks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Monte Cook Games sells a number of useful physical card decks across their product lines.

Alternatively, Old Gus' Cypher Decks (OG-CD) includes printable roll tables with card-sized handouts for each cypher, reference cards for the rules of cypher use, and templates for you to create your own cyphers ahead of—or during—the game.

Special Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 18)

Character types and foci grant PCs special abilities at each new tier. Using these abilities usually costs points from your stat Pools; the cost is listed in parentheses after the ability name. Your Edge in the appropriate stat can reduce the cost of the ability, but remember that you can apply Edge only once per action. For example, let's say an Adept with an Intellect Edge of 2 wants to use their Onslaught ability to create a bolt of force, which costs 1 Intellect point. They also want to increase the damage from the attack by using a level of Effort, which costs 3 Intellect points. The total cost for their action is 2 points from their Intellect Pool (1 point for the bolt of force, plus 3 points for using Effort, minus 2 points from their Edge).

  • Ability Costs and Effort: Sometimes the point cost for an ability has a + sign after the number. For example, the cost might be given as "2+ Intellect points." That means you can spend more points or more levels of Effort to improve the ability further, as explained in the ability description.

  • Action Abilities: Many special abilities grant a character the option to perform an action that they couldn't normally do, such as projecting rays of cold or attacking multiple foes at once. Using one of these abilities is an action unto itself, and the end of the ability's description says "Action" to remind you. It also might provide more information about when or how you perform the action.

  • Enabler Abilities: Some special abilities allow you to perform a familiar action—one that you can already do—in a different way. For example, an ability might let you wear heavy armor, reduce the difficulty of Speed defense rolls, or add 2 points of fire damage to your weapon damage. These abilities are called enablers. Using one of these abilities is not considered an action. Enablers either function constantly (such as being able to wear heavy armor, which isn't an action) or happen as part of another action (such as adding fire damage to your weapon damage, which happens as part of your attack action). If a special ability is an enabler, the end of the ability's description says "Enabler" to remind you.

  • Ability Durations: Some abilities specify a duration, but you can always end one of your own abilities anytime you wish.

Because the Cypher System covers so many genres, not all of the descriptors, types, and foci might be available for players. The GM will decide what's available in their particular game and whether anything is modified, and they'll let the players know.

Editor's Notes — For more on special abilities, see Chapter 9: Abilities.

Skills

Quick Reference: Skills

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 19)

The Cypher System has no definitive list of skills. However, the following list offers ideas:

Sometimes your character gains training in a specific skill or task. For example, your focus might mean that you're trained in sneaking, in climbing and jumping, or in social interactions. Other times, your character can choose a skill to become trained in, and you can pick a skill that relates to any task you think you might face.

You could choose a skill that incorporates more than one of these areas (interacting might include deceiving, intimidation, and persuasion) or that is a more specific version of one (hiding might be sneaking when you're not moving). You could also make up more general professional skills, such as baker, sailor, or lumberjack. If you want to choose a skill that's not on this list, it's probably best to run it past the GM first, but in general, the most important thing is to choose skills that are appropriate to your character.

Remember that if you gain a skill that you're already trained in, you become specialized in that skill. Because skill descriptions can be nebulous, determining whether you're trained or specialized might take some thinking. For example, if you're trained in lying and later gain an ability that grants you skill with all social interactions, you become specialized in lying and trained in all other types of interactions. Being trained three times in a skill is no better than being trained twice (in other words, specialized is as good as it gets).

Only skills gained through character type abilities or other rare instances allow you to become skilled with attack or defense tasks.

If you gain a special ability through your type, your focus, or some other aspect of your character, you can choose it in place of a skill and become trained or specialized in that ability. For example, if you have a mind blast, when it's time to choose a skill to be trained in, you can select your mind blast as your skill. That would ease the attack every time you used it. Each ability you have counts as a separate skill for this purpose. You can't select "all mind powers" or "all spells" as one skill and become trained or specialized in such a broad category.

Skill Training

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

As defined in the Key Concepts, having an inability is the opposite of being trained—you're hindered whenever you attempt a task that you have an inability in. If you also become trained in the task, the training and the inability cancel each other out and you become practiced. You can gain new skills or improve your existing skills through character advancement.

Skill Level and Task Difficulty
Skill Level Task Difficulty Target Number Modification Task Success Rate
Inability hindered by one step (+3) −15%
Practiced — — —
Trained eased by one step (−3) +15%
Specialized eased by two steps (−6) +30%
Languages

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 19)

In most campaigns, fluency in a language is considered a skill. So if you want to speak French, that's the same as being trained in biology or swimming.

Optional Rule: Skills from Backgrounds

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Skills from Backgrounds (235) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

The GM can allow players to choose one or two additional narrow skills appropriate to their PC's background. For example, if an Adept's family owns a large vineyard as a result of rolling on the Adept Background Connection table, they might be skilled in wine-making or being a sommelier. Background skills aren't immediately applicable to the game's primary adventures, but should instead address other aspects of the PC, world, or setting. Skills with attacks, defense, or wearing armor are not appropriate background skills.

The GM can also use the Further Customization or XP Advance optional rules to allow PCs to start the game trained in even more skills.

Chapter 5 Type

Quick Reference: Type

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 20)

Character type is the core of your character. Your type helps determine your character's place in the world and relationship with other people in the setting. It's the noun of the sentence "I am an adjective noun who verbs."

In some roleplaying games, your character type might be called your character class.

You can choose from four character types: Warrior, Adept, Explorer, and Speaker. However, you may not want to use these generic names for them. This chapter offers a few more specific names for each type that might be more appropriate to various genres. You'll find that names like "Warrior" or "Explorer" don't always feel right, particularly in games set in modern times. As always, you're free to do as you wish.

Your type is who your character is. You should use whatever name you want for your type, as long as it fits both your character and the setting.

Since the type is the basis upon which your whole character is built, it's important to consider how the type relates to the chosen setting. To help with this, types are actually general archetypes. A Warrior, for example, might be anyone from a knight in shining armor to a cop on the streets to a grizzled cybernetic veteran of a thousand futuristic wars.

To further massage the four types for better use in various settings, different methods called flavors are presented in Chapter 6: Flavor to help slightly tailor the types toward fantasy, science fiction, or other genres (or to address different character concepts).

Finally, more fundamental options for further customization are provided at the end of this chapter.

Player Intrusion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 21)

A player intrusion is the player choosing to alter something in the campaign, making things easier for a player character. Conceptually, it is the reverse of a GM intrusion: instead of the GM giving the player XP and introducing an unexpected complication for a character, the player spends 1 XP and presents a solution to a problem or complication. What a player intrusion can do usually introduces a change to the world or current circumstances rather than directly changing the character. For instance, an intrusion indicating that the cypher just used still has an additional use would be appropriate, but an intrusion that heals the character would not. If a player has no XP to spend, they can't use a player intrusion.

A few player intrusion examples are provided under each type. That said, not every player intrusion listed there is appropriate for all situations. The GM may allow players to come up with other player intrusion suggestions, but the GM is the final arbiter of whether the suggested intrusion is appropriate for the character's type and suitable for the situation. If the GM refuses the intrusion, the player doesn't spend the 1 XP, and the intrusion doesn't occur.

Using an intrusion does not require a character to use an action to trigger it. A player intrusion just happens.

Player intrusions should be limited to no more than one per player per session.

Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 20)

  • Fantasy/Fairy tale: Warrior, fighter, swordsman, knight, barbarian, soldier, myrmidon, valkyrie

  • Modern/Horror/Romance: police officer, soldier, watchman, detective, guard, brawler, tough, athlete

  • Science fiction: security officer, warrior, trooper, soldier, merc

  • Superhero/Post-Apocalyptic: hero, brick, bruiser

You're a good ally to have in a fight. You know how to use weapons and defend yourself. Depending on the genre and setting in question, this might mean wielding a sword and shield in the gladiatorial arena, an AK-47 and a bandolier of grenades in a savage firefight, or a blaster rifle and powered armor when exploring an alien planet.

  • Individual Role: Warriors are physical, action-oriented people. They're more likely to overcome a challenge using force than by other means, and they often take the most straightforward path toward their goals.

  • Group Role: Warriors usually take and deal the most punishment in a dangerous situation. Often it falls on them to protect the other group members from threats. This sometimes means that warriors take on leadership roles as well, at least in combat and other times of danger.

  • Societal Role: Warriors aren't always soldiers or mercenaries. Anyone who is ready for violence, or even potential violence, might be a Warrior in the general sense. This includes guards, watchmen, police officers, sailors, or people in other roles or professions who know how to defend themselves with skill.

  • Advanced Warriors: As warriors advance, their skill in battle—whether defending themselves or dishing out damage—increases to impressive levels. At higher tiers, they can often take on groups of foes by themselves or stand toe to toe with anyone.

Warrior Player Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 21)

You can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.

  • Perfect Setup: You're fighting at least three foes and each one is standing in exactly the right spot for you to use a move you trained in long ago, allowing you to attack all three as a single action. Make a separate attack roll for each foe. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action.

  • Old Friend: A comrade in arms from your past shows up unexpectedly and provides aid in whatever you're doing. They are on a mission of their own and can't stay longer than it takes to help out, chat for a while after, and perhaps share a quick meal.

  • Weapon Break: Your foe's weapon has a weak spot. In the course of the combat, it quickly becomes damaged and moves two steps down the object damage track.

Warrior Stat Pools

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 21)

Warrior Stat Pools
Stat Pool Starting Value
Might 10
Speed 10
Intellect 8

You get 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

Warrior Background Connection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 22)

Your type helps determine the connection you have to the setting. Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Warrior Background Connection
d20 Background
1 You were in the military and have friends who still serve. Your former commander remembers you well.
2 You were the bodyguard of a wealthy woman who accused you of theft. You left her service in disgrace.
3 You were the bouncer in a local bar for a while, and the patrons there remember you.
4 You trained with a highly respected mentor. They regard you well, but they have many enemies.
5 You trained in an isolated monastery. The monks think of you as a brother, but you're a stranger to all others.
6 You have no formal training. Your abilities come to you naturally (or unnaturally).
7 You spent time on the streets and were in prison for a while.
8 You were conscripted into military service, but you deserted before long.
9 You served as a bodyguard to a powerful criminal who now owes you their life.
10 You worked as a police officer or constable of some kind. Everyone knows you, but their opinions of you vary.
11 Your older sibling is an infamous character who has been disgraced.
12 You served as a guard for someone who traveled extensively. You know a smattering of people in many locations.
13 Your best friend is a teacher or scholar. They are a great source of knowledge.
14 You and a friend both smoke the same kind of rare, expensive tobacco. The two of you get together weekly to chat and smoke.
15 Your uncle runs a theater in town. You know all the actors and watch all the shows for free.
16 Your craftsman friend sometimes calls on you for help. However, they pay you well.
17 Your mentor wrote a book on martial arts. Sometimes people seek you out to ask about its stranger passages.
18 Someone you fought alongside in the military is now the mayor of a nearby town.
19 You saved the lives of a family when their house burned down. They're indebted to you, and their neighbors regard you as a hero.
20 Your old trainer still expects you to come back and clean up after their classes; when you do, they occasionally share interesting rumors.
First-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 21)

First-tier warriors have the following abilities:

  • Effort: Your Effort is 1.

  • Physical Nature: You have a Might Edge of 1 and a Speed Edge of 0, or you have a Might Edge of 0 and a Speed Edge of 1. Either way, you have an Intellect Edge of 0.

  • Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time.

  • Weapons: You become practiced with light, medium, and heavy weapons and suffer no penalty when using any kind of weapon. Enabler.

  • Starting Equipment: Appropriate clothing and two weapons of your choice, plus one expensive item, two moderately priced items, and up to four inexpensive items.

  • Special Abilities: Choose four of the abilities listed below. You can't choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise. The full description for each listed ability can be found in Abilities, which also has descriptions for flavor and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Second-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 22)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Remember that at higher tiers, you can choose special abilities from lower tiers. This is sometimes the best way to ensure that you have exactly the character you want. This is particularly true with abilities that grant skills, which can usually be taken multiple times.

Third-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 22)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fourth-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 22)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fifth-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 23)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Sixth-Tier Warrior

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 23)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Warrior Example

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 23)

Ray wants to create a Warrior character for a modern campaign. He decides that the character is an ex-military fellow who is fast and strong. He puts 3 of his additional points into his Might Pool and 3 into his Speed Pool; his stat Pools are now Might 13, Speed 13, and Intellect 8. As a first-tier character, his Effort is 1, his Might Edge is 1, and his Speed Edge and Intellect Edge are both 0. His character is not particularly smart or charismatic.

He wants to use a large combat knife (a medium weapon that inflicts 4 points of damage) and a .357 Magnum (a heavy pistol that inflicts 6 points of damage but requires the use of both hands). Ray decides not to wear armor, as it's not really appropriate to the setting, so for his first ability, he chooses Trained Without Armor so he eases Speed defense actions. For his second ability, he chooses Combat Prowess so he can inflict extra damage with his big knife.

Ray wants to be fast as well as tough, so he selects Improved Edge. This gives him a Speed Edge of 1. He rounds out his character with Physical Skills and chooses swimming and running.

The Warrior can bear two cyphers. The GM decides that Ray's first cypher is a pill that restores 6 points of Might when swallowed, and his second is a small, easily concealed grenade that explodes like a firebomb when thrown, inflicting 3 points of damage to all within immediate range.

Ray still needs to choose a descriptor and a focus. Looking ahead to the descriptor rules, Ray chooses Strong, which increases his Might Pool to 17. He also becomes trained in jumping and breaking inanimate objects. (If he had chosen jumping as one of his physical skills, the Strong descriptor would have made him specialized in jumping instead of trained.) Being Strong also gives Ray an extra medium or heavy weapon. He chooses a baseball bat that he'll use in a pinch. He keeps it in the trunk of his car.

For his focus, Ray chooses Masters Weaponry. This gives him yet another weapon of high quality. He chooses another combat knife and asks the GM if he could use it in his left hand—not to make attacks, but as a shield. This will ease his Speed defense rolls if he has both knives out (the "shield" counts as an asset). The GM agrees. During the game, Ray's Warrior will be hard to hit—he is trained in Speed defense rolls, and his extra knife eases his defense rolls by another step.

Thanks to his focus, he also inflicts 1 additional point of damage with his chosen weapon. Now he inflicts 6 points of damage with his blade. Ray's character is a deadly combatant, likely starting the game with a reputation as a knife fighter.

For his character arc, Ray chooses Defeat a Foe. That foe, he decides, is none other than someone in his company who was once a friend but went rogue.

Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 24)

  • Fantasy/Fairy tale: wizard, mage, sorcerer, cleric, druid, seer, diabolist, fey-touched

  • Modern/Horror/Romance: psychic, occultist, witch, practitioner, medium, fringe scientist

  • Science fiction: psion, psionicist, telepath, seeker, master, scanner, ESPer, abomination

  • Superhero/Post-Apocalyptic: mage, sorcerer, power-wielder, master, psion, telepath

You master powers or abilities outside the experience, understanding, and sometimes belief of others. They might be magic, psychic powers, mutant abilities, or just a wide variety of intricate devices, depending on the setting.

"Magic" here is a term used very loosely. It's a catch-all for the kinds of wondrous, possibly supernatural things that your character can do that others cannot. It might actually be an expression of technological devices, channeling spirits, mutations, psionics, nanotechnology, or any number of other sources.

  • Individual Role: Adepts are usually thoughtful, intelligent types. They often think carefully before acting and rely heavily on their supernatural abilities.

  • Group Role: Adepts are not powerful in straightforward combat, although they often wield abilities that provide excellent combat support, both offensively and defensively. They sometimes possess abilities that facilitate overcoming challenges. For example, if the group must get through a locked door, an Adept might be able to destroy it or teleport everyone to the other side.

  • Societal Role: In settings where the supernatural is rare, strange, or feared, Adepts are likely rare and feared as well. They remain hidden, shadowy figures. When this is not the case, Adepts are more likely to be common and forthright. They might even take leadership roles.

  • Advanced Adepts: Even at low tiers, Adept powers are impressive. Higher-tier Adepts can accomplish amazing deeds that can reshape matter and the environment around them.

Adepts are almost always emblematic of the paranormal or superhuman in some way—wizards, psychics, or something similar. If the game you're playing has none of that, an Adept could be a charlatan mimicking such abilities with tricks and hidden devices, or a gadgeteer character with a "utility belt" full of oddments. Or a game like that might not have Adepts. That's okay too.

Adept Player Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 24)

When playing an Adept, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.

  • Advantageous Malfunction: A device being used against you malfunctions. It might harm the user or one of their allies for a round, or activate a dramatic and distracting side effect for a few rounds.

  • Convenient Idea: A flash of insight provides you with a clear answer or suggests a course of action with regard to an urgent question, problem, or obstacle you're facing.

  • Inexplicably Unbroken: An inactive, ruined, or presumed-destroyed device temporarily activates and performs a useful function relevant to the situation. This is enough to buy you some time for a better solution, alleviate a complication that was interfering with your abilities, or just get you one more use out of a depleted cypher or artifact.

Adept Stat Pools

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 24)

Adept Stat Pools
Stat Pool Starting Value
Might 7
Speed 9
Intellect 12

You get 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

Adept Background Connection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 25)

Your type helps determine the connection you have to the setting. Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Adept Background Connection
d20 Background
1 You served as an apprentice for an Adept respected and feared by many people. Now you bear their mark.
2 You studied in a school infamous for its dark, brooding instructors and graduates.
3 You learned your abilities in the temple of an obscure god. Its priests and worshippers, although small in number, respect and admire your talents and potential.
4 While traveling alone, you saved the life of a powerful person. They remain indebted to you.
5 Your mother was a powerful Adept while she lived, helpful to many locals. They look upon you kindly, but they also expect much from you.
6 You owe money to a number of people and don't have the funds to pay your debts.
7 You failed disgracefully at your initial studies with your teacher and now proceed on your own.
8 You learned your skills faster than your teachers had ever seen before. The powers that be took notice and are paying close attention.
9 You killed a well-known criminal in self-defense, earning the respect of many and the enmity of a dangerous few.
10 You trained as a Warrior, but your Adept predilections eventually led you down a different path. Your former comrades don't understand you, but they respect you.
11 While studying to be an Adept, you worked as an assistant for a bank, making friends with the owner and the clientele.
12 Your family owns a large vineyard nearby known to all for its fine wine and fair business dealings.
13 You trained for a time with a group of influential Adepts, and they still look upon you with fondness.
14 You worked the gardens in the palace of an influential noble or person of wealth. They wouldn't remember you, but you made friends with their young daughter.
15 An experiment you conducted in the past went horribly awry. The locals remember you as a dangerous and foolhardy individual.
16 You hail from a distant place where you were well known and regarded, but people here treat you with suspicion.
17 People you meet seem put off by the strange birthmark on your face.
18 Your best friend is also an Adept. You and your friend share discoveries and secrets readily.
19 You know a local merchant very well. Since you give them so much business, they offer you discounts and special treatment.
20 You belong to a secretive social club that gathers monthly to drink and talk.
First-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 25)

First-tier Adepts have the following abilities:

  • Effort: Your Effort is 1.

  • Genius: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.

  • Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time.

  • Starting Equipment: Appropriate clothing, plus two expensive items, two moderately priced items, and up to four inexpensive items of your choice.

  • Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. You have an inability with medium weapons and heavy weapons; your attacks with medium and heavy weapons are hindered.

  • Special Abilities: Choose four of the abilities listed below. You can't choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise. The full description for each listed ability can be found in Abilities, which also has descriptions for flavor and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Adept abilities require at least one free hand unless the GM says otherwise.

Second-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Choose one of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Third-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fourth-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Choose one of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fifth-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Sixth-Tier Adept

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Choose one of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Adept Example

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 26)

Jen wants to create an Adept—a sorcerer for a fantasy campaign. She decides to be somewhat well rounded, so she puts 2 of her additional points into each stat Pool, giving her a Might Pool of 9, a Speed Pool of 11, and an Intellect Pool of 14. Her Adept is smart and quick. She has an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0. As a first-tier character, her Effort is 1. As her initial abilities, she chooses Onslaught and Ward, giving her a strong offense and defense. She also chooses Magic Training and rounds out her character with Scan, which she hopes will be useful in gaining insight and information. For this character, Onslaught, Ward, and Scan are all spells she has mastered through years of training and study.

She can bear three cyphers. The GM gives her a potion that acts as a short-range teleporter, a small charm that restores 5 points to her Intellect Pool, and a fluid-filled flask that explodes like a fiery bomb. Jen's sorcerer is skilled with light weapons, so she chooses a dagger.

For her descriptor, Jen chooses Graceful, which adds 2 points to her Speed Pool, bringing it to 13. That descriptor means she is trained in balancing and anything requiring careful movements, physical performing arts, and Speed defense tasks. Perhaps she is a dancer. In fact, she begins to develop a backstory that involves graceful, lithe movements that she incorporates into her spells.

For her focus, she chooses Leads. This gives her training in social interactions, which again helps round her out—she's good in all kinds of situations. Moreover, she has the Good Advice ability, which enables her to be a focal point of her group.

Her spells and focus abilities cost Intellect points to activate, so she's glad to have a lot of points in her Intellect Pool. In addition, her Intellect Edge will help reduce those costs. If she uses her Onslaught force blast without applying Effort, it costs 0 Intellect points and deals 4 points of damage. Her Intellect Edge will allow her to save points to devote toward applying Effort for other purposes, perhaps to boost the accuracy of Onslaught.

For her character arc, Jen chooses Aid a Friend. She decides that when her sorcerer character was young, she had a magical mentor. That mentor was later taken prisoner by a demon, so her character is always looking for clues on how to find the demon and release her friend from bondage.

GMs are always free to pre-select a type's special abilities at a given tier to reinforce the setting. In the fantasy setting of Jen's sorcerer, the GM might have said that all sorcerers (Adepts) start with Magic Training as one of their tier 1 abilities. This doesn't make the character any less powerful or special, but it says something about her role in the world and expectations in the game.

Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 27)

  • Fantasy/Fairy tale: Explorer, adventurer, delver, mystery seeker

  • Modern/Horror/Romance: athlete, explorer, adventurer, drifter, detective, scholar, spelunker, trailblazer, investigative reporter

  • Science fiction: Explorer, adventurer, wanderer, planetary specialist, xenobiologist

  • Superhero/Post-Apocalyptic: adventurer, crimefighter

You are a person of action and physical ability, fearlessly facing the unknown. You travel to strange, exotic, and dangerous places, and discover new things. This means you're physical but also probably knowledgeable.

  • Individual Role: Although Explorers can be academics or well studied, they are first and foremost interested in action. They face grave dangers and terrible obstacles as a routine part of life.

  • Group Role: Explorers sometimes work alone, but far more often they operate in teams with other characters. The Explorer frequently leads the way, blazing the trail. However, they're also likely to stop and investigate anything intriguing they stumble upon.

  • Societal Role: Not all Explorers are out traipsing through the wilderness or poking about an old ruin. Sometimes, an Explorer is a teacher, a scientist, a detective, or an investigative reporter. In any event, an Explorer bravely faces new challenges and gathers knowledge to share with others.

  • Advanced Explorers: Higher-tier Explorers gain more skills, some combat abilities, and a number of abilities that allow them to deal with danger. In short, they become more and more well-rounded, able to deal with any challenge.

Explorer Player Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 27)

When playing an Explorer, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.

  • Fortuitous Malfunction: A trap or a dangerous device malfunctions before it can affect you.

  • Serendipitous Landmark: Just when it seems like the path is lost (or you are), a trail marker, a landmark, or simply the way the terrain or corridor bends, rises, or falls away suggests to you the best path forward, at least from this point.

  • Weak Strain: The poison or disease turns out not to be as debilitating or deadly as it first seemed, and inflicts only half the damage that it would have otherwise.

Explorer Stat Pools

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 28)

Explorer Stat Pools
Stat Pool Starting Value
Might 10
Speed 9
Intellect 9

You get 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

Explorer Background Connection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 28)

Your type helps determine the connection you have to the setting. Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Explorer Background Connection
d20 Background
1 You were a star high school athlete. You're still in great shape, but those were the glory days, man.
2 Your brother is the lead singer in a really popular band.
3 You have made a number of discoveries in your explorations, but not all opportunities to capitalize on them have panned out yet.
4 You were a cop, but you gave it up after encountering corruption on the force.
5 Your parents were missionaries, so you spent much of your young life traveling to exotic places.
6 You served in the military with honor.
7 You received assistance from a secretive organization, which paid for your schooling. Now they seem to want a lot more from you.
8 You went to a prestigious university on an athletic scholarship, but you excelled in class as well as on the field.
9 Your best friend from your youth is now an influential member of the government.
10 You used to be a teacher. Your students remember you fondly.
11 You worked as a small-time criminal operative until you were caught and served some time in jail, after which you tried to go straight.
12 Your greatest discovery to date was stolen by your arch-rival.
13 You belong to an exclusive organization of Explorers whose existence is not widely known.
14 You were kidnapped as a small child under mysterious circumstances, although you were recovered safely. The case still has some notoriety.
15 When you were young, you were addicted to narcotics, and now you are a recovering addict.
16 While exploring a remote location, you saw something strange you've never been able to explain.
17 You own a small bar or restaurant.
18 You published a book about some of your exploits and discoveries, and it has achieved some acclaim.
19 Your sister owns a store and gives you a hefty discount.
20 Your father is a high-ranking officer in the military with many connections.
First-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 28)

First-tier Explorers have the following abilities:

  • Effort: Your Effort is 1.

  • Physical Nature: You have a Might Edge of 1, a Speed Edge of 0, and an Intellect Edge of 0.

  • Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time.

  • Starting Equipment: Appropriate clothing and a weapon of your choice, plus two expensive items, two moderately priced items, and up to four inexpensive items.

  • Weapons: You can use light and medium weapons without penalty. You have an inability with heavy weapons; your attacks with heavy weapons are hindered.

  • Special Abilities: Choose four of the abilities listed below. You can't choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise. The full description for each listed ability can be found in Abilities, which also has descriptions for flavor and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Second-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Choose four of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Third-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fourth-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fifth-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Sixth-Tier Explorer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Explorer Example

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 29)

Sam decides to create an Explorer character for a science fiction campaign. This character will be a hardy soul who explores alien worlds. They put 3 additional points into their Might Pool, 2 into their Speed Pool, and 1 into their Intellect Pool; their stat Pools are now Might 13, Speed 11, and Intellect 10. As a first-tier character, their Effort is 1, their Might Edge is 1, and their Speed Edge and Intellect Edge are 0. Their character is fairly well-rounded so far.

Sam immediately leaps in and starts choosing abilities. They pick Danger Sense and Surging Confidence, thinking those abilities will be generally useful. They also choose Practiced in Armor, reasoning that the character wears high-tech medium armor when exploring. Last, they choose Knowledge Skills and select geology and biology to help during interplanetary explorations.

Sam's Explorer can bear two cyphers, which in this setting involve nanotechnology. The GM decides that one is a nanite injector that grants a +1 bonus to Might Edge when used, and the other is a device that can create one simple handheld object the user wishes.

Sam's Explorer is not really geared toward fighting, but sometimes the universe is a dangerous place, so they note that they're carrying a medium blaster as well.

Sam still needs a descriptor and a focus. Looking to the Descriptor chapter, they choose Hardy, which increases their Might Pool to 17. They also heal more quickly and can operate better when injured. They're trained in Might defense but have an inability with initiative; however, it's effectively canceled out by their Danger Sense (and vice versa). Sam could go back and select something else instead of Danger Sense, but they like it and decide to keep it. Overall, the descriptor ends up making the character tough but a little slow.

For their focus, Sam chooses Explores Dark Places (in this case, weird ruins of alien civilizations). This gives the character a bunch of additional skills: searching, listening, climbing, balancing, and jumping. They're quite the capable Explorer.

For their character arc, Sam chooses Enterprise. Exploring alien places sometimes turns up strange relics, and Sam figures they might be able to set up a service to reliably transport these items to responsible third parties, rather than allow them to fall into the hands of pirates and rich private collectors. For a small fee, of course.

Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 30)

  • Fantasy/Fairy tale: bard, speaker, skald, emissary, priest, advocate

  • Modern/Horror/Romance: diplomat, charmer, face, spinner, manipulator, minister, mediator, lawyer

  • Science fiction: diplomat, empath, glam, consul, legate

  • Superhero/Post-Apocalyptic: charmer, mesmerist, puppet master

You're good with words and good with people. You talk your way past challenges and out of jams, and you get people to do what you want.

  • Individual Role: Speakers are smart and charismatic. They like people and, more important, they understand them. This helps speakers get others to do what needs to be done.

  • Group Role: The Speaker is often the face of the group, serving as the person who speaks for all and negotiates with others. Combat and action are not a Speaker's strong suits, so other characters sometimes have to defend the Speaker in times of danger.

  • Societal Role: Speakers are frequently political or religious leaders. Just as often, however, they are con artists or criminals.

  • Advanced Speakers: Higher-tier speakers use their abilities to control and manipulate people as well as aid and nurture their friends. They can talk their way out of danger and even use their words as weapons.

Speaker Player Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 31)

When playing a Speaker, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.

  • Friendly NPC: An NPC you don't know, someone you don't know that well, or someone you know but who hasn't been particularly friendly in the past chooses to help you, though doesn't necessarily explain why. Maybe they'll ask you for a favor in return afterward, depending on how much trouble they go to.

  • Perfect Suggestion: A follower or other already-friendly NPC suggests a course of action with regard to an urgent question, problem, or obstacle you're facing.

  • Unexpected Gift: An NPC hands you a physical gift you were not expecting, one that helps put the situation at ease if things seem strained, or provides you with a new insight for understanding the context of the situation if there's something you're failing to understand or grasp.

Speaker Stat Pools

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 31)

Speaker Stat Pools
Stat Pool Starting Value
Might 8
Speed 9
Intellect 11

You get 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

Speaker Background Connection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 31)

Your type helps determine the connection you have to the setting. Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Adept Background Connection
d20 Background
1 One of your parents was a famous entertainer in their early years and hoped you would excel in the same medium.
2 When you were a teenager, one of your siblings went missing and is presumed dead. The shock rent your family, and it's something you've never gotten over.
3 You were inducted into a secret society that claims to hold and protect esoteric knowledge opposing the forces of evil.
4 You lost one of your parents to alcoholism. They may still be alive, but you'd be hard pressed to find forgiveness.
5 You have no memory of anything that happened to you before the age of 18.
6 Your grandparents raised you on a farm far from bustling urban centers. You like to think the instruction they gave you prepared you for anything.
7 As an orphan, you had a difficult childhood, and your entry into adulthood was challenging.
8 You grew up in extreme poverty, among criminals. You still have some connections with the old neighborhood.
9 You served as an envoy for a powerful and influential person in the past, and they still look upon you with favor.
10 You have an annoying rival who always seems to get in your way or foil your plans.
11 You've worked yourself into the position of spokesperson for an organization or company of some importance.
12 Your neighbors were murdered, and the mystery remains unsolved.
13 You have traveled extensively, and during that time you accumulated quite a collection of strange souvenirs.
14 Your childhood sweetheart ended up with your best friend (now your ex-best friend).
15 You are part of a maligned minority, but you work to bring the injustice of your status to public attention.
16 You're part owner of a local bar, where you're something of a whiz in creating specialty cocktails.
17 You once ran a con that cheated important people out of money, and they want revenge.
18 You used to act in a traveling theater, and they remember you fondly (as do people in the places you visited).
19 You are in a close romantic relationship with someone in local politics.
20 Someone out there tries to pose as you, using your identity, often for nefarious ends. You've never met the culprit, but you'd certainly like to.
First-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 31)

First-tier speakers have the following abilities:

  • Effort: Your Effort is 1.

  • Genius: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.

  • Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time.

  • Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. You have an inability with medium and heavy weapons; your attacks with medium and heavy weapons are hindered.

  • Starting Equipment: Appropriate clothing and a light weapon of your choice, plus two expensive items, two moderately priced items, and up to four inexpensive items.

  • Special Abilities: Choose four of the abilities listed below. You can't choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise. The full description for each listed ability can be found in Abilities, which also has descriptions for flavor and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Some Speaker abilities, like Mind Reading or True Senses, imply a supernatural element. If this is inappropriate to the character or the setting, these abilities can be replaced with something from the stealth flavor, or the GM can slightly modify them so they are based in extraordinary talents and insight rather than the supernatural.

Second-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Third-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fourth-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Fifth-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Choose three of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Sixth-Tier Speaker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Choose two of the abilities listed below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.

Speaker Example

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 32)

Mary wants to create a Speaker for a Lovecraftian horror campaign. She puts 3 of her additional stat points into her Intellect Pool and 3 into her Speed Pool; her stat Pools are now Might 8, Speed 12, and Intellect 14. As a first-tier character, her Effort is 1, her Might Edge and Speed Edge are 0, and her Intellect Edge is 1. She's smart and charismatic but not particularly tough.

Mary chooses Fast Talk and Spin Identity to help get into places and learn things she wants to know. She's a bit of a con artist. She's good to her friends, however, and chooses Encouragement as well. Mary rounds out her first-tier abilities with Interaction Skills (deceiving and persuasion).

A Speaker normally starts with two cyphers, but the GM rules that characters in this campaign start with only one—something creepy relating to their background. Mary's cypher is an odd pocket watch given to her by her grandfather. She doesn't know how or why, but when activated, the watch allows her to take twice as many actions for three rounds.

Mary's character carries a small knife hidden in her bag in case of trouble. As a light weapon, it inflicts 2 points of damage, but attacks with it are eased.

Mary chooses Resilient for her descriptor and decides that she can probably learn the truth behind some of the strange things that she's heard about without feeling too much trauma if it's horrible. Resilient increases her Might Pool to 10 and her Intellect Pool to 16. She's trained in Might and Intellect defense actions and gains an extra recovery roll each day. At first, Mary is sad that her descriptor gives her an inability in knowledge and puzzle tasks, but then she realizes that the flaw fits her character well—she's better at getting people to tell her what she needs to know than at figuring out the information herself.

For her focus, Mary chooses Moves Like a Cat, granting her a final Speed Pool of 18 and training in balance. In the end, she's graceful and quick, charismatic, and hardier than she initially thought thanks to her drive. She's ready to investigate the weird.

For her character arc, Mary chooses Fall From Grace. She decides she's had an obsession with a strange tome that's been in her family for generations, and her character is drawn to its strange languages and rituals.

Further Customization

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 33)

The rules in this section are more advanced and always involve the GM. They can be used by the GM to tailor a type to better fit the genre or setting, or by a player and a GM to tweak a character to fit a concept.

Editor's Notes — For more on customizing PCs, see Optional Rules.

Modifying Type Aspects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 33)

The following aspects of the four character types can be modified at character creation. Other abilities should not be changed.

  • Stat Pools: Each character type has a starting stat Pool value. A player can exchange points between their Pools on a one-for-one basis. For example, they can trade 2 points of Might for 2 points of Speed. However, no starting stat Pool should be higher than 20.

  • Edge: A player can start with an Edge of 1 in whichever stat they wish.

  • Cypher Use: If a character gives up the ability to bear one cypher, they gain an additional skill of their choice.

  • Weapons: Some types have static first-tier abilities that let them use light, medium, and/or heavy weapons without a penalty. Warriors can use all weapons, Explorers can use light and medium weapons, and Adepts and Speakers can use light weapons. Any one of these weapon abilities can be sacrificed to gain training in a different skill of the player's choice.

Drawbacks and Penalties

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 33)

In addition to other customization options, a player can choose to take drawbacks or penalties to gain further advantages.

  • Weakness: A weakness is, essentially, the opposite of Edge. If you have a weakness of 1 in Speed, all Speed actions that require you to spend points cost 1 additional point from your Pool. At any time, a player can give their character a weakness in one stat and, in exchange, gain +1 to their Edge in one of the other two stats. So a PC can take a weakness of 1 in Speed to gain +1 to their Might Edge.

    Normally, you can have a weakness only in a stat in which you have an Edge of 0. Further, you can't have more than one weakness, and you can't have a weakness greater than 1 unless the additional weakness comes from another source (such as a disease or disability arising from actions or conditions in the game).

  • Inabilities: Inabilities are like negative skills. They make one type of task harder by hindering it. If a character chooses to take an inability, they gain a skill of their choice. Normally, a character can have only one inability unless the additional inability comes from another source (such as a descriptor or a disease or disability arising from actions or conditions in the game).

Editor's Notes — For more drawbacks for PCs, see harmful mutations and XP advance.

Additional Types

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These types include page reference numbers that correspond to the product. Linked items lead to rough equivalents in this document, but each product tailors content specifically for its genre and setting.

First Responders — Types

Floods. Pandemics. Earthquakes and other crises that put lives and communities at risk. These are monsters of a different sort—and they call for a different kind of hero.

  • Responder (FR, 19)

See also: First Responders — Foci and First Responders — What's in the Book?

Gods of the Fall — Types

The Gods are eead—now it's your turn.

See also: Gods of the Fall — Descriptors, Gods of the Fall — Foci, and Gods of the Fall — What's in the Book?

Numenera Discovery — Types

Those who can uncover and master the numenera can unlock the powers and abilities of the ancients, and perhaps bring new light to a struggling world.

  • Glaive (NDIS, 28)
  • Jack (NDIS, 44)
  • Nano (NDIS, 36)

See also: Numenera Discovery — Descriptors, Numenera Discovery — Foci, and Numenera Discovery — What's in the Book?

Numenera Destiny — Types

Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect.

  • Arkus (NDES, 7)
  • Delve (NDES, 29)
  • Wright (NDES, 18)

See also: Numenera Destiny — Descriptors, Numenera Destiny — Foci, and Numenera Destiny — What's in the Book?

Editor's Notes — Under First-Tier Wright (NDES, 22), a Wright becomes trained in a crafting skill of their choice, which include "salvaging numenera" and "understanding numenera"—among other choices. This training is immediately followed with a prescribed inability with both skills. If the Wright chooses training either of these skills, the training and inability cancel each other out (as described under the definition of inability (NDIS, 101)). Choosing these skills allows a Wright to effectively help (NDIS, 118)—but not overshadow—another type's signature skills.

Numenera Character Options 2 — Types

Build a character as wondrous as the Ninth World itself!

See also: Numenera Character Options 2 — Descriptors and Numenera Character Options 2 — Foci

Mortal Fantasy — Types

Expanding on Gods of the Fall and traditional high fantasy settings, this supplement offers new options for GMs and players to teach these new gods a new level of respect for mortals!

  • Barbarian (MF, 4)
  • Bard (MF, 7)
  • Cleric (MF, 10)
  • Druid (MF, 13)
  • Elf (Wizard/Fighter) (MF, 16)
  • Paladin (MF, 19)
  • Ranger (MF, 22)
  • Rogue (MF, 25)

These page numbers refer to the revised edition of Mortal Fantasy, whose page numbers are aligned with the Cypher System Rulebook.

See also: Mortal Fantasy — Descriptors

Old Gods of Appalachia — Types

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

See also: Old Gods of Appalachia — Descriptors, Old Gods of Appalachia — Foci, and Old Gods of Appalachia — What's in the Book?

Editor's Notes — There are a few suspected misprints in the Old Gods of Appalachia types:

Protector

  • First-Tier Protector (OGOA, 27). The Protector is the only type where listed starting equipment explicitly states the PC begins the game with two cyphers (chosen for you by the GM) and 2 dollars. If this is the case, the GM should provide all PCs a few cyphers and appropriate currency.

  • Fourth-Tier Protector (OGOA, 29). The Practiced with All Weapons (OGOA, 30) ability serves no purpose for the Protector type, and was probably meant to be a Fourth-Tier Sage (OGOA, 30) or Fourth-Tier Speaker (OGOA, 57) ability. If the GM agrees, these types can choose this ability instead.

  • Fifth-Tier Protector (OGOA, 30). If the GM agrees, the Arc Spray (110) ability makes a suitable replacement for Practiced with All Weapons (OGOA, 30). This option should only be used if rapid-fire weapons are available. Revolvers might qualify as early as 1840. Rapid-fire long guns would become available by 1870, but would not be widely available—especially for civilian use—until after 1920.

Sage

  • Second-Tier Sage (OGOA, 36). The Weapons (OGOA, 37) ability allows a Sage to become practiced with light weapons, indicating a set of missing inabilities with all weapons under First-Tier Sage (OGOA, 35), which should read as follows:

    Weapons: You have an inability with light, medium, and heavy weapons; your attacks with these weapons are hindered.

Predation — Types

A little sci-fi. A little post-apocalypse. A whole lot of dinosaurs.

See also: Predation — Descriptors, Predation — Foci, and Predation — What's in the Book?

Shotguns & Sorcery — Types

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

  • Freelance (SS, 23)
  • Veteran (SS, 28)
  • Wizard (SS, 32)

See also: Shotguns & Sorcery — Descriptors, Shotguns & Sorcery — Foci, and Shotguns & Sorcery — What's in the Book?

The Strange — Types

Limited pocket dimensions with their own laws of reality are connected to Earth — a dangerous, chaotic network called the Strange.

  • Paradox (TS, 30)
  • Spinner (TS, 38)
  • Vector (TS, 25)

See also: The Strange — Descriptors, The Strange — Foci, and The Strange — What's in the Book?

Tidal Blades — Types

Welcome to Naviri, a peaceful paradise full of promise—and in dire need of heroes.

See also: Tidal Blades — Descriptors and Tidal Blades — Foci

Unmasked — Types

Superpowers and horror in a dark eighties.

  • Changer (UM, 46)
  • Mover (UM, 42)
  • Smasher (UM, 33)
  • Thinker (UM, 38)

See also: Unmasked — Descriptors, Unmasked — Foci, and Unmasked — What's in the Book?

VURT — Types

Amid the glass-strewn streets of the lethal and anarchic Manchester England of the near future, players ingest slender VURT feathers to travel to parallel worlds as vivid, unique, and unpredictable as our wildest dreams.

See also: VURT — Descriptors, VURT — Foci, and VURT — What's in the Book?

Chapter 6 Flavor

Quick Reference: Flavors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 34)

Flavors are groups of special abilities the GM and players can use to alter a character type to make it more to their liking or more appropriate to the genre or setting. For example, if a player wants to create a magic-using thief character, she could play an Adept with stealth flavoring. In a science fiction setting, a Warrior might also have knowledge of machinery, so the character could be flavored with technology.

At a given tier, abilities from a flavor are traded one for one with standard abilities from a type. So to add the Danger Sense stealth flavor ability to a Warrior, something else—perhaps Bash—must be sacrificed. Now that character can choose Danger Sense as they would any other first-tier warrior ability, but they can never choose Bash.

The GM should always be involved in flavoring a type. For example, they might know that for their science fiction game, they want a type called a "Glam," which is a Speaker flavored with certain technology abilities—specifically those that make the character a flamboyant starship pilot. Thus, they exchange the first-tier abilities Spin Identity and Inspire Aggression for the technology flavor abilities Datajack and Tech Skills so the character can plug into the ship directly and can take piloting and computers as skills.

In the end, flavor is mostly a tool for the GM to easily create campaign-specific types by making a few slight alterations to the four base types. Although players may wish to use flavors to get the characters they want, remember that they can also shape their PCs with descriptors and foci very nicely.

The full description for each listed ability can be found in Chapter 9: Abilities, which also contains descriptions for type and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Optional Rule: Simplified Flavor

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Using this rule, flavor abilities are added to a PC's list of type abilities—but no sacrifices from the list are made. Since this rule makes flavor purely additive, it's probably a good idea if every PC has the option to choose a flavor at the start of the game, or earn one in the game, for example, by completing a character arc.

Optional Rule: Personalized Flavor

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Using Character Types to Define the Setting (415) Using this rule, the GM allows personalized flavors for PCs. It can be a good idea to choose a new name for the PC's When using this option, it's a good the PC's type a new name that reflects their individual, group, or societal role in the setting, and choose any optional character advancements they might have available to them.

  • Gaining a Flavor: The GM might allow PCs to earn a flavor by completing a character arc like Join an Organization, Master a Skill, Mysterious Background, Transformation, or Uncover a Secret, or purchase a flavor by spending 4 XP as a long-term benefit or character advancement.

  • Adding Flavor Abilities: When a PC gains a flavor or advance to the next tier, that player and the GM should work together to create a list of special abilities appropriate for the PC's tier. If the PC gained their flavor at a after reaching second-tier, the GM should allow them to make a few additional exchanges of type abilities.

  • Approving Flavor Abilities: The GM approves each ability to determine it is of appropriate tier, it is appropriate to the game setting, and—most importantly—won't make another PC feel redundant, or be disruptive in the game.

Charms and Figments Flavor

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Creating illusions and affecting minds are sometimes considered "soft" magical disciplines (as opposed to "hard" disciplines that manipulate energy or physical matter). It's common for a character with an interest in one to learn a few spells in the other.

First-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Second-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Third-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Fourth-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Fifth-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Sixth-Tier Charms and Figments Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 70)

Combat Flavor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Combat flavor makes a character more martial. A Speaker with combat flavor in a fantasy setting would be a battle bard. An Explorer with combat flavor in a historical game might be a pirate. An Adept flavored with combat in a science fiction setting could be a veteran of a thousand psychic wars.

First-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Second-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Third-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Fourth-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Fifth-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Sixth-Tier Combat Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Cozy Magic Flavor

(It's Only Magic, page 71)

Sometimes a sorcerer isn't interested in combat magic and secrets of the universe. Sometimes "cozy magic" is enough: bonding with a group of close friends, having a nice house, and providing support and comfort in times of need.

First-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 71)

Second-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 72)

Third-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 72)

Fourth-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 72)

Fifth-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 72)

Sixth-Tier Cozy Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 72)

Divination Flavor

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Knowledge is power! Characters with the divination flavor are familiar with using magic to learn information, see into hidden places, and discover secrets.

First-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Second-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Third-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Fourth-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Fifth-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Sixth-Tier Divination Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 73)

Magic Flavor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

You know a little about magic. You might not be a wizard, but you know the basics—how it works, and how to accomplish a few wondrous things. Of course, in your setting, "magic" might actually mean psychic powers, mutant abilities, weird alien tech, or anything else that produces interesting and useful effects.

An Explorer flavored with magic might be a wizard-hunter, and a Speaker with magical flavor might be a sorcerer-bard. Although an Adept flavored with magic is still an Adept, you might find that swapping some of the type's basic abilities with those given here tailors the character in desirable ways. (34)

First-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Second-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Third-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Fourth-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Fifth-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Sixth-Tier Magic Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 36)

Modern Magic Flavor

(It's Only Magic, page 74)

Characters who live in a modern world with magic and technology often know a bit about mixing the two of them together. These characters usually pick up a few useful spells (such as disrupting hostile magic or disabling a mugger's pistol) from various sources, much like how people tend to learn skills unrelated to their day job (like cooking, dancing, and playing guitar).

First-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 74)

Second-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 75)

Third-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 75)

Fourth-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 75)

Fifth-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 75)

Sixth-Tier Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 75)

Protection Flavor

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Characters with the protection flavor use magic to defend against hostile environments, hazardous substances, dangerous creatures, and intrusive mental powers.

First-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Second-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Third-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Fourth-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Fifth-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Sixth-Tier Protection Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 76)

Skills and Knowledge Flavor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

This flavor is for characters in roles that call for more knowledge and more real-world application of talent. It's less flashy and dramatic than supernatural powers or the ability to hack apart multiple foes, but sometimes expertise or know-how is the real solution to a problem.

A Warrior flavored with skills and knowledge might be a military engineer. An Explorer flavored with skills and knowledge could be a field scientist. A Speaker with this flavor might be a teacher. (37)

First-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Second-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Third-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Fourth-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Fifth-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Sixth-Tier Skills and Knowledge Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 37)

Stealth Flavor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 34)

Characters with the stealth flavor are good at sneaking around, infiltrating places they don't belong, and deceiving others. They use these abilities in a variety of ways, including combat. An Explorer with stealth flavor might be a thief, while a Warrior with stealth flavor might be an assassin. An Explorer with stealth flavor in a superhero setting might be a crimefighter who stalks the streets at night. (34)

First-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Second-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Third-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Fourth-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Fifth-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Sixth-Tier Stealth Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Technology Flavor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Characters with a flavor of technology typically are from science fiction or at least modern-day settings (although anything is possible). They excel at using, dealing with, and building machines. An Explorer with technology flavor might be a starship pilot, and a Speaker flavored with technology could be a techno-priest.

Some of the less computer-oriented abilities might be appropriate for a steampunk character, while a modern-day character could use some of the abilities that don't involve starships or ultratech. (35)

First-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Second-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Third-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Fourth-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Editor's Notes — If a PC chooses Shipspeak at tier 3, it requires Machine Bond—which isn't available until tier 4, rendering it useless. To resolve this, GMs might ignore this requirement (as the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (56) did), make Machine Bond a third-tier ability instead, or make Shipspeak a fourth-tier ability instead.

Fifth-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Sixth-Tier Technology Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 35)

Additional Flavors

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These flavors include page reference numbers that correspond to the product.

Cruel Stars: Characters — Flavors

Tools to create your own space opera PCs in a brand new setting.

  • Snark (CSC, 3)

See also: Cruel Stars: Characters — Descriptors

Planar Character Options — Flavors

Create awesome characters altered—or formed—by the planes!

  • Planar (PCO, 62)

See also: Planar Character Options — Descriptors and Planar Character Options — Foci

Old Gus' Daft Drafts — Flavors

A collection of free, online options for your best game ever!

See also: Old Gus' Daft Drafts — Descriptors, Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Foci, and Old Gus' Draft Drafts — What's in the Book?

Chapter 7 Descriptor

Quick Reference: Descriptor

Fairy Tale Descriptors

Fantasy Species Descriptors

Modern Fantasy Descriptors

Post-Apocalyptic Descriptors

Post-Apocalyptic Species Descriptors

Science Fiction Species Descriptors

Superhero Descriptors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 38)

Your descriptor defines your character—it flavors everything you do. The differences between a Charming Explorer and a Vicious Explorer are considerable. The descriptor changes the way those characters go about every action. Your descriptor places your character in the situation (the first adventure, which starts the campaign) and helps provide motivation. It is the adjective of the sentence "I am an adjective noun who verbs."

Descriptors offer a one-time package of extra abilities, skills, or modifications to your stat Pools. Not all of a descriptor's offerings are positive character modifications. For example, some descriptors have inabilities—tasks that a character isn't good at. You can think of inabilities as negative skills—instead of being one step better at that kind of task, you're one step worse. If you become skilled at a task that you have an inability with, they cancel out. Remember that characters are defined as much by what they're not good at as by what they are good at.

Descriptors also offer a few brief suggestions for how your character got involved with the rest of the group on their first adventure. You can use these, or not, as you wish.

This section details fifty descriptors. Choose one of them for your character. You can pick any descriptor you wish regardless of your type. At the end of this chapter, a few options are provided for Customizing Descriptors, including making a character's species their descriptor.

Your descriptor matters most when you are a beginning character. The benefits (and perhaps drawbacks) that come from your descriptor will eventually be overshadowed by the growing importance of your type and focus. However, the influence of your descriptor will remain at least somewhat important throughout your character's life.

Descriptors like Craven, Cruel, and Dishonorable might not be appropriate for every group. These are villainous traits and some people want their PCs to be entirely heroic. But others don't mind a little moral greyness thrown into the mix. Still others see things like Craven and Cruel as traits to overcome as their characters develop (probably earning them different descriptors).

Editor's Notes — Completing a character arc might cause a PC to change their descriptor.

Appealing

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 38)

You're attractive to others, but perhaps more important, you are likeable and charismatic. You've got that "special something" that draws others to you. You often know just the right thing to say to make someone laugh, put them at ease, or spur them to action. People like you, want to help you, and want to be your friend.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Charismatic: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in pleasant social interactions.

  • Resistant to Charms: You're aware of how others can manipulate and charm people, and you notice when those tactics are used on you. Because of this awareness, you are trained in resisting any kind of persuasion or seduction if you wish it.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You met a total stranger (one of the other PCs) and charmed them so much that they invited you along.
  2. The PCs were looking for someone else, but you convinced them that you were perfect instead.
  3. Pure happenstance—because you just go along with the flow of things and everything usually works out.
  4. Your charismatic ways helped get one of the PCs out of a difficult spot a long time ago, and they always ask you to join them on new adventures.
Benificent

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 39)

Helping others is your calling. It's why you're here. Others delight in your outgoing and charitable nature, and you delight in their happiness. You're at your best when you're aiding people, either by explaining how they can best overcome a challenge or by demonstrating how to do so yourself.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Generous: Allies who have spent the last day with you add +1 to their recovery rolls.

  • Altruistic: If you're standing next to a creature that takes damage, you can intercede and take 1 point of that damage yourself (reducing the damage inflicted on the creature by 1 point). If you have Armor, it does not provide a benefit when you use this ability.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks related to pleasant social interaction, putting other people at ease, and gaining trust.

  • Helpful: Whenever you help another character, that character gains the benefit as if you were trained even if you are not trained or specialized in the attempted task.

  • Inability: While you are alone, all Intellect and Speed tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Even though you didn't know most of the other PCs beforehand, you invited yourself along on their quest.
  2. You saw the PCs struggling to overcome a problem and selflessly joined them to help.
  3. You're nearly certain the PCs will fail without you.
  4. The choice was between your tattered life and helping others. You haven't looked back since.
Brash

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 39)

You're a self-assertive sort, confident in your abilities, energetic, and perhaps a bit irreverent toward ideas that you don't agree with. Some people call you bold and brave, but those you've put in their place might call you puffed up and arrogant. Whatever. It's not in your nature to care what other people think about you, unless those people are your friends or family. Even someone as brash as you knows that friends sometimes have to come first.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Energetic: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in initiative.

  • Bold: You are trained in all actions that involve overcoming or ignoring the effects of fear or intimidation.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You noticed something weird going on, and without much thought, you jumped in with both feet.
  2. You showed up when and where you did on a dare because, hey, you don't back down from dares.
  3. Someone called you out, but instead of walking into a fight, you walked into your current situation.
  4. You told your friend that nothing could scare you, and nothing you saw would change your mind. They brought you to your current point.
Calm

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 40)

You've spent most of your life in sedentary pursuits—books, movies, hobbies, and so on—rather than active ones. You're well versed in all manner of academia or other intellectual pursuits, but nothing physical. You're not weak or feeble, necessarily (although this is a good descriptor for characters who are elderly), but you have no experience in more physical activities.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Bookish: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skills: You are trained in four nonphysical skills of your choice.

  • Trivia: You can come up with a random fact pertinent to the current situation when you wish it. This is always a matter of fact, not conjecture or supposition, and must be something you could have logically read or seen in the past. You can do this one time, although the ability is renewed each time you make a recovery roll.

  • Inability: You're just not a fighter. All physical attacks are hindered.

  • Inability: You're not the outdoorsy type. All climbing, running, jumping, and swimming tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You read about the current situation somewhere and decided to check it out for yourself.
  2. You were in the right (wrong?) place at the right (wrong?) time.
  3. While avoiding an entirely different situation, you walked into your current situation.
  4. One of the other PCs dragged you into it.

Calm is a great descriptor for characters who never intended to have adventures but were thrust into them, a trope that occurs often in modern games and particularly in horror games.

Chaotic

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 40)

Danger doesn't mean much to you, mainly because you don't think much about repercussions. In fact, you enjoy sowing surprises, just to see what will happen. The more unexpected the result, the happier you are. Sometimes you are particularly manic, and for the sake of your companions, you restrain yourself from taking actions that you know will lead to disaster.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Tumultuous: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in Intellect defense actions.

  • Chaotic: Once after each ten-hour recovery roll, if you don't like the first result, you can reroll a die roll of your choice. If you do, and regardless of the outcome, the GM presents you with a GM intrusion.

  • Inability: Your body is a bit worn from occasional excesses. Might defense tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Another PC recruited you while you were on your best behavior, before realizing how chaotic you were.
  2. You have reason to believe that being with the other PCs will help you gain control over your erratic behavior.
  3. Another PC released you from captivity, and to thank them, you volunteered to help.
  4. You have no idea how you joined the PCs. You're just going along with it for now until answers present themselves.
Charming

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 41)

You're a smooth talker and a charmer. Whether through seemingly supernatural means or just a way with words, you can convince others to do as you wish. Most likely, you're physically attractive or at least highly charismatic, and others enjoy listening to your voice. You probably pay attention to your appearance, keeping yourself well groomed. You make friends easily. You play up the personality facet of your Intellect stat; intelligence is not your strong suit. You're personable, but not necessarily studious or strong-willed.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Personable: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving positive or pleasant social interaction.

  • Skill: You're trained when using special abilities that influence the minds of others.

  • Contact: You have an important contact who is in an influential position, such as a minor noble, the captain of the town guard/police, or the head of a large gang of thieves. You and the GM should work out the details together.

  • Inability: You were never good at studying or retaining facts. Any task involving lore, knowledge, or understanding is hindered.

  • Inability: Your willpower is not one of your strong points. Defense actions to resist mental attacks are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You've managed to talk your way into some decent discounts and bonuses in recent weeks. As a result, you have enough cash jangling in your pocket to purchase a moderately priced item.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You convinced one of the other PCs to tell you what they were doing.
  2. You instigated the whole thing and convinced the others to join you.
  3. One of the other PCs did a favor for you, and now you're repaying that obligation by helping them with the task at hand.
  4. There is a reward involved, and you need the money.
Clever

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 41)

You're quick-witted, thinking well on your feet. You understand people, so you can fool them but are rarely fooled. Because you easily see things for what they are, you get the lay of the land swiftly, size up threats and allies, and assess situations with accuracy. Perhaps you're physically attractive, or maybe you use your wit to overcome any physical or mental imperfections.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all interactions involving lies or trickery.

  • Skill: You're trained in defense rolls to resist mental effects.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving identifying or assessing danger, lies, quality, importance, function, or power.

  • Inability: You were never good at studying or retaining trivial knowledge. Any task involving lore, knowledge, or understanding is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You see through the schemes of others and occasionally convince them to believe you—even when, perhaps, they should not. Thanks to your clever behavior, you have an additional expensive item.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You convinced one of the other PCs to tell you what they were doing.
  2. From afar, you observed that something interesting was going on.
  3. You talked your way into the situation because you thought it might earn some money.
  4. You suspect that the other PCs won't succeed without you.
Clumsy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 41)

Graceless and awkward, you were told that you'd grow out of it, but you never did. You often drop things, trip over your own feet, or knock things (or people) over. Some people get frustrated by this quality, but most find it funny and even a little charming.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Butterfingers: −2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Thick-Muscled: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Inelegant: You have a certain lovable charm. You are trained in all pleasant social interactions when you express a lighthearted, self-deprecating manner.

  • Dumb Luck: The GM can introduce a GM intrusion on you, based on your clumsiness, without awarding you any XP (as if you had rolled a 1 on a d20 roll). However, if this happens, 50% of the time, your clumsiness works to your advantage. Rather than hurting you (much), it helps you, or it hurts your enemies. You slip, but it's just in time to duck an attack. You fall down, but you trip your enemies as you crash into their legs. You turn around too quickly, but you end up knocking the weapon from your foe's hand. You and the GM should work together to determine the details. If the GM wishes, they can use GM intrusions based on your clumsiness normally (awarding XP).

  • Skill: You've got a certain bull-like quality. You are trained in tasks involving breaking things.

  • Inability: Any task that involves balance, grace, or hand-to-eye coordination is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You were in the right place at the right time.
  2. You had a piece of information that the other PCs needed to make their plans.
  3. A sibling recommended you to the other PCs.
  4. You stumbled into the PCs as they were discussing their mission, and they took a liking to you.

Some players may not want to be defined by a "negative" quality like Clumsy, but in truth, even this kind of descriptor has enough advantages that it makes for capable and talented characters. What negative descriptors really do is make more interesting and complex characters that are often great fun to play.

Craven

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 42)

Courage fails you at every turn. You lack the willpower and resolve to stand fast in the face of danger. Fear gnaws at your heart, chewing away at your mind, driving you to distraction until you cannot bear it. Most times, you back down from confrontations. You flee from threats and vacillate when faced with difficult decisions. (42)

Yet for all that fear dogs you and possibly shames you, your cowardly nature proves to be a useful ally from time to time. Listening to your fears has helped you escape danger and avoid taking unnecessary risks. Others may have suffered in your place, and you might be the first to admit this fact, but secretly you feel intense relief from having avoided an unthinkable and terrible fate.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Furtive: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in stealth-based tasks.

  • Skill: You're trained in running actions.

  • Skill: You're trained in any action taken to escape danger, flee from a dangerous situation, or wheedle your way out of trouble.

  • Inability: You do not willingly enter dangerous situations. Any initiative actions (to determine who goes first in combat) are hindered.

  • Inability: You fall to pieces when you have to undertake a potentially dangerous task alone. Any such task (such as attacking a creature by yourself) is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a good luck charm or protective device to keep you out of harm's way.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You believe that you're being hunted, and you have hired one of the other PCs as your protector.
  2. You seek to escape your shame and take up with capable individuals in the hopes of repairing your reputation.
  3. One of the other PCs bullied you into coming along.
  4. The group answered your cries for help when you were in trouble.
Creative

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 42)

Maybe you have a notebook where you write down ideas so you can develop them later. Perhaps you email yourself ideas that strike you out of the blue so you can sort them in an electronic document. Or maybe you just sit down, stare at your screen and, by indomitable force of will, produce something from nothing. However your gift works, you're creative—you code, write, compose, sculpt, design, direct, or otherwise create narratives that enthrall other people with your vision.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Inventive: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Original: You're always coming up with something new. You're trained in any task related to creating a narrative (such as a story, play, or scenario). This includes deception, if the deception involves a narrative you're able to tell.

  • Skill: You are naturally inventive. You are trained in one specific creative skill of your choice: writing, computer coding, composing music, painting, drawing, and so on.

  • Skill: You love solving riddles and the like. You are trained in puzzle-solving tasks.

  • Skill: To be creative requires that you always be learning. You are trained in any task that involves finding out something new, such as when you're digging through a library, data bank, news archive, or similar collection of knowledge.

  • Inability: You're inventive but not charming. All tasks related to pleasant social interaction are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You were doing research for a project and convinced the PCs to bring you along.
  2. You're looking for new markets for the results of your creative output.
  3. You fell in with the wrong crowd, but they grew on you.
  4. A creative life is often one beset with financial hurdles. You joined the PCs because you hoped it would be profitable.
Cruel

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 43)

Misfortune and suffering do not move you. When another endures hardship, you find it hard to care, and you may even enjoy the pain and difficulty the person experiences if they've done you wrong in the past. Your cruel streak may derive from bitterness brought about by your own struggles and disappointments. You might be a hard pragmatist, doing what you feel you must even if others are worse for it. Or you could be a sadist, delighting in the pain you inflict.

Being cruel does not necessarily make you a villain. Your cruelty may be reserved for those who cross you or other people useful to you. You might have become cruel as the result of an intensely awful experience. Abuse and torture, for example, can strip away compassion for other living beings.

As well, you need not be cruel in every situation. In fact, others might see you as personable, friendly, and even helpful. But when angered or frustrated, your dual nature reveals itself, and those who have earned your scorn are likely to suffer for it.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Cunning: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Cruelty: When you use force, you can choose to maim or deliver painful injuries to draw out your foe's suffering. Whenever you inflict damage, you can choose to inflict 2 fewer points of damage to ease your next attack against that foe.

  • Skill: You're trained in tasks related to deception, intimidation, and persuasion when you interact with characters experiencing physical or emotional pain.

  • Inability: You have a hard time connecting with others, understanding their motives, or sharing their feelings. Any task to ascertain another character's motives, feelings, or disposition is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a valuable memento from the last person you destroyed. The memento is moderately priced, and you can sell it or trade it for an item of equal or lesser value.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You suspect that you might gain a long-term advantage from helping the other PCs and may be able to use that advantage against your enemies.
  2. By joining the PCs, you see an opportunity to grow your personal power and status at the expense of others.
  3. You hope to make another PC's life more difficult by joining the group.
  4. Joining the PCs gives you an opportunity to escape justice for a crime you committed.
Dishonorable

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 44)

There is no honor among thieves—or betrayers, backstabbers, liars, or cheats. You are all of these things, and either you don't lose any sleep over it, or you deny the truth to others or to yourself. Regardless, you are willing to do whatever it takes to get your own way. Honor, ethics, and principles are merely words. In your estimation, they have no place in the real world.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Sneaky: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Just Desserts: When the GM gives another player an experience point to award to someone for a GM intrusion, that player cannot give it to you.

  • Skill: You are trained in deception.

  • Skill: You are trained in stealth.

  • Skill: You are trained in intimidation.

  • Inability: People don't like or trust you. Pleasant social interactions are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You are interested in what the PCs are doing, so you lied to them to get into their group.
  2. While skulking about, you overheard the PCs' plans and realized that you wanted in.
  3. One of the other PCs invited you, having no idea of what you're truly like.
  4. You bullied your way in with intimidation and bluster.
Doomed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 44)

You are quite certain that your fate is leading you, inextricably, toward a terrible end. This fate might be yours alone, or you might be dragging along the people closest to you.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Jumpy: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: Always on the lookout for danger, you are trained in perception-related tasks.

  • Skill: You are defense minded, so you are trained in Speed defense tasks.

  • Skill: You are cynical and expect the worst. Thus, you are resistant to mental shocks. You are trained in Intellect defense tasks having to do with losing your sanity or equanimity.

  • Doom: Every other time the GM uses GM intrusion on your character, you cannot refuse it and do not get an XP for it (you still get an XP to award to another player). This is because you are doomed. The universe is a cold, uncaring place, and your efforts are futile at best.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You attempted to avoid it, but events seemed to conspire to draw you to where you are.
  2. Why not? It doesn't matter. You're doomed no matter what you do.
  3. One of the other PCs saved your life, and now you're repaying that obligation by helping them with the task at hand.
  4. You suspect that the only hope you have of avoiding your fate might lie on this path.
Empathic

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 44)

Other people are open books to you. You may have a knack for reading a person's tells, those subtle movements that convey an individual's mood and disposition. Or you may receive information in a more direct way, feeling a person's emotions as if they were tangible things, sensations that lightly brush against your mind. Your gift for empathy helps you navigate social situations and control them to avoid misunderstandings and prevent useless conflicts from erupting.

The constant bombardment of emotions from those around you likely takes a toll. You might move with the prevailing mood, swinging from giddy happiness to bitter sorrow with little warning. Or you might close yourself off and remain inscrutable to others out of a sense of self-preservation or an unconscious fear that everyone else might learn how you truly feel.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Open Mind: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in tasks involving sensing other emotions, discerning dispositions, and getting a hunch about people around you.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving social interaction, pleasant or otherwise.

  • Inability: Being so receptive to others' thoughts and moods makes you vulnerable to anything that attacks your mind. Intellect defense rolls are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You sensed the commitment to the task the other PCs have and felt moved to help them.
  2. You established a close bond with another PC and can't bear to be parted from them.
  3. You sensed something strange in one of the PCs and decided to join the group to see if you can sense it again and uncover the truth.
  4. You joined the PCs to escape an unpleasant relationship or negative environment.
Exiled

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 45)

You have walked a long and lonely road, leaving your home and your life behind. You might have committed a heinous crime, something so awful that your people forced you out, and if you dare return, you face death. You might have been accused of a crime you didn't commit and now must pay the price for someone else's wicked deed. Your exile might be the result of a social gaffe—perhaps you shamed your family or a friend, or you embarrassed yourself in front of your peers, an authority, or someone you respect. Whatever the reason, you have left your old life behind and now strive to make a new one.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Self-Reliant: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Loner: You gain no benefit when you get help with a task from another character who is trained or specialized in that task.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving sneaking.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving foraging, hunting, and finding safe places to rest or hide.

  • Inability: Living on your own for as long as you have makes you slow to trust others and awkward in social situations. Any task involving social interaction is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a memento from your past—an old picture, a locket with a few strands of hair inside, or a lighter given to you by someone important. You keep the object close at hand and pull it out to help you remember better times.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The other PCs earned your trust by helping you when you needed it. You accompany them to repay them.
  2. While exploring on your own, you discovered something strange. When you traveled to a settlement, the PCs were the only ones who believed you, and they have accompanied you to help you deal with the problem.
  3. One of the other PCs reminds you of someone you used to know.
  4. You have grown weary of your isolation. Joining the other PCs gives you a chance to belong.
Fast

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 45)

You're fleet of foot. Because you're quick, you can accomplish tasks more rapidly than others can. You're not just quick on your feet, however—you're quick with your hands, and you think and react quickly. You even talk quickly.

  • Energetic: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in running.

  • Fast: You can move a short distance and still take another action in the same round, or you can move a long distance as your action without needing to make any kind of roll.

  • Inability: You're a sprinter, not a long-distance runner. You don't have a lot of stamina. Might defense rolls are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You jumped in to save one of the other PCs who was in dire need.
  2. One of the other PCs recruited you for your unique talents.
  3. You're impulsive, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
  4. This mission ties in with a personal goal of your own.
Foolish

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 46)

Not everyone can be brilliant. Oh, you don't think of yourself as stupid, and you're not. It's just that others might have a bit more … wisdom. Insight. You prefer to barrel along headfirst through life and let other people worry about things. Worrying's never helped you, so why bother? You take things at face value and don't fret about what tomorrow might bring.

People call you "idiot" or "numbskull," but it doesn't faze you much.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Unwise: −4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Carefree: You succeed more on luck than anything. Every time you roll for a task, roll twice and take the higher result.

  • Intellect Weakness: Any time you spend points from your Intellect Pool, it costs you 1 more point than usual.

  • Inability: Any Intellect defense task is hindered.

  • Inability: Any task that involves seeing through a deception, an illusion, or a trap is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Who knows? Seemed like a good idea at the time.
  2. Someone asked you to join up with the other PCs. They told you not to ask too many questions, and that seemed fine to you.
  3. Your parent (or a parental/mentor figure) got you involved to give you something to do and maybe "teach you some sense."
  4. The other PCs needed some muscle who wouldn't overthink things.

It can be liberating and really fun to play a foolish character. In some ways, the pressure to always do the right, smart thing is off. On the other hand, if you play such a character as a bumbling moron in every situation, that can become annoying to everyone else at the table. As with everything, moderation is the key.

Editor's Notes — The advantages of the Foolish descriptor's Carefree ability might be too much for games with a lot of rolls. The GM might use one of the following variants instead:

  • Carefree: You succeed more on luck than anything. When you roll for a task, you can roll twice and take the higher result. After using this ability, you can't use it again until after your next recovery roll. Enabler.

  • Carefree: You succeed more on luck than anything. When you roll for a task, you can roll twice and take the higher result. If you succeed, you can't use this ability again until after your next recovery roll. Enabler.

  • Carefree: You succeed more on luck than anything. When you roll for a task, you can roll twice and take the higher result. Each time you do this, your GM intrusion range increases by 1, and returns to normal after you make a recovery roll. Enabler.

Graceful

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 46)

You have a perfect sense of balance, moving and speaking with grace and beauty. You're quick, lithe, flexible, and dexterous. Your body is perfectly suited to dance, and you use that advantage in combat to dodge blows. You might wear garments that enhance your agile movement and sense of style.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving balance and careful movement.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving physical performing arts.

  • Skill: You're trained in all Speed defense tasks.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.
  2. One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interests.
  3. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  4. There is reward involved, and you need the money.
Guarded

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 47)

You conceal your true nature behind a mask and are loath to let anyone see who you really are. Protecting yourself, physically and emotionally, is what you care about most, and you prefer to keep everyone else at a safe distance. You may be suspicious of everyone you meet, expecting the worst from people so you won't be surprised when they prove you right. Or you might just be a bit reserved, careful about letting people through your gruff exterior to the person you really are.

No one can be as reserved as you are and make many friends. Most likely, you have an abrasive personality and tend to be pessimistic in your outlook. You probably nurse an old hurt and find that the only way you can cope is to keep it and your personality locked down.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Suspicious: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in all Intellect defense tasks.

  • Skill: You are trained in all tasks involving discerning the truth, piercing disguises, and recognizing falsehoods and other deceptions.

  • Inability: Your suspicious nature makes you unlikeable. Any task involving deception or persuasion is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the PCs managed to overcome your defenses and befriend you.
  2. You want to see what the PCs are up to, so you accompany them to catch them in the act of some wrongdoing.
  3. You have made a few enemies and take up with the PCs for protection.
  4. The PCs are the only people who will put up with you.
Hardy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 47)

Your body was built to take abuse. Whether you're pounding down stiff drinks while holding up a bar in your favorite watering hole or trading blows with a thug in a back alley, you keep going, shrugging off hurts and injuries that might slow or incapacitate a lesser person. Neither hunger nor thirst, cut flesh nor broken bone can stop you. You just press on through the pain and continue.

As fit and healthy as you are, the signs of wear show in the myriad scars crisscrossing your body, your thrice-broken nose, your cauliflower ears, and any number of other disfigurements you wear with pride.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Mighty: +4 to your Might Pool.

  • Fast Healer: You halve the time it takes to make a recovery roll (minimum one action).

  • Almost Unstoppable: While you are impaired on the damage track, you function as if you were hale. While you are debilitated, you function as if you were impaired. In other words, you don't suffer the effects of being impaired until you become debilitated, and you never suffer the effects of being debilitated. You still die if all your stat Pools are 0.

  • Skill: You are trained in Might defense actions.

  • Inability: Your big, strong body is slow to react. Any task involving initiative is hindered.

  • Ponderous: When you apply Effort when making a Speed roll, you must spend 1 extra point from your Speed Pool.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs recruited you after learning about your reputation as a survivor.
  2. You joined the PCs because you want or need the money.
  3. The PCs offered you a challenge equal to your physical power.
  4. You believe the only way the PCs will succeed is if you are along to protect them.
Hideous

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 48)

You are physically repugnant by almost any human standard. You might have had a serious accident, a harmful mutation, or just poor genetic luck, but you are incontrovertibly ugly.

You've more than made up for your appearance in other ways, however. Because you have to hide your appearance, you excel at sneaking about unnoticed or disguising yourself. But perhaps most important, being ostracized while others socialized, you took the time growing up to develop yourself as you saw fit—you grew strong or quick, or you honed your mind.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Versatile: You get 4 additional points to divide among your stat Pools.

  • Skill: You are trained in intimidation and any other fear-based interactions, if you show your true face.

  • Skill: You are trained in disguise and stealth tasks.

  • Inability: All tasks relating to pleasant social interaction are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs approached you while you were in disguise, recruiting you while believing you were someone else.
  2. While skulking about, you overheard the other PCs' plans and realized you wanted in.
  3. One of the other PCs invited you, but you wonder if it was out of pity.
  4. You bullied your way in with intimidation and bluster.
Honorable

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 48)

You are trustworthy, fair, and forthright. You try to do what is right, to help others, and to treat them well. Lying and cheating are no way to get ahead—these things are for the weak, the lazy, or the despicable. You probably spend a lot of time thinking about your personal honor, how best to maintain it, and how to defend it if challenged. In combat, you are straightforward and offer quarter to any foe.

You were likely instilled with this sense of honor by a parent or a mentor. Sometimes the distinction between what is and isn't honorable varies with different schools of thought, but in broad strokes, honorable people can agree on most aspects of what honor means.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Stalwart: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in pleasant social interactions.

  • Skill: You are trained in discerning people's true motives or seeing through lies.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs' goals appear to be honorable and commendable.
  2. You see that what the other PCs are about to do is dangerous, and you'd like to help protect them.
  3. One of the other PCs invited you, hearing of your trustworthiness.
  4. You asked politely if you could join the other PCs in their mission.
Impulsive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 48)

You have a hard time tamping down your enthusiasm. Why wait when you can just do it (whatever it is) and get it done? You deal with problems when they arise rather than plan ahead. Putting out the small fires now prevents them from becoming one big fire later. You are the first to take risks, to jump in and lend a hand, to step into dark passages, and to find danger.

Your impulsiveness likely gets you into trouble. While others might take time to study the items they discover, you use such items without hesitation. After all, the best way to learn what something can do is to use it. When a cautious explorer might look around and check for danger nearby, you have to physically stop yourself from bulling on ahead. Why fuss around when the exciting thing is just ahead?

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Reckless: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in initiative actions (to determine who goes first in combat).

  • Skill: You're trained in Speed defense actions.

  • Inability: You'll try anything once, but quickly grow bored after that. Any task that involves patience, willpower, or discipline is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You heard what the other PCs were up to and suddenly decided to join them.
  2. You pulled everyone together after you heard rumors about something interesting you want to see or do.
  3. You blew all of your money and now find yourself strapped for cash.
  4. You're in trouble for acting recklessly. You join the other PCs because they offer a way out of your problem.

Impulsive characters get into trouble. That's their thing, and that's fine. But if you're constantly dragging your fellow PCs into trouble (or worse, getting them seriously hurt or killed), that will be annoying, to say the least. A good rule of thumb is that impulsiveness doesn't always mean a predilection for doing the wrong thing. Sometimes it's the urge to do the right thing.

Inquisitive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 49)

The world is vast and mysterious, with wonders and secrets to keep you amazed for several lifetimes. You feel the tugging on your heart, the call to explore the wreckage of past civilizations, to discover new peoples, new places, and whatever bizarre wonders you might find along the way. However, as strongly as you feel the pull to roam the world, you know there is danger aplenty, and you take precautions to ensure that you are prepared for any eventuality. Research, preparation, and readiness will help you live long enough to see everything you want to see and do everything you want to do.

You probably have a dozen books and travelogues about the world on you at any time. When not hitting the road and looking around, you spend your time with your nose in a book, learning everything you can about the place you're going so you know what to expect when you get there.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are eager to learn. You are trained in any task that involves learning something new, whether you're talking to a local to get information or digging through old books to find lore.

  • Skill: You have made a study of the world. You are trained in any task involving geography or history.

  • Inability: You tend to fixate on the details, making you somewhat oblivious to what's going on around you. Any task to hear or notice dangers around you is hindered.

  • Inability: When you see something interesting, you hesitate as you take in all the details. Initiative actions (to determine who goes first in combat) are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have three books on whatever subjects you choose.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the PCs approached you to learn information related to the mission, having heard you were an expert.
  2. You have always wanted to see the place where the other PCs are going.
  3. You were interested in what the other PCs were up to and decided to go along with them.
  4. One of the PCs fascinates you, perhaps due to a special or weird ability they have.
Intelligent

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 49)

You're quite smart. Your memory is sharp, and you easily grasp concepts that others might struggle with. This aptitude doesn't necessarily mean that you've had years of formal education, but you have learned a great deal in your life, primarily because you pick things up quickly and retain so much.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in an area of knowledge of your choice.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions that involve remembering or memorizing things you experience directly. For example, instead of being good at recalling details of geography that you read about in a book, you can remember a path through a set of tunnels that you've explored before.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs asked your opinion of the mission, knowing that if you thought it was a good idea, it probably was.
  2. You saw value in what the other PCs were doing.
  3. You believed that the task might lead to important and interesting discoveries.
  4. A colleague requested that you take part in the mission as a favor.
Intuitive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 49)

You are often tickled by a sense of knowing what someone will say, how they will react, or how events might unfold. Maybe you have a mutant sense, maybe you can see just a few moments ahead through time, or maybe you're just good at reading people and extrapolating a situation. Whatever the case, many who look into your eyes immediately glance away, as if afraid of what you might see in their expression.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Innate: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in perception tasks.

  • Know What to Do: You can act immediately, even if it's not your turn. Afterward, on your next regular turn, any action you take is hindered. You can do this one time, although the ability is renewed each time you make a recovery roll.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You just knew you had to come along.
  2. You convinced one of the other PCs that your intuition is invaluable.
  3. You felt that something terrible would happen if you didn't go.
  4. You're confident the reason you arrived at this point will soon become clear.
Jovial

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 50)

You're cheerful, friendly, and outgoing. You put others at ease with a big smile and a joke, possibly one at your own expense, though lightly ribbing your companions who can take it is also one of your favorite pastimes. Sometimes people say you never take anything seriously. That's not true, of course, but you have learned that to dwell on the bad too long quickly robs the world of joy. You've always got a new joke in your back pocket because you collect them like some people collect bottles of wine.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Witty: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're convivial and set most people at ease with your attitude. You are trained in all tasks related to pleasant social interaction.

  • Skill: You have an advantage in figuring out the punch lines of jokes you've never heard before. You are trained in all tasks related to solving puzzles and riddles.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You solved a riddle before realizing that answering it would launch you into the adventure.
  2. The other PCs thought you'd bring some much-needed levity to the team.
  3. You decided that all fun and no work was not the best way to get through life, so you joined up with the PCs.
  4. It was either go with the PCs or face up to a circumstance that was anything but jovial.
Kind

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 50)

It's always been easy for you to see things from the point of view of other people. That ability has made you sympathetic to what they really want or need. From your perspective, you're just applying the old proverb that "it's easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar," but others simply see your behavior as kindness. Of course, being kind takes time, and yours is limited. You've learned that a small fraction of people don't deserve your time or kindness—true sadists, narcissists, and similar folk will only waste your energy. So you deal with them swiftly, saving your kindness for those who deserve it and can benefit from your attention.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Emotionally Intuitive: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You know what it's like to go a mile in someone else's shoes. You're trained in all tasks related to pleasant social interaction and discerning the dispositions of others.

  • Karma: Sometimes, strangers just help you out. To gain the aid of a stranger, you must use a one action, ten-minute, or one-hour recovery roll (without gaining its healing benefit), and the GM determines the nature of the aid you gain. Usually, the act of kindness isn't enough to turn a bad situation completely around, but it may moderate a bad situation and lead to new opportunities. For example, if you are captured, a guard loosens your bonds slightly, brings you water, or delivers a message.

  • Inability: Being kind comes with a few risks. All tasks related to detecting falsehoods are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. A PC needed your help, and you agreed to come along as a kindness.
  2. You gave the wrong person access to your money, and now you need to make some back.
  3. You're ready to take your benevolence on the road and help more people than you could if you didn't join the PCs.
  4. Your job, which seemed like it would be personally rewarding, is the opposite. You join the PCs to escape the drudgery.
Learned

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 51)

You have studied, either on your own or with an instructor. You know many things and are an expert on a few topics, such as history, biology, geography, mythology, nature, or any other area of study. Learned characters typically carry a few books around with them and spend their spare time reading.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in three areas of knowledge of your choice.

  • Inability: You have few social graces. Any task involving charm, persuasion, or etiquette is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have two additional books on topics of your choice.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs asked you to come along because of your knowledge.
  2. You need money to fund your studies.
  3. You believed that the task might lead to important and interesting discoveries.
  4. A colleague requested that you take part in the mission as a favor.
Lucky

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 51)

You rely on chance and timely good luck to get you through many situations. When people say that someone was born under a lucky star, they mean you. When you try your hand at something new, no matter how unfamiliar the task is, as often as not you find a measure of success. Even when disaster strikes, it's rarely as bad as it could be. More often, small things seem to go your way, you win contests, and you're often in the right place at the right time.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Luck Pool: You have one additional Pool called Luck that begins with 3 points, and it has a maximum value of 3 points. When spending points from any other Pool, you can take one, some, or all of the points from your Luck Pool first. When you make a recovery roll to recover points to any other Pool, your Luck Pool is also refreshed by the same number of points. When your Luck Pool is at 0 points, it does not count against your damage track. Enabler.

  • Advantage: When you use 1 XP to reroll a d20 for any roll that affects only you, add 3 to the reroll.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Knowing that lucky people notice and take active advantage of opportunities, you became involved in your first adventure by choice.
  2. You literally bumped into someone else on this adventure through sheer luck.
  3. You found a briefcase lying alongside the road. It was battered, but inside you found a lot of strange documents that led you here.
  4. Your luck saved you when you avoided a speeding vehicle by a fortuitous fall through an opening in the ground (a manhole, if in a modern setting). Beneath the ground, you found something you couldn't ignore.
Mad

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 51)

You have delved too deeply into subjects people were not meant to know. You are knowledgeable in things beyond the scope of most, but this knowledge has come at a terrible price. You are likely in questionable physical shape and occasionally shake with nervous tics. You sometimes mutter to yourself without realizing it.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Knowledgeable: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Fits of Insight: Whenever such knowledge is appropriate, the GM feeds you information although there is no clear explanation as to how you could know such a thing. This is up to the GM's discretion, but it should happen as often as once each session.

  • Erratic Behavior: You are prone to acting erratically or irrationally. When you are in the presence of a major discovery or subjected to great stress (such as a serious physical threat), the GM can introduce a GM intrusion that directs your next action without awarding XP. You can still pay 1 XP to refuse the intrusion. The GM's influence is the manifestation of your madness and thus is always something you would not likely do otherwise, but it is not directly, obviously harmful to you unless there are extenuating circumstances. (For example, if a foe suddenly leaps out of the darkness, you might spend the first round babbling incoherently or screaming the name of your first true love.)

  • Skill: You are trained in one area of knowledge (probably something weird or esoteric).

  • Inability: Your mind is quite fragile. Tasks to resist mental attacks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Voices in your head told you to go.
  2. You instigated the whole thing and convinced the others to join you.
  3. One of the other PCs obtained a book of knowledge for you, and now you're repaying that favor by helping them with the task at hand.
  4. You feel compelled by inexplicable intuition.
Mechanical

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 52)

You have a special talent with machines of all kinds, and you're adept at understanding and, if need be, repairing them. Perhaps you're a bit of an inventor, creating new machines from time to time. You get called "techie," "tech," "mech," "gear-head," "motor-head," or any of a number of other nicknames. Mechanics usually wear practical work clothes and carry around a lot of tools.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions involving identifying or understanding machines.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions involving using, repairing, or crafting machines.

  • Additional Equipment: You start with a variety of machine tools.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. While repairing a nearby machine, you overheard the other PCs talking.
  2. You need money to buy tools and parts.
  3. It was clear that the mission couldn't succeed without your skills and knowledge.
  4. Another PC asked you to join them.
Mysterious

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 52)

The dark figure lurking silently in the corner? That's you. No one really knows where you came from or what your motives are—you play things close to the vest. Your manner perplexes and confounds others, but that doesn't make you a poor friend or ally. You're just good at keeping things to yourself, moving about unseen, and concealing your presence and identity.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skill: You are trained in all stealth tasks.

  • Skill: You are trained in resisting interrogation or tricks to get you to talk.

  • Confounding: You pull talents and abilities seemingly out of nowhere. You can attempt one task in which you have no training as if you were trained, attempt a task that you are trained in as if specialized, or gain a free level of Effort with a task that you are specialized in. This ability refreshes every time you make a recovery roll, but the uses never accumulate.

  • Inability: People never know where they stand with you. Any task involving getting people to believe or trust you is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You just showed up one day.
  2. You convinced one of the other PCs that you had invaluable skills.
  3. Some equally mysterious figure told you where to be and when (but not why) to join the group.
  4. Something—a feeling, a dream—told you where to be and when to join the group.
Mystical

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 53)

You think of yourself as mystical, attuned with the mysterious and the paranormal. Your true talents lie with the supernatural. You likely have experience with ancient lore, and you can sense and wield the supernatural—though whether that means "magic," "psychic phenomena," or something else is up to you (and probably up to those around you as well). Mystical characters often wear jewelry, such as a ring or an amulet, or have tattoos or other marks that show their interests.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions involving identifying or understanding the supernatural.

  • Sense Magic: You can sense whether the supernatural is active in situations where its presence is not obvious. You must study an object or location closely for a minute to get a feel for whether a mystical touch is at work.

  • Spell: You can perform Hedge Magic as a spell when you have a free hand and can pay the Intellect point cost.

  • Inability: You have a manner or an aura that others find a bit unnerving. Any task involving charm, persuasion, or deception is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. A dream guided you to this point.
  2. You need money to fund your studies.
  3. You believed the mission would be a great way to learn more about the supernatural.
  4. Various signs and portents led you here.
Naive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 53)

You've lived a sheltered life. Your childhood was safe and secure, so you didn't get a chance to learn much about the world—and even less chance to experience it. Whether you were training for something, had your nose in a book, or just were sequestered in a secluded place, you haven't done much, met many people, or seen many interesting things so far. That's probably going to change soon, but as you go forward into a larger world, you do so without some of the understanding that others possess about how it all works.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Fresh: You add +1 to your recovery rolls.

  • Incorruptible: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and all tasks that involve resisting temptation.

  • Skill: You're wide-eyed. You are trained in perception tasks.

  • Inability: Any task that involves seeing through deceptions or determining someone's secret motive is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Someone told you that you should get involved.
  2. You needed money, and this seemed like a good way to earn some.
  3. You believed that you could learn a lot by joining the other PCs.
  4. Sounded like fun.
Perceptive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 54)

You miss little. You pick out the small details in the world around you and are skilled at making deductions from the information you find. Your talents make you an exceptional sleuth, a formidable scientist, or a talented scout.

As adept as you are at finding clues, you have no skill at picking up on social cues. You overlook an offense that your deductions give or how uncomfortable your scrutiny can make the people around you. You tend to dismiss others as being intellectual dwarfs compared to you, which avails you little when you need a favor.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Smart: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You have an eye for detail. You are trained in any task that involves finding or noticing small details.

  • Skill: You know a little about everything. You are trained in any task that involves identifying objects or calling to mind a minor detail or bit of trivia.

  • Skill: Your skill at making deductions can be imposing. You are trained in any task that involves intimidating another creature.

  • Inability: Your confidence comes off as arrogance to people who don't know you. Any task involving positive social interactions is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a bag of light tools.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You overheard the other PCs discussing their mission and volunteered your services.
  2. One of the PCs asked you to come along, believing that your talents would be invaluable to the mission.
  3. You believe that the PCs' mission is somehow related to one of your investigations.
  4. A third party recruited you to follow the PCs and see what they were up to.
Resilient

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 54)

You can take a lot of punishment, both physically and mentally, and still come back for more. It takes a lot to put you down. Neither physical nor mental shocks or damage have a lasting effect. You're tough to faze. Unflappable. Unstoppable.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Resistant: +2 to your Might Pool, and +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Recover: You can make an extra recovery roll each day. This roll is just one action. So you can make two recovery rolls that each take one action, one roll that takes ten minutes, a fourth roll that takes one hour, and a fifth roll that requires ten hours of rest.

  • Skill: You are trained in Might defense tasks.

  • Skill: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks.

  • Inability: You're hardy but not necessarily strong. Any task involving moving, bending, or breaking things is hindered.

  • Inability: You have a lot of willpower and mental fortitude, but you're not necessarily smart. Any task involving knowledge or figuring out problems or puzzles is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You saw that the PCs clearly need someone like you to help them out.
  2. Someone asked you to watch over one of the PCs in particular, and you agreed.
  3. You are bored and desperately in need of a challenge.
  4. You lost a bet—unfairly, you think—and had to take someone's place on this mission.
Risk-Taking

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 54)

It's part of your nature to question what others think can't or shouldn't be done. You're not insane, of course—you wouldn't attempt to leap across a mile-wide chasm just because you were dared. There's impossible and then there's the just barely possible. You like to push the latter further than others, because it gives you a rush of satisfaction and pleasure when you succeed. The more you succeed, the more you find yourself looking for that next risky challenge to try yourself against.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Nimble: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're adept at leveraging risk, and you are trained in tasks that involve some element of chance, such as playing games or choosing between two or three apparently equal options.

  • Pressing Your Luck: You can choose to automatically succeed on one task without rolling, as long as the task's difficulty is no higher than 6. When you do so, however, you also trigger a GM intrusion as if you had rolled a 1. The intrusion doesn't invalidate the success, but it probably qualifies it in some fashion. You can do this one time, although the ability renews each time you make a ten-hour recovery roll.

  • Inability: You may be nimble, but you're not sneaky. Tasks related to sneaking and staying quiet are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. It seemed like there were equal odds that the other PCs wouldn't succeed, which sounded good to you.
  2. You think the tasks ahead will present you with unique and fulfilling challenges.
  3. One of your biggest risks failed to go your way, and you need money to help pay that debt.
  4. You bragged that you never saw a risk you didn't like, which is how you reached your current point.
Rugged

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 55)

You're a nature lover accustomed to living rough, pitting your wits against the elements. Most likely, you're a skilled hunter, gatherer, or naturalist. Years of living in the wild have left their mark with a worn countenance, wild hair, or scars. Your clothing is probably much less refined than the garments worn by city dwellers.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving climbing, jumping, running, and swimming.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving training, riding, or placating natural animals.

  • Skill: You're trained in all tasks involving identifying or using natural plants.

  • Inability: You have no social graces and prefer animals to people. Any task involving charm, persuasion, etiquette, or deception is hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You carry an explorer's pack with rope, two days' rations, a bedroll, and other tools needed for outdoor survival.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.
  2. One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interests.
  3. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  4. There is reward involved, and you need the money.
Sharp-Eyed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 55)

You're perceptive and well aware of your surroundings. You notice the little details and remember them. You can be difficult to surprise.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skill: You're trained in initiative actions.

  • Skill: You're trained in perception actions.

  • Find the Flaw: If an opponent has a straightforward weakness (takes extra damage from fire, can't see out of their left eye, and so on), the GM will tell you what it is.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You heard about what was going on, saw a flaw in the other PCs' plan, and joined up to help them out.
  2. You noticed that the PCs have a foe (or at least a tail) they weren't aware of.
  3. You saw that the other PCs were up to something interesting and got involved.
  4. You've been noticing some strange things going on, and this all appears related.
Skeptical

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 55)

You possess a questioning attitude regarding claims that are often taken for granted by others. You're not necessarily a "doubting Thomas" (a skeptic who refuses to believe anything without direct personal experience), but you've often benefited from questioning the statements, opinions, and received knowledge presented to you by others.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Insightful: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in identifying.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions that involve seeing through a trick, an illusion, a rhetorical ruse designed to evade the issue, or a lie. For example, you're better at keeping your eye on the cup containing the hidden ball, sensing an illusion, or realizing if someone is lying to you (but only if you specifically concentrate and use this skill).

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You overheard other PCs holding forth on a topic with an opinion you were quite skeptical about, so you decided to approach the group and ask for proof.
  2. You were following one of the other PCs because you were suspicious of him, which brought you into the action.
  3. Your theory about the nonexistence of the supernatural can be invalidated only by your own senses, so you came along.
  4. You need money to fund your research.
Stealthy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 56)

You're sneaky, slippery, and fast. These talents help you hide, move quietly, and pull off tricks that require sleight of hand. Most likely, you're wiry and small. However, you're not much of a sprinter—you're more dexterous than fleet of foot.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Quick: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all stealth tasks.

  • Skill: You're trained in all interactions involving lies or trickery.

  • Skill: You're trained in all special abilities involving illusions or trickery.

  • Inability: You're sneaky but not fast. All movement-related tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You attempted to steal from one of the other PCs. That character caught you and forced you to come along with them.
  2. You were tailing one of the other PCs for reasons of your own, which brought you into the action.
  3. An NPC employer secretly paid you to get involved.
  4. You overheard the other PCs talking about a topic that interested you, so you decided to approach the group.
Strong

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 56)

You're extremely strong and physically powerful, and you use these qualities well, whether through violence or feats of prowess. You likely have a brawny build and impressive muscles.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Very Powerful: +4 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions involving breaking inanimate objects.

  • Skill: You're trained in all jumping actions.

  • Additional Equipment: You have an extra medium weapon or heavy weapon.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.
  2. One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interests.
  3. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  4. There is reward involved, and you need the money.
Strong-Willed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 56)

You're tough-minded, willful, and independent. No one can talk you into anything or change your mind when you don't want it changed. This quality doesn't necessarily make you smart, but it does make you a bastion of willpower and resolve. You likely dress and act with unique style and flair, not caring what others think.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Willful: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in resisting mental effects.

  • Skill: You're trained in tasks requiring incredible focus or concentration.

  • Inability: Willful doesn't mean brilliant. Any task that involves figuring out puzzles or problems, memorizing things, or using lore is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.
  2. One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interests.
  3. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  4. There is reward involved, and you need the money.
Swift

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 57)

You move quickly, able to sprint in short bursts and work with your hands with dexterity. You're great at crossing distances quickly but not always smoothly. You are likely slim and muscular.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Fast: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in initiative actions (to determine who goes first in combat).

  • Skill: You're trained in running actions.

  • Inability: You're fast but not necessarily graceful. Any task involving balance is hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.
  2. One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interests.
  3. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  4. There is reward involved, and you need the money.
Tongue-Tied

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 57)

You've never been much of a talker. When forced to interact with others, you never think of the right thing to say—words fail you entirely, or they come out all wrong. You often end up saying precisely the wrong thing and insult someone unintentionally. Most of the time, you just keep mum. This makes you a listener instead—a careful observer. It also means that you're better at doing things than talking about them. You're quick to take action.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Actions, Not Words: +2 to your Might Pool, and +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in perception.

  • Skill: You are trained in initiative (unless it's a social situation).

  • Inability: All tasks relating to social interaction are hindered.

  • Inability: All tasks involving verbal communication or relaying information are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You just tagged along and no one told you to leave.
  2. You saw something important the other PCs did not and (with some effort) managed to relate it to them.
  3. You intervened to save one of the other PCs when they were in danger.
  4. One of the other PCs recruited you for your talents.
Tough

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 57)

You're strong and can take a lot of physical punishment. You might have a large frame and a square jaw. Tough characters frequently have visible scars.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Resilient: +1 to Armor.

  • Healthy: Add 1 to the points you regain when you make a recovery roll.

  • Skill: You're trained in Might defense actions.

  • Additional Equipment: You have an extra light weapon.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You're acting as a bodyguard for one of the other PCs.
  2. One of the PCs is your sibling, and you came along to watch out for them.
  3. You need money because your family is in debt.
  4. You stepped in to defend one of the PCs when that character was threatened. While talking to them afterward, you heard about the group's task.
Vicious

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 58)

You try to hide what's inside, fold it into yourself when everything inside you screams to let go, make them pay, make them hurt, and make them bleed. Sometimes you succeed for your friends—smiling like they smile, laughing when they laugh, and sometimes even having other emotions of your own. But it's always there, that feeling of frantic glee mixed with hate that sometimes leaps out of you when you confront a foe. Violence your friends can tolerate, but you sometimes worry they will also learn that you are cruel.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skill: You are trained in tracking creatures. If a creature has wronged you, the tracking task is eased.

  • Bloodthirsty: Once you begin fighting, you see only red. You inflict 2 additional points of damage with any attack.

  • Berserk: Once you begin fighting, it's hard for you to stop. In fact, it's a difficulty 2 Intellect task to do so, even if your foe surrenders or you've run out of foes. If the latter occurs and you fail to stop, you attack the nearest ally within short range.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a record that you use to list those who've wronged you.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Another PC saw you take down a mean drunk in a tavern, not realizing you were the one who started the fight.
  2. You wanted to get away from a bad situation, so you went with the other PCs.
  3. You want to change, and you hope that being with the other PCs will help you calm yourself.
  4. One of the other PCs asked you to come along, believing that your viciousness could be harnessed for the benefit of the mission.
Virtuous

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 58)

Doing the right thing is a way of life. You live by a code, and that code is something you attend to every day. Whenever you slip, you reproach yourself for your weakness and then get right back on track. Your code probably includes moderation, respect for others, cleanliness, and other characteristics that most people would agree are virtues, while you eschew their opposites: sloth, greed, gluttony, and so on.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Dauntless: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in discerning people's true motives or seeing through lies.

  • Skill: Your adherence to a strict moral code has hardened your mind against fear, doubt, and outside influence. You are trained in Intellect defense tasks.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs are doing something virtuous, and you're all about that.
  2. The PCs are on the road to perdition, and you see it as your task to set them on the proper moral route.
  3. One of the other PCs invited you, hearing of your virtuous ways.
  4. You put virtue before sense and defended someone's honor in the face of an organization or power far greater than you. You joined the PCs because they offered aid and friendship when, out of fear of reprisals, no one else would.
Weird

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 58)

You aren't like anyone else, and that's fine with you. People don't seem to understand you—they even seem put off by you—but who cares? You understand the world better than they do because you're weird, and so is the world you live in. The concept of "the weird" is well known to you. Strange devices, ancient locales, bizarre creatures, storms that can transform you, living energy fields, conspiracies, aliens, and things most people can't even name populate the world, and you thrive on them. You have a special attachment to it all, and the more you discover about the weirdness in the world, the more you might discover about yourself.

Weird characters might be mutants or people born with strange qualities, but sometimes they started out "normal" and adopted the weird by choice.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Inner Light: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Distinctive Physical Quirk: You have a unique physical aspect that is, well, bizarre. Depending on the setting, this can vary greatly. You might have purple hair or metal spikes on your head. Perhaps your hands don't connect to your arms, although they move as if they do. Maybe a third eye stares out from the side of your head, or superfluous tendrils grow from your back. Whatever it is, your quirk might be a mutation, a supernatural trait (a blessing or curse), a feature with no explanation, or just a really wild tattoo that draws a lot of attention.

  • A Sense for the Weird: Sometimes—at the GM's discretion—weird things relating to the supernatural or its effects on the world seem to call out to you. You can sense them from afar, and if you get within long range of such a thing, you can sense whether it is overtly dangerous or not.

  • Skill: You are trained in supernatural knowledge.

  • Inability: People find you unnerving. All tasks relating to pleasant social interaction are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. It seemed weird, so why not?
  2. Whether the other PCs realize it or not, their mission has to do with something weird that you know about, so you got involved.
  3. As an expert in the weird, you were specifically recruited by the other PCs.
  4. You felt drawn to join the other PCs, but you don't know why.

Customizing Descriptors

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 59)

Under the normal rules, each descriptor is based on some modification of the following guidelines:

  • Some descriptors offer +4 to one stat Pool and either two narrow skills or one broad skill.
  • Other descriptors offer +2 to one stat Pool and either three narrow skills or one narrow skill and one broad skill.
  • A broad skill covers many areas (such as all interactions). A narrow skill covers fewer areas (such as deceptive interactions). Combat-related skills, such as defense or initiative, are considered broad skills in this sense.
  • Regardless, you can add an additional skill if it is balanced by an inability.
  • You can add other non-skill abilities by eyeballing them and trying to equate them to the value of a skill, if possible. If the descriptor seems lacking, add a moderately priced item as additional equipment to balance things out.

With this general information, you can customize a descriptor, but keep in mind that a heavily customized descriptor isn't a descriptor if it no longer says one thing about a character. It's better to use this information to create a new descriptor that fits exactly how the player wants to portray the character.

Editor's Notes — For more on broad and narrow skills, see Skill Categories.

Species as Descriptor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 59)

Sometimes, in settings that have alien or fantasy species, players want to play a member of that species rather than the default (which is usually "human"). Most of the time, this choice is one of flavor rather than game mechanics. If you're a 7-foot-tall furry Rigellian with three eyes, that's great, but it doesn't change your stats or skills (though it may have roleplaying challenges).

However, sometimes being a nonhuman results in more substantive changes. A PC ogre in a fantasy setting might have the Strong or Tough descriptor, or perhaps it has a descriptor simply called Ogre, which is similar to Strong or Tough but more pronounced (with greater Might but even greater drawbacks). This would mean that instead of being a Tough Warrior who Controls Beasts, the character is an Ogre Warrior who Controls Beasts.

Part 3: Genres offers a few species descriptors, but many GMs will want to create their own as suits their setting. It can't be stressed enough, however, that nine times out of ten, in most genres, species differences aren't significant enough to warrant this treatment. The differences between a Mysterious character and a Virtuous one are probably greater than those between an Alpha Centauran and an Earthling.

Editor's Notes — For more ideas on creating species descriptors with biological differences, see Mutations and the Mutant descriptor.

Descriptors as Species

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 59)

If a player wants to play a nearly human species without any exceptional or unique special abilities, it's easy for a GM to pick an appropriate descriptor and use it as that species' descriptor. A greyhound-like species might have the Fast descriptor.

Variant Rule: Two Descriptors

(Godforsaken, page 86)

In many fantasy or science fiction settings, a species descriptor can take the place of a character's descriptor. However, this creates a situation where only human characters have the variability of choosing a descriptor that suits their personality. The GM might instead allow all human characters to have two descriptors, and nonhuman characters to have a standard descriptor in addition to their species descriptor.

Sometimes contradictory descriptors might weaken or negate each other's benefits and drawbacks. If one descriptor gives training in a skill and another gives an inability in that skill, they cancel each other out and the character doesn't have any modifier for that skill at all.

Additional Descriptors

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These descriptors include page reference numbers that correspond to the product. Linked items lead to rough equivalents in this document, but each product tailors content specifically for its genre and setting.

Characters: Crews — Descriptors

You're stronger as a team! Crews provides a framework for using the Two Descriptors variant rule to add a shared party descriptor with connections to the setting.

Crew Descriptors

  • Espionage (CREWS, 3)
  • Goblins (CREWS, 3)
  • Half-Orc (CREWS, 4)
  • The Law (CREWS, 4)
  • Locals (CREWS, 4)
  • Marshals (CREWS, 4)
  • Merchant Caravan (CREWS, 4)
  • Musical (CREWS, 4)
  • Vessel (CREWS, 4)
  • Veteran (CREWS, 5)
  • Were-Spider (CREWS, 5)
Cruel Stars: Characters — Descriptors

Tools to create your own space opera PCs in a brand new setting.

Species Descriptors

  • Artificial Lifeform (CSC, 17)
  • Natural Psychic Species (CSC, 16)
  • Proud Warrior Species (CSC, 3)
  • Space Tech Species (CSC, 15)

See also: Cruel Stars: Characters — Flavors

Expanded Worlds — Descriptors

Where will your campaign take you? What worlds will you build?

  • Adroit (EW, 7)
  • Benificent (EW, 7)
  • Chaotic (EW, 8)
  • Earnest (EW, 8)
  • Heroic (EW, 9)
  • Insolent (EW, 10)
  • Lawful (EW, 10)
  • Meddlesome (EW, 11)
  • Obsessive (EW, 11)
  • Relentless (EW, 12)
  • Serene (EW, 12)
  • Young (EW, 13)

See also: Expanded Worlds — Foci

Godforsaken — Descriptors

Dragons. Magic wands. Singing swords and flying carpets. And above all—heroes!

Species Descriptors

  • Moord (GF, 202)

See also: Godforsaken — What's in the Book?

Gods of the Fall — Descriptors

The Gods are eead—now it's your turn.

  • Benificent (GODS, 124)
  • Chaotic (GODS, 125)
  • Gluttonous (GODS, 126)
  • Humble (GODS, 126)
  • Lawful (GODS, 126)
  • Wary (GODS, 129)

Species Descriptors

  • Sleen (GODS, 127)
  • Taran (GODS, 128)

See also: Gods of the Fall — Types, Gods of the Fall — Foci, and Gods of the Fall — What's in the Book?

Numenera Discovery — Descriptors

Those who can uncover and master the numenera can unlock the powers and abilities of the ancients, and perhaps bring new light to a struggling world.

Species Descriptors

  • Lattimor (NDIS, 396)
  • Mutant (NDIS, 397)
  • Varjellen (NDIS, 394)

See also: Numenera Discovery — Types, Numenera Discovery — Foci, and Numenera Discovery — What's in the Book?

Numenera Destiny — Descriptors

Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect.

  • Adaptable (NDES, 40)
  • Benificent (NDES, 41)
  • Articulate (NDES, 41)
  • Cheerful (NDES, 42)
  • Civic (NDES, 42)
  • Committed (NDES, 42)
  • Confident (NDES, 43)
  • Cultured (NDES, 43)
  • Curious (NDES, 44)
  • Earnest (NDES, 44)
  • Empirical (NDES, 45)
  • Exacting (NDES, 45)
  • Forward-Thinking (NDES, 45)
  • Gregarious (NDES, 46)
  • Heroic (NDES, 46)
  • Imaginative (NDES, 47)
  • Industrious (NDES, 47)
  • Intimidating (NDES, 47)
  • Intuitive (NDES, 48)
  • Irrepressible (NDES, 48)
  • Lawful (NDES, 49)
  • Loyal (NDES, 49)
  • Meddlesome (NDES, 50)
  • Nurturing (NDES, 50)
  • Obsessive (NDES, 50)
  • Optimistic (NDES, 51)
  • Organized (NDES, 51)
  • Passionate (NDES, 52)
  • Preserving (NDES, 52)
  • Prepared (NDES, 52)
  • Protective (NDES, 53)
  • Relentless (NDES, 53)
  • Risk-Taking (NDES, 53)
  • Serene (NDES, 54)
  • Vicious (NDES, 54)

See also: Numenera Destiny — Types, Numenera Destiny — Foci, and Numenera Destiny — What's in the Book?

Numenera Character Options — Descriptors

The character you envision.

Location-Based Descriptors — The Steadfast

  • Ancuani (NCO1, 36)
  • Draolic (NCO1, 33)
  • Ghanic (NCO1, 32)
  • Iscobean (NCO1, 34)
  • Malvic (NCO1, 34)
  • Milavian (NCO1, 36)
  • Naven (NCO1, 31)
  • Pytharon (NCO1, 34)
  • Thaemic (NCO1, 33)

Location-Based Descriptors — The Beyond

  • Bazian (NCO1, 37)
  • Ephrem (NCO1, 37)
  • Icebound (NCO1, 38)
  • Wasteland (NCO1, 39)

Species Descriptors

  • Diruk (NCO1, 40)
  • Golthiar (NCO1, 41)
  • Mlox (NCO1, 42)
  • Nalurus (NCO1, 43)
  • Mutant (NCO1, 44)

See also: Numenera Character Options — Foci

Numenera Character Options 2 — Descriptors

Build a character as wondrous as the Ninth World itself!

  • Abrasive (NCO2, 25)
  • Aggressive (NCO2, 25)
  • Altruistic (NCO2, 26)
  • Amusing (NCO2, 26)
  • Deliberate (NCO2, 27)
  • Devout (NCO2, 27)
  • Efficient (NCO2, 27)
  • Extraterrestrial (NCO2, 28)
  • Fabulous (NCO2, 28)
  • Gregarious (NCO2, 29)
  • Insolent (NCO2, 29)
  • Intimidating (NCO2, 29)
  • Lonely (NCO2, 30)
  • Manipulative (NCO2, 31)
  • Marine (NCO2, 31)
  • Meek (NCO2, 31)
  • Mercurial (NCO2, 32)
  • Obsessive (NCO2, 32)
  • Passionate (NCO2, 33)
  • Polyglot (NCO2, 34)
  • Rebellious (NCO2, 34)
  • Resourceful (NCO2, 35)
  • Subterranean (NCO2, 35)
  • Ultraterrestrial (NCO2, 35)
  • Vigilant (NCO2, 36)

Location-Based Descriptors

  • Coraoan (NCO2, 37)
  • Desert-Dwelling (NCO2, 37)
  • Elychnious (NCO2, 38)
  • Frostborn (NCO2, 38)
  • Gaian (NCO2, 38)
  • Rayskelan (NCO2, 39)
  • Vralkan (NCO2, 39)

Species Descriptors

  • Artificially Intelligent (NCO2, 40)
  • Calramite (NCO2, 41)
  • Echryni (NCO2,42 )
  • Naiadapt (NCO2, 42)
  • Ormryl (NCO2, 44)
  • Proxima (NCO2, 45)
  • Skeane (NCO2, 45)

See also: Numenera Character Options 2 — Types and Numenera Character Options 2 — Foci

Numenera: Into the Deep — Descriptors

What wonders lie beneath the waves?

Species Descriptors

  • Naiadapt Dyremmi (NID, 102)
  • Skeane (NID, 60)
Numenera: Liminal Shore — Descriptors

A land of secrets, beyond the farthest seas—or, perhaps, farther still…

Species Descriptors

  • Creel (NLS, 138)
  • Spirant (NLS, 138)
  • Wholkin (NLS, 138)
Numenera: The Ninth World Guidebook — Descriptors

From the frozen lands beyond the Southern Wall, to the volcanic desert of Vralk and the weird, faroff realm of Corao, The Ninth World Guidebook explores new lands and includes adventure hooks, new creatures, new character options, and the incredible level of detail, imagination, and weirdness that is the hallmark of the Ninth World!

  • Devout (NWG, 216)

Location-Based Descriptors

  • Coraoan (NWG, 215)
  • Desert-Dwelling (NWG, 215)
  • Elychnious (NWG, 217)
  • Frostborn (NWG, 217)
  • Gaian (NWG, 218)
  • Rayskelan (NWG, 219)
  • Vraklan (NWG, 219)

Species Descriptors

  • Echryni (NWG, 216)
  • Proxima (NWG, 219)

See also: Numenera: The Ninth World Guidebook — Foci

Numenera: The Octopi of the Ninth World — Descriptors

The secrets of a billion-year empire.

Species Descriptors

  • Octopus (NONW, 9)

See also: Numenera: The Octopi of the Ninth World — Foci

Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide — Descriptors

Explore new lands. Discover new creatures. Unearth new secrets.

  • Bloomborn (TTN, 142)
  • Castoff (TTN, 142)
  • Cautious (TTN, 144)
  • Slick (TTN, 145)

Species Descriptors

  • Ghibra (TTN, 149)

See also: Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide — Foci

Old Gods of Appalachia — Descriptors

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

See also: Old Gods of Appalachia — Types, Old Gods of Appalachia — Foci, and Old Gods of Appalachia — What's in the Book?

Old Gus' Daft Drafts — Descriptors

A collection of free, online options for your best game ever!

Fantasy and Fairy Tale Descriptors

Science Fiction Species Descriptors

See also: Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Foci, Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Flavors, and Old Gus' Draft Drafts — What's in the Book?

Path of the Planebreaker — Descriptors

Unlock the mysteries of the planes!

  • Chimeran (POTP, 174)
  • Inkarnate (POTP, 176)
  • Laghristi (POTP, 64)
  • Traveler (POTP, 172)

See also: Path of the Planebreaker — Foci and Path of the Planebreaker — What's in the Book?

Planar Character Options — Descriptors

Create awesome characters altered—or formed—by the planes!

  • Cosmic Rambler (PCO, 19)
  • Crossplane Refugee (PCO, 20)
  • Reformed Fiend (PCO, 21)
  • Fallen Celestial (PCO, 22)

Species Descriptors

  • Chimeran (PCO, 6)
  • Inkarnate (PCO, 8)
  • Lava elf (Laghristi) (PCO, 10)
  • Surk (PCO, 12)
  • Traveler (PCO, 14)
  • Vlaton (PCO, 16)

See also: Planar Character Options — Foci and Planar Character Options — Flavors

Mortal Fantasy — Descriptors

Expanding on Gods of the Fall and traditional high fantasy settings, this supplement offers new options for GMs and players to teach these new gods a new level of respect for mortals!

  • Demonic Bloodline (MF, 28)
  • Divine Bloodline (MF, 29)
  • Draconic (MF, 29)
  • Goblin (MF, 30)
  • Gnome (MF, 31)
  • Half-orc (MF, 32)
  • The Hollowed (MF, 32)

The Mortal Fantasy Gnome differs considerably from the CSRD's Gnome.

See also: Mortal Fantasy — Types

Predation — Descriptors

A little sci-fi. A little post-apocalypse. A whole lot of dinosaurs.

  • Daring (PRED, 36)
  • Empirical (PRED, 37)
  • Savage (PRED, 38)
  • Slick (PRED, 38)
  • Volcanic (PRED, 38)

See also: Predation — Types, Predation — Foci, and Predation — What's in the Book?

Shotguns & Sorcery — Descriptors

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

  • Aggressive (SS, 38)
  • Connected (SS, 39)
  • Cunning (SS, 39)
  • Daring (SS, 40)
  • Determined (SS, 40)
  • Graceful (SS, 41)
  • Grizzled (SS, 41)
  • Hardboiled (SS, 41)
  • Honorable (SS, 42)
  • Insightful (SS, 42)
  • Learned (SS, 42)
  • Mysterious (SS, 43)
  • Perceptive (SS, 43)
  • Resourceful (SS, 43)
  • Rich (SS, 44)
  • Seductive (SS, 44)
  • Stealthy (SS, 45)
  • Strong (SS, 45)
  • Swift (SS, 45)
  • Vengeful (SS, 46)

Races

  • Dwarf (SS, 18)
  • Elf (SS, 19)
  • Halfling (SS, 20)
  • Human (SS, 21)
  • Orc (SS, 22)

See also: Shotguns & Sorcery — Types, Shotguns & Sorcery — Foci, and Shotguns & Sorcery — What's in the Book?

Editor's Notes — Race in Shotguns & Sorcery determines many aspects of a PC, including starting Pools. As such, these races differ considerably from the CSRD's Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling, and from the CSRD's descriptor template in general.

The Strange — Descriptors

Limited pocket dimensions with their own laws of reality are connected to Earth — a dangerous, chaotic network called the Strange.

See also: The Strange — Types, The Strange — Foci, and The Strange — What's in the Book?

The Strange: Alternate Origins — Descriptors

What if your character isn't from Earth? What if she came here from one of those recursions—or what if your campaign is set in Earth's shoals, in places where the characters don't even know Earth exists? What if you just want even more flexibility in how characters translate in your campaign?

  • Ardeynic (TSAO, 3)
  • Crowan (TSAO, 4)
  • Dwarf (TSAO, 4)
  • Elf (TSAO, 5)
  • Fearless (TSAO, 6)
  • Grey (TSAO, 7)
  • Halfling (TSAO, 8)
  • Hominid (TSAO, 8)
  • Metaphysical (TSAO, 9)
  • Mutant (TSAO, 9)
  • Rebel (TSAO, 10)
  • Rukian (TSAO, 10)
  • Vampire (TSAO, 11)
  • Wandering (TSAO, 12)
  • Werewolf (TSAO, 12)
In Translation: The Strange Character Options — Descriptors

Translating to a new recursion? It's not just about visiting—it's about becoming a part of it. About becoming a different version of yourself.

  • Addicted (TSCO, 16)
  • Crazy (TSCO, 17)
  • Creative (TSCO, 17)
  • Extroverted (TSCO, 18)
  • Introverted (TSCO, 18)
  • Jovial (TSCO, 19)
  • Kind (TSCO, 19)
  • Know-It-All (TSCO, 20)
  • Materialist (TSCO, 20)
  • Meticulous (TSCO, 20)
  • Paranoid (TSCO, 21)
  • Patient (TSCO, 22)
  • Poker-Faced (TSCO, 22)
  • Resilient (TSCO, 23)
  • Resolute (TSCO, 23)
  • Slacker (TSCO, 24)
  • Spiritual (TSCO, 24)
  • Unforgiving (TSCO, 24)
  • Vengeful (TSCO, 25)

See also: In Translation: The Strange Character Options — Foci

The Stars are Fire — Descriptors

Galaxy-spanning space opera. Near-future hard sci-fi. And everything in between.

  • Calculating (SF, 210)

See also: The Stars are Fire — What's in the Book?

Tidal Blades — Descriptors

Welcome to Naviri, a peaceful paradise full of promise—and in dire need of heroes.

Species Descriptors

  • Betalod (TB, 79)
  • Chameleon (TB, 80)
  • Croc (TB, 81)
  • Cuttlebeard (TB, 82)
  • Frog (TB, 83)
  • Golfin (TB, 83)
  • Human (TB, 84)
  • Iota (TB, 84)
  • Magnafron (TB, 85)
  • Mutant (TB, 88)
  • Nag'i (TB, 86)
  • Salamander (TB, 86)
  • Turtle (TB, 87)
  • Tyro (TB, 87)

See also: Tidal Blades — Types and Tidal Blades — Foci

Unmasked — Descriptors

Superpowers and horror in a dark eighties.

  • Metal Head (UM, 25)
  • New Wave (UM, 26)
  • Punk (UM, 26)
  • Show-Off (UM, 27)

See also: Unmasked — Types, Unmasked — Foci, and Unmasked — What's in the Book?

VURT — Descriptors

Amid the glass-strewn streets of the lethal and anarchic Manchester England of the near future, players ingest slender VURT feathers to travel to parallel worlds as vivid, unique, and unpredictable as our wildest dreams.

  • Dogman (VURT, 24)
  • Dogmanvurt (VURT, 34)
  • Dogshadow (VURT, 26)
  • Dunce (Vurtshadowdogman) (VURT, 37)
  • Flake (Roboshadowdogman) (VURT, 38)
  • Float (Roboshadowvurtman) (VURT, 39)
  • Pure Dog (VURT, 22)
  • Pure Human (VURT, 21)
  • Pure Robo (VURT, 23)
  • Pure Shadow (VURT, 22)
  • Pure Vurt (VURT, 24)
  • Robodog (VURT, 26)
  • Robodogman (VURT, 32)
  • Robodogshadow (VURT, 34)
  • Roboman (VURT, 27)
  • Robomanshad (VURT, 36)
  • Robomanvurt (VURT, 36)
  • Roboshad (VURT, 31)
  • Roboshadowvurt (VURT, 37)
  • Robovurt (VURT, 31)
  • Robovurtdog (VURT, 35)
  • Shadowman (VURT, 28)
  • Shadowmandog (VURT, 33)
  • Shadowmanvurt (VURT, 32)
  • Shadowvurt (VURT, 31)
  • Shadowvurtdog (VURT, 35)
  • Spanner (Roboshadowvurtdog) (VURT, 39)
  • Squid (Robovurtdogman) (VURT, 39)
  • U-Type Shadowman (VURT, 28)
  • Vurtdog (VURT, 27)
  • Vurtman (VURT, 29)

See also: VURT — Types, VURT — Foci, and VURT — What's in the Book?

Chapter 8 Focus

Quick Reference: Focus

Foci

Suggested Foci by Genre

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 60)

Focus is what makes a character unique. No two PCs in a group should have the same focus. A focus gives a character benefits when they create their character and each time they ascend to the next tier. It's the verb of the sentence "I am an adjective noun who verbs."

This chapter contains nearly a hundred sample foci, such as Bears a Halo of Fire, Would Rather Be Reading, and Pilots Starcraft. These foci can be chosen and used as presented by a player, or by the GM who adds them to a list of available foci for their players in their next campaign.

In addition, the latter half of this chapter provides tools for the GM or an enterprising player to create their own custom foci that perfectly match the needs of a given game or campaign, as presented in Creating New Foci.

Choosing Foci

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 60)

Not all foci are appropriate for every genre. Part 3: Genres provides guidance, but this section offers some broad generalizations. Obviously, the GM can include whatever foci are available in their setting. Foci end up being an important distinction in this case, because Commands Mental Powers, for example, makes it clear that psychic abilities exist in the setting, just as Howls at the Moon implies the existence of lycanthropes like werewolves, and Pilots Starcraft, of course, requires starships available to pilot.

When a focus is chosen for a character, they get a special connection to one or more of their fellow PCs, a first-tier ability, and perhaps additional starting equipment: one or two pieces of equipment that might be required for the character to use their ability, or that might pair well with the focus. For instance, a character that can build things needs a set of tools. A character that's constantly on fire needs a set of clothes that are immune to flame. A character that draws runes to cast spells needs writing implements. A character that slays monsters with a sword needs a sword. And so on. That said, many foci don't require additional equipment.

Each focus also offers one or more suggestions—GM intrusions—for possible effects or consequences of really good or really bad die rolls.

A couple of foci presented in this chapter provide a "type swap option" that allows a player to swap an ability that would otherwise be gained from their type for the indicated ability instead. A player doesn't have to make the swap; they merely have the option. For instance, the focus Loves the Void provides the option to gain the ability Have Spacesuit, Will Travel instead of a type ability.

As a character progresses to a new tier, a focus grants more abilities. Each tier's benefit is usually labeled Action or Enabler. If an ability is labeled Action, a character must take an action to use it. If an ability is labeled Enabler, it makes other actions better or gives some other benefit, but it's not an action. An ability that allows a character to blast foes with lasers is an action. An ability that grants additional damage when an attack is made is an enabler. An enabler is used in the same turn as another action, and often as part of another action.

Each tier's benefits are independent of and cumulative with benefits from other tiers (unless indicated otherwise). So if a first-tier ability grants +1 to Armor and a fourth-tier ability also grants +1 to Armor, when the character reaches fourth tier, a total of +2 to Armor is granted.

At tier 3 and tier 6, the character is asked to choose one ability from the two options provided.

Finally, you can choose whether you want to expand the story behind the focus (though that's not mandatory).

Focus Connections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 61)

Choose a connection that goes well with the focus. If you're a GM choosing (or creating) one or more foci for your players, choose up to four of the following connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. For reasons unknown to you, that character is completely immune to your focus abilities, whether you use them for help or for harm.
  2. Pick one other PC. You knew of that character years ago, but you don't think they knew you.
  3. Pick one other PC. You're always trying to impress them, but you're not sure why.
  4. Pick one other PC. That character has a habit that annoys you, but you're otherwise quite impressed with their abilities.
  5. Pick one other PC. That character shows potential in appreciating your particular paradigm, fighting style, or other focus-provided attribute. You would like to train them, but you're not necessarily qualified to teach (that's up to you), and they might not be interested (that's up to them).
  6. Pick one other PC. If they are within immediate range when you're in a fight, sometimes they provide an asset, and sometimes they accidentally hinder your attack rolls (50% chance either way, determined per fight).
  7. Pick one other PC. You once saved their life, and they clearly feel indebted to you. You wish they didn't; it's just part of the job.
  8. Pick one other PC. That character recently mocked you in some fashion that really hurt your feelings. How you deal with this (if at all) is up to you.
  9. Pick one other PC. That character knows you have suffered at the hands of robotic entities in the past. Whether you hate robots now is up to you, which may affect your relationship with the character if they are friendly with robots or have robotic parts.
  10. Pick one other PC. That character comes from the same place you do, and you knew each other as children.
  11. Pick one other PC. In the past, they taught you a few tricks to use in a fight.
  12. Pick one other PC. That character doesn't seem to approve of your methods.
  13. Pick one other PC. Long ago, the two of you were on opposite sides of a fight. You won, though you "cheated" in their eyes (but from your perspective, all's fair in a fight). They may be ready for a rematch, though that's up to them.
  14. Pick one other PC. You are always trying to impress that character with your skill, wit, appearance, or bravado. Perhaps they are a rival, perhaps you need their respect, or perhaps you're romantically interested in them.
  15. Pick one other PC. You fear that character is jealous of your abilities and worry that it might lead to problems.
  16. Pick one other PC. You accidentally caught them in a trap you set, and they had to get free on their own.
  17. Pick one other PC. You were once hired to track down someone who was close to that character.
  18. Pick two PCs (preferably ones who are likely to get in the way of your attacks). When you miss with an attack and the GM rules that you struck someone other than your target, you hit one of these two characters.
  19. Pick one other PC. You're not sure how or from where, but that character has a line on bottles of rare alcohol and can get them for you for half price.
  20. Pick one other PC. You recently had a possession go missing, and you're becoming convinced that they took it. Whether or not they did is up to them.
  21. Pick one other PC. They always seem to know where you are, or at least in what direction you are in relation to them.
  22. Pick one other PC. Seeing you use your focus abilities seems to trigger an unpleasant memory in that character. That memory is up to the other PC, although they may not be able to consciously recall it.
  23. Pick one other PC. Something about them interferes with your abilities. When they stand next to you, your focus abilities cost 1 additional point.
  24. Pick one other PC. Something about them complements your abilities. When they stand next to you, the first focus ability you use in any 24-hour period costs 2 fewer points.
  25. Pick one other PC. You have known that character for a while, and they helped you gain control of your focus-related abilities.
  26. Pick one other PC. Sometime in that character's past, they had a devastating experience while attempting something that you do as a matter of course thanks to your focus. Whether they choose to tell you about it is up to them.
  27. Pick one other PC. Their occasional clumsiness and loud behavior irritate you.
  28. Pick one other PC. In the recent past, while practicing, you accidentally hit them with an attack, wounding them badly. It is up to them to decide whether they resent or forgive you.
  29. Pick one other PC. They owe you a significant amount of money.
  30. Pick one other PC. In the recent past, while escaping a threat, you accidentally left that character to fend for themselves. They survived, but just barely. It is up to the player of that character to decide whether they resent you or have decided to forgive you.
  31. Pick one other PC. Recently, they accidentally (or perhaps intentionally) put you in a position of danger. You're fine now, but you're wary around them.
  32. Pick one other PC. From your perspective, they seem nervous around a specific idea, person, or situation. You would like to teach them how to be more comfortable with their fears (if they will let you).
  33. Pick one other PC. They called you a coward once.
  34. Pick one other PC. That character always recognizes you or your handiwork, whether you're in disguise or are long gone when they arrive on the scene.
  35. Pick one other PC. You inadvertently caused an accident that put them into a sleep so deep they didn't wake for three days. Whether they forgive you or not is up to them.
  36. Pick one other PC. You are pretty sure you are related in some fashion.
  37. Pick one other PC. You accidentally learned something they were trying to keep a secret.
  38. Pick one other PC. They are especially sensitive to the use of your flashier focus abilities, and occasionally they become dazzled for a few rounds, which hinders their actions.
  39. Pick one other PC. They appear to have a treasured item that was once yours, but that you lost in a game of chance years ago.
  40. Pick one other PC. If it wasn't for you, that character would have failed a past test of mental achievement.
  41. Pick one other PC. Based on a couple of comments you've overheard, you suspect that they don't hold your area of training or favorite hobby in the highest regard.
  42. Pick one other PC whose focus intertwines with yours. This odd connection affects them in some way. For example, if the character uses a weapon, your focus ability sometimes improves their attack in some fashion.
  43. Pick one other PC. They are deathly afraid of heights. You would like to teach them how to be more comfortable with their feet off the ground. They must decide whether or not to take you up on your offer.
  44. Pick one other PC. They are skeptical of your claims about something momentous that happened in your past. They might even attempt to discredit you or discover the "secret" behind your story, though that's up to them.
  45. Pick one other PC. They have a knack for being able to recognize where your plans or schemes have a weak spot.
  46. Pick one other PC. That character's face is so intriguing to you in a way you don't understand that you sometimes find yourself sketching their likeness in the dirt or using some other medium you have access to.
  47. Pick one other PC. That character has an extra item of regular equipment you gave them, either something you made or an item you just wanted to give them. (They choose the item.)
  48. Pick one other PC. They commissioned you to do a job for them. You've already been paid but haven't yet completed the job.
  49. Pick one other PC. You worked together in the past, and the job ended badly.
  50. Pick one other PC. While they stand next to you and use their action to concentrate on helping you, one of your focus ability's ranges is doubled.

Story Behind the Focus

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 63)

The foci in this book have been purposely stripped down to basics so they have the widest possible application across multiple genres. A single descriptive sentence or two summarizes each one. After you choose a focus, you have the option to expand its presentation by adding more story and description relevant to the world or to the character.

For instance, if you choose Operates Undercover, the summarizing description is "Under the guise of someone else, you seek to find answers the powerful do not want divulged." If you choose Conducts Weird Science, the summary is "Your preternatural insight and ability make you a scientist capable of amazing feats." These descriptions provide what you need to know to use the focus.

However, if you wish (and only if you wish; there is no requirement to do so), you can add more to those descriptions in a fashion that's relevant for your game. For example, if you choose both Operates Undercover and Conducts Weird Science for use in a modern genre such as horror, urban fantasy, espionage, or something similar, you might expand the descriptions as shown in the following examples.

  • Operates Undercover: Espionage is not something you know anything about. At least, that's what you want everyone to believe, because in truth, you've been trained as a spy or covert agent. You might work for a government or for yourself. You might be a police detective or a criminal. You could even be an investigative reporter.

    Regardless, you learn information that others attempt to keep secret. You collect rumors and whispers, stories and hard-won evidence, and you use that knowledge to aid your own endeavors and, if appropriate, provide your employers with the information they desire. Alternatively, you might sell what you have learned to those willing to pay a premium.

    You probably wear dark colors—black, charcoal grey, or midnight blue—to help blend into the shadows, unless the cover you've chosen requires you to look like someone else.

  • Conducts Weird Science: You could be a respected scientist, having been published in several peer-reviewed journals. Or you might be considered a crank by your contemporaries, pursuing fringe theories on what others consider to be scant evidence. Truth is, you have a particular gift for sifting the edges of what's possible. You can find new insights and unlock odd phenomena with your experiments. Where others see a crackpot cornucopia, you sift the conspiracy theories for revelation. Whether you conduct your enquiries as a government contractor, a university researcher, a corporate scientist, or an indulger of curiosity in your own garage lab following your muse, you push the boundaries of what's possible.

    You probably care more about your work than trivialities such as your appearance, polite or proper behavior, or social norms, but then again, an eccentric like you might turn the tables on that stereotype too.

If you want to go even further, you could determine where a character's focus abilities come from. Depending on the genre, they could derive those abilities from advanced and persistent training, via magical runes, through cybernetic parts, from their genetic heritage, or because of their access to advanced technology. For instance, a character might be able to blast targets with lightning because they got zapped by strange radiation or because they picked up a lightning gun. On the other hand, it might be because their intense training allowed them to learn lightning magic. The possibilities are nearly endless, and up to you to include or forgo. Because however a focus's abilities were gained, it's also enough that they just work.

Foci

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

The full description for each focus ability listed in this section is found in Chapter 9: Abilities, which has descriptions for type, flavor, and focus abilities in a single vast catalog.

Abides in Stone

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

Your flesh is made of hard mineral, making you a hulking, difficult-to-harm humanoid.

GM Intrusions: Creatures of stone sometimes forget their own strength or weight. A walking statue can terrify common folk.

Absorbs Energy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You can harness kinetic energy and transform it into other kinds of energy.

GM Intrusions: Energy goes to ground in a destructive way. Some predators feed directly on energy. An unintended item is drained of energy.

Awakens Dreams

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You can pull images from dreams and bring them to life in the waking world.

GM Intrusions: An unexpected sleepwalking episode puts the character into a dangerous situation. A nightmare breaks free of a dream.

Battles Robots

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You excel in battling robots, automatons, and machine entities.

GM Intrusions: The robot explodes upon defeat. Other robots come after the character for revenge.

Bears a Halo of Fire

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You can sheath your body in flames, which protects you and harms your foes.

GM Intrusions: Fire burns flammable material. Fire spreads out of control. Primitive creatures fear fire and often attack what they fear.

Befriends the Black Dog

(We Are All Mad Here, page 174)

Everywhere you go, your black dog goes too. They are your best friend and your greatest weakness. Their shadowed presence fills you with a darkness, but it is inside that darkness that you find the strength to shine.

  • Focus Note: Your companion is a black dog of any size or shape. It can be any form—living, dead, crafted (such as a puppet), pure shadow, and so on. Your black dog is a physical manifestation of depression, grief, sadness, or other heavy and dark emotions. But it is also a dog, and thus brings with it the unique companionship, comfort, and bond that only dogs can offer.

Blazes With Radiance

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You can create light, sculpt it, bend it away from you, or gather it to use as a weapon.

GM Intrusions: Allies are accidentally dazzled or blinded. Bright flashes draw guards.

Brandishes an Exotic Shield

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 64)

You deploy an amazing shield of pure force that provides protection and some offensive options.

GM Intrusions: The shield is temporarily lost. A foe temporarily ends up with the shield.

Builds Robots

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

Your robotic creations do as they are commanded.

GM Intrusions: The robot is hacked, gains a mind of its own, or unexpectedly detonates.

The word "robot" is used in this focus, though the robot you create might look very different from one created by someone else, depending on the genre. Steampunk robots, organic robots, or even magical golems are all feasible "robots."

Calculates the Incalculable

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

Awesome mathematical ability allows you to model the world in real time, giving you an edge over everyone.

GM Intrusions: Too many predicted results threaten to overwhelm and stun the character. A result points to imminent disaster.

Channels Divine Blessings

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

A devout follower of a divine being, you channel some of your deity's power to achieve wonders.

GM Intrusions: A demon investigates divine magic use. A rival cult has issues with the character's teachings.

Codes Magic Apps

(It's Only Magic, page 45)

You are a maker, a crafter, but you use a unique combination of code and magic instead of wood, steel, or circuit boards. Like anyone who's spent a lot of time working on a computer, you've learned some strange secrets, not all of them entirely legal, and you know a lot about games, people, and how things work. More than just a computer nerd, you're a developer and (although you might not admit it) a hacker. Most of your specialized gear is hardware or software for your computer or smart device, so you can dress however you want. You're probably used to wearing comfortable clothes, sitting for hours at a time, and enjoying many caffeinated beverages (that have permanently discolored some of your clothing).

  • Additional Equipment: Computer (laptop or desktop) and a smartphone or tablet.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. You once created a magical app to help get them out of a sticky situation (parking ticket, failing grade, clingy relationship, and so on).
  2. Pick one other PC. You know they know an embarrassing or incriminating secret about you.
  3. Pick one other PC. Something about this person annoys or distracts you so that when they're within immediate range, your tasks with computers and magical lore are hindered.
  4. Pick one other PC. Every now and then, you're able to copy a magical app cypher and send it to them (effectively creating a duplicate of one of yours).

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your next use of a magical app cypher within the next hour is eased.

Major Effect Suggestion: Your next use of a magical app cypher within the next day is eased.

Curses the World

(We Are All Mad Here, page 174)

Fuck the world and its horrors. You have a mean streak living inside you that you can't control—and honestly have no desire to. You'd never hurt your friends and family, of course. But everyone and everything else? Curse them.

  • Focus Note: Characters who Curse the World aren't necessarily evil or wicked; they are angry, hurt, and possibly seeking to get even with those who have wronged them or the ones they love (or at least keep themselves and their loved ones from being hurt again).

Commands Mental Powers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

You have honed the power of your mind to perform amazing psychic deeds.

GM Intrusions: Something glimpsed in the target's mind is horrifying. A feedback loop allows the target to read the character's mind.

Conducts Weird Science

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

Your preternatural insight and ability make you a scientist capable of amazing feats.

GM Intrusions: Creations get out of control. Side effects cannot always be predicted. Weird science terrifies people and can draw the media. When a device created or modified by weird science is depleted, it detonates.

Conjures Bullets

(It's Only Magic, page 46)

You blend sorcery and firearms into an amazing mix of magic and technology. Bullets and spells are almost interchangeable to you; your magic has a firearm motif and you cast using your gun. You might be a trick-shot sorcerer, a magical member of the armed forces, or an outlaw with a flair for arcane power. Gun nuts and wizard purists might look down on your blended technique, but you can do things that nobody else can do. You might call yourself a guncaster, spellshooter, or triggermage. You wear clothing that leaves your arms and hands free to use your weapon and cast spells, preferring something more flashy than a gunslinger's long coat and more intimidating than typical magician or witch clothing.

  • Additional Equipment: Medium or heavy handgun.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. You once grazed this character with one of your spell bullets; it's up to them whether they've forgiven you or still resent you for it.
  2. Pick one other PC. You've accidentally discovered that you can shoot their spells out of your gun just like you do with your own spells, but the PC must be touching your gun while you fire it.
  3. Pick one other PC. Based on your interactions, you think this character resents your use of guns, magic, or both.
  4. Pick one other PC. This character can barely hear your gunshots (magical or otherwise), which are no louder than a whisper to them.

Minor Effect Suggestion: The attack hits the side of the foe's head, deafening them for a few minutes.

Major Effect Suggestion: The foe's major blood vessel is hit, causing them to bleed 1 point of damage each round until someone succeeds at a difficulty 3 Intellect or Speed task to bind the wound.

Consorts With the Dead

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

The dead answer your questions, and their reanimated corpses serve you.

GM Intrusions: The character's necromantic reputation precedes them. A corpse seeks revenge for being reanimated.

Controls Beasts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 65)

Your ability to communicate and lead beasts is uncanny.

GM Intrusions: The community is reluctant to welcome dangerous animals. Out-of-control beasts become a real hazard.

Controls Gravity

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You can sway the attraction of gravity itself.

GM Intrusions: Onlookers react with unreasoning fear. A weird interaction sends an ally or object careening into the sky.

Copies Superpowers

(Claim the Sky, page 46)

You can copy others' skills, abilities, and superpowers.

GM Intrusions: A copied power ends unexpectedly or goes out of control. A copied power doesn't bring secondary powers with it (like gaining superspeed without protection from air friction, or not being immune to the heat from your own fire bolts).

Crafts Illusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You fashion images from light that are so perfect they seem real.

GM Intrusions: The illusion isn't believable. The illusion is pierced at just the wrong moment.

Crafts Unique Objects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You're an inventor of strange and useful objects.

GM Intrusions: The object malfunctions, breaks, or suffers catastrophic or unexpected failure.

Dances with Dark Matter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You can manipulate shadow and "dark" matter.

GM Intrusions: Dark matter skulks away as if possessed by a mind of its own.

Defends the Gate

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

Everyone wants you on their side when it comes to a fight because nothing gets by you.

GM Intrusions: A strategically important structure collapses. The enemy attacks from an unexpected direction.

Defends the Weak

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You stand up for the helpless, the weak, and the unprotected.

GM Intrusions: A character focused on protecting others may periodically leave themselves vulnerable to attacks.

Descends From Nobility

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

A descendent of wealth and power, you carry a noble title and the abilities granted by a privileged upbringing.

GM Intrusions: Debts incurred by a family are owed by the character. A long-lost sibling seeks to disinherit rivals. An assassin finds the character.

Doesn't Do Much

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You're a slacker, but you know a little about a lot of things.

GM Intrusions: New situations are confounding and stressful. Past actions (or inactions) come back to haunt the character.

Drives Like a Maniac

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

Whether balancing on two wheels, jumping another vehicle, or driving head-on toward an oncoming enemy car, you don't think about the risks when you're behind the wheel.

GM Intrusions: The engine develops a knock. The bridge on the road ahead is out. The windshield shatters. Someone unexpectedly runs in front of the vehicle.

Someone who Drives Like a Maniac needs access to a vehicle.

Emerged From the Obelisk

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

Your body, hard as crystal, gives you a suite of unique abilities, gained after an interaction with a floating crystalline obelisk.

GM Intrusions: Cyphers and artifacts react unexpectedly in the character's hands.

Employs Magnetism

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You command metal and the power of magnetism.

GM Intrusions: The metal twists, bends, or produces shrapnel. A lapse in concentration might cause something to slip or drop at just the wrong time.

Entertains

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)(Errata)

You perform, mostly for the benefit of others.

GM Intrusions: The audience is annoyed or offended. Musical instruments break. Paints dry in their pots. The words to a poem or song are forgotten.

Editor's Notes — The CSRD corrects a misprint in the Cypher System Rulebook, which lists Inspiration instead of Inspiring Ease at tier 2. Master Entertainer was also amended to reflect this change. These corrections are also present in deluxe editions of the Cypher System Rulebook.

Exists in Two Places at Once

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 66)

You exist in two places at once.

GM Intrusions: Perceiving the world from two different places disorients the character, causing momentary vertigo, nausea, or confusion.

Exists Partially Out of Phase

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

A bit translucent, you're slightly out of phase and can move through solid objects.

GM Intrusions: The character is sent phasing into an unexpected dimension. The character becomes lost in a large solid.

Explores Dark Places

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

You're the archetypal treasure hunter, scavenger, and finder of lost things.

GM Intrusions: Possessions fall out of pockets or bags in the dark; maps get lost; information gained fails to include an important detail.

Feigns No Fear

(We Are All Mad Here, page 175)

Everyone thinks you're brave, intrepid—fearless, even. They tell stories about you, the person who's never felt fear, how you went out to seek what you see as an elusive emotion and never found it. But you know the truth. You may present yourself as someone who is fearless and courageous, but deep down, you are terrified of everything. Fear drives you, and in its face, you stand tall and shout the loudest. Because you are also afraid of being seen for who you truly are.

  • Focus Note: A character who Feigns No Fear can be played in a number of ways, from someone who boasts constantly in their attempts to bolster themselves in front of others to someone who faces their fears through action, showing up first on the battle line to holler "Seven in one blow!"

Fights Dirty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

You'll do anything to win a fight: bite, scratch, kick, trick, and worse.

GM Intrusions: People look poorly upon those who cheat or fight without honor. Sometimes a dirty trick backfires.

Fights With Panache

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

You're a swashbuckling daredevil who fights with flamboyant style that's entertaining to watch.

GM Intrusions: The display comes off looking silly, clumsy, or unattractive.

Flies Faster than a Bullet

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

You can fly, and you're superstrong, hard to hurt, and fast too. Is there anything you can't do?

GM Intrusions: A nemesis finds the character. A strange material is found to nullify the character's abilities.

Focuses Mind Over Matter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 68)

You can telekinetically move objects with your mind without physically touching them.

GM Intrusions: One mental slip, and moving objects drop or fragile objects break. Sometimes the wrong item moves, falls, or breaks.

Fuses Flesh and Steel

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

Your body is part machine.

GM Intrusions: People in most societies are afraid of someone who is revealed to have mechanical parts.

Fuses Mind and Machine

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

Electronic aids implanted in your brain make you a mental powerhouse.

GM Intrusions: Machines malfunction and shut down. Powerful machine intelligences can take control of lesser thinking machines. Some people don't trust a person who isn't fully organic.

Grows to Towering Heights

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

For brief periods, you can grow larger and, with enough experience, to towering heights.

GM Intrusions: Rapid growth knocks over furnishings or smashes through ceilings or hanging lights. An enlarged character breaks through the floor.

Has A Thousand Faces

(Claim the Sky, page 46)

You can change your appearance to look like anyone else.

GM Intrusions: Part of the disguise slips. An NPC thinks the disguised character is someone they know very well.

Helps Their Friends

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

You love your friends and help them out of any difficulty, no matter what.

GM Intrusions: Others sometimes have ulterior motives. The law takes an undue interest. Even when everything goes right, repercussions follow.

Howls at the Moon

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

For brief periods, you become a fearsome and powerful creature with control issues.

GM Intrusions: The change happens in an uncontrolled fashion. People are terrified of monsters.

Hunts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

You are a stalking hunter who excels at bringing down your selected quarry.

GM Intrusions: The quarry notices the character. The quarry isn't as vulnerable as it seemed.

Hunts Witches

(It's Only Magic, page 48)

You know enough about magic to mistrust anyone who uses it, especially witches—people who study ancient rituals, make pacts with evil creatures, and use their power for personal gain. Warped by their abilities, they are dangerous threats to regular folks, and it's up to people like you to find and eliminate those threats. Sure, some witches claim to be good and even act friendly, but you've seen it go bad all too often, and you won't be fooled again. You always carry weapons for fighting witches, or at least know what common tools will do as a weapon in a pinch. You wear clothing appropriate to the region and era (especially if regular people don't know about magic or witches and you have to hide what you do). You may have a token, icon, or other reminder of your purpose, such as a lucky coin, a holy book, or a pouch of magic-thwarting herbs given to you by your mentor.

  • Additional Equipment: A book of lore about witches, passed down to you from past witch hunters and updated over the years (or decades or centuries) with their advice and discoveries about witches.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. You are friends, and you'd hate to see anything bad happen to them.
  2. Pick one other PC. You know that some mysterious quality about them makes witches tend to choose them as targets over other people.
  3. Pick one other PC. You know they've had a run-in with a witch before, and you want to hear how that played out.
  4. Pick one other PC. You've known this person quite a while, and in fact it was a witch attack against them that convinced you to start hunting witches.

Minor Effect Suggestion: You intimidate your foe so much that they pause, taking no action on their next turn (but they're still able to defend themselves).

Major Effect Suggestion: You are so intimidating that your foe chooses to flee, or at least retreat a bit to recover its courage and think of a new strategy.

Ignores Physical Distance

(Claim the Sky, page 46)

You can teleport from one place to another by briefly passing through a parallel dimension.

GM Intrusions: A teleport goes awry, landing the character in a dangerous place. Inertia (such as from falling) continues through the teleport, injuring the character.

Infiltrates

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 70)

Subtlety, guile, and stealth allow you to get in where others can't.

GM Intrusions: Spies are treated harshly when caught. Allies disavow infiltrators who get caught. Some secrets are better left unknown.

Inks Spells on Skin

(It's Only Magic, page 50)

Your enchanted heritage is etched upon you. Studying strange formulas, mystic runes, and magical glyphs to learn spells is one thing. Making spells truly a part of you is another, but that's exactly what you do when you apply magical inks to create intricate spell tattoos across your body. Each tattoo you inscribe on yourself is not merely a design, but the keystone of a spell, giving you the ability to cast it. Because your tattoos are magical, you can continually add to those you've already accumulated without ruining the designs, allowing your mastery over magic to grow. You often wear clothing that bares your arms and perhaps other parts of your body to expose your tattoos, so that others know you for a spellcaster.

  • Readying Spell Tattoos: You learn two abilities (spells) at every tier of this focus, and each of them becomes a tattoo on your body. However, for each tier's spells, you can only have one of the two readied (available for casting) at any given time, and the other is merely an interesting design until you change your readied spell for that tier. To change one readied spell, immediately after using a one-hour or ten-hour recovery roll, you must spend one minute in meditation, after which you can swap one readied spell.

  • Additional Equipment: Special ink, a tattooing needle, and a clay, stone, or wooden tablet marked with strange glyphs.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. They once broke a bottle of one of your magical tattoo inks. It's up to you if you've forgiven them or not.
  2. Pick one other PC. You think they could learn your tattoo magic, and you'd like to teach them. They may or may not be interested in learning it.
  3. Pick one other PC. Whenever you ready your spells for the day, this character feels faint pain on their body where your corresponding tattoo is.
  4. Pick one other PC. This character asked you to give them a tattoo, so you did. Somehow, now you can always sense their general direction and distance from you.

Minor Effect Suggestion: Exposed skin on the target creature is marked with a glowing glyph of your choice for one hour.

Major Effect Suggestion: The foe is cursed, hindering all their actions for one minute.

The Inks Spells on Skin focus works similarly to the Masters Spells focus. The GM may consider allowing characters with either of these foci to choose abilities from either focus when they advance to a the next tier.

Editor's Notes — For the Inks Spells on Skin focus, the ability choices at tiers 3 and 6 allow you to choose two abilities. You can keep one of your chosen abilities at the ready, as detailed under Readying Spell Tattoos.

Interprets the Law

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 70)

You excel at winning others over to your views.

GM Intrusions: Onlookers react badly to a know-it-all. A distraction or interruption throws the character's argument off the rails.

Is A Car Wizard

(It's Only Magic, page 52)

Your skill behind the wheel is legendary, combining natural talent and specialized magic to perform stunts and tricks that are impossible for regular people. Nothing beats the feel of wind in your hair, except maybe the intense purr of a finely tuned engine augmented by sorcery. You love pushing yourself (and your vehicle) to the limit, even if it's dangerous—better to die a legend than live a long, dull life driving something boring. You enjoy drawing attention to yourself, so you tend to wear sleek clothing, stylish sunglasses, and borderline-gaudy jewelry, but never anything that interferes with your ability to control a car or cast a spell.

  • Additional Equipment: A reasonably fast car.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. To repay a favor they did for you a while ago, you promised to drive them somewhere. They haven't taken you up on it yet.
  2. Pick one other PC. You were the getaway driver for them once in the past—perhaps for something criminal, a car stunt for a viral video, or to avoid a bad situation.
  3. Pick one other PC. You know they were once in a very bad car collision that left the vehicle a wreck, but they somehow weren't hurt at all.
  4. Pick one other PC. They used to associate with someone who was trying to hunt you down, but they haven't been in contact with that person in a while.

Minor Effect Suggestion: The foe you hit (with your spell or car) is moved horizontally an immediate distance in a direction of your choice.

Major Effect Suggestion: The foe is knocked prone and loses their next action.

Is Idolized by Millions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 70)

You're a celebrity and most people adore you.

GM Intrusions: Fans are endangered or hurt on your behalf. Someone in your entourage betrays you. Your show, tour, contract, or other event is canceled. The media posts photos of you in an embarrassing situation.

Is Licensed to Carry

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 70)

You carry a gun and you know how to use it in a fight.

GM Intrusions: Misfire or jam! The attack fails and the action is lost, plus an additional action is needed to fix the problem.

Although Is Licensed to Carry is designed with modern firearms in mind, it could apply to flintlock weapons, futuristic laser blasters, or other ranged weapons.

Is Wanted by the Law

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 70)

"WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE" posters (or their equivalent) have appeared featuring your face. It's up to you whether it's a mistake that snowballed out of control or you actually would kill someone just for looking at you.

GM Intrusions: Most people do not take well to discovering a wanted outlaw in their midst.

Keeps a Magic Ally

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

An allied magic creature bound to an object (such as a minor djinn in a lamp, or a ghost in a pipe) is your friend, protector, and weapon.

GM Intrusions: The creature unexpectedly disappears into its bound object. The bound object cracks. The creature disagrees and doesn't do as asked. The creature says it's leaving unless a task is performed for it.

Leads

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

Your natural leadership capability allows you to command others, including a loyal band of followers.

GM Intrusions: Followers fail, betray, lie, become corrupted, get kidnapped, or die.

Learned From the Classics

(It's Only Magic, page 54)

Magic comes intuitively to some people, but you've always had to work a bit harder. Luckily, you find that research comes naturally. You know what questions to ask; you know which books, websites, or professionals will have the answers. You spent years studying and practicing, and you taught yourself everything you know. Now you're a skilled magician who's always eager to learn more—evidenced by your lengthy reading list.

  1. Pick one other PC. They appreciate (but do not necessarily share) your obsession with books, libraries, and research.
  2. Pick one other PC. You once owed this character a lot of money (or vice versa), although that debt is now paid.
  3. Pick one other PC. They remind you about an obscure author whose books you enjoy, and you can't help but like them.
  4. Pick one other PC. You think this person is woefully ignorant about a lot of important topics (history, magic, ethics, and so on).

Minor Effect Suggestion: You gain a burst of insight, easing your next action by one step.

Major Effect Suggestion: Your knowledge lets you tap into an obscure current of magic and make a free recovery roll as part of your current action.

Learns Quickly

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

You deal with bad situations as they arise, learning new lessons each time.

GM Intrusions: Accidents and mistakes are great teachers.

Lived Among the Fey

(We Are All Mad Here, page 175)

You spent a lot of time in another world, one that others don't believe actually exists. What you learned there gives you insight and vision that most people don't have. You've seen things. Beautiful things. Unspeakable things. Some of them came back with you and stay with you to this day.

  • Focus Note: A character who Lived Among the Fey might have spent time among the fairies (or other creatures in a different far-off land) or they may have dreamed, hallucinated, or imagined the whole thing. Do they know the difference? Does it matter? The name of the focus can be changed to something that more appropriately reflects the character's experience, such as Fell Into Wonderland or Crossed Into Narnia.

Lives in the Wilderness

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

You can survive in badlands where others perish.

GM Intrusions: People in cities and towns sometimes disparage those who look (and smell) like they live in the wilds, as if they were ignorant or barbaric.

Looks for Trouble

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

You're a scrapper and love a good fight.

GM Intrusions: Weapons break or fly from even the strongest grip. Brawlers trip and fall. Even the battlefield can work against you with things falling or collapsing.

Loves the Void

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 71)

When it's just you, your spacesuit, and the panorama of stars wheeling out forever and always, you are at peace.

GM Intrusions: Spacesuits develop glitches. Air refill cartridges sometimes misreport capacity. Micrometeorites are common in space.

Made a Deal With Death

(We Are All Mad Here, page 175)

Death eternally walks the labyrinth of the Heartwood, touching those who pass by, but few notice this ever-changing figure. You, however, are intimate with Death in all their many forms. Perhaps you are both drawn to and frightened of them. Perhaps you've spent too much time in their company, and have become infatuated with them. Perhaps you've lost friends and loved ones to their dark embrace. Whatever your feelings about Death, you've made a deal with them, one you hope will bring you the closure that you seek.

  • Focus Note: Characters who Made a Deal With Death may have done so in order to stave off death eternally, gaining healing abilities for themselves or others. Alternatively, they may be obsessed with the idea of death, and wish to learn how to wield it with precision and focus.

Editor's Notes — Heartwood is the featured setting in We Are All Mad Here. The GM might agree it's reasonable for a PC who Made a Deal With Death to also gain Blessing of the Gods (Protection) at Tier 1—It fits thematically, and the ability usually provides two blessing options to a PC.

Masters Defense

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 72)

You use protective equipment and practiced techniques to avoid becoming hurt in a fight.

GM Intrusions: Shields break when hit, as do weapons used to parry. Armor straps break.

Masters Spells

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 72)

By specializing in spellcasting and keeping a spellbook, you can quickly cast spells of arcing lightning, rolling fire, creeping shadow, and summoning.

GM Intrusions: The spell goes wrong. The summoned creature turns on the caster. A rival spellcaster is drawn to the magic use.

The Masters Spells focus works similarly to the Inks Spells on Skin focus. The GM may consider allowing characters with either of these foci to choose abilities from either focus when they advance to the next tier.

Masters the Swarm

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 72)

Insects. Rats. Bats. Even birds. You master one type of small creature that obeys you.

GM Intrusions: A command is misunderstood. Control is erratic or is lost. Bites and stings are not uncommon for masters of the swarm.

Masters Weaponry

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 72)

You are a master user of a particular type of weapon, be it a sword, whip, dagger, gun, or something else.

GM Intrusions: Weapons break. Weapons can be stolen. Weapons can be dropped or forced out of your hand.

Someone who Masters Weaponry might have additional equipment, including a high-quality weapon.

Editor's Notes — Precusors to the Cypher System included a Carries a Quiver focus. If you want to play an incredible archer or other ranged weapon expert, the Masters Weaponry, Is Licensed to Carry, Hunts, Slays Monsters, or Conjures Bullets foci all make good options, depending on the setting.

Merges Mind With Machine

(Rust and Redemption, page 119)

You were raised in an underground bunker by Milly, an AI instance installed in your brain before you developed cognition of your own. Unlike AI zombies, your personality and motivations haven't been replaced; your sense of self grew alongside the AI, as collaborators rather than foes. This granted you superior intellect and an uncanny knack for computers. Now you've emerged into the larger world, where survivors are predisposed to distrust you, and you may need to keep your background a secret to be accepted. Whether you hate AI or remain loyal to Milly, you face the best odds if you can fit in with another group of survivors. After all, there's a lot you don't know about how things work on the surface and the things people have done to stay alive in the past twenty years.

  • Additional Equipment: You have scars on your scalp in the shape of circuitry (like Lichtenberg figures). You probably keep these hidden, as they identify you as one of Milly's children to anyone familiar with the mark.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. You fear that character is jealous of your abilities, and that it might lead to problems.
  2. Pick one other PC. You're not sure how or from where, but that character has access to rare machine parts and can get them for you at half price.
  3. Pick one other PC. Seeing you use your focus abilities triggers unpleasant memories for that character. That memory is up to the other PC, although they may not be able to consciously recall it.
  4. Pick one other PC. They are sensitive to your focus abilities, and occasionally they become dazed for a few rounds, hindering their actions.

Minor Effect Suggestion: You restore 2 points to your Intellect Pool.

Major Effect Suggestion: An ally or indicated target can take an additional action.

Metes Out Justice

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 72)

You right wrongs, protect the innocent, and punish the guilty.

GM Intrusions: Guilt or innocence can be complicated. Some people resent the presumption of a self-appointed judge. Passing judgment makes enemies.

Moves Like a Cat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

Lithe, flexible, and graceful, you move quickly and smoothly, and never seem to be where danger is.

GM Intrusions: Even a cat can be clumsy. A jump isn't quite as easy as it looks. An escape move is so overzealous that it sends the character right into harm's way.

Moves Like the Wind

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

You can move so fast that you become a blur.

GM Intrusions: Surfaces can be slick or offer hidden obstacles. The movement of other creatures can be unpredictable, and the character might run into them.

Murders

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

You're an assassin, whether by trade, by inclination, or because it was that or be killed yourself.

GM Intrusions: Most people do not react well to a professional killer.

Someone who Murders might have additional equipment, including three doses of a level 2 blade poison that inflicts 5 points of damage.

Needs No Weapon

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

Powerful punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and full body movements are all the weapons you need.

GM Intrusions: Striking certain foes hurts you as much as it hurts them. Opponents with weapons have greater reach. Complicated martial arts moves can knock you off balance.

Never Says Die

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

You never quit, can shrug off a beating, and always come back for more.

GM Intrusions: Sometimes, it's equipment or weapons that give out.

Operates Undercover

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

Under the guise of someone else, you seek to find answers the powerful do not want divulged.

GM Intrusions: Bad luck can ruin the best plans. Disguises fail. Allies are revealed to be agents, too.

Someone who Operates Undercover might have additional equipment that includes a disguise kit.

Performs Feats of Strength

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 73)

A muscled prodigy, you can haul incredible weight, hurl your body through the air, and punch through doors.

GM Intrusions: It's easy to break delicate things or hurt someone accidentally.

Pilots Starcraft

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

You're a crack starship pilot.

GM Intrusions: Starcraft get lost, break down, and are attacked in space. An alien stowaway is found.

Plays Too Many Games

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

Lessons, reflexes, and strategies you've learned by playing too many games have applications in the real world, where people who don't play enough toil and live their dreary lives.

GM Intrusions: Missed attacks strike the wrong target. Equipment breaks. Sometimes people react negatively to someone who has lived most of their life in imaginary game worlds.

Practices Moon Magic

(It's Only Magic, page 56)

The moon is a powerful force on the world, in terms of both science and magic. She hangs overhead like a watchful eye, makes creatures act strangely, represents cycles of time, and causes the ebb and flow of the tides. To you, she is a friend, an inspiration, and a constant reminder that someone is watching over you. You wield her magic to create beams of dangerous light, influence others, travel, and sense the underlying truth and reality of things. The day is not your foe (after all, the moon is often visible during the day), but you prefer the night when the moon can be the brightest light in the sky. You might call yourself a moonchild or a moon witch. You probably prefer black, white, or grey clothing, with flowing portions such as long sleeves, a cape, or a long coat. You might have one or more tattoos or tokens representing the moon, either full, crescent, or in multiple phases. Your favorite jewelry and adornments (like buttons) usually have moonstones.

  1. Pick one other PC. You can harmlessly bounce your moon spells off them, increasing your range by a short distance and even allowing you to shoot around corners.
  2. Pick one other PC. You know they think your obsession with the moon is weird, pointless, or superstitious, and you feel the need to prove them wrong.
  3. Pick one other PC. Sometimes you can't detect them with any of your senses or affect them with your magic, even when they're right in front of you.
  4. Pick one other PC. Your power and theirs have an unusual connection; instead of using your one-action recovery roll on yourself, you can use it on them (and vice versa).

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your foe is dazzled by a burst of moonlight, hindering them for one round.

Major Effect Suggestion: A surge of lunar power knocks your foe prone and disarms them of an object they're holding, which lands an immediate distance away.

Prepped for the End

(Rust and Redemption, page 120)

You prepared for ultimate disaster, unlike most of the sheeple. Which means you stashed away food, water, and other survival gear when things were still okay. You trained yourself for harsh conditions, for basic machine and electronic repair, and maybe even in a musical instrument to pass the time in the bunker when no other entertainments could be had. You'd excel in a small group of other survivors, but you're ready to go it alone if that's what it takes. Above all, you're prepared to make it through whatever the future holds, no matter how daunting the odds. Because you prepped wisely.

  • Additional Equipment: A firearm of your choice (with ten bullets or shells), a handloading tool set, and a small musical instrument (such as a harmonica).

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. You found them in your prepped hideout, eating and drinking their fill. You befriended them rather than seeking revenge for using your resources.
  2. Pick one other PC. You used to play card games with them before the apocalypse, and you still owe them money, though what that means now is difficult to say.
  3. Pick one other PC. This character doesn't seem to want any of your stored food or water.
  4. Pick one other PC. When you were hurt, they carried you to your prepped hideout at great risk to themselves.

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your foe slips in some decaying garbage or spill from the before-times, and their actions in the next round are hindered as they regain their balance.

Major Effect Suggestion: You find or spy an item from the Useful Stuff table.

Rages

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

When you go berserk, everyone fears you.

GM Intrusions: It's easy for a berserker to lose control and attack friend as well as foe.

Raids

(Rust and Redemption, page 122)

When civilization fell, you did what you had to do to stay alive. Did you kill innocent people? Probably, insofar as anyone who survived the end can really be considered "innocent." You figured they'd have done the same to you. But whether they deserved it or not, you and the other raiders you ran with survived, and your targets did not.

Then something life-changing happened to you, altering your perspective; it's up to you to decide what. In any case, you've turned over a new leaf. You don't indiscriminately kill anymore, though surviving is still a goal. But you've joined with others who you want to protect as much as or even more than your own life. You're done with raiding. But is raiding (and those who might recognize you as a raider) done with you?

  • Additional Equipment: You have a tattoo from your raiding days that you probably keep hidden, as it would identify you as a raider to those familiar with the mark.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. That character knows that you were a raider, even though it is a secret you've kept from the other PCs so far.
  2. Pick one other PC. They were also a raider, however briefly, along with you (if they agree to this connection).
  3. Pick one other PC. You feel very protective of this character and don't want to see them harmed.
  4. Pick one other PC. You know that you're responsible for the death of someone that character knew while you were raiding; they don't know it, but the guilt has been waking you up in the middle of the night.

Minor Effect Suggestion: You restore 2 points to your Might Pool.

Major Effect Suggestion: You or an ally get an immediate extra attack.

Remembers the Past

(Rust and Redemption, page 123)

You are a student of the before-times. Maybe that's because you grew up in the ruins of an old library and read everything as your hobby, you found a friendly AI archivist who taught you about how things once were, you're long-lived and were alive before the apocalypse, or you have a deep recollection of the world before the end for some other reason. This knowledge gives you an appreciation of the before-times as well as a point of view that many other survivors lack that benefits you in and around ruins. You can find things others wouldn't know to look for, plucking fruits of the past that would otherwise go unharvested.

  • Additional Equipment: One book on a technical topic such as plumbing, carpentry, electronics, or physics; it provides you an asset on a related task if you spend ten minutes perusing the book ahead of time.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. They remind you of someone you knew or learned about from the past, because of either the way they look or the way they act, and that is what first drew you to them.
  2. Pick one other PC. You saved their life because you found them trapped in a before-times ruin and you knew how best to free them.
  3. Pick one other PC. You were lost out past the ruins in the wilderness, but they happened across you and saved your life.
  4. Pick one other PC. This character comes from the same place you do, and you knew each other as children.

Minor Effect Suggestion: You remember something about the area that proves advantageous later, such as realizing there's probably a fresh location to scavenge close by that has a good chance of not having been picked over by other survivors.

Major Effect Suggestion: A foe forgets about you unless you draw attention to yourself.

Rides the Lightning

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

You create and discharge electrical power.

GM Intrusions: Targets other than those intended are shocked. Objects explode.

Runs Away

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

Your first instinct is to run from danger, and you've gotten very good at it.

GM Intrusions: Quick movements sometimes lead to dropped items, slipping on uneven ground, or going the wrong way by accident.

Sailed Beneath the Jolly Roger

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 74)

You sailed with a crew of dread pirates, but you've decided to end your days as a pirate and join some other cause. The question is, will your past let you go so easily?

GM Intrusions: The dangers of the high seas are many, including severe storms and disease. Other pirates sometimes get ahead through betrayal. A pirate tracks down former sailing mates to find hidden treasure.

Scavenges

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 75)

When not running and hiding, you sift the ruins of civilization for useful remnants to ensure your survival.

GM Intrusions: An item made with recycled junk breaks. Someone shows up claiming that the useful item or piece of junk scavenged belongs to them. A recycled cypher explodes.

Sculpts Hard Light

(Claim the Sky, page 46)

You create physical objects out of hard light that you can use for offense and defense.

GM Intrusions: A hard light object disappears early. A hard light object cannot affect a certain creature or color.

Sees Beyond

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 75)

You have a psychic sense that allows you to see what others cannot.

GM Intrusions: Some secrets are too terrible to know.

Separates Mind From Body

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 75)

You can project your mind out of your body to see faraway places and learn secrets that would otherwise remain hidden.

GM Intrusions: Reuniting mind and body can sometimes be disorienting and require a character to spend a few moments to get their bearings.

Sheds Their Skin

(We Are All Mad Here, page 174)

You have a secret self. In the quiet and stillness, you become not someone else, but something else. A being of tooth and nail, of flipper and fin, of mane and moon. But you believe that in order to survive and thrive, you must keep your other form secret, safe from prying eyes and listening ears.

  • Focus Note: Your beast form can be anything you choose, such as a selkie, wolf, horse, swan, and so on. Work with your GM to determine the details of your form. A character who Sheds Their Skin may also want to work with the GM to come up with even more suitable abilities for their particular form. For example, a selkie character might choose Aquatic Combatant as their tier 3 ability instead of one of the abilities listed here, particularly if the GM expects the character to be moving through water regularly.

Shepherds the Community

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 75)

You keep the place where you live safe from all danger.

GM Intrusions: People in the community misunderstand the character's motives. Rivals try to oust the character.

Shepherds Spirits

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 76)

Wandering souls, nature spirits, and elemental beings aid and support you.

GM Intrusions: Some people don't trust those who deal with spirits. The dead sometimes don't want shepherding.

In some settings, the Shepherds Spirits focus applies to only one kind of spirit, such as spirits of the deceased, nature spirits, and so on.

Shreds the Walls of the World

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 76)

Speed plus phasing gives you a unique ability to evade danger and simultaneously inflict damage.

GM Intrusions: Moving so quickly while sprinting sometimes leads to stumbles on unexpected, exotic obstacles.

Shrinks to Minute Size

(Claim the Sky, page 47)

You can shrink down to the size of a bug and, with enough experience, even smaller.

GM Intrusions: A creature thinks the small character is potential food. The small character gets trapped in a tiny space or under a falling object.

A character who Shrinks to Minute Size who chooses to learn abilities like Enlarge will never be quite as big as one who Grows to Towering Heights, but they can enjoy the advantages of being big or small as needed.

Siphons Power

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 76)

You suck power out of machines and creatures alike in order to empower yourself.

GM Intrusions: Drained power also transmits something unwanted—compulsions, afflictions, or alien thoughts. Siphoned power can overload the character, causing feedback.

Robots and other living machines should be treated as creatures, not machines, for the purposes of siphoning power from them.

Slays Monsters

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 76)

You kill monsters.

GM Intrusions: The monster laid a trap or set an ambush. The monster has previously undisclosed abilities. The monster's mother vows revenge.

Although wielding a sword in a setting where people usually do not carry such weapons is fine, you can change the Slays Monsters sword-related abilities to use a different weapon, such as a gun with silver bullets.

Soars on Amazing Wings

(Claim the Sky, page 47)

Many superheroes can fly, and some even have wings. You can use your wings for movement, attacks, and defense.

GM Intrusions: A wing gets hurt or restrained, causing the character to fall. Flying high makes the character an obvious target for an unexpected foe.

Solves Mysteries

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

You're a master of deduction, using evidence to find the answer.

GM Intrusions: Evidence disappears, red herrings confuse, and witnesses lie. Initial research can be faulty.

Speaks for the Land

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

Your spiritual connection to nature and the environment grants you mystical abilities.

GM Intrusions: An injured natural (but dangerous) creature is discovered. Someone's poaching wildlife for their skins, leaving the carcasses to rot. A tree falls in the forest, one of the last elder trees.

Stands Like a Bastion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

Your armor, along with your size, strength, incredible training, or machine enhancement, makes you difficult to move or hurt.

GM Intrusions: Armor is damaged. Small foes conspire in ingenious ways.

Some characters who Stand Like a Bastion might already be experts in armor. They can choose a different tier 1 ability instead of Practiced in Armor.

Steers the Coven

(It's Only Magic, page 58)

Magic is strongest when wielded by a community. The strength of a community is derived from the strength of its leader, and you've taken on the role. Maybe you were chosen, or maybe you volunteered. Maybe you have an official title and responsibilities, or maybe you serve as an informal mentor. Maybe you run a coven with bylaws and a charter, or maybe you host gatherings where your friends and family can perform rituals together. Regardless, you're responsible for a coalition of magicians who look to you for guidance, protection, and problem-solving.

  1. Pick one other PC. You have a friendly rivalry with this person, perhaps due to philosophical differences or belonging to another coven with contrary goals.
  2. Pick one other PC. You want to learn more about this person so you can decide if they should join your coven or are somehow a threat to it.
  3. Pick one other PC. Long ago you were very close to this character, but you drifted apart. You'll need to decide if you're starting anew or trying to rekindle the old friendship.
  4. Pick one other PC. This character or someone they care about is in your coven, and you feel responsible for protecting them.

Minor Effect Suggestion: The evident power of the support from your coven intimidates a foe, who retreats a short distance away on their next turn.

Major Effect Suggestion: Your opponent respects your commitment to your coven so much that they withdraw from the conflict (although they may return later).

Stretches

(Claim the Sky, page 47)

Your body is elastic and rubbery, able to stretch to great lengths and compress when struck.

GM Intrusions: An attack or effect interferes with the character's elasticity. A stretched limb becomes overstressed and weak.

Takes Animal Shape

(Godforsaken, page 24)(Claim the Sky, page 47)

A shapechanger who can take the form of various animals.

GM Intrusions: The character unexpectedly changes form. An NPC is frightened by or aggressive toward the shapeshifter. The transformation takes longer than expected.

Greater Beast Form applies to using Animal Shape.

Talks to Machines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

You use your organic brain like a computer, interfacing "wirelessly" with any electronic device. You can control and influence them in ways that others can't.

GM Intrusions: The machine malfunctions or acts unpredictably.

Throws With Deadly Accuracy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

Everything that leaves your hand goes exactly where you'd like it to go and at the range and speed to make the perfect impact.

GM Intrusions: Missed attacks strike the wrong target. Ricochets can be dangerous. Improvised weapons break.

Thunders

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

You emit destructive sound and manipulate soundscapes.

GM Intrusions: Loud noises attract attention.

Touches the Sky

(Claim the Sky, page 47)

You can summon storms or break them apart.

GM Intrusions: An ally is accidentally struck by a fork of lightning. An unexpected grounding effect inflicts damage. The weather is seeded by a much smaller effect, and a storm grows out of control.

Transmits Energy

(It's Only Magic, page 59)

Magic is often compared to electromagnetism: it's an invisible and ubiquitous force that holds everything together. Magic runs through every living creature, the ground, and even the air around us. You can sense—and influence—the flow of power, the way some people can hear currents running through wire. In a crisis, you attack by draining a foe's energy. Otherwise, you focus on helping others by catalyzing and enhancing their magic abilities.

  1. Pick one other PC. This character thinks you're some sort of energy vampire, either dangerous or just annoying.
  2. Pick one other PC. You believe they have insight about how to master your magic, if you can just convince them to trust you with their secrets.
  3. Pick one other PC. You once knocked out this character with your power, but were able to jolt them back awake again. At the time they seemed to think it was funny.
  4. Pick one other PC. You once recharged one of their powerful cyphers, although you're not sure how you managed it.
Travels Through Time

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 77)

You can see through time, try to reach through it, and eventually even travel through it.

GM Intrusions: Paradoxes are created. Others remember past events differently.

Although all character choices are subject to GM approval, Travels Through Time is a focus that the GM and player should probably have a long conversation about ahead of time, so the player knows the rules of time travel (if any) that exist in the GM's setting. A character with this focus can drastically alter a setting, if the rules of time travel allow it.

Editor's Notes — The Cypher System Rulebook includes additional guidance under For the GM: Managing Time Travel (192).

Turns Decay to Growth

(It's Only Magic, page 60)

You're comfortable with decomposition: the bacteria and fungi that break down organic material are living creatures, and you coax magic from the interplay of life and death. To you, rot isn't cause for revulsion—it's an opportunity to build something new. Maggots, mushrooms, and mold are actors in your process, not unlike familiars. You probably keep a garden, nourished by your meticulously maintained compost pile. Your community might express discomfort with your methods, leading to friction. If you react to criticism by isolating yourself, you won't be lonely for very long—what you have to offer is vital and rare, and it's inevitable that someone will ask you for help.

  1. Pick one other PC. This character dislikes the smell that your spells make and tries to be at least an immediate distance away when you cast them.
  2. Pick one other PC. This character is fascinated by your powers and wants to make use of them (or just thinks you can provide them with medicinal mushrooms).
  3. Pick one other PC. This character believes you are a member of a mushroom cult (which to them might be a good, bad, or neutral thing).
  4. Pick one other PC. You and this character have a magical connection, and you each add +1 to your recovery rolls when within a short distance of each other.

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your foe is dazed (hindered) for the next round.

Major Effect Suggestion: Your foe is stunned for one round, or you restore 2 points to any one of your Pools.

Uses Wild Magic

(Godforsaken, page 25)

A spellcaster who learns a variety of spells instead of focusing on just one kind of magic.

GM Intrusions: A spell performs erratically or rebounds upon the caster. Something interferes with preparing spells. Spellcasting attracts the attention of a powerful creature or potential rival. The cypher spell being cast is replaced with that of a random cypher.

Editor's Notes — The Uses Wild Magic focus uses subtle cyphers as spells. The GM can make other kinds of cyphers into subtle cyphers for the purposes of this focus.

Walks the Wasteland

(Rust and Redemption, page 124)

Most people want to hide from the devastation or just curl up and die rather than face a hostile world. Not you. You're determined to see what's out there, to survive, and, more than that, to thrive. It's that or let the radioactive rats—or whatever it is that hunts the ruins—get you.

If you were around before the end, you could have been a soldier, mercenary, or at least someone who had basic survival training. What sets you apart from all the others like you is that you decided to hope when everything looked darkest.

Since then, you have eaten your share of spoiled food and irradiated water, and survived. Whether that's because you've adapted, you're luckier, or you were just tougher than the rest is anyone's guess. But you're still walking the wastes even though so many others are gone.

You probably don't spend a lot of time on your appearance, given that you wear the cobbled-together clothing and bits and pieces of armor you're able to scavenge from the ruins. Appearance doesn't matter; actions do.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a piece of before-times equipment with three analog dials that measure temperature, air pressure, and humidity. (You also know the names for the instruments nestled behind those dials: a thermometer, a barometer, and a hygrometer, respectively.) If you spend a minute operating the device, you have an asset on weather prediction tasks extending into the next day.

  • Connection: Choose one of the following, or choose one of the Focus Connections.

  1. Pick one other PC. This character appears to be an able survivor, but in your mind, they seem to be at the end of their rope. You're constantly trying to convince them to keep trying, go the distance, and survive for a better tomorrow.
  2. Pick one other PC. You feel very protective of this character and don't want to see them harmed.
  3. Pick one other PC. This character comes from the same place you do, and you knew each other as children. Whether that place exists any longer is something you and that character should decide.
  4. Pick one other PC. You found this character almost dead in the wastes. You rescued them, nursed them back to health, and kept them safe until they were back on their feet. Whether they feel embarrassment, gratitude, or something else is up to them.

Minor Effect Suggestion: You restore 2 points to your Might Pool.

Major Effect Suggestion: Your next action is eased by two steps.

Walks the Wild Woods

(Godforsaken, page 25)

An adherent of nature magic who draws on the power and strength of trees.

GM Intrusions: A wooden character catches fire. A wild swing from a tree branch hits or trips an ally. Some trees have evil hearts and hate all walking things.

Was Foretold

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 78)

You are the "chosen one," and prophecy, prediction, prognostication, or some other method of determination expects great things of you one day.

GM Intrusions: An enemy described in prophecy appears. Unbelievers threaten to ruin the moment. The character gains a reputation in outside circles as a fraud.

Wears a Sheen of Ice

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 78)

You command the wintery power of cold and ice.

GM Intrusions: Ice makes surfaces slippery. Extreme cold causes objects to crack and break.

Wears Power Armor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 78)

You wear a fantastic suit of armor.

GM Intrusions: The armor won't come off. The armor acts under its own power. The armor suffers a momentary power loss. NPCs are scared by the power armor.

Wields an Enchanted Weapon

(Godforsaken, page 26)(Claim the Sky, page 48)

One who channels magic through or from a weapon to create a unique fighting style.

GM Intrusions: A weapon breaks or is dropped. The weapon loses its connection to you until you use an action to reestablish the attunement. The weapon's energy discharges in an unexpected way.

Wields Invisible Force

(Claim the Sky, page 48)

You bend light and manipulate beams of force for offense and defense.

GM Intrusions: Invisibility partially fades, revealing the character's presence. A force field is pierced by an unusual or unexpected attack.

Wields Two Weapons at Once

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 78)

You bear steel with both hands, ready to take on any foe.

GM Intrusions: A blade snaps in two or a weapon flies loose from its bearer's grip.

Works for a Living

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 78)

You take great satisfaction in a job well done, whether it's coding, building houses, or mining asteroids.

GM Intrusions: Repairs sometimes fail. Wiring can be tricky to decipher and still carry an electrical charge. Some people are rude to those who work for a living.

Works Miracles

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 79)

You can heal others with a touch, alter time to help others, and are generally beloved by everyone.

GM Intrusions: Attempts to heal might cause harm instead. A community or individual needs a healer so desperately that they hold one against their will.

Works the Back Alleys

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 79)

You make your way unseen, stealing from the wealthy to achieve your ends.

GM Intrusions: Thieves are thrown in jail. Powerful enemies are made.

Works the System

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 79)

You can exploit flaws in artificial systems, including but not limited to computer code.

GM Intrusions: Contacts sometimes have ulterior motives. Devices sometimes have failsafes or even traps.

Would Rather Be Reading

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 79)

Books are your friends. What's more important than knowledge? Nothing.

GM Intrusions: Books burn, get wet, or get lost. Computers break or lose power. Glasses break.

Creating New Foci

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 80)

This section provides everything you need to create your own foci.

Every focus has an overarching style, whether that's exploration, energy manipulation, or simply dealing a lot of damage in combat. These broad classifications are called focus categories.

Each focus category has an overarching theme, followed by selection guidelines that describe how to choose abilities for each tier from the Abilities chapter, from tier 1 to tier 6.

The newly created focus should be named in the form of a verb, like Controls Beasts or Abides in Stone. For instance, a fire-using focus created by following the guidelines in the energy manipulation focus category might be called Bears a Halo of Fire (one of the sample foci in this chapter). Alternatively, a new fire-using focus should get an all-new name like Stokes the Flames of the Apocalypse or Lights Fires With a Thought.

Choosing Abilities by Relative Power

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 80)

The Ability Selection Guidelines invite you to choose an ability from one of three ranges: low tier, mid tier, and high tier. These ranges correspond with the power "grades" given for every ability. These abilities are further sorted into ability categories based on the kinds of things they do—abilities that improve physical attacks are in the attack skill category, abilities that assist allies are in the support category, and so on. Look for the grades and categories in the Ability Categories and Relative Power section of Chapter 9: Abilities.

  • Low-tier abilities are best suited for focus options at tiers 1 and 2.

  • Mid-tier abilities are best suited for focus options at tiers 3 and 4.

  • High-tier abilities are best suited for focus options at tiers 5 and 6.

That said, sometimes you'll find it appropriate to assign a low-tier ability at tier 3 or 4, or maybe a mid-tier ability at tier 1 or 2. Do so sparingly, but don't rule it out. It might be the only way to get all the abilities you want for the focus you're building. Higher-tier abilities usually cost more Pool points to use. So if a mid-tier ability is made available at tier 1 or 2, or a high-tier ability is made available at tier 3 or 4, the higher cost will be a balancing factor.

Balancing Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 80)

The guidelines within each category go a long way toward ensuring that the focus you build will be balanced. Sometimes it might be appropriate to grant a low-power ability along with a regular ability at a given tier, depending on the needs of the focus. A "low-power ability" is deliberately open for GM interpretation, but generally speaking, should be no more potent than a low-tier ability (that is, an ability that is normally available at tier 1 or 2).

For instance, someone who uses cold might be able to create small snow sculptures in addition to emitting a cold ray. Someone who uses electricity might be able to charge a depleted artifact or have an asset for dealing with electrical systems. And so on.

Often, the focus guidelines note this as a possibility. However, you have great leeway in deciding if a focus needs an additional ability, even if the guidelines for that tier don't indicate one. If you do add an ability, or there is a higher-power ability at a tier that normally shouldn't have it, it might mean that the choice given at the next tier, or the previous tier, isn't quite as good. Balancing a focus is a bit of an art. Resist the urge to overpower the focus, but don't underpower it, either.

Ability Guidelines are Not Prescriptive

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 80)

Each focus category provides a guideline for what kind of ability you should select at every tier. But don't regard the guidelines as something that you can't vary. They're not prescriptive; they're just a place to start. You might want to vary the kind of ability at a particular tier that isn't indicated in the guidelines. As long as the chosen ability falls within the expected power curve for that tier, it's fine. The guideline isn't meant to be a straitjacket.

For example, if you're building a cold-using focus for a game set in a fantasy genre, you may decide that an ability that calls up a demon is a better choice at a particular tier than an ability that does damage in an area, which is what the tier 5 guideline for energy manipulation calls for. Making the change is probably especially valid if you call your new focus something like Channels the Ninth Circle.

Ability Swap

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 80)

If you're creating a focus and you think it should provide a suite of abilities at first tier that would mechanically overload it, you have the option to add one as a "swap" ability. Doing so is as easy as allowing a character to swap out one of their type abilities for an indicated low-tier focus ability. The ability is gained instead of one of the abilities normally granted by the character's type.

Concept and Category

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 81)

Choosing to create a focus that uses a particular concept—say, creating illusions—doesn't lock you into creating a focus within a particular category—in this case, environment manipulation. A focus can be constructed in a variety of ways using a particular energy, tool, or concept, each ultimately leading to a focus that provides different results. It all depends on your ends. In this case, creating illusions might be used to sway others, which argues for a focus built using the influence category guidelines.

In the same way, if a focus grants a character the ability to call some kind of force or energy, that doesn't mean the focus should automatically be built using the energy manipulation category guidelines (though of course it could, if attacking and protecting yourself with that energy is the point). But a focus could be built that grants abilities to call energy or force that is primarily focused on durability, suggesting a tank combat focus (someone who can take a lot of punishment in a fight); or blasting away with a main concern for maximizing damage, thus suggesting a striker combat focus; or creating a follower composed of that energy or force, suggesting an ally use focus (that is, someone who uses helping creatures, NPCs, or even duplicate versions of themselves to give them a leg up).

Here's another example: the focus Controls Gravity could conceivably be an environment manipulation focus or an energy manipulation focus. It depends on whether the focus is more concerned with crushing and holding things in place (environment manipulation) or on blasting things and protecting yourself with gravity (energy manipulation).

The same malleability of concept holds true in other realms. For instance, if someone is able to call up and mold raw earth, they might use it to transform themselves into a being of stone (tank combat), to batter foes (striker combat), or to create walls, barricades, and shields to protect their allies (support).

If you're looking for an ability and can't seem to find the right one in the vast catalog in Chapter 9: Abilities, consider reskinning one to make it seem new (and to accomplish what you need). Reskinning means that you use the underlying mechanics of an ability as written but change the flavor in some fashion. For instance, maybe you're creating a new earth-moving focus but can't find enough earth-related abilities to meet your need. It's easy enough to change up other abilities so they use earth instead of fire, cold, or magnetism. For instance, Wings of Fire might become Wings of Earth, Ice Armor could become Earth Armor, and so on. These alterations change nothing except the type of damage and any knock-on effects (for instance, Wings of Earth might generate clouds of dust in their wake).

Abilities That Reference Other Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 81)

Some abilities in Chapter 9: Abilities reference other abilities. If you select an ability for your focus or type that refers to or modifies a lower-tier ability, also include that lower-tier ability in your type or focus as a selection a PC can make at a lower tier.

Creating Brand-New Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 81)

You can go further than reskinning and create one or more brand-new abilities. When doing this, try to find something as close as possible to the effect you want, then use it as a template. In any case, deciding how much an ability should cost when it comes to a character's Pool is one of the most important aspects of getting an ability right.

You may notice that higher-tier abilities are more expensive. This is partly because they do more, but it's also because higher-tier characters have more Edge than lower-tier characters, which means they pay fewer points from their relevant Pools. A third-tier character with 3 Edge in a relevant Pool pays no cost for abilities that cost 3 or fewer points. That's great for lower-tier abilities, but you'll usually want a character to think a little bit about how often to use their most powerful abilities. That means they should cost at least 1 point more than the Edge the character is likely to have at that tier. (Often, a character will have an Edge in their relevant Pool equal to their tier.)

As a good rule of thumb, a typical ability should cost points equal to its tier.

Choose GM Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 81)

Think about the kinds of things that might surprise, alarm, or go catastrophically wrong for someone with the new focus being created, and assign it as a GM intrusion for that focus. Of course, this often is done on the fly during the game. But giving the topic some thought while the focus is being constructed and the ideas are fresh in your head is likely to yield some particularly devilish options.

Focus Categories

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 82)

Quick Reference: Focus Categories

‡ — denotes foci that are uncategorized by the CSRD. Their inclusion and categorization was performed by the editor.

Ally Use

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 82)

Foci that prioritize providing NPC follower to the character are ally use foci. The followers give aid to the PC in a variety of ways, but at base they usually provide an asset to the character's actions.

Multiple potential themes exist within the ally use category, from abilities that allow a character to summon or craft allies to those that allow them to attract allies through fame, magic, or essential authority or charisma.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary for the character to keep an ally. For instance, someone with a focus that uses super-science to create robot allies would require tools to build and repair those allies. Some foci in this category don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The NPC ally's tasks are eased on its next turn.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: The NPC ally gains an immediate extra action.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 82)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that grants a level 2 NPC follower to the character, or gives a similar benefit provided by an NPC. Alternatively, lay the groundwork for gaining such NPC allies at higher tiers by choosing an ability that gives the character influence over others.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge or a related skill. For instance, training in a skill related to the kind of NPC follower the character gains would be appropriate.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that grants influence over similar kinds of NPCs as the follower gained at the previous tier. If no follower was gained at the previous tier, this ability should provide that benefit now.

    Sometimes a secondary ability might be appropriate in addition to the ability provided above, perhaps a low-power ability that grants 2 or 3 points to a Pool.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should be a mid-tier ability that improves the NPC follower previously provided (usually from level 2 to level 3) or grants an additional follower.

    The other option should be something that benefits the character—perhaps an offensive or defensive ability, or something that broadens their influence over their followers (or potential followers).

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that gives the character an offensive or defensive capability if they haven't previously gained one, preferably within the theme of the focus. For instance, if the character gains followers because of their charisma, this ability might let them command foes for brief periods. If the character gains followers by building or calling them, this ability might let them affect entities of the same type that are not already their followers.

    Alternatively, this ability might further improve a previously gained follower from level 3 to level 4, or grant an additional follower.

  • Tier 5: Choose an ability that improves the character by providing a defense, an improved stat Pool, or another kind of protection.

    Alternatively, this ability could open a new front in influencing and calling NPC allies related to the focus's theme. For instance, someone who keeps beast allies might gain an ability to call a horde of lesser beasts. Someone who builds robots might gain an ability to build several lesser robot helpers. And so on.

    Finally, this ability might improve a previously gained follower to level 5.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the abilities should improve a previously gained follower to level 5, if that wasn't already provided at tier 5. If that's the case, this ability might be provided in addition to two other related abilities.

    Another high-tier option could provide a handful of level 3 followers to the character.

    The last high-tier ability could open a new front in influencing and calling NPC allies related to the focus's theme. For instance, someone who gains followers through high charisma and training might gain an ability to learn otherwise impossible-to-glean information.

Basic

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 83)

Foci that rely mostly on providing skill training, assets to tasks, and bumps to stat Pools and Edge in order to improve a character fall within the basic category. An overarching theme is also included, as with most of the other categories, that makes sense of the various basic abilities provided.

In addition, because the benefits provided by such foci are mostly straightforward (usually with a few exceptions), most basic foci would also be appropriate for non-fantastic campaigns where magic, super-science, or psychic abilities normally don't come into play. That said, just because the abilities granted by basic foci are straightforward doesn't mean they are not potent when combined with the abilities granted by type, descriptor, cyphers, and other character aspects.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to fulfill the overarching theme of the focus. For instance, a focus called Would Rather Be Reading should grant a handful of books to the character. A focus called Works for a Living should provide a set of tools.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: Next action is eased.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: Make a free, no-action recovery roll that doesn't count against daily recovery rolls.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 83)

  • Tier 1: Choose an ability that grants training or an asset to skills associated with the focus's theme, or that grants 5 or 6 points to a particular Pool.

    Alternatively, choose an ability that grants only 2 or 3 points to a particular Pool and an ability that provides training or an asset to just one task.

  • Tier 2: Choose whichever kind of ability wasn't chosen at tier 1.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should be a non-fantastic ability that improves the character's abilities within the focus's theme. For instance, if the theme involves paying attention in some fashion, an information-gathering ability might be appropriate.

    The other option should be something that either improves the character's Edge in an appropriate stat or provides the character with some kind of defense.

  • Tier 4: Choose another ability that grants additional training or an asset to skills associated with the focus's theme, or that grants 5 or 6 points to a particular Pool best suited to the focus. Or choose two abilities that provide only 2 or 3 points plus another tier 4 ability that improves a single task or skill.

    Alternatively, provide a branch-out ability suggested at tier 5.

    Finally, if the focus has yet to grant some kind of defense, a defensive ability could be provided here.

  • Tier 5: Choose an ability that allows the character to branch out slightly—perhaps one like Expert Skill that allows them to automatically succeed on a task they're trained in.

    Alternatively, if a nonstandard benefit was provided at tier 4, provide the benefits suggested at tier 4 here.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should be an ability that provides another 5 or 6 points to a particular Pool best suited to the focus, or that the character can divide up as they wish. Alternatively, training in offense or defense would also be appropriate.

    The other tier 6 option should give the character a brand-new ability within their theme, but not one that strays into the realm of the fantastic. For instance, an ability that allows a character to take two actions instead of one would be reasonable. Granting additional training, assets, or Edge would also be fine.

Energy Manipulation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 84)

Energy manipulation foci offer abilities that can call fire, electricity, force, magnetism, or nonstandard forms of energy such as cold, stone, or something stranger like "void" or "shadow." These abilities usually give a character a way to achieve something of a balance between attacking enemies and granting themselves or allies additional protection. The focus usually also offers abilities that provide other ways to use specific energy for things like transportation, creating large concentrations of energy that can affect multiple targets, or creating a temporary object or barrier of energy.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: One or more pieces of equipment immune to the energy manipulated, which might be a set of clothes. Alternatively, something related to the energy being generated. Some foci in this category don't require additional equipment.

  • Energy Abilities: If a character type grants special abilities that normally use some other kind of energy, they now produce the kind used by this focus. For example, if a character uses this focus to manipulate electricity, their force blasts become blasts of electricity. These alterations change nothing except the type of damage and any knock-on effects (for instance, electricity might temporarily short out electronic systems).

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The target or something near the target is hindered because of residual energy.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: An important item on the target's person is destroyed.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 84)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that either inflicts damage or provides protection using the appropriate energy type in some fashion.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the energy type. For instance, a focus that manipulates cold might grant an ability to create snow sculptures. A focus that manipulates electricity might grant an ability to charge a depleted artifact or have an asset for dealing with electrical systems. A focus that absorbs energy might grant an ability to release it as a basic attack. And so on.

  • Tier 2: Choose whichever kind of ability wasn't chosen at tier 1.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should be an ability that inflicts damage using the appropriate energy type (and possibly a related effect).

    The other should grant enhanced movement by use of the appropriate energy type, give additional protection provided by the preferred energy, or use the energy in a completely new way, such as by draining the energy from a machine (if using electricity), entombing a victim in a layer of ice (if using cold), creating perfect silence (if using sound), creating a dazzling blast of illumination (if using light), and so on.

  • Tier 4: Choose whichever kind of ability wasn't chosen at tier 3.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that inflicts damage (and possibly a related effect) that can affect more than one target using the appropriate energy type, or an ability that uses the energy in some fashion not previously used, as described in tiers 3 and 6.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the high-tier abilities should use the preferred energy to inflict a lot of damage to a single target or to several.

    The other option should use the appropriate energy type to accomplish a task not previously provided by lower-tier abilities, such as fashioning a fiery follower (if using fire), teleporting a great distance as a blast of lightning (if using electricity), creating solid objects out of the energy, and so on.

Environment Manipulation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 85)

Foci that allow a character to move objects, affect gravity, create objects (or illusions of objects), and so on are environment manipulation foci. Given that, in many cases, energy is used as part of this process, this category and energy manipulation overlap to some extent. Environment manipulation foci prioritize abilities that indirectly affect enemies and allies via objects, forces, and alterations of the surroundings; energy manipulation foci prioritize directly damaging targets with the chosen energy or force.

For example, rather than blasting a foe with a gravity pulse that does damage, a character using an environment manipulation focus based on gravity is more likely to have abilities that hold a target in place, use gravity to throw heavy objects as an attack, or lower gravity in a particular area or even on a particular object.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to manipulate the surrounding environment. For instance, someone with a focus that grants the ability to craft objects would require basic tools. Some foci in this category don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Environment Manipulation Abilities: Foci themes that involve imagery or visible energies can affect the look of your type abilities. Such alterations, if any, do nothing but change the appearance of effects. If gravity is manipulated, perhaps a telltale bluish glow permeates all ability uses, including type abilities. If illusion is generated, perhaps flamboyant visual and auditory qualities accompany type abilities, such as the appearance of a tentacled beast holding a target in place when Stasis is used. And so on.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The target gets turned around, and its next attack is hindered.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: The character is refreshed and recovers 4 points to one Pool.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 85)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that grants a basic use of an ability that alters the environment (or predicts it) using the focus's theme. For instance, a gravity-affecting focus might provide an ability that makes a target lighter or heavier. An

    illusion-crafting focus might grant an ability that allows the creation of an image. An object-making focus might grant a basic proficiency in creating a particular kind of object. A predictive focus might calculate outcomes and provide the character with the benefits of that foreknowledge. And so on.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that provides a new defensive or offensive capability related to the focus's theme.

    Alternatively, this ability might provide an additional or brand-new capability to manipulate the environment related to the focus's theme.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should be a mid-tier ability related to the focus's theme that provides an additional environment manipulation capacity or further improves the basic environment manipulation ability previously granted. This ability isn't directly offensive or defensive, but provides either an all-new ability related to the basic ability, or one that increases the strength, range, or some other extension of the previously unlocked basic ability.

    The other mid-tier option should provide an offensive or defensive ability related to the specific form of movement the focus provides, if possible.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that is either an offensive or a defensive use of the ability, whichever one wasn't chosen as an option in the previous tier.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier penultimate use of the environment-manipulation ability. For instance, if the focus-granted manipulation is illusory, this ability might haunt a target with terrifying images. If the focus is gravity based, it might unlock flight. If magnetic, it might allow the user to reshape metal. If the focus grants telekinetic powers, this ability could allow a character to hurl massive objects at foes. And so on.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the abilities should provide either an offensive or a defensive ability, opposite the ability provided at tier 4 (though high tier rather than mid tier).

    The other option should be something that further explores the use of the basic environment manipulation capability. If the tier 5 choice was the penultimate ability, this might be an even better ultimate ability related to the kind of manipulation offered, or a different way of using that ability to unlock an as-yet-unexplored facet of the ability.

Exploration

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 86)

Foci that allow a character to gather information, survive in unfamiliar environments, and find their way to new locations or track down particular creatures and foes are exploration foci. Surviving in unfamiliar environments requires a reasonable selection of defensive options; however, abilities that allow a character to find and learn are prioritized.

Exploration foci rely on a variety of methods, though training and expertise are the mainstays. Some methods require specific tools (such as a vehicle) to grant the benefits provided, while others might rely on the supernatural or super-science to learn new things and explore strange places from afar.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to explore. For instance, starting maps and/or a compass would be basic equipment, while someone who uses psychic abilities might require a mirror or crystal sphere to gaze into. Equipment might also include access to a vehicle required for exploration, as previously noted.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: You have an asset on any action that involves using your senses, such as perceiving or attacking, until the end of the next round.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: Your Intellect Edge increases by 1 until the end of the next round.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 86)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that grants the character basic exploratory, survival, or information-gathering capabilities within the focus's theme.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge or a related skill (though this may already be covered in the main ability). Alternatively, it might offer a simple bonus of 2 or 3 points to the Might Pool.

  • Tier 2: Choose another low-tier ability that grants an additional capability related to exploration, survival, or information gathering.

    For instance, a focus dedicated to surviving savage conditions might offer an ability (or two) that makes it easier to avoid natural hazards, poisons, difficult terrain, and so on. A focus dedicated to exploration of a particular area might grant abilities to gain access to that area, or a capability that others normally lack (like the ability to see in the dark).

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should further improve the basic exploration ability granted, or give a new exploratory, survival, or information-gathering ability.

    The other option should be something that benefits the character, either an offensive or defensive ability (especially if this focus hasn't already granted that) or something that further broadens the character's ability to explore in the focus's chosen realm.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier offensive or defensive ability (whichever wasn't offered at tier 3) that benefits the character. Alternatively, if offensive and defensive abilities are already well represented, choose a different mid-tier ability that broadens the character's ability to explore, survive, or gather information.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that alleviates some of the penalties for exploring, surviving, or gathering information in a normally inhospitable place.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should further improve the basic exploration-themed ability previously granted, or give a brand-new exploratory, survival, or information-gathering ability.

    The other option should be something that benefits the character, either an offensive or defensive ability, or yet another ability that further broadens their capacity to explore in the focus's chosen realm.

Influence

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 87)

Foci that prioritize authority and influence—whether that's to make people or machines do as commanded, to help others, or to rise to some other prestigious and significant position—fall within the influence category.

These foci grant influence through training and persuasion, by direct mental manipulation, by using fame to get people's attention and influence their actions, or simply by knowing and learning things that affect later decisions. In this sense, the concept of influence is broad.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to achieve the influence suggested should be granted as additional equipment. Some influence foci don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The range or duration of the influencing ability is doubled.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: An ally or indicated target can take an additional action.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 87)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that allows the character to learn something significant enough that they can choose a smart course of action (or use that knowledge to persuade or intimidate). How the character learns the information varies by the specifics of the focus. One character might do experiments to learn answers, another might open a telepathic link with others to trade information secretly and quickly, and still another might simply be trained in interaction tasks.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that improves the character's ability to apply influence. This might open an additional front on the focus's basic theme or simply further enhance the basic ability already provided. For instance, this tier 2 ability could ease influence-related tasks by a few steps, allow a telepath to read the minds of others who have secrets they'd otherwise not reveal, or grant influence over physical objects (either to improve them or to learn more about them). And so on.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should provide an offensive or defensive capability related to the focus's specific kind of influence, if possible. For instance, an inventor might create a serum that gives them increased abilities (which could be used for offense or defense), a telepath might have some method of blasting foes with mental energy, and someone with only the basic skills of debate and influence through fame might have to rely on weapon training or their entourage.

    The other mid-tier option should provide an additional ability to influence in the theme of the focus, or further improve the basic influence ability previously granted. This option isn't directly offensive or defensive, but provides either an all-new ability related to the basic ability, or increases the strength, range, or some other extension of the previously unlocked basic ability. For instance, a telepath might have a psychic suggestion ability.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that is either an offensive or a defensive use of the influence ability, whichever one wasn't chosen as an option in the previous tier.

    Alternatively, this ability could grant an additional capability related to the kind of influence the focus provides.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier penultimate use of the specific influence ability granted at lower tiers.

    Alternatively, choose an ability not previously gained at a lower tier, one that opens a new front on the particular influence capability. For instance, if the focus-granted influence is telepathic, the tier 5 ability might allow a character to see into the future to gain assets for dealing with enemies (and allies).

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the options should provide either an offensive or a defensive ability, opposite the ability provided at tier 4 (though high tier rather than mid tier).

    The other option should be something that further explores the use of the basic influence ability provided by the focus. If the tier 5 choice was the penultimate ability, this might be an even better ultimate ability related to the kind of influence used, or a different way of using that ability to unlock an as-yet-unexplored facet of the ability.

Irregular

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 88)

Most foci have a basic theme, a "character story" that logically leads to a series of related abilities. However, certain foci themes are so wide that they don't fit into any other category except an irregular one of their own.

Irregular foci provide a basket of disparate abilities. Usually that's because the overarching theme is one that demands variability and access to several different kinds of abilities. Often, these foci are found in genres that suggest additional rule tweaks to leverage their use even further, such as Power Shifts in the superhero genre and spellcasting in the fantasy genre. However, other irregular foci are possible.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to the focus's theme. For instance, a superhero-themed focus might grant a superhero costume.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The target is also dazed for one round, during which time all of its tasks are hindered.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: The target is stunned and loses its next turn.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 88)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that grants one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that a first-tier character should have.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge or a related skill. Alternatively, it might offer a simple bonus of 2 or 3 points to a Pool.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that grants one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that's presumably not immediately related to the one provided at tier 1. That said, if a defense wasn't provided at tier 1, tier 2 is a good place to add it.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should provide one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that may not be immediately related to those provided at earlier tiers.

    The other option should include a method of attack if none has previously been granted. Alternatively, if the lower-tier abilities don't quite get the character where they need to be, this option might further increase a capability unlocked at a lower tier.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that grants one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that may not be immediately related to those provided at earlier tiers.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that grants one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that may not be immediately related to those provided at earlier tiers.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should grant one of the benefits the focus theme promises, one that may not be immediately related to those provided at earlier tiers. However, this ability might also provide an ultimate version of a lower-tier ability if a mid-tier or low-tier option wasn't quite sufficient.

    The other option should provide an alternate method to round out the character in a way that doesn't replicate the first tier 6 option. For instance, if the first option provided some kind of attack, this one might be an interaction, information-gathering, or healing ability, depending on the focus's overarching theme.

Movement Expertise

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 89)

Foci that prioritize novel forms of movement—in order to excel in combat, escape situations most others can't, move with stealth for purposes of theft or escape, or move into locations normally inaccessible—fall within the movement expertise category. These foci usually have methods of granting either offense or defense through movement, though they may provide some means of doing both.

The classic movement expertise focus is one that relies on speed to make more attacks and avoid being hit, though general agility might also provide the same benefit. Other foci in this category might fall within the theme by granting a character the ability to become immaterial, to change their form into something like water or air, or to instantly move via teleportation.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to achieve great speeds, change state, or otherwise gain the benefit of the focus should be granted as additional equipment. Some foci in this category don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The target is dazed, and their next action is hindered.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: The target is stunned and loses their next action.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 89)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that grants the basic benefit of the specific movement style, whether that's enhanced speed, agility, immateriality, and so on.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. If the basic benefit of the movement demands some kind of additional understanding or training, this ability could be that. Alternatively, if the movement provided seems like it should also unlock a basic offensive or defensive benefit (relying on the use of the initial basic ability), append it as well.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that provides a new offensive or defensive capability related to the focus's theme.

    Alternatively, this ability might provide some additional capability related to the form of movement that grants useful information to the character that would normally be inaccessible to someone without the focus.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should provide an additional movement capacity or further improve the basic movement capacity, related to the focus's theme. This isn't directly offensive or defensive, but provides the character with a new level of ability or an all-new ability related to their basic movement ability.

    The other option should provide either an offensive or a defensive capability related to the specific form of movement the focus provides.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that further enhances the advantages provided by focus's movement-enhancing paradigm. This could provide a new or better form of defense (directly, or indirectly if moving to a location or time where danger doesn't threaten), or a new or better form of offense.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier penultimate use of the movement-related ability. For instance, if the focus-provided movement is temporal, this ability might allow actual (if brief) jaunts of time travel. If the focus enhances speed, this ability might allow the character to move up to a very long distance with one action. And so on.

    Alternatively, unlock an as-yet-unexplored related ability that could derive from the basic movement power provided by the focus.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the options should provide either an offensive or a defensive ability, opposite the ability provided at tier 4 (though high tier rather than mid tier).

    The other option should be something that further explores the use of the basic movement ability. If the tier 5 choice was the penultimate ability, this might be an even better ultimate ability related to the movement.

Striker Combat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 90)

Striker combat foci prioritize dealing damage in battle over other concerns. Foci in this category offer defensive abilities as well, but they emphasize abilities that provide ways to spike damage to heights that other foci normally don't reach.

To achieve this end, a striker combat focus might offer mastery of a particular style of martial combat, which could be training with a particular weapon or martial art, or the use of a unique tool (or even a kind of energy). A style might be something as singular as being the best at fighting a particular kind of enemy, or something much broader, such as adopting a particularly vicious or unsporting style. A striker combatant might use fire, force, or magnetism as their preferred method of spiking damage.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: The weapon, tool, or other special item or substance (if any) required to engage in the particular style of combat. For instance, a dose of level 5 poison for Fights Dirty or Murders, a trophy from a previously defeated foe for Battles Robots, or stylish clothes for Fights With Panache.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: The target is so dazzled by your expertise that it is dazed for one round, hindering all of its tasks.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: Make an immediate additional attack using an attack provided by the focus as part of your turn.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 90)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that inflicts additional damage when a character attacks using the focus's particular fighting style, energy, or attitude, or when used against a chosen enemy.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. For instance, a focus that grants proficiency in a special weapon might offer training in crafting tasks associated with that weapon. A focus that grants increased damage against a particular kind of foe might offer training in skills to recognize, locate, or just have general knowledge about that foe. A fighting style that involves fighting in a vicious or dirty manner might provide training in intimidation. And so on.

    If the focus is about fighting a particular enemy, additional secondary powers (more than might otherwise be offered) may be appropriate. Those either further enhance effectiveness against the chosen enemy, or offer broader but related abilities that give the character who takes the focus some functionality even when not fighting that enemy.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that provides some form of defense using the weapon, weapon style, or chosen energy. If the weapon style is being especially good at fighting a certain kind of foe, the ability should be a defense against that kind of foe. Alternatively, the focus might offer another method for increasing damage within the chosen paradigm.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate at tier 2. If so, choose whichever low-power ability wasn't gained at tier 1.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should inflict additional damage when using the focus's fighting style, energy, or attitude, or when used against a chosen enemy. That could be as simple as an ability that offers an additional attack of that kind.

    The other option should provide a method to temporarily neutralize a foe by disarming them, dazing or stunning them, slowing or holding them, or otherwise discombobulating them by using the focus's fighting style, energy, or attitude, or when used against a chosen enemy.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that further enhances the advantages provided by the focus's paradigm. Often, this includes training in a particular kind of attack. Alternatively, the ability might increase the advantages provided by achieving a certain combat status, such as gaining surprise.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that inflicts damage. Alternatively, if focused on fighting a particular kind of foe, this ability might give the character a chance to completely neutralize, destroy, blind, or kill a singular target of up to level 3 (or higher, if the focus is on a singular foe).

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the options should use the focus paradigm to inflict an exceptional amount of damage.

    The other option could be a different way of inflicting damage, either using the focus paradigm or just dealing lots of damage in general (and relying on previous focus tier abilities to improve targeting). This could be against multiple targets if the first option was for a single target, to outright kill or neutralize a target (starting with level 4, but with guidance for using Effort to increase the level of the target), or to select yet another foe, make another attack, or get away in order to fight another day.

Support

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 92)

Foci that allow a character to help others succeed, defend others, heal others who are hurt, and so on are support foci. Of course, most foci abilities are often used in aid of others, but support foci (such as Siphons Power) prioritize aiding, healing, and improving the character who takes the focus.

Support foci rely on a variety of methods to provide their help, including martial training used in defense, supernatural or sci-fi means of providing healing, or simply easing the cares of others through entertainment.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to provide support. For instance, someone with a focus that uses entertainment to help others would require an instrument or similar object in aid of their craft. Some foci in this category don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: You can draw an attack without having to use an action at any point before the end of the next round.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: You can take an extra action in aid of an ally.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 92)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that provides some form of defense, aid or entertainment, benefit to recovery or healing, or protection. That defense or protection could be to the PC and not to an ally, as one cannot protect another without first being able to protect themselves (and sometimes protecting themselves is the entire point).

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. Often, this is an ability that grants skill training in a related area of knowledge or a related skill, but it might be something that works with the initial ability that, by itself, wouldn't do much.

  • Tier 2: Choose a low-tier ability that follows up on the support style opened in the previous tier. If the previous tier's ability provided a means of protection only for the focus taker, this tier 2 ability should specifically provide aid to another. If the previous tier specifically provided aid to another, this tier 2 ability could defend the focus taker or provide an offensive capability grounded, if possible, in the focus's theme.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should work within the focus's theme to aid, heal, protect, or otherwise help another.

    The other option should be something that benefits the character, either an offensive or defensive ability, or something that broadens their expertise in some fashion. Alternatively, it could be another, different method of helping someone else.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that gives an ally a direct boon or provides the character with a way to help another. It could also be an ability that harms or nullifies a foe, as removing foes certainly helps allies.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that provides an offensive or defensive option for the character, if none have been provided yet. If this need has been previously addressed or is deemed unnecessary, choose a high-tier ability that provides some form of defense, aid or entertainment, benefit to recovery or healing, or protection to another. For example, a tier 5 ability might grant an ally an additional free action or allow them to repeat a failed action.

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One of the options should provide an ultimate method of helping another in the theme of the focus.

    The other option could provide an alternative ultimate method of helping another; many foci in this category do. However, an option that provides high-tier offense or defense is also completely reasonable.

Tank Combat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 93)

Foci that prioritize being able to take a lot of punishment and soak up excess damage from foes fall within the tank combat category. These foci provide offensive abilities too, as well as additional abilities related to the particular method by which improved protection is achieved, but defensive abilities are most pronounced.

Some tank combat foci involve a physical transformation that grants additional protection, and others rely on specialized training, use tools like shields or heavy armor, or provide the ability to heal incredibly fast. The kinds of physical transformation that a tank focus provides, if any, vary widely. A focus might turn a character's skin to stone, reinforce their body with metal, turn them into a monstrous being, make them so big it becomes harder to hurt them, and so on.

  • Connection: Choose four relevant connections from the Focus Connections list.

  • Additional Equipment: Any object necessary to maintain a physical transformation (such as a tool for repair if partly robotic, a shield or other defensive tool used if skilled, or possibly some kind of amulet or serum). Some tank combat foci don't require anything to gain or retain their benefits.

  • Minor Effect Suggestions: +2 to Armor for a few rounds.

  • Major Effect Suggestions: Regain 2 points to Might Pool.

The following are examples and not meant to provide a complete list of all possible foci in this category.

Ability Selection Guidelines

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 93)

  • Tier 1: Choose a low-tier ability that provides defense within the focus's theme. If the theme is simply intense training or the use of a defensive tool, the ability might be as simple as a bonus to Armor. If protection comes from physical transformation, this ability provides the base form effects, benefits, and in some cases drawbacks for making the transformation. A low-tier enhanced healing ability would also be appropriate at first tier.

    Sometimes an additional low-power ability is appropriate, depending on the focus. If the character transforms, this ability may provide a knock-on effect, though in the case of some transformations, it might be a description of how someone with an abnormal physiognomy can fully heal. Other times, the secondary power may simply be training in a related skill, or it may unlock the ability to use a particular armor or shield without penalty.

  • Tier 2: If the theme of the focus isn't physical transformation, choose a low-tier ability that provides an additional method of defending, healing damage, or avoiding attacks.

    If the theme of the focus is physical transformation, choose a low-tier ability that unlocks a new capability related to the form the character takes. That might mean gaining better control of the transformation, unlocking a robotic interface, or otherwise more fully unlocking that form. This ability is not necessarily defensive, though it could be.

  • Tier 3: Choose two mid-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should provide an additional form of protection in keeping with the focus's theme, such as more defensive capabilities unlocked from a transformation (which might also come with additional offensive capabilities) or a simple physical enhancement if defense is gained by skills or enhanced healing.

    The other option should provide an offensive capability, especially if creating a non-transformation focus that doesn't already have offensive benefits. That capability could be an enhanced attack or provide some other benefit useful in combat, such as quickly evading or (on the other end of the continuum) becoming immovable.

  • Tier 4: Choose a mid-tier ability that further enhances the advantages provided by the focus's damage-soaking paradigm. Often, this includes training in a particular kind of defense. Alternatively, it might increase the advantages provided by previously unlocked defensive abilities, whether that means gaining greater control over a transformation, gaining additional chances to avoid damage or retry tasks related to enhanced determination, and so on. If the focus is lacking in offensive options, this is a good place to include one.

  • Tier 5: Choose a high-tier ability that provides protection, possibly in the form of shrugging off a debilitating condition (including death). If the focus offers a physical transformation, this ability might further unlock an additional related ability, whether offensive, defensive, or something related to exploration or interaction (such as flight if the form is winged, intimidation if the form is fearsome, and so on).

  • Tier 6: Choose two high-tier abilities. Give both of them as options for the focus; a PC will choose one or the other.

    One option should use the focus paradigm to increase the defense, protection, or ability to shrug off damage.

    The other option could be a different way of being defensive. In some cases, the best defense is a good offense, so this option could provide a high-tier offensive ability in keeping with the focus's theme, whether that's a straight-up damage boost on attacks or better control of an unstable physical transformation.

Customizing Foci

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Sometimes not everything about a focus is right for a character's concept, or perhaps the GM needs additional guidelines for creating a new focus. Either way, the solution lies in looking at foci abilities at their most basic default levels.

At any tier, a player can select one of the following abilities in place of the ability granted by the tier. Many of these replacement abilities, particularly at the higher tiers, might involve body modification, integration with high-tech devices, learning powerful magic spells, uncovering forbidden secrets, or something similar appropriate to the genre.

Tier 1

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Tier 2

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Tier 3

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Tier 4

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Tier 5

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

Tier 6

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 94)

  • Lower-tier ability: choose any tier 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 replacement ability, above.
  • Reactive Field (174)

Additional Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These foci include page reference numbers that correspond to the product. Linked items lead to rough equivalents in this document, but each product tailors content specifically for its genre and setting.

Expanded Worlds — Foci

Where will your campaign take you? What worlds will you build?

See also: Expanded Worlds — Descriptors

First Responders — Foci

Floods. Pandemics. Earthquakes and other crises that put lives and communities at risk. These are monsters of a different sort—and they call for a different kind of hero.

  • Battles the Blaze (FR, 23)
  • Befriends the Flames (FR, 24)
  • Controls the Scene (FR, 24)
  • Shuts Death's Door (FR, 25)

See also: First Responders — Types and First Responders — What's in the Book?

Gods of the Fall — Foci

The Gods are eead—now it's your turn.

  • Finds the Flaw in All Things (GODS, 130)
  • Revels in Trickery (GODS, 131)
  • Speaks Curses (GODS, 132)
  • Walks with the Night (GODS, 134)

See also: Gods of the Fall — Descriptors, Gods of the Fall — Types, and Gods of the Fall — What's in the Book?

Numenera Discovery — Foci

Those who can uncover and master the numenera can unlock the powers and abilities of the ancients, and perhaps bring new light to a struggling world.

See also: Numenera Discovery — Descriptors, Numenera Discovery — Types, and Numenera Discovery — What's in the Book?

Numenera Destiny — Foci

Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect.

See also: Numenera Destiny — Descriptors, Numenera Destiny — Types, and Numenera Destiny — What's in the Book?

Numenera Character Options — Foci

The character you envision.

See also: Numenera Character Options — Descriptors

Numenera Character Options 2 — Foci

Build a character as wondrous as the Ninth World itself!

  • Abides in Crystal (NCO2, 48)
  • Absorbs Energy (NCO2, 50)
  • Abuses Alchemy (NCO2, 51)
  • Becomes Energy (NCO2, 63)
  • Charges Right In (NCO2, 54)
  • Conceals the Truth (NCO2, 55)
  • Delved Too Deeply (NCO2, 56)
  • Devotes Everything to the Cause (NCO2, 58)
  • Fell From Another World (NCO2, 59)
  • Figures Things Out (NCO2, 60)
  • Forges a Bond (NCO2, 63)
  • Gazes Into the Abyss (NCO2, 64)
  • Likes to Break Things (NCO2, 65)
  • Lives on the Road (NCO2, 66)
  • Makes Something Out of Nothing (NCO2, 67)
  • Manipulates Force (NCO2, 69)
  • Plays Tricks (NCO2, 71)
  • Provides Support (NCO2, 72)
  • Shapes Liquid (NCO2, 73)
  • Speaks to the Datasphere (NCO2, 75)
  • Stares Down Adversity (NCO2, 77)
  • Steps Into the Outside (NCO2, 77)
  • Ventures Into the Night (NCO2, 79)
  • Wields a Whip (NCO2, 81)
  • Wonders (NCO2, 83)

See also: Numenera Character Options 2 — Descriptors and Numenera Character Options 2 — Types

Jade Colossus: Ruins of the Prior Worlds — Foci

The essential GM's companion for adventure building in the weird and wondrous Ninth World.

  • Delved Too Deeply (JC, 17)
  • Has Three Hands (JC, 18)
  • Speaks in Exaltation (JC, 20)
  • Taps the Void (JC, 22)
Numenera: The Ninth World Guidebook — Foci

From the frozen lands beyond the Southern Wall, to the volcanic desert of Vralk and the weird, faroff realm of Corao, The Ninth World Guidebook explores new lands and includes adventure hooks, new creatures, new character options, and the incredible level of detail, imagination, and weirdness that is the hallmark of the Ninth World!

  • Lives on the Road (NWG, 220)

See also: Numenera: The Ninth World Guidebook — Descriptors

Numenera: The Octopi of the Ninth World — Foci

The secrets of a billion-year empire.

  • Wields a Nilstone (NONW, 9)

See also: Numenera: The Octopi of the Ninth World — Descriptors

Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide — Foci

Explore new lands. Discover new creatures. Unearth new secrets.

  • Breathes Shadow (TTN, 145)
  • Snares Deadly Prey (TTN, 147)
  • Speaks with a Silver Tongue (TTN, 148)

See also: Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide — Descriptors

Old Gods of Appalachia — Foci

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

See also: Old Gods of Appalachia — Descriptors, Old Gods of Appalachia — Types, and Old Gods of Appalachia — What's in the Book?

Editor's Notes — Under Crafts Powerful Objects (OGOA, 91), the Cypher Mastery (OGOA, 91) ability should be a tier 5 ability instead of tier 4.

Old Gus' Daft Drafts — Foci

A collection of free, online options for your best game ever!

See also: Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Descriptors, Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Flavors, and Old Gus' Draft Drafts — What's in the Book?

Path of the Planebreaker — Foci

Unlock the mysteries of the planes!

  • Prays to the Multiverse (POTP, 179)
  • Serves the Grove of Crows (POTP, 179)
  • Stitches Shadow (POTP, 180)
  • Wields a Chaos Blade (POTP, 181)

See also: Path of the Planebreaker — Descriptors and Path of the Planebreaker — What's in the Book?

Planar Character Options — Foci

Create awesome characters altered—or formed—by the planes!

  • Aspires to Angelic Perfection (PCO, 24)
  • Brandishes a Firearm (PCO, 26)
  • Distills the Resonance of the Multiverse (PCO, 28)
  • Embodies the Machine (PCO, 32)
  • Gambles with Destiny (PCO, 34)
  • Is Pledged to the Annihilation (PCO, 36)
  • Judges the Cosmos (PCO, 40)
  • Prays to the Multiverse (PCO, 42)
  • Serves the Grove of Crows (PCO, 44)
  • Shepherds Demons (PCO, 46)
  • Speaks the Language of Signs (PCO, 48)
  • Stitches Shadow (PCO, 50)
  • Strikes With an Amethyst Fist (PCO, 52)
  • Travels Through Shadow (PCO, 54)
  • Was Scarred by the Psychic War (PCO, 56)
  • Wields a Chaos Blade (PCO, 58)

See also: Planar Character Options — Descriptors and Planar Character Options — Flavors

Predation — Foci

A little sci-fi. A little post-apocalypse. A whole lot of dinosaurs.

  • Plays God (PRED, 39)
  • Predates (PRED, 42)
  • Self-Evolves (PRED, 43)
  • Walks With Dinosaurs (PRED, 44)

See also: Predation — Descriptors, Predation — Types, and Predation — What's in the Book?

Shotguns & Sorcery — Foci

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

See also: Shotguns & Sorcery — Descriptors, Shotguns & Sorcery — Types, and Shotguns & Sorcery — What's in the Book?

The Strange — Foci

Limited pocket dimensions with their own laws of reality are connected to Earth — a dangerous, chaotic network called the Strange.

† — denotes a draggable focus.

Earth (Standard Physics)

Ardeyn (Magic)

Ruk (Mad Science)

  • Adapts to any Environment (TS, 54)
  • Infiltrates (TS, 62)
  • Integrates Weaponry (TS, 63)
  • Metamorphizes (TS, 69)
  • Processes Information (TS, 74)
  • Regenerates Tissue (TS, 74)
  • Spawns (TS, 79)

Other

  • Translates (TS, 80)†
  • Awakens Dangerous Psychic Talent (TS, 236)

See also: The Strange — Descriptors, The Strange — Types, and The Strange — What's in the Book?

In Translation: The Strange Character Options — Foci

Translating to a new recursion? It's not just about visiting—it's about becoming a part of it. About becoming a different version of yourself.

† — denotes a draggable focus.

Earth (Standard Physics)

Ardeyn (Magic)

Ruk (Mad Science)

  • Aspires to Be Posthuman (TSCO, 29)
  • Builds Robots (TSCO, 33)
  • Controls Nanomachines (TSCO, 42)
  • Fights Aliens (TSCO, 45)
  • Fires a Blaster (TSCO, 46)
  • Grows to Towering Heights (TSCO, 50)
  • Is a Cyborg (TSCO, 55)
  • Pilots Starcraft (TSCO, 69)
  • Projects Energy (TSCO, 71)
  • Rejuvenates the Infirm (TSCO, 73)
  • Resides in Silicon (TSCO, 74)
  • Sculpts Light (TSCO, 77)
  • Wears an Iron Suit (TSCO, 90)

Other

  • Hunts Zombies (TSCO, 52)
  • Manipulates Strange Energy (TSCO, 61)†
  • Masters Wuxia (TSCO, 63)

See also: In Translation: The Strange Character Options — Descriptors

Worlds Numberless and Strange — Foci

What will you find as you venture into Earth's shoals?

† — denotes a draggable focus.

  • Becomes Bacterial (WNS, 196)
  • Follows the Code of Bushido (WNS, 198)
  • Haunts the Rooftops (WNS, 199)
  • Inks Spells on Skin (WNS, 200)
  • Masters Foot and Fist (WNS, 203)
  • Names (WNS, 204)
  • Quells Undead (WNS, 206)
  • Trick-or-Treats (WNS, 207)
Tidal Blades — Foci

Welcome to Naviri, a peaceful paradise full of promise—and in dire need of heroes.

  • Befriends Beasts (TB, 95)
  • Constantly Evolves (TB, 101)
  • Delves the Fourth Dimension (TB, 105)
  • Explores Deep Waters (TB, 110)
  • Moves like a Jin (TB, 112)
  • Races like a Champion (TB, 124)
  • Sails the Howling Sea (TB, 126)
  • Studies Anomalies (TB, 127)

See also: Tidal Blades — Descriptors and Tidal Blades — Types

Unmasked — Foci

Superpowers and horror in a dark eighties.

  • Flies by Night (UM, 52)
  • Lives on the Dark Side (UM, 56)
  • Travels Back From the Future (UM, 58)
  • Wants to Be Adored (UM, 59)

See also: Unmasked — Descriptors, Unmasked — Types, and Unmasked — What's in the Book?

VURT — Foci

Amid the glass-strewn streets of the lethal and anarchic Manchester England of the near future, players ingest slender VURT feathers to travel to parallel worlds as vivid, unique, and unpredictable as our wildest dreams.

  • Can't be Mithered (VURT, 67)
  • Controls Blurbs (VURT, 68)
  • Craves the Fix (VURT, 69)
  • Delves Deeper (VURT, 71)
  • Disturbs the Peace (VURT, 72)
  • Is a Lab Rat (VURT, 73)
  • Goes Mad-Dog (VURT, 74)
  • Has Done Time (VURT, 75)
  • Hits the Jam (VURT, 76)
  • Hyperprocesses (VURT, 76)
  • Is a Lucky Bleeder (VURT, 77)
  • Is Idolized (VURT, 78)
  • Keeps it Raw (VURT, 78)
  • Keeps the Faith (VURT, 80)
  • Liquidates (VURT, 81)
  • Lives Life as a Dodo (VURT, 82)
  • Makes it Their Problem (VURT, 83)
  • Never Jerks Out (VURT, 84)
  • Plays To Win (VURT, 85)
  • Plugs In (VURT, 86)
  • Runs the Ginnels (VURT, 87)
  • Scraps like a Scally (VURT, 88)
  • Shows Them All (VURT, 90)
  • Takes the Reins (VURT, 90)
  • Tops Gears (VURT, 92)
  • Tracks Marks (VURT, 93)
  • Works for the City (VURT, 93)
  • Works the Room (VURT, 95)

See also: VURT — Descriptors, VURT — Types, and VURT — What's in the Book?

Chapter 9 Abilities

Quick Reference: Abilities

Ability Categories

† — denotes that don't appear in any type, flavor, or focus ability lists.

‡ — denotes abilities categorized by the editor.

Abilities by Alphabetical Order

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 95)

This chapter presents a vast catalog of more than a thousand abilities a character can gain from their type, flavor (if any), and focus. They are sorted alphabetically by the ability's name.

A character's type, flavor, and focus assign an appropriate tier to each ability. However, if you're creating a brand-new focus or type, we provide a couple of additional tools.

The first is a power grade for each ability, which tells you about how potent it is in relation to other abilities. Abilities appropriate for tiers 1 and 2 characters are called "low-tier" abilities. Abilities appropriate for tiers 3 and 4 are called "mid-tier" abilities. Abilities appropriate for tiers 5 and 6 are called "high-tier" abilities.

These abilities are further sorted into ability categories based on the kinds of things they do—abilities that improve physical attacks are in the attack skill category, abilities that assist allies are in the support category, and so on.

Unless otherwise noted, you cannot choose the same ability twice, even if you get it from both your type and a flavor.

Ability Categories and Relative Power

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 95)

Abilities can be divided into several categories based on the kinds of things they do—improve your physical attacks, assist allies, provide defense, give you a special attack form, and so on. Under each of the following category descriptions is a list of abilities that fit that category, sorted into low-, medium-, and high-tier abilities.

It may be possible that a character gains the same ability from more than one source (such as from their type and their descriptor). Unless the two abilities are obviously additive (such as two abilities that each add 3 points to your Might Pool, which together would give the character +6 Might points), the duplicated ability might be improved in some way, such as having a longer duration or greater effect, or automatically providing an asset. Some abilities give suggestions on how to do this; otherwise, the player and the GM should work out whether and how the ability is improved.

The categories are mainly used by GMs when designing new foci for a campaign, allowing them to search a short list of abilities instead of trying to find something appropriate among the thousand or so abilities in this chapter. For example, the GM might have a custom focus in their campaign called "Is Born of the Swamp" and want a defensive ability for tier 5, so they can look at the high-tier abilities in the protection category and quickly narrow down what options are available.

The ability categories are not intended to be rigid or comprehensive. Some abilities fall into more than one category, and it could be argued that some abilities could be included in more categories than are listed here.

These categories have some overlap with the Focus Categories. For example, there is a support category here and a support category in Chapter 8: Focus. They aren't intended to be exact parallels and they don't mean exactly the same thing. That said, if you're creating a support-centric focus, many of the abilities in the support ability category would be appropriate choices.

Attack Skill

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Gives you training or specialization in a specific physical attack (like swords or unarmed combat), a category of physical attacks (light bladed, heavy bashing, and so on), or another physical skill primarily used to inflict harm (such as breaking objects).

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Companion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Gives you a follower, modifies a follower, or gives you an additional benefit when interacting with or near your follower. This category includes humanoid followers, beast companions, and temporary companions like summoned swarms, conjured spirits, and so on.

Editor's Notes — For more on companion abilities, see Chapter 11-A: Followers and Factions.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Editor's Notes — A duplicate entry for the Time Doppelganger ability has been removed from this category by the editor.

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 96)

Control

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Controls or influences minds in ways outside of what could be done with conventional intimidation and persuasion, such as using psychic mind control, fear gas, and so on.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Craft

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Creates useful physical things, such as mundane tools (hammers, crowbars), limited-use devices (manifest cyphers, artifacts), or independent beings (robots, elementals, zombies). Includes blueprints, plans, and effects that aid or speed crafting.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 97)

Cure

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 98)

Cures damage, adds or improves recovery rolls, or negates, cures, suspends, or otherwise gives immunity to a harmful effect or condition, such as poison, disease, mental attacks, moving down on the damage track, or dying.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 98)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 98)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 98)

Cyphers and Artifacts

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Modifies cypher limits, or enhances the finding, crafting or use of cyphers and artifacts.

Low Tier:
Mid Tier:
High Tier:

Environment

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Manipulates the environment or things in the environment, such as with telekinesis, weather control, gravity control, illusions, and so on.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Extra Action

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Allows you or an ally to take an extra action—for example, making more attacks, moving, or making a recovery roll. Many of these abilities restrictons on what an extra action can be used to do, or are reactive—requiring a certain trigger event (for example, making a successful Speed defene roll) before they can be activated. Some of these abilities also allow PCs to accomplish tasks faster than normal.

Low Tier:
Mid Tier:
High Tier:

Information

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Gives the ability to learn information about something, whether chosen by the GM like Scan, by asking a question and the GM giving the answer, or by learning a language.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 99)

Meta

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 100)

Modifies an existing ability or character trait's effects or parameters, such as increasing range or, damage, easing the difficulty, giving you additional noncombat actions each turn, rerolling a failed attempt, or treating a number on the die as something different than normal.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 100)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 100)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 101)

Movement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 101)

Increases your movement (such as increasing your basic movement speed from short to long) or adds a new type of movement (such as flight, wallcrawling, phasing, or teleporting).

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 101)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 101)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 101)

Protection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 102)

Gives training or specialization in one or more types of combat defenses (Might, Speed, or Intellect), provides or increases Armor, or otherwise helps prevent damage.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 102)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 102)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 102)

Recovery

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Affects the number, potency, or other conditions of recovery rolls, for example, making them for free or in less time than usual.

Low Tier:
Mid Tier:
High Tier:

Roll

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Increases the frequency or potency of special rolls, allows for rerolls, or other ways of manipulating luck or chance.

Low Tier:
Mid Tier:
High Tier:

Senses

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Enhances your senses (seeing in the dark, seeing underwater or through mist, sensing danger, finding optimal places to stand in combat, and so on), but doesn't provide direct answers to questions like an information ability does.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Social

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Gives you an indirect social benefit, such as providing a useful contact in a city or letting you take advantage of your social status.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 103)

Special Attack

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 104)

Gives the ability to make a special melee or ranged attack (weapon, energy blast, psychic, and so on). The attack might do damage, have a special effect (disarm, hinder, move the target, and so on), or both. This also includes abilities like Spray that let you attack multiple targets as your action.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 104)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 104)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 105)

Stats

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These abilities increase Pools, Edge, or enhance the use of Effort on any task (as opposed to abilities that offer a free level of Effort that is applicable to one specific task prompted by an ability). Some also allow you to use your stats in a more flexible manner, for example, spending points from one stat Pool instead of another.

Low Tier:
Mid Tier:
High Tier:

Support

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 105)

Gives some sort of benefit to an ally rather than yourself, such as an extra action or an asset on their roll.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 105)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 105)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 105)

Task

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 106)

Gives training, specialization, or an asset in one or more noncombat skills (climbing, healing, computers, initiative, and so on).

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 106)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

Transform

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

A significant change that temporarily enhances you, such as growing bigger, turning into a werewolf, and so on. Also includes apparent transformations like disguises and invisibility.

Low Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

Mid Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

High Tier:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 107)

Abilities—A

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 108)

  • A Smile and a Word: When you use Effort on any action involving interactions—even those having to do with calming animals or communicating with someone or something whose language you do not speak—you gain a free level of Effort on the task. Action. (108)

  • Able Assistance: When you help someone with a task and they apply a level of Effort, they get a free level of Effort on that task. Enabler. (108)

  • Absorb Energy (7 Intellect points): You touch an object and absorb its energy. If you touch a manifest cypher, you render it useless. If you touch an artifact, roll for its depletion. If you touch another kind of powered machine or device, the GM determines whether its power is fully drained. In any case, you absorb energy from the object touched and regain 1d10 Intellect points. If this would give you more Intellect than your Pool's maximum, the extra points are lost, and you must make a Might defense roll. The difficulty of the roll is equal to the number of points over your maximum you absorbed. If you fail the roll, you take 5 points of damage and are unable to act for one round. You can use this ability as a defense action when you're the target of an incoming ability. Doing so cancels the incoming ability, and you absorb the energy as if it were a device. Action. (108)

  • Absorb Kinetic Energy: You absorb a portion of the energy of a physical attack or impact. You negate 1 point of damage you would have suffered and store that point as energy. Once you have absorbed 1 point of energy, you continue to negate 1 point of damage from any incoming blow or impact, but the residual energy bleeds off with a flare of harmless light (you cannot store more than 1 point at a time). Enabler. (108)

  • Absorb Pure Energy: When you use Absorb Kinetic Energy, you can also absorb and store energy from attacks made with pure energy (focused light, radiation, transdimensional, psychic, etc.) or from conduits that direct energy, if you can make direct contact. This ability does not change how many points of energy you can store. If you also have Improved Absorb Kinetic Energy, you can absorb 2 points of damage from other energy sources as well. Enabler. (108)

  • Access the Broadcast (2+ Intellect points): You create a flat rectangular illusory "screen" within immediate range that can display any broadcast television signal in your area (similar to using a television with an antenna) or any video streams in the area (similar to tapping into a wireless network). The screen is anywhere from 1 to 3 feet (30 cm to 1 m) across, includes stereo sound, and lasts for one hour. As an action, you can change the channel, the volume, or both. The effect ends if you are more than a short distance away from the screen. For each level of Effort you apply to this ability, you can increase the width of the screen by up to 3 feet (1 m). Action. (IOM, 65)

  • Accelerate (4+ Intellect points): Your words imbue the spirit of a character within immediate range who is able to understand you, accelerating them so they gain an asset on initiative tasks and Speed defense rolls for ten minutes. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect more targets; each level of Effort affects one additional target. You must speak to additional targets to accelerate them, one target per round. Action per target to initiate. (108)

  • Acrobatic Attack (1+ Speed points): You leap into the attack, twisting or flipping through the air. If you roll a natural 17 or 18, you can choose to have a minor effect rather than deal extra damage. If you apply Effort to the attack, you get a free level of Effort on the task. You can't use this ability if your Speed Effort costs are reduced from wearing armor. Enabler. (108)

  • Action Processor (4 Intellect points): Drawing upon stored information and the ability to process incoming data at amazing speeds, you are trained in one physical task of your choice for ten minutes. For example, you can choose running, climbing, swimming, Speed defense, or attacks with a specific weapon. Action to initiate. (108)

  • Adaptation: Thanks to a latent mutation, a device implanted in your spine, a ritual performed with dragon's blood, or some other gift, you now remain at a comfortable temperature; never need to worry about dangerous radiation, diseases, or gases; and can always breathe in any environment (even the vacuum of space). Enabler. (108)

  • Adroit Cypher Use: You can bear four cyphers at a time. Enabler. (108)

  • Advanced Command (7 Intellect points): A target within short range obeys any command you give as long as they can hear and understand you. Further, as long as you continue to do nothing but issue commands (taking no other action), you can give that same target a new command. This effect ends when you stop issuing commands or they are out of short range. Action to initiate. (108)

  • Advantage to Disadvantage (3 Speed points): With a number of quick moves, you make an attack against an armed foe, inflicting damage and disarming them so that their weapon is now in your hands or 10 feet (3 m) away on the ground—your choice. This disarming attack is hindered. Action. (109)

  • Advantages of Being Big: When you use Enlarge, you're so big that you can move massive objects more easily, climb buildings by using hand- and footholds unavailable to regular-sized people, and jump much farther. While you enjoy the effects of Enlarge, all climbing, lifting, and jumping tasks are eased. Enabler. (109)

  • Advantages of Being Small: You've learned how to leverage your strength and accuracy in proportion to your size. Your damage is no longer halved when using Shrink, and climbing and jumping tasks are eased. Enabler. (CTS, 48)

  • Advice From a Friend (1 Intellect point): You know your friend's strengths and weaknesses, and how to motivate them to succeed. When you give an ally a suggestion involving their next action, the character is trained in that action for one round. Action. (109)

  • Again and Again (8 Speed points): You can take an additional action in a round in which you have already acted. Enabler. (109)

  • Ageless: Your body and mind do not age. Unless you are killed by violence (or some outside force such as poison or infection), you will never die. Enabler. (CTS, 48)

  • Agent Provocateur: Choose one of the following to be trained in: attacking with a weapon of your choice, demolitions, or sneaking and lockpicking (if you choose this last option, you are trained in both). Enabler. (109)

  • Aggression (2 Might points): You focus on making attacks to such an extent that you leave yourself vulnerable to your opponents. While this ability is active, you gain an asset on your melee attacks, and your Speed defense rolls against melee and ranged attacks are hindered. This effect lasts for as long as you wish, but it ends if no combat is taking place within range of your senses. Enabler. (109)

  • Agile Wit: When attempting a Speed task, you instead can roll (and spend points) as if it were an Intellect action. If you apply Effort to this task, you can spend points from your Intellect Pool instead of your Speed Pool (in which case you also use your Intellect Edge instead of your Speed Edge). Enabler. (109)

  • All-Out Con (7 Intellect points): You put everything into it. You add three free levels of Effort to the next task you attempt. You can't use this ability again until after you've taken a ten-hour recovery action. Action. (109)

  • Alleviate (3 Intellect points): You attempt to cancel or cure one malady (such as disease or poison) in one creature. Action. (109)

  • Always Tinkering: If you have any tools and materials at all, and you are carrying fewer cyphers than your limit, you can create a manifest cypher if you have an hour of time to spend. The new cypher is random and always 2 levels lower than normal (minimum 1). It's also temperamental and fragile. These are called temperamental cyphers. If you give one to anyone else to use, it falls apart immediately, useless. Action to initiate; one hour to complete. (CTS, 48)

  • Alley Rat (6 Intellect points): While in a city, you find or create a significant shortcut, secret entrance, or emergency escape route where it looked like none existed. Doing so requires that you succeed on an Intellect action whose difficulty is set by the GM based on the situation. You and the GM should work out the details. Action. (109)

  • Amazing Copying: You can use Copy Power to copy more powerful abilities. In addition to the normal options for using Effort with Copy Power, if you apply two levels of Effort, the GM chooses a high-tier ability that most closely resembles that power (instead of a low-tier ability). Enabler. (CTS, 48)

  • Amazing Effort: When you apply at least one level of Effort to a noncombat task, you get a free level of Effort on that task. When you choose this ability, decide if it applies to Might Effort or Speed Effort. Enabler. (109)

  • Amazing Leap (2 Might points): You leap through the air and land safely some distance away. You can jump up, down, or across to anywhere you choose within long range if you have a clear and unobstructed path to that location. If you have three or more power shifts in strength, your leaping range increases to very long. If you have five or more power shifts in strength, your leaping range increases to 1,000 feet (300 m). Action. (CTS, 48)

  • Ambusher: When you attack a creature that has not yet acted during the first round of combat, your attack is eased. Enabler. (109)

  • Amplify Sounds (2 Might points): For one minute, you can amplify distant or small sounds so that you can hear them clearly, even if it's a conversation or the sound of a small animal moving through an underground burrow up to a very long distance away. You can attempt to perceive the sound even if interceding barriers block it or the sound is very slight, though this requires a few additional rounds of concentration. To discriminate the sound you wish in a noisy environment might also require a few additional rounds of concentration as you audibly explore the surrounding soundscape. Given enough time, you could pinpoint every conversation, every breathing creature, and every device creating noise within range. Action to initiate, up to several rounds to complete, depending on the difficulty of the task. (109)

  • Anecdote (2 Intellect points): You can lift the spirits of a group of creatures and help them bond together by entertaining them with an uplifting or pointed anecdote. For the next hour, those who pay attention to your story are trained in a task you choose that's related to the anecdote, as long as it's not an attack or defense task. Action to initiate, one minute to complete. (109)

  • Animal Scrying (4+ Intellect points): If you know the general location of an animal that is friendly toward you and within 1 mile (1.5 km) of your location, you can sense through its senses for up to ten minutes. If you are not in animal form or not in a form similar to that animal, you must apply a level of Effort to use this ability. Action to establish. (GF, 29)(CTS, 49)

  • Animal Shape (3+ Intellect points): You change into an animal as small as a rat or up to your own size (such as a large dog or small bear) for ten minutes. Each time you transform, you can take a different animal shape. Your equipment becomes part of the transformation, rendering it unusable unless it has a passive effect, such as armor. In this form your stats remain the same as your normal form, but you can move and attack according to your animal shape (attacks from most animals this size are medium weapons, which you can use without penalty). Tasks requiring hands (such as using door handles or pushing buttons) are hindered when in animal form. You cannot speak but can still use abilities that don't rely on human speech. You gain two minor abilities associated with the creature you become. For example, if you transform into a bat, you become trained in perception and can fly up to a long distance each round. If you transform into an octopus, you are trained in stealth and can breathe underwater. If you apply a level of Effort when you use this ability, you can either become a talking animal or take a hybrid shape. The talking animal shape looks exactly like a normal animal, but you can still talk and use any abilities that rely on human speech. The hybrid shape is like your normal form but with animalistic features, even if that animal is something much smaller than you (such as a bat or rat). In this hybrid form you can speak, use all of your abilities, make attacks like an animal, and perform tasks using hands without being hindered. Anyone who sees you clearly in this hybrid form would never mistake you for a mere animal. Action to change or revert.

    "Similar" is a broad term. Lions are similar to tigers and leopards, hawks are similar to ravens and swans, dogs are similar to wolves and foxes, and so on.

    Even if your animal shape has multiple attack types (such as claws and bite), you can attack only once per round unless you have some other ability that lets you make additional attacks on your turn. (GF, 29)(CTS, 49)

Animal Shape variant: If your character concept is that you always take the same animal form instead of being able to choose from multiple kinds of animals, double the duration of the Animal Shape ability (to twenty minutes per use). The GM may allow characters with this restriction to learn additional animal forms by spending 4 XP as a long-term benefit.

Animal Form Minor Abilities Table

(Godforsaken, page 30)

Animal Form Minor Abilities Table
AnimalSkill TrainingOther Abilities
ApeClimbingHands
BadgerClimbingScent
BatPerceptionFlying
BearClimbingScent
BirdPerceptionFlying
BoarMight defenseScent
CatClimbing or stealthSmall
Constrictor snakeClimbingConstrict
CrocodileStealth or swimmingConstrict
DeinonychusPerceptionFast
DolphinPerception or swimmingFast
FishStealth or swimmingAquatic
FrogJumping or stealthAquatic
HorsePerceptionFast
LeopardClimbing or stealthFast
LizardClimbing or stealthSmall
OctopusStealthAquatic
SharkSwimmingAquatic
TurtleMight defenseArmor
Venomous snakeClimbingVenom
WolfPerceptionScent
Aquatic
The animal either breathes water instead of air or is able to breathe water in addition to breathing air.
Armor
The animal has a thick hide or shell, granting +1 to Armor.
Constrict
The animal can grip its opponent fast after making a melee attack (usually with a bite or claw), easing attack rolls against that foe on later turns until the animal releases the foe.
Fast
The animal can move a long distance on its turn instead of a short distance.
Flying
The animal can fly, which (depending on the type of animal) may be up to a short or long distance on its turn.
Hands
The animal has paws or hands that are nearly as agile as those of a human. Unlike with most animal shapes, the animal's tasks that require hands are not hindered (although the GM may decide that some tasks requiring human agility, such as playing a flute, are still hindered).
Scent
The animal has a strong sense of smell, gaining an asset on tracking and dealing with darkness or blindness.
Small
The animal is considerably smaller than a human, easing its Speed defense tasks but hindering tasks to move heavy things.
Venom
The animal is poisonous (usually through a bite), inflicting 1 additional point of damage.

  • Animal Senses and Sensibilities: You are trained in listening and spotting things. In addition, most of the time, the GM should alert you if you're about to walk into an ambush or a trap that is lower than level 5. Enabler. (109)

  • Annoy Electronics (1 Intellect point): You interfere with the operations of an electronic device. The device must be within short range and you must be able to see it. Your interference is limited to things you could do in a few seconds if you were directly using the device. For example, you could make a person's phone start playing a loud video, type one or two commands on a computer's keyboard, hit a bunch of buttons in an elevator, or change the station or volume on a television screen. You must succeed at an Intellect-based task against the device or its bearer (whichever level is higher). If you have never interacted with the particular device before, the task is hindered by two steps. Action. (IOM, 74)

  • Answering Attack (3 Speed points): If you are struck in melee, you can make an immediate melee attack against that attacker once per round. The attack is hindered, and you can still take your normal action during the round. Enabler. (110)

  • Anticipate Attack (4 Intellect points): You can sense when and how creatures attacking you will make their attacks. Speed defense rolls are eased for one minute. Action. (110)

  • Anticipation (1 Intellect point): You look ahead to see how your actions might unfold. The first task you perform before the end of the next round gains an asset. Action. (110)

  • Apocalyptic Stare: Your demeanor is of someone who shouldn't be trifled with. You are trained in intimidation. Enabler. (RR, 125)

  • Applying Your Knowledge: When you help another character undertake any action that you're untrained in, you are treated as if you are trained in it. Action. (110)

  • App Tinkerer: If you spend at least one day tinkering with a magical app in your possession, it functions at one level higher than normal. This applies to all magical apps in your possession, but they retain this bonus only for you. Enabler. (IOM, 45)

Magical apps are a form of manifest cypher available in some modern fantasy settings.

  • Apportation (4 Intellect points): You call a physical object to you. You can choose any piece of normal equipment on the standard equipment list, or (no more than once per day) you can allow the GM to determine the object randomly. If you call a random object, it has a 10 percent chance of being a manifest cypher or artifact, a 50 percent chance of being a piece of standard equipment, and a 40 percent chance of being a bit of worthless junk. You can't use this ability to take an item held by another creature. Action. (110)

  • Aquatic Combatant: You ignore penalties for any action (including fighting) in underwater environments. Enabler. (110)

  • Arc Spray (3 Speed points): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow), you can fire your weapon at up to three targets (all next to one another) at once. Make a separate attack roll against each target. Each attack is hindered. Action. (110)

  • Arcanaphone (2 Intellect points): You make use of your cellular service to start a telephone call or use text messaging, lasting up to ten minutes. To anyone watching you, you look like you're in "hands free" mode. In all respects, this works as if you were carrying your device with you and using it directly (meaning the network notes your current location as if you were carrying your phone, and you may not have coverage in some areas). The first time you use this ability with your mobile service, you must contact their customer service department to authorize the magic (taking ten to sixty minutes), as if it were a new device. You can't use this ability if you don't have a cellular account. Action to initiate. (IOM, 74)

In modern fantasy settings where most people don't know about magic, connecting your spell to your cellular service probably requires a lot of strange answers and lies about the "device" you're trying to add to your account.

  • Arcane Flare (1 Intellect point): You enhance the damage of another attack spell with an extra charge of energy so that it deals 1 additional point of damage. Alternatively, you attack a target within long range by projecting a flare of raw magic that inflicts 4 points of damage. Enabler for enhancement; action for long-range attack. (110)

  • Artifact Scavenger (6 Intellect points + 2 XP): You've developed a sixth sense for searching for the most valuable items in the wasteland. If you spend the time required to succeed on two scavenging tasks, you can exchange all the results you would otherwise obtain for a chance to gain an artifact of the GM's choosing if you succeed on a difficulty 6 Intellect task. You can use this ability at most once per day, and never within the same general area. Action to initiate, several hours to complete. (110)

  • Artifact Tinkerer: If you spend at least one day tinkering with an artifact in your possession, it functions at one level higher than normal. This applies to all artifacts in your possession, but they retain this bonus only for you. Enabler. (110)

  • As Foretold in Prophecy: You accomplish something that proves you are truly the chosen one. The next task you attempt is eased by three steps. You can't use this ability again until after you've taken a one-hour or a ten-hour recovery action. Action. (110)

  • As If One Creature: When you and your beast (from your Beast Companion ability) are within immediate distance of each other, you can share damage inflicted on either of you. For instance, if one of you is struck by a weapon for 4 points of damage, divide the damage between the two of you as you see fit. Only the Armor and resistances of the target initially damaged come into play. So if you have 2 Armor and are struck by a force blast for 4 points of damage, your beast can take the 2 points of damage you would suffer, but their Armor does not come into play, nor does their immunity to force blasts, if any. Enabler. (110)

Editor's Notes — As If One Creature can be used to improve a familiar at tier 6.

  • Assassin Skills: You are trained in stealth and disguise tasks. Enabler. (110)

  • Assassin Strike (5 Intellect points): If you successfully attack a creature that was previously unaware of your presence, you deal 9 additional points of damage. Enabler. (110)

  • Asserting Your Privilege (3 Intellect points): Acting as only a privileged person can, you verbally harangue a foe who can hear and understand you so forcefully that they are unable to take any action, including attacks, for one round. Whether you succeed or fail, the next action the target takes is hindered. Action. (110)

  • Assisted Sight (3 Intellect points): You can activate a visual overlay that helps you analyze threats and boons in your environment. When you trigger this ability, you gain an asset on one attack or defense roll of any type, due to your knowledge about the situation. Enabler. (RR, 119)

  • Assume Control (6+ Intellect points): You control the actions of another creature you have interacted with or studied for at least a round. This effect lasts for ten minutes. The target must be level 2 or lower. Once you have assumed control, the target acts as if it wants to accomplish your desire to the best of its ability, freely using its own best judgment unless you use an action to give it a specific instruction on an issue-by-issue basis. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to attempt to command a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), you must apply three levels of Effort. When the effect ends, the target remembers everything that happened and reacts according to its nature and your relationship to it; assuming control might have soured that relationship if it was previously a positive one. Action to initiate. (111)

  • Athlete: You are trained in carrying, climbing, jumping, and smashing. Enabler. (111)

  • Attack and Attack Again: Rather than granting additional damage or a minor or major effect, a natural 17 or higher on your attack roll allows you the option of immediately making another attack. Enabler. (111)

  • Attack Flourish: With your attack, you add stylish moves, entertaining quips, or a certain something that entertains or impresses others. One creature you choose within short range who can see you gains an asset to its next task if taken within a round or two. Enabler. (111)

  • Augment Cypher (2+ Intellect points): When you activate a cypher, add +1 to its level. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the level of the cypher by an additional +1 (per level of Effort applied). You can't increase the cypher's level above 10. Enabler. (111)

  • Autodoctor: You are trained in healing, performing surgical procedures, and withstanding pain. You can perform surgeries on yourself, remaining conscious while you do so. Enabler. (111)

  • Automatic Glow: Hard light objects you create with your type and focus abilities shed light, illuminating everything in immediate range. Whenever you want, your body (entirely or just part of it) sheds light, illuminating everything in short range. Enabler. (CTS, 49)

  • Awareness (3 Intellect points): You become hyperaware of your surroundings in order to better locate your target. For ten minutes, you are aware of all living things within long range (including their general position), and by concentrating (another action), you can attempt to learn the general health and power level of any one of them. Action. (111)

Abilities—B

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 112)

  • Babel: After hearing a language spoken for a few minutes, you can speak it and make yourself understood. If you continue to use the language to interact with native speakers, your skills improve rapidly, to the point where you might be mistaken for a native speaker after just a few hours of speaking the new language. Enabler. (112)

  • Background Music (1+ Intellect points): You create quiet background music in a short area, loud enough to be heard in a room with normal conversation, but not so loud to be distracting or overwhelming. The music repeats through up to ten songs you know, lasting up to an hour. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the duration; each level of Effort adds one hour to the play time and five songs to the playlist. Action. (IOM, 65, 70)

  • Balance: You are trained in balancing. Enabler. (112)

  • Band of Desperados: Your reputation draws a band of six level 2 desperado NPC followers who are completely devoted to you. You and the GM must work out the details of these followers. If a follower dies, you gain a new one after at least two weeks and proper recruitment. Enabler. (112)

  • Band of Followers: You gain four level 3 followers. They are not restricted on their modifications. Enabler. (112)

  • Bash (1 Might point): This is a pummeling melee attack. Your attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal, but dazes your target for one round, during which time all tasks it performs are hindered. Action. (112)

  • Basic Follower: You gain a level 2 follower. One of their modifications must be persuasion. You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another level 2 follower. Enabler. (112)

When you use Basic Follower, the GM may require that you actually look for a suitable follower.

  • Battle Management (4 Intellect points): As long as you use your action each round giving orders or advice, attack and defense actions taken by your allies within short range are eased. Action. (112)

  • Battlefield Tactician (2+ Intellect points): You scrutinize your surroundings, learning whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent about attacking, defending, maneuvering, and dealing with environmental hazards within a short distance. For example, you might notice a pile of rubble you can stand on for an advantage in melee, a sheltered corner to help protect against enemy attacks, a less-slippery part of a frozen lake, or a place where the poison gas is thinner than elsewhere. If you (or someone you tell) move to that location, you (or they) gain an asset on tasks related to that optimal position (such as attack rolls from the high ground, Speed defense rolls from the sheltered corner, balance rolls on the frozen lake, or Might defense rolls against the poisonous cloud). Instead of gaining an advantageous location, you might learn of a disadvantageous location that you could use against your enemies, such as maneuvering them into an awkward corner that hinders their melee attacks or a weak spot on the frozen lake that will break if they stand on it. You can apply Effort to learn one additional good or bad location within range (one location per level of Effort), increase the range of this ability (another short distance per level of Effort), or both. Enabler. (112)

  • Beast Call (5 Intellect points): You summon a horde of small animals or a single level 4 beast to help you temporarily. These creatures do your bidding for as long as you focus your attention, but you must use your action each turn to direct them. Creatures are native to the area and arrive under their own power, so if you're in an unreachable place, this ability won't work. Action. (112)

  • Beast Companion: A level 2 creature of your size or smaller accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the details of your creature, and you'll probably make rolls for it in combat or when it takes actions. The beast companion acts on your turn. As a level 2 creature, it has a target number of 6 and 6 health and it inflicts 2 points of damage. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on). If your beast companion dies, you can hunt in the wild for 1d6 days to find a new one. Enabler. (112)

A creature's level determines its target number, health, and damage, unless otherwise stated. So a level 2 beast companion has a target number of 6 and a health of 6, and it inflicts 2 points of damage. A level 4 beast companion has a target number of 12 and a health of 12, and it inflicts 4 points of damage. And so on.

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Beast Companion to be a follower, or make them available as a familiar.

  • Beast Eyes (3 Intellect points): By linking to the creature Beast Companion ability, you can perceive through its senses if it is within 1 mile (1.5 km) of you. This effect lasts up to ten minutes. Action to establish. (112)

Editor's Notes — Beast Eyes can be used to improve a familiar at tier 4.

  • Beast Form: On five consecutive nights each month, you change into a monstrous beast for up to one hour each night. In this new form, you gain +8 to your Might Pool, +1 to your Might Edge, +2 to your Speed Pool, and +1 to your Speed Edge. While in beast form, you can't spend Intellect points for any reason other than to try to change to your normal form before the one-hour duration is over (a difficulty 2 task). In addition, you attack any and every living creature within short range. After you revert to your normal form, you take a −1 penalty to all rolls for one hour. If you did not kill and eat at least one substantial creature while in beast form, the penalty increases to −2 and affects all your rolls for the next 24 hours. Action to change back. (112)

  • Bestiary Knowledge: You are trained in the lore of flesh-eating, nonhumanoid creatures—recognizing them, knowing their weaknesses, and knowing their habits and behaviors. Enabler. (113)

  • Beneath Notice: Your decreased size makes it difficult to find you. While Shrink is active on you, all stealth tasks you attempt are eased. Enabler. (CTS, 49)

  • Betrayal: Any time you convince a foe that you are not a threat and then suddenly attack it (without provocation), the attack deals 4 additional points of damage. Enabler. (113)

  • Better Living Through Chemistry (4 Intellect points): You've developed drug cocktails specifically designed to work with your own biochemistry. Depending on which one you inject, it makes you smarter, faster, or tougher, but when it wears off, the crash is a doozy, so you use it only in desperate situations. You gain 2 to your Might Edge, Speed Edge, or Intellect Edge for one minute, after which you can't gain the benefit again for one hour. During this follow-up hour, every time you spend points from a Pool, increase the cost by 1. Action. (113)

  • Better Surprise Attack: If attacking from a hidden vantage, with surprise, or before an opponent has acted, you get an asset on the attack (if you have Surprise Attack, this is in addition to the asset from that ability). On a successful hit with this surprise attack, you inflict 2 additional points of damage (for a total of 4 additional points of damage if you have Surprise Attack). Enabler. (113)

  • Bigger: When you use Enlarge, you can choose to grow up to 12 feet (4 m) in height, and you add 3 more temporary points to your Might Pool. Enabler. (113)

  • Bigger Animal Shape: When you use Animal Shape, your animal form grows to about twice its normal size.

    Being so large, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +1 to Armor, +5 to your Might Pool, and you are trained in using your animal form's natural attacks as heavy weapons (if you weren't already). However, your Speed defense tasks are hindered. While bigger, you also gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform, like climbing, intimidating, wading rivers, and so on. Enabler. (GF, 29)(CTS, 49)

  • Bigger Beast Form: When you use Beast Form, your beast form grows bigger than before, during which time you achieve a height of 12 feet (4 m). Being so large, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +1 to Armor, +5 to your Might Pool, and you are trained in using your fists as heavy weapons (if you weren't already). However, your Speed defense tasks are hindered. While bigger, you also gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform, like climbing, intimidating, wading rivers, and so on. Enabler. (113)

  • Biomorphic Detonation (7+ Might points): You radiate a pulse of biomorphic energy up to a short distance away, but you tune it to disrupt life in an area an immediate distance across. All within the detonation take 5 points of damage that ignores Armor (unless it is Armor provided by a force field effect). If you apply additional Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (113)

  • Biomorphic Healing (4+ Might points): You consciously send out a pulse of your biomorphic field (a strange energy your body generates) and focus it on a living creature within short range. The target gains a free and immediate one-action recovery roll. You can't use this ability again on that creature until after its next ten-hour rest. Action. (113)

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what the "+" in the point cost of Biomorphic Healing is in reference to. If the GM agrees, a PC can use a level of Effort to extend the range of the ability from short to long, to add an additional target, or to give the target +1 bonus to the recovery roll prompted by the ability.

  • Blackout (3 Intellect points): You issue a disruptive ripple of energy within short range, creating an area where the electrical power grid fails. All devices relying on being plugged into the grid stop working. Battery-powered devices still work. Any standby generator connected in this area functions normally, activating emergency power within a few rounds. The blackout otherwise lasts for one minute. Action. (IOM, 65)

City-level power generators usually have redundancies that allow them to ignore a Blackout spell or overcome it within a couple of rounds.

  • Blameless: You are trained in one of the following: deception, stealth, or disguise. Enabler. (113)

  • Blend In (4 Intellect points): When you blend in, creatures still see you, but they attach no importance to your presence for about a minute. While blending in, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining period of effect by taking an action to focus on seeming innocuous and as if you belong. Action to initiate or reinitiate. (113)

  • Blessing of the Gods: As a servant of the gods, you can call up blessings in their name. This blessing depends on the god's general demeanor and area of influence. Choose two of the abilities described below.

    • Authority/Law/Peace (3 Intellect points). You prevent a foe that can hear and understand you from attacking anyone or anything for one round. Action.
    • Benevolence/Righteousness/Spirit (2+ Intellect points). One level 1 demon, spirit, or similar creature within short range is destroyed or banished. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to destroy or banish a level 5 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action.
    • Death/Darkness (2 Intellect points). A target you choose within short range withers, suffering 3 points of damage. Action.
    • Desire/Love/Health (3 Intellect points). With a touch, you restore 1d6 points to one stat Pool of any creature, including yourself. This ability is a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Each time you attempt to heal the same creature, the task is hindered by an additional step. The difficulty returns to 2 after that creature rests for ten hours. Action.
    • Earth/Stone. You are trained in climbing, stonecraft, and spelunking. Enabler.
    • Knowledge/Wisdom (3 Intellect points). Choose up to three creatures (potentially including yourself). For one minute, a particular type of task (but not an attack roll or defense roll) is eased for those creatures, but only while they remain within immediate range of you. Action.
    • Nature/Animals/Plants. You are trained in botany and handling natural animals. Enabler.
    • Protection/Silence (3 Intellect points). You create a quiet bubble of protection around you to an immediate radius for one minute. The bubble moves with you. All defense rolls for you and all creatures you designate within the bubble are eased, and no noise, regardless of its origin, sounds louder than a normal speaking voice. Action to initiate.
    • Sky/Air (2 Intellect points). A creature you touch is immune to airborne toxins or contaminants for ten minutes. Action.
    • Sun/Light/Fire (2 Intellect points). You cause one creature or object within short range to catch fire, inflicting 1 point of ambient damage each round until the fire is extinguished (requiring an action). Action.
    • Trickery/Greed/Commerce. You are trained in detecting the deceptions of other creatures. Enabler.
    • War (1 Intellect point). A target you choose within short range (potentially yourself) deals 2 additional points of damage with its next successful weapon attack. Action.
    • Water/Sea (2 Intellect points). A target you touch can breathe water for ten minutes. Action. (114)

Editor's Notes — In a cost comparison against Onslaught, Blessing of the Gods (Death) should probably ignore a target's Armor.

  • Blind Machine (6 Speed points): You deactivate the sensory apparatus of a machine, making it effectively blind until it can be repaired. You must either touch the target or strike it with a ranged attack (inflicting no damage). Action. (114)

  • Blinding Attack (3 Speed points): If you have a source of light, you can use it to make a melee attack against a target. If successful, the attack deals no damage, but the target is blinded for one minute. Action. (115)

  • Block (3 Speed points): You automatically block the next melee attack made against you within the next minute. Action to initiate. (115)

  • Block for Another: If you use a light or medium weapon, you can block attacks made against an ally near you. Choose one creature within immediate range. You provide an asset to that creature's Speed defense tasks. You can't use Quick Block while using Block for Another. Enabler. (115)

  • Blood Fever: When you have no points in one or two Pools, you gain an asset to attacks or defense rolls (your choice). Enabler. (115)

  • Blood Magician: When you wish it, you can use points from your Might Pool rather than your Intellect Pool to activate a magical ability (including applying Effort to that ability). If you use your Might Pool this way, you use your Might Edge instead of your Intellect Edge. Enabler. (IOM, 65)

  • Bloodlust (3 Might points): If you take down a foe, you can move a short distance, but only if you move toward another foe. You don't need to spend the points until you know that the first foe is down. Enabler. (115)

  • Blurring Speed (7 Speed points): You move so quickly that until your next turn, you look like a blur. While you are blurred, if you apply Effort to a melee attack task or Speed defense task, you get a free level of Effort on that task; you can move a short distance as part of another action or a long distance as your entire action. Enabler. (115)

  • Body Morph (3+ Intellect points): You alter your facial and bodily features and coloration for one hour, hiding your identity or impersonating someone. If you apply a level of Effort, you can imitate a specific person accurately enough to fool someone who knows them well or has observed them closely (including fingerprints and voice prints, but not their retina print or DNA). You have an asset in all tasks involving disguise (this is in addition to the asset from Face Morph). You must apply a separate level of Effort to be able to impersonate a different species (such as a human morphing into a humanoid alien). Action. (CTS, 49)

  • Bolt Rider (4 Intellect points): You can move a long distance from one location to another almost instantaneously, carried by a bolt of lightning. You must be able to see the new location, and there must be no intervening barriers. Action. (115)

  • Bolts of Power (5+ Intellect points): You blast a fan of lightning out to short range in an arc that is approximately 50 feet (15 m) wide at the end. This discharge inflicts 4 points of damage. If you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than to ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (115)

  • Bolster Illusion (2+ Intellect points): You give one of your visual illusions a limited physical reality that viewers can smell, taste, hear, and feel. This effect is bound to that illusion and acts appropriate to the illusion itself. For example, it can make the illusion of a brick wall feel like brick, the illusion of a person smell like perfume and able to open a door, and the illusion of a fireplace hot to the touch.

    The physical reality provided to your illusion is a level 1 effect with 3 health. If the illusion is used to make attacks, it inflicts only 1 point of damage (whether this is regular damage like an illusory punch or kick, or ambient damage like a falling brick wall or a fireplace's flames). You can increase the level of the created effect by applying levels of Effort to this ability, each level of Effort increasing the effect's level by 1.

    You can activate this ability as part of the action to create an illusion (using whatever ability it is that you use to create illusions, such as Minor Illusion), or use a separate action to apply it to one of your existing illusions. The effect ends if the illusion is destroyed, you let the illusion lapse, the effect's health is reduced to 0, or ten minutes pass. Enabler. (CTS, 51)

  • Boost Manifest Cypher (2 Intellect points): The manifest cypher you activate with your next action functions as if it were 2 levels higher. Action. (CTS, 51)

  • Boost Manifest Cypher Function (4 Intellect points): Add 3 to the functioning level of a manifest cypher that you activate with your next action, or change one aspect of its parameters (range, duration, area, etc.) by up to double or down to one tenth. Action. (CTS, 51)

  • Bouncing Shield: When you use Throw Force Shield, instead of dissipating after one attack (whether it hits or misses), it will attack up to two additional targets within short range. Effort or other modifiers applied to the first attack affect all other targets as well. Whether you hit all, some, or none of your targets, the shield dissipates and then reforms in your grasp. (If you choose Bouncing Shield and have previously taken the Throw Force Shield ability, you have the option to exchange that ability for Healing Pulse.) Enabler. (115)

  • Bound Magic Familiar: You have a magic familiar bound to you through a magical mark on your body (a tattoo, rune, scar, or something as mundane as a freckle or mole). Normally, the familiar remains sleeping in its spiritual form. When you use an action to manifest them, they appear next to you as a creature with a specific form (such as a cat, hawk, homunculus, tiny dragon, or other suitable magical creature) and can communicate with you telepathically. The familiar is friendly toward you but has its own personality determined by the GM.

    The familiar can remain physically manifested for up to one hour, after which they return to their sleeping spiritual form and cannot manifest again until after your next ten-hour recovery roll. While manifested, they accompany you and follow your instructions. The familiar must remain within an immediate distance of you; if they move farther away, they are yanked back into their magical mark at the end of your following turn and cannot return until after your next ten-hour recovery roll. The familiar doesn't make attacks, but they can use their action to grant you an asset for any one attack you make on your turn. Otherwise, they can take actions on their own (though you'll likely roll for them).

    If the familiar is reduced to 0 health, they dissipate into their spiritual form and cannot manifest again until 1d6 + 2 days have passed.

    Action to manifest the familiar. (IOM, 65)

Magic familiar
level 3, Speed defense as level 5 due to size, one knowledge skill as level 4

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Bound Magic Familiar to be a follower.

  • Bound Magic Creature: You have a level 3 magic ally bound to a physical object (perhaps a minor djinn bound to a lamp, a lesser demon bound to a coin, or a spirit bound to a mirror). The magic ally doesn't yet have the full power that one of its kind could possess when mature. Normally, the ally remains quiescent in its bound object. When you use an action to manifest it, it appears next to you as a creature that can converse with you. The creature has its own personality determined by the GM and is a level higher than its base level for one area of knowledge (such as local history). The GM determines whether the magic ally has a long-term goal of its own.

    Each time the magic ally becomes physically manifest, it remains so for up to one hour. During that period, it accompanies you and follows your instructions. The magic ally must remain an immediate distance from you; if it moves farther away, it is yanked back into its object at the end of your following turn and cannot return until after your next ten-hour recovery roll. It doesn't attack creatures, but it can use its action to serve as an asset for any one attack you make on your turn. Otherwise, it can take actions on its own (though you'll likely roll for it).

    If the creature is reduced to 0 health, it dissipates. It reforms in its object in 1d6 + 2 days.

    If you lose the bound object, you retain a sense of the direction in which it lies. Action to manifest the magic creature. (115)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a magic ally to be a follower.

  • Brainwashing (6+ Intellect points): You use trickery, well-spoken lies, and mind-affecting chemicals (or other means, like magic or high technology) to make others temporarily do what you want them to do. You control the actions of another creature you touch. This effect lasts for one minute. The target must be level 3 or lower. You can allow it to act freely or override its control on a case-by-case basis as long as you can see it. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target or increase the duration by one minute. Thus, to control the mind of a level 6 target (three levels above the normal limit) or control a target for four minutes (three minutes above the normal duration), you must apply three levels of Effort. When the duration ends, the creature doesn't remember being controlled or anything it did while under your influence. Action to initiate. (116)

  • Break the Line (4 Intellect points): You have an eye for group discipline and hierarchy, even among your foes. If a group of foes is gaining any kind of benefit from working together, you can attempt to disrupt that benefit by pointing out the weak spot in the enemy's line, formation, or swarm attack. This effect lasts for up to a minute or until all the affected foes spend a round assessing and resetting themselves to regain their normal advantage. Action to initiate. (116)

  • Break the Ranks (6 Speed points): You move up to a short distance and attack up to four different foes as a single action as long as they are all along your path. Any modifiers that apply to one attack apply to all the attacks you make. If you have another special ability that allows you to move and take an action, when you use Break the Ranks, you gain an asset to attacking these foes. Action. (116)

  • Break Their Mind (7+ Intellect points): Using your clever words and knowledge of others, and given a couple of rounds of conversation to gain a few specific pieces of context regarding your target, you can utter a sentence designed to cause your target immediate psychological distress. If the target can hear and understand you, it suffers 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and forgets the last day of its life, which might mean it forgets you and how it came to be where it currently is. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to attempt to break the mind of one additional target who can hear and understand you. Action to initiate, action to complete. (116)

  • Breaker: You are trained in tasks related to damaging objects with the goal of breaking, piercing, or demolishing them. It is a Might action to damage an object, and on a success, the object moves one step down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeds the difficulty by two steps, the object instead moves two steps down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeds the difficulty by four steps, the object moves three steps down the object damage track and is immediately destroyed. Brittle material reduces the effective level of the object, while hard material like wood or stone adds 1 to the effective level or 2 for very hard objects like those made of metal. Enabler. (116)

  • Brute Strike (4 Might points): You deal 4 additional points of damage with all melee attacks until the end of the next round. Enabler. (116)

  • Buddy System (3 Intellect points): Choose one character standing next to you. That character becomes your buddy for ten minutes. You are trained in all tasks involving finding, healing, interacting with, and protecting your buddy. Also, while you stand next to your buddy, both of you have an asset on Speed defense tasks. You can have only one buddy at a time. Action to initiate. (116)

  • Built-in Weaponry: Biomechanical implants, a magical jewel fused to your forehead, or something just as wild now provides you with inherent weaponry. This allows you to fire a blast of energy up to long range that inflicts 5 points of damage. There is no cost for you to use this ability. Action. (116)

  • Bullet Jaunt (5 Intellect points): Every Spell Bullet you fire leaves a faint path of magic that you can see and follow. Choose the path of one Spell Bullet within long range that you fired in the past minute; you instantly teleport to any place you want along its path. Alternatively, you can use Spell Bullet to conjure a standard bullet, fire it at a target within gun range, and jaunt as part of the action of firing the bullet. Action to teleport along an existing path or to fire a bullet and teleport along its path. (IOM, 47)

  • Burning Light (3 Intellect points): You send a beam of light at a creature within long range and then tighten the beam until it burns, inflicting 5 points of damage. Action. (116)

  • Burst of Escape (5 Speed points): You can take two separate actions this round, as long as one of them is to hide or to move in a direction that is not toward a foe. Enabler. (116)

  • Bypass Barrier (6+ Intellect points): You get past a door, force field, or other barrier up to 3 feet (1 m) thick that is blocking your way. Depending on the barrier, this might involve finding a weak spot you can push through, pressing the right button by luck, just breaking through, or even weirder explanations like touching a thin place between dimensions or an unexpected interaction with your equipment. The difficulty of the task is the level of the barrier. This ability allows you alone to pass through, not anyone else, and the way through closes at the end of your turn (which might mean you're trapped on the far side). You have an asset in any attempts to get through it again. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum thickness of the barrier, each level adding 3 feet (1 m). Action. (116)

Abilities—C

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 117)

  • Call Dead Spirit (6 Intellect points): At your touch, the remains of a creature dead no longer than seven days appears as a manifest (and apparently physical) spirit, whose level is the same as it had in life. The raised spirit persists for up to a day (or less, if it accomplishes something important to it before then), after which it fades away and cannot return again.

    The raised spirit remembers everything it knew in life and possesses most of its previous abilities (though not necessarily its equipment). In addition, it gains the ability to become insubstantial as an action for up to a minute at a time. The raised spirit is not beholden to you, and it does not need to stay near you to remain manifest. Action to initiate. (117)

  • Call in Favor (4 Intellect points): A guard, doctor, technician, or hired thug in the employ of or allied with a foe is secretly your ally or owes you a favor. When you call in the favor, the target does what they can to help you out of a specific fix (unties you, slips you a knife, leaves a cell door unlocked) in a way that minimizes their risk of revealing their divided loyalties to their employer or other allies. This ability is a difficulty 3 Intellect task. Each additional time you use this ability, the task is hindered by an additional step. The difficulty returns to 3 after you rest for ten hours. Action. (117)

  • Call Otherworldly Spirit (6 Intellect points): You summon a spirit creature that manifests for up to a day (or less, if it accomplishes something important to it before then), after which it fades away and cannot be summoned again. The spirit is a creature of level 6 or lower, and it can be substantial or insubstantial as it wishes (using an action to change). The spirit is not beholden to you, and it does not need to stay near you to remain manifest. Action to initiate. (117)

  • Call the Storm (7+ Intellect points): If you are outside or in a location that has a ceiling at least 300 feet (90 m) above the floor, you summon a boiling layer of lightning-lit, rumbling clouds up to 1,500 feet (460 m) in diameter for ten minutes. During daylight hours, natural illumination beneath the storm is reduced to dim light. While the storm rages, you can use an action to send a lightning bolt from the cloud to attack a target you can see directly, inflicting 4 points of damage (you can spend Effort normally on each individual lightning bolt attack). Three actions to initiate; action to call down a lightning strike. (117)

  • Call Swarm (4 Intellect points): If you're in a location where it's possible for the creatures from your Influence Swarm ability to come, you call a swarm of them for one hour. During this hour, they do as you telepathically command as long as they are within long range. They can swarm about and hinder any or all opponents' tasks. While the creatures are in long range, you can speak to them telepathically and perceive through their senses. Action to initiate. (118)

  • Call Through Time (6+ Intellect points): You call a creature or person of up to level 3 from the recent past, and it appears next to you. You can choose a creature that you've previously encountered (even if it is now dead), or (no more than once per day) you can allow the GM to determine the creature randomly. If you call a random creature, it has a 10 percent chance of being a creature of up to level 5. The creature has no memory of anything before being called by you, though it can speak and has the general knowledge a creature of its type should possess. The time-shifted creature does your bidding for as long as you concentrate on it, but you must use your action each turn to direct it; otherwise it returns to the past.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to call a more powerful creature; each level of Effort used in this way increases the creature's level by 1. For example, applying one level of Effort calls a specific creature of up to level 4 or a random creature with a 10 percent chance of being up to level 6. Action. (118)

  • Calm (3 Intellect points): Through jokes, song, or other art, you prevent a living foe from attacking anyone or anything for one round. Action. (118)

  • Calm Stranger (2+ Intellect points): You can cause one intelligent creature to remain calm as you speak. The creature doesn't need to speak your language, but it must be able to see you. It remains calm as long as you focus all your attention on it and it is not attacked or otherwise threatened. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to calm additional creatures allied with your initial target, one additional creature per level of Effort applied. Action. (118)

  • Capable Warrior: Your attacks deal 1 additional point of damage. Enabler. (118)

  • Captivate or Inspire: You can use this ability in one of two ways. Either your words keep the attention of all NPCs that hear them for as long as you speak, or your words inspire all NPCs that hear them to function as if they were one level higher for the next hour. In either case, you choose which NPCs are affected. If anyone in the crowd is attacked while you're trying to speak to them, you lose the crowd's attention. Action to initiate. (118)

  • Captivate With Starshine: For as long as you speak, you keep the attention of all level 2 or lower NPCs who can hear you. If you also have the Enthrall ability, you can similarly captivate all level 3 NPCs. Action to initiate. (118)

  • Car Magic (3+ Intellect points): You can alter a magical ability you cast so it also affects the vehicle you're driving, as if it were a part of you. For example, if you're driving and you cast Hover on yourself, you and the car begin to float; if you cast Invisibility on yourself, you and the car turn invisible. Spells cast on a car this way tend to last only a few rounds before expiring (although the spell still lasts its full duration on you). The cost of Car Magic is added to the cost of the spell you're casting. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect other creatures within the car; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to two additional creatures in the car. Enabler. (IOM, 53)

The main reason to cast Hover on a moving car is to make awesome-looking jumps that would be impossible without ramps, magic, or Hollywood special effects.

  • Car Surfer: You can stand or move about on a moving vehicle (such as on the hood, on the roof, in the open door well, etc.) with a reasonable expectation of not falling off. Unless the vehicle veers sharply, stops suddenly, or otherwise engages in extreme maneuvers, standing or moving about on a moving vehicle is a routine task for you. If the vehicle engages in extreme maneuvers like those described, any tasks to remain on the vehicle's surface are eased. Enabler. (118)

  • Careful Aim: You are trained in attacks with all weapons that you throw. Enabler. (118)

  • Careful Shot: You can spend points from either your Speed Pool or your Intellect Pool to apply levels of Effort to increase your gun damage. Each level of Effort adds 3 points of damage to a successful attack, and if you spend a turn lining up your shot, each level of Effort instead adds 5 points of damage to a successful attack. Enabler. (118)

  • Careful Tracker: You are trained in stealth and tracking tasks. Enabler. (RR, 122)

  • Cast Illusion: You can increase the range at which you create and maintain your immediate-range illusions (such as from Minor Illusion) to anywhere within short range that you can perceive. Enabler. (118)

  • Castigate (4 Intellect points): You intimidate any opponent within long range who understands speech (even if it is not your language) so much that they lose their next action and all the rest of their actions are hindered for one minute. Each additional time you attempt this ability against the same target, you must apply one more level of Effort than you applied on the previous attempt. Action. (118)

  • Celebrity Talent: You are trained in two of the following areas: writing, journalism, a particular style of art, a particular sport, chess, science communication, acting, news presentation, or some related noncombat skill that led to your celebrity. Enabler. (119)

  • Center of Attention (5 Intellect points): A literal (or metaphorical, depending on the genre) beam of pure radiance descends from on high and spotlights you. All creatures you choose within immediate range fall to their knees and lose their next action. Affected targets cannot defend themselves and are treated as helpless. Action. (119)

  • Chamber of Dreams (8 Intellect points): You and your allies can step into a chamber of dreams, decorated as you wish, that contains a number of doors. The doors correspond with other locations that you have visited or know reasonably well. Stepping through one of the doors delivers you to the desired location. This is a difficulty 2 Intellect-based task (which could be modified upward by the GM if the location is warded). Action to step into chamber of dreams; action to move through a door in the chamber. (119)

  • Change the Paradigm (6+ Intellect points): You sway the worldview of a creature you spend at least one round speaking to, as long as it can understand you. The creature changes its mind on a significant belief, which could include something as straightforward as helping you instead of trying to kill you, or it could be something more esoteric. This effect lasts for at least ten minutes, but it can last longer if the creature wasn't previously your foe. During this time, the creature takes actions in accordance with the wisdom you have imparted to it. The target must be level 2 or lower. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target by one for each level of Effort applied. Action to initiate. (119)

  • Charge (1+ Intellect points): You can charge an artifact or other device (except a cypher) so that it can be used once. The cost is 1 Intellect point plus 1 point per level of the device. Action. (119)

  • Charge Weapon (2+ Intellect points): As part of making an attack with your Enchanted Weapon, you charge it with magical power, inflicting 2 additional points of energy damage. If you make more than one attack on your turn, you choose whether to spend the cost for this ability before you make each attack. Enabler. (GF, 29)(CTS, 51)

  • Charging Horde (7 Might points): You and two or more of your followers next to you can act like a single creature to make a charge attack. When you do, all of you move up to a short distance, during which time you can attack anything that comes within immediate range along your path with an asset to the attack. Targets that take damage take an additional 3 points and are knocked prone. Action. (119)

  • Charm Machine (2 Intellect points): You convince an unintelligent machine to "like" you. A machine that likes you is 50 percent less likely to function if said function would cause you harm. Thus, if a foe attempts to detonate a bomb near you controlled by a detonator that likes you, there is a 50 percent chance that it won't explode. Action to initiate. (119)

  • Check Status (0+ Intellect points): You can telepathically reach out to up to ten creatures known to you, no matter where they are. The individual creatures must be willing and able to communicate. You immediately know their current status—eating, driving, sleeping, angry, injured, fine, great, frightened, worried, and so on, generally in the form of a short sentence or a few words.

    These creatures don't have to share anything they don't want to, including acknowledging that you checked on them, but they can't lie through this connection. For example, one person might let you know that they're upset, but that doesn't mean you know why (they're dealing with a recent breakup) or what they're doing about it (drinking to cope).

    You automatically succeed at using this ability; no roll is required. Only you receive the status information. Other people affected by the spell do not get a sense of each other's statuses, nor do they know who else you're checking on.

    If you spend 5 Intellect points, you can check on twenty creatures at once, and for every 1 Intellect point you spend above that, you can check on an additional ten creatures. Action. (IOM, 71)

Check Status sort of operates like checking a person's current status on a social media platform; some versions of the spell convey information only as emojis instead of words. Some people become addicted to checking on the status of their friends, much like people get addicted to scrolling through social media.

  • Cloak of Opportunity (5 Intellect points): You set small objects from the environment (rocks, broken items, clumps of dirt, and so on) swirling about you for up to ten minutes, which grants you +2 Armor. Action to initiate. (119)

  • Closed Mind: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and have +2 Armor against damage that selectively targets your Intellect Pool (which normally ignores Armor). Enabler. (119)

  • Cloud Personal Memories (3 Intellect points): If you interact with or study a target for at least a round, you gain a sense of how its mind works, which you can use against it in the most blunt fashion possible. You can attempt to confuse it and make it forget what's just happened. On a success, you erase up to the last five minutes of its memory. Action to prepare; action to initiate. (119)

  • Coaxing Power (2 Intellect points): You boost the power or function of a machine so that it operates at one level higher than normal for one hour. Action to initiate. (119)

  • Cognizant Offense: During combat, your brain shifts into a sort of battle mode where all potential attacks you could make are plotted on vector graphs in your mind's eye, which always provides the best option. Your attacks are eased. Enabler. (119)

  • Cold Burst (5+ Intellect points): You emit a burst of cold in all directions, up to short range. All within the burst (except you) take 5 points of damage. If you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than to ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (119)

  • Colossal: When you use Enlarge, you can choose to grow up to a base height of 60 feet (18 m). When you do, you add 5 more temporary points to your Might Pool (plus any from Gargantuan and Bigger), and you deal an additional 2 points of damage with melee attacks (plus any from your Huge ability). For each level of Effort you apply to increase your height further, your total height increases by 10 feet (3 m), and you add 1 more point to your Might Pool. Thus, the first time you use Enlarge after a ten-hour recovery roll, if you apply two levels of Effort, your base height is 80 feet (24 m), and you add a total of 17 temporary points to your Might Pool. Enabler. (120)

  • Combat Challenge: All attempted tasks that draw an attack to yourself (and away from someone else) are eased by two steps. Enabler. (120)

  • Combat Prowess: You add +1 damage to one type of weapon attack of your choice: melee weapon attacks or ranged weapon attacks. Enabler. (120)

  • Comfort and Encouragement (2+ Intellect points): You speak to a non-hostile creature within short range, telling them exactly what they need to hear to have a better day. You don't know what these words are until you say them, but you know they will help the creature's attitude. If the creature spends a round or two thinking about what you said, they gain an asset on one task of their choosing within one hour. Alternatively, if the creature has an ongoing penalty to tasks (such as having a hangover, sadness from a recent fight with their romantic partner, an injury, or a stressful situation at work), they can ignore that penalty for the next hour. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect more creatures; each level of Effort affects one additional creature. Action to initiate; up to one minute to complete. (IOM, 71)

  • Command (3 Intellect points): Through sheer force of will, you can issue a simple imperative command to a single living creature, who then attempts to carry out your command as its next action. The creature must be within short range and able to understand you. The command can't inflict direct harm on the creature or its allies, so "Commit suicide" won't work, but "Flee" might. In addition, the command can require the creature to take only one action, so "Unlock the door" might work, but "Unlock the door and run through it" won't. A commanded creature can still defend itself normally and return an attack if one is made on it. If you possess another ability that allows you to command a creature, you can target two creatures at once as your base effect if you use either ability. Action. (120)

  • Command Beast (3+ Intellect points): You can command a nonhostile, nonhuman beast (such as one that you've made calm with Soothe the Savage) of up to level 3 within short range. If you are successful, for the next minute the beast follows your verbal commands to the best of its understanding and ability. The GM has final say over what counts as a nonhuman beast, but unless some kind of deception is at work, you should know whether you can affect a creature before you attempt to use this ability on it. Aliens, extradimensional entities, very intelligent creatures, and robots never count.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to command a level 5 beast (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Action to initiate. (Errata)

  • Command Machine (4 Intellect points): If you've charmed an unintelligent machine or have spoken telepathically with an intelligent machine, you can attempt to command it to take one action within its capabilities on its next turn. (If you use this ability to command an intelligent machine, it likely becomes hostile to you afterward.) Action. (120)

  • Command Metal (5 Intellect points): You reshape a metallic item as you desire. The item must be within sight and within short range, and its mass can be no greater than your own. You can affect multiple items at once as long as their combined mass falls within these limits. You can fuse multiple items together. You can use this power to destroy a metal object (as the Destroy Metal ability), or you can craft it into another desired shape (crudely, unless you have the proper crafting skills). You can then move the new object anywhere within range. For example, you could take a few metal shields, fuse them together, and use the resulting shape to block a doorway. You can use this ability to make an attack—causing a foe's armor to constrict, rendering a metal item into shards that you fling across the battlefield, and so on—against one target within short range. Regardless of the form of the attack, it is an Intellect action that deals 7 points of damage. Action. (120)

  • Command Spirit (3 Intellect points): You can command a spirit or animated dead creature of up to level 5 within short range. If you are successful, the target cannot attack you for one minute, during which time it follows your verbal commands if it can hear and understand you. Action to initiate. (121)

  • Communication (2 Intellect points): You can convey a basic concept to a creature that normally can't speak or understand speech. The creature can also give you a very basic answer to a simple question. Action. (121)

  • Community Activist: When speaking to others in a community you have a strong connection to, you are trained in persuasion and intimidation tasks about topics that directly relate to the community. Enabler. (121)

  • Community Knowledge (2 Intellect points): If you've invested yourself in a community and have spent at least a few months living there, you can learn things about it through a variety of methods. Sometimes contacts slip the information to you. Other times, you're able to draw conclusions simply by what you can see and hear. When you use this ability, you can ask the GM one question about the community and get a very short answer. Action. (121)

  • Computer Programming: You are trained in using (and exploiting) computer software, you know one or more computer languages well enough to write basic programs, and you are fluent in internet protocol. Enabler.

  • Concussion (7 Intellect points): You cause a pulse of concussive force to explode out from a point you choose within long range. The pulse extends up to short range in all directions, dealing 5 points of damage to everything in the area. Even if you fail the attack roll, targets in the area take 1 point of damage. Action. (121)

  • Concussive Blast (2 Intellect points): You release a beam of pure force that smashes into a creature within short range, inflicting 5 points of damage and moving it back an immediate distance. Action. (121)

  • Confidence Artist: When you're hacking into a computer system, running a con, picking a pocket, fooling or tricking a dupe, sneaking something by a guard, and so on, you gain an asset on the task. Enabler. (121)

  • Confounding Banter (4 Intellect points): You spew a stream of nonsense to distract a foe within immediate range. On a successful Intellect roll, your defense roll against the creature's next attack before the end of the next round is eased. Action. (121)

  • Confuse Enemy (4 Intellect points): Through a clever bit of misdirection involving a flourish of your coat, ducking at just the right moment, or a similar stratagem, you can attempt to redirect a physical melee attack that would otherwise hit you. When you do, the misdirected attack hits another creature you choose within immediate range of both you and the attacking foe. This ability is a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Enabler. (121)

  • Conjuration (7 Intellect points): You produce, as if from thin air, a level 5 creature of a kind you have previously encountered. The creature remains for one minute and then returns home. While present, the creature acts as you direct, but this requires no action on your part. Action. (121)

  • Connected: You know people who get things done—not just respected people in positions of authority, but also a variety of online hackers and regular street criminals. These people are not necessarily your friends and might not be trustworthy, but they owe you a favor. You and the GM should work out the details of your contacts. Enabler. (121)

  • Continuous Transfer: When you use either Drain Creature or Tap Currents to drain energy, you can transfer it to another creature within short range, restoring points to their Might or Speed Pools (or health for an NPC). This occurs seamlessly, as part of the same action. Enabler. (IOM, 59)

  • Contortionist (2 Speed points): You can wriggle free from bindings or squeeze through a tight spot. You are trained in escaping. When you use an action to escape or move through a tight area, you can immediately use another action. You may use this action only to move. Enabler. (121)

  • Control the Field (1 Might point): This melee attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal, and regardless of whether you hit the target, you maneuver it into a position you desire within immediate range. Action. (121)

  • Control Machine (6 Intellect points): You can attempt to control the functions of any machine, intelligent or otherwise, within short range for ten minutes. Action. (121)

  • Control the Savage (6 Intellect points): You can control a calm nonhuman beast within 30 feet (9 m). You control it for as long as you focus all your attention on it, using your turn each round. The GM has final say over what counts as a nonhuman beast, but unless some kind of deception is at work, you should know whether you can affect a creature before you attempt to use this ability on it. Aliens, extradimensional entities, very intelligent creatures, and robots never count. Action. (122)

  • Control Swarm (2 Intellect points): Your swarm creatures from your Influence Swarm ability within short range do as you telepathically command for ten minutes. Even common insects (level 0) in large enough numbers can swarm about a single creature and hinder its tasks. Action to initiate. (122)

  • Control Weather (10 Intellect points): You change the weather in your general region. If performed indoors, this creates minor effects, such as mist, mild temperature changes, and so on. If performed outside, you can create rain, fog, snow, wind, or any other kind of normal (not overly severe) weather. The change lasts for a natural length of time so that a storm might last for an hour, fog for two or three hours, and snow for a few hours (or for ten minutes if it's out of season). For the first ten minutes after activating this ability, you can create more dramatic and specific effects, such as lightning strikes, giant hailstones, twisters, hurricane-force winds, and so on. These effects must occur within 1,000 feet (300 m) of your location. You must spend your turn concentrating to create an effect or maintain it in a new round. These effects inflict 6 points of damage each round. If you have this ability from another source, the cost for the ability is 7 Intellect points instead of 10. If you already have the Storm Seed ability, you can immediately replace it with a new ability of the same tier. Action to initiate. (122)

  • Controlled Change: You can try to use your Beast Form ability to change into your beast form on any night you wish (a difficulty 3 Intellect task). Any transformations you make using this power are in addition to the five nights per month that you change involuntarily. Action to change. (122)

  • Controlled Fall: When you fall while you are able to use actions and within reach of a vertical surface, you can attempt to slow your fall. Make a Speed roll with a difficulty of 1 for every 20 feet (6 m) you fall. On a success, you take half damage from the fall. If you reduce the difficulty to 0, you take no damage. Enabler. (122)

  • Coordinated Effort (3 Intellect points): When you and the duplicate from your Duplicate ability would attack the same creature, you can choose to make one attack roll with an asset. If you hit, you inflict damage with both attacks and treat the attacks as if they were one attack for the purpose of subtracting Armor from the damage. Action. (122)

  • Copy Power (2+ Intellect points): You can copy someone else's superpower for an hour, performing it as if it were natural for you. Within the past hour you must have touched the creature whose power you want to copy (an attack roll) and must have seen that ability used by them. Choose the power you want to copy, and the GM chooses an appropriate low-tier ability that most closely resembles that power. For example, if you're battling a supervillain who can create blasts of force, if you copy that ability, you gain a low-tier ability that creates a blast of force.

    In addition to the point cost of Copy Power, you must pay the Might, Speed, or Intellect cost (if any) of the equivalent ability that the GM chose. For example, if you want to copy a supervillain's force blast, the GM will probably decide that's equivalent to Onslaught, so you'd pay 2 Intellect points to activate Copy Power and 1 Intellect point to use Onslaught.

    You can copy only one power at a time; copying another one ends any other power you're copying with this ability.

    Copy Power doesn't copy effects of a power that permanently adds points to your Pools, such as Enhanced Body.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to copy an ability you saw longer than one hour ago; each level of Effort used in this way extends the time period by one hour. Action. (CTS, 51)

  • Counter Danger (4 Intellect points): You negate a source of potential danger related to one creature or object within immediate distance for one minute (instead of one round, as with Foil Danger). This could be a weapon or device held by someone, a creature's natural ability, or a trap triggered by a pressure plate. You can also try to counter an action (like moving or making a conventional mundane attack with a weapon, a claw, etc.). Action. (122)

Using Counter Danger is usually a matter of the character applying quick thinking in the face of immediate danger. The ability doesn't rely on supernatural means, but rather a practical act.

  • Countercharm (5 Intellect points): If you are affected by an unwanted ongoing magical condition or affliction (such as a curse, paralysis spell, withering hex, and so on) that gives you additional rolls to end it early, your rolls to end it early are eased by two steps until you break free. Enabler. (IOM, 49)

  • Countermeasures (4 Intellect points): You immediately end one ongoing effect (such as an effect created by a character ability) within immediate range. Alternatively, you can use this as a defense action to cancel any incoming ability targeted at you, or you can cancel any device or the effect of any device for 1d6 rounds. You must touch the effect or device to cancel it. Action. (122)

  • Courageous: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and initiative tasks. Enabler. (122)

  • Crafter: You are trained in the crafting of two kinds of items. Enabler. (122)

  • Create (7 Intellect points): You create something from nothing. You can create any item you choose that would ordinarily have a difficulty of 5 or lower (using the crafting rules). Once created, the item lasts for a number of hours equal to 6 minus the difficulty to create it. Thus, if you create a set of sturdy manacles (difficulty 5), it would last for one hour. Action. (122)

  • Create Deadly Poison (3+ Intellect points): You create one dose of a level 2 poison that either inflicts 5 points of damage or hinders the poisoned creature's actions for ten minutes (your choice each time you create the poison). You can apply this poison to a weapon, food, or drink as part of the action of creating it. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the level of the poison; each level of Effort used in this way increases the poison level by 1. If unused, the poison loses its potency after one hour. Action. (123)

  • Create Water (2 Intellect points): You cause water to bubble up from a spot on the ground you can see. The water flows from that spot for one minute, creating about 1 gallon (4 liters) by the time it stops. Action to initiate. (123)

  • Creature Insight (3 Intellect points): When examining any nonhuman creature, you can ask the GM one question to gain an idea of its level, its capabilities, what it eats, what motivates it, what its weaknesses are (if any), how it can be repaired, or any other similar query. This is for difficult or strange creatures beyond those readily identified by using skills. Action. (123)

  • Critter Companion: A level 1 creature accompanies you and follows your instructions. This creature is no larger than a large cat (about 20 pounds, or 9 kg) and is normally some sort of domesticated species. You and the GM must work out the details of your creature, and you'll probably make rolls for it in combat or when it takes actions. The critter companion acts on your turn. As a level 1 creature, it has a target number of 3 and 3 health, and it inflicts 1 point of damage. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on). If your critter companion dies, you can search an urban or wild environment for 1d6 days to find a new one. Enabler. (123)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Critter Companion to be a follower.

  • Critter Telekinesis (1 Intellect point): You telekinetically move a small creature (no larger than a medium dog) an immediate distance in any direction you wish. You must be able to see the creature, which must be your size or smaller, must not be affixed to anything, and must be within short range. The creature safely arrives at your chosen location without any residual force. If the creature knows you and you have a free hand, you can automatically grab the creature as part of the action of using this ability. This ability lacks the fine control to move anything with much speed, so in most situations, it's used to reposition an animal (such as a pet) out of a dangerous or inconvenient location. For example, you could safely pull a scared cat out from under a bed, retrieve a puppy from a storm drain, or relocate a wild bird that got inside your house. Action. (IOM, 66)

  • Crowd Control (6+ Intellect points): You control the actions of up to five creatures in short range. This effect lasts for one minute. All targets must be level 2 or lower. Your control is limited to simple verbal commands like "Stop," "Run away," "Follow that guard," "Look over there," or "Get out of my way." All affected creatures respond to the command unless you specifically command them otherwise. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the targets or affect an additional five people. Thus, to control a group that has a level 4 target (two levels above the normal limit) or a group of fifteen people, you must apply two levels of Effort. When the Crowd Control ability ends, the creatures remember your commands but don't remember being controlled—your commands seemed reasonable at the time. Action to initiate. (123)

  • Crushing Blow (2 Might points): When you use a bashing or bladed weapon in both hands and apply Effort on the attack, you get a free level of Effort on the damage. (If fighting unarmed, this attack is made with both fists or both feet together.) Action. (123)

Editor's Notes — Crushing Blow grants a free level of Effort to damage, provided the PC uses at least one level of Effort to ease the attack, and pays 2 Might points to use the ability—the same cost as using another level of Effort. Effectively, this ability allows the PC to exceed their Effort score in one way: dealing damage with weapon attacks. This is a powerful ability at lower tiers, but when reaching higher tiers, this ability might be best exchanged for a different low-tier Warrior ability. This ability also would have no place in games using optional rules like Ultimate Damage.

  • Crystal Lens: You can focus the inherent energy surging through you from your Crystalline Body ability. This allows you to fire a blast of energy that inflicts 5 points of damage on a target within very long range. Action. (123)

  • Crystalline Body: You are composed of animate, translucent crystal the color of amber. Work with your GM to decide your exact form, though it is likely about the shape and size of a humanoid. Your crystal body grants you +2 to Armor and +4 to your Might Pool. However, you're not quick and your Speed defense tasks are hindered. Certain conditions, like mundane diseases and poisons, do not affect you. Your crystalline body repairs itself more slowly than a body of living flesh would. You have only the one-round, one-hour, and ten-hour recovery rolls available each day; you do not have a ten-minute recovery roll available. Any ability you have that requires a ten-minute recovery roll instead requires a one-hour recovery roll. Enabler. (123)

  • Curious: You're always curious about your surroundings, even on a subconscious level. Whenever you use Effort to attempt navigation, perception, or initiative tasks in an area that you've only rarely or never visited before, you can apply an additional free level of Effort. Enabler. (123)

  • Cutting Light (2 Intellect points): You emit a thin beam of energized light from your hand. This inflicts 5 points of damage to a single foe in immediate range. The beam is even more effective against immobile, nonliving targets, slicing up to 1 foot (30 cm) of any material that is level 6 or lower. The material can be up to 1 foot thick. Action. (123)

  • Cypher Casting: You can cast any of your subtle cyphers on another creature instead of yourself. You must touch the creature to affect it. Enabler. (GF, 29)

  • Cypher Surge: When you use a subtle cyphers spell, as part of that action you can expend one other subtle cypher. Instead of the second cypher's normal effect, you add one free level of Effort to the first cypher spell. Enabler. (GF, 29)

  • Cyphersmith: All manifest cyphers you use function at one level higher than normal. If given a week and the right tools, chemicals, and parts, you can tinker with one of your manifest cyphers, transforming it into another cypher of the same type that you had in the past. The GM and player should collaborate to ensure that the transformation is logical—for example, you probably can't transform a pill into a helmet. Enabler. (124)

Cyphersmith works only in a setting where the cyphers are physical objects. If this isn't the case, this ability should probably be replaced with something akin to Weird Science Breakthrough from the Conducts Weird Science focus.

Abilities—D

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 124)

  • Damage Dealer: You inflict an additional 3 points of damage with your chosen weapon. Enabler. (124)

  • Damage Transference: When you or your duplicate (from the Duplicate ability) would take damage, you can transfer 1 point of damage from one to the other provided that you and your duplicate are within 1 mile (1.5 km) of each other. Enabler. (124)

  • Damn the Guilty (3 Intellect points): You speak words of revelation and judgment to everyone within close range. Those whom you have designated as guilty with your Designation ability take an additional 3 points of damage from any attack they receive from anyone who heard your judgment. This judgment lasts for up to one minute or until they move at least a long distance away from you. Action. (124)

  • Danger Instinct (3 Speed points): If you are attacked by surprise, whether by a creature, a device, or simply an environmental hazard (a tree falling on you), you can move an immediate distance before the attack occurs. If moving prevents the attack, you are safe. If the attack can still potentially affect you—if the attacking creature can move to keep pace, if the attack fills an area too big to escape, etc. —the ability offers no benefit. Enabler. (124)

  • Danger Sense (1 Speed point): Your initiative task is eased. You pay the cost each time the ability is used. Enabler. (124)

  • Dark Explorer: You ignore penalties for any action (including fighting) in extremely dim light or in cramped spaces. If you also have the Eyes Adjusted ability, you can act without penalty even in total darkness. You are trained in sneaking tasks while in dim or no light. Enabler. (124)

  • Dark Matter Shell (5 Intellect points): For the next minute, you cover yourself with a shell of dark matter. Your appearance becomes a dark silhouette, and you gain an asset to sneaking tasks and gain +1 to your Armor. The dark matter shell works seamlessly with your desires, and if you apply a level of Effort to any physical task while the shell persists, you can apply an additional free level of Effort to that same task. Action to initiate. (124)

  • Dark Matter Shroud (4 Intellect points): Ribbons of dark matter condense and swirl about you for up to one minute. This shroud eases your Speed defense tasks, inflicts 2 points of damage to anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack, and gives you +1 Armor. Action to initiate. (124)

  • Dark Matter Strike (4 Intellect points): When you attack a foe within long range, dark matter condenses around your target and entangles its limbs, holding it in place and easing your attack by two steps. The ability works for whatever kind of attack you use (melee, ranged, energy, and so on). Enabler.

  • Dark Matter Structure (5 Intellect points): You can form dark matter into a large structure consisting of up to ten 10-foot (3 m) cubes. The structure can be somewhat complex, though everything has the same matte black color from which no light shines. Otherwise, the structure can possess different densities, textures, and capacities. This means it can include windows, doors with locks, furnishings, and even decor, as long as it is all black as pitch. For example, you could shape the dark matter into a large, defensible structure; a sturdy 100-foot (30 m) bridge; or anything similar. The structure is a level 6 creation and lasts for 24 hours. You can't keep more than one such structure solid at any one time. Action. (124)

  • Datajack (1 Intellect point): With computer access, you jack in instantly and learn a bit more about something you can see. You get an asset on a task involving that person or object. Action. (124)

  • Daydream (4 Intellect points): You pull someone into a daydream, substituting a dream of your own creation for the target's reality for up to one minute. You can affect a target within long range that you can see, or a target within 10 miles (16 km) that you have hair or skin clippings from. To all outward appearances, an affected target stands (or lies) unmoving. But inside, the substituted reality (or dream within a dream, if the target was sleeping) is what the target experiences. If the target is under duress, it can attempt another Intellect defense roll each round to break free, though the target may not realize its state. Either the dream unfolds according to a script you prepared when you used this ability, or if you use your own actions (forcing you into a similar state as the target), you can direct the unfolding dream from round to round. Using this ability on a sleeping target eases the initial attack. Action to initiate; if you direct the dream, action to direct per round. (124)

  • Dazing Attack (3 Might points): You hit your foe in just the right spot, dazing them so that tasks they attempt on their next turn are hindered. This attack inflicts normal damage. Action. (125)

  • Dazzling Sunburst (2 Intellect points): You send a barrage of dazzling colors at a creature within short range and, if successful, inflict 2 points of damage on the target. In addition, the creature's attacks are hindered on its next turn, unless the target relies primarily on senses other than sight. Action. (125)

  • Deactivate Mechanisms (5+ Speed points): You make a melee attack that inflicts no damage against a machine. Instead, if the attack hits, make a second Speed-based roll. If successful, a machine of level 3 or lower is deactivated for one minute. For each additional level of Effort applied, you can affect one higher level of machine or you can extend the duration for an additional minute. If you have the Scramble Machine or Disable Mechanisms ability (or an ability that works similarly), when you apply a level of Effort to any of them, you gain an additional free level of Effort. Action. (125)

  • Deadeye: You inflict an additional 6 points of damage with any single-target attack spell cast through a firearm using Spell Bullet. If the attack spell doesn't inflict damage, you instead can modify the spell as if you had applied two levels of Intellect Effort to it. If you have the Iron Eye ability, you can exchange it for Trained Guncasting. Enabler. (IOM, 47)

  • Deadly Aim (3 Speed points): For the next minute, all ranged attacks you make inflict 2 additional points of damage. Action to initiate. (125)

  • Deadly Strike (5 Might points): If you strike a foe of level 3 or lower with a weapon you're practiced with, you kill the target instantly. Action. (125)

  • Deadly Swarm (6 Intellect points): If you're in a location where it's possible for your swarm of creatures from your Influence Swarm ability to come, you call a swarm of them for ten minutes. During this time, they do as you telepathically command as long as they are within long range. They can swarm about and hinder any or all opponents' tasks, or they can focus the swarm and attack all opponents within immediate range of each other (all within long range of you). The attacking swarm inflicts 4 points of damage. While the creatures are in long range, you can speak to them telepathically and perceive through their senses. Action to initiate. (Swarms don't usually have game stats, but if needed, a typical swarm is level 2. Only attacks that affect a large area affect the swarm.) (125)

  • Death Touch (6 Intellect points): You gather disrupting energy in your fingertip and touch a creature. If the target is an NPC or a creature of level 3 or lower, it dies. If the target is a PC of any tier, they move down one step on the damage track. Action. (125)

  • Debate (3 Intellect points): In any gathering of two or more people trying to establish the truth or come to a decision, you can sway the verdict with masterful rhetoric. If you are given one minute or more to argue your point, either the decision goes your way or, if someone else effectively argues a competing point, any associated persuasion or deception task is eased by two steps. Action to initiate; one minute to complete. (126)

  • Debilitating Strike (4 Speed points): You make an attack to deliver a painful or debilitating strike. The attack is hindered. If it hits, the creature takes 2 additional points of damage at the end of the next round, and its attacks are hindered until the end of the next round. Action. (126)

  • Decipher (1 Intellect point): If you spend one minute examining a piece of writing or code in a language you do not understand, you can make an Intellect roll of difficulty 3 (or higher, based on the complexity of the language or code) to get the gist of the message. Action to initiate. (126)

  • Deep Consideration (6 Intellect points): When you develop a plan that involves you and your friends working together to accomplish a goal, you can ask the GM one very general question about what is likely to happen if you carry out the plan, and you will get a simple, brief answer. In addition, all of you gain an asset to one roll related to enacting the plan you developed together, as long as you put the plan into action within a few days of the plan's creation. Action. (126)

  • Deep Reserves: When others are exhausted, you can push through. Once each day, you can transfer up to 5 points among your Pools in any combination, at a rate of 1 point per round. For example, you could transfer 3 points of Might to Speed and 2 points of Intellect to Speed, which would take a total of five rounds. Action. (126)

  • Deep Resources: You gain an additional 6 points to your Speed Pool. Enabler. (126)

  • Deep Water Guide: While underwater, any creature you choose that can see you has an asset on swimming tasks. Enabler. (126)

  • Deer in the Headlights: When you cast an attack spell while driving, you can modify the spell as if you had applied two levels of Intellect Effort to it. Enabler. (IOM, 53)

  • Defend All the Innocent: You protect everyone within immediate range whom you have designated as innocent with your Designation ability. Speed defense rolls made by such creatures gain an asset. Enabler. (126)

  • Defend the Innocent (2 Speed points): For the next ten minutes, if someone you have designated as innocent with the Designation ability stands next to you, that creature shares any defensive advantages that you might have, other than mundane armor. These advantages include the Speed defense from your shield, the Armor offered from a force field, and so on. In addition, Speed defense rolls made by the innocent creature gain an asset. You can protect only one innocent creature at a time. Action to initiate. (126)

  • Defending Weapon: When using your enchanted weapon, you are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (GF, 31)(CTS, 52)

  • Defense Against Robots: You have studied your enemy and are trained in anticipating the actions that a robot or machine is likely to take in a fight. Defense tasks you attempt against these foes are eased. Enabler. (126)

  • Defense Master: Every time you succeed at a Speed defense task, you can make an immediate attack against your foe. (If you have Dodge and Respond, you can exchange that ability for Dodge and Resist.) Your attack must be the same type (melee weapon, ranged weapon, or unarmed) as the attack you defend against. If you don't have an appropriate type of weapon ready, you can't use this ability. Enabler. (127)

  • Defensive Augmentation: By upgrading your nervous and immune systems, you are trained in Might defense and Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (127)

  • Defensive Blinking (4 Intellect points): You enter a heightened reactive state so that when you are struck hard enough to take damage, you teleport an immediate distance in a random direction (not up or down) to help evade the brunt of the attack. Your Speed defense rolls are eased for one minute. Action. (CTS, 52)

  • Defensive Field: Thanks to subdermal implants, a permanent spell, alien modifications, or something similar, you now have a force field that radiates 1 inch (2.5 cm) from your body and provides you with +2 Armor. Enabler. (127)

  • Defensive Phasing (2 Intellect points): You can change your phase so that some attacks pass through you harmlessly. For the next ten minutes, you gain an asset to your Speed defense tasks, but during this time you lose any benefit from armor you wear. Action to initiate. (127)

  • Define Down (4 Intellect points): The natural gravity within an area a short distance across that you are within immediate range of changes directions so that it flows in the direction you determine (up, up and to the south, west, and so on) for a few seconds, then snaps back. Affected targets could be tossed up to 20 feet (6 m) and take a few points of damage. Action. (127)

  • Deflect Attacks (1 Intellect point): Using your mind, you protect yourself from incoming attacks. For the next ten minutes, you are trained in Speed defense tasks. Action to initiate. (127)

  • Defuse Situation: During the course of an investigation, your questions sometimes elicit an angry or even violent response. Through dissembling, verbal distraction, or similar evasion, you prevent a living foe from attacking anyone or anything for one round. Action. (127)

  • Demeanor of Command (2 Intellect points): You project confidence, knowledge, and charisma to all who see you for the next hour. Your demeanor is such that those who see you automatically understand that you are someone important, accomplished, and with authority. When you speak, strangers who are not already attacking give you at least a round to have your say. If speaking to a group that can understand you, you can attempt to have them produce their leader or ask that they take you to their leader. You gain a free level of Effort that can be applied to one persuasion task you attempt during this period. Action to initiate. (127)

  • Designation: You assign an innocent or guilty label to one creature within immediate range, based on your assessment of a given situation or a predominant feeling. In other words, someone who is labeled innocent can be innocent in a certain circumstance, or they can be generally innocent of terrible crimes (such as murder, major theft, and so on). Likewise, you can declare that a creature is guilty of a particular crime or of terrible deeds in general. The accuracy of your assessment isn't important as long as you believe it to be the truth; the GM may require you to give a rationale. Henceforth, your tasks to socially interact with someone you designate as innocent gain an asset, and your attacks against those you designate as guilty gain an asset. You can change your assessment, but it requires another designation action. The benefits of the designation last until you change it or until you are shown proof that it is wrong. Action. (127)

The benefits provided by Designation apply to the character using the ability, their allies, and anyone who hears or is told of their judgment and believes their assessment.

  • Destined for Greatness: You enjoy uncanny luck as if something was watching over you and keeping you from harm. When you would otherwise descend a step on the damage track, make an Intellect defense roll versus the difficulty set by the level of the foe or effect. If you succeed, you do not descend that step. If the step was because you fell to 0 points in a Pool, you are still at 0 points; you just don't suffer the negative effects of being impaired or debilitated. If you would otherwise descend the final step on the damage track to death, a successful defense roll keeps you at 1 point in one Pool, and you remain debilitated. Enabler. (127)

  • Destroy Metal (3 Intellect points): You instantly tear, rip, or burst a metal object that is within sight, within short range, and no bigger than half your size. Attempt an Intellect task to destroy the object; the task is eased by three steps compared to breaking it with brute strength. Action. (127)

  • Destroyer (6 Might points): If you succeed on a Might task to damage an object, instead of descending one step on the object damage track, the object descends all three steps and is destroyed. Action. (127)

  • Detect Life (3+ Might points): You consciously send out a pulse of your life energy. You detect all living creatures within short range, even if they are behind cover, though not if they're behind a force field. When you detect a creature, you detect its general location (to within an immediate range). If you apply two additional levels of Effort, you can increase the range of detection to long. Action. (128)

Editor's Notes — Detct Life has been amended by the editor to correct a double word misprint of "your your".

  • Device Insight (3 Intellect points): When examining any unknown, alien, or high-technology device, you can ask the GM one question to gain an idea of its capabilities, how it functions, how it can be activated or deactivated, what its weaknesses are (if any), how it can be repaired, or any other similar query. This is for difficult or strange things beyond those readily identified by using the appropriate knowledge or technical skill. Action. (128)

  • Devoted Defender (2 Might or Intellect points): Choose one character you can see. That character becomes your ward. You are trained in all tasks involving finding, healing, interacting with, and protecting that character. You can have only one ward at a time. Action to initiate. (128)

  • Diagnose Device (2 Intellect points): You ease by two steps the task to diagnose what's wrong with a human-made electronic or mechanical device or system (such as a computer, clothes dryer, or toilet) that is damaged, malfunctioning, or broken. You must touch the device to diagnose it. Typically a successful roll means that you learn the main problem and its cause. For example, you could learn that a bricked phone is infected with malware, a pipe is clogged with "flushable" wipes, or a rattling engine needs motor oil. This ability is unreliable at best when used on alien, high-technology, or other mysterious devices. Action. (IOM, 73, 75)

  • Diamagnetism: You magnetize any nonmetallic object within short range so that it can be affected by your other magnetic powers. Thus, with Move Metal, you can move any object. With Repel Metal, you are trained in all Speed defense tasks, regardless of whether the incoming attack uses metal. And so on. Enabler. (128)

  • Dimensional Squeeze (2+ Intellect points): You cram yourself into a transitional dimension, allowing you to instantaneously appear anywhere you choose within short range if you have a clear and unobstructed path to that location. You can pass through an intervening barrier if it has an open space that you could easily fit your head through—about 1 square foot (30 cm by 30 cm square). In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to pass through a smaller opening in a barrier; each level of Effort used in this way reduces the minimum opening size by one-fourth. You land safely when you use this ability. Action. (CTS, 52)

Transitional dimension
A dimension where distances are shorter compared to those in other dimensions, so travel through it is faster than normal movement.

  • Dirty Fighter (2 Speed points): You distract, blind, annoy, hamper, or otherwise interfere with a foe, hindering their attacks and defenses for one minute. Action. (128)

  • Disable Mechanisms (3 Speed points): With a keen eye and quick moves, you disrupt some functions of a robot or machine and inflict upon it one of the following maladies:

    • All its tasks are hindered for one minute.
    • Its speed is halved.
    • It can take no action for one round.
    • It deals 2 fewer points of damage (minimum 1 point) for one minute.

    You must touch the robot or machine to disrupt it (if you are making an attack, it inflicts no damage). Action. (128)

  • Disappear (4 Intellect points): You bend light that falls on you so you seem to disappear. You are invisible to other creatures for ten minutes. While invisible, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate or reinitiate. (128)

  • Disarming Attack (5 Speed points): You attempt a Speed task to disarm a foe as part of your melee attack. If you succeed, your attack inflicts 3 additional points of damage and the target's weapon is knocked from their grip, landing up to 20 feet (6 m) away. If you fail, you still attempt your normal attack, but you don't inflict the extra damage or disarm the opponent if you hit. Action. (129)

  • Disarming Strike (3 Speed points): Your attack inflicts 1 point less damage and disarms your foe so that their weapon is now 10 feet (3 m) away on the ground. (If your chosen weapon is a whip, you can instead deposit the disarmed weapon into your hands; if your chosen weapon is a bow or other ranged weapon that fires physical rounds, you can instead "nail" the disarmed weapon to a nearby object or structure. Choosing to do either of these hinders your attack.) Action. (129)

  • Discerning Mind: You have +3 Armor against damaging attacks and damaging effects that target your mind and Intellect. Defense rolls you make against attacks that attempt to confuse, persuade, frighten, or otherwise influence you are eased. Enabler. (129)

  • Discipline of Watchfulness (7 Intellect points): You keep your allies on their toes with occasional questions, jokes, and even mock drills for those who care to join in. After spending 24 hours with you, your allies can apply a free level of Effort to any initiative tasks they attempt. This benefit is ongoing while you remain in the allies' company. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to the allies' company within 24 hours. If you leave the allies' company for more than 24 hours, you must spend another 24 hours together to reactivate the benefit. You must spend the Intellect point cost each 24 hours you wish to keep the benefit active. Enabler. (129)

  • Disguise: You are trained in disguise. You can alter your posture, voice, mannerisms, and hair to look like someone else for as long as you keep up the disguise. However, it is extremely difficult to adopt the appearance of a specific individual without a disguise kit at your disposal. Enabler. (129)

  • Disguise Other (4+ Intellect points): You apply your shapechanging ability to another creature of your size or smaller, giving them a form that you are able to assume. This lasts for about ten minutes.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the duration; one level of Effort increases it to an hour, two increases it to a day. A creature can revert to its normal form as an action, but it cannot then change back into the altered form. Action. (CTS, 52)

You probably can't use Disguise Other to disguise a kind of creature that is very different from you, such as a human disguising a robot, animal, or crystalline alien.

  • Disincentivize (1 Intellect point): You hinder all actions attempted by any number of targets within short range who can understand you. You choose which targets are affected. Affected targets' actions are hindered for one round. Enabler. (129)

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what kind of action Disincentivize enables, or if it can enable any action the PC takes. If the GM agrees, the ability is be an action rather than an enabler, and is treated as an area attack.

  • Dispel Magic (2+ Intellect points): Choose one magical effect within long range. An effect of up to level 3 ends if you succeed on an Intellect-based attack roll against the level of the effect, or against the level of the creature or object the magical effect affects, whichever is higher. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can apply Effort to increase the level of the effect that can potentially be dispelled. Action. (IOM, 75)

  • Disrupting Touch (1+ Might points): You can turn your Phase Sprint into a melee attack by purposefully grazing another creature as you run. When you do, the touch releases a violent blast of energy that inflicts 2 points of damage to the target (ignores Armor). Whether you hit or miss, your movement (and turn) ends immediately, which puts you within immediate distance of your target. If you apply Effort to increase damage rather than to ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); the target takes 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Enabler. (129)

  • Distance Viewing (5 Intellect points): You know that space and distance are illusions. You concentrate to create an invisible, immobile sensor at a location you have previously visited or viewed (at the GM's discretion, you may have to succeed at an Intellect task if the location is warded). The sensor lasts for one hour. Once it is created, you can concentrate to see, hear, and smell through the sensor. It doesn't grant you sensory capabilities beyond the norm. Action to create; action to check. (130)

  • Distant Interface (2 Intellect points): You can activate, deactivate, or control a machine at long range as if you were next to it, even if normally you would have to touch or manually operate it. If you have never interacted with the particular machine before, the task is hindered by two steps. To use this ability, you must understand the function of the machine, it must be your size or smaller, and it can't be connected to another intelligence (or be intelligent itself). Action. (130)

  • Distortion (2 Intellect points): You modify how a willing creature within short range reflects light for one minute. The target rapidly shifts between its normal appearance and a blot of darkness. The target has an asset on Speed defense rolls until the effect wears off. Action to initiate. (130)

  • Diver: You can safely dive into water from heights of up to 100 feet (30 m), and you can withstand pressure when in water as deep as 100 feet. Enabler. (130)

  • Divert Attacks (4 Speed points): For one minute, you automatically deflect or dodge any ranged projectile attacks. However, on your next turn after you're attacked with ranged projectiles, all your other actions are hindered. Action to initiate. (130)

  • Divide Your Mind (7 Intellect points): You split your consciousness into two parts. For one minute, you can take two actions on each of your turns, but only one of them can be to use a special ability. Action. (130)

  • Divine Intervention (2 Intellect points, or 2 Intellect points + 4 XP): You ask the divine to intervene on your behalf, usually against a creature within long range, changing the course of its life in a small way by introducing a major special effect upon it. The major special effect is akin to what occurs when you roll a natural 20 on an attack. If you want to try for a larger effect, and if the GM allows it, you can attempt a divine intervention with a more far-reaching effect, which is more like the kind of GM intrusion initiated by the GM on their players. In this case, Divine Intervention also costs 4 XP, the effect may not work out exactly like you hope, and you may not make another plea for divine intervention for a week. Action. (130)

  • Divine Knowledge: You are trained in all tasks related to knowledge of godly beings. Enabler. (130)

  • Divine Radiance (2 Intellect points): Your prayer calls divine radiance from the heavens to punish an unworthy target within long range, inflicting 4 points of damage. If the target is a demon, spirit, or something similar, it also stands in unwilling awe of the divine energy coursing through it and is unable to act on its next turn. Once exposed to this blessing, the target can't be awed by this attack again for several hours. Action. (130)

  • Divine Symbol (5+ Intellect points): You invoke divine power by scribing a glowing symbol in the air with your fingers. Writhing pillars of divine radiance spear up to five targets within long range. A successful attack on a target inflicts 5 points of damage. If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (131)

  • Do You Know Who I Am? (3 Intellect points): Acting only as someone who is famous and used to privilege can, you verbally harangue a living foe who can hear and understand you so forcefully that it is unable to take any action, including making attacks, for one round. Whether you succeed or fail, the next action the target takes after your attempt is hindered. Action. (131)

  • Dodge and Resist (3 Speed points): You can reroll any of your Might, Speed, or Intellect defense rolls and take the better of the two results. Enabler. (131)

  • Dodge and Respond (3 Might points): If a melee attack misses you, you can immediately make a melee attack in return, but no more than once per turn. Enabler. (131)

  • Double Strike (3 Might points): When you wield two weapons, you can choose to make one attack roll against a foe. If you hit, you inflict damage with both weapons plus 2 additional points of damage, and because you made a single attack, the target's Armor is subtracted only once. Action. (131)

  • Dragon's Maw (6 Intellect points): You fashion and control a "hovering" phantasmal construct of magic within long range that resembles a dragon's head. The construct lasts for up to an hour, until it is destroyed, or until you cast another spell. It is a level 4 construct that inflicts 6 points of damage with its bite when directed. While the construct persists, you can use it to manipulate large objects, carry heavy items in its mouth, or attack foes. If you use it to attack foes, you must use your action to directly control the phantom maw for each attack. Action to initiate. (131)

  • Drain at a Distance: Your Drain Machine and Drain Creature abilities work on a target within short range. Enabler. (131)

  • Drain Charge: You can drain the power from an artifact or device, allowing you to regain 1 Intellect point per level drained. You regain points at the rate of 1 point per round and must give your full concentration to the process each round. The GM determines whether the device is fully drained (likely true of most handheld or smaller devices) or retains some power (likely true of large machines). Action to initiate; action each round to drain. (131)

  • Drain Creature (3+ Intellect points): You can drain energy from a living creature you touch, inflicting 3 points of damage and restoring 3 points to your Might or Speed Pool. Action. (131)

  • Drain Machine (3+ Intellect points): You can drain the power from an artifact or powered device you touch. If the target is a robot, you inflict 3 points of damage and restore 3 points to your Might or Speed Pool. If the target is an object, you restore points to your Might or Speed Pool equal to the level of the target. If the target is a manifest cypher, it is fully drained and useless. Artifacts and similar devices must immediately check for depletion (items with a depletion of "—" are either immune to this ability or have a depletion of 1 in 1d10 when attacked with this ability). Action. (131)

Editor's Notes — Drain Creature and Drain Machine aren't specific about what the "+" in their point cost is in reference to—neither. These abilities were quite different in the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook and various precursor systems, with a function more like that of the Drain Power mutation. If the GM agrees, Effort used to increase the damage of these abilities also increases the number of points restored to the PC's Might or Speed Pools by 1–3 points.

  • Drain Power (5 Speed points): You affect the main power source of a robot or machine, inflicting upon it all four conditions in Disable Mechanisms at once. You must touch the robot to do this (if you are making an attack, it inflicts no damage). Action. (131)

  • Draw Conclusion (3 Intellect points): After careful observation and investigation (questioning one or more NPCs on a topic, searching an area or a file, and so on) lasting a few minutes, you can learn a pertinent fact. This ability is a difficulty 3 Intellect task. Each additional time you use this ability, the task is hindered by an additional step. The difficulty returns to 3 after you rest for ten hours. Action. (131)

  • Drawing on Life's Experiences (6 Intellect points): You've seen a lot and done a lot, and that experience comes in handy. Ask the GM one question, and you'll receive a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Action. (131)

  • Dreadwood (6 Intellect points): You manipulate wind, mist, and shadows to embody the primordial fear of mysterious woods. For the next minute, you gain an asset on intimidation tasks. Creatures within short range may become frightened; make a separate Intellect attack roll for each creature (if you are larger than normal from using Great Tree or another source, these rolls are eased). Success means that they are frozen in fear, not moving or taking actions for one minute or until they are attacked. Some creatures without minds might be immune to this fear. Action. (GF, 31)

  • Dream Becomes Reality (4 Intellect points): You create a dream object of any shape you can imagine that is your size or smaller, which takes on apparent substance and heft. The object is crude and can have no moving parts, so you can make a sword, a shield, a short ladder, and so on. The dream object has the approximate mass of the real object, if you choose. Your dream objects are as strong as iron, but if you do not remain within long range of them, they function for only one minute before fading away. Action. (132)

  • Dream Thief (2 Intellect points): You steal a previous dream from a living creature within short range. The creature loses 2 points of Intellect (ignores Armor), and you learn something the GM chooses to reveal about the creature—its nature, a portion of its plans, a memory, and so on. Action. (132)

  • Dreamcraft (1 Intellect point): You pull an image from a dream into the waking world and place it somewhere within long range. The dream lasts for up to one minute, and it can be tiny or fill an area an immediate distance in diameter. Though it appears solid, the dream is intangible. The dream (a scene, a creature, or an object) is static unless you use your action each round to animate it. As part of that animation, you could move the dream up to a short distance each round, as long as it remains within long range. If you animate the dream, it can make sound but does not produce odor. Direct physical interaction or sustained interaction with the dream shatters it into dispersing mist. For example, attacking the dream shatters it, as does the strain of keeping up appearances when an NPC moves through a dream scene or engages a dream creature in conversation for more than a couple of rounds. Action to initiate; action to animate. (132)

  • Driver: You are trained in all tasks related to driving a car, truck, or motorcycle, including mechanical repair tasks. Enabler. (132)

  • Driving on the Edge: You can make an attack with a light or medium ranged weapon and attempt a driving task as a single action. Enabler. (132)

  • Dual Defense: When you wield two weapons, you are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (132)

  • Dual Distraction (1+ Speed points): When you wield two weapons, your opponent's next attack is hindered, and if you apply Effort on your next attack against that same foe, you get a free level of Effort on the task. Enabler. (132)

  • Dual Light Wield: You can use two light weapons at the same time, making two separate attacks on your turn as a single action. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action, but because you make separate attacks, your opponent's Armor applies to both. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to both attacks, unless it's specifically tied to one of the weapons. Enabler. (132)

Editor's Notes — If you use your action to activate a special ability like Bash or Swipe, then Dual Light Wield allows you to make two attacks with that ability—once with each weapon. This is great for handling crowds of weaker enemies, but because both attacks are part of the same action, you might want to concentrate your Effort on one attack against a difficult to hit or heavily armored foe.

  • Dual Medium Wield: You can use two light weapons or medium weapons at the same time (or one light weapon and one medium weapon), making two separate attacks on your turn as a single action. This ability otherwise works like the Dual Light Wield ability. Enabler. (132)

  • Dual Wards: You can have two wards from Devoted Defender at a time. Choosing a second ward can be its own action, or you can choose two wards with one action (and only pay the cost once for doing so). The wards must remain within an immediate distance of each other. Benefits provided by Devoted Defender apply to both your wards. If your wards separate, you choose which retains the benefit. If they come back together, both regain the benefit immediately. Enabler. (132)

  • Duel to the Death (5 Speed points): Choose a target (a single individual creature that you can see). You are trained in all tasks involving fighting that creature. When you successfully attack that target, you inflict +5 damage, or +7 damage if the creature is engaging someone else instead of you. You can duel only one creature at a time. A duel lasts up to one minute, or until you break it off. Action to initiate. (132)

  • Duplicate (2 Might points): You cause a duplicate of yourself to appear at any point you can see within short range. The duplicate has no clothing or possessions when it appears. The duplicate is a level 2 NPC with 6 health. The duplicate obeys your commands and does as you direct it. The duplicate remains until you dismiss it using an action or until it is killed. When the duplicate disappears, it leaves behind anything it was wearing or carrying. If the duplicate disappears because it was killed, you take 4 points of damage that ignore Armor, and you lose your next action. Action to initiate. (132)

  • Dust to Dust (7 Intellect points): You disintegrate one object that is smaller than you and whose level is less than or equal to your tier. You must touch the object to affect it. If the GM feels it appropriate to the circumstances, you can disintegrate a portion of an object (the total volume of which is smaller than you) rather than the entire thing. Action. (133)

Abilities—E

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 133)

  • Earthquake (7 Might points): You direct your destructive resonance into the ground and trigger an earthquake centered on a spot you can see within very long range. The ground within short range of that spot heaves and shakes for five minutes, causing damage to structures and terrain in the area. Buildings and terrain features shed debris and rubble. Each round, creatures in the area take either 3 points of damage due to the general shaking, or 6 points of damage if in or adjacent to a structure or terrain feature shedding debris. Action to initiate. (133)

  • Eclipse (2 Intellect points): You drain the light from an immediate area within long range. Bright light (like a sunny day outdoors) becomes dim light, normal light (like inside a well-lit room) becomes very dim light, and anything darker becomes darkness. If you cast this spell on an object, the darkness moves with the object, and can be suppressed if it is enclosed in a light-proof container or wrapping. Action. (IOM, 50)

Editor's Notes — Illumination plays a huge factor in combat.

  • Echolocation: You are especially sensitive to sound and vibration, so much so that you can sense your environment within a short distance regardless of your ability to see. Enabler. (133)

  • Effective Skill: Choose one noncombat skill when you gain this ability. You get a minor effect with that skill when you roll a natural 14 or higher (the d20 shows "14" or more). You get a major effect with that skill when you roll a natural 19 or higher (the d20 shows "19" or higher). You can select this ability more than once. Each time you select it, you must choose a different noncombat skill. Enabler. (133)

  • Elastic Grip: Your attack with your stretchy limbs or body is eased. If you hit, you can grab the target, preventing it from moving on its next turn. While you hold the target, its attacks or attempts to break free are hindered. If the target attempts to break free instead of attacking, you must succeed at a Might-based task to maintain your grip. If the target fails to break free, you can continue to hold it each round as your subsequent actions, automatically inflicting 4 points of damage each round by squeezing. Enabler. (CTS, 52)

  • Electric Armor (4 Intellect points): When you wish it, electricity crackles across your body for ten minutes, granting you +1 Armor. While electrified, you have an additional +2 Armor versus electrical damage specifically, and you inflict 2 points of damage on any creature that touches you or attacks you with a melee weapon that conducts electricity. Enabler. (133)

  • Electrical Flight (5 Intellect points): You exude an aura of crackling electricity that lets you fly a long distance each round for ten minutes. You can't carry other creatures with you. Action to activate. (133)

  • Elemental Protection (4+ Intellect points): You and every target you designate within immediate range gains +5 Armor against one type of direct elemental damage (such as fire, lightning, shadow, or thorn) for one hour, or until you cast this spell again. Each level of Effort applied increases the elemental protection by +2. Action to initiate. (133)

  • Elusive (2 Speed points): When you succeed on a Speed defense action, you immediately gain an action. You can use this action only to move. Enabler. (133)

  • Embrace the Night (7+ Intellect points): You fashion a truly horrifying facade of a creature from swirling ribbons of dark matter and launch it at your foes within long range. Each round, you can attack a target within long range using the creation as your weapon. When you attack, the creature inserts hair-fine tendrils of shadow into the target's eyes and brain. The target takes 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and is stunned for one round so that it loses its next turn. Alternatively, you can cause the creature to take other actions, as long as you are able to see it and mentally control it as your action. The creature disperses after about a minute. Action to initiate. (133)

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what the "+" in the point cost of Embrace the Night is in reference to..

  • Embraced by Darkness (6 Intellect points): For the next hour, you take on some characteristics of a shadow thanks to a fundamental adaptation of your flesh or a device you've kept secret. Your appearance is a dark silhouette. When you apply a level of Effort to sneaking tasks, you get a free level of Effort on the task. During this time, you can move through the air at a rate of a short distance per round, and you can move through solid barriers (even those that are sealed to prevent the passage of light or shadow), but not energy barriers, at a rate of 1 foot (30 cm) per round. You can perceive while passing through a barrier or object, which allows you to peek through walls. As a shadow, you can't affect or be affected by normal matter. Likewise, you can't attack, touch, or otherwise affect anything. However, attacks and effects that rely on light can affect you, and sudden bursts of light can potentially make you lose your next turn. Action to initiate. (133)

  • Emotional Support Pet (3+ Intellect points): You conjure an adorable animal that most people find irresistibly cute, such as a puppy, kitten, or bunny, who is outgoing and friendly and otherwise acts according to its nature. Anyone in short range who can see the animal eases their defense tasks against negative feelings (such as anger, fear, sadness, and worry) for the next hour. Anyone who pets, cuddles, or plays with this animal for at least a round or two (up to four people can do so at once) feels happier for the next hour and adds +1 to any recovery rolls they make during that time. At the end of the spell, the conjured animal curls up, falls asleep, and disappears in a puff of smoke. If the animal is harmed in any way, anyone who saw it happen eases all rolls against the creature responsible for the harm. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can conjure three additional animals for each level of Effort you apply to this ability. Action. (IOM, 72)

Adorable animal
level 1, positive social interactions as level 3

  • Enable Others: You can use the helping rules to provide a benefit to another character attempting a physical task. Unlike the normal helping rules, this doesn't require you to use your action helping the other character with the task. This requires no action on your part. Enabler. (133)

  • Enchanted Movement (4+ Intellect points): You use your Enchanted Weapon to move yourself to any location within a long distance that you can see, as long as there are no obstacles or barriers in your way. The exact way this happens depends on your weapon; you might throw your magical hammer and be pulled along after it, shoot an arrow from your bow that pulls you forward like a grapple line, and so on. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the distance traveled; each level of Effort used in this way increases the range by another 100 feet (30 m). If you have another ability (such as from your type) that allows you to cross a long distance, the range of that ability and this one increases to very long. Action. (GF, 31)(CTS, 52)

  • Enchanted Weapon (1 Intellect point): You attune yourself to a physical weapon, such as a sword, hammer, or bow. You know exactly where it is if it is within a short distance of you, and you know its general direction and distance if farther away. All of your other focus abilities require you to be holding or wielding this weapon. You can be attuned to only one weapon at a time; attuning yourself to a second weapon loses the attunement to the first one. Action to initiate, ten minutes to complete. Enabler. (GF, 31)(CTS, 52)

If you attune yourself to a different weapon, come up with a story reason for why you are able to do that and why you chose this new weapon.

  • Encouragement (1 Intellect point): While you maintain this ability through ongoing inspiring oration, your allies within short range ease one of the following task types (your choice): defense tasks, attack tasks, or tasks related to any skill that you are trained or specialized in. Action. (134)

  • Encouraging Presence (2 Intellect points): For one minute, allies within short range gain an asset on defense rolls. Action. (134)

  • Endurance: Any duration dealing with physical actions is either doubled or halved, whichever is better for you. For example, if the typical person can hold their breath for thirty seconds, you can hold it for one minute. If the typical person can march for four hours without stopping, you can do so for eight hours. In terms of harmful effects, if a poison paralyzes its victims for one minute, you are paralyzed for thirty seconds. The minimum duration is always one round. Enabler. (134)

  • Energize Creature (6+ Might points): You extend your Absorb Kinetic Energy ability to one creature within immediate range so that they also can absorb energy from physical attacks and impacts for one hour. That creature, however, cannot release excess energy as a blast. For each level of Effort you apply, you can increase the number of targets you affect by one. If you have Absorb Pure Energy or Improved Absorb Kinetic Energy, those abilities are also duplicated in your target when you use Energize Creature. Action to initiate. (134)

  • Energize Crowd (9 Might points): You extend your Absorb Kinetic Energy ability to up to thirty creatures within short range so that they also can absorb energy from physical attacks and impacts for one hour. If you have Absorb Pure Energy or Improved Absorb Kinetic Energy, these creatures can use those abilities as well. The creatures, however, cannot release excess energy as a blast. Action to initiate. (134)

  • Energize Object: By focusing your Absorb Kinetic Energy ability on an object (like a weapon), you infuse it with your power. The object holds the energy until it is touched by anyone but you, so putting it into your melee weapon or the ammo of a ranged weapon allows the weapon to trigger the energy in combat. The energy inflicts 3 points of damage on the creature touched in addition to any damage the weapon itself might do. You cannot have more than one energized object on your person at a time. Action to initiate. (134)

  • Energized Shield: Your force shield from your Force Field Shield ability now pulses with dangerous energy whenever you manifest it. Each time you use your shield as a melee or ranged weapon, it inflicts an additional 3 points of damage. Enabler. (134)

  • Energy Protection (3+ Intellect points): Choose a discrete type of energy that you have experience with (such as heat, sonic, electricity, and so on). You gain +10 to Armor against damage from that type of energy for ten minutes. Alternatively, you gain +1 to Armor against damage from that energy for 24 hours. You must be familiar with the type of energy; for example, if you have no experience with a certain kind of extradimensional energy, you can't protect against it. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to protect more targets; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to two additional targets. You must touch additional targets to protect them. Action to initiate. (134)

  • Energy Resistance: Choose a discrete type of energy that you have experience with (such as heat, sonic, electricity, and so on). You gain +5 to Armor against damage from that type of energy. You must be familiar with the type of energy; for example, if you have no experience with a certain kind of extradimensional energy, you can't protect against it. You can select this ability more than once. Each time you select it, you must choose a different kind of energy. Enabler. (134)

  • Enhance Athletics (2 Intellect points): You enhance the ability of one creature to perform certain athletic sports tasks. The creature must be within long range and visible to you. For the next minute, the creature can apply one free level of Effort to any one task to catch, hit, kick, or throw an object, or to any one climbing, jumping, or running task. Once this free level of Effort is used, the magic ends. Action. (IOM, 74)

  • Enhance Strength (3 Intellect points): For the next ten minutes, you gain an asset on tasks that depend on brute force, such as moving a heavy object, smashing down a door, or hitting someone with a melee weapon. Action to initiate. (134)

  • Enhanced Beast Form: When you use Beast Form, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +3 to your Might Pool, +2 to your Speed Pool, and +2 to Armor. Enabler. (134)

  • Enhanced Body: Your machine parts grant you +1 to Armor, +3 to your Might Pool, and +3 to your Speed Pool. Traditional healing skills, medicines, and techniques work only half as well for you. Each time you start at full health, the first 5 points of damage you take can never be healed in these ways or recovered normally. Instead, you must use repairing skills and abilities to restore those points. For example, if you start with a full Might Pool of 10 and take 8 points of damage, you can use recovery rolls to restore 3 points, but the remaining 5 points must be restored with repair tasks. Enabler. (134)

  • Enhanced Intellect: You gain 3 points to your Intellect Pool. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Intellect Edge: You gain +1 to your Intellect Edge. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Might: You gain 3 points to your Might Pool. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Might Edge: You gain +1 to your Might Edge. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Phased Attack (5 Intellect points): This ability works like the Phased Attack ability except that your attack also disrupts the foe's vitals, dealing an additional 5 points of damage. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Physique: You gain 3 points to divide among your Might and Speed Pools however you wish. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Potential: You gain 3 points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Speed: You gain 3 points to your Speed Pool. Enabler. (135)

  • Enhanced Speed Edge: You gain +1 to your Speed Edge. Enabler. (135)

  • Enlarge (1+ Might point): You trigger an enzymatic reaction that draws additional mass from another dimension, and you (and your clothing or suit) grow larger. You achieve a height of 9 feet (3 m) and stay that way for about a minute. During that time, you add 4 points to your Might Pool, add +1 to Armor, and add +2 to your Might Edge. While you are larger than normal, your Speed defense rolls are hindered, and you are practiced in using your fists as heavy weapons.

    When the effects of Enlarge end, your Armor and Might Edge return to normal, and you subtract a number of points from your Might Pool equal to the number you gained (if this brings the Pool to 0, subtract the overflow first from your Speed Pool and then, if necessary, from your Intellect Pool). Each additional time you use Enlarge before your next ten-hour recovery roll, you must apply an additional level of Effort. Thus, the second time you use Enlarge, you must apply one level of Effort; the third time you use Enlarge, two levels of Effort; and so on.

    Action to initiate. (135)

  • Enlightened: You are trained in any perception task that involves sight. Enabler. (136)

  • Entangling Force (1+ Intellect point): A target within short range is subject to a snare constructed of semi-tangible lines of force for one minute. The force snare is a level 2 construct. A target caught in the force snare cannot move from its position, but it can attack and defend normally. The target can also use its action attempting to break free. You can increase the level of the force snare by 1 per level of Effort applied. Action to initiate. (136)

  • Enthrall (1 Intellect point): While talking, you grab and keep another creature's attention, even if the creature can't understand you. For as long as you do nothing but speak (you can't even move), the other creature takes no actions other than to defend itself, even over multiple rounds. If the creature is attacked, the effect ends. Action. (136)

  • Entourage: You gain an entourage of five level 1 twenty-somethings that accompanies you wherever you go unless you purposefully disband it for a particular outing. You can ask them to deliver things for you, run messages, pick up your dry cleaning—pretty much whatever you want, within reason. They can also run interference if you're trying to avoid someone, help hide you from media attention, help you muscle through a crowd, and so on. On the other hand, if a situation becomes physically violent, they retreat to safety. Enabler. (136)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider each member of the Entourage to be a unique follower.

  • Enveloping Shield: Your Force Field Shield ability produces an envelope of force that enfolds you while you are holding the shield, granting you +1 to Armor. Enabler. (136)

  • Erase Memories (3 Intellect points): You reach into the mind of a creature within immediate range and make an Intellect roll. On a success, you erase up to the last five minutes of its memory. Action. (136)

  • Escape (2 Speed points): You slip your restraints, squeeze through the bars, break the grip of a creature holding you, pull free from sucking quicksand, or otherwise get loose from whatever is holding you in place. Action. (136)

  • Escape Plan: When you kill a foe, you can attempt a stealth task to immediately hide from anyone around, assuming that a suitable hiding place is nearby. Enabler. (136)

  • Escape the Ruins (6 Intellect points): While in any area containing ruins from before the apocalypse, you find or create a significant shortcut, secret entrance, or emergency escape route where it looked like none existed. Doing so requires that you succeed on an Intellect action whose difficulty is set by the GM based on the situation. You and the GM should work out the details. Action. (RR, 121)

  • Evanesce (3 Speed points): You step into shadows or behind cover, and everyone who was observing you completely loses track of you. Although you're not invisible, you can't be seen until you reveal yourself again by moving out of the shadows or from behind cover (or by making an attack). Action. (136)

  • Evasion: You're hard to affect when you don't want to be affected. You are trained in all defense tasks. Enabler. (136)

  • Everything Is a Weapon: You can take any small object—a coin, a pen, a bottle, a stone, and so on—and throw it with such force and precision that it inflicts damage as a light weapon. Enabler. (136)

  • Exile (5 Intellect points): You send a target that you touch hurtling into another random dimension or universe, where it remains for ten minutes. You have no idea what happens to the target while it's gone, but at the end of ten minutes, it returns to the precise spot it left. Action. (136)

  • Expanded Repertoire: The number of subtle cyphers you can bear at the same time increases by one. Enabler. (GF, 31)

  • Experienced Defender: When wearing armor, you gain +1 to Armor. Enabler. (136)

  • Experienced Finder (6+ Intellect points): When you are looking for something specific, such as a particular rare component, a chemical needed to complete a vaccine for a disease, a spare part required to repair a damaged device, the tracks of a specific beast, or the sword that a thief stole from you, this ability is of great use. For the next 24 hours, if you come within short range of the thing and circumstances are such that it is possible for you to perceive the thing (for example, it's not in a locked chamber for which you do not have the key), you find it. This ability assumes that you are constantly on the lookout, always looking everywhere possible, peering behind obstacles, and so on—if you're running for your life, sleeping, or otherwise occupied, this ability does not help you. You use this ability in lieu of making a roll to find the thing, but only if the difficulty for finding the object is level 6 or below. You can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the thing you're trying to find (each level of Effort used this way increases the maximum level by 1). Action to initiate. (136)

  • Experienced in Armor: The cost reduction from your Practiced in Armor ability improves. You now reduce the Speed cost by 2. Enabler. (136)

  • Expert Crafter: Instead of rolling, you can choose to automatically succeed on a crafting task you're trained in. The task must be difficulty 4 or lower. If you are able to reduce the assessed difficulty of a crafting task to 4 or lower, this ability also applies to each subtask, assuming something doesn't interrupt you during the ensuing time to build. Enabler. (137)

  • Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time. Enabler. (137)

  • Expert Driver: You are specialized in all tasks related to driving a car, truck, or motorcycle, including mechanical repair tasks. Enabler. (137)

  • Expert Follower: You gain a level 3 follower. They are not restricted on their modifications. You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another level 3 follower. Alternatively, you could choose to advance a level 2 follower you already have to level 3 and then gain a new level 2 follower. Enabler. (137)

  • Expert Pilot: You are specialized in all tasks related to piloting a starcraft. Enabler. (137)

  • Expert Skill: Instead of rolling a d20, you can choose to automatically succeed on a task you're trained in. The task must be difficulty 4 or lower, and it can't be an attack roll or a defense roll. Enabler. (137)

A character can't apply Effort or other abilities to any task they accomplish using Expert Skill.

Editor's Notes — The sidebar above is included in the CSRD (and also in the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook, where the ability is named Expert (42)), but it not included in the 2019 Cypher System Rulebook. Even with the sidebar, Expert Skill raises questions about how often it allows a PC to bypass a task roll:

  • Is the difficulty 4 mentioned before or determined by the GM, or after the PC modifies the difficulty? If the answer is "before", the ability becomes a little less attractive. If the answer is "after", the PC's skill means the ability actually works on difficulty 5 tasks if they're trained, and difficulty 6 tasks if the PC is specialized.

  • Effort clearly can't be used to ease the task as noted in the sidebar, and special abilities that provide assets or otherwise ease the task are also prohibited, but what if a special ability like Investigative Skills provides training in a relevant skill? They're probably an exception.

  • What about other sources of assets, for example, equipment or cyphers? If they can be used to lower the difficulty to a 4, can the PC use Expert Skill to bypass the roll? It seems the answer here might be "yes".

Regardless, if Expert Skill is trivializing too many situations for one mid-tier ability, the GM might decide it only works on difficulty 4–5 tasks as determined by the GM, with no other modifications of any kind taken into account. The GM might raise this limit to difficulty 5–6 for a specialized PC. On the other hand, allowing PCs to make some tasks routine actions has merit—and the GM can always complicate the situation by proposing a GM intrusion, anyway.

  • Explains the Ineffable: Through anecdotes, historical retellings, and citing knowledge that few but you have previously understood, you enlighten your friends. After spending 24 hours with you, once per day, each of your friends can ease a particular task by two steps. This benefit is ongoing while you remain in your friends' company. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to your friends' company within 24 hours. If you leave your friends' company for longer than that, you must spend another 24 hours together to reactivate the benefit. Enabler. (137)

  • Exploit Advantage: Even if you can do something well, you've learned that you can always do it even better. Whenever you have an asset for a roll, you ease the task by one additional step. Enabler. (137)

  • Exploratory Experience: You are trained in two additional skills in which you are not already trained. Choose from the following: navigation, perception, sensing danger, initiative, peacefully opening communications with strangers, and tracking. Enabler. (137)

  • Explosive Release (6 Intellect points): You can amplify the energy stored in your Siphon Pool (from your Store Energy ability) and release it in a massive blast that affects either one target within short range or everything within immediate range. If you choose a single target, it takes 2 points of damage for every point in your Siphon Pool. If you choose an area, everything in the area (except you) takes 1 point of damage per point in your Siphon Pool (or half that if your attack fails against them). This drains your Siphon Pool to 0 points. Action. (138)

  • Extra Recovery: You gain an additional one-action recovery each day. Enabler. (138)

  • Extra Skill: You are trained in one skill of your choice (other than attacks or defense) in which you are not already trained. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose a different skill. Enabler. (138)

  • Extra Use (3 Intellect points): You attempt to gain an extra use from an artifact without triggering a depletion roll. The difficulty of the task is equal to the level of the artifact. If you crafted the artifact, you gain an asset to the task. On a failure, the depletion roll occurs normally. You could also try to use a manifest cypher without burning it out, but the task is hindered. A failed attempt to gain an additional use from a manifest cypher destroys it before it can produce the desired effect. Action. (138)

  • Extreme Mastery (6 Might or 6 Speed points): When using your chosen weapon, you can reroll any attack roll you wish and take the better of the two results. Enabler. (138)

  • Eye for Detail (2 Intellect points): When you spend five minutes or so thoroughly exploring an area no larger than a short distance in diameter, you can ask the GM one question about the area. The GM must answer you truthfully. You cannot use this more than one time per area per 24 hours. Action to initiate, five minutes to complete. (138)

  • Eye Gouge (2 Speed points): You make an attack against a creature with an eye. The attack is hindered, but if you hit, the creature has trouble seeing for the next hour. During this time, the creature's tasks that rely on sight (which is most tasks) are hindered. Action. (138)

  • Eyes Adjusted: You can see in extremely dim light as though it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were extremely dim light. Enabler. (138)

Abilities—F

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 138)

  • Face Morph (2+ Intellect points): You alter your features and coloration for one hour, hiding your identity or impersonating someone. This affects only your face, not the rest of your body. You can't perfectly duplicate someone else's face, but you can be accurate enough to fool someone who knows that person casually. You have an asset in all tasks involving disguise. You must apply a level of Effort to be able to impersonate a different species (such as a human morphing into a humanoid alien). Action. (138)

  • Facsimile of Life (3 Intellect points): You give an object limited mobility, awareness, and intellect, allowing it to move about as if it were a small pet. The object must be within immediate distance and no larger than half your size. When animated, the object can perform tasks for you as if it were a level 1 creature, but otherwise is treated as an object of its level (for example, it uses the object damage track instead of health). The animation lasts for an hour or until you and it are at least a long distance apart, at which time the object becomes inert again. Action. (IOM, 66)

  • Familiarize: You can familiarize yourself with a new area if you spend at least one hour studying a region up to a long distance across that you are able to directly access and move about in. Once you've familiarized yourself with an area, all your tasks related to perception, navigation, salvaging and scavenging, defense, and moving about the area gain an asset. Each time you familiarize yourself with a new area, you lose focus on a previous area unless you spend 1 XP to retain the familiarity permanently. Action to initiate, one hour to complete. (138)

  • Far Step (2 Intellect points): You leap through the air and land some distance away. You can jump up, down, or across to anywhere you choose within long range if you have a clear and unobstructed path to that location. You land safely. Action. (138)

  • Fast Kill (2 Speed points): You know how to kill quickly. When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal 4 additional points of damage. You can't make this attack in two consecutive rounds. Action. (138)

  • Fast Talk (1 Intellect point): When speaking with an intelligent creature who can understand you and isn't hostile, you convince that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action. (138)

  • Fast Travel (7 Intellect points): You warp time and space so that you and up to ten other creatures within immediate distance travel overland at ten times the normal rate for up to eight hours. At this speed, most dangerous encounters or regions of rough terrain are ignored, though the GM may declare exceptions. Outright barriers still present a problem. Action to initiate. (139)

  • Faster Wild Magic: If you spend ten minutes preparing your magic, you can fill any of your open cypher slots with subtle cyphers chosen randomly by the GM (this time can be part of a ten-minute, one-hour, or ten-hour recovery action if you are awake for the entire time). You can't use this ability again until after you've taken a ten-hour recovery action. You can still use Magical Repertoire to fill your cypher slots. Action to initiate, ten minutes to complete. (GF, 31)

  • Fearsome Reputation (3 Intellect points): You and those you travel with have earned a fearsome reputation in some parts. If your foes have heard of you, affected targets within earshot become afraid, and all attacks they make against you are hindered until one or more of them successfully inflicts damage on you or one of your allies, at which time their fear abates. Action. (139)

  • Feat of Strength (1 Might point): Any task that depends on brute force is eased. Examples include smashing down a barred door, tearing open a locked container, lifting or moving a heavy object, or striking someone with a melee weapon. Enabler. (139)

  • Feint (2 Speed points): If you use one action creating a misdirection or diversion, in the next round you can take advantage of your opponent's lowered defenses. Make a melee attack roll against that opponent. You gain an asset on this attack. If your attack is successful, it inflicts 4 additional points of damage. Action. (139)

  • Fellow Explorer: You gain a level 2 follower. One of their modifications must be for tasks related to perception. Enabler. (139)

  • Fetch (3 Intellect points): You cause an object to disappear and reappear in your hands or somewhere else nearby. Choose one object that can fit inside a 5-foot (2 m) cube and that you can see within long range. The object vanishes and appears in your hands or in an open space anywhere you choose within immediate range. Action. (139)

  • Field of Destruction (4 Might points): When you cause an object to descend one or more steps on the object damage track, you gain 1 additional point of Armor for one minute. Enabler. (139)

  • Field of Gravity (4 Intellect points): When you wish it, a field of manipulated gravity around you pulls incoming ranged projectile attacks to the ground. You are immune to such attacks until your turn in the next round. You must be aware of an attack to foil it. This ability does not work on energy attacks. Enabler. (139)

  • Field-Reinforced Armor: You gain +1 to Armor while wearing the power armor from your Powered Armor ability. Enabler. (139)

  • Fiery Hand of Doom (3 Intellect points): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can reach into your halo and produce a hand made of animate flame that is twice the size of a human's hand. The hand acts as you direct, floating in the air. Directing the hand is an action. Without a command, the hand does nothing. It can move a long distance in a round, but it never moves farther away from you than long range. The hand can grab, move, and carry things, but anything it touches takes 1 point of damage per round from the heat. The hand can also attack. It's a level 3 creature and deals 1 extra point of damage from fire when it attacks. Once created, the hand lasts for ten minutes. Action to create; action to direct. (139)

  • Fight On: You do not suffer the normal penalties for being impaired on the damage track. If debilitated, instead of suffering the normal penalty of being unable to take most actions, you can continue to act; however, all tasks are hindered. Enabler. (139)

  • Final Defiance: When you would normally be dead, you instead remain conscious and active for one more round plus one additional round each time you succeed on a difficulty 5 Might task. During these rounds, you are debilitated. If you do not receive healing or otherwise gain points in a Pool during your final round(s) of activity, you are subject to the effects of Not Dead Yet. Enabler. (139)

  • Find an Opening (1 Intellect point): You use trickery to find an opening in your foe's defenses. If you succeed on a Speed roll against one creature within immediate range, your next attack against that creature before the end of the next round is eased. Action. (139)

  • Find the Guilty: If you have used Designation on a target, you are trained in tracking them, spotting them when they are hidden or disguised, or otherwise finding them. Enabler. (139)

  • Find the Hidden (4+ Intellect points): You see the traceries of objects as they move through space and time. You can sense the distance and direction of any specific inanimate object that you once touched. This takes anywhere from one action to hours of concentration, depending on what the GM feels is appropriate due to time, distance, or other mitigating circumstances. However, you don't know in advance how long it will take. If you use at least two levels of Effort, once you have established the distance and direction, you remain in contact with the object for one hour per level of Effort used. Thus, if it moves, you are aware of its new position. Action to initiate; action each round to concentrate. (140)

  • Find the Way: When you apply Effort to a navigation task because you don't know the way, are lost, are attempting to blaze a new route, need to choose between two or more otherwise similar paths to take, or something very similar, you can apply a free level of Effort. Enabler. (140)

  • Finishing Blow (5 Might points): If your foe is prone, stunned, or somehow helpless or incapacitated when you strike, you inflict 7 additional points of damage on a successful hit. Enabler. (140)

  • Fire and Ice (4 Intellect points): You cause a target within short range to become either very hot or very cold (your choice). The target suffers 3 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor) each round for up to three rounds, although a new roll is required each round to continue to affect the target. Action to initiate. (140)

  • Fire Bloom (4+ Intellect points): Fire blooms within long range, filling an area 10 feet (3 m) in radius and inflicting 3 points of damage on all affected targets. Effort applied to one attack counts for all attacks against targets in the area of the bloom. Even on an unsuccessful attack, a target in the area still takes 1 point of damage. Flammable objects in the area may catch fire. Action. (140)

  • Fire Servant (6 Intellect points): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you reach into your halo and produce an automaton of fire that is your general shape and size. It acts as you direct each round. Directing the servant is an action, and you can command it only when you are within long range of it. Without a command, the servant continues to follow your previous command. You can also give it a simple programmed action, such as "Wait here, and attack anyone who comes within short range until they're dead." The servant lasts for ten minutes, is a level 5 creature, and deals 1 extra point of damage from fire when it attacks. Action to create; action to direct. (140)

  • Fire Tendrils (5 Intellect points): When you wish it, your halo (from your Shroud of Flame ability) sprouts three tendrils of flame that last for up to ten minutes. As an action, you can use the tendrils to attack, making a separate attack roll for each. Each tendril inflicts 4 points of damage. Otherwise, the attacks function as standard attacks. If you don't use the tendrils to attack, they remain but do nothing. Enabler. (140)

  • Fists of Fury: You inflict 2 additional points of damage with unarmed attacks. Enabler. (140)

  • Fixer: You've learned enough of the past that you are trained in tasks to repair and build before-times equipment, or equipment made with before-times parts. In addition, repairing and building tasks take you about 20% less time to complete. Enabler. (RR, 123)

  • Flamboyant Boast (1 Intellect point): You boastfully describe an act that you will accomplish, and then as part of the same action, you attempt it. If an average person would find the action difficult (or impossible) and you succeed on it, creatures who witnessed it who are not your allies are potentially dazed on their next turn, and all tasks they attempt are hindered. The GM will help you determine whether your boast is something that would impress onlookers so significantly. If you attempt the task you boast about but fail to accomplish it, all your attempts to affect or attack onlookers who saw you are hindered for about ten minutes. Enabler. (140)

  • Flameblade (4 Intellect points): When you wish it, you extend your Shroud of Flame to cover a weapon you wield in flame for one hour. The flame ends if you stop holding or carrying the weapon. While the flame lasts, the weapon inflicts 2 additional points of damage. Enabler. (140)

  • Flash (4 Intellect points): You create an explosion of energy at a point within close range, affecting an area up to immediate range from that point. You must be able to see the location where you intend to center the explosion. The blast inflicts 2 points of damage to all creatures or objects within the area. If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (140)

  • Flash Across the Miles (6+ Intellect points): You can move to an open location on the planet that you're familiar with almost instantaneously, transformed into a bolt of lightning. If you apply a level of Effort, you can attempt to penetrate covered locations that you're aware of as long as a route exists from the open air to the area you want to reach that electricity can easily follow. Action. (141)

  • Flee (6 Intellect points): All non-allies within short distance who can hear your dreadful, intimidating words flee from you at top speed for one minute. Action. (141)

  • Fleet of Foot (1+ Speed points): You can move a short distance as part of another action. You can move a long distance as your entire action for a turn. If you apply a level of Effort to this ability, you can move a long distance and make an attack as your entire action for a turn, but the attack is hindered. Enabler. (141)

  • Flesh of Stone: You have +1 to Armor if you do not wear physical armor. Enabler. (141)

  • Flex Lore: After each ten-hour recovery roll when you have access to a high-technology digital reference library (such as one that might be found in a starship or in a learning center), choose one field of knowledge related to a specific planet or some other location. The field might be habitations, customs, governments, characteristics of the main species, important figures, and so on. You're trained in that field until you use this ability again. You could use this ability with an area of knowledge you're already trained in to become specialized. Enabler. (141)

  • Flex Skill: At the beginning of each day, choose one task (other than attacks or defense) on which you will concentrate. For the rest of that day, you're trained in that task. You can't use this ability with a skill in which you're already trained to become specialized. Enabler. (141)

  • Flex Weapon Skill: At the beginning of each day, choose one type of attack: light bashing, light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. For the rest of that day, you are trained in attacks using that type of weapon. You can't use this ability with an attack skill in which you're already trained to become specialized. Enabler. (CTS, 53)

  • Flight (4+ Intellect points): You can float and fly through the air for one hour. For each level of Effort applied, you can affect one additional creature of your size or smaller. You must touch the creature to bestow the power of flight. You direct the other creature's movement, and while flying, it must remain within sight of you or fall. In terms of overland movement, a flying creature moves about 20 miles (32 km) per hour and is not affected by terrain. Action to initiate. (141)

  • Flight Exertion (3 Might or 3 Speed points): You can fly up to a short distance as your movement this round. If all you do is move on your turn, you can fly up to a long distance. Enabler. (CTS, 53)

  • Flight Not Fight: If you use your action only to move, all Speed defense tasks are eased. Enabler. (141)

  • Fling (4 Intellect points): You violently launch a creature or object about your size or smaller within short range and send it flying a short distance in any direction. This is an Intellect attack that inflicts 4 points of damage to the object being flung when it lands or strikes a barrier. If you aim the primary target at another creature or object (and succeed on a second attack), the secondary target also takes 4 points of damage. Action. (141)

Editor's Notes — The Fling ability first appeared in In Translation: The Strange Character Options (TSCO, 10). This setting uses object level, health, and armor instead of the usual rules for attacking objects.

  • Flying Companion: You gain a level 3 companion creature that can fly at the same speed as you; depending on other aspects of your character, this might be a trained bird, a machine drone, or a helpful strange creature such as a familiar. This creature accompanies you and acts as you direct. As a level 3 companion, it has a target number of 9 and 9 health, and it inflicts 3 points of damage. If it's killed or destroyed, it takes you one month to find or create a suitable replacement. Enabler. (CTS, 53)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Flying Companion to be a follower.

  • Foil Danger (2 Intellect points): You negate one source of potential danger related to one creature or object that you are aware of within immediate distance for one round. This could be a weapon or device held by someone, a trap triggered by a pressure plate, or a creature's natural ability (something special, innate, and dangerous, like a dragon's fiery breath or a giant cobra's venom). You can also try to foil a foe's mundane action (such as an attack with a weapon or claw), so that the action isn't made this round. Make your roll against the level of the attack, danger, or creature. Action. (142)

  • Font of Healing: With your approval, other creatures can touch you and regain 1d6 points to either their Might Pool or their Speed Pool. This healing costs them 2 Intellect points. A single creature can benefit from this ability only once each day. Enabler. (142)

  • Force and Accuracy: You inflict 3 additional points of damage with attacks using weapons that you throw. Enabler. (142)

  • Force at Distance (4+ Intellect points): You temporarily bend the fundamental law of gravity around a creature or object (up to twice your mass) within short range. The target is caught in your telekinetic grip, and you can move it up to a short distance in any direction each round that you retain your hold. A creature in your grip can take actions, but it can't move under its own power. Each round after the initial attack, you can attempt to keep your grip on the target by spending 2 additional Intellect points and succeeding at a difficulty 2 Intellect task. If your concentration lapses, the target drops back to the ground. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the amount of mass you can affect. Each level allows you to affect a creature or object twice as massive as before. For example, applying one level of Effort would affect a creature four times as massive as you, two levels would affect a creature eight times as massive, three levels would affect a creature sixteen times as massive, and so on. Action to initiate. (142)

  • Force Bash (1 Might point): This is a pummeling melee attack you make with your Force Field Shield. Your attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal but dazes your target for one round, during which time all tasks it performs are hindered. Enabler. (142)

  • Force Blast: You figure out how to project blasts of pure force from the gauntlets of the power armor from your Powered Armor ability. This allows you to fire a blast of force that inflicts 5 points of damage with a range of 200 feet (60 m). Action. (142)

  • Force Field (3 Intellect points): You create an invisible energy barrier around a creature or object you choose within short range. The force field moves with the creature or object and lasts for ten minutes. If the target is a creature, they gain +1 to Armor; if the target is an object, attacks against it are hindered. (143)(Errata)

Editor's Notes — The CSRD clarifies the Force Field ability's interactions with attacking objects. This change is also present in deluxe editions of the Cypher System Rulebook. The prior wording for the ability—which assumes the use of the Object Level, Health, and Armor optional rule—is as follows:

  • Force Field (3 Intellect Points): You create an invisible energy barrier around a creature or object you choose within short range. The force field moves with the creature or object and lasts for ten minutes. The target has +1 to Armor until the effect ends. Action. (143)

  • Force Field Barrier (3+ Intellect points): You create an opaque, stationary barrier of solid energy (a force field) within immediate range. The barrier is 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) and of negligible thickness. It is a level 2 barrier and lasts for ten minutes. It can be placed anywhere it fits, whether against a solid object (including the ground) or floating in the air. Each level of Effort you apply strengthens the barrier by one level. For example, applying two levels of Effort creates a level 4 barrier. Action. (143)

  • Force Field Shield: You manifest a small plane of pure force, which takes on a shield-like shape with the barest flicker of a thought. You can dismiss it just as easily. To use the force shield, you must hold it in one of your hands. You are practiced in using your exotic shield in one hand as a light melee weapon; however, if you attack with both your shield and a weapon held in the other hand, both attacks are hindered. When you are unconscious or sleeping, the force field dissipates. Enabler. (143)

A shield, including one produced by a force field, provides an asset to a character's Speed defense task while it is held in one hand.

  • Force to Reckon With: You can break through force fields and energy barriers as if they were physical walls. Enabler. (143)

  • Force Wall (5 Intellect points): You can trigger the energy in your Force Field Shield to expand outward in all directions to create an immobile plane of solid force up to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 m by 6 m) for up to one hour or until you take your shield back. (The force shield becomes the force wall.) The plane of the force wall conforms to the space available. While the force wall remains in place, you cannot use any of your other abilities that require Force Field Shield. Action to initiate. (143)

  • Fortification Builder: Whenever you attempt a crafting task—or help in the crafting task—to build a wall or other fortification, you ease the crafting difficulty by two steps, to a minimum of difficulty 1. Enabler. (143)

  • Fortified Position (2 Might points): For the next minute, you gain +1 Armor and an asset to your Might defense tasks, as long as you haven't moved more than an immediate distance since your last turn. Action to initiate. (143)

  • Foul Aura (5+ Intellect points): Your words, gestures, and touch invest an object no larger than yourself with an aura of doom, fear, and doubt for one day. Creatures that can hear and understand you feel an urge to move at least a short distance away from the object. If a creature does not move away, all tasks, attacks, and defenses it attempts while within the aura are hindered. The duration of the aura is extended by one day per level of Effort applied. The aura is temporarily blocked while the object is covered or contained. Action to initiate. (143)

  • Freakishly Large: Your increased size intimidates most people. While you enjoy the effects of Enlarge, all intimidation tasks you attempt are eased. Enabler. (143)

  • Free to Move: You ignore all movement penalties and adjustments due to terrain or other obstacles. You can fit through any space large enough to fit your head. Tasks involving breaking free of bonds, a creature's grip, or any similar impediment gain three free levels of Effort. Enabler. (143)

  • Freezing Touch (4 Intellect points): Your hands become so cold that your touch freezes solid a living target of your size or smaller, rendering it immobile for one round. If you have another cold ability activated by touch (such as Frost Touch), you can use it as part of the Freezing Touch attack. Action. (143)

  • Frenzy (1 Intellect point): When you wish, while in combat, you can enter a state of frenzy. While in this state, you can't use Intellect points, but you gain +1 to your Might Edge and your Speed Edge. This effect lasts as long as you wish, but it ends if no combat is taking place within range of your senses. Enabler. (143)

  • Friendly Help: If your friend tries a task and fails, they can try again without spending Effort if you help. You provide this advantage to your friend even if you are not trained in the task that they are retrying. Enabler. (143)

  • From the Shadows: If you successfully attack a creature that was previously unaware of your presence, you deal 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (144)

  • Frost Touch (1 Intellect point): Your hands become so cold that the next time you touch a creature, you inflict 3 points of damage. Alternatively, you can use this ability on a weapon, and for ten minutes, it inflicts 1 additional point of damage from the cold. Action for touch; enabler for weapon. (144)

  • Fruitfully Pass the Time (4 Intellect points): You are trained in one performance skill, such as singing; playing a fiddle, harmonica, or other instrument; or something else that others would enjoy watching or hearing you do. When you perform with the skill gained through this ability for one minute and you succeed on a difficulty 3 performance roll, you and all allies within short range who can hear and see you immediately gain a one-action recovery roll. You can't use this on someone again until you use a one-hour or ten-hour recovery roll. Action to initiate, one minute to complete. (RR, 121)

  • Further Mathematics: You are specialized in higher mathematics. If you are already specialized, choose some other sphere of knowledge to become trained in. Enabler. (144)

  • Fury (3 Might points): For the next minute, all melee attacks you make inflict 2 additional points of damage. Action to initiate. (144)

  • Fusion: You can fuse your manifest cyphers and artifacts with your body. These fused devices function as if they were one level higher. Enabler. (144)

  • Fusion Armor: A procedure gives you biometal implants in major portions of your body, you grow metal-hard skin, the blessings of an angel protect you, or something similar happens. These changes give you +1 to Armor even when you're not wearing physical armor. Enabler. (144)

Abilities—G

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 144)

  • Gain Unusual Companion: You gain a special specimen as a constant companion. It is level 4, probably the size of a small dog, and follows your telepathic commands. You and the GM must work out the details of your creature, and you'll probably make rolls for it in combat or when it takes actions. The companion acts on your turn. If your companion dies, you can hunt in the wild for 1d6 days to find a new one. Enabler. (144)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider an unusual companion to be a follower.

  • Gambler: Each day, choose two different numbers from 2 to 16. One number is your lucky number, and the other is your unlucky number. Whenever you make a roll that day and get a number matching your lucky number, your next task is eased. Whenever you make a roll that day and get a number matching your unlucky number, your next task is hindered. Enabler. (144)

  • Game Lessons: You've played so many games that you've picked up some real knowledge. Choose any two noncombat skills. You are trained in those skills. Enabler. (144)

  • Gamer: Pick any one style of game such as real-time strategy games, games of chance in the style of poker, roleplaying games, and so on. You can apply an asset to a task related to playing that style of game once between each recovery roll. Enabler. (144)

  • Gamer's Fortitude: Sitting and playing a game for twelve hours straight is not something most people can do, but you've figured it out. Once after each ten-hour recovery roll, you can transfer up to 5 points between your Pools in any combination, at a rate of 1 point per round. For example, you could transfer 3 points of Might to Speed and 2 points of Intellect to Speed, which would take a total of five rounds. Action. (144)

  • Gaming God: Any time you use Effort on an Intellect action, add one of the following enhancements to the action (your choice):

    Enabler. (144)

  • Gargantuan: When you use Enlarge, you can choose to grow up to 30 feet (9 m) in height, and you add 3 more temporary points to your Might Pool (if you also have the Bigger ability, the temporary points from Gargantuan are in addition to the points from Bigger). Enabler. (144)

  • Gather Intelligence (2 Intellect points): When in a group of people (a caravan, a palace, a village, a city, etc.) you can ask around about any topic you choose and come away with useful information. You can ask a specific question, or you can simply obtain general facts. You also get a good idea of the general layout of the location involved, note the presence of all major sites, and perhaps even notice obscure details. For example, not only do you find out if anyone in the palace has seen the missing boy, but you also get a working knowledge of the layout of the palace itself, note all the entrances and which are used more often than others, and take notice that everyone seems to avoid the well in the eastern courtyard for some reason. Action to initiate, about an hour to complete. (144)

  • Generate Force Field (9+ Intellect points): You create six planes of solid force (level 8), each 30 feet (9 m) to a side, which persist for one hour. The planes must be contiguous, and they retain the position that you choose when initiating this ability. For instance, you could arrange the planes linearly, creating a wall 180 feet (55 m) long, or you could create a closed cube. The planes conform to the space available. Each additional level of Effort you apply increases the level of the barrier by one (to a maximum of level 10) or increases the number of hours it remains by one. Action to initiate. (145)

  • Get Away (2 Speed points): After your action on your turn, you move up to a short distance or get behind or beneath cover within immediate range. Enabler. (145)

  • Ghost (4 Intellect points): For the next ten minutes, you gain an asset to sneaking tasks. During this time, you can move through solid barriers (but not energy barriers) at a rate of 1 foot (30 cm) per round, and you can perceive while phased within a barrier or object, which allows you to peek through walls. Action to initiate. (145)

  • Ghost Car (4+ Intellect points): You create a level 3 ghostly-looking car that can carry two people and a small amount of luggage. You or a creature you designate can drive the car as normal. For each level of Effort you apply to this ability, it can carry two additional passengers and its level increases by 1. The car lasts for an hour, after which it vanishes. Action. (IOM, 66)

  • Gift of Appeasement (2+ Intellect points): You conjure a trifle that can fit in one hand and will please a creature within immediate range. The object is impractical and inexpensive, but delightful to the creature. Examples include their favorite kind of cookie, a small crafted coffee beverage, or a paper origami of their favorite animal. You don't know what the spell will create, but you know it will please them if you give it as a gift. If the creature spends one minute appreciating the object (such as eating the cookie, drinking the coffee, or examining the origami), they gain an asset on one task of their choosing within one hour. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect more creatures; each level of Effort affects one additional creature. Action per target to initiate. (IOM, 71)

  • Go Defensive (1 Intellect point): When you wish, while in combat, you can enter a state of heightened awareness of threat. While in this state, you can't use points from your Intellect Pool, but you gain +1 to your Speed Edge and gain two assets to Speed defense tasks. This effect lasts as long as you wish or until you attack a foe or no combat is taking place within range of your senses. Once the effect of this ability ends, you can't enter it again for one minute. Enabler. (145)

  • Go to Ground (4 Speed points): You move up to a long distance and attempt to hide. When you do, you gain an asset on the stealth task to blend in, disappear, or otherwise escape the senses of everyone previously aware of your presence. Action. (145)

  • Goad (1 Intellect point): You can attempt to goad a target into a belligerent—and probably foolish—reaction that requires the target to try to close the distance between you and attempt to physically strike you on its next turn. They attempt this action even if this would cause them to break formation or to give up cover or a tactically superior position. Whether the target strikes you or fails to do so, they come to their senses immediately afterward, after which further tasks attempting to goad the target again are hindered. Action to initiate. (145)

  • Golem Body: You gain +1 to Armor, +1 to your Might Edge, and 5 additional points to your Might Pool. You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe (though you do need rest and sleep). You move more stiffly than a creature of flesh, which means you can never be trained or specialized in Speed defense rolls. Furthermore, you are practiced in using your stone fists as a medium weapon. Enabler. (145)

  • Golem Grip (3 Might points): Your attack with the stone fists from your Golem Body ability is eased. If you hit, you can grab the target, preventing it from moving on its next turn. While you hold the target, its attacks or attempts to break free are hindered. If the target attempts to break free instead of attacking, you must make a Might-based roll to maintain your grip. If the target fails to break free, you can continue to hold it each round as your subsequent actions, automatically inflicting 4 points of damage each round by squeezing. Enabler. (145)

  • Golem Healing: Your stone form from the Golem Body ability is more difficult to repair than flesh, which means you are unable to use the first, single-action recovery roll of the day that other PCs have access to. Thus, your first recovery roll on any given day requires ten minutes of rest, the second requires an hour of rest, and the third requires ten hours. Enabler. (145)

  • Golem Stomp (4 Might points): You stomp on the ground with all of your strength, creating a shock wave that attacks all creatures in immediate range. Affected creatures take 3 points of damage and are either pushed out of immediate range or fall down (your choice). Action. (145)

  • Good Advice: Anyone can help an ally, easing whatever task they're attempting. However, you have the benefit of clarity and wisdom. When you help another character, they gain an additional asset. Enabler. (145)

  • Got a Feeling (4 Intellect points): You have an uncanny intuition when it comes to finding things. While exploring, you can extend your senses up to 1 mile (1.5 km) in any direction and ask the GM a very simple, general question—usually a yes-or-no question—about that area, such as "Is there an orc encampment nearby?" or "Is there dark matter to be found in that rusted hulk?" If the answer you seek is not in the area, you receive no information. Action. (145)

  • Grab: While you are using the Enlarge ability, you can attack by attempting to wrap your massive hands around a target the size of a normal human or smaller. While you maintain your hold as your action, you keep the target from moving or taking physical actions (other than attempts to escape). The target's escape attempt is hindered by two steps due to your size. If you wish, you can automatically inflict 3 points of damage each round on the target while you hold it, but you can also keep it protected (by taking all attacks otherwise meant for the target). Action. (146)

  • Grand Deception (3 Intellect points): You convince an intelligent creature that can understand you and isn't hostile of something that is wildly and obviously untrue. Action. (146)

  • Grandiose Illusion (8 Intellect points): You create a fantastically complex scene of images that fit within a 1-mile (1.5 km) cube that you are also within. You must be able to see the images when you create them. The images can move in the cube and act in accordance with your desires. They can also act logically (such as reacting appropriately to fire or attacks) when you aren't directly observing them. The illusion includes sound and smell. For example, armies can clash in battle, with air support from machines or flying creatures, on and above terrain of your creation. The illusion lasts for one hour (or longer, if you concentrate on it after that time). Action. (146)

  • Granite Wall (7+ Intellect points): You create a level 6 granite wall within short range. The wall is 1 foot (30 cm) thick and up to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 m by 6 m) in size. It appears resting on a solid foundation and lasts for about ten hours. If you apply three levels of Effort, the wall is permanent until destroyed naturally. Action to initiate. (146)

  • Grasping Foliage (3+ Intellect points): Roots, branches, grass, or other natural foliage in the area snags and holds a foe you designate within short range for up to one minute. A foe caught in the grasping foliage can't move from its position, and all physical tasks, attacks, and defenses are hindered, including attempts to free itself. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to deal damage with the initial attack. Each level applied inflicts 2 additional points of damage when Grasping Foliage first snags and holds your foe.

    You can also use this ability to clear an area of entangling growth in the immediate radius, such as an area of tall grass, thick brush, impenetrable vines, and so on. Action. (146)

  • Gravity Cleave (3 Intellect points): You can harm a target within short range by rapidly increasing gravity's pull on one portion of the target and decreasing it on another, inflicting 6 points of damage. Action. (146)

  • Great Tree: When you use Wooden Body, you may grow to up to 12 feet (4 m) in height. In this larger form, you add 7 points to your Might Pool and +2 to your Might Edge. If you chose to grow, when Wooden Body ends you subtract 7 points from your Might Pool (if this brings the Pool to 0, subtract the overflow first from your Speed Pool and then, if necessary, from your Intellect Pool). When you use Wooden Body, whether or not you choose to grow, instead of looking like a wooden version of your normal self, you can take on the full appearance of a humanoid tree creature or an actual tree (including growing additional branches, extra foliage, and so on). This does not affect any of your abilities—in tree shape, you can use type abilities, other focus abilities, and so on. In tree shape, pretending to be a tree and hiding among normal trees are eased by two steps. Enabler. (GF, 31)

  • Greater Beast Form: When using Beast Form, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +1 to your Might Edge, +2 to your Speed Pool, and +1 to your Speed Edge. Enabler. (146)

Greater Beast Form applies to using Animal Shape.

  • Greater Controlled Change: It's easier to change into and out of the shape granted by your Beast Form ability. Transforming either way is now a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Designation: You can assign an innocent or guilty label to all creatures within immediate range when you use Designation. The one label applies to all affected creatures. This lasts until you use Greater Designation again. Action. (146)

  • Greater Enhanced Intellect: You gain 6 points to your Intellect Pool. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Enhanced Might: You gain 6 points to your Might Pool. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Enhanced Physique: You gain 6 points to divide among your Might and Speed Pools however you wish. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Enhanced Potential: You gain 6 points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Enhanced Speed: You gain 6 points to your Speed Pool. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Frenzy (4 Intellect points): When you wish, while in combat, you can enter a state of frenzy. While in this state, you can't use Intellect points, but you gain +2 to your Might Edge and your Speed Edge. This effect lasts as long as you wish, but it ends if no combat is taking place within range of your senses. If you have the Frenzy ability, you can use it or this ability, but you can't use both at the same time. Enabler. (146)

  • Greater Healing Touch (4 Intellect points): You touch a creature and restore its Might Pool, Speed Pool, and Intellect Pool to their maximum values, as if it were fully rested. A single creature can benefit from this ability only once each day. Action. (147)

  • Greater Necromancy (5+ Intellect points): This ability works like the Necromancy ability except that it creates a level 3 creature. Action to animate. (147)

  • Greater Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack, even one in which you are already trained: light bashing, light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in attacks using that type of weapon. If you're already trained in that type of attack, you instead are specialized in that type of attack. Enabler. (147)

  • Greater Skill With Defense: Choose one type of defense task, even one in which you are already trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are trained in defense tasks of that type, or specialized if you are already trained. You can select this ability up to three times. Each time you select it, you must choose a different type of defense task. Enabler. (147)

  • Group Friendship (4 Intellect points): You convince a sentient creature to regard you (and up to ten creatures that you designate within immediate distance of you) positively, as they would a potential friend. Action. (147)

  • Guide Bolt (4+ Intellect points): When you make an attack with a metallic bolt or metal-tipped arrow on a target within short range, you can improve the attack's aim and velocity, which grants an asset to the attack and inflicts an additional 2 points of damage. If you apply a level of Effort, you grant the same benefits to a ranged attack made by an ally within immediate range. In any case, you can use this ability only once per round. Enabler. (147)

  • Guild Training: Your type abilities that have durations last twice as long. Your type abilities that have short ranges reach to long range instead. Your type abilities that inflict damage deal 1 additional point of damage. Enabler. (147)

  • Gun Jammer (2+ Intellect points): You can interfere with a firearm so the next time it is used, it jams or misfires. The weapon must be within short range and you must be able to see it. Make an Intellect-based attack against the weapon or its bearer (whichever level is higher). If you succeed, the next attack with the firearm fails, and the weapon won't fire until someone uses an action to correct the problem. If you activate this ability when it isn't your turn, your attack against the weapon is hindered. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect more firearms; each level of Effort affects one additional target. Action or enabler. (IOM, 47, 75)

  • Gunner: You inflict 1 additional point of damage with guns. Enabler. (147)

Abilities—H

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 147)

  • Hack the Impossible (3 Intellect points): You can persuade robots, machines, and computers to do your bidding. You can discover an encrypted password, break through security on a website, briefly turn off a machine such as a surveillance camera, or disable a robot with a moment's worth of fiddling. Action. (147)

  • Hacker (2 Intellect points): You gain quick access to a desired bit of information in a computer or similar device, or you access one of its primary functions. Action. (147)

  • Hand to Eye (2 Speed points): This ability provides an asset to any tasks involving manual dexterity, such as pickpocketing, lockpicking, games involving agility, and so on. Each use lasts up to a minute; a new use (to switch tasks) replaces the previous use. Action to initiate. (148)

  • Handy: You work for a living and are trained in tasks related to carpentry, plumbing, and electrical repair. Your knowledge in these realms also gives you an asset to craft entirely new items within your spheres of knowledge and the limits of possibility within the setting. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard Choices: Sometimes, you believe that you've got to lie to those who trust you for their own good. You are specialized in deception tasks. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard Target: If you move a short distance or farther on your turn, all Speed defense rolls are eased. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard to Distract: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard to Hit: You are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard to Kill: You can choose to reroll any defense task you make but never more than once per round. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard to See: When you move, you are a blur. It is impossible to make out your identity as you run past, and in a round where you do nothing but move, stealth tasks and Speed defense tasks are eased. Enabler. (148)

  • Hard-Won Resilience: In your explorations of dark places, you've been exposed to all sorts of terrible things and are developing a general resistance. You gain +1 to Armor and are trained in Might defense tasks. Enabler. (148)

  • Hardened by the End: You're trained in Might defense tasks. (RR, 125)

  • Harder Light: When you create an object out of hard light, the object is one level higher than normal. Enabler. (CTS, 53)

  • Hardiness: You are trained in Might defense tasks. Enabler. (148)

  • Hasty Guncasting: You can make two gun attacks as a single action; one is a spell (using Spell Bullet) and the other is a normal gunshot. You can make these attacks in either order, but the second one is hindered by two steps. Enabler. (IOM, 47)

  • Have Spacesuit, Will Travel: Somehow or another, you became the legal owner of a fully functional and advanced spacesuit. The spacesuit provides +1 Armor and, more important, allows you to survive in the vacuum of space using suit reserves for up to twelve hours at a time with enough reaction mass to get around in zero gravity on jets of ionized gas for that same period. After each use, the suit must be recharged, either with already-charged cartridges of air and reaction mass or by allowing the suit to sit idle in an area with breathable atmosphere for at least two hours, during which time it will recharge both air and reaction mass using integrated solid state mechanisms. The suit's power supply is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which means it'll function for a few decades before needing to be changed out. Enabler. (148)

  • Heads-Up Display (2+ Intellect points): Your Powered Armor ability comes with systems that help you make sense of, analyze, and use your weapons in your environment. When you trigger this ability, you gain an asset on one attack roll as the suit perfectly outlines foes and steadies your aim, regardless of whether you're making a melee or ranged attack.

    Alternatively, you can use the heads-up display to magnify your vision, increasing your vision range to 5 miles (8 km) for two rounds. If you apply one level of Effort, you can also see through mundane materials (such as wood, concrete, plastic, and stone) to a short distance in false color images. If you apply two levels of Effort, you can see through special materials (such as solid lead or other substances) to an immediate distance in false color images; however, the GM might require you to succeed at an Intellect-based task first, depending on the material blocking your armor's sensors. Enabler. (148)

  • Healing Pulse (3 Intellect points): You and all targets you choose within immediate range gain the immediate benefits of using one of their recovery rolls (as long as it is not their ten-hour recovery roll) without having to spend an action, ten minutes, or one hour. Targets regain points to their Pools immediately but mark off that recovery use. PCs who have already used up their one-action, ten-minute, and one-hour recovery rolls for the day gain no benefit from this ability. NPCs targeted by this ability regain a number of health points equal to their level. Action. (148)

  • Healing Touch (1 Intellect point): With a touch, you restore 1d6 points to one stat Pool of any creature. This ability is a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Each time you attempt to heal the same creature, the task is hindered by an additional step. The difficulty returns to 2 after that creature rests for ten hours. Action. (149)

  • Hedge Magic (1 Intellect point): You can perform small tricks: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. You can't use Hedge Magic to harm another creature or object. Action. (149)

  • Heightened Skills: You are trained in two tasks of your choosing (other than attacks or defense). If you choose a task you're already trained in, you instead become specialized in that task. You can't choose a task you're already specialized in. Enabler. (149)

  • Hemorrhage (2+ Might points): You make a powerful and precise strike that inflicts additional damage later. On your next turn, the target of this attack takes an additional 3 points of damage (ignores Armor). The target can prevent this additional damage by making a recovery roll, using any ability that heals it, or using its action to attend to the injury. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase this duration by one round. Action. (149)

  • Heroic Monster Bane: When you inflict damage to creatures more than twice as large or massive as you, you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (149)

  • Heroic Witch Bane: When you inflict damage to witches (or other intelligent creatures who cast spells), you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (IOM, 49)

  • Hidden Closet: The magic ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability can store items for you within its bound object, including extra sets of clothing, tools, food, and so on. The interior of the object is, in effect, a 10-foot (3 m) square pocket dimension that normally only the magic ally can access. Enabler. (149)

  • Hidden Reserves: When you use an action to make a recovery roll, you also gain +1 to both your Might Edge and your Speed Edge for ten minutes thereafter. Enabler. (149)

  • Higher Mathematics: You are trained in standard and higher mathematics. Enabler. (149)

  • Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to five minutes. Enabler. (149)

  • Horde Fighting: When two or more foes attack you at once in melee, you can use them against each other. You gain an asset to Speed defense rolls or attack rolls (your choice each round) against them. Enabler. (149)

  • Horde Tactics (7 Might points): For up to one hour a day, you and at least three other allies can act like a single creature. Use your stats, but add +8 to your Might Pool, +1 to your Might Edge, +2 to your Speed Pool, +1 to your Speed Edge, and +1 to your Armor. Enabler. (149)

  • Hover (2 Intellect points): You float slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you can control your movement to remain motionless in the air or float up to a short distance as your action; otherwise, you drift with the wind or with any momentum you have gained. This effect lasts for up to ten minutes. Action to initiate. (149)

  • How Others Think: You have a sense of how people think. You're trained in one of the following tasks: persuasion, deception, or detecting falsehoods. Enabler. (149)

  • Hush (1+ Intellect point): You create a transparent bubble within short range that muffles very loud sounds within it, such as alarms, sirens, leaf blowers, and crying babies. The bubble is about 3 feet (1 m) across and any noise from within it comes out no louder than a normal speaking voice. The bubble lasts for one minute and moves with the target. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the duration; one level of Effort increases the duration to ten minutes, two levels increases it to an hour, and three levels increases it to ten hours. Action. (IOM, 66)

  • Huge: When you use Enlarge, you can choose to grow up to 16 feet (5 m) in height. When you do, you add +1 to Armor (a total of +2 to Armor) and deal 2 additional points of damage with melee attacks. Enabler. (149)

  • Hunter's Drive (5 Intellect points): Through force of will, when you wish it, you grant yourself greater prowess in the hunt for ten minutes. During this time, you gain an asset to all tasks involving your quarry, including attacks. Your quarry is the creature you selected with your Quarry ability. Enabler. (149)

  • Hurl Flame (2 Intellect points): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can reach into your halo and hurl a handful of fire at a target. This is a ranged attack with short range that deals 4 points of fire damage. Action. (149)

Abilities—I

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 150)

  • Ice Armor (1 Intellect point): When you wish it, your body is covered in a sheen of ice for ten minutes that gives you +1 to Armor. While the sheen is active, you feel no discomfort from normal cold temperatures and have an additional +2 to Armor versus cold damage specifically. Enabler. (150)

  • Ice Creation (4+ Intellect points): You create a solid object of ice that is your size or smaller. The object is crude and can have no moving parts, so you can make a sword, a shield, a short ladder, and so on. Your ice objects are as strong as iron, but if you're not in constant contact with them, they function for only 1d6 + 6 rounds before breaking or melting. For example, you can make and wield an ice sword, but if you give it to another PC, the sword won't last as long for that character. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to create objects larger than you. For each level of Effort used in this way, you can create an object up to twice again as large as you. Action. (150)

  • Ice Storm: You attempt an additional Intellect task as part of your Cold Burst attack, and if successful, you blind foes for up to one minute with a layer of freezing ice. All tasks of blinded creatures are hindered by two steps. Enabler. (150)

  • Ignition (4 Intellect points): You designate a creature or flammable object you can see within short range to catch fire. This is an Intellect attack. The target takes 6 points of ambient damage per round until the flames are extinguished, which a creature can do by dousing itself in water, rolling on the ground, or smothering the flames. Usually, putting out the flames takes an action. Action to initiate. (150)

  • Ignore Affliction (5 Might points): If you are affected by an unwanted condition or affliction (such as disease, paralysis, mind control, broken limb, and so on, but not damage), you can ignore it and act as if it does not affect you for one hour. If the condition would normally last less than an hour, it is entirely negated. Action. (150)

  • Ignore the Pain: You ignore the impaired condition and treat the debilitated condition as impaired. Enabler. (150)

  • Illuminating Touch (1 Intellect point): You touch an object, and that object sheds light to illuminate everything in short range. The light remains until you use an action to touch the object again, or until you've illuminated more objects than you have tiers, in which case the oldest objects you illuminated go dark first. Action. (150)

  • Illusory Disguise (2+ Intellect points): You appear to be someone or something else, roughly of your size and shape, for up to one hour. Once created, the disguise requires no concentration. For each additional Intellect point you spend, you can disguise one other creature. All disguised creatures must stay within sight of you or lose their disguise. Action to create. (150)

  • Illusory Duplicate (2 Intellect points): You create a single image of yourself within immediate range. The image looks like you as you are now (including how you are dressed). The image can move (for example, you could make it walk or attack), but it can't move more than an immediate distance from where you created it. The illusion includes sound and smell. It lasts for ten minutes and changes as you direct (no concentration is needed). If you move beyond short range of the illusion, it vanishes. Action to create. (150)

  • Illusory Evasion (5 Intellect points): When you would be hit by an attack, you teleport an immediate distance away, leaving behind an illusory copy of yourself to be struck by that attack instead of you. This destroys the illusion but leaves you unharmed by the attack. If the attack affects an area and the teleportation can't get you out of that area, the attack still affects you normally. Enabler. (150)

  • Illusory Selves (4 Intellect points): You create four holographic duplicates of yourself within short range. The duplicates last for one minute. You mentally direct their actions, and the duplicates aren't mirror images—each one can do different things. If struck violently, they either disappear permanently or freeze motionless (your choice). Action to create. (150)

  • Immovable: You gain +3 to your Might Pool. You can attempt a Might task to avoid being knocked down, pushed back, or moved against your will even if the effect attempting to move you doesn't allow it. If you apply Effort to this task, you can apply two free levels of Effort. Enabler. (150)

  • Impart Ideal (3 Intellect points): After interacting for at least one minute with a creature who can hear and understand you, you can attempt to temporarily impart an ideal to it that you could not otherwise convince it to adopt. An ideal is different than a specific suggestion or command; an ideal is an overarching value such as "All life is sacred," "My political party is the best," "Children should be seen, not heard," and so on. An ideal influences a creature's behavior but doesn't control it. The imparted ideal lasts as long as befits the situation, but usually at least a few hours. The ideal is jeopardized if someone friendly to the creature spends a minute or more bringing it back to its senses. Action. (151)

  • Impart Understanding: Your Learning the Path ability works more effectively, allowing you to ease a task by two steps or to provide two assets to a friend's task, instead of easing normally. Enabler. (151)

  • Impersonate (2 Intellect points): For one hour, you alter your voice, posture, and mannerisms, whip together a disguise, and gain an asset on an attempt to impersonate someone else, whether it is a specific individual (Bob the cop) or a general role (a police officer). Action to initiate. (151)

  • Impetus (2 Intellect points): A loose object within short range that you could carry in one hand is drawn to your free hand. If the object is stuck or held by another creature, you must succeed on a Might roll to rip it free, or the object remains where it is. Action. (151)

  • Impossible Walk (5+ Speed points): You can walk (or crawl or run) on steep inclines and horizontal surfaces (such as walls and cliffs) for the next minute as if they were flat ground. When using this ability, "down" for you is either the surface you are walking on or the normal orientation of gravity (your choice). If you apply one level of Effort, you can also walk on the ceiling or on a liquid or semi-liquid surface such as water, mud, quicksand, or even lava (although touching a dangerous surface like lava still harms you). If you apply two levels of Effort, you can also walk on air as if it were solid ground. Enabler. (151)

  • Impressive Display (2 Might points): You perform a feat of strength, speed, or combat, impressing those nearby. For the next minute you gain an asset on all interaction tasks with people who saw you use this ability. Action. (151)

  • Improved Absorb Kinetic Energy: When you use Absorb Kinetic Energy, instead of being able to absorb 1 point of damage from a physical attack or impact, you can absorb 2 points. You can also store up to 2 points of energy from any source. However, you can still release energy only 1 point at a time. Enabler. (151)

  • Improved Apportation (6 Intellect points): You call a creature of up to level 3, which appears next to you. You can choose a creature that you've previously encountered, or (no more than once per day) you can allow the GM to determine the creature randomly. If you call a random creature, it has a 10 percent chance of being a creature of up to level 5. The creature has no memory of anything before being called by you, though it can speak and has the general knowledge a creature of its type should possess. The creature is receptive to communication and helping you (unless shown that it should do otherwise). Action. (151)

  • Improved Command Spirit: When you use your Command Spirit ability, you can command a spirit or animate undead creature of up to level 7. Enabler. (151)

  • Improved Companion: Your companion (such as a controlled beast) or follower increases to level 4. As a level 4 creature, it has a target number of 12 and 12 health, and it inflicts 4 points of damage (though in most cases, instead of attacking, it provides an asset to your attacks). You can gain this ability once per tier. Each additional time you select it, it increases your companion or follower's level by 1. Enabler. (151)

Editor's Notes — Improved Companion can be used to improve a familiar at tier 5.

  • Improved Copying: You can use Copy Power to copy more powerful abilities. In addition to the normal options for using Effort with Copy Power, if you apply one level of Effort, the GM chooses a mid-tier ability that most closely resembles that power (instead of a low-tier ability). Enabler. (CTS, 53)

When you use Improved Copying, a copied ability must be low, medium, or high tier according to how it is listed in the ability categories. It doesn't matter if a type or focus makes it available at a lower or higher tier.

  • Improved Designation: When you use Designation, you can designate one additional creature to be innocent or guilty, which means up to two creatures at a time may be innocent, or two guilty, or one innocent and one guilty. Enabler. (151)

  • Improved Edge: Choose one of your Edge stats that is 0. It increases to 1. Enabler. (151)

Editor's Notes — The 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (25) presented a more restrictive version of this ability:

  • Extra Edge: Your physical nature grants you an Edge of 1 in both Speed and Might, rather than one or the other.

  • Improved Gravity Cleave (9 Intellect points): You can harm a group of targets within long range by rapidly increasing gravity's pull on one portion of each target and decreasing it on another, inflicting 6 points of damage. The targets must be within immediate range of each other. Action. (151)

  • Improved Machine Companion: The machine from your Machine Companion ability improves, becoming a level 5 creature with the ability either to fly a long distance each round (and carry you) for up to ten minutes at a time, or to carry an extra cypher for you that doesn't count against your cypher limit. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Monster Bane: When you inflict damage to creatures more than twice as large or massive as you, you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Object Bond (5 Intellect points): When you manifest the ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability, it is now a level 4 creature. Also, the creature gains a pulse attack that renders all artifacts, machines, manifest cyphers, and lesser magic devices within short range inoperable for one minute. After the creature uses this ability, it must retreat to its object to rest for three hours. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Recovery: Your ten-minute recovery roll takes only one action instead, so that your first two recovery rolls are one action, the third is one hour, and the fourth is ten hours. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Sculpt Light (7+ Intellect points): You create an object of solid light in any shape you can imagine whose base size can fit within a 10-foot (3 m) cube. The object appears in an area adjacent to you or floating freely in space up to a long distance away, and the object lasts for a few days. The object is crude and can have no moving parts, so you can make a wall segment, a block, a box, stairs, and so on. The sculpted object has the approximate mass of the real object and is level 6. If you apply Effort to increase the size of the object, each level applied increases the size by an additional 10-foot (3 m) cube. Action. (152)

  • Improved Sensor (2 Intellect points): When you use Sensor, you can place the sensor anywhere you choose within long range. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Success: When you roll a 17 or higher on an attack roll that deals damage, you deal 1 additional point of damage. For instance, if you roll a natural 18, which normally deals 2 extra points of damage, you instead deal 3 extra points. If you roll a natural 20 and choose to deal damage instead of achieve a special major effect, you deal 5 extra points of damage. Enabler. (152)

  • Improved Witch Bane: When you inflict damage to witches (or other intelligent creatures who cast spells), you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (IOM, 49)

  • Improvise (3 Intellect points): When you perform a task in which you are not trained, you can improvise to gain an asset on the task. The asset might be a tool you cobble together, a sudden insight into overcoming a problem, or a rush of dumb luck. Enabler. (152)

Improvise can be used on a task a character has an inability in, but instead of gaining an asset, the character just loses the inability penalty.

  • In Harm's Way (3 Intellect points): When you put your friends before yourself as your action, you ease all defense tasks for all characters you choose that are adjacent to you. This lasts until the end of your next turn. If one of your friends would be damaged, you can choose to take up to half the number of points of damage they would otherwise take, but only if you're not already impaired or debilitated. Enabler. (152)

  • Incapacitate (4 Intellect points): You use necromantic magic to make one creature in short range fall prone and be unable to take actions for one round. Action. (IOM, 51)

  • Incomparable Pilot: While on a starcraft you own or have a direct connection with, your Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge increase by 1. When you make a recovery roll on a starcraft you're familiar with, you recover 5 additional points. Enabler. (152)

  • Increased Effects: You treat rolls of natural 19 as rolls of natural 20 for either Might actions or Speed actions (your choice when you gain this ability). This allows you to gain a major effect on a natural 19 or 20. Enabler. (153)

  • Increasing Determination: If you fail at a noncombat physical task (pushing open a door or climbing a cliff, for example) and then retry the task, the task is eased. If you fail again, you gain no special benefits. Enabler. (153)

  • Incredible Feat of Science (12 Intellect points): You do something amazing in the lab. This takes parts and materials equivalent to three expensive items. Possible incredible feats include:

    • Reanimate and command a dead body for one hour.
    • Create an engine that runs on perpetual motion.
    • Create a teleportation gate that remains open for one minute.
    • Transmute one substance into another substance.
    • Cure one person with an incurable disease or condition.
    • Create a weapon designed to hurt something that can't otherwise be hurt.
    • Create a defense designed to protect against something that can't otherwise be stopped.

    Action to initiate; a full day of work to complete. (153)

  • Incredible Health: Thanks to a dip in a magical pool, an injection of artificial antibodies and immune defense nanobots into your bloodstream, exposure to strange radiation, or something else, you are now immune to diseases, viruses, and mutations of any kind. Enabler. (153)

  • Incredible Recovery (6 Might points): You move up one step on the damage track or shake off any unwanted ongoing condition. Action. (153)

  • Incredible Running Speed: You move much farther than normal in a round. This means as a part of another action, you can move up to a long distance. As an action, you can move up to 200 feet (60 m), or up to 500 feet (150 m) as a Speed-based task with a difficulty of 4. Enabler. (153)

  • Infer Thoughts (4 Intellect points): If you interact with or study a target for at least a round, you can attempt to read its surface thoughts, even if the subject doesn't want you to. You must be able to see the target. Once you have gained a sense of what it's thinking—through its body language, its speech, and what it does and doesn't say—you can continue to infer the target's surface thoughts for up to one minute as long as you can still see and hear the target. Action to prepare; action to initiate. (153)

  • Inferno Trail (6 Intellect points): For the next minute, you leave a trail of flame in your wake. The trail matches your path and lasts for up to a minute, creating a wall of flame about 6 feet (2 m) high that inflicts 5 points of damage to any creature that passes through it, potentially catching them on fire for an additional 1 point of damage each round (if they are flammable) until they spend a round putting out the fire. Action. (153)

  • Infiltrator: You are trained in interactions involving lies or trickery. Enabler. (153)

  • Influence Swarm (1 Intellect point): You master one type of small creature (such as insects, rats, bats, or even birds) and they respond to you in number. Your creatures within short range will not harm you or those you designate as allies for one hour. Action to initiate. (153)

  • Information Gathering (5 Intellect points): You speak telepathically with any or all machines within 1 mile (1.5 km). You can ask one basic question about themselves or anything happening near them and receive a simple answer. For example, while in an area with many machines, you could ask about the location of a specific creature or individual, and if they are within a mile of you, one or more machines will probably provide the answer. Action. (153)

  • Informer: You gain an informer within an allied community. They act as your secret (or known) informer. If something of note happens in your informer's location, they will use whatever means they have available to tell you about it. Enabler. (153)

  • Infuse Spirit: When you kill a creature or destroy a spirit with an attack, if you choose, its spirit (if unprotected) immediately infuses you, and you regain 1d6 points to one of your Pools (your choice). The spirit is stored within you, which means it cannot be questioned, raised, or restored to life by any means unless you allow it. Enabler. (153)

  • Inhabit Crystal (4 Intellect points): You transfer your body and whatever you are carrying into a crystal at least the size of your index finger. While in the crystal, you are aware of what is going on around it, seeing and hearing through the crystal. You can even speak through the crystal and carry on conversations. You cannot take actions other than to exit the crystal. You remain within as long as you wish, but you are not in stasis and should exit to eat, drink, sleep, and so on as normal (breathing is not an issue). If the crystal is destroyed or takes major damage while you are within it, you immediately exit, cannot act for three rounds, and move two steps down the damage track. Action to enter and exit. (154)

A character should specify where they place the crystal for the Inhabit Crystal ability before using it, even if it's just on the ground at their feet.

  • Innate Power: Choose either your Might Pool or your Speed Pool. When spending points to activate your focus abilities, you can spend points from this Pool instead of your Intellect Pool (in which case you use your Might Edge or Speed Edge instead of your Intellect Edge, as appropriate). Enabler. (GF, 32)(CTS, 53)

  • Inner Defense: Life's trials have toughened you and made you hard to read. You are trained in any task to resist another creature's attempt to discern your true feelings, beliefs, or plans. You are likewise trained in resisting torture, telepathic intrusion, and mind control. Enabler. (154)

  • Innovator: You can modify any artifact to give it different or better abilities as if that artifact were one level lower than normal, and the modification takes half the normal time. Enabler. (154)

  • Insect Eruption (6 Intellect points): You call a swarm of insects in a place where it is possible for insects to appear. They remain for one minute, and during this time, they do as you command while they are within long range. They can swarm about and hinder any or all creatures' tasks, or you can focus the swarm and attack all targets within immediate range of each other (all within long range of you). The attacking swarm inflicts 2 points of damage per round. You can also command the swarm to move heavy objects through collective effort, eat through wooden walls, and perform other actions suitable for a supernatural swarm. Action to initiate. (154)

  • Insight: You are trained in tasks to discern others' motives and to ascertain their general nature. You have a knack for sensing whether or not someone is truly innocent. Enabler. (154)

  • Inspiration (6 Intellect points): You speak words of encouragement and inspiration. All allies within short range who can hear you immediately gain a recovery roll, gain an immediate free action, and have an asset for that free action. The recovery roll does not count as one of their normal recovery rolls. Action. (154)

Editor's Notes — This updated version of Inspiration in the Cypher System Rulebook first appeared as sixth-tier Arkus ability in Numenera Destiny, making it an appropriate option for a sixth-tier Speaker in the right setting. The 2015 Cypher System Rulebook's version of this ability is named Inspiring Ease in the 2019 revision.

  • Inspire Action (4 Intellect points): If one ally can see and easily understand you, you can instruct that ally to take an action. If the ally chooses to take that exact action, they can do so as an additional action immediately. Doing so doesn't interfere with the ally taking a normal action on their turn. Action. (154)

  • Inspire Aggression (2 Intellect points): Your words twist the mind of a character within short range who is able to understand you, unlocking their more primitive instincts. As a result, they gain an asset on their Might-based attack rolls for one minute. Action to initiate. (154)

  • Inspire Coordinated Actions (9 Intellect points): If your allies can see and easily understand you, you can instruct each of them to take one specific action (the same action for all of them). If any of them choose to take that exact action, they can do so as an additional action immediately. This doesn't interfere with them taking their normal actions on their turns. Action. (154)

  • Inspire the Innocent (3 Intellect points): You speak words of encouragement and inspiration to everyone within immediate range whom you have designated as innocent with your Designation ability. They immediately gain a free recovery roll. One person you choose can gain an immediate free action instead of a free recovery roll. If you also have the Inspiration ability, the target who gains a free action also gains an asset on it. Action. (154)

  • Inspiring Ease: Through stories, songs, art, or other forms of entertainment, you inspire your friends. After spending 24 hours with you, once per day each of your friends can ease a task. This benefit is ongoing while you remain in the friend's company. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to the friend's company within 24 hours. If you leave the friend's company for more than 24 hours, you must spend another 24 hours together to reactivate the benefit. Enabler. (154)

  • Inspiring Success (6 Intellect points): When you succeed on a roll to perform a task related to the stat that you choose upon selecting this ability, and you applied at least one level of Effort, you may choose another character within short range. That character has an asset on the next task they attempt using that stat on their next turn. Enabler. (154)

  • Intelligent Interface (3 Intellect points): You can speak telepathically with any intelligent machine within long range. Further, you are trained in all interactions with intelligent machines. Such machines and robots that normally would never communicate with a human might talk to you. Enabler. (155)

  • Intense Interaction (3 Intellect points): You gain an asset on intimidating, persuading, and influencing people for ten minutes. Action. (155)

  • Interaction Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: deceiving, persuading, public speaking, seeing through deception, or intimidation. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (155)

  • Interface: By directly plugging into a device, you can identify and learn to operate it as though the task were one level lower. Enabler. (155)

  • Interruption (4 Intellect points): Your vociferous, booming command prevents a creature within short range from taking any action for one round. It can defend itself if attacked, but when it does so, its defense is hindered by two steps. Each additional time you attempt this ability against the same target, you must apply one more level of Effort than you applied on the previous attempt. Action. (155)

  • Inventor: You can create new artifacts in half the time, as if they were two levels lower, by spending half the normal XP. Enabler. (155)

  • Investigate: You are trained in perception, cryptography, deceiving, and breaking into computers. Enabler. (155)

  • Investigative Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: perception, identifying, lockpicking, assessing danger, or tinkering with devices. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (155)

  • Investigator: To really shine as an investigator, you must engage your mind and body in your deductions. You can spend points from your Might Pool, Speed Pool, or Intellect Pool to apply levels of Effort to any Intellect-based task. Enabler. (155)

  • Invisibility (4 Intellect points): You become invisible for ten minutes. While invisible, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to hide your position. If you have another ability that also confers invisibility, using either one allows you to remain invisible for twice as long as the duration specified. Action to initiate or reinitiate. (155)

  • Invisible Phasing (4 Might points): You become invisible while using Phase Sprint and during the following round. While invisible, stealth is eased by two steps and Speed defense is eased by two steps (this replaces the asset to Speed defense tasks provided by Phase Sprint). The first attack you make using any Shreds the Walls of the World attack abilities is also eased by two steps; however, if you attack a creature, Invisible Phasing ends immediately instead of lasting for one additional round. If you have the Invisibility ability, you can remain invisible during the entire round, which means that if you use Scratch Existence or Shred Existence, attacking each target along your path is eased by two steps. Enabler. (155)

  • Iron Eye: You inflict an additional 3 points of damage with any single-target attack spell cast through a firearm using Spell Bullet. If the attack spell doesn't inflict damage, you instead can modify the spell as if you had applied a level of Intellect Effort to it. Enabler. (IOM, 47)

  • Iron Fist: Your unarmed attacks deal 4 points of damage. Enabler. (155)

  • Iron Punch (5+ Intellect points): You magnetically pick up a metallic heavy object within short range and hurl it at someone within short range, an Intellect action that deals 6 points of damage to the target and to the hurled object. For each additional level of Effort applied, you can pick up a slightly larger object, allowing you to affect one additional target within short range as long as it is next to the prior target. Action. (155)

Abilities—J

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 155)

  • Jaunt (5+ Intellect points): You instantaneously teleport yourself to any location within long distance that you can see. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the distance you can travel; each level of Effort used in this way increases the range by another 100 feet (30 m). Action. (155)

  • Juggernaut (5 Might points): Until the end of the next round, you can move through solid objects such as doors and walls. Only 2 feet (60 cm) of wood, 1 foot (30 cm) of stone, or 6 inches (15 cm) of metal can stop your movement. Enabler. (156)

  • Jump Attack (5+ Might points): You attempt a difficulty 4 Might roll to jump high into the air as part of your melee attack action. If you succeed at the jump and your attack hits, you inflict 3 additional points of damage and knock the foe prone. If you fail at the jump, you still make your normal attack roll, but you don't inflict the extra damage or knock down the opponent if you hit. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to enhance your jump; each level of Effort used in this way adds +2 feet to the height and +1 damage to the attack. Action. (156)

  • Junkmonger (2 Intellect points): You are trained in crafting two kinds of items using scavenged junk. If you have scavenged (or otherwise obtained) at least two pieces of junk in different categories (electronic, plastic, dangerous, metallic, glass, or textile), you have the materials you need to craft a new item in one of your areas of training (unless the GM deems otherwise). Enabler. (156)

  • Jury-Rig (5 Intellect points): You quickly create an object using what would seem to be entirely inappropriate materials. You can make a bomb out of a tin can and household cleaners, a lockpick out of aluminum foil, or a sword out of broken furniture. The level of the item determines the difficulty of the task, but the appropriateness of the materials eases or hinders it as well. Generally, the object can be no larger than something you can hold in one hand, and it functions once (or, in the case of a weapon or similar item, is essentially useful for one encounter). If you spend at least ten minutes on the task, you can create an item of level 5 or lower. You can't change the nature of the materials involved. For example, you can't take iron rods and make a pile of gold coins or a wicker basket. Action. (156)

  • Just a Bit Mad: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks. Enabler. (156)

Abilities—K

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 156)

  • Knock Out (5+ Might points): You make a melee attack that inflicts no damage. Instead, if the attack hits, make a second Might-based roll. If successful, a foe of level 3 or lower is knocked unconscious for one minute. For each level of Effort used, you can affect one higher level of foe, or you can extend the duration for an additional minute. Action. (156)

  • Know the Way: You are familiar with before-times buildings and other structures, which extends to ruins of the same. You are trained in tasks related to getting around inside those buildings quickly, finding alternate routes, finding places to hide, and other tasks associated with gaining a benefit by being able to picture a likely floor plan of any given building. Enabler. (RR, 123)

  • Know Their Faults: If a creature that you can see has a special weakness, such as a vulnerability to loud noises, a negative modification to perception, and so on, you know what it is. Ask and the GM will tell you; usually, this is not associated with a roll, but in certain cases the GM may decide that there is a chance for you not to know. In these cases, you are specialized in knowing creature weaknesses. Enabler. (156)

  • Know Where to Look: Whenever the GM obtains a result for you on the Useful Stuff table, you get two results instead of one. If the GM is using some other method to generate rewards for finding valuables, you should gain double the result you would otherwise obtain. Enabler. (156)(RR, 121)

  • Knowing: You are trained in one area of knowledge of your choice. Enabler. (156)

  • Knowing the Unknown (6 Intellect points): By accessing the resources appropriate to your character, you can ask the GM one question and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining knowledge of the future is impossible. Action. (156)

  • Knowledge of the Law: You're trained in the law of the land. If you don't know the answer to a question of law, you know where and how to research it (a university's law library is a good place to start, but you've also got online sources). Enabler. (156)

  • Knowledge Is Power: Choose two noncombat skills in which you are not trained. You are trained in those skills. Enabler. (156)

  • Knowledge Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two areas of knowledge such as history, geography, archeology, and so on. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (157)

Abilities—L

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 157)

  • Lab Analysis (3 Intellect points): You analyze the scene of a crime, the site of a mysterious incident, or a series of unexplained phenomena, and maybe learn a surprising amount of information about the perpetrators, the participants, or the force(s) responsible. To do so, you must collect samples from the scene. Samples are paint or wood scrapings, dirt, photographs of the area, hair, an entire corpse, and so on. With samples in hand, you can discover up to three pertinent pieces of information about the scene, possibly clearing up a lesser mystery and pointing the way to solving a greater one. The GM will decide what you learn and what level of difficulty is needed to learn it. (For comparison, discovering that a victim was killed not by a fall, as seems immediately obvious, but rather by electrocution, is a difficulty 3 task for you.) The task is eased if you take the time to transport the samples to a permanent lab (if you have access to one), as opposed to conducting the analysis with your field science kit. Action to initiate, 2d20 minutes to complete. (157)

  • Late Inspiration (3 Intellect points): You retry a task you failed within the past one minute, using the same difficulty and modifiers, except this time you have an asset on the task. If this retry fails, you can't use this ability to retry it again. Enabler. (157)

  • Laundry Day (3+ Intellect points): You select two batches of laundry within immediate range, each large enough for a typical washing machine or dryer. The laundry agitates and spins in midair for a minute, becoming clean and dry as it does so, after which it sorts and stacks itself into neat piles or, if you know where it belongs and that's within short range, putting itself away. Particularly dirty clothes automatically take a few extra minutes to finish cleaning and drying. The spell doesn't harm delicate items or clothing that needs special care (such as dry cleaning or low temperature). In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect more batches of laundry; each level of Effort affects two additional batches. Action to initiate; one minute to complete. (IOM, 72)

  • Lead by Inquiry: You keep your allies on their toes with occasional questions, jokes, and even mock drills for those who care to join in. After spending 24 hours with you, your allies are treated as if trained in tasks related to perception. This benefit is ongoing while you remain in your allies' company. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to the allies' company within 24 hours. If you leave the allies' company for more than 24 hours, you must spend another 24 hours together to reactivate the benefit. Enabler. (157)

  • Lead From the Front: You gain 3 new points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish. Enabler. (157)

  • Learned a Few Things: You are trained in two areas of knowledge of your choice, or specialized in one area of knowledge of your choice. Enabler. (157)

  • Learning the Path (2 Intellect points): You observe or study a creature, object, or location for at least one round. The next time you interact with it (possibly in the following round), a related task (such as persuading the creature, attacking it, or defending from its attack) is eased. Action. (157)

  • Legerdemain (1 Speed point): You can perform small but seemingly impossible tricks. For example, you can make a small object in your hands disappear and move into a desired spot within reach (like your pocket). You can make someone believe that they have something in their possession that they do not have (or vice versa). You can switch similar objects right in front of someone's eyes. Action. (157)

  • Lend a Hand: If an ally attempts a magical task and fails, they can try again without spending Effort if you help them. You provide this advantage to your friend even if you are not trained in the task that they're retrying. Enabler. (IOM, 59)

  • Lend Animal Shape (6+ Intellect points): You change into an animal, and one willing creature within immediate range also transforms into an animal of that type (bear, tiger, wolf, and so on) for ten minutes, as if they were using your Animal Shape ability. For each level of Effort applied, you can affect one additional creature. All creatures transforming with you must be your size or smaller. A creature can revert to its normal form as an action, but it cannot then change back into the animal form. One creature (whether you or someone else) changing form does not affect any other creature affected with this ability. Action.

    A creature that takes animal form with Lend Animal Shape counts as an animal for the use of Animal Scrying.

    A character might be able to take the shape of a creature that is similar to a common animal, such as a unicorn instead of a horse or a basilisk instead of a lizard, but doing so should require applying at least one level of Effort to the change, and the character wouldn't gain any of the creature's magical abilities. (GF, 32)(CTS, 53)

  • Lethal Damage: Choose one of your existing attacks that inflicts points of damage (depending on your type and focus, this might be a specific weapon, a special ability such as a blast of fire, or your unarmed attacks). When you hit with that attack, you inflict an additional 5 points of damage. Enabler. (158)

  • Lethal Ploy (5+ Intellect points): Long experience has revealed to you that subterfuge is your friend in desperate situations. You push, attack, or distract the target in some seemingly inconsequential way that leads to the target's death. The target must be level 2 or lower. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target by 1. Thus, to kill a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), you must apply three levels of Effort. Action. (158)

  • Lethal Vibration (7 Might points): You set up a lethal vibration in your own body and pass it to a creature you touch with a successful attack. If the target is level 2 or lower, it dies, exploding in a peal of thunder. If the target is level 3 or higher, it sustains 6 points of damage and is stunned on its next action. If the target is a PC of any tier, they move down one step on the damage track. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect a more powerful target (one level of Effort means a target of up to level 3 explodes and a target of level 4 or higher takes damage and is stunned, and so on). Action. (158)

  • Levity: Through wit, charm, humor, and grace, you are trained in all social interactions other than those involving coercion or intimidation. During rests, you put friends and comrades at ease so much that they gain +1 to their recovery rolls. Enabler. (158)

  • Library Life: When a problem needs solving, you may not know the solution, but you know where to look. You are trained in research. Enabler. (IOM, 54)

  • Life Lessons: Choose any two noncombat skills. You are trained in those skills. Enabler. (158)

  • Lightning Flash (4+ Intellect points): Lightning strikes within long range, filling an immediate area and inflicting 3 points of damage on all affected creatures. Effort applied to one attack counts for all attacks against targets in the area of the flash. Even on an unsuccessful attack, a creature in the area still takes 1 point of damage. Your attack is eased against targets wearing, carrying, or made of a significant amount of metal. Action. (IOM, 50)

  • Like the Back of Your Hand: All tasks directly related to a starcraft that you own or have a direct connection with are eased. Tasks include repair, refueling, finding a breach in the hull, finding a stowaway, and so on. The same goes for any attack or defense rolls you make within the starcraft against enemy boarders, as well as any attack or defense rolls you make with the ship against enemy ships. Enabler. (158)

  • Living Armor (4 Intellect points): If you're in a location where it's possible for your creatures from Influence Swarm to come, you call a swarm around you for one hour. They crawl over your body or fly around you in a cloud. During this time, your Speed defense tasks are eased, and you gain +1 to Armor. Action to initiate. (158)

  • Living Light (6+ Intellect points): Your body dissolves into a cloud of photons that instantly travel to a location you choose and then reform. You can choose any open space big enough to contain you that you can see within very long range, or any place you have lit by Illuminating Touch that is still shining. You disappear and almost instantly reappear in the space you chose. It takes until the end of the round for your body to become fully solid, so until the start of the next round, you take a maximum of 1 point of damage from any given attack or source of damage. Each level of Effort you apply allows you to bring along one additional person besides yourself, as long as they are within immediate range when you depart. Action. (158)

  • Living Off the Land: Given an hour or so, you can always find edible food and potable water in the wilderness. You can even find enough for a small group of people, if need be. Further, since you're so hardy and have gained resistance over time, you are trained in resisting the effects of natural poisons (such as those from plants or living creatures). You're also immune to natural diseases. Enabler. (158)

  • Living Wall (3 Might points): You specify a confined area—such as an open doorway, a hallway, or a space between two trees—where you stand. For the next ten minutes, if anyone attempts to enter or pass through that area and you don't wish it, you make an automatic attack against them. If you hit, not only do you inflict damage, but they must also stop their movement. Enabler. (158)

  • Lock (2+ Intellect points): A door, gate, chest, drawer, locket, or other object that can be closed within long range snaps shut and is magically locked (level 3 effect) for one hour. If an object or creature is physically holding the target object open, you must also succeed on an Intellect-based attack. For each level of Effort you apply, the quality of the magical lock increases by one level. Action to initiate. (159)

  • Lost in the Chaos: When faced with several foes at once, you have developed tactics for using their numbers against them. When two or more foes attack you at once in melee, you play one off the other. Speed defense rolls or attack rolls (your choice) against them are eased. Enabler. (159)

  • Lunge (2 Might points): This ability requires you to extend yourself for a powerful stab or smash. The awkward lunge hinders the attack roll. If your attack is successful, it inflicts 4 additional points of damage. Action. (159)

Abilities—M

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 159)

  • Machine Affinity: You are trained in tasks involving electrical machines. Enabler. (159)

  • Machine Bond: From very long range, you can activate and control a device (including a robot or vehicle) that you have bonded with. For example, you can detonate a manifest cypher even when it is held by someone else, or cause an automated turret to fire where you direct. Bonding is a process that requires 24 hours of meditation in the presence of the machine. Action. (159)

  • Machine Companion: You create a level 3 animate, intelligent machine that accompanies you and acts as you direct. As a level 3 machine companion, it has a target number of 9 and 9 health, and it inflicts 3 points of damage. If it's destroyed, it takes you one month to create a new one. Enabler. (159)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Machine Companion to be a follower.

  • Machine Efficiency (3 Intellect points): You can make a blaster shoot farther, coax more speed from a skycycle, improve the clarity of a camera, jury-rig a light to be brighter, speed up a network connection, and so on. You increase an object's level by 2 for one minute, or you treat the object as an asset that eases an associated task by two steps for one minute (your choice). Action to initiate. (159)

  • Machine Enhancement: Any time you use Effort on an Intellect action, add one of the following enhancements to the action (your choice):

    Enabler. (159)

  • Machine Hunting: You are trained in tasks associated with tracking, spotting, or otherwise finding robots and animate machines. You are also trained in all stealth tasks. Enabler. (159)

  • Machine Interface (2 Intellect points): For one minute you gain an asset on tasks to discern the level, function, and activation of technological devices that you touch. Enabler. (159)

  • Machine Telepathy (3 Intellect points): You can read the surface thoughts of a machine within short range, even if the machine doesn't want you to. You must be able to see the machine. Once you have established contact, you can read the target's thoughts for up to one minute. If you or the target move out of range, the connection is broken. If you have the Mind Reading ability, when you apply Effort to Machine Telepathy, you gain a free level of Effort. Action to initiate. (159)

  • Machine Vulnerabilities: You inflict 3 additional points of damage against robots and animate machines of all kinds. Enabler. (159)

  • Mage Clock: You can mentally connect to a universal magical clock, allowing you to know the local time, down to a tenth of a second. You can have up to three magical timers at once, each of which sounds a mental alarm after an amount of time you specify or at a specific time (such as nine minutes from now, three hours from now, or 8 o'clock in the morning). Action. (IOM, 74)

  • Magic Shield (1 Intellect point): You gain +1 to Armor for an hour. Action to initiate. (159)

  • Magic Training: You are trained in the basics of magic (including the operation of magic artifacts and cyphers) and can attempt to understand and identify its properties. Enabler. (159)

  • Magical App Hacker: All magical app cyphers you use function at one level higher than normal. If given a week, you can tinker with one of your magical app cyphers, transforming it into another magical app cypher of the same type that you had in the past. The GM and player should collaborate to ensure that the transformation is logical—for example, a magical app that creates a fiery explosion probably can't be turned into a healing app. Enabler. (IOM, 45)

  • Magical Power Current (2+ Intellect points): You provide electricity to a device that runs on standard house current, such as a laptop computer, circular saw, or microwave oven, allowing it to function as if plugged in for one hour. The cost is 2 Intellect points plus 1 point per level of the device. Action. (IOM, 75)

  • Magical Programmer: You are trained in crafting magical apps and in using (and exploiting) computer software. You know one or more computer languages well enough to write basic programs, and you are fluent in internet protocol. Enabler. (IOM, 45)

  • Magical Repertoire: The number of subtle cyphers you can bear at the same time increases by two. If you spend one hour preparing your magic, you can fill any of your open cypher slots with subtle cyphers chosen randomly by the GM (this hour can be part of a one-hour or ten-hour recovery action if you are awake for the entire time). As part of this preparation process, you may discard any number of subtle cyphers you carry to make room for more subtle cyphers. Enabler. (GF, 32)

If a character has Magical Repertoire, the GM should give the PC frequent opportunities to gain new subtle cyphers, whether from preparation or by gaining them automatically as explained in Chapter 24: Cyphers.

  • Magical Training: You are trained in all of your spells. As a result, you ease any task involved in the use of your spells. Enabler. (GF, 32)

  • Magnetic Field (4 Intellect points): When you wish it, a field of magnetism around you pulls incoming, ranged, metallic projectile attacks (such as arrows, bullets, a thrown metal knife, and so on) to the ground. You are immune to such attacks for one round. You must be aware of an attack to foil it. Enabler. (159)

  • Magnification (1+ Intellect point): You create a rectangular frame, visible only to you, that doubles the magnification of whatever you see through it. The frame defaults to hovering in front of your face about an arm's length away, but you can use your action to move it up, down, or to either side. The frame lasts for ten minutes and grants an asset on perception tasks at range. For each level of Effort you apply to this ability, you can increase the magnification by another increment (×3 for one level of Effort, ×4 for two levels of Effort, and so on). Action. (IOM, 66)

The Magnification ability is mainly used by spies, birdwatchers, and sports fans to more clearly see things at a distance.

  • Magnificent Moment: If you make an attack or attempt a task with the immediate action you gain by using Seize the Moment, the attack or task is eased. Enabler. (159)

  • Major Illusion (3 Intellect points): You create a complex scene of images within immediate range. The entire scene must fit within a 100-foot (30 m) cube. The images can move, but they can't leave the area defined by the cube. The illusion includes sound and smell. It lasts for ten minutes and changes as you direct (no concentration is needed). If you move beyond immediate range of the cube, the illusion vanishes. Action to create. (160)

  • Make Judgment: You are trained in discerning the truth of a situation, seeing through lies, or otherwise overcoming deception. Enabler. (160)

  • Maneuvering Adept: If you apply at least one level of Effort to a task involving climbing, jumping, balancing, or some other kind of maneuvering, you get a free level of Effort. Enabler. (160)

  • Mask (5 Intellect points): You transform your body to become someone else. You can change any physical characteristic you wish, including coloration, height, weight, gender, and distinguishing markings. You can also change the appearance of whatever you are wearing or carrying. Your stats, as well as the stats of your items, do not change. You remain in this form for up to a day or until you use an action to resume your normal appearance. Action to initiate. (160)

  • Master Crafter: You are trained in the crafting of two kinds of items, or you are specialized in two kinds of items that you are already trained in. Enabler. (160)

  • Master Cypher Use: You can bear five cyphers at a time. Enabler. (160)

  • Master Entertainer: Your Inspiring Ease ability works more effectively, easing your friends' tasks by two steps rather than one step. Enabler. (160)(Errata)

Editor's Notes — The CSRD corrects a misprint in the Cypher System Rulebook for the Master Entertainer ability, which links its effects to Inspiration instead of Inspiring Ease. The correction is also present in deluxe editions of the Cypher System Rulebook.

  • Master Identifier: You are trained in identifying the function of any kind of device. Enabler. (160)

  • Master Machine (8 Intellect points): You can control the functions of a machine you have bonded with using Machine Bond, intelligent or otherwise. In addition, if you use an action to concentrate on a machine, you are aware of what is going on around it (you see and hear as if you were standing next to it, no matter how far away you are). You must touch the machine to create the bond, but afterward, there is no range limitation. This bond lasts for one week. You can bond with only one machine at a time. Action to initiate. (160)

  • Master Magical Programmer: You are specialized in crafting magical apps and in using (and exploiting) computer software. Enabler. (IOM, 45)

  • Master of Unarmed Fighting Style: You are specialized in unarmed attacks. If you are already specialized in unarmed attacks, you instead deal 2 additional points of damage with unarmed attacks. Enabler. (160)

  • Master Thief: You are trained in climbing, escaping from bonds, slipping through narrow places, and other contortionist moves. Enabler. (160)

  • Masterful Armor Modification: Choose one of the following modifications to make to the Powered Armor from your Powered Armor ability. If you choose to make a different modification later, you can do so, but you must spend 2 XP each time and substitute the updated modification for the previous modification.

    • Cypher Pod. The power armor provides an insulated pod in which you can carry one additional manifest cypher beyond what your cypher limit normally allows. Enabler.
    • Drone (3 Intellect points). A level 4 drone no larger than 1 foot (30 cm) on a side launches from your armor for one hour, flying up to a long distance each round. The drone accompanies you and follows your instructions. It has manipulators, allowing it to attempt to accomplish physical tasks. You'll probably make rolls for your drone when it takes actions. A drone in combat usually doesn't make separate attacks but helps with yours. On your action, if the drone is next to you, it serves as an asset for one attack you make on your turn. If the drone is destroyed, you must spend another 2 XP to rebuild it or choose another Masterful Armor Modification. Action to initiate.
    • Improved Field Reinforcement. You gain +1 to Armor while wearing your power armor. Enabler.
    • Jet-Assisted Flight (3+ Might points). You modify your power armor to allow you to blast off the ground and fly for one minute at a time. For each level of Effort applied, you can increase the duration by an additional minute. Action. (160)

  • Mastery in Armor: The cost reduction from your Practiced in Armor ability improves. You now reduce the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor to 0. Enabler. (161)

Editor's Notes — Experienced in Armor and Mastery in Armor both improve Practiced in Armor. If you have Experienced in Armor and gain Mastery in Armor, the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (28) suggests replacing Experienced in Armor with a different mid-tier ability.

  • Mastery With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in which you are trained: light bashing, light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are specialized in attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler. (161)

If you aren't trained in an attack, select Skill With Attacks to become trained in that attack.

  • Mastery With Defense: Choose one type of defense task in which you are trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are specialized in defense tasks of that type. You can select this ability up to three times. Each time you select it, you must choose a different type of defense task. Enabler. (161)

  • Matter Cloud (5 Intellect points): Pebbles, dirt, sand, and debris rise into the air around you to form a swirling cloud. The cloud extends out to immediate range, moves with you, and lasts for one minute. When it ends, all the materials fall to the ground around you. The cloud makes it harder for other creatures to attack you, giving you an asset on Speed defense rolls. In addition, while the cloud is around you, you can use an action to whip the material so that it abrades everything within immediate range, dealing 1 point of damage to each creature and object in the area. Action to initiate. (161)

  • Maximize Cypher: Choose one subtle cypher you bear. Its level becomes the maximum level possible for that cypher. For example, a meditation aid has a level range of 1d6 + 2, so maximizing that cypher changes its level to 8. You can have only one maximized subtle cypher at a time. You can't use this ability again until after you've taken a ten-hour recovery action. Enabler. (GF, 32)

  • Mechanical Telepathy (3 Intellect points): By touching a thinking machine, you gain access to its surface "thoughts." Action. (161)

  • Medium Teleportation (5+ Intellect points): You instantly teleport yourself to any location within a long distance that you can see. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase your range, teleport to a location you can't see, or bring other people with you. Each additional long distance costs one level of Effort. Teleporting to a destination you can't see costs one level of Effort. Each additional one or two targets brought with you costs one level of Effort (you must touch any additional targets). These levels of Effort are counted separately, so teleporting an additional long distance away to a location you can't see with two passengers costs a total of three levels of Effort. Action. (CTS, 53)

If you already have Short Teleportation when you select Medium Teleportation or Teleportation, you may replace Short Teleportation with another tier 4 type ability.

  • Memory Becomes Action (4+ Intellect points): You can duplicate a one-action character ability, performing it as if it were natural for you. You must have seen the ability used within the past week, it must be third tier or lower, and it must be an ability with a point cost. In addition to the point cost of Memory Becomes Action, you must pay the Might, Speed, or Intellect cost of the ability you are copying. For example, if you want to copy a friend's Lunge attack (which normally costs 2 Might points), you'd pay 4 Intellect points to activate Memory Becomes Action and 2 Might points to use Lunge. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to copy an ability you saw longer than one week ago; each level of Effort used in this way extends the time period by one week. Enabler. (161)

  • Mental Magic: When attempting a magic-based Might or Speed task, you can instead roll as if it were an Intellect action. This means that if you apply Effort, you spend points from your Intellect Pool and use your Intellect Edge. Enabler. (IOM, 54)

  • Mental Projection (6+ Intellect points): Your mind fully leaves your body and manifests anywhere you choose within immediate range. Your projected mind can remain apart from your body for up to 24 hours. This effect ends early if your Intellect Pool is reduced to 0 or if your projection touches your resting body.

    Your disembodied mind is a psychic construct that looks like you, though its frayed edges trail off into nothingness. You control this body as if it were your normal body and can act and move as you normally would with a few exceptions. You can move through solid objects as if you were phased, and you ignore any terrain feature that would impede your movement.

    Your attacks inflict 3 fewer points of damage (to a minimum of 1) and you take 3 fewer points of damage (to a minimum of 1) from physical attacks, unless they can affect transdimensional or phased beings, in which case you take full damage. Regardless of the source, you take all damage as Intellect damage first.

    Your mind can travel up to 1 mile (1.5 km) from your body. Each level of additional Effort applied extends the range that you can travel by 1 mile (1.5 km).

    Your physical body is helpless until this effect ends. You cannot use your physical senses to perceive anything. For example, your body could sustain a significant injury, and you wouldn't know it. Your body cannot take Intellect damage, so if your body takes enough damage to reduce both your Might Pool and your Speed Pool to 0, your mind snaps back to your body, and you are stunned until the end of the next round as you try to reorient yourself to your predicament. Action to initiate. (161)

Mentally projecting characters may attract psychic entities and predators that PCs normally don't have to deal with, run into weather psychic phenomena that risks severing their connection, and possibly even become lost on a different metaphysical plane.

  • Mentally Tough: Staring into the naked weave of hyperspace, warped space, or a similar effect related to faster-than-light travel is hard on the mind, but you've developed resistance. You're trained in Intellect defense tasks. Enabler. (162)

  • Meticulous Planner: If you spend a long time planning an action, you gain an asset on performing it. The time to study and plan for the action is ten times as long as it takes to perform the action. For example, if you want to jump across a hole in the floor (one action), you can study the area for ten rounds (about a minute), and when you attempt to jump over the hole, you have an asset on the jump. This benefit applies to only one roll—if you want to perform the task again with the benefit of an asset, you need to study and plan again. Enabler. (162)

  • Microgravity Adept: You ignore all the ill effects of low gravity and no gravity on movement; you are trained in low-gravity maneuvers and zero-gravity maneuvers. (You might still be subject to negative biological effects of long-term exposure, if any.) Enabler. (162)

  • Microgravity Avoidance: By taking advantage of microgravity conditions, you gain an asset to Speed defense tasks while in zero-gravity or low-gravity conditions. Enabler. (162)

  • Mind Control (6+ Intellect points): You control the actions of another creature you touch. This effect lasts for one minute. The target must be level 2 or lower. Once you have established control, you maintain mental contact with the target and sense what it senses. You can allow it to act freely or override its control on a case-by-case basis. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target or increase the duration by one minute. Thus, to control the mind of a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit) or control a target for four minutes (three minutes above the normal duration), you must apply three levels of Effort. When the duration ends, the creature doesn't remember being controlled or anything it did while under your command. Action to initiate. (162)

  • Mind for Might: When performing a task that would normally require spending points from your Intellect Pool, you can spend points from your Might Pool instead, and vice versa. Enabler. (162)

  • Mind Games (3 Intellect points): You use lies and trickery, mockery, and perhaps even hateful, obscene language against a foe that can understand you. If successful, the foe is stunned for one round and cannot act, and it is dazed in the following round, during which time its tasks are hindered. Action. (162)

  • Mind of a Leader (6 Intellect points): When you develop a course of action to deal with a future situation, you can ask the GM one very general question about what is likely to happen if you carry out the plan, and you will get a simple, brief answer. Action. (162)

  • Mind Reading (2 Intellect points): You can read the surface thoughts of a creature within short range, even if the target doesn't want you to. You must be able to see your target. Once you have established contact, you can read the target's thoughts for up to one minute. If you also have the Mind Reading special ability from another source, you can use this ability at long range, and you don't need to be able to see the target (but you do have to know that the target is within range). Action to initiate. (162)

  • Mind Surge: In addition to your normal recovery rolls each day, you can—at any time between ten-hour rests—recover 1d6 + 6 points to your Intellect Pool. Action. (162)

  • Minor Illusion (1 Intellect point): You create a single image of a creature or object within immediate range. The image must fit within a 10-foot (3 m) cube. The image can move (for example, you could make the illusion of a person walk or attack), but it can't leave the area defined by the cube. The illusion includes sound but not smell. It lasts for ten minutes, but if you want to change the original illusion significantly—such as making a creature appear to be wounded—you must concentrate on it again (though doing so doesn't cost additional Intellect points). If you move beyond immediate range of the cube, the illusion vanishes. Action to create; action to modify. (162)

  • Minor Wish: At your request, the magic ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability can use its action to cast a minor spell on you. Afterward, it must retreat to its bound object to rest for one hour. The effects it can produce include the following. Action to initiate.

    • Golden Anger. A golden light touches your eyes. For the next several minutes, if you attack a target, you inflict 2 additional points of damage.
    • Golden Ward. You gain +1 to Armor for one hour from a translucent sheen of golden light.
    • Light of Truth. Whenever you attempt to discern falsehood during the next hour, the task is eased by two steps.
    • Touch of Grace. With the magic ally's touch, you add 3 points to any stat Pool. If you are not damaged, you add the points to your chosen Pool's maximum. They remain until you spend them, you lose them to damage, or an hour passes. (162)

  • Miraculous Health: When you would descend a step on the damage track, you can attempt a Might task to resist, with a difficulty equal to the level of the foe or effect that harmed you. If successful, you don't descend the step and you regain 1 point in any Pool that is bereft of points. You can't use this ability again until after your next ten-hour rest. Enabler. (163)

  • Misdirect (3 Speed points): When an opponent misses you, you can redirect their attack to another target (a creature or object) of your choosing that's within immediate range of you. Make an unmodified attack roll against the new target (do not use any of your or the opponent's modifiers to the attack roll, but you can apply Effort for accuracy). If the attack hits, the target takes damage from your opponent's attack. Enabler. (163)

  • Misdirect Blame (2+ Intellect points): Using your clever words and knowledge of others, you can attempt to alter the narrative so that a target of up to level 3 within short range becomes uncertain of its conviction in one simple area, such as their conviction that you just stole a fruit from their stand or their belief that they've never met you before. This effect usually lasts only for the period of time you spend speaking, and perhaps up to a minute longer, before the target realizes its error. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the target level that can be affected. Afterward, all your tasks to persuade or otherwise socially interact with the target are hindered. Action. (163)

  • Mist Cloud (1+ Intellect points): You create an area of mist an immediate distance across. The cloud lingers for about a minute unless conditions (such as wind or freezing temperatures) dictate otherwise. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the area (one level of Effort to fill a short area, two to fill a long area, or three to fill a very long area). Action. (CTS, 53)

  • Mist Form (4 Intellect points): You change into a cloud of mist for up to ten minutes, filling an immediate area. You gain an asset to sneaking tasks and Speed defense tasks, but you lose the benefit of any armor you wear. You can pass through any barrier that allows air to move through it (such as a fence, wire screen, cloth, or pipe), moving up to an immediate distance each round. You can't affect or be affected by normal matter, but energy attacks (like fire or explosions) and mental attacks still affect you. You cannot speak but can still use abilities that don't rely on human speech or affecting physical matter (other than yourself). If large portions of the mist are separated (such as behind a closed door) when you return to human form, you move one step down the damage track. Action to change or revert. (IOM, 50)

  • Mobile Fighter (3 Speed points): As part of your attack, you can leap on or over obstacles, swing from ropes, run along narrow surfaces, or otherwise move around the battlefield at your normal speed as if such tasks were routine (difficulty 0). You can't use this ability if your Speed Effort costs are reduced from wearing armor. Enabler. (163)

  • Moderate Wish: At your request, the magic ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability can spend its action casting a moderate spell on you. Afterward, it must retreat to its bound object to rest for at least one hour. The effects it can produce include the following. Action to initiate.

    • Golden Armor. You gain +3 to Armor for one hour from a translucent sheen of golden light.
    • Golden Fury. A golden light blazes in your eyes. For the next three minutes, if you attack a target, you inflict 5 additional points of damage.
    • Improved Touch of Grace. With the magic ally's touch, you add 6 points to any stat Pool. If you are not damaged, you add the points to your chosen Pool's maximum. They remain until you spend them, you lose them to damage, or an hour passes.
    • Invisible. With a touch, the magic ally bends light that falls on you, so you seem to disappear. You are invisible to other creatures for ten minutes. While invisible, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate. (163)

  • Modify Artifact Power (6 Intellect points): You permanently add +1 to the level of an artifact of up to level 5. The difficulty of this task is equal to the modified higher level of the artifact. If the task is failed, the artifact makes a depletion roll and is not advanced in level. Once modified, the artifact can't be similarly boosted again. Action. (163)

  • Modify Cyphers: You can take any two manifest cyphers and quickly jury-rig a new manifest cypher of the same level as the lowest-level cypher. You determine the function of the new cypher, but it must be that of a cypher you have used before (but not necessarily one you've ever built). The new cypher is a temperamental cypher, like those created with Always Tinkering. The original two cyphers are consumed in this process. This ability does not function if one or more of the original cyphers are temperamental cyphers. Action. (CTS, 54)

  • Modify Device (4 Intellect points): You jury-rig a piece of mechanical or electrical equipment to make it function above its rated specs for a very limited time. To do so, you must use spare parts equal to an expensive item, have a field science kit (or a permanent lab, if you have access to one), and succeed at a difficulty 3 Intellect-based task. When complete, using the device eases all tasks performed in conjunction with the device, until the device inevitably breaks. For example, you could overclock a computer so research tasks using it are easier, modify an espresso maker so that each cup of coffee made with it is better, modify a car's engine so that it goes faster (or modify its steering so it handles better), and so on. Each use of the modified device requires a depletion roll of 1–5 on a d20. Action to initiate, one hour to complete. (164)

  • Momentum: If you use an action to move, your next attack made using a melee weapon before the end of the next round inflicts 2 additional points of damage. Enabler. (164)

  • Monster Bane: You inflict 1 additional point of damage with weapons. When you inflict damage to creatures more than twice as large or massive as you, you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (164)

  • Monster Lore: You are trained in the names, habits, suspected lairs, and related topics regarding the monsters of your world. You can make yourself understood in their languages (if they have one). Enabler. (164)

  • Moon Adaptation: You can survive indefinitely in a vacuum environment (such as the moon or space). (IOM, 56)

Although Moon Adaptation protects you from the airless environment of the moon, people traveling with you aren't so lucky—unless you teleport directly to a pressurized location such as a moon base or an abandoned NASA vehicle.

  • Moon Portal (6+ Intellect points): You instantaneously transmit yourself to any location on Earth, as long as moonlight is shining on you and on the spot you want to be. Alternatively, you can instantaneously transport yourself from Earth to the moon or back again. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to bring other people with you; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action. (IOM, 56)

  • Moon Shape (4+ Intellect points): You change into a monstrous natural beast, such as a wolf, bear, or other terrestrial creature, for up to one hour. If you try to change during daylight hours when you are not deep underground (or otherwise away from the daylight), you must apply a level of Effort. In your new form, you add 8 points to your Might Pool, gain +2 to your Might Edge, add 2 points to your Speed Pool, and gain +2 to your Speed Edge. Reverting to your normal form is a difficulty 2 task. While in beast form, you are prone to fits of rage (triggered by GM intrusion), during which you attack every living creature within short range, and the only way to end the rage is to revert to your normal form. Either way, after you revert to your normal form, you take a −1 penalty to all rolls for one hour. If you did not kill and eat at least one substantial creature while in beast form, the penalty increases to −2 and affects all your rolls for the next day. Action to change; action to revert. (164)

  • Moonbeam (1+ Intellect point): You emit a cone of pale, cool moonlight from your hand, illuminating up to a short distance with dim light, lasting for one minute. As your action or as part of the action of activating this ability, you can tighten the beam so it focuses on one creature, inflicting either 4 points of cold damage or 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor), which immediately ends the spell. You automatically know if the struck creature is a shapechanger (such as a werewolf), although this doesn't tell you what kind of shapechanger they are or what their true form is. Action. (164)

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what the "+" in the point cost of Moonbeam is in reference to.

  • Moonlight Barrage (4+ Intellect points): You call down dozens of rays of moonlight into an adjacent short area. All within the area take 4 points of damage from mystical cold and glow with faint moonlight equivalent to a candle for one minute (a creature can end this glow early as an action or by entering an area that moonlight cannot penetrate, such as a deep cave or a room with no windows). You automatically know if any creature in the area is a shapechanger (such as a werewolf), although this doesn't tell you what kind of shapechanger they are or what their true form is. If you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than to ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (IOM, 56)

  • Mount: A level 3 creature serves you as a mount and follows your instructions. While you're mounted on it, the creature can move and you can attack on your turn, which provides an asset to your attack. You and the GM must work out the details of the creature, and you'll probably make rolls for it when it takes noncombat actions. The mount acts on your turn. If your mount dies, you can hunt in the wild for 3d6 days to find a new one. Enabler. (164)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Mount to be a follower.

  • Move Metal (1 Intellect point): You can exert force on metal objects within short range for one round. Once activated, your power has an effective Might Pool of 10, a Might Edge of 1, and an Effort of 2 (approximately equal to the strength of a fit, capable, adult human), and you can use it to move metal objects, push against metal objects, and so on. For example, in your round, you could lift and pull a light metal object anywhere within range to yourself or move a heavy object (like a piece of furniture) about 10 feet (3 m). This power lacks the fine control to wield a weapon or move objects with much speed, so in most situations, it's not a means of attack. You can't use this ability on your own body. The power lasts for one hour or until its Might Pool is depleted, whichever comes first. Action. (164)

  • Move Mountains (9 Intellect points): You exert a tremendous amount of physical force within 250 feet (75 m) of you. You can push up to 10 tons (9 t) of material up to 50 feet (15 m). This force can collapse buildings, redirect small rivers, or perform other dramatic effects. Action. (164)

  • Movement Skills: You are trained in climbing and jumping. Enabler. (164)

  • Moving Like Water (3 Speed points): You spin and move so that your defense and attacks are aided by your fluid motion. For one minute, all your attacks and Speed defense tasks gain an asset. Enabler. (164)

  • Multiple Copying: When you use Copy Power, you can copy two of the creature's abilities at the same time. In addition to the normal options for using Effort with Copy Power, you can apply levels of Effort to copy additional abilities, each level of Effort copying an additional ability beyond the initial two (three for one level of Effort, four for two levels, and so on). Enabler. (CTS, 54)

  • Multiple Quarry (6 Intellect points): This ability functions like the Quarry ability except that you can select up to three creatures as quarry. You must be able to see all three creatures when you initiate this ability. If you have Hunter's Drive, it applies to all three creatures. Action to initiate. (164)

  • Multiple Skills: You are trained in three skills of your choice in which you are not already trained. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose three different skills. Enabler. (165)

  • Multiplicity (6 Might points): This ability functions as Duplicate, except you can create two duplicates. Action to initiate. (165)

  • Multi-Vanish (4+ Intellect points): You turn up to five human-sized creatures or objects invisible for a short amount of time. The targets you choose must be within an immediate area and within short range of you (if you are in the area, you can make yourself invisible and don't count toward the limit of five invisible targets). Anything invisible has an asset on stealth and Speed defense tasks. Affected creatures can see each other in a limited way, and you can see them clearly.

    The invisibility ends at the end of your next turn. If one of the affected creatures does something to reveal their presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on—the invisibility ends early for that creature. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the duration; each level of Effort used in this way increases the duration by one round (but creatures can still end it early for themselves). Action. (CTS, 54)

  • Murderer (8+ Speed points): With a swift and sudden attack, you strike a foe in a vital spot. If the target is level 4 or lower, it is killed outright. For each additional level of Effort you apply, you can increase the level of the target by 1. Action. (165)

  • Muscles of Iron (2 Might points): For the next ten minutes, all Might-based actions other than attack rolls that you attempt are eased. If you already have this ability from another source, the effect of this ability lasts for one hour instead of ten minutes. Enabler. (165)

Abilities—N

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 165)

  • Natural Charisma: You are trained in all social interactions, whether they involve charm, learning a person's secrets, or intimidating others. Enabler. (165)

  • Natural Crafter: All commonplace objects or structures you craft are effectively one level higher than an average example of that object or structure. For instance, if you craft a defensive wall that would normally be level 4, its effective level is 5. Enabler. (165)

  • Necromancy (3+ Intellect points): You animate the body of a dead creature of approximately your size or smaller, creating a level 1 creature. It has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows your verbal commands for one hour, after which it becomes an inert corpse. Unless the creature is killed by damage, you can reanimate it again when its time expires, but any damage it had when it became inert applies to its newly reanimated state. If you have access to multiple bodies, you can create an additional undead creature for each additional Intellect point you spend when you activate the ability. Action to animate. (165)

  • Negate Danger (7 Intellect points): You permanently negate a source of potential danger related to one creature or object within immediate distance. This could be a weapon or device held by someone, a creature's natural ability, or a trap triggered by a pressure plate. Action. (165)

  • Negotiate (3 Intellect points): In any gathering where two or more people are trying to establish the truth or come to a decision, you can sway the verdict with masterful rhetoric. If you are given a few rounds or more to argue your point, either the decision goes your way or, if someone else effectively argues a competing point, any associated persuasion or deception task is eased by two steps. Action to initiate, one or more rounds to complete. (165)

  • Network Dead Zone (3 Intellect points): You interfere with radio signals, such as Bluetooth, wifi, cell phone service, AM/FM radio, ham radio, and walkie-talkies. Choose a short area within immediate range; all such transmissions into or out of that area are blocked due to a combination of interference and lack of reception. This lasts for one minute. Action. (IOM, 66)

Powerful radio sources, such as a radio station transmitter or a telecommunication satellite, may be able to punch through a Network Dead Zone spell.

  • Network Tap (4 Intellect points): You can ask the GM one question and get a very short answer if you succeed on an Intellect roll against a difficulty assigned by the GM. The more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. On a failed roll, feedback or perhaps some defense from the network you're accessing inflicts 4 points of Intellect damage on you (ignores Armor). Action. (165)

Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, while obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining knowledge of the future is impossible.

  • Never Fumble: If you roll a natural 1 when attacking with your chosen weapon, you can ignore or countermand the GM intrusion for that roll. You can never be disarmed of your chosen weapon, nor will you ever drop it accidentally. Enabler. (165)

  • Nightmare (5 Intellect points): You pull a horrifying creature from your worst nightmare into the waking world and sic it on your foes. The nightmare (level 5) persists each round while you use your action concentrating on it (or until you disperse it or it is destroyed). It has one of the following abilities, which you choose when you call it.

    • Confusion. Instead of making a normal attack, the nightmare's attack confuses the target for one round. On its next action, the target attacks an ally.
    • Horrify. Instead of making a normal attack, the nightmare's attack horrifies the target, which drops to its knees (or similar appendages). The target takes 3 points of damage that ignore Armor and is dazed for one round, during which time all its tasks are hindered.
    • Pustule Eruption. Instead of making a normal attack, the nightmare's attack causes rancid, painful pustules to rise all over the target's skin for one minute. If the target takes a forceful action (such as attacking another creature or moving farther than an immediate distance), the pustules burst, dealing 5 points of damage that ignore Armor. Action to initiate, action each round to concentrate. (165)

Editor's Notes — Unlike most abilities, Nightmare isn't identified as an action or an enabler. Presumably, the PC creates the nightmare with their action, which can then immediately take an action of its own.

  • Nightstrike: When you attack a foe in dim light or darkness, you get a free level of Effort on the attack. Enabler. (166)

  • Nimble Swimmer: You are trained in all defense actions while underwater. Enabler. (166)

  • No Need for Weapons: When you make an unarmed attack (such as a punch or kick), it counts as a medium weapon instead of a light weapon. Enabler. (166)

Editor's Notes — The GM might still allow PC with No Need for Weapons to make unarmed attacks as a light weapon—dealing less damage, but gaining an eased attack.

  • No One Knows Better: You are trained in two of the following skills: persuasion, deception, intimidation, research, knowledge in one area, or seeing through deception. If you choose a skill in which you're already trained, you become specialized in that skill instead. Enabler. (166)

  • Noble's Courage (3+ Intellect points): Your noble lineage teaches that courage is necessary to do things that are difficult, tedious, or dangerous. When your mind would be negatively affected by an effect of up to level 4, whether something as overt as a psychic command or illness or something as subtle as fear or even boredom, your courage neutralizes the effect for up to a minute or, if you're actively being attacked, until the next attack. For each level of Effort applied, you can increase the level of the effect you can neutralize by 1. Enabler. (166)

  • Not Dead Yet: When you would normally be dead, you instead fall unconscious for one round and then awaken. You immediately gain 1d6 + 6 points to restore your stat Pools, and you are treated as if debilitated until you rest for ten hours. If you die again before you make your ten-hour recovery roll, you are truly dead. If you also have this ability from another source, your healing from this ability increases to 1d6 + 12. Enabler. (166)

  • Nothing but Defend: If you do nothing on your turn but defend, you are specialized in all defense tasks for one round. Action. (166)

  • Nullify Sound (3 Might points): You pulse perfectly misaligned sounds within short range to create a zone of absolute quiet up to an immediate distance across for one minute. All sound is canceled in the zone. Action to initiate. (166)

Abilities—O

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 167)

  • Object Bond (3 Intellect points): When you manifest the magic ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability, it can move up to 300 feet (90 m) from you before being returned to its bound object. Also, it can remain manifest for an extended period, lasting until the end of your next ten-hour recovery roll. Finally, if you give permission, the magic ally can emerge from and enter the bound object on its own initiative. Enabler. (167)

  • Object Bond Mastery (7 Intellect points): When you manifest the magic ally from your Bound Magic Creature ability, it is now a level 7 creature. It can remain manifest for only three minutes, after which it must return to its object and rest for three days before you can manifest it again.

    The magic ally can make its own magic touch attacks (when it does, you roll for it). If it uses its pulse attack from Improved Object Bond, instead of deactivating items, it can take control of one item within short range for one minute, if applicable.

    Finally, the magic ally can transform into smoke and flame as its action, giving it +10 to Armor but rendering it incapable of attacking foes. In this form, it can fly a long distance each round, and the first time each day it returns to flesh (as an action), it regains 25 points of health. Enabler. (167)

  • Obstacle Running (3 Speed points): For the next minute, you can ignore obstacles that slow your movement, allowing you to travel at normal speed through areas with rubble, fences, tables, and similar objects that you would have to climb over or move around. This movement might include sliding on a railing, briefly running along a wall, or even stepping on a creature to boost yourself over something. If an obstacle would normally require a Might or Speed task to overcome, such as swinging on a rope, balancing on a rope, or jumping over a hole, you are trained in that task. Enabler. (167)

  • One Hand on the Wheel: As an action, you can cast a one-action spell and attempt a driving task. Enabler. (IOM, 53)

  • One With the Wild (6 Intellect points): For the next hour, natural animals and plants within long range will not knowingly harm you or those you designate. In addition, your Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge increase by 1, and if you make any recovery rolls during this period, you recover twice as many points. Action to initiate. (167)

  • Oneirochemy: You are trained in tasks related to sleep and mixing natural elixirs to help creatures fall asleep. Enabler. (167)

  • Onslaught (1 Intellect point): You attack a foe using energies that assail either their physical form or their mind. In either case, you must be able to see your target. If the attack is physical, you emit a short-range ray of force that inflicts 4 points of damage. If the attack is mental, you focus your mental energy to blast the thought processes of another creature within short range. This mindslice inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). Some creatures without minds (such as robots) might be immune to your mindslice. Action. (167)

  • Open Mind (3 Intellect points): You open your mind to increase your awareness. You gain an asset to any task involving perception. While you have this asset and you are conscious and able to take actions, other characters gain no benefit from surprising you. The effect lasts for one hour. Action. (167)

  • Opening Statement: You're trained in tasks related to persuasion, deception, and detecting the falsehoods of others. Enabler. (167)

  • Opportunist: You have an asset on any attack roll you make against a creature that has already been attacked at some point during the round and is within immediate range. Enabler. (167)

  • Oratory (4 Intellect points): When speaking with a group of intelligent creatures that can understand you and aren't hostile, you convince them to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action should not put the creatures or their allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action. (167)

  • Out of Harm's Way: No matter how careful, an investigator sometimes ends up in a scrap. Knowing how to survive is more than half the battle. You are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (167)

  • Outlast the Foe: If you have been in combat for five full rounds, you have an asset for all tasks in the remainder of the combat, and you deal 1 additional point of damage per attack. Enabler. (167)

  • Outlaw Reputation (3 Intellect points): People know of your notorious exploits, which have been told and retold so many times that they bear little resemblance to reality. But people fear your name when they recognize you (or you declare yourself). They become so afraid that all attacks made against you by affected targets within earshot are hindered until one or more of them successfully inflicts damage on you or one of your allies, at which time their fear abates. Enabler. (168)

  • Outside Reality (6+ Intellect points): You exist outside of everything until the start of your next turn. To you, a few seconds pass while you are alone in a cool void. To everyone else, you seem to vanish for a few seconds and reappear in the same place. While in this unreal state, you can use abilities or objects on yourself, but you can't perceive, interact with, or affect the rest of the world, and vice versa. Time-based effects already on you (like a poison that inflicts damage every round) are paused while you exist outside reality, but when this ability ends they resume as if no time had passed. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the duration; each level of Effort used in this way adds one round to how long you spend outside reality. Enabler. (168)

  • Outwit: When you make a Speed defense roll, you can use your Intellect in place of your Speed. Enabler. (168)

  • Overawe (5 Intellect points): A blast of divine radiance from the heavens spotlights a target you select within long range, pushing the target to its knees (or similar appendages, if any) and rendering it helpless in the light for up to ten minutes, or until it breaks free. The overawed target cannot defend itself, make attacks, or attempt anything other than to shake free of the divine awe each round. If the target is a demon, spirit, or something similar, it also takes 1 point of damage that ignores Armor each round it remains affected. Action to initiate. (168)

  • Overcharge Device: You infuse 1 point of energy gained from using Absorb Energy or related ability into a device, such as an artifact, raising its effective level on its next use by three (to a maximum of 10). Action. (168)

  • Overcharge Energy: When you use Release Energy, it inflicts an additional 2 points of damage. Enabler. (168)

  • Overcome All Obstacles (3+ Intellect points): Those who stand against you do so at their peril and eventually shrink away in your presence. When you focus on a particular foe within long range, the target suffers 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) each round for one minute or until the target can throw off the effect. This ability can only be active on one target at a time. You can apply Effort to increase damage during the first round, and for any one round in which you apply Effort and use another action. Action to initiate. (168)

  • Overload Machine (3+ Intellect points): Through the robot assistant from your Serv-0 ability, you infuse a powered device of level 3 or lower with more energy than it can handle. If affected, the device is destroyed or disabled for at least one minute, depending on its size and complexity. The GM may rule that the disabling effect lasts until the device is repaired. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to overload a level 5 device (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Action. (168)

  • Overwatch (1 Intellect point): You use a ranged weapon to target a limited area (such as a doorway, a hallway, or the eastern side of the clearing) and make an attack against the next viable target to enter that area. This works like a wait action, but you also negate any benefit the target would have from cover, position, surprise, range, illumination, or visibility. Further, you inflict 1 additional point of damage with the attack. You can remain on overwatch as long as you wish, within reason. Action. (168)

Abilities—P

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 168)

  • Paralyzing Touch (4+ Intellect points): You gather necromantic energy in your fingertip and touch a creature. A target of level 3 or lower is paralyzed and helpless for an hour. Each level of Effort applied increases the level cap of the target by 1. Action. (IOM, 66)

In settings where the use of destructive or combat magic is restricted or illegal, harmless self-defense spells like Paralyzing Touch are common.

  • Parry (5 Speed points): You can deflect incoming attacks quickly. When you activate this ability, for the next ten rounds you ease all Speed defense rolls. Enabler. (168)

  • Passing Mechanic: You are trained in tasks related to the repair and maintenance of a starcraft. Enabler. (168)

  • Patient Recovery: You gain an extra ten-minute recovery roll each day. Enabler. (GF, 32)

  • Pay It Forward (3 Intellect points): You can pass on what you've learned. When you give another character a suggestion involving their next action that is not an attack, their action is eased for one minute. Action. (168)

  • Perfect Control: You no longer need to make a roll to use Beast Form or change into your normal form. You can change back and forth as your action. When you return to your normal form, you no longer take a penalty to your rolls. Enabler. (169)

  • Perfect Parking Space (3 Intellect points): You can send your car into a pocket dimension that moves with you and is just large enough to hold it. Nobody other than you can perceive or access this space unless they have the ability to interact with transdimensional areas. The space is a part of you, so you can't use it to store the car if you and the car have more cyphers than your limit, a detonation cypher activated inside the car while it's in the space harms you, and so on. Storing or retrieving the car happens over one minute as it slowly (and visibly) vanishes or reappears; you can reduce this time to just one round if you succeed at a level 4 Intellect task. Action to initiate. (IOM, 53)

  • Perfect Speed Burst (6 Speed points): You can take two separate actions this round. Enabler. (169)

  • Perfect Stranger (3 Intellect points): You alter your posture and way of speaking and make a small but real alteration to an outfit (such as putting on or taking off a hat, reversing a cloak, and so on). For the next hour (or as long as you keep up the alteration), even creatures that know you well don't recognize you. All tasks related to hiding your true identity during this period gain one free level of Effort. Action to initiate. (169)

  • Perks of Stardom: You are adept at claiming the rewards that fame can generate. When you are recognized, you can be seated at any restaurant, be let into any government building, be invited to any show or sports event (even if they're sold out), get a seat at a private function of any sort, or get into any club, no matter how exclusive. When dealing with someone who can't or won't immediately give in to your desire, you gain an asset on all tasks related to persuasion if that person recognizes you or is convinced that you're a celebrity even if they don't recognize you. Enabler. (169)

  • Permanent Illusion (9 Intellect points): An illusion (or portion of an illusion) that you create using Minor Illusion or related ability that fits within a 10-foot (3 m) cube becomes permanent. You can permanently end the illusion as an action, but others must expend exceptional ingenuity to prevent the illusion from regenerating even if it has apparently been dispersed. Enabler. (169)

  • Petrify (6+ Intellect points): You slowly transform a creature within short range into lifeless stone. The target must be level 2 or lower. If your attack succeeds, the creature takes 6 points of damage and moves one step down the damage track as their flesh begins to mineralize. If the transformation is not interrupted by the end of your next turn, the creature fully becomes a harmless stone statue. You can cast this spell to restore a petrified target back into their living self. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to petrify a level 6 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action. (IOM, 51)

  • Phase Detonation (2+ Might points): When you use Phase Sprint or Walk Through Walls, you can choose to significantly damage normal matter around you with a blast of transdimensional energy when you first go into or come out of phase (your choice). This detonation inflicts 4 points of damage that ignores Armor to all creatures and objects within immediate range. If you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Enabler. (169)

  • Phase Door (4 Intellect points): You can phase into a solid object's surface and then phase out of any other solid object within long range of the first, even if the two objects are not connected. There must be no intervening barriers between the two objects, and you must be aware of or able to see the destination object. Action. (170)

  • Phase Foe (6+ Intellect points): You gather disrupting energy in your fingertip and touch a creature. If the target is an NPC or a creature of level 3 or lower, it becomes phased as if it had used the Ghost ability. However, unless it can figure out how to control its movement while being phased, which most creatures have no experience with, it begins to sink through solid matter. If it can't control itself or end the effect, it might be gone for good because when it becomes solid again after ten minutes, it's probably deep in the earth. For each additional level of Effort you apply, you can attempt to affect a target of one level higher. Action. (170)

  • Phase Sprint (1+ Speed points): You can run up to a long distance as long as you take no other actions. During your action and until the beginning of your next turn, you are partially phased, and some attacks pass through you harmlessly. While phased, you gain an asset to your Speed defense tasks, but you lose any benefit from armor you wear.

    Note that some of your other special abilities may enable specific actions that you can take while using Phase Sprint. For instance, when using Disrupting Touch, you can make one touch attack while moving (though this ends your movement). Action. (170)

You don't have to run in one long, straight line when using Phase Sprint, but can instead zig and zag, curve, or even return to where you started.

Other abilities can be used with Phase Sprint to unlock additional effects, including Disrupting Touch, Scratch Existence, Invisible Phasing, and Phase Detonation. These abilities are additive enablers, requiring the user to spend points for both abilities, and sometimes from two different Pools.

  • Phased Attack (3 Intellect points): The attack you make on this turn ignores your foe's armor. The ability works for whatever kind of attack you use (melee, ranged, energy, and so on). Enabler. (170)

  • Phased Pocket (2+ Intellect points): You connect yourself for one hour to a small space that is out of phase and moves with you. You can access this space as if it were a convenient pocket or bag, but nobody else can perceive or access the space unless they have the ability to interact with transdimensional areas. The space can hold up to 1 cubic foot. The space is a part of you, so you can't use it to carry more cyphers than your limit, a detonation cypher activated inside the space harms you, and so on. When the connection ends, anything in the space falls out. For each 2 additional Intellect points you spend, the pocket lasts an additional hour. Enabler. (170)

  • Physical Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: balancing, climbing, jumping, running, or swimming. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (170)

  • Physically Gifted: Any time you spend points from your Might Pool or Speed Pool on an action for any reason, if you roll a 1 on the associated die, you reroll, always taking the second result (even if it's another 1). Enabler. (170)

  • Pierce (1 Speed point): This is a well-aimed, penetrating ranged attack. You make an attack and inflict 1 additional point of damage if your weapon has a sharp point. Action. (170)

  • Pilot: You are trained in all tasks related to piloting a starcraft. Generally speaking, piloting tasks are Speed-based tasks, though using sensors and communication instruments are Intellect-based tasks. Enabler. (170)

  • Play to the Crowd (3 Intellect points): You give a speech that is both rousing and terrifying. Those within short range who can hear and understand you have their next action either eased (an asset) or hindered—you choose, and it can be different for each individual. Action; a few rounds to complete. (170)

  • Poetic License: You are trained in all social interactions, including persuasion, deception, and intimidation. You also know two additional languages. Enabler. (170)

  • Poison Crafter: You are trained in crafting, sensing, identifying, and resisting poisons. Your poison crafting has given you some immunity to poisons; you have +5 Armor that applies specifically to poison damage. Enabler. (170)

  • Poison Resistance: Thanks to an injection of biological agents, a quaff of a magical elixir, a ring from a dying alien, or something just as extreme, you are now immune to poisons, toxins, or any kind of particulate threat. You are not immune to viruses, bacteria, or radiation. Enabler. (170)

  • Poison Touch (2 Intellect points): You touch a creature and lines of poison crawl through their skin. They take 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) and are hindered on their next turn. Action. (IOM, 50)

  • Post-Apocalyptic Survivor: You are trained in stealth and Might defense tasks. Enabler. (170)

  • Power Strike (3+ Might points): If you successfully attack a target, you knock it prone in addition to inflicting damage. The target must be your size or smaller. You can knock down a target larger than you if you apply a level of Effort to do so (rather than to ease the attack). Enabler. (171)

  • Power Crash (3 Intellect points): You strike your enchanted weapon against the ground (or a similar large surface), creating an explosion of energy that affects an area up to immediate range from that point. (If your enchanted weapon is a ranged weapon, you can instead target a point within close range to be the center of the explosion.) The blast inflicts 2 points of damage to all creatures or objects within the area (except for you). Because this is an area attack, adding Effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single-target attacks. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the damage, add 2 points of damage for each target, and even if you fail your attack roll, all targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action. (GF, 32)(CTS, 54)

  • Power Memory: When you use Copy Power, you only need to have seen the ability used within the past day (instead of the past hour), and using Effort extends how long ago your copying can reach to one day per level of Effort (instead of one hour per level). Enabler. (CTS, 55)

  • Powered Armor: You have a suit of powered armor. It is effectively medium armor (+2 to Armor); however, you suffer no Speed penalties for wearing it. Also, your suit grants other benefits: it provides breathable air for up to eight hours and a comfortable environment even in bitter heat, cold, vacuum, or underwater to a depth of 4 miles (6 km); and it allows you to see in the dark up to a short distance. Getting into the suit requires an action (and, of course, access to your suit). Enabler. (171)

  • Powerful Rhetoric (1 Intellect point): After engaging a creature in conversation for at least a minute, you can attempt to influence how that creature is perceived, promoting it as a friend, dismissing it as a fool, or denouncing it as an enemy. Your words are so well chosen that even you and it are affected, because your conviction and its doubt are paramount. The accuracy of your assessment isn't important as long as you keep up the rhetoric. From then on (or until you change your rhetoric or the creature offers a convincing defense to those who've heard your label), the friend's social interactions gain an asset, the fool's social interactions are hindered, or the enemy's defenses are hindered. Action to initiate, one minute to complete. (171)

  • Practiced in Armor: You can wear armor for long periods of time without tiring and can compensate for slowed reactions from wearing armor. You reduce the Speed cost for wearing armor by 1. You start the game with a type of armor of your choice. Enabler. (171)

  • Practiced in Light Armor: You can wear light armor for long periods of time without tiring and can compensate for slowed reactions from wearing light armor. You reduce the Speed cost for wearing light armor by 1. You start the game with a type of light armor available in the area, such as a leather jacket. Enabler. (RR, 121)

  • Practiced With All Weapons: You become practiced with light, medium, and heavy weapons and suffer no penalty when using any kind of weapon. Enabler. (171)

  • Practiced With Guns: You are practiced with guns and suffer no penalty when using one. Enabler. (171)

  • Practiced With Medium Weapons: You can use light and medium weapons without penalty. If you wield a heavy weapon, attacks with it are hindered. Enabler. (171)

  • Practiced With Swords: You are practiced with swords and can use them without penalty. Enabler. (171)

  • Precise Cut: You inflict 1 additional point of damage with light weapons. Enabler. (171)

  • Precision: You deal 2 additional points of damage with attacks using weapons that you throw. Enabler. (171)

  • Precognition (6 Intellect points): You dimly sense the future for the next ten minutes. This has the following effects until the duration expires:

    • Your defense tasks gain an asset.
    • You can predict the actions of those around you. You gain an asset to seeing through deceptions and attempts to betray you as well as avoiding traps and ambushes.
    • You know what people are probably thinking and what they will say before they say it, which gives you an edge. You gain an asset to all interaction skills.

    Enabler. (171)

  • Predictive Equation (2 Intellect points): You observe or study a creature, object, or location for at least one round. The next time you interact with it (possibly in the following round), a related task (such as persuading the creature, attacking it, or defending from its attack) is eased. Action. (171)

  • Predictive Model (2+ Intellect points): If you've used Predictive Equation on a creature, object, or location within the last few days, you can learn one random fact about the subject that is pertinent to a topic you designate. If you also have the magic flavor ability Premonition, one use of either ability grants you two random but related facts about the subject. In addition, you can use Predictive Model on the same subject multiple times (even if you've learned a creature's level), but each time you do, you must apply one additional level of Effort than on your previous use. Action. (171)

  • Premonition (2 Intellect points): You learn one random fact about a creature or location that is pertinent to a topic you designate. Alternatively, you can choose to learn a creature's level; however, if you do so, you cannot learn anything else about it later with this ability. Action. (171)

  • Prepared Caches: You have a prepped secret hideout with shelter and basic supplies capable of seeing you through a year or more, or up to six people through about three months. In addition, you have knowledge of three different secret supply caches you put together and hid before everything fell apart, chosen from the following. The caches are located no closer than about 5 miles (8 km) from each other.

    • Food cache (enough food for six people for twelve weeks)
    • Water cache (enough clean water for six people for twelve weeks)
    • Ammunition cache (400 shells or bullets for four different weapons)
    • Firearm cache (six firearms; a mix of light, medium, and heavy weapons, each usually found with about ten bullets or shells)

    Enabler. (RR, 121)

  • Preternatural Senses: While you are conscious and able to use an action, you cannot be surprised. In addition, you are trained in initiative actions. Enabler. (171)

  • Privileged Nobility: You are adept at claiming the rewards that a noble background can generate. When recognized, you can be seated at any eating establishment no matter how full, get a room in an inn even if that means others are turned out, be let into any court or other structure where laws are decided or nobility rules, be invited to any gala, and get a seat at a private function of any sort. In addition, you are trained in persuasion. Enabler. (172)

  • Projection (4 Intellect points): You project an image of yourself to any location you have seen or previously visited. Distance does not matter as long as the location is on the same world as you. The projection copies your appearance, movements, and any sounds you make for the next ten minutes. Anyone present at the location can see and hear you as if you were there. However, you do not perceive through your projection. Action to initiate. (172)

  • Protective Instincts (6+ Might, Speed, or Intellect points): When engaging in combat to defend your coven or home, you can attack up to five different foes with a single action as long as they are within immediate range of each other. All the attacks must be the same sort of attack (melee, ranged, or spell), and the point cost of this ability is deducted from whichever Pool the attack uses. Pay the costs (if any) separately for each attack, and make a separate attack roll for each foe. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to all attacks. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply to one action. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the number of foes you can attack, with one additional foe per level of Effort. Enabler. (IOM, 58)

  • Protective Wall (6+ Might points): When engaging in combat that directly relates to defending a community you are associated with, you can attack up to five different foes as a single action as long as they are all within immediate range. If you hit an attacker, they are pushed back an immediate distance. All of the attacks have to be the same sort of attack (melee or ranged). Make a separate attack roll for each foe. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to all of these attacks. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the number of foes you can attack with this ability, one additional foe per level of Effort. Enabler. (172)

  • Protector: You designate a single character to be your charge. You can change this freely every round, but you can have only one charge at a time. As long as that charge is within immediate range, they gain an asset for Speed defense tasks because you have their back. Enabler. (172)

  • Pry Open (4 Intellect points): You tear apart the defenses of a creature within long range. Any energy-based defenses it has (such as a force field or a Ward ability) are negated for 1d6 + 1 rounds. If the creature has no energy defenses, its Armor is reduced by 2 for one minute. If it has no energy-based defenses or Armor, attacks against it are eased for one minute. Action. (172)

  • Psychic Burst (3+ Intellect points): You blast waves of mental force into the minds of up to three targets within short range (make an Intellect roll against each target). This burst inflicts 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). For each 2 additional Intellect points you spend, you can make an Intellect attack roll against an additional target. Action. (172)

  • Psychic Passenger (6 Intellect points): You place your mind into the body of a willing creature you choose within short range and remain in that body for up to one hour. Your own body falls down and becomes insensate until this ability ends.

    You see, hear, smell, touch, and taste using the senses of the creature whose body you inhabit. When you speak, the words come from your defenseless body, and the creature you inhabit hears those words in their mind.

    The creature you inhabit can use your Intellect Edge in place of their own. In addition, you and the creature have an asset on any task that involves perception.

    When you take an action, you use the creature's body to perform that action if they allow it. Action to initiate. (172)

A character using Psychic Passenger should consider secreting their actual body someplace away from prying eyes and wild beasts, or they may return to an unfortunate situation.

  • Psychic Suggestion (4 Intellect points): You attempt to make the target take the action you indicate on its next turn. If the action you wish the target to take would cause direct harm to itself or its allies, your mental attack is hindered. Action. (172)

  • Psychokinetic Attack (5 Intellect points): You can use this attack in one of two ways. The first is to pick up a heavy object and hurl it at someone within short range. This attack is an Intellect action, and if successful, it deals 6 points of damage to the target and to the hurled object (which could be another foe, although that would require two rolls—one roll to grab the first foe and another roll to hit the second foe with the first). The second way is to unleash a shattering burst of power that works only against an inanimate object no larger than half your size. Make an Intellect roll to instantly destroy the object; the task is eased by three steps compared to breaking it with brute strength. Action. (172)

  • Psychosis (4 Intellect points): Your words inflict a destructive psychosis in the mind of a target within long range that can understand you, dealing 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) per round. The psychosis can be dispersed if a target uses an action doing nothing but calming and centering itself. Action to initiate. (172)

  • Pull a Fast One (3 Intellect points): When you're running a con, picking a pocket, fooling or tricking a dupe, sneaking something by a guard, and so on, you gain an asset on the task. Enabler. (173)

  • Punish All the Guilty (3 Speed points): You can attack up to five foes within immediate range that you have designated as guilty with your Designation ability, all as part of the same action in one round. Make separate attack rolls for each foe, but all attacks count as a single action in a single round. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to all attacks. If you also have the Spin Attack ability, you inflict 1 additional point of damage when you use Punish All the Guilty. Action. (173)

  • Punish the Guilty (2 Might points): For the next ten minutes, if you attack someone you have designated as guilty with your Designation ability, you inflict 2 additional points of damage. Action to initiate. (173)

  • Push (2 Intellect points): You telekinetically push a creature or object an immediate distance in any direction you wish. You must be able to see the target, which must be your size or smaller, must not be affixed to anything, and must be within short range. The push is quick, and the force is too crude to be manipulated. For example, you can't use this ability to pull a lever or close a door. Action. (173)

  • Push Off and Throw (3 Speed points): You can make precise, point-to-point jumps in microgravity, which means you can move up to a long distance and make a melee attack or attempt to grab a foe of your size or smaller. If you successfully grab your foe, you move your foe up to a short distance from its original position.

    Alternatively, while you come to a standstill (or move off in an immediate distance per round in any direction you choose) you can launch your foe in a chosen direction through space at a rate of a short distance per round. Action. (173)

  • Push on Through (2 Might points): You ignore the effects of terrain while moving for one hour. Enabler. (173)

Abilities—Q

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 173)

  • Quarry (2 Intellect points): Choose a quarry (a single individual creature that you can see). You are trained in all tasks involving following, understanding, interacting with, or fighting that creature. You can have only one quarry at a time. Action to initiate. (173)

  • Question Past Self (4+ Intellect points): You reach into the past up to a week and mentally ask your past self one or two questions about something you knew or observed at the chosen time. For example, if you've forgotten an important phone number or can't remember if a particular person was in a meeting, you can ask your past self about it while it's still fresh in your past self 's memory. Your past self doesn't perceive this as an intrusive voice—it just seems like an unexpected moment of reflection about the questions your present self asks. This doesn't allow you to remember things your past self didn't actually know at the time, but it can sometimes help your present self (in the form of an asset) learn more about or realize something your past self wasn't really paying attention to at the time (such as seeing part of a password or noting whether there was a red delivery truck nearby). For each level of Effort you apply to this ability, you can reach an additional week further into the past. Action. (173)

  • Question the Spirits (2 Intellect points): You can call a spirit to you and petition it to answer a few questions (usually no more than three before the spirit fades).

    First, you must summon a spirit. If it is a spirit of the dead, you must have personally known the creature, have an object that was owned by the creature, or touch the physical remains of the creature. For other spirits, you must know the spirit's full name or have a great deal of an element (such as fire or earth) that the spirit is associated with.

    If the spirit responds, it can manifest as an insubstantial shade that answers for itself, it can inhabit an object or any remains you provide, or it can manifest as an invisible presence that you speak for.

    The spirit may not wish to answer your questions, in which case you must persuade it to help. You can attempt to psychically wrestle the spirit into submission (an Intellect task), or you can try diplomacy, deception, or blackmail ("Answer me, or I'll tell your children that you were a philanderer" or "I'll destroy this relic that belonged to you").

    The GM determines what the spirit might know, based on the knowledge it possessed in life. Action to initiate. (173)

  • Quick Block: If you use a light or medium weapon, you are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (173)

  • Quick Death (2 Speed points): You know how to kill quickly. When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal 4 additional points of damage. You can't make this attack in two consecutive rounds. Action. (173)

  • Quick Recovery: Your second recovery roll (usually requiring ten minutes) is only a single action. Enabler. (173)

  • Quick Strike (4 Speed points): You make a melee attack with such speed that it is hard for your foe to defend against, and it knocks them off balance. Your attack is eased by two steps, and the foe, if struck, takes normal damage but is dazed so that their tasks are hindered for the next round. Action. (174)

  • Quick Study: You learn from repetitive actions. You gain a +1 bonus to rolls for similar tasks after the first time (such as operating the same device or making attacks against the same foe). Once you move on to a new task, the familiarity with the old task fades—unless you start doing it again. Enabler. (174)

  • Quick Switch: You can activate Shrink as part of another action (the ability is now an enabler for you instead of an action). While the one-minute duration of Shrink is active, on your turn you can change size once before taking an action and once after taking an action. For example, on your turn you could change to small size, make an attack, and then return to your normal size, or you could change to your normal size, use your action to move a short distance, and then return to small size. Enabler. (CTS, 55)

  • Quick Throw (2 Speed points): After using a thrown light weapon, you draw another light weapon and make another thrown attack against the same target or a different one. Action. (174)

  • Quick to Flee: You are trained in stealth and movement tasks. Enabler. (174)

  • Quick Wits: When performing a task that would normally require spending points from your Intellect Pool, you can spend points from your Speed Pool instead. Enabler. (174)

  • Quick Work (3+ Intellect points): One use of any artifact (or one minute of its continuous function) is increased by one level if you use it within the next minute. If you spend 4 additional Intellect points, the use is increased by two levels if you use it within the next minute. Action. (174)

  • Quicker Than Most: Experience has honed your reaction times, because those who act first gain the advantage in most situations. You're trained in tasks related to initiative, seeing underlying patterns, and solving puzzles. Enabler. (174)

Abilities—R

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 174)

  • Raider Follower: You gain a level 3 follower (initiative, stealth, and defense as level 4). The follower does as you say and, generally speaking, isn't someone who makes the other PCs in your group feel uncomfortable because of their presence. Enabler. (RR, 122)

  • Rally to Me (2 Intellect points): You cry out, blow a battle horn, or otherwise signal to everyone within very long range that you require aid. All allied creatures who respond by moving to within an immediate distance of you within the next few rounds gain one asset on any one attack or defense task within the next hour that you suggest, such as "Hold the gate," "Charge that group of orcs," or something similar. Action to initiate. (174)

  • Range Increase: Ranges for you increase by one step. Immediate becomes short, short becomes long, long becomes very long, and very long becomes 1,000 feet (300 m). Enabler. (174)

Editor's Notes — Range Increase increases the distance at which the PC can target something with a ranged weapon, special ability, cypher or artifact—but it doesn't extend the reach of melee and touch-based attacks to short range. That function is gained from the Increased Range power shift—a benefit rated as a 10 XP purchase. Range Increase also doesn't increase the distance a PC can move on their turn, nor does it increase the size of area attacks and effects.

  • Rapid Attack (3 Speed points): Once per round, you can make an additional attack with your chosen weapon. Enabler. (174)

  • Rapid Processing (6 Intellect points): You or a target you touch experiences a higher level of mental and physical reaction time for about a minute. During that period, all Speed tasks (including Speed defense rolls) are eased. In addition, the target can take one extra action at any time before the ability's duration expires. Action. (174)

  • Rapid Recovery: You can make most recovery rolls faster than normal. You can make your one-action recovery roll as part of another action or when it isn't your turn, your ten-minute recovery roll takes you only one action, and your one-hour recovery roll takes you only ten minutes (your ten-hour rest is unchanged). If you make a recovery roll when it isn't your turn, until the end of your next turn all of your tasks are hindered. Enabler. (174)

  • Ray of Confusion (2 Intellect points): You project a grey beam of confusion at a creature within short range, inflicting 1 point of damage that ignores Armor. In addition, until the end of the next round, all tasks, attacks, and defenses the target attempts are hindered. Action. (174)

  • Reaction: If a creature you attacked on your last turn with a melee attack uses its action to move out of immediate range, you gain an action to attack the creature as a parting blow, even if you have already taken a turn in the round. Enabler. (174)

  • Reactive Field: Thanks to a remarkable enhancement of science, magic, psionics, or something even stranger, you now have a force field that radiates 1 inch (2.5 cm) from your body and provides you with +2 to Armor. In addition, if struck by a melee attack, the field creates a backlash that inflicts 4 points of electricity damage to the attacker. Enabler. (174)

  • Read the Signs (4 Intellect points): You examine an area and learn precise, useful details about the past (if any exist). You can ask the GM up to four questions about the immediate area; each requires its own roll. Action. (174)

  • Reading Decomposition (3 Intellect points): You gain knowledge about an area by reading energy released by decomposition and decay. You can ask the GM a single, matter-of-fact question about the location and get an answer if you succeed on the Intellect roll. "What was the last ritual performed in this room?" is a good example of a simple question. "Why was this room used for a ritual?" is not an appropriate question, because it has more to do with the mindset of whoever performed the ritual than with qualities of the room. Simple questions usually have a difficulty of 2, but technical questions or those that involve facts meant to be kept secret can have a much higher difficulty. Action. (IOM, 60)

Unless an environment is absolutely sterilized, there are enough microbes, fungal spores, and other organic debris in an area to allow you to use Reading Decomposition.

  • Reading the Room (3 Intellect points): You gain knowledge about an area by speaking with dead spirits or reading residual energies from the past. You can ask the GM a single, matter-of-fact question about the location and get an answer if you succeed on the Intellect roll. "What killed the cattle in this barn?" is a good example of a simple question. "Why were these cattle killed?" is not an appropriate question because it has more to do with the mindset of the killer than the barn. Simple questions usually have a difficulty of 2, but extremely technical questions or those that involve facts meant to be kept secret can have a much higher difficulty. Action. (175)

  • Recruit Deputy: You gain a level 4 follower. They are not restricted on their modifications. Alternatively, you can choose to advance a level 3 follower you already have to level 4 and then gain a new level 3 follower. Enabler. (175)

  • Recycled Cyphers: All manifest cyphers you use function at one level higher than normal. In addition, if given a week and at least ten items of junk from the Junk table, you can tinker with one of your manifest cyphers, transforming it into another cypher of the same type that you had in the past. The GM and player should collaborate to ensure that the transformation is logical— for example, you probably can't transform a pill into a helmet. Enabler. (175)

  • Regenerate: Your ability to heal (whether from a potent spell, unique mutation, or cybernetic graft) continues to function even if you die from violence, as long as your body is mostly intact. One minute after your death, this ability activates and brings you back to life; however, you come back with a permanent 2-point deduction from your Intellect Pool. Enabler. (175)

A character might discover thatRegenerate is both a blessing and a curse, because relying on it too much leads to a kind of malaise that vitality alone can't fix.

  • Regenerate Other (9 Might points): You can confer your Regenerate ability on another creature that you touch and attempt to return it to life, as long as its body is mostly intact. (If you don't have the Regenerate ability, you gain it, but can use it only on yourself.) The difficulty of the task is equal to 3 plus the number of days the target has been dead. (If the body has been perfectly preserved in stasis or through some other non-damaging preservation mechanism, no time limit applies.) Enabler. (175)

  • Regeneration (6 Intellect points): You restore points to a target's Might or Speed Pool in one of two ways: either the chosen Pool regains up to 6 points, or it is restored to a total value of 12. You make this decision when you initiate this ability. Points are regenerated at a rate of 1 point each round. You must remain within immediate range of the target the whole time, either touching them or conversing with them. In no case can this raise a Pool higher than its maximum. Action. (175)

  • Reinforcing Field (6+ Intellect points): You can reinforce any object or structure by infusing it with a force field for one hour. The force field increases the level of the object or structure by 2 for tasks related to durability and withstanding damage and destruction. Action to initiate. (175)

  • Release Energy: You release 1 point of energy you've absorbed with your Absorb Kinetic Energy ability, magnifying and focusing it into a blast of energy that strikes a single foe within long range for 4 points of damage. (If you don't have any kinetic energy absorbed, you can still use this ability, but it requires that you transform a fraction of yourself into the blast, which costs 1 point of Might.) Action. (175)

  • Reload (1 Speed point): When using a weapon that normally requires an action to reload, such as a heavy crossbow, you can reload and fire (or fire and reload) in the same action. Enabler. (176)

  • Relocate (7 Intellect points): Choose one creature or object within immediate range. You instantly transport it to a new position within long range that you can see. The new position can be any direction from you, but it cannot be inside a solid object. Action. (176)

  • Remote Control (5 Intellect points): You can use a starcraft's communication and sensor arrays to launch an attack that briefly renders an enemy starcraft within 20 miles (32 km) inoperative for up to a minute. Action. (176)

Remote Control is a masterful attempt to jam or hack an enemy spacecraft, a task normally requiring multiple rolls, and you only succeed if you roll a total of three successes before rolling a total of two failures. However, all such tasks are hindered by at least two steps due to hardened spacecraft electronic security.

  • Remote Slap (3 Intellect points): You use an active telephone, cellular, internet, or closed-circuit video connection to slap a creature. The target must be actively using a device making use of this connection, such as being on the other end of a phone call or text message, browsing the same social media website or app you're using, or monitoring a closed-circuit camera that is recording you. Make an Intellect-based attack against the creature; success means the creature takes 1 point of damage, as if they had been telekinetically slapped in the face by the device they're using. Each additional remote slap against that creature is hindered by an additional step (resetting after one hour). Action. (IOM, 67)

  • Remote Viewing (6 Intellect points): Distance is an illusion, as all space is one space. With great concentration, you can see another place. This ability can be used in one of two ways:

    • Distance and direction. Pick a spot a specific distance away and in a specific direction. You can see from that vantage point as if you had used the Sensor ability there, but only for one minute.
    • Think of a place you have seen before, either conventionally or using the other application of this power. You can see from that vantage point as if you had used the Sensor ability there, but only for one or two rounds.

    Either application takes anywhere from one action to hours of concentration, depending on what the GM feels is appropriate due to time, distance, or other mitigating circumstances. However, you don't know in advance how long it will take. Action to initiate; action each round to concentrate. (176)

  • Repair Flesh (3 Intellect points): When you touch an impaired or debilitated character, you can move them up one step on the damage track (for example, a debilitated PC becomes impaired, and an impaired one becomes hale). Alternatively, if you use this ability on a PC during a rest, you grant them a +2 bonus to their recovery roll. Action. (176)

  • Repair Machine (3+ Intellect points): You automatically repair one broken device of up to level 4 that you touch, restoring it to full working condition. This ability works only if at least 80 percent of the original device is still on hand. The device may still need fuel, oil, or other substances that aid its operation but are not part of the electronics or mechanism. This ability only reliably works on human-crafted devices and tends to fail when used on alien, high-technology, or otherwise mysterious machines. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the target level that can be affected by 1. Action. (IOM, 75)

  • Repeated Rituals: If you've successfully completed a ritual in the past, tasks for performing that ritual again are eased by two steps. Enabler. (IOM, 54)

  • Repel Metal: By manipulating magnetism, you are trained in Speed defense tasks against any incoming attack that uses metal. Enabler. (176)

  • Reshape (5 Intellect points): You reshape matter within short range in an area no larger than a 5-foot (1.5 m) cube. If you use only one action on this ability, the changes you make are crude at best. If you spend at least ten minutes and succeed at a hindered appropriate crafting task, you can make complex changes to the material. You can't change the nature of the material, only its shape. Thus, you can make a hole in a wall or floor, or you can seal one up. You can fashion a rudimentary sword from a large piece of iron. You can break or repair a chain. With multiple uses of this ability, you could bring about large changes, making a bridge, a wall, or a similar structure. Action. (176)

  • Resilience: You have 1 point of Armor against any kind of physical damage, even physical damage that normally ignores Armor. Enabler. (176)

  • Resilient Duplicate: Increase the health of any duplicate you create (such as with Duplicate) by 5. Enabler. (176)

  • Resilient Ice Armor: The sheen of ice you generate using your Ice Armor ability gives you an additional +1 to Armor. Enabler. (176)

  • Resist the Elements: You resist heat, cold, and similar extremes. You have a special +2 to Armor against ambient damage or other damage that would normally ignore Armor. Enabler. (176)

  • Resist Tricks: You're trained in solving puzzles and recognizing tricks from years of game playing. Enabler. (176)

  • Resist Underwater Hazards: Whether you're resisting crushing waters while exploring the depths or a sting from a poisonous fish, all defense tasks while submerged in water are eased. Enabler. (176)

  • Resonance Field (1 Intellect point): Faint lines in a color you choose form a tracery over your entire body and emit faint light. The effect lasts for one minute. Whenever a creature within immediate range makes an attack against you, the pattern energizes to block the attack. You can make an Intellect defense roll in place of the defense roll you would normally make. If you do so and you get a minor effect, the creature attacking you takes 1 point of damage. If you get a major effect, the creature attacking you takes 4 points of damage. Action to initiate. (176)

  • Resonant Frequency: You can infuse an item of up to level 7 that you can hold in one hand with a special vibration generated from your core. The object then functions as if two levels higher for one minute. At the end of that minute, the resonant frequency ramps up exponentially until the object finally shatters from the energy buildup. Anything within immediate range of the detonation suffers 5 points of damage. Action to initiate. (177)

  • Resonant Quake (7 Intellect points): You can infuse the ground beneath you with a special vibration generated from your core. This creates a small quake whose epicenter you can select within a very long distance. Everyone within short range of the epicenter is subject to 8 points of damage (from shaking and being struck by toppling objects, crumbling walls, and so on). However, you are dazed for a round afterward yourself, during which time all your tasks are hindered. If you have the Move Mountains ability, both abilities cost 3 fewer Intellect points to use. Action. (177)

  • Resource Seeker (3+ Intellect points): When you are looking for a specific inexpensive item you'd like to scavenge from nearby ruins, such as a candle, an aspirin, or a can of preserved chili, you can focus your attention on it so that you are more likely to find it. For the next ten minutes, if what you are seeking is within long range, you find it if you succeed on a difficulty 2 Intellect roll. Each time you use this ability again in the same area, the difficulty is hindered by one additional step. For each level of Effort you apply, you can attempt to find an object of one higher expense category, but the base difficulty of the Intellect roll also increases by 1 per higher expense category. Action to initiate. (RR, 123)

  • Restful Presence: Creatures who make a recovery roll within short range of you add +1 to their roll. Enabler. (177)

  • Restore Life (9+ Intellect points): You can attempt to restore life to a dead creature of up to level 3, as long as the corpse is no more than a day old and is mostly intact. You can also attempt to restore life to a corpse that is much older but is especially well preserved. The difficulty of the Intellect task is equal to the level of the creature you're attempting to restore to life. For each additional level of Effort applied, you can attempt to restore the life of a creature whose level is 1 higher. When first restored to life, a creature is dazed for at least a day, and all tasks they attempt are hindered. Action; one minute to initiate. (177)

  • Restorative Bloom (5 Might points): When Wooden Body or Great Tree is in effect, you produce a flower, acorn, fruit, or similar plant-based edible item. A creature that eats this food is nourished for a full day and restores their Might Pool, Speed Pool, and Intellect Pool to their maximum values, as if they were fully rested. Eating a second food produced by this ability in a day has no effect. If the food is not eaten within ten minutes, it spoils. Action to produce, action to eat. (GF, 32)

  • Resuscitate (6 Intellect points): You can resuscitate a character who is up to two steps down on the damage track as your action. The target ascends one step on the damage track. If a character has dropped all three steps on the damage track (dead) but is otherwise in one piece and less than a minute has passed since they descended to the third step, you can resuscitate them if you succeed at a level 6 healing task. If you use this ability on an NPC who has no health but has been dead for less than a minute and is otherwise in one piece, the NPC is resuscitated with 1 health. Action. (177)

  • Retinue: Four level 2 followers join you (and your first follower, if you have one). One of their modifications must be for tasks related to serving as your personal assistants. In addition to other tasks they might individually take on your behalf, they can also work together to run interference if you're trying to avoid someone, help hide you from the attention of others, help you muscle through a crowd, and so on. If a situation becomes physically violent, they provide an asset to your Speed defense tasks and, if you command it, try to hold a foe's attention while you escape. Enabler. (177)

  • Retrieve Memories (3 Intellect points): You touch the remains of a recently killed creature and make an Intellect-based roll to restore its mind to life long enough to learn information from it. The GM sets the difficulty based on the amount of time that has passed since the creature died. A creature that has been dead for only a few minutes is a difficulty 2 task, one that has been dead for an hour is a difficulty 4 task, and one that has been dead for a few days is a difficulty 9 task. If you succeed, you awaken the corpse, causing its head to animate and perceive things as if it were alive. This enables communication for about one minute, which is how long it takes for the creature to realize that it's dead. The creature is limited to what it knew in life, though it cannot recall minor memories, only big events of importance to it. When the effect ends, or if you fail the roll, the creature's brain dissolves to mush and cannot be awakened again. Action. (177)

  • Return to Sender (3 Speed points): If you succeed at a Speed defense task against a melee attack, you can make an immediate melee attack against your foe. You can use this ability only once per round. Enabler. (177)

  • Return to the Obelisk (7+ Intellect points): You transfer your body and personal possessions into a crystal of any size that you can touch, and you exit from another crystal of any size, including any crystal obelisks that you are aware of. You must know of the crystal you are going to use as an exit before you enter the first crystal. You can take one additional creature with you for each level of Effort applied. Action. (177)

  • Reveal (2+ Intellect points): You adjust a creature's eyesight so that it can see normally in areas of dim light and darkness. You can affect one willing creature within immediate range for one hour. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect more targets; each level of Effort applied affects two additional targets. You must touch additional targets to affect them. Action to initiate. (178)

  • Rewind Rot: Your grasp on life and death energy means that you can heal—even from death—as long as your head, heart, and hands remain intact. One minute after descending a step on the damage track, you regain 2 Pool points. However, if you return from death, it is with a permanent 2-point reduction in your Intellect Pool. Enabler. (IOM, 60)

  • Ribbons of Dark Matter (2 Intellect points): For the next minute, dark matter condenses within an area within long range that is no bigger than an immediate distance in diameter, manifesting as swirling ribbons. All tasks attempted by creatures in the area are hindered, and leaving the area requires a creature's entire action to move. You can dismiss the dark matter early as an action. Action to initiate. (178)

  • Rider: You are trained in riding any kind of creature that serves as a mount, such as a noble warhorse. Enabler. (178)

  • Ritual Guidance: When you participate in a magical ritual with two or more members of your coven, ritual tasks for all participants are eased by two steps. Enabler. (IOM, 58)

  • Roaming Third Eye (3 Intellect points): When you use your Third Eye ability, you can place the sensor anywhere within long range. In addition, until that ability ends, you can use an action to move the sensor anywhere within short range of its starting position. Enabler. (178)

  • Robot Assistant: A level 2 robot of your size or smaller (built by you) accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the details of your robot. You'll probably make rolls for it when it takes actions. A robot assistant in combat usually doesn't make separate attacks but helps with yours. On your action, if the artificial assistant is next to you, it serves as an asset for one attack you make on your turn. If the robot is destroyed, you can repair the original with a few days' worth of tinkering, or build a new one with a week's worth of half-time labor. Enabler. (178)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Robot Assistant to be a follower.

  • Robot Builder: You are trained in tasks related to building and repairing robots. For the purposes of repair, you can use this skill to heal robots that use similar technology. Enabler. (178)

  • Robot Control (2+ Intellect points): You use your knowledge of robot command and control (and possibly devices that transmit on the proper frequency) to affect any mechanized system or robot of level 2 or lower within short range. You can render several targets inactive for as long as you focus all your attention on them. If you focus on just one target, you can attempt to take active control of it for one minute, commanding it to do simple tasks on your behalf while you concentrate. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the mechanized system or robot. Thus, to affect a level 4 target (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Action to initiate. (178)

  • Robot Evolution: Your first artificial assistant from the Robot Assistant ability increases to level 5, and each of your level 2 robots from Robot Fleet increases to level 3. Instead of choosing this option, you may instead choose one upgrade from the Robot Upgrade ability. Enabler. (178)

  • Robot Fighter: When fighting a robot or intelligent machine, you are trained in attacks and defense. Enabler. (178)

  • Robot Fleet: You build up to four level 2 robot assistants, each no larger than yourself. (They are in addition to the assistant you built at first tier with Robot Assistant, which may have seen a few upgrades since then.) You and the GM must work out the details of these additional robots. If a robot is destroyed, you can build a new one (or repair the old one from its parts) after a week of half-time labor. Instead of this ability, you can select one of the following abilities: Expert Follower, Robot Control, or Robot Upgrade. Enabler. (179)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider each member of a Robot Fleet to be a follower.

  • Robot Improvement: Your artificial assistant from the Robot Assistant ability increases to level 4. Enabler. (179)

  • Robot Upgrade: You modify your artificial assistant from the Robot Assistant ability with one new capability. Standard options include the following. Work with your GM if you prefer a different capability.

    • Cypher Pod. The robot can carry one extra manifest cypher for you. Enabler.
    • Flight. The robot can fly a long distance each round. It can carry you, but only for up to an hour between each of your ten-hour recovery rolls. Enabler.
    • Force Shield. The robot can erect an opaque level 5 force field around itself and anyone within 10 feet (3 m) of it for one minute (or until it is destroyed). It cannot do so again until after your next recovery roll. Action.
    • Mounted Laser Configuration. The robot can reconfigure itself and become an immobile laser weapon on a gimbal mount. In this configuration, the robot is a heavy weapon that deals 7 points of damage. If the robot acts as an autonomous turret, treat it as one level lower than its normal level. However, if the laser is fired by you or someone else who has your permission, the laser attacks are eased. Action to reconfigure; action to return to normal robot configuration. (179)

  • Ruin Lore: You are trained in scavenging, which means you're more likely to find useful things, and junk that can potentially be turned into useful things in the ruins of what came before. Enabler. (179)

Editor's Notes — While the text of Rust and Redemption punctuates this ability slightly differently, the effects are identical:

  • Ruin Lore: You are trained in scavenging, which means you're more likely to find useful things (and junk that can potentially be turned into useful things) in the ruins of what came before. Enabler. (RR, 123)

  • Run and Fight (4 Might points): You can move a short distance and make a melee attack that inflicts 2 additional points of damage. Action. (179)

  • Runner: Your standard movement increases from short to long. Enabler. (179)

Abilities—S

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 179)

  • Safe Fall: You reduce the damage from a fall by 5 points. Enabler. (179)

  • Safe Sex: One creature you touch can have sexual encounters with no chance of causing pregnancy or transmitting an STI. This protection lasts for ten hours. Action. (IOM, 72, 75, 76)

  • Sailor: You are trained in tasks related to sailing and trained in the geography of islands and coastlines. Enabler. (179)

  • Salvage and Comfort (2 Intellect points): You're familiar with open space. If you spend an hour using your spacecraft's sensors and make a difficulty 3 Intellect roll, you can find salvage in the form of abandoned spacecraft, drifting motes of matter that were once inhabited, or a place to hide from pursuit in what most people would otherwise assume to be empty space (such as in a nebula, an asteroid field, or the shadow of a moon). Salvage you turn up includes enough food and water for you and several others, as well as the possibility of weapons, clothing, technological artifacts, survivors, or other usable items. In other contexts, this ability counts as training in tasks related to perception. Action to initiate, one hour to complete. (179)

  • Scan (2 Intellect points): You scan an area equal in size to a 10-foot (3 m) cube, including all objects or creatures within that area. The area must be within short range. Scanning a creature or object always reveals its level. You also learn whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent about the matter and energy in that area. For example, you might learn that the wooden box contains a device of metal and plastic. You might learn that the glass cylinder is full of poisonous gas, and that its metal stand has an electrical field running through it that connects to a metal mesh in the floor. You might learn that the creature standing before you is a mammal with a small brain. However, this ability doesn't tell you what the information means. Thus, in the first example, you don't know what the metal and plastic device does. In the second, you don't know if stepping on the floor causes the cylinder to release the gas. In the third, you might suspect that the creature is not very intelligent, but scans, like looks, can be deceiving. Many materials and energy fields prevent or resist scanning. Action. (179)

  • Scramble Machine (2 Intellect points): You render one machine within short range unable to function for one round. Alternatively, you can hinder any action by the machine (or by someone attempting to use the machine) for one minute. Action. (179)

  • Scratch Existence (1+ Might points): You can choose to phase in a way that "scratches" normal matter in a long streak as you run using Phase Sprint. This tears a bit at you, too, reflected by the Might cost. When you use Phase Sprint, you inflict 2 points of damage (ignores Armor) to one target you select as you pass within immediate range, without triggering Disrupting Touch. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the number of targets along your path that you can attack as part of the same action. Make a separate attack roll for each foe. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to all of these attacks.

    Alternatively, if you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); the target takes 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Enabler. (180)

  • Sculpt Flesh (2 Intellect points): You cause a willing creature's fingers to lengthen into claws and their teeth to grow into fangs. The effect lasts for ten minutes. The damage dealt by the target's unarmed strikes increases to 4 points. Action. (180)

  • Sculpt Light (4 Intellect points): You create an object of solid light in any shape you can imagine that is your size or smaller, and it persists for about an hour. The object appears in an area adjacent to you. It is crude and can have no moving parts, so you can make a sword, a shield, a short ladder, and so on. The object has the approximate mass of the real object and is level 4. Action. (180)

  • Sea Legs: You have gotten used to rough seas and unexpected surges. You are trained in balance. Any movement task that would be hindered by a pitching deck, moving through rigging, and so on is a routine task for you. Enabler. (180)

  • See History (4 Intellect points): You touch an object, read the subtle echoes of its existence through time, ask the GM a question about the object's past, and get a general answer. The answers are often in the form of brief images or sensations rather than specific answers in a language you know. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. After you use this ability, you have an asset on identifying the object. Action. (180)

"Obscure" is a relative term—a sage might not know how a vampire acquired a specific artifact, but someone using See History on that artifact would have an easy time sensing that event.

  • See the Future (6 Intellect points): Based on all the variables you perceive, you can predict the next few minutes. This has the following effects:

    • For the next ten minutes, your defense rolls gain an asset.
    • You have a sort of danger sense. For the next ten minutes, you gain an asset in seeing through deceptions and attempts to betray you, as well as avoiding traps and ambushes.
    • You know what people are probably thinking and what they will say before they say it. For the next ten minutes, you gain an asset to tasks involving interaction and deception.

    Enabler. (180)

  • See the Unseen: You can automatically perceive creatures and objects that are normally invisible, out of phase, or only partially in this universe. When looking for things more conventionally hidden, the task is eased. Enabler. (180)

  • See Through Matter (3+ Intellect points): You can see through matter as if it were transparent. You can see through up to 6 inches (15 cm) of material for one round. Doing so is a task whose difficulty is equal to the material or object's level. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to see through another 6 inches of material for each additional level of Effort you apply toward that goal. Action. (180)

  • See Through Time (7 Intellect points): Time is an illusion, as all time is one time. With great concentration, you can see into another time. You specify a time period regarding the place where you now stand. Interestingly, the easiest time to view is about one hundred years in the past or future. Viewing farther back or ahead is a nearly impossible task.

    This takes anywhere from one action to hours of concentration, depending on what the GM feels is appropriate due to time, distance, or other mitigating circumstances. However, you don't know in advance how long it will take. Action to initiate; action each round to concentrate. (181)

  • Seeds of Fury (1 Intellect point): You throw a handful of seeds in the air that ignite and speed toward a target within long range, scratching the air with twisting smoke trails. The attack deals 3 points of damage and catches the target on fire, which inflicts 1 additional point of damage per round for up to a minute or until the target uses an action to douse the flames. Action. (181)

  • Seize the Initiative (5 Intellect points): Within one minute of successfully using your Draw Conclusion ability, you can take one additional, immediate action, which you can take out of turn. After using this ability, you can't use it again until after your next ten-hour recovery roll. Enabler. (181)

  • Seize the Moment (4+ Speed points): If you succeed on a Speed defense roll to resist an attack, you gain an action. You can use the action immediately even if you have already taken a turn in the round. You don't take an action during the next round, unless you apply a level of Effort when you use Seize the Moment. Enabler. (181)

  • Sense Ambush: You are never surprised by an attack. Enabler. (181)

  • Sense Attitudes: You are trained in sensing lies and whether a person is likely to (or already does) believe your lies. Enabler. (181)

  • Sensing Package: You can see in dim light and darkness as if it were bright light, and you can see up to a short distance through fog, smoke, and other obscuring phenomena. In addition, if you apply a level of Effort to perception or searching tasks, you get a free level of Effort on that task. Enabler. (181)

  • Sensor (4 Intellect points): You create an immobile, invisible sensor within immediate range that lasts for 24 hours. At any time during that duration, you can concentrate to see, hear, and smell through the sensor, no matter how far you move from it. The sensor doesn't grant you sensory capabilities beyond the norm. If you also have this ability from another source, it lasts twice as long. Action to create; action to check. (181)

  • Sensor Array (3 Intellect points): You are trained in using starcraft sensory instruments. These instruments allow users to answer general questions about a location, such as "How many people are in the mining colony?" or "Where did the other spacecraft crash?" Action. (181)

  • Serv-0: You build a tiny robot assistant. It is level 1 and cannot take independent actions or leave your immediate area. In truth, it's more an extension of you than a separate being. It gains a modification in using machines and other technological devices. Enabler. (181)

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Serv-0 to be a follower.

  • Serv-0 Aim: Your Serv-0 aids you in ranged combat. It gains a modification in ranged attacks. Enabler. (181)

  • Serv-0 Brawler: Your Serv-0 aids you in melee combat. It gains a modification in melee attacks. Enabler. (181)

  • Serv-0 Defender: Your Serv-0 aids you in combat by blocking attacks. It gains a modification in Speed defense. Enabler. (181)

  • Serv-0 Repair: Your Serv-0 aids you in repairing other devices. It gains a modification in repair. Enabler. (181)

  • Serv-0 Scanner (2 Intellect points): Your Serv-0 gains the Scan ability. Enabler. (181)

  • Serv-0 Spy (3 Intellect points): You can send your Serv-0 up to a long distance away for up to ten minutes and see and hear through it as though its senses were your own. You direct its movement. Action to initiate. (181)

  • Share Defense: If your training in a defense task is greater than that of an ally within short range, your advice and insight allow them to substitute your training for that defense task. Enabler. (181)

  • Share Memory (3 Intellect points): You share a memory of your choice with a willing creature you touch. The length of the shared memory can be no longer than about five minutes, but you can summarize longer memories (such as how you met, courted, and married your partner) with a "montage" that covers the most important details and underlying sentiment. The target experiences the memory as an instantaneous vision, and is aware that it is your memory rather than their own memory or experience. The memory is as vivid and accurate as you personally remember it. Action. (IOM, 67)

  • Share the Power: When you use Drain Creature or Drain Machine to drain energy, you can transfer it to another creature, restoring points to their Might or Speed Pools (or health for an NPC) instead of yourself. You can spend points from your Siphon Pool (from the Store Energy ability) in the same way. You must touch the creature you want to heal, unless you have the Drain at a Distance ability, in which case they can be up to a short distance away. Enabler. (182)

  • Share Senses: While your duplicate created by the Duplicate ability is in existence and within 1 mile (1.5 km), you know everything it experiences and can communicate with it telepathically. Enabler. (182)

  • Sharp Senses: You are trained in all tasks involving perception. Enabler. (182)

  • Sharp-Eyed: Because you must always keep an eye out when you're traveling, you are trained in all tasks related to perception and navigation. Enabler. (182)

  • Shatter (2+ Intellect points): You interrupt the fundamental force holding normal matter together for a moment, causing the detonation of an object you choose within long range. The object must be a small, mundane item composed of homogeneous matter (such as a clay cup, an iron ingot, a stone, and so on). The object explodes in an immediate radius, dealing 1 point of damage to all creatures and objects in the area. If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action. (182)

  • Shatter Mind (7+ Intellect points): Your words reverberate destructively in the brain of an intelligent level 1 target within short range that can hear and understand you. They destroy tissue, memories, and personality, triggering a vegetative state. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to shatter the mind of a level 5 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action. (182)

The vegetative state created by Shatter Mind can be healed by advanced magic or science, or by a condition remover cypher that cures psychosis.

  • Shattering Shout (5+ Might points): Your focused shout sets up a destructive resonance in a creature or object within long range. Nothing happens on the round you strike your target other than an ominous humming or buzzing sound emitted by the target. But on your next turn, the resonance shatters discrete inanimate objects, inflicts major damage to structures, or inflicts 4 points of damage on a creature (ignores Armor).

    If you shatter a discrete object, it shatters explosively, inflicting 1 point of damage on all creatures and objects within immediate range of it. If you apply Effort to increase the damage rather than ease the task, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll. Action to initiate. (182)

  • Shepherd's Fury: You inflict 3 additional points of damage when engaging in combat that directly relates to advancing the needs of a community you are associated with. (You and the GM can decide whether a particular situation warrants the additional damage.) Enabler. (182)

  • Shield Burst: When you make a melee or ranged attack and hit with your Force Field Shield, it releases an explosion of energy, inflicting an additional 2 points of damage on the target and everything within immediate range of the target. If you applied Effort to inflict additional damage as part of the attack, each level of Effort inflicts only 2 additional points to all targets instead of 3 points. If you use Shield Burst with a melee attack, you and creatures behind you are not affected by this explosion. If you use Shield Burst with a ranged attack, the shield dissipates after the attack and then reforms in your grasp. Enabler. (182)

  • Shield Master: When you use a shield, in addition to the asset it gives you (easing Speed defense tasks), you can act as if you are trained in Speed defense tasks. However, in any round in which you use this benefit, your attacks are hindered. Enabler. (182)

  • Shield Training: If you use a shield, Speed defense tasks are eased by two steps instead of one. Enabler. (182)

Editor's Notes — It seems likely that Shield Training contains a misprint, since a PC's shield to provides an asset to Speed defense tasks—it doesn't ease the task outright. If the GM agrees, use this version instead:

  • Shield Training: If you use a shield, it proivides two assets to your Speed defense tasks instead of one. Enabler. (182)

  • Ship Footing (3 Speed points): For ten minutes, all tasks you attempt while on a spaceship are eased. Action to initiate. (182)

  • Shipspeak: You can make basic maneuvers from a planetary distance with a starship that you have bonded with using Machine Bond. You can send it to a designated place, call it to you, have it land, allow or deny entrance, and so on, even if you are not on board. Bonding is a process that requires a day of meditation while jacked into the ship. Action. (183)

Editor's Notes — The 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (56) version of Shipspeak doesn't require the Machine Bond ability. Use this version if you need something more flexible:

  • Shipspeak: You can make basic maneuvers from a planetary distance with a starship that you have bonded with. You can send it to a designated place, call it to you, have it land, allow or deny entrance, and so on, even if you are not on board. Bonding is a process that requires twenty-four hours of meditation while jacked into the ship. Action. (183)

  • Shock (1 Intellect point): Your hands crackle with electricity, and the next time you touch a creature, you inflict 3 points of damage. Alternatively, if you wield a weapon, for ten minutes it crackles with electricity and inflicts 1 additional point of damage per attack. Action for touch; enabler for weapon. (183)

  • Short Teleportation (4+ Intellect points): You instantly teleport to any location within a short distance that you can see. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase your range, teleport to a location you can't see, or bring other people with you. Each additional short distance costs one level of Effort. Teleporting to a destination you can't see costs one level of Effort. Each additional target brought with you costs one level of Effort (you must touch any additional targets). These levels of Effort are counted separately, so teleporting an additional short distance away to a location you can't see with one passenger costs a total of three levels of Effort. Action. (CTS, 55)

If you already have Short Teleportation when you select Medium Teleportation or Teleportation, you may replace Short Teleportation with another tier 4 type ability.

  • Show Them the Way (6+ Intellect points): Your presence overwhelms a creature that you touch and ask to aid you. Essentially, if the creature fails to defend against your presence, you control its actions for up to ten minutes. The target must be level 3 or lower. Once you have established control, you maintain control through verbal instruction. You can allow the target to act freely or override control on a case-by case basis. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to affect a level 5 target (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. When the effect ends, the creature vaguely remembers doing your will, but it's as blurry as a dream. Action to initiate. (183)

  • Shred Existence: When you use Disrupting Touch, Scratch Existence, or Phase Detonation, you inflict an additional 5 points of damage that ignores Armor. Enabler. (183)

  • Shrink (1+ Might points): You (and your clothing or suit) become much smaller than your normal size. You become 6 inches (15 cm) tall and stay that way for about a minute. During this time, you add 4 points to your Speed Pool and add +2 to your Speed Edge. While you are smaller than normal, your Speed defense rolls are eased, your movement speed is one-tenth normal, and your attacks inflict half the normal amount of damage (divide the total damage in half after all bonuses, Effort, and other damage modifiers). You can return to your normal size as part of another action.

    When the effects of Shrink end, your Speed Edge, movement speed, and damage return to normal, and you subtract a number of points from your Speed Pool equal to the number you gained (if this brings the Pool to 0, subtract the overflow first from your Might Pool and then, if necessary, from your Intellect Pool). Each additional time you use Shrink before your next ten-hour recovery roll, you must apply an additional level of Effort (one level of Effort for the second use, two levels of Effort for the third use, and so on). Action to initiate. (CTS, 55)

The increased Effort cost for repeat uses of Shrink between ten-hour recovery rolls only applies to new activations of Shrink, not to multiple size changes within one use of Shrink enabled by Quick Switch.

  • Shrink Others: You can use Shrink on other willing creatures within an immediate distance. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect more targets; each level of Effort affects one additional target. Unless these creatures have an ability to change their size, they remain small until the one-minute duration of Shrink ends for them. Enabler. (CTS, 55)

  • Shroud of Flame (1 Intellect point): At your command, your entire body becomes shrouded in flames that last up to ten minutes. The fire doesn't burn you, but it automatically inflicts 2 points of damage to anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack. Flames from another source can still hurt you. While the shroud is active, you gain +2 Armor against damage from fire from another source. Enabler. (183)

  • Silent As Space: By taking advantage of microgravity conditions, you gain an asset to stealth and initiative tasks while in zero-gravity or low-gravity conditions. Enabler. (183)

  • Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in which you are not already trained: light bashing, light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in attacks using that type of weapon. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose a different type of attack. Enabler. (183)

  • Skill With Defense: Choose one type of defense task in which you are not already trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are trained in defense tasks of that type. Enabler. (183)

  • Sleuth: Finding the clues is the first step in solving a mystery. You are trained in perception. Enabler. (183)

  • Slice (2 Speed points): This is a quick attack with a bladed or pointed weapon that is hard to defend against. You are trained in this task. If the attack is successful, it deals 1 less point of damage than normal. Action. (183)

  • Slip Into Shadow (2+ Intellect points): You attempt to slip away from a selected target and hide from view in a nearby shadow, behind a tree or a furnishing, or in the next room, even if in full view of the target. For each level of Effort applied, you can attempt to affect one additional target, as long as all your targets are next to each other. Action to initiate. (183)

  • Slippery: You are trained in escaping any kind of bond or grasp. Enabler. (183)

  • Slippery Customer: When you apply Effort to tasks involving escaping from bonds, fitting in tight spaces, and other contortionist tasks, you get a free level of Effort on the task. Thanks to your experience, you are also trained in Speed defense tasks while wearing light armor or no armor. Enabler. (183)

  • Small Flight (3+ Intellect points): For the next hour, when using Shrink, you can fly through the air. You might accomplish this flight by growing wings from your body, extending wings from your suit, calling a tiny creature to carry you, or "surfing" air currents. When flying, you can move up to a short distance as part of another action or a long distance if all you do on your turn is move. Action to initiate. (CTS, 55)

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what the "+" in the point cost of Small Flight is in reference to.

  • Smaller: When you use Shrink, you can choose to shrink down to about half an inch (1 cm) high, and you add 3 more temporary points to your Speed Pool. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

  • Snap Shot: You can make two gun attacks as a single action, but the second attack is hindered by two steps. Enabler. (183)

  • Sneak: You are trained in stealth and initiative tasks. Enabler. (183)

  • Snipe (2 Speed points): If you spend one action aiming, in the next round you can make a precise ranged attack. You have an asset on this attack. If your attack is successful, it inflicts 4 additional points of damage. Action. (183)

  • Sniper's Aim: By dint of almost constant practice playing games that simulate making ranged attacks, your hand-eye coordination is off the chart. You have an asset on all ranged attacks. Enabler. (184)

  • Something in the Road: When you use a vehicle as a weapon, you inflict 5 additional points of damage. Enabler. (184)

  • Soothe Mind and Body: The body and the mind are connected. All healing tasks you attempt are eased by two steps. Enabler. (184)

  • Soothe the Savage (2 Intellect points): You calm a nonhuman beast within 30 feet (9 m). You must speak to it (although it doesn't need to understand your words), and it must see you. It remains calm for one minute or for as long as you focus all your attention on it. The GM has final say over what counts as a nonhuman beast, but unless some kind of deception is at work, you should know whether you can affect a creature before you attempt to use this ability on it. Aliens, extradimensional entities, very intelligent creatures, and robots never count. Action. (184)

  • Soul Familiar: You have a soul familiar who accompanies you and follows your instructions. Your soul and their soul are interconnected (or the familiar might actually be a physical manifestation of your soul). The familiar loves and cares for you like the best combination of a pet and a close friend.

    The familiar is no larger than a large cat (about 20 pounds, or 9 kg); a typical soul familiar looks like a bird, cat, rat, lizard, snake, or toad, but more unusual forms (such as a tiny demon, dragon, elemental, fey creature, or floating skull) are also possible. You and the GM must work out the details of your familiar, and you'll probably make rolls for them in combat or when they take actions. The familiar acts on your turn. Their movement is based on their creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on).

    You and your familiar can communicate telepathically within long range, or empathically within very long range. Beyond this range, you can only sense each other's general level of well-being.

    Your familiar's presence within short range counts as an asset for magical tasks that require at least one minute to activate or maintain.

    If your familiar is within an immediate distance of you, you can roll any defense task for them, gaining the benefit of your skills, assets, and Effort (the familiar's Speed defense tasks are eased by two steps due to their size). While within this distance, your familiar also gains the benefit of any ongoing spell you cast on yourself (for example, if you cast a spell on yourself that lets you breathe water, your familiar can breathe water).

    Foes can use your soul familiar's connection to you against you. If a foe is holding or restraining your familiar (or touching it while it is held or restrained by another creature or a device, such as manacles or a cage), the foe's attacks and defenses against you are eased.

    If an attack against your familiar would reduce their health to 0, you can magically intervene so their health is instead reduced to 1 and you move one step down the damage track. If your familiar dies, you move one step down the damage track. If you die, your familiar instantly dies. You can replace a dead familiar (or revive them, if you have their remains) by performing a magical ritual that takes 1d6 days.

    Enabler. (IOM, 68)

  • Soul Interrogation (5 Intellect points): You determine the weaknesses, vulnerabilities, qualities, and mannerisms of a single creature within long range. The GM should reveal the creature's level, basic abilities, and obvious weaknesses (if any). All actions you attempt that affect that creature—attack, defense, interaction, and so on—are eased for a few months afterward. Action. (184)

  • Sound Conversion Barrier: Attacks that hit you—especially energy attacks like focused light, heat, radiation, and transdimensional energy—are partially converted to surges of harmless noise similar to the sound of a wave crashing to shore. This ability grants you +1 Armor against all attacks and an additional +2 Armor against energy attacks. Enabler. (184)

  • Space Fighting: By taking advantage of microgravity conditions, you can use inertia and mass to your advantage. If you spend a round setting up a melee attack (or an attack from a thrown or launched object) while in zero-gravity or low-gravity conditions, the attack inflicts 6 additional points of damage. Enabler. (184)

  • Speaker for the Dead (2+ Intellect points): You can ask a question of a dead being whose corpse you are touching. Because the answer comes through the filter of the being's understanding and personality, it can't answer questions that it wouldn't have understood in life, and it can't provide answers that it wouldn't have known in life. In fact, the being is not compelled to answer at all, so you might need to interact with it in a way that would have convinced it to answer while it was alive. For each additional Intellect point you spend when you activate the ability, you can ask the being an additional question. Action. (184)

  • Special Shot: When you hit a target with a gun attack, you can choose to reduce the damage by 1 point but hit the target in a precise spot. Some of the possible effects include (but are not limited to) the following:

    • You can shoot an object out of someone's hand.
    • You can shoot the leg, wing, or other limb it uses to move, reducing its maximum movement speed to immediate for a few days or until it receives expert medical care.
    • You can shoot a strap holding a backpack, armor, or a similarly strapped-on item so that it falls off.

    Enabler. (184)

  • Specialized Basher: You are specialized in using the stone fists from your Golem Body ability as a medium weapon. Enabler. (185)

  • Specialized Throwing: You are specialized in attacks with all weapons that you throw. Enabler. (185)

  • Spectral Servant (2 Intellect points): You conjure a spectral servant, a semi-real magical construct that resembles the vague nonthreatening outline of a person. It is more of an extension of your will than a separate being, and it automatically assists you in simple tasks like bringing drinks to houseguests and dealing with chores. It cannot attack or defend, and it vanishes if you are ever more than a short distance from it. The servant lasts for one hour before disappearing. Action. (IOM, 72)

Spectral Servant
level 1

  • Speed Burst (4 Speed points): You can take two separate actions in this round. In the following round, all actions are hindered. You cannot use this ability two rounds in a row. Enabler. (185)

  • Speedy Recovery (3 Intellect points): Your words enhance the normal regenerative ability of a character within short range who is able to understand you. When they make a recovery roll, they must spend only half the normal amount of time required to do so (minimum one action). Action. (185)

  • Spell Bullet: In your hands, a typical handgun or rifle never needs to be loaded because you can automatically conjure a standard bullet for it as part of your attack action with that weapon.

    Alternatively, instead of casting a spell in the normal manner, you can channel it through your handgun, firing it like a bullet. This is as loud as firing a normal bullet and uses the handgun's range (typically long) if that is longer than the spell's normal range. If the spell is an attack spell, instead of making an Intellect-based attack you make a Speed-based attack; assets and skill with guns apply to the attack, and you use your Speed Pool if you apply Effort to ease the attack. This means you use Intellect to cast the spell (and for applying Effort for additional effects or extra damage) and Speed for the attack roll (using Intellect Edge and Speed Edge for their respective Pools).

    Enabler. (IOM, 47)

You can use Spell Bullet to cast a spell that affects multiple targets. This might look like you're firing multiple times or the one shot is passing through or ricocheting off each target.

  • Spellpay (1 Intellect point): You initiate a transaction with another person or business cashier within short range, giving them an amount of money that you specify. The currency comes from cash in your possession, money in your account, or a mix of both; the recipient receives this money in the same form as it came from you. For example, if you send someone $150, $50 of which is cash in your wallet and $100 of which comes from your bank account, they suddenly have $50 cash on hand and $100 in their bank account. Instead of a transaction between two people, you can instead use this ability to access your account, withdrawing or depositing cash as if using a teller machine. Action. (IOM, 74)

Spellpay can access any monetary account you use, such as a checking or savings account through a bank or credit union, or a mobile payment service such as Apple Pay, PayPal, or Venmo.

  • Spells Have No Speed Limit: Any car you have driven for at least a minute responds to you like a well-trained robot, allowing you to mentally give it orders from a long distance away. This control includes any aspect of driving the car (such as steering, accelerating, and braking) and any moveable parts on the car (such as opening or closing the doors, hood, or trunk). The car takes actions on your turn, and you make rolls for it in combat or when it takes actions. You can only control one car at a time with this ability (although you could manually drive one car and magically control another car at the same time). If you are driving the car you're controlling with this ability, your driving tasks and extreme tricks with the car (such as jumping a ravine or other vehicle, spinning in the air, landing safely on another vehicle, and so on) are eased. Enabler. (IOM, 53)

  • Spin Attack (5+ Speed points): You stand still and make attacks against up to five foes, all as part of the same action in one round. All of the attacks have to be the same sort of attack (melee or ranged). Make a separate attack roll for each foe. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to all of these attacks. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the number of foes you can attack with this ability (one additional foe per level of Effort used in this way). Action. (185)

  • Spin Identity (2+ Intellect points): You convince all intelligent creatures who can see, hear, and understand you that you are someone or something other than who you actually are. You don't impersonate a specific individual known to the victim. Instead, you convince the victim that you are someone they do not know belonging to a certain category of people. "We're from the government." "I'm just a simple farmer from the next town over." "Your commander sent me." A disguise isn't necessary, but a good disguise will almost certainly be an asset to the roll involved. If you attempt to convince more than one creature, the Intellect cost increases by 1 point per additional victim. Fooled creatures remain so for up to an hour, unless your actions or other circumstances reveal your true identity earlier. Action. (185)

  • Spirit Accomplice: A level 3 spirit accompanies you and follows your instructions. The spirit must remain within immediate range—if it moves farther away, it fades at the end of your following turn and cannot return for a day. You and the GM must work out the details of your spirit accomplice, and you'll probably make rolls for it when it takes actions. The spirit accomplice acts on your turn, can move a short distance each round, and exists partially out of phase (allowing it to move through walls, though it makes a poor porter). The spirit takes up residence in an object you designate, and it manifests as either an invisible presence or a ghostly shade. Your spirit accomplice is specialized in one knowledge skill the GM determines.

    The spirit is normally insubstantial, but if you use an action and spend 3 Intellect points, it accretes enough substance to affect the world around it. As a level 3 creature with substance, it has a target number of 9 and a health of 9. It doesn't attack creatures, but while substantial, it can use its action to serve as an asset for any one attack you make on your turn.

    While corporeal, the spirit can't move through objects or fly. A spirit remains corporeal for up to ten minutes at a time, but fades back to being insubstantial if not actively engaged. If your spirit accomplice is destroyed, it reforms in 1d6 days, or you can attract a new spirit in 2d6 days. Enabler. (185)

An insubstantial creature can't affect or be affected by anything unless indicated otherwise, such as when an attack is made with a special weapon. An insubstantial creature can pass through solid matter without hindrance, but solid energy barriers, such as magical fields of force, keep it at bay.

Editor's Notes — The GM might want to consider a Spirit Accomplice to be a follower.

  • Spore Cloud (1 Intellect point): You throw a handful of mushrooms that speed toward a target within long range. The attack inflicts 3 points of damage and envelops the target in a haze of toxic spores, which inflicts 1 additional point of damage per round (ignores Armor) for the next minute or until the target uses an action to wash the spores away. Action. (IOM, 60)

  • Spot Weakness: If a creature that you can see has a special weakness, such as a vulnerability to fire, a negative modification to perception, or so on, you know what it is. (Ask and the GM will tell you.) Enabler. (185)

  • Spray (2 Speed points): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow or submachine gun), you can spray multiple shots around your target to increase the chance of hitting. This ability uses 1d6 + 1 rounds of ammo (or all the ammo in the weapon, if it has less than the number rolled). You are trained in making this attack. If the attack is successful, it deals 1 less point of damage than normal. You can also use this ability on multiple thrown weapons (stones, shuriken, daggers, and so on) if you're carrying them on your person or they are all within reach. Action. (185)

  • Spring Away (5 Speed points): Whenever you succeed on a Speed defense roll, you can immediately move up to a short distance. You cannot use this ability more than once in a given round. Enabler. (186)

  • Spring Cleaning (3+ Intellect points): You choose a short area, such as a typical room in a house, two rooms in a small apartment, or two automobiles. Over the next few minutes, the area is thoroughly cleaned—floors are swept, vacuumed, or mopped; surfaces like countertops and sinks are wiped down with a gentle soap and disinfectant; and so on. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to increase the area or clean more quickly; each level of Effort affects an additional short area or reduces the cleaning time from minutes to rounds. Action. (IOM, 72)

  • Sprint and Grab (2 Speed points): You can run a short distance and make a melee attack to grab a foe of your size or smaller. A successful attack means you grab the foe and bring it to a halt if it was moving (this can be treated as a tackle, if appropriate). Action. (186)

  • Spur Effort (5 Intellect points): You select an ally within immediate range. If that character applies Effort to a task on their next turn, they can apply a free level of Effort on that task. Enabler. (186)

  • Stalker: You gain an asset to all types of movement tasks (including climbing, swimming, jumping, and balancing). Enabler. (186)

  • Stand Watch (2 Intellect points): While standing watch (mostly remaining in place for an extended period of time), you unfailingly remain awake and alert for up to eight hours. During this time, you are trained in perception tasks as well as stealth tasks to conceal yourself from those who might approach. Action to initiate. (186)

  • Stare Them Down: One doesn't play games of chicken with other maniac drivers without gaining mental strength. You're trained in Intellect defense tasks. Enabler. (186)

  • Stashed Vehicle: You track down where you or a fellow prepper stashed a vehicle, pristinely stored to remain in working order with minimal repairs required. The vehicle has a viable power source (such as hundreds of gallons of gasoline treated to resist decomposition, or a rechargeable battery with options for solar or wind recharging). The vehicle could be an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a truck, or something else; work with your GM to figure out the particulars. Enabler. (RR, 121)

  • Stasis (3 Intellect points): You surround a foe of your size or smaller with scintillating energy, keeping it from moving or acting for one minute, as if frozen solid. You must be able to see the target, and it must be within short range. While in stasis, the target is impervious to harm, cannot be moved, and is immune to all effects. Action. (186)

  • Statue Stasis (3 Intellect points): You transform into a lifelike bronze or stone statue of yourself for a specific period of time (one minute, one hour, ten hours, or twenty-four hours). When in statue form, you are in stasis; you don't age, can take no actions (other than making recovery rolls while you "sleep"), and gain +10 to Armor against all forms of damage, including damage not normally affected by Armor. If you take enough damage to get through your armor, the stasis effect immediately ends. Action. (IOM, 68)

  • Stay the Course (5 Intellect points): When your companions are flagging, you can help inspire them with a well-timed word or two. Any ally (except you) within immediate range can make a recovery roll that is not an action and does not count toward their daily limit. Action. (186)

  • Steal Power: When you use Copy Power to copy an ability, the creature you copied it from loses access to that ability for about a minute. While you have their ability, any attempt by the creature to use their ability requires them to succeed at a task (Might, Speed, or Intellect, as appropriate to the stolen ability) opposed by your eased Intellect task. If they succeed, they regain the use of their ability and you lose it. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

If you want to make it more difficult for someone to take back their stolen power, become skilled in the Steal Power ability, or put a power shift in power for it.

  • Stealth Skills: You are trained in your choice of two of the following skills: disguise, deception, lockpicking, pickpocketing, seeing through deception, sleight of hand, or stealth. You can choose this ability multiple times, but you must select different skills each time. Enabler. (186)

  • Still As a Statue (5 Might points): Drawing upon the power of your Golem Body, you freeze in place, burying your essence deep in your stone core. During this time, you lose all mobility as well as the ability to take physical actions. You cannot sense what's happening around you, and no time seems to pass for you. While Still As a Statue, you gain +10 to Armor against damage of all sorts. Under normal circumstances, you automatically rouse to normal wakefulness and mobility a day later. If an ally you trust shakes you hard enough (with a minimum cost of 2 Might points), you rouse earlier. Action to initiate. (186)

  • Stimulate (6 Intellect points): Your words encourage a target you touch who can understand you. The next action it takes is eased by three steps. Action. (186)

  • Stone Breaker: Your attacks against objects inflict 4 additional points of damage when you use a melee weapon that you wield in two hands. Enabler. (186)

  • Store Energy: When you drain energy with your focus abilities, you can store some of it for later in a Siphon Pool. You can spend points from your Siphon Pool as if they were from your Might or Speed Pool, or use an action to spend them to restore an equal number of points to your Might or Speed Pool. Your Siphon Pool can safely store up to 3 points; each point beyond that hinders all of your tasks. Enabler. (186)

  • Storm Seed (3 Intellect points): If outside or in a large-enough enclosed space, you can seed a natural storm of a kind common to the area. Doing so requires at least an hour's concentration as you use your connection to the air (whether this is due to nanobots, elemental spirits, magic, or some other source) to initiate proper conditions, though it could take longer if the GM feels there are additional obstacles at play. Once the storm begins, it lasts for about ten minutes. Once during that period, you can create a more dramatic and specific effect appropriate to that kind of storm, such as a lightning strike, a squall of giant hailstones, the brief touchdown of a twister, a single gust of hurricane-force winds, and so on. These effects must occur within long range of your location. You must spend your turn concentrating to create the effect, which occurs a round later. The effect inflicts 6 points of damage, after which the storm begins to disperse. Action to initiate, an hour or more to complete. (187)

Storm Seed usually calls thunderstorms, but in an area where stranger weather is common, a Storm Seed could call that instead. For instance, some settings have particular kinds of magical weather.

  • Straightforward: You are trained in one of the following tasks (choose one): breaking things, climbing, jumping, or running. Enabler. (187)

  • Strategize (6 Intellect points): Having an action plan in place before facing a challenge improves the odds of success, even if that plan is eventually changed or discarded once it's put into play. If you and your allies spend at least ten minutes going over a plan of action, all of you gain one free level of Effort that can be applied to one task you attempt during the execution of that plan within the next 24 hours. The plan of action must be something concrete and executable in order to gain this benefit. Action to initiate, ten minutes to complete. (187)

  • Stronger Together: When you and your companion from the Beast Companion ability are within immediate distance of each other, you inflict 2 additional points of damage when you attack and both of you gain an asset to defense actions. Enabler. (187)

Editor's Notes — Stronger Together can be used to improve a familiar at tier 3.

  • Stun Attack (6 Speed points): You attempt a difficulty 5 Speed task to stun a creature as part of your melee or ranged attack. If you succeed, your attack inflicts its normal damage and stuns the creature for one round, causing it to lose its next turn. If you fail, you still make your normal attack roll, but you don't stun the opponent if you hit. If you also have this ability from another source (such as having it as a type ability and a focus ability), using this costs you only 3 points instead of 6 points. Action. (187)

  • Sturdy: You are trained in Might defense tasks. Enabler. (187)

  • Subconscious Defense: Your subconscious constantly runs predictive models for avoiding danger. You gain an asset on your Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (187)

  • Subsonic Rumble (2 Intellect points): For one minute or until you use some other sound manipulation ability, you emit a subsonic rumble that most living creatures can't hear but which has an effect on them all the same. The effect lasts for one minute and affects all creatures you select within short range. All tasks related to resisting persuasion, intimidation, and fear are hindered by two steps for affected targets. Action to initiate. (187)

  • Subtle Steps: When you move no more than a short distance, you can move without making a sound, regardless of the surface you move across. Enabler. (187)

  • Subtle Tricks: You can use your skills and special abilities in ways that don't look like you're doing anything. If the skill or ability would normally require an obvious movement, phrase, or other action by you, it instead seems to happen on its own. Instead of using your tools to pick a lock, the lock clicks open as you stand near it. Instead of manipulating a computer screen, the information you want appears on the screen when you look at it. Instead of bluffing your way past some guards, they step aside as you approach and let you through. This ability usually only works up to an immediate distance. You still must spend points and make rolls to use your skills and abilities with Subtle Tricks. Using a skill or ability in a subtle way hinders the task. This ability can't be used to conceal your attack or defense rolls. Enabler. (187)

  • Successive Attack (2 Speed points): If you take down a foe, you can immediately make another attack on that same turn against a new foe within your reach. The second attack is part of the same action. You can use this ability with melee attacks and ranged attacks. Enabler. (187)

  • Suggestion (5+ Intellect points): You suggest an action to a creature within immediate range. If the action is something that the target might normally do anyway, it follows your suggestion. If the suggestion is something that is outside of the target's nature or express duty (such as asking a guard to let an intruder pass), the suggestion fails. The creature must be level 2 or lower. The effect of your suggestion lasts for up to a minute.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target you can affect by 1. Thus, to affect a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), you must apply three levels of Effort.

    When the effects of the ability end, the creature remembers following the suggestion but can be persuaded to believe that it chose to do so willingly. Action to initiate. (188)

  • Summon Demon (7+ Intellect points): A demon appears within immediate range. If you applied a level of Effort as part of the summoning, the demon is amenable to your instructions; otherwise, it acts according to its nature. Regardless, the demon persists for up to one minute before it fades away—you hope. Action to initiate. (188)

Demon 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 322)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Health: 25

  • Movement: Short; can fly an immediate distance while immaterial

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 7 while immaterial; deception as level 6

  • Combat:

    • Immaterial Form. The demon can pass through solid objects (up to level 4). Mundane attacks inflict only 1 damage, but magic, energy, and psychic attacks inflict damage normally.
    • Immaterial Touch. 5 points of damage, and The target must succeed an Intellect defense roll or be possessed. Once in possession of a host, the demon is immune to most attacks, and can only control or leave its host.
    • Possession. After one round (and every other round thereafter), the host must make an Intellect defense roll. On a success, the host loses their action. On a failure, the demon controls the host's actions. Each day, the host can make an Intellect defense roll to eject the demon. After seven days, these attempts are hindered one additional step each day.
    • Casting Out. Each day, the host can make an Intellect defense roll to cast out the demon. After seven days, these attempts are hindered one additional step each day. Exorcisms, rituals, or other methods might be used to cast out a demon. Killing the host will also eject the demon. Cast out demons are usually powerless—for a while.

  • Summon Giant Spider (4+ Intellect points): A giant spider appears within immediate range. If you applied a level of Effort as part of the summoning, the spider is amenable to your instructions; otherwise, it acts according to its nature. Regardless, the creature persists for up to one minute before it fades away. Action to initiate. (188)

Giant Spider 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 335)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Health: 12

  • Movement: Short; long when traveling on web

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5; Speed defense as level 4 due to quickness—loses both modifications in bright light

  • Combat:

    • Envenomed Fangs. 3 points of damage, and the target must succeed a Might defense roll or take 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).
    • Webs. Giant spider webs (level 4) can hold victims immobile, unable to take actions until they break free.

  • Sun Siphon: The safe limit of your Siphon Pool from the Store Energy ability increases by 3 points. If you spend an hour in sunlight (or an hour in contact with a suitable powerful energy source), you automatically fill your Siphon Pool to its safe limit. You can't refill your Siphon Pool this way again until after your next ten-hour recovery roll. Enabler. (188)

  • Sunlight (3 Intellect points): A mote of light travels from you to a spot you choose within long range. When the mote reaches that spot, it flares and casts bright light in a 200-foot (60 m) radius, and darkness within 1,000 feet (300 m) of the mote becomes dim light. The light lasts for one hour or until you use an action to dismiss it. Action. (188)

  • Superb Explorer: You are trained in searching, listening, climbing, balancing, and jumping tasks. Enabler. (188)

  • Superb Infiltrator: You are trained in lockpicking and tinkering with devices in an effort to make them work, or at least work for you. Enabler. (188)

  • Superior Duplicate (2 Might points): When you use your Duplicate ability, you can create a superior duplicate instead of a normal duplicate. A superior duplicate is a level 3 NPC with 15 health. Enabler. (188)

  • Surging Confidence (1 Might point): When you use an action to make your first recovery roll of the day, you immediately gain another action. Enabler. (188)

  • Surprise Attack: If attacking from a hidden vantage, with surprise, or before your opponent has acted, you get an asset on the attack. On a successful hit, you inflict 2 additional points of damage. Enabler. (188)

  • Surviving the Wasteland: Given about half a day of walking and scavenging, you find enough edible food and potable water in the ruins or surrounding wasteland for you and up to one other person for one day. The resources might be scavenged from before-times supplies, living flora and fauna, and uncontaminated water sources. Enabler. (RR, 125)

  • Swim (1+ Intellect points): You can swim like a fish through water and similar liquid for one hour. For each level of Effort applied, you can extend the duration by one hour. You swim about 10 miles (16 km) per hour, and you are not affected by currents in the water. Action to initiate. (188)

  • Swipe (1 Speed point): This is a quick, agile melee attack. Your attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal but dazes your target for one round, during which time all tasks it performs are hindered. Action. (188)

Abilities—T

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 188)

  • Take Command (3 Intellect points): You issue a specific command to another character. If that character chooses to listen, any attack they attempt on their next turn is eased, and a hit deals 3 additional points of damage. If your command is to perform a task other than an attack, the task is eased as if it benefited from a free level of Effort. Action. (188)

  • Taking Advantage: When your foe is weakened, dazed, stunned, moved down the damage track, or disadvantaged in some other way, your attacks against that foe are eased beyond any other modifications due to the disadvantage. Enabler. (188)

  • Tall Tale (3 Intellect points): You tell a short anecdote to a foe that can understand you about something you've witnessed in your life that's so over the top yet so convincing that, if you are successful, the foe is dazed for one minute, during which time its tasks are hindered. Action. (189)

  • Tap Currents: You can draw energy from the earth itself into your body. If you concentrate and don't move from where you're standing for one minute, you restore 3 points to your Might or Speed Pool. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you've made a ten-hour recovery roll.

    If you have the Store Energy ability, you can instead use Tap Currents to add 3 points to your Siphon Pool. (This use of this ability is not limited to one use per ten-hour recovery roll.)

    Action to initiate. (IOM, 59)

  • Targeting Eye: You are trained in any physical ranged attack that is a character ability or comes from a device. For example, you are trained when using an Onslaught force blast because it's a physical attack, but not when using an Onslaught mindslice because it's a mental attack. Enabler. (189)

  • Task Specialization: Choose one task (other than attacks or defense) that you are trained in. You become specialized in that task. (You can instead use this ability as Task Training to become trained in a task you aren't trained in.) Enabler. (189)

Editor's Notes — Task Specialization doesn't seem like a particularly impressive ability, but if applied to a narrow skill important to the setting, or specialized knowledge—something other PCs have an assumed inability with—as described under Skill Categories might make it an important choice for the right PC.

  • Task Training: Choose one task (other than attacks or defense) that you are not trained or specialized in. You become trained in that task. Enabler. (189)

  • Taunt Foe (4 Might or Intellect points): You can make an attack on a foe as part of drawing an attack (which is not something you can do normally when attempting to draw an attack). In cases where an intelligent or determined foe isn't drawn to you, you can attempt an Intellect action as part of the attack. If that Intellect action is successful, the foe attacks you. Your defenses against that attack are hindered by one step, instead of being hindered by two steps as normal when drawing an attack. Enabler. (189)

  • Teach Trick (5+ Intellect points): You spend an hour instructing someone on how to perform a type ability that you know. The ability must be no higher than fourth tier. For one hour after you teach them, the student can perform that ability as if it were natural for them. They must pay the Might, Speed, or Intellect cost (if any) to use that ability. The student must be able to understand your instructions. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase how long the student can use the ability or to teach additional students at the same time; each level of Effort used in this way increases the duration by one hour or the number of students by one. One hour to initiate. Action; hour to complete. (189)

  • Teamwork: Through example, acts of camaraderie, stories of martial prowess, or other forms of instruction, you and your allies work better together as a cohesive unit. During any round in which you rally your team (by spending 2 Intellect points as part of another action), you and your allies inflict 1 additional point of damage in combat. This benefit applies only to allies with whom you have spent the last 24 hours. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to your allies' company within 24 hours. If you leave for more than 24 hours, you must spend another 24 hours together to reactivate the benefit. Enabler. (189)

  • Tech Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: crafting, computers, identifying, machines, piloting, repairing, or vehicle driving. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (189)

  • Telekinesis (2 Intellect points): You can exert force on objects within short range. Once activated, your power has an effective Might Pool of 10, a Might Edge of 1, and an Effort of 2 (approximately equal to the strength of a fit, capable adult human), and you can use it to move objects, push against objects, and so on. For example, you could lift and pull a light object anywhere within range to yourself or move a heavy object (like a piece of furniture) about 10 feet (3 m). This power lacks the fine control to wield a weapon or move objects with much speed, so in most situations, it's not a means of attack. You can't use this ability on your own body. The power lasts for one hour or until its Might Pool is depleted, whichever comes first. Action. (189)

If you're using Telekinesis to move an object across the room, and an average fit human could do it with their arms, you can do it with your psychokinesis. You have to use the power's Might Pool, Might Edge, and Effort only if a PC would have to do so, such as if a character tried to push open a barred door.

  • Telepathic (1+ Intellect points): You can speak telepathically with others who are within short range. Communication is two-way, but the other party must be willing and able to communicate. You don't have to see the target, but you must know that it's within range. You can have more than one active contact at once, but you must establish contact with each target individually. Each contact lasts up to ten minutes. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the duration rather than ease the task, the contact lasts for 24 hours. Action to establish contact. (189)

  • Telepathic Network (0+ Intellect points): When you wish it, you can contact up to ten creatures known to you, no matter where they are. All targets must be willing and able to communicate. You automatically succeed at establishing a telepathic network; no roll is required. All creatures in the network are linked and can communicate telepathically with one another. They can also "overhear" anything said in the network, if they wish. Activating this ability doesn't require an action and doesn't cost Intellect points; to you, it's as easy as speaking out loud. The network lasts until you choose to end it. If you spend 5 Intellect points, you can contact twenty creatures at once, and for every 1 Intellect point you spend above that, you can add ten more creatures to the network. These larger networks last for ten minutes. Creating a network of twenty or more creatures does require an action to establish contact. Enabler. (190)

  • Teleportation (6+ Intellect points): You instantaneously transmit yourself to any location that you have seen or been to, no matter the distance, as long as it is on Earth (or whatever world you're currently on). In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to bring other people with you; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action. (190)

  • Teleportation Burst (3 Intellect points): You rapidly teleport multiple times in an immediate area, confusing your opponents and allowing you to make an additional melee attack this round. You can use this ability once per round. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

  • Teleportive Wound (7+ Intellect points): You touch a creature and, if your attack succeeds, you teleport away (up to your normal maximum teleportation distance) with a significant portion of their body. If the target is level 2 or lower, it dies. If the target is level 3 or higher, it takes 6 points of damage and is stunned on its next action. If the target is a PC of any tier, they move down one step on the damage track. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect a more powerful target (one level of Effort means a target of up to level 3 dies or a target of level 4 or higher takes damage and is stunned, and so on). Action. (CTS, 56)

  • Telling (2 Intellect points): This ability provides an asset to any tasks for attempting to deceive, persuade, or intimidate. Each use lasts up to a minute; a new use (to switch tasks) replaces the previous use. Action to initiate. (190)

  • Temporal Acceleration (5 Intellect points): You or one willing creature you touch moves more quickly through time. The effect lasts for one minute. Everything moves more slowly for the affected character, while to all others, the character seems to move at preternatural speed. The character has an asset on all tasks until the effect ends. After the effect ends, the target is exhausted and disoriented by the experience, hindering all tasks for one hour. Action. (190)

  • Temporal Dislocation (7 Intellect points): You disappear and travel up to one hour into the future or the past. While dislocated in time, you perceive events as they transpire from your position using your normal senses, but you can't interact with or change anything. If you project yourself into the past, you remain there for one hour, at which point you've caught up to the present (to anyone with you in the present, you only seem to flicker out of existence for a moment). If you project yourself into the future, you remain there until the present catches up to you (to anyone with you in the present, you vanish for one hour and reappear in the place you left). Action. (190)

  • Temporary Light (2 Intellect points): You create an object of solid light in any shape you can imagine that is your size or smaller, and it persists for about a minute (or longer, if you concentrate on it after that time). The object appears in an area adjacent to you, but afterward you can move it up to a short distance each round as part of another action. It is crude and can have no moving parts, so you can make a sword, a shield, a short ladder, and so on. The object has the approximate mass of the real object and is level 2. Action. (CTS, 56)

  • Terrifying Gaze (6 Intellect points): You project a chilling gaze at all living creatures within short range who can see you. Make a separate Intellect attack roll for each target. Success means that the creature is frozen in fear, not moving or taking actions for one minute or until it is attacked. Some creatures without minds (such as robots) might be immune to Terrifying Gaze. Action. (190)

  • Terrifying Image (6 Intellect points): You use a bit of subtle telepathy to learn which images would appear terrifying to creatures that you choose within long range. Those images appear within that area and menace the appropriate creatures. Make an Intellect attack roll against each creature you want to affect. Success means the creature flees in terror for one minute, pursued by its nightmares. Failure means the creature ignores the images, which do not hamper it in any way. Action. (190)

  • Terrifying Presence (2+ Intellect points): You convince one intelligent target of level 3 or lower that you are its worst nightmare. The target must be within short range and be able to understand you. For as long as you do nothing but speak (you can't even move), the target is paralyzed with fear, runs away, or takes some other action appropriate to the circumstances. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to terrorize a level 5 target (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Action. (190)

  • There's Your Problem: You are trained in tasks related to figuring out how to solve problems with multiple solutions (like the best way to pack a truck, calm an enraged customer, give a cat a shot of insulin, or find a route through the city for maximum speed). Enabler. (190)

  • Thief's Luck: Luck is not the chaotic ocean of random chance most people believe it to be. If you fail on a task (including an attack roll or a defense roll), you can change the die result to a natural 20. That still might not be enough to succeed if the difficulty is higher than 6. Once you use this ability, it is not available again until after you make a ten-hour recovery roll. (Thief's Luck doesn't work if you roll a natural 1 for an attempted task, unless you also have and use the ability Wrest From Chance.) Enabler. (191)

  • Think Your Way Out: When you wish it, you can use points from your Intellect Pool rather than your Might Pool or Speed Pool on any noncombat action. Enabler. (191)

  • Thinking Ahead (variable Intellect points): You produce a remedy that removes a negative condition because you've previously spent considerable time thinking ahead and preparing for your current situation. For instance, if another character is poisoned, you produce an antidote, or if they're blinded, you produce a salve that returns sight (assuming they weren't blinded because their eyes were destroyed). The Intellect cost for using this ability is equal to the level of effect or creature that caused the negative condition. Action. (191)

  • Third Eye (1 Intellect point): You visualize a place within short range and cast your mind to that place, creating an immobile, invisible sensor for one minute or until you choose to end this ability. While using your third eye, you see through your sensor instead of your eyes using your normal visual abilities. You may perceive the area around your body using your other senses as normal. Action. (191)

  • Throw (2 Might Points): When you deal damage to a creature of your size or smaller with an unarmed attack, you can choose to throw that creature up to 1d20 feet away from you. The creature lands prone. Enabler. (191)

Editor's Notes — This edition of the CSRD corrects a misprint introduced to the Throw ability in the Cypher System Rulebook, reverting the ability text to match the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (156). If the PC has the Performs Feats of Strength focus or gained this ability some other way, use the less restrictive version above. If the PC has the Grows to Towering Heights focus, use the following more restrictive version from the 2019 Cypher System Rulebook:

  • Throw (2 Might points): When you are using Enlarge and deal damage to a creature of your size or smaller with an unarmed attack, you can choose to throw that creature up to 1d20 feet away from you. The creature lands prone. Enabler. (191)

  • Throw Enchanted Weapon: You can throw your enchanted weapon up to short range as a light ranged weapon. Whether it hits or misses, it immediately flies back to your hands, and you can automatically catch it or allow it to land at your feet. Enabler. (GF, 33)(CTS, 56)

  • Throw Force Shield: You can throw your Force Field Shield up to short range as a light ranged weapon. Whether the shield hits or misses, it immediately dissipates and then reforms in your grasp. Enabler. (191)

  • Thrust (1 Might point): This is a powerful melee stab. You make an attack and inflict 1 additional point of damage if your weapon has a sharp edge or point. Action. (191)

  • Thunder Beam (2 Might points): You direct a beam of focused sound at a target within long range, inflicting 2 points of damage and inducing a resonant destructive wave in their body. Each round after this initial attack, you can make another roll for the destructive wave to inflict an additional 1 point of damage to the target. If you fail this roll, the destructive wave ends. Unlike the initial attack, the destructive wave ignores Armor.

    Alternatively, you can set up a destructive resonance in a physical melee weapon for one minute or until you let go of it. All attacks made with the target weapon inflict 1 additional point of damage. Action to initiate. (191)

  • Time Doppelganger (6+ Intellect points): A perfect copy of you appears within an immediate distance. This doppelganger is probably a version of you from another timeline or the past. The doppelganger is a level 5 NPC with 15 health. It has your mind and memories, and you control it as if it were you in another body. In effect, while this ability is active, you have two bodies.

    If the doppelganger uses any of your abilities that cost points, those points come from your Pools (including spending Effort). Controlling two bodies at once is difficult and distracting; while this ability is active, all tasks performed by you or the doppelganger are hindered. The doppelganger has no equipment other than simple clothing.

    It remains for up to one minute, but disappears if killed or if you use an action to dismiss it. If the doppelganger is killed, you take 5 points of damage that ignore Armor, and you lose your next action. If you are killed while the doppelganger is present, you live on as the doppelganger (it becomes your character instead of being an NPC that disappears). In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the duration of this ability; each level of Effort used in this way adds one minute to the doppelganger's existence.

    If you also have this ability from another source, you may use either ability, the doppelganger is 1 level higher, and it has 3 additional health. Action. (191)

  • Time Loop (4 Intellect points): You call yourself from a few moments in the future to help you in the present. On the round you use this ability, your future self appears anywhere you choose within immediate range and takes an action. On the second round, you and your future self both take actions, and your future self's action is eased. On the third round, you and your future self both disappear. On the fourth round, you catch up to your future self, reappear wherever your future self initially appeared in the first round, and can take your actions normally.

    Your future self shares your stats, so any damage that either of you takes applies to the same stat Pools. If your future self is killed, you and your future self disappear in the third round (as normal) and you reappear, dead, in the fourth round. Neither you nor your future self can use Time Loop again until you reappear as your future self in the fourth round. Action. (192)

In effect, Time Loop lets "you" take an action on the round you use it, two actions on the second round, and zero actions on the third round, and then you're back to normal after that.

  • Time Travel (10+ Intellect points): You and up to three willing characters you choose within immediate range travel to a point in time that you specify when you use this ability. The point in time must be within ten years of the present. For each level of Effort applied, you can travel ten more years or bring three more creatures with you. When you appear in the new moment in time, you do so in the same position you were in when you used this ability. Upon arriving at your temporal destination, you and the other time travelers are stunned for one minute. In order to return to your original time, you must use this ability again. Action. (192)

  • Tinker (1 Intellect point): You make a device do something different from its original purpose. For example, a blaster becomes a bomb. A scanner becomes a signal booster for a radio transmitter. A music player becomes a battery for another device. The effective level of the modified device is 1 lower than normal, and the device is rendered unusable (for its original purpose) until repaired. Action to initiate. (192)

  • Tiny: When you use Shrink, you can choose to shrink down to about one-sixteenth of an inch (.2 cm). When you do, you add 5 more temporary points to your Speed Pool (plus any from Smaller), and because your attacks are concentrated into a very small area, you deal an additional 2 points of damage. For each level of Effort you apply to shrink even more, you become one-tenth as tall (one one-hundredth for two levels of Effort, one one-thousandth for three, and so on) and you add 1 more point to your Speed Pool. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

In campaigns where characters can travel to parallel dimensions, using Tiny to shrink to one-thousandth of your normal height may be a means of doing so.

  • Tolerance: This hard life has built up your resistance over time, so you are trained in resisting the effects of natural poisons (such as those from plants or living creatures) and radiation. You're also immune to natural diseases. Enabler. (RR, 125)

  • Tool Mastery: When you have an asset from using a tool, the time required to perform the task is cut in half (minimum one round). Enabler. (192)

  • Total Awareness: You possess such a high level of awareness that it's very difficult to surprise, hide from, or sneak up on you. When you apply a level of Effort to initiative and perception tasks, you gain two free levels of Effort. Enabler. (192)

  • Totally Chill: Your ten-minute recovery roll takes you only one round. Enabler. (192)

  • Tough As Nails: When you are impaired or debilitated on the damage track, Might-based tasks and defense rolls you attempt are eased. If you also have Ignore the Pain, make a difficulty 1 Might defense roll when you reach 0 points in all three of your Pools to immediately regain 1 Might point and avoid dying. Each time you attempt to save yourself with this ability before your next ten-hour recovery roll, the task is hindered. Enabler. (192)

A character can't apply Effort or other abilities to any task accomplished using Tough As Nails.

  • Tough It Out: Working for a living has toughened you over time. You have +1 to Armor against any kind of physical damage, even damage that normally ignores Armor. Enabler. (193)

  • Tower of Intellect: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks. If you are already trained, you are specialized in those tasks instead. Enabler. (193)

  • Tower of Will: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and gain +3 points to your Intellect Pool. Enabler. (193)

  • Tracker: You are trained in following and identifying tracks. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained Basher: You are trained in using the stone fists from your Golem Body as a medium weapon. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained Excavator: You are trained in perception, climbing, and salvaging tasks. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained for Toughing It: Choose one noncombat skill that would be helpful for surviving after the apocalypse, such as hunting, tracking, carpentry, or stealth. You are trained in that skill. Enabler. (RR, 121)

  • Trained Guncasting: You are trained in using guns (whether firing normal bullets or Spell Bullets). Enabler. (IOM, 47)

  • Trained Gunner: You can choose from one of two benefits. Either you are trained in using guns, or you have the Spray ability (which costs 2 Speed points): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as an automatic pistol), you can spray multiple shots around your target to increase the chance of hitting. This move uses 1d6 + 1 rounds of ammo (or all the ammo in the weapon, if it has less than the number rolled). The attack roll is eased. If the attack is successful, it deals 1 less point of damage than normal. Enabler (being trained in using guns) or action (Spray). (193)

  • Trained Interlocutor: Through wit, charm, humor, and grace (or sometimes rudeness, threatening posture, and obscenity), you're better able to talk others into what you want. You are trained in all interactions. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained Slayer: You are trained in using swords. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained Swimmer: While underwater, you are trained in escaping, perception, sneaking, and swimming tasks, as well as in tasks to identify aquatic creatures and geography. Enabler. (193)

  • Trained Without Armor: You are trained in Speed defense tasks when not wearing armor. Enabler. (193)

  • Transcend the Script (5 Intellect points): Whether they are lines you wrote, acted, reported on, or otherwise incorporated into your talent, you compose an oratory on the fly that is so wonderful that even you believe it. For each ally who hears it (and you too), a task attempted within the next hour is eased by two steps. Action. (193)

  • Trapfinder (3+ Intellect points): You find any traps (like a floor that would give way beneath you) or mechanical triggers to a trap or defense system that might pose a threat. You can do this without setting them off and in lieu of making a roll to find them. This ability can find traps of level 4 or below. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the level of traps that can be found by 2, so using two levels of Effort can find all traps of level 8 or below. Action. (193)

  • Trapster: You are trained in creating simple traps for human-sized or smaller targets, especially many varieties of deadfalls and snares using natural objects from the surrounding environment. When you lay a trap, decide whether you want to hold the victim in place (a snare) or inflict damage (a deadfall). Creating a snare is a difficulty 3 task, while the difficulty of creating a deadfall is equal to the number of points of damage you want it to inflict. For example, if you want to inflict 4 points of damage, that's a difficulty 4 task (the training that comes with this ability eases the task).

    On a success, you create your one-use trap in about one minute, and it is considered level 3 for the purposes of avoiding detection before it is sprung and for a victim trying to struggle free (if a snare). Action to initiate, one minute or one hour to complete. (193)

  • Travel Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: navigation, riding, running, piloting, or vehicle driving. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler. (193)

  • Traverse the Worlds (8+ Intellect points): You instantaneously transmit yourself to another planet, dimension, plane, or level of reality. You must know that the destination exists; the GM will decide if you have enough information to confirm its existence and the level of difficulty to reach the destination. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to bring other people with you; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action. (194)

  • Tree Companion (5+ Intellect points): You animate a tree of approximately your size or smaller, creating a level 3 creature with 1 Armor. The tree follows your verbal commands for one hour, after which it reverts to a normal tree (and roots itself where it stands). Unless the tree is killed by damage, you can animate it again when the ability duration expires, but any damage it has carries over to its newly animated state. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect more trees; each level of Effort used affects one additional tree. Action. (GF, 33)

  • Tree Travel (4+ Intellect points): You enter one tree and instantaneously and safely emerge from another one within long distance. You don't need to specify which tree you're exiting from (if you know there are trees in that direction, you can decide how far to go and you will step out of a tree in that area). If the starting tree's trunk isn't as large as your body, you must apply a level of Effort to enter it. You can choose to use Effort to increase the distance you travel; one level of Effort used in this way increases the range to very long, two levels raise it to one mile (1.5 km), and each additional level of Effort beyond that increases it by an additional mile. Action. (GF, 33)

  • Trick Driver: While driving a car, truck, or motorcycle, your Might Edge, Speed Edge, and Intellect Edge increase by 1. When you make a recovery roll while driving, you recover 5 additional points. When you attempt a driving task or an extreme trick—such as jumping a ravine or other vehicle, spinning in the air, landing safely on another vehicle, and so on—the task is eased. Enabler. (194)

  • Trick Shot (2 Speed points): As part of the same action, you make a ranged attack against two targets that are within immediate range of each other. Make a separate attack roll against each target. The attack rolls are hindered. Action. (194)

  • True Defender (6 Might or Intellect points): This ability functions as the Devoted Defender ability, except the benefit applies to up to three characters you choose. If you choose just one character, you become specialized in the tasks described under the Devoted Defender ability. Action to initiate. (194)

  • True Guardian (2 Might or Intellect points): When you stand guard as your action, allies within immediate range of you gain an asset to their defense tasks. This lasts until the end of your next turn. Enabler. (194)

  • True Necromancy (8+ Intellect points): This ability works like the Necromancy ability except that it creates a level 5 creature. Action to animate. (194)

  • True Senses: You can see in complete darkness up to 50 feet (15 m) as if it were dim light. You recognize holograms, disguises, optical illusions, sound mimicry, and other such tricks (for all senses) for what they are. Enabler. (194)

  • Trust to Luck (3 Intellect points): Sometimes, you've just got to roll the dice and hope things add up in your favor. When you use Trust to Luck, roll a d6. On any even result, the task you're attempting is eased by two steps. On a roll of 1, the task is hindered. Enabler. (194)

  • Tumbling Moves (5 Speed points): When you use an action to move, Speed defense rolls are eased until the end of your next turn. Enabler. (194)

  • Twist of Fate: Experience has taught you a lot, including that sometimes luck is something that you have to make for yourself. When you roll a 1, you can reroll. You must use the new result, even if it's another 1. Enabler. (194)

  • Twisting the Knife (4 Speed points): In a round after successfully striking a foe with a melee weapon, you can opt to automatically deal standard damage to the foe with that same weapon without any modifiers (2 points for a light weapon, 4 points for a medium weapon, or 6 points for a heavy weapon). Action. (194)

  • Two Things at Once (6 Intellect points): The ultimate test: you divide your attention and take two separate actions this round. Enabler. (194)

Abilities—U

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 194)

  • Ultra Enhancement: You gain +1 to Armor and +5 to each of your three stat Pools. Enabler. (194)

  • Unarmed Fighting Style: You are trained in unarmed attacks. Enabler. (194)

  • Unarmored Fighter: While unarmored, you are trained in Speed defense tasks. Enabler. (194)

  • Uncanny Luck (4 Speed points): When you roll for a task and succeed, roll again. If the second number rolled is higher than the first, you get a minor effect. If you roll the same number again, you get a major effect. If you have Uncanny Luck from another source or a similar ability, it's your choice (no roll required) whether you get a minor effect, a major effect, or a free activation of one of your tier 1–3 focus abilities. Enabler. (194)

  • Understanding (1 Intellect point): You observe or study a creature or object. Your next interaction with that creature or object gains one asset. Action. (194)

  • Underworld Contacts: You know many people in a variety of communities who engage in illegal activities. These people are not necessarily your friends and might not be trustworthy, but they recognize you as a peer. You and the GM should work out the details of your underworld contacts. Enabler. (195)

  • Undo (5 Intellect points): You turn back time a few seconds, effectively undoing a single creature's most recent action. That creature can then immediately repeat the same action or try something different. Action. (195)

  • Unexpected Betrayal: Within a round or two of successfully using Enthrall, Fast Talk, or a similar ability on a target within short range, the first attack you make on that target is eased by two steps. Once you use Unexpected Betrayal on a target, using your abilities or attempting simple persuasion on that target is permanently hindered by two steps. Enabler. (195)

  • Unmovable (3 Might points): You avoid being knocked down, pushed back, or moved against your will as long as you are upright and able to take actions. Enabler. (195)

  • Unraveling Consumption: You can drain energy from a living creature by touching it and concentrating for a minute or more. Each minute you spend in contact with and concentrating on the creature deals it 1 point of damage (ignores Armor) and restores 1 point to your Might or Speed Pool. Because of the extended contact required for this ability, normally you can use it only on a willing or helpless creature. If the creature takes enough damage to knock it unconscious or kill it, it crumbles into ash, dust, or some other inert material. Action to initiate. (195)

  • Unstealable Charm (3+ Intellect points): An object you are holding, touching, or wearing becomes more difficult to steal; attempts to remove it from your person without your knowledge or permission are hindered. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can apply Effort to hinder such attempts by an additional step. The charm lasts for twenty-four hours. Action. (IOM, 76)

  • Untouchable (6 Intellect points): You change your phase state for the next minute so that you can't affect or be affected by normal matter or energy. Only mental attacks and special transdimensional energies, devices, or abilities can affect you, but likewise you can't attack, touch, or otherwise affect anything. Action to initiate. (195)

  • Untouchable While Moving (4 Intellect points): You change your phase state for the next minute so that you can't affect or be affected by normal matter or energy, as long as you move at least an immediate distance each round while phased. If you don't move on your turn, the effect ends. While you are phased, only mental attacks and special transdimensional energies, devices, or abilities can affect you, but likewise you can't attack, touch, or otherwise affect anything. Action to initiate. (195)

  • Up to Speed: If you do nothing but move for three actions in a row, you accelerate greatly and can move up to 200 mph (about 2,000 feet each round) for up to ten minutes (about 35 miles), after which you must stop and make a recovery roll. (Move up to 322 kph [about 600 m each round] for up to ten minutes [about 56 km].) Enabler. (195)

  • Use Senses of Others (4 Intellect points): You can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste through the senses of anyone with whom you have telepathic contact by using Telepathic or similar abilities. You can attempt to use this ability on a willing or unwilling target within long range; an unwilling target can try to resist. You don't need to see the target, but you must know that it's within range. Your shared senses last ten minutes. Action to establish. (195)

  • Use the Network (5 Intellect points): With a few minutes of looking around and preparing, you can access remnants of the before-times internet and satellite network (or an active network on which AIs who are not immediately dangerous reside). The GM may decide there is no such connection in the area, but if there is, you can ask one basic question about anything happening within 10 miles (16 km) and receive a simple answer. For example, you could ask about the location of a specific creature or individual, and if they are within the range of this ability, you'll learn about it from a still-functioning camera feed, satellite feed, or AI interaction. Action to initiate. (RR, 124)

  • Using the Environment (4 Intellect points): You find some way to use the environment to your advantage in a fight. For the next ten minutes, attack rolls and Speed defense rolls are eased. Action to initiate. (195)

  • Using What's Available (4 Intellect points): If you have the time and the freedom to scrounge for everyday materials in your environment, you can fashion a temporary asset that will aid you once to accomplish a specific task. For example, if you need to climb a wall, you could create some sort of climbing assistance device; if you need to break out of a cell, you can find something to use as a lockpick; if you need to create a small distraction, you could put together something to make a loud bang and flash; and so on. The asset lasts for a maximum of one minute, or until used for the intended purpose. One minute to assemble materials; action to create asset. (195)

  • Usurp Cypher: Choose one cypher that you carry. The cypher must have an effect that is not instantaneous. You destroy the cypher and gain its power, which functions for you continuously. You can choose a cypher when you gain this ability, or you can wait and make the choice later. However, once you usurp a cypher's power, you cannot later switch to a different cypher—the usurping ability works only once. Action to initiate. (195)

Abilities—V

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 196)

  • Vacuum Skilled: You are trained in two of the following skills: vacuum welding, algae farming, ecosystem design, circuit design, spacecraft maintenance and repair, or some similar skill related to traveling and colonizing planets, moons, and stations located in the solar system. Enabler. (196)

  • Vanish (2 Intellect points): You become invisible for a short amount of time. While invisible, you have an asset on stealth and Speed defense tasks. The invisibility ends at the end of your next turn, or if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. Action. (196)

  • Verbal Misdirection (2+ Intellect points): With fast talk and bewildering words, you can confuse and distract anyone that you're speaking with, giving you an asset on social interactions with that person for ten minutes. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect additional creatures (one per level of Effort). Enabler. (196)

  • Versatile Mind: When you make a Speed defense roll, you can use your Intellect in place of your Speed. Enabler. (196)

  • Very Long Sprinting: When you use Phase Sprint, you can travel up to a very long distance as your action instead of a long distance. Enabler. (196)

  • Vigilance (2 Intellect points): You take a cautious approach to combat, focusing more on protecting yourself than on hurting your opponents. While this ability is active, you gain an asset on Speed defense rolls against melee and ranged attacks, and your melee and ranged attacks are hindered. This effect lasts for as long as you wish, but it ends if no combat is taking place within range of your senses. Action to initiate. (196)

  • Vigilant (5 Might points): When affected by an attack or effect that would daze or stun you, you are not dazed or stunned. Enabler. (196)

  • Vindictive Performance (5 Intellect points): When you tell a joke, perform a song or poem, draw a picture, relate an anecdote, or otherwise provide entertainment, you can select one individual from the audience who is able to understand you. During your performance, you heap indirect but biting derision on this target. If you succeed, the target doesn't realize that they've become the victim of your performance until you wrap up the entertainment at a moment you choose in a way that strikes home. The target suffers 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and loses their next turn. One or more actions to initiate. (196)

  • Void Wings (3 Intellect points): Swirling ribbons of weird matter grasp you and lift you up, allowing you to fly for one round as quickly as you can move. Enabler. (196)

Abilities—W

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 196)

  • Walk Through Walls (2 Intellect points): You can slowly pass through physical barriers at a rate of 1 inch (2.5 cm) per round (minimum of one round to pass through any barrier). You can't act (other than moving) or perceive anything until you pass entirely through the barrier. You can't pass through energy barriers. Action. (196)

  • Wall of Lightning (6 Intellect points): You create a barrier of crackling electricity up to 2,500 square feet (230 sq. m) in size, shaped as you wish. The wall is a level 7 barrier. Anyone within immediate distance of the wall automatically takes 10 points of damage. The wall lasts for one hour. Action to create. (196)

  • Wall With Teeth: You inflict 2 additional points of damage with all attacks when using your Living Wall ability. Enabler. (196)

  • War Flesh: You can instantly transform your hands and feet into claws, and your human teeth into fangs, or revert to your normal human appearance. When you make attacks with your claws or fangs, they count as medium weapons instead of light weapons. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

  • Ward: You have a shield of energy around you at all times that helps deflect attacks. You gain +1 to Armor. Enabler. (196)

  • Warding Shield: You have +1 to Armor while you are using a shield. Enabler. (196)

  • Wasteland Camouflage (5+ Speed or Intellect points): By drawing your clothing about you just so and using various tricks and your deep knowledge of your surroundings, you become invisible for ten minutes in any landscape that contains ruins of the before-times. (You may also attempt this in a purely wilderness setting, but if you do, you must spend 1 additional point from Speed or Intellect, whichever Pool you activated this power with.) While you are invisible, this asset eases your stealth and Speed defense tasks by two steps. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate or reinitiate. (RR, 125)

  • Water Adaptation: You can breathe water as easily as you breathe air. Enabler. (196)

  • Weapon and Body (5 Speed points): After making a melee weapon or ranged weapon attack, you follow up with a punch or kick as an additional attack, all as part of the same action in one round. The two attacks can be directed at different foes. Make a separate attack roll for each attack. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action. Anything that modifies your attack or damage applies to both attacks, unless it is tied specifically to your weapon. Action. (196)

  • Weapon at Hand: You're practiced with all weapons. To gain this benefit with a weapon you've never used before, you must spend at least ten minutes practicing with it first. Enabler. (RR, 125)

  • Weapon Crafter: You are trained in crafting tasks associated with your chosen weapon. For instance, if your weapon is a bow, you are trained in tasks related to crafting bows and fletching arrows; if your weapon is a sword, you are trained in tasks for forging swords and sharpening blades; and so on. Enabler. (197)

  • Weapon Defense: While your chosen weapon is in your hand(s), you are trained in Speed defense rolls. Enabler. (197)

  • Weapon Master: You inflict an additional 1 point of damage with your chosen weapon. Enabler. (197)

  • Weaponization: One light or medium melee weapon of your choice is built into your body, and you are trained in using it. The weapon is concealed until you wish to use it. Enabler. (197)

  • Wear It Well: When you wear armor of any kind, you gain an additional +1 to Armor. Enabler. (197)

  • Weather the Vicissitudes: Helping your friends means being able to stand up to everything the world throws at you. You have +1 to Armor. Also, you resist heat, cold, and similar extremes and have an additional +1 to Armor against ambient damage or other damage that would normally ignore Armor. Enabler. (197)

  • Weight of the World (6+ Intellect points): You can increase a target's weight dramatically. The target is pulled to the ground and can't move physically under its own power for one minute. The target must be within short range. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to affect additional creatures (one per level of Effort). Action. (197)

  • Weightless Shot: You have a sixth sense when it comes to lining up trajectories and moving in low-gravity and zero-gravity environments, which also translates to making ranged attacks. When you hit a target with a ranged attack in microgravity conditions, you can choose to reduce the damage by 2 points but hit the target in a precise spot. Some of the possible effects include (but are not limited to) the following:

    • You punch a hole in the target's suit, so it begins to leak air into the vacuum slowly, or all at once (your choice).
    • You hit the reaction mass of the target's maneuvering pack, which means the target can no longer change their trajectory, or they go spinning off in a random direction (your choice).
    • You can shoot a spacecraft, and degrade one ship system by one step (systems include engines, weapons, and atmosphere).

    Enabler. (197)

  • Weighty (1 Intellect point): You briefly increase the weight of a target within short range enough to stop them in their tracks, preventing the target from moving and hindering any attempted tasks on their next turn. Action. (197)

  • Weird Science Breakthrough (5+ Intellect points): Your research leads to a breakthrough, and you imbue an object with a truly amazing property, though you can use the item only once. To do so, you must buy spare parts equivalent to an expensive item, have a field science kit (or a permanent lab, if you have access to one), and succeed at a difficulty 4 Intellect-based roll to create a random manifest cypher of up to level 2. The GM decides the nature of the cypher you create. Attempting to create a specified cypher hinders the task by two steps. Creating a cypher does not allow you to surpass your normal cypher limit. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the level of the cypher you create; each level of Effort increases the level of the cypher and the difficulty of the Intellect task to create it. Action to initiate, one hour to complete. (197)

  • Whirlwind of Throws (5 Speed points): With a large handful of small objects—tiny knives, shuriken, stones, jagged bits of metal, coins, or whatever is on hand—you attack every creature in an immediate area within short range. You must make attack rolls against each target. Each attack is hindered. You inflict 3 points of damage on targets you hit. Action. (198)

  • Wild Camouflage (4 Intellect points): By drawing your clothing about you just so and using various tricks and your deep knowledge of your surroundings, you become invisible in the wilderness for ten minutes. While you are invisible, this asset eases your stealth and Speed defense tasks by two steps. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate or reinitiate. (198)

  • The Wild Is on Your Side (5 Intellect points): While you're in the wilderness, foes within short range are tripped by rocks, tangled in vines, bitten by insects, and distracted or confused by small animals, which hinders all their tasks for ten minutes. Action to initiate. (198)

  • Wild Insight: You gain a momentary perfect understanding of the flow of magic around you at this moment. When preparing your magic, choose one specific subtle cypher and make a magical lore skill roll against level 6. If you succeed, you gain that subtle cypher (the cypher's level is 6); if you fail, you get a random subtle cypher. If you aren't sure what specific subtle cypher you want, you can ask for a broad category such as "healing," "movement," or "skill"; this eases the magical lore task, and if you succeed, the GM chooses a random cypher that fits that category. You can't use this ability again until after you've taken a ten-hour recovery action. Enabler. (GF, 33)

  • Wild Vitality (4 Intellect points): You attune with the life force of a natural creature (your size or bigger) within long range that you can see. This is a level 2 Intellect task. If you succeed, the creature is not harmed, but through resonance with its wild vitality, you gain several benefits for up to one minute: an asset to all your Might-based tasks (including attacks and defenses), +2 to your Might Edge and Speed Edge, and 2 additional points of damage on all successful melee attacks. Action to initiate. (198)

  • Wildcard Powers: You have a gift with using copied powers in unusual ways. Whenever you try a power stunt and use a level of Effort on the special roll to modify the ability, you get a free level of Effort on that roll. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

  • Wilderness Awareness (4 Intellect points): Your connection to the natural world extends to a degree that some would call supernatural. While in the wilderness, you can extend your senses up to a mile in any direction and ask the GM a very simple, general question about that area, such as "Where is the orc camp?" or "Is my friend Deithan still alive?" If the answer you seek is not in the area, you receive no information. Action. (198)

  • Wilderness Encouragement (3 Intellect points): While in the wilderness, or when talking about your time in the wilderness, your stirring words of encouragement grant a target within short range that can understand you 1d6 points to one Pool. You can't use this ability on the same creature again until they've made a recovery roll. Action. (198)

  • Wilderness Explorer: While taking any action (including fighting) in the wild, you ignore any penalties due to natural causes such as tall grass, thick brush, rugged terrain, weather, and so on. Enabler. (199)

  • Wilderness Life: You are trained in two of the following: climbing, swimming, navigation, or identifying plants and creatures. Enabler. (199)

  • Wilderness Lore: You are trained in wilderness navigation and in identifying plants and creatures. Enabler. (199)

  • Will of a Leader (9 Intellect points): You harden your allies' dedication and capabilities. Each ally within immediate range gains +1 Edge to one stat of their choice for one hour. You also gain this benefit to one stat of your choice. Action. (199)

  • Will of Legend: You are immune to attacks that would captivate, mesmerize, charm, or otherwise influence your mind. Enabler. (199)

  • Willing Sacrifice: When you take an attack meant for another character, you know how to take the attack in a way that minimizes its effect. The attack automatically strikes you, but instead of taking 1 additional point of damage, you take 1 less point of damage (to a minimum of 1 point). Additionally, you can take more than one attack in a given round provided that all the attacks were originally meant for one target. Enabler. (199)

Two characters attempting to draw an attack at the same time cancel each other out.

  • Wind Armor (1 Intellect point): When you wish it, a cyclone of wind surrounds your body for ten minutes, giving you +1 to Armor and an additional +2 to Armor against physical projectile weapons specifically. While the cyclone is active, you feel no discomfort from the wind, and you can interact with other creatures and objects normally because the wind flow automatically diverts to enable such interaction. Enabler. (199)

  • Wind Chariot (7+ Intellect points): You summon winds that pick you up and allow you to fly for up to a long distance each round in combat or with an overland speed of up to 200 miles per hour (320 kph) for up to ten hours. For each level of Effort you apply, you can bring one ally of about your size with you through the air or increase the duration of the effect by one hour. Action to initiate. (199)

  • Windrider (4+ Intellect points): You summon winds that pick you up and allow you to fly for one minute at a rate of up to a long distance each round. For each level of Effort you apply, you can carry one ally of about your size with you through the air or increase the duration of the effect by one minute. Action to initiate. (199)

  • Windwracked Traveler (4+ Intellect points): You condense a wide wing of dark matter that can carry you through the air for a period of up to one hour. For each level of Effort applied, you can add one hour to the duration or carry one additional creature of your size or smaller. You must touch the additional creatures for them to be tucked under your wing. They must remain relatively still while the wing lasts or they will fall. In terms of overland movement, you fly at about 20 miles (32 km) per hour and are not affected by terrain. Action to initiate. (199)

  • Wings of Fire (4 Intellect points): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can spread wings of fire and can levitate, moving at a rate of up to 20 feet (6 m) per round in any direction for one minute. You can also take one other non-movement action on your turn. Action. (199)

  • Wing Weapons: You can use your wings to make melee attacks (even when flying), leaving your hands and feet free. Your wings are medium bashing or bladed weapons (your choice). You are practiced with this attack. Enabler. (CTS, 56)

  • Winter Gauntlets: When you use Frost Touch, you inflict an additional 3 points of damage if you touch a creature, or an additional 2 points of damage if you infuse a weapon. In addition, damaged targets are frozen in place (if standing on a solid surface) and can't move from their location until they use an action to break free. The target can still attack and defend. Action for touch; enabler for weapon. (199)

  • Witch Bane: You inflict 1 additional point of damage with weapons. When you inflict damage to witches (or other intelligent creatures who cast spells), you inflict 3 additional points of damage. Enabler. (IOM, 49)

  • Witch Lore: You are trained in the traditional names, habits, suspected lairs, and related topics regarding the witches of your world. You know enough of at least one quasi-magical language (such as Latin or Ancient Greek) that you can make yourself understood to them. Enabler. (IOM, 49)

What a "witch" is depends on the setting. In a setting where magic is rare or secret, superstitious people might consider anyone who uses magic to be a dangerous witch. In a different setting, "witch" might refer to a specific organization of people who know how to use magic.

Editor's Notes — Some notable witches are detailed in Chapter 23: NPCs.

  • Wooden Body (1+ Might points): You transform your body into living wood for ten minutes, which grants you several benefits. You gain +1 to Armor and you are practiced in using your limbs as medium weapons. You need about one-tenth as much air as a human. Hiding among trees or on a tree is eased. However, in your wooden form you move more stiffly than a creature of flesh, hindering your Speed defense rolls. Action to change or revert. (GF, 33)

Your wooden body might be smooth like a polished board, rough like tree bark, or a mix of both.

Editor's Notes — It's unclear what the "+" in the point cost of Wooden Body is in reference to. If the GM agrees, the PC can use a level of Effort to increase the ability's duration to one hour.

  • Word of Command (6 Intellect points + level 6 cypher): You utter a word so powerful that to fully invest it, you sacrifice a cypher in your possession that is level 6 or higher. You issue the word to one creature within long range that you can see. The affected target must obey the command for several hours before it is free to act as it wishes. Targets that are attacked while under the effect of the command can defend themselves. Typical commands include "retreat," "calm," "come," and "stay." The GM decides how the target acts once a command is given. Action. (199)

  • Word of Death (5+ Intellect points): Your attack is the utterance of a magic word so terrible that it snuffs the life from a living target within short range. The target must be level 1. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to kill a level 5 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action. (200)

  • Work the Friendship (4 Intellect points): You know just what to say to draw a little extra effort from an ally. This grants one creature you choose within short range an additional, immediate action, which it can take out of turn. The creature uses the additional action however it wishes. Action. (200)

  • Wormhole (6 Intellect points): You create a doorway through time and space. The shortcut manifests as a hole in reality large enough to accommodate you and creatures of your size or smaller. One side of the doorway appears anywhere within immediate range, and the other side opens at a spot you choose anywhere within long range. Any character or object moving into one side exits from the other. The door remains open for one minute or until you use an action to close it. Action to initiate. (200)

  • Wound Tender: You are trained in healing. Enabler. (200)

  • Wraith Cloak: At your command, the spirit from your Spirit Accomplice ability wraps itself around you for up to ten minutes. The spirit automatically inflicts 4 points of damage to anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack. While the wraith cloak is active, all tasks to evade the perceptions of others are eased. Enabler. (200)

  • Wreck: Using two hands, you wield a weapon or a tool with a powerful swing. (If fighting unarmed, this attack is made with both fists or both feet together.) When using this as an attack, you take a −1 penalty to the attack roll, and you inflict 3 additional points of damage. When attempting to damage an object or barrier, you are trained in the task. Action. (200)

  • Wrest From Chance: If you roll a natural 1 on a d20, you can reroll the die. If you reroll, you avoid a GM intrusion—unless you roll a second 1—and might succeed on your task. Once you use this ability, it is not available again until after you make a ten-hour recovery roll. Enabler. (200)

Abilities—Y

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 200)

  • You Studied: To be able to put two and two together to reach a deduction, you have to know a few things. You are trained in two areas of knowledge of your choosing (as long as they are not physical actions or combat related) or specialized in one area. Enabler. (200)

Abilities—Z

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 200)

  • Zero Dark Eyes: Some people's eyes are degraded by constantly playing games. And maybe that'll happen to you, but not yet. You're still young and instead of degrading, your vision is actually better thanks to all your practice. You can see in very dim light as though it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were very dim light. Enabler. (200)

Cantrips

Quick Reference: Cantrips

Editor's Notes — Old Gus' Daft Drafts includes a few additional cantrips.

(It's Only Magic, page 82)

Cantrips are simple, low-powered spells that almost anyone can learn. In a modern fantasy setting, cantrips can be as ubiquitous and unremarkable as twenty-first-century technology. Instead of using the flashlight function of a smartphone, use a light cantrip. Instead of running a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner, use a cleaning cantrip. Instead of using a megaphone, use a voice-amplifying cantrip.

Cantrips are generally not powerful enough to directly affect an unwilling creature or damage an unattended object. In the rare case that using a cantrip might cause actual harm, change, or damage, the attack roll for the cantrip is hindered by two steps (unless otherwise noted).

Any PC can learn two cantrips by spending 2 XP. How they learn them depends on the setting—they might need to study with a mentor, take a specific college class, pay for an informative ritual, study a magical book, invent it on their own, unlock some previously unrealized potential within themselves, and so on. Learning cantrips does not count toward character advancement. There is no limit to how many cantrips a PC can learn. In all other respects, cantrips work just like other character abilities.

Unless the theme of the setting is that everyone is quite proficient in magic, it's probably best to limit an individual NPC to knowing just a couple of cantrips, with many people not knowing any at all. A reasonable guideline is that an NPC can know a number of cantrips equal to their level.

Editor's Notes — The Modern Magic flavor suggests an exchange rate of four cantrips to one low-tier ability. It's Only Magic also suggests the GM might limit the use of cantrips by NPCs (including followers) to once or twice per level each day.

Optional Rule: Learning Cantrips

(It's Only Magic, page 81)

In some fantasy settings, cantrips are commonly available, but not everyone knows how to cast them (in the same way that phone and computer apps are common, but not everyone knows how to code an app). When someone tries to learn a cantrip, have them attempt a level 3 Intellect-based task (skills such as magical lore affect this). If they succeed, they learn the cantrip. If they fail, they don't. A PC only spends the 2 XP to learn cantrips when they succeed at this roll. This way, learning a cantrip isn't automatic—it's more like passing a final exam. And there are ways for the character to "cram" for this test, including expending Effort, getting help, or using an appropriate asset.

Cantrips by Alphabetical Order

  • Bee Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You summon a nearby level 0 bee, housefly, gnat, or similar flying pest to a spot within an immediate distance. The pest acts normally and (appearing in an unfamiliar area) probably begins flying around, possibly landing on a creature. The cantrip doesn't work if there are no suitable pests within a short distance. Action. (IOM, 82)

  • Bug Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You summon a nearby level 0 spider, cockroach, silverfish, or similar crawling pest to a spot within an immediate distance. The pest acts normally and (appearing in an unfamiliar area) probably begins moving around, possibly crawling on a creature. The cantrip doesn't work if there are no suitable pests within a short distance. Action. (IOM, 82)

A level 0 creature isn't a threat to a character and is instantly killed if hit. However, tiny creatures like the ones described in the Bee Cantrip and Bug Cantrip usually have a level 2 modifier for Speed defense because of their size.

  • Candles Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create up to four candle-like lights that move to your mental commands (but no farther away than how far you can reach), lasting about ten minutes. Each light can be a different color. Action. (IOM, 82)

  • Chill Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You lower the temperature of a target within short range. If the target is a creature, for the next couple of rounds they feel like they're standing under an air conditioning vent. If the target is an object no larger than a 1-foot (30 cm) cube, you cool it down as if you'd dunked it into a bucket of ice. Action. (IOM, 82)

  • Clean Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You remove dirt, mud, and similar substances from one set of clothing (such as the clothes you're wearing), about 1 cubic foot of loose material (clothes, curtains, a box of toys, and so on), or an immediate area on a surface (such as a wall or floor). When used on clothing, this also does a decent job of removing wrinkles. Action. (IOM, 82)

  • Color Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You change the color of an object, or you brighten or dull its color. The object can be up to about 1 cubic foot in size and up to a short distance away. If used to change a creature's hair color, it lasts a few days. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Convenient Rideshare Cantrip (1 Intellect point): When using a rideshare or taxi app, you are connected with a driver who can pick you up within a couple of minutes. If you use this cantrip in a remote area where drivers are scarce, results can get strange; for example, the car and driver might be ghosts, you might have to share your ride with a dangerous supernatural creature, or you might arrive at your destination minutes before or hours after you were picked up. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Cooking Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You accelerate the preparation and cooking of one dish, reducing the time until it's ready by about ten minutes. (Time-consuming cooking, such as a large turkey, requires multiple castings.) Under normal circumstances, this doesn't burn, overcook, or otherwise ruin the dish. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Cut Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You cut an object up to level 2 as if using a sharp knife or a pair of scissors, up to an immediate distance away. For example, this works on rope, candles, food, cloth, paper, or even a thin wire or thin chain necklace. The object usually gives off harmless blue sparks when it's cut. Action. (IOM, 83)

Cut Cantrip isn't hindered by two steps when used to damage an unattended object.

  • Darkness Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You suppress light in a cubic or spherical area about 1 foot (30 cm) across within an immediate distance. Outdoors or in bright light, this area becomes very dim; otherwise, it becomes darkness. When you create this area, decide if it remains at a specific location (such as on a desk) or if it is attached to some part of you (such as your head or left hand) and moves with you. The cantrip ends after about a minute. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Erase Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You erase up to a page of text from a typical surface (such as paper, parchment, wood, or plastic) within immediate range. The writing slowly disappears over a few seconds. Affecting magical writing requires an Intellect-based attack roll. Action. (IOM, 83)

Erase Cantrip doesn't remove fingerprints, impressions in the paper, or other evidence that writing used to be there.

  • Exterminate Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a bolt of energy that kills one common vermin creature (level 0) within a short distance, such as a fly, worm, cockroach, or mouse. One casting can affect multiple smaller creatures (such as ants or fleas) within 1 cubic foot. The spell is accompanied by a quick bolt of black and yellow energy. Action. (IOM, 83)

Exterminate Cantrip is an exception to the rule that trying to cause direct harm with a cantrip is hindered by two steps. A swarm whose level is 1 or higher is unaffected by this cantrip, even though the individual creatures in the swarm might be.

  • Extra Chair Cantrip (1 Intellect point): A table you touch somehow has room (and a chair) for one more person to comfortably sit there without affecting anyone else at the table. This lasts anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, or less if the person in the extra chair leaves for more than a few minutes. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Extra Fries Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You update a recent fast food or delivery order so that when it arrives, it includes an additional order of French fries or other side available from the restaurant (tater tots, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and so on). Sometimes this happens for free, and sometimes you have to pay an additional charge. Remember to tip your server. Action. (IOM, 83)

  • Fire Crown Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a crown-like manifestation of fire on your head that lasts for ten minutes. The fire doesn't burn you. If anyone touches it or makes a melee attack aimed at your head, you can make a free Intellect-based attack roll against them to inflict 1 point of damage. Action. (IOM, 84)

Variants of Fire Crown Cantrip create a crown of lightning, smoke, ice, water, or thorns.

  • Firework Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create an illusory firework within short range, which bursts with sparkling lights and a loud pop. The effect is obviously an illusion but might distract or startle people who aren't expecting it. Action. (IOM, 84)

  • Flavor Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You touch one plate or bowl of food or one large glass or mug of liquid, improving its flavor. This doesn't affect the nutritional value or texture, nor does it fix spoiled food; it just makes it taste more to your preference (so you could eat spoiled meat or moldy vegetables and they'd taste fine). You decide the sort of flavor change—more or less spicy, salty, savory, sweet, and so on, in any combination appropriate for food or drink. Action. (IOM, 84)

  • Forbidden Topic Cantrip (1 Intellect point): Wards an immediate area (enough to cover a large table at a holiday family gathering) against conversation about a topic of your choice, such as "the election," "Mommy's trial," or "that Cordell kid." Anytime someone in the area attempts to talk about this topic, make an Intellect-based roll against them; success means they either talk about something else or remain silent. The cantrip lasts for ten minutes or until you fail an Intellect-based roll to stop someone from talking about that topic. Action. (IOM, 84)

  • Gather Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You gather a scattered bunch of items into a small space, as if you had spent a minute sweeping them together with your hands or a broom. This affects about 1 square yard (1 sq m), up to an immediate distance away. The cantrip is mainly useful for collecting things that have been spilled, or for making it easier to clean up a room. Action. (IOM, 84)

  • Ghostly Wings Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You sprout a pair of ghostly wings that immediately unfurl, then vanish a few seconds later. If you cast this cantrip while falling, you reduce the damage from the fall by 1 point. Enabler. (IOM, 84)

  • Green Light Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You tweak the traffic lights at an intersection within long range so that one of them turns green within a few seconds. The other lights in that system automatically adjust to compensate (turning yellow and then red for cross traffic). Depending on that traffic system, the light remains green anywhere from about ten seconds to a minute. Enabler. (IOM, 84)

  • Hand Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You levitate or manipulate an object of 10 pounds (4.5 kg) or less at up to a short distance. The effect is not particularly strong—about the same strength as trying to push, pull, or twist something just using the strength of your hand (without your arm). Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Hide Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You conceal one target within immediate range for about a minute. The target can be no larger than a typical rabbit, or several objects no larger than dice. The target is basically invisible to anyone in front of you, but the illusion doesn't work on anyone to your side or behind you. (If someone is intent on seeing the invisible target, make an Intellect-based attack roll against them to hide it from their view.) Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Light Switch Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You toggle up to four light controls (such as a wall switch or a lamp's button, knob, or pull cord) within short range. You must be able to see these light controls or have a clear idea of where they are (such as turning on your front porch light and living room floor lamp from outside your home). You can toggle these switches on or off in any combination. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Loudness Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You amplify your voice, allowing you to speak at up to three times your normal volume. This isn't enough to harm anyone, but you can speak comfortably to a large crowd or across a very long distance without effort. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Mask Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a costume mask on the face of a creature you touch. The mask can be simple (like a domino mask), fancy (like a masquerade ball mask), or deceptive (like a Halloween costume mask of a monster or specific person). The mask is obviously just a mask, not a disguise, but a deceptive mask viewed from at least a short distance away might fool someone into thinking it's a real face, providing an asset to disguise tasks at this range. The mask lasts for about a minute. If removed, the mask immediately disappears. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Mending Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You touch a broken object of up to level 3 and attempt to magically repair a single break or tear in it, such as a cracked stone wall, a shattered hand mirror, or a torn piece of clothing. The damage can be no larger than about what you can cover with both of your open hands. If you succeed at an Intellect-based roll against the object's level, you repair it (although it still shows signs of being previously broken, and may be fragile there). You can use this ability multiple times on the same object to repair larger breaks. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Message Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You whisper a short message (about five to ten seconds) to a creature you can see within a long distance. The target hears it as if you had whispered it in their ear. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Mystic Eyes Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You change the appearance of your eyes. If you just change their color to a different hue (such as to blue, green, or brown), the change lasts for an hour. If you change them to something unusual, such as red, yellow, solid black, or glowing, it only lasts for a minute. Action. (IOM, 85)

  • Obedient Flames Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You affect flames within a short distance, making them appear brighter or dimmer, flicker strangely, or change color. This lasts for one minute. You can affect up to several dozen candles, a few torches, or one typical campfire with each casting of the cantrip. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Open and Close Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You open or close a small object within short range, such as a bag, box, bottle, footlocker, window, or lightweight door. This cantrip cannot lock or unlock locks. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Pen Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You write with your finger on a surface for up to ten minutes as if using a common ballpoint pen. The "ink" immediately dries once you write, but it can be smeared or cleaned up like a normal pen. The ink is blue, black, or dark brown, decided when you cast this cantrip. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Present Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You teleport an object within an immediate distance into your upturned hand. The item has to be something you're carrying (such as a gem in your pouch or a dagger in your boot), something you can see (such as a coffee cup or mobile phone on the other side of the table), or something you know is within range (such as a note you saw someone put in their pocket). The cantrip affects one small object (for example, a cup or mobile phone) or up to a dozen smaller items from the same location (perhaps coins or dice). Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Quiet Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You muffle the noise from one target within a short distance for a few seconds. Breaking a window or knocking a glass off the table would be no louder than someone tapping their finger on the glass. An obnoxious security alarm would only be as loud as a computer speaker. A ringing phone would be barely audible. If you cast this on a willing creature, they gain an asset on stealth tasks for one round if they move no more than an immediate distance on their turn. Action. (IOM, 86)

Affecting an unwilling creature (or something they're carrying) with an ability requires an attack roll to succeed. If you're using a cantrip, by default that attack roll is hindered by two steps.

  • Rainbow Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a softly glowing band of colors resembling a rainbow, extending from your hand to an object or willing creature within short range. The far end doesn't move (a creature could move away from it by going around a corner or out of range). You can anchor your end in place or allow it to move when your hand moves. The rainbow gives off light like a candle and lasts about a minute. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Reshape Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You change the shape of a metal, glass, or stone object you touch into a different shape. For example, you could turn a coin into a ring, a cup into a plate, or a piece of glass into something resembling a gemstone. This normally lasts about a minute, but the object tends to revert early if anyone else touches or examines it too closely. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Smoke Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a harmless puff of smoke within an immediate distance. The smoke fills about a 1-foot (30 cm) cube and dissipates over the next few rounds. You decide if the smoke is white, grey, blue, brown, green, red, or yellow. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Sprout Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You make seeds sprout at an accelerated rate, causing a week's worth of growth to happen in just a few moments. The seeds must be within a 1-foot (30 cm) cube and no more than an immediate distance from you. If the seeds are in viable soil, they take root as if planted there. If cast on immature or closed flowers, they bloom. If cast on a piece of unripe fruit, it immediately ripens. Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Stitch Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You sew two touched pieces of cloth or thin leather together, up to about 2 square yards (1.5 sq m). The stitches are of the same quality of hand stitching by a tailor or leatherworker of reasonable skill. You choose the path of the stitches, so you could create a piece of clothing by casting this cantrip several times. Instead of sewing together two items, you can unravel the stitches of a touched object, affecting up to 2 square yards (1.5 sq m). Action. (IOM, 86)

  • Tattoo Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create an image on your skin, as if tattooed there by a reasonably talented artist. The image can be no larger than your hand, and consists of just one color. You can cast this cantrip multiple times to create a larger tattoo, use more colors, or both. The image lasts about an hour. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Throwing Stone Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You summon a nearby object of stone, brick, concrete, cement, asphalt, or a similar hard and common mineral to your hand. The cantrip doesn't work if there are no suitable loose materials within a short distance. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Tie Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You control a piece of string, rope, or twine within short range, causing it to tie itself to another object within 1 foot (30 cm) of it, using any sort of simple, common knot (such as a square knot). Instead of tying a knot, you can cast this cantrip on a simple knot within short range, untying it. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Tiny Illusion Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You create a single image of a creature or object within immediate range. The image must fit within a 1-foot (30 cm) cube. The image can move (for example, you could make the illusion of a mouse jump or crawl around), but it can't leave the area defined by the cube. The illusion includes sound (up to the volume of a person's normal speaking voice) but not smell. It lasts for one minute, but if you want to change the original illusion significantly—such as making a creature appear to be wounded— you must concentrate on it again (though doing so doesn't cost additional Intellect points). If you move beyond immediate range of the cube, the illusion vanishes. Action to create; action to modify. (IOM, 87)

  • Tremor Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You make the ground or floor vibrate within a short area, feeling similar to a mild earthquake. Other objects on the floor might vibrate or slide (no more than a hand's span) because of this vibration. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Warm Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You raise the temperature in a very small area (about 1 cubic foot) within short range, enough to make someone's face feel flushed or warm a drink to about the temperature of freshly served coffee. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Wash Car Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You clean the outside of a typical passenger automobile within immediate range as if it had gone through an automatic car wash. Very large or very dirty cars may require multiple castings. The cantrip works on motorcycles, bicycles, and other small vehicles as well. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Wet or Dry Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You alter the moisture level of an object or area within immediate range, affecting about a 1-foot (30 cm) cube or one set of clothing. If you want the target to be wetter, it is dampened as if you poured a cup of water on it. If you want it drier, it is dried as if you hung it out in the sun on a warm day. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Wireless Network Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You improve wireless network reception in an immediate area for ten minutes. This improves poor or average reception to full strength and zero bars to at least one bar. When you cast this cantrip, you decide if this improved reception affects everyone in the area or just you. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Wrap Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You use available materials to wrap up an object within an immediate distance. The wrapped object must fit within a 1-foot (30 cm) cube. For example, you could wrap a gift box with decorative paper, wrap a piece of paper around a letter to create an envelope, or wrap a pile of potatoes with burlap to create an easily carried bundle. Action. (IOM, 87)

  • Youth Cantrip (1 Intellect point): You change the appearance of your face so you look about ten years younger than your normal appearance, lasting about an hour. Action. (IOM, 87)

Mutations

Quick Reference: Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 75)

If you'd like your setting to include incredible mutations, this section is for you. Why does your game have such mutations? Maybe because of an X factor in some survivors' DNA, inscrutable nanites that have permeated the environment, magical contamination, or multiple different timelines collapsing into one.

Optional Rule: Mutant Descriptor

(Rust and Redemption, page 76)

If a PC wants to play a mutant, they may do so by choosing Mutant as their descriptor. Mutations gained by a character with the Mutant descriptor are always rolled randomly, although you should work with your player to ensure that the resulting PC is one that the player wants to play.

Mutants aren't just mutated humans. Animals and creatures of all kinds could have mutations in your game setting, as noted under Mutated Creatures, Plants, and NPCs. Very rarely, these mutations could make a nonhuman creature more like a human, with opposable thumbs, greater intelligence, and so on.

Beneficial Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 78)

The following mutations do not require any visible changes or distinctions in the character. In other words, people who have these mutations are not obviously recognized as mutants. Using beneficial mutations never costs stat Pool points and never requires an action to "activate."

Beneficial Mutations
d100 Beneficial Mutation
01–05Strengthened Bones
06–10Improved Circulation
11–15Improved Musculature
16–20Improved Nervous System
21–25Improved Neural Processes
26–30Thick Hide
31–33Increased Lung Capacity
34–36Adhesion Pads
37–39Slippery Skin
40–45Telekinetic Shield
46–50Suggestive Voice
51–53Processor Dreams
54–60Poison Immunity
61–65Disease Immunity
66–70Fire Resistance
71–75Cold Resistance
76–80Psychic Resistance
81–85Acid Resistance
86–88Puncture Resistance
89–91Slicing Resistance
92–94Bludgeoning Resistance
95–96No Scent
97–99Scent
00Sense Material
Harmful Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 79)

Unless noted otherwise, the following mutations are visible and obvious. They offer no benefits, only drawbacks.

Harmful Mutations
d100 Harmful Mutation
01–10Deformed Leg
11–20Deformed Face/Appearance
21–30Deformed Arm/Hand
31–40Malformed Brain
41–45Mentally Vulnerable
46–50Slow and Lumbering
51–60Sickly
61–63Horrible Growth
64–66Useless Limb
67–71Useless Eye
72–76Useless Ear
77–84Weakness in Might
85–92Weakness in Speed
93–00Weakness in Intellect
Crippling Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 79)

A sixth category exists that might be called crippling or nonviable mutations. PCs never have this kind of mutation. Mutants with nonviable mutations might be born without limbs, with barely functional lungs, without most of their brain, and so on. Such mutations prevent a character from being viable.

Powerful Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 80)

The following mutations do not require any visible changes in the character until used. People who have these mutations are not obviously recognized as mutants if they don't use their powers. Using some of these mutations costs stat Pool points. Some are actions.

Powerful Mutations
d100 Powerful Mutation
01–05Darksight
06–10No Breath
11–15No Water
16–20Chameleon Skin
21–24Savage Bite
25–26Gluey Globs
27–30Face dancing
31–35Sense oddity
36–40Stinger in Finger
41–44Stinger in Elbow
45–47Spit Needles
48–50Spit Acid
51–53Spit Webs
54–59Filtered Lungs
60–62Disruptive Field (Electronics)
63–65Disruptive Field (Flesh)
66–68Disruptive Field (Thoughts)
69–70Magnetic Flesh
71–73Gravity Negation
74–80Telepathy
81–85Pyrokinesis
86–90Telekinesis
91–92Phase Shifting
93–94Power Device
95–96Drain Power
97–99Regeneration
00Feed off Pain
Distinctive Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 82)

The following mutations involve dramatic physical changes to the character's appearance. People who have these mutations are always recognized as mutants. Using some of these mutations costs stat Pool points. Some are actions.

Distinctive Mutations
d100 Distinctive Mutation
01–02Extra Eye
03–04Extra Mouth
05–06Proboscis
07–09Snakelike Arm
10–12Tendrils on Forehead
13–15Tendrils Instead of Fingers
16–18Tendrils Instead of Arms
19–21Tendrils Instead of Eyes
22–24Tendrils Instead of Legs/Feet
25–26Roots Instead of Feet
27–29Scaly Body
30–32Shaggy Fur
33–35Covered in Spiny Needles/Spikes
36–38Quills
39–41Carapace
42–44Mirrored Skin
45–47Chlorophyll
48–50Covered in Bursting Pods
51–53Extra Joint in Arms
54–56Extra Joint in Legs
57–59Rubbery body
60–62Spider Legs from Torso
63–65Extra Arms
66–68Extra Legs
69–71Spider Legs
72–74Spider Eyes
75–77Snake Tail
78–80Snake Tail Instead of Legs
81–83Stinging Tendril
84–86Eyes on Stalks
87–89Extra Eyes on Hands/Fingers
90–93Abnormally Large Head
94–96Aquatic
97–98Wings
99–00Cyborg Arm
Cosmetic Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 84)

Cosmetic mutations affect nothing but the appearance of a character. None are so pronounced as to make a character decidedly more or less attractive. They are simply distinguishing alterations.

Cosmetic Mutations
d100 Cosmetic Mutation
01–02Purple skin
03–04Green skin
05–06Red skin
07–08Yellow skin
09–10White skin
11–12Black skin
13–14Blue skin
15Purple hair
16Green hair
17Red hair
18Yellow hair
19White hair
20Blue hair
21Striped hair
22Horns
23Antlers
24Extremely hirsute
25Entirely hairless
26Scaly skin
27Leathery skin
28Transparent skin
29Skin turns transparent in sunlight
30Skin changes color in sunlight
31Very tall
32Very large
33Very short
34Very thin
35Very long neck
36Hunched back
37Long, thin tail
38Short, broad tail
39Long arms
40Short arms
41Long legs
42Short legs
43Bony ridge on face
44Bony ridge on back
45Bony ridge on arms
46Purple eye(s)
47Red eye(s)
48Yellow eye(s)
49White eye(s)
50Black eye(s)
51Large eyes
52Bulbous eyes
53Two pupils in one eye
54Large ears
55–56Pointed ears
57–58Webbed fingers
59–60Webbed toes
61–62Four fingers on each hand
63–64Six fingers on each hand
65Long fingers
66Purple nails
67Green nails
68Yellow nails
69White nails
70Black nails
71Blue nails
72Odd lumps on flesh
73Useless antennae (like an insect)
74Extra useless limb
75Extra useless eye
76Fleshy frills or useless flagella (small)
77Useless tendrils (large)
78Mandibles
79–80Pointed teeth
81Tusks
82Black teeth
83Red teeth
84Purple teeth
85Green teeth
86Purple lips
87Green lips
88Yellow lips
89White lips
90Black lips
91Blue lips
92Purple spittle
93Red spittle
94Yellow spittle
95White spittle
96Black spittle
97–98Distinctive odor
99Feathers
00Head crest
Cosmetic Mutations
d100 Cosmetic Mutation
01–02Purple skin
03–04Green skin
05–06Red skin
07–08Yellow skin
09–10White skin
11–12Black skin
13–14Blue skin
15Purple hair
16Green hair
17Red hair
18Yellow hair
19White hair
20Blue hair
21Striped hair
22Horns
23Antlers
24Extremely hirsute
25Entirely hairless
26Scaly skin
27Leathery skin
28Transparent skin
29Skin turns transparent in sunlight
30Skin changes color in sunlight
31Very tall
32Very large
33Very short
34Very thin
35Very long neck
36Hunched back
37Long, thin tail
38Short, broad tail
39Long arms
40Short arms
41Long legs
42Short legs
43Bony ridge on face
44Bony ridge on back
45Bony ridge on arms
46Purple eye(s)
47Red eye(s)
48Yellow eye(s)
49White eye(s)
50Black eye(s)
Cosmetic Mutations
d100 Cosmetic Mutation
51Large eyes
52Bulbous eyes
53Two pupils in one eye
54Large ears
55–56Pointed ears
57–58Webbed fingers
59–60Webbed toes
61–62Four fingers on each hand
63–64Six fingers on each hand
65Long fingers
66Purple nails
67Green nails
68Yellow nails
69White nails
70Black nails
71Blue nails
72Odd lumps on flesh
73Useless antennae (like an insect)
74Extra useless limb
75Extra useless eye
76Fleshy frills or useless flagella (small)
77Useless tendrils (large)
78Mandibles
79–80Pointed teeth
81Tusks
82Black teeth
83Red teeth
84Purple teeth
85Green teeth
86Purple lips
87Green lips
88Yellow lips
89White lips
90Black lips
91Blue lips
92Purple spittle
93Red spittle
94Yellow spittle
95White spittle
96Black spittle
97–98Distinctive odor
99Feathers
00Head crest
Mutations by Alphabetical Order

  • Abnormally Large Head: Your head is significantly larger than normal, with a bulging forehead and elongated skull. You gain two assets to any task involving knowledge, memory, lore, understanding, and figuring out puzzles. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Acid Resistance: You have +5 to Armor against damage from acid. (RR, 78)

  • Adhesion Pads: Your hands and feet have naturally adhesive pads and thus are assets in tasks involving climbing, keeping your footing, or retaining your grip. (RR, 78)

  • Aquatic: Your body is streamlined and finned, your fingers and toes webbed. You gain two assets in swimming, and you can see perfectly underwater (as if above water). Although you have lungs, you also have gills, so you can breathe underwater. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Bludgeoning Resistance: You have +2 to Armor against damage from crushing attacks. (RR, 78)

  • Carapace: You gain +2 to Armor. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Chameleon Skin: Your skin changes colors as you wish. This is an asset in tasks involving hiding. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Chlorophyll: You gain nutrients from the sun and don't need to eat or breathe if you have daily exposure to sunlight. Your skin, not surprisingly, is green. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Cold Resistance: You have +4 to Armor against damage from cold. (RR, 78)

  • Covered in Bursting Pods: Fruit-like pods grow here and there across your entire body. You can walk and move normally. As your action, you can rupture one pod, creating a burst of color, sound, and odor that dazes all creatures within immediate range on their next turn, hindering their tasks. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Cyborg Arm: One of your arms is a bulky organo-metallic arm-like living machine. You can project a ray of burning light from the arm at a target within short range as your action, inflicting 4 points of damage. You have no sense of touch with the arm or hand, so you are hindered when attempting physical tasks with that arm/hand and for tasks that require you to use both hands. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Covered in Spiny Needles/Spikes: Any creature striking you with its body automatically suffers 1 point of damage. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Darksight: You can see in complete darkness as if it were light. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Deformed Leg: All movement tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Deformed Face/Appearance: All pleasant interaction tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Deformed Arm/Hand: All tasks involving the arm or hand are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Disease immunity: You are immune to all diseases. (RR, 78)

  • Disruptive Field (Electronics) (2 Intellect points): When you wish it, you disrupt devices within immediate range (no roll needed). All devices operate as if they were 3 levels lower while in range of your field. Devices reduced to level 0 or below do not function. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Disruptive Field (Flesh) (2 Intellect points): When you wish it, you disrupt flesh within immediate range. All creatures within range of your field take 1 point of damage. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the damage rather than affect the difficulty, each target takes 2 additional points of damage. If your attack fails, targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Disruptive Field (Thoughts) (1 Intellect point): When you wish it, you disrupt thoughts within immediate range. Intellect actions for all creatures within range are hindered. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Drain Power: You can drain the power from an artifact or device, allowing you to regain 1 Intellect point per level of the device. You regain points at the rate of 1 point per round and must give your full concentration to the process each round. The GM determines whether the device is fully drained (likely true of most handheld or smaller devices) or retains some power (likely true of large machines). Action to initiate; action each round to drain. (RR, 81)

  • Extra Arms: You have one or two extra arms. They can hold objects, wield weapons, hold a shield, and so on. This mutation does not increase the number of actions you can take in a round or the number of attacks you can attempt. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Extra Eye: You have an extra eye on your forehead that you normally keep closed, but you can open it in dim light and see as if in bright light, and see in total darkness as if in very dim light. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Extra Eyes on Hands/Fingers: You can peek around corners without exposing yourself to danger. This is an asset in initiative and all perception tasks. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Extra Joint in Arms: Your arms are long and jointed so that you have two elbows in each. You have a long reach and can strike foes from unexpected angles. This mutation is an asset when making melee attacks. However, you can modify your attacks only by using Speed, not Might. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Extra Joint in Legs: Your legs are long and jointed so that you have two knees in each. You have a long stride, and this mutation is an asset for all running, climbing, jumping, and balancing tasks. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Extra Legs: You have two extra legs. They are an asset in any task involving running, keeping your feet, and standing your ground. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Extra Mouth: You have an extra mouth on your hand, face, or stomach. This mouth is filled with razor-sharp teeth and, if used to attack, inflicts 3 points of damage. You can also speak with two voices at once. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Eyes on Stalks: Your eyes are on stalks and can move in any direction, independently of each other. You can peek around corners without exposing yourself to danger. This is an asset in initiative and all perception tasks. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Face Dancing: You can alter your features enough to give you an asset in all tasks involving disguise. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Feed Off Pain: Any time a creature within immediate range suffers at least 3 points of damage (after Armor subtraction) in one attack, you can restore 1 point to one of your Pools, up to its maximum. You can feed off any creature in this way, whether friend or foe. You never regain more than 1 point per round. Enabler. (RR, 81)

  • Filtered Lungs: You have an asset to Might defense rolls against vapors or noxious gases. You can survive in a hostile breathing environment (such as underwater or in a vacuum) for up to ten minutes. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Fire Resistance: You have +3 to Armor against damage from fire. (RR, 78)

  • Gluey Globs: You can produce gluey globs at your fingertips. This is an asset in tasks involving climbing or keeping your grip. You can also fling these globs in immediate range, and if they hit, they hinder the target's physical tasks for one round. Enabler to use in a task; action to use as an attack. (RR, 80)

  • Gravity Negation (2 Intellect points): You float slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you can control your movement at half your normal speed; otherwise, you drift with the wind or with any momentum you have gained. This effect lasts for up to ten minutes. Action to initiate. (RR, 81)

  • Horrible Growth: A large goiter, immobile tendril, or useless extra eye hangs from your face, hindering all pleasant interactions (with most creatures, particularly humans). (RR, 79)

  • Improved Circulation: You gain +5 to your Might Pool. (RR, 78)

  • Improved Musculature: You gain +5 to your Might Pool. (RR, 78)

  • Improved Nervous System: You gain +5 to your Speed Pool. (RR, 78)

  • Improved Neural Processes: You gain +5 to your Intellect Pool. (RR, 78)

  • Increased Lung Capacity: You can hold your breath for five minutes. (RR, 78)

  • Magnetic Flesh: You attract or repel metal when you desire. Not only do small metal objects cling to you, but this mutation is an asset in tasks involving climbing on metal or keeping your grip on a metal item. This mutation is an asset to Speed defense tasks when being attacked by a metal foe or a foe with a metal weapon. Enabler. (RR, 81)

  • Malformed Brain: All memory- or cognitive-related tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Mentally Vulnerable: All Intellect defense tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Mirrored Skin: You gain +2 to Armor against heat, radiation, lasers, and similar attacks. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • No Breath: You do not need to breathe. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • No Scent: You cannot be tracked or located by scent, and you never have offensive odors. (RR, 78)

  • No Water: You do not need to drink water to survive. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Phase Shifting (2 Intellect points): You can pass slowly through solid barriers at a rate of 1 inch (3 cm) per round (minimum of one round to pass through the barrier). You can't act (other than moving) or perceive anything until you pass entirely through the barrier. You can't pass through energy barriers. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Poison Immunity: You are immune to all poisons. (RR, 78)

  • Power Device (1+ Intellect points): You can charge an artifact or other device (except a cypher) so that it can be used once. The cost is 1 Intellect point plus 1 point per level of the device. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Proboscis: You have a long, moth-like proboscis instead of a mouth. You can speak, but your voice is ever-so-slightly muffled. You take all your nutrition as a liquid, but you can gain sustenance from most plants by inserting the sharp tip of your proboscis into it. You can also feed on the blood of living (or recently living) creatures. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Processor Dreams: When you sleep, you process information so that after you wake, you have an asset in any Intellect actions held over from the previous day. For example, if you have to determine whether an unknown plant is poisonous, you could "sleep on it" and make the determination the next day with an asset on the action. (RR, 78)

  • Puncture Resistance: You have +2 to Armor against damage from puncturing attacks. (RR, 78)

  • Psychic Resistance: You have +3 to Armor against Intellect damage. (RR, 78)

  • Pyrokinesis (1 Intellect point): You can cause a flammable object you can see within immediate range to spontaneously catch fire. If used as an attack, this power inflicts 2 points of damage. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Quills: You have quills that you can launch from your body to attack a foe within short range. This attack inflicts 4 points of damage, and you never run out of ammo. You can also use this attack in melee. Action. (RR, 82)

  • Regeneration: In addition to regaining points through normal recovery rolls, you regain 1 point to your Might Pool or Speed Pool per hour, regardless of whether you rest, until both Pools are at their maximum. Enabler. (RR, 81)

  • Roots Instead of Feet: If you take a minute to burrow your roots into the ground in conjunction with making a recovery roll, add +2 to the points regained from the roll. You can't move from where you rooted for one minute, even if taking what is normally a one-action recovery roll. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Rubbery Body: Your bluish-grey body is rubbery through and through. You can act normally and can stretch just your arms to reach things within immediate range that would normally require you to move. You can ignore up to 2 points of falling damage. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Savage Bite: Your mouth widens surprisingly, and hidden, pointed teeth emerge when you wish it. You can make a bite attack that inflicts 3 points of damage. Enabler. (RR, 80)

  • Scaly Body: You gain +2 to Armor. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Scent: You can sense creatures, objects, and terrain by scent as well as a normal human can by sight. You can detect scents with that degree of accuracy only in short range, but you can sense strong odors from much farther away (far better than a normal human can). Like a hound, you can track creatures by their scent. (RR, 78)

  • Sense Material: You can sense the presence of any single substance within short range, although you don't learn details or the precise location. You and the GM should work together to determine the substance: water, iron, plastic, granite, wood, flesh, salt, and so on. You do not need to concentrate to sense the material. (RR, 78)

  • Sense Oddity: You can sense the presence of an object or creature possessing fantastic abilities (because of alien technology, transdimensional interference, nanites, or similar) within short range. You do not learn details or the precise location. Action. (RR, 80)

  • Sickly: All Might defense tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Shaggy Fur: You gain +1 to Armor (+2 against damage from cold) and have an asset on stealth tasks. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Slicing Resistance: You have +2 to Armor against damage from slicing attacks. (RR, 78)

  • Slippery Skin: You secrete a slippery oil, giving you an asset in any task involving slipping from another's grip, slipping from bonds, squeezing through a small opening, and so on. (RR, 78)

  • Slow and Lumbering: All Speed defense tasks are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Snake Tail: You have a prehensile tail that is 6 feet (2 m) long. It is an asset for all tasks involving grappling or wrestling. The tail can grasp large objects. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Snake Tail Instead of Legs: Instead of legs, you have a snaky tail that is 8 feet (2.5 m) long. You move at the same speed and have an asset for all tasks involving grappling or wrestling. The tail is prehensile enough to grasp large objects. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Snakelike Arm: One of your arms ends in a fanged mouth. You can use it to attack, inflicting 3 points of damage. If you make a second successful attack with the arm, you also inject a poison that inflicts 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). You can't use the snakelike arm for anything other than biting. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Spider Eyes: Instead of normal eyes, you have a crown of shiny orb-like spider eyes. They provide an asset to initiative and perception tasks. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Spider Legs: Instead of normal legs, you have a wide torso with six or eight spiderlike legs. They are an asset in any task involving running, keeping your feet, standing your ground, and climbing. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Spider Legs from Torso: In addition to your normal limbs, six or eight spiderlike legs, each 6 feet (2 m) long, extend from your sides. They are an asset in any task involving running, keeping your feet, standing your ground, and climbing. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 83)

  • Spit Acid: You can make an attack with immediate range. You spit a glob of acid that inflicts 2 points of damage. Action. (RR, 80)

  • Spit Webs: You can make up to 10 feet (3.5 m) of a strong, ropelike material each day at the rate of about 1 foot (30 cm) per minute. The webbing is level 3. You can also spit globs of webbing in immediate range, and if they hit, the target's physical tasks are hindered for one round. Action. (RR, 80)

  • Spit Needles: You can make an attack with immediate range. You spit a needle that inflicts 1 point of damage. If you make a second successful attack roll, the needle also injects a poison that inflicts 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). Action. (RR, 80)

  • Strengthened Bones: You gain +5 to your Might Pool. (RR, 78)

  • Stinger in Elbow: You can make an attack with your elbow that inflicts 2 points of damage. If you make a second successful attack roll, your stinger also injects a poison that inflicts 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). Action. (RR, 80)

  • Stinger in Finger: You can make an attack with your hand that inflicts 1 point of damage. If you make a second successful attack roll, your stinger also injects a poison that inflicts 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). Action. (RR, 80)

  • Stinging Tendril: You have a prehensile tendril (or tail) that grows from some part of your body and ends in a poisonous stinger. You can make an attack with your stinger that inflicts 2 points of damage. If you make a second successful attack roll, the stinger also injects a poison that inflicts 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). The tendril (or tail) can't be used for anything else. Action. (RR, 83)

  • Suggestive Voice: Your voice is so perfectly modulated that it is an asset in all interaction tasks. (RR, 78)

  • Telepathy (2 Intellect points): You can speak telepathically with others who are within short range. Communication is two-way, but the other party must be willing and able to communicate. You don't have to see the target, but you must know that it's within range. You can have more than one active contact at once, but you must establish contact with each target individually. Each contact lasts up to ten minutes. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use a level of Effort to increase the duration of contact to a full day. Action to establish contact. (RR, 81)

  • Telekinesis (2 Intellect points): You can exert force on objects within short range. Once activated, your power has an effective Might Pool of 10, a Might Edge of 1, and an Effort of 2 (approximately equal to the strength of a fit, capable, adult human), and you can use it to move objects, push against objects, and so on. For example, you could lift and pull a light object anywhere within range to yourself or move a heavy object (like a piece of furniture) about 10 feet (3.5 m). This power lacks the fine control to wield a weapon or move objects with much speed, so in most situations, it's not a means of attack. You can't use this ability on your own body. The power lasts for one hour or until its Might Pool is depleted, whichever comes first. Action. (RR, 81)

  • Telekinetic Shield: You reflexively use telekinesis to ward away attacks, giving you an asset in Speed defense tasks. (RR, 78)

  • Tendrils Instead of Arms: Your arms are tendrils 6 feet (2 m) long (or only one arm is a tendril, if you prefer). Although you lose the fine manipulative ability of fingers and a thumb, you can still grasp objects, have a much longer reach, and have an asset for all tasks involving grappling or wrestling. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Tendrils Instead of Eyes: You are blind, but each eye socket has a retractable tendril that is 10 feet (3.5 m) long. These tendrils can feel around rapidly to give you a physical sense of everything within immediate range. Further, they can be used to manipulate very light objects, activate controls, and so forth. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Tendrils Instead of Fingers: Your fingers are tendrils 1 foot (30 cm) long. They are an asset to any task involving climbing, grasping, or keeping your grip. Further, you can effectively pick up and hold two objects in each hand rather than one. You can't wield more than one weapon per hand. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Tendrils Instead of Legs/Feet: Your legs or feet are tendrils that are 6 feet (2 m) long (or only one leg or foot is a tendril, if you prefer). You can still walk and move normally, and you have an asset for all tasks involving grappling or wrestling. The tendrils are prehensile enough to grasp large objects. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Tendrils on Forehead: Four to six tendrils, each 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) long, come out of your forehead. They can grasp and carry anything that your hand could, although a large object would block your field of vision. Also roll on the Beneficial Mutations table. Enabler. (RR, 82)

  • Thick Hide: You gain +1 to Armor. (RR, 78)

  • Useless Eye: One of your eyes is unusable or missing. Tasks specifically involving eyesight (spotting, searching, and so on) are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Useless Ear: One of your ears is unusable or missing. Tasks specifically involving hearing are hindered. (RR, 79)

  • Useless Limb: One of your limbs is unusable or missing. (RR, 79)

  • Weakness in Intellect: Any time you spend points from your Intellect Pool, the cost is increased by 1 point. (RR, 79)

  • Weakness in Might: Any time you spend points from your Might Pool, the cost is increased by 1 point. (RR, 79)

  • Weakness in Speed: Any time you spend points from your Speed Pool, the cost is increased by 1 point. (RR, 79)

  • Wings: You have feathered or fleshy wings on your back that allow you to glide, carried by the wind. They are not powerful enough to carry you aloft like a bird's wings. Enabler. (RR, 83)

Chapter 10 Equipment

Quick Reference: Equipment

Equipment by Genre

Optional Rules

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 201)

Equipment in the Cypher System plays only a small role. It's far more important to focus on what you can do than on what you have. Still, sometimes it's important to know if you've got enough rope, or what kind of gun your space pilot has at their hip.

Currency and Prices

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 201)

Dollars, pounds, euros, credits, gold pieces, Martian solval beads, Corso moons and stars, bottle caps—a lot of different currencies might be used in your game, depending on the setting and the genre. You should use whatever you like. In the Cypher System rules, we talk in generalities rather than specifics. Not unlike saying immediate or short distance rather than giving precise numbers, we talk about goods and services in terms of inexpensive, moderately priced, expensive, very expensive, or exorbitant.

The GM can figure out what those things mean in their setting. In a fantasy setting, an inexpensive item might be 1 or 2 copper pennies, while an expensive item might require gold on the table. The exact amount can vary, and in many campaigns, the exact amount will matter. The GM will develop a detailed price list for their setting, and players will track their money on their character sheets to determine what they can afford, often ignoring the terms inexpensive, moderately priced, and so on.

But some GMs might want to keep things simple and use only the general terms, indicating currency just as flavor now and then. In a space opera game, where the PCs are the crew of a starship blazing about the galaxy in search of adventure and profit, fuel and upkeep for the ship might be expensive. Hauling a few passengers from Epsilon Eridani back to Earth might earn enough to purchase six expensive items but cost the equivalent of two expensive items, leaving the crew with the means to refuel and maintain the ship for two further voyages. In such a game, where money only means keeping the ship flying, no one has to talk in specific amounts. Characters might refer to "galactic credits" or something similar, but amounts might not be tracked on the character sheets.

Price Categories

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)

There are five price categories for goods and services.

  • An inexpensive item is something that common people buy. A simple meal or a drink in the bar. A pen and some paper. A book or magazine.

  • A moderately priced item is something that common people buy, but not too often and not in great quantities. A small piece of furniture. A major entertainment. An expensive meal. A new outfit.

  • An expensive item is something that would strain a common person's finances. Rent on a simple apartment. A major piece of furniture. A very nice outfit. The cost to travel a long distance (if appropriate to the setting).

  • A very expensive item is probably out of the reach of most people except in very special circumstances. Jewelry. Luxury furnishings.

  • An exorbitant item is something only the very rich can afford. A very nice house. A ship. Extremely expensive jewelry or art.

  • A priceless item is something that even the very rich can't afford, requiring the resources of a nation-state, or similar entity appropriate to the setting, to acquire or build.

Think of the categories as powers of 10. That is to say, a moderately priced item is ten times more costly than an inexpensive item. An expensive item is ten times more costly than a moderately priced item, and thus 100 times the cost of something inexpensive. A very expensive item is ten times the cost of an expensive one, 100 times the cost of a moderate one, and 1,000 times the cost of an inexpensive one. An exorbitant item is priced ten times beyond that.

In some settings, even the generalization offered by the pricing categories might be too specific or cumbersome. In many superhero games, for example, prices are relatively moot. After saving the city, typical superheroes don't worry about paying rent or how much dinner will cost. On the other hand, in a grittier superhero game, maybe that's exactly what they worry about.

Using the Price Categories

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)

Regardless of how precise you want to be with prices and currency, you can use the price categories in a variety of ways.

It's easy for a GM to say to a player "You can afford two extra moderately priced things at the start of the game." The player can look on the list and pick two moderately priced items without worrying about their cost. Plus, this approach makes it clear that they get two items, not twenty inexpensive items or one more expensive item that perhaps would not be appropriate for a starting character. The categories make it easy to lump similar items together.

The GM can also say "You can have whatever inexpensive items you want, and don't worry about the cost." At higher tiers, when the PCs have more wealth, followers, and so on, the GM can do this with moderate or even expensive items. This allows the group to skip over playing through a shopping trip to get supplies, and players don't have to track prices down to the last coin.

Finally, the categories can be shorthand when evaluating loot, dividing up the spoils among the PCs, and resolving other story-based occurrences that crop up in the game without dealing in the minutiae of exact prices. This is of particular use in high-powered games where the PCs are rich and powerful.

Level of Equipment
Mundane equipment is about level 4—less if of inferior quality or materials, more if of superior quality or materials. This means that in a setting based on the distant past, the default level might be 3, while in the future it might be 5 or 6. So an average serf 's tool in the Dark Ages is level 3, easily broken, while an average tool on a space station is level 6, made of advanced polymers.
Optional Rule: Currency and Resource Depletion

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Purchasing Power: Each PC counts their purchasing power based on price categories, up to 15 each. If a category exceeds 15, the PC removes 10, and adds 1 to the next highest price category (for example, a purchasing power of 10 inexpensive items is converted to 1 moderately-priced item). To convert a purchasing power back down into the previous category (for example, moderately-priced purchasing to inexpensive purchasing power), roll 1d6 and add the PC's Intellect Edge to the result.

  • Currency Depletion: When a PC makes a purchase of a certain price category and has 10 or fewer purchasing power, roll for depletion using a d10 against the category's purchasing power. If the result exceeds the PC's purchasing power, the purchasing power for that category is reduced by 1. For example, if you have 4 purchasing power in the inexpensive category, and you roll a 5 on a purchase, it depletes to 3. If you buy something else and roll a 3, it remains at 3. If the PC makes a purchase and has more than 10 purchasing power, the purchasing power is reduced by 1 (no roll).

  • Income: PCs might have regular expenses, but also a regular source of income, such as a job. Income adds to a PC's purchasing power on a regular basis For example, every two weeks, a PC might earn enough income for 1 moderately-priced item and 5 inexpensive items. For simplicity's sake, it might be easier to account for income as what's disposable—left over after the PC has meets their obligations and usual expenses (for example, rent, bills, or feed for a loyal horse companion).

  • Resources: The GM can also set any crafting, building, and repairing resources to other depletion methods, for example, 1 in 1d6, 2 in 1d10, 3 in 1d20, or 42 in 1d100.

  • GM Intrusions: Depleting finances and resources might be a good source of GM intrusion.

Armor

Quick Reference: Armor

Optional Rules

Editor's Notes — This section on armor has been edited for additional clarity, as confirmed by the 2024 Cypher System Starter Set.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Characters expecting danger frequently wear armor. Even the simplest protective covering helps against stabs and cuts, and more sophisticated or heavier armor protects against graver threats.

You can wear only one type of armor at a time—you cannot wear chainmail hauberk and scale armor together, for example. However, Armor bonuses from multiple sources combine to provide a total Armor rating. For example, if you have subdermal implants that give you +1 to Armor, a force field that offers another +1 to Armor, and beastskin that grants +2 to Armor, you have a total of +4 to Armor.

In general, light armor is a moderately priced item, medium armor is expensive, and heavy armor is very expensive. Part 3: Genres offers more specific details on the kinds of armor available in the setting. Keep in mind that in many genres, it's quite odd, at best, to run around in armor tougher than a leather jacket.

Using Armor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Anyone can wear any armor, but it can be taxing. Wearing armor increases the cost of using a level of Effort when attempting a Speed task.

The following table displays types of armor, the bonus they provide to a PC's Armor characteristic, and the additional cost (in points from their Speed Pool) the PC must spend for each level of Effort used when attempting a Speed task. By default, PCs use the Not Experienced column. However, if a PC has one or more special abilities that reduce Speed Effort cost for wearing armor—Practiced in Armor, Experienced in Armor, and Mastery in Armor—they can use the corresponding column on the table instead. Reducing the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor is also possible through character advancement.

Speed Effort Cost per Level of Effort Used

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Speed Effort Cost per Level of Effort Used
Physical armor Cost Armor Bonus Not Experienced Practiced Experienced Mastery
Light armorModerately-priced+1 Armor+2+1——
Medium armorExpensive+2 Armor+3+2+1—
Heavy armorVery expensive+3 Armor+4+3+2—

In the game rules, "Speed Effort cost", "Speed cost", "encumbering" and "encumbers" are used interchangeably to refer to the contents of this table.

Example: Using Light Armor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 202)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Let's say you are Practiced in Armor, you are wearing light armor, and you have a Speed Edge of 1. If you use two levels of Effort on a Speed defense task, it costs 7 points from your Speed Pool: 3 for the first level of Effort plus 2 for the second level of Effort plus 2 for wearing light armor (1 per level of Effort used). Your Speed Edge reduces the total cost by 1, resulting in a final cost of 6 Speed points.

Special Armor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 256)(The Stars are Fire, page 71)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In some settings, there might be super-materials, otherworldly craftsmanship, or other methods that can produce special armor, for example:

  • In a modern setting, light military body armor provides the protection of medium armor, but encumbers the PC as if they are wearing light armor.
  • In a fantasy setting, a shirt of elven chainmail provides the protection of medium armor, but is so light and flexible that it does not encumber the PC any more than normal clothing.

In any case, special armor is rare, and worth at least one or two increases to the item's price category, so it probably isn't available at the start of the game.

Shields

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 143)(Godforsaken, page 37)

Shields don't provide a bonus to a character's Armor characteristic. Instead, a shield provides an asset to Speed defense rolls while it is held in one hand. You must have one free hand to use a shield.

Editor's Notes — Adept abilities also require a free hand to use unless the GM says otherwise.

Optional Rule: Lower Speed Effort Costs for Wearing Armor

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In some games—for example, Numenera Discovery and Old Gods of Appalachia—Speed Effort costs for wearing armor are reduced by 1. If the GM agrees, PCs use the following table instead:

Speed Effort Cost per Level of Effort Used (Lower)
Physical armor Armor Bonus Not Experienced Practiced Experienced Mastery
Light armor+1 Armor+1———
Medium armor+2 Armor+2+1——
Heavy armor+3 Armor+3+2+1—
Optional Rule: Alternative Armor Encumbrance

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In precursors to the Cypher System—Numenera (2014) and The Strange—wearing armor has two effects:

  • Hourly Might Cost: You must pay a number of Might points each hour the armor is worn.

  • Speed Pool Penalty: Wearing armor reduces your Speed Pool's point maximum.

Alternative Armor Encumbrance
Physical armor Armor Bonus Hourly Might Cost Speed Pool Penalty
Light armor+1 Armor1 point−2 points
Medium armor+2 Armor2 points−3 points
Heavy armor+3 Armor3 points−5 points

When using this rule, the following modifications to the Practiced in Armor, Experienced in Armor, and Mastery in Armor abilities are observed:

  • Practiced in Armor: You reduce the hourly Might cost and Speed Pool penalty for wearing armor by 2 points each. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Experienced in Armor: Your Practiced in Armor ability improves, reducing the hourly Might cost and Speed Pool penalty for wearing armor by 3 points each instead. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Mastery in Armor: Your Practiced in Armor ability improves, reducing the hourly Might cost and Speed Pool penalty for wearing armor by 5 points each instead. If you have the Experienced in Armor ability, replace it with a different mid-tier ability from your type or focus. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

In games using alternative armor encumbrance rule, the "Other" character advancement option to "reduce the cost for wearing armor" might instead reduce the Might cost per hour and Speed Pool reduction for wearing armor by an additional 1 point each.

Weapons

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 203)

Not all characters are familiar with all weapons. Warriors know their way around most types, but Explorers prefer light or medium weapons, and Adepts and Speakers usually stick to light weapons. If you wield a weapon that you have no experience with, an attack with that weapon is hindered. Having experience with a weapon is called being practiced with the weapon.

  • Light weapons inflict only 2 points of damage, but attacks with them are eased because they are fast and easy to use. Light weapons are punches, kicks, knives, handaxes, darts, very small pistols, and so on. Weapons that are particularly small are light weapons.

  • Medium weapons inflict 4 points of damage. Medium weapons include broadswords, battleaxes, maces, crossbows, spears, typical handguns, light rifles, sawed-off shotguns, and so on. Most weapons are medium. Anything that could be used in one hand (even if it's often used in two hands, such as a quarterstaff or spear) is a medium weapon.

  • Heavy weapons inflict 6 points of damage, and you must use two hands to attack with them. Heavy weapons are huge swords, great hammers, massive axes, halberds, heavy crossbows, rifles, regular shotguns, assault rifles, and so on. Anything that must be used in two hands is a heavy weapon.

Weapons
WeaponCostDamage
LightModerately-priced2 points (attack eased)
MediumExpensive4 points
HeavyVery expensive6 points

In general, light weapons are moderately priced items, medium weapons are expensive, and heavy weapons are very expensive. Ammunition for a ranged weapon is inexpensive. Part 3: Genres offers more specific details on weapons available in a given setting. Keep in mind that in many genres, it's not acceptable to run around carrying dangerous weapons.

Editor's Notes — When making melee attacks, the PC can choose to use their Might or Speed for the task. Making ranged attacks is usually a Speed task. This reflects that with melee you sometimes use brute force and sometimes use finesse, but with ranged attacks, it's always about careful targeting.

Optional Rule: Weapon Properties

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The GM can add additional weapon properties, for example:

  • Slashing: +1 damage against unarmored targets; −1 damage against armored targets.

  • Stabbing: +1 damage on all special rolls; −1 damage on a successful attack roll of 5 or less.

  • Crushing: Ignores 1 Armor; −1 damage against unarmored targets.

  • Reaching: Provides an asset to Speed defense rolls against melee attacks, unless the attacker is also using a reaching weapon; attack rolls are hindered in tight spaces.

  • Firearm: Ignores 1 Armor.

Explosive Weapons

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 203)

Bombs, grenades, missiles, and other explosives operate differently than other weapons. They affect all targets within an area (usually an immediate area) and inflict damage to all of them. A separate attack roll is required for each (or a Speed defense roll if the PCs are the targets of such an attack), although to simplify, the player can make one attack roll and compare it to the difficulty to attack each target. Usually, even if the attack roll fails (or the Speed defense roll succeeds), the targets still suffer a smaller amount of damage, often 1 point.

Explosives like grenades can be thrown a short distance. Otherwise, another launcher weapon is needed to project them a long distance (or farther).

Editor's Notes — When making area attacks, consider the rules for attack modifiers and special situations and combat between PCs—specifics might determine that one use of an ability doesn't result in "friendly fire", but another does. This could also be a source of GM Intrusion.

Miscellaneous Items and Services

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 203)

Although the types of items for sale vary greatly based on the setting, a few things are always present, like food, lodging, and clothing. However, these goods and services can span the price categories. For example, you can get an inexpensive meal, a moderately priced meal, an expensive meal, and so on. An inexpensive meal is light and probably not very nutritious. An expensive meal is available only in nice restaurants in certain locations. An exorbitant meal is probably a feast for a crowd, with the finest foods and drink available.

Nightly lodging is similar, although the bottom end starts out worse. An inexpensive night's lodging is probably a flea-ridden mat on the floor of a room filled with other lodgers. Typical lodging (a private room with a decent bed) is probably in the moderately priced range. Very expensive lodging might be a suite of rooms with delicious meals and personal services (such as massages and grooming) included.

Inexpensive clothing is just a step up from rags, but moderately priced clothing is decent enough. For a formal party, you'd want expensive clothing. The very rich likely wear very expensive clothing most of the time, and exorbitant clothing (and jewelry) when they go to their elite galas.

Other sorts of miscellaneous items can be found in Part 3: Genres.

Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 204)

Cyphers can sometimes be physical items like equipment, but they work very differently. To be entirely accurate, cyphers might have the veneer of equipment, but don't fall into the trap of confusing the two. Cyphers are far more akin to PC special abilities than to gear. In a fantasy game, they might be potions, scrolls, or charms. In a science fiction game, cyphers might be interesting throwaway devices or alien crystals of unknown providence. In other games, they might just represent good fortune or sudden inspiration. See Chapter 24: Cyphers for more details.

Artifacts

Quick Reference: Artifacts

Artifacts by Genre

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — There are even more artifacts in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 204)

Artifacts are more powerful than equipment and can't simply be purchased. Part 3: Genres offers a few sample artifacts appropriate for various settings.

Each artifact has a level and a rate of power depletion. When an artifact is used or activated, the player rolls the designated die (1d6, 1d10, 1d20, or 1d100). If the die shows the depletion number(s), the item works, but that is its last use. A depletion entry of "—" means that the artifact never depletes, and an entry of "automatic" means that it can be used only once.

Depowered artifacts can sometimes be recharged using the repair rules, depending on the item's nature. Other special abilities can also repower an expended item, but probably for only one use.

Finding, Identifying, and Using Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 204)

Characters can sometimes find artifacts while on adventures. They might be in ancient ruins, either intact or in need of manipulation to get them working. They could have been stolen from well-guarded military installations. They might be granted as rewards or taken from fallen foes. Sometimes they can even be purchased from a specialized source, but this occurs more rarely than most PCs would probably like.

After the characters find an artifact, identifying it is a separate Intellect task. The GM sets the difficulty of the task, but it is usually equal to the artifact's level. Identifying it takes fifteen minutes to three hours. If the PCs can't identify an artifact, they can bring it to an expert to be identified or, if desired, traded or sold.

Characters can attempt to use an artifact that has not been identified, which is usually an Intellect task equal to the artifact's level + 2. Failure might mean that the PCs can't figure out how to use the artifact or they use it incorrectly (GM's discretion). Of course, even if characters use an unidentified artifact correctly the first time, they have no idea what the effect might be.

Once characters identify an artifact, using it for the first time requires an additional Intellect action; this process is far more complex than pushing a button. It can involve manipulating touchscreens, reciting the proper arcane words, or anything else that fits the setting. The GM sets the difficulty, but it is usually equal to the artifact's level.

Optional Rule: Reviving Artifacts

(It's Only Magic, page 95)

While all artifacts have a depletion stat, in some settings artifacts may be "revived" after they deplete. Usually doing this has some kind of high cost, whether that be money, time, work, or the like. Depending on the setting, a character might take an artifact to a well-known repair person who charges a pretty penny for their services, they could make a bargain with a powerful entity who has special magic to bring items back to life, or they might sneak into a corporation to steal a prototype power source to get their artifact back in working condition.

Typically, a revived artifact has the same depletion rate as it did when it was new. However, some repairs or fixes may be less substantial than others. In this case, move the depletion rate down to the next smaller die type. So an artifact that started at 1 in 1d100 would now be 1 in 1d20 (and if repaired again, might be 1 in 1d10). If the artifact's depletion is already using a d6, double the depletion number (for example, from 1–2 in 1d6 to 1–4 in 1d6). If the depletion number is equal to or higher than the highest number the die can roll (like 1–6 on a d6), change the artifact's depletion to "automatic."

Editor's Notes — The GM might also allow players to purchase, craft, or revive an artifact by spending 3 XP.

Part 2 Rules

Chapter 11 Rules of the Game

Quick Reference: Rules of the Game

Actions

Attack Modifers and Special Situations

Damage

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 206)

Cypher System games are played in the joint imagination of all the players, including the GM. The GM sets the scene, the players state what their characters attempt to do, and the GM determines what happens next. The rules and the dice help make the game run smoothly, but it's the people, not the rules or the dice, that direct the action and determine the story—and the fun. If a rule gets in the way or detracts from the game, the players and the GM should work together to change it.

This is how you play the Cypher System

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 206)

  1. The player tells the GM what they want to do. This is a character action.
  2. The GM determines if that action is routine (and therefore works without needing a roll) or if there's a chance of failure.
  3. If there is a chance of failure, the GM determines which stat the task uses (Might, Speed, or Intellect) and the task's difficulty—how hard it will be on a scale from 1 (really easy) to 10 (basically impossible).
  4. The player and the GM determine if anything about the character—such as training, equipment, special abilities, or various actions—can modify the difficulty up or down by one or more steps. If these modifications reduce the difficulty to less than 1, the action is routine (and therefore works with no roll needed).
  5. If the action still isn't routine, the GM uses its difficulty to determine the target number—how high the player must roll to succeed at the action (see the Task Difficulty table). The GM doesn't have to tell the player what the target number is, but they can give the player a hint, especially if the character would reasonably know if the action was easy, average, difficult, or impossible.
  6. The player rolls a d20. If they roll equal to or higher than the target number, the character succeeds.

That's it. That's how to do anything, whether it's identifying an unknown device, calming a raging drunk, climbing a treacherous cliff, or battling a demigod. Even if you ignored all the other rules, you could still play the Cypher System with just this information. The key features here are: character actions, determining task difficulty, and determining modifications.

The Difficulty Dial

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The Difficulty Dial The Difficulty Dial

Think of easing a task as adjusting your task on this "difficulty dial" counterclockwise, or "dialing down" the difficulty. Likewise, think of hindering as adjusting clockwise, or "dialing up" the difficulty.

Beyond 20: Tasks with difficulties of 7 or higher are impossible without easing the difficulty. To accomplish them, modify the difficulty using skills, assets, and Effort!

Really Impossible Tasks: In games where PCs have power shifts, the GM might set difficulties as high as 15.

Editor's Notes — The difficulty dial image is included in Old Gus' Cypher System Quick-Reference (OG-CSQR). To read the rules of the game in practice, see An Example of Play.

Key Concepts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 207)

Action
Anything a character does that is significant—punch a foe, leap a chasm, activate a device, use a special power, and so on. Each character can take one action in a round.
Character
Any creature in the game capable of acting, whether it is a player character (PC) run by a player or a nonplayer character (NPC) run by the game master (GM). In the Cypher System, even bizarre creatures, sentient machines, and living energy beings can be "characters."
Difficulty
A measure of how easy it is to accomplish a task. Difficulty is rated on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Altering the difficulty to make a task harder is called "hindering." Altering it to make a task easier is called "easing." All changes in difficulty are measured in steps. Difficulty often equates directly with level, so opening a level 3 locked door probably has a difficulty of 3.
Ease
A decrease in a task's difficulty, usually by one step. If something doesn't say how many steps it eases a task, then it reduces the difficulty by one step.
Effort
Spending points from a stat Pool to reduce the difficulty of a task. A PC decides whether or not to apply Effort on their turn before the roll is made. NPCs never apply Effort.
Hinder
An increase in a task's difficulty, usually by one step. If something doesn't say how many steps it hinders a task, then it increases the difficulty by one step.
Inability
The opposite of trained—you're hindered whenever you attempt a task that you have an inability in. If you also become trained in the task, the training and the inability cancel each other out and you become practiced.
Level
A way to measure the strength, difficulty, power, or challenge of something in the game. Everything in the game has a level. NPCs and objects have levels that determine the difficulty of any task related to them. For example, an opponent's level determines how hard they are to hit or avoid in combat. A door's level indicates how hard it is to break down. A lock's level determines how hard it is to pick. Levels are rated on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). PC tiers are a little like levels, but they go only from 1 to 6 and mechanically work very differently than levels—for example, a PC's tier does not determine a task's difficulty.
Practiced
The normal, unmodified ability to use a skill—not trained, specialized, or an inability. Your type determines what weapon skills you're practiced in; if you aren't practiced with a type of weapon, you have an inability in it.
Roll
A d20 roll made by a PC to determine whether an action is successful. Although the game occasionally uses other dice, when the text simply refers to "a roll," it always means a d20 roll.
Round
A length of time about five to ten seconds long. There are about ten rounds in a minute. When it's really important to track precise time, use rounds. Basically, it's the length of time to take an action in the game, but since everyone more or less acts simultaneously, all characters get to take an action each round.
Specialized
Having an exceptional amount of skill in a task. Being specialized eases the task by two steps. So, if you are specialized in climbing, all your climbing tasks are eased by two steps.
Stat
One of the three defining characteristics for PCs: Might, Speed, or Intellect. Each stat has two values: Pool and Edge. Your Pool represents your raw, innate ability, and your Edge represents knowing how to use what you have. Each stat Pool can increase or decrease over the course of play—for example, you can lose points from your Might Pool when struck by an opponent, spend points from your Intellect Pool to activate a special ability, or rest to recover points in your Speed Pool after a long day of marching. Anything that damages a stat, restores a stat, or boosts or penalizes a stat affects the stat's Pool.
Task
Any action that a PC attempts. The GM determines the difficulty of the task. In general, a task is something that you do and an action is you performing that task, but in most cases they mean the same thing.
Trained
Having a reasonable amount of skill in a task. Being trained eases the task. For example, if you are trained in climbing, all climbing tasks for you are eased. If you become very skilled at that task, you become specialized instead of trained. You do not need to be trained to attempt a task.
Turn
The part of the round when a character or creature takes its actions. For example, if a Warrior and an Adept are fighting an orc, each round the Warrior takes an action on their turn, the Adept takes an action on their turn, and the orc takes an action on its turn. Some abilities or effects last only one turn, or end when the next turn is started.

Taking Action

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 206)

Each character gets one turn each round. On a character's turn, they can do one thing—an action. All actions fall into one of three categories: Might, Speed, or Intellect (just like the three stats). Many actions require die rolls—rolling a d20.

Every action performs a task, and every task has a difficulty that determines what number a character must reach or surpass with a die roll to succeed.

Most tasks have a difficulty of 0, which means the character succeeds automatically. For example, walking across a room, opening a door, and throwing a stone into a nearby bucket are all actions, but none of them requires a roll. Actions that are usually difficult or that become difficult due to the situation (such as shooting at a target in a blizzard) have a higher difficulty. These actions usually require a roll.

Some actions require a minimum expenditure of Might, Speed, or Intellect points. If a character cannot spend the minimum number of points needed to complete the action, they automatically fail at the task.

Editor's Notes — A list of common actions is provided later in this chapter.

Determining Task Stat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 208)

Every task relates to one of a character's three stats: Might, Speed, or Intellect.

  • Strength: Physical activities that require strength, power, or endurance relate to Might.

  • Speed: Physical activities that require agility, flexibility, or fast reflexes relate to Speed.

  • Intellect: Mental activities that require force of will, memory, or mental power relate to Intellect.

This means you can generalize tasks into three categories: Might tasks, Speed tasks, and Intellect tasks. You can also generalize rolls into three categories: Might rolls, Speed rolls, and Intellect rolls.

The category of the task or roll determines what kind of Effort you can apply to the roll and may determine how a character's other abilities affect the roll. For example, an Adept may have an ability that makes them better at Intellect rolls, and a Warrior may have an ability that makes them better at Speed rolls.

Editor's Notes — For more on determining a task stat, see Tying Actions to Stats.

Determining Task Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 208)

The most frequent thing a GM does during the game—and probably the most important thing—is set a task's difficulty. To make the job easier, use the Task Difficulty table, which associates a difficulty rating with a descriptive name, a target number, and general guidance about the difficulty.

Every difficulty from 1 to 10 has a target number associated with it. The target number is easy to remember: it's always three times the difficulty. The target number is the minimum number a player needs to roll on a d20 to succeed at the task. Moving up or down on the table is called hindering or easing, which is measured in steps.

For example, reducing a difficulty 5 task to a difficulty 4 task is "easing the difficulty by one step" or just "easing the difficulty" or "easing the task." Most modifiers affect the difficulty rather than the player's roll. This has two consequences:

  • Low target numbers such as 3 or 6, which would be boring in most games that use a d20, are not boring in the Cypher System. For example, if you need to roll a 6 or higher, you still have a 25% chance to fail.

  • The upper levels of difficulty (7, 8, 9, and 10) are all but impossible because the target numbers are 21 or higher, which you can't roll on a d20. However, it's common for PCs to have abilities or equipment that ease a task and thus lower the target number to something they can roll on a d20.

A character's tier does not determine a task's level. Things don't get more difficult just because a character's tier increases—the world doesn't instantly become a more difficult place. Fourth-tier characters don't deal only with level 4 creatures or difficulty 4 tasks (although a fourth-tier character probably has a better shot at success than a first-tier character does). Just because something is level 4 doesn't necessarily mean it's meant only for fourth-tier characters. Similarly, depending on the situation, a fifth-tier character could find a difficulty 2 task just as challenging as a second-tier character does.

Therefore, when setting the difficulty of a task, the GM should rate the task on its own merits, not on the power of the characters.

Task Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 208)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Task Difficulty
Task Difficulty Target Number Task Success Rate Description Guidance
0 (0) 100% Routine Anyone can do this basically every time.
1 (3) 90% Simple Most people can do this most of the time.
2 (6) 75% Standard Typical task requiring focus, but most people can usually do this.
3 (9) 60% Demanding Requires full attention; most people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
4 (12) 45% Difficult Trained people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
5 (15) 30% Challenging Even trained people often fail.
6 (18) 15% Intimidating Normal people almost never succeed.
7 (21) — Formidable Impossible without skills or great effort.
8 (24) −15% Heroic A task worthy of tales told for years afterward.
9 (27) −30% Immortal A task worthy of legends that last lifetimes.
10 (30) −45% Impossible A task that normal humans couldn't consider (but one that doesn't break the laws of physics).
Modifying the Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 209)

After the GM sets the difficulty for a task, the player can try to modify it for their character. Any such modification applies only to this particular attempt at the task. In other words, rewiring an electronic door lock normally might be difficulty 6, but since the character doing the work is skilled in such tasks, has the right tools, and has another character assisting them, the difficulty in this instance might be much lower. That's why it's important for the GM to set a task's difficulty without taking the character into account. The character comes in at this step.

By using skills and assets, working together, and—perhaps most important—applying Effort, a character can ease a task by multiple steps to make it easier. Rather than adding bonuses to the player's roll, reducing the difficulty lowers the target number. If they can reduce the difficulty of a task to 0, no roll is needed; success is automatic.

An exception is if the GM decides to use a GM intrusion on the task, in which case the player would have to make a roll at the original difficulty.

There are three basic ways in which a character can ease a task: skills, assets, and Effort. Each method eases the task by at least one step—never in smaller increments.

By using skills, assets, and Effort, a character can ease a task by a maximum of ten steps: one or two steps from skills, one or two steps from assets, and one to six steps from Effort.

Editor's Notes — Some effects produced by special abilities, cyphers, and power shifts can modify the difficulty by easing the task, which doesn't count toward the limits for skills, assets, or Effort, but simply lower the difficulty of the task by one or more steps.

Skills

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 209)

Characters may be skilled at performing a specific task. A skills can vary from character to character. For example, one character might be skilled at lying, another might be skilled at trickery, and a third might be skilled in all interpersonal interactions. The first level of being skilled is called being trained, and it eases that task by one step. More rarely, a character can be incredibly skilled at performing a task. This is called being specialized, and it eases the task by two steps instead of one. Skills can never decrease a task by more than two steps—any more than two steps from being trained and specialized don't count.

Assets

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 209)

An asset is anything that helps a character with a task, such as having a really good crowbar when trying to force open a door or being in a rainstorm when trying to put out a fire. Appropriate assets vary from task to task. The perfect awl might help when woodworking, but it won't make a dance performance much better. An asset usually eases a task by one step. Assets can never ease a task by more than two steps—any more than two steps from assets don't count.

The important thing to remember is that a skill can reduce the difficulty by no more than two steps, and assets can reduce the difficulty by no more than two steps, regardless of the situation. Thus, no task's difficulty will ever be reduced by more than four steps without using Effort.

Effort

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 209)

A player can apply Effort to ease a task. To do this, the player spends points from the stat Pool that's most appropriate to the task. For example, applying Effort to push a heavy rock off a cliff requires a player to spend points from the character's Might Pool; applying Effort to activate an unusual machine interface requires them to spend points from the character's Intellect Pool. For every level of Effort spent on a task, the task is eased. It costs 3 points from a stat Pool to apply one level of Effort, and it costs 2 additional points for every level thereafter (so it costs 5 points for two levels of Effort, 7 points for three levels of Effort, and so on). A character must spend points from the same stat Pool as the type of task or roll—Might points for a Might roll, Speed points for a Speed roll, or Intellect points for an Intellect roll.

Every character has a maximum level of Effort they can apply to a single task. Effort can never ease a task by more than six steps—any more than six steps from applying Effort doesn't count.

  • Free Level of Effort: A few abilities give you a free level of Effort (these usually require you to apply at least one level of Effort to a task). In effect, you're getting one more level of Effort than what you paid for. This free level of Effort can exceed the Effort limit for your character, but not the six-step limit for easing a task.

Editor's Notes — A PC's Effort score can be increased by spending XP on character advancement. For more on Effort, see Effort in Chapter 4: Creating Your Character, and Optional Rule: Effort for NPCs.

Rolling the Die

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 209)

To determine success or failure, a player rolls a die (always a d20). If they roll the target number or higher, they succeed. Most of the time, that's the end of it—nothing else needs to be done. Rarely, a character might apply a small modifier to the roll. If they have a +2 bonus when attempting specific actions, they add 2 to the number rolled. However, the original roll matters if it's a special roll.

If a character applies a modifier to the die roll, it's possible to get a result of 21 or higher, in which case they can attempt a task with a target number above 20. But if there is no possibility for success—if not even rolling a natural 20 (meaning the d20 shows that number) is sufficient to accomplish the task—then no roll is made. Otherwise, characters would have a chance to succeed at everything, even impossible or ridiculous tasks such as climbing moonbeams, throwing elephants, or hitting a target on the opposite side of a mountain with an arrow.

If a character's modifiers add up to +3, treat them as an asset instead. In other words, instead of adding a +3 bonus to the roll, reduce the difficulty by one step. For example, if a Warrior has a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a minor effect, a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a special weapon quality, and a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a special ability, they do not add 3 to their attack roll—instead, they reduce the difficulty of the attack by one step. So if they attack a level 3 foe, they would normally roll against difficulty 3 and try to reach a target number of 9, but thanks to their asset, they roll against difficulty 2 and try to reach a target number of 6.

This distinction is important when stacking skills and assets to decrease the difficulty of an action, especially since reducing the difficulty to 0 or lower means no roll is needed.

The Player Always Rolls

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 210)

In the Cypher System, players always drive the action. That means they make all the die rolls. If a PC leaps out of a moving vehicle, the player rolls to see if they succeed. If a PC searches for a hidden panel, the player rolls to determine whether they find it. If a rockslide falls on a PC, the player rolls to try to get out of the way. If a PC and an NPC arm wrestle, the player rolls, and the NPC's level determines the target number. If a PC attacks a foe, the player rolls to see if they hit. If a foe attacks the PC, the player rolls to see if they dodge the blow.

As shown by the last two examples, the PC rolls whether they are attacking or defending. Thus, something that improves defenses might ease or hinder their rolls. For example, if a PC uses a low wall to gain cover from attacks, the wall eases the player's defense rolls. If a foe uses the wall to gain cover from the PC's attacks, it hinders the player's attack rolls.

Special Rolls

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 210)

If a character rolls a natural 1, 17, 18, 19, or 20 (meaning the d20 shows that number), special rules come into play. These are explained in more detail in the following sections.

  • 1: GM Intrusion. The GM makes a free intrusion (see below) and doesn't award experience points (XP) for it.

  • 17: Damage Bonus. If the roll was a damage-dealing attack, it deals 1 additional point of damage.

  • 18: Damage Bonus. If the roll was a damage-dealing attack, it deals 2 additional points of damage.

  • 19: Minor Effect. If the roll was a damage-dealing attack, it deals 3 additional points of damage or the PC gets a minor effect in addition to the normal results of the task. If the roll was something other than an attack, the PC gets a minor effect in addition to the normal results of the task.

  • 20: Major Effect. If the roll was a damage-dealing attack, it deals 4 additional points of damage or the PC gets a major or minor effect in addition to the normal results of the task. If the roll was something other than an attack, the PC gets a major effect in addition to the normal results of the task. If the PC spent points from a stat Pool on the action, the point cost for the action decreases to 0, meaning the character regains those points as if they had not spent them at all.

Editor's Notes — In order for a special roll to inflict additional damage or gain a minor or major effect, the attack roll must succeed (as explained under Special Rolls in Chapter 3: How to Play the Cypher System). Optional rules like Horror Mode or other effects can raise the GM intrusion rate.

Optional Rule: Task and Fate Dice Resolution

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Using this rule, the process PCs use to roll for tasks is changed. Instead of a d20, players roll 2d6—one is assigned to be the "Task Die", and the other is the "Fate Die".

Task Die

Take the result, and add 1 for each applicable skill and asset, and 1 for each level of Effort used to ease the task. If the total equals or exceeds the difficulty, the PC succeeds at the task.

Fate Die

The fate die's effects are independent of the task die's—they occur whether the PC succeeds or not.

Effects on Gameplay

Using this rule, some elements of gameplay will feel different:

  • Succeeding Tasks: PCs will suceed at tasks at about the same rate, but most difficulty 1 tasks become routine—unless the PC is hindered, for example, due to an inability or some other circumstance.

  • Special Rolls: Special rolls other than major effects are mostly eliminated, but major effects occur more frequently.

  • GM Intrusions: The GM intrusion rate starts higher, and effects that increase it—for example, Horror Mode—have considerably more dramatic effects.

  • Abilities and Effects: The GM might need to make a few other alterations for certain effects that still assume task resolution is handled by rolling a d20, for example, those granted by the Increased Effects ability (for example, allowing a minor effect on a roll of 5 on the fate die).

  • Other Sizes of Fate Die: Alternatively, the GM can assign the fate die to a different die instead, for example, the fate die could be set to a d10, triggering a GM intrusion on a 1, a minor effect on a 9, and a major effect on a 10. The fate die could even be a d20, and trigger special rolls normally.

GM Intrusion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 210)

GM intrusion is explained in more detail in Chapter 25: Running the Cypher System, but essentially it means that something occurs to complicate the character's life. The character hasn't necessarily fumbled or done anything wrong (although perhaps they did). It could just be that the task presents an unexpected difficulty or something unrelated affects the current situation.

For GM intrusion on a defense roll, a roll of 1 might mean that the PC takes 2 additional points of damage from the attack, indicating that the opponent got in a lucky blow.

Minor Effect

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 211)

A minor effect happens when a player rolls a natural 19. Most of the time, a minor effect is slightly beneficial to the PC, but not overwhelming.

A climber gets up the steep slope a bit faster. A repaired machine works a bit better. A character jumping down into a pit lands on their feet. Either the GM or the player can come up with a possible minor effect that fits the situation, but both must agree on what it should be.

Don't waste a lot of time thinking of a minor effect if nothing appropriate suggests itself. Sometimes, in cases where only success or failure matters, it's okay to have no minor effect. Keep the game moving at an exciting pace.

In combat, the easiest and most straightforward minor effect is dealing 3 additional points of damage with an attack. The following are other common minor effects for combat:

  • Damage object: Instead of striking the foe, the attack strikes what the foe is holding. If the attack hits, the character makes a Might roll with a difficulty equal to the object's level. On a success, the object moves one or more steps down the object damage track.

  • Distract: For one round, all of the foe's tasks are hindered.

  • Knock back: The foe is knocked or forced back a few feet. Most of the time, this doesn't matter much, but if the fight takes place on a ledge or next to a pit of lava, the effect can be significant.

  • Move past: The character can move a short distance at the end of the attack. This effect is useful to get past a foe guarding a door, for example.

  • Strike a specific body part: The attacker strikes a specific spot on the defender's body. The GM rules what special effect, if any, results. For example, hitting a creature's tentacle that is wrapped around an ally might make it easier for the ally to escape. Hitting a foe in the eye might blind it for one round. Hitting a creature in its one vulnerable spot might ignore Armor.

Usually, the GM just has the desired minor effect occur. For example, rolling a 19 against a relatively weak foe means it is knocked off the cliff. The effect makes the round more exciting, but the defeat of a minor creature has no significant impact on the story. Other times, the GM might rule that an additional roll is needed to achieve the effect—the special roll only gives the PC the opportunity for a minor effect. This mostly happens when the desired effect is very unlikely, such as pushing a 50-ton battle automaton off a cliff. If the player just wants to deal 3 additional points of damage as the minor effect, no extra roll is needed.

Major Effect

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 212)

A major effect happens when a player rolls a natural 20. Most of the time, a major effect is quite beneficial to the character. A climber gets up the steep slope in half the time. A jumper lands with such panache that those nearby are impressed and possibly intimidated. A defender makes a free attack on a foe.

Either the GM or the player can come up with a possible major effect that fits the situation, but both must agree on what it should be. As with minor effects, don't spend a lot of time agonizing over the details of a major effect. In cases where only success or failure matters, a major effect might offer the character a one-time asset (a modification of one step) to use the next time they attempt a similar action. When nothing else seems appropriate, the GM can simply grant the PC an additional action on their turn that same round.

In combat, the easiest and most straightforward major effect is dealing 4 additional points of damage with an attack. The following are other common major effects for combat.

  • Disarm: The foe drops one object that it is holding.

  • Impair: For the rest of the combat, all tasks the foe attempts are hindered.

  • Knock down: The foe is knocked prone. It can get up on its turn.

  • Stun: The foe loses its next action.

As with minor effects, usually the GM just has the desired major effect occur, but sometimes the GM might require an extra roll if the major effect is unusual or unlikely.

Optional Rule: Choosing a Combat Effect Ahead of Time

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Choosing a Combat Effect Ahead of Time (212) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

The following are only guidelines and examples, and the GM will probably want to modifying these rules to taste in practice—for example, PCs might need specific foreknowledge of their opponent to use these options, or that a PC has a minimum amount of training in their attack or defense task, or they might work more like power stunts. The GM might also assign an initial cost for using them.

  • Attack Rolls: When making an attack, the PC can choose an effect they wish to apply to their attacker, and the GM hinders the attack roll one or more steps. If they succeed, the effect takes hold.

  • Defense Rolls: When making a defense roll, a PC can describe an effect they wish to apply to their attacker, and the GM hinders the PC's defense roll an appropriate number of steps. If they succeed, the effect takes hold. The GM might require that applying certain effects also requires the use of the PC's next action.

Optional Rule: Trading Damage for Effect

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Trading Damage for Effect in the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (224).

A PC can trade damage inflicted from a single attack for an effect. When trading damage, consult the following table, and add target's level. For example, a "called shot"—striking a specific body part of a level 4 creature—requires a trade of 6 points of damage (2 for the effect, plus 4 for the creature's level). The attack must inflict at least 1 damage after making the trade or the effect doesn't take hold.

Trading Damage for Effect
Damage Traded Effect Applied
1Distract: For one round, all of the foe's tasks are hindered.
2Strike a specific body part: The attacker strikes a specific spot on the defender's body. The GM rules what special effect, if any, results. For example, hitting a creature's tentacle that is wrapped around an ally might make it easier for the ally to escape. Hitting a foe in the eye might blind it for one round. Hitting a creature in its one vulnerable spot might ignore Armor.
3Knock back: The foe is knocked or forced back a few feet. Most of the time, this doesn't matter much, but if the fight takes place on a ledge or next to a pit of lava, the effect can be significant.
3Move past: The character can move a short distance at the end of the attack. This effect is useful to get past a foe guarding a door, for example.
3Damage object: Instead of striking the foe, the attack strikes what the foe is holding. If the attack hits, the character makes a Might roll with a difficulty equal to the object's level. On a success, the object moves one or more steps down the object damage track.
4Knock down: The foe is knocked prone. It can get up on its turn.
7Disarm: The foe drops one object that it is holding.
7Impair: For the rest of the combat, all tasks the foe attempts are hindered.
8Stun: The foe loses its next action.

Retrying a Task after Failure

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 212)

If a character fails a task (whether it's climbing a wall, picking a lock, trying to figure out a mysterious device, or something else) they can attempt it again, but they must apply at least one level of Effort when retrying that task. A retry is a new action, not part of the same action that failed, and it takes the same amount of time as the first attempt did.

Sometimes the GM might rule that retries are impossible. Perhaps a character has one chance to convince the leader of a group of thugs not to attack, and after that, no amount of talking will stop them.

This rule doesn't apply to something like attacking a foe in combat because combat is always changing and fluid. Each round's situation is new, not a repeat of a previous situation, so a missed attack can't be retried.

Initial Cost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 212)

The GM can assign a point cost to a task just for trying it. Called an initial cost, it's simply an indication that the task is particularly taxing. For example, let's say a character wants to try a Might action to open a heavy cellar door that is partially rusted shut. The GM says that forcing the door open is a difficulty 5 task, and there's an initial cost of 3 Might points simply to try. This initial cost is in addition to any points the character chooses to spend on the roll (such as when applying Effort), and the initial cost points do not affect the difficulty of the task. In other words, the character must spend 3 Might points to attempt the task at all, but that doesn't help them open the door. If they want to apply Effort to ease the task, they have to spend more points from their Might Pool.

Edge helps with the initial cost of a task, just as it does with any expenditure from a character's Pool. In the previous example, if the character had a Might Edge of 2, they would have to spend only 1 point (3 points minus 2 from their Might Edge) for the initial cost to attempt the task. If they also applied a level of Effort to open the door, they couldn't use their Edge again—Edge applies only once per action—so using the Effort would cost the full 3 points. Thus, they'd spend a total of 4 points (1 for the initial cost plus 3 for the Effort) from their Might Pool.

The rationale of the initial cost rule is that even in the Cypher System, where things like Effort can help a character succeed on an action, logic still suggests that some actions are very difficult and taxing, particularly for some PCs more than others.

Optional Rule: Modifying Abilities Using Initial Costs

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Modifying Abilities on the Fly (419) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

Setting an initial cost is a good way to allow players to be creative with the use of Intellect-based abilities, similar to performing a power stunt:

Modifying Abilities Using Initial Costs
Power Stunt Details Cost
Increase range short to long, or long to very long +1 Intellect point (each step)
Increase duration one minute to ten minutes, or ten minutes to an hour +1 Intellect (maximum one step)

Distance

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 213)

Distance is simplified into four basic categories: immediate, short, long, and very long.

  • Immediate distance from a character is within reach or within a few steps; if a character stands in a small room, everything in the room is within immediate distance. At most, immediate distance is 10 feet (3 m). Immediate distance is sometimes referred to as close, or even point-blank, particularly when referring to ranges.

  • Short distance is anything greater than immediate distance but less than 50 feet (15 m) or so.

  • Long distance is anything greater than short distance but less than 100 feet (30 m) or so.

  • Very long distance is anything greater than long distance but less than 500 feet (150 m) or so. Beyond that range, distances are always specified—1,000 feet (300 m), 1 mile (1.5 km), and so on.

The words "immediate" and "close" can be used interchangeably to talk about distance. If a creature or object is within arm's reach of the character, it can be considered both immediate and close.

All weapons and special abilities use these terms for ranges. For example, all melee weapons have immediate range—they are close-combat weapons, and you can use them to attack anyone within immediate distance. A thrown knife (and most other thrown weapons) has short range. A small handgun also has short range. A rifle has long range.

A character can move an immediate distance as a part of another action. In other words, they can take a few steps to the light switch and flip it on. They can lunge across a small room to attack a foe. They can open a door and step through.

A character can move a short distance as their entire action for a turn. They can also try to move a long distance as their entire action, but the player might have to roll to see if the character slips, trips, or stumbles for moving so far so quickly.

GMs and players don't need to determine exact distances. For example, if the PCs are fighting a group of guards, any character can likely attack any foe in the general melee—they're all within immediate range. However, if one trooper stays back to fire a blaster, a character might have to use their entire action to move the short distance required to attack that foe. It doesn't matter if the trooper is 20 feet (6 m) or 40 feet (12 m) away—it's simply considered short distance. It does matter if the trooper is more than 50 feet (15 m) away because that distance would require a long move.

Other Distances

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 213)

In rare cases where distances beyond very long are needed, real-world distances are best (1 mile, 100 kilometers, and so on). However, the following shorthand distances can be useful in some settings:

  • Planetary: On the same planet.

  • Interplanetary: Within the same solar system.

  • Interstellar: Within the same galaxy.

  • Intergalactic: Anywhere in the same universe.

  • Interdimensional: Anywhere.

Timekeeping

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 213)

Generally, keep time the same way that you normally would, using minutes, hours, days, and weeks. Thus, if the characters walk overland for 15 miles (24 km), about eight hours pass, even though the journey can be described in only a few seconds at the game table. Precision timekeeping is rarely important. Most of the time, saying things like "That takes about an hour" works fine.

This is true even when a special ability has a specific duration. In an encounter, a duration of "one minute" is mostly the same as saying "the rest of the encounter." You don't have to track each round that ticks by if you don't want to. Likewise, an ability that lasts for ten minutes can safely be considered the length of an in-depth conversation, the time it takes to quickly explore a small area, or the time it takes to rest after a strenuous activity.

Timekeeping

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 214)

Timekeeping
Action Time Usually Required
Walking a mile over easy terrain About fifteen minutes
Walking a mile over rough terrain (forest, snow, hills) About half an hour
Walking a mile over difficult terrain (mountains, thick jungle) About forty-five minutes
Moving from one significant location in a city to another About fifteen minutes
Sneaking into a guarded location About fifteen minutes
Observing a new location to get salient details About fifteen minutes
Having an in-depth discussion About ten minutes
Resting after a fight or other strenuous activity About ten minutes
Resting and having a quick meal About half an hour
Making or breaking camp About half an hour
Shopping for supplies in a market or store About an hour
Meeting with an important contact About half an hour
Referencing a book or website About half an hour
Searching a room for hidden things At least half an hour, perhaps one hour
Searching for cyphers or other valuables amid a lot of stuff About an hour
Identifying and understanding a cypher Fifteen minutes to half an hour
Identifying and understanding an artifact At least fifteen minutes, perhaps three hours
Repairing a device (assuming parts and tools available) At least an hour, perhaps a day
Building a device (assuming parts and tools available) At least a day, perhaps a week

Editor's Notes — For more on timekeeping, see Long-Term Movement.

Encounters, Rounds, and Initiative

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 214)

Sometimes in the course of the game, the GM or players will refer to an "encounter." Encounters are not so much measurements of time as they are events or instances in which something happens, like a scene of a movie or a chapter in a book. An encounter might be a fight with a foe, a dramatic crossing of a raging river, or a stressful negotiation with an important official. It's useful to use the word when referring to a specific scene, as in "My Might Pool is low after that encounter with the soul sorcerer yesterday."

A round is about five to ten seconds. The length of time is variable because sometimes one round might be a bit longer than another. You don't need to measure time more precisely than that. You can estimate that on average there are about ten rounds in a minute. In a round, everyone—each character and NPC—gets to take one action.

To determine who goes first, second, and so on in a round, each player makes a Speed roll called an initiative roll. Most of the time, it's only important to know which characters act before the NPCs and which act after the NPCs. On an initiative roll, a character who rolls higher than an NPC's target number takes their action before the NPC does. As with all target numbers, an NPC's target number for an initiative roll is three times the NPC's level. Many times, the GM will have all NPCs take their actions at the same time, using the highest target number from among all the NPCs. Using this method, any characters who rolled higher than the target number act first, then all the NPCs act, and finally any characters who rolled lower than the target number act.

The order in which the characters act usually isn't important. If the players want to go in a precise order, they can act in initiative order (highest to lowest), by going around the table, by going oldest to youngest, and so on.

An initiative roll is a d20 roll. Since your initiative depends on how fast you are, if you spend Effort on the roll, the points come from your Speed Pool.

Initiative Example

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 214)

For example, Charles, Tammie, and Shanna's characters are in combat with two level 2 security guards. The GM has the players make Speed rolls to determine initiative. Charles rolls an 8, Shanna rolls a 15, and Tammie rolls a 4. The target number for a level 2 creature is 6, so each round Charles and Shanna act before the guards, then the guards act, and finally Tammie acts. It doesn't matter whether Charles acts before or after Shanna, as long as they think it's fair.

After everyone—all PCs and NPCs—in the combat has had a turn, the round ends and a new round begins. In all rounds after the first, everyone acts in the same order as they did in the first round. The characters cycle through this order until the logical end of the encounter (the end of the fight or the completion of the event) or until the GM asks them to make new initiative rolls. The GM can call for new initiative rolls at the beginning of any new round when conditions drastically change. For example, if the NPCs gain reinforcements, the environment changes (perhaps the lights go out), the terrain changes (maybe part of the balcony collapses under the PCs), or something similar occurs, the GM can call for new initiative rolls.

Since the action moves as a cycle, anything that lasts for a round ends where it started in the cycle. If Umberto uses an ability on an opponent that hinders its defenses for one round, the effect lasts until Umberto acts on his next turn.

Actions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 215)

Anything that your character does in a round is an action. It's easiest to think of an action as a single thing that you can do in five to ten seconds. For example, if you use your dart thrower to shoot a strange floating orb, that's one action. So is running for cover behind a stack of barrels, prying open a stuck door, using a rope to pull your friend up from a pit, or activating a cypher (even if it's stored in your pack).

Opening a door and attacking a security guard on the other side are two actions. It's more a matter of focus than time. Drawing your sword and attacking a foe is all one action. Putting away your bow and pushing a heavy bookcase to block a door are two actions because each requires a different train of thought.

If the action you want to accomplish is not within reach, you can move a little bit. Essentially, you can move up to an immediate distance to perform your action. For example, you can move an immediate distance and attack a foe, open a door and move an immediate distance into the hallway beyond, or grab your hurt friend lying on the ground and pull them back a few steps. This movement can occur before or after your action, so you can move to a door and open it, or you can open a door and move through it.

A Closer Look at Situations that Don't Involve PCs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 215)

Ultimately, the GM is the arbiter of conflicts that do not involve the PCs. They should be adjudicated in the most interesting, logical, and story-based way possible. When in doubt, match the level of the NPCs (characters or creatures) or their respective effects to determine the results. Thus, if a level 4 NPC fights a level 3 NPC, the level 4 NPC will win, but if they face a level 7 NPC, they'll lose. Likewise, a level 4 creature resists poisons or devices of level 3 or lower but not those of level 5 and above.

The essence is this: in the Cypher System, it doesn't matter if something is a creature, a poison, or a gravity-dispelling ray. If it's a higher level, it wins; if it's a lower level, it loses. If two things of equal level oppose each other, there might be a long, drawn-out battle that could go either way.

Action: Attack

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 215)

An attack is anything that you do to someone that they don't want you to do. Slashing a foe with a curved dagger is an attack, blasting a foe with a lightning artifact is an attack, wrapping a foe in magnetically controlled metal cables is an attack, and controlling someone's mind is an attack. An attack almost always requires a roll to see if you hit or otherwise affect your target.

In the simplest kind of attack, such as a PC trying to stab a thug with a knife, the player rolls and compares their result to the opponent's target number. If their roll is equal to or greater than the target number, the attack hits. Just as with any kind of task, the GM might modify the difficulty based on the situation, and the player might have a bonus to the roll or might try to ease the task using skills, assets, or Effort.

A less straightforward attack might be a special ability that stuns a foe with a mental blast. However, it's handled the same way: the player makes a roll against the opponent's target number. Similarly, an attempt to tackle a foe and wrestle it to the ground is still just a roll against the foe's target number.

Attacks are sometimes categorized as "melee" attacks, meaning that you hurt or affect something within immediate reach, or "ranged" attacks, meaning that you hurt or affect something at a distance.

Melee attacks can be Might or Speed actions—player choice. Physical ranged attacks (such as bows, thrown weapons, and blasts of fire from a mutation) are almost always Speed actions, but those that come from special abilities tend to be Intellect actions.

Special abilities that require touching the target require a melee attack. If the attack misses, the power is not wasted, and you can try again each round as your action until you hit the target, use another ability, or take a different action that requires you to use your hands. These attempts in later rounds count as different actions, so you don't have to keep track of how much Effort you used when you activated the ability or how you used Edge. For example, let's say that in the first round of combat, you activate a special ability that requires you to touch your foe and you use Effort to ease the attack, but you roll poorly and miss your foe. In the second round of combat, you can try attacking again and use Effort to ease the attack roll.

The GM and players are encouraged to describe every attack with flavor and flair. One attack roll might be a stab to the foe's arm. A miss might be the PC's sword slamming into the wall. Combatants lunge, block, duck, spin, leap, and make all kinds of movements that should keep combat visually interesting and compelling. Chapter 25: Running the Cypher System has much more guidance in this regard.

Common elements that affect the difficulty of a combat task are cover, range, and darkness. The rules for these and other modifiers are explained in the Attack Modifiers and Special Situations section of this chapter.

Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 216)

When an attack strikes a character, it usually means the character takes damage.

An attack against a PC subtracts points from one of the character's stat Pools—usually the Might Pool. Whenever an attack simply says it deals "damage" without specifying the type, it means Might damage, which is by far the most common type. Intellect damage, which is usually the result of a mental attack, is always labeled as Intellect damage. Speed damage is often a physical attack, but attacks that deal Speed damage are fairly rare.

NPCs don't have stat Pools. Instead, they have a characteristic called health. When an NPC takes damage of any kind, the amount is subtracted from its health. Unless described otherwise, an NPC's health is always equal to its target number. Some NPCs might have special reactions to or defenses against attacks that would normally deal Speed damage or Intellect damage, but unless the NPC's description specifically explains this, assume that all damage is subtracted from the NPC's health.

Objects don't have stat Pools or health. They have an object damage track, just like how PCs have a damage track. Attacking objects might move them down their damage track.

Damage is always a specific amount determined by the attack. For example, a slash with a broadsword or a blast with a spike thrower deals 4 points of damage. An Adept's Onslaught deals 4 points of damage. Often, there are ways for the attacker to increase the damage. For example, a PC can apply Effort to deal 3 additional points of damage, and rolling a natural 17 on the attack roll deals 1 additional point of damage.

Optional Rule: Damage Dice

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Here a few more ideas for making damage a little less predictable. Most of these rules favor the PCs, especially against low level creatures. Rolling dice and calculating totals can slow down a game, so the GM should use these rules only if the players are happy rolling more dice and doing a little extra maths.

  • Weapon Dice: Additional polyhedral dice can be used instead of static weapon damage, for example:

Weapon Dice
WeaponDamageNotes
Light1d4attack eased
Medium1d8—
Heavy (reliable)2d6requires two hands
Heavy (variable)1d12requires two hands

  • Attack Rolls: For every 3 an attack roll result shows in excess of the target number, the attack inflicts 1 additional damage. For example, if a PC attacks a level 2 foe with a target number of 6 and rolls a 16, they inflict 3 additional damage to the target. Additional damage from special rolls still applies as normal.

  • Defense Rolls: For every 3 a defense roll result shows in deficit of the target number, the attack inflicts 1 additional damage. For example, a PC making a Speed defense roll in response to level 5 foe with a target number of 15 and rolls and 9, they take 2 additional damage from the attack.

  • Effort Dice: Applying a level of Effort to damage increases amount of damage inflicted by the attack by 1d6 (instead of the usual 3).

Optional Rule: Ultimate Damage

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This optional rule is based on Cypher Unlimited's Neon Rain One-Shot with Lead Designer Sean K. Reynolds, and can be useful for games with a deadly, gritty, or risky feel.

When making an attack, PCs can use as much Effort for damage as they like to increase the damage of the attack (up to the limit of six levels of Effort). For example, if you are brand new tier 1 PC, you could use one level of Effort to ease the attack—reaching your Effort score's limit of 1—and still go on to use up to five levels of Effort to increase damage.

Armor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 217)

Pieces of equipment and special abilities protect a character from damage by giving them Armor. Each time a character takes damage, subtract their Armor value from the damage before reducing their stat Pool or health. For example, if a Warrior with 2 Armor is hit by a gunshot that deals 4 points of damage, they take only 2 points of damage (4 minus 2 from their Armor). If Armor reduces the incoming damage to 0 or lower, the character takes no damage from the attack. For example, the Warrior's 2 Armor protects them from all physical attacks that deal 1 or 2 points of damage.

The most common way to get Armor is to wear physical armor, such as attack rollleather jacket, a kevlar vest, a chainmail hauberk, bioengineered carapace grafts, or something else, depending on the setting. All physical armor comes in one of three categories: light, medium, or heavy. Light armor gives the wearer 1 point of Armor, medium gives 2 points of Armor, and heavy gives 3 points of Armor.

When you see the word "Armor" capitalized in the game rules (other than in the name of a special ability), it refers to your Armor characteristic—the number you subtract from incoming damage. When you see the word "armor" in lowercase, it refers to any physical armor you might wear.

Other effects can add to a character's Armor. If a character is wearing chainmail (+2 to Armor) and has an ability that covers them in a protective force field that grants +1 to Armor, their total is 3 Armor. If they also use a cypher that hardens their flesh temporarily for +1 to Armor, their total is 4 Armor.

Some types of damage ignore physical armor. Attacks that specifically deal Speed damage or Intellect damage ignore Armor; the creature takes the listed amount of damage without any reduction from Armor. Ambient damage (see below) usually ignores Armor as well.

A creature may have a special bonus to Armor against certain kinds of attacks. For example, a protective suit made of a sturdy, fire-resistant material might normally give its wearer +1 to Armor but count as +3 to Armor against fire attacks. An artifact worn as a helmet might grant +2 to Armor only against mental attacks.

Ambient Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 217)

Some kinds of damage aren't direct attacks against a creature, but they indirectly affect everything in the area. Most of these are environmental effects such as winter cold, high temperatures, or background radiation. Damage from these kinds of sources is called ambient damage. Physical armor usually doesn't protect against ambient damage, though a well-insulated suit of armor can protect against cold weather.

Damage From Hazards
Quick Reference: Hazards

Space Hazards

Optional Rules

Editor's Notes — For more hazards, disasters, and intense environmental situations, purchase First Responders.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 217)

Attacks aren't the only way to inflict damage on a character. Experiences such as falling from a great height, being burned in a fire, and spending time in severe weather also deal damage. Although no list of potential hazards could be comprehensive, the Damage From Hazards table includes common examples.

Basic Hazards

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 217)

Damage from Hazards
Source Damage Notes
Falling 1 point per 10 feet (3 m) fallen (ambient damage) —
Minor fire 3 points per round (ambient damage) Torch
Major fire 6 points per round (ambient damage) Engulfed in flames; lava
Acid splash 2 points per round (ambient damage) —
Acid bath 6 points per round (ambient damage) Immersed in acid
Cold 1 point per round (ambient damage) Below freezing temperatures
Severe cold 3 points per round (ambient damage) Liquid nitrogen
Shock 1 point per round (ambient damage) Often involves losing next action
Electrocution 6 points per round (ambient damage) Often involves losing next action
Crush 3 points Object or creature falls on character
Huge crush 6 points Roof collapse; cave-in
Collision 6 points Large, fast object strikes character
The Effects of Taking Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 218)

When an NPC reaches 0 health, it is either dead or (if the attacker wishes) incapacitated, meaning unconscious or beaten into submission.

As previously mentioned, damage from most sources is applied to a character's Might Pool. Otherwise, stat damage always reduces the Pool of the stat it affects.

If damage reduces a character's stat Pool to 0, any further damage to that stat (including excess damage from the attack that reduced the stat to 0) is applied to another stat Pool. Damage is applied to Pools in this order:

  1. Might (unless the Pool is 0)
  2. Speed (unless the Pool is 0)
  3. Intellect

Even if the damage is applied to another stat Pool, it still counts as its original type for the purpose of Armor and special abilities that affect damage. For example, if a character with 2 Armor is reduced to 0 Might and then is hit by a creature's claw for 3 points of damage, it still counts as Might damage, so their Armor reduces the damage to 1 point, which then is applied to their Speed Pool. In other words, even though they take the damage from their Speed Pool, it doesn't ignore Armor like Speed damage normally would.

In addition to taking damage from their Might Pool, Speed Pool, or Intellect Pool, PCs also have a damage track. The damage track has four states (from best to worst): hale, impaired, debilitated, and dead. When one of a PC's stat Pools reaches 0, they move one step down the damage track. Thus, if they are hale, they become impaired. If they are already impaired, they become debilitated. If they are already debilitated, they become dead.

Some effects can immediately shift a PC one or more steps on the damage track. These include rare poisons, cellular disruption attacks, and massive traumas (such as falls from very great heights, being run over by a speeding vehicle, and so on, as determined by the GM).

Some attacks, like a serpent's poisonous bite or a Speaker's Enthrall, have effects other than damage to a stat Pool or shifting the PC on the damage track. These attacks can cause unconsciousness, paralysis, and so on.

When NPCs (who have only health) suffer Speed or Intellect damage, normally this is treated the same as Might damage. However, the GM or the player has the option to suggest an appropriate alternate effect—the NPC suffers a penalty, moves more slowly, is stunned, and so on.

Editor's Notes — The optional rule for Using Other Pools to Pay Cost Remainders allows PCs to pay for costs as if they were taking damage.

The Damage Track

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 218)

As noted above, the damage track has four states: hale, impaired, debilitated, and dead.

  • Hale is the normal state for a character: all three stat Pools are at 1 or higher, and the PC has no penalties from harmful conditions. When a hale PC takes enough damage to reduce one of their stat Pools to 0, they become impaired. Note that a character whose stat Pools are much lower than normal can still be hale.

  • Impaired is a wounded or injured state. When an impaired character applies Effort, it costs 1 extra point per level applied. For example, applying one level of Effort costs 4 points instead of 3, and applying two levels of Effort costs 7 points instead of 5.

    An impaired character ignores minor and major effect results on their rolls, and they don't deal as much extra damage in combat with a special roll. In combat, a roll of 17 or higher deals only 1 additional point of damage. When an impaired PC takes enough damage to reduce one of their stat Pools to 0, they become debilitated.

  • Debilitated is a critically injured state. A debilitated character may not take any actions other than to move (probably crawl) no more than an immediate distance. If a debilitated character's Speed Pool is 0, they can't move at all. When a debilitated PC takes enough damage to reduce a stat Pool to 0, they are dead.

  • Dead is dead.

The damage track allows you to know how far from death you are. If you're hale, you're three steps from death. If you're impaired, you're two steps from death. If you're debilitated, you are only one small step from death's door.

Optional Rule: Consciousness Requires Intellect Points

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Using this rule, a PC down one or more steps on the damage track requires at least 1 point in their Intellect Pool to remain conscious. Most unconscious PCs can't take any actions other than to make a recovery roll.

The GM might also consider pairing this rule with the Fragility module. Here are two possible options:

  • Debilitated: If a debilitated PC's Intellect Pool is 0, they fall unconscious until they recover at least 1 Intellect point.

  • Impaired: If an impaired PC's Intellect Pool is 0, they must succeed on a Might defense roll equal to the damage sustained, and again each time they take damage. On a failure, the PC falls unconscious until they recover at least 1 Intellect point.

Optional Rule: Damage to Pool Maximums

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This optional rule creates additional risk for PCs taking damage or using powerful special abilities with lots of Effort. Either situation creates lasting injuries that take longer to recover from.

  • Damage: When damage reduces a PC's stat Pool to 0, the remainder is temporarily subtracted from that stat's Pool maximum. The remainder (and any further damage) are also applied to another stat Pool, as described under The Effects of Taking Damage. This effect is in addition to going down one step on the damage track as normal.

  • Using Abilities: When a PC uses a special ability with a Pool point cost they can't pay, the remainder is instead temporarily subtracted from their maximum Pool points for that stat.

  • Recovering Pool Maximums: A PC can recover temporary reductions to their stat Pool maximums by filling the Pool to its temporary maximum. While at the temporary maximum, healing, special abilities, cyphers, and artifacts (but not recovery rolls) restore lost points to a stat Pool's maximum.

  • Pool Maximums Reaching Zero: If any stat's Pool maximum is reduced to 0, the GM decides how best to proceed. For example, a PC might gain a permanent inability, permanently reduce a stat Pool maximum by 3, or die.

Recovering Points in a Pool

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 218)

After losing or spending points in a Pool, you recover those points by resting. You can't increase a Pool past its maximum by resting—just back to its normal level. Any extra points gained go away with no effect. The amount of points you recover from a rest, and how long each rest takes, depends on how many times you have rested so far that day.

When you rest, make a recovery roll. To do this, roll a d6 and add your tier. You recover that many points, and you can divide them among your stat Pools however you wish. For example, if your recovery roll is 4 and you've lost 4 points of Might and 2 points of Speed, you can recover 4 points of Might, or 2 points of Might and 2 points of Speed, or any other combination adding up to 4 points.

The first time you rest each day, it takes only a few seconds to catch your breath. If you rest this way in the middle of an encounter, it takes one action on your turn.

The second time you rest each day, you must rest for ten minutes to make a recovery roll. The third time you rest each day, you must rest for one hour to make a recovery roll. The fourth time you rest each day, you must rest for ten hours to make a recovery roll (usually, this occurs when you stop for the day to eat and sleep).

After that much rest, it's assumed to be a new day, so the next time you rest, it takes only a few seconds. The next rest takes ten minutes, then one hour, and so on, in a cycle.

If you haven't rested yet that day and you take a lot of damage in a fight, you could rest a few seconds (regaining 1d6 points + 1 point per tier) and then immediately rest for ten minutes (regaining another 1d6 points + 1 point per tier). Thus, in one full day of doing nothing but resting, you could recover 4d6 points + 4 points per tier.

Each character chooses when to make recovery rolls. If a party of five PCs rests for ten minutes because two of them want to make recovery rolls, the others don't have to make rolls at that time. Later in the day, those three can decide to rest for ten minutes and make recovery rolls.

Recovery Rolls
Recovery Roll Rest Time Needed
First recovery rollOne action
Second recovery rollTen minutes
Third recovery rollOne hour
Fourth recovery rollTen hours
Optional Rule: Making Recovery Rolls in Any Order

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

PCs can make their one-action, ten-minute, and one-hour recovery rolls in any order they choose.

Additionally, when making a recovery roll, PCs can make unexpended recovery rolls with a shorter duration simultaneously. For example, when making a one-hour recovery roll, a PC can also make their one action recovery roll, ten minute recovery roll, or both.

Restoring the Damage Track

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 219)

Using points from a recovery roll to raise a stat Pool from 0 to 1 or higher also automatically moves the character up one step on the damage track.

If all of a PC's stat Pools are above 0 and the character has taken special damage that moved them down the damage track, they can use a recovery roll to move up one step on the damage track instead of recovering points. For example, a character who is debilitated from a hit with a cell-disrupting biotech device can rest and move up to impaired rather than recover points in a Pool.

Special Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 219)

In the course of playing the game, characters face all manner of threats and dangers that can harm them in a variety of ways, only some of which are easily represented by points of damage.

  • Dazed and Stunned: Characters can be dazed when struck hard on the head, exposed to extremely loud sounds, or affected by a mental attack. When this happens, for the duration of the daze effect (usually one round), all of the character's tasks are hindered. Similar but more severe attacks can stun characters. Stunned characters lose their turn (but can still defend against attacks normally).

  • Poison and Disease: When characters encounter poison—whether the venom of a serpent, rat poison slipped into a burrito, cyanide dissolved in wine, or an overdose of acetaminophen—they make a Might defense roll to resist it. Failure to resist can result in points of damage, moving down the damage track, or a specific effect such as paralysis, unconsciousness, disability, or something stranger. For example, some poisons affect the brain, making it impossible to say certain words, take certain actions, resist certain effects, or recover points to a stat Pool.

    Diseases work like poisons, but their effect occurs every day, so the victim must make a Might defense roll each day or suffer the effects. Disease effects are as varied as poisons: points of damage, moving down the damage track, disability, and so on. Many diseases inflict damage that cannot be restored through conventional means.

  • Paralysis: Paralytic effects cause a character to drop to the ground, unable to move. Unless otherwise specified, the character can still take actions that require no physical movement.

  • Other Effects: Other special effects can render a character blind or deaf, unable to stand without falling over, or unable to breathe. Stranger effects might negate gravity for the character (or increase it a hundredfold), transport them to another place, render them out of phase, mutate their physical form, implant false memories or senses, alter the way their brain processes information, or inflame their nerves so they are in constant, excruciating pain. Each special effect must be handled on a case-by-case basis. The GM adjudicates how the character is affected and how the condition can be alleviated (if possible).

NPCs and Special Damage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 219)

The GM always has final say over what special damage will affect an NPC. Human NPCs usually react like characters, but nonhuman creatures might react very differently. For example, a tiny bit of venom is unlikely to hurt a gigantic dragon, and it won't affect an android or a demon at all.

If an NPC is susceptible to an attack that would shift a character down the damage track, using that attack on the NPC usually renders it unconscious or dead. Alternatively, the GM could apply the debilitated condition to the NPC, with the same effect as it would have on a PC.

Editor's Notes — For more on special damage, see Creatures with Special Damage, Modifying Creatures, Common Trap Poisons, Radiation Sickness, and Creating Challenging Encounters. Additionally, We Are All Mad Here contains a useful section on Mental Health in Games (WAAMH, 159).

Optional Rule: Conditions and Injuries

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

PCs might gain a condition or injury as a result of a creature, trap, or other effect that inflicted special damage, or a triggered GM intrusion when a player rolls a 1 on a risky task.

The GM chooses one or more conditions and determines the details of their effects, assigning which stats or tasks are affected, the number of steps, appropriate lengths of time, and the difficulty of any tasks related to the condition. The GM might allow a PC to temporarily ignore a condition by succeeding on task assigned by the GM, spending 1 XP as a player intrusion, or through special abilities like Ignore the Pain.

Conditions
d10 Condition Effects Examples
1 Atrophiedongoing damage inflicted to Might, Speed, or Intellect Pools damage occurs repeatedly—once each turn, once every minute, once every ten minutes, once each hour, or once each day
2 Disabled specific skill tasks hindered by one or more steps sprained ankle, light concussion, macular degeneration, hearing loss—blindness, deafness
3 Disrupted specific type or focus abilities are hindered by one or more steps interventionist healing might be able to remove this condition immediately—the condition might be physical or spiritual in nature
4 Hindered Might, Speed, or Intellect tasks hindered by one or more steps one stat for disease, poison, or venom—two stats for severe burns or frostbite, tissue damage due, irradiation—three stats for toxic exposure
5 Imperiled GM intrusion rate increased by 1 or more—perhaps for only Might, Speed, or Intellect tasks allergies, seizures, curses—the PC's consciousness might leave their body, experience visions, or perform only certain tasks—another entity might gain control of the PC
6 Reduced Effort score reduced by 1 or more addiction, depression, iron deficiency—rapid aging (or de-aging), desiccation, loss of mojo, ethereality, shrinking
7 Restricted movement speed, one or more movement or physical attack tasks hindered by one or more steps—the PC might need to succeed on a Might, Speed, or Intellect task in order to perform certain actions broken bone, torn ligament, nerve damage—paralysis, petrification, slow, concussion, electrocution
8 Vulnerable Might, Speed, or Intellect defense tasks hindered by one or more steps drugs, sensory overload, stun—charms, hallucinations, psychic drain
9 Weakened Might, Speed, or Intellect Edge reduced by 1 or more (can cause weakness) potent toxins, tuberculosis, radiation sickness—exposure to vacuum, wandering sickness
10 Withered Might, Speed, or Intellect Pool maximums reduced by one or more points dehydration, malnutrition—magical drain
Ending Conditions

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Some conditions end on their own. An easy way to handle this is to allow a PC to use a recovery roll to end a condition that isn't too serious instead of regaining Pool points. More serious conditions might last an hour, a day, a week, a year—maybe even indefinitely. The most serious conditions are degenerative—gradually worsening over time. The GM determines any prerequisites for removing conditions—for example, a successful healing task to set a broken bons. Here are a few other options:

  • Natural: The condition ends on its own after a number of recovery rolls or days. For example, a sprained ankle might hinder a PC's movement tasks by two steps until they complete a one-hour recovery roll, and still hinder such tasks for one step until they complete a ten-hour recovery roll and succeed on a difficulty 3 Might defense task.

  • Interventionist: The condition requires a successful healing task by the PC or an ally. For example, a PC might be able to pop their own dislocated shoulder back in with a successful difficulty 5 Might task. Removing a piece of shrapnel embedded in the heart might require someone else perform a difficulty 10 healing task—likely requiring skill, assets like capable assistance and sterile facilities and surgical equipment, and uninterrupted time and Effort.

  • Supernatural: The condition requires a healing task that is impossible without the aid of specific assets—a Catholicon cypher, a high-tech device, otherworldly artifact, ritual magic, or Divine Intervention.

  • Lengthy: If the condition reduced multiple values from Pool points, Effort score, or hindered tasks by more than one step, the recovery might be incremental, eventually returning the PC normal function. The PC might pursue the Recover from a Wound (or Trauma) or Develop Coping Strategies character arcs.

Injury and Disability

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

PCs or NPCs might have congenital conditions, or gain a condition over the course of their lives—the ravages of age, if nothing else. As is outlined in the drawbacks and penalties section of Chapter 4: Creating Your Character, consider pairing inabilities—or disabilities—with strengths in new and different skills. For example, a congenitally blind PC might have a well-developed sense of hearing they use to navigate the world—developing a special ability like Echolocation. Other conditions can be mitigated with specific equipment or artifacts—glasses, hearing aids, prosthetics, and wheelchairs are just a few modern examples.

Many conditions don't affect a person all the time or even every day, making them ill-suited to applying the effects above. Chronic conditions—especially those with acute effects, including angina, anxiety, asthma, diabetes, lupus—are probably best realized through the occasional GM intrusion instead.

Some players will retire a PC who experiences a serious injury. If the GM wishes to include injuries in the game, they should gain consent from players before narrating any gory details.

Attack Modifiers and Special Situations

Editor's Notes — Special situations are just that—special. Using rules "because they are the rules" is not a good idea. Shooting a lumbering ogre at point-blank range is an entirely different matter from shooting a psionic ninja or skittering demon spider. Creatures will require unwritten modifications in order to behave believably. For more, see False Precision and Using the Rules: Making Meaning.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

In combat situations, many modifiers might come into play. Although the GM is at liberty to assess whatever modifiers they think are appropriate to the situation (that's their role in the game), the following suggestions and guidelines might make that easier. Often the modifier is applied as a step in difficulty. So if a situation hinders attacks, that means if a PC attacks an NPC, the difficulty of the attack roll is increased by one step, and if an NPC attacks a PC, the difficulty of the defense roll is decreased by one step. This is because players make all rolls, whether they are attacking or defending—NPCs never make attack or defense rolls.

When in doubt, if it seems like it should be harder to attack in a situation, hinder the attack rolls. If it seems like attacks should gain an advantage or be easier in some way, hinder the defense rolls.

Cover

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

If a character is behind cover so that a significant portion of their body is behind something sturdy, attacks against the character are hindered.

If a character is entirely behind cover (their entire body is behind something sturdy), they can't be attacked unless the attack can go through the cover. For example, if a character hides behind a thin wooden screen and their opponent shoots the screen with a rifle that can penetrate the wood, the character can be attacked. However, because the attacker can't see the character clearly, this still counts as cover (attacks against the character are hindered).

Position

Sometimes where a character stands gives them an advantage or a disadvantage.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

  • Prone Target: In melee, a prone target is easier to hit (attacks against them are eased). In ranged combat, a prone target is harder to hit (attacks against them are hindered).

  • Higher Ground: In either ranged or melee combat, attacks by an opponent on higher ground are eased.

Surprise

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

When a target isn't aware of an incoming attack, the attacker has an advantage. A ranged sniper in a hidden position, an invisible assailant, or the first salvo in a successful ambush are all eased by two steps. For the attacker to gain this advantage, however, the defender truly must have no idea that the attack is coming.

If the defender isn't sure of the attacker's location but is still on guard, the attacks are eased by only one step.

Range

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

In melee, you can attack a foe who is adjacent to you (next to you) or within reach (immediate range). If you enter into melee with one or more foes, usually you can attack most or all of the combatants, meaning they are next to you, within reach, or within reach if you move slightly or have a long weapon that extends your reach.

The majority of ranged attacks have only two ranges: short range and long range (a few have very long range). Short range is generally less than 50 feet (15 m) or so. Long range is generally from 50 feet (15 m) to about 100 feet (30 m). Very long range is generally 100 feet (30 m) to 500 feet (150 m). Greater precision than that isn't important in the Cypher System. If anything is longer than very long range, the exact range is usually spelled out, such as with an item that can fire a beam 1,000 feet (300 m) or teleport you up to 1 mile (1.5 km) away.

Thus, the game has four measurements of distance: immediate, short, long, and very long. These apply to movement as well. A few special cases—point-blank range and extreme range— modify an attack's chance to successfully hit.

  • Point-Blank Range: If a character uses a ranged weapon against a target within immediate range, the attack is eased.

  • Extreme Range: Targets just at the limit of a weapon's range are at extreme range. Attacks against such targets are hindered.

Precise ranges are not important in the Cypher System. The broadly defined "immediate," "short," "long," and "very long" ranges let the GM quickly make a judgment call and keep things moving. Basically, the idea is: your target is right there, your target is close, your target is pretty far away, or your target is extremely far away.

The GM might allow a character with a ranged weapon to attack beyond extreme range, but the attack would be hindered by two steps for each range category beyond the normal limit. Attacks with hard limits, such as the blast radius of a bomb, can't be modified.

In certain situations, such as a PC on top of a building looking across an open field, the GM should allow ranged attacks to exceed their maximum range. For example, in perfect conditions, a good archer can hit a large target with a bow and arrow at 500 feet (150 m), much farther than a bow's typical long range.

Optional Rule: Acting While Under Attack

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Acting While Under Attack (426) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

In melee combat, if a PC or NPC takes an action other than to move or attack, each foe within reach can make an immediate attack against them. This is also a good rule to employ if you enjoy the feel of "opportunity attacks" from other games.

Illumination

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 220)

What characters can see (and how well they can see) plays a huge factor in combat.

  • Dim Light: Dim light is approximately the amount of light on a night with a bright full moon or the illumination provided by a torch, flashlight, or desk lamp. Dim light allows you to see out to short range. Targets in dim light are harder to hit. Attacks against such targets are hindered. Attackers trained in low-light spotting negate this modifier.

  • Very Dim Light: Very dim light is approximately the amount of light on a starry night with no visible moon, or the glow provided by a candle or an illuminated control panel. Very dim light allows you to see clearly only within immediate range and perceive vague shapes to short range. Targets in very dim light are harder to hit. Attacks against targets within immediate range are hindered, and attacks against those in short range are hindered by two steps. Attackers trained in low-light spotting modify these difficulties by one step in their favor. Attackers specialized in low-light spotting modify these difficulties by two steps in their favor.

  • Darkness: Darkness is an area with no illumination at all, such as a moonless night with cloud cover or a room with no lights. Targets in complete darkness are nearly impossible to hit. If an attacker can use other senses (such as hearing) to get an idea of where the opponent might be, attacks against such targets are hindered by four steps. Otherwise, attacks in complete darkness fail without the need for a roll unless the player spends 1 XP to "make a lucky shot" or the GM uses GM intrusion. Attackers trained in low-light spotting ease the task. Attackers specialized in low-light spotting ease the task by two steps.

Visibility

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 221)

Similar to illumination, factors that obscure vision affect combat.

  • Mist: A target in mist is similar to one in dim light. Ranged attacks against such targets are hindered. Particularly dense mist makes ranged attacks nearly impossible (treat as darkness), and even melee attacks are hindered.

  • Hiding Target: A target in dense foliage, behind a screen, or crawling amid the rubble in a ruin is hard to hit because they're hard to see. Ranged attacks against such targets are hindered.

  • Invisible Target: If an attacker can use other senses (such as hearing) to get an idea of where the opponent might be, attacks against such targets are hindered by four steps. Otherwise, attacks against an invisible creature fail without the need for a roll unless the player spends 1 XP to "make a lucky shot" or the GM uses GM intrusion.

Water

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 221)

Being in shallow water can make it hard to move, but it doesn't affect combat. Being in deep water can make things difficult, and being underwater entirely can seem as different as being on another world.

  • Deep Water: Being in water up to your chest (or the equivalent thereof) hinders your attacks. Aquatic creatures ignore this modifier.

  • Underwater Melee Combat: For nonaquatic creatures, being completely underwater makes attacking very difficult. Attacks with stabbing weapons are hindered, and melee attacks with slashing or bashing weapons are hindered by two steps. Aquatic creatures ignore these penalties.

  • Underwater Ranged Combat: As with melee combat, nonaquatic creatures have problems fighting underwater. Some ranged attacks are impossible underwater—you can't throw things, fire a bow or crossbow, or use a blowgun. Many firearms also do not work underwater. Attacks with weapons that do work underwater are hindered. Ranges underwater are reduced by one category; very-long-range weapons work only to long range, long-range weapons work only to short range, and short-range weapons work only to immediate range.

Optional Rule: Drowning and Suffocation

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Struggling for Air: Struggling for air (for example, drowning, but near the surface) is a difficulty 4 Might check.

  • Running out of Air: After a number rounds with no air equal to 3 plus the PC's tier plus the PC's Might Edge, the PC must suceeed on a Might task with a difficulty equal to 4 plus 1 for every 30 feet (10 m) of depth from the surface, or descend one step on the damage track.

Moving Targets

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 222)

Moving targets are harder to hit, and moving attackers have a difficult time as well.

  • Target Is Moving: Attackers trying to hit a foe who is moving very fast are hindered. (A foe moving very fast is one who is doing nothing but running, mounted on a moving creature, riding on a vehicle or moving conveyance, and so on.)

  • Attacker Is Moving: An attacker trying to make an attack while moving under their own power (walking, running, swimming, and so on) takes no penalties. Attacks from a moving mount or moving vehicle are hindered; an attacker trained in riding or driving ignores this penalty.

  • Attacker Is Jostled: Being jostled, such as while standing on a listing ship or a vibrating platform, makes attacking difficult. Such attacks are hindered. Characters trained in balancing or sailing would ignore penalties for being on a ship.

Editor's Notes — The section on Gravity (222) is not included in the CSRD. Instead, see Effects of Gravity in Chapter 15: Science Fiction.

Special Situation: Combat Between NPCs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 222)

When an NPC ally of the PCs attacks another NPC, the GM can designate a player to roll and handle it like a PC attacking. Often, the choice is obvious. For example, a character who has a trained attack animal should roll when their pet attacks enemies. If an NPC ally accompanying the party leaps into the fray, that ally's favorite PC rolls for them. NPCs cannot apply Effort. Of course, it's perfectly fitting (and easier) to have the NPC ally use the cooperative action rules to aid a PC instead of making direct attacks, or to compare the levels of the two NPCs (higher wins).

Editor's Notes — Don't get hung up on the numbers here—the most important thing when adjudicating interactions between NPCs is that they seem logical and consistent with the setting and the story, so be holistic when deciding what happens. The optional rules for Effort for NPCs can also affect outcomes between NPCs in combat.

Special Situation: Combat Between PCs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 222)

When one PC attacks another PC, the attacking character makes an attack roll, and the other character makes a defense roll, adding any appropriate modifiers. If the attacking PC has a skill, ability, asset, or other effect that would ease the attack if it were made against an NPC, the character adds 3 to the roll for each step reduction (+3 for one step, +6 for two steps, and so on). If the attacker's final result is higher, the attack hits. If the defender's result is higher, the attack misses. Damage is resolved normally. The GM mediates all special effects.

Editor's Notes — Players can have very different reactions to "PVP" in a session. Make sure that opposed rolls between PCs are creating a good time and a good story for everyone involved.

Special Situation: Area Attacks

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 222)

Sometimes, an attack or effect affects an area rather than a single target. For example, a grenade or a landslide can potentially harm or affect everyone in the area.

In an area attack, all PCs in the area make appropriate defense rolls against the attack to determine its effect on them. If there are any NPCs in the area, the attacker makes a single attack roll against all of them (one roll, not one roll per NPC) and compares it to the target number of each NPC. If the roll is equal to or greater than the target number of a particular NPC, the attack hits that NPC.

Some area attacks always deal at least a minimum amount of damage, even if the attacks miss or if a PC makes a successful defense roll.

For example, consider a character who uses Shatter to attack six cultists (level 2; target number 6) and their leader (level 4; target number 12). The PC applies Effort to increase the damage and rolls an 11 for the attack roll. This hits the six cultists, but not the leader, so the ability deals 3 points of damage to each of the cultists. The description of Shatter says that applying Effort to increase the damage also means that targets take 1 point of damage if the PC fails the attack roll, so the leader takes 1 point of damage. In terms of what happens in the story, the cultists are caught flat-footed by the sudden detonation of one of their knives, but the leader ducks and is shielded from the blast. Despite the leader's quick moves, the blast is so intense that a few bits of metal slice them.

Area Attacks, Effort, and Damage

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

How does the use of Effort to increase the damage of an area attack work, exactly? The provided example doesn't make this entirely clear, because only one level of Effort is used. The Shatter ability's description states that "If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort (instead of 3 points); targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if you fail the attack roll." It seems clear that if the PC had used two levels of Effort to increase damage, the cultists who were hit would take 5 damage (1 plus 2 for each level of Effort used), but what about the cult leader who wasn't hit? The GM should consider these two possible interpretations, and settle on the one that works best for the game's genre and setting:

  • Effort Increases Minimum Damage: The minimum damage inflicted by an area attack is increased for each level of Effort used to increase the damage. Using this interpretation, if the PC in the example had used two levels of Effort, the cult leader takes 2 points of damage (a minimum of 1 for each level of Effort used).

  • Minimum Damage is Static: The minimum damage listed is always the same. Using this interpretation, the cult leader missed by the attack would take only 1 point of damage, regardless of how much Effort was used to increase the damage of the attack.

Additionally, the GM should consider the rules for attack modifiers and special situations and combat between PCs—specifics might determine that one use of an ability doesn't result in "friendly fire", but another does. This could also be a source of GM Intrusion.

Special Situation: Attacking Objects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 223)

Attacking an object is rarely a matter of hitting it. Sure, you can hit the broad side of a barn, but can you damage it? Attacking inanimate objects with a melee weapon is a Might action. Objects have levels and thus target numbers. Objects have a damage track that works like the damage track for PCs.

  • Intact is the default state for an object.

  • Minor damage is a slightly damaged state. An object with minor damage reduces its level by 1.

  • Major damage is a critically damaged state. An object with major damage is broken and no longer functions.

  • Destroyed is destroyed. The object is ruined, no longer functions, and cannot be repaired.

If the Might action to damage an object is a success, the object moves one step down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeded the difficulty by 2 levels, the object instead moves two steps down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeded the difficulty by 4 levels, the object instead moves three steps down the object damage track. Objects with minor or major damage can be repaired, moving them one or more steps up the object damage track.

Brittle or fragile objects, like paper or glass, decrease the effective level of the object for the purposes of determining if it is damaged. Hard objects, like those made of wood or stone, add 1 to the effective level. Very hard objects, like those made of metal, add 2. (The GM may rule that some exotic materials add 3.)

The tool or weapon used to attack the object must be at least as hard as the object itself. Further, if the amount of damage the attack could inflict—not modified by a special die roll—does not equal or exceed the effective level of the object, the attack cannot damage the object no matter what the roll.

Editor's Notes — Additional guidelines for damaging structures are detailed in walls, doors, and feats of strength. The GM also resolves any other interesting, logical, or story-based interactions based on on an object's nature, for example, ambient damage from a fire damaging a flammable object.

Optional Rule: Object Level, Health, and Armor

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In precursors to the Cypher System—Numenera (2014) and The Strange—damaging objects is handled differently.

Using this optional rule, Damaging an object is a Might action with a difficulty equal to the object's level, similar to how creature have levels and target numbers. Objects have health equal to their target number, and—depending on their construction—up to to 3 Armor. An object is destroyed if reduced to 0 health.

It can be easier to resolve the Fling, Force Field (as printed in the Cypher System Rulebook), and Force Field Barrier using this framework instead. However, other abilities like Breaker, Destroyer, and Field of Destruction abilities assume the use of the object damage track.

Action: Activate a Special Ability

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 223)

Special abilities are granted by foci, types, and flavors, or provided by cyphers or other devices. If a special ability affects another character in any kind of unwanted manner, it's handled as an attack. This is true even if the ability is normally not considered an attack. For example, if a character has a Healing Touch, and their friend doesn't want to be healed for some reason, an attempt to heal their unwilling friend is handled as an attack.

Plenty of special abilities do not affect another character in an unwanted manner. For example, a PC might use Hover on themselves to float into the air. A character with a matter-reorganizing device might change a stone wall into glass. A character who activates a phase changer cypher might walk through a wall. None of these requires an attack roll (although when turning a stone wall to glass, the character must still make a roll to successfully affect the wall).

If the character spends points to apply Effort on the attempt, they might want to roll anyway to see if they get a major effect, which would reduce the cost for their action.

Editor's Notes — For more on special abilities, see Chapter 9: Abilities.

Action: Move

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 223)

As a part of another action, a character can adjust their position—stepping back a few feet while using an ability, sliding over in combat to take on a different opponent to help a friend, pushing through a door they just opened, and so on. This is considered an immediate distance, and a character can move this far as part of another action.

In a combat situation, if a character is in a large melee, they're usually considered to be next to most other combatants, unless the GM rules that they're farther away because the melee is especially large or the situation dictates it.

If they're not in melee but still nearby, they are considered to be a short distance away—usually less than 50 feet (15 m). If they're farther away than that but still involved in the combat, they are considered to be a long distance away, usually 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m), or possibly even a very long distance away, usually more than 100 feet to 500 feet (30 to 150 m).

In a round, as an action, a character can make a short move. In this case, they are doing nothing but moving up to about 50 feet (15 m). Some terrain or situations will change the distance a character can move, but generally, making a short move is considered to be a difficulty 0 action. No roll is needed; they just get where they're going as their action.

A character can try to make a long move—up to 100 feet (30 m) or so—in one round. This is a Speed task with a difficulty of 4. As with any action, they can use skills, assets, or Effort to ease the task. Terrain, obstacles, or other circumstances can hinder the task. A successful roll means the character moved the distance safely. Failure means that at some point during the move, they stop or stumble (the GM determines where this happens).

A character can also try to make a short move and take another (relatively simple) physical action, like make an attack. As with the attempt to make a long move, this is a Speed task with a difficulty of 4, and failure means that the character stops at some point, slipping or stumbling or otherwise getting held up.

Long-Term Movement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 224)

When talking about movement in terms of traveling rather than round-by-round action, typical characters can travel on a road about 20 miles (32 km) per day, averaging about 3 miles (5 km) per hour, including a few stops. When traveling overland, they can move about 12 miles (19 km) per day, averaging 2 miles (3 km) per hour, again with some stops. Mounted characters, such as those on horseback, can go twice as far. Other modes of travel (cars, airplanes, hovercraft, sailing ships, and so on) have their own rates of movement.

Editor's Notes — Most vehicles list their speeds under various environmental conditions. For spacecraft travel, see Traveling the Solar System and Orbital Mechanics.

Movement Modifiers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 224)

Different environments affect movement in different ways.

  • Rough Terrain: A surface that's considered rough terrain is covered in loose stones or other material, uneven or with unsure footing, unsteady, or a surface that requires movement across a narrow space, such as a cramped corridor or a slender ledge. Stairs are also considered rough terrain. Rough terrain does not slow normal movement on a round-by-round basis, but hinders move rolls. Rough terrain cuts long-term movement rates in half.

  • Difficult Terrain: Difficult terrain is an area filled with challenging obstacles—water up to waist height, a very steep slope, an especially narrow ledge, slippery ice, a foot or more of snow, a space so small that one must crawl through it, and so on. Difficult terrain hinders move rolls and halves movement on a round-by-round basis. This means that a short move is about 25 feet (8 m), and a long move is about 50 feet (15 m). Difficult terrain reduces long-term movement to a third of its normal rate.

  • Water: Deep water, in which a character is mostly or entirely submerged, hinders move rolls and reduces round-by-round and long-term movement to one quarter its normal rate. This means that a short move is about 12 feet(4 m), and a long move is about 25 feet (7.5 m). Characters trained in swimming halve their movement only while in deep water.

  • Low Gravity: Movement in low gravity is easier but not much faster. All move rolls are eased.

  • High Gravity: In an environment of high gravity, treat all moving characters as if they were in difficult terrain. Characters trained in high-gravity maneuvering negate this penalty. High gravity reduces long-term movement to a third of its normal rate.

  • Zero Gravity: In an environment without gravity, characters cannot move normally. Instead, they must push off from a surface and succeed at a Might roll to move (the difficulty is equal to one-quarter the distance traveled in feet). Without a surface to push off from, a character cannot move. Unless the character's movement takes them to a stable object that they can grab or land against, they continue to drift in that direction each round, traveling half the distance of the initial push.

Editor's Notes — For more on gravity, see Effects of Gravity.

Special Situation: A Chase

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 224)

When a PC is chasing an NPC or vice versa, the player should attempt a Speed action, with the difficulty based on the NPC's level. If the PC succeeds at the roll, they catch the NPC (if chasing), or they get away (if chased). In terms of the story, this one-roll mechanic can be the result of a long chase over many rounds.

Alternatively, if the GM wants to play out a long chase, the character can make many rolls (perhaps one per level of the NPC) to finish the pursuit successfully. For every failure, the PC must make another success, and if they ever have more failures than successes, the PC fails to catch the NPC (if chasing) or is caught (if chased). As with combat, the GM is encouraged to describe the results of these rolls with flavor. A success might mean the PC has rounded a corner and gained some distance. A failure might mean that a basket of fruit topples over in front of them, slowing them down. Vehicle chases are handled similarly.

Editor's Notes — The Perilous Venture module is a useful tool for spicing up a chase or escape.

Action: Wait

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 225)

You can wait to react to another character's action.

You decide what action will trigger your action, and if the triggering action happens, you get to take your action first (unless going first wouldn't make sense, like attacking a foe before they come into view). For example, if an orc threatens you with a halberd, on your turn you can decide to wait, stating "If it stabs at me, I'm going to slash it with my sword." On the orc's turn, it stabs, so you make your sword attack before that happens.

Waiting is also a good way to deal with a ranged attacker who rises from behind cover, fires an attack, and ducks back down. You could say "I wait to see them pop up from behind cover and then I shoot them."

Waiting is also a useful tool for cooperative actions.

Action: Defend

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 225)

Defending is a special action that only PCs can do, and only in response to being attacked. In other words, an NPC uses its action to attack, which forces a PC to make a defense roll. This is handled like any other kind of action, with circumstances, skill, assets, and Effort all potentially coming into play. Defending is a special kind of action in that it does not happen on the PC's turn. It's never an action that a player decides to take; it's always a reaction to an attack. A PC can take a defense action when attacked (on the attacking NPC's turn) and still take another action on their own turn.

The type of defense roll depends on the type of attack. If a foe attacks a character with an axe, they can use Speed to duck or block it with what they're holding. If they're struck by a poisoned dart, they can use a Might action to resist its effects. If a psi-worm attempts to control their mind, they can use Intellect to fend off the intrusion.

Sometimes an attack provokes two defense actions. For example, a poisonous reptile tries to bite a PC. They try to dodge the bite with a Speed action. If they fail, they take damage from the bite, and they must also attempt a Might action to resist the poison's effects.

If a character does not know an attack is coming, usually they can still make a defense roll, but they can't add modifiers (including the modifier from a shield), and they can't use any skill or Effort to ease the task. If circumstances warrant—such as if the attacker is right next to the character—the GM might rule that the surprise attack simply hits.

A character can always choose to forgo a defense action, in which case the attack automatically hits.

Some abilities (such as the Countermeasures special ability) may allow you to do something special as a defense action.

Defense Tasks

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 23)

Defense tasks are when a player makes a roll to keep something undesirable from happening to their PC. The type of defense task matters when using Effort.

  • Might defense: Used for resisting poison, disease, and anything else that can be overcome with strength and health.

  • Speed defense: Used for dodging attacks and escaping danger. This is by far the most commonly used defense task.

  • Intellect defense: Used for fending off mental attacks or anything that might affect or influence one's mind.

Action: Do Something Else

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 226)

Players can try anything they can think of, although that doesn't mean anything is possible. The GM sets the difficulty—that's their primary role in the game. Still, guided by the bounds of logic, players and GMs will find all manner of actions and options that aren't covered by a rule. That's a good thing.

Players should not feel constrained by the game mechanics when taking actions. Skills are not required to attempt an action. Someone who's never picked a lock can still try. The GM might hinder the task, but the character can still attempt the action.

Thus, players and GMs can return to the beginning of this chapter and look at the most basic expression of the rules. A player wants to take an action. The GM decides, on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult that task is and what stat it uses. The player determines whether they have anything that might modify the difficulty and considers whether to apply Effort. Once the final determination is made, they roll to see if their character succeeds. It's as easy as that.

As further guidance, the following are some of the more common actions a player might take.

Players are encouraged to come up with their own ideas for what their characters do rather than looking at a list of possible actions. That's why there is a "do something else" action. PCs are not pieces on a game board—they are people in a story. And like real people, they can try anything they can think of. (Succeeding is another matter entirely.) The task difficulty system provides GMs with the tools they need to adjudicate anything the players come up with.

Climbing

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 226)

When a character climbs, the GM sets a difficulty based on the surface being climbed. Climbing is like moving through difficult terrain: the move roll is hindered and the movement is half speed. Unusual circumstances, such as climbing while under fire, pose additional step penalties.

Climbing Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 226)

Climbing Difficulty
Difficulty Surface
2Surface with lots of handholds
3Stone wall or similar surface (a few handholds)
4Crumbling or slippery surface
5Smooth stone wall or similar surface
6Metal wall or similar surface
8Smooth, horizontal surface (climber is upside down)
10Glass wall or similar surface
Cooperative Actions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 226)

There are many ways multiple characters can work together. None of these options, however, can be used at the same time by the same characters.

  • Helping: If you use your action to help someone with a task, you ease the task. If you have an inability in a task, your help has no effect. If you use your action to help someone with a task that you are trained or specialized in, the task is eased by two steps. Help is considered an asset, and someone receiving help usually can't gain more than two assets on a single task if that help is provided by another character.

    For example, if Scott is trying to climb a steep incline and Sarah (who is trained in climbing) spends her turn helping him, Scott's task is eased by two steps.

    Sometimes you can help by performing a task that complements what another person is attempting. If your complementary action succeeds, you ease the other person's task. For example, if Scott tries to persuade a ship captain to let him on board, Sarah could try to supplement Scott's words with a flattering lie about the captain (a deception action), a display of knowledge about the region where the ship is headed (a geography action), or a direct threat to the captain (an intimidation action). If Sarah's roll is a success, Scott's persuasion task is eased.

  • Distraction: When a character uses their turn to distract a foe, that foe's attacks are hindered for one round. Multiple characters distracting a foe have no greater effect than a single character doing so—a foe is either distracted or not. A distraction might be yelling a challenge, firing a warning shot, or a similar activity that doesn't harm the foe.

  • Draw the Attack: When an NPC attacks a character, another PC can prominently present themselves, shout taunts, and move to try to get the foe to attack them instead. In most cases, this action succeeds without a roll—the opponent attacks the prominent PC instead of their companions. In other cases, such as with intelligent or determined foes, the prominent character must succeed at an Intellect action to draw the attack. If that Intellect action is successful, the foe attacks the prominent character, whose defenses are hindered by two steps. Two characters attempting to draw an attack at the same time cancel each other out.

  • Take the Attack: A character can use their action to throw themselves in front of a foe's successful attack to save a nearby comrade. The attack automatically succeeds against the sacrificial character, and it deals 1 additional point of damage. A character cannot willingly take more than one attack each round in this way.

Optional Rule: Additional Cooperative Actions

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section has been added by the editor, based on Cooperative Actions (211) in the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook.

These cooperative actions might not be good blanket rules for every circumtance, but they are still useful to think about how players might coordinate their actions, and how the GM might want to modify the game based on circumstance:

  • Cover Fire: A character can aim near ranged attack near a foe, but narrowly miss on purpose. On a success, the attack inflicts no damage, and the foe's next attack is hindered.

  • Double Strike: If one character makes a melee attack, and another character makes a ranged and both attacks hit the same foe, its next task is hindered.

  • Triple Team: If at least three characters attack the same foe, adds +1 to the result of their attack roll.

Crafting, Building, and Repairing
Quick Reference: Crafting

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 227)

Crafting is a tricky topic in the Cypher System because the same rules that govern building a spear also cover repairing a machine that can take you into hyperspace. Normally, the level of the item determines the difficulty of creating or repairing it as well as the time required. For cyphers, artifacts, other items that require specialized knowledge, or items unique to a world or species other than your own (such as a Martian tripod walker), add 5 to the item's level to determine the difficulty of building or repairing it.

Sometimes, if the item is artistic in nature, the GM will add to the difficulty and time required. For example, a crude wooden stool might be hammered together in an hour. A beautiful finished piece might take a week or longer and would require more skill on the part of the crafter.

The GM is free to overrule some attempts at creation, building, or repair, requiring that the character have a certain level of skill, proper tools and materials, and so forth.

A level 0 object requires no skill to make and is easily found in most locations. Sling stones and firewood are level 0 items—producing them is routine. Making a torch from spare wood and oil-soaked cloth is simple, so it's a level 1 object. Making an arrow or a spear is fairly standard but not simple, so it's a level 2 object.

Generally speaking, a device to be crafted requires materials equal to its level and all the levels below it. So a level 5 device requires level 5 material, level 4 material, level 3 material, level 2 material, and level 1 material (and, technically, level 0 material).

The GM and players can gloss over much of the crafting details, if desired. Gathering all the materials to make a mundane item might not be worth playing out—but then again, it might be. For example, making a wooden spear in a forest isn't very interesting, but what if the characters have to make a spear in a treeless desert? Finding the wreckage of something made of wood or forcing a PC to fashion a spear out of the bones of a large beast could be interesting situations.

The time required to create an item is up to the GM, but the guidelines in the crafting table are a good starting point. Generally, repairing an item takes somewhere between half the creation time and the full creation time, depending on the item, the aspect that needs repairing, and the circumstances. For example, if creating an item takes one hour, repairing it takes thirty minutes to one hour.

Sometimes a GM will allow a rush job if the circumstances warrant it. This is different than using skill to reduce the time required. In this case, the quality of the item is affected. Let's say that a character needs to create a tool that will cut through solid steel with a laser (a level 7 item), but they have to do it in one day. The GM might allow it, but the device might be extremely volatile, inflicting damage on the user, or it might work only once. The device is still considered a level 7 item to create in all other respects. Sometimes the GM will rule that reducing the time is not possible. For example, a single human can't make a chainmail vest in one hour without some kind of machine to help.

Possible crafting skills include:

  • Armoring
  • Bowyering/fletching
  • Chemistry
  • Computer science
  • Electronics
  • Engines
  • Genetic engineering
  • Glassblowing
  • Gunsmithing
  • Leatherworking
  • Metalworking
  • Neural engineering
  • Weaponsmithing
  • Woodcrafting

Characters might try to make a cypher, an artifact, or an alien psionic starship do something other than its intended function. Sometimes, the GM will simply declare the task impossible. You can't turn a vial of healing elixir into a two-way communicator. But most of the time, there is a chance of success.

That said, tinkering with weird stuff is not easy. Obviously, the difficulty varies from situation to situation, but difficulties starting at 7 are not unreasonable. The time, tools, and training required would be similar to the time, tools, and training needed to repair a device. If the tinkering results in a long-term benefit for the character—such as creating an artifact that they can use—the GM should require them to spend XP to make it.

Obviously, what is considered "weird stuff " will vary from setting to setting, and sometimes the concept might not apply at all. But many times, there will be something in the setting that is too strange, too alien, too powerful, or too dangerous for PCs to mess around with (or at least mess around with easily). Einstein may have been extraordinary, but that doesn't mean he could reverse-engineer a teleporter made in another dimension.

Crafting Difficulty and Time

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 228)

Crafting Difficulty and Time
Difficulty Craft General Time to Build
0Something extremely simple like tying a rope or finding an appropriately sized rockA few minutes at most
1TorchFive minutes
2Spear, simple shelter, piece of furnitureOne hour
3Bow, door, basic article of clothingOne day
4Sword, chainmail vestOne to two days
5Common technological item (electric light), nice piece of jewelry or art objectOne week
6Technological item (watch, transmitter), really nice piece of jewelry or art object, elegant craftworkOne month
7Technological item (computer), major work of artOne year
8Technological item (something from beyond Earth)Many years
9Technological item (something from beyond Earth)Many years
10Technological item (something from beyond Earth)Many years

The GM is free to overrule some attempts at creation, building, or repair, requiring that the character have a certain level of skill, proper tools and materials, and so forth.

Circumstances really matter. For example, sewing a dress by hand might take five times as long (or more) as using a sewing machine.

Guarding

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 228)

In a combat situation, a character can stand guard as their action. They do not make attacks, but all their defense tasks are eased. Further, if an NPC tries to get by them or take an action that they are guarding against, the character can attempt an eased Speed action based on the level of the NPC. Success means the NPC is prevented from taking the action; the NPC's action that turn is wasted. This is useful for blocking a doorway, guarding a friend, and so forth.

If an NPC is standing guard, use the same procedure, but to get past the guard, the PC attempts a hindered Speed action against the NPC. For example, Diana is an NPC human with a level 3 bodyguard. The bodyguard uses their action to guard Diana. If a PC wants to attack Diana, the PC first must succeed at a difficulty 4 Speed task to get past the guard. If the PC succeeds, they can make their attack normally.

Healing

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 228)

You can administer aid through bandaging and other succor, attempting to heal each patient once per day. This healing restores points to a stat Pool of your choice. Decide how many points you want to heal, and then make an Intellect action with a difficulty equal to that number. For example, if you want to heal someone for 3 points, that's a difficulty 3 task with a target number of 9.

Optional Rule: Healing Limitations

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Each time anyone attempts to heal the same creature, the task is hindered by an additional step. The difficulty resets after that creature rests for ten hours.

Interacting with Creatures

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 228)

The level of the creature determines the target number, just as with combat. Thus, bribing a guard works much like punching them or affecting them with an ability. This is true of persuading someone, intimidating someone, calming a wild beast, or anything of the kind. Interaction is an Intellect task. Interacting usually requires a common language or some other way to communicate. Learning new languages is the same as learning a new skill.

Jumping

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 228)

Decide how far you want to jump, and that sets the difficulty of your Might roll. For a standing jump, subtract 4 from the distance in feet to determine the difficulty of the jump. For example, jumping 10 feet (3 m) has a difficulty of 6.

If you run an immediate distance before jumping, it counts as an asset, easing the jump.

If you run a short distance before jumping, divide the jump distance (in feet) by 2 and then subtract 4 to determine the difficulty of the jump. Because you're running an immediate distance (and then some), you also count your running as an asset. For example, jumping a distance of 20 feet (6 m) with a short running start has a difficulty of 5 (20 feet divided by 2 is 10, minus 4 is 6, minus 1 for running an immediate distance).

For a vertical jump, the distance you clear (in feet) is equal to the difficulty of the jumping task. If you run an immediate distance, it counts as an asset, easing the jump.

There's nothing wrong with the GM simply assigning a difficulty level to a jump without worrying about the precise distance. The rules here are just so everyone has some guidelines.

Looking or Listening

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

Generally, the GM will describe any sight or sound that's not purposefully difficult to detect. But if you want to look for a hidden enemy, search for a secret panel, or listen for someone sneaking up on you, make an Intellect roll. If it's a creature, its level determines the difficulty of your roll. If it's something else, the GM determines the difficulty of your roll.

Editor's Notes — For more on "passive perception", see Passive Difficulty.

Moving a Heavy Object

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

You can push or pull something very heavy and move it an immediate distance as your action.

The weight of the object determines the difficulty of the Might roll to move it; every 50 pounds (23 kg) hinders the task by one step. So moving something that weighs 150 pounds (68 kg) is difficulty 3, and moving something that weighs 400 pounds (180 kg) is difficulty 8. If you can ease the task to 0, you can move a heavy object up to a short distance as your action.

Operating or Disabling a Device, or Picking a Lock

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

As with figuring out a device, the level of the device usually determines the difficulty of the Intellect roll. Unless a device is very complex, the GM will often rule that once you figure it out, no roll is needed to operate it except under special circumstances. So if the PCs figure out how to use a hovercraft, they can operate it. If they are attacked, they might need to roll to ensure that they don't crash the vehicle into a wall while trying to avoid being hit.

Unlike operating a device, disabling a device or picking a lock usually require rolls. These actions often involve special tools and assume that the character is not trying to destroy the device or lock. (A PC who is attempting to destroy it probably should make a Might roll to smash it rather than a Speed or Intellect roll requiring patience and know-how.)

Riding or Piloting

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

If you're riding an animal that's trained to be a mount, or driving or piloting a vehicle, you don't need to make a roll to do something routine such as going from point A to point B (just as you wouldn't need to make a roll to walk there). However, staying mounted during a fight or doing something tricky with a vehicle requires a Speed roll to succeed. A saddle or other appropriate gear is an asset and eases the task.

Editor's Notes — For more on vehicles, see Vehicular Combat.

Riding or Piloting Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

Riding or Piloting Difficulty
DifficultyManeuver
0Riding
1Staying on the mount (including a motorcycle or similar vehicle) in a battle or other difficult situation
3Staying on a mount (including a motorcycle or similar vehicle) when you take damage
4Mounting a moving steed
4Making an abrupt turn with a vehicle while moving fast
4Getting a vehicle to move twice as fast as normal for one round
5Coaxing a mount to move or jump twice as fast or far as normal for one round
5Making a long jump with a vehicle not intended to go airborne (like a car) and remaining in control
Wheeled Vehicle GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

Wheeled Vehicle GM Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1Vehicle runs out of fuel or power.
2Unexpected obstacle threatens to cause a crash.
3Unexpected gap or loss of power requires rider to "jump" between stable surfaces by launching off a suitable ramp-like incline.
4Another vehicle swerves into PC's vehicle
5Loose sand/gravel/particles/ice on surface threaten to cause a wipeout.
6Too much velocity going around a corner threatens to cause a wipeout or crash.
7Vehicle takes damage and threatens to detonate its power source.
8Another vehicle hits PC's vehicle from behind.
9Vehicle's brakes freezes.
10Vehicle's tire unexpectedly blows out.
Hovering and Flying GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

Hovering and Flying GM Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1Vehicle runs out of fuel or power (but not inflight).
2Extreme turbulence threatens to cause a loss of control inflight.
3A glitch in the flight control—or pilot error—causes vehicle to bank too sharply, threatening a crash.
4Unexpected debris/birds or other flying creatures impact the vehicle, damaging it.
5Landing gear is damaged, making eventual landing problematic.
6Unexpectedly tall terrain feature threatens imminent collision.
7Vehicle takes damage and threatens to detonate its power source.
8Another flying vehicle hits PC's vehicle from above.
9Vehicle runs out of fuel or power while inflight.
10Breach in airframe risks sucking pilot or passengers out to a long fall.
Seacraft GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

Seacraft GM Intrusions
d10Intrusion
1Vehicle begins taking on water due to minor leak.
2Vehicle capsizes
3Vehicle begins to sink due to major leak caused by structural flaw.
4Vehicle collides with marine life/debris on water or other watercraft impacts the vehicle, damaging it.
5Power source unexpectedly dies.
6Unmapped underwater terrain feature threatens/causes imminent collision.
7Vehicle takes damage and threatens to detonate its power source.
8Sea storm blows up and threatens to capsize vehicle.
9Character(s) fall overboard.
10Pirates! (Or at least people with bad intentions pull up on another boat.)
Spacecraft GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 112)

Spacecraft GM Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1Spacecraft is holed by micrometeorite or other debris and begins to leak air
2Spacecraft power source unexpectedly stutters, runs out of fuel, or malfunctions in a way that could lead to detonation.
3Spacecraft is holed by something large enough to risk a catastrophic blow-out.
4Environmental controls malfunction; ship interior grows colder and colder (causing a buildup of frost and ice on interior surfaces), until the problem can be identified and repaired.
5Drive system surges, causing the vehicle to move faster, farther, or to a different location than was intended.
6Solar flare, gravitational gradient, or other understood but unexpected phenomena damages ship.
7A malfunction, deliberate sabotage by a rival, or a fatal malware-infected shipmind affects the environmental controls in a space suit or entire ship, deoxygenating it until it's mostly carbon dioxide. Affected characters, initially unaware of the problem, become more and more sleepy until they pass out.
8Gamma ray burst from "nearby" neutron star conjunction threatens to fry ship and everyone on board.
9External operations lead to a character being bucked off craft into empty space.
10Environmental systems are compromised, requiring extensive overhaul to return to normal.
Sneaking

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

The difficulty of sneaking by a creature is determined by its level. Sneaking is a Speed roll. Moving at half speed eases the sneaking task. Appropriate camouflage or other gear may count as an asset and ease the task, as will dim lighting conditions and having plenty of things to hide behind.

Swimming

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 229)

If you're simply swimming from one place to another, such as across a calm river or lake, use the standard movement rules, noting the fact that your character is in deep water. However, sometimes, special circumstances require a Might roll to make progress while swimming, such as when trying to avoid a current or being dragged into a whirlpool.

Understanding, Identifying, or Remembering

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 230)

When characters try to identify or figure out how to use a device, the level of the device determines the difficulty. For a bit of knowledge, the GM determines the difficulty.

Understanding, Identifying, or Remembering
DifficultyKnowledge
0Common knowledge
1Simple knowledge
3Something a scholar probably knows
5Something even a scholar might not know
7Knowledge very few people possess
10Completely lost knowledge
Optional Rule: Gaining Insight

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Gaining Insight (231) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

If a PC is planning something complex, or spending time to gain more information about a situation, they can spend 3 Intellect points and one action to gain additional, reliable information, which the GM provides in the form of a useful clue. The clue might provide foreknowledge of events, allowing the PC to recognize something, someone, or a pattern of behavior on the part of one or more NPCs. The GM decides what insight is gained, and ensures the information is useful and reliable. Gaining insight should never be used to "trap" a PC.

Additionally, the GM can notify players that insights are available without revealing what they are, but allow PCs to purchase them with 1 XP as a player intrusion, or 2 XP as a short-term benefit.

Vehicular Movement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 230)

Vehicles move just like creatures. Each has a movement rate, which indicates how far it can move in a round. Most vehicles require a driver, and when moving, they usually require that the driver spends every action controlling the movement. This is a routine task that rarely requires a roll. Any round not spent driving the vehicle hinders the task in the next round and precludes any change in speed or direction. In other words, driving down the road normally is difficulty 0. Spending an action to retrieve a backpack from the back seat means that in the following round, the driver must attempt a difficulty 1 task. If they instead use their action to pull a handgun from the backpack, in the next round the difficulty to drive will be 2, and so on. Failure results are based on the situation but might involve a collision or something similar.

In a vehicular chase, drivers attempt Speed actions just like in a regular chase, but the task may be based either on the level of the driver (modified by the level and movement rate of the vehicle) or on the level of the vehicle (modified by the level of the driver). So if a PC driving a typical car is chasing a level 3 NPC driving a level 5 sports car, the PC would make three chase rolls with a difficulty of 5. If the PC's car is a souped-up custom vehicle, it might grant the PC an asset in the chase. If the PC is not in a car at all, but riding a bicycle, it might hinder the chase rolls by two or three steps, or the GM might simply rule that it's impossible.

Vehicular Combat

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 230)

Much of the time, a fight between foes in cars, boats, or other vehicles is just like any other combat situation. The combatants probably have cover and are moving fast. Attacks to disable a vehicle or a portion of it are based on the level of the vehicle. If the vehicle is an armored car or a tank, all attacks are likely aimed at the vehicle, which has a level and probably an appropriate Armor rating, not unlike a creature.

The only time this isn't true is with battles where only vehicles and not characters are involved. Thus, if the PCs are in a shootout with bank robbers and both groups are in cars, use the standard rules. However, battles between starships of various kinds—from gigantic capital ships to single-pilot fighters—are a frequent occurrence in far-future science fiction settings. A submarine battle between two deep sea craft could be quite exciting. Characters in a modern-day game might find themselves in a tank fight. If PCs are involved in combat in which they are entirely enclosed in vehicles (so that it's not really the characters fighting, but the vehicles), use the following quick and easy guidelines.

On this scale, combat between vehicles isn't like traditional combat. Don't worry about health, Armor, or anything like that. Instead, just compare the levels of the vehicles involved. If the PCs' vehicle has the higher level, the difference in levels is how many steps the PCs' attack and defense rolls are eased. If the PCs' vehicle has the lower level, their rolls are hindered. If the levels are the same, there is no modification.

These attack and defense rolls are modified by skill and Effort, as usual. Some vehicles also have superior weapons, which ease the attack (since there is no "damage" amount to worry about), but this circumstance is probably uncommon in this abstract system and should not affect the difficulty by more than one or maybe two steps. Further, if two vehicles coordinate their attack against one vehicle, the attack is eased. If three or more vehicles coordinate, the attack is eased by two steps.

The attacker must try to target a specific system on or portion of an enemy vehicle. This hinders the attack based on the system or portion targeted.

That's a lot of modifications. But it's not really that hard. Let's look at an example of a space battle. A PC in a small level 2 fighter attacks a level 4 frigate. Since the frigate is level 4, the difficulty of the attack starts at 4. But the attacking craft is weaker than the defender, so the attack is hindered equal to the difference in their levels (2). The fighter pilot must make a difficulty 6 attack on the frigate. However, the fighter is trying to swoop in and damage the frigate's drive, which hinders the attack by another three steps, for a total difficulty of 9. If the fighter pilot is trained in space combat, they reduce the difficulty to 8, but it's still impossible without help. So let's say that two other PCs—also in level 2 fighters—join in and coordinate their attack. Three ships coordinating an attack on one target eases the task by two steps, resulting in a final difficulty of 6. Still, the attacking PC would be wise to use Effort.

Then the frigate retaliates, and the PC needs to make a defense roll. The level difference between the ships (2) means the PC's defense is hindered by two steps, so the difficulty of the PC's defense roll starts out at 6. But the frigate tries to take out the fighter's weapons, hindering their attack (easing the PC's defense) by two steps. Thus, the PC needs to succeed at a difficulty 4 task or lose their main weapons systems.

It's important to remember that a failed attack doesn't always mean a miss. The target ship might rock and reel from the hit, but the bulk of the damage was absorbed by the shields, so there's no significant damage.

This bare-bones system should allow the GM and players to flesh out exciting encounters involving the whole group. For example, perhaps while one PC pilots a ship, another mans the guns, and another frantically attempts to repair damage to the maneuvering thrusters before they crash into the space station they're trying to defend.

Vehicular Targeting
Targeting TaskAttack HinderedEffect
Disable weaponsTwo stepsOne or more of the vehicle's weapons no longer function
Disable defenses (if applicable)Two stepsAttacks against the vehicle are eased
Disable engine/driveThree stepsVehicle cannot move, or movement is hampered
Disable maneuverabilityTwo stepsVehicle cannot alter its present course
Strike power core or vital spotFive stepsVehicle is completely destroyed

During a vehicular battle, particularly a space battle, there's a lot of chatter about shields failing, hull integrity, being outmaneuvered, coming in too fast, and whatnot. These sorts of details are great, but they're all flavor, so they're represented in the rules generally, rather than specifically.

Training in driving makes the character practiced in using a vehicle as a weapon. If the vehicle is used to run over a victim or ram an enemy vehicle, treat a motorcycle as a medium weapon and treat a car or truck as a heavy weapon.

Editor's Notes — For more on vehicular combat, see Vehicles.

Chapter 11-A: Followers and Factions

Quick Reference: Followers and Factions

Related Sections

Followers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 233)

Player characters have the option to gain followers as they advance in tier, as provided by type or focus special abilities. Followers do not need to be paid, fed, or housed, though a character who gains followers can certainly make such arrangements if they wish. A follower is someone whom a character has inspired (or asked) to come work with the character for a time, aiding them in a variety of endeavors. A follower puts the PC's interests ahead of, or at least on par with, their own.

The PC generally makes rolls for their follower when the follower takes actions, though usually a follower's modifications provide an asset to a specific action taken by the PC they follow.

  • Modifications: A follower can help a PC in one or more tasks, granting the PC an asset to that task. The level of the follower indicates the number of different tasks they can help with. The tasks that the follower is able to help with are predetermined, usually chosen by the PC when they gain the follower. A level 2 follower who the player determines is a spy could grant a PC an asset on two different tasks, such as stealth and deception. Followers cannot help with tasks that they don't have modifications for; for the purpose of helping, treat the follower as if they had inabilities in all nonmodified tasks.

    When the follower acts autonomously rather than helping the PC, they act like a normal NPC that has modifications. Thus, the modification increases their effective level for the associated task by one step. For example, the level 2 spy follower with modifications for stealth and deception attempts stealth and deception tasks as if they were level 3 and all other tasks as level 2.

  • Follower Assets to Combat and Defense: A follower cannot grant an asset to a character's attacks or defense until the follower is level 3 or higher. Even then, the follower can help with attacks and defense only if they have a modification for that kind of task.

    Some abilities may grant a special exception to this rule. For instance, the Serv-0 Defender ability gives your level 1 Serv-0 follower (a machine companion) a modification for Speed defense.

  • Follower Level Progression: A follower increases in level by 1 each time a PC advances two tiers after gaining that follower. When the follower gains a level, the PC also chooses the task that the follower gains a modification for.

  • Exceptional Follower: When a character gains a follower, there's a small chance that the follower will be exceptional in some way, a cut above other followers of their kind. The GM determines when an exceptional follower is found, possibly as an additional reward for smart or engaging roleplaying where the PCs impress or otherwise positively interact with one or more NPCs, some of whom may later go on to become one of their followers. An exceptional follower has the same qualities as a regular follower but is 1 level higher.

  • Pet: Any PC can potentially gain a pet, though a pet typically doesn't provide modifications. If a character wants a pet that can do this, they must gain the pet through an ability or focus that grants followers. On the other hand, a well-cared-for pet grants an asset to a PC's tasks related to achieving peace of mind, finding comfort, and resisting loneliness.

Breathing Life into Followers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 233)

The modifications provided by followers could come across as fairly dry and mechanical. To avoid that, you could present each follower in a way that makes them more compelling and interesting. Here are a few examples of how to describe a follower, depending on their mix of modifications.

  • A firebrand diplomat able to convince an enemy horde to back down.
  • A veteran commander whose presence bolsters the entire community's military might.
  • A genius medic who invigorates everyone with their healing techniques.
  • An imaginative architect whose works both beautify and defend the city.
  • A tricky spy whose intelligence on enemy movements is invaluable.

If a follower dies, the character gains a new one after at least two weeks and proper recruitment.

Followers vs. Temporary Companions

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Many abilities in the Companion category use different language to describe an NPC: Basic Follower is described as "level 2 follower", a Beast Companion is a "level 2 creature", and Duplicate is "a level 2 NPC". Which of these are followers, and which are not? This clarification provides criteria to divide these abilities into two groups: Followers vs. Temporary Companions.

  • Followers: Persistent or permanent companions are followers, and benefit from Follower Level Progression, increasing in level by 1 each time the PC advances two tiers after joining the PC, gaining additional modifications, including the ability to choose a modification for attacks or defense at level 3. They are usually granted by abilities that are enablers, and if reduced to 0 health, require time to find a replacement, or to otherwise regain form or function. Examples of followers include Basic Follower, Beast Companion, Entourage, and Serv-0.

  • Temporary Companions: These abilities are typically require an action to use, include a time limit, and create or conjure the companion from thin air. These abilities can be used repeatedly—especially by a PC with enough Edge to trivialize the cost—and are improved by subsequent focus abilities with higher costs. Temporary companions do not benefit from Follower Level Progression. Examples of temporary companions include Duplicate (and Superior Duplicate), Necromancy (and Greater Necromancy), and Summon Giant Spider (and Summon Demon).

Follower Level Progression

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

For example, let's compare the Beast Companion ability from the Controls Beasts focus without—and with—Follower Level Progression. In this case, Follower Level Progression smooths out the beast companion's levels, and results in a higher maximum level (and thus number of modifications). This ensures the beast companion remains the central focus ability, even after the Mount—another follower—and Beast Call—a temporary companion—join the PC at higher tiers:

Follower Level Progression: Beast Companion
TierBeast CompanionLevel (without Follower Level Progression)Level (with Follower Level Progression)
1Beast Companion22
2—22
3Follower Level Progression23
4Improved Companion44
5Follower Level Progression45
6—45
Balancing Followers

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

PCs—especially a Speaker—can amass quite number of followers. The GM might need to adjust followers in order to keep the game feeling fun, fresh, and fair. When making rulings, the GM should consider the following questions, which have no definitive answers:

  • How many NPCs are already in the party? How often do they delight and surprise, and how often do they interfere with the game? How much of that is due to an NPC's level?
  • What's more fun: A larger group of lower-level followers, or a smaller group of higher-level ones?
  • If a follower is replaced at a higher tier, did the PC "gain" the replacement at their current tier, or the tier at which they gained the ability (or previous follower)? Can a player spend XP (including Character Advancement) to improve a follower, or is the completion of a Character Arc like Develop a Bond, Instruction, or Train a Creature required?
  • Are optional rules like Effort for NPCs used?

Familiars

(It's Only Magic, page 94)

In the most general sense, a familiar is a creature (usually in the form of a small animal) bonded to a magical person as a companion. However, a familiar's role, intelligence, relationship with their person, powers, and vulnerabilities vary greatly from setting to setting. A familiar might be just a pet or comfort animal, with no special abilities. They might have an empathic or telepathic connection with their person. They might be an extension of the person's soul, with harm to the familiar causing harm to the person. They might be a fully supernatural creature, able to assist with magical tasks or provide advice. A magical world might only have one of these kinds of familiars, or any of them.

CONTENT WARNING: This section talks about the death of pets.

Standard Pet

(It's Only Magic, page 94)

The simplest sort of familiar is one that is a normal animal that has an emotional bond with a character, essentially the same role as a typical pet or comfort animal. The familiar has no special abilities, doesn't affect the character's magical abilities in any way, and is not meant to help in combat. Their death doesn't cause the character physical harm (although it probably causes emotional harm, just like the loss of any pet), and the character can gain a new familiar after a certain amount of time. For this type of familiar, a character should choose the Critter Companion ability, which gives them a level 1 creature.

If the character wants a bigger or tougher creature that is otherwise still a normal animal, they should choose Beast Companion, which gives them a level 2 creature, but otherwise works the same as Critter Companion.

As a slightly more magical variant, choose either of these abilities, but instead of finding a replacement for the creature if it dies, the character can perform a magical ritual (taking 1d6 days) to return them to life.

Unusual Familiars

(It's Only Magic, page 94)

There's no reason a familiar has to resemble a common Earth animal such as a cat, frog, or hawk. If the setting is a world other than Earth, and it has its own animal species that don't exist on Earth (such as monkey-lizards, capybara-bats, and raven snakes), those kinds of creatures are valid choices for a familiar.

If a familiar is a creature whose body is created by the bond with a magician (instead of an existing beast that the character finds and binds with magic), the GM could allow a familiar to look like an extinct animal, such as a dodo bird or Compsognathus dinosaur, or even a permanently miniature version of a large creature such as an elephant or rhinoceros.

History and fantasy literature has suggested other forms for familiars, such as fiendish-looking imps, tiny dragons, alchemy-crafted homunculi, fairies, intelligent floating skulls, and spirits resembling human children. Exactly what sorts of unusual familiars are available in the setting is up to the GM, but their appearance generally doesn't affect their game statistics. For example, a flying skull familiar and a bat familiar probably have the same level, movement, and modifiers.

Magical Familiars

(It's Only Magic, page 95)

This kind of familiar is more of a magical creature than a standard pet. Advantages compared to a standard pet are the familiar's ability to be physical or intangible, its telepathic connection to the character, and (unlike a standard pet familiar) the fact that it can't truly die. The disadvantages of this kind of familiar are that they cannot travel too far away from you and they spend most of their time asleep and intangible instead of actively assisting you. For this type of familiar, a character should choose the Bound Magic Familiar ability.

Soulbound Familiars

(It's Only Magic, page 95)

This is the most powerful and versatile kind of familiar. They have significant magical abilities, but this requires a bond between the character and familiar that makes them both vulnerable in certain ways.

For this type of familiar, a character should choose the Soul Familiar ability.

Modifying a Familiar

(It's Only Magic, page 95)

The following character abilities can be used to improve your familiar or the connection you have with it. (Although most of the ability descriptions refer to the Beast Companion ability, they have the same effect on a familiar as on a beast companion.)

Sidekicks

Quick Reference: Sidekicks

Optional Rules

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Sidekicks are a framework for flexible, powerful NPCs that take part in the story alongside the PCs. What sets sidekicks apart from companions, followers, and familiars is that a different player assumes the role of the sidekick, including rolling the die for tasks prompted by their actions.

The GM can use these rules modules to:

  • Fill out small groups of players with capable help
  • Foster intimate roleplay among players
  • Make PCs and sidekicks a force to be reckoned with in combat

Sidekicks can be people, but a lot of this framework assumes they are an interesting creature of some kind. In some settings, sidekicks might share a central theme or fundamental nature. This can be a big decision that will determine how sidekicks interact with the PCs and other important aspects of the setting, for example:

  • Pets, mounts, and beasts of burden
  • Ferocious but tamed creatures
  • Friendly neighborhood pocket monsters deployed from spherical artifacts
  • Magically summoned creatures, otherworldly entities, or thoughtforms that PCs manifest or dismiss with an action

If you enjoy these rules, consider purchasing Predation.

Sidekick Character Sheet

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick character sheet is a high contrast, form-fillable PDF character sheet you can use to keep track of sidekick statistics.

Gaining Sidekicks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Depending on the setting, the GM might determine PCs begin with a sidekick, or that there are other established methods for PCs to gain a one, for example:

  • Currency: Something as important as a sidekick should probably cost no less than a moderately-priced item.

  • Recruiting, Catching, or Taming: Recruiting, catching, or taming a sidekick is at least a level 2 Intellect task, requiring at least a few days, and might involve embarking on a perilous venture, or performing delicate ritual magic.

  • Crafting: PCs might need to craft a special lure, build a supernatural containment vessel, or repair a mechanical sidekick to operation.

  • Subterfuge: It might be possible to rescue—or steal—sidekicks away from others.

  • Spending XP: Spending 3 XP as a long-term benefit might also be an appropriate cost for gaining a sidekick.

  • Completing Character Arcs: Completing successful character arcs like Develop a Bond or Train a Creature might earn a PC a sidekick.

Optional Rule: Exceptional Sidekicks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

When a new sidekick is created or a potential sidekick is encountered, roll a d100 to determine if it is exceptional:

Exceptional Sidekicks
d100Exceptional Sidekicks
1–69—
70–74The sidekick gains one random beneficial mutation, one random cosmetic mutation, and one random harmful mutation. If the result is Weakness in Might, Weakness in Speed, or Weakness in Intellect, the sidekick's health is reduced by 2 instead.
75–79The sidekick gains the Evolution ability, with randomly rolled properties.
80–89The sidekick gains one random sidekick ability.
90–95The sidekick gains one random sidekick ability and one random cosmetic mutation.
96–99The sidekick gains one random fantastic sidekick ability and one random cosmetic mutation.
00The sidekick has a random fantastic niche and one random cosmetic mutation.
Playing Sidekicks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

GMs and players should discuss these rules before using them. Not every player can—or wants to—take on responsibility for having (or playing as) a sidekick, and that's okay. In fact, the fewer sidekicks there are in a game, the more session time will be available for PCs to forge deeper relationships with them.

  • Associated PC: A sidekick's associated PC is the person in the party they are closest to, trust most, or who owns them. The GM might allow the associated PC to gain abilities like As If One Creature, Beast Eyes, or Stronger Together, applying the benefits to a sidekick instead of a Beast Companion.

  • Sidekick: The person who plays the role of the sidekick—and makes rolls for them—is always a different person than the associated PC's player. Depending on the sidekick, it might not be important to have the same person playing the same sidekick every game session. Sidekicks are less complex than PCs, so playing a sidekick is a good way to involve a younger player in the game.

  • Taking Action: Sidekicks usually take their action on the same turn as the associated PC. A sidekick can act before or after the associated PC. Sidekicks might also be able to wait or take cooperative actions. In order for a sidekick to take the desired action, the associated PC might be required to succeed on a command task.

The GM decides if a sidekick can take a cooperative action. Similarly to how a follower requires a relevant modification, GM might require a sidekick to have training in a task in order to help another character with it.

Sidekick Characteristics

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Sidekick character sheets record the following characteristics:

  • Level: Sidekicks begin at level 2.

  • Niche and Nature: Sidekicks have a nature and a niche, which determine characteristics like health, Armor, skills they can use to modify the difficulty of a task, and maybe even a sidekick ability or two.

  • Creature Type: Creature type can be anything that sums up your sidekick—dog, dragon-toad, or robotic pugilist. It has no mechanical effect other than to help the GM determine the sidekick's interactions with other features of the setting, but it's just as important that a companion is a "gorilla" as it is they are "strong".

  • Sidekick Abilities: Each time the associated PC advances to a new tier, the sidekick gains one sidekick ability.

Sidekick Health, Recovery, and Loss

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Like other NPCs and creatures, sidekicks have health and other characteristics. Sidekicks can recover missing health points in the following ways (determined by the GM):

Sidekick Equipment

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Sidekicks can benefit from equipment, cyphers, or artifacts made for them. The GM determines the cost or other availability of such items.

The Increased Cypher Use ability can increase a sidekick's cypher limit.

Optional Rule: Command Tasks

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Some sidekicks are creatures of instinct, and require dedicated time and training to develop a reliable bond. For any command an associated PC gives a sidekick on their turn, the GM might require an Intellect-based command task. On a success, the sidekick attempts the task. On a failure, they do something else.

The GM can set command task difficulty by starting with the sidekick's level (usually level 2) and applying a difficulty modifier determined by the associated PC's, for example:

Command Task Difficulty
PC TierSidekick LevelDifficulty ModifierCommand Task Difficulty
1–22+13
32—2
42−11
5–62−20

  • Modifying Command Task Difficulty: Training in a relevant skill—for example, "Animal Handling", "Leadership", or "Monster Training"—might apply to command tasks. You can also use Effort on a command task (independently of your own action for the purposes of Effort costs and Edge reductions).

  • Minor Effect: The sidekick gains an asset on their task roll.

  • Minor Effect: The sidekick gains two assets on their task roll.

  • GM Intrusion: The sidekick does something uncooperative or unexpected, but in accordance with their nature.

Optional Rule: Sidekick Level Progression

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

When the associated PC reaches tier 3 and tier 5, the sidekick gains the Increase Level ability.

Games that use both the Sidekick Level Progression and Command Task rules will find it more important for PCs to find ways to modify the difficulty in their favor. Commanding a level 7 dragon at tier 6 is a level 5 task.

Sidekick Nature

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

A sidekick's nature is similar to a PC's descriptor—it reflects their personality and behavior, which lets the sidekick's player enact their role in the game—and also provides a potential source of GM intrusion. A sidekick's nature also provides a boon to the associate PC.

  • Sharing Boons with Other PCs: An associated PC can command the sidekick to grant their boon to another creature instead. Like other commands given to sidekicks, the GM might require a successful command task.

Roll or choose one of the following natures, or work with the GM to come up with an original one:

Sidekick Natures
d10Nature
1Adorable
2Aggressive
3Alert
4Contented
5Energetic
6Hapless
7Meddling
8Precocious
9Preening
10Shy
Adorable

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick is always interacting with someone, even untrustworthy strangers.

  • Adorable Boon: While within immediate range of the associated PC, the sidekick provides them an asset on positive social interaction tasks with those who can see the sidekick. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Aggressive

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Scrappy, and always ready for a confrontation, the sidekick is especially protective of the associated PC.

  • Aggressive Boon: While within short range of the associated PC, the sidekick provides them an asset on intimidation tasks. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Alert

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick is always using their senses to look for potential sources of danger or interest.

  • Alert Boon: While within long range of the associated PC, the sidekick provides them an asset on initiative tasks. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Contented

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick is always calm—maybe too calm. Nothing seems to get them down, but nothing really gets them going, either.

  • Contented Boon: While within short range of the associated PC, the sidekick provides them an asset to Intellect defense rolls. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Energetic

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick has an unrivaled zest for life that cannot be contained.

  • Energetic Boon: When the sidekick rolls a 19 or a 20 on the die, the associated PC gains an asset on a task of their choice within the next round. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Hapless

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick is always falling down, knocking things over, making a mess, or getting themselves into strange predicaments.

  • Hapless Boon: When the sidekick's roll triggers a GM intrusion, the associated PC can take a free, immediate action. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Meddling

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick gets involved in everything, and sometimes their insatiable curiosity causes problems for others.

  • Meddling Boon: While within immediate range of the associated PC, the sidekick provides them an asset on tasks related to perception, searching, and stealing. Action. (OG-CSRD)

Precocious

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick is especially likely to act independently, and not always for the best.

  • Precocious Boon: When the sidekick helps, the associated PC gains an asset all tasks involving solving puzzles, opening doors and locks, and operating or disabling devices. Action. (OG-CSRD)

Preening

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick loves to put on a show and occasionally draw unwanted attention to themself or the associated PC.

  • Preening Boon: When the sidekick helps, the associated PC gains an asset all tasks involving deception and giving performances. Action. (OG-CSRD)

Shy

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The sidekick usually prefers the associated PC to others, and is uncooperative if the situation isn't to their liking.

  • Shy Boon: When the sidekick sneaks or hides, the associated PC gains an asset on sneaking or hiding tasks. Action. (OG-CSRD)

Sidekick Niche

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

A sidekick's niche is similar to a PC's type— it reflects their areas of excellence, their physiology, and how they use what they've got to get by. Niches are intentionally broad, and don't really define what creature type the sidekick is—for example, a large sidekick could be an elephant or an ogre.

Roll or choose one of the following niches, or work with the GM to come up with an original one:

Sidekick Niches
d10Niche
1Aquatic
2Armored
3Cunning
4Diminutive
5Flying
6Hardy
7Large
8Nimble
9Strong
10Swift
Aquatic

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Specialized in swimming

  • Inability: Running, jumping, and climbing

Armored

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 10

  • Armor: 2

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Trained in Might defense and breaking things

Cunning

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Specialized in stealth; trained in Intellect defense, climbing and jumping

Diminutive

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 point

  • Skills: Specialized in Speed defense, perception, and squeezing into tight spaces; trained in stealth and tracking

  • Inability: Inability in Might defense due to size

Flying

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Trained in flying, gliding, and diving

  • Skills: Inability in running and Intellect defense

Hardy

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Trained in Might defense, Intellect defense, running, jumping, and swimming

Large

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 15

  • Armor: 1

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Trained in carrying and breaking things

  • Inability: Inability in Speed defense and stealth due to size

Nimble

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 points

  • Skills: Trained in Speed defense, Intellect defense, balancing, manipulation, movement

Strong

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 10

  • Armor: 1

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Skills: Trained in carrying and breaking things

Swift

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Skills: Trained in Speed defense, running, and jumping

Optional Rule: Fantastic Niches

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Fantastic niches are more clearly defined in terms of the creature type they suggest, and are more powerful than other niches. On the other hand, they are also more likely to have specific vulnerabilities that are a source of GM intrusion. Even the presence of a fantastic sidekick in an inappropriate situation might be cause for the GM to use the optional Horror Mode rule.

  • Fantastic Abilities: Sidekicks with a fantastic niche have access to at least a few fantastic sidekick abilities.

  • Bonus Sidekick Ability: Fantastic sidekicks gain one sidekick ability at tier 1.

  • Fantastic Niche Abilities: Similar to a PC's focus, sidekicks with a fantastic niche gain additional bonus abilities at the associated PC's tiers, as listed in their descriptions. As a result, fantastic companions are a more complex to maintain a character sheet for.

Roll or choose one of the following fantastic niches, or work with the GM to come up with an original one:

Fantastic Niches
d10Fantastic Niche
1Alien
2Construct
3Divine
4Dragon
5Mon
6Shapeshifter
7Spellbound
8Spirit
9Symbiote
10Trickster
Signature Abilities
Fantastic sidekicks gain abilities listed in Chapter 9: Abilities through Signature Ability. These abilities note how costs are paid, and any limits or modifications to the ability's activation requirements or effects. Be sure to record these modifications when adding these abilities to the sidekick's character sheet.
Template Fantastic Sidekicks
Example fantastic sidekicks list a selection of decisions for the sidekick, along with a selection of sidekick abilities to choose at each new tier reached by the associated PC. A few recommend swapping another ability in for the fantastic niche's offering for that tier.
Alien

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: An alien is a creature from another world, realm of existence, or planet. Aliens are unpredictable, growing and changing in strange and unexpected ways, and developing bizarre new abilities.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points (choose an appropriate damage type)

  • Skills: Choose any two skills (other than attacks or defense) appropriate to the sidekick's origin

  • Inability: The sidekick is uninformed of most customs and etiquette and prone to bouts of uncouth behavior. The sidekick has an inability in positive social interaction, history, cultural knowledge, and the identification of most items and creatures.

Construct

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: The sidekick is a golem, robot, re-animated corpse, or some other kind of hardy, cleverly-made construct. In some settings, such constructs are commonplace. In others, they are novel creations that inspire joy, wonder, suspicion, fear, jealousy, or hatred.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 14

  • Armor: 2

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Near Perfection: The sidekick doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. It is immune to poisons, disease, paralysis, and Intellect-based attacks that don't exploit its construction. Enabler.

  • Imperfection: Command tasks are eased for the sidekick, but its GM intrusion rate is increased by 1. Enabler.

Constructs are notoriously relentless. Once commanded to do something, they can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop—ever—until the task is complete. While command tasks are an optional rule, a construct's dogged pursuit of the associated PC's commands remains a good source of GM intrusion.

  • Inability (Construction Flaw): The sidekick's design, construction, or irreparable damage gives the sidekick an appropriate inability in two broad skills, attack rolls, or one defense roll.

Construct Types
d10Construct Type
1–2Golem
3–4Mechanic Droid
5–6Personality Core
7–8Pugilist Titan
9–10Replicant

Golem

Creature Type
Golems are usually made of natural materials—typically bone, clay, flesh, metal, or stone. Once awakened, they are utterly loyal to their creator (or whoever else they are designed to imprint upon)—although their enthusiasm to do as they are told is frequently outmatched by their inability to understand nuance.
Damage Inflicted
  • Smash. 4 points of bludgeoning damage
Increased Training
Physical Skills (170) (running, jumping)
Construction Flaw
Inability in Speed defense
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Mechanic Droid

Creature Type
Mechanic droids are nearly ubiquitous—anyone who is anyone has one. As such, they are not treated with much acclaim or notice, although depending on how much they've been through together—some grow quite attached to theirs.
Damage Inflicted
  • Discharge Coil. Hindered; 3 points of electricity damage
Increased Training
Tech Skills (189) (piloting, repairing)
Construction Flaw
Inability in all social interaction and swimming
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Personality Core

Creature Type
A strong AI in a flexible metal housing that hovers no more than an immediate distance off the ground, with 1d6 prehensile limbs. The housing contains an electronic supercomputer hardware running sophisticated personality core software. It can speak with an extensive vocabulary.
Damage Inflicted
  • Emitter. 2 points of radiation damage (ignores Armor)
Increased Training
Tech Skills (189) (computers, machines)
Construction Flaw
Inability in Might defense
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Pugilist Titan

Creature Type
Some robots are just made to knock heads with other robots. Rock 'em, sock 'em, stick 'em in the ring. Build 'em up. Break 'em? Build 'em back better.
Damage Inflicted
  • Jab. Eased; 2 points of bludgeoning damage
  • Hook. 4 points of bludgeoning damage
  • Uppercut. Hindered; 6 points of bludgeoning damage
Construction Flaw
Inability in Intellect defense
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Replicant

Creature Type
Virtually identical to adult humans, replicants are stronger and faster, with a sim AI created to give a convincing performance of the human condition. Manufactured beings with grafted memories, a few replicants manage to feel something akin to human emotion.
Damage Inflicted
The replicant's internal weaponry deploys and retracts as if they had the Weaponization (151) ability):
  • Light Attack. Eased; 2 points bludgeoning, puncturing, or slicing damage
  • Medium Attack. 4 points bludgeoning, puncturing, or slicing damage
Increased Training
Interaction Skills (189) (deceiving, persuasion)
Construction Flaw
Inability in crafting, building, and repairing
Suggested Sidekick Abilities
Divine

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Divine creatures have the power to heal, and some display other magical powers. Their companionship is auspicious, and taken by most to be a blessing from the gods. In addition to inspiring awe, their powers also inspire jealousy in the wicked, who attempt to contain or kill them, taking some of that power for themselves in the process. The body parts of divine beasts are worth a king's ransom.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Immunity: Roll or choose from the Increased Resistance table. The sidekick gains immunity to that damage type. Enabler.

  • Skills: Specialized in sensing motives

Divine Types
d20Divine Type
1–5Alicorn
6–10Hippocentaur
11–15Phoenix
16–20Sphinx

Alicorn

Creature Type
An alicorn resembles large goat or a white horse, with a single spiral horn protruding from its forehead.
Damage Inflicted
  • Bite. Eased; 2 points of piercing damage
  • Hooves. 4 points of bludgeoning damage
  • Horn. 4 points of puncturing damage (on a hit, the sidekick can deal additional radiation damage (ignores Armor) equal to the associated PC's tier; the PC must make a recovery roll before the sidekick can do this again)
Immunity
Poison and disease
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Hippocentaur

Creature Type
Centaurs are hardy folk who roam mountains and plains. Their bodies combine the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are as intelligent as humans, capable of speech.
Damage Inflicted
  • Bow. Long range; 4 points of puncturing damage
  • Fist. Eased; 2 points of bludgeoning damage
  • Hooves. 4 points of bludgeoning damage
Immunity
Cold
Additional Equipment
Bow (medium weapon, long range)
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Phoenix

Creature Type
A phoenix is a magical bird with the powers of healing, fire, and rebirth.
Damage Inflicted
  • Flame Jet. 4 points of fire damage
  • Talons. Eased; 2 points of slicing damage
Immunity
Fire
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Sphinx

Creature Type
A sphinx is a chimera, usually with the head of human, the body of a lion or reptile, and the wings of an eagle. Sphinxes are intelligent enough to speak, although they only do so rarely. When they do, it is worth listening.
Damage Inflicted
  • Mystic Gaze. Eased; 2 points of arcane damage (ignores Armor); short range
  • Talons. 4 points of slicing damage
Immunity
Psychic (Intellect)
Suggested Sidekick Abilities
Dragon

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Dragons usually resemble large, winged reptiles. They are among the most ancient of creatures, and are part and parcel with magic in most realms of existence. Few dragons are kidnapped as eggs or hatchlings. Even fewer end up forging long-lasting bonds with others. The few that do—and survive—well, their stories are told for generations. Most dragons are too preternaturally independent to be truly kept by anyone.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 16

  • Armor: 1

  • Damage Inflicted:

    • Claws. Eased; 2 points of slashing damage
    • Bite. 4 points of slashing damage
    • Tail. 4 points of bludgeoning damage

  • Skills: Trained in all Might actions (including basic attacks), Might defense), intimidation, and flying.

  • Willful: The associated PC's command tasks are hindered. Enabler.

  • Inability (Draconic Fear): Inability in stealth and positive social interactions with most people.

Matching Damage Types
A dragon's Increased Resistance might also determine the damage type dealt by their Signature Attack, Fire Bloom, Bolts of Power, and Wall of Lightning. Alternatively, make a new roll on the Signature Attack table for each ability's damage type.
Other Dragon Advancements
Powerful dragons are innate spellcasters (gaining spells through Signature Ability), or naturally gaining gain power shifts at certain tiers.
Mon

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Mon are wild, but tamable creatures that display a stunning variety of forms and affinities. For some, they are stalwart companions, traveling the world and facing down against others of their kind who dare challenge them.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Vulnerability: Roll on the Increased Resistance ability's table. The sidekick gains a weakness to the second result's damage type. Attacks, effects, or ambient damage that deal this damage type inflict 2 additional points of damage to the sidekick. A sidekick can't gain resistance or immunity to their vulnerability. Enabler.

  • Mon Variety: Roll or choose one of the following sidekick abilities, and roll one random cosmetic mutation (or come up with a distinguishing feature for the mon):

Mon Variety
d20Mon Variety
1Aquatic Sidekick
2–4Increased Armor
5–7Increased Accuracy
8–10Increased Defense
11–16Increased Training
17–18Instruction
19Razzle Dazzle
20Winged Sidekick
Infinite Variety
Mon can be created and evolved randomly, except for the details of Increased Training and Signature Ability at tiers 2, 4, and 6. As PCs spend time with their mon after they evolve, they'll probably have a good idea for what kind of signature ability the mon might develop.
Matching Damage Types
If a special attack ability seems perfect but deals the wrong damage type, change it to match the sidekick's Signature Attack.
Collecting Mon
If PCs encounter wild mon—even exceptional ones. PCs might also tame multiple mon. The GM sets a reasonable limit for how many mon a PC can maintain, and how many can be simultaneously active as a sidekick.
Optional Rule: Mon Battles and Trainer Cyphers

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In some settings, mon might be the central actors in combat, while PCs choose foci like Controls Beasts, Helps Their Friends, Learns Quickly, or Would Rather Be Reading.

Dyring a mon battle, PCs can't intervene in the fight directly, but might be able to support their sidekick with certain special abilities, as well as rolling for command tasks. Additionally, PCs can use the following cyphers during combat, and the cypher's effects take hold as if the sidekick had used them:

Mon Battle Cyphers
d100Cypher
01–03Antivenom
04–07Area boost
08–10Armor breach
11–14Armor reinforcer
15–16Burst boost
17–19Burst of speed
20–21Contingent activator
22–30Curative
31–34Damage boost
35–36Darksight
37–45Effect resistance (roll on the Increased Resistance table for the type of resistance gained)
46–48Effort enhancer (combat)
49–51Gravity denied
52–56Information sensor
57–59Mind stabilizer
60–62No take backs
63–64Perfection
65–69Range boost
70–72Rejuvenator
73–75Repel
76–78Skill boost
79–80Soul saver
81–83Stay down
84–90Stim
91–93Target boost
94–97Trick embedder
98–00Wings
Shapeshifter

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Shapeshifters are usually milky, amorphous creatures, with the uncanny ability to duplicate the appearance of nearly anything.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points of acid damage

  • Skills: Trained in hiding, running, and Intellect defense

Spellbound

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Spellbound familiars are usually a magical animal of some kind. Some can speak, but only to the associated PC. Some can converse with others. Being a part of magic, such beings naturally understand aspects of it that others struggle with.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points of arcane damage

  • Spellbound Repertoire: If the sidekick spends one hour preparing magic, they can fill any of their open cypher slots with subtle cyphers chosen randomly by the GM. This hour can be part of the associated PC's a one-hour or ten-hour recovery roll if you return to your realm of origin the entire time, or the sidekick can do this on their own by spending the same duration to make a Sidekick Recovery Roll). As part of this preparation process, the sidekick can discard any cyphers they carry to make room for more subtle cyphers. Enabler.

  • Skills: Trained in magic (including the identification operation of magic cyphers and artifacts)

Using Cyphers as Spells
A spellbound sidekick might be a familiar, or the magic ally to a PC with the Keeps a Magic Ally focus or Soul Familiar ability.
Using Cyphers as Spells
When using this type of familiar, it's worth considering the optional spellcasting rules, including assigning different spellcasting limits—especially the spells as cyphers and artifacts option. Using this option, a personal cypher deck of pre-selected cypher spells can really speed up the process of drawing new cyphers into the sidekick's repertoire.
Spellbound Sidekicks as a Gateway to Another World
The sidekick might gain Traverse the Worlds (194) as a cypher or artifact, taking the PCs to the magical realm of their origin.
Spirit

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Spirits are incorporeal. They include ghosts, elementals, divine or demonic spirits, and manifested thoughtforms like imaginary friends.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor; damage type is appropriate to the creature type)

  • Essential: The sidekick doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Enabler.

  • Needs: The sidekick has unique needs. Work with the GM to agree what those are.

  • Skills: Specialized in Might defense and Speed defense due to incorporeality

  • Inability: You have an inability in positive social interaction with most people, sensing motives, and ascertaining another characters' motives, feelings, or dispositions.

Ambient damage ignores physical armor (natural or worn), but not specific Armor that protects specifically against that type of damage, like Increased Resistance.

Spirit Types
d6Spirit Type
1Kodama
2Imaginary Friend
3Shade
4Surtling
5Undine
6Zephyr

Kodama

Creature Type
Kodama are wooden nature spirits. While they appear to wear masks, the growth of a face is merely for the benefit of interacting with people they know. Among their own kind, kodama have no need for a face. They are kindly, and are especially fond of music.
Damage Inflicted
  • Stinging Nettles. 3 points of ambient poison damage (ignores Armor; short range)
Needs
Access to fertile soil every 1d6 days
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Nature and Health
Vulnerability (Fire)
Attacks, effects, or ambient damage that deal fire damage ignore the sidekick's armor, and inflict 2 additional points of damage.
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Imaginary Friend

Creature Type
Sometimes, a child's imaginary friend is brough to life by the wishes or dreams of a child. Imaginary friends usually exist only so long as the child continues to practice an active belief in them, but a rare few manage to reintroduce themselves to the child as an adult.
Damage Inflicted
  • Prank. 3 points of ambient arcane damage (ignores Armor)
Needs
The associated PC's belief they exist
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Silence and Trickery
Suggested Sidekick Abilities
  • Tier 1: Invisibility (155) (no cost; always active; the associated PC and others who believe in the sidekick can see them at all times; anyone who cannot see the sidekick also can't hear or understand their words)
  • Tier 2: Misdirect Blame (163) (1 health; can spend 1 additional health to apply a level of Effort)
  • Tier 3: Pay it Forward (168)
  • Tier 4: Apportation (110) (once each day)
  • Tier 5: Improved Apportation (151) (once each day)
  • Tier 6: Undo (195)

Shade

Creature Type
A shade is a ghost—an unliving remnant of another person, whose unfinished business in life prevents them from moving on to the next phase of existence. Most ghosts are obsessives who are so singularly minded about their unfinished business that they all other sense of self.
Damage Inflicted
  • Haunting Touch. 3 points of ambient dark matter damage (ignores Armor)
Needs
Attend to unfinished business in life
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Death and Silence
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Surtling

Creature Type
Damage Inflicted
  • Enkindling Touch. 3 points of ambient fire damage (ignores Armor)
Needs
Access to flammable objects
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Fire and War
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Undine

Creature Type
Damage Inflicted
  • Whelm. 3 points of ambient cold damage (ignores Armor)
Needs
Submersion in water once every 1d6 days
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Peace and Water
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Zephyr

Creature Type
Damage Inflicted
  • Fulmination. 3 points of ambient electricity damage (ignores Armor; short range)
Needs
Continuous motion
Cantrips
Blessings of the Gods
Air and Knowledge
Suggested Sidekick Abilities
Symbiote

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Symbiotes are hardy creatures: When symbiotes combine with a host, they transform that host's body into a perfect living weapon, allowing them to do the impossible.

  • Level: 3

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points (acid damage)

  • Skills: Specialized in all movement tasks

  • Hardy: The sidekick (and its host) can survive indefinitely without air, water, or food (although it might weaken, and it's not pleasant to do any of these).

  • Merge: As an action, the symbiote can enter a host within immediate range—usually the associated PC—and If the target host is unwilling, the symbiote makes an attack roll, which the target can avoid using their choice of Might, Speed, or Intellect defense. While merged:

    • Lie Dormant. The symbiote can hide within the host undetected—so long as it take no actions.

    • Shared Body. The sidekick and host share the body. Each can use their action to move or take other actions using it.

    • Taking Damage. The symbiote can't be targeted by direct, physical attacks, only the host. If the host dies, the body can sustain the symbiote for 1d20 minutes—or 1d20 hours if it is the associated PC. A dead host is not as effective as a living one, and all tasks the symbiote performs with it are hindered. Any additional damage taken by the body is inflicted on the symbiote instead.

In some settings, symbiotes might also gain gain power shifts at certain tiers, which they either retain on their own, or impart to a host when merged (determined by the GM).

Trickster

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Creature Type: Tricksters are otherworldly beings that enjoy others' confusion, fear, and misery. They include unseelie fey, untrustworthy talking animals, and monsters that lurk in the dark corners of a child's bedroom.

  • Level: 2

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points (choose a type of damage that reflects the sidekick's creature type)

  • Skills: Choose two broad skills and one defense task appropriate to your creature type

Trickster Types
d6Trickster Type
1–5Bogey
6–10Brownie
11–15Mystic Fox
16–20Nixie

Tricksters have no patience for those who have caused them—or their associated PC—offense.

Bogey

Creature Type
Bogeys are what go bump in the night, lurking under the beds and inside the closets of easily frightened children with their monstrous features.
Damage Inflicted
  • Light Attack. Eased; 2 points of damage
  • Medium Attack. 4 points of damage
Skills
Specialized in intimidation; trained in Might defense
Cantrips
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Brownie

Creature Type
Brownies are diminutive fey that—unlike most of their kind—enjoy the hustle and bustle of urban centers as much as the wilderness. They can understand others and speak, and especially enjoy making things, haggling, and making formal agreements with others—but if anyone falls short of their part of a bargain, brownies will stop at nothing to get what they're owed.
Damage Inflicted
  • Inexecrable Vulgarity. 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor); short range; the sidekick must be able to speak, and the target must be able to hear the words
Skills
Trained in deceiving, persuasion, and Speed defense
Cantrips
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Mystic Fox

Creature Type
Mystic foxes are mercurial beings who occasionally take an interest in the life of one particular human, appearing—disappearing—without warning. The sidekick can speak and understand the words of others, but only rarely takes interest in the affairs of others.
Damage Inflicted
  • Bite. Eased; 2 points of puncturing damage
  • Tail Swipe. 3 points of arcane damage
Skills
Specialized in running, trained in Intellect defense
Cantrips
Suggested Sidekick Abilities

Nixie

Creature Type
Nixies are troublesome fey who generally prefer solitude. When employed as a sidekick, their powers can elevate even mundane children to legendary heroes.
Damage Inflicted
  • Unarmed Strike. Eased; 2 points of bludgeoning damage
  • Zap. 3 points of arcane damage
Skills
Trained in perception, flying, and Speed defense
Cantrips
Suggested Sidekick Abilities
Sidekick Abilities

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Each time the associated PC reaches a new tier, the sidekick gains one sidekick ability. Sidekicks can't gain the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise. The GM decides which abilities are available in the setting, and how they can be obtained. Depending on the sidekick's niche and creature type, the GM might decide they aren't eligible to gain a sidekick ability—for example, a diminutive sidekick probably can't serve as a Trusty Steed.

Roll or choose one of the following sidekick abilities, or work with the GM to come up with an original one:

Sidekick Abilities
d100Sidekick Abilities
01–04Aquatic Sidekick
05–08Bashing Attack
09–12Emotional Support Sidekick
13–16Grappling Attack
17–20Increased Accuracy
21–26Increased Armor
27–32Increased Damage
33–36Increased Defense
37–40Increased Health
41–44Increased Initiative
45–48Increased Movement
49–52Increased Recovery
53–59Increased Resistance
60–68Increased Training
69–72Rampage
73–76Razzle Dazzle
77–80Rending Attack
81–89Sidekick Recovery Roll
90–93Trusty Steed
94–99Winged Sidekick
00Gain one random fantastic sidekick ability

If a companion is having difficulty keeping up during encounters, the GM might allow the associated PC to purchase additional sidekick abilities for 3 XP.

Optional Rule: Fantastic Sidekick Abilities

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Fantastic sidekick abilities tread into the supernatural, so they might be important for some settings, and wholly in appropriate for others. Some fantastic sidekick abilities might only available a limited basis, or gained under special conditions determined by the GM, for example:

Roll or choose one of the following fantastic sidekick abilities, or work with the GM to come up with an original one:

Fantastic Sidekick Abilities
d20Fantastic Sidekick AbilitiesSuggested XP Cost
1Gain two random sidekick abilities6 XP
2–5Evolution6 XP
6–7Increased Cypher Use4 XP
8–9Increased Effort4 XP
10–11Increased Level6 XP
12Increased Power10 XP
13Increased Size8 XP
14Increased Threat10 XP
15Instruction4 XP
16Nine Lives10 XP
17–18Signature Attack4 XP
19Signature Ability4 XP
20Share Experience4 XP

Sidekick abilities are also a good way for a GM to modify creatures.

A Listing of Sidekick Abilities

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Aquatic Sidekick: The sidekick can swim a short distance each round. The sidekick either breathes air and water, or can hold its breath for up to ten minutes. The sidekick can gain this ability a second time, increasing the distance they can swim to a long distance each round, and the duration they can hold their breath up to one hour (if it can't breathe air and water). Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Bashing Attack: The sidekick gains two benefits from this ability:

    • Breaker Training. The sidekick becomes trained in breaking things. Enabler.

    • Bash Attack. Additionally, the sidekick can make a pummeling melee attack, which inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal, but dazes the target for one round, during which time all tasks it performs are hindered. Action.

    The sidekick can gain this ability twice, causing successful bashing attacks to stun foes of the sidekick's size or smaller for one round (losing their next action). (OG-CSRD)

  • Emotional Support Sidekick: Creatures who make a recovery roll within short range of the sidekick add +1 to their roll. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Evolution: The sidekick undergoes a rapid evolution. Roll a d6 to determine a random mutation gained by the sidekick. If the mutation has a cost, the GM determines how it is paid—either by the associated PC, or the sidekick pays an appropriate cost in points from its health. Alternatively, the sidekick can use the mutation once, and can't do so again until the associated PC makes a recovery roll of sufficient length. If the mutation would increase a PC's Pool, the points are added to the sidekick's health instead. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Sidekick Evolution
d6Mutation
1The sidekick gains one random beneficial mutation
2The sidekick gains one random beneficial mutation and one random cosmetic mutation
3The sidekick gains one random powerful mutation
4The sidekick gains one random powerful mutation and one random cosmetic mutation
5The sidekick gains one random distinctive mutation
6The sidekick gains one random distinctive mutation and one random cosmetic mutation

  • Grappling Attack: The sidekick makes a grappling attack that inflicts 2 points of damage. On a successful attack, the target can't move from their position, and their attack and defense rolls are hindered until break free of the sidekick's grasp, which the sidekick can contest with a Might roll. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times, gaining training in the attack (and tasks to maintain their grasp), increasing the number of foes they can grapple at once, or increasing the damage inflicted by 2 additional points. Action. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Accuracy: The sidekick becomes trained with its basic attack. The sidekick can gain this ability twice. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Armor: The sidekick gains +1 Armor. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Cypher Use: The sidekick raises its cypher limit by 1. The GM decides if a cypher can't be activated by a sidekick. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Damage: The sidekick deals 1 additional point of damage with all attacks. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Defense: Roll or choose a defense task in which the sidekick is not already specialized: Might, Speed, or Intellect. The sidekick becomes trained in defense tasks of that type. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Increased Defense
d100Increased Defense
01–33Intellect defense
34–66Might defense
67–99Speed defense
00Roll on the table two more times; the sidekick gains training in both.

  • Increased Effort: The sidekick gains an Effort score of 1 (or gains +1 to it if it already has an Effort score). The sidekick can spend 1 health point to use a level of Effort to ease the difficulty of a task. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times, up a maximum Effort score of 6. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Health: The sidekick adds 3 points to its health. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Initiative: The sidekick is trained in initiative. When within a short distance of the associated PC, the sidekick instead provides an asset to the associated PC's initiative rolls. The sidekick can gain this ability twice. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Level: The sidekick adds +1 level. As a result, the sidekick adds +3 health and +1 damage inflicted with all attacks. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Movement: The sidekick is trained in running and jumping, and can move a short distance as part of another action, or move a long distance as an action. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Power: The sidekick gains a power shift. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Recovery: The sidekick has regains 1 additional point of health when the associated PC makes a recovery roll or the sidekick uses the Sidekick Recovery Roll ability. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Increased Resistance: The sidekick gains +3 Armor against a particular type of damage (including ambient damage of that type). Roll a d20 or choose the type of damage. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Signature Attack
d100Increased Resistance
01–03Bludgeoning
04–06Puncturing
07–09Slicing
10–29Poison (Speed)
30–49Fire
50–59Acid
60–69Cold
70–79Electricity
80–84Arcane
85–89Dark matter
90–94Radiation
95–99Psychic (Intellect)
00Roll on the table two more times; the sidekick's increased resistance applies to both.

  • Increased Size: The sidekick doubles in size, adding +1 level, +5 health, +1 damage to all attacks, and gains a permanent asset on all Might actions (including Might defense rolls, but not attacks). Enabler.

  • Increased Training: Choose two skills (other than attacks or defense), or roll a d20 and the sidekick gains that ability instead. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Increased Training
d20Increased Training
1–2Assassin Skills (110)
3–4Interaction Skills (155)
5–6Investigative Skills (155)
7–8Knowledge Skills (157)
9–12Physical Skills (170)
13–14Stealth Skills (186)
15–16Travel Skills (193)
17Tech Skills (189)
18Flex Skill (141)
19Multiple Skills (165)
20Improvise (152) (1 health)

If the sidekick gains the Improvise ability from Increased Training, they must pay 1 health to use the ability, as described under Signature Ability.

  • Increased Threat: The sidekick adds +1 level. As a result, the sidekick adds +10 health, +1 Armor, and +3 damage inflicted with all attacks. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Instruction: The sidekick gains two benefits from this ability:

    • Communication. The sidekick gains a limited capacity for language. The associated PC can understand the sidekick as if they shared a language. Enabler.

    • Errand. The sidekick can travel up to a mile away and follow the associated PC's instruction, for example finding someone or something. Action.

    The sidekick can gain this ability a second time, gaining the power of speech, an extensive vocabulary, and an asset on all tasks directly related to errands it performs, which it can do up to ten miles away. (OG-CSRD)

  • Nine Lives: If reduced to 0 health, the sidekick exits the scene in an appropriate manner determined by the GM. When the associated PC makes a ten-hour recovery roll, the sidekick reappears with 1d6 health. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Rampage: The sidekick charges at foes within long range and makes a melee attack. The attack doesn't deal any damage, but affected targets in an immediate area are knocked prone, and must use an action to regain their footing. Action. (OG-CSRD)

  • Razzle Dazzle: The sidekick distracts a foe within immediate range, preventing them from taking an action on their next turn. If the sidekick gains this ability again, they gain training with it, or increase the number of foes the ability targets by one. Action. (OG-CSRD)

  • Rending Attack: The sidekick makes a rending attack, which inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal, but decreases the target's Armor by 1 for one round. Action. (OG-CSRD)

  • Share Experience: The associated PC can perceive through the sidekick's senses if it is within 1 mile (1.5 km). This effect lasts up to ten minutes. The associated PC can refuse or end the connection (no action or roll required). Action to establish. (OG-CSRD)

  • Sidekick Recovery Roll: Once each day, the sidekick can make a one-action recovery roll. Roll a d6 and add their level. The sidekick recovers that many health. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times. Action. (OG-CSRD)

  • Signature Attack: The sidekick makes a signature attack against a foe within long range that inflicts 2 points of damage. Roll a d20 or choose the type of damage. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times, gaining training in the attack, increasing the number of targets by one, or increasing the damage inflicted by 2 additional points. Action. (OG-CSRD)

Signature Attack
d100Signature Attack
01–03Bludgeoning
04–06Puncturing
07–09Slicing
10–29Poison (Speed)
30–49Fire
50–59Acid
60–69Cold
70–79Electricity
80–84Radiation
85–89Arcane
90–93Dark matter
94–97Psychic (Intellect)
98–99Roll on the table two more times; the sidekick's signature attack can inflict either damage type.
00Ambient damage (A cosmic force that ignores Armor)

  • Signature Ability: The sidekick gains a special ability from Chapter 9: Abilities of the associated PC's choice:

    • If the associated PC is tier 1 or 2, choose a low-tier ability, or up to four cantrips.
    • If the associated PC is tier 3 or 4, choose a low- or mid-tier ability.
    • If the associated PC is tier 5 or 6, choose a low-, mid-, or high-tier ability.

    If the ability has a cost, the GM determines how it is paid—either by the associated PC, or the sidekick pays an appropriate cost in points from its health. Alternatively, the sidekick can use the ability once, and can't do so again until the associated PC makes a recovery roll of sufficient length. If the ability would increase a PC's Pool, the points are added to the sidekick's health instead. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

A good rule of thumb for setting costs is to halve the Pool point cost, and round it up or down. Another good alternative is just to allow the sidekick to use the ability once or twice each day. If Chapter 9: Abilities feels like a bit too much, consider using ability lists for types, flavors, foci. For some examples of Signature Ability in practice, see the fantastic niches presented earlier in this section.

  • Trusty Steed: The sidekick becomes trained in carrying, can carry two passengers, and provides an asset to passengers on tasks to stay mounted. The sidekick can gain this ability multiple times, adding two passengers to its capacity each time. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

  • Winged Sidekick: The sidekick can glide a long distance each round. The sidekick can gain this ability a second time, gaining the ability to fly a long distance each round. Enabler. (OG-CSRD)

Covens

Quick Reference: Covens

Editor's Notes — The psionic cults in Old Gus' Daft Drafts provide another example of applying the coven framework.

(It's Only Magic, page 88)

Magic is a community affair, and magicians are more powerful in groups. A coven is a group of three or more magicians with similar goals and values, supporting each other and working together to hone their craft. Forming or joining a coven grants characters additional abilities, which you gain separately from the standard advancement track. When you join a coven, you start at rank 1 within that coven, and over time can advance to rank 6. Rank is a measurement of your connection to the coven, and doesn't necessarily correspond to your character tier—for example, a high-tier character might have a low rank in their coven. However, your coven rank cannot exceed your character tier.

The primary magical benefit of joining a coven is gaining access to its spells: a set of character abilities that all members (of the required rank) can use. These spells are usually tailored to the coven's interests and purpose, and are sorted by rank from 1 to 6. Because a character's rank within a coven starts at 1 when they join, a new member of a coven has access to the coven's rank 1 spell. When the character advances to rank 2, they immediately gain access to the coven's rank 2 spell, and so on.

You can think of covens as similar to flavors, in that they allow the GM and players to modify characters with abilities. Unlike choosing an ability from a flavor, a character doesn't have to trade away or swap anything to choose or use a coven spell—they have access to these spells automatically according to their rank in the coven. For example, if the rank 1 spell for the Benevolent Bakers uses the Resist the Elements ability (handy for working over a hot stove all day), any character who joins the Benevolent Bakers automatically gains Resist the Elements, without having to spend extra XP to learn it or trade away a type ability for it.

It's possible for a character to belong to multiple covens, as long as the covens don't have opposed goals. Characters advance their rank in each coven separately, so a particular character might be rank 1 in the Chronographers and rank 3 in the Foretellers.

If a character leaves or is removed from their coven, they immediately lose access to all of that coven's spells.

For magician NPCs in a coven, the GM can assume that their rank is equal to their NPC level (with a maximum of 6).

Joining a Coven

(It's Only Magic, page 88)

Joining an existing coven at rank 1 requires a vow and a ritual. Characters must commit to pursuing the coven's goals and living in accordance with its values. The ritual is a demonstration of dedication to the coven's purpose, and varies in difficulty accordingly. Characters receive their talisman once the ritual is complete.

Coven Talismans

(It's Only Magic, page 89)

A coven talisman is a small item, such as a pendant or ring, that represents a character's affiliation with the coven. Every coven member may carry a slightly different talisman, but they should be clearly related. The Benevolent Bakers' talismans might include a necklace, a pin, and a keychain, all with the same whisk design.

Coven talismans are a type of artifact, with a level equal to the character's rank within the coven and a depletion of "—." The talisman is what allows the character to use their coven abilities; if the talisman isn't on the character's person or within short range, all of the character's coven magic is hindered by two steps. When a person advances within the coven, the talisman's appearance may change to reflect this. While these talismans don't require a depletion roll with each use, a character's coven talisman automatically depletes if they break from the coven.

Editor's Notes — Coven talismans present a number of interesting avenues for GMs:

  • Coven talismans are items, and so are an interesting source of GM intrusion, for example, a PCs might temporarily lose posession of a talisman, or have it tampered with, causing a coven ability to backfire somehow.

  • Coven talismans are artifacts, so they might be assigned a depletion roll when coven abilities are activated. This could be a good way to ration the use of additional abilities, especially those of a higher tier than the PCs. Coven taslismans might also be easier to revive than others, for example, submerging them in a specific pool of energy in a particular set of locations managed by the coven.

  • There's nothing preventing a coven talisman from being a weapon, armor, or other kind of equipment—even something as humble as a suitably powerful laptop computer could be a coven talisman in a modern setting. For example, a Warrior might join a "coven" dedicated to mastering a particular heavy weapon—the meteor hammer—a heavy weight at the end of a very long chain. Once the PC joins the coven, they can use a level of Effort to increase the range of the attack from immediate to short, and gain a modified version of Entangling Force—with the ability's cost paid with Might or Speed instead of Intellect.

Advancing Within a Coven

(It's Only Magic, page 89)

Advancing within a coven is a separate matter from advancing a character. In fact, coven advancement is more similar to a long-term benefit of spending XP. Coven advancement should occur after a character has learned, discovered, or achieved something that aligns with the coven's mission and values.

To advance within the coven, the player spends 3 XP. Characters may mark the occasion with a celebration or let it pass quietly.

Spending XP to advance a character's rank in a coven does not count as one of the four character advancements needed to reach a higher tier.

Breaking From a Coven

(It's Only Magic, page 89)

If a character wishes to leave a coven, they relinquish their coven talisman and lose access to their coven abilities. But a character can also break from their coven by behaving in opposition to its values—such as if a Benevolent Baker were to knowingly poison someone. This causes their coven talisman to become depleted, meaning that they can no longer use their coven abilities.

To restore their place in the coven, a disgraced character must begin by making amends with the other members. They then take their coven talisman to an epicenter and perform a ritual with a difficulty equal to their former coven rank. Upon completing the ritual, they regain that rank within the coven and can access spells accordingly.

Forming a New Coven

(It's Only Magic, page 89)

Creating a new coven simply requires a bit of discussion among the GM and players. Begin by deciding on the following:

  • What's the coven called?
  • What are one or two goals for the coven's magic? What do they want to learn how to do? What skill do the players want the coven to be known for?
  • What are a few succinct values? What do the players agree are the most important things a magician can be? Competent? Fair? Determined? Kind? Loyal? Wealthy?
  • What does the coven talisman look like?
  • What does the initiation ritual (which exemplifies the coven's goals and values) consist of?
Selecting Coven Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 89)

Coven abilities are chosen by the GM and players. To start, they need to decide the rank 1 ability. They can determine the rank 2 ability when at least one character is ready to advance within the coven. In a longer campaign, selecting abilities on an ongoing basis—rather than choosing them all at once—means that the players can choose their next coven ability based on what obstacles they expect their characters to face.

Chapter 9: Abilities divides abilities by both category and power level, which is helpful in narrowing down your options. Choose a low-tier ability for ranks 1 and 2, a mid-tier ability for ranks 3 and 4, and a high-tier ability for ranks 5 and 6.

Because covens form around unifying goals and principles, coven abilities should stack upon each other wherever possible. A coven of entomologists learning to summon and control leaf bugs might progress from Influence Swarm at rank 1 to Control Swarm at rank 2, Call Swarm at rank 3, and so on, eventually reaching Insect Eruption at rank 6. Don't be afraid to be specific! Joining a coven gives characters the opportunity to become experts in a narrow field.

If a pre-existing ability doesn't capture what the players and GM are looking for, the GM is always free to create new ones. To return to the example of the Benevolent Bakers, no abilities in Chapter 9: Abilities specifically pertain to making food, but the bakers could modify an ability like Natural Crafter to suit their needs.

Chapter 12 Experience Points

Quick Reference: Experience Points

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Spend 1 XP

Spend 2 XP

Spend 3 XP

Spend 4 XP

Spend 10 XP

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 237)

Experience points (XP) are the currency by which players gain benefits for their characters. The most common ways to earn XP are through GM intrusions and by accomplishing things the PCs set out to do. Sometimes experience points are earned during a game session, and sometimes they're earned between sessions. In a typical session, a player might earn 2 to 4 XP, and between sessions, perhaps another 2 XP (on average). The exact amounts depend on the events of the session.

GM Intrusion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 237)

At any time, the GM can introduce an unexpected complication for a character. When they intrude in this way, they must give that character 2 XP. That player, in turn, must immediately give one of those XP to another player and justify the gift (perhaps the other player had a good idea, told a joke, or performed an action that saved a life).

Often, the GM intrudes when a player attempts an action that should be an automatic success. However, the GM is free to intrude at other times. As a general rule, the GM should intrude at least once each session, but no more than once or twice each session per character.

Anytime the GM intrudes, the player can spend 1 XP to refuse the intrusion, though that also means they don't get the 2 XP. If the player has no XP to spend, they can't refuse.

If a player rolls a 1 on a die, the GM can intrude without giving the player any XP.

  • Example 1: Through skill and the aid of another character, a fourth-tier PC eases a wall-climbing task from difficulty 2 to difficulty 0. Normally, they would succeed at the task automatically, but the GM intrudes and says "No, a bit of the crumbling wall gives way, so you still have to make a roll." As with any difficulty 2 task, the target number is 6. The PC attempts the roll as normal and gains 2 XP because the GM intruded. They immediately give one of those XP to another player.

  • Example 2: During a fight, a PC swings their axe and damages a foe with a slice across the shoulder. The GM intrudes by saying that the foe turned just as the axe struck, wrenching the weapon from the character's grip and sending it clattering across the floor. The axe comes to a stop 10 feet (3 m) away. Because the GM intruded, the PC gains 2 XP, and the player immediately gives one of those XP to another player. Now the character must deal with the dropped weapon, perhaps drawing a different weapon or using their next turn to scramble after the axe.

For much more on GM intrusions, see Chapter 25: Running the Cypher System.

Character Arcs

Quick Reference: Character Arcs

Sample Character Arcs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 238)

Character arcs are the means by which players can invest themselves more in great stories and character depth and development.

Just like in a book or a television show, characters progress through their own personal story and change over time. A PC with a character arc decides for themselves what they do and why. Character arcs are like stated goals for a character, and by progressing toward that goal, the character advances. The key word there is progressing. A PC doesn't have to succeed at achieving the goal to earn advancement—it's not an all-or-nothing prospect. Each arc is keyed to a single character, but just like in a book or show, characters can take part in the larger story arc that the whole group participates in, while also progressing in their own personal arc.

Character arcs have different steps that mark the character's progress through the arc. Each arc eventually reaches a climax, and then finishes with a step that is a final resolution. Each step reached earns the character 2 XP. Character arcs are the most straightforward way that a character earns XP.

Typically, PCs will earn about half their total experience points from arcs or other GM awards.

At character creation, a player can choose one character arc for their PC at no cost. Players have the option to not choose one, but it's probably a good idea to do so. First and foremost, it is a character-defining factor. If they begin the campaign with a desire to find the woman who killed their brother, that says a lot about the character: they had a brother, he was likely close to them, he had been in at least one dangerous situation, and the character is probably motivated by anger and hate, at least somewhat. Even after the character finishes this first arc, they'll undoubtedly have (at least one) more because they can gain new arcs as the campaign progresses.

Once play begins, players can take on a new arc whenever they wish, as fits the character's ongoing story. Taking a new arc has a cost of 1 XP. While there's no hard limit on how many arcs a character can have at one time, realistically most PCs couldn't reasonably have more than three or four.

However, as mentioned above, arcs have a beginning cost that must be paid, reflecting the character's devotion to the goal. The character will earn this investment back (probably many times over) if the arc is completed.

Character arcs are always player-driven. A GM cannot force one on a character. That said, the events in the narrative often present story arc opportunities and inspire character arcs for the PCs. It's certainly in the GM's purview to suggest possible arcs related to the events going on. For example, if the GM presents an encounter in which an NPC wishes to learn from the PC, it might make sense to suggest taking the Instruction arc. Whether or not the PC takes on the student, the player doesn't have to adopt the Instruction arc unless they want to.

At the end of a session, review the actions you took and describe how they might equate to the completion of a step (or possibly more than one step) in their character arc. If the GM agrees, the character gets their reward.

When in doubt, if one character accomplishes a step in their arc but another character does not, the first character should get the 2 XP reward, but the other character should probably still get, at minimum, 1 XP for the session.

This chapter presents many sample character arcs (see below).

GM Awards

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 238)

Sometimes, a group will have an adventure that doesn't deal primarily with a PC's character arc. In this case, it's a good idea for the GM to award XP to that character for accomplishing other tasks. First and foremost, awards should be based on discovery. Discovery can include finding a significant new location, such as a hidden chamber, a secret fortress, a lost land, a new planet, or an unexplored dimension. In this fashion, PCs are explorers. Discovery can also include a new significant aspect of a setting, such as a secret organization, a new religion, and so on.

It can also mean finding a new procedure or device (something too big to be considered a piece of equipment) or even previously unknown information. This could include a source of magical power, a unique teleportation device, or the cure for a plague. These are all discoveries. The common thread is that the PCs discover something that they can understand and put to use.

Last, depending on the GM's outlook and the kind of campaign the group wants to play, a discovery could be a secret, an ethical idea, an adage, or even a truth.

It's a fine line, but ultimately the GM decides what constitutes a discovery as opposed to just something weird in the course of an adventure. Usually, the difference is, did the PCs successfully interact with it and learn something about it? If so, it's probably a discovery.

  • Artifacts: When the group gains an artifact, award XP equal to the artifact's level and divide it among the PCs (minimum 1 XP for each character). Round down if necessary. For example, if four PCs discover a level 5 artifact, they each get 1 XP. Money, standard equipment, and cyphers are not worth XP.

  • Miscellaneous Discoveries: Various other discoveries might grant 1 XP to each PC involved.

  • Other Awards: If a character is focused on activities that don't relate to a character arc or a discovery, as a general rule, a mission should be worth at least 1 XP per game session involved in accomplishing it. For example, saving a family on an isolated farm beset by raiding cultists might be worth 1 XP for each character. Of course, saving the family doesn't always mean killing the bad guys; it might mean relocating them, parlaying with the cultists, or chasing off the raiders.

Experience point awards for artifacts should usually apply even if the artifact was given to the PCs rather than found, because often such gifts are the rewards for success.

Spending Experience Points

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 239)

Experience points are meant to be used. Hoarding them is not a good idea; if a player accumulates more than 10 XP, the GM can require them to spend some.

Generally, experience points can be spent in four ways: immediate benefits, short- and medium-term benefits, long-term benefits, and character advancement.

Experience points should not be a goal unto themselves. Instead, they are a game mechanic to simulate how—through experience, time, toil, travail, and so on—characters become more skilled, more able, and more powerful. Spending XP to explain a change in a character's capabilities that occurred in the course of the story, such as if the PC made a new device or learned a new skill, isn't a waste of XP—it's what XP are for.

Immediate Benefits

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 239)

The most straightforward way for a player to use XP is to reroll any roll in the game—even one that they didn't make. This costs 1 XP per reroll, and the player chooses the best result. They can continue to spend XP on rerolls, but this can quickly become an expensive proposition. It's a fine way to try to prevent disaster, but it's not a good idea to use a lot of XP to reroll a single action over and over.

A player can also spend 1 XP to refuse a GM intrusion.

Editor's Notes — For more on GM intrusions and rerolls, see Intrusion Through Player Rolls and the optional rule for Separate Reroll and GM Intrusion Refusal Costs.

Short- and Medium-Term Benefits

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 239)

By spending 2 XP, a character can gain a skill—or, more rarely, an ability—that provides a short-term benefit. Let's say a character notices that the computer terminals in the facility they're infiltrating are similar to those used by the company they once worked for. They spend 2 XP and say that they have a great deal of experience in using these. As a result, they are trained in operating (and breaking into) these computers. This is just like being trained in computer use or hacking, but it applies only to computers found in that particular location. The skill is extremely useful in the facility, but nowhere else.

Medium-term benefits are usually story based. For example, a character can spend 2 XP while climbing through mountains and say that they have experience with climbing in regions like these, or perhaps they spend the XP after they've been in the mountains for a while and say that they've picked up the feel for climbing there. Either way, from now on, they're trained in climbing in those mountains. This helps them now and any time they return to the area, but they're not trained in climbing everywhere.

This method allows a character to get immediate training in a skill for half the normal cost. (Normally, it costs 4 XP to become trained in a skill.) It's also a way to gain a new skill even if the PC has already gained a new skill as a step toward attaining the next tier.

In rare cases, a GM might allow a character to spend 2 XP to gain an entirely new ability—such as a device, a special ability, or a special mental power—for a short time, usually no longer than the course of one scenario. The player and the GM should agree on a story-based explanation for the benefit. Perhaps the ability has a specific rare requirement, such as a tool, a battery, a drug, or some kind of treatment. For example, a character who wants to explore a submerged location has several biotech enhancements, and they spend 2 XP to cobble together a device that lets them breathe underwater. This gives them the ability for a considerable length of time, but not permanently—the device might work for only eight hours. Again, the story and the logic of the situation dictate the parameters.

Long-Term Benefits

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 239)

In many ways, the long-term benefits a PC can gain by spending XP are a means of integrating the mechanics of the game with the story. Players can codify things that happen to their characters by talking to the GM and spending 3 XP.

Things that a PC can acquire as a long-term benefit can be thought of as being story based, and they allow the player to have some narrative control over the story. In the course of play, a player might decide that their character gains a friend (a contact) or builds a log cabin (a home). Because a player spent XP, however, they should have some agency over what they've gained, and it shouldn't be easily taken away. The player should help come up with the details of the contact or the design of their home.

It's also possible to gain these benefits through events in the story, without spending XP. The new contact comes to the PC and starts the relationship. The new home is granted to them as a reward for service to a powerful or wealthy patron, or maybe the character inherits the home from a relative. However, because these came from the GM and not the player (and no XP were spent), the player has no narrative control over them and the GM makes up the details.

Long-term benefits can include the following.

  • Contact: The character gains a long-term NPC contact of importance—someone who will help them with information, equipment, or physical tasks. The player and GM should work out the details of the relationship.

  • Home: The PC acquires a full-time residence. This can be an apartment in a city, a cabin in the wilderness, a base in an ancient complex, or whatever fits the situation. It should be a secure place where the PC can leave their belongings and sleep soundly. Several characters could combine their XP and buy a home together.

  • Title or job: The PC is granted a position of importance or authority. It might come with responsibilities, prestige, and rewards, or it might be an honorary title.

  • Wealth: The PC comes into a considerable amount of wealth, whether it's a windfall, an inheritance, or a gift. It might be enough to buy a home or a title, but that's not really the point. The main benefit is that the PC no longer needs to worry about the cost of simple equipment, lodging, food, and so on. This wealth could mean a set amount—perhaps 50,000 dollars (or whatever is appropriate in the setting)—or it could bestow the ability to ignore minor costs, as decided by the player and GM.

GMs and players should work together to make XP awards and expenditures fit the ongoing story. If a PC stays in a location for two months to learn the inhabitants' unique language, the GM might award the character a few XP, which are then immediately spent to grant them the ability to understand and speak that language.

Character Advancement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 240)

Progressing to the next tier involves four steps. When a PC has spent 4 XP on each of the steps, they advance to the next tier and gain all the type and focus benefits of that tier. The four steps can be purchased in any order, but each can be purchased only once per tier. In other words, a PC must buy all four steps and advance to the next tier before they can buy the same steps again.

  • Increasing Capabilities: You gain 4 new points to add to your stat Pools. You can allocate the points among your Pools however you wish.

  • Moving Toward Perfection: You add 1 to your Might Edge, your Speed Edge, or your Intellect Edge (your choice).

  • Extra Effort: Your Effort score increases by 1.

  • Skills: Choose one skill other than attacks or defense, such as climbing, jumping, persuading, sneaking, or history. You become trained in that skill. You can also choose to be knowledgeable in a certain area of study, such as history or geology. You can even choose a skill based on your character's special abilities. For example, if your character can make an Intellect roll to blast an enemy with mental force, you can become trained in that ability, easing the task of using it.

    If you choose a skill that you are already trained in, you become specialized in that skill, easing the task by two steps instead of one. If you choose a skill that you have an inability in, the training and the inability cancel each other out (you aren't eased or hindered in that task). For example, if you have an inability in perception, becoming trained in that cancels out the inability.

  • Other Options: Players can also spend 4 XP to purchase other special options. Selecting one of these options counts as purchasing one of the four stages necessary to advance to the next tier. The other three need to be from the other categories. The special options are as follows:

    • Reduce the cost for wearing armor. This option lowers the Speed penalty for wearing armor by 1.
    • Add 2 to your recovery rolls.
    • Select another focus ability available to you at tier 3. (You must be tier 3 or higher to do this. Characters advancing beyond tier 6 can use this option to select their other tier 6 focus ability.)
    • Select another character ability from your type, such as a tier 2 Warrior selecting Reload or Crushing Blow.

Once you're specialized in a skill, you can't improve your training in that skill further (you can ease a task by up to two steps with training). You can still make that task easier with assets and a few rare abilities that don't count as an asset or training.

Optional Character Advancements

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

If the GM employs optional rules, the following character advancements might be available.

Equal Advancement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 240)

It's worthwhile if all characters advance through the six tiers at about the same rate—an important issue for some players. A good GM can achieve this result by carefully handing out XP rewards, some during play (which will tend to get used immediately) and some after play concludes, especially after completing a major story arc or quest so the GM can hand out 4 XP in one go (which will tend to get used for advancement). Many groups will discover while playing that equal advancement isn't an important issue in the Cypher System, but people should get to play the game the way they want to play it.

Tier Advancement in the Cypher System

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 240)

Tiers in the Cypher System aren't entirely like levels in other roleplaying games. In the Cypher System, gaining tiers is not the players' only goal or the only measure of achievement. Starting (first-tier) characters are already competent, and there are only six tiers. Character advancement has a power curve, but it's only steep enough to keep things interesting. In other words, gaining a new tier is cool and fun, but it's not the only path to success or power. If you spend all your XP on immediate, short-term, and medium-term benefits, you will be different from someone who spends their points on long-term benefits, but you will not be "behind" that character.

The general idea is that most characters will spend half their XP on tier advancement and long-term benefits, and the rest on immediate benefits and short- and medium-term benefits (which are used during gameplay). Some groups might decide that XP earned during a game is to be spent on immediate and short- and medium-term benefits (gameplay uses), and XP awarded between sessions for discoveries is to be spent on character advancement (long-term uses).

Ultimately, the idea is to make experience points into tools that the players and the GM can use to shape the story and the characters, not just a bookkeeping hassle.

Optional Rule: XP Advance

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Getting an XP Advance (232) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

In games where it's not as important if the PCs share the same overall power grade, the GM might give a PC additional XP, which they can use to gain additional benefits. The following table provides suggests a framework for how the GM might assign costs for benefits purchased with an XP advance:

XP Advance Benefits
XP Advance Benefit
1–2 XP
  • Low-tier ability, including Improved Edge
  • +2 points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish
  • Training in one broad skill (other than attacks or defense)
  • Training in two narrow skills (other than attacks or defense)
  • Cantrips (choose any four)
3–4 XP
5–6 XP

A PC using this option usually gains an appropriate complication, which the GM decides is either permanent, or lasts until the XP advance is paid off as a debt, or the completion of an appropriate character arc.

XP Advance Complications
Complication 4–10 XP 11–20 XP
Burden The PC has a harmful mutation or complex relationship with another NPC or organization that regularly requires their attention. The PC is constantly accompanied by their troublesome relation, and must frequently attend to them instead of taking other actions.
Condition Once each session, the GM can make a free GM intrusion, which the PC cannot pay XP to avoid. The effects last up to an hour. The PC is deaf, blind, has a significant disability, or a debilitating addiction.
Fugitive The PC is wanted by authorities and must avoid unnecessary attention. Powerful NPCs plot to capture or kill the PC, and occasionally show up to do just that.
Inability The PC gains an inability with an important kind of attack, defense, or movement skill. The PC will die in the course of the story, probably at the worst possible moment.
Maintenance The PC regularly requires something specific to sustain themselves. If delayed or disrupted, their abilities become unavailable, unreliable, or unpredictable. If the PC doesn't sustain themself, they move down one step on the damage track (which cannot be ignored by special abilities like Ignore the Pain).
Oppression All interaction tasks are hindered, and the PC is sometimes treated with disgust or contempt by NPCs. All combat tasks are also hindered.

These examples are not exhaustive, and might not be appropriate for every game or setting. For more ideas on balancing an XP advance with a complication, see Drawbacks and Penalties and Conditions and Injuries.

Optional Rule: Starting at Tier 0

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This optional rule allows the GM to start the game with less powerful PCs. If you are playing tier 0 PC, start by selecting a descriptor and type (and perhaps a flavor) for your PC.

  • Stat Pools: Your starting Pools are determined by your type:

Tier 0 Stat Pools by Type
Stat Adept Explorer Speaker Warrior
Might 7 10 8 10
Speed 9 9 9 10
Intellect 12 9 11 8
Advancing to Tier 1

Advancing to tier 1 involves four steps. Each step costs 4 XP. The steps cans be purchased in any order.

Optional Rule: Slower Advancement

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The following options allow the GM to slow the rate of character advancement and change the nature of XP as a currency.

  • Expenditure Requirements: The GM can require that some portion—for example, half—of the XP earned by a PC must be spent on immediate, short- and medium-term, or long-term benefits. Alternatively, the GM might separate XP into two types—one of which can be spent on character advancement, and another which cannot.

  • Milestone Advancement: This option is a variant of Equal Advancement, except PCs purchase their character advancements as normal, but the GM decides when a PC advances to the next tier. This might be to wait until all PCs are ready to advance, just before or after a significant event in the campaign, or as part of a specific step of a character arc.

    An old-fashioned way of handling milestones is to require PCs to spend time, currency—or both—to advance to the next tier, potentially involving the instruction of a mentor or at least someone with something to teach the PC. Even if PCs do not reach new tiers at the same rate, some character arcs can be addressed quite effectively during "downtime" between adventures, providing other PCs with the opportunity to pursue those, or go carousing and explore nearby locations.

  • Require More Advancements Each Tier: The GM decides on a number of additional character advancements a PC must purchase with XP to before advancing to the next tier. When using this rule, the GM decides any requirements or limitations for the additional advancements, including optional character advancements. When using this rule, PCs will gain additional breadth each tier in the form of additional skills, special abilities, or other benefits.

  • Increased Advancement Costs by Tier: Each tier, the cost for purchasing a character advancement is increased by 1 XP. Additionally, every two tiers, a PC can hold 1 additional XP.

Increased Advancement Costs by Tier
PC Tier Character Advancement Cost XP Limit
Tier 1 4 XP 10 XP
Tier 2 5 XP 10 XP
Tier 3 6 XP 11 XP
Tier 4 7 XP 11 XP
Tier 5 8 XP 12 XP
Tier 6 9 XP 12 XP
Optional Rule: Advancing Beyond Tier 6

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Tiers Above Sixth in the 2015 Cypher System Rulebook (234). Challenging PCs above sixth tier probably involves really impossible tasks.

After reaching sixth-tier, if the GM allows it, you can continue to spend XP to purchase the following character advancements. After purchasing four advancements, instead of advancing to a new tier, you gain one special ability of your choice from your type or focus. The GM might also assign additional benefits instead of tier advancement, for example, advancing a second focus by one tier and gaining its associated special abilities, or making a choice from a list of power shifts or posthuman upgrades.

  • Increase Pools: You gain 4 new points to add to your stat Pools. You can allocate the points among your Pools however you wish.

  • Increase Edge: You add 1 to your Might, Speed or Intellect Edge, up to a maximum of 6. If you have features that permanently increase a stat's Edge, the maximum is increased by an equal amount. For example, a PC with the Roach descriptor and Golem Body ability has a maximum Might Edge and Speed Edge of 7. Likewise, a weakness from a harmful mutation or other source lowers a stat's maximum. Cyphers like Speed Boost and special abilities Beast Form that provide temporary increases to Edge function normally.

  • Increase Effort: Your Effort score increases by 1, up to a maximum of 6.

  • Increase Skills: Choose one skill (other than attacks or defense) or a special ability to become trained in. You can also use this advancement to become specialized in a skill or ability you're already trained in, or to cancel out an inability, becoming practiced in the task. You can choose this advancement up to three times, selecting a different skill or special ability each time.

  • Increase Recovery Rolls: Add 2 to your recovery rolls.

  • Armor Training: Reduce your Speed Effort cost for wearing armor by 1.

  • Gain a Special Ability: Select one new ability from your type or focus. If the GM allows, you can use this option to permanently gain a spellcasting or psionic ability, allowing you to use it by paying its Pool point cost instead of using a recovery roll or spending time to cast a spell or manifest a psionic ability.

  • Mutate: If the GM allows this character advancement, you gain a beneficial mutation, powerful mutation, or distinctive mutations. The GM might allow you to choose a specific mutation, or require you to roll for a random one.

Sample Character Arcs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 241)

The rest of this chapter presents sample character arcs for PCs. The writeup of each arc describes the parts involved in progressing through the arc:

  • Opening: This sets the stage for the rest of the arc. It involves some action, although that might just be the PC agreeing to do the task or undertake the mission. It usually has no reward.

  • Step(s): This is the action required to move toward the climax. In story terms, this is the movement through the bulk of the arc. It's the journey. The rising tension. Although there might be just one step, there might also be many, depending on the story told. Each results in a reward of 2 XP.

  • Climax: This is the finale—the point at which the PC likely succeeds or fails at what they've set out to do. Not every arc ends with victory. If the character is successful, they earn a reward of 4 XP. If they fail, they still earn a reward of 2 XP. If a character fails the climax, they very likely ignore the resolution.

  • Resolution: This is the wrap-up or denouement. It's a time for the character to reflect on what happened, tie up any loose ends, and figure out what happens next. When things are more or less resolved, the character earns a 1 XP reward.

Within the arc, most of the time a part is probably optional, depending on the situation—although it's hard to envision most arcs without some kind of opening, climax, or resolution. Steps other than the opening, the climax, and the resolution can be done in any order.

Character arcs should always take at least weeks in game time, and no more than two parts in an arc should be accomplished in a game session (and most of the time, it should be one part, if any). If neither of these two things is true, then it's not really a character arc. You can't, for example, use the Creation arc to guide you through something you can make in an hour or two.

The following are common character arcs that you can choose for your character. If you and the GM want to make a new one, it should be fairly easy after looking through these models.

This chapter has a selection of sample character arcs, but you can create your own too. The arcs are intentionally broad to encompass many different characters and stories. For example, Revenge is a very simple and straightforward character arc. The player who chooses this arc for their character decides who they want revenge on, and why. It's up to the players and the GM to make the details fit.

Some players might not want to use character arcs. The GM, however, can still use them as a benchmark for awarding XP. If the PCs are going off to explore a strange planet, the GM can essentially give them the Explore arc.

Aid a Friend

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 242)

Someone needs your help.

When a PC friend takes a character arc, you can select this arc to help them with whatever their arc is (if appropriate). The steps and climax depend entirely on their chosen arc. If the friend is an NPC, the steps and climax are lifted from another arc appropriate to whatever they seek to do.

It's difficult, but possible, to aid a friend with an arc even if that friend is unwilling to accept (or is ignorant of) your help.

The cost and rewards for a character with this arc are the same as those described in the original character arc.

  • Opening: Answering the Call. Offering to help (or responding to a request for help).

  • Step(s) and Climax: Depends on the friend's arc. Rewards are the same for you as for the friend.

  • Resolution: You speak with your friend and learn if they are satisfied. Together, you share what you've learned (if anything) and where you will go from here.

Assist an Organization

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 242)

You set out to accomplish something that will further an organization. You're probably allied with them or they are rewarding you for your help in some fashion.

  • Opening: Responding to the Call. You work out all the details of what's expected of you, and what rewards (if any) you might get. You also get the specifics of what's required to join and advance.

  • Step: Sizing up the Task. This requires some action. A reconnaissance mission. An investigation.

  • Step(s): Undertaking the Task. Because this arc can vary so widely based on the task involved, there might be multiple steps like this one.

  • Climax: Completing the Task.

  • Resolution: Collecting your reward (if any) and conferring with the people in the organization that you spoke to. Perhaps getting access to higher-ranking people in the organization. You can choose to have your connection to the organization increase rather than take the standard reward.

Avenge

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 242)

Someone close to you or important to you in some way has been wronged. The most overt version of this arc would be to avenge someone's death. Avenging is different than revenge, as revenge is personal—you are the wronged party. But in the Avenge character arc, you are avenging a wrong done to someone else.

  • Opening: Declaration. You publicly declare that you are going to avenge the victim(s). This is optional.

  • Step(s): Tracking the Guilty. You track down the guilty party. This might not be physically finding them if you already know where they are. Instead, it might be discovering a way to get at them if they are distant, difficult to reach, or well protected. This step might be repeated multiple times, if applicable.

  • Step: Finding the Guilty. You finally find the guilty party, or find a path or make a plan to reach them. Now all that's left is to confront them.

  • Climax: Confrontation. You confront the guilty party. This might be a public accusation and demonstration of guilt, a trial, or an attack to kill, wound, or apprehend them—whatever you choose to be appropriate.

  • Resolution: You resolve the outcome and the ramifications of the confrontation and decide what to do next.

Become an Advocate

(We Are All Mad Here, page 177)

You desire to help and support others, especially those who are dealing with difficult situations. This might be related to something you've personally experienced, something you're knowledgeable about, or both. You can advocate in any number of ways, including being an emotional support system, helping other voices be heard, defending and safeguarding others' rights, and generally being an ally.

  • Opening: Sizing up Your Skills. You decide what best enables you to be a good advocate, and create a plan.

  • Step(s): Training and Research. You learn about being a good advocate, possibly by finding a mentor or organization that can help you.

  • Step(s): Building Your Skills. You practice the skills you've learned, and review the successes and failures to continue to improve.

  • Climax: Lean on Me. You assist one or more people through a difficult time using your training, skills, and experience.

  • Resolution: You reflect on everything you've learned and decide what to do next.

Birth

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 242)

You are becoming a parent.

The Birth character arc assumes you already have a partner or a surrogate. If you want your character to find a romantic partner or spouse, you can use the Romance arc. And of course, nonhuman characters might reproduce in other ways.

This arc is usually followed by the Raise a Child arc.

  • Opening: Impregnation.

  • Step: Finding a Caretaker. This might be a physician, midwife, doula, or similar person. This is optional.

  • Step: Complication. A complication arises that threatens the pregnancy, the birth parent, or both.

  • Step: Preparation. You prepare a place for the delivery as well as a safe place for the infant to live once born.

  • Climax: Delivery. The baby is born. Success means the child survives.

  • Resolution: You get the baby to the place you have prepared and settle in, deciding what to do next.

Build

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 243)

You are going to build a physical structure—a house, a fortress, a workshop, a defensive wall, and so on. This arc would also cover renovating an existing structure or substantially adding to one. Of course, this doesn't have to be physical construction. You might build something with spells or other supernatural abilities.

  • Opening: Make a Plan. This almost certainly involves literally drawing up blueprints or plans.

  • Step(s): Find a Site. This might be extremely straightforward—a simple examination of the site—or it might be an entire exploratory adventure. (If the latter, it might involve multiple such steps.)

  • Step(s): Gather Materials. Depending on what you are building and what it is made out of, this could involve multiple steps. There probably are substantial costs involved as well.

  • Step(s): Construction. Depending on what you are building, this could involve multiple steps. It might also take a considerable amount of time and work.

  • Climax: Completion. The structure is finished.

  • Resolution: You put the structure to its desired use and see if it holds up.

Cleanse

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 243)

Someone or something has been contaminated, probably by evil spirits, radiation, a deadly virus, foul magic, or the like, and you want to rid them of such influences or contaminants. This could also be a curse, a possession, an infestation, or something else.

  • Opening: Analyzing the Threat. You determine the nature of the contamination.

  • Step: Find the Solution. Almost every contamination has its own particular solution, and this likely involves research and consultation.

  • Step: Getting Ready. The solution probably involves materials, spells, or other things that you must gather and prepare.

  • Climax: The Cleansing. You confront the contamination.

  • Resolution: You reflect on the events that have transpired and what effects they might have on the future. How can you keep this from happening again?

Creation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 244)

You want to make something. This might be a magic item, a painting, a novel, or a machine.

  • Opening: Make a Plan. You figure out what you need, what you're going to do, and how you're going to do it.

  • Step(s): Gather Materials. Depending on what you are creating and what it is made out of, this could involve multiple steps. There probably are substantial costs involved as well.

  • Step(s): Progress. Depending on what you are creating, this could involve multiple steps. It might also take a considerable amount of time and work.

  • Climax: Completion. It's finished! Is it what you wanted? Does it work?

  • Resolution: You think about what you have learned from the process and use or enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Defeat a Foe

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 244)

Someone stands in your way or is threatening you. You must overcome the challenge they represent. Defeat doesn't always mean kill or even fight. Defeating a foe could mean beating them in a chess match or in competition for a desired mentor.

  • Opening: Sizing up the Competition. This requires some action. A reconnaissance mission. An investigation.

  • Step: Investigation. This requires some action. A reconnaissance mission. An investigation.

  • Step(s): Diving In. You travel toward your opponent, overcome their lackeys, or take steps to reach them so you can confront them. This step can take many forms, and there might be more than one such step. This step is always active.

  • Climax: Confrontation. The contest, challenge, fight, or confrontation occurs.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what you've learned and what the consequences of your actions might be.

Defense

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 244)

A person, place, or thing is threatened, and you want to protect it.

  • Opening: Analyze the Situation. What are you defending, and what threats are involved?

  • Step: Account for Your Resources. How are you going to defend?

  • Step(s): Fend Off Danger. The forces threatening what you are protecting probably make an initial threat that you'll have to defeat. It's not the main threat, though. There might be multiple such initial threats.

  • Climax: Protect. The true threat reveals itself and you confront it.

  • Resolution: A time for reflection on everything that occurred, and an assessment of the person, place, or thing's safety going forward.

Develop a Bond

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 244)

You want to get closer to another character. This might be to make a friend, find a mentor, or establish a contact in a position of power. It might be to turn a friend into a much closer friend. The character might be an NPC or a PC.

  • Opening: Getting to Know You. You learn what you can about the other character.

  • Step: Initial Attempt. You attempt to make contact. This might involve sending messages or gifts through a courier, using an intermediary, or just going up and saying hello, depending on the situation.

  • Step(s): Building a Relationship. There might be many such steps as you develop the relationship.

  • Climax: Bond. You succeed or fail at forging the bond.

  • Resolution: You enjoy the fruits of your new relationship.

Develop Coping Strategies

(We Are All Mad Here, page 178)

You want to develop better ways of moving through the world while living with a mental illness. This isn't a “cure” or a “fix.” It isa step toward mitigating symptoms or struggles by developing healthy emotional coping strategies.

  • Opening: Explore Your Inner Self. You spend time with your emotions and thoughts in order to pinpoint which struggle or symptom you'd like to develop a coping strategy for.

  • Step: Make a Plan. Almost every struggle or symptom has a particular set of steps that you can go through to better cope with it. This will likely involve research and consultation.

  • Step(s): Practice. At every opportunity, practice the coping strategies that you're learning and pay attention to where they work and fail. You might try different strategies and see which ones seem better suited to your particular needs.

  • Climax: Deal With It. You're put into a situation that tests your coping strategies. They don't have to work perfectly in order for you to succeed.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what you've learned and decide where you want to go from here.

Enterprise

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 245)

You want to create and run a business or start an organization. Maybe you're a craftsperson who wants to sell your creations. Maybe you like baking and you want to start a catering service. Or maybe you want to start a secret society or found a school to teach young mutants how to use their powers. You'll almost certainly have to make new connections, find (and somehow pay for) a location, and deal with all manner of administrative duties.

  • Opening: Drawing up a Plan. What's your goal, and how are you going to achieve it?

  • Step: Account for Your Resources. How much financing does the enterprise need compared to what you've got? If you need more, how will you get it? How many people other than yourself are needed to begin, and how many will you need to sustain things once they are up and running?

  • Step: Finding a Location. You probably need a place to run your enterprise—a store, a workshop, a base of operations, and so on. You find a location and look into what it will take to buy or rent it.

  • Step(s): Building the Enterprise. You procure the needed equipment or personnel. You make the connections and deals to get things started. You obtain important permits or other legal documents. You test new products. You actually start the business. Each of these developments (and likely others) can be counted as a separate step, so there will be many steps.

  • Climax: Profit and Loss. You determine whether your enterprise will take off and carry on into the future, or fall apart before it gets a chance to blossom. This occurs in a single dramatic moment—your first major client, your organization's first big meeting or mission, or whatever else is appropriate.

  • Resolution: A time for reflection on everything that occurred, and how you're going to move forward.

Establishment

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 245)

You want to prove yourself as someone of importance. This can take many forms—socially, within your order, financially, or even romantically.

  • Opening: Assessment. You assess yourself as well as who you need to prove yourself to.

  • Step(s): Appearances Matter. You improve your look. Enhance your wardrobe. Spruce up your house. Whatever it takes to get attention from the right people. There might be many such steps.

  • Step(s): Self-Aggrandizement. You need to get the word out to get people talking about you. There might be many such steps.

  • Climax: Grabbing Attention. You do something big, like host a party for influential people or produce a play that you wrote. You make a big splash or a big crash.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what you did and where you go from here.

Explore

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 245)

Something out there is unknown and you want to explore its secrets. This is most likely an area of wilderness, a new planet, an otherworldly dimension, or something similar.

  • Opening: Make a Plan. Not only do you draw up a plan for your exploration, but if appropriate, you also make a formal declaration to relevant parties of what you're going to do.

  • Step(s): Gather Resources. You get the supplies, vehicles, and help you need. Depending on where you are going and what is required, this could involve multiple steps. There probably are substantial costs involved as well.

  • Step(s): Travel. You go where you wish to explore. There might be many such steps, depending on how long it takes to get there.

  • Step(s): Exploration. This is the meat of the arc, but it's probably a series of small moves and minor victories. There might be many such steps.

  • Climax: Conquest. You make the big discovery or truly master the area. You might not have explored every inch of the place, but if you are successful, you can claim to be done.

  • Resolution: You return home and possibly share your findings.

Fall from Grace

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 245)

This is an odd character arc in that it's (presumably) not something that a character would want. It is something that a player selects on a meta level for the character because it makes for an interesting story. It also sets up the potential for future arcs, such as Redemption. It's important that this involve actions you take. For example, you fall into substance abuse. You treat people badly. You make mistakes that endanger others. In other words, the fall isn't orchestrated by someone else—it's all your own doing.

  • Opening: The Descent. Things go bad.

  • Step(s): Further Descent. Things get worse. Depending on the situation, this might involve many steps.

  • Step: Lashing Out. You treat others poorly as you descend.

  • Climax: Rock Bottom. There is no chance for success here. Only failure.

  • Resolution: You wallow in your own misery.

Finish a Great Work

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 246)

Something that was begun in the past must now be completed. This might involve destroying an evil artifact, finishing the construction of a monument, developing the final steps of a cure for a disease, or uncovering a lost temple forgotten to the ages.

  • Opening: Assessing the Past. You look at what has come before and where it still needs to go. This almost certainly involves some real research.

  • Step: Conceive a Plan. You make a plan on how to move forward.

  • Step(s): Progress. You make significant progress or overcome a barrier to completion. This may involve multiple such steps.

  • Climax: Completion. This involves the big finish to the past work.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what you did and where you go from here.

Growth

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 246)

Willingly or unwillingly, you are going to change. This is another meta arc. It's less about a goal and more about character development. While it's possible that the growth involved is intentional, in most people's lives and stories, it is emergent. A character might become less selfish, braver, a better leader, or experience some other form of growth.

  • Opening: The Beginning. Change usually begins slowly, in a small, almost imperceptible way.

  • Step(s): Change. Growth involves many small steps.

  • Step: Overcoming an Obstacle. The temptation to resort to your old ways is always present.

  • Climax: Self-Evident Change. This is a dramatic about-face. This is the moment where you do something the "old you" would never have done, and it has a profound effect on you and those around you. With either success or failure, growth is possible.

  • Resolution: You recognize the change in yourself and move forward.

Instruction

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 246)

You teach a pupil. You have knowledge on a topic and are willing to share. This can be a skill, an area of lore, a combat style, or the use of a special ability. This is usually a fairly long-term arc. Sometimes teaching a pupil is a side matter, and sometimes the pupil takes on more of an apprentice role and spends a great deal of time with you, traveling with you and perhaps even living in your house (or you living in theirs).

  • Opening: Taking on the Student.

  • Step: Getting to Know Them. You assess your pupil's strengths and weaknesses and try to get an idea of what they need to learn and how you can teach it to them.

  • Step(s): The Lessons. Teaching is often a slow, gradual process.

  • Step: Breakdown. Many times, a student needs to have a moment of crisis to really learn something. Maybe they get dejected, or maybe they rebel against your teaching techniques.

  • Climax: Graduation. This is when you recognize that the pupil has learned what they need. It usually comes at a dramatic moment.

  • Resolution: You and the pupil say your goodbyes, and you look toward the future.

Join an Organization

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 247)

You want to join an organization. This might be a military organization, a corporation, a secret society, a religion, or something else.

  • Opening: Getting the Details. You learn all you can about the organization and how one becomes a member.

  • Step(s): Making a Contact. Friends on the inside are always important.

  • Step(s): Performing a Deed. The organization might want to test your worth, or this might be a ceremony you must take part in. It might include paying some sort of dues or fee. Or all of these things.

  • Climax: Proving Your Worth. This is the point at which you attempt to show the organization that they would be better off with you as a member.

  • Resolution: You consider your efforts and assess what your membership gets you.

Editor's Notes — Covens provide a model for reputation-based progression with all kinds of secret societies, mystic orders, or unique factions.

Justice

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 247)

You try to right a wrong or bring a wrongdoer to justice.

  • Opening: Declaration. You publicly declare that you are going to bring justice in this situation. This is optional.

  • Step(s): Tracking the Guilty. You track down the guilty party, assuming there is one. This might not be physically finding them if you already know where they are. Instead, it might be discovering a way to get at them if they are distant, difficult to reach, or well protected. This step might be repeated multiple times, if applicable.

  • Step: Helping the Victim. Righting a wrong does not always involve confronting a wrongdoer. Part of it might be about helping those who were wronged.

  • Climax: Confrontation. You confront the guilty party. This might be a public accusation and demonstration of guilt, a trial, or an attack to kill, wound, or apprehend them—whatever you choose to be appropriate.

  • Resolution: You resolve the outcome and ramifications of the confrontation and decide what to do next.

Learn

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 247)

You want to learn something. This isn't the same as the Uncover a Secret arc, in which you're looking for a bit of information. This is a skill or whole area of knowledge you want to gain proficiency with. This is learning a new language, how to play an instrument, or how to be a good cook. Thus, it's not about gaining a level or rank in climbing, but learning to be an experienced mountaineer.

  • Opening: Focusing on the Problem.

  • Step: Finding a Teacher or a Way to Teach Yourself. Now you can truly begin.

  • Step(s): Learn. Depending on what you're learning, this could involve one step or quite a few.

  • Climax: The Test. You put your new knowledge to the test in a real situation.

  • Resolution: You relax a bit and decide what to do next.

Master a Skill

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 247)

You're skilled, but you want to become the best. This arc might logically follow the Learn arc. As with the Learn arc, this can involve any kind of training at all, not just a skill.

  • Opening: Finding the Path. You've learned the basics. Now it's time for the advanced material.

  • Step: Discovering a Master. You find a master to help you become a master.

  • Step(s): Learn. Depending on what you're mastering, this could involve one step or quite a few.

  • Step: The Last Step. Eventually, you realize that even a master cannot teach you the last step. You must learn it on your own.

  • Climax: The Test. You put your mastery to the test in a real situation—and considering your goal, it's probably a very important situation.

  • Resolution: You relax a bit and decide what to do next.

Mysterious Background

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 247)

You don't know who your parents were, but you want to find out. The mystery might be something other than your parentage, but that's a common theme in this kind of arc. You want to know where you come from—there's some kind of mystery in your past.

  • Opening: Beginning the Search.

  • Step: Research. You look into your own family background, if possible.

  • Step(s): Investigation. You talk to people who might know. You follow clues.

  • Climax: Discovery. You discover the secret of your own background. You determine if what you learn is good or bad, but either way discovery means success.

  • Resolution: You contemplate how this new knowledge sits with you.

New Discovery

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 248)

You want to invent a new device, process, spell, or something similar. A cure for a heretofore unknown disease? An invocation with a result you've never heard of before? A method for getting into an impregnable vault? Any of these and more could be your discovery. While similar to the Creation arc and the Learn arc, the New Discovery arc involves blazing a new trail. No one can teach you what you want to know. You've got to do it on your own.

  • Opening: The Idea. You draw up plans for the thing you want to invent or discover.

  • Step: Research. You learn what people have done before and recognize where they fell short.

  • Step(s): Trial and Error. You test your hypothesis. This often ends in many failures before you get a success.

  • Climax: Eureka! It's time to put the discovery to the true test.

  • Resolution: You reflect on your discovery and probably compile your notes and write it all down, for posterity's sake if nothing else.

Put Down Roots

(We Are All Mad Here, page 178)

If you choose this arc, you are hoping to create a strong support system among your friends and fellow travelers. You seek the assistance of those around you to help you through difficult times and you wish to offer assistance back. This connection might be to your fellow PCs, to a group of NPCs that you meet along the way, or as part of an already-established group or organization.

  • Opening: Let's Be Friends. You propose the idea of a support system to those you'd like to include.

  • Step: Reach Out. You do the hard work of making yourself vulnerable to others by being honest and open about who you are. You create a safe space for others to do the same.

  • Step(s): Accept and Give Help. You ask for and accept help and support from the group. You give help and support to others when it's needed.

  • Climax: Strong Bond. During a time of crisis, the group works together to support and uplift you, and you are there for them in return.

  • Resolution: You enjoy the benefits of having a supportive group of people in your life.

Raise a Child

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 248)

You raise a child to adulthood. It can be your biological child or one you adopt. It can even be a child taken under your wing, more a young protégé than a son or daughter. This is obviously a very long-term arc.

  • Opening: Sharing Your Home. The child now lives with you.

  • Step: Care and Feeding. You learn to meet the child's basic needs.

  • Step(s): Basic Instruction. You teach them to walk, talk, and read. You teach them to care for themselves.

  • Step(s): The Rewards Are Many. The child loves you. Relies on you. Trusts you. Eventually, helps you.

  • Step(s): Ethical Instruction. You instill your basic ethics in the child, hoping that they will mature into an adult you can be proud of.

  • Climax: Adulthood. At some point the child leaves the proverbial nest. You determine, at this point, your own success or failure.

  • Resolution: You reflect on the memories you have made.

Recover from a Wound (or Trauma)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 248)

You need to heal. This isn't just for healing simple damage. This involves recovering from a major debilitating injury, illness, or shock. Severe damage, the loss of a body part, and emotional trauma all fall into this category.

  • Opening: Rest. The first thing you need to do is rest.

  • Step: Self Care. You take care of your own needs.

  • Step: Getting Aid. Someone helps.

  • Step: Medicine. Some kind of drug, cure, poultice, potion, or remedy aids your recovery.

  • Step: Therapy. With the help of someone else, you exercise your injury or cope with your trauma.

  • Climax: Acceptance or Recovery. You try to move on and use what has been damaged (or learn how to function without it).

  • Resolution: You get on with your life.

Redemption

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 248)

You've done something very wrong, but you want to atone and make it right again. This is like the Justice arc or the Undo a Wrong arc, except you are the wrongdoer. This could be a follow-up to the Fall From Grace arc.

  • Opening: Regret. You are determined to rebuild, recover, and restore.

  • Step: Forgiveness. You apologize and ask for forgiveness.

  • Step: Identifying the Needs. You determine what needs to be done to atone for your transgression.

  • Climax: Making Good. You perform an act that you hope will redeem your past misdeed.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what has happened but now look to the future.

Repay a Debt

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 248)

You owe someone something, and it's time to make good.

  • Opening: Debts Come Due. You determine to do what is needed to make good on the debt. It might involve repaying money, but more appropriately it's performing a deed or a series of deeds.

  • Step: Talking It Over. You discuss the matter with the person you owe, if possible. You ensure that what you're doing is what they want.

  • Climax: Repayment. Either you do something to earn the money or goods you owe, or you undertake a major task that will compensate the other person.

  • Resolution: You relax knowing that your debt is repaid, and you look to the future.

Rescue

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 249)

Someone or something of great importance has been taken, and you want to get them or it back.

  • Opening: Heeding the Call. You determine what has happened, and who or what is missing.

  • Step: Tracking. You discover who has taken them, and where.

  • Step: Travel. You go to where they are being held and get information on the location and who is involved. Maybe make a plan.

  • Climax: Rescue Operation. You go in and get them.

  • Resolution: You return them home.

Restoration

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 249)

You're down but not out. You want to restore your good name. Recover what you've lost. Rebuild what has been destroyed. You've fallen down or have been knocked down, but either way you want to pick yourself up. This is a possible follow-up to the Fall From Grace arc.

  • Opening: Vow to Yourself. You are determined to rebuild, recover, and restore.

  • Step(s): Work. You rebuild, recover, and restore. If all your money was stolen, you make more. If your house was destroyed, you rebuild it. If your reputation was tarnished, you perform deeds that restore your good name.

  • Climax: The Final Act. You undertake one last major task that will bring things back to where they were (or close to it). A lot is riding on this moment.

  • Resolution: You enjoy a return to things the way they were before.

Revenge

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 249)

Someone did something that harmed you. Unlike the Avenge arc, this arc probably isn't about tracking down a murderer, but it might involve pursuing someone who stole from you, hurt you, or otherwise brought you grief. The key is that it's personal. Otherwise, use the Justice arc.

  • Opening: Vow. You swear revenge.

  • Step(s): Finding a Clue. You find a clue to tracking down the culprit.

  • Climax: Confrontation. You confront the culprit.

  • Resolution: You deal with the aftermath of the confrontation and move on. You think about whether you are satisfied by gaining your revenge.

Romance

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 249)

You want to strike up a relationship with a romantic partner. Perhaps you have a specific person in mind, or maybe you're just interested in a relationship in general.

  • Opening(s): Caught Someone's Eye. You meet someone you are interested in. (Since this can be short-lived, it's possible to have this opening occur more than once.)

  • Step(s): Courtship. You begin seeing the person regularly. Although not every "date" is a step in the arc, significant moments are, and there may be a few of them.

  • Climax: Commitment. You may or may not be interested in a monogamous relationship. Regardless, you and your love have made some kind of commitment to each other.

  • Resolution: You think about the future. Marriage? Children? These are only some of the possibilities.

Editor's Notes — For more on including romance in games, see Chapter 17: Romance, and consider downloading the free Consent in Gaming, or Love and Sex in the Ninth World products from Monte Cook Games.

Solve a Mystery

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 249)

Different from the Learn arc and the Uncover a Secret arc, this arc is about solving a crime or a similar action committed in the fairly recent past. It's not about practice or study, but about questions and answers. In theory, the mystery doesn't have to be a crime. It might be "Why is this strange caustic substance leaking into my basement?"

  • Opening: Pledging to Solve the Mystery.

  • Step: Research. You get some background.

  • Step(s): Investigation. You ask questions. You look for clues. You cast divinations. This likely encompasses many such steps.

  • Climax: Discovery. You come upon what you believe to be the solution to the mystery.

  • Resolution: In this step, which is far more active than most resolutions, you confront the people involved in the mystery with what you've discovered, or you use the information in some way (such as taking it to the proper authorities).

Take the Wrong Path

(We Are All Mad Here, page 178)

Much like Fall From Grace, Take the Wrong Path isn't typically an arc that a character intentionally desires. It's something the player chooses on a meta level for the character because it makes for an interesting story and sets up possible future arcs, such as Put Down Roots. In this case, perhaps the character manages their anxiety by drinking too much, becoming isolated, or starting too many fights. Perhaps they attempt to deal with grief by overeating (or undereating), by pushing away loved ones, or by becoming intimate with others without regard for their safety.

  • Opening: The Fork. You take the first steps down the wrong path, even if you don't know it yet.

  • Step(s): Farther Down the Path. Things continue to get worse because of your actions. This may play out over any number of steps.

  • Step: Briars and Thorns. Your actions hurt yourself and those around you.

  • Climax: Dead End. There is no chance for success here. Only failure.

  • Resolution: You wallow in your own misery.

Theft

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 250)

Someone else has something you want.

  • Opening: Setting Your Sights. You make a plan.

  • Step: Casing the Joint. You scout out the location of the thing (or learn its location).

  • Step(s): Getting to the Object. Sometimes, many steps are involved before you reach the object you wish to take. For example, if, in order to steal something from a vault, you need to approach one of the guards while they are off duty and bribe them to look the other way when you break in, that is covered in this step.

  • Climax: The Attempt. You make your heist.

  • Resolution: You decide what to do with the thing you've stolen and contemplate the repercussions you might face for stealing it.

Train a Creature

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 250)

You want to domesticate and train an animal or other creature. While the beast doesn't need to be wild, it must not already be domesticated and trained.

  • Opening: Getting Acquainted. You get to know the creature a bit, and it gets to know you.

  • Step: Research. You get information on the type of creature or advice from others who have trained one.

  • Step: Domestication. After some work, the creature is no longer a threat to you or anyone else, and it can live peacefully in your home or wherever you wish.

  • Step(s): Training. Each time you use this step, you teach the creature a new, significant command that it will obey regularly and immediately.

  • Climax: Completion. Believing the creature's training to be complete, you put it in a situation where that is put to the test.

  • Resolution: You reflect on the experience.

Transformation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 250)

You want to be different in a specific way. Because the Growth arc covers internal change, this one focuses primarily on external change. This could take many forms, and probably varies greatly by genre. In some settings, it could even be death, which might turn you into a ghost. For the change to be an arc, it should be difficult and perhaps risky.

  • Opening: Deciding on the Transformation.

  • Step: Research. You look into how the change can be made and what it entails.

  • Step(s): Investigation. This is an active step toward making the change. It might involve getting more information, materials or ingredients, or something else.

  • Climax: Change. You make the change, with some risk of failure or disaster.

  • Resolution: You contemplate how this change affects you going forward.

Uncover a Secret

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 250)

There is knowledge out there that you want. It could be an attempt to find and learn a specific special ability. This could also be a hunt for a lost password or a key that will open a sealed door, the true name of a devil, the secret background of an important person, or how the ancients constructed that strange monolith.

  • Opening: Naming the Secret. You give your goal a name. "I am seeking the lost martial art of the Khendrix, who could slice steel with their bare hands."

  • Step(s): Research. You scour libraries and old tomes for clues and information.

  • Step(s): Investigation. You talk to people to gain clues and information.

  • Step(s): Tracking. You track down the source of the secret information and travel to it.

  • Climax: Revelation. You find and attempt to use the secret, whatever that entails.

  • Resolution: You contemplate how this secret affects you and the world.

Undo a Wrong

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 250)

Someone did something horrible, and its ramifications are still felt, even if it happened long ago. You seek to undo the damage, or at least stop it from continuing.

This is different from the Justice arc because this isn't about justice (or even revenge)—it's about literally undoing something bad that happened in the past, such as a great library being burned to the ground, a sovereign people being driven from their land, and so on.

  • Opening: Vowing to Put Right What Once Went Wrong.

  • Step: Make a Plan. You learn all you can about the situation and then make a plan to put things right.

  • Step(s): Progress. This is an active step toward undoing the wrong. It might involve finding something, defeating someone, destroying something, building something, or almost anything else, depending on the circumstances.

  • Climax: Change. You face the challenge of the former wrong, and either overcome it or fail.

  • Resolution: You reflect on what you've accomplished and think about the future.

Part 3 Genres

Chapter 13 Fantasy

Quick Reference: Fantasy

Fantasy Species Descriptors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Depending on the setting, Old Gus' Daft Drafts Descriptors might be appropriate.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 252)

For our purposes, fantasy is any genre that has magic, or something so inexplicable it might as well be magic. The sort of core default of this type is Tolkienesque fantasy, also known as second-world fantasy because it includes a completely new world not our own. Big fantasy epics like those penned by J. R. R. Tolkien (hence the name), C. S. Lewis, George R. R. Martin, Stephen R. Donaldson, David Eddings, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others are indicative of this genre. It usually involves swords, sorcery, nonhuman species (such as elves, dwarves, helborn, and half-giants), and epic struggles.

Of course, fantasy might also involve the modern world, with creatures of myth and sorcerers dwelling among us. It might involve mythic traditions of any number of cultures (elves, dwarves, and the like, usually being decidedly European) or bear little resemblance to anything on Earth, past or present. It might even involve some of the trappings of science fiction, with spaceships and laser guns amid the wizardry and swords (this is often called science fantasy).

Fantasy can also be defined by the amount of fantasy elements within it. A second-world fantasy filled with wizards, ghosts, dragons, curses, and gods is referred to as high fantasy. Fantasy with a firmer grounding in reality as we know it in our world is low fantasy. (In fact, low fantasy often takes place in our world, or in our world's distant past, like the stories of Conan.) No single element indicates concretely that a given fantasy is high or low. It's the prevalence of those elements.

The point is, there are many, many types of fantasy.

Fantasy Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Any of the mundane foci are a good choice for a nonmagical character. Fantasy is a wide genre, so almost any focus could work depending on the setting, but here are some foci for common archetypes:

Editor's Notes — Foci and Flavors from Old Gus' Daft Drafts also make good character options in a fantasy setting.

Fantasy Character Options

Quick Reference: Fantasy Character Options

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This list of options can help players who are used to class-based systems like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, and aren't sure how to translate their character idea. Some of these options recommend swapping out a type ability for an ability from one of the character flavors.

Editor's Notes — As new foci have been added to the CSRD, the editor has also added them to appropriate character options in this section.

Alchemist

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In the sense that an alchemist is someone who makes magical items or similar types of things, Adept and Explorer are appropriate type choices for academic alchemists. For a general sort of alchemist who makes potions of magical effects, choose the Masters Spells focus (instead of spells, you learn potions). For one who transforms into a powerful and dangerous creature, choose Howls at the Moon or Sheds Their Skin. For one who loves throwing bombs, choose Bears a Halo of Fire. For a healer, choose Works Miracles.

Artificer or Scholar

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Artificers are probably Explorers or Speakers with the magic flavor or skills and knowledge flavor, protection flavor or the . Appropriate foci include Builds Robots, Calculates the Incalculable, Crafts Unique Objects, Learns Quickly, and Would Rather Be Reading.

Editor's Notes — The crafter flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to equip any PC to become an versatile craftsperson.

Assassin or Spy

(Godforsaken, page 20)

Explorer and Warrior are good type choices for an assassin character. Appropriate foci are Masters Weaponry, Moves Like a Cat, Murders, and Works the Back Alleys.

Barbarian

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

A barbarian character is probably a Warrior or (to focus a little more on skills than combat) an Explorer. Good foci to choose from are Lives in the Wilderness, Masters Weaponry, Needs No Weapon, Never Says Die, Performs Feats of Strength, Rages, and Raids.

Bard

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Bards in fantasy fiction and games are troubadours, minstrels, and storytellers, perhaps with a supernatural element. Bards are usually Explorers or Speakers. The charms and figments flavor, combat flavor, magic flavor, skills and knowledge flavor, and stealth flavor are all be good options for a bard. Appropriate foci are Entertains, Feigns No Fear, Helps Their Friends, Infiltrates, Lived Among the Fey, and Masters Spells.

Editor's Notes — The fey flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to give a bard additional magic.

Cleric or Priest

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Academic clerics are usually Adepts or Speakers, but martial clerics are often Warriors (perhaps with divination flavor, magic flavor, or protection flavor). For a typical cleric with a versatile set of abilities, choose the Channels Divine Blessings focus.

Editor's Notes — The ritualist flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to give a cleric abilities related to ritual magic.

Druid

(Godforsaken, page 21)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

As a very specific sort of nature priest, a druid character is usually an Adept or Explorer (in either case probably using the divination flavor or magic flavor). A typical druid probably has Channels Divine Blessings or Lives in the Wilderness as a focus, but for more specific options, see the following foci:

Editor's Notes — The fey flavor and ritualist flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts are appropriate choices for a druid.

Fighter

(Godforsaken, page 21)

Fighters almost always have the Warrior type, but some are Explorers. A typical fighter probably has a direct focus like Masters Weaponry or Wields an Enchanted Weapon. For additional options based on choosing a specific fighting role, see the following:

Gunslinger

(Godforsaken, page 21)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

A gunslinger is probably a Warrior or Explorer, but some are Speakers with combat flavor. Appropriate foci are Conjures Bullets, Is Licensed to Carry, Masters Weaponry, Sailed Beneath the Jolly Roger, and Wields an Enchanted Weapon.

Inquisitor

(Godforsaken, page 21)

Inquisitors are usually Explorers, Speakers, or Warriors, depending on whether their inclinations are for having many skills, being good at interacting with people, or combat. Appropriate foci are Hunts Witches, Infiltrates, Metes Out Justice, and Operates Undercover.

Merchant

(Godforsaken, page 21)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

An Explorer with a focus dealing with social interactions, like Entertains or Leads, would make a good merchant character, but the more obvious choice would be a Speaker. A particularly wealthy or already established merchant might choose Descends from Nobility or Is Idolized by Millions foci.

Editor's Notes — The crafter flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is a good way to give a merchant a practical set of skills and abilities.

Monk or Martial Artist

(Godforsaken, page 22)

As masters of unarmed combat, monks are usually Warriors or Explorers (perhaps with a combat flavor). Appropriate foci are Fights With Panache, Needs No Weapon, and Throws With Deadly Accuracy.

Paladin, Holy Knight, or Paragon

(Godforsaken, page 22)

As holy warriors who mix martial prowess and magic, paladins are usually Warriors or Explorers (in either case, perhaps modified with the magic flavor or protection flavor). Good foci for this type of character include Brandishes an Exotic Shield, Defends the Gate, Defends the Weak, Metes Out Justice, Slays Monsters, and Wields an Enchanted Weapon.

Psion

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

A psion could be any type, perhaps with the divination flavor or protection flavor. Appropriate foci include Bears a Halo of Fire, Commands Mental Powers, Controls Gravity, Focuses Mind Over Matter, Sees Beyond, Separates Mind From Body, Siphons Power, and Wields Invisible Force.

Editor's Notes — The psionic flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to assign psionic powers to a character.

Ranger

(Godforsaken, page 22)

Rangers mix combat and skills, and therefore are usually Explorers (perhaps with combat flavor) or Warriors (perhaps with skills and knowledge flavor). Appropriate foci for a ranger are Controls Beasts, Hunts, Lives in the Wilderness, Slays Monsters, Throws With Deadly Accuracy, and Wields Two Weapons at Once.

Editor's Notes — The fey flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also a good choice for a ranger who has spent some time wandering the fey wilds.

Rogue or Thief

(Godforsaken, page 22)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Most rogue-type characters are Explorers, but an interaction-focused rogue could easily be a Speaker (perhaps with stealth flavor). Good foci for rogues are Explores Dark Places, Fights Dirty, Hunts, Infiltrates, Is Wanted by the Law, Moves Like a Cat, Sailed Beneath the Jolly Roger, and Works the Back Alleys. If you want to add a little magic to a rogue, use the charms and figments flavor or magic flavor.

Sorcerer

(Godforsaken, page 22)

Sorcerers, for our purpose here, are mages who have inherent magical abilities (as opposed to wizards, who study long and hard to get their spells). Most sorcerers are Adepts, but some are Explorers or Speakers. The Masters Spells focus gives a typical sorcerer an effective set of abilities, and most foci choices provide a themed set of spells. For sorcerers of various magical bloodlines, see the following:

Trickster or Con Artist

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These clever folks are typically Speakers, although they could be Adepts if they are very magical (or Explorers if they aren't magical at all). If you want to add just a bit of magic, consider the charms and figments flavor. Foci choices include Fights Dirty, Works the Back Alleys, or Entertains.

War-wizard

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Additon)

For those unusual characters who use a mix of weapon attacks and spells, play a Warrior with magic flavor, an Adept with combat flavor, or an Explorer with magic flavor. Appropriate foci include Fights With Panache, Masters Weaponry, and Wields an Enchanted Weapon.

Editor's Notes — This description corrects a misprint of a non-existent "Expert" type.

Warlock or Witch

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

For the purposes of this list, warlocks and witches are mages who gain magical power from pacts they make with otherworldly entities. Most warlocks are Adepts, but Explorers and Speakers (perhaps with charms and figments flavor, divination flavor, or magic flavor) can be interesting options. Fun foci for a warlock include Befriends the Black Dog, Curses the World, Dances With Dark Matter, Keeps a Magic Ally, Has a Thousand Faces, Made a Deal With Death, Masters the Swarm, Separates Mind From Body, Siphons Power, Steers the Coven, Transmits Energy, and Was Foretold, but (depending on the patron and pact) most sorcerer and wizard foci work just as well.

Editor's Notes — The ritualist flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to give a warlock or witch abilities related to ritual magic.

Wild Mage

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Those who use chaotic magic are usually Adepts, but a dabbler might be an Explorer or Speaker with the cozy magic flavoror magic flavor. The best focus that suits this theme is Uses Wild Magic.

Editor's Notes — The improbability flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to make a wild mage even more unpredictable.

Wizard

(Godforsaken, page 20)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

For the purposes of this list, wizards study magical lore at length to learn the ways of spellcasting (as opposed to sorcerers, warlocks, and so on). Wizards are usually Adepts, but a person-oriented wizard might be a Speaker (perhaps with the charms and figments flavor, divination flavor, magic flavor, or protection flavor). For a generalist wizard who has a variety of spells, choose the Masters Spells focus. For more specific kinds of wizards, see the following:

Editor's Notes — The ritualist flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts is also good way to give a wizard abilities related to ritual magic.

Fantasy Species Descriptors

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 258)

In a high fantasy setting, some GMs may want dwarves and elves to be mechanically different from humans. Below are some possibilities for how this might work.

Catfolk

(Godforsaken, page 86)

You are unmistakably feline. Your people have fur; large, pointed ears; sharp teeth and claws; and even tails. You are nimble, graceful, and quick. An ancient and sophisticated culture, your people have their own language, customs, and traditions developed in relative seclusion over the centuries. Neither conquerors nor conquered, the success of your society has come from the fact that you have given most others a wide berth. As a people, you almost never get involved in wars or similar matters, which has given other cultures the idea that you are aloof, unapproachable, or mysterious. As long as they leave you alone, what they think is fine with you.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in climbing and balance tasks.

  • Bared Claws: Even unarmed, your claws are light weapons that inflict 4 points of damage.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You were curious as to what the other PCs were up to.
  2. You needed to get out of town, and the PCs were going in the same direction as you.
  3. You are interested in making a profit, and the other PCs seem to have a lead on doing just that.
  4. It seemed like a lark.
Dragonfolk

(Godforsaken, page 87)

You have scales, fangs, claws, and magic—gifts of the dragons. You might have been born of dragonfolk parents, willingly transformed in a magical ceremony, or chosen by a dragon to be their agent or champion. You have a great destiny before you, but it is your choice whether to make it your own or bend to the will of those who made you what you are. Some people mistrust or fear you, and others consider you a prophet or wish to exploit your power for their own goals.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Sturdy: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in intimidation.

  • Dragonbreath (3 Might points): You breathe out a blast of energy in an immediate area. Choose one type of energy (arcane, cold, fire, thorn, and so on); the blast inflicts 2 points of damage of this kind of energy (ignores Armor) to all creatures or objects within the area. Because this is an area attack, adding Effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single-target attacks. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the damage, add 2 points of damage for each target, and even if you fail your attack roll, all targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action.

  • Draconic Resistance: You gain +2 Armor against the type of energy you create with your dragonbreath.

  • Scaly: +1 to Armor.

  • Inability: You have difficulty relating to non-dragons. Tasks to persuade non-dragons are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You believe the other PCs can help you solve a mystery about your heritage.
  2. You needed to get out of town, and the PCs were going in the same direction as you.
  3. Your creator, master, or mentor told you to help the PCs.
  4. You want to make a name for yourself, and the other PCs seem competent and compatible.
Dwarf

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 258)

You're a stocky, broad-shouldered, bearded native of the mountains and hills. You're also as stubborn as the stone in which the dwarves carve their homes under the mountains. Tradition, honor, pride in smithcraft and warcraft, and a keen appreciation of the wealth buried under the roots of the world are all part of your heritage. Those who wish you ill should be wary of your temper. When dwarves are wronged, they never forget.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Stalwart: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in Might defense rolls.

  • Skill: You are trained in tasks related to stone, including sensing stonework traps, knowing the history of a particular piece of stonecraft, and knowing your distance beneath the surface.

  • Skill: You are practiced in using axes.

  • Skill: You are trained in using the tools required to shape and mine stone.

  • Vulnerability: When you fail an Intellect defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.

  • Additional Equipment: You have an axe.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You found the PCs wandering a maze of tunnels and led them to safety.
  2. The PCs hired you to dig out the entrance to a buried ruin.
  3. You tracked down the thieves of your ancestor's tomb and found they were the PCs. Instead of killing them, you joined them.
  4. Before dwarves settle down, they need to see the world.
Elf

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 258)

You haunt the woodlands and deep, natural realms, as your people have for millennia. You are the arrow in the night, the shadow in the glade, and the laughter on the wind. As an elf, you are slender, quick, graceful, and long lived. You manage the sorrows of living well past many mortal lifetimes with song, wine, and an appreciation for the deep beauties of growing things, especially trees, which can live even longer than you do.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Long-Lived: Your natural lifespan (unless tragically cut short) is thousands of years.

  • Skill: You are specialized in tasks related to perception.

  • Skill: You are practiced in using one bow variety of your choice.

  • Skill: You are trained in stealth tasks. In areas of natural woodland, you are specialized in stealth tasks.

  • Fragile: When you fail a Might defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a bow and a quiver of arrows to go with it.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Before putting an arrow in the forest intruders, you confronted them and met the PCs, who were on an important quest.
  2. Your heart yearned for farther shores, and the PCs offered to take you along to new places.
  3. Your home was burned by strangers from another place, and you gathered the PCs along the way as you tracked down the villains.
  4. An adventure was in the offing, and you didn't want to be left behind.
Gnome

(Godforsaken, page 88)

You are curious and love discovering ways to turn found things into art, tools, or weapons. You might be a sculptor, smith, artist, chef, storyteller, or inventor. Alchemy, magic, and engineering fascinate you. Other beings may see you as a strange mix of a nature-loving elf and a craft-obsessed dwarf, but you and your kind are unique people with a passion for life, exploration, and creation.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Genius: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in two skills that suit your creative nature, such as alchemy, smithing, poetry, cooking, woodcarving, or pottery.

  • Skill: You are practiced in using hammers.

  • Natural Affinity: You gain one of the following abilities: Communication, Eyes Adjusted, or Minor Illusion.

  • Inability: Your small size makes some physical tasks difficult. Might-based tasks are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a bag of light tools or a bag of heavy tools.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You think an object or material you've been looking for can be found where the other PCs are going.
  2. You were recruited because of your knowledge on a particular subject.
  3. You were bored and it sounded like the PCs were going to do something interesting.
  4. You owe one of the PCs a favor for a useful gift in the past.
Half-Giant

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 259)

You stand at least 12 feet (4 m) tall and tower over everyone around you. Whether you are a full-blooded giant or merely have giant heritage from large ancestors, you're massive. Always large for your age, it became an issue only once you reached puberty and topped 7 feet (2 m) in height, and kept growing from there.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Tough: +4 to your Might Pool.

  • Mass and Strength: You inflict +1 point of damage with your melee attacks and attacks with thrown weapons.

  • Breaker: Tasks related to breaking things by smashing them are eased.

  • Inability: You're too large to accomplish normal things. Tasks related to initiative, stealth, and fine manipulation of any sort (such as lockpicking or repair tasks) are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a heavy weapon of your choice.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You fished the PCs out of a deep hole they'd fallen into while exploring.
  2. You were the PCs' guide in the land of giants and stayed with them afterward.
  3. The PCs helped you escape a nether realm where other giants were imprisoned by the gods.
  4. You kept the PCs from being discovered by hiding them behind your bulk when they were on the run.
Halfling

(Godforsaken, page 89)

Three feet tall and proud, you are fond of the comforts of home but itching for a little adventure now and then. Small and quick, you have a way of getting along with everyone. You might have been raised in a halfling village, a mixed community where humans and the small folk work and eat side by side as friends, or a less welcoming environment where your people get things done using deception and criminal activity. You and humans have a lot in common—you're just more compact and efficient about it.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in pleasant social interactions.

  • Skill: You are trained in stealth.

  • Skill: You are trained in Intellect defense.

  • Advantage: When you use 1 XP to reroll a d20 for any roll that affects only you, add 3 to the reroll.

  • Inability: Your small size makes some physical tasks difficult. Might-based tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You were fleeing someone and literally ran into the other PCs.
  2. You were invited (or invited yourself) as a good luck charm.
  3. You were tricked into going with the other PCs or were brought along despite your very reasonable objections.
  4. You're very protective of another PC and want to make sure they get through the upcoming challenges.
Helborn

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 259)

Demons of the underworld sometimes escape. When they do, they can taint human bloodlines. Things like you are the result of such unnatural unions. Part human and part something else, you are an orphan of a supernatural dalliance. Thanks to your unsettling appearance, you've probably been forced to make your own way in a world that often fears and resents you. Some of your kin have large horns, tails, and pointed teeth. Others are more subtle or more obvious in their differences—a shadow of a knife-edge in their face and a touch that withers normal plants, a little too much fire in their eyes and a scent of ash in the air, a forked tongue, goatlike legs, or the inability to cast a shadow. Work with the GM on your particular helborn appearance.

You gain the following characteristics.

  • Devious: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in tasks related to magic lore and lore of the underworld.

  • Fire Adapted: +2 to Armor against damage from fire only.

  • Helborn Magic: You are inherently magical. Choose one low-tier ability from Chapter 9: Abilities. If the GM agrees it is appropriate, you gain that ability as part of your helborn heritage, and can use it like any other type or focus ability.

  • Inner Evil: You sometimes lose control and risk hurting your allies. When you roll a 1, the GM has the option to intrude by indicating that you lose control. Once you've lost control, you attack any and every living creature within short range. You can't spend Intellect points for any reason other than to try to regain control (a difficulty 2 task). After you regain control, you suffer a −1 penalty to all rolls for one hour.

  • Inability: People distrust you. Tasks to persuade or deceive are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You were nearly beaten to death by people who didn't like your look, but the PCs found and revived you.
  2. The PCs hired you for your knowledge of magic.
  3. Every so often you get visions of people trapped in the underworld. You tracked those people down and found the PCs, who'd never visited the underworld. Yet.
  4. Your situation at home became untenable because of how people reacted to your looks. You joined the PCs to get away.
Lizardfolk

(Godforsaken, page 89)

You are from a long line of fierce reptilian predators. You show your fangs and scales proudly. Your people survive and thrive in the wetlands, guarding their eggs, raising their hatchlings, and protecting their territory. City-builders may call you a savage and your culture primitive, but there is grace in your hunting, artistry in your crafting, joy in your songs, and reverence in your worship.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in balancing, jumping, and swimming.

  • Skill: You are trained in hunting and tracking.

  • Skill: You are practiced in using javelins and spears.

  • Scaly: +1 to Armor.

  • Inability: Your slightly clawed hands make fine detail work difficult. You have an inability with picking locks, picking pockets, and other manual dexterity tasks (but not crafting).

  • Additional Equipment: You have a spear and a pair of javelins.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The other PCs were lost in your territory and you were sent to escort them out.
  2. Something has been attacking your community and you want to find and destroy it.
  3. You were exiled from your community and need to prove your worthiness before you can return to it.
  4. You or your priest had a vision of you traveling with the other PCs.

Optional Rule: Spellcasting

Quick Reference: Spellcasting

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 259)

Fantasy settings prioritize magic as an essential ingredient. But why restrict that magic to just wizards and similar characters? It's not uncommon in fantasy literature for a thief or warrior to learn a few spells as they steal or brawl through their adventures. Leiber's Gray Mouser knew some spells, Moorcock's Elric knew a lot, pretty much everyone in Anthony's Xanth books knew at least one, and so on. Of course, wizards and sorcerers specialize in spellcasting, which gives them clear superiority in magic use. But whether a character is a fireball-flinging wizard or a belligerent barbarian, anyone can learn some spellcasting under this optional rule.

Under the spellcasting rule, any character, no matter their role or type, can choose to learn a spell as a long-term benefit. After they learn one spell, they may learn more later if they wish, or just stick with the one.

Editor's Notes — Cyphers are also a good way to create powerful spells with limited use. Such spells are probably subtle cyphers, but their effects could match those of any cypher, including manifest cyphers. For example, rather than gaining the Fire Bloom ability as a spell, a PC might gain access to the Detonation (fire) cypher instead. Even manifest cyphers can be thought of as spells—ones with a material component that is consumed by casting the spell. A PC might even have their own unique cypher deck of spells they can draw from after a ten-hour recovery roll, or request by spending 1 XP.

First Spell

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 260)

Any character can gain a spell by spending 3 XP and working with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the PC learned it. Maybe they learned it as a child from their parent and practiced it enough to actually do it; perhaps they spent a month hiding in a wizard's library reading; it could be that they found a weird magical amulet that imbues them with the spell; and so on.

Next, choose one low-tier ability from Chapter 9: Abilities. If the GM agrees it is appropriate, the character gains that ability as their spell, with a few caveats. The spell can't be used like a normal ability gained through a PC's type or focus. Instead, a character must either use a recovery roll or spend many minutes or longer evoking their spell, in addition to paying its Pool cost (if any).

  • Using a Recovery Roll to Cast a Spell: If the character uses a one-action, ten-minute, or one-hour recovery roll as part of the same action to cast the spell (including paying any Pool costs), they can use the ability as an action. This represents a significant mental and physical drain on the character, because the normal benefit of recovering points in a Pool is not gained.

  • Spending Time to Cast a Spell: If the character takes at least ten minutes chanting, mumbling occult phonemes, concentrating deeply, or otherwise using all their actions, they can cast a low-tier spell (if they also pay any Pool costs). An hour is required to cast mid-tier spells. Ten hours are required to cast a high-tier spell.

More Spells

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 260)

Once a character has learned at least one spell, they can opt to learn additional spells later. Each time, they must spend an additional 3 XP and work with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the character's magical learning has progressed.

Two additional rules for learning additional spells apply:

  • First, a character must be at least tier 3 and have previously gained one low-tier spell before they can learn a mid-tier spell.
  • Second, a character must be at least tier 5 and have previously gained one mid-tier spell before they can learn a high-tier spell.

Otherwise, gaining and casting additional spells are as described for the character's first spell.

Editor's Notes — For more on low-, mid-, and high-tier abilities, see Chapter 9: Abilities.

Prepared vs. Spontaneous Spellcasting

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 260)(Godforsaken, page 23)

Magical characters get their abilities (which might be spells, rituals, or something else) from their type and focus, and they can use these abilities as they see fit as long as they spend the required Pool points. This technically makes them more like spontaneous casters.

Wizards (usually Adepts) and characters with explicit spellcasting foci like Masters Spells, Channels Divine Blessings, Speaks for the Land, and possibly others are also considered to be spellcasters, and moreover, specialized ones. Their spells—abilities provided by their type or focus—are used simply by paying their Pool costs. Extra time or physical effort isn't required to cast them. That's because, in the parlance of the fantasy genre, these spells are considered to be "prepared."

But specialized casters can also use the optional spellcasting rule to expand their magic further. They can learn additional spells via the optional spellcasting rule just like other characters, with the same limitations.

Optionally, specialized casters who record their arcane knowledge in a spellbook (or something similar) gain one additional benefit. The spellbook is a compilation of spells, formulas, and notes that grants the specialized caster more flexibility than those who've simply learned a spell or two. With a spellbook, a PC can replace up to three prepared spells with three other spells they've learned of the same tier. To do so, they must spend at least one uninterrupted hour studying their spellbook. Usually, this is something that requires a fresh mind, and must be done soon after a ten-hour recovery.

For instance, if a wizard exchanges Ward (an ability gained from their type) with Telekinesis (an ability gained from the optional spellcasting rule), from now on the character can cast Ward only by spending time or using a recovery roll (as well as spending Pool points). On the other hand, they can use Telekinesis normally, because now it's prepared. Later, the wizard could spend the time studying to change out their prepared spells with others they've learned using the optional spellcasting rule.

A PC might choose the 4 XP character advancement option to select a new type-based ability from their tier or a lower tier. If so, the ability gained doesn't count as a spell, and the spellcasting rule limitations do not apply to the ability so gained. If the PC is a wizard and uses the 4 XP character advancement option, treat the ability as one more prepared spell.

Editor's Note — In the Cypher System Rulebook, this section is titled Wizards and the Optional Spellcasting Rule.

Assigning Different Spellcasting Limits

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

There are many other ways the GM can place limits on spellcasting that don't affect the PCs recovery rolls, for example:

  • Cyphers and Artifacts: Creating new cyphers and artifacts that replicate the effects of special abilities is a good way to test the effects of a spell they might learn. If they are subtle cyphers, the PCs can pay 1 XP to request the cypher, and cast the spell again. If it's a manifest cypher or artifact, the PC focuses the casting of the spell through it. If a spellcasting artifact depletes, the PCs might find a way to revive it. PCs might also be able to craft or repair spellcasting artifacts.

  • Gain Special Abilities and Joining Covens: In settings where magic is abundant, a simple solution is to allow PCs to gain spells just by adding new special abilities. The ability has a cost, the PC just pays it from their Pool points. PCs casting spells in this way might learn them from a coven—which might take the form of a magic university, an enclave of like-minded wizards, or a secret cult of a long-dead god. These spells require the PC to keep their coven talismans—and their loyalty to the coven—to continue casting them.

  • Tier-Based Limits: PCs can learn (and prepare, if necessary) a number of spells determined by the GM based on their Tier, for example:

Spells Known and Prepared by Tier
PC TierSpells KnownSpells Prepared
Tier 133
Tier 264
Tier 395
Tier 4126
Tier 5157
Tier 6188

  • Daily Limits: Certain powerful spells might only certain spells once, twice, or three times each day. If a low-tier PC is casting a high-tier spell, they might need up to 1d6 to be able to cast it again.

  • Depletion: Each time any spell (or only certain spells) are cast, the player rolls for an assigned depletion, similar to an artifact. For example, a spell with a depletion of 1 in 1d10 has a 10% chance of depleting, 1 in 1d20 has a 5% chance of depleting, and so on. The GM might also assigns the depletion a recharge rate or methos—usually either the next day at dawn, or the completion of a one-hour or ten-hour recovery roll. In some settings, memorizing spells that deplete might involve Intellect tasks to memorize spells, or ritual magic to gain take their power. Consider the two following arrangements:

    • Universal Depletion. A spellcasting PC begins with a spellcasting depletion of 10 in 1d20, and can pay 3 XP as a long-term benefit to lower their depletion rating by 1, to a minimum of 1. Once depleted, the PC can't cast spells until they finish a 10-hour recovery roll.

    • Spells Deplete Individually. Each spell has its own depletion rating. Low-tier spells are usually 1 in 1d10, mid-tier spells are usually 3 in 1d10, and high-tier spells are usually 5 in 1d10.

  • Backlash and Corruption: Here's an idea: Casting a spell costs nothing—however, each time the PC casts a spell, their GM intrusion rate is raised by 1 until they finish a ten-hour recovery roll. As an optional way to take things a step further, triggering a GM intrusion on a task prompted by casting might corrupt the caster. The PC rolls a 1d20 on the following table:

Backlash and Corruption
d20Backlash Effects
1The caster gains one random harmful mutation.
2The caster permanently loses 1 point in each of their Pools.
3–9The caster descends two steps on the damage track.
10–15The caster descends one step on the damage track.
16–19The caster gains one random cosmetic mutation.
20The caster gains one random distinctive mutation.

  • Magic Pool: This option is a more extreme measure that will have profound effects on the game: Spellcasting PCs gain one additional Pool called Magic that begins with 8 points. Regardless of the Pool the special ability's cost is usually paid from, it is paid in Magic points instead, and tasks it prompts are Magic tasks. PCs can use the Increasing Capabilities character advancement to assign additional points to their Magic Pool, and Moving Toward Perfection to increase their Magic Edge.

  • Adding a Duration to Enabler Spells: If the special ability the spell replicates is an Enabler, it's unclear about how long its effects lasts. For example, if a player learns Ward as a spell and uses a recovery roll to activate it, how long does the PC benefit from the Armor bonus it provides? Ultimately, the GM must decide what's appropriate. The GM should consider the following options (and might assign different spells different durations):

    • Preparation Counts. The enabler ability is always active so long as the spell is prepared.

    • Duration Assignment. The enabler ability is active for ten minutes, one hour, one day, or until the PC makes a ten-hour recovery roll.

    • Minimum Concentration. The ability remains active until the PC makes a recovery roll.

Mystical Martial Arts

(Godforsaken, page 68)

If the setting calls for wuxia-style fantasy martial arts or similar types of action, you can make a few rule changes to portray the kinds of things characters in such stories can accomplish.

  • Running and climbing speeds and jumping distances are doubled. For those trained in running, climbing, or jumping, the speeds and distances are tripled instead of doubled. For those specialized, they are quintupled. For all intents and purposes, this means that everyone can run up a wall or jump very high in the air, and masters can practically fly or run across water.

  • Everyone knows kung fu. Unless a person is a simple farmer, herder, or merchant, they know how to fight with elaborate and powerful martial arts styles. This doesn't change anything in the game mechanically—no one gets the ability to use weapons that they wouldn't normally have under the rules. But it does change the flavor, suggesting that no PC is entirely ignorant of weapons or close combat.

  • Players are encouraged to come up with interesting names for their martial arts abilities. Instead of using a Bash attack, perhaps it is "The Three-Flower Fist," and instead of Fury, a character uses "The Rage of the Sevenfold." It is reasonable for high-tier martial abilities such as Amazing Effort, Jump Attack, or Finishing Blow to be described with a magical flare— blazing auras of fire, brilliant cascades of light, ethereal figures overlaying the character, and so on.

  • Materials and objects are easier to destroy. For the purpose of attacking objects, subtract 2 from the level of any material (minimum of 0). It should be relatively simple for any character to smash through a plain wooden door with little effort, and true warriors can shatter stones with their blows.

  • Wounds heal faster. Everyone gains +1 to all recovery rolls.

  • Superhuman abilities exist. Consider adopting some of the superhero rules from Chapter 18: Superheroes, in particular the power shifts optional rule. These may derive from almost supernatural levels of training in various techniques (such as dianxue) but probably mostly from neili.

Dianxue
The touch of death—killing by using precise nonlethal force on key points of the body.
Neili
Internal force— building up and cultivating the energy known as qi and using it for supernatural effects.

Editor's Notes — If your goal is to create a kind of "cultivation" fantasy, or to emphasize schools and teachers, see Power Shifts in Other Genres and Covens.

Crafting Magic Items

(Godforsaken, page 49)(It's Only Magic, page 90)

Potions, scrolls, and other one-use items are cyphers, and longer-lasting items are generally artifacts.

Magical Crafting Skills

(It's Only Magic, page 90)

Depending on the setting, a character learning how to craft magic items might become trained or specialized in a general "crafting magic items" skills, or need to have a specific skill for each kind of item they might craft, such as "brewing potions" or "crafting wands." The GM should decide if characters need a specific skill or if the general skill covers all sorts of crafted magic items.

Crafting Cyphers

(Godforsaken, page 50)(It's Only Magic, page 90)

  • 1. Choose Cypher Level. Creating a low-level cypher is easier than creating a high-level one. The character decides what level of cypher they're trying to create, which must be in the level range for the cypher as listed in the Cypher System Reference Document. Note that some cyphers have the same effect no matter what level they are, so the character could make crafting easier by creating the lowest-level version of that cypher, but the GM is always able to rule that a particular cypher must be crafted at a certain level or higher for it to work. In particular, a stim is very strong for its level range, and should always be treated as a level 6 cypher when crafted by a PC.

  • 2. Determine Materials or Ingredients. Just as crafting an axe requires iron and wood, crafting a magical cypher requires strange and exotic materials or ingredients—powdered gems, ink from monsters, mysterious herbs, and so on. The level of the cypher determines how expensive these materials are, according to the following table.

Crafting Cyphers Material Costs
Cypher LevelMaterials Cost
1One inexpensive item
2Two inexpensive items
3One moderate item
4Two moderate items
5Three moderate items
6One expensive item
7Two expensive items
8Three expensive items
9One very expensive item
10Two very expensive items

  • 3. Assess Difficulty. The difficulty of a cypher crafting task is always equal to 1 + the level of the cypher. The crafter can reduce the assessed difficulty of the task with skill training (such as being trained or specialized in brewing potions or crafting magic items), assets, special abilities provided by their focus or type, and so on. Using a formula, recipe, or other guideline for a specific cypher counts as an asset for this purpose.

    Because this is an activity requiring special knowledge, it is not possible for a character with no skill (or with an inability in this skill) to do this sort of crafting; the character cannot attempt the task at all.

    For example, Vanya the alchemist wants to create a level 6 healing potion. A level 6 potion has an assessed difficulty of 7 (1 + the level of the cypher). Vanya is trained in brewing potions, so the assessed difficulty is lowered to 6. If she also uses a potion recipe she found in a book of magic, the assessed difficulty becomes 5.

  • 4. Determine Time to Craft. The amount of time it takes to craft a magical cypher is determined by the assessed difficulty, so decreasing the assessed difficulty not only means the character is more likely to succeed, but also that they have to spend less time on crafting it. See the table below.

    For any time in excess of nine hours, the process is assumed to have stages where the character is not actively working on it, just checking on it occasionally to make sure everything is going as planned— allowing the base ingredients of a potion to cook for a few hours, stirring to make sure the ingredients don't congeal, allowing ink on a scroll to dry, and so on. In other words, the character is able to perform other actions in the vicinity of the crafting (such as studying, resting, eating, and so on), but couldn't craft on the road, in the middle of a dungeon, during a business trip or in the middle of a wedding. In our previous potion example, the assessed difficulty is 5, so Vanya's time to craft is one day.

Crafting Magic Items Difficulty and Time
Assessed DifficultyTime to Craft
1Ten minutes
2One hour
3Four hours
4Nine hours
5One day
6Two days
7One week
8Three weeks
9Two months
10Six months

  • 5. Complete Subtasks. The character must complete multiple subtasks that are steps toward finishing the process—one subtask per level of assessed difficulty.

    The first subtask's difficulty is 1, and each successive task's difficulty increases by 1 until the character reaches the last, hardest task with a difficulty equal to the cypher's assessed difficulty.

    Generally, subtask attempts occur at equally divided intervals over the course of the full time required to craft the item.

    If the character fails on a subtask, the item isn't ruined. Instead, the character only wasted the time spent on that subtask, and they can spend that much time again and try to succeed at that same subtask. If the crafter fails twice in a row on the same subtask, they can continue crafting, but they lose crafting time, and one of the most expensive ingredients is destroyed (or consumed or ruined) and must be replaced before the crafting can continue.

    For example, Vanya's potion brewing (assessed difficulty of 5) is divided into five subtasks (starting at difficulty 1 and ending at 5). Because the crafting time is one day, each subtask takes about five hours (twenty-four hours in a day divided by five subtasks). If Vanya fails on the difficulty 3 subtask, she's lost five hours of work but can try again. If she fails a second time, she loses another five hours of work and ruins one of her expensive ingredients, which must be replaced before she can continue. When Vanya succeeds at the last subtask (difficulty 5), the potion is finished.

    Players might ask if they can apply Effort to each subtask. However, applying Effort is something they do in the moment, not over the course of days or weeks. Generally speaking, Effort cannot be applied to any crafting task or subtask that exceeds one day.

Crafting Artifacts

(Godforsaken, page 52)(It's Only Magic, page 91)

Crafting an artifact is similar to choosing a new type or focus ability—the character has many to choose from, they select the one that best fits their intention, and thereafter they can use the artifact much like they'd use any of their other character abilities. The main difference is that most artifacts don't cost Pool points to activate, and character abilities don't have a depletion stat that eventually removes the item from play. Crafting artifacts is handled as a long-term benefit of character advancement; the character and GM agree on the artifact to be crafted, and the character spends 3 XP. If the item is fairly simple, the GM can skip the crafting details and just say that after a period of time, the PC creates the artifact. For an item that significantly alters gameplay—granting the character vast telepathic powers or giving them the ability to teleport at will—the GM can give the item an assessed difficulty equal to 3 + the artifact level and require the character to follow the crafting steps for creating a magical cypher. Crafting this kind of artifact takes up to five times as many materials and up to twenty times as long as crafting a cypher of the same assessed difficulty.

Ritual Magic

Quick Reference: Ritual Magic

Example Rituals

Related Sections

Editor's Note — The ritualist flavor in Old Gus' Daft Drafts provides any character the ability to master ritual magic.

Time

(Godforsaken, page 56)

Ritual magic has two aspects related to time: how long it takes to prepare the ritual, and how long it takes to perform it. The preparation time is how long it takes to get ready to perform the ritual. The performance time is how long the ritual takes from start to finish, once the preparations (if any) are complete.

Difficulty and Subtasks

(Godforsaken, page 56)

Completing a ritual has an overall difficulty level, usually equal to the level of the challenge. Sometimes there isn't a clear idea of what level the challenge should be— teleporting a group of people to a nearby city and raising a person from the dead don't have an obvious task level. In these cases, the GM should choose a level for the ritual based on what would make an interesting experience for the players. Instead of having the success or failure of this sort of magic come down to one roll, ritual magic lets the GM build tension by requiring the players to make rolls for multiple subtasks. The subtasks start at difficulty 1, and the subtask difficulty increases by 1 each time until the players make a final roll at the highest difficulty. A ritual with an overall difficulty of 4 has four subtasks, with the first one at difficulty 1, the second at difficulty 2, the third at 3, and the last one at 4.

If at any point the PC fails a subtask, the ritual isn't automatically ruined, but it costs time—a failure means the time spent on that subtask was wasted, but the character can spend that much time again and try to succeed at that same subtask. The GM may decide that later attempts at that subtask are hindered, or that a certain number of failures during the ritual (perhaps equal to half the ritual's overall level) means the whole thing needs to be started again. Skills, assets, and other special abilities can ease subtasks just like they do with any other task (which might make some of the subtasks routine and not require a roll at all). Characters may apply Effort to each subtask.

Editor's Note — The Perilous Venture horror module makes an excellent supplement to ritual magic.

Pool Investment

(Godforsaken, page 59)

Some rituals might require the PCs to spend points from their Pools on each subtask, with Might representing blood or vitality, Speed representing energy, and Intellect representing will or sanity. Multiple PCs involved in the ritual could collectively contribute to this cost (and if a ritual costs many points, spreading out the cost in this way may be necessary to prevent a participating PC from dying during the ritual).

Accelerated Performance

(Godforsaken, page 59)

The GM may allow a character to speed up a ritual, reducing the time required for one or more subtasks. Generally, reducing a subtask's time by half should hinder the subtask, and reducing it by half again (reducing the time needed to a quarter of the normal amount) should hinder the subtask by an additional step (two steps total). The minimum amount of time for a subtask is 1 round (unless the subtask is routine, in which case the GM may allow it to take no time at all).

Example Rituals

(Godforsaken, page 60)

The following are examples of common magical rituals suitable for many fantasy settings. Specific details of a ritual may vary depending on what the characters are trying to accomplish; for example, a ritual to ask a demon for a favor might be similar to one used to ask an angel, but the exact details are probably very different. Everything listed in a ritual is merely a suggestion, and the GM should alter, add, or remove whatever they like to suit their campaign.

Understanding the Examples

(Godforsaken, page 60)

Each ritual is described in the following format.

Level
The overall level of the ritual, which determines how many subtasks it has.
Time
The preparation time (if any) and performance time.
Roles
Things other characters can do to participate and help.
Side Effects
Negative consequences for failed rolls or GM intrusions.
Reagents
Resources that can help success.
Pool
What kind of Pool points the ritual costs.
Other Assets
Kinds of abilities that can help success.
Beseech

(Godforsaken, page 60)

Call upon a powerful supernatural entity such as a deity, archangel, demon lord, or ancient elemental to ask for a favor that the entity can and is likely to do (nothing it would ethically oppose). If the ritual is successful, the entity makes its attention known, such as by manifesting as a light, noise, or visible spirit. It may ask for more information, for a task or favor in return, or for a service to be named later. The entity is not compelled to do the favor; the ritual merely gains its attention and gives the characters the opportunity to speak their case.

  • Level: The level of the entity

  • Time: Four hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, lighting candles, holding gifts/reagents

  • Side Effects: Curse, hallucination, prerequisite quest (a challenge or task the characters must perform before the entity will consider answering)

  • Reagents: Scroll giving the history of and important details about the entity, offerings of gratitude or appeasement

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Knowledge or control of similar entities

Beseech only draws the entity's attention; the various Conjure rituals bring the summoned entity bodily to the ritual space to talk in person.

Conjure the Dead

(Godforsaken, page 61)

Summons the spirit of a dead person or creature (commonly called a "ghost"), which appears in the summoning circle prepared for the ritual. The spirit remains there for about a minute, during which time the summoners can interrogate them or persuade them to share information. The spirit usually wants something in return (such as messages conveyed to the living or unfulfilled tasks completed). If the characters don't comply, they must magically threaten or compel the spirit to obey.

  • Level: The level of the dead spirit

  • Time: Three hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, holding hands in a circle, manipulating a spirit device

  • Side Effects: Haunting, possession

  • Reagents: Mementos of the spirit's life, the spirit's former physical remains, a person or creature to possess

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Knowledge or control of similar entities, religious or cultural connections, secret name of the spirit

A ghost remembers much of its life, including whether it knows, likes, or hates the people summoning it, and will act accordingly.

Conjure Demon

(Godforsaken, page 61)

Summons a demon (an evil supernatural creature from another dimension, plane, or realm) to command or convince it to perform a task. The demon is primitive and bestial, not a creature of great wits and charm. The demon remains there for about a minute, during which time the summoners must bargain with or command it to perform a deed that takes no longer than an hour and requires it to travel no more than about 50 miles (80 km)—spying, murder, and destruction of property are common tasks. Usually the demon has to be threatened or magically coerced into obeying. If the summoners fail to get it to comply, it makes one attack against them and then returns to wherever it came from (and probably bears a grudge for the unwanted summoning).

  • Level: The level of the demon

  • Time: Three hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Bloodletting, chanting, lighting candles, holding gifts/reagents, tracing the summoning circle

  • Side Effects: Aggression, bad smell, curse, equipment damage or theft, possession

  • Reagents: Blood; meat; magical inks or paints for a summoning circle; contracts; a person to possess; objects representing anger, destruction, or hatred (according to the desired service)

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Knowledge or control of similar entities, secret name of the demon

Conjure Devil

(Godforsaken, page 61)

Summons a devil (an evil supernatural creature from another dimension, plane, or realm) to command or convince it to perform a task. The devil remains there for about a minute, during which time the summoners must bargain with or command it to perform a deed that takes no longer than an hour and requires the devil to travel no more than about 50 miles (80 km)—spying, stealing, guarding, and murdering are common tasks. The devil usually wants something in return (even if just an agreement for a later favor); otherwise, the characters must threaten it or have some way to force it to obey. If the characters fail to strike a bargain, the devil returns to wherever it came from (and probably is annoyed at the interruption).

  • Level: The level of the devil

  • Time: Three hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Bloodletting, chanting, lighting candles, holding gifts/reagents, tracing the summoning circle

  • Side Effects: Bad smell, curse, infernal mark, possession

  • Reagents: Blood; magical inks or paints for a summoning circle; contracts; a person to possess; objects representing betrayal, deception, or greed (according to the desired service)

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Knowledge or control of similar entities, secret name of the devil

Conjure Elemental

(Godforsaken, page 62)

Summons a primordial elemental spirit of air, earth, fire, or water, which appears in a physical form. The elemental remains for about a minute, during which time the characters must attempt to bribe, threaten, or bargain with it. An elemental is usually summoned to do something that takes no longer than an hour and requires it to travel no more than about 50 miles (80 km)—attack, guard, and scout are common tasks. The elemental typically wants something in return for its service, usually a gift or bribe appropriate to its nature—incense for air, gems for earth, oil for fire, salts for water, and so on. If the summoners can't come to an agreement with the elemental, it might make one attack before it leaves.

  • Level: The level of the elemental

  • Time: Three hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, music, using ceremonial objects, holding gifts/reagents, tracing the summoning circle

  • Side Effects: Damage, weakness toward one kind of attack

  • Reagents: Gifts (black powder, gems, ice, incense, oil, salt, soil, water, wood), destroying opposing items or creatures

  • Pool: Might, Speed, or Intellect, depending on the kind of elemental

  • Other Assets: Elemental power, knowledge or control of similar entities, nature magic, secret name of the elemental

Elementals are simple creatures whose interests and attentions are focused on themselves and their element. Flattery and playing up their strengths are the key to bargaining with them.

Consecration

(Godforsaken, page 62)

Wards a location against evil influences and unwanted magic for a year and a day. The ritual affects an area up to a very long distance across. Evil creatures and magical effects of less than the ritual's level can't enter the area or use abilities against it. If the PCs are warded out of the designated area, they must make an Intellect defense roll to enter it (and another each minute while within the area, or retreat) and all their actions inside or targeted within the area are hindered by two steps.

  • Level: The level of the effects to protect against

  • Time: One hour of preparation, two hours of performance

  • Roles: Drawing lines and symbols along the border, chanting, calling out local features (with candles, runestones, or other suitable markers)

  • Side Effects: Lights, sounds, weak spots or "back doors" in the barrier

  • Reagents: Silver dust, sacred oil, buried blessed gemstones

  • Pool: Intellect

  • Other Assets: Warding magic, religious knowledge

Enchant Weapon

(Godforsaken, page 62)

Enchants a light, medium, or heavy weapon with magical power, granting an asset on attack rolls with the weapon for the next day.

  • Level: 3 or 4

  • Time: Thirty minutes of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: —

  • Side Effects: Weapon attack hindered, higher GM intrusion rate

  • Reagents: Rare oils, gem dust

  • Pool: Speed or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Battle tactics, weapon crafting

In a high-magic campaign, a higher-level version of the Enchant Weapon ritual might grant a second asset on attack rolls, grant extra damage, affect multiple weapons at once, or all of the above.

Entombment

(Godforsaken, page 63)

Imprisons a creature in a vessel (usually a valuable box, clay pot, or other closeable container, but it might be a gem, the heart of a tree, or another atypical object) for as long as the vessel remains closed and undamaged. The ritual forces the creature into the vessel, either in a spiritual form or by shrinking it to a size that will fit within the vessel.

  • Level: The level of the creature

  • Time: Sixteen hours of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, carrying or protecting the vessel

  • Side Effects: Bystander imprisoned with the target, containment has a flaw, target lashes out

  • Reagents: Vessel, symbolic bindings (chains, ropes, shackles, and so on), anathema objects

  • Pool: Intellect

  • Other Assets: Control magic, grappling, imprisoning magic, wards

Exorcism

(Godforsaken, page 63)

Drives out unwanted spirits (ghosts, demons, or something else) from an area up to a long distance across. Once cast out, the spirits cannot return for a year and a day (although most of them decide to move on long before that time comes). Completing the ritual doesn't prevent other spirits from entering or inhabiting the area, but it is likely that they can sense that an exorcism happened there, and most choose to avoid such an area so they don't suffer the same fate. The ritual can also be used to cast out spirits from a possessed creature, preventing those spirits from returning for a year and a day. As with using the ritual to cleanse a location, this doesn't prevent other spirits from afflicting the creature, but later spirits can sense the recent exorcism and prefer to avoid that creature.

  • Level: The level of the most powerful hostile presence to be exorcised

  • Time: Two hours of preparation, two hours of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, positive emotions, presenting holy objects, restraining afflicted individuals, tracing the area with incense

  • Side Effects: Lights, sounds, hideous physical transformations, injuries, telekinesis

  • Reagents: Bindings, candles, holy water, religious icons and books, scapegoats

  • Pool: Intellect

  • Other Assets: Warding magic, religious knowledge

Using an exorcism ritual on an area is mainly for getting rid of spirits afflicting the area in ways other than possessing a creature— throwing objects, causing nightmares, making noises, and so on.

Flesh for Knowledge

(Godforsaken, page 63)

Sacrifices some of the ritualist's flesh, inflicting Might and Speed damage equal to the level of the ritual and permanently reducing the character's Pools by 4 points (the character can divide this loss between Might and Speed as they see fit). The character experiences painful hallucinations that give them insight and understanding. They immediately learn one type or focus ability available to them (any ability they could learn by spending 4 XP as an advancement).

  • Level: Twice the tier of the ability the character wishes to learn

  • Time: One hour of preparation, one hour of performance

  • Roles: Chanting, restraining the subject of the ritual

  • Side Effects: Lasting damage, permanent damage, scarring

  • Reagents: Silver knife, silver vessel

  • Pool: See above

  • Other Assets: Pain tolerance, surgery

Instead of permanently reducing a character's Pools by 4 points, the GM could allow other permanent penalties such as reducing an Edge stat by 1 (to a minimum of 0), gaining an inability in a useful skill, or permanently reducing all points gained through recovery rolls by 2.

Purification

(Godforsaken, page 63)

Rids a creature of an ongoing affliction, such as a disease or poison, or any unwanted magical effect, such as a curse or charm spell. In some versions of this ritual, whatever is ailing the creature gets forced into a nearby specified creature or object, which is then discarded or safely destroyed.

  • Level: The level of the affliction or effect to remove

  • Time: One hour of preparation, two hours of performance

  • Roles: Applying reagents, chanting

  • Side Effects: Affliction or effect spreads to another creature, target moves a step down the damage track

  • Reagents: Anointing oils, healing herbs, objects repellent to the source of the affliction, magical paint for writing on the target, scapegoat, silver dust

  • Pool: Might

  • Other Assets: Healing magic, resistance to the target's affliction

Resurrection

(Godforsaken, page 64)

Restores a dead being to life. The creature is restored to full health and is ready to act as soon as the ritual is completed. Depending on how they died and the nature of death in the setting, the creature may or may not remember anything that happened after they died.

  • Level: The level of the deceased (at least tier 6 if a PC)

  • Time: Five hours of preparation, two hours of performance

  • Roles: Applying reagents, chanting, prayers, shielding the corpse from hostile entities

  • Side Effects: Creature moves a step down the damage track, enmity of a death god, lasting damage, scarring, sympathetic damage

  • Reagents: Deceased's corpse, healing ointment, items of emotional significance (such as devotion, hope, or regret), items of importance to the deceased, parchment extolling the deceased's history and deeds, soul-sympathetic items

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Close relationship with the deceased (such as a connection or family relation), healing magic, necromancy, spirit knowledge, secret name of the deceased

A lesser version of the Resurrection ritual might bring the creature back to life, but only to the debilitated or impaired state on the damage track instead of hale, requiring further rest or healing.

Sacrificial Rite

(Godforsaken, page 65)

A creature is ritually killed and its soul is placed in an object. The soul object might be a temporary destination so the soul can be transported and used elsewhere (such as an offering to a demon or as part of a spell), or it might be the final destination for the soul (such as placing it in a sword to create a magic item).

  • Level: The level of the creature (at least tier 6 if a PC)

  • Time: One hour of preparation, one hour of performance Roles: Chanting, playing instruments, bearing the soul object, restraining the creature, slaying the creature

  • Side Effects: Creature rages or escapes, damage, dying curse, haunting

  • Reagents: Bindings, creature to be sacrificed, drum, flute, silver knife, soul object (its level must be at least as high as the creature's level)

  • Pool: Might or Intellect

  • Other Assets: Death spells, instant-kill abilities, soul manipulation

Additional Fantasy Equipment

Quick Reference: Fantasy Equipment by Price Category

Medieval Fantasy Equipment (GP)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 255)

In the default Medieval Europe-style fantasy setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to that time period) are usually available.

Inexpensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 255)

Inexpensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
Arrows (12)—
Crossbow bolts (12)—
Knife (rusty and worn)Light weapon (won't last long)
Wooden clubLight weapon
Inexpensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Burlap sack—
Candle—
Iron rations (1 day)—
Torch (3)—
Moderately Priced Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 255)

Moderately Priced Weapons
WeaponsNotes
BlowgunLight weapon, immediate range
DaggerLight weapon
HandaxeLight weapon
Sword (substandard)Medium weapon (won't last long)
Throwing knifeLight weapon, short range
Moderately Priced Armor
ArmorNotes
Hides and fursLight armor
Leather jerkinLight armor
ShieldAsset to Speed defense
Moderately Priced Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Backpack—
Bedroll—
Crowbar—
Hourglass—
Lantern—
RopeHemp, 50 feet
Signal horn—
Spikes and hammer10 spikes
Tent—
Expensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 256)

Expensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
BattleaxeMedium weapon
BowMedium weapon, long range
CutlassMedium weapon
Light crossbowMedium weapon, long range
QuarterstaffMedium weapon (requires 2 hands)
SwordMedium weapon
Expensive Armor
ArmorNotes
BreastplateMedium armor
BrigandineMedium armor
ChainmailMedium armor
Expensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Bag of heavy tools—
Bag of light tools—
Very Expensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 256)

Very Expensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
GreatswordHeavy weapon
Heavy crossbowHeavy weapon, long range
Sword (jeweled)Medium weapon
Very Expensive Armor
ArmorNotes
Dwarven breastplateMedium armor, encumbers as light armor
Full plate armorHeavy armor
Very Expensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Disguise kitAsset for disguise tasks
Healing kitAsset for healing tasks
SpyglassAsset for perception tasks at range
Exorbitant Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 256)

Exorbitant Armor
ArmorNotes
ArmorNotes
Elven chainmailMedium armor, encumbers as no armor
Exorbitant Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Sailing ship (small)—

Medieval Fantasy Equipment

(Godforsaken, page 34)

Medieval Fantasy Price Categories
CategoryGP Value
InexpensiveLess than 1 gp
Moderate1–10 gp
Expensive100–500 gp
Very expensive1,000–10,000 gp
Exorbitant10,000+ gp

Editor's Notes — The following tables assume a currency system commonly used in fantasy games, where 10 copper pieces (10 cp) equal 1 silver piece (1 sp), and 10 silver pieces equals 1 gold piece (1 gp). You can add additional granularity to this exchange as needed, for example 10 gold pieces (10 gp) might equal 1 platinum piece (1 pp).

Weapons

(Godforsaken, page 35)

Medieval Fantasy Light Weapons (2 points of damage)
Light Weapons (2 points of damage)PriceNotes
Blowgun5 gpShort range
Blowgun darts (20)1 gp—
Dagger2 gpCan be thrown up to short range
Hand crossbow75 gpShort range
Crossbow bolts (20)1 gp—
Handaxe5 gpCan be thrown up to short range
Net1 gpCan be thrown up to short range
Rapier25 gp—
Sickle1 gpShort range
Sling1 spShort range
Sling bullets (20)5 cp—
Throwing dart5 cpShort range
Unarmed (punch, kick, etc.)——
Whip2 gp—
Medieval Fantasy Medium Weapons (4 points of damage)
Medium Weapons (4 points of damage)PriceNotes
Battleaxe10 gp—
Bow30 gpLong range
Arrows (20)1 gp—
Broadsword15 gp—
Club1 sp—
Crank crossbow250 gpLong range
Crossbow bolts (20)1 gp—
Light crossbow25 gpLong range
Crossbow bolts (20)1 gp—
Flail10 gp—
Hammer15 gp—
Javelin5 spCan be thrown up to long range
Mace10 gp—
Pick10 gp—
Polearm10 gp—
Quarterstaff2 sp—
Scimitar25 gp—
Spear1 gpCan be thrown up to long range
Trident5 gp—
Medieval Fantasy Heavy Weapons (6 points of damage)
Heavy Weapons (6 points of damage)PriceNotes
Greataxe30 gp—
Greatsword50 gp—
Heavy crossbow50 gpLong range
Crossbow bolts (20)1 gp—
Heavy mace15 gp—
Maul10 gp—
Weapon Descriptions

(Godforsaken, page 36)

Battleaxe
A wooden pole with a blade on one end.
Blowgun
A long hollow tube used to shoot darts. You can fire it with one hand, but you need two hands to load it.
Bow
A bent piece of flexible wood with a taut string connected to each end. It fires arrows. You need two hands to fire it.
Broadsword
A long-bladed sword, longer than a dagger, heavier than a rapier, but not as large as a greatsword.
Club
A simple bludgeon, such as a sturdy tree branch, board, or improvised weapon.
Crank crossbow
A weapon similar to a light crossbow, but it has a magazine that holds five bolts. You turn a small crank to advance to the next bolt (this is not an action). Action to load an empty magazine with five bolts, action to reload the crossbow with a new magazine. It can be used as a rapid-fire weapon.
Dagger
A very short blade for stabbing or slicing.
Flail
A handle with a chain on one end and a ball or spiked ball at the end of the chain.
Greataxe
A larger, heavier version of the battleaxe, sometimes with two opposing blades instead of one.
Greatsword
A two-handed version of the broadsword.
Hammer
A wooden handle with a heavy metal head, either one-sided (like a carpenter's hammer) or two-sided (like a sledgehammer).
Hand crossbow
A smaller and weaker version of a light crossbow. It fires crossbow bolts. You can fire it with one hand. You need two hands to load it.
Handaxe
A light, one-handed axe that's good for melee or throwing.
Heavy crossbow
A heavier, more powerful version of a light crossbow. You need two hands to fire or load it. Action to reload.
Heavy mace
A larger, two-handed version of a mace.
Javelin
A light spear that's designed to be thrown.
Light crossbow
A bow with a handle and mechanism for drawing and holding the string. It fires crossbow bolts. You can fire it with one hand. You need two hands to load it. Action to reload.
Mace
A wooden handle with a heavy metal head that's spherical, flanged, or knobbed.
Maul
A larger version of the hammer, such as a sledgehammer.
Net
A net designed for battle rather than fishing. It has metal hooks at each intersection to help catch your enemy. You can throw it with one hand. Action to refold it so it can be thrown again. If you hit an opponent with the net, all of their physical actions are hindered until they take an action to remove it.
Pick
A hafted weapon with a sideways metal spike on the end, similar to a miner's tool.
Polearm
Various kinds of spears, sometimes with hooks or additional blades for special purposes like tripping a foe or pulling an opponent from their mount.
Quarterstaff
A wooden pole about 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m) long.
Rapier
A light sword with a thin blade used for stabbing and slashing.
Scimitar
A medium-length sword with a strongly curved blade.
Sickle
A one-handed hafted weapon with a sharply curved blade, originally used for harvesting crops but adapted for use as a weapon.
Sling
A small pouch connected to two cords. You put a stone or bullet (metal slug) in the pouch, hold the end of the cords, spin it, and let go of one of the cords to hurl the projectile. You can fire it with one hand. You need two hands to load it. Action to reload.
Spear
A one-handed pole about 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 m) long with a stabbing blade on the end.
Throwing dart
A very short, light spear meant to be thrown rather than used in melee.
Trident
A three-pronged spear, often used for spear fishing.
Unarmed
A typical punch, kick, or other weaponless attack.
Whip
A leather cord with a handle, used more for tricks and inflicting punishments than for deadly combat.
Armor

(Godforsaken, page 37)(OG-CSRD Editorial Additon)

Medieval Fantasy Light Armor
Light ArmorArmorSpeed Effort CostPrice
Heavy cloth1†03 gp
Hides and furs1110 gp
Leather jerkin1110 gp
Padded1†05 gp
  • † — Only against piercing and slashing attacks.

If the GM prefers the simpler method of not tracking whether an attack is bashing, slashing, or stabbing, heavy cloth and padded armor should provide no Armor at all.

Medieval Fantasy Medium Armor
Medium ArmorArmorSpeed Effort CostPrice
Beastskin2210 gp
Breastplate22400 gp
Brigandine22200 gp
Chainmail2275 gp
Dwarven breastplate218,000 gp
Elven chainmail208,000 gp
Medieval Fantasy Heavy Armor
Heavy ArmorArmorSpeed Effort CostPrice
Full plate321,500 gp
Scale3350 gp
Shieldasset—10 gp

Editor's Notes — Full plate and scale armors have been amended by the editor to correct suspected misprints in their listed Speed Effort cost.

Armor Descriptions

You can wear only one kind of armor at a time (wearing more than one only gives the Armor from the best one and the Speed Effort cost of the worst one).

(Godforsaken, page 38)

Beastskin
An improved form of hides and furs, usually crafted from a creature with especially tough skin such as a giant lizard or rhinoceros.
Breastplate
A fitted metal plate or set of plates that protect your torso but not your arms or legs, giving you greater movement than full plate at the cost of some protection.
Brigandine
Long strips of metal attached to a cloth or leather backing. Often called "splint mail."
Chainmail
Mail armor made from hundreds of interlocking metal rings or links. Often called "chain" or "chain armor."
Dwarven breastplate
A high-quality breastplate crafted by a skilled dwarf, providing good protection and great mobility. Dwarven breastplate is medium armor (2 Armor) but encumbers the wearer as if it were light armor (it has a Speed Effort cost of 1). Not all dwarf-crafted breastplates count as this type of armor (only exceptionally skilled dwarven smiths know how to make it).
Elven chainmail
A high-quality suit of chainmail crafted by a skilled elf, providing good protection and excellent mobility. Elven chainmail is medium armor (2 Armor) but is no more encumbering than a typical outfit of normal clothing (it has no Speed Effort cost). Not all elf-crafted chainmail counts as this type of armor (only exceptionally skilled elven smiths know how to make it).
Full plate
A complete suit of fitted metal plates that give excellent coverage and protection against attacks. The joints are protected by small layered plates over flexible chain. Sometimes called "plate mail."
Heavy cloth
Clothing that's heavy enough to reduce the effect of attacks against you, such as winter clothing or a fashionable leather outfit. Heavy cloth provides 1 Armor against piercing or slashing attacks like arrows and swords, but not bashing attacks like clubs or hammers. Heavy cloth doesn't have a Speed Effort cost. It can't be worn with other kinds of armor.
Hides and furs
Made from thick or poorly cured animal skins. It's heavier and bulkier than other kinds of leather armor, but easier to make, especially by resource-poor crafters.
Leather jerkin
Armor made of hardened pieces of leather (usually boiled or treated with chemicals) that mainly covers your torso. It's stiffer than leather used for clothing, but still flexible enough that you can bend and twist in it. Some jerkins are reinforced with metal studs (and may be called "studded leather"), and brigandine improves upon that concept.
Padded
Cloth armor that is deliberately designed with multiple layers to be thick and protective. This is sometimes called "quilted armor" because it is a layer of padding sewn between two layers of cloth. Padded armor provides 1 Armor against piercing or slashing attacks like arrows and swords, but not bashing attacks like clubs or hammers. Padded armor doesn't have a Speed Effort cost. It can't be worn with other kinds of armor.
Scale
Mail armor made from overlapping scales or plates attached to a leather or cloth backing. Often called "scale mail."
Shield
Provides an asset to Speed defense rolls. Shield sizes vary from a small buckler to a large kite shield (in the Cypher System, the difference is mainly flavor, and for game purposes they all grant the wearer the same benefit). You must have one free hand to use a shield.
Adventuring Equipment

(Godforsaken, page 39)

Medieval Fantasy Adventuring Equipment
ItemPrice
Acid (flask)25 gp
Adventuring pack6 gp
Alchemist fire (flask)50 gp
Alchemist tools50 gp
Backpack2 gp
Bag of heavy tools25 gp
Bag of light tools10 gp
Battering arm10 gp
Bedroll1 gp
Book25 gp
Caltrops, bag1 gp
Candle1 sp
Climbing kit25 gp
Crowbar2 gp
Disguising kit25 gp
Grappling hook2 gp
Healing kit5 gp
Hourglass25 gp
Ink (flask)10 gp
Ink pen2 cp
Iron spikes (10)1 gp
Ladder (10 ft/3m)1 sp
Lamp5 sp
Lantern5 gp
Lockpicks25 gp
Manacles2 gp
Mirror5gp
Musical instrument2–50 gp
Oil (flask)1 cp
Piton5 cp
Pole, wooden5 cp
Pouch or other small rations5 sp
Rations (1 day)5 sp
Rope (50 ft./15m)1 gp
Sack1 cp
Signal horn2 gp
Spyglass1,000 gp
Tent2 gp
Torch1 cp
Waterskin2 sp
Adventuring Equipment Descriptions

(Godforsaken, page 41)

Acid
A flask of strong acid. Can be thrown up to short range, inflicting acid damage as a light weapon (ignores Armor). If poured carefully, it can damage or destroy a small item or areas made of stone or metal.
Adventuring pack
Includes 50 feet (15 m) of rope, three days' iron rations, three spikes, small hammer, a set of warm clothes, boots, and three torches.
Alchemist fire
A flask of chemicals that burst into flames upon contact with air. The flames burn out after one round. Can be thrown up to short range, inflicting fire damage as a light weapon (ignores Armor).
Alchemist tools
A sturdy wooden case with tiny flasks, stirring rods, droppers, and other materials used in alchemy. It grants an asset for identifying potion cyphers and similar mysterious liquids.
Bag of heavy tools
Contains a hammer, six spikes, crowbar, large tongs, chisel, and 10 feet (3 m) of strong rope.
Bag of light tools
Contains a small hammer, small tongs, pliers, small pry bar, awl, lockpicks, 10 feet (3 m) of string, 3 feet (1 m) of metal wire, and a handful of nails.
Battering ram
This sturdy plank is capped with hard metal. It provides an asset for breaking down doors.
Book
A book with information on a particular topic, such as geography, history, magic, or religion. Provides an asset on appropriate rolls if the character reads or skims the book for at least ten minutes before attempting the task (this assumes the character has already read the book and is looking for relevant information).
Caltrops, bag
A bag of hard things you scatter on the ground to slow or injure anyone walking through an area. One bag covers an immediate area and makes that area count as difficult terrain. A creature can safely move through it as if it were difficult terrain (half speed). If a creature moves through the area at normal speed, they must make a difficulty 2 Speed defense roll or take 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).
Candle
A candle burns for one hour and creates dim light in an immediate area.
Climbing kit
A set of crampons, pitons, ropes, and tools. Provides an asset on climbing tasks.
Crowbar
This bent length of metal grants an asset on tasks to open doors, treasure chests, and similar objects.
Disguise kit
Makeup, simple prosthetics, and a wig or two, suitable for disguises for a theatrical production. Provides an asset on disguise tasks. Some parts are reusable, but the kit runs out after about five uses.
Healing kit
A collection of bandages, needles, thread, and basic medicines. Provides an asset on healing tasks. Some parts are reusable, but the kit runs out after about five uses.
Lamp
A hollow container filled with oil that slowly burns to provide light (often resembling a "genie lamp"). A lamp creates normal light in an immediate area and dim light out to the short area beyond that. It burns for three to four hours on 1 pint (.5 L) of oil. If dropped, it might spill oil, break, or both.
Lantern
An improved version of a lamp, with a wick that draws oil and glass or metal panes to protect it from wind. A lantern creates normal light in an immediate area and dim light out to the short area beyond that. It burns for three to four hours on 1 pint (.5 L) of oil. If dropped, it is less likely to spill than a lamp.
Lockpicks
Also known as thieves' tools, this set provides everything a skilled person needs to pick locks and disarm traps.
Manacles
Metal or heavy wooden restraints that hold an enemy's wrists or ankles in place and are secured with a pin. A common set of manacles is level 5.
Oil
A pint (.5 L) of lamp oil in a leather flask. It burns for three to four hours in a lantern or lamp. If prepped with a burning wick, it can be thrown, inflicting fire damage as a light weapon (ignores Armor). If poured on a flat surface, it makes an immediate area slippery. A creature can safely move through the oil slick as if it were difficult terrain (half speed). If a creature moves through the area at normal speed, they must make a difficulty 3 Speed defense roll or slip on the oil and fall prone. Lighting the oil slick makes it burn for one or two rounds and inflicts 1 point of fire damage (ignores Armor) on anyone in or moving through the area.
Signal horn
This horn can be heard up to a mile away.
Spyglass
This device grants an asset on perception tasks to see things at long range or longer.
Tent
This has enough room for two humans or three smaller people.
Torch
A wooden stick with some kind of fuel on one end (such as burlap and wax). It burns for one hour, creating normal light in an immediate area and dim light in the short area beyond that. A torch is fragile and usually breaks if used to hit something
Clothing

(Godforsaken, page 41)

Specific pieces of clothing vary by climate and local custom, but usually include a hat, shirt, belt, pants or skirt, shoes, and underclothes.

Medieval Fantasy Clothing
ItemPrice
Artisan's outfit2 gp
Ascetic's outfit1 gp
Cold-weather outfit6 gp
Entertainer's costume3 gp
Explorer's outfit8 gp
Fancy outfit25 gp
Peasant's outfit1 sp
Priestly vestments5 gp
Traveler's outfit2 gp
Wizard's outfit5 gp
Clothing Descriptions

(Godforsaken, page 41)

Artisan's outfit
A suitable outfit for a person who performs a trade (blacksmith, cobbler, and so on). Often includes an apron and a belt for holding tools.
Ascetic's outfit
A simple outfit worn by monks and other people who eschew displays of wealth and status. Specific styles vary by climate and the philosophical tenets of the wearer, but a typical example is a loose shirt, loose breeches, sandals, a cap, and several cloth straps that can serve as a belt, scarf, or simple adornments.
Cold-weather outfit
A heavier set of clothing for protection against cold weather.
Entertainer's costume
Interesting (and usually colorful) clothing appropriate for an entertainer such as an actor, bard, juggler, or acrobat.
Explorer's outfit
A set of sturdy clothing for adventurers and experienced travelers who want to be prepared for various activities and environments.
Fancy outfit
A stylish set of clothes according to the local fashions and customs. Generally the minimum required for meeting with important townsfolk such as a mayor or noble. Higher-status events require outfits that cost up to four times as much.
Peasant's outfit
Very simple clothing for free people of low social status. Includes a kerchief or cap, shirt or blouse, trousers or skirt, and heavy cloth shoes or foot wrappings.
Priestly vestments
Garments appropriate for performing ceremonies for a specific religion. A common example is a hat or headdress, long tunic or dress, tabard or stole, and shoes, with the outer pieces marked with appropriate symbols.
Traveler's outfit
A comfortable set of clothes that includes gloves, a protective hat, a jacket, and a cloak with a hood.
Wizard's outfit
Clothing that identifies the wearer as a practitioner of arcane magic. A typical outfit includes an interesting hat or cap, a robe with long sleeves and many pockets, and shoes, often adorned with runes or representations of magical creatures such as dragons. Scholars and sages wear very similar garments that lack the mystical aspects of wizard clothing.
Animals and Gear

(Godforsaken, page 42)

Animals and Gear
ItemPrice
Draft horse50 gp
Guard dog25 gp
Pony30 gp
Riding horse75 gp
Saddle10 gp
Warhorse300–500 gp
Animals and Gear Descriptions

(Godforsaken, page 42)

Draft horse
A strong horse able to carry or pull heavy loads.
Guard dog
A dog specially trained to guard. Better suited for watching or patrolling an area against thieves and intruders than it is for accompanying adventurers into dangerous locations.
Pony
A smaller type of horse, suitable for pulling a cart, carrying smaller loads than a full-sized horse, or serving as a mount for a smaller-than-human creature such as a dwarf or halfling.
Riding horse
A horse trained for riding and able to carry a typical adult human. Riding horses tend to panic in combat.
Warhorse
A horse trained to be calm during the noise and action of combat, used either as a mount or to pull a vehicle such as a chariot.
Food and Lodging

(Godforsaken, page 42)

Meals
MealsPrice
Ale, gallon2 sp
Ale, mug4 cp
Banquet (1 person)10 gp
Bread, loaf2 cp
Meat (one serving)3 sp
Wine (bottle)10 gp
Wine (pitcher)2 sp
Inn Stay (per night)
Inn Stay (per night)Price
Good8 sp
Common5 sp
Poor1 sp

Fantasy Rules

(Godforsaken, page 72)

Awarding Treasure

(Godforsaken, page 72)

It's best to think of gold and magic as two different kinds of currencies that characters have access to.

Gold

(Godforsaken, page 72)

The Cypher System abstracts item costs into general categories— inexpensive, moderate, expensive, and so on. Starting characters generally have access to only a few inexpensive and moderate items and perhaps one or two expensive items. In a typical fantasy campaign, the characters should become wealthier as they advance.

Manifest Cyphers

(Godforsaken, page 73)

The expectation is that PCs will use cyphers often because they'll have many opportunities to get more; if the players can exploit this mechanic by selling off most of their cyphers in town, they're abusing the rules to make gold. The GM might be tempted to discourage this behavior by reducing how often the PCs gain new cyphers, but that goes against the premise of cyphers in the game: they should be common enough that the PCs use them freely instead of hoarding them. The key to addressing this selling-cyphers wealth problem is to make it harder to sell or trade cyphers for gold.

The PCs can have opportunities to trade their cyphers with NPCs in town, whether that's at a magic item shop, the tower of a mentor wizard, a thieves' guild, a temple, other adventurers, or the local government. The kinds of cyphers these NPCs can offer may be limited in theme (such as a benevolent church that makes healing potions and trades them for other useful cyphers) or quantity (such as having only one or two cyphers available each month). Two cyphers of the same level are generally considered to be about the same value, although local biases and NPC interests may affect their willingness to trade certain items despite or because of a level disparity.

Artifacts

(Godforsaken, page 74)

Artifacts are the high end of magical currency, and in terms of buying and selling them, they're like manifest cyphers: not something a typical NPC can use, and beyond what a typical NPC can afford, but they could be traded for a different artifact of about the same level. Unlike cyphers, the game doesn't assume that PCs have frequent opportunities to gain new artifacts or replace the ones that deplete.

In a pinch, an artifact is worth the equivalent of one or two very expensive items or one exorbitant item, depending on what the artifact can do. An artifact that grants an asset to one kind of roll is probably worth about as much as a very expensive item, one that adds +1 Armor might be worth two expensive items, and a strong defensive or offensive artifact could be worth about the same as an exorbitant item.

Magical Technology

(Godforsaken, page 65)

To craft items of magical technology in a setting where they are commonplace, use the standard rules for crafting regular (nonmagical) items.

Magic Plus Technology

(Godforsaken, page 65)

Whatever technology exists in the setting could be magically enhanced if magic is also present. Such items would almost certainly be manifest cyphers or artifacts. Here's an example cypher:

Frozen Timepiece

(Godforsaken, page 66)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates or transforms into a pocket watch that seems to be made of ice. Upon activation of the cypher, the user can take normal actions, but everything and everyone around them is frozen in time. The user cannot affect anything else, but they can move through the world and take actions that affect themselves or their own belongings (bandage a wound, repair a broken item, and so on). The effect lasts for one round per cypher level.

And here's an example artifact:

Truth Binoculars

(Godforsaken, page 66)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Pair of binoculars with a large runic symbol on them

  • Effect: Not only do these make it easy to see things far away, but looking through them also allows the viewer to see through illusions and see things that are normally invisible, assuming the effect has a level lower than that of the binoculars.

  • Depletion: 1–2 in 1d100 (check each use)

To craft items that are both technological and magical, either you need to make the device first and then enchant it, or you need to enchant it as it is made. Either way, the skills for making the device and for making it magical are likely very different.

Technology that Interacts with Magic

(Godforsaken, page 66)

In a world with scientists and engineers faced with the presence of real magic, some of them would develop ways to interact and cope with it. Technological devices that are not magical but deal with magic could include:

  • Magic detector (expensive): This simple white badge glows purple in the presence of magic. Once it detects something magical, it does not function again.

  • Mystical hazard suit (very expensive): This full-body protective suit is cumbersome and clumsy, not unlike a hazmat suit. However, all of the wearer's tasks to resist magical effects are eased. If the wearer takes even 1 point of physical damage, the suit rips and no longer functions until it is repaired and resealed.

  • Spellscrambler (very expensive): Essentially a sonic grenade, this device produces a variety of strange electromagnetic signals—some audible and very loud, some not—on a number of frequencies. The mental processes needed to cast a spell are impossible to achieve for one round within a short distance of the device. Like any grenade, it can be used only once.

Magic that Interacts with Technology

(Godforsaken, page 66)

In a world where magic and technology coexist, wizards will have spells and effects that protect them from shotgun blasts as well as sword blades, and radiation as well as fire or frost. Consider, for example, these effects as cyphers:

Finding Prying Eyes

(Godforsaken, page 67)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Magically discovers if anything is watching or listening to the user right at that moment, and reveals the source. Electronic surveillance devices, long-range scopes, hidden cameras, and magical scrying attempts all trigger this effect. In all these cases, the "source" is the nearest representation. So a hidden microphone is revealed, but not the location of the listener.

Power Device

(Godforsaken, page 67)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Magically powers one device that can fit within an area a short distance across. The device is now fully powered, charged, or fueled. If the cypher is used on an automobile, for example, the gas tank is full. If used on a flashlight, the battery is fully charged.

Screen Control

(Godforsaken, page 67)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: A technological screen (a television, computer monitor, smartphone, or the like) within short range shows whatever the user wishes for up to one minute per cypher level. The display can be pictures, text, or meaningless shapes and colors.

Because magic works on intuitive rather than scientific levels, mages could have spells that disrupt technology, even though the technology involved might not have any common principles.

Secret and True Names

(Godforsaken, page 70)

Learning a creature's true name comes with a subtle and instinctive awareness and understanding of that creature, including its strengths and weaknesses. In general, this eases all tasks related to that creature (including basic attacks, and Might defense, and interactions) by two steps. In some cases, confronting a creature with knowledge of its true name might be enough to convince it to perform a service without compensation. A creature doesn't automatically know if someone has learned its true name (although there is magic that can reveal this knowledge), but they can usually figure out that an informed opponent has some kind of advantage against them and deduce that their secret name is involved.

Learning a true name is difficult and takes time. A character wanting to discover a creature's true name might choose the Uncover a Secret character arc to do so.

Wishes

(Godforsaken, page 71)

Unless the GM's intention is to make the players regret that their characters were offered a wish, it's best to give them what they ask for, as much as it is within the power of the creature to do so. If the GM wants to twist the wish, do so as a GM intrusion— that way, the character still gets a reward, and they can either accept the twisted wish (which isn't as good as they had hoped) or pay 1 XP to reject the intrusion (which represents them coming up with airtight wording that can't be twisted).

Second, consider the level of the creature granting the wish—that's basically the level of the wish, as the creature shouldn't be able to grant a boon more powerful than itself. Therefore, it's reasonable that a level 6 creature could create a level 6 effect. The GM could look at the creature's other abilities (or abilities of other creatures of its level), decide if what the PC is asking for is within its power, and either grant the requested wish or adjust the result downward until it's appropriate for the creature's power.

Wishing for more wishes doesn't work because a creature shouldn't be able to create something more powerful than itself—at least not without some investment of time and other resources, like a character using XP to acquire an artifact.

Dungeons, Castles, and Keeps

(Godforsaken, page 75)

This section describes several kinds of common physical features and their game stats. Any of these levels can be adjusted up or down by the GM—a wall made from soft wood can have a lower level than a typical wall, stone can be reinforced by magic so its level is higher, and so on.

Walls

(Godforsaken, page 75)

Walls are generally either constructed (intentionally built by a creature) or natural (already existing without any work by a creature). Anything describing walls in this section also applies to ceilings and floors.

  • Paper wall (level 1): This thin wall only blocks sight. Creatures can attack through a paper wall as if attacking blindly (hindered by four steps), but it's usually easier to break a hole in the wall and attack through the hole. Paper walls are vulnerable to piercing and slashing weapons (attacks are eased). A gauzy curtain is equivalent to a paper wall, and a cloth wall is probably level 2.

  • Wooden wall (level 4): This is a typical wall for an average wooden house. The walls of a decrepit shack or a partition within a dungeon might be only level 2 or 3, but the exterior palisade wall of a fort or a log cabin might be level 5. Wooden walls are vulnerable to fire (attacks with fire are eased) but resistant to bashing and piercing weapons (attacks are hindered).

  • Stone wall (level 6): Constructed stone walls are bricks or masonry (fitted stones), with or without mortar to hold them in place, or hewn stone (dug into existing natural rock). Natural stone walls are usually unworked stone (like a cave wall or cliff face, which tend to be uneven) but might have areas where creatures smoothed or modified them to suit their needs for a living space. Some constructed stone walls are reinforced with metal bars on the surface or built inside, increasing its level to 7. Stone walls are vulnerable to piercing weapons (attacks are eased) but resistant to bashing and slashing weapons (attacks are hindered).

  • Iron wall (level 7): These expensive walls are usually reserved for protecting something important, like a vault.

Doors

(Godforsaken, page 76)

Doors are access points for encounters and (if trapped or infested with dangerous creatures) can be encounters all on their own. In most cases, trying to break through a door involves damaging its latch or hinges rather than destroying the main portion of the door (trying to destroy the door instead of the latch and hinges is a hindered task).

  • Simple wooden door (level 2): This is a fragile door meant to close off an interior space for privacy rather than to keep out a determined intruder. Instead of a single piece of wood, a simple wooden door is usually made of multiple planks nailed together on a frame or with support struts. Wooden doors of all strengths are vulnerable to fire (attacks with fire are eased) but resistant to bashing and piercing weapons (attacks are hindered).

  • Good wooden door (level 3): This is a stronger door meant to provide some security, such as for a typical house or shop.

  • Strong wooden door (level 4): This is a heavy door reinforced with wood or metal to make it difficult to break. An especially strong wooden door, such as the main entrance to a fort or castle, is probably level 5.

  • Stone door (level 5): These heavy doors are usually carved from a solid block of stone and designed to pivot on a center point. They are common in places like dungeons where wood and metal are scarce. Stone doors are vulnerable to piercing weapons (attacks are eased) but resistant to bashing and slashing weapons (attacks are hindered).

  • Iron door (level 6): A solid iron door is meant to protect something very valuable or vulnerable, such as a vault or a king's tomb. In a damp environment like a dungeon, they tend to rust and stick in place.

  • Wooden portcullis (level 3): The gaps in a portcullis present more defense opportunities than a door, such as allowing archers to fire at the creatures trapped by it. They're also useful in closing access to a waterway without impacting its flow. A wooden portcullis is relatively fragile and usually isn't meant to keep anyone out for long.

  • Iron portcullis (level 6): Much sturdier than wood, an iron portcullis is meant to keep creatures in place as long as necessary. Often the best way to get past a portcullis is to lift it instead of breaking it, but some are designed to lock in place to prevent this. A door to a prison cell is essentially a type of iron portcullis.

Traps
Quick Reference: Traps

Traps by Level

Related Sections

(Godforsaken, page 76)

One common element of fantasy exploration—particularly for castles and dungeons—is the danger of traps.

Triggering Traps

(Godforsaken, page 76)

Mechanical traps have a triggering mechanism—something set up to react when an unauthorized creature is in the area. Magical traps have triggers that are usually based on proximity—if a creature enters the area the trap is "watching," it activates.

Finding Traps

(Godforsaken, page 77)

Most characters won't notice traps unless actively looking for them; they don't know a trap is in the area until their presence, movement, or action triggers it. Characters can passively or actively search for traps if they suspect such dangers are present.

Passive searching for traps means one character (usually in the front of the group) is carefully checking the area before moving forward. This means the group moves at about half normal speed, but they get to make a search roll for any traps the GM has in their path. Allowing characters to passively search in this way means the players don't have to keep stating over and over that they're looking for traps. The drawback for them is that it takes them more time to get anywhere (which means time-based special abilities and cyphers will run out sooner).

Active searching is used when the characters worry or suspect that there is a trap in the area and want to find it. Active searching takes about one round for each immediate area searched. Rather than having the players make separate rolls for each immediate area, the GM should have them make one roll for the entire room; if successful, they find the trap, and if they fail, they don't find it. If there is a second trap, the GM can have them make another roll after they've resolved the first trap.

Disabling, Damaging, and Bypassing Traps

(Godforsaken, page 78)

A character can attempt to disable a trap so it's no longer able to activate or harm anyone. Normally this task has the same difficulty as the trap's level, but some traps are rickety and easy to disable, while others are carefully crafted and much harder to disable. Traps are objects and use the object damage track. Characters can attack a trap with weapons or special abilities to damage or destroy it. Some traps may be vulnerable to certain attacks or unusual means of sabotage (such as hammering a piton into a groove where a blade springs out). Magical traps can be damaged or disabled with special abilities.

Instead of disabling a trap, a character can try to bypass it so they and their allies can get past it without triggering it but still leave it as a danger to anyone else who passes through the area. The task to bypass a trap is hindered by two steps.

Failing an attempt to disable, bypass, or sabotage a trap means it activates. Usually the trap's target is the acting character, and the trap's attack is eased because the character placed themselves in harm's way.

Unless a character has the ability to manipulate magic, it's very difficult to bypass a magical trap (the attempt is hindered by two additional steps).

Understanding the Listings

(Godforsaken, page 79)

The rest of the chapter presents a large number of traps with game stats. Every trap is presented by name, followed by a standard template that includes the following categories. If an entry doesn't apply to a particular trap, it is omitted from the listing.

Level
Like the difficulty of a task, each trap has a level. You use the level to determine the target number a PC must reach to find, evade, or disable the trap. In each entry, the difficulty number for the trap is listed after its level (always three times the trap's level).
Description
This general description explains what the trap does, how it operates, whether it resets automatically, if it has a limited number of uses, and so on.
Damage Inflicted
Generally, when a trap hits a creature, it inflicts its level in damage regardless of the form of attack (arrow, poison, collapsing ceiling, and so on). The entries always specify the amount of damage inflicted, even if it's the normal amount for a trap of its level.
Modifications
Use these numbers when a trap's information says to use a different target number. For example, a level 4 trap might say "defends as level 5," which means PCs attacking it or trying to disable it must roll a target number of 15 (for difficulty 5) instead of 12 (for difficulty 4). Typical modifiers are to the trap's attacks, defenses, and stealth (how hard or easy it is to notice the trap).
GM Intrusion
This entry suggests one or more ways to use GM intrusions in an encounter with the trap. It's just one possible idea of many, and the GM is encouraged to come up with their own uses of the game mechanic.
Common Trap Poisons

(Godforsaken, page 80)

Blindness
The poison blinds the creature if they fail a defense roll. Typical durations are one minute, ten minutes, and one hour.
Choking
The poison makes the creature choke and cough if they fail a defense roll. Typical durations are one minute, ten minutes, and one hour. Severe versions of choking poison might make a creature start to suffocate.
Damage Track
The poison moves the creature down one step on the damage track if they fail a defense roll.
Debilitating
The poison hinders all of the creature's actions by one or two steps if they fail a defense roll. (Some poisons may affect only certain kinds of actions, such as Speed defense rolls or Might-based tasks.) Typical durations are ten minutes, one hour, and ten hours.
Instant Damage
The poison inflicts damage (Might, Speed, or Intellect) one time if the creature fails a defense roll.
Ongoing Damage
The poison inflicts damage (Might, Speed, or Intellect) immediately. When a certain amount of time has passed (such as every round or every minute), it inflicts damage again if the creature fails its defense roll. The ongoing damage usually ends on its own (such as after five additional rounds of damage) or after the creature makes a defense roll against it. Usually the ongoing damage is a much smaller amount than the initial damage, such as 1 point every round.
Paralysis
The poison prevents the creature from taking any physical actions if they fail a defense roll (this might leave them standing in place like a statue, or make them go limp and collapse to the floor). Typical durations are ten minutes, one hour, and ten hours.
Sleep
The poison knocks the creature unconscious if they fail a defense roll. Typical durations are ten minutes, one hour, and ten hours. The poison might also make the creature groggy, hindering all actions for an additional amount of time equal to how long the unconsciousness would have lasted (for example, knocking out a creature for an hour and then making them groggy for an hour, even if they're awakened early).
Arrow 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 81)

Fires an arrow or crossbow bolt. The simplest one-use trap of this kind is an actual crossbow (perhaps hidden behind a hole in a wall or door) rigged with a tripwire to pull the trigger; a creature would need to manually reset this trap for it to be a danger again. More complex traps might automatically reload from a supply of bolts so the trap can be triggered multiple times, or fire automatically once triggered until the ammunition is expended. A variant of this trap releases a volley of arrows into the targeted area, affecting multiple creatures or the same creature more than once.

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Modifications: Defense and stealth as level 6 (if hidden behind a hole in the wall)

GM Intrusion: The arrow is barbed, and removing it inflicts 3 points of damage. The arrow is attached to a string, cord, or wire, with the other end tied to something dangerous like a falling block or an electrical shock.

Crushing Wall 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 81)

A section of a wall falls over onto the targeted character. This is usually a one-use trap (although a similar trap could be built in its place).

A variant of this trap is a deadfall, where something heavy (such as a log, huge stone block, or cart full of rocks) falls from a higher position onto the character. Sometimes the falling block is made to exactly fit a trapped corridor so that triggering the trap makes the area impassible.

A less lethal variant drops a large amount of sand or dirt, inflicting 3 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor). Another variant releases oil (perhaps burning) or marbles, inflicting 3 points of ambient damage and making the area difficult terrain.

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points (ignores Armor)

GM Intrusion: The fallen wall blocks access to an exit. The wall debris buries the character, who is trapped until they can dig free. Another trap, hazard, or threat is behind the fallen wall (such as arrow traps or a room full of zombies) and can now reach the characters.

Disintegration 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 81)

A magical ray of eerie energy blasts the character, disrupting their physical matter. Any creature killed by the ray (or any object destroyed by it) turns to dust.

  • Damage Inflicted: 15 points

GM Intrusion: In addition to inflicting damage, the ray moves the character one step down the damage track. Part of the ray splits or ricochets off the character and strikes a second creature, inflicting 10 points of damage.

Explosive Glyph 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 81)

A magical rune activates when touched or passed over, exploding in an immediate or short area. Typical glyphs inflict acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage, but more unusual versions include ones that inflict holy, shadow, thorn, unholy, or stranger types of magical energy damage. A nonmagical variant of this trap sprays a mist of acid, a jet of electrified salt water, or a gout of burning oil.

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points of energy damage (ignores Armor); all creatures in the area take 1 point of damage even if they make their defense roll.

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 5

GM Intrusion: The glyph marks the character's face with a symbol indicating they are a thief. The glyph makes the character run away in fear for one minute. The character is cursed, and all of their actions are hindered until the curse is removed.

Flooding Room 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 82)

Exits to the room close off and the area starts to fill with water. Within a few minutes, the entire room is flooded and creatures in it begin to drown.

A variant of this room reduces the air pressure (either by pumping it out through tiny holes or by retracting the floor or ceiling). As the air gets thinner, characters are hindered by one, two, or three steps before falling unconscious and starting to suffocate. (Restoring the air allows the characters to awaken, but doesn't move them back up the damage track.)

  • Damage Inflicted: None until drowning starts

  • Modifications: Defends as level 7

GM Intrusion: Hostile creatures such as piranhas or electric eels are in the water and attack all creatures. The room fills with water faster than expected because the floor and/or ceiling are also moving toward each other.

Mangler 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 82)

A small hole in the wall extends sharp blades or weights when a creature reaches into it, mangling their hand and hindering all actions requiring that hand by one or two steps.

A floor variant is a small trapdoor over a closed compartment, which mangles the character's foot when they step on the trapdoor, reducing their movement speed by half.

Another variant is a needle trap attached to a small peephole or spyhole in a door or wall. The trap springs when the character touches the area around the hole (even a slight touch with their face as they look is sufficient), inflicting lasting damage to the character's eye and partially blinding them. A gentler variant traps the character's limb in glue instead of inflicting damage. The character's extremity might be glued to the hole, or they may be able to pull free but have a glue pot stuck on their hand or foot.

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points, plus lasting damage

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 4

GM Intrusion: The trap has hooks, holding the character in place and inflicting damage when they try to escape if they fail a Speed defense roll. The glue attracts a swarm of fire ants or wasps. The glue is also a slow-acting acid or poison.

Net 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 82)

A net suspended above the character drops and constricts (and perhaps lifts the character off the ground). Large net traps can affect multiple creatures at once. This kind of trap usually requires a creature to manually reset it.

A variant of this trap is a snare made of sturdy cord or wire.

  • Damage Inflicted: Entanglement (trapped character cannot move until they use an action to make a Might or Speed defense roll to break or escape the net)

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 5, defends as level 2

GM Intrusion: The net is barbed, inflicting 1 point of damage each round that the trapped character tries to move. The net is the nesting place for biting insects, which swarm and attack the trapped character and all nearby creatures each round.

Pit 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 82)

A trapdoor in the floor opens, dropping the triggering character into a pit. Larger versions of this trap can catch multiple characters at once. The trap can be reset by moving the trapdoor back into its closed position. In outdoor areas, this trap is more likely to be a pit covered in leafy branches (or a tarp) and camouflaged by soil and other debris.

A variant of this trap is a bridge over a chasm, river, or other dangerous location that is rigged to collapse when enough weight reaches the middle section.

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 point of ambient damage per 10 feet fallen (ignores Armor)

GM Intrusion: The trapdoor is slippery with oil, hindering attempts to catch the edge and avoid falling. The trapdoor closes after the character falls through, trapping them inside in the darkness. The walls of the pit are greased, hindering attempts to climb out by two steps. A dangerous creature is at the bottom of the pit (or in a room adjacent to it). The pit is filled with poison gas. The trapdoor detaches and falls into the pit, inflicting 1 point of ambient damage per 10 feet it falls. The pit has spikes at the bottom, inflicting an additional 4 points of damage to anyone who falls in.

Poison Gas 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 83)

The area slowly fills with poison gas. Because it takes a minute or more for the poison to become thick enough to cause harm, it is likely that the character won't realize at first that they've sprung a trap.

A variant of this trap fills the room with flammable gas, which explodes if there is an open flame (such as from a torch) or a spark (such as a metal weapon against metal armor), inflicting fire damage equal to the trap's level.

A further variant fills the room with dead air (containing no oxygen), which slowly extinguishes flames and suffocates creatures.

  • Damage Inflicted: As poison

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 5

GM Intrusion: The character has an allergic reaction to the gas, which hinders all their actions for an hour after exposure because of sneezing, watery eyes, or itchy skin. The gas makes the character hallucinate, mistaking their companions for enemies, until they make an Intellect defense roll. The gas is flammable.

Poison Needle 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 83)

A poisoned needle jabs at a character touching the trapped object (usually a lock or treasure chest) or is fired from a mechanism similar to an arrow trap. It may have a reservoir of poison that allows it to attack several times.

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 point (plus poison)

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 6

GM Intrusion: The trap releases acid into the lock mechanism, making the trapped object impossible to unlock. The trap releases acid into the container, destroying some of the valuables inside. The trap releases a puff of poison gas instead of a poisoned needle, affecting all nearby characters.

Portcullis 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 84)

An iron portcullis drops from the ceiling to block access to an area or separate a character from others nearby. If the creature dodging the falling portcullis wants to choose which side of the trap they end up on, the Speed defense roll is hindered. Otherwise, it is even chances what side they end up on.

A variant of this trap is a solid wall. A magical variant is a force field.

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

GM Intrusion: The portcullis impales the character, trapping them beneath it until it is lifted or destroyed. The portcullis is electrified, inflicting 1 point of damage each time it is touched or attacked with flesh or a metal object. A second portcullis drops nearby, trapping a character in a small area. Murder-holes in the ceiling allow enemies to make ranged attacks on the trapped character.

Rolling Boulder 6 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 84)

A large boulder, wheel, or barrel rolls into the area, crushing anything in its path. Depending on the configuration of the area, the boulder might follow a specific path, ricochet erratically, break open pit traps, or get stuck somewhere.

A variant is a large iron weight on a chain that swings from the ceiling. The weight swings back and forth several times, giving it multiple chances to hit the characters, but decreasing its damage with each swing until it stops and becomes an obstacle.

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Modifications: Defends as level 7

GM Intrusion: The boulder crashes through a door or wall, giving other dangerous creatures access to the character's location. The boulder blocks the way out. The boulder carries a character along with it for some distance. The boulder is hollow and full of burning oil, leaving a fiery trail behind it. The boulder is hollow and contains undead skeletons, which jump out as it moves and attack nearby creatures.

Slicing Blade 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 85)

A thin blade slices out from a gap in the wall, floor, or ceiling. The trap might be designed to sweep the entire area (such as the width of a corridor) or leave a tiny safe space just beyond the blade's reach so a creature who knows of the trap can get past it. This kind of trap is usually designed to reset automatically after a minute or has a lever nearby that allows a creature to reset it manually.

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 6

GM Intrusion: The blade is a magical weapon with an additional effect, such as inflicting 3 points of fire damage. The blade is rusted and breaks off when it hits the character, inflicting 1 point of damage (ignores Armor) each round after the initial attack until it is healed.

Sliding Stair 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 85)

A stairway or section of stairs unexpectedly turns into a ramp. Anyone who makes a Speed defense roll can catch hold near where they were standing; otherwise, they slide or tumble to the bottom and take damage. This kind of trap usually resets after a minute or has a manual reset lever at the top or bottom of the stairs.

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 point of ambient damage per 20 feet slid (ignores Armor)

GM Intrusion: The trap releases oil, hindering attempts to climb the ramp or stairs by two steps. Tiny blades stick out between the sections of the ramp, inflicting an additional 3 points of damage. The trap releases a boulder to roll down the stairs after the sliding character, inflicting an additional 3 points of damage.

Snake Pit 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 85)

The trap drops the character into a pit full of snakes or drops a large number of snakes on the character. The snakes immediately attack the character and perhaps others in the area.

  • Damage Inflicted: As per the swarm of snakes

GM Intrusion: The snake poison is especially potent, moving the character one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll. The snakes constrict the character, hindering their actions until the snakes are defeated.

Spear 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 85)

The trap fires a spear, javelin, or other large projectile.

In many ways, this is a scaled-up and more dangerous version of an arrow trap, and the same suggestions for that trap apply to this one.

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Modifications: Defense and stealth as level 5 (if hidden behind a hole in a wall)

GM Intrusion: The impact of the spear knocks the character prone. The spear is barbed, and removing it inflicts 3 points of damage. The spear is attached to a string, cord, or wire, with the other end tied to something dangerous like a falling block or an electrical shock

Teleporter 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 85)

The trap magically moves the character to another location within about 1,000 feet (300 m), typically a prison cell, an oubliette, or a very deep pit. It's more efficient to kill an intruder than to teleport them, so teleportation is usually reserved for trapping creatures for interrogation.

  • Damage Inflicted: None

GM Intrusion: The teleport destination is above the ground, causing the character to fall some distance and take damage (1 point of ambient damage per 10 feet fallen). The destination is dangerous, such as a tiny room lined with spikes, a shark tank, or a boulder in a lava lake.

Fantasy Cyphers

(Godforsaken, page 138)

Magic items are a staple of fantasy stories and games. In the Cypher System, these magic items are, of course, cyphers. The Cypher System assumes that subtle cyphers are the default, but in a fantasy game the assumption is usually the opposite—cyphers are physical objects (manifest cyphers) with magical powers, which the heroes find as treasure, gifts, or rewards for their adventures and exploits.

Mixing Subtle and Manifest Cyphers

(Godforsaken, page 138)

There's no reason why a fantasy campaign can't use manifest cyphers and subtle cyphers. In this setup, manifest cyphers are the tangible objects found in treasure hoards, and subtle cyphers represent good fortune, the blessings of the gods, and other coincidences that benefit the characters.

Fantasy Cypher Forms

(Godforsaken, page 138)

What form a manifest cypher takes— such as a potion or scroll—doesn't affect its abilities at all. A potion that eases the user's next task by three steps is functionally identical to a magical scroll that does the same thing.

To randomly determine a manifest cypher's form, roll on the following table.

Cypher Form
d100Cypher Form
01–02Bone runeplate
03–04Book page
05–07Bottle of powder
08–09Brand
10–12Brick
13–15Carved bone
16–18Carved stick
19–20Carved tooth
21–23Chalky potion
30–33Clay runeplate
34–37Crystal
38–39Elaborate scar
40–42Envelope of powder
43–44Fuming potion
45–47Glass
48–50Leaf
51–54Leather scroll
55–57Metal runeplate
58–60Oily potion
61–62Paper scroll
63–66Papyrus scroll
67–71Parchment scroll
72–74Pouch of powder
75–76Skin drawing
77–80Stone
81–82Tattoo
83–85Thick potion
86–88Tube of power
89–92Vellum scroll
93–96Watery potion
97–00Wood runeplate
Fantasy Cypher Table

(Godforsaken, page 141)

All of the cyphers in this chapter are manifest and fantastic cyphers.

Fantasy Cyphers
d100Fantasy Cyphers
01–05Acid resistance
06–11Animal control
12–18Beast shape
19–27Cold resistance
28–34Demon ward
35–39Dragon ward
40–44Electricity resistance
45–48Elemental conjuration
49–57Fire resistance
58–61Giant size
62–65Instant boat
66–68Instant tower
69–72Lycanthrope ward
73–76Penultimate key
77–82Poison resistance
83–86Restorative aura
87–89Thought listening
90–93Tiny size
94–98Undead ward
99–00Walking corpse

Editor's Notes — An example crafted cypher—the Frozen Timepiece—is not listed in this table.

Fantasy Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
Acid Resistance

(Godforsaken, page 141)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains Armor against acid damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.

Animal Control

(Godforsaken, page 141)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: To activate the cypher, the user must succeed on an Intellect attack against a beast whose level does not exceed the cypher's level. If successful, the beast immediately becomes calm. The beast awaits the user's commands and carries out all orders to the best of its ability. The target remains so enslaved for a number of hours equal to the cypher's level minus the target's level. (If the result is 0, the target is enslaved for only one minute.) The beast could attack or defend, a dog could follow a scent or retrieve an object, a badger could dig a hole, and so on.

    The cypher doesn't give the user any special ability to understand the target or perceive through its senses. For example, the user can command an eagle to fly above a group of enemies, but the eagle can't describe what it sees and the user can't look through its eyes.

    "Beast" in this sense refers to creatures of animal-level intelligence and may include unintelligent magical creatures like basilisks, pegasi, and so on.

Beast Shape

(Godforsaken, page 141)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: The user transforms into a specific kind of animal, such as a bear, hawk, horse, or wolf (the kind of animal is determined by the cypher's creator). The user gains the animal's type of movement (swimming for a fish, flying for a bird, and so on) and two assets on tasks to pretend to be that animal. The user also gains an asset on one skill appropriate to their animal form (or two skills for cypher level 5 and higher). See the Animal Form Minor Abilities table.

    The magic shrinks or enlarges the user to a size more suitable for their animal form, but generally can't make them more than about 50 percent smaller or larger, so the user might become an unusually large bird or a small bear. This doesn't affect the animal's abilities. The user can still use all of their abilities that don't rely specifically on their normal form. For example, an Adept in wolf form can't wield a dagger because wolves don't have hands, but could still use a healing power or mind blast ability.

    After about an hour, the user returns to their normal form.

    Depending on the cypher, the user might still be able to speak in a humanoid language, talk in a "language" of animal noises that other transformed people can understand perfectly, speak with animals of the same kind, or none of the above.

Cold Resistance

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains Armor against cold damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.

Demon Ward

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from demons, devils, and similar malevolent creatures.

In a typical fantasy campaign, a demon is a supernatural being from another dimension or plane of existence.

Dragon Ward

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from dragons, wyverns, and similar magical reptilian creatures.

Electricity Resistance

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains Armor against electricity damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.

Elemental Conjuration

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Summons an elemental creature (air, earth, fire, or water) that can understand the verbal commands of the user. Once the elemental is summoned, commanding it is not an action. It can make attacks or perform actions as ordered to the best of its abilities, but it cannot speak. The elemental never goes farther than long range away from the user.

    The elemental is not particularly intelligent or capable of initiating action. It responds if attacked, but otherwise does only as commanded.

    The elemental remains for one hour per cypher level or until its physical form is destroyed, after which it vanishes back to its native realm.

Fire Resistance

(Godforsaken, page 142)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains Armor against fire damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.

Giant Size

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: The user grows to about one and a half times their normal size. While at this larger size, they add 4 points to their Might Pool and +2 to their Might Edge, but their Speed defense rolls are hindered.

    They return to their normal size after a minute. When the effect ends, their Might Edge returns to normal, they lose the penalty to Speed defense, and they subtract 4 points from their Might Pool (if this brings the Pool to 0, they subtract the overflow first from their Speed Pool and then, if necessary, from their Intellect Pool).

    If the user is an NPC, the cypher increases their health by 4, eases their Might-based tasks, and hinders their Speed defense. When the effect ends, they lose 4 health and all of the other advantages and penalties from the cypher.

Instant Boat

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates or transforms into a small sailboat that can carry up to eight people. The user or other characters must row, steer, and sail the boat as normal. At cypher level 5 and higher, the boat grants an asset on all tasks relating to its movement, and at cypher level 7 and higher, the boat can move a short distance each round under its own power. The boat lasts for a day, after which it vanishes.

Instant Tower

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Creates a simple, squat stone tower with a door, three arrow slits, and a ceiling hatch leading to the roof. The tower is 10 feet (3 m) square and 12 feet (4 m) tall. If the cypher level is 7 or higher, the tower also has a second story (with four arrow slits), increasing its total height to 20 feet (6 m). If there isn't sufficient room for the tower to reach its full size, it fills the available space, but its appearance and growth does not apply any force or pressure against the confining surfaces.

    The tower is permanent and immobile once created.

Lycanthrope Ward

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from werewolves and other lycanthropes.

Lycanthrope
Formally, a human who can transform into a wolf. Informally, a human who can transform into an animal, such as a bear, rat, tiger, or wolf
Penultimate Key

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Locks or unlocks any one door, portal, chest, or other lockable item of the cypher's level or lower. The targeted item must have a keyhole for the cypher to work.

Legends speak of the Ultimate Key, which can open any lock, even those sealed by a god.

Poison Resistance

(Godforsaken, page 143)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains Armor against poison damage equal to the cypher's level for one hour.

Restorative Aura

(Godforsaken, page 144)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Creates an immediate area filled with aromatic smoke, reassuring sounds, gentle light, or other pleasing sensations that last for one hour. Creatures who rest within the area gain +2 on their recovery rolls (or +4 for cypher level 5 and higher). NPCs instead recover 2 health if they spend at least ten minutes within the area (or 4 health for cypher level 5 and higher). For a creature to gain this benefit, its entire rest must occur while the cypher is active.

Thought Listening

(Godforsaken, page 144)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The user can read the surface thoughts of a creature within short range that they can see, even if the target doesn't want them to. Once the user has established contact, they can read the target's thoughts for up to one minute per cypher level.

Tiny Size

(Godforsaken, page 144)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: The user shrinks to about one-tenth their normal size. While at this smaller size, they add 4 points to their Speed Pool and +2 to their Speed Edge, but all of their Might actions are hindered by two steps. They return to their normal size after a minute. When the effect ends, their Speed Edge returns to normal, they lose the penalty to Might actions, and they subtract 4 points from their Speed Pool (if this brings the Pool to 0, they subtract the overflow first from their Intellect Pool and then, if necessary, from their Might Pool).

    If the user is an NPC, the cypher eases their Speed-based tasks and hinders their Might-based tasks. When the effect ends, they lose all of the advantages and penalties from the cypher.

Undead Ward

(Godforsaken, page 144)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one hour, the user gains Armor equal to the cypher's level against damage from skeletons, zombies, ghosts, vampires, and other undead creatures.

Walking Corpse

(Godforsaken, page 144)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Animates a corpse as a level 1 (or level 2 for cypher level 5 and higher) undead skeleton or zombie, depending on the condition of the body. The corpse can be no larger than a typical human. The animated corpse has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows the user's verbal commands for one hour, after which it becomes an inert corpse. Unless the creature is killed by damage, the user can reanimate it again when its time expires, but any damage it had when it became inert applies to its newly reanimated state.

Fantasy Artifacts

(Godforsaken, page 145)

In many ways, fantasy is the genre for artifacts. All magic items—wands that shoot lightning, magic carpets, singing swords, rings that make the wearer invisible, and so on—are artifacts. Below are a few sample artifacts to give a template for GMs to follow. Those running a fantasy campaign will likely want to create many magic artifacts.

If cyphers are the expendable magic that is ever-present in fantasy, artifacts are the more durable magic items that can be used over and over again—swords, armor, tomes of weird magic, cloaks of invisibility, and so on. Unlike cyphers, there is no limit to how many artifacts a character can bear; an entire campaign might stem from an ongoing quest to collect all of the legendary items carried by a famous hero.

Example Fantasy Artifacts

(Godforsaken, page 145)

The artifacts are divided into two tables—one for minor items (artifacts that don't have particularly flashy or world-affecting abilities) and one for major items (artifacts that do). A GM running a campaign where magic is subtle, weak, or otherwise limited can use the minor items table, and a GM of a campaign where some magic can do powerful or even impossible things can roll on either table.

Minor Fantasy Artifacts Table

(Godforsaken, page 146)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Minor Fantasy Artifacts Table
d100Minor Fantasy Artifacts
01–02Adamantine rope
03–06Alchemist bag
07–09Armored cloth
10–15Belt of strength
16–18Bounding boots
19–21Cat's eye spectacles
22–24Cloak of elfkind
25–26Cloak of finery
27–28Coil of endless rope
29–33Crown of the mind
34Crystal ball
35–37Truth Binoculars
38–40Elfblade
41–43Enchanted armor
44–49Exploding arrow
50–55Gloves of agility
56–58Gruelmaker
59–60Helm of water breathing
61–66Mastercraft armor
67–72Mastercraft weapon
73–75Mindshield helmet
76–77Pack of storage
78–79Poisoner's touch
80–85Protection amulet
86–87Shield of two skies
88–92Skill ring
93Soulflaying weapon
94–96Sovereign key
97–98Tunneling gauntlets
99Vorpal sword
00Whisperer in the ether

Editor's Notes — The Minor Fantasy Artifacts table has been amended by the editor, correcting missing numbers in the d100 range, re-adding the Cloak of Finery, and replacing the deflecting shield (GF, 150)—which is not included in the CSRD—with the Truth Binoculars (the example crafted artifact).

Major Fantasy Artifacts Table

(Godforsaken, page 146)

Major Fantasy Artifacts Table
d100Major Fantasy Artifacts
01–03Angelic ward
04Book of all spells
05Cloak of Balakar
06–07Crown of eyes
08Death's scythe
09–10Demonflesh
11Demonic rune blade
12–15Dragontongue weapon
16–18Dragontooth soldiers
19–20Explorer's gloves
21–23Falcon cloak
24–25Flying carpet
26–27Ghostly armor
28–30Guardian idol
31–33Hand of glory
34–36Horn of thunder
37–39Instant ladder
40–43Lightning hammer
44–47Necromantic wand
48–50Ring of dragon's flight
51–53Ring of fall flourishing
54–56Ring of invisibility
57Ring of wishes
58–60Smooth stepping boots
61–62Soul-stealing knife
63–65Spellbook of elemental summoning
66Spellbook of the amber mage
67–69Staff of black iron
70–74Staff of healing
75–77Staff of the prophet
78–79Storm shack
80–83Trap runestone
84–88Wand of firebolts
89–93Wand of spider's webbing
94–97Witch's broom
98–00Roll twice on the Minor Fantasy Artifacts table
Fantasy Artifacts by Alphabetical Order
Adamantine Rope

(Godforsaken, page 147)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: A 50-foot (15 m) length of black rope

  • Effect: This length of rope has the flexibility of ordinary rope but a hardness greater than steel. It is impervious to damage (including attempts to cut it) from anything less than the artifact's level.

  • Depletion: —

Alchemist Bag

(Godforsaken, page 145)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Embroidered velvet bag

  • Effect: This bag can contain up to one cypher per artifact level, as long as each is no larger than a typical potion bottle or scroll case. These cyphers do not count against a character's cypher limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each time a cypher is added to the bag)

Angelic Ward

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 257)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Tiny figurine of a winged angel

  • Effect: Once activated, the figurine's spirit emerges and becomes semisolid as a glowing, human-sized winged angel. It follows within 3 feet (1 m) of the figurine owner. Anything within long range that attacks the owner is attacked by the angelic ward, which sends out a bolt of flesh-rotting energy, doing damage equal to the artifact's level. Once activated, it functions for a day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Armored Cloth

(Godforsaken, page 147)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Suit of typical clothing (robe, dress, jerkin and breeches, and so on)

  • Effect: This clothing is soft and flexible, as expected, except when it is struck or crushed with force, at which point it hardens, providing +1 to Armor. It then immediately returns to its normal state (which is in no way encumbering). This clothing cannot be worn with armor of any kind.

  • Depletion: —

Belt of Strength

(Godforsaken, page 147)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Thick leather belt with a metal buckle and rivets

  • Effect: The belt enhances the strength and endurance of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Might Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the belt, any excess Might points above their normal maximum Might Pool are lost; if they wear the belt again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects).

  • Depletion: —

Book of All Spells

(Godforsaken, page 147)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Weighty tome filled with pages of spell runes

  • Effect: This mysterious spellbook is said to contain knowledge of hundreds of spells—perhaps even all spells. Each set of facing pages includes the magical runes for one spell and a description of the spell and how to use it.

    When a character first opens the book, the GM randomly determines what type of spell is shown by rolling on the following table, then rolling on the indicated table in the Cypher System Rulebook:

Book of All Spells
d6Cypher Type
1–2Roll on the Manifest Cypher Table
3–5Roll on the Fantastic Cypher Table
6Roll on the Subtle Cypher Table

  • The bearer can cast the spell on the page as if it were a cypher with a level equal to the book's level. This doesn't remove the spell from the page (it can be cast again and again), but it does require a depletion roll.

    As part of another action, the bearer can turn the page to find a new spell, but only forward, never backward. It is said that turning to the last page makes the book vanish and appear somewhere else in the world.

    The artifact always remembers the last page it was turned to. Opening the book always presents that page. Attempting to copy, remove, or destroy a page only makes the book turn to a later page on its own.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (Check each time the book is used or the bearer turns a page. The chance of depletion increases by 1 each time it is used [1 in 1d100, 2 in 1d100, 3 in 1d100, and so on]. Instead of depleting, the book might turn to a later page, or disappear and reappear somewhere else in the world.)

Bounding Boots

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Sturdy but flexible boots

  • Effect: The boots assist the wearer's every step to make jumping and running easier. The boots are an asset for jumping and running (easing one of these skills by two steps if the artifact is level 6 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

Cat's eye spectacles

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pair of dark crystalline spectacles in a dull wooden frame

  • Effect: Outside, the wearer can see at night as if it were daylight. Inside, the wearer can see in pitch darkness up to short range (or to long range if the artifact is level 5 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

Cloak of Balakar

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Blue cloak with elaborate designs suggesting blowing wind

  • Effect: The wearer can calm winds of the artifact's level or lower in a radius of 1 mile (1.5 km). Up to once a day, the wearer can create a destructive windstorm up to that size, lasting one minute; this storm's level is equal to half the artifact's level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (on depletion, cloak disappears and reappears somewhere else in the world)

Cloak of Elfkind

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Thin greyish-green cloak with a cowl and clasp

  • Effect: When activated (by drawing the hood over the wearer's head), the cloak takes on the colors and textures of everything around the wearer for ten minutes (or one hour if the artifact is level 8 or higher). This eases hiding and sneaking tasks by two steps. While the cloak is activated, the wearer can also see in the dark.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Cloak of Finery

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Multilayered cloak of glittering material

  • Effect: This cloak is woven of beautiful fibers and set with dazzling gems. It automatically fits itself to its wearer in the most flattering way. When activated, it enhances the wearer's appearance, voice, tone, and even their grammar, granting an asset to all interaction tasks for the next minute.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Coil of Endless Rope

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Coil of rope

  • Effect: The coil of rope can be let out at a rate of 50 feet (15 m) per round; however, no end to the rope can be found no matter how long the user uncoils it. The rope retains its incredible length until recoiled or until it becomes depleted. If cut, any length beyond the coil's initial 50 feet crumbles into powder after a round or two.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each use that extends it beyond 50 feet)

Crown of Eyes

(Godforsaken, page 148)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Metallic circlet set with several crystal spheres

  • Effect: It takes one round to activate the crown. When activated, the crystal spheres separate from the crown and fly around the wearer at immediate range for an hour. The wearer can see anything the crystal spheres can see. This allows the wearer to peek around corners without being exposed to danger. This gives the wearer an asset in initiative and all perception tasks.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Crown of the Mind

(Godforsaken, page 149)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Crown, circlet, headband, diadem, or amulet

  • Effect: The crown augments the mind and thoughts of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Intellect Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the crown, any excess Intellect points above their normal maximum Intellect Pool are lost; if they wear the crown again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects). (GF, 149)

  • Depletion: —

Crystal Ball

(Godforsaken, page 149)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Melon-sized crystalline or glass orb, with or without a support stand

  • Effect: This allows the user to scry (view) remote locations and creatures. The user must make a difficulty 2 Intellect task to activate the crystal ball, then use an action trying to make it show a person or location they know. The user must succeed at an Intellect task against the level of the target; otherwise, the crystal shows only indistinct or misleading images. The task roll is modified by how familiar the target is to the user, how available they are to be viewed, and how far away they are.

Crystal Ball: Familiarity
FamiliarityDifficulty
Only have name or descriptionHindered
Target has been visitedEased
Target is well known to the userEased
Crystal Ball: Availability
AvailabilityDifficulty
Target is willingEased
Target is unwillingHindered
Crystal Ball: Distance
DistanceDifficulty
More than 1 mileHindered
More than 10 milesHindered
More than 100 milesHindered

  • These modifiers are cumulative, so trying to view a level 4 target who the user knows only by name (+1 step), is unwilling (+1 step), and is 20 miles away (+2 steps) is a difficulty 8 task.

    The crystal shows the creature or area for one minute before the image becomes muddled and the artifact must be activated again.

    In addition to the normal options for using Effort, the user can choose to apply a level of Effort to open two-way communication with the viewed area. All creatures in the area can sense the user's presence and hear their voice, and the creatures can speak to and be heard by the user.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

An unwilling creature's defenses against magic and Intellect attacks should hinder scrying attempts just as they would against a directly harmful mental spell.

Death's Scythe

(Godforsaken, page 149)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Double-handed scythe

  • Effect: This scythe functions as a heavy weapon. In addition, it instantly kills level 1 or level 2 creatures it hits. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, the user can choose to use a level of Effort to affect a higher-level target; each level of Effort applied increases the level of creature that can be instantly killed by the scythe. Thus, to instantly kill a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), the wielder must apply three levels of Effort.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check per killing effect; upon depletion, a manifestation of Death appears to reclaim its blade)

Death manifestation
level 7

Editor's Notes — The deflecting shield (GF, 150) is not included in the CSRD.

Demonflesh

(Godforsaken, page 150)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Ball of black leather with vein-like red streaks

  • Effect: When activated, the ball liquefies and coats the body of the user for one hour, appearing to be a form-fitting leather suit veined with pathways of dully glowing blood. As an action, the wearer can become invisible. While invisible, they are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if they do something to reveal their presence or position—attacking, casting a spell, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, they can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding their position. The wearer can inflict 3 points of damage with a touch by releasing a dark crackle of demonic power. This attack ignores most Armor, but Armor made to ward against evil or demonic attacks should work against it. (GF, 150)

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Demonic Rune Blade

(Godforsaken, page 150)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Sword inscribed with demonic runes

  • Effect: This longsword functions as a medium weapon, but it is actually a powerful demon transformed into the shape of a sword. The demon cannot speak directly to the wielder, but it can make its desires known by emitting bass rumbles and dirgelike melodies, and by pulling in the direction of its desire. The sword eases all attacks made with it by one step, and it inflicts 4 additional points of damage (for a total of 8 points).

    If the wielder kills a creature with the sword, the sword eats the creature's spirit and transfers some of its energy to the wielder, adding 5 points to their Might Pool and increasing their Might Edge by 1. This lasts for an hour and allows the wielder to exceed their normal Might Pool and Might Edge stats.

    If the wielder misses with an attack, the blade sometimes hits an ally of the wielder instead (this always happens on an attack roll of 1).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (check each time a killed creature's life force is absorbed; if depleted, the sword's magical abilities can be recharged if it kills an "innocent" creature)

Dragontongue Weapon

(Godforsaken, page 150)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Weapon that roars with red flame when activated, trailing a stream of black smoke

  • Effect: This weapon functions as a normal weapon of its type. If the wielder uses it to attack a foe, upon a successful hit, the wielder decides whether to activate the flame. Upon activation, the weapon lashes the target with fire, inflicting additional points of damage equal to the artifact level. The effect lasts for one minute after each activation.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Dragontooth Soldiers

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Burlap bag containing a handful of large reptilian teeth

  • Effect: If a tooth is drawn from the bag and cast upon the earth, a dragontooth warrior appears, ready to fight for the user for up to ten minutes before going their own way. The user can draw several teeth at once from the bag, but each tooth drawn requires a separate depletion roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Dragontooth warrior
level equal to the artifact level, Speed defense as artifact level + 1 due to shield; Armor 1; spear attack (melee or short range) inflicts damage and impedes movement of victim to immediate range for one round
Elfblade

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Medium sword

  • Effect: This sword can be used as a normal medium sword that deals 2 additional points of damage (for a total of 6 points). The short sword can cut through any material of its level or lower with ease, owing to its exceptional sharpness. The blade sheds a blue light as bright as a candle to warn when goblins, orcs, trolls, or similar creatures are within 300 feet (90 m).

  • Depletion: —

Enchanted Armor

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Full suit of light, medium, or heavy armor

  • Effect: This armor is carefully crafted and reinforced with magic to be stronger and more protective than typical armor. It is armor according to its type (light, medium, or heavy), but it grants an additional +1 Armor (or +2 if the artifact is level 7 or higher) beyond what it would normally provide. For example, chainmail is medium armor (2 Armor), so enchanted chainmail provides a total of 3 Armor (for artifact level 6 or lower) or 4 Armor (for artifact level 7 or higher).

    The additional Armor provided by the magic also applies to damage that often isn't reduced by typical armor, such as heat or cold damage (but not Intellect damage).

  • Depletion: —

Exploding Arrow

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Arrow with runes carved on the shaft and head

  • Effect: The arrow explodes when it strikes something, inflicting its level in damage to all within immediate range. Roll d100 to determine the type of damage.

Exploding Arrow Damage
1d100Exploding Arrow Damage
01–20Acid
21–40Electricity
41–60Cold
61–90Fire
91–00Necromantic (harms only flesh)

  • Depletion: Automatic (GF, 151)

One advantage of an exploding arrow over a detonation cypher is that the arrow doesn't count toward your cypher limit.

An exploding arrow can instead be a crossbow bolt, sling stone, or other thrown weapon or projectile.

Explorer's Gloves

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Thick but flexible-fingered leather gloves

  • Effect: The wearer can cling to or climb any surface for up to one hour. Even level 10 climbing tasks become routine while the gloves are activated, but taking any other action while climbing requires a new activation.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Falcon Cloak

(Godforsaken, page 151)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Cloak made of feathers

  • Effect: For ten hours, the wearer becomes a falcon whose level is equal to the artifact level. The falcon can fly a long distance each round, or up to 60 miles (97 km) per hour when traveling overland.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Most magic items that turn a character into a different creature make it difficult to use any of the character's special abilities (other than skills) in that form.

Flying Carpet

(Godforsaken, page 152)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Silken rug with repeating designs bordered with a pattern that suggests scudding clouds

  • Effect: The carpet flies a long distance each round, carrying up to five passengers. It flies for up to ten hours per activation. When traveling overland, the artifact can achieve a flying speed of 60 miles (97 km) per hour.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Ghostly Armor

(Godforsaken, page 152)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Full suit of light, medium, or heavy armor

  • Effect: This armor is carefully crafted and reinforced with magic to be stronger and more protective than typical armor. It is armor according to its type (light, medium, or heavy), but it grants an additional +1 Armor beyond what it would normally provide. For example, chainmail is medium armor (2 Armor), so ghostly chainmail provides 3 Armor.

    When activated, the armor randomly makes the wearer ghostly and immaterial for ten minutes (or for one hour if the artifact is level 9 or higher), which hinders attacks on the wearer by two steps without hindering any of the character's abilities. Special multidimensional weapons or attacks (such as abilities meant to harm ghosts) ignore this defense.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (for the ghostly defense ability, but after depletion, the suit still functions as normal armor and provides its full Armor value)

Gloves of Agility

(Godforsaken, page 152)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Supple leather or cloth gloves

  • Effect: The gloves enhance the dexterity and reflexes of the wearer. This increases the wearer's maximum Speed Pool by 5 (or by 7 if the artifact is level 6 or higher). If the wearer removes the gloves, any excess Speed points above their normal maximum Speed Pool are lost; if they wear the gloves again, the points do not automatically return (they must be restored with recovery rolls, healing magic, or similar effects).

  • Depletion: —

Gruelmaker

(Godforsaken, page 152)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Clay bowl stamped with symbols of fish and birds

  • Effect: The bowl fills itself to the brim with a bland-tasting tan porridge that provides enough nutrition for one person for one day (or two people if the artifact is level 5 or higher).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Guardian Idol

(Godforsaken, page 152)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Demonic idol on top of a thin metal leg that is 1 foot (30 cm) tall

  • Effect: It takes two rounds to balance this artifact on its metal leg, and then it requires an action to activate. When activated, the idol stares at the activating character and nearby creatures for five rounds, memorizing their faces and shapes. After that, if anything the idol doesn't recognize (and is larger than a mouse) comes within long range, it spits a small ball of fire at the target. The fire inflicts damage equal to the artifact level. The idol can attack up to ten times per round, but it never attacks the same target more than once per round. It remains on watch for twenty-four hours or until it has made one hundred attacks, whichever comes first.

  • Depletion: Automatic

Hand of Glory

(Godforsaken, page 153)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Dried humanoid hand with candle-tip fingers

  • Effect: A hand of glory has several potential uses, including the following. In all cases, the candles making up the hand must be lit and burning to produce an effect. Insensibility: A target within short range is held motionless and unable to take actions as long as the lit hand remains within range (or until the target is attacked or otherwise snapped out of the trance). Invisibility: User is invisible for up to one minute while holding the hand. While invisible, the user is specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. Thief 's Passage: A locked or barred door or a container whose level is less than or equal to the hand's level becomes unlocked when touched by the hand.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Helm of Water Breathing

(Godforsaken, page 153)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Green metal helm with a scaly or fishy motif Effect: The wearer's head is enveloped in a tight bubble of air that constantly renews itself, allowing them to breathe underwater indefinitely, speak normally, and so on.

  • Depletion 1–2 in 1d100 (check each day)

Horn of Thunder

(Godforsaken, page 153)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Large signal horn banded with metal and carved with runes

  • Effect: This massive instrument can barely be held or carried by a single person. When activated, it emits a 50-foot (15 m) wide cone of pure sonic force out to long range. Any creature in that area is knocked prone and stunned for one round, losing its action. Unfixed items the size of a human or smaller are toppled and/or moved at least 5 feet (1.5 m). Larger objects might also be toppled.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Instant Ladder

(Godforsaken, page 153)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small lightweight metal rod with gem buttons

  • Effect: When activated, the rod extends and produces rungs so that it can be used as a ladder up to 28 feet (9 m) long. The ladder can be transformed back into its rod form from either end.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

A creature unfamiliar with the buttons on an instant ladder needs to spend several rounds figuring out the proper sequence to expand or collapse it.

Lightning Hammer

(Godforsaken, page 153)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Massive silver hammer that crackles with electricity

  • Effect: This hammer functions as a normal heavy weapon. However, if the wielder uses an action to activate it, the weapon radiates electricity for one round. If used to attack on the next round, the hammer inflicts an additional 10 points of electricity damage. The user can choose to strike the ground instead, sending shockwaves of electricity outward that deal 5 points of damage to everyone within short range.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (still usable as a normal heavy weapon after depletion)

Mastercraft Armor

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Armor of exceptional quality

  • Effect: This armor grants its wearer an asset for Speed defense rolls.

  • Depletion: —

Mastercraft Weapon

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Weapon of exceptional quality

  • Effect: This weapon grants its wielder an asset for attack rolls made with it.

  • Depletion: —

Depending on the game world, mastercraft armor and weapons might be magical, mundanely crafted with exceptional quality, or both.

Mindshield Helmet

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Lightweight cloth, leather, or metal helmet

  • Effect: The wearer gains 3 Armor that protects against Intellect damage only. Further, attempts to affect the wearer's mind are hindered (or hindered by two steps if the artifact is level 7 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

Necromantic Wand

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Bone wand carved with runes

  • Effect: This wand emits a faint short-range beam of sickly violet light that affects only organic creatures and materials. Living targets hit by the beam move one step down the damage track. Nonliving organic targets are likely destroyed.

    This device is a rapid-fire weapon and thus can be used with the Spray or Arc Spray abilities that some characters have, but each "round of ammo" used or each additional target selected requires an additional depletion roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Pack of Storage

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Leather backpack or haversack with multiple pockets

  • Effect: This pack's mouth can be loosened to open as wide as 6 feet (2 m) in diameter. It is larger on the inside than on the outside, and can carry up to 500 pounds (226 kg) or 10 cubic feet (.3 cubic m). The pack weighs about one-tenth as much as it is holding.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each time something is added to the pack; on depletion, all objects are expelled from the pack)

Poisoner's Touch

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Very thin transparent glove with faint markings

  • Effect: When the wearer activates the glove (which might require speaking a command word or tracing a specific pattern on its surface), it secretes a small amount of poison. The next creature the wearer touches with the glove takes Speed damage equal to the artifact level (ignores Armor) and must make a new Might defense roll each round or suffer the damage again until either they succeed at the defense roll or five rounds pass, whichever comes first.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Protection Amulet

(Godforsaken, page 154)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Stylized amulet worn on a chain

  • Effect: The amulet reduces one type of damage by an amount equal to the artifact level. Roll a d20 to determine the kind of damage the amulet protects against.

Protection Amulet Effects
1d100Damage Type
1–4Acid
5–8Cold
9–12Electricity
13–16Fire
17–20Poison

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (check each time the amulet reduces damage) (GF, 154)

Ring of Dragon's Flight

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 257)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Green iron ring that appears like a dragon wound around the finger

  • Effect: When the wearer activates the ring, dragon wings unfurl from their back, and for one minute the wearer can fly up to long range. The ring does not confer the ability to hover or make fine adjustments while in flight.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Ring of Fall Flourishing

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Gold band inscribed with feather wreath

  • Effect: The wearer of the ring can fall any distance safely, landing easily and upright.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Ring of Invisibility

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Gold band inscribed with characters that are revealed only if ring is heated

  • Effect: The wearer of the ring becomes invisible for one minute. While invisible, the wearer is specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. The effect ends if they attack or spend points from a Pool for any reason.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Ring of Wishes

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Plain gold band

  • Effect: The user makes a wish, and it is granted, within limits. The level of the effect granted is no greater than the level of the artifact, as determined by the GM, who can modify the effect accordingly. (The larger the wish, the more likely the GM will limit its effect.)

  • Depletion: 1–3 in 1d6

Shield of Two Skies

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small hexagonal amulet

  • Effect: Upon activation, the amulet creates a faint glow around the wearer that provides +2 to Armor against heat and cold (or +3 for artifact level 6 and higher). The effect lasts for ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Skill Ring

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Ring carved with sigils appropriate to its granted skill

  • Effect: This ring grants its wearer knowledge of a specific skill, such as climbing, jumping, history, or persuasion. This grants the wearer training in that skill (or in two skills if the artifact is level 5 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

Smooth Stepping Boots

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Pair of boots

  • Effect: When the boots are activated, for the next hour the wearer can move across rough or difficult terrain at normal speed, walk up walls, and even walk across liquids. In areas of low or no gravity, the wearer can walk along hard surfaces (even vertically or upside down) as if under normal gravity.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Soul-Stealing Knife

(Godforsaken, page 155)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Night-black blade in which distant stars are sometimes visible

  • Effect: This knife functions as a normal light weapon. However, if the wielder wishes, on a successful attack, it inflicts additional damage (ignores Armor) equal to the artifact's level. If damage from the dagger reduces a target to 0 health, the target's soul is drawn into the blade. The soul remains trapped there for up to three days, after which time it is consumed. (Alternatively, the wielder can release the soul to whatever its fate would otherwise be.)

    As a separate activation, the wielder can ask three questions of a creature whose soul is trapped in the blade and not yet consumed. After answering the third question, the soul is consumed.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each activation)

Soulflaying Weapon

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 257)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Weapon of any type, with engraved glowing runes denoting soulflaying

  • Effect: This weapon functions as a normal weapon of its kind. The wielder can use an action to activate its soulflaying magic for one minute. During that time, if the weapon scores a hit, it inflicts normal damage, plus 3 additional points of Intellect damage on all creatures that have souls (not automatons, mindless undead, or the like).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Sovereign Key

(Godforsaken, page 156)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Slender golden key

  • Effect: When touched to a lock or the surface of a sealed object (such as a chest, envelope, or urn), the key briefly glows and attempts to open the target. Sealed objects fall open like peeled fruits if their level is equal to or less than the artifact level, and locks open easily if their level is equal to or less than the artifact level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (GF, 156)

Spellbook of Elemental Summoning

(Godforsaken, page 156)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Weighty tome filled with pages of spell runes

  • Effect: When the user incants from the spellbook and succeeds at a level 3 Intellect task, they can summon an elemental of one specific kind described in the book (earth, fire, thorn, or some other type). The elemental appears and does the summoner's bidding for up to one hour, unless it somehow breaks the geas created by the book. (GF, 156)

  • Depletion: 1–3 in 1d20

Spellbook of the Amber Mage

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 257)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Weighty tome bound in amber filled with pages of spell runes

  • Effect: When the user incants from the spellbook and succeeds at a level 3 Intellect-based task, the user can attempt to trap a creature within long range inside a block of amber. Only creatures whose level is equal to or lower than the artifact's level can be targeted. A creature successfully caught is preserved in perfect stasis until the encasing amber is broken away (the amber has 10 points of health per level of the artifact).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (257)

Staff of Black Iron

(Godforsaken, page 156)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Staff of black iron set with an eye-shaped crystal headpiece

  • Effect: The wielder can use an action to gain one of the following effects.

    • Influence: The wielder makes a mental attack on a creature within immediate range by providing a suggestion. An affected target follows any suggestion during its next turn that doesn't cause direct harm to itself or its allies.
    • Lightning: The wielder discharges a bolt of lightning that attacks all targets along a straight line out to long range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact level.
    • Shield: For one hour, the wielder gains the protective effect of using a normal shield (an asset on their Speed defense rolls). This effect is invisible and doesn't require them to hold a shield; merely touching the staff is sufficient.

    The staff can have more than one effect ongoing at a time (such as using the shield ability and blasting someone with lightning), but each requires a separate activation and depletion roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Staff of Healing

(Godforsaken, page 156)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Wooden staff capped with a golden icon

  • Effect: The staff emits a short-range beam of silvery light that affects only living creatures. A living creature hit by the beam moves up one step on the damage track. A target that is not down on the damage track can immediately make a free recovery roll (or, for NPCs, regain a number of points of health equal to three times their level).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Staff of the Prophet

(Godforsaken, page 157)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Short wooden staff

  • Effect: The staff has three abilities, each of which requires an action to activate.

    • Sea Passage. Creates a dry route through a body of water. The route is approximately 20 feet (6 m) wide, up to 1,000 feet (300 m) deep, and as long as the body of water is wide. The path remains open for up to four hours, or the wielder can collapse it as an action.
    • Snake Form. Staff transforms into a venomous snake whose level is equal to the artifact level. The snake has a bite attack that inflicts 6 points of damage, plus 3 additional points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) for three rounds on a failed Might defense roll. The snake obeys the wielder's verbal commands, but it can't do anything a regular snake couldn't do.
    • Water From Stone. Produces approximately 10 gallons (38 liters) of pure water within immediate range, as if from a natural spring in the ground.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Storm Shack

(Godforsaken, page 157)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Miniature model of a simple wooden shack

  • Effect: Activating the artifact transforms it over the next few rounds into a simple wooden shack that is 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) with a thin door. Everything inside the area of the full-size shack is protected from most forms of inclement weather for one hour (or ten hours for artifact level 6 and higher). Leaving or entering the shack before the duration is up makes it harmlessly collapse upon itself unless the character succeeds on a Speed roll against the artifact's level. If collapsed early or the duration runs out, the shack collapses into sticks, dust, and the miniature model, which can be taken and reused.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Trap Runestone

(Godforsaken, page 157)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pouch with chalk, sealing wax, and an engraved runestone

  • Effect: A simple cypher (such as a potion or scroll) can be modified with this set of implements to turn it into a trap. First, the cypher is attached to a surface with the sealing wax, then the user must make a difficulty 4 Intellect task to draw the runestone symbols around the edge of the cypher with the chalk and place the runestone in the correct position. When the trap is triggered, the cypher is activated, so people often use straightforward cyphers such as an explosive spell scroll, a poisonous potion, and so on.

    The trigger can react to a specified movement within 3 feet (1 m)—a door opening, a creature or object moving past the runestone, and so on. The higher the level of the artifact, the more sophisticated the trigger. For example, a level 4 artifact's trigger might be based on a creature's size or weight, a level 5 artifact can trigger based on a specific type of creature, and a level 6 artifact can trigger based on recognizing an individual creature.

  • Depletion: Automatic

Tunneling Gauntlets

(Godforsaken, page 157)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Oversized pair of metallic gauntlets with broad nails

  • Effect: When activated, for one hour the gauntlets let the wearer burrow up to an immediate distance each round. They can burrow through most soils and even some stone, but only through material whose level is lower than the artifact level. Burrowing leaves behind a tunnel with a diameter of 5 feet (1.5 m) that remains stable for several hours. After that, the tunnel is subject to collapse.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Vorpal sword

(Godforsaken, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Long sword that sometimes whispers and snickers aloud

  • Effect: The vorpal sword cuts through any material of a level lower than its own. It is a medium weapon that ignores Armor of a level lower than its own. On a natural attack roll of 19 or 20, the suggested minor or major effect is decapitation if the artifact is higher level than the foe (use this only if the foe has a head; otherwise, choose a different effect).

  • Depletion: 1–2 in 1d100 (check each decapitation and specific attempt to cut through solid material)

Wand of Firebolts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 257)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Wand of red wood 8 inches (20 cm) long, carved with intricate flamelike images

  • Effect: When activated, the wand looses a blast of fire at a chosen target within short range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact's level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Wand of Spider's Webbing

(Godforsaken, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: White oak wand

  • Effect: This wand produces a long-range stream of grey spider's webbing that entangles a target and holds it stuck to nearby surfaces. Entangled victims can't move or take actions that require movement. Targets whose level is higher than the wand's level can usually break free within one or two rounds. The entangling web is highly flammable, and if ignited it burns away over the course of one round, but the intense heat inflicts damage equal to the artifact level on whatever was caught within it.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Whisperer in the Ether

(Godforsaken, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Small crystal

  • Effect: The bearer of this crystal can telepathically communicate with an immortal being whose location is unknown (probably another dimension or a godly or infernal realm). The user can converse with the intelligence on an ongoing basis, but in general, the whisperer can share a useful bit of information, insight, or advice about once every day. Sometimes, this translates into an asset on one of the user's actions. For example, the intelligence can suggest the right phrase to make friends with a shopkeeper to get a good deal, the right tools to use while trying to break open a door, or the right place to put a shield to deflect an incoming attack. Sometimes the information is more broad, such as the right road to take to reach the next town or why a group of monsters is attacking the caravan the bearer is guarding.

    The whisperer's willingness and ability to converse varies considerably. Sometimes it is quite chatty and offers advice. Other times, it must be convinced, cajoled, or tricked into giving information. And sometimes, it is entirely absent for reasons it will not explain. The whisperer's knowledge base is broad but not omniscient. It cannot see the future, but it can often predict outcomes based on logic.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each day)

Witch's Broom

(Godforsaken, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: A 6-foot (2 m) long wooden broom

  • Effect: As a vehicle, the broom can be ridden a long distance each round. On extended trips, it can move up to 100 miles (160 km) per hour.

    The bearer can call upon the broom to grant them a powerful hallucinogenic state that lasts for four hours, during which time all tasks are hindered. After the hallucinations end, the bearer's Intellect tasks are eased for the next ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Fantasy Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 254)

Bat
level 1
Black bear
level 3; attacks as level 4
Blacksmith
level 2; metalworking as level 4; health 8
Cat
level 1; Speed defense as level 3 due to size and quickness
Catfolk
level 3; balancing and climbing as level 4; damage inflicted 4 points
Centaur
level 4; health 15; moves a long distance each round
Crocodile
level 4; Armor 1; swims a short distance each round
Dire wolf
level 4; attacks and perception as level 5; Armor 1
Dog
level 2; perception as level 3
Dog, guard
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Elephant
level 5; health 20; Armor 1
Farmer
level 2; animal handling as level 3; health 8
Gargoyle
level 3; Armor 5; damage inflicted 5 points; flies a short distance each round
Giant ape
level 3; climbing and attacks as level 4
Giant crab
level 6; Armor 4; pincer attack holds prey and automatically inflicts damage each turn until the target succeeds at a Might or Speed defense task
Giant frog
level 3
Giant octopus
level 5; Might defense and stealth as level 6; health 25; attacks four times as an action
Giant scorpion
level 4; Armor 2; damage inflicted 4 points plus 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Might defense task
Giant snake
level 4; health 18; Armor 2; damage inflicted 4 points plus 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Might defense task
Gnoll
level 2; Speed defense as level 3 due to shield; health 8; Armor 2
Gorilla
level 2; attacks as level 3; damage inflicted 3 points
Griffon
level 4; perception as level 5; Armor 1; flies a long distance each round
Grizzly bear
level 5; health 20; Armor 1
Hawk
level 2; flies a long distance each round
Hippogryph
level 3; attacks as level 4; flies a long distance each round.
Horse
level 3; moves a long distance each round
Leopard
level 4; climbing, jumping, stealth, and attacks as level 5; Armor 1
Lion or tiger
level 5; attacks as level 6; Armor 1
Lizardfolk
level 3; Armor 1
Merchant
level 2; haggling and assessment tasks as level 3
Mummy
level 6; ancient history, ancient religion, climbing, and stealth as level 8; health 24; Armor 2; damage inflicted 7 points
Nymph
level 3; stealth and positive social interactions as level 6
Pegasus
level 3; Speed defense as level 4; moves or flies a long distance each round
Pterodactyl
level 3; Armor 1; flies a long distance each round
Rat
level 1
Roc
level 6; health 25; Armor 2; flies a long distance each round; attacks twice as an action
Shark
level 3; attacks as level 4; health 15; Armor 2
Undead claw
level 1; attacks as level 3, Speed defense as level 3 due to quickness and size; health 5; Armor 1
Unicorn
level 4; Might defense, perception, and attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 1; makes two attacks as its action; once per hour can teleport up to 1 mile; once per hour can heal a creature for 4 Pool points (or health) and remove poisons up to level 4
Villager
level 1
Viper
level 2; bite inflicts 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor)
Warhorse
level 4; moves a long distance each round
Werebear
level 5; attacks as level 6; Armor 1; damage inflicted 6 points; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by dd)
Wererat
level 3; Speed defense and stealth as level 4; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
Wereshark
level 4; attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 2; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
Weretiger
level 5; attacks as level 6; Armor 1; damage inflicted 6 points; regenerates 2 health per round (unless recently wounded by silver)
Wolf
level 3; perception as level 4
Yeti
level 3; attacks, perception, and stealth as level 4; Armor 1

Chapter 14 Modern

Quick Reference: Modern

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 261)

The modern setting is easy because it's just the real world, right? Well, yes and no. It's easy for players to understand the context of a modern setting. They know the default assumptions—cities, cars, cell phones, the internet, and so on. It's also easier for some players to get into character, because their character could be someone they might very well pass on the street. It can be easier to wrap your mind around a history professor than a thousand-year-old elf wizard. These things make it easier on the GM as well.

But for the same reason, it's not easy. The setting is the real world we all know, so it's easy to get facts wrong or let them bog you down. What happens when you pull the fire alarm on the thirty-fifth floor of a major hotel in a large city? How fast do the authorities arrive? In truth, the facts aren't as important as the story you're creating, but some verisimilitude is nice.

Molding Characters for a Modern Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 262)

If you're trying to portray a psychic with a few basic powers, you might not want to use the Adept character type. Instead, choose a different type (perhaps a Speaker) and encourage foci such as Commands Mental Powers or Focuses Mind Over Matter. Some of the Adept's powers might be too over the top for the genre.

Similarly, the technology flavor is probably too high-tech for a modern game. For someone with technical skills, use the skills and knowledge flavor instead.

Sometimes, the types might be more physical than is always desirable for a modern game, but that's because the least physical type, the Adept, is often inappropriate for other reasons. The Calm descriptor is very good for such characters, not only granting them a great deal of skill and knowledge, but also reducing their physical capabilities.

Last, don't forget foci such as Doesn't Do Much or Would Rather Be Reading for "normal" characters who have useful skills but not much in the way of flashy abilities.

Suggested Types for a Modern Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 262)

Suggested Types for a Modern Game
RoleType
Police officerExplorer with combat flavor
DetectiveExplorer with stealth flavor
SoldierWarrior
CriminalExplorer with stealth flavor
TeacherSpeaker
Professional (accountant, writer, etc.)Speaker with skills and knowledge flavor
Technical professionExplorer with skills and knowledge flavor
DilettanteSpeaker with skills and knowledge flavor
Doctor/NurseExplorer with skills and knowledge flavor
PoliticianSpeaker
LawyerSpeaker
ScholarExplorer with skills and knowledge flavor
SpySpeaker with stealth flavor
OccultistAdept
Mystic/PsychicAdept
Mundane Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The following foci are appropriate in modern or historical settings without fantastic elements:

Adjusting Mundane Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Adjusting Mundane Foci
FocusAdjustments
Drives Like a ManiacDriving a horse and buggy or chariot might be meaningful activities in settings before the advent of motor vehicles. After the advent of military aircraft around 1910, this focus can also be used for pilots.
Is Licensed to CarryBefore the advent of firearms in the 14th century, this focus can work for archers, crossbow-wielders, or even someone particularly good with a sling.
Plays Too Many GamesThis focus seems to imply it's about video games, but games are ancient. All kinds of older games test the same skills, though, planning, strategy, hand-eye-coordination. This is a good focus for a chess grandmaster, a sly gambler, or even a carnival trick-shot.
RaidsThis focus doesn't need to be reserved for a futuristic post-apocalypse. With the right equipment, it works just as well for a marauder from any historical period or the present.
Sailed Beneath the Jolly RogerThis focus can be made to work for any criminal, paramilitary, black ops, or terrorist organization with a fearsome reputation.
Works the SystemStarting around 1965, "phone phreaking" or other forms of hacking and electronic forgery might be a valuable ability, but even in historical periods, this focus could be used for a spy with an emphasis on codebreaking, forgery, communications disruption, and similar activities.

Optional Rule: Handling PCs as Children

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 266)

The regular character creation process makes fully competent, adult characters. To account for playing children, the GM could adopt this optional rule. First, the players make their characters normally, and then they apply the following adjustments to their PCs, as appropriate to their age category. You might also consider applying a tier cap of 3 to childhood adventure games with kids of up to thirteen years old, and a tier cap of 4 for childhood adventure games featuring PCs who are aged fourteen to seventeen.

Age 9 to 13

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 266)

  • Slight: −4 to your Might Pool.

  • Vulnerable: Adults look out for you. You are trained in all pleasant social interactions with adults.

  • Inability: Might-based tasks are hindered.

  • Inability: Tasks involving knowledge are hindered.

Age 14 to 17

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 266)

  • Youthful: −2 to your Might Pool.

  • Inability: Tasks involving knowledge are hindered.

Additional Modern Equipment

Quick Reference: Modern Equipment by Price

Modern Equipment by Type

"Modern" technology in this section is referred to as "Contemporary" as presented in The Stars are Fire. Level ratings for some vehicles might seem low due to tech rating being relative to science fiction equipment.

Modern Vehicles

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Equipment might range in price and quality. For example, A used car might have a different immediate cost depending on factors such has leasing or purchasing, the condition of the vehicle, the availability of other options, and the ability of the PC to understand the true quality of the item they are purchasing.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 263)

In a modern setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to the real world) are usually available.

Inexpensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 263)

Inexpensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
AmmoBox of 50 rounds
Knife (simple)Light weapon (won't last long)
Inexpensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
BookAsset to relaxation tasks
Card/tabletop/digital gamePass time, build bonds with others
Duct tape rollUseful and ubiquitous
FlashlightProvides light within short range for a few hours
Padlock with keysSlows down would-be thieves
Trail rations1 day
Moderately Priced Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 264)

Moderately Priced Weapons
WeaponsNotes
Hand grenadeExplosive weapon, inflicts 6 points of damage in immediate radius
Knife, huntingLight weapon
MacheteMedium weapon
NightstickLight weapon
Moderately Priced Armor
ArmorNotes
Leather jacketLight armor
ShieldAsset to Speed defense
Moderately Priced Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Alcohol/drugsEases tasks related to social interaction, hinders tasks related to perception and physical coordination
BackpackCarries gear, including a sleeping bag
Card/tabletop/digital gamePass time, build bonds with others
BinocularsAsset for perception tasks at range
Bolt cuttersEnables and eases tasks to cut through metal bars
Climbing gearEnables and eases tasks to climb buildings or cliffs
CrowbarEnables and eases tasks to force open stuck or barred doors
Electric lanternProvides bright light for several hours
Electronic assistantVoice-activated operation of other devices
First aid kitAsset for healing tasks
RestraintCuffs; hinders tasks to break free by two steps
RopeNylon, 50 feet
Sleeping bagSuitable for temperatures down to −4°C (24°F)
SmartphoneAsset for most knowledge-based tasks
TentSleeps 1–2
Tools, generalAll-purpose tools
Expensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 264)

Expensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
Broad sword, replicaHeavy weapon
Handgun, lightLight weapon, short range
Handgun, mediumMedium weapon, long range
BowMedium weapon, long range
Rifle, low-caliberMedium weapon, long range
ShotgunHeavy weapon, immediate range
Stun "gun"Light weapon, dazes targets
Expensive Armor
ArmorNotes
Kevlar vestMedium armor
Expensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Camera, surveillanceTransmits at long range
Car, Used96 km/h (60 mph) on paved surfaces
Car, Sedan96 km/h (60 mph) on paved surfaces
Car, Utility96 km/h (60 mph) on paved surfaces
Cold weather gearFunction in extremely cold environments for several hours
Computer/LaptopEnables all sorts of creative and comprehension tasks
House robotCleans in a limited area
Jet ski112 km/h (65 mph) on calm water
MicroscopeAsset for research
Motorboat80 km/h (50 mph) on calm water
Nightvision gogglesReasonably accurate vision in complete darkness
Motorcycle, cruiser96 km/h (60 mph) on paved surfaces
Motorcycle, dirt bike48 km/h (30 mph), 96 km/h (60 mph) on paved surfaces
RestraintStraitjacket; hinders tasks to break free by three steps
Scuba gearFunction underwater for about an hour
Sleeping bagSuitable for temperatures down to −29°C (−20°F)
SmartphoneAsset for most knowledge-based tasks
TentSleeps 4–6
Tools, specializedAsset on relevant tasks
Very Expensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 265)

Very Expensive Weapons
WeaponsNotes
Handgun, heavyHeavy weapon, long range
Rifle, assaultHeavy weapon, rapid-fire weapon, long range
Rifle, heavyHeavy weapon, 300-foot (90 m) range
Submachine gunMedium weapon, rapid-fire weapon, short range
TaserMedium weapon, stuns target
Very Expensive Armor
ArmorNotes
Lightweight body armorMedium armor, encumbers as light armor
Military body armorHeavy armor
Very Expensive Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Airplane, basic225 km/h (140 mph) during extended trips
Car, sports144 km/h (90 mph)
Disguise kitAsset for disguise tasks
Military-grade field dressingCan raise a victim one step of the damage track
Motorboat, performance128 km/h (80 mph) on calm water
Satellite phonePlanetary range
Exorbitant Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 265)

Exorbitant Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Helicopter225 km/h (140 mph) during extended trips
PackBotAutonomous mobile robot
Submersible, personal50 km/h (30 mph)
Surveillance droneRecords or relays its environment to distant controllers
Yacht80 km/h (50 mph) on calm water
Tank40 km/h (25 mph) on relatively flat terrain
Priceless Items
Priceless Other Items
Other ItemsNotes
Gunboat, fast attack craft96 km/h (60 mph) on calm water
Fighter jet1,125 km/h (700 mph) during extended trips
Rocket, heavy-lift launchProvides access to low orbit and beyond for a cargo of up to 45,350 kg (100,000 pounds)
Shuttle, launchCan re-enter an atmosphere after delivering a payload and land
Space CapsuleCarries a crew of up to seven or a payload of up to 6,000 kg (13,000 pounds)
Submarine75 km/h (47 mph) underwater
Warship, destroyer64 km/h (40 mph) on calm water
Contemporary Equipment
Computer/Laptop 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A data processing and data-access tool that enables all sorts of creative and comprehension tasks.

Satellite phone 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As smartphone (though far bulkier), but with ability to connect directly to an orbiting satellite communication network, providing planetary range.

Smartphone 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Moderate/Expensive

  • Details: A communication device that performs some of the functions of a computer with a touchscreen interface, internet access, and ability to run multiple apps. Provides an asset to knowledge tasks that can be researched on the internet, and bright light within immediate range. Subject to running out of charge or breaking.

Contemporary Sense-Enhancing Tools
Analysis apparatus 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Any one of a number of pieces of lab equipment that takes a few days to set up and calibrate, including chromatography columns, mass spectrometers, calorimetry analyzers, and more. Such a piece of equipment grants two assets to any analysis task where perception could provide additional information, though analysis requires several hours or more.

Binoculars 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Provides an asset for perception tasks at range.

Camera, surveillance 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Wireless transmission to internet node, radio within long range, or flash storage to be picked up physically at a later date; includes microphone and ability to have conversation through camera speakers.

Microscope 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Provides an asset to any research task where small-scale perception could provide additional information, though analysis requires several hours or more.

Nightvision goggles 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Reasonably accurate vision in complete darkness, up to 100 m (330 feet).

Apparel
Cold weather gear 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Insulated clothing, including gloves, boots, and facemask, that allows wearer to function in extremely cold environments for several hours at temperatures down to −90 degrees C (−130 degrees F).

Elegant clothes 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Clothing suitable for moving in elite circles; provides an asset to interaction checks in some situations.

SCUBA gear 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus allows wearer to function underwater for about an hour at depths (under normal Earth atmosphere) of up to 40 m (130 feet).

Contemporary Armor
Kevlar vest 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Functions as medium armor (+2 Armor).

Leather jacket 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Functions as light armor (+1 Armor).

Military body armor 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Functions as heavy armor (+3 Armor).

Remember, armor (lowercase a) is something you wear. Armor (capital A) is the bonus you get. You can have only one type of armor at a time, but you can have many sources of Armor, theoretically.

Military body armor, light 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Functions as medium armor (+2 Armor), encumbers as light armor.

Contemporary Utility Gear
Backpack 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: A quality, well-packed backpack can carry a surprising amount of gear, including a sleeping bag.

Bolt cutters 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Enables and eases tasks to cut through metal bars.

Climbing gear 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Enables and eases tasks to climb buildings or cliffs. Includes 15 m (50 feet) of nylon rope.

Crowbar 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Enables and eases tasks to force open stuck or barred doors.

Disguise kit 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Contains hair dye, cosmetics, a few hair pieces, and other small props; using a kit takes a few minutes but grants an asset to tasks related to disguise and impersonation.

Duct tape roll 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Practical uses range from providing an asset to healing tasks to making temporary shoes, and much more.

Electric lantern 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Provides bright light within 9 m (30 feet) for several hours before requiring new batteries/a charge.

Flashlight 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Provides light where pointed within short range for a few hours before requiring new batteries/a charge.

Lockpick set 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Asset to picking mechanical locks.

Padlock with keys 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Padlocks aren't too difficult to remove, especially with bolt cutters, but they do slow down would-be thieves.

Restraint 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate/Expensive

  • Details: Moderately priced non-novelty cuffs restrain targets at the wrists, hindering tasks to break free by two steps. Straitjackets wrap a target more securely, hindering tasks to break free by three steps.

Sleeping bag 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate/Expensive

  • Details: Moderately priced bags are suitable for temperatures down to −4°C (24°F); expensive down to −29°C (−20°F).

Tent 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate/Expensive

  • Details: Moderately priced tents are for one or two people; expensive tents can sleep four to six people.

Tools, general 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: All-purpose tools include a utility knife, tape measure, pliers, small hammer, variable screwdriver, and level.

Tools, specialized 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A set of specialized tools are custom-selected for a specific task, such as carpentry, mechanical repair, or electronics. Specialized tools provide an asset to the task they're suited for.

Contemporary Health Care and Nutrition
First aid kit 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Kit of bandages, antibiotics, and similar supplies; provides an asset to healing tasks.

Military-grade field dressing 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Bandage with antimicrobial, analgesic, hemostatic, and temporary skin substitute qualities that can raise a victim one step of the damage track if damage was due to a wound.

Trail rations (1 day) 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Inexpensive

Contemporary Robots and AI
Electronic assistant 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Anyone with a smartphone has some kind of built-in electronic assistant, though stand-alone versions can be had. Electronic assistants are voice activated and tie into the internet and any other connected systems, such as lights, door locks, furnaces, music speakers, and more.

House robot 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Any number of small automated devices that can vacuum, mop, or conduct similar routine tasks in a limited area. Includes embodied electronic assistants with some mobility, such as Jibo.

PackBot 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: An autonomous mobile robot that moves on treads, which can also be remote controlled. Useful in situations where humans would be endangered, such as bomb disposal, hazmat, search, and reconnaissance. It can climb stairs, drive through mud, and operate in all-weather conditions.

Surveillance drone 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: An autonomous flying robot, which can also be remote controlled. Can record or relay its environment to distant controllers. An upgrade into the priceless category allows one to carry two or more self-guiding missiles that inflict 12 points of damage and drop unprotected targets two steps on the damage track.

Contemporary Recreation

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

Occasional recreation is absolutely necessary to maintain stable relationships as well as mental stability and happiness. Characters that never engage in recreation become gradually more unhappy and troubled, and eventually find interaction tasks and most Intellect tasks hindered unexpectedly.

Alcohol/drugs 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Inexpensive/Moderate/Expensive

  • Effect: Common intoxicants taken in moderation can raise spirits, easing tasks related to social interaction while at the same time hindering tasks related to perception and physical coordination. Excessive amounts cancel out the benefit to social interaction and hinder all tasks by two or more steps, making even routine tasks a challenge. Extended excessive use can lead to addiction, a long-term disease difficult to recover from.

    Other kinds of drugs have a different ease and hinder profile. For example, the dose of caffeine in a cup of coffee can ease tasks related to concentration and motivation but hinder tasks related to resisting anxiety and irritability. On the other hand, addiction to caffeine normally isn't nearly as serious an addiction as alcohol or opioids.

Book 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Print, digital, or audio; once perused for at least ten minutes, grants an asset to relaxation tasks.

Card/tabletop/digital game 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Inexpensive/Moderate

  • Details: Suitable for passing the time and building bonds between friends and strangers alike.

Contemporary Melee Weapons
Broad sword, replica 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Heavy weapon (6 damage, requires both hands to wield).

Knife, hunting 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased).

Knife, simple 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased); breaks on attack roll of 1–2.

Machete 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Medium weapon (4 damage).

Nightstick 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Medium weapon (4 damage).

Stun "gun" 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Handheld device with two prongs that must contact target; light weapon (2 points of electrical damage, difficulty of attack is eased, and on additional failed Might defense roll, target is dazed 1 round).

Contemporary Ranged Weapons
Bow 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Medium weapon (4 damage), long range.

Hand grenade 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Effect: Single use; can be thrown a short distance; explodes to inflict 6 points of damage in an immediate radius.

In modern and near-future settings, hand grenades are usually difficult to come by unless a character has a shady connection.

Editor's Notes — The hand grenades listed in the Cypher System Rulebook and Rust and Redemption deals only 4 damage. Depending on the setting, The GM might make one or both versions available at different prices or technology levels.

Handgun, heavy 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), long range.

Handgun, light 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased), short range.

Handgun, medium 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Medium weapon (4 damage), long range.

Rifle, assault 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), long range. This rapid-fire weapon can operate in conjunction with Spray or Arc Spray abilities.

Rifle, heavy 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), very long range.

Rifle, low caliber 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Medium weapon but requires both hands (4 damage), long range.

Shotgun 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), immediate range.

Submachine gun 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Medium weapon (4 damage), short range. This rapid-fire weapon can operate in conjunction with Spray or Arc Spray abilities.

Taser 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 85)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Handheld device that fires attached probe at target within 9 m (30 feet); medium weapon (4 points of electrical damage and on a failed Might defense roll, target is stunned for 1 round, losing their next action).

Armaments
Ammo (box of 50 rounds) 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 83)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Caliber varies by specific firearm, used in most contemporary ranged weapons.

Modern Vehicles

Contemporary Cycles
Motorcycle, cruiser 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Two-wheeled vehicle, supporting a stylish frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) open to the environment suitable for paved surfaces; moves a long distance each round on paved surfaces or an average of 96 km/h (60 mph) during long-distance travel.

Motorcycle, dirt bike 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Knobby two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicle, supporting a basic frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) open to the environment, ideal for wild terrain and off-road travel; moves a short distance each round in wild terrain or an average of 48 km/h (30 mph) during long-distance travel (double movement on paved surfaces).

Contemporary Cars

Buying a car at the bottom of its price range usually means the car isn't top quality. Such vehicles have a depletion of 1 in 1d100 (check per day used).

Car, sedan 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

  • Price: Expensive to Very Expensive

  • Details: As used car, but in better shape. Moves a long distance each round on paved surfaces or an average of 96 km/h (60 mph) during extended trips.

Car, sports 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Very Expensive to Exorbitant

  • Details: Four-wheeled vehicle, supporting a "rolling work of art" frame focusing on flamboyance and swagger, sometimes at the expense of practicality and efficiency. Seats for a driver and usually only a single passenger; operable/easily breakable glass windows (and or retractable hardtop) provide openness to environment. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to driving. Moves a long distance each round on paved surfaces or an average of 144 km/h (90 mph) during extended trips.

Car, used 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

  • Price: Expensive to Very Expensive

  • Details: Four-wheeled vehicle, supporting a slightly dented and rusted metallic frame with seats for a driver and up to four additional passengers; operable/easily breakable glass windows give openness to environment. Moves a long distance each round on paved surfaces or an average of 80 km/h (50 mph) during extended trips.

Car, utility 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Expensive to Very Expensive

  • Details: Four-wheeled vehicle, supporting a frame in a van or truck configuration that prioritizes carrying cargo over passengers (though up to ten additional passengers, in addition to the driver, could squeeze into a van or into the open bed of truck). Operable/easily breakable glass windows (and/or retractable hardtop) provide openness to environment. Moves a long distance each round on paved surfaces or an average of 96 km/h (60 mph) during extended trips.

Contemporary Aircraft
Airplane, basic 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Enclosed airframe with seats for pilot and one passenger. Operable/easily breakable side glass windows give openness to environment. Flies a long distance each round using a rotating propeller to force air over wings or an average of 225 km/h (140 mph) during extended trips.

Fighter jet 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Swept-back enclosed airframe with seats for a pilot and one passenger. Built-in weapons include very long-range Gatling-style cannons. Flies a very long distance each round using jets or an average of over 1,125 km/h (700 mph) during extended trips.

Gunboat, fast attack craft 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A fast attack craft (FAC) is relatively small and agile (compared to more massive warships), armed with anti-ship missiles, guns, and/or torpedoes. Features both open decks and a couple of completely enclosed interior chambers. A gunboat is cramped, has little room for food or water, and is not as seaworthy as it could be (all tasks related to operating the craft, except vehicular combat, are hindered). Moves a long distance each round or up to 96 km/h (60 mph) on calm water (half movement rates in choppy water). Requires a trained crew and central coordination to operate.

Helicopter 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Enclosed cockpit with seats for a pilot and up to six passengers. Operable/easily breakable windows give openness to environment. Flies a long distance each round using rotor blades or an average of 225 km/h (140 mph) during extended trips.

Contemporary Seacraft
Jet ski 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A stylish seaworthy hull with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) open to the environment; moves a long distance each round or up to 112 km/h (65 mph) on calm water (half movement rates in choppy water).

Motorboat 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Seaworthy hull with a seat for a pilot and up to eight passengers. Open to the environment; moves a long distance each round or up to 80 km/h (50 mph) on calm water (half movement rates in choppy water). Used motorboats can be had at moderate prices but actions related to operating it are subject to automatic GM intrusions on a d20 die roll of 1 or 2.

Motorboat, performance 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As motorboat, but can reach speeds over 128 km/h (80 mph).

Submarine 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Massive underwater craft armed with torpedoes and surface-to-air missiles. Completely enclosed interior chambers provide the crew (and vehicle) Armor 4 as well as breathable air and pressure; lots of room for crew, supplies, and so on. Moves a long distance underwater each round or up to 75 km/h (47 mph). Requires a trained crew and central coordination to operate.

Submersible, personal 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Completely enclosed and water-tight hull with a seat for a pilot (and up to one passenger); moves a short distance each round underwater or up to 50 km/h (30 mph) on an extended trip. Minimal options for docking with other underwater craft or manipulating the environment without customization.

Yacht 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Seaworthy hull with a deck section open to the air and sections completely enclosed with five to ten interior chambers suitable for living, leisure, supporting scientific research, exploration, spying, or configured for some other purpose to support a team of individuals. Moves a long distance each round or up to 80 km/h (50 mph) on calm water (half movement rates in choppy water).

Warship, destroyer 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Massive water-going craft armed with anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, guns, and torpedoes, as well as hangars for one or two armed helicopters; treat as having superior weapons during vehicular combat. Features both open decks and many completely enclosed interior chambers. Lots of room for crew, supplies, and so on. Moves a long distance each round or up to 64 km/h (40 mph) on calm water (half movement rates in choppy water). Requires a trained crew and central coordination to operate.

Contemporary Mechs and Tanks
Tank 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 102)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Rugged caterpillar track supports a completely enclosed frame, contains seats for a driver and up to four other crew; treat as having superior armor. Armed with a central cannon. Moves a short distance each round, or on extended trips, up to 40 km/h (25 mph) on relatively flat terrain, or twice that on paved surfaces.

Contemporary Spacecraft

(The Stars are Fire, page 107)

Though extremely complex, pioneer-era spacecraft are not robust vehicles. Technology allowing re-use of components is still in its infancy in these contemporary tech spacecraft, and small problems have a way of becoming major catastrophes if not caught and quickly dealt with.

In fact, that very complexity exacts a toll. Generally speaking, all tasks for operating a pioneer-era spacecraft are hindered by two steps. Only the very well trained (or the very lucky) should even consider trying to operate such a craft. Finally, pioneer-era spacecraft usually don't have weapon systems.

Rocket, heavy-lift launch 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 107)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Provides access to low orbit and beyond for a cargo of up to 45,350 kg (100,000 pounds) through the coordinated efforts of dozens of engineers and controllers operating and monitoring the vehicle from another location. Extremely limited maneuverability; a detachable space capsule allows for transfer of crew or cargo to orbiting craft or stations from the launch vehicle after ascent. Craft is partially re-usable in that the booster rockets autonomously return to designated pads where they can be refurbished and refueled.

Shuttle, launch 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 107)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As heavy-lift launch vehicle, except the main craft can re-enter an atmosphere after delivering a payload and land aerodynamically as a fixed wing craft. Much greater maneuverability than a launch vehicle, both in space and in the air on re-entry, though all piloting tasks are hindered. Refurbishment means essentially rebuilding the spacecraft, and is a process of many months and another priceless expenditure in cost.

Space Capsule 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 107)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Sealed capsule delivered into space by a launch vehicle or shuttle, carries a crew of up to seven or a payload of up to 6,000 kg (13,000 pounds); once delivered into a microgravity environment, becomes a free-flying spacecraft with limited maneuverability, though all piloting tasks are hindered and propellant must be renewed every ten hours of use. Capable of safely returning crew and cargo back down a gravity well though a fiery reentry process that lands the capsule in water for recovery by watercraft.

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Modern Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 263)

Businessperson
level 2; business tasks as level 3
Cat
level 1; Speed defense as level 3
Clerk
level 2
Dog
level 2; perception as level 3
Dog, guard
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Horse
level 3; moves a long distance each round
Rat
level 1
Worker
level 2; health 8

Chapter 14-A Modern Magic

Quick Reference: Modern Magic

Modern Magic Descriptors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Depending on the setting, Old Gus' Daft Drafts Descriptors might be appropriate.

Modern Magic Descriptors

(It's Only Magic, page 36)

Most of these descriptors are for characters who are or become significantly nonhuman; for example, the Dragon descriptor means you're a four-legged, winged dragon who can breathe flame. These descriptors include suggestions for how to advance or improve your inherent nature as that sort of creature (becoming even more dragonish if you are a Dragon, for example). The GM should allow a character with such a descriptor to choose any of these abilities (and any others the GM feels are appropriate for the descriptor) in place of a type ability, either upon advancing to a new tier or selecting them as an other option of character advancement by spending 4 XP.

Chimera

(It's Only Magic, page 37)

You have a blend of animal attributes; you may be a well-known mythological creature, like a satyr or minotaur, or you may have a unique combination of features. Bison horns, boar tusks, bear paws, a wolf's tail, a lion's mane: take your pick. Your thickened skin offers protection from attacks and the elements. Depending on your dexterity—and whether you have opposable thumbs—you may use adaptive weapons and tools, like a dagger modified to be held in a paw instead of a hand. You're eager to protect the ones closest to you, and usually more likely to run toward conflict than away from it.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Fur and Hide: +1 to Armor.

  • Animal Strength: +1 to your Might Pool.

  • Charging Ahead: You're trained in initiative.

  • For the Gang: You stick up for your friends. When you draw the attack, your defense is only hindered by one step.

  • Ham-fisted: Tasks requiring fine motor skills are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. A herd, a pride, a pack, a flock: whatever the collective noun for chimeras is, you're looking to build (or join) one.
  2. You need supplies to adapt a legendary weapon perfectly to your physique.
  3. The other PCs were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you protected them from harm.
  4. You were held hostage by someone running a chimera fighting ring, and the other PCs freed you.

  • Chimera Advancement:

Dragon

(It's Only Magic, page 38)

You can shift at will between a dragon and humanoid form; you may choose to spend more time in one form or the other. In your dragon form you're about 10 feet (3.5 m) long with four legs, leathery wings, and a serpentlike tail. You're drawn to treasure and shiny things, but you're willing to share your hoard with those you trust. Though you can speak human languages, you can't ignore the fact that you're a wild part of your local ecosystem—at least some of the time. You're an apex predator, driven to fly and to hunt, and you brumate in cold temperatures like other reptiles.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Dragon Form: You have both a humanoid form and a dragon form, and you can switch forms up to four times in a 24-hour period. In dragon form, your Speed defense tasks are hindered due to your size. Enabler.

  • Tough: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Fireproof: +2 Armor against damage inflicted by fire or heat.

  • Wings (1 Might point): When you have wings, you can fly a long distance as your action, or a short distance as part of another action, for up to ten minutes total. Enabler.

  • Teeth: You are skilled in making unarmed bite attacks, which are a medium weapon in your dragon form and a light weapon in your humanoid form. Enabler.

  • Spitting Flames (1+ Might point): You can breathe a ball of fire at a target within short range, inflicting 3 points of fire damage. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can use Effort to affect more targets; each level of Effort affects one additional target. Action.

  • Inability: Cold weather makes you want to burrow somewhere cozy and go dormant. Speed tasks are hindered when the temperature falls below 50° F (10° C).

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The other PCs were hired as dragon hunters, but once they met you they realized their mission was misguided.
  2. You're hoping to find a specific discontinued currency to add to your hoard.
  3. You got stuck in your dragon form while molting, and the other PCs helped remove your shed skin.
  4. You're gathering ingredients for a difficult spell that will increase the range and intensity of your fire-breathing attacks.

  • Dragon Advancement:

Brumation is a state of sluggishness and inactivity entered by reptiles in response to low temperatures.

Ghost

(It's Only Magic, page 39)

Unfortunately, you're dead. But hey, it's not all bad! Your spirit has remained in the mortal world. You can still walk among the living, but you no longer need pesky things like food or sleep. It's up to you how long you've been dead, whether you remember your death, and why you've stuck around: seeking revenge, settling a debt, protecting your descendants, perfecting your great-grandma's pecan pie recipe, or something else entirely.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Ghostly Wisdom: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Sneaky: You're trained in stealth and intimidation.

  • Incorporeal: You're trained in Speed defense.

  • Calling the Dead: You're trained in communicating with other ghosts, wraiths, undead, and so on. You can also serve as a catalyst for communication with the dead, providing an asset to a living character attempting such a task (such as a séance or summoning).

  • Insubstantial: All physical attacks are hindered.

  • Dead: Positive social interaction tasks with living creatures are hindered.

  • Uniform: You're permanently wearing the clothes you had on when you died. This can hinder social interactions if you're inappropriately dressed for the setting (wearing a bathrobe and slippers to a formal party, for example).

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You're on a journey to make amends with someone you wronged in life.
  2. You're looking for the resting place of your physical body so you can be resurrected.
  3. One of the other PCs is a distant relative, and you need to keep them alive so your bloodline continues.
  4. You're studying the secrets of reincarnation and suspect that one of the other PCs has vital information.

  • Ghost Advancement:

Hunter

(It's Only Magic, page 40)

You once rode with the Wild Hunt: an immortal cavalry who traversed the skies in secret each night, gathering the souls of those who died in battle and carrying them to the beyond. These days, the Wild Hunt has downsized and your nights are your own. You're mortal again, too, but it's impossible to forget the terrifying freedom and power you once held. Maybe you've let nostalgia make you bitter, or maybe you don't miss the Hunt at all, instead living in fear of being conscripted once more.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Agile: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Equestrian: You're trained in handling and riding horses.

  • Sword Hand: You're proficient with two-handed swords and can use them without penalty.

  • Hearing the Dead: You're skilled in all social interactions with ghosts.

  • The Call of the Hunt: You're often distracted by sounds that remind you of the Wild Hunt, such as horns and baying hounds. Tasks requiring concentration are hindered.

  • Lost Years: In the years you belonged to the Wild Hunt, you lost touch with advancing technology. Tasks involving computers, pop culture, and recent history are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You ferried the soul of a PC's relative to the afterlife. When you left the Wild Hunt, you found the PC to tell them of their relative's brave deeds.
  2. The living only see the Wild Hunt cross the sky if they're destined for disaster. A PC saw the Wild Hunt years ago, and you've taken it upon yourself to protect them.
  3. You're afraid that the leader of the Wild Hunt will summon you, and you need help concealing yourself.
  4. You're searching for the horse you remember riding—a massive undead stallion with flaming hooves.
Nix

(It's Only Magic, page 41)

You're a shapeshifting water spirit. You can walk on two legs and breathe air, but when you're submerged, you gain a tail, fins, and gills. You probably live near flowing water, with no preference for salinity or temperature; you also have a general affinity for nature and a knack for identifying useful plants. Your playful and upbeat disposition doesn't mean you're passive or helpless. Though you may prefer to talk your way out of tough situations, you're quick to react to threats—especially in water, where you maneuver with deadly accuracy.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Transformation: When submerged in water, you transform into a fish/human hybrid with gills, fins, sharp teeth, and a tail. This transformation is automatic. Enabler.

  • Unchillable: +2 Armor against damage caused by cold or ice.

  • Sharp Teeth: You are skilled in making an unarmed bite attack, which is a medium weapon in your aquatic form and a light weapon in your humanoid form. Enabler.

  • Quick Swimming: You can swim a long distance as your action, or a short distance as part of another action.

  • Close to Nature: You're skilled in identifying plants and animals.

  • Siren Song: You're extremely charismatic. You're skilled in persuasion and deception.

  • Distractible: You have a hard time focusing. You're hindered in tasks involving knowledge or lore, as well as resisting mental attacks.

  • Inability: When you're in water, attacks using weapons are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The other PCs were stranded in a shipwreck, and you saved them.
  2. A factory is polluting your local body of water, and you're looking for revenge.
  3. You played a prank on the other PCs while they were swimming; after a good laugh, they invited you to join them.
  4. You've been sent to search for a rare plant, believed by many to be extinct.

  • Nix Advancement:

Sylph

(It's Only Magic, page 42)

You're an air spirit, with the gift of wingless flight and hawklike eyes. You're happiest when you have an aerial view; you lean more toward strategy than action, calling the shots from an unmatched vantage point. Your sensitivity to air currents and atmospheric pressure means you're able to predict weather patterns, which you incorporate into your machinations.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Master Plans: +2 to your Intellect or Speed Pool.

  • Sylph Flight (2 Intellect or Speed points): You can fly a long distance as your action, or a short distance as part of another action, for up to ten minutes total. Enabler.

  • Top-Down Strategy: You're skilled in logistics and planning.

  • Sharp Vision: You're trained in visual perception.

  • Oncoming Storm (1 Intellect point): You can predict weather patterns (approaching storm systems, cloud cover, wind direction) for the next twelve hours. Action.

  • Fragile: Might defense tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You saw the other PCs headed toward danger and called out a warning before the situation turned sour.
  2. You got in trouble for flying in restricted airspace, and the other PCs helped cover for you.
  3. You need help with a spell that will enable you to communicate with birds of prey.
  4. You helped the other PCs recover a kite that became tangled in tree branches and power lines.

  • Sylph Advancement:

Unmagical

(It's Only Magic, page 43)

You're not good at using magic. In fact, it's clear that you're inherently unmagical—magic is as confusing, difficult, and awkward for you as learning lava spells would be for a frost giant. It's not that you don't believe in magic (though maybe you don't) or that you don't like magic (though maybe you don't). It's just that you and magic are incompatible. You've learned to compensate for this problem and even turn it into an advantage in some cases.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Make Do With the Mundane: +1 to each of your Pools.

  • Resistant to Magic: You are trained in all defense rolls against magic, spells, and magical effects.

  • Inability: All actions using magic (including casting spells and using magic objects) are hindered.

  • Magical Failure: Your unmagical nature means magic goes awry more often. For any task relating to or interacting with magic, you trigger a GM intrusion on a d20 roll of 1 or 2.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs initially diagnosed you as unmagical, which made a lot of your life suddenly make sense.
  2. You think this group of PCs might be on track to figuring out why some people are unmagical and perhaps "fixing" them.
  3. You and the other PCs have the same rival or foe—someone who once tried using magic on you and failed spectacularly.
  4. You volunteered because you knew your inherent resistance to magic would be useful to the group.

An Unmagical character shouldn't be able to overcome their inability by becoming trained in magic. The GM might allow them to train away part of the inability with training in specific skills, such as "Onslaught" or "magical weapons."

Playing an Adept or Speaker character with the Unmagical descriptor is a challenge, as their abilities mostly stem from supernatural power and therefore all of them would be hindered. This descriptor is mainly for Warriors and Explorers who want to play up their not-inherently-magical nature.

Modern Magic Foci

(It's Only Magic, page 44)

These foci can be used as-is in most modern fantasy campaigns. The GM and player should adjust the details to suit the specific campaign they'll be playing.

Modern Magic Foci
FocusDescription
Codes Magic AppsYou mix programming, hacking, and creating magical app cyphers.
Conjures BulletsYou channel your spells through a handgun.
Hunts WitchesYou seek out dangerous witches to keep them from harming regular people.
Inks Spells on SkinYou have your spells tattooed on your skin.
Is a Car WizardYou use sorcery to perform impossible car stunts.
Learned From the ClassicsYou know the best places for and methods of learning new magic.
Practices Moon MagicYou call upon the mysteries and powers of the moon.
Steers the CovenYou take a prominent role in guiding and protecting your coven of like-minded individuals.
Transmits EnergyYou can harness magical energy and use it for yourself or give it to others.
Turns Decay to GrowthYou're a magician whose expertise is mushrooms and the cycle of rot and rebirth.

Editor's Notes — Fantasy Foci, mundane foci, and foci from Old Gus' Daft Drafts might also be approrpiate for a modern magic setting.

Modern Magic Flavors

(It's Only Magic, page 69)

Flavors are groups of special abilities (usually centered around a particular theme) used to alter a character to suit a player's interests or to match the genre or setting. For example, in a setting where magic is common, access to the magic flavor allows all kinds of characters to learn some magical abilities (including Explorers and Warriors, whose type abilities are mainly nonmagical). Likewise, in a modern fantasy setting where most sorcerers learn basic defensive magic as their first spells, giving all characters access to the protection flavor means that every PC could potentially create a mind shield or a physical ward when needed.

The following flavors are especially suited for a modern fantasy campaign where access to broad categories of magic (such as illusions or defense) is the norm—especially if the GM allows characters to spend XP to learn additional spells (abilities) outside of what their type and focus automatically grant them at each tier. The GM decides which of these flavors are available to the PCs.

Editor's Notes — Flavors from Old Gus' Daft Drafts might also be approrpiate for a modern magic setting.

Modern Magic Abilities

(It's Only Magic, page 65)

The GM might allow PCs to gain these abilities through their type, flavor, coven, or spellcasting.

Modern Fantasy Equipment

(It's Only Magic, page 78)

In a modern fantasy setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to a modern Earthlike world) are usually available. As with most physical things, a character can spend more for a higher-quality version of an item, such as an expensive altar cloth instead of a moderately priced one. Some of these price categories are higher than for a typical real-world item because items used with magic usually require higher quality or specific materials.

Many items in these lists are magical implements used with casting spells and performing rituals, but don't have a specific purpose in the rules. The GM may decide that certain abilities or kinds of abilities require them or are hindered without them, such as using a crystal ball for a scrying spell, an athame for a protection spell, or a spirit board for a ritual to talk to a dead person.

Inexpensive Items

(It's Only Magic, page 78)

Modern Fantasy Equipment — Inexpensive Items
ItemNotes
Bottle—
Bowl—
Box—
Candle—
Candle Holder—
Crystals—
Figurine—
Fresh or dried flowers—
Incense—
Mason Jar—
Metal needles—
Mortar and pestleRequired for some magic and crafting
Pendulum—
PosterDiagrams of herbs and medicinal plants
Sealing waxUsed in some rituals and for sealing letters
Seashells—
Smudging stickFor cleansing an area and warding off negative energy
Tea—
Moderately Priced Items

(It's Only Magic, page 78)

Modern Fantasy Equipment — Moderately Priced Items
ItemNotes
AltarRequired for some rituals
Altar clothRequired for covering a ritual altar
ArtworkPainting, drawing, or a high-quality print
AthameRequired for some magic
BolineRequired for some magic
Broom—
ChaliceRequired for some magic
Crystal ballNonmagical sphere, required for some divination magic
Decorative headbandAntlers, branches, flowers, and so on
Drinking hornRequired for some magic
Formal cloak—
GrimoireNotebook for magical information
Jewelry—
Lantern—
Old bookAsset on knowledge related tasks
PlantProvides herbs or supportive energy
PouchLeather or velvet
Rune setRequired for some divination spells
Set of small stonesRequired for some magic
SignetFor use with sealing wax
Skull (human or animal)—
Spirit board—
Staff—
Tarot deck—
Vintage clothing—
Wand—
Expensive Items

(It's Only Magic, page 78)

Modern Fantasy Equipment — Expensive Items
ItemNotes
CauldronRequired for some magic and crafting
Cloth canopyFor covering a meditation corner
Cloth tapestry—
Frog pondLabor and materials to build one
Wedding dress (off the shelf)—

Modern Fantasy Crafting Ingredients

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

An inferior example of a crafting ingredient counts as one price category lower. A superior example counts as one or more price categories higher.

Often, a material with sentimental value to the magician is worth one price category more than its default value.

Renewable Parts
You can take renewable animal parts without harming a creature.
Nonrenewable Parts
Taking nonrenewable parts involves harming—maybe even killing—a creature.
Inexpensive Materials

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

  • Base metals (copper, aluminum, iron, and so on)
  • Beer
  • Book (fiction, history)
  • Candle
  • Cheese
  • Clay or ceramic
  • Coffee
  • Combustible fuel (lamp oil, kerosene, gasoline)
  • Common animal (chicken, cow, tuna) parts, non renewable
  • Common animal parts (chicken, cow, tuna), renewable
  • Common fabric (denim, linen, polycotton, polyester, quilting cotton, wool)
  • Common stone (granite, sandstone, slate)
  • Common wood (pine, hemlock)
  • Dry food goods (nuts, beans, grains)
  • Edible mushrooms
  • Eggs
  • Flowers or flower petals
  • Fruit or vegetables
  • Glass
  • Hard alcohol
  • Houseplant
  • Human hair or nails
  • Ink
  • Leaves
  • Meat
  • Ornamental stones (agate, obsidian, quartz, turquoise)
  • Paint
  • Pastries
  • Plant-based drug (aspirin, opium, tobacco, cannabis)
  • Roots
  • Rubber
  • Salt
  • Sand
  • Seawater
  • Smoke
  • Soil or mulch
  • Sugar
  • Tea
  • Water
  • Wax
  • Wine
Moderately Priced Materials

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

  • Book or textbook
  • Custom seal matrix (such as a family crest or a magician's personal rune)
  • Dust from an outdoor wedding
  • Earth from a grave
  • Fine fabric (cashmere wool, heirloom-quality linen, merino wool, silk satin)
  • Fine stone (marble)
  • Fine wood (oak, juniper, mesquite, redwood)
  • Firearm
  • Human blood
  • Human teeth
  • Incense
  • Knife
  • Lantern
  • Leather
  • Live music
  • Mushrooms (hallucinogenic, poisonous)
  • Musical instrument
  • Noble gas (helium, neon, argon)
  • Painting
  • Semi-precious stones (jasper, moonstone, onyx)
  • Shoes
  • Small sculpture
  • Stone from a grave marker
  • Sword
  • Uncommon animal (monkey, snake, lizard) parts, non-renewable
  • Uncommon animal (monkey, snake, lizard) parts, renewable
  • Water from a hot spring
  • Well water
Expensive Materials

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

  • Air from a mountaintop
  • Bottled lightning
  • Cypher, level 1–5
  • Exotic animal (elephant, reindeer, tiger) parts, non renewable
  • Exotic animal (elephant, reindeer, tiger) parts, renewable
  • Exotic wood (manzanita, sequoia)
  • Flame kindled from a burning house
  • Flame kindled from a funeral pyre
  • Human bones
  • Human organs
  • Meteorite
  • Pearl
  • Precious metals (gold, silver)
  • Precious stones (amber, amethyst, jade, topaz)
  • Raindrops from a powerful storm
  • Stone that has been in darkness for at least a century
  • Wood from a used coffin
  • Wood from a wine cask
Very Expensive Materials

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

  • Air from a person's last breath
  • Baby's first laugh
  • Cypher, level 6–10
  • Dream of an infant
  • Exotic metals (rare earths, uranium ore)
  • Gemstone (diamond, opal, ruby, sapphire)
Exorbitant Materials

(It's Only Magic, page 79)

  • Wood from an ancient tree

Modern Fantasy Cyphers

(It's Only Magic, page 115)

Chapter 24: Cyphers assumes that subtle cyphers are the default, but depending on the nature of magic in the modern fantasy setting, some or all cyphers might be physical objects (manifest cyphers) with magical powers. This immediately creates a different gameplay dynamic than a game that uses only subtle cyphers. First, it means that the PCs can exchange cyphers with each other, allowing them better optimizations of their abilities and counteracting their weaknesses. Second, it means their cyphers can be stolen from them, forcing them to adapt to a situation without their extra magical tricks. Third, it probably means that fantastic cyphers become the norm because magic easily allows for fantastic effects.

Exceeding Cypher Limits

(It's Only Magic, page 92)

Sometimes characters might want or need to carry more than their normal allotment of cyphers, and in a modern fantasy game it's fun to let the overlapping cypher auras (or whatever the cause) create odd side effects. Typically, a side effect stops or reverts if the cypher is activated or leaves the area. If a PC is exceeding their cypher limit, roll 1d100 and consult this table to see what happens (roll anywhere from once per hour to once per day, as fits the story). The table is set up so the first entries are weird but generally harmless, the middle ones are annoying, and the last ones are harmful or dangerous. Optionally, you can increase the threat by adding +20 to the d00 roll for every additional cypher the character is over their limit (+20 for two over, +40 for three over, and so on).

Editor's Notes — For more on effects of exceeding cypher limits, see Exceeding Cypher Limits in Chapter 24: Cyphers.

Side Effects of Exceeding Cypher Limits

(It's Only Magic, page 92)

Side Effects of Exceeding Cypher Limits
d100Effect
01–02Hair of everyone in immediate range stands straight out
03–04Ugly faces manifest on surfaces in the area
05–06Character's skin color changes to something unusual (blue, orange purple)
07–08Character's footprints are glowing red arrows
09–10Flowers in short range wilt and dissolve into stinky goo
11–12Character's skin grows fishlike eyes, which dry and fall off like scabs
13–14Internet speeds within short range slow to a crawl
15–16Character develops prominent skin rash resembling corporate logos
17–18Character says the word "sexy" in place of any adjective
19–20Dogs bark angrily at the character
21–22Character sheds fingernails, quickly replaced by circuit boards
23–24Character keeps seeing UFOs
25–26Cypher randomizes names and icons of nearby apps
27–28Character takes on the outward appearance of a different intelligent species (chimera, nix, and so on) each hour
29–30Cypher becomes overcharged (acts as +1 level) and erratic (tasks to use it are hindered)
31–32Character's hand sometimes turns into a battered plastic duplicate and falls off, with a new hand growing to replace it within seconds
33–34Character compelled to dig through nearby trash cans in search of discarded batteries
35–36Character's head surrounded by floating illusions of rude gestures and inappropriate words
37–38Character's vision distorted so all writing appears undecipherably blurred
39–40Birds creepily follow the character and sometimes call their name
41–42Character frequently drops business cards with publicly viewable links to their browser history
43–44Cypher reads aloud all text visible within short range
45–46Cypher makes frequent beeping noise like a large truck backing up
47–48Cypher grows hard legs and noisily follows the character, hindering interaction and stealth tasks
49–50Cypher coats itself in a sticky honey—like substance
51–52Character's thoughts broadcasted to everyone within long range
53–54Character followed by a cloud of clothing—eating moths
55–56Random cypher vanishes, leaving behind a handful of wet soil
57–58Character's voice is digitally distorted and difficult to understand, hindering interaction tasks
59–60Character quotes commercial jingles and catchphrases every few minutes
61–62Character or cypher emits a strong smell of asphalt or gasoline
63–64Bugs frequently fly into character's mouth when they speak
65–66Open flames in short range give off noisy sparks like small fireworks
67–68Character feels intoxicated by a mild hallucinogen, hindering all tasks
69–70Character sets off nearby car alarms
71–72Character's eyes shine like powerful flashlights, hindering their visual perception tasks
73–74Any coffee within immediate range tastes like nickels
75–76Causes short circuits in nearby wired electronics
77–78Character receives frequent spam phone calls about nonexistent services (engine moisturizing, aspirin condensation, aligning apartment chakras)
79–80Character followed by flying camera drones
81–82Magical interference suppresses the cypher's function unless the character spends 4 Intellect points to cleanse its aura
83–84Magical interference decreases character's Intellect Edge by 2
85–86Attracts an internet d@emon
87–88Attracts a zorp
89–90Character gets jittery (hindered Speed-based tasks) unless they chain-smoke cigarettes
91Character's bones become brittle, hindering Might tasks
92Cypher is painfully cold to the touch, inflicting 1 point of damage each round it touches bare skin
93Character occasionally is hurled horizontally an immediate distance with great force (typically 4 points of ambient damage)
94Character develops severe allergy to a common food ingredient (wheat, eggs, citrus)
95Vehicle brake lines within short range dramatically rupture
96Electronic devices within short range tend to lose power, overheat, or catch fire
97Character frequently steps on nails, broken glass, or other sharp things (1 or 2 points of damage, ignores Armor)
98Character always bites their own tongue (1 point of damage, ignores Armor) whenever they cast a spell
99Two cyphers begin fighting each other with switchblades and energy blasts, must be restrained or separated
00+Cypher functions normally, but explodes like a grenade shortly after it is activated or the magic ends
Modern Fantasy Cypher Table

(It's Only Magic, page 117)

All of the cyphers in this chapter are manifest and fantastic cyphers.

Modern Fantasy Cypher Table
d100Modern Fantasy Cypher Table
01–02Absolute power
03Algomancy
04–05Ambiance
06–07Anywhere web
08–09Below the law
10–11Best gift
12–13Beverage bestie
14Borrowed familiar
15Brain overclock
16Burn your bridges
17–18Burner phone
19Cloak of the crafter
20–21Dancing on air
22Dumpster fire
23Duplicity window
24–25EasyMagic.app
26–27Exceptional engine
28Extrovert shield
29Fade to black
30–31Faraday ward
32Fey collar
33Ghost tag
34Girl moss
35–36Got your back
37Gravity denied
38Great hair day
39–40Growwell
41Hand wave
42Hashtag
43–44Here all along
45–46Instant automobile
47–48Instant delivery
49–50Instant motorcycle
51–52Lie to me
53Light 'em up
54–55Lucky charm
56–57Magic aura tracker
58Malware cyphers
59Mental load alleviator
60Merciful memory
61Next you
62–63No take backs
64Pickpocket
65–66Pocket protector
67Portal stone
68–69Power device
70–71Power house
72Presto change-o
73Puzzle box
74–75Quick pic
76Quick pickup
77Real fake
78–79Repair module
80Safe space
81Screen control
82Social battery
83Soul saver
84–85Stay down
86Take me there
87–88Talk to me
89Teleportation block
90–91Through the window
92Time ticket
93Tunnel traverser
94–95What the doctor ordered
96–97Who's looking
98Wire wraith
99Wrecking balls
00You're safe now
Modern Fantasy Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
Absolute power

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: App, battery, bone

  • Effect: Powers a single device for a day. The device can be as simple as a cell phone or as complex as a jet airplane, as long as the device's power requirement is equal to or less than the cypher level. In general, something like a cell phone is a level 1 power requirement, a boat engine is a level 5 power requirement, and a jet airplane is a level 10 power requirement.

Algomancy

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: App, bookmark, tarot card

  • Effect: Allows the user to take anything driven by an algorithm (such as video and music services, social media, search engines, and so on) and use it to divine the future. If the user spends one roundstudying the algorithm, then for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level, they gain limited precognition and can predict what's going to happen next. They gain an asset on initiative tasks and all defense rolls. In addition, they can warn their friends of what's coming, and ease their friends' next action.

Ambiance

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Key fob, feather, DVD

  • Effect: Allows you to control the lights, sound, and other atmospheric elements within any space that you are in for ten minutes per cypher level. This includes adjusting non-adjustable lights, lighting or blowing out candles, soundproofing, starting or stopping music through any available medium, starting a fire, and so on.

Anywhere Web

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Spiderweb, key fob, key

  • Effect: Allows you to access and interact with the internet from anywhere, without needing any type of physical device, including a phone, keyboard, or screen. You can see the internet as if there were a screen in front of you, type as if there were a keyboard, hear as if there were speakers, and speak as if into a microphone. Others you choose within immediate range can also see and hear what you are seeing and hearing (but cannot interact with it). This works even in places where there is no internet connectivity and lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Below the Law

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: App, temporary tattoo, patch

  • Effect: Once activated, the cypher makes it difficult for any member of the law or people in a position of power to perceive, apprehend, or punish you. This includes police, guards, the mayor, mob bosses, regular bosses, and so on. All tasks involving illegal or unsanctioned activities are eased, including stealing, sneaking, getting away, escaping bonds, and so on. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Best Gift

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Granny square, key, candle

  • Effect: The user picks someone they know, and the cypher transforms into a beautifully wrapped box that person can hold in their hand. Inside the box is a small, thoughtful gift (whose value does not exceed a moderately priced item) that the recipient will truly love.

Beverage Bestie

(It's Only Magic, page 119)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, mug, charm

  • Effect: The user picks someone they know, and that person will have their favorite morning beverage delivered to them at their bedside at the exact moment they are ready for it. The user doesn't need to know their chosen person's favorite beverage, their location, or when they will wish for it—the magic takes care of it.

Borrowed Familiar

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Feather, cat's whisker, figurine of a dog

  • Effect: Activating the cypher creates a living version of the creature it represented. This creature is actually the clone of another magic user's familiar that was stored in the object. For the next day per cypher level, the creature becomes the user's temporary familiar, providing an asset to all magic-related actions (including defense actions). The creature cannot be harmed, but at the end of its time, it fades away.

Brain Overclock

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: App, mushroom, hair clip

  • Effect: Amplifies the user's mental abilities so their senses are keener and their brain works far beyond its normal capacity.

    Roll for effect:

Brain Overclock Effects
d6Effect
1Increases Intellect Edge by 1 for one hour
2Trained in Intellect Defense for one hour
3Add +1 damage to all Intellect-based attacks for one hour
4Eases all Intellect-based attacks for one hour
5Restores Intellect Pool to full
6Become trained in two noncombat Intellect skills for one hour
Burn Your Bridges

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, candle, bones

  • Effect: Covers and destroys the user's trail in such a way that it makes them very hard to follow. This might include covering their scent, destroying ladders or bridges, creating face-recognition distortion, blurring their license plate, or establishing a false trail. Anyone attempting to follow or track them for one day per cypher level finds their actions hindered by two steps.

Burner Phone

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Key fob, charm, hair clip

  • Effect: Creates or transforms into a basic mobile phone that can make and receive telephone calls and text messages like a prepaid phone. Calls and texts made from this phone appear as "UNKNOWN CALLER" with the number obscured; once contacted, the recipient can call or text this phone like any other phone. The phone uses normal (prepaid) cellular connections, but has no internet access or other functions other than sending and receiving calls and texts.

    The phone lasts for one hour per cypher level, after which it becomes inert, nonfunctional, and untrackable (like a mobile phone that has been broken and its chip removed). The user of the cypher can end it early as an action by speaking a command word or physically breaking it.

Cloak of the Crafter

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Oil, moss, granny square

  • Effect: When activated, it cloaks the user in what looks like a handmade wrap, such as a shawl, scarf, or cloak, for an hour per cypher level. During that time, the user's crafting-related tasks are eased, and everything they craft is one level higher than it normally would be. In addition, the user can find up to two ingredients they need (up to the level of the cypher) in the pockets of the cloak.

Dancing on Air

(It's Only Magic, page 120)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Feather, bullet, charm

  • Effect: The user is lifted a foot (30 cm) or so off the ground, as if there is a pocket of air between them and whatever surface is below them. They can move normally as if walking across a smooth, flat surface. This works even if the substance below them would not normally hold them, such as water or thin ice. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Dumpster Fire

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Matchbook, coaster, rope

  • Effect: Instantly transforms to become a large, contained fire that creates a deep feeling of gloom and despair in all creatures chosen by the user within long range of it who fail an Intellect defense roll. Any negative actions the user takes against those creatures (including combat) are eased by one step, and any positive actions they take for those creatures (such as attempting to inspire them) are hindered by one step.

Duplicity Window

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Sticker, flyer, stamp

  • Effect: When this cypher is stuck on any window or other transparent item, the user can alter what can be seen from the other side. While this illusion might be used in a simple way, such as creating a blackout window on a car, it could also be much more complex, such as creating an elaborate dance party inside an otherwise empty apartment. The illusion level is equal to the cypher level and fools the vision of living creatures as well as that of magical and electronic eyes. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Exceptional Engine

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Herbs, battery, flip lighter

  • Effect: When activated near an engine, computer, device, program, or piece of machinery, the affected target works exceptionally well for the next ten minutes per cypher level, easing all tasks involved with operating it. For example, a car handles better, a hacking program works faster, an elevator door closes before a pursuer can get on, and so on.

Extrovert Shield

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Carved figure, bones, building blocks

  • Effect: Creates the semblance of a being of the user's choice, such as a human who walks beside them, a bird that sits on their shoulders, or a robot, to act as their shield in social situations. The first time they would take damage from a mental attack, the being absorbs that damage (up to the cypher level) and reflects it back onto the attacker; the user makes an Intellect-based attack roll for this reflected damage. After that, the being disappears.

Fade to Black

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Mirror, lapel pin, spiderweb

  • Effect: Turns the user into a shadow for ten minutes per cypher level. During that time, the user looks exactly like their own shadow, is two-dimensional, and can move through any space where light could shine through. As a shadow, the user can make magical attacks but not physical ones. They take no physical damage. However, any successful magical attacks against them inflict +1 point of damage.

Faraday Ward

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: App, pocket handkerchief, lapel pin

  • Effect: When activated, the ward protects the user, their items, and their devices from any attempts at scrying, electromagnetic surveillance, and similar observation whose level is equal to or less than the cypher's for ten minutes per cypher level.

Fey Collar

(It's Only Magic, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Collar, knitted scarf, necklace

  • Effect: When placed around a creature's neck, the collar locks and prevents the wearer from using magic of any kind (up to the level of the cypher). If the creature is a PC, each time they try to use magic they must succeed at an Intellect-based roll against the cypher level; otherwise that attempt is blocked. The collar lasts for ten minutes per cypher level and then disintegrates.

Ghost Tag

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Spray paint, feather, lipstick

  • Effect: Allows the user to leave their tag on someone else's graffiti, painting, or public artwork. The tag includes a spoken message up to twenty words long and is invisible except to the creature the user designates. That creature can touch the tag and hear the entirety of the message.

Girl Moss

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Mushroom, chalk, seed packet

  • Effect: The user melds into whatever soft thing is near them, such as moss, earth, or a blanket, and becomes nearly indistinguishable from that thing. For a number of rounds equal to the cypher level, they gain an asset to hiding, sneaking, and remaining undetected (even by magic). Entering into combat or interacting with another creature in any way breaks the effect.

Got Your Back

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Napkin, straw, coaster

  • Effect: The cypher turns bright blue in the presence of any type of drug, poison, or other detrimental or dangerous substance whose level is equal to or less than the cypher level. The effect lasts for one day.

Gravity Denied

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, feather, balloon

  • Effect: The user no longer has to follow gravity's laws. For one minute per cypher level, they can walk (or crawl or run) on steep inclines and horizontal surfaces (such as walls and cliffs) as if they were on flat ground. When using this ability, "down" for them is either the surface they are walking on or the normal orientation of gravity (their choice).

Great Hair Day

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Hair clip, twigs, bones

  • Effect: When activated, the cypher makes the user's hair look like it did on their best hair day ever. For the next 24 hours, they have an asset in all confidence-based actions, social and otherwise.

Growwell

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Herbs, seed packet, bouquet of flowers

  • Effect: Causes a garden to sprout in any immediate area. The garden is self-sustaining and doesn't need soil, sun, or water. It includes flowers, vegetables, and herbs, and lasts for a number of months equal to the cypher level.

Hand Wave

(It's Only Magic, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Fingerless glove, ring, temporary tattoo

  • Effect: When the user places this cypher upon their hand as an action, they can take three actions on their next turn.

Hashtag

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, flyer, electronic stylus

  • Effect: The user chooses a word or short phrase when activating this cypher. For an hour per cypher level, that word will glow when they encounter it in their environment in a way that only they can perceive, allowing them to pick it out from its surroundings easily. This glow will appear around the word itself as well as symbols and objects. For example, if they choose "apple," they will sense a glow around the word in print, around an actual apple, and around the symbol of an apple logo on a computer. This doesn't extend their range of vision farther than they can normally see.

    This cypher adjusts to be beneficial to the user. For example, if a non-sighted character uses hashtag, the cypher might create a sound or sensation around the chosen word rather than a glow, or the glow might be visible in their mind's eye instead.

Here All Along

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: App, needle and thread, ID card

  • Effect: Allows the user to instantly create a long trail on the internet for someone that they just made up. This includes social media accounts, a personal or business website, photos and videos, friends, and so on. The information stays on the internet forever.

Instant Automobile

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Key, charm, temporary tattoo

  • Effect: Creates or transforms into a large automobile that can carry up to eight people. The user or other characters must steer the automobile as normal. At cypher level 5 and higher, the automobile grants an asset on all tasks relating to its movement, and at cypher level 7 and higher, the automobile can move a short distance each round under its own power. The automobile lasts for a day, after which it vanishes.

The vehicle created by an instant automobile cypher is utilitarian and unremarkable rather than flashy, more like a station wagon, generic van, panel truck, or SUV. In some settings, local laws might require these temporary magical vehicles to have a specific color or text to easily identify them as such, including a unique license plate that can be tracked like any registered vehicle. Likewise, an instant motorcycle cypher creates a functional but not particularly "sexy" motorbike.

Instant Delivery

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: App, feather, stamp

  • Effect: Allows the user to have a letter, small package, or any object up to about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) delivered almost instantaneously to someone. If the object is dangerous, such as a bomb, the recipient's level must be equal to or less than the cypher's. The user must know the person's name and at least one small fact about them, but doesn't need to know their location. Within a round of having left the user, the package will arrive within a short distance of the recipient.

Instant Motorcycle

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Playing card, key, metal flask

  • Effect: Creates or transforms into a motorcycle that can comfortably carry one person (or two people sitting tandem). The user or other characters must steer the motorcycle as normal. At cypher level 4 and higher, the motorcycle grants an asset on all tasks relating to its movement, and at cypher level 7 and higher, the motorcycle can move a short distance each round under its own power. The motorcycle lasts for a day, after which it vanishes.

Lie To Me

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Contact lenses, goggles, mask

  • Effect: Once activated and worn, allows the user to see through all deceptions, mirages, and illusions (up to the level of the cypher) for a day. Also provides the user with an asset on lying, cheating, illusions, and other deception tasks.

Light 'Em Up

(It's Only Magic, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Laser light pointer, pair of glasses, key fob

  • Effect: Activating the cypher causes a powerful beam of magic light to erupt from the user's body part they choose. The beam stretches a short range and inflicts damage equal to the cypher level. It affects even creatures (such as ghosts and vampires) that normally can't be harmed by mundane weapons. Once activated, the weapon is active for ten minutes.

Lucky Charm

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Worry stone, fuzzy dice, deck of cards

  • Effect: Rubbing the lucky charm draws a tiny bit of luck away from someone else and gives it to the user, causing something to happen that makes the user's next action a little easier. This might be a friend showing up, a tool appearing just where the user needs it, or the traffic lights changing to green just as the user arrives. Effectively, using this cypher grants the player a player intrusion without having to spend 1 XP.

Magic Aura Tracker

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, bus ticket, 3D glasses

  • Effect: User can view the cypher's symbols to see if the ambient power of magic in the area is normal, high (increased capabilities or prone to disruptive surges), low (decreased effects or scarcity), or absent. It can also be configured to display power levels for individual kinds of magic (fire, necromancy, illusion) separately from the standard readings. This lasts for five hours per cypher level.

Mental Load Alleviator

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Worry stone, pen, figurine

  • Effect: Helps take on some of the user's mental loads for the next day, including creating shopping lists, organizing the calendar, project management, working on spells, and decision making. During this time, the user gains +1 to their Intellect Edge and +5 to their Intellect Pool (+7 to their Intellect Pool if the cypher is level 9 or higher).

Merciful Memory

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Candle, charm, 3D glasses

  • Effect: For one willing target (including the user), the user can alter a negative memory into one that's more positive. Altering the memory takes a few rounds, depending on the intricacy and difficulty of the memory. Once the memory is altered, it remains that way for a day. During that time, the target gains +5 to their Intellect Pool and all tasks involving the memory (such as talking to the person the memory's about) are eased.

Next You

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Comb, mirror, hair pin

  • Effect: Activating the cypher brings up a magical avatar of the user. The user can alter all parts of their avatar, include hair color and style, clothing, jewelry, makeup, gender, height, and so on. After one round, the changes they've made to the avatar are made to their own body. The effect lasts for one hour per cypher level.

No Take Backs

(It's Only Magic, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Temporary tattoo, playing card, skein of yarn

  • Effect: Activating the cypher creates an invisible bubble around the user. The next time a foe inflicts damage on the user, the bubble registers the type of attack (such as melee, magic, or ranged) and alters itself to protect the user from the next attack of that type. When the user would next take damage from the same type of attack, the bubble absorbs all of it and then pops.

Pickpocket

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: App, stone, key fob

  • Effect: The next time the user attempts to pickpocket someone, they automatically succeed against a target whose level is equal to or less than the cypher's, and they gain an asset to their task against targets whose level is higher than the cypher's. In addition to the items the target has in their pocket, the user gains a random cypher (of a level equal to or less than the level of the pickpocket cypher).

Pocket Protector

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Metal flask, flip lighter, book

  • Effect: If the user is shot with a bullet, arrow, or other projectile, the cypher just happens to be in the right place to protect them from all damage. Unlike a standard cypher, this protective effect occurs without the user's action to activate it. Once used to protect against one attack chosen by the user, the cypher turns to dust.

Portal Stone

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Stone, marble, baseball

  • Effect: Placing an object beneath the portal stone and letting it rest there for one round shifts it to an undiscoverable location, such as another dimension or world (depending on the setting). The item can only be retrieved by holding the portal stone and whispering the name of the object.

Power Device

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: App, flip lighter, seed packet

  • Effect: Magically powers one device that can fit within an area a short distance across. The device is now fully powered, charged, or fueled. If the cypher is used on an automobile, for example, the gas tank is full. If used on a flashlight, the battery is fully charged.

Power House

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Stone, wood, building box

  • Effect: Expands into an instant tiny home complete with a washroom, sleeping area, and kitchen space. The entirety of the structure is about 20 feet by 20 feet by 10 feet (6 m by 6 m by 3.5 m). It lasts for 24 hours, at which point it and all nonliving things inside it disintegrate.

Presto Change-o

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Skein of yarn, key fob, key

  • Effect: Allows the user to alter the appearance of a single vehicle whose level is equal to or less than the cypher level for the next day. This could be a minor alteration, such as changing the paint color and the license plate number, or it could be a major one, such as changing a horse-drawn carriage into a go-kart. The new vehicle must be able to traverse the same type of terrain as the original (the user can change a canoe into a speedboat, for example, but not into a plane or a race car).

Puzzle Box

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Building block, flip lighter, locket

  • Effect: Allows the user to put a creature (up to the level of the cypher) inside an item the user touches with the cypher. The creature shrinks to fit inside the item. While inside the item, the creature is in stasis and cannot take any actions. They cannot be harmed in any way and they do not experience time moving forward. The creature stays inside permanently, unless they are released by magic or until the user chooses to let them out.

Quick Pic

(It's Only Magic, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: App, pen, stone with a hole in it

  • Effect: Allows the user to snap a quick image of whatever they point it at. The image stays perfectly in their mind for the next 24 hours. By touching an appropriate device, they can download the image, print it out, or digitally alter it. At the end of 24 hours, all versions of the image, including the one in their head, disappear.

Quick Pickup

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, key, fidget toy

  • Effect: For a number of hours equal to the cypher level, anytime the user needs a ride somewhere, one instantly appears. This could be a rideshare, a city bike, a horse, a canoe, a friend with a car, a helicopter, or something else, as the GM determines.

Real Fake

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, playing card, ticket

  • Effect: When placed against any form of ID, such as a driver's license, birth certificate, or passport, the cypher instantly transforms into a perfect copy of that ID, including photos, watermarks, and any other identifying or verifying features. The duplicate lasts for a number of days equal to the cypher level.

Repair Module

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Remote control, bullet, needle and thread

  • Effect: Repairs a single device or machine of any kind (up to the level of the cypher) once. This could work on an artifact, a computer, a piece of lab equipment, a mechanical cider press, a furnace, and so on. The user doesn't need any knowledge of the machine or what's wrong with it, but they must be able to touch the machine and continue to do so for the length of the repair. The repair takes one minute per level of the machine.

Safe Space

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: App, knitted scarf, letter

  • Effect: Allows the user to create a temporary safe space around them that takes the form of their choosing, such as a bed, bathroom, mossy grove, and so on. The place looks, sounds, and feels just as the user imagines it. During that time, no one and nothing outside the space can see, hear, or interact with the user in any way, nor can they see, hear, or interact with anything outside their safe space. While in their safe space, they restore a number of points equal to the cypher level, distributing them as they see fit among their Pools. When they return, it's as though they never went away and no time has passed. They can remain in the space for up to one hour per cypher level.

Screen Control

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: App, mirror, granny square

  • Effect: A technological screen (a television, computer monitor, smartphone, or the like) within short range shows whatever the user wishes for up to one minute per cypher level. The display can be pictures, text, or meaningless shapes and colors.

Social Battery

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Battery, doll, feather

  • Effect: Allows you to recharge your social battery, providing you with an asset on all positive social interactions, including persuasion, charm, flirtation, and succor. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Soul Saver

(It's Only Magic, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Egg, battery, cross-stitch square

  • Effect: Brings a dead creature whose level is equal to or less than the cypher's back to life for ten minutes per cypher level. PCs are automatically brought back for the duration. The creature is exactly as they were in life, with the same stats, personality, knowledge, and so on, but only has 2 points of health or Might. If the creature's health or Might Pool is healed to full in some way during this time, they return to life permanently, but with a 3-point reduction in their maximum health or Might Pool.

Stay Down

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Nail polish, glove, stick

  • Effect: Upon activating the cypher, the user's hand crackles with power and noise. They emit a concussive blast at a single foe within long range, inflicting 3 points of damage, knocking them prone, and stunning them for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level.

Take Me There

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Crayon, chalk, lipstick

  • Effect: The user spends a few rounds drawing a map of somewhere they're trying to get to. Even if the map is not the least bit accurate, they will sense a thread of magic leading them to their desired destination. If the place they seek is hidden, they must make an Intellect roll against its level to see if they succeed (the cypher provides an asset). The thread lasts for one day per cypher level or until they reach their destination, whichever is sooner.

Talk to Me

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Spiderweb, flyer, building blocks

  • Effect: The user can talk to any creature that is part of a structure, such as a mermaid in a fountain statue, a stone gargoyle on a skyscraper, or a dragon-shaped doorbell on a private home. The user can ask them a number of questions equal to the cypher level and get true answers. The questions must pertain to something the creature would know, such as something they saw or heard in the area, something they felt, or who made them.

Teleportation Block

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Bird's nest, remote control, building block

  • Effect: A short area within immediate range of the user becomes warded against any teleportation effect or other ability that allows travel without direct physical movement (including abilities specifically meant to get around obstacles, such as Bypass Barrier). Any creature whose level is less than the cypher level can't use these methods to get in or out. Player characters using such abilities must succeed at an Intellect-based task with a difficulty equal to the cypher level in order to enter or leave the area. The block lasts for one day per cypher level.

Through the Window

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: App, mirror, flyer

  • Effect: The user chooses any window they can see, and they are able to look through it as if they were standing right in front of it. The window does not need to be transparent, the user does not need to stay in sight of the window after they choose it, and no one else can perceive what they're doing. While they are looking through the window, they can wink to change their vision back to their current location, then wink again to return to the window. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level or until they choose to end it.

Time Ticket

(It's Only Magic, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Bus ticket, moss, remote control

  • Effect: For the next day, no matter what time the user leaves or what hurdles they encounter, they will arrive exactly on time for the event, ride, or other activity. Busses and planes will not leave without them, the play or movie will not start until they arrive, and they'll meet people exactly when they said they would. (Note that this doesn't change how the user gets there—they may still sit in traffic forever or get stuck in the security line.) Their traveling companions, if any, enjoy the same benefit as long as they stick with the user.

Tunnel Traverser

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Coveralls, poncho, knitted scarf

  • Effect: When activated, it turns the wearer into a liquid or gaseous form of themselves, allowing them to travel through small spaces, such as air ducts, sewer tunnels, tight caverns, and so on. Efforts to detect the user are hindered by two steps (or three steps if the cypher is level 5 or higher), even by magic or security systems. The spaces must be at least 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter and must not be blocked by rocks, doors, and so on. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

What the Doctor Ordered

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Potion, herbs, candle

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher level to the user's choice of Pools. In addition, the user adds +3 to their next recovery roll.

Who's Looking

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Remote control, glass eye, stone with a hole

  • Effect: For the next ten minutes per cypher level, the cypher vibrates any time the user is being monitored, watched, or tracked by something of the cypher level or less. This includes people, devices, security systems, cameras, spells, and so on.

Wire Wraith

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Wire, broken electronics, phone charger

  • Effect: Activating the cypher creates a large wraithlike being that looks as if it's formed from wire. The wraith is a level 4 incorporeal construct that inflicts 4 points of electrical damage (ignores Armor) with its touch when directed. While the construct persists, the user can use it to slip through small areas, carry an electrical current, or attack foes. It lasts for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level.

Wrecking Balls

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Baseball, bouncy ball, marble

  • Effect: When thrown, the ball multiplies into a number of itself equal to the cypher level. Each ball bounces once and then slams into targets within long range chosen by the user. The impact of each ball does 2 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor). If the same foe is hit by two or more balls, they are also knocked prone for one round.

You're Safe Now

(It's Only Magic, page 128)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Suspenders, lapel pin, spiderweb

  • Effect: Once the user activates the cypher, it protects them from ambient damage. The next time they would take ambient damage, such as from falling off a roof or being electrocuted by a power line, the cypher absorbs all of the damage (up to the cypher level).

Apps as Cyphers

(It's Only Magic, page 118)

Apps are a great cypher option for modern, urban settings. The character will need a working device, such as a cell phone or a cloud storage artifact, to buy, download, or otherwise gain apps. However, in most cases the device doesn't need to be working to activate the app. Draining the device's battery or turning it off doesn't affect the app or someone's ability to use it. (Breaking the device, losing it, or having it stolen might be another matter.)

Because each app is a unique magical item (meaning only one exists in the world, unlike a regular app, which can be downloaded by everyone who wants it), they're harder to find than regular apps. Instead, you likely need to purchase one directly from the person who created it. Some campaign settings might have physical app stores, while others might require clandestine trades, electronic thievery, or some other means of securing the app. In other settings, an app might be something you download into a modified body part or integrated piece of hardware.

EasyMagic.App

(It's Only Magic, page 129)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: App

  • Effect: Adds +1 to the user's Intellect Edge (+2 for cypher level 5 or higher) for the next 24 hours, but only for the purpose of casting spells.

    When the cypher is activated, the user attracts the attention of a malevolent internet d@emon, who slides into their internet-connected devices and starts draining their magic. The d@emon remains even after the cypher's duration expires.

Malware Cyphers

(It's Only Magic, page 129)

EasyMagic.app has a beneficial effect, but also a serious drawback—it attracts a hostile creature to prey upon the user's magic. The cypher is significantly better than a typical Edge-augmenting cypher like an Intellect booster (lasting 24 hours instead of one hour) in order to trick a naive or greedy character into activating it. Magicians well-versed in cypher lore (and human nature) recognize that this sort of thing is too good to be true.

The GM should feel free to create similar kinds of malware app cyphers that are somewhat better than the standard ones in this chapter or in the Chapter 24: Cyphers, and give them a harmful side effect. Example malware cypher benefits are curatives that add more points or affect two Pools at once, Effort enhancers that can be used two or more times in an hour, and perfections that don't require an action to activate (and therefore can affect a roll on the same turn the user activates the cypher).

Example malware cypher drawbacks are hindering the user's attack spells, debiting the user's bank account, monitoring the user's in-person or magical communications, deleting the user's other magical app cyphers, compelling the user to take a specific action, "locking" one of the user's spells until they pay a ransom, accessing private data such as passwords or photos, and so on.

Other common malware cypher names are WarlockAntivirus, SpellManager, HexCleaner, TomeBot, and ScryBlocker.

Modern Fantasy Artifacts

(It's Only Magic, page 130)

If cyphers are the expendable magic that is ever-present in fantasy, artifacts are the more durable magic items that can be used over and over again—tomes of weird magic, magical vehicles, and so on. Unlike cyphers, there is no limit to how many artifacts a character can bear.

Modern Fantasy Artifacts

(It's Only Magic, page 131)

Modern Fantasy Artifacts Table
d100Artifact
01–02Accessories sold separately
03–04Ask me anything
05–06Atheneum of the mind card
07–08Attempted murder
09–10Battery of the vanquished
11–12Blade of the roses
13–14Book of the baker
15–16Breakaway bag
17–18Busy box
19–20Cats hide their paws
21–22Cloud storage
23–24Cloud thief
25–26Color cannon
27–28Combat glasses
29–31Crow friend
32–33Crown of the high king
34–35Dragon pen
36–37Eau de blood and monsters
38–39Ecosensitive fridge magnets
40–41Flying carpet
42–43Gift from the fairy queen
44–45Goodest gargoyle
46–47Harrowing blade
48–49History's fickle hands
50–51Keys of close to you
52–53Living copycat
54–55Magician's protective amulet
56–57Malware genie
58–60Meatboy
61–62My friend Lockness
63–64Pearls of your grandmother, the witch
65–66Poor magician's lunchbox
67–68Rainbow suspenders
69–71Ring of reflected bullets
72–74Scarf of love and death
75–76Song of the siren
77–79Speed readers
80–82Tattoo of the tiger
83–84Tattoo of tomorrow's edge
85–87Tattoo of true shot
88–89Time is a circle
90–91Umbrella of no-touch
92–93Vanity of the vanities
94–96Witch wand
97–98Witch's broom
99Wonder onesie
00Your mama's biker jacket
Modern Fantasy Artifacts by Alphabetical Order
Accessories Sold Separately

(It's Only Magic, page 132)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Articulated action figure that comes equipped with a number of accessories, such as a gun, armor, handbag, laptop computer, dazzling outfit, and so on.

  • Effect: The action figure carries a number of accessories equal to the artifact level. When the button on their back is pushed, the action figure does nothing, but their accessories grow to the size they would be if they were real, and they become functional. They remain this way for a day. Roll a d20 for each accessory the action figure might carry.

Accessories Sold Separately
d20Artifact
1Light weapon (includes ammo)
2Medium weapon (includes ammo)
3Heavy weapon (includes ammo)
4Light armor
5Medium armor
6Heavy armor
7Laptop computer
8Cell phone
9Doctor bag (eases healing tasks)
10Dazzling outfit (eases social interactions)
11Handbag (includes a handful of items, such as gum, lipstick, sunglasses, and a notebook)
12Bag of light tools
13Puppy (level 1)
14Kittem (level 1)
15Dinosaur (level 1)
16Fiction book
17Nonfiction book
18Backpack (empty)
19Guitar
20Inflatable couch

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Ask Me Anything

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Magic billiard ball fill with liquid, inside of which a small gargoyle, crow, or other creature floats

  • Effect: The user can shake the magic ball, causing the creature inside to wake up. They can ask the creature two questions about the future and learn the answer (three questions if the artifact is level 4 or higher, four questions if the artifact is level 6 or higher). Because the future is ever-changing, the answers may not line up perfectly with what will happen, but they usually offer at least one piece of concrete, actionable information.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Atheneum of the Mind Card

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Metal and glass card about the size and shape of a library card

  • Effect: Allows the user to "borrow" people's minds the same way that one might borrow a library book. The person must be agreeable to sharing their knowledge and must be within short range of the user when the exchange happens. For the next 24 hours, the user has access to the person's brain from anywhere, allowing them to become trained in two noncombat skills or specialized in one noncombat skill. The skill they choose must make sense for the person whose brain they're "borrowing" (for example, a professor of English lit would likely be skilled in speed-reading and storytelling, but maybe not in woodworking or cooking). They can only borrow one person's mind each day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Attempted Murder

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Tattoo of a flock of crows located anywhere on the body

  • Effect: When the tattoo is activated, the crows fly out of it in a barrage of attacks. Everyone and everything in an immediate area suffers damage equal to the artifact level, unless they are designated safe by the user ahead of time.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (when the artifact depletes, the tattoo flies away and disappears)

Battery of the Vanquished

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Small metal pipe that's been etched with elaborate symbols

  • Effect: After killing a magical creature, the user can place the pipe against the body and suck the creature's magic up into their body. The creature must have been slain by the user, they must be magical in some way, and they must have died within the last hour. The user restores a number of points equal to the artifact level to their Intellect Pool (even if this temporarily puts them above their maximum Pool).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Blade of the Roses

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Handcrafted sword etched with vines and roses

  • Effect: This sword is a medium weapon that inflicts 5 points of damage (6 points if the artifact is level 6 or higher). Additionally, on the first successful attack against a foe, the sword sows a rose vine into the creature's heart. The vine begins to spread through the creature's veins, inflicting 2 additional points of damage each round for one day or until magic is used to remove the vine. A PC can end the effect early by succeeding on a Might defense roll on their turn.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each first successful attack)

Book of the Baker

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pocket-sized book with a well-worn leather cover filled with handwritten recipes

  • Effect: Taking a round to read a recipe from the book aloud causes everyone within short range to feel as if they've eaten the meal from the recipe. They all add +1 to their recovery rolls for the next ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Breakaway Bag

(It's Only Magic, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Backpack, purse, or duffel covered in patches

  • Effect: This bag can hold a number of magic items (including cyphers and artifacts) equal to the artifact level. Every item the user places inside the bag instantly turns into a patch on the bag's surface. Only the user can recognize these patches as the objects they once were, and only the user can turn them back into their original items (doing so takes an action). The bag can also be used as a regular bag to hold mundane items, which does not affect how many magic items it can hold. Cyphers in the bag do not count against the user's cypher limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll each time a magic item is added)

Busy Box

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small wooden box with a remote opener

  • Effect: Opening the box reveals a dazzling array of enticing things to do, see, hear, and experience. These enticements are magically geared to those experiencing them. Everyone who fails an Intellect defense roll within short range of the box is so distracted that they're hindered on all actions for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level. (NPCs whose level is less than the artifact level are automatically affected.) The remote will open and close the box from up to long range away.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Cats Hide Their Paws

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Onyx ring that depicts a cat curling around itself, so that it becomes a feline ouroboros

  • Effect: The ring allows the user to slink into the shadows, hide their true motives, and otherwise go mostly unseen and unnoticed. This provides an asset to sneaking, lockpicking, disguise, and deception tasks.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each day)

Cloud Storage

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Palm-sized device with a carabiner attached

  • Effect: Stores up to five cypher apps at a time. The device is thumbprint-protected by the user, and only the user can add apps and activate them. Any additional apps stored above the user's cypher limit do not count against the limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each time an app is added)

Cloud Thief

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Ring that alters to perfectly fit the wearer (in size and appearance)

  • Effect: Allows the user to copy a cypher app from any device the user chooses within long range. The ring chooses randomly from the available apps on that device, and the user doesn't know what the app is until they receive it. They can activate the cypher app directly from the ring or download it into a device of their choice. The ring can only hold one app at a time, and that app does count against the user's cypher limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Color Cannon

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Can of spray paint modified to spray from three different nozzles

  • Effect: Depending on which nozzle is used, the color cannon has the following effects with a successful attack roll by the user.

    • Fear. Sprays a target within short range with a beam of color that frightens them so badly that they flee for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.
    • Stun. Sprays a target within short range with a beam of color that stuns them for one round, making them lose their next action.
    • Tag. Tags a target within long range with a symbol. All tasks involving tracking, following, and finding that target are eased for the next day. No matter where the symbol lands, the tag still works (for example, if the target's shirt is tagged, the tag works even if they remove their shirt).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Combat Glasses

(It's Only Magic, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Pair of stylish sunglasses

  • Effect: The glasses analyze a foe and display information about the best places to strike them as well as how best to avoid their incoming attacks. If the user spends an action to allow the glasses to analyze a chosen foe, they gain an asset in both melee attacks and Speed defense rolls against the foe. They must take a separate action to analyze each foe, and the glasses can only assist against one foe at a time.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (check after each foe)

Crow Friend

(It's Only Magic, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Pocket-sized figurine of a crow, its feathers worn from being lovingly petted over time

  • Effect: For as long as the user carries the figurine on their person and does not actively harm, scare, or otherwise offend any living corvids, a flock of crows may show up randomly once per day to assist them. The crows arrive on their own time and act as crows do, attempting to help the user in the way that they deem most useful, such as dropping stones on a foe's head, warning them of incoming dangers, bringing them a snack, and so on.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (roll each time the crows arrive)

Crown of the High King

(It's Only Magic, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Pair of over-the-ear headphones that sparkle in the light

  • Effect: When worn, the headphones provide the user with an enhanced sense of elegance, power, or status. Other people find themselves drawn to the user in the hopes of helping them, granting their wishes, and treating them like the royalty they obviously are. All social interactions are eased.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (roll each day)

Dragon Pen

(It's Only Magic, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Quill made from a green feather

  • Effect: The user can dip the pen in ink and draw an object or creature, which becomes real for one minute. The object or creature's level is half the artifact's level, +1 level if the user is trained in drawing, or +2 levels if the user is specialized in drawing. Once released from the page or surface it was drawn upon, the object or creature swells until it reaches the appropriate size, but it grows no bigger than an immediate distance in width, depth, and height. If a creature is made, it does the bidding of the user.

    Someone familiar with magic made from drawings or illustrations, such as someone who has the Inks Spells on Skin focus, can use the pen as part of casting their spells, easing the task of casting the spell.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Eau de Blood and Monsters

(It's Only Magic, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Red crystal bottle filled with amber perfume

  • Effect: This perfume is specially created to be used by a single person. To activate it for the first time, the user must put a single drop of their blood into the bottle, incorporating their own scent into that of the perfume. The result smells amazing to them but is not noticeable to anyone else.

    After that, whenever the user applies the perfume, it provides +2 Armor (+3 if the artifact is level 9 or higher). Each application lasts for ten minutes per artifact level, and it's an action to reapply the perfume.

    Anyone else who attempts to wear the perfume quickly realizes it smells awful on their skin, and they take 1 point of damage.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Ecosensitive Fridge Magnets

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Set of refrigerator magnets (two of each letter and two of each number 0 through 9) made out of bone or wood

  • Effect: Ghosts, haunts, wraiths, poltergeists, and other spectral creatures can move these objects as easily as a human can, using them to spell out messages visible to anyone in the area. Usually, the magnets are also enchanted so these creatures can't remove them from the surface they're attached to (preventing the creatures from stealing, hiding, or throwing them).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each day of use); depletion means one of the magnets is lost forever but the remainder continue to function

Flying Carpet

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Small woven rug, large enough for several people to sit on

  • Effect: The carpet flies a long distance each round, carrying up to five passengers. It flies for up to ten hours per activation. When traveling overland, the artifact can achieve a flying speed of 60 miles (97 km) per hour.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Gift from the Fairy Queen

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Glass eye that shines with a beautiful inner light

  • Effect: Looking through the glass eye allows the user to see anything that's hidden or invisible, including magic, up to the level of the artifact. If they have the glass eye surgically or magically implanted (a task equal to the artifact level), they also gain an asset in using magic in all its forms, including crafting, combat, and defenses.

  • Depletion: —

Goodest Gargoyle

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small lapel pin of a winged, grinning gargoyle

  • Effect: Once activated, this gargoyle grows to the size of a human. It follows within a few feet of the user and attacks anyone or anything within immediate range that attacks it or the user. The gargoyle attacks with a powerful blast of water that deals damage equal to its level. The gargoyle lasts for a day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Harrowing Blade

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Long black blade with a carved stone handle

  • Effect: A successful attack with the blade doesn't inflict physical damage. Instead, it fills the foe's mind with dark and dangerous thoughts, inflicting 4 points of Intellect damage (6 points if the artifact Is level 5 or higher) that ignore Armor. The foe does not need to be corporeal for the attack to be successful.

  • Depletion: —

History's Fickle Hands

(It's Only Magic, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Watch with a beautiful leather band and silver face whose hands and numbers move in a seemingly random order

  • Effect: The watch works as a two-way communication device to someone in the past whose level is equal to or less than the artifact level. A screen opens up on the watch face that allows the user to see the person and interact with them. The person isn't compelled to interact with the user, and the user's interaction with them doesn't change anything in the present or future. The connection stays open for ten minutes per artifact level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Keys of Close to You

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Two small gold keys, each with a simple bow

  • Effect: When activated by two people standing together, the bows of the keys magically adjust to create an abstract representation of the two users' relationship. At any time, one of the users can teleport themselves to the other person instantly, from up to 50 miles (80 km) away. For this to work, both people must have their key on their person, and there must be no magical barriers in place that are higher level than the artifact.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each teleportation)

Living Copycat

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Collection of metal magnets in a small tin

  • Effect: If the user spends about an hour shaping the metal magnets into a copy of a living entity they've seen or have an image of, such as a human, cat, or dragon, the living metal takes the shape of that entity (albeit at about a tenth of its size). The copycat does and says everything that the living entity is doing, at the moment that they're doing it. The copycat lasts for ten minutes per artifact level, after which it returns to a collection of magnets.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Magician's Protective Amulet

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Silver medallion bearing several magical symbols

  • Effect: The wearer's defense rolls against spell attacks are eased (by two steps if the artifact level is 7 or higher).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each spell attack)

Malware Genie

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Thumb drive with the image of a lamp engraved on it

  • Effect: Inserting the thumb drive into a device produces the avatar of a genie who grants the user a single wish. The GM assigns a level to the wish, so the larger and more difficult the wish, the more difficult it is to have the wish granted. Generally, a wish such as gaining an asset or inexpensive item is level 1, and a wish for an expensive item or for a foe to vanish is level 7. The genie cannot grant a wish above its level. The genie can grant only one wish per day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Meatboy

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Ring with a generic human face design

  • Effect: The ring creates a "meatboy," a level 1 lifelike simulation of a human, who appears within immediate range. The meatboy has only a limited vocabulary and ability to reason. It does as the user instructs for one minute, then slumps, melts into reddish goo, and vanishes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

My Friend Lockness

(It's Only Magic, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Silver lapel pin in the shape of the Loch Ness monster

  • Effect: When activated, the back of the pin opens up to reveal a number of helpful miniature tools, including a lockpick, tweezers, screwdriver, and so on. Using the pin provides an asset in both magical and mundane tasks such as lockpicking and crafting. In addition, it allows the user to perceive items, creatures, spells, and doors that would normally be hidden by easing their perception tasks by two steps (three steps if the cypher is level 7 or higher).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Pearls of Your Grandmother, the Witch

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Elegant necklace made of pearls with unusual colors and shapes

  • Effect: Wearing the necklace eases all crafting tasks (including crafting magic cyphers and artifacts). Tasks that involve finding, sourcing, locating, and purchasing craft-related items are also eased.

  • Depletion: —

Poor Magician's Lunchbox

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small metal lunchbox with an illustration of a person enjoying a picnic lunch

  • Effect: The lunchbox creates a set of sturdy compostable utensils and a compostable bowl filled to the brim with a bland-tasting porridge that provides enough nutrition for one person for one day (enough for two people if the artifact is level 5 or higher). The porridge is non-allergenic, gluten free, dairy free, meat free, and cruelty free.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Rainbow Suspenders

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Bright rainbow suspenders that adjust to fit the wearer perfectly

  • Effect: When worn and visible, the suspenders provide an asset to all positive social interactions. In addition, they provide +1 Armor against Intellect damage.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll each interaction); still wearable as regular suspenders after depletion

Ring of Reflected Bullets

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Red gold ring engraved with a chaotic bullet pattern

  • Effect: When targeted with a ranged attack from a firearm that fires bullets, the wearer can attempt a hindered Speed defense roll. If the roll succeeds, the bullet rebounds before hitting the wearer and immediately returns to the sender, effectively granting the wearer a free attack against the shooter fired from the shooter's weapon. The wearer is practiced with this attack.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Scarf of Love and Death

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Hand-knitted scarf with a tag that says MADE WITH LOVE

  • Effect: When activated, the scarf can do one of two things (chosen by the user). The scarf must be reactivated to switch the effect.

    • Love: Creates a magical shield around the user for one hour, during which time they gain +2 Armor (+3 Armor if the artifact is level 5 or higher).
    • Death: For the next hour, each time the user attacks someone in short range, the scarf snaps out in that same action and inflicts 2 additional points of damage (3 points if the artifact is level 5 or higher).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll each activation)

Song of the Siren

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Safety whistle in the shape of a woman with bird wings and a fish tail

  • Effect: Blowing into the whistle creates no sound, but instead causes a siren to appear. The siren sings a brief song. The user chooses a number of targets within long range who can hear it equal to the artifact level. The user makes an Intellect attack against each; affected targets each take 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Speed Readers

(It's Only Magic, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Reading glasses with blue-hued lenses

  • Effect: Allows the user to quickly read and understand almost anything within short range, such as a book, long article, important document, and so on, even if it's not in a language they know. Reading something usually takes at least a few rounds, depending on the length of the item.

    For the next ten minutes per artifact level, the user remembers everything they read perfectly, and if they take any actions pertaining to that knowledge, their task is eased. At the end of that time, all of their newly gained knowledge disappears. They can only use the speed readers on the same item once.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Tattoo of the Tiger

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Tattoo of a nonmagical creature, such as a tiger, spider, domesticated dog, raven, or horse

  • Effect: Allows the user to shapeshift into the form of the creature depicted in the tattoo. The creature is nearly impossible to tell from other creatures of its ilk, meaning it's the same size, moves the same way, vocalizes the same way, has the same coloration, and so on. Once shapeshifted, the user can only do things that the creature could do in its normal state, such as run, roar, fly, swim, and so on. They cannot do things as a human would, but they could talk as a raven might talk, use a device as a primate might, and so on. The shapeshifted user otherwise retains their base stats. The form lasts for ten minutes per artifact level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Tattoo of Tomorrow's Edge

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Tattoo of a skull, bones, or other body part with ink made from ashes of the dead

  • Effect: Each time the user would die, the tattoo brings them back to life and restores 5 points to each of their Pools. However, all of their Pools are permanently reduced by 1 each time.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Tattoo of True Shot

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Tattoo of a projectile, such as a bullet, arrow, or spear, crafted with ink made with blood

  • Effect: Adds +1 damage to all of the user's successful ranged attacks that are made with physical weapons, such as a bow, gun, or throwing knife.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Because tattoo artifacts are magical, they can be transferred from one person's skin to another's. For example, if a character kills someone with a still-usable tattoo, they can press their skin to the tattoo and it will appear on their body.

Time is a Circle

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Watch with no face and no hands

  • Effect: The user can tell the watch what time it is, and it will be that time for them and only them. The watch face shows them a video of what they were experiencing in the past or will experience in the future (depending on what time they chose). The user cannot change anything about the experience, but they can replay and slow down the video. The video lasts for a number of minutes equal to the artifact level and disappears after. Note that while the video of the past is always accurate, the video of the future shows one of many possible futures and may not come true.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (roll each use)

Umbrella of No-Touch

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Umbrella that folds down to the size of a credit card

  • Effect: When opened, the umbrella grants the user protection from more than just the rain for one minute. Any creature attempting to come within immediate distance of the user stops short and their turn ends if their level is equal to or less than the umbrella's. PCs gain an Intellect defense roll to overcome the effect.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll each use); works as a regular umbrella after depletion

Vanity of the Vanities

(It's Only Magic, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Handheld mirror or small vanity with a special button shaped like a crown

  • Effect: The user activates the artifact by pressing the button and staring into the mirror for one minute. As long as they do some type of personal grooming (such as showering, getting dressed, or applying makeup) within short range of the vanity, no time passes for them, allowing them to spend as much time as they need to get ready.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each hour of extra time granted to the user); after depletion, its magic stops working but it continues to function as a normal mirror

Witch Wand

(It's Only Magic, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Wooden wand of exceptional quality

  • Effect: This wand grants its wielder an asset on attack rolls with spells cast while holding it.

  • Depletion: —

Witch's Broom

(It's Only Magic, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Long wooden broom

  • Effect: As a flying vehicle, the broom can be ridden a long distance each round. On extended trips, it can move up to 100 miles (160 km) per hour.

    The bearer can call upon the broom to grant them a powerful hallucinogenic state that lasts for four hours, during which time all tasks are hindered. After the hallucinations end, the bearer's Intellect tasks are eased for the next ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Wonder Onesie

(It's Only Magic, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Adult onesie in the form of an animal, imaginary creature, or other entity that adjusts to fit the wearer perfectly.

  • Effect: When worn, the onesie acts as light armor, but grants an additional +1 Armor (+2 if the artifact is level 9 or higher) in addition to the 1 Armor that light armor typically provides. Additionally, the user has an asset on all Intellect defense rolls.

  • Depletion: — (At any time, the GM can rule that the onesie has resisted enough Intellect attacks to deplete that ability, after which it still functions as armor.)

Your Mama's Biker Jacket

(It's Only Magic, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Well-loved and well-worn leather jacket with the patch of a large winged creature on the back

  • Effect: When worn, it makes the user appear tough and badass, providing an asset to all interactions involving coercion, persuasion, fear, and intimidation. Roll a d6 to determine the jacket's secondary ability.

  • Depletion: — for the main effect, 1 in 1d10 for the secondary ability (check each use)

Your Mama's Biker Jacket
d6Ability
1–2Metal spikes appear along the sleeves, shoulders, and back, providing +1 Armor and +1 damage on unarmed attacks for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.
3–4The wings of the creature emerge from the back of the jacket, allowing the wearer to fly for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.
5–6The jacket taunts a foe selected by the wearer within short range for one minute. If the wearer succeeds on an Intellect attack, the foe selectively targets the wearer over other enemies for the duration. The wearer gains an asset on combat tasks, such as attacking and defending, for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.

Modern Fantasy Creatures and NPCs by Level

(It's Only Magic, page 96)

† — denotes a creature presented the Cypher System Rulebook

Modern Fantasy Creatures and NPCs by Level
LevelName
1Goblin†
1Zorp
2Guard†
2Orc†
2Pollution goblin
2Skeleton†
3Bargainer fiend
3Changeling
3Crime boss†
3Giant rat†
3Giant spider†
3Demon hunter
3Internet d@emon
3Pharmaceutical sorcerer
3Television thoughtform
3Thug†
3Transitional vampire†
3Urban brownie
3Vulture spirit
3Zombie†
4Corporate Mage
4Deep One†
4Devil†
4Elemental, electricty
4Elemental, fire†
4Gargoyle
4Ghost†
4Ghoul†
4Ogre†
4Shadow elf†
4Werewolf†
4Witchfox
5Demon†
5Elemenal, earth†
5Fallen angel
5Haunted car
5Hell Mary
5Occultist†
5Witch†
6Chimera†
6Golem†
6Vampire†
7Djinni†
7Dragon†
8Statue, animate†
8Divinity of the City
8Wizard, mighty†
9Demigod†

Chapter 15 Science Fiction

Quick Reference: Science Fiction

Creating a Science Fiction Setting

Science Fiction Species Descriptors

Spacecraft

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Depending on the setting, Old Gus' Daft Drafts Descriptors might be appropriate.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 270)

Science fiction is an incredibly broad category. It covers UFOs, space opera, near-future dystopias, otherworldly epics, hard science fiction, and everything in between. Even when compared to fantasy, science fiction is so wide that it almost isn't a single genre at all. Truthfully, there's not all that much to tie, say, The Time Machine by H. G. Wells with a dark cyberpunk story except for the technology involved, which is at a higher level than we possess or understand today. But even that part of science fiction is contentious. Should the science be purely that which obeys the laws of physics as we understand them today (often called hard science fiction), or is it more of an "anything goes" proposition? Is science we can't explain really just magic?

For our purposes, we'll treat fantastic science fiction as the default: aliens, spaceships that allow travel to other stars, energy weapons and shields, and so on. It's a familiar setting to almost everyone interested in science fiction. That said, we've also got some additional guidance for hard science fiction, where what's possible is more grounded in what we currently scientifically extrapolate. But your science fiction setting can be anything you can imagine.

Creating a Science Fiction Setting

Establish a Technology Rating

(The Stars are Fire, page 13)

Every science fiction setting has an implicit level of advancement, which is the average degree of technological sophistication available to most characters. This sophistication lies along a spectrum, from contemporary, to advanced, all the way to fantastic. Each of these terms specifies a particular "technology rating" (or "tech rating" for short).

A tech rating is a handy way of helping you select what equipment your characters can use, which optional rules you'd like to include, and maybe even help guide your creature choice.

On the other hand, you could choose to make all options available, regardless of tech rating. No technology police will cite you if you don't stick inside a previously declared lane. The setting is your background for telling a compelling story. Does your setting have faster-than-light travel? Great. Unless it's integral to the story (or fun for you), don't worry about justifying it if you've generally settled on an advanced rating for your hard science fiction game (which doesn't normally include FTL capability). In fact, the surprising and unexpected are where excitement is usually found in a setting; breaking the established rules (for a good reason) often leads to interesting results.

Cosmic Set Pieces and Optional Rules

(The Stars are Fire, page 15)

This chapter contains a variety of subsystems and set pieces that you can choose to incorporate in your game, depending on the kind of setting you'd like to run. Options here run the gamut from making your science fiction setting more realistic to making your fantastic games even wilder by introducing rules for posthuman advancement and psionics.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

(The Stars are Fire, page 60)

Though somewhat fuzzy, for the purposes of creating a sci-fi setting, artificial intelligence (AI) can be broken into four categories: Weak, Sim, Strong, and Post-singularity.

Weak AI

(The Stars are Fire, page 60)

Weak AI (also called narrow AI) is the kind of algorithmic-based code found in contemporary settings (and real life) focused on very narrow tasks, such as playing chess.

Weak AI Use: Weak AIs are used in real life already, and thus are presumed to be part of settings where contemporary tech predominates. They are convenient in circumstances where one's hands are full or otherwise engaged, when verbal direction allows one to turn on a light, open a door, adjust the temperature, and so on. Machine learning may allow a weak AI to extend its capabilities in a very limited regime. But a weak AI is not cognizant enough to provide an asset to performing tasks any better.

Weak AI
level 1; up to level 7 when it comes to a narrowly specific application of knowledge or skill
SIM AI

(The Stars are Fire, page 60)

Sim AIs ("sim" is short for "simulant") are artificial intelligences that have a greatly increased capacity for understanding direction, putting together unlike sets of data, and coming to conclusions; however, they are not conscious, like strong AIs or humans.

SIM AI Use: Sim AIs are most commonly associated with shipminds on spacecraft, though they may also control specific research complexes, bases, and other kinds of vehicles and structures. A sim AI provides all the utility of a weak AI (and more), and actually acts like an NPC, an allied one if the AI is the shipmind in a craft that the PCs own. If a sim AI goes off the rails, it's still just malfunctioning computer code. Usually.

Sim AI
level equal to the ship, station, or installation in which it is installed
Strong AI

(The Stars are Fire, page 60)

Strong AIs (also called true AIs) have all the abilities of sim AIs, plus the ability to actually generalize in the same way a human can. Each one is essentially a disembodied person. Strong AIs are either completely artificial, or they begin as human personalities digitally encoded.

Strong AI Use: A strong AI may serve as a shipmind just like a sim AI, but is likely to be a full partner in a setting where AI rights are respected. Indeed, strong AIs can rise to any position a human could achieve, up to and including leading a group, faction, or entire nation.

Strong AI
level 5–8, up to level 8 when it comes to a specific application of knowledge or skill.
Post-Singularity AI

(The Stars are Fire, page 60)

Post-singularity AIs are intelligences who designed a second-generation, better version of themselves. The second generation immediately designed an even more advanced third generation, and so on from there. This iterating self-improvement process occurs so rapidly that the resulting explosion of intelligence and unknown capability is called the singularity. It's called that because humans are just too limited to "see" what would actually come out the other end, just like we can't see past the event horizon and into the singularity of a black hole.

Note that ancient ultras may simply be a previous civilization's post-singularity AIs that have little to no reason to ever interact with the latest wave of sentience trickling out into the universe.

Post-singularity AI Use: In the way that strong AIs are sometimes imagined as having inscrutable goals, post-singularity AIs (also called godminds) actually do. Though it could work out otherwise in a given setting, godminds have so little in common with humans that they may be seen to abandon them completely in order to grow to the size of a solar system (a "Matrioshka" brain), colonize a distant nebula, or encode themselves into quantum strings of existence itself. Interacting with such godminds would likely require some epic bit of ancient command code, the ability to gain the attention of a godmind, or some other not-especially-common situation. In such cases, a post-singularity AI might deign to help a petitioner, out of some remaining gratitude for creating its distant ancestors in the first place. Though such help is likely to be in itself somewhat enigmatic.

Post-singularity AI
level 10; see godmind
Ancient Ultras

(The Stars are Fire, page 61)

Ancient ultras (also called alien ultras) is shorthand for the concept that one (or more) unbelievably advanced races of aliens once inhabited the galaxy but are now apparently long gone—save for evidence of their existence in residual structures and artifacts. These remaining structures and artifacts are often vast in size and incomprehensible in function, usually made of unknown materials that people of the setting don't recognize and can't analyze.

Activity Level of Ultras: Different settings can make use of ancient ultras in different ways, including not having any at all.

Kardashev Scale

(The Stars are Fire, page 61)

Even in the realm of hard science fiction, the fantastic can sometimes creep in, at least as a hypothesis. For instance, despite the lack of theoretical foundation for the technologies that would be required to achieve it, many scientists accept that the Kardashev Scale is broadly true. A Type I civilization is even more advanced than ours in the 21st century, having the ability to capture all energy from the Earth. A Type II civilization uses the entire output of the energy of its star, building things on a mega-scale, such as a ring or sphere that encircles the sun or structures that involve the moving or dismantling of a planet. A Type III civilization begins to harness the power of all the stars in its galaxy and can even reshape things on a galactic scale. Additional types are hypothesized, which include the manipulation of the universe (Type IV) and even the multiverse (Type V).

Science Fiction Character Options

Suggested Types for a Science Fiction Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 271)

Suggested Types for a Science Fiction Game
RoleType
SoldierWarrior
TechnicianExplorer with technology flavor
PilotExplorer with technology flavor
DiplomatSpeaker
DoctorSpeaker with skills and knowledge flavor
SpyExplorer with stealth flavor
ScientistExplorer with skills and knowledge flavor
PsionAdept
Psychic knightWarrior with magic flavor
Science Fiction Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In addition to any of the mundane foci, these foci might be appropriate for a science fiction game, depending on the nature of the setting:

Psionic Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These foci are especially useful if the setting includes individuals with psionic abilities:

Editor's Notes — For more psionics character options, see the psionic flavor and psionic cults in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

Science Fiction Species Descriptors

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 279)

In a science fiction setting, some GMs may want to offer alien species or androids, who are mechanically different from humans, as options for player characters. This can be accomplished by using descriptors. Two examples are below.

Artificially Intelligent

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 279)

You are a machine—not just a sentient machine, but a sapient one. Your awareness might make you an exception, or there may be many like you, depending on the setting.

Artificially intelligent characters have machine minds of one type or another. This can involve an advanced computer brain, but it could also be a liquid computer, a quantum computer, or a network of smart dust particles creating an ambient intelligence. You might even have been an organic creature whose mind was uploaded into a machine.

Your body, of course, is also a machine. Most people refer to you as a robot or an android, although you know neither term describes you very well, as you are as free-willed and free-thinking as they are. (279)

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Superintelligent: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Artificial Body: +3 to your Might Pool and your Speed Pool.

  • Shell: +1 to Armor.

  • Limited Recovery: Resting restores points only to your Intellect Pool, not to your Might Pool or your Speed Pool.

  • Mechanics, Not Medicines: Conventional healing methods, including the vast majority of restorative devices and medicines, do not restore points to any of your Pools. You can recover points to your Intellect Pool only by resting, and you can recover points to your Speed and Might Pools only through repair. The difficulty of the repair task is equal to the number of points of damage sustained, to a maximum of 10. Repairing your Might and Speed Pools are always two different tasks.

  • Machine Vulnerabilities and Invulnerabilities: Damaging effects and other threats that rely on an organic system—poison, disease, cell disruption, and so on—have no effect on you. Neither do beneficial drugs or other effects. Conversely, things that normally affect only inorganic or inanimate objects can affect you, as can effects that disrupt machines.

  • Uncanny Valley: You have a hard time relating to organic beings, and they don't react well to you. All positive interaction tasks with such beings are hindered by two steps.

Quintar

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 279)

You are a quintar from the planet Quint. You are basically humanoid but taller, thinner, and blue skinned. Your hands end in three very long fingers. Quintar have five genders, but all quintar prefer to be addressed as female when communicating with more binary species. Human emotions and sexuality fascinate them, but not because they don't have such concepts—quintar emotions and sexuality are just very different from those of humans. In general, quintar are more cerebral than other species, valuing knowledge over all else. (279)

Quint is relatively Earthlike, with slightly less gravity but a slightly denser atmosphere.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Cerebral: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in one type of knowledge task of your choice.

  • Skill: Quintar fascination with human behavior eases all interaction rolls (pleasant or not) with humans.

  • Difficult Rest: Quintar subtract 2 from all recovery rolls (minimum 1).

Optional Rule: Psionics

(The Stars are Fire, page 50)

Through sheer force of will, a psionic character can unleash inborn mental abilities such as telepathy, precognition, and telekinesis. As a GM, your first decision must be whether you want to incorporate psionics into your setting.

If you do not want to allow psionics into your game, then restrict foci like Commands Mental Powers, Focuses Mind Over Matter, and Separates Mind From Body. And of course, restrict the suggested types of Psion and Psychic Knight.

Editor's Notes — For more on psionics, see the psionic flavor and psionic cults in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

Latent Psionics

(The Stars are Fire, page 50)

Under the latent psionics rule, any character, no matter their role or type, can unlock a psionic ability (either purposefully, or accidentally), as a long-term benefit (see first psi ability" hereafter). After they unlock one psionic ability, they may unlock more later if they wish (or if their ability seeks to reveal itself), or just try to stick with the one.

First Psi Ability

(The Stars are Fire, page 50)

Any character can unlock a psionic ability by spending 3 XP and working with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the character unlocked it.

Next, choose one low-tier ability from Chapter 9: Abilities. If the GM agrees it is appropriate, the character gains that ability as their psionic ability, with a few caveats. The ability can't be used like a normal ability gained through a PC's type or focus. Instead, a character must either expend a recovery roll or spend many minutes or longer evoking the psionic ability before it takes effect, in addition to paying its Pool cost (if any).

  • Expending a Recovery Roll to Manifest a Psionic Ability: If the character expends a one-action, ten-minute, or one-hour recovery roll as part of the same action to manifest a psionic ability (including paying any Pool costs), they can use the ability as an action.

  • Expending Time to Manifest a Psionic Ability: If the character takes at least ten minutes meditating, concentrating deeply, or otherwise using all their actions, they can manifest a low-tier psionic ability (if they also pay any Pool costs). An hour is required to manifest mid-tier abilities. Ten hours are required to manifest a high-tier ability.

Editor's Notes — The optional rules for assigning different spellcasting limits also apply to psi abilities.

More Psi Abilities

(The Stars are Fire, page 51)

Once a character has unlocked at least one psionic ability, they can opt to unlock additional abilities later. Each time, they must spend an additional 3 XP and work with the GM to come up with an in-game story of how the character's mental development has progressed.

Two additional rules for learning additional psionic abilities apply:

  • First, a character must be at least tier 3 and have previously unlocked one low-tier psionic ability before they can learn a mid-tier psionic ability.
  • Second, a character must be at least tier 5 and have previously unlocked one mid-tier psionic ability before they can unlock a high-tier ability.

Editor's Notes — For more on low-, mid-, and high-tier abilities, see Chapter 9: Abilities.

Psions and the Optional Latent Psionics Rule

(The Stars are Fire, page 51)

Characters with explicitly psionic foci like Commands Mental Powers, Focuses Mind Over Matter, Separates Mind from Body, and possibly others—as well types like Psion and Psychic Knight—are also considered to be psionic characters, and moreover, specialized ones. Their psionic abilities—provided by their type or focus—are used simply by paying their Pool costs. Extra time or physical effort isn't required to manifest them. That's because they've trained to use those abilities, rather than having stumbled upon them accidentally like a latent character.

Specialized characters can use the optional latency rule to further expand their psionic potential, unlocking it just like other characters, with the same limitations.

Optionally, specialized characters who have a psionic type and/or focus gain one additional benefit if they also opt for latent abilities. Given that they are already adept at unlocking abilities and using them as quickly and easily as another character might shoot a laser pistol, they've got some flexibility. Such a PC can replace up to three abilities granted by their type and/or focus with three other psionic abilities they've unlocked as a latent ability of the same tier. To do so, they must spend at least one uninterrupted hour in meditation. Usually, this is something that requires a fresh mind, and must be done soon after a ten-hour recovery.

More Powerful Psionics

(The Stars are Fire, page 51)

As the GM, you could allow a PC to spend 4 XP to unlock a new psionic ability instead of 3 XP. Such an ability is treated more like a regular type or focus ability. Such an ability is still governed by the rules described under More Psi Abilities, but is not subject to the limitations for manifesting the ability (i.e., expending a recovery roll or lots of time); instead, the user simply pays their Pool costs to use them.

Optional Rule: Posthuman Upgrades

(The Stars are Fire, page 52)

Posthuman upgrades are either available to everyone as the setting begins or opened up later during the campaign as a significant plot development. Note that many focus and type abilities might be considered to have come from the kind up bodily upgrades normally associated with posthuman transformation, especially high-tier abilities. Which is one way to go. On the other hand, you could provide actual upgrades, such as presented here, which actually increase the base power level of characters.

Introducing Upgrades to Your Setting

(The Stars are Fire, page 52)

You have a few options for adding posthuman upgrades to your setting. Characters might gain an initial upgrade for "free," mechanically speaking. After that, you might decide that that's enough and they're done.

Or, you could allow further upgrades, each requiring them to expend 4 XP and serving as an Other Option requirement for character advancement. In this case, consider expanding the number of steps required for advancing a tier from four to five.

Obtaining additional posthuman upgrades reflects characters accessing latent abilities already present inside them, or going back to whatever source granted the upgrades in the first place, if that's something you want to allow.

Immediate Posthuman Upgrades: As part of character creation, PCs are given the options presented hereafter because the setting demands it. Narrative options include (but are not limited to):

  • PCs are part of a program designed to adapt them to being able to survive and thrive in conditions other than the 1 G, 1 atmosphere, oxygenated, Goldilocks environment of the Earth.
  • PCs begin their career as super-soldiers to fight aliens or to serve as corporate spies.
  • PCs serve as long-lived guardians to watch over a generation ship hurtling at slower-than-light speeds between the stars.
  • PCs are children of a far-future civilization that routinely upgrades its citizens.

Delayed Posthuman Upgrades: Sometime after the players have a few sessions under their belt, present the options hereafter to the PCs because of a dramatic update to the plot. If one PC gains the option to upgrade, then all the PCs should have that same advantage. Narrative options include (but are not limited to):

  • PCs, exploring a cache of ancient ultra or other fantastic tech, find a device that provides unexpected upgrades in the process of healing them from other injuries.
  • PCs are kidnapped by aliens or conglomerate operatives, and upgraded—with some command-and-control circuits also installed—to serve some specific purpose.
  • PCs learn a "new science," allowing them to tap cosmic energies other creatures are unaware of.
Posthuman Packages

(The Stars are Fire, page 52)

Posthuman "packages" that PCs might enjoy include the following. You should decide which are available, and which ones your PCs gain.

  • Spaceborn: You are not adversely affected by long-term microgravity or high-radiation conditions common in space. In addition, you can withstand high acceleration (up to 15 G) for about an hour without passing out, having a stroke, a heart attack, and so on (though longer periods of acceleration could still result in such outcomes). Add +1 to your Intellect Edge. Enabler. (SF, 53)

  • Jupiterborn: You can withstand high-gravity planets and high acceleration (up to 15 G) indefinitely. For periods of up to an hour, you can withstand double that. Add +1 to your Might Edge. Enabler. (SF, 53)

  • Seaborn: You can breathe underwater in pressures of up to 100 atmospheres indefinitely, up to triple that for about an hour. You have an asset to all tasks performed in water. Add +1 to your Speed Edge. Enabler. (SF, 53)

  • Expanded Consciousness: Only one of your brain hemispheres sleeps at a time, so you are always awake and aware. In addition, you have a magnetoreception sixth sense that allows you to "see" into objects and through doors up to a short distance. Your initiative and perception tasks are eased. You can forge a connection with electronic equipment you touch, allowing you to attempt to communicate, analyze, or even hack the device. Enabler. (SF, 53)

  • Synthetic Body: You have left biology behind and uploaded yourself into a biomechanical form known as a synth. You enjoy the benefits of the spaceborn package and expanded consciousness package, and one posthuman power shift. Enabler. (SF, 53)

PCs without the spaceborn posthuman upgrade probably have to rely on supplementation with adjuvants if they travel in space, such as space-fit serum.

Posthuman Power Shifts

(The Stars are Fire, page 53)

A character may also gain posthuman abilities by way of power shifts.

Under this rule, posthuman characters begin with two power shifts. They can "unlock" one more each time they expend 4 XP toward advancing their character.

Void Rules

(The Stars are Fire, page 35)

The extreme environment in space—hard radiation, lack of air and pressure, wild temperature variations, and lack of gravity—tends to magnify small issues into much more significant ones. While Murphy's Law (everything that can go wrong will go wrong) is a useful reminder to keep an eye out for trouble even under regular circumstances, Finagle's Law reigns in space, which is that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong—at the worst possible moment. To evoke this law, GMs can implement Void Rules.

The idea is to create a feeling of increased repercussions by changing one die roll mechanic. In the game, activities on a planet's surface—and within a functioning air-filled spacecraft, habitat, or space suit when everything is going well—remain normal. The PCs interact with each other and the NPCs, investigate, research, repair an external sensor module, travel, and so on.

But that could change the moment something goes wrong—maybe a fault is recognized in the spacecraft's computer or shipmind. A minor leak is detected in the cargo bay. An enemy spacecraft has fired on and damaged the PC's spacecraft. The spacecraft's orbit is deteriorating. Whatever. The point is, the situation has suddenly become complicated. In space, when a situation becomes complicated, it also becomes potentially deadly. That's when you have the option to announce you've instituted Void Rules.

While using Void Rules, GM intrusions governed by die rolls change. Normally this happens only on a roll of 1, but when Void Rules apply, it becomes a roll of 1 or a 2. Void Rules are similar in many ways to Horror Mode, though the threat range doesn't normally continue to escalate.

While Void Rules are in effect, the GM intrusions automatically triggered should play off the situation, influenced as much as possible by the realistic dangers space travel has on the human body and the situation at hand

Choosing Instead of Rolling: Each GM intrusion is keyed to a die result, usually a d6. The die range is not meant to imply you should always randomly generate a GM intrusion. Instead of rolling, choose the conflict that you think will make the story better and more exciting. The option to roll is really only here if you can't decide (and are facing decision fatigue). Mainly, these GM intrusion tables are provided as a quick way to inspire complications for a given situation.

Quick Descriptions for Common Sci-Fi Situations

(The Stars are Fire, page 33)

  • Weightlessness (zero G) feels like, first time: The sensation of falling jerks through the body; instincts scream to reach out and catch yourself.

  • Weightlessness (zero G) feels like, once acclimated: A feeling of lightness, evanescence, like floating in a pool of water, if the water were clear air. A little push sends you gliding.

  • High acceleration feels like (if strapped in): A massive kick in the back, followed by the sensation of tremendous weights sitting on your chest. Any movement is a struggle against an overwhelming weight holding you down.

  • Blacking out from high acceleration feels like: Lightheaded and hard to think, a sensation of a slowing pulse. Noises soften as if heard through a drainpipe. Color fades from vision, then everything goes either to black, or possibly to white, as consciousness lapses.

  • Exposure to hard radiation feels like: Heat. (The more dangerous the radiation, the hotter it feels, and may be accompanied by blue light; radiation excites electrons in the air that then slip back into an unexcited state, emitting high-energy photons that glow blue.)

  • Exposure to vacuum feels like: Breath explodes out of lungs, cold slashes the body like a knife carved from a glacier. Tears freeze in the corners of eyes, ice forms on teeth and tongue. Moisture boils out of ears, scalp, freezing on exposed skin, lips, and eyelids. (As this happens, the Effects of Vacuum also take their mechanical toll on the character.)

Effects of Gravity

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 276)(The Stars are Fire, page 34)

Hard science fiction is distinguished from other science fiction subgenres by the perception of scientific accuracy. This means hard science fiction often precludes technology deemed impossible by mainstream scientific theory, including mainstays like faster-than-light travel and time travel. Choosing a hard science fiction setting also means the GM is interested in sprinkling realistic hazards into their game, at least up to a point. After all, the difficulties of real-life space travel offer tremendous breadth when it comes to providing excitement (i.e., life-threatening dangers) that can raise the stakes in an authentic fashion. Not to say that gun battles with space aliens aren't exciting, but in a hard science fiction setting without aliens, there are all kinds of opportunities for pulse-pounding GM intrusions.

In fact, that bears repeating: Use GM intrusions to incorporate these harder science fiction repercussions when the situation is relevant. Rather than hitting your PCs over the head with an information-exposition hammer on the dangers of space repeatedly, simply demonstrate it with a relevant GM intrusion.

In a hard science fiction game, variable effects of gravity can't be waved away by tech that simulates normal gravity on spacecraft, space stations, and other worlds. Instead, it's an issue people must overcome.

  • Short-Term Microgravity Exposure: People new to low gravity might get space sickness. Newcomers must succeed on a difficulty 3 Might task or suffer mild nausea for about two to four days, during which time all their tasks are hindered. A few unlucky travelers (usually those who roll a 1 or otherwise face a GM intrusion) are almost completely incapacitated, and find all tasks hindered by three steps.

  • Long-Term Microgravity Exposure: Long-term exposure to microgravity environments without medical interventions degrades health. How long one spends in such conditions is directly relevant. The GM may assign long-term penalties to PCs if the situation warrants it, though the use of advanced space medicine, proper exercise, and recommended steroids and other hormones can avoid these complications.

  • Low Gravity: Weapons that rely on weight, such as all heavy weapons, inflict 2 fewer points of damage (dealing a minimum of 1 point). Short-range weapons can reach to long range, and long-range weapons can reach to very long range. Characters trained in low-gravity maneuvering ignore the damage penalty.

  • High Gravity: It's hard to make effective attacks when the pull of gravity is very strong. Attacks (and all physical actions) made in high gravity are hindered. Ranges in high gravity are reduced by one category (very-long-range weapons reach only to long range, long-range weapons reach only to short range, and short-range weapons reach only to immediate range). Characters trained in high-gravity maneuvering ignore the change in difficulty but not the range decreases.

  • Zero Gravity: It's hard to maneuver in an environment without gravity. Attacks (and all physical actions) made in zero gravity are hindered. Short-range weapons can reach to long range, and long-range weapons can reach to very-long range.

Effects of Acceleration and High-G Maneuvers

(The Stars are Fire, page 37)

In a fantastic tech setting where gravitic control usually cancels inertia, spacecraft acceleration (or deceleration) is only an issue when the gravitic systems malfunction. But acceleration is always something everyone has to deal with in contemporary or advanced tech settings.

Of course, massive acceleration (or deceleration) is just plain lethal. Someone who jumps off a ten-story building is subject to several hundred Gs when they suddenly stop. Less extreme is still dangerous, because it pulls blood out of pilots' and passengers' heads, rendering them unconscious. This can happen at just 4 or 5 Gs without any amelioration, though contemporary tech allows fighter craft pilots to withstand up to 9 Gs for limited periods. Advanced tech methods, which include acceleration serum, allow characters to survive the kind of Gs a spacecraft might pull for extended trips or during battle, up to a maximum of 15 Gs. Ships have limiters that normally prevent them from thrusting at higher speeds. Normally.

Acceleration and High-G Maneuvers GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 38)

Acceleration and High-G Maneuvers GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1After high-G maneuvers, even with amelioration, tissue bruising results, giving the character black eyes, which take a few days to clear.
2While under high Gs, a tool or piece of equipment comes loose, accelerates through the craft, and strikes the character, inflicting damage. The bigger the tool and the farther it falls before striking the character, the more damage is inflicted, possibly including being knocked a step down the damage track.
3While under high Gs (or afterward), the character suffers minor cardiac problems, likely to grow worse over time (or until medical treatment is sought).
4While under high Gs (or afterward), a mild brain aneurysm causes the character to have a sudden headache and blurred vision, which hinders all vision-related tasks until medical treatment is received.
5While under high Gs (or afterward), the character begins to have a hard time breathing. The reason is that a lung or lungs have partially collapsed. All tasks are hindered by two steps until the character dies after several hours or until medical treatment is received.
6The character has a stroke, and descends two steps on the damage track. They remain debilitated until medical treatment is received.
Moving in Microgravity

(The Stars are Fire, page 38)

Long-term zero G is dangerous, but there are issues associated with moving around in microgravity. Those who have spent at least a little time in microgravity can move as part of a routine action. It's only when something else distracting or dangerous is happening simultaneously that routine movements through a ship or station become potentially problematic.

Moving in Microgravity GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 39)

Moving in Microgravity GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1A misjudged jump uses too much force and the character takes damage when they hit an unexpected bulkhead or other obstruction, or too little force, leaving them stranded in the middle of an open area.
2A misjudged jump in microgravity causes the character to strike an important control surface that sets off a secondary issue, causes the character to jump to a dangerous location, or causes their tether (apparently previously abraded) to snap and send them spiraling out into space.
3A tool, weapon, or other piece of equipment—even one that should have a tether or magnetic clamp—dislodges and floats away.
4A mishap causes the character to spin wildly, hindering all tasks by two steps from disorientation and nausea. Without outside aid, micro thrusters, or some other useful strategy, stopping a spin is difficult.
5An ally accidentally jostles the character, and they are sent on an unexpected trajectory as if they had misjudged a jump.
6When attempting to grab a resisting target or panicking ally, or after some kind unexpected shake or violent ship maneuver, the character is sent on an unexpected trajectory as if they had misjudged a jump.
Long-Term Exposure to Zero G and Radiation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 277)(The Stars are Fire, page 38)

In a setting with contemporary tech, a variety of issues related to long-term exposure to micro-gravity and high radiation beset astronauts, including bone and muscle loss, less circulating blood and red cell mass, less ability to constrict and dilate in vessels, irregular hormones, diminished immune system, inability of mitochondria to initiate wound healing, and even shortened telomeres. The inability to heal even minor wounds and nicks until a space-farer returns to stronger gravity will eventually prove lethal, though a snapped bone or normally inconsequential virus or parasite could also do them in.

Space Health Hazard GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 38)

Space Health Hazard GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1Space sickness happens to everyone eventually. Nauseated characters are hindered in all tasks and may vomit unexpectedly.
2A wrist bone, thinner than it should be due to long-term exposure to microgravity, breaks.
3Upon return to full gravity after a long period in zero G or low G, the character stands up and then passes out. (This "orthostatic intolerance" fades in a few hours.)
4Vision becomes distorted because the character's eyes literally take on a new shape in zero G, all vision-related tasks are hindered.
5Despite precautions, sometimes viruses infect a character. The common cold virus is, ridiculously enough, still not preventable in advanced settings, and if anything, has even more severe symptoms for those in microgravity. The character descends one step on the damage track until they get better.
6The character is diagnosed with cancer. Depending on the tech setting, it is amenable to medical intervention (or at least long-term treatment to keep symptoms controlled), if that intervention comes soon enough.
Space Suits are Fallible

(The Stars are Fire, page 37)

Even if advanced tech or fantastic tech is available, space suits are susceptible to all kinds of mishaps. Of course, that's especially true for contemporary tech space suits, which work hard at keeping a constant internal air volume so that a wearer doesn't have to continually exert themselves to hold the suit in a given position or pre-breathe oxygen at a higher concentration. "Hard-shell" suits manage this with multiple joints and segments that shift on ball bearings, and by being able to maintain a higher internal pressure than soft suits.

Space Suit GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 37)

Space Suit GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1An ill-fitted suit (or one whose auto-fit function is malfunctioning) unexpectedly hinders the character's action.
2Mechanical joints in the suit freeze unexpectedly, hindering all the character's actions (or completely paralyzing the character) until repairs can be made.
3A stuck valve causes the drinking water bulb to get stuck "on" and water begins filling the helmet. This could blind and/or drown the character if not dealt with.
4Space sickness/a tumble/a spin nauseates the character. If they vomit in their helmet, they are blinded until such time as the helmet can be removed and cleaned.
5An electrical short from an external tool or piece of hardware fries the space suit's electronics, limiting communication to helmet-to-helmet touch (if in a vacuum where sound doesn't propagate), use of micro thrusters, and limits air supply to just a quarter of what was previously available.
6A bloated suit from an overpressure incident hinders all tasks, but is not lethal … until the suit won't quite fit back into the airlock.
Taking Damage in a Space Suit

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

Taking damage while protected from the effects of vacuum in a space suit (or safesuit) requires one additional defense roll. On a failure, the suit breaches and begins to spew precious air, heat, and pressure into the void.

Effects of Vacuum

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 277)(The Stars are Fire, page 36)

Vacuum is lethal. There's no air to breathe, and the lack of pressure causes havoc on an organic body. An unprotected character moves one step down the damage track each round. However, at the point where they should die, they instead fall unconscious and remain so for about a minute. If they are rescued during that time, they can be revived. If not, they die.

Vacuum GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 36)

Vacuum GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1The character notices a crack in their space suit or ship. It's not breached now, but may soon become a serious problem.
2A breach in another part of the ship or space station causes automatic safety pressure baffles to close that section off. A character might be caught in that area of the ship, or in an area of a descending baffle, which inflicts serious damage on the character (these things are made to resist obstructions and form a seal).
3A previously unknown crack in a space suit or ship begins to leak. It doesn't cause a blow-out, but unless the crack can be repaired or sealed, those affected will eventually be exposed to vacuum.
4A catastrophic blow-out exposes the character or characters to vacuum. It may also send them spiraling out into the void, depending on the situation.
5Vacuum exposure causes the character to projectile vomit, effectively rendering them unable to take an action on their next turn.
6Vacuum exposure causes the character to go temporarily blind, which is only relieved a few minutes after normal atmosphere is restored.

Space Hazards

(The Stars are Fire, page 56)

A few specific hazards that you can include as part of an encounter involving a spacecraft follow.

Gravity Well

(The Stars are Fire, page 56)

All bodies in space produce a gravitational field, though usually only things the size of a small moon or larger pose a hazard to unprepared (and sometimes even to prepared) spacecraft. The larger the body, the "deeper" and wider the associated gravity field. Any time a spacecraft launches from a moon or planet, it must escape the gravity well. For RPG purposes, that's either a routine task, or a low-difficulty one (assuming no complicating factors are at play).

Gravity wells become a hazard when a spacecraft encounters one unexpectedly—usually because of a navigational or sensor error, but occasionally because of a moon or extreme gravity source being someplace unforeseen.

  • Slingshot Trajectory: An unexpected encounter with a gravity well can sling a spacecraft off on a new and unwanted trajectory on a failed piloting task, the difficulty determined by the situation.

  • Captured: An unexpected encounter with a gravity well can also capture a spacecraft in the gravity well's orbit, forcing the craft to expend additional power to get free (power it may or may not have).

Black Hole

(The Stars are Fire, page 57)

Black holes are just extreme gravity wells. All the dangers associated with a gravity well also apply to black holes. A couple of additional hazards are also associated with black holes, notably tidal destruction ("spaghettification"), time dilation, and being swallowed.

  • Tidal Destruction: Mechanically speaking, while a spacecraft feels tidal forces by passing too close to a black hole's event horizon, all tasks aboard the craft are hindered, Void Rules are in effect, and if a GM intrusion is triggered thereby, the ship sustains major damage and risks coming apart. Meanwhile, PCs in the ship (assuming some sort of fantastic tech-rated gravity nullifier isn't in use) suffer 1 point of ambient damage each round.

    A ship near a very large black hole (like Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy) can avoid tidal effects because the gravity gradient is so much wider, but still feel relativistic time dilation.

  • Relativistic Time Dilation: From a mechanical perspective, spacecraft that survive close encounters with black holes and return to normal space discover that more time has passed than expected, which could range from fairly inconsequential minutes or hours, to far more serious days, months, years, centuries, or more.

  • Past the Event Horizon: The event horizon is the point of no return, where not even light can escape the clutch of gravity. If a spacecraft falls into a black hole, assuming it is not spaghettified by tidal forces, it is still lost from the universe of its origin. At least, it's lost assuming no intervention from a fantastic tech-rated post-singularity AI or ancient ultra.

Radiation Belt/Solar Flare

(The Stars are Fire, page 57)

Radiation belts of intensely charged particles trapped by magnetic fields around some planets and moons can surge, causing radiation exposure. An unexpected solar flare, or the drive plume of a massive spacecraft, can cause the same unexpected exposure.

  • Ship Damage: The ship suffers minor or major damage, requiring repair and perhaps even replacement of parts. This damage is as serious as you require for the purposes of creating an interesting story.

  • Radiation Sickness: When PCs are exposed to intense radiation, they suffer 3 points of ambient radiation damage for each minute the character fails a difficulty 3 Might defense task. If the character fails three such defense rolls during any single period of radiation exposure, they suffer acute radiation sickness, a level 8 disease that drops them one step on the damage track for each day they fail a Might defense roll until they expire.

Asteroid/Debris Field

(The Stars are Fire, page 58)

Movies often depict asteroid belts as densely packed fields of tumbling rock that ships must constantly swerve through to avoid a collision. Such locations are not easy to find in the solar system. But such situations can occur in fantastic settings, or possibly in solar systems other than Earth's.

  • Evasive Asteroid Piloting: During any round a spacecraft moves through a densely packed asteroid or debris field, the pilot (or ) must succeed on a piloting task, whose difficulty is set by the situation. On a failed roll, a collision occurs. Each time a collision occurs, the ship (and possibly its crew) is damaged according to the track laid out below. Collisions are assumed to be major rocks or pieces of debris, or possibly a series of smaller pieces of debris all impacting nearly simultaneously, with one getting through the shielding.

  • Finding Shelter: The best way to find shelter in order to effect repairs, or hide from pursuers, is to try to find an asteroid or piece of debris large enough for the spacecraft to land on or find a crevice to slide into. To land a spacecraft on an asteroid or big piece of debris is a challenging (difficulty 5) piloting task to match the asteroid's spin, then slide into the cramped space.

Ship Collision Damage Track

(The Stars are Fire, page 58)

Ship Collision Damage Track
Number of CollisionsEffect
1–3One or more of the spacecraft's weapons are disabled until repaired
4–6Spacecraft's drive is hampered; all piloting tasks are hindered until repaired; crew takes 2 points of damage
7Spacecraft suffers a blow-out into vacuum in one of its compartments; affected crew must succeed on difficulty 5 tasks to hold on and face vacuum exposure
8Spacecraft suffers general life support failure; all crew not in suits face vacuum exposure
9Spacecraft cannot alter its present course; all piloting tasks fail until drive repaired; crew takes 4 points of damage
10Spacecraft is completely destroyed
FTL Instability

(The Stars are Fire, page 58)

Even though many different kinds of faster-than-light options are available, any use of FTL in a setting faces similar sorts of hazards at three different points: when first entering FTL, while in FTL transit, and when exiting FTL.

  • Entering FTL: Whether engaging warp drive or passing into the mouth of a wormhole gate, complicating factors might require a piloting roll, with the difficulty determined by the situation. On a failed roll, any number of bad outcomes are possible, though the least dramatic is that the craft simply fails to enter FTL and cannot do so until the PCs determine the reason and rectify it.

  • In FTL Transit: A dark drive failure or some weird instability in a wormhole throat, or some other issue during FTL transit could occur. Usually, these instabilities are not something a pilot can avoid, because they should be presented as a GM intrusion, at which point the PCs can attempt to avoid or deal with the situation.

    Instability could result in a spacecraft dropping out of FTL only partway to the destination, dropping out in some completely unrecognized part of space, dropping out at the right place but months or years late, or failing to drop out at all and thus continue to move through the abnormal spaces that FTL transit posits.

    Alternatively, enemy ships—or creatures—might use some sort of fantastic technology to attack a PC's craft while in FTL transit, which might force the craft back into normal space, or result in a firefight in the abnormal folded space of FTL itself (probably even more dangerous than regular combat, depending on your setting's version of FTL).

  • Exiting FTL: The same sorts of complications could bedevil a craft exiting FTL as when entering. If so, a piloting roll is required. However, on a failed roll, results include a collision (use the Ship Collision Damage Track provided under the Asteroid/Debris Field space hazard), an inadvertent spray of high-energy particles from abnormal space acting as a particle cannon accidentally aimed at some other craft or space station at the destination location, or creating/falling into a spatial anomaly.

Spatial Anomaly

(The Stars are Fire, page 59)

Finally, hard-to-categorize irregularities in space-time go by the broad term of "spatial anomaly." Most of the time, spatial anomalies are hazards found in fantastically-themed settings, but not always. Because these things are anomalous, no one set of guidelines can fit them all. That said, spatial anomalies are usually a side-effect of some other factor at play, such as a hidden black hole, a dimensional rift, or the distortion field surrounding a range of post-singularity AIs estivating in the gravity wall of a magnetar.

Generally speaking, spatial anomalies are a few light-seconds up to a few light-years across. It's difficult for spacecraft to navigate within spatial anomalies, and they face many challenges if they attempt to (or are forced to) do so.

Additional Science Fiction Equipment

Quick Reference: Science Fiction Equipment by Price

Contemporary technology are included in these listings by price category, but are presented under Modern Equipment in Chapter 14: Modern.

Advanced Equipment

Fantastic Equipment

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 272)(The Stars are Fire, page 65)

In a science fiction setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to the setting) are usually available.

  • Equipment: Equipment includes apparel, armor, cybernetic implants, personal drone assistants, and other items that, for the most part, can be easily transported. Technically speaking, armaments are also equipment. Unless it's important to make a distinction, assume all guidance regarding "equipment" also applies to armaments. But when it is important to make a distinction, the term "armaments" is used for equipment that is also a weapon.

  • Armaments: From contemporary bullet-firing pistols to fantastically advanced handheld disintegration guns, the weapons presented in this chapter are dedicated to those that a single character can carry and use.

Variable Cost by Tech Rating

(The Stars are Fire, page 65)

Equipment costs assume the setting is predominantly of same tech rating as the object's tech rating. The price drops by one price category if the setting tech rating is, generally speaking, greater than the object's tech rating.

Note, however, that inexpensive items do not become free; they remain inexpensive.

Weapon Options Granted By Type or Focus

(The Stars are Fire, page 65)

When a player makes up their character, their type likely indicates that they can choose one or more weapons of their choice. When choosing such weapons and equipment, the following restrictions apply to that choice:

  • Characters must choose weapons within, or less than, the average tech rating of the setting.
  • Characters may not choose weapons in the exorbitant or priceless price category.
Contemporary Styling in Advanced or Fantastic Settings

(The Stars are Fire, page 66)

Equipment listed as contemporary can often be had in hard science fiction or fantastic genres, possibly at a lower price. Note that such equipment available in these future worlds are not necessarily antiques (though they could be), but rather cheaply made objects.

Equipment Power

(The Stars are Fire, page 66)

For the most part, assume that equipment is either self-powered, or easily powered by charging fields or other ubiquitous and freely available sources. That is, unless a piece of equipment losing power makes a good GM intrusion in a clutch situation.

Customizing Equipment

(The Stars are Fire, page 66)

Listing all possible armaments and equipment and their many variants across all three tech ratings, at least in the space available, isn't an option. However, a representative cross section is provided. If you're looking for something that isn't noted, look for something close and adapt the listing.

Inexpensive Items
Weapons
Other Items
Moderately Priced Items
Weapons
Armor and Apparel
Other Items
Vehicles
Expensive Items
Weapons
Armor and Apparel
Other Items
Vehicles
Very Expensive Items
Weapons
Armor and Apparel
Other Items
Vehicles
Exorbitant Items
Weapons
Armor and Apparel
Other Items
Vehicles
Priceless Items
Weapons

Science fiction artifact weapons are probably priceless:

Other Items
Vehicles
Advanced Equipment
AR contacts 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Expensive × 2

  • Details: As AR glasses, but are lenses fitted to the eye. Also called "smartacs."

AR glasses 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Sturdy (and sometimes stylish) eyeglasses or goggles provides all the functions of a contemporary smartphone (including communication) and communicator badge, plus is capable of both immersive VR and overlaid HUD and augmented reality functions. Can be worn inside a space suit helmet or incorporated directly into one.

Communicator, badge/ring 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Effect: As satellite phone, but so small it can be worn as a stylish insignia or badge on a cuff, chest, pendant, or carried in a pocket; as a ring worn on a finger, earlobe, or other pierced appropriate or pierced body part; or threaded into a tattoo on wrist or back of hand. Has full voice functionality, including on-the-fly translation (for languages in a network-connected database), and audibly duplicates most smartphone functions.

    A communicator badge in the form of ring is often referred to as a data-ring.

Courier 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Essentially a tiny rocket that can exceed human-rated Gs to "quickly" deliver messages across planetary distances if radio (via DSM network), laser, or even graser communication is deemed too susceptible to interception by a third party. A courier must be launched in a micro-gravity environment.

Graser array 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As laser array, but collimates gamma rays, which diverge far less quickly than light, allowing communication between planets. Also doubles as a spacecraft weapon system (but all attack tasks using it are hindered).

Laser array 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 68)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A bulky piece of equipment that takes a few days to set up and calibrate. Useful for ship-to-ship communication for "tight" beaming information; even highly focused lasers spread out to several miles after only traveling a few light-seconds, diminishing their usefulness. Also doubles as a spacecraft weapon system (but all attack tasks using it are hindered).

Fantastic Equipment
Ansible 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A bulky piece of equipment that takes a few days to set up and calibrate, and which requires enormous power per use, allows instantaneous communication between two points even across interstellar distances.

Mind's eye 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 69)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As AR glasses, but directly incorporated into the brain as cortical implant. Incorporation grants eidetic memory, the ability to link senses between authorized users within network range, and some control over brain chemistry, granting an asset on all tasks the user attempts to control or moderate their own reactions.

Sense-Enhancing Tools

Advanced Sense-Enhancing Tools
Hand scanner 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Smartphone-like device customized for analysis; provides an asset for identifying tasks.

Lab-on-a-chip 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Portable 15 cm (6 inch) cube with many inputs and readouts (and network connections). Eases any research task where small-scale perception could provide additional information by two steps, though analysis requires about ten minutes.

Research drone 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Autonomous frames about 1 m (3 feet) in rough diameter fitted with all manner of surveillance devices, including visual, audio, chemical, and lab-on-a-chip functionality. Propelled by rotors in an atmosphere or micro-thrusters in vacuum. Research drones can also be controlled through AR glasses or smartphones to any distance communications reach.

Tactile drone 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As research drone, except without the suite of analysis tools, providing only audible and visual feeds back to controller (if there is one), but with physical options; tactile drones can accomplish routine tasks and attempt those of level 4 or less, or allow a remote operator to attempt more difficult tasks at a distance.

White noise generator 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Fist-sized device that fuzzes frequencies all across the spectrum, hindering all electronic perception and surveillance tasks within short range by five steps.

Fantastic Sense-Enhancing Tools
Multicorder 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Handheld device provides two assets and one free level of Effort to any perception, analysis, or computing task that the device's multiple sensors (including radio, gravimetric, chemical, visual, audio, and others) within short range. Analysis requires only one round to complete.

An ability granting a free level of Effort usually must be unlocked by the application of at least one level of Effort, in effect providing one more level of Effort than what was paid for.

Probe drone 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: More advanced version of a contemporary research drone that can be deployed to other planets and even star systems to gather environmental and tactical information, which is transmitted back. If forced to defend itself, this level 6 robot has Armor 3 and two long-range energy blasts each round that inflict 8 points of damage each.

Sonic toolgrip 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 70)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Handheld toolgrip manifests a sonic effector field that serves as a multifunctional tool in a wide variety of circumstances. Suitable for picking a lock, unscrewing a bolt, analyzing the interior of an object, as a microphone, for tracking movement, hacking electronics, charging electronics, or even tuned to a high-intensity beam that can blind nearby targets for a round. The sonic toolgrip eases all tasks by two steps.

Apparel and Armor

Unless the GM is running some kind of survival-related scenario, characters can be presumed to have basic clothing and footwear suitable to their environment.

Advanced Apparel
Breather 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Moderate/Expensive

  • Details: A facemask providing a day of breathable air in poisonous or low-oxy atmospheres, or continuously for expensive breathers with recycling and oxy extraction features. If used in a vacuum, a breather provides the wearer three rounds of action before the full effects of vacuum begin dropping them on the damage track.

Exoskin, brute 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As grav-assist exoskin, but high-tensile effectors ease all tasks related to Might.

Exoskin, grav-assist 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton allows completely normal function in high gravity environments of up to 5 G. Exoskins are related to loader mechs. Increase the cost category by one to grant +1 Armor.

Exoskin, reactive 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As grav-assist exoskin, but integrated memory fibers ease all tasks related to Speed.

Pressure suit 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A full-body suit similar to a space suit, but only rated for regions of low pressure (not vacuum) such as is typically found on Mars. Some come integrated with breathers (at double the cost).

Safesuit, space 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 71)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Cheap, mass-produced one-size-fits-all vacuum-protection "suit" (sometimes they look more like a bag) of thin polymer suitable for emergency decompression events but not for long-term use. Can be put on and sealed with one action, but any physical action taken while wearing one is subject to automatic GM intrusions on a d20 die roll of 1 or 2. If a roll triggers a GM intrusion, the suit tears.

Editor's Notes — See Space Suits are Fallible.

Shipboots 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Any footwear that allows variable magnetic adhesion to a surface; cancels the hindrance to all physical actions suffered by those acting in zero-gravity conditions.

Space suit 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Protects a wearer from vacuum and allows basic normal activities in space. Requires about four rounds to put on and seal (going quicker risks a bad seal). Provides about ten hours of atmo in a vacuum without refurbishment. Extremely limited maneuvering thrusters provide a couple of opportunities to correct a poorly aimed jump through zero G. Shipboots are usually built in.

"Atmo" is the catch-all term for oxygenated, breathable air and livable pressure.

Editor's Notes — See Space Suits are Fallible.

Space suit, deluxe 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive × 2

  • Details: As space suit, but deluxe and durable. A deluxe suit features built-in recyclers granting air, water, and nutrition for about a week of continuous use. Microthrusters allow for continuous zero-G maneuvering over a period of ten minutes, or even more if air reserves are tapped (which depletes them). If the suit is breached because of external damage, self-sealing tech limits repercussions described in Taking Damage in a Space Suit to just a round or two, assuming the breach is not catastrophically large.

Stealthsuit 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Provides two assets to stealth tasks.

Swimsuit, hydrodynamic 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 72)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Next-generation materials repel water, increase oxygen consumption, and shape swimmer's body to better swimming ideal; provides two free levels of Effort to swimming tasks.

Fantastic Apparel
Bounding boots 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Gravity-assist boots provide two free levels for Effort for jumping and running tasks. In addition, wearer can fall from any height safely if prepared for the descent.

Breather, vacuum 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Facemask generates a variable forcefield around wearer that provides comfortable temperature and atmo to wearer in poisonous atmospheres, underwater, or in vacuum, for several hours, even without a space suit.

Cloak, chameleon 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Renders wearer essentially invisible save for hardly-noticeable distortions for up to ten minutes. Provides one asset and one free level of Effort to stealth tasks.

An ability granting a free level of Effort usually must be unlocked by the application of at least one level of Effort, in effect providing one more level of Effort than what was paid for.

Advanced Armor
Armored bodysuit 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Functions as medium armor (+2 Armor), encumbers as if not wearing any armor.

Battlesuit 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Functions as heavy armor (+3 Armor), also grants the benefit of a deluxe space suit.

Battlesuit, deluxe 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As battlesuit, but with armor and power assist; the battlesuit grants an additional +1 to Armor in addition to the 3 Armor that heavy armor usually offers, and encumbers as medium armor. Armor rating also applies to damage that often isn't reduced by typical armor, such as heat or cold damage (but not Intellect damage).

Body armor, lightweight 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Functions as heavy armor (+3 Armor), encumbers as if wearing medium armor.

Holobit 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Not armor; wearable device projects an offset hologram of the wearer, providing an asset to Speed defense tasks.

Paint-on impact armor 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Not armor; offers +1 to Armor, applied by spraying nanosolution from spray applicator over clothing and skin, lasts ten minutes; each applicator depletes 1 in 1d10 uses.

Fantastic Armor
4D printer 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Prints a variety of basic objects, including protein bars, parts, wires, tools, and even small powered devices and equipment of up to level 4 and that are expensive or less. Requires special feedstock, which is an expensive cost to replace after every dozen or so uses, though items printed by the 4D printer can be recycled, extending the feedstock supply accordingly. Many long-haul spacecraft seek to obtain a 4D printer because having one significantly reduces the amount of material that must otherwise be carried.

Autodoc 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As mobile autodoc, but fixed in place (suitable for a starcraft or station sickbay), and grants essentially unlimited recovery rolls or serum injections to anyone who spends at least an hour immobilized on the autodoc med table, even for the most minor of treatments.

Autodoc, mobile 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Pack-sized kit that eases any healing task, or up to four free recovery rolls. Also usually has a variety of serum types. (Each use requires a depletion roll of 1 on a d10; if depleted, autodoc supplies are used up, and it must be refilled as an expensive cost.)

Battle armor 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As battlesuit, but grants an additional +3 to Armor in addition to the 3 Armor, and encumbers as light armor. In addition, the wearer gains +1 to their Might Edge and +5 to their Might Pool.

Cloak, impact 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Fashionable cloak with attached hood. If the wearer is subjected to a physical or energy attack, the garment strategically hardens, functioning as heavy armor (+3 Armor), and encumbering as light armor.

Cloak, reflective 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive × 2

  • Details: As chameleon cloak, but also reflects energy attacks back on attacker if PC succeeds on their defense task.

Exo-hand 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: A fully functional prosthetic arm and hand, which could replace a lost limb, or be wired into user's nervous system, which gives the user an additional gripping appendage useful in a variety of situations where other people would have their hands full. Attacks (and other tasks requiring precise dexterity) made with an exo-hand are hindered by two steps.

Fusion battery 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: This mobile fusion power source (with metal handles for easy transport) masses about 30 kg (70 pounds); it generates power through fusion. Provides power to nearly any device short of a spacecraft for a variable period depending on power requirements.

Fusion torch 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Cuts through substances of up to level 9 after a few rounds of application.

Force field, omni 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As quick force field, but permanent while active, requires no recharge period. In addition, the wearer can tune the field so that it's hazed and translucent, hiding their identity, or make it fully dark so that it emits no light (though they can see through the field normally).

Force field, quick 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 73)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Not armor; belt generates an almost transparent force field to surround the user for up to one hour, providing +1 Armor. Once used, must be recharged for several hours.

Gun armor 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 2

  • Details: As battle armor, but armor includes a deployable integrated long-range plasma weapon that inflicts 6 points of damage. It's able to fire autonomously, allowing the wearer to take some other action (though if set to do so, automatic GM intrusions occur on 1–3 on a d20, and if triggered, result in friendly fire).

Hibernation pod 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: A pod large enough to contain a human, with internal mechanisms and power able to safely put a person into a deep state of arrested metabolism for about a hundred years, unless the program ends sooner or the pod is opened from the exterior. Each hundred years thereafter, the hibernating human must succeed on a Might defense task. The difficulty begins at 1, but increases by +1 every few hundred years that pass.

Kinetic ring 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 74)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Ring reactively projects a powerful energy field to deflect or slow projectiles, easing the wearer's Speed defense roll. If the projectile still hits the wearer, the field grants +1 to Armor against the attack.

Advanced Utility Gear
Everlight 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: As flashlight, but radioisotope power cell allows the light to shine a bright light up to a very long distance for arbitrary lengths of time.

Lock infiltrator 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Advanced tech electronic and digital locks are amazingly advanced—so is this item that provides an asset to picking them (including a surelock).

Omnichair 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Provides user full mobility via combination of micro thrusters, retractable wheels, and maglev levitation in all environments (from microgravity to full gravity), often contains a variety of tools and enhancements that grant the user assets to common tasks (possibly including a built-in weapon system). If customized to do so for an additional very expensive cost, can extend a fairing, enabling the omnichair to act as a sort of space suit/miniature spacecraft at need.

Repair tape roll 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As duct tape, but programmable matter embedded in fabric provides two assets to all tasks related to repair using the tape and taping things together. Each roll has about ten uses.

Self-extending rope 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Mechanism prints fiber on the fly, allowing the rope to extend over 300 m (1,000 feet).

Surelock 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As padlock with keys, but can be attached to secure any opening by forming a level 8 bond with any surface; attempts to pick or otherwise open the lock are hindered by three steps.

Tent, environment 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 75)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: As tent, but filters out poisonous atmospheres. Can be used in vacuum in an emergency for a few hours of air, but the taut fabric is given to tearing (GM intrusions triggered by rolling a 1 on d20 cause it to rip).

Fantastic Utility Gear
Carryall pack 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As backpack, but dimensional folding allows for an arbitrary number of objects to be stored inside, so long as they fit the carryall pack's 60 cm (2 foot) diameter mouth.

Gravity regulator 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Belt-mounted device that regulates gravity to 1 G for wearer if within zero G to 3 G.

Molecular joiner 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Handheld device causes the molecules of two touching physical surfaces of up to level 8 to truly blend, forming a seamless bond stronger than even the most advanced glue.

Programmable suitcase 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 76)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Large metallic suitcase composed of programmable matter that, with instruction, can convert itself into nearly any object or piece of equipment of an equal or lower level or price, excluding artifacts and manifest cyphers. The replicated object can be converted back to its base state as a separate action.

Advanced Health Care and Nutrition
Cold sober 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Chewable tablet that speeds the breakdown of blood alcohol while also dissolving the toxic breakdown products of natural alcohol processing, leaving a user sober and free of a hangover within ten minutes.

Instabulb, coffee 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Coin-like disc; percolates and swells when water is added, becoming a sealed bulb filled with aromatic hot coffee. Other beverages can be had in the same form factor, suitable for travel and drinking in zero G.

Mega bar 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: As trail rations, but bar either provides enough nutrition for one day of food or one free recovery roll.

Serum, acceleration 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As remedial serum, but allows user to ignore the many deleterious physiological effects of acceleration and high-G maneuvers (of up to 15 Gs) for one hour (or of up to 20 Gs for a few minutes). Users are likely unable to move under high G, but won't pass out, have a stroke, cardiac arrest, etc.—at least, not immediately. Prolonged use may still lead to all these outcomes.

Serum, antivenom 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As remedial serum, but grants a Might task eased by four steps to withstand and clear poison from the user's system and provides similar poison resistance for one day.

Serum, remedial 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: "Serum" is an often-used term for an ampule of artificially engineered blood and plasma that provides some kind of benefit. Serums of all types are generally dispensed from an autodoc, but may also be obtained as individual units, or in packs or cases. An ampule of remedial serum grants the user 3 points they can add to any Pool. It also has the benefit of relieving hangover symptoms.

Serum, space-fit 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 77)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: As remedial serum, but protects against the two most common dangers to human physiology from extended trips into space and long-term exposure to zero G and radiation, which most notably include DNA breakage from cosmic rays and bone and muscle deterioration from microgravity. An ampule of space-fit serum lasts for about a month.

Sleep set 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A thin metallic (but comfortable, padded) headset that rests on the temples and induces a deep (dreamless) sleep state for a specified period, usually no more than three to six hours. Fail-safes can be set to bring a user out of sleep if loud noises, movement, someone addresses the sleeper, or other triggers occur. Users find themselves extremely well rested after each use.

Fantastic Health Care and Nutrition
Nano tab, acceleration 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As general nano tab, but permanently grants the benefits of an ampule of acceleration serum.

Nano tab, general 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Any of a variety of pill-like concentrations of nano-scale robots designed to activate once taken by mouth. Nano tab pills are usually designed for health interventions, though some also provide additional physical benefits. A general-use nano tab adds 1 to all recovery rolls made by user for one day.

Nano tab, immolating 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As general nano tab, but explosively distributes nano-threads deep into the body, turning it into mostly weaponry, effectively granting five posthuman upgrade power shifts. However, this quickly burns out the user, who dies within a solar standard month.

Nano tab, rejuvenator 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As general nano tab, but refills 4 points to 1 Pool and raises user one step on damage track.

Nano tab, space-fit 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As general nano tab, but permanently grants the benefits of an ampule of space-fit serum.

Stasis pod 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 79)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As hibernation pod, but suspends time for target indefinitely, until program ends or pod is opened.

Transplant, organ or limb 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 78)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: If an autodoc or more advanced facility is available, a lost limb or organ can be replaced. Replaced limbs eventually become equally effective as the original, with practice. However, the mechanical (or possibly force-grown) prosthetic limbs initially hinders all physical tasks attempted using it for several weeks.

Advanced Robots and AI
Auton 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: The generic term "auton" refers to a smart robot, one able to exist in the world as a full-fledged entity, though not nearly so competent as a true AI. On the other hand, autons come very close to having self-awareness, and some have probably achieved it. The variety of autons is staggering, given that they can be trained in nearly any task. Autons also come in a variety of shapes and colors, which vary based on culture and tech level. Though most can move on treads or legs to follow their owners as directed, some autons are housed in drone-like chassis using either rotors or microthrusters, allowing them to fly rather than move on the ground. Treat a basic auton as a level 1 follower, which allows the auton modifications in one task.

Auton, aide 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Treat as a level 2 follower, which allows the auton modifications in up to two tasks, depending on the particular aide.

Auton, defense 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As auton, but one modification is always Speed defense, which means when helping to defend a target from a physical attack, the target eases the task by two steps. A defense auton also has 3 Armor.

Auton, medical 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As auton, but one modification is always healing. A medical auton also incorporates a mobile autodoc.

Auton, military drone 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

Auton, warrior 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As auton, but one modification is always in attacks, which means when helping a target to make an attack, the target eases the task by two steps. However, warrior autons usually attack autonomously as level 3 entities with a ranged or melee weapon that inflicts 5 points of damage.

Shipmind 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 80)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 2

  • Details: A shipmind is a sim AI that exists within a single spacecraft or starship, with the ability to control many aspects of vehicle functions as necessary to supplement a crew, or sometimes in lieu of a crew. Shipminds each have their own simulated personality, emulating consciousness, though in most cases, they are not actually conscious. Having a shipmind installed on a spacecraft is immensely helpful, as it can oversee many basic functions. A shipmind usually accomplishes tasks at the level of the ship in which it is installed.

Fantastic Robots and AI
Synth 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 81)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Synths are a blend of biological and mechanical parts so advanced that in some cases it's impossible to tell the difference between a living creature and a synth. They are strong AIs in physical bodies. Other varieties of synths are constructed (or have modified themselves) to make it obvious they are not biological. In any case, synths are often sturdier and longer lasting than an average biological entity. Even so, in some settings, synths are relegated to being servitors, as if they were simple robots and autons. In other settings, a few, some, or all humans have long ago migrated into synth bodies, leaving their biology behind in prehistory, and becoming posthuman. Treat as a level 3 follower, which allows the synths modifications in up to three tasks, depending on the particular synth. At minimum, all synths have 2 Armor and regain 1 point of lost health per round if damaged.

Editor's Notes — See Replicant and Synthetic person.

Synth, companion 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 81)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As synth, but treat as a level 4 follower, which allows the synths modifications in up to four tasks.

Synth, free 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 81)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As companion synth, but with modifications for up to five tasks.

A free synth usually can't be purchased, by definition, but can be hired on a contract basis, as an expensive cost for each week of service required.

Synth, infiltrator 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 81)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As free synth, but with modifications focusing on stealth, disguise, and tasks related to gaining entry to guarded locations for purposes of spying or assassination. Synth infiltrators have systems that allow them to change their apparent (or even actual) shape completely over the course of a minute to appear as another creature or innocuous object.

Wardroid 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 81)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As free synth, but outfitted for war, including modifications in attack and defense. A wardroid often has many additional customizations and abilities.

Editor's Notes — See Wardroid.

Recreation

Advanced Recreation
Sidekick sphere 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Circuit-inscribed, and jauntily decorated, smart-material sphere about 1 m (3 feet) in diameter that rolls or jumps to stay within an immediate distance of owner. Capable of playing music, pulsing with light, engaging in witty conversation, and in keeping confidence. Treat the sidekick sphere as a level 2 follower (and limited sim AI).

Tattoo, programmable 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: With time and talent, someone with a programmable tattoo implant can completely alter the designs that appear on their skin, modifying lines and color. A small alteration requires only a few rounds, but a full-body tattoo change, assuming any artistry at all is involved, may take a few days to complete.

Fantastic Recreation
Pleasure bit 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 83)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Handheld device emits magnetic induction field that activates the reward circuit in the user's brain, creating sudden ecstasy and joy for a pre-set period of time. Addiction is possible, though better models have an ebbing mode that helps put users back into their right minds gradually.

Tattoo, living 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 82)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: As programmable tattoo, but images can be animated to run in a loop, or visually respond with limited reactivity to certain audible or other cues. Some come implanted with sim AIs for conversation and interaction.

Advanced and Fantastic Armaments
Armament Ammunition and Charge

Weapons require ammunition ("ammo"), whether that's rounds of a particular caliber, energy packs, or something even more exotic. You can handle ammo requirements for weapons in one of three ways: exact tracking, abstracted monthly upkeep cost, or not worrying about it.

Exact tracking means asking the character to track their available and used rounds/shots after (and possibly during) a fight.

Abstracted monthly upkeep cost assumes that the characters go through ammo at an average rate, and obtaining more ammo or energy packs is something they do in their "off-camera" time. The monthly upkeep cost for ammo should equal about two steps less in price category than the weapon in question.

Or you can just not worry about keeping track of ammunition, especially in games where gunplay isn't common.

Energy pack (50 shots) 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 83)

  • Price: Inexpensive

  • Details: Watt-hours (Wh) varies by specific energy weapon, used in most advanced and fantastic ranged weapons.

Smart rounds (box of 4 rounds) 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 83)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Effect: A smart round can be used to make one normal attack plus up to 3 additional ricochet attacks on targets within short range of the attacker and each other as one action. Each ricochet attack successively increases the GM intrusion range by 2. If a GM intrusion is triggered, the ricochet attack hits something other than what the attacker intended, such as an important system or ally.

A character who uses a smart round on a group of foes could attempt to attack up to 4 of them with one shot; however, the GM intrusion range on the last ricochet attack would be 1—7 on the d20.

Advanced Melee Weapons
Mono-molecular blade 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Produces a 15 cm (6 inch) wire-like blade that cuts through any material of up to level 4; light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased). It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Power fist 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Power-assist gauntlet; medium weapon (but inflicts 6 points of damage from power-assist).

Stunring 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As stunstick, but light weapon (difficulty of attack is eased) worn as a set of two rings on the same hand; punch target to use.

Stunstick 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Nightstick-like form factor; medium weapon (variable setting: 0, 2, 4, or 6 points of damage; if setting is set to 2 or fewer hit points, human-sized target or smaller loses their next turn).

Fantastic Melee Weapons
Plasma saber 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 84)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Produces a 1 m (3 foot) blade of sun-hot plasma that cuts through any material of up to level 7. Can be wielded as either a medium weapon in one hand or as a heavy weapon in two hands (4 damage or 6 damage). It ignores 3 points of a target's Armor (except from force fields).

Advanced Ranged Weapons
Foam restraint rifle 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Thick rifle emits a short-range stream of orange liquid that foams over a target and hardens into a body restraint that lasts for ten minutes. A restrained victim can't move or take actions that require movement. A target whose level is higher than the rifle's level can usually break free within one or two rounds.

Grapple gun 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Medium weapon but requires both hands (1 damage), long range. Attaches articulated grapple and connected line to target; hinders animate targets until they can remove the grapple. Grapple gun mechanism either pulls gun wielder to anchored object, or vice versa if object is small. Otherwise, user must succeed on a Might-based task to pull target to them.

Grenade, sonic 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 86)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Single use; can be thrown a short distance; explodes to inflict 2 points of damage in immediate radius. On a failed Might defense roll, targets lose their next turn.

Grenade, thermite 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 86)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Single use; can be thrown a short distance; explodes to inflict 6 points of damage in immediate radius. On a failed Might defense roll, targets burn for 2 points of damage each round until they spend a round smothering the fire.

Laser/photon pistol 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 86)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Handgun fires coherent light beams; light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased), long range.

Laser/photon pulse rifle 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Very Expensive × 2

  • Details: Rifle fires coherent light beams; heavy weapon (6 damage), long range. This rapid-fire weapon can operate in conjunction with Spray or Arc Spray abilities.

Laser/photon rifle 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Rifle fires coherent light beams; medium weapon but requires both hands (4 damage), very long range.

Needler/syringer 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 86)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased), long range. Injects soporific that dazes target on a successful Might defense roll for one minute, or puts them into a light sleep for one minute on a failed roll.

Rail gun 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Long-barreled rifle with computer sight assistance fires magnetically accelerated slugs; heavy-plus weapon (8 points of damage, both hands), range is 3,050 m (10,000 feet).

Vacuum rifle, assault 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As contemporary assault rifle, but uses special rounds designed to fire in a zero-oxygen environment, and that are self-propelling so firing this assault rifle in zero or law gravity doesn't spin wielder backward.

Vacuum handgun, heavy 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 86)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As contemporary handgun, but uses special rounds designed to fire in a zero-oxygen environment, and that are self-propelling so firing this gun in zero or low gravity doesn't spin wielder backward.

Fantastic Ranged Weapons
Blaster, cannon 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Cannon-like gun that requires a tripod and two people to operate that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; heavy weapon (10 damage, both hands), very long range. This rapid-fire weapon can operate in conjunction with Spray or Arc Spray abilities. It ignores 2 points of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, goggles 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Thick goggles that project twin energetic plasma-particle beams; light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased), long range. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, heavy 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Big handgun that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), long range. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, heavy pulse rifle 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Very Expensive × 2

  • Details: Rifle that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), long range. This rapid-fire weapon can operate in conjunction with Spray or Arc Spray abilities. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, heavy rifle 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Rifle that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; heavy weapon (6 damage, both hands), very long range. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, light 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Handgun that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; light weapon (2 damage, difficulty of attack is eased), long range. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Blaster, medium 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 87)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Handgun that projects an energetic plasma-particle beam; medium weapon (4 damage), long range. It ignores 1 point of Armor value (except from force fields).

Plasma grenade 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 88)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Single use; can be thrown a short distance; explodes to inflict 8 points of damage in immediate radius and targets descend one step on the damage track. It ignores 2 points of Armor value (except from force fields).

Science Fiction Vehicles

Quick Reference: Vehicles

Vehicular Combat

Contemporary Vehicles

Advanced Vehicles

Fantastic Vehicles

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Old Gus' Daft Drafts includes a robust set of rules for Mechs.

Variable Cost by Tech Rating

(The Stars are Fire, page 92)

  • Vehicle: Technically speaking, spacecraft are also vehicles. Unless it's important to make a distinction, assume all guidance here regarding "vehicles" also applies to spacecraft.

  • Spacecraft (and Starship): When it is important to make a distinction from a simple vehicle restricted to the land, sea, or air of a single planet, the term "spacecraft" is used for vehicles that travel beyond a single planet's atmosphere. Some spacecraft can operate both in space and as planetary vehicles, as noted in their entries.

Vehicle costs assume the setting is predominantly of the same tech rating as the vehicle's tech rating. However, the price might drop by a price category if the setting tech rating is predominantly greater than the vehicle's rating.

Contemporary Styling in Advanced or Fantastic Settings

(The Stars are Fire, page 92)

As previously indicated, modern vehicles might be found in settings using advanced or fantastic tech, possibly at a lower price. However, the vehicles available in these future worlds are not (necessarily) antiques, but rather cheaply made objects, possibly with the veneer and stylings of vehicles suitable to the setting, and possibly the power source, too.

Fighting in a Vehicle

(The Stars are Fire, page 93)

If PCs are involved in combat in which they are only partly or lightly enclosed (or not at all enclosed, as in the case of most cycles, boards, and similar conveyances), use normal rules of combat, as modified by vehicular movement. However, if PCs are involved in a combat where they are completely enclosed in a vehicle with no possibility of openness to the environment through which they can fire weapons (so that it's not really the characters fighting, but the vehicles), use the vehicular combat rules.

If PCs are involved in space combat, see the Extended Vehicular Combat rules, which provide all kinds of additional options.

Driverless Vehicles

(The Stars are Fire, page 93)

If the rider, driver, or pilot activates self-driving as part of another action, riding, driving, and piloting tasks are automatically completed (or failed) according to the vehicle's level, though all such self-driving tasks are hindered. However, the pilot is free to engage in other actions as the vehicle maneuvers to the best of its ability.

This driverless function is also available on many spacecraft, courtesy of a shipmind, which is a sim AI that can control the ship's functions as necessary. Shipminds control spacecraft at the spacecraft's level, not their level, but are not subject to the task hindrance that more basic driverless vehicles suffer.

Looking for More Vehicle Options

(The Stars are Fire, page 94)

A representative cross section of vehicles is provided. If you're looking for something that isn't noted, use something close and adapt the listing.

Also note that unless a particular listing is already indicated as a luxury or sport version, most vehicles can be obtained in a luxury or sports package, either at the next price category up, or at double the indicated price.

Customizing Vehicles

(The Stars are Fire, page 94)

Assuming the facilities are available, characters can pay for the customization of their vehicle to add a weapon system, add even more weapon systems, add superior weapons systems, or some other significant option. In most cases, the cost for such an upgrade is very expensive to exorbitant.

Advanced Cycles
Motorcycle, battle 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Two-wheeled vehicle, supporting a reinforced, armored frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) partly open the environment, providing the rider Armor 2. Built-in weapons include a deployable swivel long-range machine gun that inflicts 8 points of damage. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding. Suitable for paved and broken surfaces; moves a long distance each round on paved and broken surfaces or an average of 144 km/h (90 mph) during long-distance travel.

Motorcycle, omni-terrain 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Two-wheeled vehicle with telescoping spokes capable of adapting to nearly any terrain (except water or other liquids), supporting a basic frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) open to the environment, ideal for utterly wild terrain and off-road travel; able to "climb" natural steep and near-vertical surfaces. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding. Moves a long distance each round in any terrain or an average of 112 km/h (70 mph) during long-distance travel.

Vacuum cycle 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Two-wheeled vehicle, supporting a reinforced, lightly enclosed and pressurized frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger), providing the rider Armor 1 (though if damage is taken, it's likely a breach has occurred). Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding. Suitable for paved and broken surfaces on airless moons or in polluted or poisonous atmospheres; moves a long distance each round on paved and broken surfaces or an average of 80 km/h (50 mph) during long-distance travel.

Fantastic Cycles
Hard-light cycle 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Two-wheeled vehicle of hard light capable of adapting to most terrains, supporting a sleek reinforced, armored frame with a seat for one rider (and sometimes a passenger) partly open the environment, providing the rider Armor 1. Suitable for crossing above any surface via self-deploying light bridge, a 1 cm (3 inch) thick by 3 m (10 feet) wide, constantly extending forcefield surface that persists for about ten minutes. The bridge can reach to almost any height, though maximum gradient shouldn't exceed 30%. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding by two steps. Moves a long distance each round on self-deploying bridge or an average of 190 km/h (120 mph) during long-distance travel.

    Hard-light cycles can also be used as gladiatorial vehicles, modified to lay a forcefield wall trail behind rather than a bridge underneath, against opponents on similar cycles in a limited area with speedometers partly disabled.

Hover speedster 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 95)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: A sweptback frame with a seat for one rider (and often a passenger) open to the environment, with anti-gravity repulsors allowing it to hover up to 2 m (6 feet) over any terrain (including water and other liquids), ideal for utterly wild terrain and over-water excursions. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding by two steps. Moves a very long distance each round in any terrain or an average of 240 km/h (150 mph) during long-distance travel.

Hover speedster, battle 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As hover speedster, with the addition of reinforced cowling providing the rider Armor 2. Built-in weapons include deployable swivel long-range energy weapons that inflict 9 points of damage.

Instant cycle (Variable)

(The Stars are Fire, page 96)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As any one other cycle, except an instant cycle can be deployed from a lightweight briefcase-sized (or even smaller) pack as an action, and is built up by packaged nanobots, virtual particles, or hard light to create the selected cycle, which can be ridden normally. A PC can re-package the deployed cycle to its original easily toted form as an action.

Advanced Cars
Hovercar 4

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Hover frame with a seat for driver and up to four other passengers, often open to the environment (luxury versions have retractable hardtops). Inboard (or external) rotors force air down, allowing the vehicle to hover up to 1 m (3 feet) over any terrain (including water and other liquids). Ideal for utterly wild terrain and over-water excursions. Moves a long distance each round in any terrain or an average of 160 km/h (100 mph) during long-distance travel.

Land ark 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Treaded, all-terrain wheels support a completely enclosed interior habitat with five to ten interior chambers arranged either to house one or more families, support scientific research, exploration, spying, or configured for some other purpose to support a team of individuals. Moves an immediate distance each round in utterly wild terrain, a short distance each round in broken terrain or an average of 64 km/h (40 mph) during long-distance travel (double movement on paved surfaces, though a land ark rarely finds roads).

Land ark, battle 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 2

  • Details: As land ark (and sometimes called a "battle ark"), but sports superior weapons, though half the interior space.

Moon buggy 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 97)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Six-wheeled vehicle, supporting a reinforced, lightly enclosed and pressurized frame with seats for a driver and up to four additional passengers, providing driver and passengers Armor 1 (though if damage is taken, it's likely a breach has occurred). Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to driving. Suitable for paved and broken surfaces on airless moons or in polluted or poisonous atmospheres; moves a long distance each round on paved and broken surfaces or an average of 64 km/h (40 mph) during long-distance travel.

Fantastic Cars
Car, flying 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Enclosed (but with retractable hardtop) frame contains seats for a driver and up to four other passengers, providing the driver (and vehicle) Armor 1. Anti-gravity repulsors allow the vehicle to fly within the atmosphere. Flies a very long distance each round in any terrain or an average of 320 km/h (200 mph) during long-distance travel.

Car, smart 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 98)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As flying car, but on-board weak AI always handles all driving functions, unless the driver takes control. The AI prioritizes passenger safety, and in the event of a crash, protects all passengers in a brief stasis field (assuming power reserves remain intact).

Advanced Aircraft
Cloud surfing board 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: A 4 m (12 feet) long, smart-plastic flying wing open to the environment on which a single rider stands; rider must succeed on a difficulty 1 Speed roll each round. In combat, it moves a long distance each round, but on extended trips, it can move up to 130 km/h (80 mph). Often used for cloud surfing on Venus.

Jetpack 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Harness lofts pilot over the ground using variable microjets, allowing the user to fly. Open to the environment (requiring user to wear protective gear). Flies a very long distance each round or an average of 190 km/h (120 mph) during long-distance travel, though the pack must be refueled every 1000 miles.

VTOL seawing 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As VTOL hyperjet, but sacrifices weapons so it can operate both in the air and underwater as a submersible. Able to move a long distance each round underwater or 80 km/h (50 mph) during extended trips underwater.

VTOL hyperjet 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Swept-back enclosed airframe with seats for a pilot and up to eight passengers. Built-in weapons include long-range Gatling-style cannons (treat as superior weapons). VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) allows the hyperjet incredible maneuverability. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to piloting (other than vehicular combat). Flies a very long distance each round using jets or an average of over 2,410 km/h (1,500 mph) during extended trips.

VTOL stealthjet 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

Zeppelin, yacht 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: This luxury flying vehicle boasts a completely enclosed interior habitat with five to ten interior chambers arranged either to house one or more families, support scientific research, exploration, spying, or configured for some other purpose to support a team of individuals. Moves a short distance each round or an average of 160 km/h (100 mph) during extended travel (half or double that depending on air conditions).

Fantastic Aircraft
Hard-light jet 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Composed of hard light and pseudo-matter, this futuristic airframe has seats for a pilot and up to two passengers. Built-in weapons include very long-range energy cannons. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to piloting by two steps (except for vehicular combat). Flies a very long distance each round using jets or an average of over 8,000 km/h (5,000 mph) during extended trips, and can even make low-orbit rendezvous.

Hoverboard 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Moderate

  • Details: Configurable from being as small as a skateboard suitable for one rider up to a disk 1.5 m (5 feet) in diameter. Auto-stabilization eases all tasks related to riding. Open to the environment (requiring user to wear protective gear). Flies a long distance each round or an average of 225 km/h (140 mph) during long-distance travel.

Orb, personal 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 99)

  • Price: Expensive

  • Details: Deployed from a fist-sized sphere as an action, the personal orb takes shape around a single traveler, forming an environment force field that shields wind and air turbulence, keeping the atmosphere at a comfortable temperature, and providing Armor 1. Once deployed, the orb pilots itself as directly as possible, flying to a destination at very long distance per round or up to 480 km/h (300 mph) during an extended trip, with a maximum duration of up to thirty-six hours. Personal orbs are usually single-use transports.

Teleportation disc 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 100)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: Immovable disc-shaped pad (or hollow free-standing ring) keyed to one or more locations within 160 km (100 miles); step on the disc (or pass through the ring) and appear at the keyed location. Discs of level 9 and above can teleport users between planets or even stars, like small versions of stellar gates.

Advanced Seacraft
Sub, waterglide 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As personal submersible, but supercavitation technology allows incredible speeds underwater, allowing the sub to move a very long distance each round or up to 370 km/h (230 mph) on extended trips.

Submarine, supercavitation 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As submarine, but supercavitation technology allows incredible speeds underwater, allowing the sub to move a very long distance each round or up to 370 km/h (230 mph) on extended trips.

Yacht, hydroplane 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As yacht, but can cut through the sea at speeds of up to 480 km/h (300 mph) in calm or stormy weather without risk of capsizing.

Fantastic Seacraft
Manta 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 101)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As hard-light jet, but operates underwater, moving up to a very long distance each round or up to 480 km/h (300 mph) on extended trips.

Advanced Mechs and Tanks
Mech, infantry 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 102)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton frame partially open to the environment but provides a single operator Armor 3. Attacks in the infantry mech (using either an electrified blade for melee or a long-range combat rifle) are eased, inflicting 6 points of damage. Moves a short distance or power jumps up to a very long distance once every other round or up to 72 km/h (45 mph) on extended trips.

Mech, interceptor 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 102)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As infantry mech, but upgrades include complete and sealed enclosure with life support (qualifying it for vehicular combat). Attacks in the interceptor mech also include a battery of very long-range missiles. An additional flight mode allows the interceptor to fly a very long distance for up to ten minutes before recharge is required. Some mechs have superior weapons, defense, or speed, but that doubles the cost.

Mech, loader 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 102)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton frame partially open to the environment. Grants three free levels of Effort to all lifting and hauling tasks. Moves an immediate distance each round. Attacks in the mech (using its loading arms) are hindered, but inflict 10 points of damage. Moves up to a short distance or up to 24 km/h (15 mph) on extended trips.

Fantastic Mechs and Tanks
Colossal battle mech 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 102)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A 78 m (255 feet) tall powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton frame. Creates a sealed enclosure (qualifying it for vehicular combat) with life support for an operator and a crew of up to six people. Armed with a massive "melee" plasma sword and "mech-punch" (melee attacks that can be made at long range), plus very long-range missiles, grenades, and energy weapons, operable by the pilot and crew at up to five different independent weapon stations simultaneously; treat as having superior weapons. Can run and fly up to a very long distance each round, and can even ascend into low orbit for brief periods.

Advanced Spacecraft
Microcapsule 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: As space capsule, but smaller. Limited fusion drive allows movement within a given area of space, but a microcapsule usually doesn't have enough fuel to move between planets. External manipulators allow the pilot to attempt repair and construction tasks without exiting the vehicle.

Microcapsule, fighter (dart) 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Very Expensive × 2

  • Details: As microcapsule, but with a laser cannon weapon system capable of targeting another craft.

Spacecraft, racer 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A spacecraft designed only for speed and high-G maneuvers, with space for a single pilot (and maybe one passenger) in cradles fitted for high-G chemical amelioration, easing all piloting tasks by two steps. Travel times across limited interplanetary distances are halved in a racer. Mostly used for competition or as couriers.

Spacecraft, freighter 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A spacecraft designed to haul cargo between planets with a crew up of to 15. Freighter ships may be quite large, or at least haul cargo that is quite large, but these craft are bulky and not meant for quick changes in direction or combat; all maneuvering and combat tasks are hindered. Able to move interplanetary distances with advanced variable dynamic ion propulsion. Can land and take off from low-gravity moons and dwarf planets.

Spaceplane 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: As launch shuttle (contemporary), but fulfills the promise of launch (without boosters), operations and maneuverability in orbit, and reentry and landing on a planetary surface, all without need for massive refurbishment or colossal external network of controllers.

Spaceplane, combat (claw) 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 2

  • Details: As spaceplane, but smaller (with room for a single pilot), fitted with two weapon systems: a laser cannon and one torpedo battery. To move between planets or further, a claw usually relies on a larger carrier or more fantastic means of transport.

Torpedos in space combat: Once launched, self-guiding torpedoes engage smart-tracking systems to zero in on their assigned targets. The torpedo accelerates at 50 or more Gs towards its target, but at the extended distances in which many space battles occur, it may still take several rounds for a torpedo to finally home in on and strike (or ultimately miss) its target.

Spacecraft, solar sail 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A spacecraft designed for long-haul research expeditions around the solar system with a crew of up to five or six, with individual pods designed for induced hibernation during double or triple normal travel times to extend provisions to last several years or longer. No external power is required; solar power provides the motive force. Usually unable to land or ascend from a planetary surface.

Spacecraft, dragonfly class 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 2

  • Details: Has the planetary launch and reentry capabilities of a spaceplane, but is more expansive, able to house a live-in crew of about a dozen people and over 45,350 kg (100,000 pounds) of cargo, with interplanetary (as opposed to merely orbital) range. Life-support lasts three months before restocking supplies is required. The ship includes a bridge, crew quarters, engineering, an impressively large cargo bay, and a bay containing one microcapsule. May have one weapon system.

Spacecraft, exploration class 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Exorbitant × 3

  • Details: As dragonfly class spacecraft, but larger and able to house a crew of about twenty-five people. Customized for exploration with extended range-sensing capabilities and onboard biological and geological labs (among others) for in situ analysis.

Spacecraft, corvette class 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A small warship spacecraft designed for high-G maneuvers, including use of high-G chemical amelioration for a crew of up to fifteen people. Features four weapon systems, including one laser cannon capable of targeting other craft, one torpedo battery, and one superior weapon system in the form of a gauss cannon. Able to move interplanetary distances with advanced variable dynamic ion propulsion. Can land and take off from low-gravity moons and dwarf planets.

Spacecraft, destroyer class 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As corvette spacecraft, but four times as large, allowing four times the crew and ten weapon systems (including two superior weapon systems). Possesses superior defenses. Often utilized to escort larger vessels in a space fleet or battle group and defend them against swarms of smaller attackers. Includes bays for two fireteams of six microcapsule fighters (darts).

Spacecraft, dreadnought 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As corvette spacecraft, but ten times as large, allowing ten times the crew and twenty weapon systems (including five superior weapon systems). Often utilized to escort larger vessels in a space fleet or battle group and defend them against swarms of smaller attackers. Includes bays for a squadron of fifteen darts and a fireteam of three combat spaceplanes.

Skyhook 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 109)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Heavy rotating space station orbiting a moon or planet that extends two massive tethers opposite each other, so that one tether periodically dips deep into the atmosphere close to the surface. At this point, payloads are hooked to the end of the cable as the tether passes, and are then flung into orbit by the station's massive rotation. The skyhook can decelerate and safely de-orbit other payloads in the same way.

Space elevator 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Tether anchored to the surface of a moon or planet that extends into space along which vehicles can travel, granting access to and from orbital space. A counterweight space station exists at the far end of the tether in what is essentially geostationary orbit.

Fantastic Spacecraft
Dagger fighter 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: A bare-bones, single-occupant fighter with a single weapon system that fires blasters. Dagger fighters cannot move between stars (though as fantastic craft, can move between planets), and require a larger carrier for FTL movement, such as a capital class starship with suitable docking bays.

Starship, capital class 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As warship class starship, but over a hundred times larger, with room for over a few hundred crew. Ten weapon stations include five blaster cannons and five torpedo batteries. Four of these are superior weapons. Includes bays for two squadrons of fifteen dagger fighter starships.

Starship, cargo/passenger 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A spacecraft designed to haul cargo (or passengers, or both) between stars with a crew up of to twenty-five. Cargo starships may be impressively massive, or at least haul cargo sections that are quite large, but these craft are bulky and not meant for quick changes in direction or combat; all maneuvering and combat tasks are hindered.

Starship, discovery class 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A large research starship with quarters for crew and staff of up to 150 or more people. Has either centrifugal artificial gravity (or in a fantastic tech-rated setting, gravitic compensators providing shipboard gravity control). Primarily designed as a research and discovery vehicle, such starships also have three weapon systems, usually a couple of blaster cannons and a torpedo battery. Highly configurable, a discovery class ship could be converted for war with sufficient resources, granting it superior weapons.

Starship, general purpose 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A small starship with room for only three to six crew plus an integrated ship AI able to handle many routine ship functions including navigation with FTL propulsion system. Designed for exploration of distant locations, salvage operations, and/or to act as a tug-craft for larger ships that need assistance. May possess a single weapon system such as a particle cannon.

Starship, omega class 10 (30)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: Three times as large again as a capital class starship, an omega class craft has over a thousand crew and over thirty weapon systems. Ten of these are superior weapons. Combined weapon fire can deal significant damage to a planetary surface, possibly destroying it. Includes bays for six squadrons of thirty dagger fighter starships.

Starship, solo fighter 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Exorbitant

  • Details: A small double-occupant starship with two weapon systems that fire blasters. Minimum size vehicle capable of FTL travel.

Starship, warship class 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 110)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A relatively small warship with gravitic compensators allowing for extreme maneuvering for a crew of up to fifty people, easing all piloting tasks. Six weapon stations include three blaster cannons and three torpedo batteries. Two of these systems are superior weapons. Includes bays for a fireteam of three dagger fighter starships.

Wafercraft, exploration 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 108)

  • Price: Very Expensive

  • Details: Miniaturized vehicle just large enough to contain thousands of tiny data flecks and sensor modules, designed to accelerate to 90% the speed of light by use of external launching laser beamed for many years. Data wafers contain encrypted personalities (human and/or AI) capable of gathering data on target solar systems after relative travel times of months (but decades in objective time).

Stellar Gates

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

Stellar gates open wormholes between two fixed points at different locations without crossing the space between. The complexity of building a stellar gate is so extreme that such technology is often ascribed to found portals and networks dating back to mysterious ancient ultras or by post-singularity AIs. As might be expected, gates have a fantastic tech rating, no matter how small.

Gate, galactic 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As planetary gate, but six times as large and connects gate structures that lie between locations within a single galaxy.

Gate, interdimensional 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As planetary gate, but connects gate structures that lie in alternate dimensions.

Gate, intergalactic 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As planetary gate, but six times as large and connects gate structures that lie between locations in different galaxies across the entire breadth of the universe.

Gate, interplanetary 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As planetary gate, but twice as large and connects gate structures that lie between locations within a single solar system.

Gate, planetary 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: A free-standing ring or horizontal circular pad up to 9 m (30 feet) in diameter in/over which a spherical event horizon forms, allowing one-way travel to another location on the planet, orbiting moon, or orbiting space station with similar gate structure. Once the event horizon collapses (after several minutes up to an hour), travel back to the original gate is possible by initiating a second event horizon, though power reserves usually take several hours or more to build up to support each new wormhole opening.

Gate, star 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 111)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As planetary gate, but four times as large and connects gate structures that lie between locations within a few thousand light-years.

Space-Time Vehicles

(The Stars are Fire, page 112)

Space-time vehicles are so complex that it's likely they are the product of ancient ultras or post-singularity AIs, and could be treated as artifacts with a depletion of 1 in 1d20.

Car, temporal/dimensional 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 112)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: As contemporary utility car or sports car, but once moving can transition into another preset dimension or time. Enormous power requirements require recharge period of several days between each use.

Matrix, temporal 8 (24)

(The Stars are Fire, page 112)

  • Price: Priceless

  • Details: An arbitrarily shaped vehicle or structure, bigger on the inside than out, that allows a pilot to travel into different locations in time and space, though arbitrary destinations are sometimes achieved despite apparent navigation successes by the pilot. Enormous power requirements require recharge period of several days between each use.

Vehicles as Artifacts

(The Stars are Fire, page 113)

Cypher System artifacts in a science fiction setting could potentially be any one of the vehicles presented in this chapter, if found by characters in a less advanced setting than its tech rating. That said, even in advanced or fantastic settings, opportunities to find especially weird and hard-to-grok objects are everywhere.

A couple of examples of such artifacts are presented here.

Fractal Traveler

(The Stars are Fire, page 113)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Goggle-like device of unknown material

  • Effect: When worn, induces a powerful hallucinogenic state in wearer. Hallucinations last for four hours, during which time the wearer seems to disappear from existence. From the wearer's perspective, they are falling through an ever-iterating fractal realm of mind-blowing imagery, possibly some version of hyperspace or dark energy network. At the end of that period they return to existence, either in the same location they left or somewhere they've previously visited. The images leave the viewer shaken, but for several hours all Intellect-based tasks are eased.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Gate Ring

(The Stars are Fire, page 113)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Wearable ring of unknown material

  • Effect: Creates a full-sized shield that can be used as a regular shield in combat for one character, providing an asset on Speed defense rolls for the duration of that combat, after which it returns to its ring-like form. In addition, the wielder can command the deployed shield to become a functioning star gate that remains open for just one hour, leading to a strange destination (which the wielder is potentially aware of, if they ran sufficient analysis on the ring or otherwise gained information about it before using the function).

  • Depletion: Automatic (if gate is formed)

Spacecraft

(The Stars are Fire, page 103)

  • Most spacecraft have the capacity to reach orbit from the surface of the planet, if not radically more advanced capabilities. All spacecraft completely enclose their crew in a sealed cabin (or series of chambers) with life support suitable for days, weeks, or much longer. Most spacecraft also come with one or more spare space suits, tools, a few spare parts, and so on. Advanced and fantastic spacecraft also have sensors that provide enough astronavigation information to plot and fly to their destinations.

    Advanced spacecraft have advanced propulsion technologies, allowing them to move between planets within a single solar system, with transit times between planets varying from days to weeks (or more, if using a less efficient drive). Most advanced spacecraft can't land on a planet's surface unless noted, requiring some secondary craft or means to transfer crew and cargo.

    PCs in spacecraft can travel to other moons, planets, space stations, and perhaps even other solar systems. PCs in spacecraft may also get caught up in space combat (see the Extended Vehicular Combat rules) and run across space hazards.

  • Starcraft: "Starships" are spacecraft that have FTL technology, allowing them to move between different stars, with transit times ranging from days to months, or years in extreme cases. Starships are also often capable of planetary landings and ascent with some retrofitting before each planetfall.

Sample Starships

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

Here are a few sample starship types:

Starship Types
StarshipLevelCrewWeapon Systems
Fighter111
Interceptor211
Freighter3 (4 for defense)41
Frigate4204
Cruiser4255
Battleship101,00036

"Crew" indicates the minimum number of people needed to operate the ship. Many ships can carry more passengers. "Weapon Systems" indicates the maximum number of different enemies the ship can target at once—but only one attack per target in any circumstance.

Since it's frighteningly easy to die in a space battle if your ship is destroyed, most ships have escape pods. Even fighter craft have ejection systems that put the pilot out into space in an environment suit. In other words, GMs should try to give PCs a way out of immediately dying if they get on the wrong end of a space battle.

Traveling the Solar System and Orbital Mechanics

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 277)(The Stars are Fire, page 104)

In a hard science fiction setting, you might be interested in evoking the reality of travel times between colonies on planets and moons in the solar system. Even so, plotting a course between locations in the solar system isn't simple, because everything is always moving with respect to everything else. You could determine exactly how long a trip would take with some internet research. Or you could just evoke the effect of orbital mechanics and varying accelerations on interplanetary travel. Use the Interplanetary Travel Table to do so. For a trip between locations not directly compared, add up the destinations in between. The travel times assume a nuclear plasma engine of a kind already being tested today (but better), a steady thrust toward the destination, and an equally long and steady braking thrust over the last half of the trip before orbit insertion. Such propulsion systems can change velocity and sustain thrust for days at a time, which reduces bone loss, muscle atrophy, and other long-term effects of low gravity.

Regardless, the travel times between distant locations bring home one thing: space is big and lonely.

Solar System Travel Times

(The Stars are Fire, page 104)(OG-CSRD Editorial Additon)

Solar System Travel Times
OriginDestinationTravel Time Using Nuclear Plasma EngineTravel Time Using Fusion Drive
VenusMercury20 + 1d20 days1 + 1d6 days
Earth/moonVenus20 + 1d20 days1 + 1d6 days
Earth/moonMars20 + 1d20 days1 + 1d6 days
MarsAsteroid Belt30 + 1d20 days2 + 1d6 days
Asteroid BeltJupiter and its moons30 + 1d20 days3 + 1d6 days
JupiterSaturn and its moons60 + 1d20 days4 + 1d6 days
SaturnUranus90 + 1d20 days8 + 1d6 days
UranusNeptune100 + 1d20 days9 + 1d6 days
NeptunePluto100 + 1d20 days8 + 1d6 days

Editor's Notes — This table corrects a suspected misprint in the Venus to Mercury trip, replacing "20 + 120 days" with "20 + 1d20 days", and adds travel times using a fusion drive.

Lightspeed Communication Delay

(The Stars are Fire, page 67)

For ease of reference, the light delay table provides the time it takes light from the sun to each planet in our solar system, plus a few other notable locations. To figure light delays between two different locations, subtract the time delay of the object closer to the sun from the time delay of the object farther away. The difference is the light delay between those two locations. Double times for two-way communication:

Lightspeed Communication Delay
LocationAULight Delay
Mercury0.43 minutes
Venus0.76 minutes
Earth1.08 minutes
Mars1.513 minutes
Asteroid belt2.722 minutes
Jupiter5.243 minutes
Saturn9.579 minutes
Uranus19160 minutes
Neptune304 hours
Inner Kuiper Belt304 hours
Pluto396 hours
Outer Kuiper Belt507 hours
Inner Oort Cloud5k29 days
Outer Oort Cloud100k19 months
Proxima Centauri269k4.2 years
Spacecraft Upkeep

(The Stars are Fire, page 103)

Each month of spacecraft operation usually requires that the PCs pay for fuel, feedstocks, and other upkeep. The level of the spacecraft determines upkeep.

Spacecraft Upkeep
LevelUpkeep Cost
1–2Moderate
3–5Expensive
6–7Very expensive
8–9Exorbitant
10Priceless
Retrofitting Power and Drives

(The Stars are Fire, page 104)

Older spacecraft and starships are often retrofitted with more advanced power sources, and more importantly, FTL drives, in order to give them the ability to move further. The main reason to do this is that such ships cost much less, especially if retrofitted advanced ships are available in a fantastic setting, but even for craft within the same tech rating. During vehicular combat, retrofitted ships are treated as if 1 level lower than their actual level for purposes of level comparison in combat if they are fighting FTL-capable fantastic-rated starships.

Contemporary Power

(The Stars are Fire, page 104)

  • Solar Panels: Usually flat panels that convert sunlight to electricity, which can be used for a variety of onboard systems, including powering ion drives.

  • RTGs: When solar panels are not an option, as is often the case for spacecraft that operate far from the sun or on a planetary surface with lots of dust or shadow, RTGs (radioisotope thermoelectric generators) are good long-term power sources for electric power, which can be used for a variety of onboard systems, including powering ion drives. The heart of an RTG is an embedded mass of atomic isotope, such as plutonium-238.

Contemporary Drives

(The Stars are Fire, page 104)

  • Rocket: A rocket engine produces thrust by expelling reaction mass, usually in thundering expanding white clouds from the rocket's base propulsion nozzle. Most contemporary spacecraft use a mix of several rockets and fuel types. Rockets are the primary constituent of a heavy-lift launch spacecraft.

  • Ion Thruster: Ion thrusters can use solar panels or RTGs (or both) to expel ions (or cations) to produce thrust over long periods, which allows a spacecraft to build up speed over large periods of time. The bleeding edge of contemporary ion thruster is VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket), which could drastically reduce travel times around the solar system, if perfected.

Advanced Power

(The Stars are Fire, page 105)

  • Fusion Power: Electrical generation by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions, requiring relatively small fuel input for much higher-power output. Fuel sources include helium-3 (abundant on the Moon and other locations in the solar system without an atmosphere).

Advanced Drives

(The Stars are Fire, page 105)

  • Nuclear Plasma: Essentially, nuclear plasma drives are just very advanced ion thrusters, the promised "perfected" version. These are great, unless the setting has fusion drives, in which case nuclear plasma drives may seem quaint.

  • Fusion Drive: Relying on fusion power, a fusion drive is an order of magnitude more efficient than a contemporary ion thruster. A fusion drive does not require the creation of electricity to ionize propellent, but instead directly uses the fusion product as an exhaust to provide thrust.

Fantastic Power

(The Stars are Fire, page 105)

  • Antimatter Power: Antimatter particles have opposite charge from their matter counterparts, giving them potentially explosive properties when combined, producing energy an order of magnitude more than a fusion power system. Fuel sources include both antimatter as well as Li2 (an atom with 2 lithium ions), important for controlled matter-antimatter reaction so it can be harnessed for power.

  • Singularity Power: Taps energy from Hawking radiation and rotational energy of a spinning micro-black hole to generate energy an order of magnitude more than nuclear power. Fuel source is a micro-black hole.

  • Zero-Point Generator: Vacuum energy is created by normal fluctuation in the quantum field of normal space-time. This zero-point radiation of the vacuum provides arbitrary (possibly limitless) amounts of energy with no fuel other than the initial resources required to build the generator.

Fantastic Drives

(The Stars are Fire, page 105)

  • Warp Drive: A warp drive uses enormous power to distort the fabric of space-time to create a bubble surrounding the starship. The bubble moves by compressing space-time in front of it and expanding space-time behind it, moving independently of the rest of the universe to achieve apparent FTL travel. Warp drives can achieve objective speeds of up to 500 times the speed of light at maximum power.

  • Hyperdrive: Similar to warp drive in some ways, but pushes the ship into a different realm of existence, often called hyperspace, where laws of physics differ significantly and many more dimensions are accessible, allowing a ship to greatly surpass the speed of light before returning to normal space. Hyperdrives can achieve objective speeds of up to 1000 times the speed of light at maximum power.

  • Wormhole Drive: A wormhole drive uses enormous power to open a shortcut between two locations in space-time and travel between those points in a matter of seconds. Most wormhole drives rely on regions of space where wormholes can be formed, or on previously established networks of wormhole tunnels that the wormhole drive accesses. Which means that while travel between two points might be almost instantaneous, travel to and from wormhole-viable locations could greatly increase travel times. Likewise, wormholes can normally only bridge locations up to 200 or so light-years at a time (which means it would take about 500 jumps to cross the Milky Way galaxy from end to end).

  • Dark Drive: A dark drive (short for "dark matter quantum drive") uses enormous power to enable point-to-point transitions between other locations in the galaxy (or universe) using previously unrealized entanglement between normal matter and dark matter. However, objective travel time is variable and somewhat arbitrary; sometimes a trip may take minutes, other times days or months. For those aboard, relative travel time seems constant at about four solar hours, no matter the distance traveled, or the objective time noted by external observers.

Piloting

(The Stars are Fire, page 44)

Many spacecraft have only a single system and dedicated station for piloting and navigation, suitable for a single PC to crew, though a larger craft could split those duties. A PC piloting a ship during combat can attempt any number of piloting tasks, as well as any other type of flying that they deem necessary. While not in combat, the PC crewing this station pilots the ship from place to place in space.

A successful piloting defense task is not always a miss: A failed enemy attack doesn't always mean it misses a character's craft. The PC's spacecraft might rock and reel from the hit, but the bulk of the damage was absorbed by the hull or shields, so there's no significant damage.

Piloting Tasks

(The Stars are Fire, page 48)

Piloting Tasks
Piloting TaskHindranceEffect on Target Craft
Evasive maneuversOne stepDefenses eased three steps, but attacks this round hindered by the same amount
Increase separationOne stepDefenses eased one step, attacks hindered by one step, but creates chance to lose enemy aircraft (see below)
Decrease separation—Negates chance of losing enemy craft this round
Stealth approachThree stepsSo long as no attack is made, pilot's craft can 'snug' up to much larger enemy craft and hide from its sensors
Lose enemy craftFour stepsIf separation is first increased as a separate task (or maneuverability is disabled), target craft loses track of pilot's craft behind a moon, in a debris belt, etc.
Study enemy flying—Spend one round watching enemy tactics, the next piloting task is eased
Fly in formation—If another allied ship is part of the combat, coordinate with it, providing that ship an asset in its next piloting task
Redline maneuver—Spinning, flying through a dangerous region, or some other gamble
Piloting System GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 45)

Piloting System GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1Starcraft drive stutters, off-line next turn, unless quickly repaired.
2Miscalculated flight vector occludes or disrupts allied craft, hindering its actions next turn.
3Drive malfunction requires repair before drive will function again.
4Piloting station malfunctions, sparking with electrical feedback, damaging PC. Requires repair.
5Unexpected thrust exposes everyone on ship to a moment of extreme Gs, inflicting damage on everyone. Secondary systems may require repair.
6Drive will imminently die, must be replaced at a shipyard (though it can be nursed to life just a little longer with some redline engineering).
Science and Engineering

(The Stars are Fire, page 45)

A spacecraft may have more than one science and engineering system. Each science and engineering system has a station, each of which can be crewed by a separate PC. A spacecraft can potentially attempt as many science and engineering tasks each round as stations systems it possesses, if each one is crewed.

Science and Engineering Tasks

(The Stars are Fire, page 49)

Science and Engineering Tasks
Science and Engineering TaskHindranceEffect on Target Craft (or on PC's craft)
Scan—Gain basic information, such as whether other ships are in the area, if such ships are in yet within combat range, if reinforcements might be in the offing, and so on
Tactical scanOne stepLearn the level of identified enemy spacecraft
Deep scanTwo stepsEnemy spacecraft weakness discovered, next task chosen by this character for another PC is eased (usually a piloting or weapons task)
Jam/HackTwo stepsRequires three success before two failures (thus a minimum of three rounds); if successful, enemy ship takes no actions for a couple of rounds until they regain control by severing the communications link; during this time, all tasks against enemy craft are eased by two steps
Open communicationsTwo stepsAttempt to parlay; at the very least, success causes the enemy spacecraft to delay at least one round, which could be the end of it, or open further dialogue
Reconfigure station—Changes the system that the station controls. Useful when another station is damaged or the PC crewing another station is disabled; reconfiguration locks out options from whatever system is previously controlled unless reconfigured again; can be done as part of another action
Effect repair—Sometimes a character can repair a subsystem from their station, but repair may require moving to another part of the ship, such as the drive chamber, the compartment where weapons are sleeved, or even onto the outer hull. The difficulty is equal to the modified difficulty of the enemy craft that caused the damage.
Redline science/engineering—Reverse polarity on the sensors, dig up some bizarre lore from a database that could change the situation somehow, make the hull reflective, or some other risky gambit
Science and Engineering GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 45)

Science and Engineering GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1Shields (or basic hull integrity) compromised, all ship defense tasks hindered this round.
2Sensors compromised, all spacecraft tasks hindered this round.
3Shields (or basic hull integrity) seriously compromised, all ship defense tasks hindered until repair is completed.
4Station malfunctions, sparking with electrical feedback, damaging PC. Requires repair until station will function again.
5Sensors seriously compromised, hindering all piloting and weapons task by two steps until repaired.
6Hull integrity breached, atmosphere begins to vent, and possibly one or two crew too near the hole are at risk of being sucked out. Unless repaired, ship atmosphere is lost to space within a few minutes.
Weapon System

(The Stars are Fire, page 44)

A spacecraft may have more than one weapon system. Each individual weapon system has its own station, which can be crewed by a separate PC. Spacecraft systems are considered heavy weapons (which means some characters may be practiced in their use, though others may have an inability). A spacecraft can potentially make as many attacks each round as weapon systems it possesses, if each station is crewed.

Weapon System Tasks

(The Stars are Fire, page 48)

Weapon System Tasks
Targeting TaskHindranceEffect on Target Craft
Disable weaponsTwo stepsOne or more of the target's weapons disabled
Disable defenses (if applicable)Two stepsAttacks against the target are eased
Disable engine/driveThree stepsTarget cannot move, or movement is hampered
Disable maneuverabilityTwo stepsTarget cannot alter its present course
Strike power core or vital spotFive stepsTarget is completely destroyed
Attempt target lock—Spend one round aiming, the next attack is eased
Coordinate fire—If PC's ship has second weapon system, coordinate fire with it, providing that system an asset this round. (This weapon doesn't make a separate attack)
Redline attack—Overcharge weapons, ricochet shot, or some other risky gamble
Weapon System GM Intrusions

(The Stars are Fire, page 44)

Weapon System GM Intrusions
d6GM Intrusions
1Weapon overheats, off-line next turn, unless quickly repaired.
2Mistargeting, allied craft damaged, hindering its actions next turn.
3Weapon malfunctions, requires repair before weapon can fire again.
4Weapon station malfunctions, sparking with electrical feedback, damaging PC. Requires repair.
5Weapon malfunctions, station pulses with electrical feedback damaging everyone on bridge. Requires repair.
6Weapon melts to slag, must be replaced at a shipyard.
Optional: Command

(The Stars are Fire, page 45)

Ships with a captain may have a Command station, possibly a captain's chair, though the captain might just crew one of the other stations. Sometimes those with captain's privileges also have the Captain's Calm (SF, 210) special ability. Normally, a captain commanding someone else to do something can't redline; it would be up to the person who received the command whether to try to redline or not, and to face any GM intrusion consequences.

Editor's Notes — Captain's Calm (SF, 210) is not included in the CSRD. It allows a PC to negate GM intrusions triggered by crewmates—on a limited basis.

Extended Vehicular Combat

(The Stars are Fire, page 39)

When vehicular combat occurs—which happens whenever the PCs are completely enclosed in a vehicle so that it's not really the characters fighting, but the vehicles—start with the vehicular combat rules.

However, if you'd like to provide the PCs with more options designed especially for spacecraft combat, use these optional rules instead, which include a "redline maneuver" system for trying extremely risky spacecraft maneuvers, bridge combat options, and more. The base vehicular combat rules have been integrated into these extended rules, so you don't need to continually cross-reference them to understand how it all works.

In extended vehicular combat, PCs on a spacecraft take actions on their turn, just like in a standard Cypher System combat encounter. Use standard initiative rules to determine when PCs take their actions, and when enemy spacecraft take theirs. Characters will be crewing specific spacecraft system stations described under Bridge Combat, and thus could attempt a piloting maneuver, to fire the ship weapons, to scan the enemy craft for weaknesses, or to attempt some similar spacecraft operation task on their turn. Alternatively, they might be somewhere else on the ship attempting repairs, fighting off boarders, attempting to open communications in order to negotiate, or taking some other action.

For their part, enemy spacecraft are likely to fire on the same systems aboard a PCs' spacecraft as the ones the PCs are firing on (weapons, defenses, engines, or even a kill shot). The PC pilot rolls one or more defense rolls. The enemy spacecraft faces the same modifications the PCs face when targeting a particular system (as described hereafter), except those modifications ease or hinder the PC making the defense roll, since NPC craft never roll themselves. And, if an enemy ship manages to disable a system on the PCs' ship on an attack, PCs can attempt repair tasks to get those systems back online on their turns.

The main difference between spacecraft combat and regular combat is that the difficulty of tasks that the PCs attempt in relation to the enemy craft varies a lot more than in regular combat. In normal combat, a task difficulty is usually equal to the foe's level. But in spacecraft combat, a task difficulty is equal to a modified task difficulty (beginning with the spacecraft's level, but moving on from there, as noted hereafter). The modified difficulty always applies to anything characters attempt in regard to the enemy spacecraft, whether a PC fires at an enemy ship, dodges return fire, attempts to scan the enemy spacecraft, attempts to repair damage caused by the enemy spacecraft, and so on.

It's actually similar to a normal task. For example, when a PC scans a robot, the task difficulty is usually the robot's level, but not always. Sometimes the robot's effective level is modified because of intrinsic skills or systems the robot possesses, or because of something it does making it harder (or easier) for it to be scanned. In the case of spacecraft combat, modification is pretty much a given, and is even more variable. So variable, in fact, that a space combat status tracker has been provided. to turn potentially confusing conflicts into something as easy as looking at a marker to know what the difficulty for a particular task is.

The modifiers that apply, even before PCs attempt a specific combat task noted under Bridge Combat, are as follows.

Base Combat Task Modifiers

(The Stars are Fire, page 40)

The following modifiers change the effective level of the enemy of the spacecraft for a given task by hindering or easing a PC's roll. Track each change in effective level on the space combat status tracker.

  • Spacecraft Level Difference: Compare the levels of the spacecraft involved in the conflict. If the PCs' vehicle has the higher level, the difference in levels becomes a reduction in the difficulty of attack and defense rolls PCs might make. If the PCs' vehicle has the lower level, the difference is an increase in difficulty by the same amount. If the levels are the same, there is no modification.

  • Mismatched Tech Rating: It's possible that vehicles from different tech ratings will fight each other at some point, or become caught up in a larger multi-vehicle fight. When they do, each step difference in tech rating between two opposed vehicles increases the effective level of the higher-rated vehicle by two steps.

  • Vehicle Coordination: If two vehicles coordinate their attack against an enemy vehicle, the attack is eased. If three or more vehicles coordinate, the attack is eased by two steps.

  • Superior Weapons, Defenses, or other Systems: Some vehicles have superior weapons or defenses, as noted in their descriptions. If a vehicle has a superior system, treat that vehicle as if one level higher than its actual level when figuring attacks or evasion tasks if that specific system is involved.

The Superiority of a Well-Crewed Spacecraft

(The Stars are Fire, page 42)

A spacecraft with some or all of the PCs crewing different systems stations will be more capable than a regular spacecraft in combat. Which means that an enemy spacecraft that might prove challenging based on its level might actually be fairly easily handled by PCs who fully understand their options.

But be careful, because even competent PCs should fear squadrons of enemy ships, and military craft with several weapon systems. Even a single level difference is magnified, so make sure not to capriciously throw spacecraft at the PCs that are 2 levels higher than their own.

Redline Maneuver

(The Stars are Fire, page 41)

When someone with access to spacecraft controls attempts a particularly audacious and risky maneuver, it's a "redline" maneuver. Essentially, declaring a redline maneuver eases one task a PC attempts in a spacecraft under duress, but comes with a concomitant risk.

To make a redline maneuver, a character spends 1 XP as a free action. In doing so, they unlock the option for all the PCs to attempt to redline for rest of the combat. To redline, a PC describes the dangerous thing they want to attempt, then takes that action. Mechanically, the PC eases the particular task they are attempting (which might just be to fire at the enemy craft's weapons), but increases the GM intrusion range by two points.

A character who redlines could opt to increase their gamble by easing a task by two steps or even more; however, each step increases the GM intrusion range by another two points that round.

Redline maneuvers are also available in desperate non-combat situations aboard a spacecraft. For example, Tammie's ship is caught in a decaying orbit over Venus, and the ship doesn't have enough power left to break out. She tells the GM that she's going to try an extremely risky maneuver that involves igniting ALL the remaining power at once, hoping that the explosive thrust will succeed in blowing the craft into a higher orbit. Because things are desperate, she commits to easing the task by two steps after paying 1 XP. This easing (plus any skill, application of Effort, and so on) gives her a pretty decent chance of succeeding, except the GM intrusion range is now 1–5.

If a GM intrusion is triggered, something goes wrong. Remember that success might still be possible if the roll was high enough, but still falls within the increased GM intrusion range.

If you're looking for inspiration for appropriate GM intrusions when a redlining PC triggers one, refer to suggested GM intrusions presented under Bridge Combat hereafter, each associated with a particular ship system that a character is probably crewing.

After any round where a redline maneuver was attempted, the GM intrusion range returns to normal (1 on a 1d20) as the next round beings.

Thus, while PCs do not need to pre-announce their intention to redline at the beginning of each round, coordinating wouldn't be a bad idea. Whichever PC redlines last in a round where redline maneuvers were already attempted could face a fairly significant GM intrusion range.

If Void Rules are also being used and have triggered, redline maneuvers are even more dangerous.

Multiple Redline Maneuvers: Only one PC needs to spend 1 XP to unlock redline maneuvers for themselves and for any other PCs aboard the same spacecraft for the duration of a single encounter. Multiple redline attempts during the same round by two or more PCs additively increase the GM intrusion range for that round. So, a PC attempting to redline who takes their turn after previous redline attempts that round faces a GM intrusion range that's already inflated, and which will inflate more when they redline. (PCs who do not redline during a particular round don't have to worry about the increasing GM intrusion range for their action.)

Bridge Combat

(The Stars are Fire, page 43)

If several PCs are aboard the same spacecraft, give them the following option: ask each PC to crew one of the ship system stations, including weapons (of which there could be more than one system, requiring more than one PC to crew them all), piloting, and science and engineering (which could be divided into two stations with similar functionality). A spacecraft generally has a number of system stations equal to its level. PCs on spacecraft that are lower level must flip between system controls as part of another action, using two stations or even just one station for the whole ship. Even if a PC flips a station (reconfigures, as engineers like to say), only a single PC can crew a station (and take an action using it) each round.

When crewing their stations, PCs have several station-specific options available to them. What they do can bears on how the encounter plays out on a round-to-round basis, similar to regular combat. Specific options are provided for each station, but characters are free to attempt other actions they can think of.

The following ship systems might be found on larger spacecraft with room for more than a single pilot.

Shipmind System Control: Some ships with integrated AIs (shipminds) can control a particular system autonomously, without a PC. When it acts in this fashion, it can only take a single action each round, which means it could attack and move, but not also attempt a complicated engineering or defensive maneuver. A shipmind acts at a level equal to the overall spacecraft. In addition, shipmind actions against an enemy spacecraft are assessed with the same modifiers for targeting as a PC crewing the station.

Bridge Combat at the Table

(The Stars are Fire, page 46)

Running a combat using these extended rules is straightforward.

  • Know your stuff: First, familiarize yourself with the material.

  • Assign characters a station: Next, if you have some time to prepare, copy the two-page spread containing the various PC system options, and give one to each player. Tell them to figure out what stations they are crewing, based on the number of systems their ship has (usually no more systems than the level of the ship). You will probably also have to explain the basics.

  • Deploy space combat status tracker: Also make a copy of the one-page space combat status tracker and set it on the table so everyone can see. It'll make a huge difference in how your space combat plays out. The status tracker allows you (and the players) to easily mark the difficulty of current space combat task a PC is attempting, without having to hold all the easing and hindering in your heads, or having to write them out each time.

  • Space Combat Status Tracker Instructions: Using dice (or similar objects) as markers, track the difficulty of the current task that a PC is attempting, as well as the GM intrusion range for that round if any character is attempting to redline. Place the marker in the column appropriate to the kind of task being attempted (attack, defense, or other) at the starting difficulty level. If the PCs face more than one enemy spacecraft, use different colored dice to represent different ships, or separate copies of this status tracker for each additional enemy spacecraft.

    At the end of each full round, reset all the markers on the tracker to their base state, unless some effect causes a modification that lasts longer than a round. Be sure to reset the GM intrusion marker, too.

  • Roll initiative: Begin the combat, with the enemy spacecraft of your choice taking on the PCs' ship. Decide whether the enemy spacecraft are already in weapon range (it's your call, we're not tracking that here), and if not, how soon they will be close enough to begin attacking, and let the combat flow.

Vehicles Fighting Creatures

(The Stars are Fire, page 47)

  • Spacecraft vs. Colossal Creatures: If a creature is as capable as a spacecraft, treat it that way when it comes to vehicular combat. Instead of adjusting for mismatched tech rating, treat the creature's effective level as if three levels less than its actual level. Extrapolate "weapon systems" to the creature's attack methods, defenses to its weird organic plating, and so on. Killing such a creature means taking out its "power core or other vital spot."

  • Spacecraft vs. Regular Creatures: If a vehicle weapon system fires on an unprotected PC (or a PC in a spacecraft fires ship weapons on a creature outside the craft that isn't colossal), it's an entirely different situation. Attacks against a vehicle's systems face all the previously mentioned modifiers. On top of that, add an additional five steps of hindrance to attacks by a regular creature against a starcraft.

    Likewise, a PC defending from a spacecraft's attack is hindered by five steps. Except in this case, the spacecraft inflicts damage. Given that ship weapons compared to handheld weapons are an order of magnitude apart when it comes to power, a good rule of thumb is that a spacecraft's weapon inflicts 25 points of damage on a successful hit and knocks the character one step down the damage track. Even if the character succeeds on their defense roll, they still take 5 points of damage.

Salvage from a Spacecraft

(The Stars are Fire, page 56)

If the derelict ship was subject to vacuum, partly destroyed in combat, or damaged by some other disaster or close encounter with a space hazard, salvaged items are usually degraded, and are valued at one price category less than noted. The GM may decide an object is completely unrecoverable (worthless) or works fine.

Salvage GM Intrusion: Claim jumpers/pirates might try to salvage a ship that PCs are attempting to salvage.

Salvage from a Spacecraft
d10In-Ship Salvage (value PCs gain on a sale of salvaged item)
1Power core/fuel for drive (expensive)
2Computer core holding core code of a sim AI or strong AI (expensive)
3Cargo—parts, seeds, feedstock for 4d printers, etc. (very expensive)
4Food and water stores, 1d6 months (expensive for each month)
5Valuable information encoded in ship systems (variable)
6GM-selected item of health care and nutrition, advanced tech rating (variable)
7GM-selected item of utility gear, advanced tech rating (variable)
8GM-selected item of apparel and armor, advanced tech rating (variable)
9GM-selected robot, advanced tech rating (variable)
10GM-selected armament, advanced tech rating (variable)

Science Fiction Artifacts

Quick Reference: Science Fiction Artifacts

Science Fiction Artifact Weapons

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)(The Stars are Fire, page 89)

Artifacts in a science fiction game can be strange relics from an unknown alien source or tech items that aren't yet widely available. In a galactic setting, for example, it's easy to imagine that innovations or specialized items might not have spread everywhere.

Amber Casement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Series of short, rounded tubes and hoses about 12 inches (30 cm) long

  • Effect: The device solidifies the air in a 10-foot (3 m) cube of space, the center of which must be within short range. The air is turned into an amberlike substance, and those trapped in it will likely suffocate or starve.

  • Depletion: 1–4 in 1d6

Dimensional Modulator

(The Stars are Fire, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Marble-sized crisscross shape of unknown material

  • Effect: A target within immediate range loses their dimension of breadth (which folds into a higher dimension), rendering them as flat as paper. The target adheres to whatever surface it was attached to, set upon, or was standing upon, and resembles particularly realistic art. An affected creature enters stasis. While in stasis, it is unable to take actions, doesn't age, and is immune to damage and effects. It remains in stasis for about a day, until the user returns the missing dimension or the artifact depletes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Metabolic Prod

(The Stars are Fire, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: 1 m (4 foot) metallic rod of unknown material

  • Effect: When touched to a living target (possibly as an attack), the rod injects a potent cocktail of engineered biomolecules, paralyzing the target for up to one minute. The rod wielder may also choose one of the following additional effects, if set before attacking.

    • Aggression: The target's aggressive tendencies are increased for one hour, during which time the target attacks almost anything it encounters.
    • Calm: The target's aggressive tendencies are tamped down for one hour, during which time the target responds to attacks but never initiates them.
    • Hibernation: The target falls into hibernation, a coma-like sleep in which their metabolism slows to a crawl. They can go months with no additional food or water and with a fraction of the air they'd normally need. Loud sounds, damage, persistent prodding, and the like wakes someone in hibernation.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Metabolism Bud

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Organic pod, almost like a small, hemispherical bit of brain; once grafted to a host, the host's flesh grows over the pod until it is only a lump

  • Effect: The pod grafts onto any living host (usually near the brain or spine) and injects chemicals that boost the creature's metabolism. This permanently raises the host's Speed Pool maximum by 5 points.

  • Depletion: —

Mind Imager

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Handheld device with a plastic panel screen and wires that must be affixed to the head of a creature

  • Effect: This device shows a visual image of what a creature is thinking. The affected creature need not be conscious.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Probability Regulator

(The Stars are Fire, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Fist-sized mathematically perfect solid of constant width of unknown material

  • Effect: For tasks that are usually random, the user exerts some level of control. When picking a card, rolling a die, choosing a number, or otherwise taking an action that skill usually plays no part in, they attempt an Intellect task whose difficulty is determined by how unlikely choosing correctly might be, so long as it is possible, even if unlikely. A 50/50 coin flip is a difficulty of 1, whereas picking a series of numbers with odds around 1 in 300,000,000 is difficulty 10. If successful, they achieve the desired result.

  • Depletion: 1 × task difficulty in 1d20

Psychic Crystal

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Violet crystal the size of a fist

  • Effect: The crystal allows the user to transmit their thoughts telepathically at an interstellar distance. Even at that range, communication is instantaneous. Each use allows about a minute's worth of communication, and the communication is entirely one way (so having two crystals would be handy).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Repair Sphere

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 275)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small spherical automaton about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter

  • Effect: This device comes with a small module that can be affixed to a machine. Floating along, the sphere attempts to follow within immediate range of the module (though it can be directed to remain where it is). It moves a short distance each round. It can come to the module from a range of up to 10 miles (16 km) away. If the module is attached to a machine and that machine takes damage, the sphere moves to repair the damage with sophisticated tools that restore 1d6 − 2 points per round (meaning that if a 1 or 2 is rolled, no damage is repaired that round). This requires no action on the part of the machine being repaired. The sphere can attempt to repair a machine a number of times per day equal to its level. The sphere must be newly activated each day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Steorraform

(The Stars are Fire, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Badge-sized seven-pointed star of unknown material

  • Effect: If the wearer would become debilitated or die, the worn steorraform prevents it by instantly restoring health (to a creature or an NPC) or points to a Pool (to a player character). If the wearer would die of old age, disease, or poison, the artifact prevents it by rolling back the clock by a few decades, clearing the disease, or denaturing the poison. The artifact is ineffective in preventing death when those conditions last over several rounds or more, such as falling into lava, the sun, a singularity, and so on.

  • Depletion: 1 × number of previous uses in 1d20

Science Fiction Artifact Weapons

(The Stars are Fire, page 90)

Artifacts that can be used as weapons, though some have other uses as well.

Light, Medium, and Heavy Artifact Weapons: The artifact weapons described in this section are idiosyncratic in that they are not described as light, medium, or heavy. If they were specifically categorized, many characters would find that their training doesn't match up with a particular designation. With artifact weapons living outside the regular weapon categories, anyone can use an artifact weapon.

Alpha Beam Projector

(The Stars are Fire, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Rifle-like device of unknown material

  • Effect: The device has two settings. One fires a beam of energy that acts as propulsion and rockets the artifact away unless the user can hold onto it as a difficulty 1 Might-based task. A user could use this setting to fly a long distance each round, but doing so requires a difficulty 4 Speed-based task each round to move in the direction desired (and not plow into the ground or the side of a building). The other setting fires a reactionless beam that can be used as a very long-range plasma attack that inflicts damage equal to the artifact level. The beam ignores 1 point of Armor from the target.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Carbonizer

(The Stars are Fire, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Pistol-like device of unknown material

  • Effect: This device fires a beam that transmutes the matter of targets within short range into powdery ash, inflicting damage equal to the artifact level that ignores Armor from force fields and natural scales, leather, and other organic sources.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Death Ray

(The Stars are Fire, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Pistol-like device of unknown material

  • Effect: This device fires a beam that transmutes the matter of targets within short range into powdery ash, inflicting damage equal to the artifact level that ignores Armor from force fields and natural scales, leather, and other organic sources.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Disintegration Beamer

(The Stars are Fire, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Rifle-like device with two electrodelike protrusions of unknown material

  • Effect: This device fires a beam to suppress the charge of the electrons that make up a creature or object within long range, inflicting damage equal to twice the artifact's level. If the attack reduces the target's health (or combined Pools for a PC) to below the level of the artifact, the target instantly falls to dust. (A PC who would be disintegrated can spend 1 XP and instead descend one step on the damage track.)

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Empathic Ray

(The Stars are Fire, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Rod-like device with very long barrel of unknown material

  • Effect: This device emits an invisible beam of neural-magnetic energy as a short-range attack that instantly reverses how a level 1 target sees the user (turning an enemy into a friend, and vice versa) for up to one day. The user can adjust the settings to increase the ray's effectiveness by making one additional depletion roll per increase in the maximum level of the target. Thus, to alter the attitude of level 5 target (4 levels above the normal limit), the user must make five depletion rolls. If used against a PC, an affected PC can attempt an Intellect task to end the effect once every minute for the first few minutes, then once every hour.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Science Fiction Creatures

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Science-Fiction Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 272)

Innocuous rodent
level 1
Guard beast
level 3; perception as level 4
Corporate drone
level 2
Physical laborer
level 2; health 8
Science Fiction Creatures and NPCs by Level and Tech

(The Stars are Fire, page 114)

† — denotes a creature presented the Cypher System Rulebook. The tech levels of these creatures are assigned by the editor.

Science Fiction Creatures and NPCs by Level and Tech
LevelNameTech Rating
1Space RatAdvanced
2Silicon ParasiteAdvanced
3InfovoreFantastic
3Mock OrganismAdvanced
3Natathim (Homo aquus)Advanced
3Sentinel TreeAdvanced
3Zero-Point PhantomFantastic
4DevolvedAdvanced
4Ecophagic SwarmAdvanced
4Grey†Fantastic
4Hungry HazeFantastic
4InquisitorFantastic
4Malware, FatalAdvanced
4RedivusFantastic
4Storm MarineAdvanced
4Wraith (Homo vacuus)Advanced
5Shining OneFantastic
5SupernalFantastic
6Vacuum FungusAdvanced
6ExoslimeFantastic
6PhotonomorphFantastic
7PosthumanFantastic
7Thundering BehemothFantastic
8Artificial Intelligence (AI)Advanced
8CybridFantastic
8Wharn InterceptorFantastic
10GodmindFantastic
10OmworwarFantastic

Chapter 16 Horror

Quick Reference: Horror

Optional Rules

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 280)

Although it's very likely a subset of the modern genre, horror as a genre gets special treatment. Unlike the other genres, horror doesn't necessarily suggest a setting. Any setting can be horrific. Horror is more of a style. An approach. A mood.

You could easily have horror in other times and settings, but for our purposes, we'll deal with a default setting in the modern day. The PCs are probably normal people, not secret agents or special investigators (although being a part of a secret agency that deals with monsters in the shadows could make for a fine horror game).

Horror Character Options

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 280)

Suggested types and additional equipment for a horror setting are the same as in a modern setting.

Horror Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In addition to mundane foci, these foci might make good choices if the PCs are a part of the paranormal or horror aspects of the setting:

Editor's Notes — Other ways of realizing PCs with horror elements:

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 281)

Horror games allow us to explore some pretty dark topics from the safety of our own game tables. But before you do that, make sure everyone around your table is okay with that. Find out what your players will find "good uncomfortable," which is something that makes us squirm in our seats in a great horror movie, and "bad uncomfortable," which is something that actually makes a player feel nauseated, unsafe, or offended. Being scared can be fun, but being sickened isn't.

Consider the age and maturity of everyone in the game, perhaps in terms of the movie rating system. Tell the players what you think the game you're running would be rated. If everyone's okay with an R rating, then fine. You can have a spooky game that's on the level of a kids' movie rated G—more like Scooby-Doo than Saw, in other words. A PG rating might be right for a game that's more creepy than horrific, with ghosts and spooky noises but not axe-wielding maniacs.

The different ratings suggest different kinds of content for your game. Finding a dead body is horrible, but watching someone get decapitated is something else entirely. Getting chased around by an alien that wants to eat you is one thing, but having it gestate and burst out of your own intestines is another. You need to know where the line is for everyone participating, and you need to know it right from the beginning.

A rule for any game: don't use mind control, possession, (or anything else) to make a character have sex without the player's permission.

Editor's Notes — For more on addressing consent issues in your game, see Consent in Gaming from Monte Cook Games.

Horror Rules

(Stay Alive!, page 84)

This chapter describes many different optional rules (called "horror modules") for making horror games more exciting or suspenseful. Horror modules are tweaks the GM applies to the rules to make a horror scenario even more scary or to represent how an event usually happens in a horror genre.

If a module changes the options that players or PCs have, the GM should tell the players about it when the game begins. For example, if the GM is using the Character Posse module, the players should know about it at the start of the game so they can become familiar with all their characters instead of having to pause when they switch scenes and spend several minutes reviewing a second set of characters. Likewise, players should know if their healing options are affected by the Ironman module, or if they have additional recovery roll options from the Hysteria module.

This chapter also suggests various modules that are appropriate for different horror genres. The GM should feel free to use some, all, or none of those modules when running a game of that type, or introduce other modules to provide a unique twist to the game.

Editor's Notes — In Stay Alive!, this section is titled Encyclopedia of Horror Mechanics.

General Horror GM Intrusions

(Stay Alive!, page 85)

The following GM intrusions work for most horror genres.

  • Something foils a character's attempt to escape: a getaway car won't start, they drop the keys that unlock the exit door or lock up the villain, or the shotgun they're using to clear a path jams or runs out of shells.
  • The antagonist enters a secure or sealed room by an unexpected method: crashing through a door or wall, crawling out of a ventilation shaft, jumping out of a trap door, manifesting electronically through a Wi-Fi signal, or teleporting.
  • A mysterious noise nearby amplifies the tension, and when investigated reveals itself to be … a cat, either perfectly calm or hissing and leaping. This often allows for a momentary de-escalation followed by a real scare, such as the antagonist reaching out of the darkness to grab a character.
  • A dramatic and/or ridiculous amount of blood and gore from something that just got killed splashes on a character, blinding them until they take an action to wipe their eyes clean.
Bad Penny

(Stay Alive!, page 84)

An unwanted or dangerous object (such as a cursed artifact) keeps turning up, no matter how many times the PCs try to discard or destroy it. In many cases, there might be only one way to rid themselves of the item (such as dousing it with holy water or burying it in a graveyard) or only one way to destroy it (such as burning it in a church or stabbing it with a magical dagger). The item might slowly repair itself—and depending on the item, it might be more frightening if it shows up fully intact or still bearing damage from how the PCs tried to destroy it.

This reappearance usually isn't because the item is literally walking to wherever the PCs are (although if the item is something like a cursed doll, that might make it more frightening). In most cases, it just happens to be where the PCs went, found in an unobtrusive place like the back of a closet, under a car seat, or in the bottom of someone's luggage. If the item is intelligent (or controlled by a hostile intelligence), it might use NPCs to bring it back to the PCs, and might sacrifice those NPCs in dramatic and gory ways to make sure it ends up back in the hands of the PCs. For example, if the PCs abandon a haunted ring, on the next day when they're waiting for a train they recognize a man they saw earlier just as he gets hit by an oncoming train, and his severed hand—wearing the ring—lands at their feet. Even if the PCs go to a remote area with no people, one of them might suddenly vomit up their lunch—and the haunted ring.

Character Posse

(Stay Alive!, page 85)

Every player is given at least two characters to run, each with about the same amount of background and abilities so they're all suitable as main characters. A player usually runs only one of these PCs at a time. As the action in the story changes locations, the GM can have one or more players switch their active PC and interact with the other active PCs and the story in a different way. This keeps the players from knowing which characters are supposed to have the important roles in the story, allows for some of the PCs to split off for a while without the rest of the group having to wait, and gives every player a backup character to play if their active PC dies.

Character Posse works best when the characters are very simple and don't have many abilities that require a lot of knowledge and description. That way the player can focus on the personality of the PC and not have to keep remembering a stack of complicated abilities. In a non-fantastic modern setting, that often means characters who have a lot of skills and automatic or simple bonuses (like Combat Prowess and Fleet of Foot) but one or zero abilities that have durations or require special actions (like Anecdote and Muscles of Iron).

Dead All Along

(Stay Alive!, page 86)

A handful of people are forced to stick together under unusual circumstances—they're survivors of a shipwreck, quarantined to avoid an outbreak of a deadly disease, waiting for a riot to leave their neighborhood, or locked away from an approaching zombie horde. They hear strange noises, glimpse shadowy figures, and find that things move about or disappear when nobody is looking. The PCs begin to suspect they're being haunted by ghosts or observed by mysterious aliens; one or more of them disappear or are found dead. Eventually the PCs realize that they are ghosts of people who haven't come to terms with their own deaths, and the weird experiences are their limited interactions with the real world and the living people trying to bury their bodies or put their souls at peace.

In these stories, the emotional journey of the ghosts is about understanding their situation and coming to terms with their deaths. In normal play, GM intrusions are complications that the characters have to deal with, but to represent the secret and inverted expectation of this module, GM intrusions are used to simplify what the characters experience, but with a spooky twist.

When a PC crosses over and disappears, that player can still participate in the game by using the Ghostly Helpers module.

Fragility

(Stay Alive!, page 87)(Rust and Redemption, page 74)

Whenever a character selects the Increasing Capabilities option for advancement or gains an ability that permanently increases their Pools, they can add a maximum of 1 point to their Might Pool and 1 point to their Speed Pool; other points left over (if any) must go to their Intellect Pool, even if that's not normally an option for the ability. This does not apply to the extra points the player can divide among their Pools at character creation. This creates a more "realistic" game scenario where the PCs are more like normal people who don't get much more powerful physically over the course of a campaign, but still can learn new skills, advance their minds, and so on.

This optional rule prevents power creep in PCs. It does not affect abilities likeEnlarge (which temporarily adds 4 points to your Might Pool), but it does affect abilities likeEnhanced Might,Enhanced Speed, andLead From the Front (which permanently increase one or more Pools).

When to Use: If you want your players to have a gritty game experience after the apocalypse, this optional rule keeps them physically humble.

Ghostly Helpers

(Stay Alive!, page 87)

In a horror story, it's common for major characters to be killed or incapacitated, but in a horror RPG, that means the player of a dead character doesn't have much to do. The Ghostly Helpers module gives players whose characters are out of the game two ways to have an active role in the scenario.

First, the dead character is still able to spend their XP to give a living character a reroll. To facilitate this, the GM should allow players to award the second 1 XP from a GM intrusion to a dead character (although this would come up only if there is one character left alive and the second XP would be wasted) and give dead characters 1 XP whenever there is a group intrusion.

Second, the dead character is able to use their subtle cyphers to help a living character. Depending on the cypher, this might be a direct benefit to the PC (like easing a roll) or interfering with an NPC (like making an opponent drop their weapon). When the GM gives out more subtle cyphers, any excess ones (beyond the cypher limit of living PCs) should go to the dead characters, up to the cypher limits of the dead characters (any extra cyphers beyond that are lost).

The player of a dead character always gets to decide when to help and which PC to affect with their help—they're not merely extensions of the living PCs. Whether this help is just fate or coincidence working on behalf of the PC, or if it literally is the lingering ghost of a dead character trying to save a living person, depends on the scenario and the GM.

Help from a dead character doesn't have to be from a ghost. Depending on the genre, it might be the influence of a guilty artificial intelligence, a sentient weapon with a grudge, a cultist with conflicting loyalties, and so on.

Hallucination Reset

(Stay Alive!, page 88)

In some horror genres, it's unclear if the character is truly experiencing what's happening in the story, or if they're hallucinating or dreaming it. In some cases, their fear response to the real events happening around them prompts their conscious or subconscious imagination to create an unreal scenario that's even more terrifying, only to have them snap out of it and find themselves in a prior (but perhaps still very dangerous) situation. This sort of hallucination allows the story to go completely off the rails and then suddenly return to normal.

If the GM plans to have a hallucination reset, they should keep track of damage taken, equipment used, and XP spent for each character (if using cypher and XP cards, there should be a separate space for each character's used cards). When the hallucination ends, stop the action, explain that the PCs find themselves at an earlier point in the story (or wake up after some time has passed if it's a dream), and restore their Pools, equipment, and XP to their previous state. If the GM doesn't know exactly how much each character's Pool changed, allow each PC to make a free recovery roll to compensate for it.

If the GM needs to use a hallucination reset to recover from a disastrous outcome, they should try to reset the PCs as close as possible to their previous state, relying on the players' recollection of which cyphers and XP belonged to each character. As it's unlikely that they kept track of how many Pool points they spent in the now-false encounters, the GM can allow each of them a free recovery roll to make up for it.

Used carefully, a hallucination reset leaves the characters wondering what is real, and it can be a tool for the GM to rewind an encounter that goes out of control or accidentally kills a character because of poor rolls. Used too much, it risks causing the players to lose interest in the game because the frequent resets undermine their emotional connections to their characters and negate any progress in the story.

Note that a deliberate and planned reset can deliberately do strange things with the story because it's completely in the characters' heads. A horror game about werewolves might have a dream or hallucination about fascist soldiers attacking the PCs with flamethrowers. One about aliens might show the antagonists turning into sexy vampires. A haunted house might convince the PCs that they're tearing off their own faces. A hallucination might even include elements of something that will happen in the future, so when the actual event occurs (perhaps in a later session) the players won't know if they should act on their "future memories" of these events or ignore them as falsehoods.

Horror Mode

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 283)(Stay Alive!, page 89)

For horror games, GMs can implement a rule called Horror Mode. The idea is to create a feeling of escalating dread and menace by changing one die roll mechanic. In the game, things begin as normal. The PCs interact with each other and the NPCs, investigate, research, travel, and so on. But when they enter the haunted house, the serial killer gets close, the elder things beneath the earth awaken, or whatever horrific situation planned by the GM begins, things change. At this time, the GM announces that the game has gone into Horror Mode.

This is a key for the players (not the characters) to recognize that things are getting bad. It's the RPG equivalent of spooky music beginning to play in a horror film. While in Horror Mode, the rules for GM intrusions governed by die rolls change. Normally this happens only on a roll of 1, but when Horror Mode starts, it becomes a roll of 1 or 2. And then it escalates. As time passes, GM intrusions happen on a roll of 1 to 3, then a roll of 1 to 4, and so on. This potentially means that a die roll in Horror Mode can indicate success in a task and still trigger a GM intrusion.

As the intrusion range changes with each escalation, the GM should announce this to the players. The feeling of rising tension should be dramatic and overt.

Escalation Rate

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 283)(Stay Alive!, page 89)

Escalation Rate
ActivityIntrusion Range Increases by 1
Exploring a large areaEvery time a new intrusion is indicated by a die roll
ExploringEvery ten minutes or every time a new intrusion is indicated by a die roll
CombatEach round

For example, while the PCs are exploring a dark swamp (a large area), the game goes into Horror Mode and intrusions are indicated on a 1 or 2. During this exploration, one of the players rolls a 2. Not only is there an intrusion, but now the range escalates to 1, 2, or 3. The character is almost dragged into a spot of quicksand-like muck. Then the PCs find an old abandoned house in the middle of the swamp. They enter, and now the escalation rate goes up if they roll a 1, 2, or 3, or every ten minutes that passes in the game. They explore the house for twenty minutes (escalating intrusions to 1 to 5), and during the investigation of the kitchen, someone rolls a 3, triggering an intrusion. A cabinet opens mysteriously and a strangely carved clay pot falls, striking the character. This also escalates the intrusion rate, so they now occur on a roll of 1 to 6. When the PCs reach the attic, they encounter the dreaded swamp slayer, a half man, half beast that thrives on blood. It attacks, and now the range goes up during each round of combat. After four rounds of fighting, intrusions happen on a roll of 1 to 10—half the time. Things are getting dicey, and they're only going to get worse.

When the GM announces that Horror Mode has ended, the GM intrusion rate goes back to normal, happening only on a roll of 1 or when the GM awards XP.

Horror Mode is a very "meta" rule. It gives players knowledge that their characters don't have. This is similar to how the viewers of a horror movie or readers of a horror story often know more than the characters on the screen or page. It heightens the tension. Players can express the start of Horror Mode by having their characters talk about goosebumps or a feeling of being watched, but this is not necessary.

Horror Mode is also unique among the horror modules in that the default assumption is that the GM is using it for every horror game, at least some of the time. Using Horror Mode makes the players aware of the risks they take every time they make a roll. They won't take easy tasks for granted, and they might apply Effort to turn an easy task into a routine task so they don't have to roll at all and risk an intrusion. This ends up depleting their Pools faster, which makes them feel more vulnerable.

Using GM Intrusions in Horror Mode

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 284)

With the GM intrusions coming fast and furious toward the end of Horror Mode, it's easy to run out of ideas. In combat, intrusions might just mean that the monster or villain gets a surprise extra attack or inflicts more damage. Perhaps a PC is thrown to the ground or nearer to the edge of a cliff. If the characters are running away, one might trip and fall. If the PCs are exploring, a bookcase topples, potentially hitting someone. Think of all the similar moments you've seen in horror films.

Sometimes, if the GM prefers, the GM intrusion can simply be something frightening, like a moan or a whisper. These aren't dangerous to the PCs, but they escalate the tension and indicate that something bad is getting closer.

In fact, while in Horror Mode, GMs should mostly refrain from doing anything bad, ominous, or dangerous unless it's an intrusion (either from a die roll or through the awarding of XP). In a horror game, GM intrusions are an indication that things are bad and getting worse, and whenever possible, the GM should allow the Horror Mode escalation to drive the action. This makes the GM more of a slave to the dice than in other Cypher System situations, but that's okay.

Consider this example. The PCs have tracked something that is probably committing a series of horrific murders to an old factory. They enter the building to explore. The GM knows where the creature is hiding in the factory, but decides that it doesn't become aware of the characters until an intrusion is indicated. The only clue the PCs have is a mysterious noise off in the darkness. The creature doesn't move toward them until another GM intrusion occurs. Now they hear something dragging across the factory floor, coming closer. But it's not until a third intrusion occurs that the creature lunges out from behind an old machine at the PC who rolled the die.

In some ways, the status quo doesn't change until an intrusion happens. This could be seen as limiting the GM and the need for pacing, but remember that the GM can still have an intrusion occur anytime they desire, in addition to waiting for the low die rolls.

GMs may want to limit the number of intrusions to no more than one per round, no matter what the dice indicate, but that should be based on the situation.

Hysteria

(Stay Alive!, page 90)

Screaming is a natural reaction when you're frightened, but it's also likely to draw the attention of whatever is frightening you. The Hysteria horror module encourages characters to give in to the natural instinct to scream, but introduces dangerous consequences for doing so.

At any time, as an action, a PC can use a free one-action recovery roll (which doesn't use up the one-action recovery roll that all characters get), but doing so means they also spend that action loudly screaming. Because of this noise, the GM can make a free intrusion and doesn't have to award XP for it.

A PC's ten-minute recovery roll takes only one minute, but the PC has to scream and have an emotional meltdown for the entire time. As with the previous option, this allows the GM to make a free intrusion (after the recovery period) and they don't have to award XP for it. The PC still has the option of resting normally for ten minutes to use the ten-minute recovery roll (without screaming, and without the free intrusion).

In most situations that use Hysteria, the free intrusions involve drawing the attention of something that wants to harm the PCs or the sudden appearance of something dangerous.

Instant Panic

(Stay Alive!, page 90)

Most people in real life aren't prepared for the existence of aliens, monsters, or killer robots, and seeing something that shatters their worldview is frightening and traumatic. The first time a character sees a creature (or anything else suitably horrifying) they thought wasn't possible or only existed in books and movies, they must make an Intellect defense roll against the creature's level. If they fail, for one round either they're paralyzed with fear or they run in the opposite direction.

Repeat appearances by the creature (or other creatures like it) that they've seen before usually don't trigger this reaction a second time, but encountering a large number of those creatures or seeing them do something unusual might trigger it. For example, seeing a ghoul crawl out of a storm drain might trigger panic; seeing another ghoul (or the same one again) won't trigger it again, but seeing a large pack of ghouls approaching, or seeing one ghoul eating a dead person could trigger another panic reaction. Even if a character has gotten over their initial panic, the GM can prompt it again as an intrusion if the circumstances warrant it.

Ironman

(Stay Alive!, page 91)(Rust and Redemption, page 74)

There are no cyphers (subtle or manifest) or artifacts that heal, and all other healing effects (such as recovery rolls andHealing Touch) restore only the minimum amount possible. For example, a tier 2 character using a recovery roll would get only 3 points (as if they rolled a 1 on a d6, plus 2 for their tier) to add to their Pools. This results in a gritty, dire scenario where the only way PCs can restore their Pools is with recovery rolls and character abilities that heal.

Cypher System characters are tough and resilient, even at tier 1, but Ironman brings them down to a more realistic power level. Ironman is more punitive for characters whose abilities cost Pool points and less of a challenge for characters whose abilities don't cost anything (such asPhysical Skills). For a slightly less challenging option, allow the use of healing cyphers and artifacts, but limit them to the minimum amount.

This optional rule pares back some of the better than normal advantages that Cypher System PCs have over most regular people.

When to Use: To really drive home the brutality of a survival one shot game or short scenario, you can subject your players to this hardcore optional rule.

Last Survivor

(Stay Alive!, page 91)

Sometimes the antagonist kills off all the protagonists one by one, leaving only one survivor to challenge them. In the journey toward that point, it's not clear who the last survivor will be, and sometimes a potential last survivor is eliminated unexpectedly or sacrifices themselves so that another person may live. The Last Survivor horror module is a way for PCs to temporarily thwart fate, but it inevitably feeds toward the last surviving character having extra advantages when dealing with the murderous antagonist.

When using this module, the GM places a token on the game table that represents the last survivor, and puts a piece of paper (or an XP card) underneath the token that represents 1 XP. Whenever there is a GM intrusion, instead of giving 2 XP to a player and letting that player award 1 XP to another player, the GM gives 1 XP to the chosen player, and the other 1 XP is added to the last survivor token. Whenever there is a group intrusion, 1 XP is added to the last survivor token (as if the last survivor were a separate PC).

At any time, a player can decide that their PC becomes the last survivor by picking up the token and its XP.

However, those XP belong to the role of the last survivor and always remain separate from individual character XP. While a PC is the last survivor, they gain the following benefits and restrictions:

  • All rolls to save them from being killed are eased by two steps.
  • The last survivor XP can be spent only by the last survivor, and only on the last survivor's rolls, never on any other players' rolls. (The PC can still spend their personal XP normally, including on other players' rolls.)
  • At any time, whoever has the token can pass the role of last survivor to another player. The receiving player gets all the XP associated with the last survivor (if there are none, the GM immediately gives 1 XP to the token).
  • Once a player has given up the role of last survivor, they can never again be the last survivor.
  • If the last survivor role has no XP left to spend, and there are no other players to pass the token to (because everyone else has already been the last survivor), the last survivor can pass the token to the GM in exchange for their character getting 1 XP. Once this happens, the last survivor token is removed from the game.
Madness

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 294)(Stay Alive!, page 92)

Having characters descend into madness is an interesting facet of some kinds of horror and can make long-term horror campaigns more interesting. The easiest way to portray blows to a character's sanity is through Intellect damage. When PCs encounter something shocking, as described above, they always take Intellect damage. If they would normally move one step down the damage track due to the damage, they instead immediately regain points (equal to 1d6 + their tier) in their Intellect Pools but lose 1 point from their maximums in that Pool. Characters whose Intellect Pools reach 0 go insane. They lose their current descriptor and adopt the Mad descriptor, regain 1d6 + tier points to their Intellect Pools, and gain +1 to their Intellect Edge. If they ever reach a permanent Intellect Pool maximum of 0 again, they go stark raving mad and are no longer playable.

Intellect Edge offers an interesting means to portray a character who is knowledgeable (and perhaps even powerful in terms of mental abilities) yet mentally fragile. A character with a low Intellect Pool but a high Intellect Edge can perform Intellect actions well (since Edge is very helpful) but is still vulnerable to Intellect damage (where Edge is of no help).

Since Cypher System games are meant to be story based, players should recognize that the degrading sanity of their character is part of the story. A player who feels that their character is going mad can talk to the GM, and the two of them can work out the means to portray that—perhaps by using the Mad descriptor, permanently trading up to 4 points from their Intellect Pool to gain +1 to their Intellect Edge, or anything else that seems appropriate. Mental disorders, manias, psychopathy, schizophrenia, or simple phobias can be added to a character's traits, but they don't need to be quantified in game statistics or die rolls. They're simply part of the character.

Inabilities in personal interaction or any area requiring focus might be appropriate, perhaps allowing the PC to gain training in weird lore or forbidden knowledge. Or maybe the opposite is true—as the character's mind slowly slips away, they become oddly compelled or can obsessively focus on a single task for indefinite periods, and thus they gain training in that topic or skill. These kinds of changes could be balanced with inabilities, such as being unable to remember important details.

As another way to represent madness, the GM could hinder Intellect-based tasks that would be considered routine, such as "remembering your friends and family" or "caring what happens to your best friend" or "stopping yourself from injecting a mysterious substance into your veins." These routine tasks normally have a difficulty of 0, but for a PC who has lost their mind, they might have a difficulty of 1, 2, or even higher. Now the character must make rolls to do even those simple things.

Mind Control

(Godforsaken, page 67)

From a rules perspective, mind control is fairly straightforward: one creature decides what actions another creature takes (perhaps limited in that the controlled creature won't take actions that harm them or go against their nature, such as attacking friends). But what's happening inside the controlled creature's head—whether during the effect or afterward—often isn't specified. There are several options for the GM to consider, either for all kinds of mind-control magic or on a case-by-case basis.

  • Confusion: The controlled creature doesn't understand why they're doing things they normally wouldn't do, but they aren't aware of any outside influence on their thoughts and actions. Once the control is over, the creature may admit that they don't know why they did those things, or come up with an explanation justifying (to themselves and others) their reasons for those actions.

  • Dream: The controlled creature is aware of what's going on but perceives it in a dreamlike state. They may believe that they're in control of themselves the entire time, or somewhat aware that they're not fully in control (similar to being intoxicated by drugs or alcohol or disoriented by an illness). Afterward, the creature might feel strange about the events but may not realize that someone else was controlling them.

  • Trapped: The active thoughts in the controlled creature's head come from the controller, but the creature still has a small voice or awareness in the background, like they're a prisoner in their own mind. This horrible situation usually means the controlled creature reverts to normal once the control is gone, and is probably very upset that their mind and body autonomy were violated.

One way to present mind control more safely is to disallow certain actions but otherwise leave the character in control. For example, being charmed by a vampire might mean the PC can't attack the vampire (or its allies) or run away, but is still able to call for help, heal themselves, leave at a normal pace, and take other actions. Alternatively, the character can be given a specific command, and until they comply with that command their other actions are hindered by one or more steps. If the player is willing to engage with the parameters of the mind control, the GM may award them an additional 1 XP (or, to approach it from the opposite direction, the GM can offer them a GM intrusion that the mind control is happening, and allow the player to spend 1 XP to refuse it, or go into XP debt if they want to refuse it but have no XP to spend).

Mind control takes away a player's ability to control their character, and that can make some players very uncomfortable. See the section on consent.

Perilous Venture

(Stay Alive!, page 92)

Sometimes the PCs need to perform a ritual or other complex action that takes several rounds or minutes, and if they make mistakes along the way it's a setback instead of an outright failure. For example, they might need to read a banishing spell out of an old book, mix and heat the chemicals for a zombie cure, or draw a magic circle around a building to contain hostile ghosts. Rather than having their success or failure come down to one roll, the GM can build tension by requiring the players to make multiple rolls called subtasks. The subtasks start at difficulty 1, and the difficulty increases each time until the players make a final roll at the highest difficulty (equal to the overall level of the challenge, such as the demon they want to banish, the original zombie virus, or the most powerful ghost attempting to leave the house).

Generally, these subtasks occur at equally divided intervals over the course of the full time required to complete the ritual. If at any point the PC fails a subtask, the ritual isn't ruined, but it costs time—a failure means the time spent on that subtask was wasted, but the character can spend that much time again and try to succeed at that same subtask.

Skills, assets, and other special abilities can ease subtasks just like they do with any other task (which might make some of the subtasks routine and not require a roll at all). Characters may apply Effort to each subtask. Of course, applying Effort is something characters do in the moment, not over long periods of time, so it's generally impossible to apply sustained Effort on a task or subtask that takes longer than a day. The GM should decide if a given ritual is something that other PCs can help with. Even if it initially seems like a solo venture (like reading a spell from a book), it might benefit from assistants who repeat a chant, burn candles, perform arcane gestures, or just hold the acting character upright as the ritual drains their strength. In general, giving multiple PCs something to do is better than having everyone wait on the sidelines while one character holds the spotlight.

To make the situation more interesting, the GM can introduce a time challenge, like requiring the PCs to finish by a specific time (perhaps a midnight deadline for containing the ghosts in the house, or banishing a demon that's inflicting damage to an NPC every round it possesses them). This puts pressure on the PCs to complete the process as soon as possible.

The GM can also add side effects for failed rolls or as intrusions. For example, a weak spot in the salt line might allow one powerful ghost to break free, an error in the banishing spell might painfully enrage the demon and hinder the next subtask, electrical or magical energy might lash out and harm a nearby character, and so on. The ritual might use up quantities of a limited resource, such as holy water, silver powder, or rare herbs; if the PCs have only enough materials to complete the ritual (perhaps with a little extra in case they make one mistake), that forces them to use Effort, XP, and other tricks to make sure they don't fail too often and run out.

Finally, some rituals might require the PCs to spend points from their Pools on each subtask, with Might representing blood or vitality, Speed representing energy, and Intellect representing will or sanity. Other physical or mental tolls could also require points from Pools. Multiple PCs involved in the ritual could collectively contribute to this cost.

Editor's Notes — Perilous Venture is useful for more than just rituals—it's perfect for any type of "skill challenge". A "complex task" could be performing dangerous ship repair involving a spacewalk, strenuous operation of a cosmic forge, or the construction of a powerful magical artifact. It's also useful for a more complex version of chases or escapes.

Poor Choices

(Stay Alive!, page 94)

Sometimes people in horror do dumb things. They wander off alone to investigate a weird noise. They abandon their friends and try to escape in a rusty old car. They have sex in a spooky barn. These things usually put them in danger and sometimes get them gruesomely killed. Using the Poor Choices module means the GM can use intrusions to make the characters do things that the audience of a horror movie would think are stupid.

These intrusions work like the normal kind (the GM awards 2 XP, and the player gives one of them to another player). However, while normal intrusions are subtle changes that influence the situation, using Poor Choices lets the GM abandon that restraint and dictate a specific overt character action, even if it's something that the player wouldn't normally choose.

These intrusions can be risky, but they shouldn't be obviously self-destructive or harmful. For example, the GM shouldn't use an intrusion to make a PC drink something that they know is poisonous, jump out of an airplane without a parachute, punch a police officer, or stare directly at an eclipse. The idea is to put the character in a complicated situation more forcefully than the player might choose, but not set up the character for failure. The players know they're in a horror scenario, but their characters don't, and this helps prevent the players from using metagame knowledge to keep the PCs out of trouble. Another way to look at it is the characters should act as if they live in a world where horror movies don't exist, so they don't know not to do these things.

As with any GM intrusion, the player can choose to spend 1 XP to refuse a Poor Choices intrusion, but they should consider accepting the intrusion for the sake of the story, and because they'll need the XP later.

Poor Choices GM Intrusions

(Stay Alive!, page 96)

The following are examples of GM intrusions to use with the Poor Choices module.

  • A character investigates a strange noise on their own. ("It'll be fine!")
  • Two or more characters sneak off to have sex.
  • A character leaves behind an important piece of equipment, such as a weapon, phone, car keys, or their outer layer of clothes. (The GM can use this intrusion after the fact when a player tries to use a specific item.)
  • A character gets drunk or high.
  • A character falls asleep.
  • A character slips away to urinate out in the woods or a nearby scary building.
  • A character doesn't care that nearby animals are acting strange (especially if they're guard dogs).
  • A character doesn't shoot a dead monster in the head. ("We need to save ammo.")
  • A character runs away into the dark or away from a place that would be a better, safer direction to run.
  • A character reads aloud words from the weird old book they found, or they play an old recording of someone else reading the book aloud.
  • In a multistory building, a character runs upstairs or down into a basement (where they could get cornered) instead of outside where they could escape in any direction.
  • A character chooses a dumb or obvious hiding place, such as a closet or under a bed.
  • A character tries to escape by squeezing through a space that no human could reasonably get through quickly, such as a doggie door or a tiny window in a garage door.
  • A character hides the fact that they've been bitten by a zombie, have a weird rash like the one they saw on the walls of the alien spaceship, or have been hearing a spooky voice telling them to kill their friends. ("I'll be okay.")
  • A character runs straight down the road to get away from a pursuing vehicle (instead of onto the sidewalk, behind a big tree, or around a tight corner).
  • A prone or supine character crawls away from approaching danger instead of getting up and running.
  • A character doesn't call the local authorities for help when they hear something dangerous.
  • A character ignores or rationalizes a weird noise.
  • A character jumps into the water—a lake, swimming pool, sacred fountain, and so on.
  • A character goes into the cave, mine shaft, or creepy house. ("I'm just going to look around for a second.")
  • A character insists on staying behind while everyone else goes on ahead. ("Someone should be here when the sheriff shows up!")
  • A character doesn't check the back seat of a car before getting in and starting it.
  • A character ignores an obvious creepy clue that there's something wrong in the house, like a bloody axe, a room full of taxidermy animal heads, or newspaper clippings about recent murders.
  • While being pursued, a character calls for help or otherwise attracts attention (like banging on store windows at midnight).
  • A character tries to pet an unknown lifeform.
  • A character tries to make peaceful contact with an obviously hostile entity. ("It's as frightened of us as we are of it!")
  • A character unlocks a door or disables a security system to let a scared stranger into a safe area.
  • A character doesn't bother to turn on the lights.
  • A character uses an action taunting their foe.
  • A character follows a trail of blood.
  • A character ignores good advice from a helpful and knowledgeable NPC. ("That old lady was a superstitious kook.")
  • A character uses a firearm as a loud, ineffective solution for a simple problem (like shooting a padlock).
  • A character picks up a shady or outright scary-looking hitchhiker.
  • A character scares another character (perhaps by grabbing their shoulder unexpectedly and shouting) as a joke.
  • A character momentarily forgets how to do a simple action, like open or close a door.
  • A character forgets to put their phone on silent mode.
  • A character imitates or makes fun of a creepy doll or statue.
  • A character tries to help a child who has no reason for being there.
Possession

(Godforsaken, page 69Stay Alive!, page 95)

Some creatures (demons, ghosts, entities of living mental energy, and so on) have the ability to possess a living creature, taking over a character's body as if it were the demon's own. The demon must touch the character to attempt possession (even if the demon's touch normally inflicts damage, the possession attempt doesn't inflict damage). The character must make an Intellect defense roll or become possessed, whereupon the demon's immaterial form disappears into the character.

The first round in which a character is possessed, they can act normally. In the second and all subsequent rounds, the possessing demon can try to control the actions of the host, but the character can attempt an Intellect defense roll to resist each suggested action. Successful resistance means that the character does nothing for one round. When the demon isn't trying to control its host, the character can act as they choose. A possessing demon's actions are limited to controlling its host and leaving the host (the demon can't use its own abilities while in someone else's body).

While it possesses another creature, the demon is immune to most attacks (though not so the host; killing the host will eject the demon).

A possessed character is allowed an Intellect defense roll once per day to try to eject the demon. The roll is hindered by one additional step each day of possession after the first seven days. An ejected, cast-out, or exorcised demon is powerless for one or more days. One way to exorcise a demon is to command it out in the name of an entity that has power over the demon. This can be attempted once per day and grants the possessed character an additional Intellect defense roll to eject the demon.

Other kinds of creatures (ghosts, beings of pure mental energy, and so on) may have the ability to possess characters in the same way that demons do.

Possession takes away a player's ability to control their character, and that can make some players very uncomfortable. See the section on consent.

Secret Twist

(Stay Alive!, page 97)

It's common when tensions are high and lives are on the line that humans get paranoid and start to turn on each other, interpreting stressed behavior as suspicious and seeing enemies in the eyes of strangers. This is compounded when there is an active threat that can disguise itself as human (like an alien or demon) or take off a mask and pretend to be a fellow prisoner or victim (like a chainsaw killer), only to reveal themselves when the perfect opportunity comes along. These secret twists are the source of many jump scares and unexpected betrayals that create chaos and paranoia.

To use a secret twist, the GM first needs to decide three things:

  • The secrets they want the PCs to keep from each other. Examples might be "Your character is actually the shapechanging alien that is hunting everyone on the spaceship," "The chainsaw killer is the identical twin of your character," or "Another PC ruined your life but they don't realize who you are."

  • The best time to reveal the secret to the player involved. This might be something the player learns before the game starts or a revelation during the game. If there are multiple secrets, the players might learn them at different times. For example, the PC whose life was ruined by another character might know this at the start of the game, but another PC might not know they had an identical twin (perhaps they were separated at birth).

  • The best time to reveal the secret to the other characters. The GM might choose to push it out into the open (perhaps with a GM intrusion) or let the player decide when to reveal it. For example, the GM decides that walking into a dark room with a black light is how all the human PCs realize that one character is really a shapeshifting alien with UV-fluorescing skin, but the GM allows the PC whose family fortune was stolen by another character to bring that up on their own (perhaps when they're alone with the thief).

If revealing the secret to the players is supposed to happen during the game, it would be suspicious if only one player was pulled aside for a conversation about it—the other players would know something unusual was going on. Instead, the GM can call a quick break in the game and send that player a text. Even better, the GM could send every player a secret text so that nobody is singled out by having to read a text. Alternatively, the GM can give a physical note to every player (perhaps using the secret twist Special Cards); some of these notes might be secrets and some innocuous, but the fact that everyone gets a note disguises who might be getting a secret twist. By making sure that each note has some kind of value (such as by letting a player trade it in later for an asset or a subtle cypher), players who don't receive a special secret still spend a reasonable amount of time reading the note and keeping it safe.

If the players are especially skilled at roleplaying, there may be opportunities for multiple secret twists, especially those that change a character's identity. For example, in a scenario where there are duplicates of the PCs walking around in their city (evil twins, clones, aliens, or the like), the identity of individual characters might switch from the originals to duplicates and back again several times during the game.

Multiple shifts of identity are probably easier for the GM and players to handle if they take place over several game sessions and each session starts with players knowing exactly who they're playing. It also helps if the players take separate notes about what the original and the duplicate know.

Shock

(Stay Alive!, page 98)

When the PCs encounter something shocking, many times the most realistic response is to scream, stand in abject horror, or run. That might not be the smartest thing to do in the situation, but it's genuine. What would your accountant do if they saw an axe-wielding maniac coming at them? Let's face it, unless they truly steeled themselves with all their will, they'd probably scream and run.

When a PC encounters something horrific, utterly disgusting, dreadful, impossible, or otherwise shocking, call for an Intellect defense roll based on the level of the creature involved, or simply an appropriate level as decided by the GM (see the Shock Levels table). Failure might mean that for one round, the player loses control of the character, and the GM decides what the PC does next. This usually means that the character runs, screams, gibbers, stares slack-jawed, or just does nothing. However, GMs should welcome player input into this situation. The point is to portray that when we're shocked, we don't always react in the best way, the smartest way, or even the way we want to. Fear is a powerful thing.

Alternatively, failure on the Intellect defense roll might mean that the character suffers Intellect damage equal to the level of the defense task. This indicates an overall toll that numerous shocks and horrors can have on a person. You might have a situation where a character literally dies of fright.

Shock Levels

(Stay Alive!, page 99)

Shock Levels
EventLevel
Something unexpected darts or jumps out1
Something suddenly moves just out of the corner of the eye2
A sudden loud noise (like a scream)2
Unexpectedly seeing a corpse2
Watching someone die3
Seeing something impossible (like an inanimate object sliding across the floor)4
Watching a friend die5
Seeing a monstrous creatureCreature level
Witnessing something supernatural (like a spell)5
Seeing something mind-bending (like an impossible, multidimensional demigod coalescing out of thin air)8
Unease

(Stay Alive!, page 99)

Horror isn't always overt monstrosities trying to tear your limbs off or drag your soul into Hell. Sometimes it's something slightly off-putting, a stretching of the norm, an itching behind your eyes, or a sinking feeling in your stomach. You can feel that something is wrong, but you don't know exactly what, and you're not sure what to do about it. Your body isn't sure if it should jump into fight or flight, so you're anticipating a spike of adrenaline and it's very distracting.

With the Unease horror module, whenever a character is in the presence of something disturbing that risks breaking their worldview, all their actions are hindered. Normally this happens whenever the triggering situation is within a short distance of the character, but the range might vary depending on what the PC sees and the nature of the disturbance. For example, a demon the size of a house might cause unease whenever it's within very long range, but a city-sized alien starship hovering in the sky might affect people whenever they can see it even though it's a thousand miles away.

If the GM plans to have an ongoing Unease effect throughout an entire game session (like an alien death fleet), they should consider using physical reminders in the game area so players don't forget its effects. Over time, the GM might allow characters to become used to these worrying sights, perhaps due to exposure or maybe by purchasing the familiarity as a medium-term benefit.

Some creatures in the Cypher System already have the ability to make others uncomfortable just by being in the same area, so if they are the only weird creatures the GM plans to use in a horror game, there's no need for the Unease module.

In some ways, Unease is a more limited form of Instant Panic but can also be used in tandem with it.

Horror Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 119)

Many horror genres feature physical objects that the protagonists can use—alien devices, magical talismans, or mysterious objects with an unknown origin. This chapter describes examples of these objects as cyphers, which can be awarded like other manifest cyphers or in place of subtle cyphers. Unlike those in the Cypher System Rulebook, the manifest cyphers listed here include suggestions for what form the cypher takes (although in a game with magic, any of these cyphers might exist as a potion or spell on a scroll in addition to or instead of the forms listed here).

Most of these are marked as fantastic cyphers, although depending on the genre and circumstances of the game, they might be completely normal.

For your convenience, the cyphers have been organized into lists by horror genre or theme so you can randomly roll for something appropriate to your game without getting one that doesn't apply (such as a cypher against vampires in an alien invasion horror game). If you're running a game that mixes several genres, switch between lists each time you need to award a new manifest cypher.

Alien Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 119)

Alien Cyphers Table
d20Alien Cyphers
1–2Anathema siren (aliens)
3–4Decaptitative longevity
5–6Horrific arm
7–8Horrific eye
9–10Horrified integrated weapon
11–12Humanity tester
13–14Invisibility revealer
15–16Mind swapper
17–18Primitive doppelganger
19–20Visage scrutinizer
Body Horror Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 119)

Body Horror Cyphers Table
d20Body Horror Cyphers
1–2Ascendant flesh vivisector
3–4Decaptitative longevity
5–6Horrific arm
7–8Horrific eye
9–10Horrific face
11–12Horrified integrated weapon
13–14Horrific orifice
15–16Insanity suppressor
17–18Primitive doppelganger
19–20Reanimator
Classic Monster Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 119)

Classic Monster Cyphers Table
d20Classic Monster Cyphers
1Anathema siren (cryptids)
2Anathema siren (mummies)
3–4Anathema siren (undead)
5–6Anathema siren (vampires)
7–8Anathema siren (werewolves)
9Ascendant brain vivisector
10Ascendant flesh vivisector
11Corrupted canopic jar
12Decaptitative longevity
13Ghost detector
14–16Invisibility serum
17Reanimator
18–19Silgarho infusion
20Unphantomed limb
Dark Magic Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Dark Magic Cyphers Table
d20Dark Magic Cyphers
1–4Anathema siren (demons)
5–7Decapitative longevity
8–11Homunculus flask
12–14Mind swapper
15–17Reanimator
18–20Revenant serum
Demon Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Demon Cyphers Table
d20Demon Cyphers
1–4Anathema siren (demons)
5–7Horrific arm
8–10Horrific face
11–13Humanity tester
14–16Reanimator
17–20Visage scrutinizer
Ghost Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Ghost Cyphers Table
d20Ghost Cyphers
1–8Anathema siren (ghost)
9–20Ghost detector
Lovecraftian Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Lovecraftian Cyphers Table
d20Lovecraftian Cyphers
1–2Anathema siren (aliens)
3–4Anathema siren (cryptids)
5–6Anathema siren (extradimensional creatures)
7Anathema siren (undead)
8–9Horrific arm
10–11Horrific eye
12–13Horrific face
14–15Horrified integrated weapon
16–17Insanity suppressor
18–19Invisibility revealer
20Mind swapper
Mummy Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Mummy Cyphers Table
d20Mummy Cyphers
1–6Anathema siren (mummies)
7–12Corrupted canopic jar
13–16Reanimator
17–20Revenant serum
Science Gone Wrong Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Science Gone Wrong Cyphers Table
d20Science Gone Wrong Cyphers
1Anathema siren (simulacra)
2Ascendant brain vivisector
3Ascendant flesh vivisector
4Decapitative longevity
5Ghost detector
6Ghost trap
7Homunculus flask
8Horrific arm
9Horrific eye
10Horrific face
11Horrified integrated weapon
12Humanity tester
13Insanity suppressor
14Invisibility revealer
15Invisibility serum
16Mind swapper
17Primitive doppelganger
18Reanimator
19Revenant serum
20Unphantomed limb
Undead Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Undead Cyphers Table
d20Undead Cyphers
1–3Anathema siren (ghosts)
4–6Anathema siren (vampires)
7–9Anathema siren (undead)
10Decapitative longevity
11–12Ghost detector
13Ghost trap
14Reanimator
15Revenant serum
16–18Silgarho infusion
19–20Wolfsbane potion
Vampire Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Vampire Cyphers Table
d20Vampire Cyphers
1–6Anathema siren (vampire)
7–12Humanity tester
13–20Silgarho infusion
Werewolf Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Werewolf Cyphers Table
d20Werewolf Cyphers
1–5Anathema siren (werewolves)
6–10Ascendant brain vivisector
11–15Reanimator
16–20Wolfsbane potion
Zombie Cyphers

(Stay Alive!, page 120)

Zombie Cyphers Table
d20Zombie Cyphers
1–8Anathema siren (undead)
9–14Reanimator
15–20Revenant serum
Horror Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
Anathema Siren

(Stay Alive!, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Amulet or device

  • Effect: Creates a strange and annoying noise about the volume of a human shouting. The noise is especially aggravating toward one type of creature; creatures of this type have all their actions hindered by two steps (hindered by three steps if the cypher level is 7 or higher) while within short range of the cypher. The user must use their action each round to manipulate the cypher for the noise and its effects to persist, or it goes silent and loses all power. The siren can be used for up to one minute per cypher level. Roll a d100 to determine what sort of creature is affected:

Anathema Siren Effects
d100Creature Affected
01–10Aliens (probably one specific kind of alien)
11–16Animate dolls and puppets
17–22Cryptids
23–32Demons
33–28Doppelgangers
39–48Ghosts
49–54Mummies
55–64Robots
65–70Simulacra
71–80Vampires
81–90Werewolves (or some other werecreature)
91–95Extradimensional creatures
96–00Undead
Ascendant Brain Vivisector

(Stay Alive!, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: If used on a beast whose level is less than the cypher level, this enhances connections in the beast's brain so it attains near-human intelligence and sapience, and gains a basic understanding of one specific language keyed to the cypher. The beast remembers its prior, simpler existence and understands that it has been made smarter. This transformation lasts for one day per cypher level, and then the beast reverts to its normal self slowly over the same number of days, often with violent and erratic outbreaks. For example, if the beast becomes smarter for five days, it loses intelligence gradually over days 6 through 9 and is back to normal on day 10. Additional uses of the cypher tend to have diminishing returns.

When used with an ascendant flesh vivisector, the resulting creature looks, thinks, and acts like a human.

Using this cypher on a beast whose level is too high might end up elevating its intelligence somewhat but also instigating aggressive behavior.

Ascendant Flesh Vivisector

(Stay Alive!, page 121)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: If used on a beast of no larger than human size whose level is less than the cypher level, this radically alters the beast's shape so it resembles a human being. The beast-human still thinks and acts like a beast, but it looks like a human and can perform actions using its human dexterity (such as turning a doorknob or walking upright). This transformation lasts for one day per cypher level, but after an equal amount of time the beast reverts to its normal shape (in the manner described for the ascendant brain vivisector cypher). Additional uses of the cypher tend to have diminishing returns.

    Using this cypher on a beast whose level is too high might end up temporarily transforming it into a human with bestial features.

Corrupted Canopic Jar

(Stay Alive!, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Jar made of clay or carved stone

  • Effect: Breaking open the jar (which destroys the preserved organs inside) permanently grants the user an asset (two assets if the cypher level is 6 or higher) on all attacks and defenses against mummies within short range.

Decapitative Longevity

(Stay Alive!, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Injection or potion

  • Effect: Brings a dead creature's head (but not the body) back to life for a limited time as an undead creature. The cypher can be used up to an hour before or after death (in anticipation of dying or in response to someone's death) and requires up to ten minutes to take effect, at which time the creature recovers 1d6 + 6 points to their Pools. Because they are only a head, a PC reanimated this way has a maximum Might and Speed Pool of 3 each. The head has all the mental abilities they had when they were alive (including psychic or telepathic abilities) and can speak, but all their actions are hindered. They have the same appearance as before, except the wounds that killed them are still visible, and in general they have an unnatural look. They do not need to eat, drink, or sleep, but they can still rest if they want to (such as to make a recovery roll). The head remains in this active state for one day per cypher level, after which time it dies again and cannot be reanimated with this cypher.

    When using a decapitative longevity cypher to bring a head back to life, it can be left attached to the inert body, or someone can carefully sever the head from the body, which doesn't harm the head.

Ghost Detector

(Stay Alive!, page 122)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Amulet, crystal, or device

  • Effect: Automatically indicates if a ghost, spirit, or similar entity is within a short distance (a long distance if the cypher is level 6 or higher). If the user takes an action to study or focus their attention on the cypher, they can narrow down what quarter-arc of a circle the ghost is in. If the ghost is normally invisible, it becomes somewhat visible (hindering its stealth attempts by one step). The cypher remains active for ten minutes per cypher level.

Ghost Trap

(Stay Alive!, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Crystal or device

  • Effect: Can be thrown up to a short distance, where it releases a burst of transdimensional energy in an immediate area that absorbs ghosts (including spirits, phased beings, and similar creatures) but does not affect corporeal entities. PCs who meet these criteria must use an Intellect-based action (difficulty equal to the cypher level) to avoid being trapped. NPC ghosts are not affected if their level is higher than the cypher level. The trap holds the ghosts for up to one hour per cypher level, after which they automatically break free (and are probably very angry).

    Ghosts in a trap can be permanently stored in a ghost vault.

Homunculus Flask

(Stay Alive!, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Ornate, opaque alchemical bottle filled with strange fluid

  • Effect: To activate this cypher, you must open the bottle, add a few fresh drops of your blood (inflicting 1 point of Might damage to you), stopper it again, and leave it alone for one day. When the bottle is next unstoppered, a hand-sized creature called a homunculus crawls out; it vaguely resembles you and serves you for one day per cypher level before dissolving into useless goo. Each time you give it an order, you must make an Intellect defense roll against it; if you fail, it becomes free to ignore your commands (but might pretend to be obedient so it can plot against you).

Homunculus
level 2; alchemy, all defenses, and stealth as level 3
Horrific Arm

(Stay Alive!, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Injection or pill

  • Effect: The user's body rapidly grows a monstrous arm that is approximately the same size as one of their existing limbs. The arm is ugly and malformed, but fully functional.

    The user can use this arm as if it were one of their own. The new arm does not grant the user additional actions or attacks in a round, but it can be useful for carrying things. Damage to the arm does not affect the user (the arm can take 6 points of damage directed at it before it becomes nonfunctional). The arm lasts for one day per cypher level.

Horrific Eye

(Stay Alive!, page 123)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Injection or spell

  • Effect: The user's body rapidly grows a monstrous eye (including a retractable eyestalk if the cypher level is 6 or higher) at the spot where the cypher is applied to their body. The user can see out of this eye as if it were one of their own (including any extraordinary vision-based senses the user normally has). The eye gives the user an asset on vision-based perception rolls, and depending on where it is located, it may allow the user to look around corners surreptitiously. Damage to the eye does not affect the user (the eye can take 1 point of damage directed at it before it becomes nonfunctional). The eye lasts for one day per cypher level.

Horrific Face

(Stay Alive!, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Injection or pill

  • Effect: The user rapidly grows a monstrous face (or an entire head if the cypher level is 6 or higher) somewhere on their body. The user can use the senses of this face and talk, breathe, and eat with it (for example, if their normal face is underwater or wrapped in plastic). The face gives the user an asset on perception rolls when its senses can be used—for example, it could hear someone sneaking up on the user, but it couldn't see them if its eyes were covered, and it can't help with identifying tastes unless its mouth is also used. Damage to the face does not affect the user (the face can take 3 points of damage directed at it before it becomes nonfunctional). Most people react with disgust to a creature with a visible extra face, hindering all interaction tasks. The face lasts for one day per cypher level (two days if the cypher is level 6 or higher).

Horrific Integrated Weapon

(Stay Alive!, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Weapon you can hold in one hand

  • Effect: The weapon extends tendrils, skin, wires, nerves, or other material into and through the user's hand, physically connecting itself to the user for one hour per cypher level. While connected, the user gains an asset on attacks with the weapon and cannot be disarmed, but cannot use that hand for anything except wielding the weapon. The user can detach or reattach the weapon by spending a full minute concentrating on its physical connection to their body. When the duration ends, the weapon detaches and becomes a normal weapon of its type. Roll a d20 to determine the kind of weapon:

Horrific Integrated Weapon Effects
d20Weapon
1–4Hunting knife
5–8Machete
9–12Nightstick
13–16Light handgun
17–20Medium handgun
Horrific Orifice

(Stay Alive!, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: The user's body rapidly grows a strange orifice in their torso, large enough to fit a human fist but flexible enough to hold a compact disc or videocassette tape. One cypher held within the orifice doesn't count toward the user's cypher limit. As an action, the user can cause the orifice to appear or disappear (when the orifice isn't present, anything contained within it is inaccessible except through surgery). The orifice remains for one hour per cypher level, after which it expels its contents and disappears.

Someone who fully understands how a horrific orifice cypher works might be able to program the user with new memories or control their mind by inserting data devices into the orifice.

Humanity Tester

(Stay Alive!, page 124)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: Reveals whether a targeted creature is human or some sort of inhuman impostor (such as an alien, demon, doppelganger, simulacrum, or vampire) if the cypher's level is greater than the creature's disguise level. If the cypher's level exceeds the impostor's level by 4 or more, it also marks the impostor for the next several hours so people can recognize it by this mark.

The specific nature of a humanity tester depends on the setting and what sort of creatures are common. In a world with multiple kinds of creatures that pretend to be human, the tester might recognize all fakes or detect only one specific kind of fake.

Insanity Suppressor

(Stay Alive!, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: Temporarily negates insanity or a mental disorder in a creature (two such effects if the cypher level is 6 or higher). Example disorders include delusions, manias, compulsions, phobias, psychopathy, and schizophrenia. The creature loses all negative symptoms of their insanity or mental disorder for one day. Each day after that, the creature must make a level 1 Intellect defense roll to prolong the effect; failure means relapse. The roll is hindered by one step for each day that has passed since the cypher was used.

Invisibility Revealer

(Stay Alive!, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Device containing a liquid or silvery powder

  • Effect: Sprays its contents up to a long distance, revealing all invisible creatures within short range of the targeted point for one round per cypher level. Affected invisible creatures remain visible if they move outside the area, and those outside the area become visible if they enter the area.

Invisibility Serum

(Stay Alive!, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Device, flask, or injection

  • Effect: The user's body becomes as transparent as air, making them effectively invisible for one minute per cypher level. However, their clothes and equipment are not affected, so the user must go naked if they want to be unseen. While invisible, the user is specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. They remain invisible even if they do something to reveal their presence or position (attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on), but anyone trying to attack or physically interact with them on that turn gains an asset to do so.

    Because the user is as transparent as air, when they are in water, mist, smoke, or anything other than reasonably clean air, they look like a person-shaped hole in whatever material they're in.

    The serum has detrimental effects on the mind. Each minute it is in effect, the user takes 2 points of Intellect damage. Many users have become "stuck" in the invisible state and eventually go mad as a result.

Mind Swapper

(Stay Alive!, page 125)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Amulet or device

  • Effect: The user attempts to swap minds with a creature within short range that is no larger than a human. The target can make an Intellect defense roll to resist. If the swap is successful, the user gains control of the creature's body (and vice versa). Physical abilities remain with the body, but mental abilities go with the mind; for example, an Adept with Onslaught (a mental ability) could take over the body of a Warrior with Swipe (a physical ability), and could use either of these while controlling the Warrior's body. All actions of both creatures are hindered while the swap is in effect, although long-term practice in a mind-swapped body eventually overcomes this penalty. The swap lasts for one hour per cypher level, after which the two minds return to their previous bodies.

Clever users of a mind swapper have an ally restrain or sedate them before swapping minds so their target doesn't cause trouble in the user's body.

Primitive Doppelganger

(Stay Alive!, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: The user's body begins growing a physical duplicate of the user, which harmlessly tears free after a few rounds and exists as an independent level 1 creature that looks exactly like the user. The doppelganger can communicate in a language known to the user and obeys the user's simple instructions, but otherwise appears to know very little of the world. After one hour per cypher level, the duplicate dies, melts, burns out, falls apart, or otherwise becomes nonfunctional.

Depending on the game setting, the doppelganger might be a robot, a clone, a temporal duplicate, or something else entirely. It may or may not have scars, tattoos, or other non-genetic features of the original.

Reanimator

(Stay Alive!, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Amulet or injection

  • Effect: When used on a corpse of a creature no larger than a human, it reanimates as a violent zombie that is not under the user's control. This reanimation process takes a few minutes (a few rounds if the cypher is level 4 or higher, or one round if level 6 or higher).

Revenant Serum

(Stay Alive!, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Injection or potion

  • Effect: Brings a dead person back to life for a limited time as an obsessed creature called a revenant. The cypher can be used up to an hour before or after death (in anticipation of dying or in response to someone's death) and requires up to an hour to take effect, at which time the creature recovers 1d6 + 6 points to its Pools. The new revenant is usually obsessed with revenge on its killer or accomplishing one last task before truly dying again.

    A revenant has all the abilities it had when it was alive, but all its actions are hindered. It has the same appearance as before, except the wounds that killed it are still visible, and in general it has an unnatural look. It does not need to eat, drink, or sleep, but it can still rest if it wants to (such as to make a recovery roll). The revenant remains in this active state for one hour per cypher level, after which it dies again and cannot be reanimated with this cypher.

Silgarho Infusion

(Stay Alive!, page 126)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Flask or injection

  • Effect: Suffuses the user's body with a mixture of colloidal silver (sil), concentrated garlic (gar), and holy water (ho), making the user repellent to most vampires, which usually have an aversion to one or more of these materials. Vampire attacks with melee weapons against the user are hindered. Any PC vampire who attempts to feed on the user gains no sustenance and must make a Might defense roll or feel nauseous and have all their actions hindered for one minute. Any NPC vampire who attempts to feed on the user gains no sustenance and all their actions are hindered for one minute. The cypher's effect persists in the user's body for one day (two days if the cypher is level 4 or higher).

    If used directly against a vampire instead of being applied to a living creature, it affects the vampire as silver, garlic, and holy water normally would.

Because a human body can't dispose of colloidal silver, excessive intake of it causes a condition called argyria that turns skin purple or purple-grey.

Unphantomed Limb

(Stay Alive!, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Device, injection, or pill

  • Effect: Gives a user who is missing a limb the ability to create a psychic construct in the form of a limb (two limbs if the cypher level is 5 or higher) that takes the place of and functions like their missing limb (or limbs). The unphantomed limb looks and acts like a typical healthy specimen of its kind, including having fingerprints. However, its motion is controlled by the user's will rather than by muscles and nerves, so any physical action the limb takes is an Intellect task instead of a Might or Speed task; for example, a melee attack with the unphantomed limb is an Intellect task, and to apply Effort, the user must spend points from their Intellect Pool. Damage to the limb affects the user as if the attack were on the user's body. The limb lasts for one day per cypher level.

Visage Scrutinizer

(Stay Alive!, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Device, crystal, injection, or pill

  • Effect: Grants the user a heightened ability to see disguised people and creatures for what they really are. Tasks to see through conventional disguises (makeup, prosthetics, wigs, and so on) are eased by three steps. If the disguise is instead a comprehensive change like a full-body illusion, mental projection, or hologram, the user automatically sees through it if the disguise's level is lower than the cypher's level. The cypher lasts for one hour.

Wolfsbane Potion

(Stay Alive!, page 127)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Flask or injection

  • Effect: Suffuses the user's body with a mixture of colloidal silver and wolfsbane, making the user repellent to werewolves (and similar werecreatures). Wolfsbane is poisonous, and using this cypher inflicts Speed damage and Intellect damage equal to the cypher's level. Werewolf attacks with melee weapons against the user are hindered. Any werewolf who attempts to feed on the user feels nauseous and all its actions are hindered for ten minutes. The cypher's effect persists in the user's body for one day (two days if the cypher is level 4 or higher). If used directly against a werewolf instead of being applied to a living creature, it hinders all the werewolf's actions and stops it from regenerating for several minutes.

Horror Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 282)

Most of the time, a horror artifact will be something really weird—an ancient tome of forbidden necromancy, an alien device that humans can barely understand, and so forth. They are often unique items rather than one of a type. Horror artifacts should probably come with a risk, such as a built-in cost, a drawback, or something else that makes using them another way to heighten the tension of the game. Several examples are below.

Editor's Notes — Stay Alive! presents additional Horror Artifacts (SA, 128) not included in the CSRD.

Book of Inversion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 282)

  • Level: 8

  • Form: Very large book of ancient providence, the cover bound in iron and wrapped in chains with a level 6 padlock

  • Effect: When opened, the Book of Inversion shows a pair of pages that detail a magic spell in the reader's language, complete with disturbing diagrams. The spell's effect varies, but it is always some kind of horrible attack—a target is driven mad, a target is turned inside out, a target seeks to murder their best friend, several targets are cursed with a rotting disease, and so forth. The reader can automatically cast the spell as an action, one time only. More insidiously, if successful, the spell confers pleasure to the caster and fully restores all of their Pools. The caster must make an immediate Intellect defense roll or be compelled to use the book (and thus a new spell) again the next day. This compulsion is so strong that the caster will kill their dearest loved one to complete the task. If they are unable to use the book again, they are driven permanently mad. Woe to the caster who uses the book on the last time before it is depleted (at which point it crumbles to dust).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Shadow Box

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 282)

  • Level: 7

  • Form: Wooden and black metal box, about 12 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches (30 by 18 by 8 cm), with a hinged lid and a clasp

  • Effect: When the box opens, shadows seethe out. These shadows coalesce into a form that best represents a deep fear in the subconscious of the person who opened the box. The opener must make an Intellect defense roll to master the shadow thing, which then acts as a level 7 creature under their control for five rounds before fading away. If the roll fails, the creature attacks the opener and anyone else around. To make matters worse, the opener spends the first round frozen in terror, doing nothing.

  • Depletion: 1–2 in 1d6

Sphere 23

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 282)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: A 7-inch (18 cm) sphere of what appears to be fluid metal, tinted red

  • Effect: Possibly one of a number of identical alien artifacts recovered in remote locales across the earth, the so-called sphere 23 will grant a wish to anyone who holds it and uses an action to concentrate on it. The wish can be anything, including something that bends reality: raising the dead, altering time, and so forth. However, the wisher must immediately make a Might defense roll or be consumed by the sphere. If the roll succeeds, they must then make an Intellect defense roll or be driven permanently and irrevocably mad.

  • Depletion: 1–3 in 1d6

Horror Creatures

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Horror Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 281)

Businessperson
level 2
Cat
level 1; Speed defense as level 3
Clerk
level 2
Dog
level 2; perception as level 3
Dog, vicious
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Groundskeeper/caretaker
level 2; health 8
Man in Black
level 4; carries weird weapons, including those with long range
Rat
level 1
Tarantula
level 1
Horror Creatures and NPCs by Level and Genre

(Stay Alive!, page 106)

† — denotes a creature presented the Cypher System Rulebook

Horror Creatures and NPCs by Level and Genre
LevelNameGenre
2Hivemind childAliens, dark magic, science gone wrong
2Skeleton†Comedy horror, dark magic, demons, zombies
3CannibalComedy horror, cryptids, dark magic, degenerates, zombies
3NightgauntAliens, cryptids, Lovecraftian
3Vampire, transitional†Degenerates, science gone wrong, vampires
3Vat reject†Doppelgangers, science gone wrong, simulacra
3Zombie†Degenerates, Lovecraftian, science gone wrong, zombies
4Deep one†Lovecraftian
4Devil†Dark magic, demons
4Ghost†Ghosts, dark magic, J-horror/K-horror
4Ghoul†Cryptids, degenerates, Lovecraftian, zombies
4Grey†Aliens, doppelgangers, science gone wrong
4Mad scientistAliens, body horror, comedy horror, demons, doppelgangers, Lovecraftian, science gone wrong, simulacra, werewolves, zombies
4Werewolf†Degenerates, science gone wrong, slashers, survival horror, werewolves
5Cryptic mothCryptids
5Demon†Dark magic, demons, J-horror/K-horror
5Fallen angel†Dark magic, demons
5IchthysianComedy horror, cryptids, science gone wrong
5Killer clown†Clowns, comedy horror, killer toys, slashers
5Killing white light†Aliens, Lovecraftian, science gone wrong
5Mi-go†Aliens, body horror, cryptids, Lovecraftian
5Replicant†Doppelgangers, simulacra
5Witch†Dark magic, degenerates, demons
6MummyAliens, dark magic, mummies
6ReanimatedCryptids, science gone wrong, simulacra
6YithianAliens, doppelgangers, Lovecraftian
6Vampire†Degenerates, science gone wrong, vampires
6Xenoparasite†Aliens, body horror, science gone wrong
7Fundamental angelDemons, science gone wrong
7ShoggothAliens, body horror, Lovecraftian
8BlobAliens, body horror, Lovecraftian, science gone wrong
8Elder thingAliens, cryptids, Lovecraftian, science gone wrong

Chapter 17 Romance

Quick Reference: Romance

Optional Rules

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 286)

Like horror, romance doesn't automatically suggest a setting. It is more of a mood, or more specifically an approach, to how the game is played. It suggests an emphasis, at least somewhat, on relationships, interactions, and connections.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 287)

You must get consent to cover these topics in a game ahead of time—you don't want to make people uncomfortable. Everyone involved also needs to learn everyone else's boundaries. Someone might not want any part of a romance scene, while others are okay talking about emotional connections but not anything sexual.

Obviously, all of this is doubly important if age is a consideration. If there are younger players involved, romance probably shouldn't go beyond a fairly chaste kiss. (You'll find that kids are sometimes more open to romance in their games than adults, but only because their understanding of the topic is understandably pretty shallow. A kid player might declare that a character is their boyfriend, but it doesn't mean much. And for some adults, that may be the way they want to approach the subject as well.)

Lastly, recognize that there needs to be a clear boundary between the story and real life. Two characters having a relationship has no impact on real-life feelings of the players. Two characters in a game might be in a relationship while each player is in a relationship in the real world with someone else. And maybe they're gaming at the same table! If a player can't distinguish between in-game flirtation or words of endearment and real-world feelings, they shouldn't be in a romance-focused game.

Editor's Notes — For more on addressing consent issues in your game, see Consent in Gaming or Love and Sex in the Ninth World from Monte Cook Games.

The Check-In

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 287)

It's vital that the GM and the players all check in with each other to make sure everyone's still comfortable with what's going on in the game. This is particularly important to maintain the boundary between emotions expressed in the story and how people feel in real life.

Optional Rule: Infatuation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 287)

When a PC is near someone they are infatuated with, particularly in the early stages of that infatuation, they must make an Intellect defense roll with a difficulty determined by the GM based on the situation (not on the level of the subject of the infatuation). Failure might mean that the character does or says something awkward or embarrassing either in an attempt to impress or when trying to hide the infatuation. Or it could mean that for one round, the player loses control of the character, and the GM decides what the PC does next, such as risk their own safety to help an endangered character. However, GMs should welcome player input into this situation. The point is to portray that when we're distracted by the powerful feelings (and hormones) related to infatuation, we don't always react in the best way, the smartest way, or even the way we want to.

Infatuation can happen whether the PC is attracted to an NPC or a PC.

Optional Rule: Relationship Levels

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 288)

When a PC first establishes a relationship with a character (PC or NPC), the GM should assign the relationship a level. If there's no connection at all, there is no relationship (level 0). Otherwise, the starting relationship is probably level 1. In certain circumstances, a relationship might start at level 2, indicating a far stronger initial connection than usual.

As play progresses, the PC can attempt to improve the level of the relationship, indicating a strengthening of the bond between the two characters. The requirements to improve the relationship are twofold. First, some story-based action needs to be taken. This can be dates, gifts, a meaningful speech, a pledge of commitment, some amount of self-sacrifice, or whatever the GM and the player feel is appropriate to the story and the level of the relationship. This action might require the PC to succeed at specific tasks (with appropriate rolls). For example, writing a love poem will require an Intellect-based task, while helping to retrieve a loved one's cat from a tree might require a Speed-based task.

Second, the player must make an Intellect-based roll with the desired level of relationship as the difficulty (modified as the GM sees fit).

A relationship can be improved only one level at a time, and the GM and the player should work out an appropriate time interval. For relationships of levels 5 and above, multiple story-based actions and multiple rolls are almost certainly required.

Romantic Relationship Levels

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 288)

Romantic Relationship Levels
LevelRelationship
1First meeting. Interest or curiosity.
2A sense of connection above the norm. Strong physical attraction.
3Affection and a bond that will last longer than a single encounter.
4Serious affection. Almost certainly physical affection.
5A profession of love.
6A serious long-term commitment.
7A lifelong commitment.
8Soul mates.
9A love affair for the ages.
10A bond that transcends time and space.
Platonic Relationship Levels

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 288)

Romantic Relationship Levels
LevelRelationship
1First meeting. Interest or curiosity.
2A sense of connection above the norm.
3A memorable connection. Indications of a mutually beneficial relationship possible.
4Real friendship.
5Deep friendship.
6Relationship akin to that of a close sibling.
7A pledge of complete partnership.
8Platonic soul mates. Something akin to a life-debt.
9A friendship for the ages.
10A bond that transcends time and space.

It's possible for relationship levels to be lopsided, such that the relationship from the point of view of one person is a different level than from the point of view of the other. This should be used sparingly, because it makes things far more complicated. In the case of polyamory, it is possible to have more than two people in a relationship, but even in these situations the connection between any two individuals should have its own level.

Relationship levels can go down as well as up. Neglect, carelessness, inappropriate emotional displays, lies, infidelity, and bungled wooing attempts can all potentially lower a relationship level. This is entirely in the judgment of the GM, although a lowered relationship level is very likely an appropriate use of a GM intrusion.

Relationship levels indicate the strength of the bond and thus help dictate an NPC's actions in regard to a PC. An NPC in a level 5 relationship probably will be more generous and forgiving toward the PC than if the relationship was level 3 or 4. An NPC in a level 6 relationship or higher would likely give their partner most anything, even maybe sacrificing their own well-being or their life for them. (And people in a higher-level relationship certainly would.) Likewise, a relationship level can influence a PC's actions. An Intellect defense roll with a difficulty equal to the relationship level might be appropriate if the PC wants to act against the best interests of their loved one, or if they must keep their cool and act normally when their loved one is in danger.

You can use this optional system in any genre, for any type of relationship, even platonic ones. If desired, the relationship level a PC has with an authority figure, a contact, a relative, or anyone else can be measured, improved, and decreased just as it can with a romantic relationship.

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Romance Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 287)

Distrustful relative
level 2
Jealous ex
level 2; attacks as level 3
Nosy neighbor
level 2; perception as level 3
Rival suitor
level 2; interactions as level 3
The unattainable
level 3; interactions as level 7, resistance to all interactions as level 9

Chapter 18 Superheroes

Quick Reference: Superheroes

Superhero Descriptors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 289)

Like horror, the superhero genre is really a subset of the modern genre with extensive special considerations. In many ways, it might appear that the Cypher System is a strange fit for superheroes. But if you think about it, with foci like Bears a Halo of Fire and Wears a Sheen of Ice, the Cypher System makes all genres a little bit "superhero-ish."

Additional Superhero Equipment

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 289)

Suggested additional equipment is the same as in a modern setting. Keep in mind, however, that for many heroes, "equipment" that is not Special Equipment can be superfluous. Where do you stash the flashlight and rope when all you're wearing is spandex tights?

Special Equipment

(Claim the Sky, page 157)

Sometimes a group of superheroes needs special equipment so they can participate in an encounter or advance the story. For example, characters who must get to an underwater base will need air tanks or a water-breathing device, and those going on a short trip into space will need a vehicle and spacesuits. This sort of item doesn't have to be a cypher (which counts against a character's cypher limit) or an artifact (which has a depletion chance)—it can just be equipment. If a player suggests a suitable piece of equipment they can buy (such as scuba gear), or a gadgeteer or inventor character offers to build something to do the job, the GM should let them do it and handwave most of the details because they're being creative and overcoming obstacles to move the story forward. In other words, don't assume that every piece of weird equipment needs to be a cypher or artifact; things that allow the adventure to happen shouldn't cost the characters much, or maybe not anything at all. And if the players take too much advantage of this leeway, the GM always has the option to use an intrusion to complicate an encounter.

Superhero Characters

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 289)

Character sentences might look like the following:

And so on.

Starting Just Past Tier 1

(Claim the Sky, page 9)

An interesting option for a GM starting a superhero campaign is to immediately give each PC 4 XP, which they must spend on a special advancement option to gain another type ability. It's another way (along with power shifts) to make new superhero PCs feel a cut above player characters in other genres—and gives players a little more wiggle room in building the character they want to play.

Editor's Notes — An XP advance can set some PCs even further apart from others. Alternatively, the optional Fantastic Transformations rules can be used for heroes who aren't always quite so "super".

Suggested Types for a Superhero Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 290)

Suggested Types for a Superhero Game
RoleType
Strong heroWarrior
Brawler heroWarrior with stealth flavor
Gadget heroExplorer with technology flavor
PilotExplorer with technology flavor
CharmerSpeaker
LeaderSpeaker with combat flavor
Shadowy vigilanteExplorer with stealth flavor
Scientist heroExplorer with skills and knowledge flavor
Energy-wielding heroAdept with combat flavor
WizardAdept
MentalistAdept
Psychic ninjaWarrior with magic flavor
Superhero Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Almost any focus can work in a superhero game, but here are some foci for common archetypes:

Editor's Notes — Superheroes are complex, and might benefit from a flavor to ensure their abilities and power shifts create a PC who is "just-so".

(Claim the Sky, page 7)

Popular Heroes in the Cypher System
RoleSummarySentenceArchetype
Ant-ManAnt-sized heroJovial Explorer who Shrinks to Minute SizeTiny hero
BatmanDark knightPerceptive Warrior who Solves MysteriesGenius
Black PantherKing and chosen guardian of his countryHonorable Warrior who Needs No WeaponMaster martial artist
Black WidowDeadly superspyAppealing Explorer who InfiltratesSuperspy
Captain AmericaSuper-soldier with a shieldHonorable Warrior who Masters DefenseMaster athlete
DaredevilMan without fearPerceptive Explorer who Looks for TroubleMaster athlete
DeadpoolMercenary with a mouthChaotic Warrior who Never Says DieMaster martial artist
Dr. StrangeMaster of the mystic artsMystical Adept who Masters SpellsSorcerer
The FlashFastest man aliveSwift Explorer who Moves Like the WindSpeedster
Green LanternHero with a power ringStrong-willed Explorer who Sculpts Hard LightHard light master
HawkeyePerfect archerSharp-eyed Warrior who Masters WeaponryWeapon master
The HulkBig green rage monsterIncredible Explorer who RagesRage monster
Human TorchFlying, fiery young heroBrash Explorer who Bears a Halo of FireEnergy master
Iron ManInventor with power armorMechanical Adept who Wears Power ArmorPowered armor hero
MagnetoMaster of MagnetismStrong-willed Adept who Employs MagnetismEnergy master
NamorKing of AtlantisStrong Explorer who Performs Feats of StrengthAtlantean
Professor XWorld's most powerful telepathIntelligent Adept who Commands Mental PowersMentalist
Spider-ManTeenager with spider powersAmazing Explorer who Moves Like a CatBug hero
StormGoddess of stormsIntuitive Explorer who Touches the SkyNature master
SupermanMan of steelBenificent Explorer who Flies Faster Than a BulletParagon
The ThingBig orange rock monsterStrong Explorer who Abides in StoneFriendly thing
ThorGod of thunderMighty Warrior who Rides the LightningEnergy master
WolverineCanadian with clawsTough Warrior who Never Says DieUnkillable beast
Wonder WomanPrincess of the AmazonsVirtuous Warrior who Performs Feats of StrengthParagon

Superhero Archetypes

(Claim the Sky, page 7)

The archetypes suggest how to assign your power shifts. This is an important aspect of designing your hero because power shifts are what make your characters exceptional in a "supers" way. Superheroes are known for being faster, tougher, stronger, or smarter than regular people, and that sort of comparison isn't always part of the abilities you get from your type or focus. A regular person might be very skilled at martial arts, but a superhero martial artist might punch through an iron door, dodge a burst of bullets from a machine gun at close range, or quickly recover from a mortal wound, all thanks to power shifts. This part of each archetype writeup assumes your hero starts with five power shifts, but most archetype descriptions give only two or three suggestions, allowing you some flexibility to customize your superhero. For example, a master athlete with two power shifts in healing is a very different character than one with two power shifts in resilience.

In some cases, you might need to tinker with the aesthetics of the abilities described in the character options to make them fit your character.

Superhero Archetypes in Claim the Sky

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The following superhero archetypes are detailed in Claim the Sky:

  • Atlantean (CTS, 11)
  • Bearer of the item (CTS, 11)
  • Beastly hero (CTS, 12)
  • Beastmaster (CTS, 12)
  • Bug hero (CTS, 13)
  • Builder (CTS, 13)
  • Cyborg (CTS, 14)
  • Dark energy master (CTS, 16)
  • Elastic (CTS, 16)
  • Energy master (CTS, )17
  • Extra limbs (CTS, 18)
  • Force field master (CTS, 19)
  • Friendly thing (CTS, 19)
  • Genius (CTS, 20)
  • Giant hero (CTS, 21)
  • Half-vampire (CTS, 21)
  • Hard light master (CTS, 22)
  • Hunter (CTS, 22)
  • Illusionist (CTS, 23)
  • Master athlete (CTS, 24)
  • Master martial artist (CTS, 25)
  • Mentalist (CTS, 25)
  • Multiplier (CTS, 26)
  • Nature master (CTS, 27)
  • Paragon (CTS, 28)
  • Phase master (CTS, 28)
  • Plant (CTS, 29)
  • Power replicator (CTS, 29)
  • Powered armor hero (CTS, 30)
  • Rage monster (CTS, 31)
  • Robot (CTS, 31)
  • Sensory adept (CTS, 32)
  • Shapechanger (CTS, 33)
  • Sorcerer (CTS, 33)
  • Speedster (CTS, 34)
  • Superspy (CTS, 35)
  • Telekinetic (CTS, 36)
  • Teleporter (CTS, 37)
  • Tiny hero (CTS, 37)
  • Unkillable beast (CTS, 38)
  • Weapon master (CTS, 38)

Power Source

(Claim the Sky, page 8)

As you're figuring out what type, descriptor, focus, and power shifts you want for your character, think about how you got your powers. Are you a mutant, born with special abilities? Do you have a high-tech costume with built-in nanotechnology? Are you a sorcerer, or maybe a psychic? The source of your powers is character flavor—for example, there's no game mechanics difference between the mental powers of an alien member of a telepathic species, a human character who built a brain-augmenting helmet, or a faerie character from the starlight dimension who knows mind-magic. All three of those characters could have the same type, focus, descriptor, and power shifts, but they'd be very different people and have very different reasons for being a part of the RPG campaign.

If you can't decide how you got your powers, or if you like leaving some things up to chance, try rolling once or twice on the Power Origin Table and pick the result that you like better, or combine the two into something weird and unique.

The Random Superpowers Table has a broad selection of powers (or in some cases, sets of related powers). Players who are stuck for ideas about their superhero can roll once or twice on the table for inspiration; use the Example column for a suggested game example of that kind of power, whether that's a power shift, a hero archetype, a focus, or a specific special ability (of course, these suggestions aren't the only way to achieve that power).

Power Origin

(Claim the Sky, page 9)

Power Origin
d100Origin
01Absorbed powers of someone else
02–03Alien exile
04Alien orphan
05–06Alien refugee
07Alien symbiote
08–09Alien visitor
10–14Built a device
15–17Chemical exposure
18Chosen one
19–20Cosmic rays during test flight
21–23Cybernetics
24Dark matter explosion
25–26DNA-splicing accident
27Energy being in physical form
28–30Experimental medical process
31–33Experimental technological procedure
34–35Found a device
36Found a magical item
37From another dimension
38Gamma rays
39–40Genetic engineering
41–42Given an experimental device
43Given an item by a powerful entity
44Given a magical item
45–47Government technological device
48Inhuman creature (plant, evolved animal, unknown)
49–50Intense training
51–55Latent mutation activated by extraordinary event
56Magically augmented (accidentally)
57Magically augmented (unwillingly)
58Magically augmented (willingly)
59Meteor
60Mutant at birth
61–64Mutant at puberty
65–67Nanotechnology
68Near–human fantasy species (elf, orc, etc.)
69Passed through a wormhole
70–71Psychic
72Reincarnation of a legendary being from the past
73–75Revived after dying and got powers
76–78Robot
79Stole powers from someone else
80–82Stolen device
83–85Studied magic
86Supernatural creature (demon, angel, werewolf, vampire, etc.)
87Superpowered ancestor
88–90Surgically implanted device
91–92Survived a disaster, unharmed
93Teleportation accident
94Time traveler from the future
95–97Unexplained drug reaction
98Unexplained event at birth
99Unknown
00Unusual weather
Random Superpowers

(Claim the Sky, page 39)

Random Superpowers
d100PowerExample
01–05AgilityPower shift in dexterity
06Animal ShapeshifterShapechanger
07–09AthleticsMaster athlete
10AtlanteanAtlantean
11–12BeastlyBeastly hero
13–14Claws/fangsFists of fury
15–17Cold attackFrost Touch
18Cold immunityEnergy Resistance
19Companion creatureBeastmaster
20Control animalsMentalist
21Control mindsMentalist
22–23Control plantsNature master
24Control windNature master
25Copy superpowerPower replicator
26Create objectDream Become Reality, Sculpt Light
27–28CyborgCyborg
29Dark energy attackDark energy master
30DuplicationMultiplier
31ElasticElastic
32–34Electricity attackShock
35Electricity immunityEnergy resistance
36Enhanced sensesSensory adept
37EntanglingEntangling Force
38–40Fire attackEnergy master
41Fire immunityEnergy Resistance
42–43FlightPower shift in flight
44Force fieldForce field master
45GrowingGiant hero
46–47HealingPower shift in healing
48Human shapechangerShapechanger
49IllusionIllusionist
50–51IntelligencePower shift in intelligence
52–54InventionBuilder
55InvisibilityInvisibility
56–57LeapingAmazing Leap, Far Step
58–59LuckyChaotic, Lucky, Dodge and Resist, Hard to Kill
60–61MagnetismTelekinetic
62–64Martial artsMaster martial artist
65ParagonParagon
66PhasingPhase master
67PlantPlant
68PoisonCreate deadly poison
69–72Powered armorPowered armor hero
73Remote viewingSensory adept
74–75ResiliencePower shift in resilience
76Robot minionsBuilder
77ShieldBearer of the item
78ShrinkingTiny hero
79–80SorcererSorcerer
81–82Sound attackThunder Beam
83–84SpeedsterSpeedster
85–89StrengthPower shift in strength
90–91SuperspySuperspy
92–93TelekinesisTelekinetic
94–95TelepathyMentalist
96TeleportationTeleporter
97Undead minionsSorcerer
98WeaponBearer of the item
99–00Weapon masterWeapon master, power shift in single attack

The GM can also use this table to come up with random abilities for supervillains. However, there is much more leeway in designing NPC abilities, so the Example column is more for suggesting game mechanics than abilities to choose.

Superhero Descriptors

(Claim the Sky, page 42)

This section presents new descriptors meant specifically for a superhero game.

Amazing

(Claim the Sky, page 42)

You have a knack for surprising people—performing impossible athletic feats, sneaking up on someone who's alert, or instantly reacting to an ambush. You like to make use of these talents to enhance (or rehabilitate) your reputation as a hero prone to spectacular rescues, defeating foes way above your league, and arriving just in time to save the day. Ironically, in your normal daily life, you're a little awkward and overlooked.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Exceptional: +2 to your Speed Pool, and 2 additional points to divide among your stat Pools.

  • Skill: You're trained in initiative and stealth tasks.

  • Self-Hype: When you apply a level of Effort to a task, you get a free level of Effort. You can do this one time, although the ability is renewed each time you make a one-hour or ten-hour recovery roll.

  • Inability: Your sudden appearances are startling to regular people. Positive social reactions are hindered (villains and other superheroes aren't affected by this).

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You got in a bit over your head, but another PC's coincidental arrival gave you just the distraction you needed.
  2. You were tailing someone the other PCs were following and decided to drop in.
  3. You saw that the other PCs were in a fight and chose to help them out.
  4. You had a hunch that something big was about to go down.
Incredible

(Claim the Sky, page 42)

You're misunderstood, and you might not even think of yourself as a hero, but somehow you keep ending up in situations where your abilities are just what's needed to prevent disaster. Maybe good luck cancels out just enough of being cursed to count as a win. You've saved innocent lives, defeated some really bad people, and perhaps even cheated death a couple of times. Half the time you don't even know how you did it, but you succeeded at the impossible … often with a lot of collateral damage. When you hear police sirens, it's time to leave, but you know that trouble will find you eventually—and you'll be ready to smash it.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Strong: +2 to your Might Pool, and 2 additional points to divide among your stat Pools.

  • Skill: You're trained in breaking things. Skill: You're trained in all jumping tasks. Inability: Your destructive reputation or some other reluctance to communicate makes people distrust you. Any task involving social interaction is hindered.

  • Incredible Action: You can choose to automatically succeed on one task without rolling, as long as the task's difficulty is no higher than 6. When you do so, however, you also trigger a GM intrusion as if you had rolled a 1. The intrusion doesn't invalidate the success, but it probably qualifies it in some fashion. You can do this one time, although the ability renews each time you make a ten-hour recovery roll.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs sensed your decent heart and decided to befriend you.
  2. You literally crashed through a wall and ended up in the middle of the other PCs.
  3. One of the other PCs reminds you of someone from your past.
  4. You were feeling lonely and took a risk talking to someone, and so far it's paying off
Mighty

(Claim the Sky, page 43)

You have a very impressive physique. Your strength, power, and very importance are superior. Whether you're truly the mightiest may be up for debate (and you may have a friendly rivalry about this with other superheroes), but there is no question that you are exceptional. These things make you confident, but you know that you have these physical gifts in order to perform heroic deeds, and unseemly conduct is beneath you.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Very Powerful: +4 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in all actions involving lifting and throwing things.

  • Skill: You're trained in Might defense tasks.

  • Healthy: Add 1 to the points you regain when you make a recovery roll.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You joined the other PCs because they would fail without your strength.
  2. You believe this endeavor will earn you a lot of valor.
  3. Another PC asked—rightly—for your help.
  4. An authority figure told you to do this to show you the value of humility.
Sensational

(Claim the Sky, page 44)

The public and the press like you. Maybe you're photogenic, or you're inherently nice, or you have really good luck with journalists. Whatever the cause of it, you're the darling of the media, and whenever you're seen in public, you generate a lot of positive interest and excitement. (If you don't have a secret identity, this attention probably also carries over to your day job, which is a mixed blessing.) People know that you're a hero and that they can count on you to do the right thing—fighting crime, battling injustice, punching evil robots, that kind of stuff. Sometimes being in the public eye so much can be wearying or even a burden, but you know how to use your reputation to set a good example and make the world a better place.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Versatile: You get 4 additional points to divide among your stat Pools.

  • Skill: You're trained in positive social interactions.

  • Skill: You're trained in one skill relating to your current or past career, such as computers, journalism, law, machinery, or medicine.

  • Popular: The GM can introduce a GM intrusion on you, based on your fame and the public's perception of you, without awarding you any XP (as if you had rolled a 1 on a d20 roll). However, if this happens, 50 percent of the time, your reputation works to your advantage. Rather than hurting you (much), it helps you, or it hurts your enemies. You get spotted by a guard, but they're dumbstruck for a moment because you're even more impressive in person than you are on TV. You attract a crowd of fans, but they slow down the fleeing villain you're trying to catch. A photographer pesters you for a photo and a quote, but their camera catches something interesting in the background. You and the GM should work together to determine the details. If the GM wishes, they can use GM intrusions based on your fame normally (awarding XP).

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You're related to one of the other superhero PCs, and decided to help out because of family.
  2. The other PCs relied on your positive reputation to untangle them from a public relations problem, and they invited you along out of gratitude.
  3. The media specifically called you out to fix this problem.
  4. A supervillain chose to make a scene in the hopes of drawing you out.
Uncanny

(Claim the Sky, page 44)

There's something unusual about you, and it makes other people a little uncomfortable. You know you're exceptional—gifted, even—and being a bit odd doesn't make you any less of a person. This uncanny element is a part of you, in your blood, in your DNA. You can't help it, but you won't apologize for it. You feel comfortable around other people with similar strangeness, people who've experienced the same prejudice that you have; these shared experiences mean they're your family, perhaps the only family you've got.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Exceptional: +2 to your Might Pool and +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Distinctive Physical Quirk: You have an unusual physical aspect. Depending on the setting, this can vary greatly; it might be something external and obvious, such as an odd smell or blue hair, or internal and hidden, like having blood type "omega." Whatever it is, your quirk draws a lot of attention when it's discovered.

  • A Sense for the Weird: Sometimes—at the GM's discretion—an event or person that seems related to your uncanny nature attracts your attention. You can sense it from afar, and if you get within long range of it, you can sense whether it is overtly dangerous or not.

  • Skill: You're trained in either perception tasks or stealth tasks.

  • Skill: You're trained in one kind of knowledge related to your quirk, such as olfactory science, mutations, or hematology.

  • Inability: People find you unnerving. All tasks relating to pleasant social interaction are hindered. (Other people who are unusual like you aren't affected by this.)

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You felt the objective was someone like you, so you got involved.
  2. Whether the other PCs realize it or not, their mission has to do with your field of knowledge, so you got involved.
  3. As an expert in an unusual kind of knowledge, you were specifically recruited by the other PCs.
  4. You believe one of the other PCs may be uncanny or is related to someone who is.

If the superhero setting has a specific gene or genes responsible for mutant superpowers, Uncanny characters have that gene (perhaps even multiple copies) and can sense others who have it.

Optional Rule: Power Shifts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 292)(Claim the Sky, page 57)

Superheroes can do things that other people cannot. They throw cars, blast through brick walls, leap onto speeding trains, and cobble together interdimensional gateways in a few hours. It's tempting to say that such characters are stronger, faster, or smarter, so they should have higher Might, Speed, or Intellect Pools. However, simply bumping up stat Pools or Edge doesn't fully represent this dramatic increase in power. Instead, consider using an optional rule called power shifts.

A typical superhero PC gets five power shifts. Power shifts are like permanent free levels of Effort that are always active. They don't count toward a character's maximum Effort use (nor do they count as skills or assets). They simply ease tasks that fall into specific categories, which include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following.

Accuracy
All attack rolls
Dexterity
Movement, acrobatics, initiative, and Speed defense
Flight
The character can fly a short distance each round; each additional shift increases this speed (whether the flight comes from a power shift or a character ability) by one range category (long for two shifts, very long for three shifts)
Healing
One extra recovery roll per shift (each one action, all coming before other normal recovery rolls)
Increased Range
Increases the range of one ability or attack. A touch-range ability (such asShock) increases to short range, a short-range ability increases to long range, and a long-range ability increases to very long range
Intelligence
Intellect defense rolls and all knowledge, science, and crafting tasks
Power
Use of a specific power, including damage (3 additional points per shift) but not attack rolls
Prodigy
Give up a lower-tier ability to get a higher-tier ability
Resilience
Might defense rolls and Armor (+1 per shift)
Savant
Two specific skills (other than attacks, defenses, or a special ability), such as history, perception, or persuasion
Single Attack
Attack rolls and damage (3 additional points per shift) for one specific kind of attack, such as pistols, kicks, orThrust
Strength
All tasks involving strength, including jumping and dealing damage in melee or thrown attacks (3 additional points of damage per shift) but not attack rolls

Each shift eases the task (except for shifts that affect damage or Armor, as specified in the list above). Applying two shifts eases the task by two steps, and applying 3 shifts eases the task by three steps.

A character assigns their five power shifts as desired, but most characters should not be allowed to assign more than three to any one category. Once the shifts are assigned, they should not change (however, researching an experimental procedure to change a character's power shifts could be the culmination of a character arc such as Uncover a Secret).

For example, a superstrong character might put three of their shifts into strength and the other two into resilience. Whenever they lift something heavy, smash through a wall, or throw an object, they ease the task by three steps before applying Effort, skill, or assets. Thus, all difficulties from 0 to 3 are routine for them. They smash through level 3 doors as if they don't exist. As another example, a masked vigilante character with a utility belt full of gadgets and great acrobatic skills might put two shifts in dexterity, one in accuracy, one in intelligence, and one in healing. They're not actually superpowered, just tough and well trained.

Superpowered NPCs and Power Shifts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 293)

NPC superheroes and villains get power shifts, too. Most of the time, this adds to their level. For example, Blast Star is a level 5 fiery villain who has three power shifts. When she blasts through a level 7 iron security door, she does so easily because in this circumstance, she's actually level 8.

Sometimes, NPC power shifts make things harder for the PCs. For example, Fleetfoot the level 4 speedster puts all three of her shifts in dexterity. When she runs past a character who tries to grab her, the difficulty to do so is increased by three steps to 7.

Typical NPC supers get three power shifts. Exceptional ones usually have five.

Prodigy Power Shifts

(Claim the Sky, page 58)

Some superhero character concepts are about breaking the normal power level for a hero. In most cases, you can do this using power shifts. For example, if you want your strong hero to be really strong, put one or more power shifts into strength. If you want your archer character to be really good at shooting arrows, put a power shift into single attack (bows). If you want your speedster hero to be really fast, put a power shift into power (Fleet of Foot). And so on.

But what if you want your character to be a swashbuckling teleporter who blinks all over the battlefield? There's no low-tier teleportation ability, so you can't be a teleporter as a tier 1 character, and the character concept isn't nearly as fun if you have to wait until tier 4 before you can learn a teleportation ability (likeShort Teleportation).

This is where you can (with the GM's approval) use a power shift for the prodigy option. Prodigy lets you give up one of your lower-tier abilities for a higher-tier ability that matches your character concept. For example, if your swashbuckling teleporter is a Graceful Explorer who Fights With Panache, you could give up one of your tier 1 Explorer abilities (so you'd only have three instead of four) or give up your tier 1 focus ability, Fights With Panache, and instead select the tier 4 abilityShort Teleportation.

Choosing prodigy as a power shift is an interesting trade-off for your character; you end up with a powerful ability that you couldn't get otherwise, but at the cost of a power shift (which the other characters are probably using to add to their skills, damage, or defenses). Keep in mind that higher-tier abilities tend to cost more Pool points (especially because your Edge as a low-tier character is less than that of a higher-tier character), so you'll weaken yourself if you use that ability often—which might be a good reason to allocate more points to that stat Pool, or assign a power shift to healing so you have more opportunities per day to recover points.

Theoretically, you could put two power shifts in prodigy for the same ability, allowing you to select a high-tier ability. However, there are two reasons not to do this. First, those high-tier abilities usually have even higher costs, which limits how often you can use them. Second, if you start out with the best version of that ability, there's no room to grow. It's fun when your character impresses other superheroes by improving an ability, and it's really handy when your nemesis supervillain underestimates you based on your old limitations. So unless the GM wants every superhero PC to start with one top-tier ability, give yourself room to grow and use prodigy only to get a mid-tier ability.

Editor's Notes — For a list of abilities by power grade (low-, mid-, and high-tier), see Chapter 9: Abilities.

Gaining More Power Shifts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 293)(Claim the Sky, page 58)

Some GMs will want to allow PCs to increase their power shifts. Having a character spend 10 XP to do so would probably be appropriate. Other GMs will want to run superhero games with PCs of greater or lesser power (cosmic-level heroes or street-level heroes, perhaps). In such cases, the GM should grant the PCs more or fewer power shifts at the game's start.

Power Shifts in Other Genres

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Power shifts and power stunts are a staple of the superhero genre, but the GM might use them in other genres, like a fantasy game where with apotheosis or cultivation themes, or a modern setting where vampires with amazing powers prowl the streets, or any setting where the GM wants to encourage creative use of PC abilities. If you enjoy these rules, consider purchasing Claim the Sky, Gods of the Fall, Stay Alive!, or Unmasked.

The GM decides which power shifts are available, and how they are gained. Once assigned, power shifts don't change unless something dramatic happens, like the culmination of a character arc. A PC can't put more than three shifts into the same category without approval from the GM. Here are a few possible arrangements:

  • Superheroes: At tier 1, you have five power shifts. You can purchase more power shifts with 10 XP.

  • Teen Supers: At tier 1, you have three power shifts. At tiers 2 and 4, you gain a power shift, which you can apply to one type or focus ability. If the ability inflicts damage, choose to dedicate the power shift to easing the attack task, or increasing damage inflicted by 3.

  • Potent Bloodlines: At tier 1, you have three power shifts. At tiers 2, 4, and 6, you gain another power shift.

  • Mastery: You can gain a power shift by completing an appropriate character arc.

  • XP Purchase: You can spend 10 XP to gain one power shift, up to a number equal to your tier.

  • Beyond Tier 6: You can gain power shifts as described under Advancing Beyond Tier 6.

Optional Rule: Gaining Superpowers After Character Creation

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Gaining superpowers can be part of any campaign with fantastic elements. It can be permanent, or temporary. In fact, it's not necessary for every PC in the group to have anywhere near the same number of power shifts. If a PC gains superpowers in the course of the story, the GM can use these rules. If you enjoy these rules, consider purchasing The Origin.

  • Super-Focus: If a modern PC with a mundane focus gains superpowers, the nature of their new powers can be realized by choosing a "super-focus" in one of the following ways:

    • Become Super. The PC makes their existing focus "super". The GM should allow them choose at least one low-tier ability from Chapter 9: Abilities to help complete their superpower package.

    • Second Focus. The PC gains a second super-focus. Any power shifts gained can't be applied to their first focus, and when they advance to a new tier, only the second super-focus provides new abilities to the PC.

    • Fantastic Transformations. The PC assumes a completely different identity when their superpowers are active. Use the optional rules for Fantastic Transformations.

  • GM-Assigned or Player-Chosen Power Shifts: The GM assigns the PC a number of power shifts, as described under Power Shifts in Other Genres. The GM might also decide how some or all of the PC's power shifts are assigned, allow the player to choose what to do with their power shifts, or leave matters up to a roll of the die.

  • Mastering New Powers: Learning to use superpowers can be tricky. Until PCs complete a character arc like Learn, the GM might assign the PC an inability when using their fledgling powers, or raise the GM intrusion rate for the PC. GM intrusions might take the form of accidental or uncontrollable manifestation of superpowers.

  • Other Changes: Gaining powers might cause other dramatic changes in a PC. Most begin a new character arc, but some might change their descriptor, type, or gain a flavor.

  • Supers Gain an XP Advance: To set increase the baseline between PCs with and without superpowers even further, use the optional starting at tier 0 rules for normal PCs, and use the optional XP Advance or starting just past tier 1 rules for superpowered PCs.

Optional Rule: Fantastic Transformations

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

These optional rules allow GMs to create dramatic tension by giving PCs a weaker, mundane form, and a second, dramatically more powerful fantastic form. These PCs might lead a double life, and be pushed to their limits to maintain a balance between their normal life and their fantastic exploits—as the two worlds inevitably collide or otherwise come into conflict. If you enjoy these rules, consider purchasing Unmasked.

GMs and players should establish the nature or source of the transformations, and come up with a good description of each PC's transformation. Possible themes for fantastic forms include:

  • off-beat superheroes
  • henshin heroes and magical girls
  • werewolves
  • divine, demonic, or eldritch possession

To accomplish this, create character sheets for each form as follows:

Mundane Form

First, create your mundane form. This is probably how you spend most of your time, and what most people would consider your "real life"—going to school or work, maintaining relationships with friends, family, or loved ones, and dealing with day-to-day happenings.

  • Starting Pools: Your Might, Speed or Intellect Pools have 6 points each. You get 2 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

  • Descriptor: Choose a descriptor. Some descriptors—for example, Mystical—might not be appropriate for mundane forms.

  • Skills: Choose three skills (other than attacks or defense) appropriate to the setting.

  • Background: Add a background connection you have to the setting.

  • Minimized Advancement: To best preserve the dramatic tension between your mundane life and fantastic forms, your mundane form doesn't gain character advancements or reach new tiers. The GM might make occasional exceptions, for example, as a reward for the completion of a significant character arc. Each time your mundane form advances, you must choose a different option. Examples of mundane form advancements include:

    • Pools. You gain 4 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

    • Effort. You have an Effort score of 1.

    • Edge. You increase your Might, Speed or Intellect Edge to 1.

    • Focus. You gain the tier 1 abilities from a mundane focus.

Fantastic Form

When your transform, you become a far more powerful being. Assuming your fantastic form usually requires an action, but the GM might set additional requirements, including (but not limited to) some combination of the following:

  • activate an artifact
  • speak aloud an incantation, invocation, or oath
  • make a specific set of complex motions
  • perform a brief ritual
  • move to another plane of existence
  • fall asleep and begin to dream
  • log onto a virtual reality where the PC's fantastic adventures take place
  • involuntarily triggered by heightened emotional states, stress, or other specific circumstances—preferably something that is a good source of GM intrusion—on a failed Intellect defense roll, the transformation takes hold

Fantastic forms start out as standard tier 1 PC, and gain character advancements by spending 4 XP. The GM decides which character options are available to PCs' fantastic forms, as outlined in the Campaign Design Checklist—some settings will need to be more restrictive than others.

Editor's Notes — For a dramatically less powerful mundane form, use the ruels for Handling PCs as Children or the Gritty Rules Modules in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

Power Stunts

(Claim the Sky, page 58)

A power stunt is pushing a superpower beyond its normal limits or using it to do something it normally can't do. Examples:

  • A lightning-blaster hero shooting their electricity farther than normal
  • A fire-creating hero absorbing fire from a burning building
  • A telepathic hero communicating with or understanding a machine
  • A teleporter hero traveling to another dimension
  • An illusionist hero negating an opponent's invisibility

The Cypher System Rulebook explains Modifying Abilities on the Fly (419), describing a method of altering the range, area, or other aspects of an Intellect-based ability by spending more Intellect points. In a superhero game, these modifications aren't limited to Intellect-based abilities—it's reasonable that a strong hero could affect a larger area withGolem Stomp or an agile hero could disarm more than one opponent usingAdvantage to Disadvantage. The cost for making these changes works just like modifying an Intellect-based ability. The additional cost uses the same Pool as the ability's normal cost; if an ability doesn't have a cost, the GM should choose an appropriate ability for the points to come from.

  • Increasing range costs 1 Pool point per range step increased (immediate to short, short to long, long to very long).

  • Increasing duration costs 1 Pool point for one step (one minute to ten minutes, ten minutes to an hour). Durations cannot be increased more than one step in this way. Abilities that last for only an action or a round (such as an Onslaught attack) cannot have their duration increased.

Abilities that don't have a Pool cost, likeEyes Adjusted, can be modified as well. If modifying the range or duration, the GM decides what Pool the point cost is paid from. However, most abilities like this don't have ranges or durations, so modifying them requires a difficult, formidable, or impossible task roll.

Modifying the area or other aspects of an ability is more difficult. Instead of increasing the Pool point cost, the character decides how they want to modify their ability, and the GM sets a difficulty of the task to successfully modify it, according to the following guidelines:

Power Stunt Difficulty

(Claim the Sky, page 59)

Power Stunt Difficulty
Difficulty Power Stunt Examples
4 Difficult: Something within the spirit and general idea of the ability, using a self- only ability on another character, or using a single-target ability in a weakened form on two targets.
  • Using a self-only ability likeHover to give another creature the power to fly.
  • UsingTeleportation to go to another dimension instead of somewhere in the same dimension.
  • SplittingFrost Touch orOnslaught into hindered attacks against two opponents.
7 Formidable: Something similar to the description or intent of the ability, but changing its nature, or having a single-target ability affect an area.
10 Impossible: An effect that has nothing to do with the ability's description or intent.
  • UsingHover to blast an opponent with fire.
  • UsingFoil Danger to copy an opponent's attack.
  • Using an attack likeThunder Beam to heal someone.

Of course, if the altered ability is an attack, the hero still needs to make a successful attack roll against their target—just because the character found a way to useHover as an attack doesn't mean the attack automatically hits. The attack task for the altered ability uses the normal difficulty for attacking that target. For example, if Hammermind wants to split herOnslaught so she can attack two level 2 robots, first she has to succeed at the difficulty 4 task to split the attack, then she can make the two (hindered) level 2 attack rolls against the robots.

Just like in any aspect of the game, other factors might ease or hinder the hero's attempt to perform the stunt. For example, if the hero Firelash is trying a stunt to use hisShroud of Flame to absorb a fire attack from his evil sister Swordblaze, the GM might decide that the similarities in their flame powers mean that Firelash's attempt is eased. But if the illusionist hero Hologrim is trying a power stunt to reveal where his invisible archenemy Death Ghost is hiding, the GM might feel that the villain's magical invisibility is especially difficult for Hologrim's technology-based illusions to counter, so the hero's task is hindered. The GM can also introduce power boost cyphers that ease the power stunt task, or present the heroes with temporary effects that ease or hinder power stunt tasks, like a virus that erratically amplifies mutant genes, or a burst of energy from an alien artifact that reacts with a robot hero's power core.

If a hero tries a particular stunt in more than one session, the GM doesn't need to give the task the same difficulty every time; the circumstances of each attempt are never quite the same. Perhaps this supervillain's fire is a little hotter or cooler than the one the hero tried to absorb last time. Or the spaces between the dimensions are thinner or thicker right now, making it harder to teleport between them. The position of two opponents or the shape of a room might be different than the last time the hero tried splitting an attack power across multiple targets. In other words, the GM doesn't have to remember that the last time the hero tried this stunt it was difficulty 7, so it has to be difficulty 7 this time; just look at the current circumstances and make a decision based on that. In fact, this is part of the reason why the difficulties are three levels apart; the GM is more likely to be consistent at rating something as difficult, formidable, or impossible than deciding whether it's a level 6 or level 7 task.

Permanent Power Stunts

(Claim the Sky, page 60)

Once a character has successfully performed the same difficult, formidable, or impossible power stunt a few times, they might want to make it a permanent part of their repertoire of abilities. By spending 2 XP, the character gains the ability to perform that power stunt whenever they want, with no need for a power stunt task. The GM decides how many times the character has to get the stunt right before they can spend XP to learn it. Three successful attempts over at least three separate sessions is a reasonable guideline, plus some downtime between game sessions to represent mastering this variant.

Learning a power stunt does not count as a step in character advancement.

Learning how to do a formidable or impossible power stunt might be the reason to take a character arc like New Discovery, Transformation, or Uncover a Secret.

Really Impossible Tasks

Quick Reference: Really Impossible Tasks

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 293)(Claim the Sky, page 61)

In superhero games, due to conventions of the genre, difficulty caps at 15 instead of 10. Difficulty 10 is labeled "impossible," but that label is for regular folks. For superpowered characters, "impossible" means something different, thanks to power shifts.

Think of each difficulty above 10 as being one more step beyond impossible. Although a GM in another genre would say there's no chance that a character could leap 100 feet (30 m) from one rooftop to another, in a superhero game, that might just be difficulty 11. Picking up a city bus isn't something normal characters could do, but for a strong superhero, it might be difficulty 12.

In theory, NPCs in such a game can go up to level 15 as well. Levels above 10 represent opponents that only a superhero would consider taking on: a robot that's 1,000 feet (300 m) tall (level 11); Galashal, Empress of Twelve Dimensions (level 14); or a space monster the size of the moon (level 15).

This section presents more details and examples of tasks, threats, and creatures of difficulty 11 to 15.

Feats of Strength

(Claim the Sky, page 61)

Use the following table to estimate the difficulty of various incredible feats of physical strength.

Feats of Strength
DifficultyLifting Task
4Lift a 150-pound (68 kg) object
9Lift a 400-pound (180 kg) object
10Lift a 1-ton (1 tonne) car or traffic copter
11Lift a 5-ton (4.5 tonne) ambulance, private jet, elephant, or Tyrannosaurus rex
12Lift a 10-ton (9 tonne) school bus, combat helicopter, triceratops, or 5-foot boulder
13Lift a 20-ton (18 tonne) fire truck, mobile home, fighter jet, Apatosaurus, or light military tank
14Lift a 40-ton (36 tonne) humpback whale or loaded tractor-trailer
15Lift an 80-ton (72 tonne) space shuttle, single-story house, passenger train car, or military tank
Task Circumstances
Task CircumstancesDifficulty
Lifting the object as high as the character can reach+0
Lifting the object only partway off the ground−1
Asset (lever, jack, etc.)−1 or −2
Help from another character (asset)−1 or −2
Large character (double human size)−1†
Carrying an object an immediate distance+0
Carrying an object a short distance+1
Pushing or pulling (not lifting) an object an immediate distance-1
Pushing or pulling (not lifting) an object a short distance+0
Pushed or pulled object can roll or slide very easily−1
Pushed or pulled object is buoyant and moving through water−1

† — Each additional doubling of the character's size eases the task by another step.

Some character abilities are able to move heavy things, often more easily than brute physical strength can. If a superhero wants to push the limits of what those abilities can do, the GM can compare the baseline effects of those abilities to the Feats of Strength table to determine the comparable difficulty of the task, and modify the character's roll to succeed.

Feats of Speed

(Claim the Sky, page 62)

A character can move a short distance (50 feet [15 m]) as their entire action as a routine task (difficulty 0, no roll needed). This is basically a jog or a hustle, faster than a walk but not an all-out run. A character can try to run a long distance (100 feet [30 m]) as their entire action, but they must succeed at a difficulty 4 Speed task to complete the movement; failure means they trip, stumble, slip, or fall down at some point during the move and stop.

Of course, superheroes aren't normal people—they're exceptional, and some can run as fast as Olympic athletes, or much faster. For a character trying to run more than a long distance as their entire action, use the following table to determine the difficulty for the task. Failing this roll is just like failing the basic running roll described above.

Task Circumstances
DifficultyRunning DistanceNotes
6200 feet (60 m)19 mph (30 kph)
8250 feet (76 m)24 mph (39 kph); bear, Olympic sprinter
9340 feet (104 m)33 mph (53 kph); cat, coyote, greyhound
10400 feet (120 m)49 mph (79 kph); horse, tiger
11700 feet (210 m)68 mph (110 kph); cheetah
121,400 feet (430 m)136 mph (220 kph)
132,800 feet (850 m)273 mph (440 kph)
141 mile (1.5 km)545 mph (880 kph); Boeing 747
152 miles (3 km)1,600 mph (2,575 kph); Mach 2
Tremendous Leaps

(Claim the Sky, page 63)

Some—but not all—strong superheroes can easily leap dozens or hundreds of feet, well beyond what's possible with the jumping rules (running a short distance and jumping 30 feet [9 m] is a difficulty 10 task). Characters who want to jump huge distances like that should take theAmazing Leap ability, allowing them to jump a long distance or more.

All characters with at least one power shift in strength get the benefit of a free level of Effort for each strength shift. This effectively increases their standing jump distance by 1 foot (30 cm) per shift and their running jump distance by 2 feet (60 cm) per shift, which is impressive compared to a normal person, but not phenomenal.

To make superhero character jumps a bit more exciting, the GM can implement an optional rule in which strength shifts count double for free levels of Effort when jumping. For example, a character with five strength shifts would get ten free levels of Effort on jump tasks instead of five. This allows them to do a 15-foot (4.5 m) standing jump as a difficulty 1 task (base difficulty 11, eased by 5 × 2 steps) and a 40-foot (12 m) running jump as a difficulty 5 task (base difficulty 15, eased by 5 × 2 steps), which seems more appropriate for a character strong enough to lift a car over their head.

Powerful Creatures

(Claim the Sky, page 63)

Superheroes don't just stop bank robbers and fight supervillains—sometimes they face giant robots, alien space monsters, or so-called gods. GMs can use the following examples to estimate the level and challenges for such threats.

Task Circumstances
LevelExample
9Demigod
10Kaiju 300 feet (90 m) tall
11Robot 1,000 feet (300 m) tall
12Vampire blood god
13Legendary monster*
14Archangel, demon prince, typical god or goddess†, multidimensional sorcerer
15Moon-sized space monster, pantheon leader‡
  • * — A primordial monster (such as Echidna or Typhon) or a powerful creature associated with the end of the world (such as Jörmungandr or Fenris).
  • † — A powerful, perhaps immortal entity (such as Ares or Loki) that has been worshipped or feared as a god by humans or similar creatures.
  • ‡ — A god or goddess (such as Odin or Zeus) who is the ruler of a group of deities.

Modifying High-Tech Devices

(Claim the Sky, page 64)

It's common for technically savvy superheroes to fiddle with machines to make them work better or do something different. Sometimes the object in question is their own gear, but it's just as likely to be something they took from a defeated supervillain or found on an alien spaceship.

A character who expects to modify many devices should consider learning abilities such asInnovator,Jury-Rig,Modify Artifact Power,Modify Device, andQuick Work. A character who only wants to dabble in this sort of activity can do so, but it takes longer and is less efficient.

Small modifications are things like changing a device's target, range, or duration. "Small" is subjective and up to the GM, but generally, it means adding another target (although for some high-level devices, adding a target isn't a small change), increasing the range by one step (immediate to short, short to long, long to very long), or increasing the duration by one step (one minute to one hour, one hour to ten hours). The task difficulty for making a small modification is generally equal to the device's level minus 1, which also determines how much time it takes to complete the modifications.

Big changes are modifying a laser rifle to shoot cold or electricity, turning a communication device into a telepathic shield, or turning a jetpack into a force field device. These modifications are like repairs; they use the device's level for the difficulty and creation time, but take half as long as the time listed.

A character modifying their own device eases the task. This applies whether the character built the device themselves or they've been repairing and tinkering with it long enough that they fully understand its workings.

Regardless of whether the change is big or small, failing the modification task means the character wastes the full amount of time spent attempting the modification, and uses up materials equal to the device's level minus 2, but they can try again. If they fail with a roll of a natural 1, it's likely that the free GM intrusion means the device is ruined (but perhaps could be salvaged for materials).

Modification GM intrusions: The device gains a high depletion rate, needs to be recharged after each use, or develops a side effect such as overheating (inflicting damage to the user) or creating a thunderous noise.

Modifying a device is similar to using a power stunt to alter a character ability. If a character wants to make a permanent change to one of their technology-based abilities, the GM should treat that more like a permanent power stunt—costing XP—than a modification.

Modifying the appearance of an item is just a cosmetic change and should take only a few hours at most for a typical handheld or worn item like a weapon, helmet, or boots. Changing the appearance of a spacesuit or full-body mechanized armor might take eight to twenty hours of work, depending on the extent of the changes.

Faster Crafting in a High-Tech Setting

(Claim the Sky, page 65)

In some superhero campaigns, crafting technology is so advanced that objects are designed virtually, with holograms, or with a mind-machine interface, and they are constructed by advanced 3D printers or clouds of nanobots. Under these conditions, the GM should ease the assessed difficulty to determine the crafting time by three or four steps, with the crafter needing to be present for only about the first quarter of that time and the "helpers" taking care of the rest.

Editor's Notes — The Inventor or Gadgeteer (CTS, 15) section is not included in the CSRD, but brings theAlways Tinkering,Extra Use,Boost Manifest Cypher,Boost Manifest Cypher Function, andModify Cyphers abilities into context. Alternately, consider creating a PC with the Crafter Flavor presented in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

Superhero Cyphers

(Claim the Sky, page 157)

In a superhero campaign, there's a fine line between cyphers (one-use items or abilities awarded by the GM, especially power boost cyphers), artifacts, character abilities (which may cost Pool points to use), and other equipment (which has none of those criteria). The GM should keep in mind that it's good from a story point of view to let characters have equipment they need to deal more effectively with foes that might otherwise be too potent.

Superhero Artifacts

Quick Reference: Superhero Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 294)(Claim the Sky, page 158)

Supervillains build doomsday devices. Ancient artifacts present a threat to all humanity if in the wrong hands. Weird machines from alien dimensions offer solutions to unsolvable problems. Artifacts are an important part of superhero stories. A few examples are below.

Darkest Book

(Claim the Sky, page 158)

  • Level: 10

  • Form: Large, metal-bound book

  • Effect: Fashioned by the primordial entity who created evil magic, the Darkest Book is a record of every vile incantation, curse, and ritual ever performed. It is known to include spells that create werewolves, raise an army of zombies, revive a dead body as a vampire, conjure demons and devils, and release profane energy for various effects. It eases by three steps any task related to magical lore.

    Even someone unskilled at magic can open it to a random page and read the spell there (the GM randomly determines the spell by rolling on the Fantastic Cypher table), which takes effect at level 10.

    The Darkest Book is somewhat sentient and can hide its words from anyone it doesn't want reading it. It might require a person casting a spell from it to succeed at a difficulty 6 Intellect defense roll or take 6 points of Intellect damage and move one step down the damage track.

    The book is technically indestructible; anything strong enough to destroy an object of its level merely destroys one of its pages, and the book can't be destroyed as long as at least one page remains.

  • Depletion: —

Doctor Dread's Time Portal

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 294)

  • Level: 9

  • Form: Arch of metal big enough to walk through

  • Effect: Anyone who steps through it goes to a predetermined point in the past or future (a minimum of fifty years in either direction), which can be anywhere on the planet.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Editor's Notes — Doctor Dread is a supervillain.

Omni Orb

(Claim the Sky, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Glowing, orb-shaped technological device

  • Effect: The user holding the orb imagines what they want to happen (similar to using a magical wish), and it happens, within limits. The level of the effect granted is no greater than the level of the orb, as determined by the GM, who can modify the effect accordingly. (The larger the desired effect, the more likely the GM will limit it.) Activating the omni orb automatically moves the character using it one step down the damage track.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (instead of depleting, a roll of 1 means the user experiences a GM intrusion related to the effect they created)

A benchmark for setting an omni orb's limits is to compare it to a cypher of the orb's level—if there is a cypher that can do what the PC wants, and that cypher is equal to or less than the orb's level, it works. For example, if a team of superheroes tries to use a level 5 orb to teleport to their base 100 miles away, the GM can look at the list of cyphers and see that a teleporter (traveler) cypher can transport one character up to 100 miles per cypher level, so transporting a group of PCs 100 miles is probably within the orb's power.

Serum X

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 294)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Vial or syringe of red fluid

  • Effect: Strips someone of all superpowers (including abilities granted by magic, psionics, mutation, or science) for twenty-four hours. The target retains only skills and abilities that are mundane, as agreed by the GM and player.

  • Depletion: Automatic

Space Ring

(Claim the Sky, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Metal ring with a star insignia

  • Effect: The wearer is able to fly as effortlessly as walking, moving up to a short distance each round in any direction. In space, if the wearer does nothing but move for three actions in a row, they accelerate greatly and can move up to 200 miles (320 km) per hour, or about 2,000 feet (600 m) each round. The ring also provides the wearer with breathable air while in space or underwater (although this doesn't provide protection against poison gas or other air-based hazards). The wearer can verbally communicate with other ring-wearers within 1 mile (1.5 km), and verbally request information (relayed to them with a synthesized voice) from the internet or a local equivalent.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each day of flying)

Stellarex Crystal

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 294)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Multifaceted purple stone the size of a fist

  • Effect: Created in the dawning of the universe, this artifact grants the wielder the ability to not only fully restore all their stat Pools, but also increase each Pool temporarily by 10 points. These extra points fade after twenty-four hours if not used.

  • Depletion: 1–3 in 1d10

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Superhero Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 291)

Dog, guard
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Genetically enhanced bruiser
level 3; attacks as level 4; health 15; 5 points of melee damage
Ninja
level 3; stealth as level 6
Robot minion
level 4; Armor 2
Bystander
level 2
Scientist
level 2; science-related tasks as level 4
Worker
level 2; health 8

Supervillains

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 356)

People with amazing abilities who use them for evil earn the label of Supervillain.

Chapter 19 Post-Apocalyptic

Quick Reference: Post-Apocalyptic

Post-Apocalyptic Descriptors

Post-Apocalyptic Species Descriptors

Optonal Rules (Realistic)

Optional Rules (Fantastic)

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 295)

Post-apocalyptic literature, movies, and games are a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the dystopia that follows the fall of civilization. Strictly speaking, post-apocalyptic stories take place after the end of the world. At least, the end of the world for most people. Players take the role of the survivors (or their descendants) trying to persevere in the face of immense hardship. Popular post-apocalyptic scenarios include those set after nuclear war, in the aftermath of a zombie plague, in the months and years following an alien invasion, or after the environment collapses in the face of human overpopulation. Other ways the world could end include a massive meteorite strike, the long-awaited robot uprising, a powerful solar flare that burns out the world's power grids and communications, or even something as prosaic as a global disease pandemic.

Suggested Types for a Post-Apocalyptic Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 298)(RR, 119)

Suggested Types for a Post-Apocalyptic Game
RoleType
SurvivorExplorer with stealth flavor
HeavyWarrior
DealerSpeaker
TraderSpeaker with skills flavor
SageExplorer with knowledge flavor
EvolvedAdept

Post-Apocalyptic Foci

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In addition to any of the mundane foci, these foci might be appropriate for a post-apocalyptic game, depending on the nature of events that shaped the world:

Editor's Notes — In a post-apocalyptic setting with fantastic elements, fantasy foci, modern magic foci, and science fiction foci might also make appropriate character options.

Post-Apocalyptic Descriptors

Alternate Character Roles

(Rust and Redemption, page 112)

Characters who play out the apocalypse itself or who have just survived it and must pick up a few hours, days, or months after the end should choose from an alternate slate of roles. If you begin your game in such a setting, it makes much more sense to let your players choose roles for characters in a modern game.

Post-Apocalyptic Species Descriptors

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

In addition to descriptors for human survivors, GMs may want to offer species affected by the disaster.

Bitter

(Rust and Redemption, page 113)

Someone you cared for wronged you. They may have done so directly by betraying a trust, stealing your supplies, or giving you up to raiders to save their own life. Maybe they did it indirectly by going missing or dying on you. Or maybe it was an organization or institution that let you down. Whatever it was, you've spent a lot of time pulled into yourself, paranoid and mistrustful of others. But something's happened lately that has at least opened you to the possibility of trusting others again. Maybe you have to work with someone else or die. Alternatively, perhaps you've decided to try one more time, despite your disillusionment. It's either that or fully give in to bitterness.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skeptical: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're always wondering who's going to wrong you next. You are trained in detecting deception.

  • Skill: You are trained in tracking creatures. If a creature has wronged you, the tracking task is eased.

  • Inability: You have a hard time not letting bitterness stain everything you do. Interaction tasks are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a keepsake from whoever wronged you. It could be an object they once possessed, a picture of them, or something else you associate with what makes you so bitter.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You found the other PCs in a situation they couldn't survive. Uncharacteristically, you helped them.
  2. You were facing certain death, but the PCs saved you, for no reason other than they saw your need.
  3. You want to change your ways, and the PCs seem to offer a chance for you to explore that possibility.
  4. You have no idea how you joined the PCs. You're just going along with it for now until answers present themselves.
Canien

(Rust and Redemption, page 113)

You're an evolved, intelligent dog with the ability to speak and use tools. Some caniens stand upright and have hands, and others are quadrupeds who can use a combination of their front paws and mouth as adroitly as a handed canien; you decide which kind of canien you are. Most canien clothing and equipment accommodates walking on either two feet or four, so that's normally not an issue. Either way, you've got fur, a tail, and a noble dog visage true to your particular line of descent. And like most caniens, you're loyal to your pack and friends. But you may find strangers a little suspicious, in which case you aren't shy about letting them know. However, you're usually willing to entertain the idea that a newcomer may be a friend you just don't know yet.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Dogged: +2 to your Might Pool.

  • Skill: You are naturally vigilant. You are trained in perception tasks.

  • Skill: You are playful. You are trained in tasks involving playing physical games.

  • Loyal: If an ally within immediate range descends one or more steps on the damage track, you can take an action immediately but in a restricted fashion. You can use this action either to move the willing ally up to an immediate distance or to attempt a healing task on your ally.

  • Bite: You are practiced in making unarmed bite attacks (light weapon). Enabler.

  • Chewer: You are something of an oral fidgeter, like most caniens. After each ten-hour recovery roll, make a difficulty 2 Intellect defense roll. If you fail, you discover you've unconsciously been chewing on a piece of your equipment; it's ruined, at least until it is repaired.

  • Inability: You have a hard time seeing disloyalty in others. Tasks that involve detecting falsehoods are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. One of the other PCs needed help, and you obliged without a second's hesitation.
  2. The other PCs were going somewhere, and you came along even though they didn't ask you to.
  3. Aggression got the better of you, and now you're running from the fallout of that experience.
  4. You feel that one of the other PCs is in danger in some way, and you'd like to help out or keep an eye on them.
Felis

(Rust and Redemption, page 113)

You're an evolved, intelligent cat with the ability to speak and use tools. Felis are equally comfortable running on all fours or standing around in a clowder of other felis gossiping over catswort tea. Your fur is your protection from the elements, but you sometimes wear a harness for your equipment and may adopt boots for rough terrain and hats for fashion or function. Your visage is like that of before-times cats, including piercing, reflective eyes. Like other felis, you are crafty and cautious, unless you feel comfortable with others, in which case you can laze away hours in the sun or a warm spot. But if need be, you are quick to act and are not afraid to use your claws to defend yourself.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Crafty: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're innately curious. You are trained in tasks involving knowledge, figuring out problems, or solving puzzles.

  • Skill: You are agile. You are trained in tasks involving balancing and movement.

  • Darksight: You can see in dim light as though it were bright light and see in darkness as though it were dim light. Enabler.

  • Claws: You are practiced in making unarmed claw attacks (light weapon). Enabler.

  • Light on Your Paws: You ignore the first 4 points of damage you would otherwise suffer from a fall. Enabler.

  • Jumpy: Like most felis, you are a bit high-strung. Anytime another creature acts with surprise against you, make a difficulty 2 Intellect defense roll. If you fail, the first action you take on your turn is to flee using your full movement away from whoever surprised you.

  • Inability: You often come across as aloof. Tasks that involve positive social interaction are hindered.

  • Inability: You sometimes get lost in new locations you haven't visited before. You have an inability in navigation.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Everything was fine until you were attacked by a raiding band of "cat-skinners." The PCs helped you fight back or flee.
  2. You saw the PCs up to something, and your curiosity got the better of you, so you followed them.
  3. One of the other PCs invited you to join after they saw you scheme, plot, or solve a difficult problem.
  4. You got lost. The PCs found you and invited you to join their group.
Flutter

(Rust and Redemption, page 115)

You emerged from the chrysalis with your mind awash in skills instilled while you matured, as well as knowledge handed down from your ancestors. If the stories are true, some of your knowledge comes from even further back, ceded by godlike "humans" who raised flutters into the light of self-knowledge. That was before humans were lost, leaving the world in ruins. Ruins that are now yours to refurbish and rebuild or, as many prefer, to ignore while you instead go your own way. Humans may have created you, but they're gone, and you can decide what you think you owe them, if anything.

As a flutter, you are kin to the much smaller natural moths that still flit by night. But you have an internal skeleton and lungs, and are far larger. For all that, you also have wings, a proboscis, and much thinner limbs than the average animal still roaming the world.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Quick: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are adept at using your body's natural patterns of camouflage. You are trained in hiding.

  • Darksight: You can see in dim light as though it were bright light and can see in darkness as though it were dim light. Enabler.

  • Fragile: When you fail a Might defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.

  • Inability: You are confused by bright light. Perception tasks are hindered in bright light.

  • Erratic Flyer: You can select Hover as if it were on your type's list of tier 1 abilities. Your ability to move as described in Hover is due to your wings. In addition to the base ability described for Hover, if you succeed on a difficulty 2 Intellect roll, you can keep your position in the air instead of drifting with the wind or allowing momentum to move you.

    On a failure, you fly erratically as your action, possibly into the ground, a wall, or the midst of enemies you were trying to avoid. Enabler.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Some piece of knowledge gleaned from your time in the chrysalis made you seek out and join the PCs.
  2. The ruins are where knowledge of humans exists, and you heard the PCs were headed there.
  3. You overheard the PCs talking about a grand adventure, and you wanted to be part of it.
  4. You zigged when you should have zagged and ran headlong into the PCs. They patched you up and you stayed with them.
Hopeful

(Rust and Redemption, page 116)

Despite civilization's fall, you're optimistic about what the future could bring, confident that it will be bright. In fact, now that all the old institutions and cares of the world are gone, you hope something better can be rebuilt in its place. It's possible that you're bubbly and full of cheer. But you might instead be quietly confident, your hope revealed by the way you always try again if at first you fail. Being hopeful doesn't mean you're blind to others' faults, but you can hope they will do better next time, which might lead you to be more forgiving than other survivors. After all, when you screw up, you hope others will allow you the same luxury of learning from your mistakes.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Spirited: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: Mental malaise doesn't affect you like it does others. You are trained in Intellect defense tasks.

  • Shrug Off Disappointment: When you fail at a noncombat task and try that task again the very next round, you can apply a free level of Effort toward the success of that task. This benefit effectively alleviates the requirement to apply a level of Effort when retrying failed tasks, at least the first time you retry. Enabler.

  • Inability: You have a lightness of being, but you really feel it when you're physically challenged. Might defense tasks are hindered.

  • Inability: You're spirited but not fast. All movement-related tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs were in a bad spot, and one of the other PCs asked you along to add some perspective.
  2. You had a spot of bad luck, but you jumped back in to try something new, hopeful it would work out.
  3. To make good on a promise to help, you came with the other PCs.
  4. You answered a cry for help when another PC got in over their head.
Mutant

Savage forces strong enough to destroy a world left you transformed. Either through latent mutations passed down from ancestors that survived the apocalypse, or because something about you reacts when you're exposed to radiation or some other mutagenic source, you are prone to mutation. You might look relatively similar to others of your species, or you might have one or more obvious physical differences that make it hard to disguise your nature. Not that you necessarily want to hide what you are; you might wish to proudly display what makes you different and, to your mind, better.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Significant Mutations: Choose which option from the following list you'd like for your mutations. Whichever you choose, it is rolled for randomly; you don't select it.

  • Distinctive Mutations: You can choose if you want to have distinctive mutations or not. If you do, choose the number, up to four distinctive mutations, which are rolled for randomly. (If the GM is using the transitory mutations optional rule, you can only choose to have up to three distinctive mutations.)

  • Cosmetic Mutations: You can choose if you want to have cosmetic mutations or not. If you do, choose whether you want one or two cosmetic mutations, which are rolled for randomly. Once all your mutations have been rolled for, work together with the GM to ensure that what's been rolled is a character you want to play.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The other PCs found you in some weird "mutant" chrysalis and pulled you out; you were grateful and joined them.
  2. The other PCs were "hunting mutants" but when they found you, they realized they had been misguided.
  3. You wanted to get away from a bad situation, so you went with the PCs.
  4. The PCs asked you to come along, believing that your particular mutations could be harnessed for the benefit of the mission.
Morlock

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

You have lived your life deep underground in artificial bunkers, hidden from the world's destruction and the brutal scavengers that live above. As a morlock, you have a keen mind for the technology salvaged from the before-time. In fact, every morlock comes of age by fitting a piece of morlock technology to its body to provide enhancement and extend its life. This means that you are part flesh and part machine. Your skin is as pale as milk, except where it's been replaced with strips of metal and glowing circuits.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Enhanced Intelligence: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Cyborg Body: +2 to your Might Pool and your Speed Pool.

  • Partially Metallic: +1 to Armor.

  • Repair and Maintenance: As an entity of living flesh and humming machinery, you must first succeed on a difficulty 2 repair task before making a recovery roll. On a failure, the recovery roll is not used; however, the normal rules for retrying apply, and you must use Effort on a new roll if you wish to try again. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to heal additional points to your Pools (each level of Effort healing an additional 2 points to your Pools if you succeed).

  • Morlock Prejudice: While among non-morlocks, all positive interaction tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs found you in a collapsed subterranean tunnel.
  2. The other PCs encountered you exploring underground, and you convinced them to allow you to accompany them.
  3. You were exiled from the morlock communities and needed help on the surface.
  4. The only way to save the morlock community you hail from is to venture to the surface and find a mechanical part needed to repair a failing ancient system.
Rusted

(Rust and Redemption, page 117)

Life has dealt you some hard knocks. You lost an eye, an arm, or a leg several years ago, possibly during the apocalypse itself, or perhaps afterward. But you didn't give up. You adjusted, learning to do everything again, despite what first seemed like a limitation. If you lost a limb, you use a prosthetic; if an eye, you sometimes quip that binocular vision is overrated. Sure, there are times when you struggle with discomfort, pain, and possibly even self-consciousness. However, overcoming all that only makes you stronger and more determined to succeed. Ultimately, your scars, your prosthetic (if any), and your story represent who you are: a survivor who overcomes whatever is thrown your way.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Resilient: +2 to your Might Pool or +2 to your Intellect Pool or +1 to all three Pools.

  • Skill: Hard knocks have toughened you; you are trained in either Might defense tasks or Intellect defense tasks (choose one).

  • Skill: You had to fake it until you made it; you are trained in one creative skill such as singing, writing, acting, composing, public speaking, painting, sculpture, dancing, or something similar.

  • Inability: You've learned to do everything again and, in truth, better than most people ever could. But your injury is real; it's why you sometimes joke that you're "rusted." If you've lost an eye, your perception tasks involving sight are hindered. If you rely on a prosthetic leg, tasks requiring movement are hindered. If you rely on a prosthetic arm, tasks involving using both hands are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a prosthetic for one arm or one leg, or you have an eyepatch (and prosthetic eye) for a missing eye.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You bragged that there's nothing someone else could do that you couldn't do twice as well, which is how you got involved in your current situation.
  2. You're afraid of what might happen if the other PCs fail.
  3. You were tailing one of the other PCs for reasons of your own, which brought you into the action.
  4. You stepped in to defend one of the PCs when that character was threatened. While talking to them afterward, you heard about the group's task.
Shiny

(Rust and Redemption, page 118)

You're brash and bright, and you exult in situations, people, and objects that seem to you as if they have a similar sheen. Literally shiny objects qualify, as well as objects that are not rusted or degraded by time's passage or the effects of the apocalypse. You also tend to fall into the orbit of people who are strong, unbeaten, and possessed of an inner brightness. You believe that they, like you, reflect the light of some greater spiritual purpose in the world. When you believe you are acting in that glow, you are emboldened and may take risks others fear. You don't seek death, but you're confident that death in the pursuit of something shiny is the definition of a life well-lived.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Lithe: +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You've had practice driving a before-times vehicle. Choose a motorcycle, car or truck, or long-haul truck; you're trained in driving that kind of vehicle.

  • Skill: You know how to get out of the way. You are trained in Speed defense tasks.

  • Shiny Maneuver: You know how to push yourself harder, at the risk of a more dramatic failure. When you attempt a shiny maneuver, you ease a task, attack roll, or defense roll, but in doing so you increase the intrusion range by two for that roll, to a 1–3 on a d20. If you fail and decide to retry the task (requiring that you spend a level of Effort, as normal), it has the same increased intrusion range. Once you attempt a shiny maneuver, you can't attempt another until you make a recovery roll. Enabler.

  • Inability: You may be lithe and shiny, but you're not sneaky. Tasks related to sneaking and staying quiet are hindered.

  • Inability: You are irrepressible, but that makes it hard to dissemble. Deception and disguise tasks are hindered.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a treasured object that is literally shiny in bright light, such as a polished stainless-steel sphere, a silver coin, a pocket watch from the before-times, or something else small and easily carried.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. It seemed like there were equal odds that the other PCs wouldn't succeed, which sounded good to you.
  2. The first word that popped into your head upon seeing the PCs was "shiny."
  3. You think the tasks ahead will present you with unique and fulfilling challenges.
  4. Someone you trust and respect above all others suggested you join the PCs to help them complete their task.

The Scavenges focus can be used as written in the Cypher System Rulebook, but whenever the abilities point to the scavenging rules and tables from the rulebook (includingRuin Lore,Junkmonger,Know Where to Look, and other abilities), use the optional rule for scavenging or repairing and building.

Roach

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 301)

You are born of a species of evolved insects once called "cockroach," but that is far in the past. Radiation and forced evolution have radically increased your size, shape, and ability to think. Your exoskeleton mimics the shape of a human being, though not perfectly. When you move about human society, shadows and cloaks are your ally if you wish to pass unnoticed. When those of your kind are discovered, it usually goes poorly for someone. You, however, have a wandering spirit and seek to explore the fallen world and find a new way forward.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Scuttler: Your Speed Edge increases by 1.

  • Sense by Scent: You can sense your environment even in total darkness.

  • Cling: You can move an immediate distance each round on walls or clinging to the ceiling.

  • Carapace: +1 to Armor.

  • Glide: You can extend small wings from your carapace that grant an asset in jumping tasks and allow you to fall up to a short distance without taking damage.

  • Skill: You are trained in disguise tasks.

  • Inability: You are susceptible to disease and poison. Defense rolls against disease or poison are hindered.

  • Inability: You mimic a human, but you are not as fierce. Tasks involving combat—including attack and defense rolls—are hindered.

  • Insect Prejudice: While among non-roaches, all positive interaction tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs didn't realize what you were when they asked for your help.
  2. You've managed to hide your roach ancestry so well that everyone thinks you are like them.
  3. You are the last of your kind.
  4. You have a secret agenda, and the PCs were gullible enough to let you come along.

Additional Post-Apocalyptic Equipment

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)

Post-Apocalyptic Currency

(Rust and Redemption, page 126)

In your setting, you may want a new currency that PCs can use to purchase goods and services that fall into the various price categories. Currency of some sort can be used in places where survivors trust each other enough not to steal or kill for resources. A few options are described here.

  • Loot: The "loot" result on the Useful Stuff table lists before-times collectibles, such as gold eagle coins, jewelry, and designer wristwatches. A starving survivor would likely scoff at accepting any of these as currency. But in an established community or trade town, such items might retain some value, though they're worth only a fraction of what they were before the apocalypse. In general, the price category for such things is two ranks lower than before the apocalypse.

  • Ammunition:

Ammunition as Currency
Price CategoryRounds of Ammo
Inexpensive1 bullet
Moderate10 bullets
Expensive500 bullets
Very expensive1,000 bullets
Exorbitant10,000 bullets

  • Seeds: If stored correctly, seeds might make reasonable currency. Some seeds could be more valuable than others, especially if it could be demonstrated that they are viable. For example, ten viable seeds might be worth an inexpensive item or service.

  • Water: After an apocalypse, clean and drinkable water could become scarce. Measuring out water could become a standard in some locations. Case in point, 1/3 cup (80 ml) of water might be worth an inexpensive item or service.

  • Fuel: Gasoline might be considered liquid gold, assuming working vehicles also exist. However, if you're adhering strictly to the shelf life of common things, you'll also have to include a new source for usable gasoline after all the stuff from the before-times goes bad. For instance, a quarter-gallon (1 L) of gasoline might be worth an inexpensive item or service.

  • Drugs: From over-the-counter painkillers to prescription medications, the drugs found in a pharmacy could be the basis for currency. Over time, they would probably become more valuable because people are likely to go through their treasure hoard of aspirin or antibiotic. Thus, one aspirin or other pain-relief tablet might be worth an inexpensive item or service.

  • Scrip: A large and somewhat organized post-apocalyptic group might produce its own vouchers or tokens to pay its members for services rendered. Such scrip might have value outside the group or be considered worthless, depending on your setting.

Post-Apocalyptic Equipment

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)(Rust and Redemption, page 128)

In a post-apocalyptic setting, the items on the Additional Modern Equipment table as well as the following items might be available in trade from other survivors, or in the rare trade town.

Editor's Notes — These tables combine contents from Cypher System Rulebook and Rust and Redemption. Linked items lead to entries from The Stars are Fire for reference, but discrepancies are present due to technology ratings within the genre. For example, a padlock with keys is a level 3 item in a science fiction setting, but a level 5 item in a post-apocalyptic (or modern) setting.

Inexpensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)(Rust and Redemption, page 128)

Inexpensive Weapons
Inexpensive WeaponsNotes
KnifeRusty and worn
Light weapon, ImprovisedChair, ice skate, frying pan, etc.; could break after one combat
Wooden club—
Inexpensive Armor
Inexpensive ArmorNotes
Animal hideLight armor; rank odor hinders stealth tasks
ShieldAsset to Speed defense
Inexpensive Other Items
Inexpensive Other ItemsNotes
Candle—
Duct tape rollUseful and ubiquitous
Food, perishableSingle helping of fruit, vegetable, recently slaughtered animal, etc.
MatchesSingle box or book
Medication, one pillPain relief, allergy, antacid, antibiotic, anti-nausea, or another single drug pill
Plastic bagUseful and ubiquitous; won't last long
Shopping cart/wheelbarrow—
Sunglasses—
Tool, single hand toolHammer, tape measure, manual drill, or other single hand tool
Moderately Priced Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)(Rust and Redemption, page 129)

Moderately Priced Weapons
Moderately Priced WeaponsNotes
Baseball batMedium weapon
Hand axeLight weapon
Knife, multipurposeLight weapon; asset to small repair tasks
MacheteMedium weapon
Moderately Priced Other Items
Moderately Priced Other ItemsNotes
Backpack—
Batteries4-pack, household (one use or rechargeable)
Bicycle/skateboard/inline skatesUse requires same attention as other vehicular movement
BinocularsAsset for perception tasks at range
Bolt cutterCuts bolts, chains, bars, etc. of up to level 5
Climbing gearAsset for climbing tasks
CrowbarAsset for breaking into stuck or locked doors
First aid kitAsset for twenty healing tasks before contents used up
Food, preservedSingle can of food, water, or condiment, typically from before-times
Gas maskBreathable air for four hours
GlassesCorrects for different vision impairments
HandcuffsLevel 5
Lighter (butane or electric)Depletes after 1d100 uses (but may be refilled/recharged)
Matches, windproofSingle container (25 matches)
Medication, one bottlePain relief, allergy, antacid, antibiotic, anti-nausea, or another drug in a bottle
Padlock with keysLevel 5
Personal hygiene product, singleToilet paper roll, menstrual supply, soap, etc.
Portable lamp or flashlightRequires batteries (expensive version recharges with sunlight or crank)
RopeNylon, 50 ft (16m)
Sleeping bag
Textbook, "How To"Asset to one knowledge task such as plumbing, electronics, gardening, etc.
Tool set, hand toolsIncludes hammer, tape measure, screwdriver, pliers, etc.
Water filter straw or bottleFilters water while drinking
Expensive Items

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)(Rust and Redemption, page 130)

Expensive Weapons
Expensive WeaponsNotes
BowMedium weapon, long range
Handgun, lightLight weapon, short range
Handgun, mediumMedium weapon, long range
RifleMedium weapon, long range
ShotgunHeavy weapon, immediate range
Expensive Armor
Expensive ArmorNotes
Kevlar vestMedium armor
Riot gearMedium armor
Expensive Other Items
Expensive Other ItemsNotes
Ammo handloading toolsAsset (and needed supplies) for creating ammunition
Hazmat suitLight armor, +2 Armor against chemical and radiation damage
Radiation detector, handheldImmediate range
Nightvision gogglesSee in darkness as if dim light at long range
Radiation tentPrevents damage from environmental radiation for three days
Radiation pill (pack of 5)Asset for defense tasks against radiation effects for 12 hours
Handloading Tool Set

(Rust and Redemption, page 73)

A set of handloading tools includes a variety of instruments such as lubricant, powder funnel, and a small press, used to create ammunition for a firearm. To fashion ammunition, the user must spend an uninterrupted hour using the handloading tools, at the end of which time they have created about 25 bullets.

If treated as a Pre-Apocalyptic Artifact, the handloading tool set has a depletion of 1 in 1d20 (upon depletion, the set can be recharged with 1 load of metal junk and 1 load of chemical junk).

Very Expensive Items

(Rust and Redemption, page 130)

Very Expensive Weapons
Very Expensive WeaponsNotes
Handgun, heavyHeavy weapon, long range
Assault rifleHeavy weapon, rapid-fire weapon, long range
Rifle, heavyHeavy weapon, 300-foot (90 m) range
Submachine gunMedium weapon, rapid-fire weapon, short range
Very Expensive Armor
Very Expensive ArmorNotes
Lightweight body armorMedium armor, encumbers as light armor
Military body armorHeavy armor
Very Expensive Other Items
Very Expensive Other ItemsNotes
VehicleCar, truck, van, boat, or prop two-seater plane (internal combustion engine or EV)
HorseTrained for riding (typically found with a few days of feed)

Optional Rules for the Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 61)

The optional rules presented in this chapter accommodate a variety of circumstances that PCs could face after civilization falls. Some represent useful information that rarely comes up in other games but is ever present in almost every post apocalyptic game, such as scavenging and how to repair before times machines, the game effects of exposure and starvation, and so on.

Other optional rules support play in the aftermath of a particular type of cataclysm or style of play. If nuclear war destroyed the world, the landscape is likely much different than if a pandemic wiped out most people.

And that's to say nothing of more fantastic elements that can pop up in a post apocalyptic setting, such as the civilization shattering aftereffects of the Christian Judgment Day, kaiju, time storms, and so on.

Most of the rules are meant for the GM's eyes only—things that happen behind the scenes or that are secrets the PCs might find out over the course of the game.

Realistic Versus Fantastic Optional Rules: Some of the optional rules presented here are for realistic or plausible scenarios like nuclear war or climate change, and some are for fantastic events and settings such as time storms, the return of magic, or incredible mutations. Realistic optional rules usually also apply in games that use one or more fantastic optional rules. Ultimately, it's your choice. Feel free to use some, all, or none of these optional rules when running your game, or introduce others of your own devising (or from another genre sourcebook) to provide a unique twist to the game.

Exposure, Starvation, and Dehydration

(Rust and Redemption, page 62)

Codifying the effects of exposure, starvation, and ,dehydration for a tabletop RPG probably makes sense only in a post-apocalyptic scenario, given that survival is a primary theme of the genre.

When to Use: If PCs are exposed to the elements, don't have enough food, and/or don't have enough water, their health and life span are directly affected.

Exposure

(Rust and Redemption, page 62)

The human body can withstand temperatures that are too cold for it or too hot for it for a brief period before degrading.

  • Too Cold: Prolonged exposure to temperatures below 60° F (16° C) eventually uses up a body's stored energy. The result is hypothermia, when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it. A body temperature that's too low affects the brain, making the target unable to think clearly or move well. Those with adequate clothing and/or shelter appropriate to the environment are protected. Generally, a PC can survive extreme cold for about twenty minutes to about two hours.

    In game terms, unprotected characters, or even characters who have less than adequate protection, suffer 1 point of ambient damage per hour in temperatures near or below 32° F (0° C), or 1 point of ambient damage per round in subzero (−18° C) conditions. In addition, PCs in subzero temperatures with inadequate protection must succeed on a difficulty 4 Might defense roll each hour or descend one step on the damage track.

  • Too Hot: Prolonged exposure to a wet bulb temperature of 95° F (35° C) is the upper limit of safety, beyond which the human body can't cool itself by evaporating sweat. Heat exhaustion is the result, leading to weakness, dizziness, headache, and nausea. Heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, when the body's temperature regulation system fails. Those with adequate shelter or some sort of cooling system are protected. Generally, a PC can survive extreme heat for about twenty minutes to two or three hours.

    In game terms, PCs in too hot conditions suffer 1 point of ambient damage per ten minutes. In addition, a character exposed to extreme heat must make a level 4 Might defense roll (hindered if the character is also dehydrated) every ten minutes. On a failed roll, the character descends one step on the damage track.

Rule of Three: One popular mnemonic for knowing how long a person can survive in extreme circumstances is the Rule of Three. It goes something like this: You can survive for three minutes without oxygen, you can survive for three days without water, and you can survive for three weeks without food. However, the rule depends on a person not being directly exposed to the environment and not being under physical duress, and requires someone who can hold their breath for three minutes, which is not most people. Usually, in a post-apocalyptic RPG scenario, PCs won't have such luxuries.

Starvation

(Rust and Redemption, page 63)

Generally, a PC can survive without food for about ten days to several weeks. In game terms, PCs who go without food take 3 points of ambient damage each day. On any day a PC has taken starvation damage, their tasks are hindered (even if the character makes a recovery roll to regain lost Pool points). In addition, after seven days without food, a starving character must make a level 5 Might defense roll each day that follows. On a failed roll, the character descends one step on the damage track.

Dehydration

(Rust and Redemption, page 63)

Generally, a PC can survive without water for three to five days, but this time frame can be shorter in extreme heat or physical activity. In game terms, PCs who go without water take 3 points of ambient damage every twelve hours. On any day a PC has taken dehydration damage, their tasks are hindered (even if the character makes a recovery roll to regain lost Pool points). In addition, after one day without water, a dehydrated character must succeed on a level 5 Might defense roll each day. On a failed roll, the character descends one step on the damage track.

Radiation in the Real World

(Rust and Redemption, page 63)

Exposure to dangerous amounts of radiation can cause severe damage to the human body, including cellular mutations, cancer, and death.

Methods to detect and mitigate radiation are useful to avoid stumbling into it in the first place, as described in the next section. Dangerous radiation harms and eventually kills people and other creatures, as described under the sections that follow.

Use this optional rule to evoke a more realistic approach to dangerous radiation. You could also use it in a setting with fantastic elements as a baseline effect, even if for some, exposure also leads to the potential for incredible mutations.

When to Use: If nuclear war led to the apocalypse, regions of dangerous radiation linger in the aftermath. Even if you predicate that civilization fell for some other reason, radiation could still be a hazard: a few nuclear bombs may have since been launched by a doom driven survivor group that found an old silo, a before times nuclear power plant went critical and PCs must access it, alien invaders used weapons that left behind radioactive scars, or just because.

Telltale Signs of Radiation

(Rust and Redemption, page 63)

  • Confirming the Presence of Radiation: If PCs have a functioning radiation detecting device, it confirms whether an area is radioactive. Otherwise, they can attempt a difficulty 4 Intellect roll to correctly correlate the telltale signs of a radiation hazard with its actual presence. Even if PCs fail this roll, they still understand that some kind of dangerous residue is blighting the area, whether it's radiation, poison, evil spirits, nanites, or something else.

Radiation Damage

(Rust and Redemption, page 64)

Especially intense radiation, such as might be found at the center of an area bearing telltale signs of contamination, harms PCs soon after they are exposed.

  • Immediate Effects of Exposure: When PCs are exposed to dangerous radiation without shielding, they suffer 3 points of ambient damage per minute each time they fail a difficulty 3 Might defense task; on a success they still take 1 point of ambient damage. If they spend more than ten minutes in the area, or fail three Might defense rolls against radiation during any single period of radiation exposure, they are subject to radiation sickness.

    A character who has scavenged, repaired, or cobbled together a hazmat suit is still vulnerable, though less so. The suit eases a wearer's Might defense tasks, though the wearer takes 1 point of ambient damage (because the suit provides +2 to Armor against damage from radiation) every few minutes with each failed defense roll. Unless they tear their suit or are otherwise compromised, they're generally not subject to radiation sickness.

Disease: Radiation Sickness

(Rust and Redemption, page 64)

Level 8 disease: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue appear within minutes to hours of a PC contracting radiation sickness. Hours later, the PC may suffer skin burns and hair loss. Days later, they experience extreme weakness, weight loss, and potentially death.

Each day the PC fails a Might defense roll, they descend one step on the damage track. If they succeed on three Might defense rolls, they gradually improve and throw off the sickness effects within a few weeks.

Dangerous radiation: Level 3

Taking iodine tablets eases Might defense rolls against radiation sickness by three steps.

Scavenging

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 296)(Rust and Redemption, page 64)

Survivors need food and shelter in a world turned upside down. Characters in a post-apocalyptic setting must usually spend part of each day scavenging for supplies or a place of safety.

When to Use: PCs in a post apocalyptic setting that aren't prepared or that have lost access to their resources and base must usually spend part of each day scavenging for supplies and/or a place of safety. Scavenging is what happens anytime they search for food, water, and shelter.

Food, Water, and Shelter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 296)(Rust and Redemption, page 65)

PCs in a post apocalyptic game may find themselves without food, water, shelter, and/or refuge for any number of reasons, including because that's the situation you start them in, they're exploring a new area, their settlement was overrun by raiders and they barely escaped with their lives, or something else.

Generally, characters must spend ten minutes to an hour searching through the rubble and ruins in a particular area before they have a chance of finding food or a refuge.

Characters who succeed in finding food and water or refuge also get to roll up to once each day on the Useful Stuff table and three times on the Junk table. (Some characters won't care about rolling on the Junk table; no need to have them make rolls if that's the case.) If a "food" or "water" result is obtained on the Useful Stuff table, PCs discover double the amount of resources and have enough for two days for six people.

  • Food: Found food often takes the form of canned, processed, dried, or otherwise preserved goods from before the apocalypse, but sometimes it includes fresh fruits and vegetables growing wild or cultivated by other survivors.

  • Water: Found water might be canned seltzer water, water in casks, water in tanks, and other leftovers from the before times, but it could just as easily be collected rainwater, from a river, from a lake, or water secured by previous survivors.

  • Shelter: Safe places to hole up include homes, RVs, offices, apartments, or any location that can be secured and defended and isn't radioactive, poisoned, or overrun with hostile creatures.

Consider using a GM intrusion to add additional color by way of an unexpected threat or hazard as they search, especially if they roll a 1 on their task. It's a dangerous world, and the PCs are not the only ones out scavenging for resources.

Useful Stuff

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 297)(Rust and Redemption, page 66)

Food, water, and a safe place to rest are the most important results for any scavenging task. But other obviously useful stuff is often found along with these basic requirements.

  • When to Consult the Table: When a group of characters successfully finds food and water or a safe place, they also find something else that's potentially useful. Consult the Useful Stuff table up to once per day, or two or three times if PCs roll a special minor or major effect, respectively. If it's the first day they have scavenged in a particular area, each character might find something useful on the table, but on subsequent days, a group normally gets only a single roll.

  • Loot: "Loot" includes collectible coins from before the apocalypse, such as silver dollars and gold eagles. It also includes jewelry and artwork that survived the disaster and related material that can be used as currency or barter when the characters find other survivors or arrive at a trade town.

  • Levels: Most of the time, it's not important to know the level of a useful item PCs find. If it becomes important, level 3 is a good baseline. If the item is particularly fragile (such as a wheel of cheese preserved in wax), drop the level by 1 or 2. If the item is particularly hardy (like a fire engine), increase the level by 1 or 2.

  • Price Categories: Items found on the Useful Stuff table are generally expensive or exorbitant items (except for firearms, which start in the expensive category).

  • Subtables: Roll on a specific subtable only if you wish to provide additional flavor to what PCs find.

  • Useful? The implication is that if PCs find something on the Useful Stuff table, it's in working condition, having beaten the odds of degradation and destabilization facing all common things from the before times. A GM intrusion, of course, could complicate that for any given item.

  • Artifact? Almost every nonfood item on the Useful Stuff table could be considered an artifact, given that it is increasingly difficult to produce or preserve. Adding a depletion roll (usually 1 in 1d20) represents the likelihood that the item will fall apart, break down, or run out.

Useful Stuff (Basic)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 298)

Useful Stuff (Basic)
d100Item Found
1–10Tools (provide an asset to tasks related to repair and crafting)
11–20Medicine (provides an asset to one healing-related task)
21–25Binoculars
26–35Chocolate bar or similarly sought-after candy or snack
36–45Textbook (provides an asset to a knowledge-related task)
46–50Coffee or tea
51–55Gun or rifle with ten shells or bullets
56–60Flashlight
61–65Loot
66–70Gasoline (2d6 × 10 gallons)
71–75Batteries
76–80Functioning vehicle (sedan, pickup, motorcycle, etc.)
81–85Generator
86–90MRE cache (food and water for six people for 1d6 weeks)
91–95Ammunition cache (100 shells or bullets for 1d6 different weapons)
96–97Helpful stranger (level 1d6 + 2, stays with the PCs for a week or two)
98–99Cypher (in addition to any other cyphers the GM awards)
00Artifact (in addition to any other artifacts the GM awards)
Useful Stuff (Expanded)

(Rust and Redemption, page 66)

Useful Stuff (Expanded)
d100Item Found
01Water filter straw or bottle
02Windproof matches, box
03Gas mask
04Soap, shampoo, or other hygiene product
05 Tool, hand (the right tool for the job provides an asset on repair and crafting tasks)
Specific Tool Found
d10Specific Tool Found
1Manual drill
2Hammer
3Tape measure
4Lever hoist/ratchet/come along
5Screwdriver, multibit
6Saw
7Pliers
8Wrench
9Level
10Clamps
06Carabiner
07–08Bungee cords
09–10 Tool, corded or battery powered (the right tool for the job provides an asset on repair and crafting tasks)
Specific Tool Found
d10Specific Tool Found
1Drill, corded or battery
2Miter saw, corded
3Circular saw, corded
4Table saw, benchtop
5Welding kit
6Impact driver, corded or battery
7Chainsaw, gas, corded, or electric
8Nail gun, corded, battery, or air driven
9Air compressor
10Heat gun, corded or battery
11 Construction/repair supply (the right material provides an asset to a task that would benefit from its use; counts as one load of construction junk)
Component or Substance
d6Component or Substance
1Glue, wood, ceramic, or super
2Epoxy, metal welding
3Nails, screws, fasteners
4Electrician's tape
5–6Duct tape
12Nightvision goggles
13First aid kit (provides an asset to 1d20 healing-related tasks before exhaustion)
14Ammunition handloading tool set (provides an asset to crafting ammunition)
15–16 Over the counter (OTC) medicine (provides an asset to one qualifying healing-related task)
Specific Medicine Found
d10Specific Medicine Found
1Pain reliever (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or naproxen) pill
2Antihistamines, pills or salve
3Antacids, pills or chews
4Sunscreen, oil or spray
5Cold/flu treatment, pills or liquid
6Antibiotic, spray or gel
7Liquid bandage, spray or liquid
8–9Pain and discomfort relief for PMS (blended ingredients)
10Anti-nausea, pills or liquid
17Pads and tampons
18Condoms
19 Prescription medicine (vanquishes or treats symptoms of an eligible disease or illness, if enough medicine is found)
Condition Treated by Meds
d20Condition Treated by Meds
1Blood clots
2Hypothyroidism
3Diabetes
4High blood pressure
5Depression and anxiety
6Heart and artery conditions
7High cholesterol
8Bacterial infection
9Lung issues
10Seizures and epilepsy
11Asthma
12Arthritis
13Degenerative nerve conditions
14Cancer
15Pregnancy prevention and ending
16Gender dysmorphia
17Enlarged prostate
18Ulcers
19Acid reflux
20Radiation sickness
20Binoculars
21Horse, trained for riding (typically found with a few days of feed)
22Magnifying glass
23Glasses, readers
24Box of black permanent markers
25Scissors
26—35 Food and water (enough for five people for one day)
Specific Food/Water Found
d100Specific Food/Water Found
01–02Baby food, jarred
03–06Beans, dried
07–08Beans, canned
09–12Bouillon cubes
13–14Canned pasta
15–16Cereal, breakfast
17–18Cheese in wax
19–20Chocolate, dark
21–22Coffee, instant
23Eggs, fresh
24Eggs, powdered
25–26Energy bar
27–28Fruit, canned
29–30Fruit, dried
31–32Fruit, fresh
33–34Flour, white
35–36Flour, other
37–38Honey
39–40Liquor
41–42Mayonnaise
43–44Meat, canned
45Milk, fresh
46Milk, powdered
47–48Mustard
49–50Nuts
51–52Oatmeal
53–54Oil, sealed in can
55–56Pasta, dried
57–58Pet food, canned
59–60Rice, dried
61–62Salt
63Snack bag, dried chips, etc.
64Snack, candy or baked snack
65–66Soda, can
67–68Spices
69–70Sugar
71–73Tea, in a tin
74–75Yeast, dry
76–77Vegetables, canned
78–79Vegetables, canned
80–87Water, bottled
88–96Water, canned
97–98Wine, common
99–00Wine, fine
36Food cache (enough for five people for 1d20 weeks)
37Water cache (enough for six people for 1d20 weeks)
38Plastic bag (won't last long)
39–45 Textbook or "how to" manual (asset to related knowledge task if studied for about an hour)
Topics Covered
d10Topics Covered
1Plumbing
2Electronics
3Gardening
4Farming
5Civil engineering
6Robotics
7Health
8Renewables (solar, wind)
9Smithcraft
10Chemistry
46Supply stash (roll on this table 1d6 +2 times)
47Books (1d10 books of fiction)
48Toy wagon
49Shopping cart or baby carriage
50Wheelbarrow
51Skateboard, roller skates/blades, or similar
52Can opener or can punch
53Gloves
54Sunglasses or safety goggles
55Ear plugs
56Extension cord or power tree
57Lighter, butane
58Lighter, plasma
59Flashlight, battery and/or crank-powered
60–63 Weapon, melee
Weapon
d10Weapon
1Sap/blackjack (light)
2Hand axe (light)
3Hunting/combat knife (light)
4Brass knuckles (light)
5Axe (medium)
6Baseball bat (medium)
7Baton (medium)
8Saber/machete (medium)
9Bow (medium)
10Pickaxe (heavy)
64Broom or mop
65Padlock with keys
66 Armor
Specific Armor
d6Specific Armor
1Leather jacket (light armor)
2Kevlar vest (medium armor)
3Lightweight body (medium armor, encumbers as light armor)
4Riot gear (medium armor)
5Military body (heavy armor)
6Crafted from trash cans (variable)
67Bivouac sack
68SCUBA gear
69Straitjacket
70Game, physical (puzzle, board game, RPG)
71Canteen
72Hazmat suit (light armor, +2 Armor against chemical and radiation damage)
73–74 Vehicle
Specific Vehicle
d20Specific Vehicle
1Airplane, prop
2Ambulance
3Balloon
4Boat
5Bus
6Car, consumer (gas or EV)
7Truck, consumer (gas or EV)
8Fire engine
9Forklift
10Garbage truck
11Helicopter
12Jet
13Lawnmower, riding (gas or EV)
14Motorcycle (gas or EV)
15Bicycle (pedal or EV pedal)
16Police car
17Scooter
18Tractor (gas or EV)
19Train engine
20Van
75–78 Firearm (usually found with about 10 bullets or shells)
Specific Firearm
d10Specific Firearm
1–2Handgun (light, short range)
3–4Handgun (medium, long range)
5Rifle (medium, long range)
6Shotgun (heavy, immediate range)
7Handgun, big (heavy, long range)
8Assault rifle (heavy, rapid fire, long range)
9Heavy rifle (heavy, very long range)
10Submachine gun (medium, rapid fire, short range)
79Hand grenade (4 points of damage in immediate range)
80Ammunition cache (100 shells or bullets for 1d6 different weapons)
81Bolt cutters
82Climbing gear
83Crowbar
84Handcuffs
85Firearm cache (1d6+ 4 firearms; a mix of light, medium, and heavy weapons, each usually found with about 10 bullets or shells)
86–87Boots
88 Power
Specific Kind of Power
d10Specific Kind of Power
1Generator (gas)
2–3Batteries, 4 pack, household
4Batteries, 4 pack, household (rechargeable)
5Consumer battery recharger
6Battery, car (12V)
7Battery, portable power station (rechargeable)
8Gasoline (2d6 × 10 gallons)
9Solar panels, portable
10Home battery (often connected to solar)
89Lantern, kerosene or battery
90 Electronics, consumer, general (functional, but without power or network connection, normally considered junk)
Specific Device
d10Specific Device
1Smartphone
2Laptop
3TV
4Headphones, wireless or wired
5Fitness tracker
6Smart speaker
7Game console
8Digital camera
9Tablet
10Smartwatch
91Art supplies
92Mask, dust and particulates
93Rope, nylon
94Sleeping bag
95Tent
96Tires, stored
97Toilet paper, stored
98Turntable and/or CD player (usually found with supply of old records and/or CDs of music)
99 Loot (stuff people thought was valuable in the before times)
Specific Valuable
d6Specific Valuable
1Silver dollar coin
2Gold eagle coin
3Book of rare stamps
4Framed art
5Designer wristwatch
6Jewelry
00 Radiation control item
Specific Item
d6Specific Item
1Radiation tent (prevents radiation damage for three days)
2Radiation pill (pack of five; eases defense rolls against radiation effects for 12 hours)
3Handheld radiation detector
4Radiation badge
5–6Manual describing radiation remediation best practices
Junk

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 298)(Rust and Redemption, page 70)

Scavenging always turns up junk, most of it unusable because the underpinnings of civilization that it required to function—such as a power grid and/or a worldwide internet—no longer exist. Characters are free to ignore that junk. But some PCs might have a use for it. That includes PCs with the Scavenges focus, as well as any character that decides to take advantage of the Repairing and Building section described in this optional rule.

  • When to Consult the Table: All characters gain up to three results from the Junk table each time they successfully scavenge for food and water, or a safe place to stay. Junk can sometimes be repaired. It can also be disassembled, warped, melted, or otherwise used to craft or repair something else.

  • How Much Junk PCs Get: Each time PCs roll on the Junk table or otherwise obtain a specific kind of junk, the amount they get is called a "load." Load is an intentionally vague amount, because it represents a variable amount of junk of a particular kind. A PC that finds some electronic junk could grab a single broken electric fan or leave a ruined house with a shopping cart full of stereo parts. Either way, it's considered one load of electronic junk.

  • Tracking Loads: It's only important to track the number and kinds of loads a PC acquires if they're going to use the Repairing and Building optional rules presented later in this section. A PC can carry one load of junk along with their equipment. To carry more than that, they need a plan, such as using a toy wagon, shopping cart, sled, vehicle, or mount; asking an ally for help; or something else.

Junk
d10Item Found
1Electronic (stereo, DVD/Blu ray player, smartphone, electric fan, printer, router, etc.)
2Plastic (lawn furniture, baby seat, simple toys, inflatable pool, etc.)
3Chemical (cleaning solution, fuel, paint, rat poison, solvents, industrial chemicals, etc.)
4Metal (old playsets, grills, empty barrels, frying pan, metal siding, etc.)
5Glass (vases, windows, bowls, decorative pieces, etc.)
6Textile (coats, pants, shirts, bathing suits, blankets, rugs, paper currency, etc.)
7Vehicle (car/airplane/watercraft bodies, scavenged electronics, tires, seats, etc.)
8Construction (cinder blocks, lumber, siding, wiring, pipes, bricks, insulation, shingles, etc.)
9Medical (syringes, IV pumps, defibrillators, microscopes, centrifuges, CT scanners, etc.)
10Unearthly (weird components, alloys, and materials scavenged from alien spacecraft)

Editor's Notes — The Junk table from the Cypher System Rulebook is omitted in favor of the one presented in Rust and Redemption.

Repairing and Building

(Rust and Redemption, page 71)

  • Improvised Basis for Repairing and Building: In the aftermath, survivors use whatever they can scavenge to repair, craft, and build. The upshot is twofold. First, things survivors have repaired or built have a more rough-and-ready look to them. A new or repaired home could be covered in scavenged street signs. Clothing is probably a mishmash of textiles, salvaged bits from costume stores, and plastic bags. A suit of armor might be made of trash can lids. And so on. Second, even if something looks rough-and-ready, such as armor made of trash can lids, if PCs succeed on the task to create medium armor (or heavy armor, if they're feeling ambitious), the resulting armor is functionally equivalent to armor of the same grade made before the apocalypse. It just looks less polished.

  • Improving the Odds: If PCs scavenge exactly the right tools for the job (such as a hammer instead of a rock) and/or the perfect construction and repair supplies (such as steel screws instead of pegs carved from wood), they may gain an asset to their task.

  • Junk Required for Building vs. Repairing: The "Loads of Junk Required" column in the Repairing and Crafting Difficulty and Time table is calibrated for repair. If a PC builds something from scratch (as opposed to repairing something previously built), the junk requirements are twice to ten times the indicated number of loads. Something small to moderate (like an article of clothing or a wheelbarrow) requires double the loads, while something large, like a structure or large motorized vehicle, could require up to ten times the indicated junk loads. You, the GM, decide what's reasonable.

  • Other Projects: If the character wants to try to repair or build something from the ground up that isn't on the table, use your best judgment, comparing to what is on the table as a baseline. Some things just can't be built with the tools, materials, and knowledge the PCs have available. For instance, they probably can't build a spacecraft. On the other hand, perhaps they can repair one if they find an old government base containing a secret orbital craft that was never used, as long as they find specialized tools and instructions to go with it.

  • Repair and Build Time: PCs who reduce the difficulty of a project cannot, generally speaking, reduce the repair or build time indicated. If they want to go faster anyway, you can call it a rush job (with appropriate consequences) as described in Chapter 11: Rules of the Game.

Equipment Maintenance

(Rust and Redemption, page 72)

Sometimes, a piece of equipment a PC relies on breaks. Use a GM intrusion to let the character know. PCs who know—or who learn—that equipment wear and breakage is a possibility can be proactive. They can spend about an hour on equipment maintenance each week. Maintenance requires the PC to expend 1 load of metal or construction junk each week, or to break down a few related items of scavenged useful stuff to get what they need. If PCs put in the time to keep their gear in good condition, they should face fewer, if any, GM intrusions related to their equipment failing them. No roll is required for maintenance, and after PCs commit to this practice, it's usually not important to track the time thereafter, unless a special circumstance occurs.

When to Use: Use this optional rule to add a bit more verisimilitude to living in a world where you can't easily replace a broken appliance or tool by buying something online. This rule works well with the Repairing and Building section of the larger optional rule for scavenging, repairing, and building, because if something breaks due to lack of maintenance, PCs should have a chance to fix it.

Repairing and Crafting Difficulty and Time

(Rust and Redemption, page 72)

Loads of junk required for buildings (vs. repairing) are two to ten times the indicated values.

Repairing and Crafting Difficulty and Time
Difficulty Project Repair Time Build Time Loads of Junk Required (for repair)
0 Tying a rope, finding a rock, etc. — Minutes —
1 Torch 1 minute 5 minutes 1 construction
2 Spear, piece of simple furniture 10 minutes 1 hour 1 construction
2 Lean to shelter 10 minutes 1 hour Deadfall or 1 construction
3 Bow, door, steps, simple bridge 1 hour 1 day 1 construction
3 Simple article of clothing 10 minutes 3 hours 1 textile
3 Light armor 1 hour 10 hours 1 textile
3 Wheelbarrow 10 minutes 1 hour 1 vehicle
4 Desk with drawers, other complex furniture 1 hour 1 day 1 construction, 1 plastic, 1 textile
4 Single plumbing project 3 hours 1 day 1 construction, 1 plastic
4 Wiring small structure for electricity 3 hours 2 days 1 construction, 1 electronic
4 Ammunition, 25 rounds — 2 days 1 chemical, 1 metal
4 Medium armor 1 hour 1 day 1 metal, 1 textile
5 Cabin, small 1 day 1 week 2 construction
5 Motorcycle 1 day 2 months 1 metal, 1 vehicle
5 Car or truck 2 days 5 months 1 electronic, 1 vehicle
5 Firearm 3 hours 1 month 1 metal, 1 plastic
5 Bulb, radio, common electronic items 3 hours 1 month 3 electronic
5 Heavy armor 1 day 1 month 1 metal, 1 textile, 1 plastic
6 Generator, transmitter, watch, other complex electronic items 1 day 2 months 5 electronic, 1 vehicle
6 Cabin, multiple rooms, with amenities 1 week 6 months 4 construction, 2 electronic, 1 plastic, 1 glass, 1 metal
6 Medicine 1 week 1 month 1 medical
7 Computer, smartphone, TV, other intricate electronic items 1 week 1 year 2 electronic, 1 plastic, 1 metal
7 Medical device 1 week 1 year 2 electronic, 1 plastic, 1 metal, 1 medical
7 Airplane, military vehicle 1 month 2 years 4 electronic, 4 plastic, 4 chemical, 6 metal, 2 vehicle
8 Spacecraft, chemical rocket propelled 1 month 20 years 8 electronic, 8 plastic, 12 chemical, 20 metal
9–10 Advanced unearthly technology Months Many years 5 unearthly
Advanced and Alien Tech

(Rust and Redemption, page 73)

Many popular post-apocalyptic stories feature salvage in the form of highly advanced or even alien technology.

If fantastic and advanced devices exist in the setting, PCs can find them. If something is advanced and/or alien enough, PCs may have to develop special skills to use it, as noted hereafter. The existence of this tech in your setting may also imply the existence of other fantastic rules in your game, such as grey goo or terraforming by aliens, but the tech could just as easily stand alone or be part of an End of Days theme.

When to Use: If the apocalypse that ended your world featured a time rip, alien invaders, a catastrophic alien ship crash, a starting date that is several decades into our own future, or an alternate timeline where things happened differently in the past than in the real world, this rule is applicable. You can also use it if you just want to introduce a bit of mystery to your game that will confound PCs' expectations on how their world really ended.

Advanced Artifacts and Fantastic Manifest Cyphers

(Rust and Redemption, page 74)

In a setting featuring remnants of advanced and/or alien technology, PCs scavenging for supplies or defeating foes could discover unusual objects in the form of fantastic cyphers and unusual post apocalyptic artifacts.

Understanding Advanced and Alien Tech

(Rust and Redemption, page 74)

Recognizing and using unfamiliar technology is difficult enough. If something is especially advanced or alien, it's even harder.

  • Identifying and Using Advanced and Alien Tech: When a character finds a manifest cypher or an artifact that falls into this category, they must identify it before they can use it. Identification takes from one to ten minutes and a successful Intellect roll, usually against a difficulty of 5. Identifying an object grants PCs the ability to use the object, whether it's a manifest cypher or an artifact.

    However, without training or specialization in alien technology, advanced technology, or something similar (which most starting characters don't have), a character has an inability in understanding advanced and alien tech.

  • Failing to Understand: Sometimes a failed roll to understand an object of advanced or alien tech simply means the character can't figure it out, but they can try again (as usual, each task retry requires that the PC expend Effort). Other times, there's a chance of something going wrong, either because you intrude or because the character triggers an intrusion. Use the following table to inspire appropriate GM intrusions or anytime something disruptive happens to an advanced or alien device in a PC's possession.

Advanced and Alien Tech GM Intrusions

(Rust and Redemption, page 74)

Unless the advanced device detonates or is otherwise noted as becoming nonfunctional, PCs with the time can try to understand how to use it again after resolving the intrusion.

Advanced and Alien Tech GM Intrusions
d10 Result of Intrusion
1Ooze sprays the character, then hardens, trapping them until they can escape a level 4 "shell."
2Device becomes stuck in midair, immovable as if caught in invisible, otherwise intangible cement.
3Device grows increasingly hot over the course of one minute, then fuses into a nonfunctional lump.
4Device shoots like a bullet in a random direction for a long distance, lodging itself in a structure or tree.
5Very bright light flashes from the device, blinding the PC for a few minutes.
6A blue light on the device begins flashing; if device is not destroyed, an alien enthraller investigates.
7Device function is triggered, as are any other devices (cyphers and/or artifacts) the PC carries.
8Mutagenic energy pulse; character develops a distinctive mutation over the course of ten hours.
9Device breaks in half (becoming nonfunctional) and spills some sort of grey goo on the character.
10Device detonates, inflicting damage equal to its level on everything within short range on a failed Speed defense roll, or 2 points of damage even with a successful roll.
Incredible Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 75)

Exposure to dangerous amounts of radiation inflicts damage. Enough exposure causes cellular mutations, cancer, and death, as described under Radiation in the Real World. However, in the right game setting, radiation (or genetic engineering, or some other mutagen) can instill strange new abilities in previously normal creatures, plants, NPCs, and even PCs, though often with a few drawbacks, too.

This section describes several ways to introduce incredible mutations to your game, including letting the environment evoke the concept, PC opt in, transitory mutations PCs have less control over, and transitory mutations based on cyphers. You can pick one or two, or use them all at different times and for different needs in your game.

Editor's Notes — Random tables for different kinds of PC mutations are presented in Chapter 9: Abilities.

Mutated Creatures, Plants, and NPCs

(Rust and Redemption, page 75)

The environment can reflect the possibility of mutagenic presence even if PCs haven't yet been affected. The appearance of a creature, plant, or NPC often reveals the presence and severity of a mutation. Some creatures and animals may have only harmful mutations, but others could have adaptive mutations.

Harmful Mutations: Some creatures, plants, trees, fungus, and NPCs could present with disturbing, harmful mutations, such as the following examples. Their tasks are usually hindered.

  • An animal with one or more additional, vestigial, limp limbs, or an additional vestigial head that appears almost as a tumor like growth
  • Oozing a smelly, rotting fluid that stains and slightly burns exposed skin
  • Lack of fur combined with albinism, making them sensitive to light and subject to skin cancer
  • Too many extra fingers or arms, making them slow and heavy
  • Too many extra branches, or too spindly, making the branches prone to breaking
  • Feathers growing where they normally wouldn't, in ragged, uncomfortable clumps
  • Fishlike scales growing where they normally wouldn't, like itchy, reflective sores
  • Single limb or other body part is radically larger than normal, making the creature clumsy
  • Big clumps of fungal growth that are obviously intrusive and painful

Adaptive Mutations: A disturbing mutation might only look strange and not be an impediment to the animal, plant, or NPC. It might even provide some benefit, as follows.

  • Fur, hair, or leaves growing in strange fractal patterns. Maybe it glows visibly to attract prey, or glows at a frequency normally invisible to the human eye, but which they can see, allowing them to act in the dark.
  • Tentacle like arms that work like the regular limb replaced, or an extra tentacle like arm that gives the creature a method to grasp, use tools, or otherwise gain an additional benefit over other creatures or plants of its type.
  • Feathers growing on an animal or plant they normally wouldn't, thick enough to provide additional warmth, protection, and possibly limited flight options.
  • Insects, like ants or beetles, that learn how to spin webs, or spiders that begin spinning wildly strong fractal webs that glow and change, maybe serving as a mode of communication.
  • Fungal growths that seem to connect the minds of creatures that have the same kind of growth.

Editor's Notes — Mutated creatures can also gain powerful mutations in the form of creature templates like blighted.

Optional Rule: Transitory Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 75)

Use this optional rule if you'd prefer some flux in what mutations the PCs have available. A volatile mutation is one that mutates into something different over time. When using this rule, a volatile mutation arises spontaneously or is triggered, replacing the specific benefit (or drawback) of the volatile mutation previously granted to the PC.

You can use this optional rule instead of the mutant descriptor optional rule, or allow both in the same game. If using transitory mutations, not every PC in your game needs to have a volatile mutation.

Volatile Mutations: A character can begin the game with one volatile mutation that changes during play, one distinctive mutation that usually does not change, and, at their option, one or two cosmetic mutations.

Alternatively, the PC could gain a volatile mutation (and one distinctive mutation) after their first encounter with radiation or some other mutagenic agent. Additional encounters with radiation don't give a PC further volatile mutations but could cause the one they have to mutate into something else.

If the PC gains a volatile mutation, roll randomly on the Beneficial Mutations table. That mutation lasts until a triggering event occurs, at which time their volatile mutation is replaced, as indicated. A character normally cannot trigger replacement simply by willing it to occur, but they could choose to fail the Intellect defense roll that some triggers require to maintain their current volatile mutation.

Adjusting the Volatility: Choose which triggering events apply to determine how volatile you'd like transitory mutations to be in your setting. For instance, if you prefer that volatile mutations change only when PCs encounter radiation, choose that option and ignore the others. Alternatively, you might prefer more variability and use most or even all the triggering events noted.

  • The character finishes a ten-hour recovery; replace with a randomly rolled beneficial mutation.

  • A character takes damage for the first time in ten hours and fails a difficulty 3 Intellect defense roll; replace with a randomly rolled beneficial mutation, assuming the character's roll isn't a 1, 19, or 20.

  • The character triggers or receives a GM intrusion; replace with a random roll on the Harmful Mutations table.

  • The character gains a minor effect on a d20 roll and decides the effect is that their volatile mutation changes; replace with two randomly rolled beneficial mutations. Both are replaced the next time the character gains a new volatile mutation.

  • The character gains a major effect on a d20 roll and decides the effect is that their volatile mutation changes; replace with a random result from the Powerful Mutations table. It is replaced the next time the character gains a new volatile mutation.

  • The character takes damage from radiation (or other established mutagen in your setting) for the first time in ten hours and fails an Intellect defense roll against a difficulty equal to the attack; replace with a randomly rolled beneficial mutations, assuming the character's roll isn't a 1, 19, or 20.

Cyphers as Volatile Mutations: If a character has volatile mutations, one way to handle it is to give them an additional subtle cypher slot, and their volatile mutation is whatever subtle cypher is in that slot. A character can begin the game with one cypher volatile mutation that changes during play (or gain it after surviving radiation damage) and one distinctive mutation that usually does not change, plus—at their option—one or two cosmetic mutations.

A cypher volatile mutation operates almost entirely like regular volatile mutations, except as follows.

  • Any random roll on the Beneficial Mutations table should instead be a random roll on the Subtle Cypher table. That includes the two rolls granted to PCs who use a special minor effect to replace their volatile mutation's effect.

  • A roll of 1 still replaces the PC's volatile mutation with a randomly rolled harmful mutation.

  • A roll of 20 still replaces the PC's volatile mutation with a randomly rolled powerful mutation.

  • A cypher volatile mutation can be used more than once before it is replaced, but each additional attempt to use it requires that the character succeed on an Intellect task. The difficulty of the task begins at the level of the cypher and increases by one step each additional time the character attempts to reuse the mutation. On a failed roll, the mutation is replaced.

  • When the cypher volatile mutation is replaced, roll the level for the new mutation.

Other Consequences of Volatile Mutations

(Rust and Redemption, page 76)

If a character gains a mutation that grants them points to a Pool (such as strengthened bones, which gives +5 Might), then later loses it, the maximum value in their Pool goes back to what it was before. This might or might not affect their current Pool value, depending on whether they were completely healthy or not.

Post-Apocalyptic Threats, Hazards, and GM Intrusions

(Rust and Redemption, page 85)

Using the Tables: Choose or roll randomly when you need a hazard to threaten the PCs. As described under scavenging, attempts to find food, water, useful stuff, or just a safe place to hole up could also require a roll on the table.

Realistic Threats and Hazards

(Rust and Redemption, page 86)

Realistic Threats and Hazards
d100 Threat or Hazard
01–03Blocked road: The road ahead is so filled with abandoned, rusted before-times vehicles that the PCs must walk if they want to take that route. Walkers are unable to see more than an immediate distance in any direction between the cars. If PCs have a vehicle larger than a bicycle, they'll have to find another way or leave it behind.
04–06Setting-specific element: Choose a hazard from a set piece or optional rule you're using, or if you want to shake things up, roll on the Fantastic Threats and Hazards table. Or just choose the next result on this table.
07–10Angry ants (level 2): Thousands of biting ants pour from cracks in the pavement, attacking everything in an immediate area, inflicting 2 points of damage if they hit a target and, on a failed Might defense roll, dazing targets with pain for one round. Even if a target succeeds on its initial Speed defense roll, it takes 1 point of damage because the ants are everywhere.
11–14Enraged wasps (level 3): This wasp swarm acts as a single level 3 creature whose stinging attacks ignore Armor. Attacks on the swarm that don't deal area damage inflict only 1 point of damage.
15–17Cannibal convoy: A before-times RV pulls up. It's the current property of a group of four to ten people who make the biofuel the vehicle runs on. They seem nice, but they're actually cannibals thinking of inviting the PCs for dinner.
18–20Earthquake, minor (level 3): The ground within long range of an epicenter heaves and shakes for one or more minutes. Each round, creatures in the area take either 3 points of damage due to the general shaking on a failed Speed defense roll, or 6 points of damage if they are in or adjacent to a structure or terrain feature shedding debris on a failed Speed defense roll.
21–23Radioactive crater (level 3): Inflicts 3 points of ambient damage per round and moves the character one step down the damage track each day they fail a difficulty 5 Might defense task.
24–26Radioactive storm (level 3): Treat as a radioactive crater, but one that moves.
27–29Exposed electrical wiring, minor (level 3): Inflicts 3 points of damage per round of contact, and the character is stunned and unable to take their next action until they succeed on a difficulty 3 Might defense task.
30–33Dilapidated infrastructure, minor (level 3): The floor gives way beneath a character who falls 30 feet (9 m) on a failed Speed defense roll, taking 3 points of ambient damage and moving one step down the damage track.
34–40Poisoned waters, minor (level 3): Whether it's water flooding a structure, a stream, a swamp, or a lake, drinking it inflicts 3 points of damage per round for three rounds on a failed Might defense task, and merely getting wet inflicts 1 point of damage per round for three rounds on a failed Might defense task.
41–48Bridge, dangerous (level 4+): PCs on an overpass, train trestle, or other bridge must make a Speed defense roll as a section gives way beneath their feet, potentially dropping them 40 to 200 feet (12 to 60 m).
49–53Burning structure (level 4): Everything in or within immediate range of this fire takes 4 points of damage each round on a failed Speed defense roll. If PCs can't get away, choking smoke in the area means they must succeed on Might defense rolls each round or suffer 2 points of ambient damage and lose their next action.
54–57Choking pollution (level 4): Asbestos and other substances once safely bound up in the infrastructure are loose, sometimes as clouds of dangerous particulate matter inflicting 4 points of damage per round for three rounds on a failed Might defense roll.
58–67Raider patrol: Whether on scavenged trucks or motorcycles, or riding mutant pigs bred as war mounts (war pigs), a group of three to six fell riders is bad news.
68–72Avalanche (level 5): A rumble precedes the falling snow as an avalanche of snow threatens to bury the PCs. (The avalanche could be debris or rubble instead of snow.)
73–75Dilapidated infrastructure, major (level 5): The building, underpass tunnel, or cave collapses, or the bridge over which the vehicle is passing crumbles. Characters suffer 5 points of damage, and on a failed difficulty 5 Speed task are buried under suffocating rubble until they can escape or are rescued. For additional danger, treat as an unstable structure.
76–78Disease (level 5+): Even if the world didn't end because of a pandemic, disease threatens the PCs when they meet a group of especially unlucky (and diseased) survivors.
79–80Flooded region (level 5): A failed Speed defense roll means the rushing waters envelop the character, inflicting 5 points of damage and moving them a short distance in the direction of the water's flow. A serious flood could further endanger the character.
81Firenado (level 5): Fire generates a vortex of flame and smoke, creating a rotating column of air that draws in flames and debris, resulting in a powerful whirlwind of fire. The vortex moves an immediate distance (on a roll of 1–3 on a d6) or a short distance (on a roll of 4–6 on a d6) each round in a random direction, persisting for 1d6 + 2 rounds before dispersing. Anyone intersected by the firenado's immediate-radius area takes 5 points of damage each round on a failed Speed defense roll. The PC must also succeed on a Might defense roll or be pulled up into the firenado, burned for another 5 points of damage, and hurled in a random direction a short distance, which inflicts another 5 points of damage from falling and/or impacting other structures.
82–84Poisoned waters, major (level 5): Drinking this slightly glowing water inflicts 5 points of damage per round for three rounds on a failed Might defense task, and merely getting wet inflicts 3 points of damage per round for three rounds on a failed Might defense task.
85–86Just a bear, but a big one: A regular grizzly bear is always frightening, before or after the end.
87–88Nuclear fallout (level 5): Radioactive dust drifts to the ground or precipitates out as rain. PCs in the area suffer 1 point of ambient damage each minute, and if they remain for an hour or longer, they're subject to radiation sickness.
89–91Toxic spill (level 5): Sticky orange goo bursts from rusted ancient barrels. Characters who fail a defense task are caught and held in place until they can escape the morass, taking 5 points of damage each round they remain stuck.
92–94Unexploded ordnance (level 5): A buried land mine inflicts 5 points of damage to everything within short range if trod upon or otherwise set off.
95–97Superstorm (level 6): With the climate destabilized, storms of unprecedented strength sometimes blow, creating winds that inflict 6 points of damage each round targets are exposed.
98–99Radiation, extreme (level 8): This area was recently hit by a nuclear bomb or other extreme radioactive event, and those in the area for more than a minute who fail a Might defense roll suffer from radiation sickness.
00Unexploded nuclear warhead (level 10): If not defused, it could kill everything in a several-mile radius and is likely radioactive to boot.

  • Grizzly bear: level 5; health 20; Armor 1

  • War pig: level 3; rider has asset on melee attacks, or pig can make a separate tusk attack when rider attacks

Fantastic Threats and Hazards

(Rust and Redemption, page 88)

Fantastic Threats and Hazards
d20 Threat or Hazard
1Hallucinatory flowers (level 3): The ground floor of the ruin hosts a handful of purplish flowers growing up out of the rubble. A character who gets a puff of the pollen hallucinates their allies are actually cannibals trying to eat the affected character each round until the character succeeds on a Might defense roll.
2AI instance, minor (level 3): An artificial intelligence in an old facility attempts to install itself in the wetware (the brain) of humans and any other nearby sapient creatures. Anyone within immediate range of a video screen playing carefully crafted symbols and sounds who fails an Intellect defense roll is stunned, losing their next turn as they stare in rapt attention. If they fail a subsequent defense roll, they come under the control of the AI for one minute, or until they succeed on an Intellect defense roll on their turn. A PC under AI control might stand and do nothing, fall mysteriously unconscious, or take an action to advance the AI's goals.
3–4Voracious cockroach swarm (level 3): This swarm, easily covering an area a short distance in diameter, doesn't shrink from the light or from people. Indeed, it seems eerily intelligent, and if threatened, it attacks, inflicting 3 points of damage each round on everything in its area that fails a Speed defense roll, or 1 point on a successful roll.
5Animate vegetation (level 4): Kudzu got a lot worse in the aftermath. Characters that fail a Speed defense roll take 4 points of damage each round from strangulation and vine constriction until they can escape.
6Ashy tide (level 4): A series of powerful wind gusts in the area kicks up a lot of fine grey ash. Except it's not ash—it's a collection of nanobots, each the size of a grain of sand or smaller, called ashy tide.
7–8Glowing roach infestation: Four to ten glowing roaches the size of dogs have truly come into their own now that they've grown in stature and intelligence. They have little use for survivors, except as food.
9Psychic lichen (level 4): Psychic lichen gently attacks the minds of nearby creatures, causing them to grow tired and nap if they fail an Intellect defense roll. If not awakened, the dozing body serves as food for a new psychic lichen colony.
10Strike from the heavens (level 4): A before-times war satellite becomes active and fires a focused microwave beam at the PCs in the area, inflicting 4 points of damage each round they remain in the area without solid cover and fail a Might defense roll, or 2 points on a successful roll.
11Abomination lair: The abomination was a person once, or its ancestors were. Not anymore.
12Fiery fissure (level 5): A crack splinters the ground along a newly forming fire-filled fissure that stretches a long distance, zigging and zagging to catch several more targets than it might otherwise. PCs who fail a Speed defense roll fall in and are burned for 5 points of damage each round until they can climb out or be pulled out with a successful Might task as an action.
13Glowing tide (level 5): Veins of yellow-gold light branching across surfaces (roads, buildings, and bare earth) indicate that nanites are probably active, creating a dangerous area of glowing tide.
14Time anomaly (level 5): The PCs encounter a wall of golden light whose interior ripples with lightning. It's a time storm, and either it blocks the PCs' path, or worse, it's gradually sweeping toward the characters.
15AI instance, major (level 6): An artificial intelligence in a powered facility attempts to install itself in the wetware (the brain) of humans and any other nearby sapient creatures. Anyone within immediate range of a video screen playing carefully crafted symbols and sounds who fails an Intellect defense roll is stunned, losing their next turn as they stare in rapt attention. If they fail a subsequent defense roll, they come under the control of the AI (because an instance of the AI is running in their head). A target can make a new Intellect defense roll each day to try to reject the control. A PC under AI control might stand and do nothing, fall mysteriously unconscious, or take an action to advance the AI's goals.
16Hungry tide (level 6): A greyish-green mist of nanobots a short distance in diameter drifts in the wind, until the hungry tide senses living organisms and moves a short distance each round toward them.
17Quantum singularity (level 6): Attempts to change the past to avert the apocalypse have consequences, including these points of unstable space-time. Characters who fail an Intellect defense task are teleported a short distance in a random direction and possibly several hours forward in time.
18–19Rampaging wardroid (level 6): Wardroids may be what caused the apocalypse in the first place; whatever the case, one has wandered directly into the PCs' path.
20Mutant bear: The house-sized radioactive bear, whose roar can be heard for miles, is something to avoid.
GM Intrusions for Post-Apocalyptic Games

(Rust and Redemption, page 90)

If you're running a game set in the ruins following civilization's fall, refer to the following list of unexpected complications to your PCs' day. GM intrusions can happen anytime, whether the PCs think they're safe in a defended settlement or recently secured shelter, or traveling across the wasteland.

Select a GM intrusion appropriate to the situation, roll one randomly, or use the list to inspire an intrusion of your own.

GM Intrusions for Post-Apocalyptic Games
d100 Target Threat or Hazard
01–02GroupRoll on the preceding Realistic Threats and Hazards table, or on the Fantastic Threats and Hazards table if your game includes fantastic elements.
03–04CharacterThe character is surprised by a diseased feral cat, which bites them and runs off, infecting the PC with a level 4 disease that drops them one step on the damage track each day they fail a Might defense roll.
05–06Group or CharacterThe PCs' mode of transport breaks (or someone's boot heel snaps off), requiring about an hour of repair, possibly meaning that they have to duck into nearby ruins to find parts.
07–08CharacterA weirdly gnarled hand emerges from the ground or ruin, grabs the character, and pulls them down into an ancient bunker containing a zombie hulk.
09–10GroupThe PCs discover their food and water supplies have become contaminated with poisonous mold or dangerous levels of radiation (level 4).
11–12GroupAn unseasonal blizzard forces the PCs to seek shelter in an abandoned train yard, which shows signs of being claimed by another group of survivors.
13–14CharacterThe character treads on a sticky slurry of ooze leaking from a ruined factory that holds them in place unless they give up their footwear and/or succeed on a difficulty 5 Might task to pull free.
15–16CharacterA radioactive spider bites the character, inflicting 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor), and on a failed difficulty 3 Might defense roll, the character develops one harmful mutation. Each day the PC can attempt another Might defense roll; with a success, the mutation subsides.
17–18GroupA wildfire or structural fire (level 5) moves through the area; PCs must run before it to survive. However, when the fire has burnt out several hours later, the PCs are lost.
19–20GroupA sinkhole opens beneath the PCs' vehicle, which becomes hopelessly stuck in loose earth until they can succeed on a difficulty 7 Might roll to push it out. If PCs don't have a vehicle, the sinkhole sucks down one character and threatens to smother them unless the others succeed on a difficulty 7 Might roll to extract them.
21–22CharacterThe PC discovers they are infested with mutant green lice (level 5); Might tasks (including defense rolls) are hindered until the PC is treated with appropriate cleansing chemicals.
23–24GroupHigh winds, acidic precipitation, or a drift of grey goo eats through the PCs' shelter's roof.
25–26CharacterThe character wakes to discover that some of their equipment has been pilfered, but the PC on watch didn't see anything (and isn't responsible for the theft). Investigation reveals that weirdly smart termites (level 4) working together made off with the item.
27–28GroupYellow mushrooms with black speckles (level 4) grow profusely in the area and ooze weirdly blood-like fluid when brushed or trod upon, or simply as PCs pass by. The mushrooms are poisonous, inflicting 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) if ingested, but they also grant PCs a one-time asset on any knowledge tasks they attempt during the next ten hours.
29–30GroupThat buzzing noise that's been getting louder and louder is revealed as a swarm of aggressive, stinging radioactive bees.
31–32GroupThe PCs enter a region threatened by pockets of explosive gas (level 5), visible before they detonate as low-lying banks of thin, yellowish mist. If agitated, a gas pocket detonates, inflicting 5 points of damage on everything in the area, or 2 points on PCs who succeed on a Speed defense roll.
33–34CharacterThe character trips or is thrown from their vehicle or mount by a jolt or similar accidental incident, risking a broken bone on a failed difficulty 4 Speed defense roll.
35–36GroupA before-times radio transmission is received, asking anyone, anywhere, for aid.
37–38GroupMosquitos the size of hummingbirds attack.
39–40CharacterThe character steps in a bear trap left by other survivors. The PC takes 6 points of damage and is caught in a painful clamp until an ally succeeds on a difficulty 6 Might task to remove it.
41–42CharacterThe character stumbles over a decaying human corpse apparently killed by invasive fungus (level 3) eating through their brain.
43–44CharacterThe character ate something that didn't agree with them, and becomes so afflicted with nausea that their tasks, attacks, and defense rolls are hindered by two steps for the next few hours.
45–46GroupA mushroom cloud from a nuclear detonation blooms on the horizon. Are the PCs far enough away to survive? Maybe, if they find shelter pronto.
47–48CharacterA mutated animal with unhealthy skin lesions and bulbous growths (with giant rat stats) scurries from the character's backpack or other container when they stow or retrieve equipment. The animal runs off unless attacked, in which case it fights to the death.
49–50GroupThe PCs encounter a survivor claiming to be looking for a source of water that's not radioactive. Maybe they're telling the truth and could use some help. Or maybe they're a spy from a nearby raider camp.
51–52CharacterThe thin trickle of water running through the ruins must be intermittently in contact with live electrical wires, as the character discovers when they take 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) and are stunned, losing their next turn.
53–54CharacterA lurking rattlesnake bites the PC, then slithers off.
55–56GroupWhen the PCs return to their camp or place of refuge, they find that someone else has stolen all their carefully hoarded stores and wrecked part of the camp.
57–58GroupA pack of seven rabid dogs appears, growling and snarling.
59–60CharacterThe character falls partly (or completely) through the rotting floor, trapping their foot until they succeed on a difficulty 4 Might roll, or dropping them to a lower floor (and separating them from the others).
61–62GroupIt's hot outside today, due to a combination of aberrant weather conditions. PCs without some means of cooling themselves off suffer 1 point of ambient damage each minute in the "heat dome" covering the region.
63–64GroupEroded earth and dead vegetation in the region create perfect conditions for a sandstorm, which blows through the area for several hours, reducing visibility to an immediate distance.
65–66GroupAn electromagnetic storm rips through the area, knocking out any electronic devices the PCs might have, and potentially threatening PCs without shelter with a lightning strike (level 7).
67–68CharacterAn automatic defense system comes back online as PCs pass, deploying a metal-clad pop-up turret (level 5). Each minute, it targets the character with a mini-missile attack that inflicts 10 points of damage (or 3 points even with a successful Speed defense roll).
69–70GroupA group of three to six zombies (or cannibals, if your game has no zombies) stumbles out of the hospital, bunker, or old military facility.
71–72CharacterThe character's trusty weapon finally rusts through or otherwise breaks.
73–74GroupSeeping gas (level 4) in the area causes the PCs to begin hallucinating. Each is certain the other is some kind of threat—such as a raider, a zombie, or something else dangerous—until they succeed on a difficulty 3 Intellect defense roll on their turn to realize what's going on.
75–76GroupThe characters are caught in a stampede of rewilded giraffes, elephants, buffalo, or other large animals. Each PC suffers 3 points of damage, descends one step on the damage track, and on a failed difficulty 3 Speed defense roll, is borne along for a while and separated from their allies.
77–78GroupThe heavy rain and lightning storm suddenly births a tornado. PCs must seek shelter or suffer 7 points of damage each round they are exposed. If a PC takes enough damage to descend three steps on the damage track, they are pulled up into the vortex and lost.
79–80CharacterThe character discovers they've started growing a sixth finger on their left hand. Why? Maybe due to their previous exposures to whatever mutagen exists in the world, or for a reason yet to be learned.
81–82GroupA before-times jet appears in the sky, engines spewing smoke, before it crashes close enough to deal 4 points of damage to PCs that fail a difficulty 4 Speed defense roll.
83–84GroupIt begins to hail ice chunks the size of golf balls, inflicting 3 points of damage each round on PCs without shelter. The event also knocks any exposed vehicles or shelter the PCs rely on one step down the object damage track.
85–86CharacterThe character steps on a plant that releases spores blinding them for about a minute.
87–88CharacterThe character walks through a hidden trip wire set by other survivors, causing an alarm to blare.
89–90GroupA group of people (level 2) with glazed eyes appear with gifts of food. They want to introduce the PCs to their AI benefactor (or warlord, if your game has no AIs) via an old-time communications device they have with them.
91–92CharacterThe character has been pushing too hard and they're exhausted; they move down one step on the damage track until after their next ten-hour recovery.
93–94CharacterThrough misadventure, the character falls from the vehicle or mount, and no one else immediately notices.
95–96CharacterA mutant skunk with two heads (or regular skunk, if your game doesn't feature mutations) sprays the character. The character's pleasant social interaction tasks are hindered by two steps for two to five days.
97–98GroupNPC survivors demand PCs pay a toll to pass, equal to enough food and water to sustain one person for five days.
99–00GroupThe PCs arrive, but apparently their directions were wrong, because they're not where they wanted to go, but someplace completely different.

  • Radioactive bees, swarm: level 5; stings inflict 6 damage and, on failed Might defense roll, an allergic reaction dealing 1 Speed damage (ignores Armor) each minute until target is tended

  • Mosquitos, giant, swarm: level 3; bite inflicts damage and, on failed Might defense roll, target contracts Nipah

  • Rabid dog: level 3, attacks as level 4; Armor 1

Editor's Notes — Nipah (RR, 38) is Level 5 disease.

Post Apocalyptic Cyphers

(Rust and Redemption, page 131)

  • Subtle Cyphers: Subtle cyphers are appropriate if your game's pre-apocalyptic world was realistic (like our modern world) right up until it was destroyed and if the disaster was a realistic cataclysm (like a pandemic, climate disaster, or war).

  • Manifest Cyphers: Manifest cyphers in a post-apocalyptic game might be remnants of the technology or magic that civilization used before it fell, or the technology or magic that caused the end of the world.

Scavenger Subtle Cyphers

(Rust and Redemption, page 132)

Resource scarcity, including lack of water and food, threatens PCs in most post-apocalyptic settings. Enter scavenger subtle cyphers. These give PCs one more way to find useful stuff like edible food, clean water, a helpful tool, extra ammo, or other needful things.

Discovering Scavenger Subtle Cyphers
Anytime PCs in your game are eligible for discovering a subtle cypher, consider giving someone in the group a scavenger subtle cypher. No more than one PC in the group should have a scavenger subtle cypher at any given time. Once they use it, you can give another PC in the group one, preferably something different.
Using a Scavenger Subtle Cypher
The character uses their action to activate the scavenger subtle cypher, as usual. At the end of their turn, they gain the indicated resource.
Scavenger Subtle Cyphers
d20Scavenger Subtle Cyphers
1–2Ammunition
3–4Construction supply
5–6Edible food
7Firearm
8–9First aid
10–11How-to manual
12Medicine
13–14Melee weapon
15Potable liquid
16Transport
17Useful clothing
18Useful thing
19–20Useful tool

Editor's Notes — Scavenger subtle cyphers are a good match for the Transferring Subtle Cyphers optional rule.

AI-Fashioned Manifest Cyphers

(Rust and Redemption, page 136)

Another variety of cyphers PCs might discover are AI-fashioned. When activated, the cypher dematerializes, swirling out into a cloud of free-floating tiny machines that create the cypher's effect through direct manipulation before burning out or dispersing.

AI-fashioned cyphers can provide nearly any effect described for cyphers in the cypher tables in Chapter 24: Cyphers, as well as the effects described for the new manifest cyphers in the following section.

Secondary Effect
Any time an AI-fashioned manifest cypher is used, there's a chance the AI who created it for their own ambiguous purpose becomes aware, if that instance still operates somewhere. That usually has no bearing on the situation, but if the PC triggers an intrusion while using the cypher, a fledgling instance of the AI tries to install on the PC, who must succeed on an Intellect defense roll against the cypher's level to avoid coming under the control of the AI for one minute, or until they succeed on an Intellect defense roll on their turn. A PC under AI control might stand and do nothing, fall mysteriously unconscious, or take an action to advance the AI's goals.
AI-Fashioned Manifest Cyphers
d10AI-Fashioned Manifest Cyphers
1AI instance
2Armor breach
3Data wipe
4Denature nanotech
5Detonation (prion)
6Disassembler
7Disassembler, ephemeral
8Fabricator, civil
9Fabricator, military
10Smartdust
Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
AI Instance

(Rust and Redemption, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Installs an AI instance in an inert object. The instance persists for about a day. The AI's level is equal to this cypher's level. The AI has the ability to understand and audibly synthesize nearly any language and can provide answers to questions. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the higher its level. The instance can only answer questions equal to its level or less. Generally, knowledge that could be found by looking somewhere other than the current location is level 1 or higher, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining knowledge of the future is impossible. If the AI answers a question of level 5 or higher, the instance's existence terminates. Alternatively, the AI can be used to engage another AI in the area, distracting it from taking direct actions for a number of minutes equal to this cypher's level. After this interval, the instance's existence terminates.

Ammunition

(Rust and Redemption, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The character gains ten shells or bullets suitable for a firearm owned by someone in the group. If no one has a firearm, ten shotgun shells are found. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, thirty shells or bullets are found.

Armor Breach

(Rust and Redemption, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: A successfully targeted creature or object within short range becomes coated with a clinging film of nanotech for one minute. While coated, a creature has 2 less Armor than usual (3 less if the cypher is level 5 or 6). While coated, an object temporarily moves one step down the object damage track (or two steps down if the cypher is level 5 or 6).

Construction Supply

(Rust and Redemption, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. The right component or substance for the job provides an asset to related tasks.

Construction Supply
d6Component or Substance
1Glue, wood, ceramic, or super
2Epoxy, metal welding
3Nails, screws, fasteners
4Electrician's tape
5–6Duct tape
Data Wipe

(Rust and Redemption, page 136)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: A successfully targeted AI instance within short range whose level is equal to or less than this cypher's level is suppressed and unable to function for one minute. If this cypher's level is 7 or higher, a success means the instance is permanently wiped from the hardware (or wetware, if installed on a living creature).

Denature Nanotech

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Coats a short area surrounding the user, or adjacent to the user, with a nearly invisible film of nanotech that lasts for years. The first time anyone attempts to use a nanotech-based cypher, ability, or other effect in the affected area whose level is less than this cypher's level, that use is suppressed and fails. Once one effect is suppressed, the denaturing effect is expended. The cypher instead can be used to end one ongoing nanotech effect of the cypher's level or less in a short area, but the user must succeed on an Intellect attack roll against the level of the effect or the target creating the effect. For instance, if this cypher is successfully used against a creature genetically engineered by nanotech, the creature would become so much inert biological matter.

Detonation (Prion)

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that bursts in an immediate radius, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. On a hit, the living tissue of targets whose level is less than the cypher's level begins to unravel due to a prion-unfolding chain reaction. These targets take damage equal to the cypher's level on the first round, then 1 point of damage each subsequent round until only so much cloudy pink fluid remains. PCs can make a Might defense roll each round to end the effect; two successful defense rolls end the chain reaction. NPCs whose level is equal to or higher than the cypher's level take damage from the cypher for only one round.

Disassembler

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Recycles waste or other unwanted material by breaking it down to constituent atoms and molecules. If used destructively, this cypher can disassemble an object within immediate range whose level is equal to or less than the cypher's level that fits into a 10-foot (3.5 m) cube, or it can create a cavity of the same volume in a larger object whose level is less than the cypher's level. If used as a weapon against creatures, the cypher can be hurled a short distance like a detonation, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level in an immediate area and reducing the effectiveness of any Armor worn by targets by 1.

Disassembler, Ephemeral

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: An object or creature whose level is equal to or less than this cypher's level within immediate range is temporarily disassembled into its component atoms and molecules. The disassembly lasts for up to ten hours or until a time specified by the user, whichever occurs first. When the effect ends, the object or creature is reassembled over the course of one round at the location where it was disassembled (or at the location the fine "dust" of its disassembly was moved to). A Speed attack roll is necessary to affect an unwilling target. PCs can make a Might defense roll to resist being disassembled.

Edible Food

(Rust and Redemption, page 133)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. Food obtained is enough to feed one adult for one day, or if coffee is discovered, about a gallon (4 L).

Edible Food
d100Food
01–03Baby food, jarred
04–06Beans, canned
07–08Beans, dehydrated
09–12Bouillon cubes
13–14Canned pasta
15–16Cereal, breakfast
17–18Cheese in wax
19–20Chocolate, dark
21–22Coffee, instant
23Eggs, fresh
24Eggs, powdered
25–26Energy bar
27–28Fruit, canned
29–30Fruit, dried
31–34Fruit, fresh
35–40Honey
41–42Mayonnaise
43–44Meat, canned
45–47Milk, powdered
48–50Nuts
51–53Oatmeal
54–56Pasta, dried
57–58Pet food, canned
59–62Rice, dried
63–72Snack bag, dried chips, candy, etc.
73–83Sugar, bulk
84–97Vegetables, canned
98–00Vegetables, fresh
Fabricator, Civil

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Assembles a specified object whose level is equal to the cypher's level. Once created, the object is permanent until destroyed. A civil fabricator can build one object on the Additional Post-Apocalyptic Equipment table (or another equipment table in the Cypher System Rulebook) that falls into the "other items" category—no weapons or armor. The user chooses which item to fabricate by speaking aloud the name of the item they want as they activate the cypher. The higher the cypher level, the more expensive an item the fabricator can create, as follows: Level 2 cyphers can fabricate inexpensive items, cyphers of level 3 or higher can fab inexpensive and moderately priced items, cyphers of level 6 or higher can fab up to expensive items, and level 7 cyphers can fab up to very expensive items.

    A civil fabricator can create appropriately priced food items. However, it can't fabricate living creatures.

Editor's Notes — This edition of the CSRD corrects a suspected misprint where the civil fabricator's cypher level effects were desribed as "or less" instead of "or higher".

Fabricator, Military

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: A military fabricator cypher functions like a civil fabricator; however, it can be used to create armor or weapons. If a weapon that uses ammunition is fabricated, the weapon's magazine holds up to ten rounds of fabbed ammunition.

Firearm

(Rust and Redemption, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. A firearm is usually found with about ten bullets or shells (or crossbow bolts). The discovered firearm works, but it is damaged and has a GM intrusion range of 1–3 on a d20. In addition to any other effect of a GM intrusion, the firearm breaks (but could be repaired).

Firearm
d10Specific firearm
1Handgun (light, short range)
2Light crossbow (medium, long range)
3Handgun (medium, long range)
4Heavy crossbow (heavy, long range)
5Rifle (medium, long range)
6Shotgun (heavy, immediate range)
7Handgun, big (heavy, long range)
8Assault rifle (heavy, rapid-fire, long range)
9Heavy rifle (heavy, very long range)
10Submachine gun (medium, rapid-fire, short range)
First Aid

(Rust and Redemption, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The character gains a fully stocked first aid kit. The kit provides an asset for one healing task. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, it provides assets for four healing tasks before it is exhausted.

How-to Manual

(Rust and Redemption, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. If the manual is studied for about an hour, the character gains an asset to a related knowledge task.

How-to Manual
d10Topics
1Plumbing
2Electronics
3Gardening
4Farming
5Civil engineering
6Robotics
7Health
8Renewables (solar, wind)
9Smithcraft
10Chemistry
Medicine

(Rust and Redemption, page 134)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. The right medicine vanquishes (or treats the symptoms of) an eligible disease or illness. Other medicines are preventative.

  • Special: A character who suffers from one of these medical conditions, without treatment, descends one step on the damage track every month or so.

Medicine
d20Condition Treated
1Radiation sickness (iodine tablets)
2Hypothyroidism
3Diabetes
4High blood pressure
5Depression and anxiety
6Heart and artery condition
7High cholesterol
8Bacterial infection
9Lung issues
10Seizures
11Asthma
12Arthritis
13Degenerative nerve condition
14Cancer
15Pregnancy prevention/termination
16Gender dysmorphia
17Enlarged prostate
18Ulcers
19Acid reflux
20Blood clots
Melee Weapon

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain.

Melee Weapon
d10Weapon
1Sap/blackjack (light)
2Hand axe (light)
3Hunting/combat knife (light)
4Brass knuckles (light weapon, deals 3 points of damage)
5Axe (medium)
6Baseball bat (medium)
7Baton (medium)
8Saber/machete (medium)
9Bow (medium)
10Pickaxe (heavy)
Potable Liquid

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. Water obtained is enough to hydrate one adult for one day.

Potable Liquid
d10Liquid
1Milk, fresh
2–3Milk, bottled/canned
4–5Soda, can
6–7Liquor
8–9Water, bottled or canned
10Wine
Smartdust

(Rust and Redemption, page 137)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Coats an area up to a short distance in diameter with a nearly invisible film of nanotech that lasts for a number of months equal to the cypher's level. Afterward, the user can see, hear, smell, and feel the vibrations of any activity that occurs in that location no matter how far they are from it.

Transport

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain.

Transport
d10Transport
1Roller skates
2Inline skates
3Skateboard
4–6Bicycle
7Moped/scooter, gas or electric
8Hang glider
9Motorcycle, gas or electric
10Two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter
Useful Clothing

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain.

Useful Clothing
d10Garment
1Cold-weather coat
2Raincoat
3Leather jacket (light armor)
4Boots
5Motorcycle leathers (light armor)
6Kevlar vest (medium armor)
7Lightweight body armor (medium armor, encumbers as light)
8Riot gear (medium armor)
9Military body armor (heavy armor)
10Hazmat suit (light armor, +2 Armor against chemical and radiation damage)
Useful Thing

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One item from the Useful Stuff table is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain from the table.

Useful Tool

(Rust and Redemption, page 135)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One of the following items is gained; roll randomly. If the cypher's level is 6 or higher, the character can choose which item they obtain. The right tool or tools for the job provide an asset to related tasks.

Useful Tool
d20Tool
1Manual drill
2Hammer
3Chainsaw, gas or electric
4Lever hoist
5Screwdriver
6Saw
7Pliers
8Wrench
9Level
10Tape measure
11Crowbar
12Drill, electric
13Nail gun
14Air compressor
15Heat gun, electric
16Scissors
17Binoculars
18Lighter
19Can opener
20Box of black markers

Pre-Apocalyptic Artifacts

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

One interesting approach for artifacts in a post-apocalyptic setting is to use before-times items that were once commonplace—such as books, functioning vehicles, and portable water filters, among many other items—but are now nearly impossible to manufacture and hard to preserve. The depletion roll for such items represents the likelihood that the item will fall apart, break down, or run out. The upshot of adopting such a system for your game is that nearly every nonfood item on the Useful Stuff table is also a pre-apocalyptic artifact. Give most of these items a depletion of 1 in 1d20; however, if the item seems particularly hardy, a roll of 1d100 is appropriate. If particularly flimsy or prone to being used up, a depletion of 1d10 or 1d6 would be in order. Refer to the following examples as a guide for adapting before-times Useful Stuff objects into artifacts with a specific depletion.

Book

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Textbook, how-to book, or other nonfiction book of knowledge on one topic; may be moldy or otherwise damaged

  • Effect: This book covers a particular topic or area of knowledge determined by the GM. A reader who studies it for an hour has an asset on a related Intellect task.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Faraday Cage

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

  • Level: 3

  • Form: Container made of metal mesh, of variable size (usually up to the size of a room)

  • Effect: Blocks electromagnetic signals from reaching the interior of the cage.

  • Depletion: —

Salvaged Car

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Rusted vehicle, with parts cobbled together from multiple before-times vehicles

  • Effect: Transports five characters a very long distance on each turn in an open cab or, if level 6, a closed cab.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each time the engine is started or the car begins a trip)

Water Filter

(Rust and Redemption, page 138)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Large pitcher with built-in filter

  • Effect: Purifies enough drinking water for one character per artifact level every day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each day used)

Post Apocalyptic Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)(Rust and Redemption, page 139)

Artifacts in a post-apocalyptic game include still-working technology from before the disaster that is not widely available, as well as cobbled-together pieces of tech that can weaponize previously prosaic items. If the apocalypse was related to some kind of alien invasion, artifacts would include even stranger items.

Some of the post-apocalyptic artifacts described here are, for the most part, retro-futuristic—created by super-science that is mostly beyond today's technology. Most of these would fit in almost any post-apocalyptic setting that includes fantastic elements, especially if reskinned to be thematically appropriate. The artifacts presented below include artifacts appropriate to an End Times apocalypse, an apocalypse caused by the rise of antagonistic AIs, and alien tech possibly brought by invading or terraforming aliens. That said, any artifact could potentially be the result of AI artifice. Such artifacts usually have a fractal quality to their form, as is the case for AI-fashioned cyphers. And like AI-fashioned cyphers, a triggered intrusion could endanger the user if an instance of the artificial intelligence that created the item tries to install itself on the PC's wetware (mind).

Post-Apocalyptic Artifacts
d20ApocalypseArtifact
1–2Retro-futuristicAutodoc
3–4AlienCarbonizer
5–6Retro-futuristicEnviroscanner
7Alien or AI-fashionedMemory Eraser
8Retro-futuristicMilitary exoskeleton
9AI-fashionedMutation Inducer
10–12AI-fashionedNanorifle
13Retro-futuristicRocket first
14–16Retro-futuristicRocket-propelled grenade
17End TimesSeal of Solomon
18End TimesSpear of Destiny
19Retro-futuristicTerahertz scanner
20AlienTransfer discs
Autodoc

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Backpack-sized plastic module from which clamps, forceps, scalpels, and needles can extend

  • Effect: When strapped to a target (or when someone wearing the autodoc is damaged), the autodoc activates and restores 1 point to a target's Pools each round for ten rounds or until the target is fully healed, whichever happens first.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Carbonizer

(Rust and Redemption, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Tiny silver device with multiple prong-like barrels

  • Effect: This weapon fires a beam that transmutes the matter of targets within short range into powdery ash, inflicting damage equal to the artifact's level that ignores Armor (including Armor granted by force fields). A target killed by a carbonizer is turned completely to dust.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Enviroscanner

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Forearm-mounted computer tablet

  • Effect: This multifunction device can receive radio transmissions, automatically map locations the wearer has visited, play various forms of media, keep voice and written records, and provide an asset to any task related to interfacing with other computerized systems or machines. Also, the wearer can scan for specific materials, toxic traces, and life forms within short range.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (check per use of scanning function)

Memory Eraser

(Rust and Redemption, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Handheld reflective mass

  • Effect: A flash of nano-textured light erases the last few minutes of memory in all creatures within immediate range that the user makes a successful Intellect attack on (one attack roll per target).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Military Exoskeleton

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Articulated metal struts with deformable padding and straps for custom fit to a human frame

  • Effect: For one hour per use (when the exoskeleton is powered on), the wearer has +1 to their Speed Edge and +1 to their Might Edge.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Mutation Inducer

(Rust and Redemption, page 139)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Handheld reflective device with gradually evolving fractal textures

  • Effect: A targeted willing or helpless creature within immediate range is transformed over the course of one minute, gaining a randomly determined beneficial mutation. If the artifact is level 6 or higher, the target instead gains a powerful mutation. Mutations gained by the inducer fade within about a day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (upon depletion, target also gains a harmful mutation)

Nanorifle

(Rust and Redemption, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Sleek two-handed reflective device with gradually evolving fractal textures

  • Effect: This weapon contains an onboard AI that assists the user, granting an asset to any attacks made with the weapon. The weapon fires a stream of nanomachine rounds at a target within long range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact's level. In addition, if the target fails an Intellect defense roll, they are affected as if with a minor AI instance hazard, coming under the control of the AI housed in the nanorifle rather than a random artificial intelligence. The AI usually works with the user to exert control over the target. Control lasts for about a minute.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Rocket Fist

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Metal gauntlet with flaring rocket exhaust nozzles

  • Effect: If the user activates the fist as part of an attack, the punch gains a rocket assist. If the attack is successful, the fist inflicts additional damage equal to the artifact level and throws the target back a short distance.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Rocket-Propelled Grenade

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Tube with sight and trigger

  • Effect: The user can make a long-range attack with a rocket-propelled grenade that inflicts 7 points of damage to the target and every creature and object next to the target.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Seal of Solomon

(Rust and Redemption, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Signet ring bearing a star design

  • Effect: The wearer can attempt to command a demon, a devil, a Horseman of the Apocalypse, an angel, or a similar entity by making a successful Intellect attack roll against a target within short range. An affected target must do as requested for up to one minute (if the creature is level 5 or lower) or for one round (if the creature is level 6 or higher). The ring also grants the wearer the ability to understand and communicate with animals.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Spear of Destiny

(Rust and Redemption, page 140)

  • Level: 7

  • Form: Heavy spear of ancient manufacture

  • Effect: Attacks with this spear are eased. If used against a supernatural creature such as a demon, a Horseman of the Apocalypse, or an angel, it ignores Armor, and it inflicts 4 additional points of damage (10 points total). If an attack with the spear kills a target normally able to return to existence (such as a Horseman), the target is truly destroyed instead.

  • Depletion: —

Spear of Destiny GM intrusion: The wielder's heart is not pure enough to permit the use of the spear, and it burns the character for 7 points of ambient damage each round they use it.

Terahertz Scanner

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 300)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Visor fitted with bulky electronics

  • Effect: By emitting terahertz and long-range infrared light, this device allows a user to see a short distance through most interior walls of standard structures, through normal clothing, and into normal bags and briefcases. Only stone or concrete more than 6 inches (15 cm) thick prevents a scan. Regardless, images are black and white and fuzzy, and lack fine detail.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Transfer Discs

(Rust and Redemption, page 140)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Two or more matching discs 3 feet (1 m) in diameter

  • Effect: The user can step between deployed transfer discs, teleporting any distance. If a series of discs is deployed in a network, the user receives a mental map of the discs upon stepping on any one of them, and they can navigate by stepping on each intervening disc between their current location and their desired location. To deploy a disc as their action, the user places it on a mostly level, secure surface and must succeed on a difficulty 3 Intellect-based roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check after each day of use)

Post-Apocalyptic Creatures and NPCs

(Rust and Redemption, page 93)

Those that survived the cataclysm are tougher, or at least luckier. Here are a couple of methods for creating even more creatures and NPCs for your post-apocalyptic setting than the ones that appear here and in Chapter 22: Creatures and Chapter 23: NPCs.

  • Reskin: One way to create new creatures appropriate for your setting is to grab one from any other Cypher System bestiary and change its description just enough so it works in your game.

  • Blighted: Another approach is to apply the Blighted "template" to a regular animal, creature, or person, turning them into a more twisted version of their pre-apocalypse self.

Creatures by Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

Any Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

Almost any apocalypse will include natural wildlife, like bears, dogs, and rats, as well as various human survivors. Some of those human survivors will become bandits, fell riders, marauders, a few warlords, and probably some cannibals. A few could stalk the wasteland as bounty-hunting (or revenge-seeking) assassins.

Biblical Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

In addition to creatures common to any apocalypse, a biblical apocalypse should also include fallen angels, angels, demons, and devils, and of course the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Beast, Sword, Famine, and Plague).

Nuclear Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

Besides creatures common to any apocalypse, it's possible PCs could run into various radioactive creatures such as fusion hounds, glowing roaches, gamma worms, and radioactive bears, as well as a variety of creatures with the Blighted template.

AI Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

Besides creatures and NPCs common to any apocalypse, PCs might encounter CRAZRs (318), hooked blossoms, vat rejects, mechanical soldiers, wardroids, and zhev (370). And, of course, a few instances of artificial intelligence, possibly including AI zombies.

Alien Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

If the world is invaded or terraformed by aliens, creatures and NPCs common to any apocalypse exist, as well as the potential for various aliens such as greys, slidikin (354), enthrallers, and maybe even a kaiju or two.

Temporal Apocalypse

(Rust and Redemption, page 95)

If the barriers between time, space, and dimension break down, ushering in a time rip, any creature and NPC from any genre could be encountered, including supervillains, chronophages, kaiju, killer clowns, killing white lights, and melted.

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Post-Apocalyptic Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 299)

  • Crazy loner: level 3, deception and attacks as level 5

  • Gamma snake: level 4; bite inflicts 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor)

  • Innocuous rodent: level 1

  • Mongrel dog: level 4

  • Survivor, sickened: level 3, interaction and knowledge tasks as level 1; carries level 4 infectious disease

  • Survivor, typical: level 3

Chapter 20 Fairy Tale

Quick Reference: Fairy Tale

Character Options

Fairy Tale Descriptors

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 302)

The genre of fairy tales is a wide one, crossing into almost every culture and encompassing everything from early oral stories passed down from generation to generation to the more modern literary fairy tale. What makes something a fairy tale? While there's a great deal of discussion around that question, most have a number of things in common: a series of far-fetched events; fantastical beings such as talking animals, elves, goblins, mermaids, witches, and dragons; and objects that have magical elements.

One of the powers of a fairy tale—or a game set in a fairy tale-inspired setting—is its ability to create a sense of wonder and to evoke players' imaginations while still allowing them to keep one foot in the known. The very settings themselves are both enchanted and somehow familiar, whether the characters are entering a magical woods, falling down a rabbit hole, or embarking on a voyage to Neverland. Those beasts and beings who stalk such places are equally wondrous, and offer fantastic starting points for any number of adventures.

To heighten the sense of wonder in a fairy tale adventure or campaign, a GM might consider presenting the game in a modern setting. In a modern setting, characters have regular jobs that don't normally involve hunting goblins or helping talking fish solve puzzles. This means that when the moths take shape and become the cloak of a princess of summer come to beg a favor or steal a child, or the house grows legs and runs away one morning, the player characters will be rightfully amazed (and perhaps somewhat terrified).

Nature of Faerie

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 303)

Faerie (also called by many other names) is a dimension of magic separate from but closely parallel to the mundane world. It doesn't matter whether Faerie is just a collective term for thousands of separate curled-up dimensions hidden in corners, in closets, or at the center of forests, or it's one continuous realm that overlaps the real world where it's thinnest. It's a place those with open hearts can find by following a way between tall trees (or looming library shelves) to a realm where everything is different. Where elves walk, nymphs dance, unicorns gallop, and both natural growths and built structures become vast and enchanting.

Humans don't tend to do well in such a world if they stay too long, as the sensory input is hard on the nervous system. But fey creatures depend on it, like plants to the light. A fey creature too long cut off from its land of origin (or its stream, hill, or burrow) slowly becomes mortal and then dies.

When a fey creature is cut by silvered or cold iron weapons, they temporarily lose the sustaining benefit of their connection to Faerie. This severed connection usually disrupts a fey creature's ability to heal. A silvered weapon is one that contains silver as part of an alloying process, has silver inlay, or has been coated in a dusting of silver powder (which usually lasts only through a single fight). In truth, many items in the modern era are cold-forged, while many others are not. We suggest that any hand-forged item containing iron could be considered a cold-forged weapon for harming fey creatures. Thus, most bullets and other modern items wouldn't be treated as cold iron by this definition, but some would fit the bill.

Fairy Tale Character Options

Creating Your Character: Form vs. Function

(We Are All Mad Here, page 61)

In a fairy tale game, the PCs might consist of a talking fox, an ogre, a fairy, and a human the size of your thumb. And that's perfectly fine. Build your character sentence in a way that plays to your character's strengths and weaknesses, and the rest can be handled through story and narrative. Playing a talking bear, a gingerbread man, or a changeling will likely affect your character's appearance, their outlook on life, and their backstory, but it doesn't necessarily affect their abilities, skills, and Pools beyond what you choose during character creation.

Because the form that you choose doesn't typically offer you something in addition to your Cypher System stats—being small, for example, does not inherently mean you're stealthy—you'll want to choose your stats to emphasize the bit of your character that you want to play.

Fairy Tale Skills

(We Are All Mad Here, page 63)

As described in Chapter 4: Creating Your Character, there is no definitive list of skills. Characters can choose to become skilled in anything they like (with the GM's permission). In addition to the suggested skills in the rulebook, useful skills for fairy tale games might include:

† — Denotes skills that could be used in a number of different ways, depending on the setting. If the setting has talking animals that the players can't understand, the talking animals skill could help a PC communicate with them in other ways. If there are talking animals that the characters can understand, the skill could provide an asset in social interactions.

  • Talking animals†
  • Talking nature†
  • Trickery
  • Using magic
  • Weather
  • Baking
  • Cobbling
  • Curses
  • Dancing
  • Death
  • Magic
  • Playing an instrument
  • Puzzles
  • Riddles
  • Sailing
  • Sensing magic
  • Singing

Remember that only skills gained through character type abilities or in other rare instances allow you to become skilled with attack or defense tasks. Thus, all magic skills are noncombat skills only.

Fairy Tale Descriptors

(We Are All Mad Here, page 65)

Heartwood Descriptors

(We Are All Mad Here, page 65)

Editor's Notes — Depending on the setting, Fantasy Species Descriptors, Modern Magic Descriptors, or Old Gus' Daft Drafts Descriptors might also be appropriate choices.

Bewitched

(We Are All Mad Here, page 169)

You're not sure that your thoughts are always your own. You often hear a voice or voices, guiding you and attempting to force your hand. Sometimes these voices are helpful and kind. Other times, not so much. Where do they come from, and are you cursed or blessed by them?

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Enchanted: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in all tasks involving listening and hearing.

  • Insight: The voices have many things to tell you and some of them are beneficial. Once after each ten-hour recovery roll, you can use a player intrusion without spending an XP.

  • Inability: The voices in your head are sometimes so loud it's hard to make sense of the real world. You have an inability in navigation, tracking, and identifying plants and animals.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You listened to one of your voices, which suggested that this would be a good thing to embark upon.
  2. One of the other PCs sounds an awful lot like one of your voices, and you'd like to spend time with them to find out if there's a connection.
  3. You have reason to believe that being with the other PCs could help you gain a better understanding of the thoughts and voices you hear.
  4. You find that you can hear the voices more clearly when you're doing something active, and this seemed like a good fit.
Changeling

(We Are All Mad Here, page 170)

Early on you discovered—or perhaps you knew all along—that you weren't really who everyone thought you were. Perhaps when you were still very young, the child whose name you have now was stolen, and you were put in their place. Or perhaps you are the same person you've always been, but you've never felt like yourself, and you know that the real you is nothing like the one that everyone else knows. More than once in your life, you've been abandoned, distrusted, and rejected by those you loved most, which means that sometimes you fall into deep funks. However, you are just as adept at pulling yourself out of them when the situation demands it. If nothing else, you're supremely adaptable.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Innovator: +4 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Face-taker: When you spend 1 XP, you can change your appearance over the course of one minute to look like someone else of about your size who you've had direct contact with or from whom you have a piece of hair or flesh, or an object they handled often. You cannot return to your previous appearance unless you have the same components at hand for that appearance to initiate the change. Action to initiate, one minute to complete.

  • Changeable (2 Intellect points): When you fail at a task and try again using a different method, you roll twice on the second attempt and use the higher result. For example, if guards catch you in the queen's chamber after dark and you fail to convince them that you're there on legitimate business, you can instead decide to flee, rolling twice on your roll to get away and taking the higher result. Enabler.

  • Skill: People never know what to think about you. You are trained in deception.

  • Inability: Your fluid nature leaves you less resistant to physical threats. Your Might defense tasks are hindered.

  • Fragile: When you fail a Might defense roll to avoid damage, you take 1 extra point of damage.

  • Additional Equipment: You have an amulet with a strange symbol on it, a link to your truest, deepest self.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs discovered you weren't who they thought you were, but it doesn't matter—they're still your friends.
  2. You want to discover your true self, and the PCs offered to help you find it.
  3. Everything was fine until you were attacked by a group of “faerie hunters.” The PCs helped you fight back or flee.
  4. You helped the PCs deal with a situation, and that led you to discovering more about yourself and your background. You hope to do more of that.
Fragmented

(We Are All Mad Here, page 171)

Sometimes you feel like you are a single being, and other times you think you might be more. You feel torn into pieces, unsure which elements are you and which belong to someone else. Or perhaps they're all you, and you want to find a way to embrace all of your selves.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Two Minds: +2 to your Intellect Pool.

  • Skill: You're trained in defense rolls to resist mental effects.

  • Skill: You're trained in all interactions involving lies or trickery.

  • Adaptable: At the beginning of a conversation, choose a specific type of interaction skill, such as persuasion, lying, or intimidation. While the conversation lasts, you have an asset in that skill. You cannot choose the same type of interaction skill again until after you make a ten-hour recovery roll. Enabler.

  • Inability: Your memory of events and experiences is spotty. You have an inability in memory-related tasks, such as recalling information, memorizing names, and so on.

  • Inability: Staying centered on a single task is difficult for you. You have an inability in tasks requiring focus or concentration.

  • Additional Equipment: You have a journal that you use to keep notes of your experiences and selves.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. While avoiding an entirely different concern, you walked into your current situation.
  2. You have reason to believe that being with the other PCs will help you better understand your fractured mind.
  3. You have no idea how you joined the PCs. You're just going along with it for now until answers present themselves.
  4. You felt drawn to join the other PCs, but you don't know why.
Frumious

(We Are All Mad Here, page 171)

A furious, fuming anger waits, always, just beneath your surface, swirling under your skin like a caged beast. You might do your best to hide it or control it, or perhaps you have given up trying to tame it and you let it run wild. Either way, it seems to cause you—and those around you—grief more often than not.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Manxome: +2 to your Might Pool and +2 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are quick to respond to being provoked (or even to the perception that you are being provoked). You are trained in initiative actions (to determine who goes first in combat).

  • Bandersnatch: You extend the reach of your attack, allowing immediate-range character abilities to reach foes a short distance away, and short-range character abilities to reach foes a long distance away.

  • Inability: You find it hard to hold your anger back—it seeps through your skin even when you don't mean it to, causing others to shy away from it. All tasks relating to positive social interactions are hindered.

  • Inability: Sometimes your anger overrides your good senses, causing you to act before you've properly assessed the situation. All tasks relating to perception are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. You are trying to get a handle on your anger, and you're hoping that being with the other PCs will help you do so.
  2. You let your anger get the best of you recently, and now you're running from the fallout of that experience.
  3. You believe that this adventure will provide you with a way to channel your ire, allowing you to use it for good.
  4. One of the other PCs invited you to join, after they watched you fight.
Haunted

(We Are All Mad Here, page 172)

The world seems more dangerous than it should. You are troubled by fearful and anxious thoughts, and can't always discern what is a true threat and what isn't. You might see shadows following you, be plagued by nightmares, or be filled with a general sense of unease. This constant feeling of being haunted drives you to try to make things feel safer for yourself and those around you.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Fleeting: +4 to your Speed Pool.

  • Skill: You are trained in initiative actions.

  • Skill: You are trained in sensing danger.

  • Prescient: You always see danger coming, whether it's there or not. Once after each ten-hour recovery roll, you can refuse a GM intrusion without spending XP. Alternatively, you can spend 1 XP and work with the GM to turn the intrusion into something positive for your character.

  • Inability: Anxious thoughts are heavy, and carrying them leaves you feeling emotionally weaker than you'd like. Intellect defense tasks are hindered.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. Being around one or more of the other PCs helps you better handle your thoughts and emotions.
  2. You feel that one of the other PCs is in danger in some way, and you'd like to help out or keep an eye on them.
  3. One or more of the PCs helped you out when you were having a difficult time.
  4. You are trying to learn more about your thoughts and emotions, and you think that trying out your skills on an adventure is a great way to do so.
Lost

(We Are All Mad Here, page 172)

You can't remember exactly when it happened or why, but you have lost your way. The path through life, or even through your own mind, no longer seems to exist. Once you had a reason and a goal, but now you find yourself wandering aimlessly, without clear purpose or drive.

You gain the following characteristics:

  • Skill: You're trained in three areas of knowledge of your choice.

  • Skill: Being lost has taught you to pay attention to your surroundings. You are trained in perception tasks.

  • Curiouser: You're rarely surprised by strange circumstances and are able to go with the flow more than most. You can choose to automatically succeed on an initiative task without rolling. You can do this one time, although the ability renews each time you make a ten-hour recovery roll.

  • And Curiouser: For being so lost yourself, you are able to help others find things in the world. Anytime you help someone who is searching for a lost object or person, you are able to point them in the right general direction.

  • Inability: Figuring out how to move through the world is not one of your strongpoints. All tasks involving navigation, map reading, geography, and so on are hindered.

  • Inability: Sometimes being directionless makes it hard to get moving. You have an inability in noncombat Speed-related tasks, such as climbing, jumping, and running.

  • Additional Equipment: You carry a broken compass with you. It was a gift from someone you cared about deeply.

  • Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

  1. The PCs came upon you while you were wandering and lost, and invited you to join them.
  2. You happened to be in the right place at the right time.
  3. You wish to find your path again, and you hope that the PCs will help you do that.
  4. The PCs are heading somewhere specific, and it feels good to be surrounded by people who know where they're going.
Fairy Tale Types

(We Are All Mad Here, page 64)

Suggested Types for a Fairy Tale Game
RoleType and Flavor
AdventurerExplorer
ArcherWarrior with Stealth Flavor
AristocratSpeaker
ApprenticeAdept
Chosen oneAdept
Dreamer SeekerExplorer
EntertainerSpeaker
GuardWarrior
HelperSpeaker with Magic Flavor
HuntsmanWarrior with Stealth Flavor or Skills and Knowledge Flavor
King/queenAdept
KnightWarrior
Magical being (genie, spirit, faerie, and so on)Adept
OutlawExplorer
Princess/princeSpeaker
Sailor/seafarerExplorer with Combat Flavor
ThiefExplorer with Stealth Flavor
TricksterSpeaker with Skills and Knowledge Flavor
WandererExplorer
Wizard/witchAdept with Magic Flavor or Skills and Knowledge Flavor
WolfExplorer with Combat Flavor or Stealth Flavor
WoodcutterWarrior
Fairy Tale Foci

(We Are All Mad Here, page 66)

Heartwood Foci

(We Are All Mad Here, page 66)

Adjusted Foci

(We Are All Mad Here, page 67)

Adjusted Foci for a Fairy Tale Game
FocusAdjustments
Best for settings that include elements of science fiction. Alternatively, "robots" can be a stand-in for puppets, steampunk entities, golems, or other creations such as Pinocchio, Edward Scissorhands, the Gingerbread Man, and the Tin Man. Mister Geppetto would likely be someone who Builds Robots, while Muska (from Miyazaki's film Laputa: Castle in the Sky) might be someone who Battles Robots.
Best for modern settings or those where traditional fairy tale vehicles such as horse-drawn carriages, magic carpets, witch's brooms, and chicken-legged huts are common.
Best for steampunk or weird science mashups. Edward Scissorhands and the Tin Man are probably characters who Fuse Flesh and Steel. Alternatively, renaming the foci to Fuses Flesh and Magic or Wants to Become a Real Boy can provide characters with the same benefits from a more magical-sounding source.
With small tweaks to the language and abilities, this could work for someone who wants to wield a wand, bow, or other ranged weapon
With small tweaks to the language and abilities, this could work for someone who used to be a sailor or pirate.

Editor's Notes — Foci from Old Gus' Daft Drafts might also be approrpiate for a fairy tale setting.

Fairy Tale Player Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 58)

  • Once Upon a Time: Someone you played with as a child reappears and helps you in whatever you are doing. They may be alive or dead, but your heart is warmed upon seeing them, for it's been a long time.

  • As You Wish: You do something that reminds another person or creature in the area of someone they once cared for deeply. They are eager to assist you in whatever you've got going on, at least for a few minutes.

  • Once Upon a Dream: Not long ago, you dreamt of a scenario similar to the one that you find yourself in now. You can't remember all of the details, but you remember enough to know some of what's about to take place, and it gives you an additional action to prepare something useful.

  • Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo: A little sprinkle of magic from your fairy godmother is all you need to achieve a goal, retry a task, or be better at something you're attempting to do.

  • Wish Upon a Star: Long ago, you helped part of a dying star return to its rightful place in the sky. It keeps an eye on you and, in a moment when it feels like all hope is lost, it sends a little magic or light to aid you.

  • Dreams Do Come True: Something you wished for long ago comes true just at this moment. It might be for a broken weapon to be fixed, an ally to appear, or a bit of knowledge or understanding to arrive in your mind.

  • What's Come to Pass: Not long ago, someone forewarned you of the exact scenario that you find yourself in now. You know just what to do to put yourself at an advantage in the situation.

  • Think Happy Thoughts: You think of something or someone that brings you great joy, and it imbues your next few actions with magic, allowing you to fly or do some other thing that you are normally unable to do.

  • I Can Show You the World: Something or someone in the area shows itself to you, highlighting a route you were looking for, an object you had lost, or an answer to a problem.

  • Happily Ever After: Through the power of your love for another, you use magic to protect someone you care for. They are able to sidestep an attack that would normally do them grave damage.

Minor Effect Suggestions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 59)

  • A weapon comes alive at the perfect moment and does a bit more damage to a foe.
  • A fluctuation in magic hinders all of the foe's tasks for one minute.
  • A curse, spell, or ability has additional force behind it, and lasts a round longer than expected.
  • The foe's magical armor begins to dissipate, decreasing the amount of protection it offers on the next attack.
  • A shapeshifting or disguise spell or ability dazzles the target, easing all tasks related to it.
  • A magical attack hits the target and something they were holding, causing damage to both.
Major Effect Suggestions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 59)

  • A weapon comes alive at the perfect moment and does a lot more damage to a foe.
  • A fluctuation in magic prevents a foe from taking their next action.
  • A curse that was cast upon you by the foe you're attacking is removed.
  • A foe surrenders, agreeing to lay down their weapons.
  • A foe accidentally steps on a living plant or dangerous creature while trying to dodge your blow, and it attacks them or holds them fast.
  • A shapeshifting or disguise spell or ability works so well that the foe's familiar or companion runs off, afraid to continue the fight.
Fairy Tale Character Arcs

(We Are All Mad Here, page 67)

Character arcs are fantastic opportunities for players to deepen their roleplaying options, add to the narrative, and set goals that can intertwine with and strengthen a campaign or adventure. While character arcs aren't a requirement, they work particularly well in fairy tale games, where individual goals and tasks are often at the forefront of what drives adventures.

Heartwood Character Arcs

(We Are All Mad Here, page 176)

Characters in the Heartwood should choose a starting character arc, something that they hope to accomplish for their character through time and experience. This can be a Heartwood-specific arc or one from the list of character arcs in Chapter 12: Experience Points.

Heartwood is the featured setting in We Are All Mad Here.

Fairy Tale Equipment

Quick Reference: Fairy Tale Equipment

(We Are All Mad Here, page 69)

Most weapons that are powered by magic, such as wands, operate exactly like a regular weapon; they just do their damage using magic.

Equipment and weapons with unique magic abilities are typically considered to be cyphers or Artifacts.

Currency

(We Are All Mad Here, page 69)

In most fairy tales, money isn't precise. Someone might be poor or rich. They might find a bag of gold or a chest full of jewels. They might be the richest man in the town or have nothing but a tired old cow to their name. But typically what they don't have is "one gold piece" or "thirty farthings" to their name. This means that whatever your fairy tale setting, you can think in general terms of money instead of keeping meticulous track of every penny, farthing, gold coin, or dollar. To keep things easy, no matter what currency your characters use, think of money as being in simple amounts that scale up, such as a copper coin, a silver coin, and a gold coin. These could easily equate to the inexpensive, moderate, and expensive items on the equipment list. Items that are very expensive might be worth a bag of silver, while exorbitant items might be worth a bag of gold.

Additionally, if the PCs are completing a character arc, accomplishing a task, or doing some other type of action to receive a piece of equipment, you can use the price category to decide how complicated or difficult that task is. A moderately priced item likely requires completing a moderately difficult task, while an exorbitant item may require something that taxes the PCs and really puts their skills and dedication to the test.

Signature Items

(We Are All Mad Here, page 70)

In fairy tales, clothing, weapons, and other items that a character carries for a long time tend to be very personal and very important. They're often unique and handcrafted, they may have names or stories that go with them, and because characters tend to keep them for a long time, they may have undergone repairs or have markings that tell something about the character's background.

Optional Rule: I Have That!

(We Are All Mad Here, page 70)

In fairy tales, characters often have exactly the right mundane piece of equipment that they need to bypass a story-related obstacle hidden away in a pocket or a bag. Rather than having the PCs stock up on mundane items like marbles, rope, and breadcrumbs in town, use the I Have That! rule. This means players don't have to keep exact track of their characters' mundane equipment; instead, they spend an amount to get an unspecified "Pocket Item" in that category. Then, when they're out in the world and realize they could solve a problem with an item, they can just say, "I have that!" and pull it from their pocket. All Pocket Items are one-use only; after using them, the PC marks off one of their Pocket Items for the appropriate price category.

Most Pocket Items are inexpensive, but moderate and expensive Pocket Items exist, and are likely more useful than their less expensive counterparts.

The GM has veto power over items that they don't think you could have found or carried.

Example Pocket Items — Inexpensive

(We Are All Mad Here, page 71)

  • Apple
  • Ashes (handful)
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Butter
  • Candy
  • Chalk
  • Cricket in a cage
  • Cup
  • Egg
  • Fabric
  • Flyswatter
  • Glass jar
  • Glue
  • Honey
  • Leather
  • Magnets
  • Marbles
  • Nails
  • Needle and thread
  • Paper
  • Plait of hair
  • Pot of fat
  • Pot of grease
  • Ribbon
  • Rice (handful)
  • Straw
  • Tacks
  • Wax
  • Wool
Example Pocket Items — Moderately-Priced

(We Are All Mad Here, page 71)

  • Bird in a cage
  • Sewing shears
  • Thimble
Basic Equipment

(We Are All Mad Here, page 71)

Basic Equipment
PriceBasic Equipment
Inexpensive
  • Candle
  • Chalk (3)
  • Day's rations
  • Meal, decent
  • Sack
  • Sewing kit
  • Sharpening stone
  • String or yarn
  • Thimble
  • Tinder and flint
  • Torch (3)
  • Vial
Moderately priced
  • Backpack
  • Bedroll
  • Book
  • Box, small
  • Deck of cards
  • Game
  • Lantern
  • Meal, fine dining
  • Metal file
  • Mining pick
  • Mirror, hand
  • Quill, ink and paper (2 pieces)
  • Rope (50 feet)
  • Tent
  • Waterskin or flask
Expensive
  • Bag of heavy tools
  • Bag of light tools
  • Box, medium
Very Expensive
  • Charon's obol. Imbued coin. Placed in the mouth of a dead person prior to burial as payment to Charon, the ferryman, for conveying the soul to its proper resting place.
  • Disguise kit/potion. Asset for disguise tasks.
  • Healing kit/potion. Asset for healing tasks.
  • Protective charm. Church bell, four-leaf clover, rabbit's foot, and so on. Asset on defense rolls against fairies and other fey-like creatures.
  • Handheld scrying mirror. Asset for initiative tasks when held in hand or worn.

Using the I Have That! rule doesn't preclude PCs from also purchasing these items directly. For example, if a character who sews wants to buy a thimble and an inexpensive Pocket Item, they can. However, they cannot later turn the thimble into a Pocket Item; it remains a thimble.

Clothing

(We Are All Mad Here, page 70)(We Are All Mad Here, page 71)

In most cases, characters start out by wearing any type of clothing they choose. Typically (unless the GM decides otherwise or unless it is designated as armor), this clothing is purely for decorative and roleplaying purposes and offers no additional benefits.

However, clothing with additional benefits can be purchased, stolen, found, or earned by completing favors and accomplishing tasks.

Clothing
PriceClothing
Inexpensive
  • Gloves or mittens
  • Hat or hood
Moderately priced
  • Cloak or coat
  • Specialized outfit (craftsman, baker, guard, and so on)
  • Wizard or enchanter's outfit
Very Expensive
  • Elegant cloak or coat
  • Royal ensemble
  • Suit or ballgown
Exorbitant
  • Elegant, bespoke clothing suitable for moving in elite circles (provides an asset in interaction tasks)
Weapons and Armor

(We Are All Mad Here, page 71)

Weapons and Protective Gear
PriceWeapons and Protective Gear
Inexpensive
  • Ammunition (12 arrows, 12 crossbow bolts, and so on)
Moderately priced
  • Light weapons (knives, handaxe, hairpin, darts, wand, slingshot, and so on)
  • Light armor (hides and furs, thieves' armor, leather jerkin, padded coat, and so on)
Expensive
  • Medium weapon (club, sword, battleaxe, mace, crossbow, spear, staff, and so on)
  • Medium armor (breastplate, brigade, chainmail, and so on)
Very Expensive
  • Heavy weapon (huge sword, great hammer, massive axe, halberd, heavy crossbow, and so on)
  • Heavy armor (full plate armor)
Exorbitant
  • Jeweled, ornate, royal, or bespoke weapon
  • Jeweled, ornate, royal, or bespoke armor

Remember, armor (with a lowercase a) is something that the character wears, while Armor (with a capital A) is the total amount of Armor that you have, including any magical effects. You can wear only one type of armor at any given time, but you could have many things that give you Armor.

Travel

(We Are All Mad Here, page 72)

Travel
PriceTravel
Moderately priced
  • Common transportation, rental (horse-drawn carriage, boat, mount, and so on)
  • Lodging, shared room or shed, meager
Expensive
  • Magic transportation, rental (chicken-legged hut, levitating mortar, magic carpet, talking mount, flying ship, and so on). In most cases, renting magic transportation includes a guide, driver, or other person who can power and operate the vehicle. For example, a levitating mortar can only be driven by a witch of a certain age.
  • Common transportation, purchase (horse-drawn carriage, boat, mount, and so on)
  • Lodging, solo room, decent
Very Expensive
  • Lodging, whole building or large room
Exorbitant
  • Magic transportation, rental (chicken-legged hut, levitating mortar, magic carpet, talking mount, flying ship, and so on). In most cases, it's also necessary to hire a guide, driver, or other person who can control and power the vehicle. Alternatively, characters must take a class, learn a spell, or meet other magic requirements in order to operate the vehicle.

Fairy Tale Rules

(We Are All Mad Here, page 48)

Fairy tale games have unique opportunities for magic that aren't found elsewhere—death, curses, blessings, and wishes are all prevalent in fairy tales and make interesting elements in games. Here are some suggested ways to handle them.

Death

(We Are All Mad Here, page 48)

You've probably noticed that in fairy tales, characters die all the time. Or almost die. Or sleep forever instead of die. Or die and come back to life. You get the idea.

Potentially, this will also be true in a fairy tale game. Thankfully, death doesn't have to be the end of a character's life. There are any number of ways to stop or reverse death, including artifacts, cyphers, and abilities. Additionally, a few NPCs, such as witches or Death themself, may have the power to bring someone back from the dead.

Typically, though, if a character dies and chooses to stay dead (or is unable to find a way to return to life), they are dead—they no longer have bodies, abilities, Pools, and so on. They can communicate to the living only through magic. Someone may stay dead for up to about a year (in game time) and still return to life. After that time elapses, death is permanent.

Curses

(We Are All Mad Here, page 49)

In fairy tale games, curses are likely to be common. Most witches can cast curses of one form or another, as can many fey beings, queens, and sea creatures. Even objects and places can cause a character to become cursed. Characters might have multiple curses on them at the same time.

All curses have a level, from 1 to 10. The level affects how hard it is to resist the curse, as well as how severe the effects are and how difficult it is to remove the curse.

Curses work slightly differently than regular damage. Curses can have an impact on the game and the game mechanics (a character is turned into a fish or becomes invisible, all of their interactions are hindered, they take ongoing damage, and so on), or they can have more of a roleplaying impact (a character looks much older, they forget the word "apple," their skin turns golden). See the Curse table for a list of example curses.

Preventing Curses

(We Are All Mad Here, page 49)

When a character attempts to resist being cursed, they must make an Intellect defense roll against the level of the curse being cast. Being trained in Intellect defense eases this task, as does having a skill in curses or resisting curses.

Often, part of a curse's effects is hindering curse resistance; thus, a character who already has one curse on them will find defending against a second curse is more difficult (their task is hindered).

Removing Curses

(We Are All Mad Here, page 49)

Similar to poison and disease, curses aren't automatically removed when a character makes a regular recovery roll. Instead, they stick around, continuing to affect the PC long after the curse is cast. In order to rid themselves of a curse, the character must take actions to remove it. The actions required depend on the nature and level of the curse.

The easiest way to remove a curse is to find, buy, steal, borrow, or otherwise acquire an object that removes curses (such as the blood pearl blossom cypher). Alternatively, the character might be able to pay someone who is skilled in curse removal to do the deed.

Curse Intrusions and Curse Mode

(We Are All Mad Here, page 50)

In addition to dealing with the original effect of the curse, a cursed character is more likely to have bad things happen to them. There are two ways for the GM to work this into the game: curse intrusions and Curse Mode. Ideally, you'll want to use both of these, as they each add something unique to the experience of being cursed.

Curse intrusions work like regular GM intrusions, and the cursed character gets XP. However, they only get 1 XP instead of the usual 2, and they must decide whether to keep it or give it to another player. Introduce additional curse intrusions from the Curse Intrusions table when it feels appropriate. This might be anytime the character has a big success, when they're in a particularly risky position, or when they start to feel like they've forgotten about the curse.

Curse Mode. When using this rule, the GM increases the range of numbers that trigger a GM intrusion. As soon as a character is cursed, every time they roll a 1 or a 2 (instead of just a 1), they trigger a GM intrusion. As time passes, GM intrusions happen on a roll of 1 to 3, then a roll of 1 to 4, and so on. This potentially means that a die roll in Curse Mode can indicate success i a task and still trigger a GM intrusion. Curse Mode is similar to Horror Mode optional rule in the Chapter 16: Horror, with one exception: the escalation works at a much slower pace. This is because Curse Mode is not designed to heighten immediate tension, but rather to create a long-term sense of being saddled with an unwanted and unpredictable negative effect.

Typically, the intrusion range is increased by 1 when:

  • The character is cursed.
  • The character starts a new day (or makes their ten-hour recovery roll).
  • The character actively takes an action to remove the curse (curses like wreaking havoc, which is part of the reason they're so hard to get rid of).
  • The character attempts to resist an additional curse being cast upon them.

Once all curses are removed, Curse Mode is no longer in effect.

While not all regular GM intrusions are necessarily bad for the character, curse intrusions always make the cursed PC's situation worse.

Curse Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 50)

Curse Intrusions
d6Curse
1An insect stings or bites the character at just the wrong moment.
2Something in the area makes the character sneeze loudly and repeatedly.
3The character shimmers in and out of view.
4A deep sense of despair comes over the character.
5The character feels an overwhelming urge to start dancing.
6The character's clothes are suddenly much too large.
Curse Table

(We Are All Mad Here, page 51)

Roll on the Curse table to determine the effect of the curse, or choose one that feels appropriate to the situation and the characters.

Typically, curses that have simple roleplaying effects (such as the character's inability to speak their own name) are lower-level curses, while those that affect gameplay (such as decreasing recovery roll points) are higher level. Curses that have multiple effects are likely the highest level of all. However, sometimes an incredibly simple curse is still very high level because the caster wants to make it very hard to get rid of.

Curse Table
d20Effect
1Turned into an animal (bear, toad, hedgehog, swan, dog, etc.)
2Becomes invisible
3Turned into a living object
4Turned into a great beast
5Turned into someone much older
6Forced to dance all night
7When speaking, bugs and toads fall from mouth
8Enchanted sleep
9Forced to wear iron shoes (hinders all Speed actions)
10Turned into a flower
11Voice taken away
12Unable to remember their true love
13Nose grows every time they tell a lie
14Positive social interactions are hindered
15Number of points regained by a recovery roll is decreased by 1
16Grows weak (Effort on Might tasks cost +1 Might)
17Brain is in a fog (Effort on Intellect tasks costs +1 Intellect)
18Moves slowly (effort on Speed tasks costs +1 Speed)
19Can no longer say, write, or spell their own name
20No one else remembers or recognizes the character
Curse Removal Table

(We Are All Mad Here, page 52)

Some curses have a specific way that they must be removed. Others can be removed in a variety of ways. You can use the table as a reference for ways to remove or undo a curse, or you can roll 1d10 to give a curse a specific method of removal.

There are also many artifacts, cyphers, and other objects in the world that will remove (or prevent) curses.

Curse Removal Table
d10Removal Process
1Complete an important task for the one who cursed you.
2Complete an important task for (or make a large payment to) someone who promises to remove your curse.
3Make things right (return the stolen item, apologize, or undo whatever was done to cause the curse to happen in the first place).
4Write the name of the curse on a scrap of paper, bind it in a cloth with an egg, bury it at a crossroads, and never look back.
5Pass the curse to someone else (this typically requires learning how the curse was done and then passing it to another person in the same way, but there are also more creative ways to make this happen).
6Collect five birds, five beetles, five cats, five fish, and five young winds.
7Die and return to life, which usually (but not always) takes advantage of a loophole that says death will end a curse.
8Take three golden leaves from a golden tree to make tea with; drink the tea and read the leaves; then complete the task they suggest.
9Kill the one who cast the curse (or otherwise find a way for them to die).
10Find a poem of which there is only one written copy, read it backward each morning for seven mornings in a row, and then burn the item upon which the poem is written.
Blessings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 52)

When someone is blessed, it typically means that they are more likely to receive a beneficial GM intrusion when they roll a 1 (or when the GM deems it appropriate to give them an intrusion). The Blessing Intrusions table provides examples of positive GM intrusions that a blessed character might receive.

Blessing Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 52)

Blessing Intrusions
d6Blessing
1Someone randomly gives the character a small gift.
2When the character speaks, gold coins fall from their mouth.
3A necessary item, map, or clue falls into the character's lap.
4The weather is suddenly in the character's favor.
5Someone nearby just happens to have the thing the character needs.
6A cypher or artifact works even better than expected.
Wishes

(We Are All Mad Here, page 53)

Wishes can be granted via objects, creatures such as genies, or as part of a bargain. When the character asks for a wish, the GM assigns it a level. The larger and more difficult the wish, the higher the level. Generally, a wish such as gaining an asset or inexpensive item is level 1, and a wish for an expensive item or for a foe to vanish is level 7.

In order for a wish to be granted, the character must succeed on an Intellect-related task (usually persuasion or possibly intimidation) equal to the wish's level. On a failed roll, the wish is either not granted at all or is partially granted, depending on the wish and the creature or object that is granting it.

Even if a wish is granted, the character may not get exactly what they want, especially if the wish is poorly worded, has multiple interpretations, or asks for something that is utterly impossible (such as destroying the entire world).

Fairy Tale GM Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 53)

GM intrusions present fantastic opportunities to imbue fairy tale games with a bit more weirdness, wonder, and whimsy, all while making the game more interesting and surprising for characters. The GM intrusions included in this section are more specifically designed with fairy tale magic in mind—they're what could happen when magic goes wrong (or extraordinarily right).

Remember that GM intrusions don't always mean that something has gone wrong or is bad for the players (unless they are curse intrusions). A GM intrusion could be the arrival of a good omen, the sudden reversal of a curse, or something that seems bad at first (like falling down a rabbit hole) but leads to something wonderful in the end (a whole new world to explore!).

The Fairy Tale Intrusions tables are ways to quickly generate intrusions appropriate to a fairy tale aesthetic. Roll on the appropriate table to determine the intrusion that occurs, or choose one that feels right for the situation.

Interaction Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 53)

Interaction Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1A mischievous brownie attempts to steal an object from the characters in the middle of an important conversation or fight.
2The NPC that the characters are talking to suddenly looks at their watch or the sky, says, "I'm late, I'm late," and disappears.
3A character speaks and all of their words come out backward.
4The creature that the PCs are fighting or interacting with splits into two versions of itself.
5The character that the PCs have been interacting with loses their glamour, and the PCs discover it's not the person they thought it was.
6Death arrives, convinced that one of the characters is someone else.
7An opponent uses magic to gain hidden knowledge about a PC and uses it to their advantage in a fight or debate.
8The North Wind has taken a liking to one of the characters and does something to help them succeed in their actions.
9One of the PCs inadvertently (or purposefully) offends someone, and they are instantly turned into a frog.
10An opponent holds up a mirror or other reflective surface at just the right moment, reflecting a spell or ability back on the character.
World Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 54)

World Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1One or more characters accidentally damage or offend a plant of some type, causing it to retaliate.
2A wren starts singing at a nearby crossroads, warning that something's coming.
3One of the characters trips and falls into a rabbit hole.
4Someone steals the moon just as the PCs are about to do an important task that requires moonlight.
5The tree that the characters are sitting under wakes up. Perhaps it is hungry, or maybe it just wants company.
6The path that the characters have been following turns into a rushing river beneath their feet.
7Someone casting a curse nearby accidentally catches one of the characters in the magic, causing them to be affected (roll on the Curse table to determine the effect).
8A mountain rises up suddenly between the place where the characters stand and the place they need to get to.
9Somewhere far off, a magical effect backfires, causing a stampede of wild animals to run right toward the characters.
10One of the characters smells gingerbread. The scent is so tempting, they have a hard time turning away from it.
Item Intrusions

(We Are All Mad Here, page 54)

Item Intrusions
d10GM Intrusion
1A magical ability, cypher, or Artifacts does exactly what it's supposed to, but also creates a weird side effect that affects a nearby friend (or foe).
2A piece of equipment whispers lies into the character's ear, making a convincing argument that their friends are not loyal.
3A magical weapon breaks in the middle of combat and starts to cry.
4A character's belt turns into a snake and starts tightening around their middle.
5A random object begins to wiggle and crack, as though it's about to hatch.
6The character's weapon or armor begins to yell loudly for help while the PC is trying to sneak or hide.
7A previously opened box, bottle, jar, or other container has locked itself back up, with an important item inside.
8A cypher, artifact, or bit of magic is far more powerful than the characters realized, and affects a much larger area (or has a bigger effect) than they expected it to.
9The glint of a recently acquired object or weapon is so shiny, it attracts the attention of a giant bird, beast, or dragon.
10An item in the character's hand or bag starts to replicate itself over and over.

Fairy Tale Cyphers

(We Are All Mad Here, page 73)

Because magic—and thus magic items—are so prevalent in most fairy tales, cyphers in particular should be easy for characters to replenish. If you're using subtle cyphers, you can choose how they arrive—on magic storms, perhaps, or in pockets of magic that exist throughout the world. Or maybe the magic is such that it just works, ensuring that cyphers show up whenever the characters need them.

Manifest cyphers should be readily available too—likely they can be found for cheap at a local market, stashed in hollow tree trunks or bird nests, or scattered about the forest floor. Manifest cyphers may also be integrated into people's clothing or furnishings as unique adornments.

In a fairy tale setting, cyphers often appear as a simple object, such as a poisoned apple or a matchbook. They can also be something intangible, such as three wishes or a magic word. The shifting state of magic in fairy tales makes it easy to use both manifest and subtle cyphers in the same setting and campaign if you desire.

In settings full of magic, cyphers should be both readily available and regularly used. If the PCs are hoarding or saving their cyphers, feel free to give them a reason to use them. And have a list of replacement cyphers ready so the players never have to go without.

Typically, something like a handful of magic beans or apple seeds is considered a single cypher even though there are multiple items.

Cypher Limits

(We Are All Mad Here, page 73)

All characters have a maximum number of cyphers they can have at any one time. If a character ever attempts to carry more cyphers than their limit, the magic within the cyphers quickly begins to attract fey beings. Fey beings may react by stealing one or more cyphers, cursing the character, or even stealing the character away to a fey realm.

Fey Being Table

(We Are All Mad Here, page 74)

Fey Being Table
d6Effect
1Faerie
2Changeling
3Goblin
4Nymph
5Pixie
6Ogre

Obviously, having a fey being steal a character away to their realm is a story-changer. If you're using this as an option, figure out ahead of time what type of fey is attracted, what their realm is like, and how to play out the character's disappearance and possible retrieval.

Fey Cypher Attraction

(We Are All Mad Here, page 74)

Fey Cypher Attraction
d6Effect
1Steals one cypher
2Steals two cyphers
3Curses the character
4Curses one cypher, causing it to reduce all stat Pool maximums by 5 until the cypher is used, removed, or destroyed
5Causes two or more cyphers to react with each other, destroying them and inflicting damage equal to the level of the more powerful cypher
6Steals the character away to their fey realm
Fairy Tale Cypher Forms

(We Are All Mad Here, page 75)

While characters can find or purchase many of these items in the world, only magic versions of the items are cyphers. Characters should easily be able to tell when an item is magic (and thus a cypher) and when it's an ordinary item.

Fey Cypher Attraction
d20Form
1Apple or ball of yarn
2Pebble or mushroom
3Scroll or four-leaf clover
4Lock of hair or hand mirror
5Matchstick or comb
6Feather or acorn
7Egg or apple seeds
8Tea or fish scales
9Fingernail clippings or chalk
10Magic beans or key
11Rose or bell
12Small cake or talisman
13Wolf's tooth or hand mirror
14Vial of liquid or secret
15Magic coin or broken arrow
16Wish or fairy dust
17Magic word or spindle
18Curse or handkerchief
19Spell or hand fan
20Fallen star or playing card
Fairy Tale Cypher Table

(We Are All Mad Here, page 76)

Fairy Tale Cypher Table
d100Fairy Tale Cyphers
01Adderstone
02Agate Eye
03Animated wood
04Anywhere door
05Apple of discord
06Azure dust
07Baba Yaga's spiced cookie
08Bellman's map of the ocean
09Beloved's kiss
10Bird's nest coronet
11Blackbird pie
12Blood pearl blossom
13Bone key
14Bones of the beloved
15Bowl of porridge
16Cat sidhe medallion
17Cheshire smile
18Coalheart's beard balm
19Croc's clock
20Crown jewel
21Dame Trot's cat
22Darning needle
23Dead water
24Deathless
25Death's candle
26Death's messengers
27Diadem of death
28Dragon's blood
29Dragon's teeth
30Dressmaking nut
31Drink me
32Dust of the dreamer
33Eat me
34Emperor's new clothes
35Fairy cup
36False grandmother
37Father's Betrayal
38Flaming arrow
39Flowers for grandmother
40Forget-me-knot
41Genie's handkerchief
42Gilded shell
43Gingerbread man
44Godfather's picture book
45Golden Beetle
46Golden vanity
47Green spectacles
48Hart's heart
49Heart of a star
50Heart's tart
51Hot cross buns
52Iron bands of three
53Itsy bitsy spider
54Jack's candlestick
55Jiminy cricket
56The Key of Knowing
57Knave of Hearts
58Lion's courage
59Living water
60Magic beans
61Memory's match
62Mermaid tear
63Neverlost
64Nonsensical poem
65Omniscient bean
66Pictureless book
67Poison for your daughter
68Poisoned apple
69Poppet (damage)
70Poppet (love)
71Poppet (prosperity)
72Poppet (silence)
73Powder of life
74Princess's pea
75Rabbit hole
76Rapunzel leaf
77Rose of red
78Shadow soap
79Shard of the moon
80Shining knife
81Silver slippers
82Singing bone
83Snake leaves
84Snickersnee
85Song of the dead
86Sorcerer's skeleton key
87Spirit ring
88Teleport hat
89Three needles
90Tin Man's tears
91To Peter with love
92Valorous whetstone
93Vase of tears
94White snake
95Wish granting pearl
96Witch bottle
97Witch's ladder
98Wooden spoon
99Yonder yarn
00Roll on the cypher tables
Fairy Tale Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
Adderstone

(We Are All Mad Here, page 77)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Stone with a hole in the middle

  • Effect: For the next day, provides the character with one of the following benefits. Roll a d20 or choose from the table.

    Adderstones are sometimes also called hagstones, seer stones, and holey stones.

    Beware false adderstones, which are made by enterprising swindlers who drill or carve a hole out of a regular stone and attempt to pass it off as something more.

    If a character has no hair in which to tie an adderstone, perhaps they can "borrow" some from a friend, a domesticated animal, or a foe.

Adderstone Effects
d20Effect
1–3When looking through the hole, the user gains an asset to seeing things that are normally invisible to the eye, including doorways, beings, spirits, magical effects, and so on.
4–6When worn on the finger as a ring, wards off spirits of the dead (grants +1 Armor against attacks from ghosts, haunts, and other spirits of the dead).
7–9When attached to physical armor, adds 1 to the Armor it provides (adds 2 to the Armor if the cypher is level 6 or higher).
10–12When held in the mouth, protects against poisons (up to the level of the cypher).
13–15When placed on the finger of another with good intent, it adds 1 to the recovery rolls of both the user and the wearer.
16–18When worn on a string around the neck, provides training in two noncombat skills of the user's choice that they are not already trained in.
19–20When tied in the hair, eases all defense tasks against curses by two steps.
Agate Eye

(We Are All Mad Here, page 77)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Striped stone that looks like a dragon's eye

  • Effect: When ground up and added to food or drink, or applied to the skin, renders the user immune to poisons of the cypher level or lower for one hour per cypher level (and ends any such ongoing effects, if any, already in the user's system).

Animated Wood

(We Are All Mad Here, page 77)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Chunk of pine, alder, or other wood imbued with magical properties

  • Effect: Writing a word, such as "child," "horse," or "sword," on the wood causes it to become a living version of that word. The living version is no bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet by 20 feet (3 m by 3 m by 6 m) and its level is equal to the cypher level. It can make attacks or perform actions as commanded to the best of its abilities and lasts for one hour per cypher level. Commanding it is not an action.

Once activated, animated wood is not an unthinking, docile being. It may, in fact, resist the user's commands and attempt to take its own actions. Any actions it takes cannot be harmful to the user or the user's allies. The user may attempt to stop an unwanted action via persuasion, intimidation, and so on (any such tasks against the animated wood are eased by two steps).

Anywhere Door

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Chalk, pen, pencil, lipstick, or marker

  • Effect: Creates a door to anywhere. The door remains for one day, and then disappears. While the door exists, anyone or anything that can discern the door can use it. Erasing the drawn line erases the door.

Apple of Discord

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Beautiful golden apple that catches the eye of all who see it

  • Effect: When tossed up to a long distance away, it affects all foes in short range of the apple, causing them to attempt to take it for themselves. Foes spend their next two actions doing nothing but fighting among themselves for possession of the apple.

Azure Dust

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Handful of dust from the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair

  • Effect: Sprinkling the dust on someone's hair, skin, outfit, or other object permanently dyes it bright blue.

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Rye cookie flavored with spices and honey

  • Effect: Eating the cookie increases the user's Intellect Edge by 1 for one hour.

Bellman's Map of the Ocean

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Blank sheet of paper rolled and tied with a hair tie

  • Effect: When unrolled, convinces everyone within short range that the character holding the map knows far more than they do. For the next ten minutes, affected beings look upon the map-holder as their leader or guide, will not attack them, and generally will do as they ask (all social interactions with those affected are eased by two steps).

Beloved's Kiss

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Ruby red ring

  • Effect: When pressed to the lips of a character, beloved's kiss prevents the occurrence of one specific condition of the cypher level or lower. Additionally, it ends any such ongoing effect, if any, in the user's system. Roll a d6 to determine the result.

Beloved's Kiss Effects
d6Effect
1–2Renders the character immune to poisons for one hour per cypher level (and ends any ongoing effects)
3–4Renders the character immune to curses for one hour per cypher level (and ends any ongoing effects)
5–6Renders the character immune to mental effects for one hour per cypher level (and ends any ongoing effects)
Bird's Nest Coronet

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Beautifully woven bird's nest

  • Effect: When worn like a crown, the bird's nest creates an illusion over the wearer, making them appear like royalty. Others are more likely to follow their suggestions, defer to their wishes, and treat them well. All social interactions are eased by two steps for one day. Seeing through the disguise is an Intellect task equal to the cypher's level.

Blackbird Pie

(We Are All Mad Here, page 78)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie

  • Effect: When the pie is cut open, the blackbirds begin to sing a haunting dirge of pain and sorrow. All foes within long range who hear the song are hindered on all tasks for ten minutes.

Blood Pearl Blossom

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Rare blood-red flower with a beautiful pearl in its center

  • Effect: When ingested, removes one curse (of the cypher level or lower) from the user. The curse-removal process can take from one round to one day, depending on the level, severity, and type of curse.

Bone Key

(We Are All Mad Here, 79)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Human finger bone carved into a skeleton key

  • Effect: Unlocks one lock of the cypher level or lower, or provides an asset to open a lock of higher level.

Bones of the Beloved

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Handful of ground bones

  • Effect: When eaten, the bones begin a process of lowering the eater's apparent age. Over the next three days, the user begins to look younger and younger, until they reach the appearance of someone no younger than their mid-twenties. Their hair shines, their teeth glow, their wrinkles disappear, their back unstoops. The effect lasts for three days (five days if the cypher is level 6 or higher). This does not change the actual health or age of the character.

Bowl of Porridge

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Just-right bowl of porridge

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher level to the user's Might Pool. Also protects the user from the effects of cold for ten minutes.

Cat Sidhe Medallion

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Medallion in the shape of the white symbol on a cat sidhe's chest

  • Effect: When activated, the medallion protects the wearer from the next curse (of the cypher level or lower) that is cast upon them. The curse goes into the medallion, which shatters into thousands of tiny pieces.

Cheshire Smile

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Mischievous grin

  • Effect: When hung in the air, the grin slowly transforms into a grey Cheshire Cat that seems to be made mostly of smoke and shadow. It has huge blue eyes and an enormous grin. The cat acts as a creature (level equal to the cypher's level) with a mind of its own, although it likely helps the person who activated the cypher. It sticks around for ten minutes, and then fades away slowly, until even the original smile has disappeared.

Coalheart's Beard Balm

(We Are All Mad Here, page 79)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Jar of balm

  • Effect: When rubbed on the face, the balm grows into a long, golden beard in about ten minutes. When the user tugs on their beard, it points them in the direction of valuable treasure, the location of which was previously unknown to the user. If someone else cuts the beard before the treasure is found, it loses its power. After the treasure is found, the beard remains. But once it is shaved or cut, it does not grow back.

Many dwarfs have beards with magical powers. It's possible to find other beard balm cyphers out in the world.

Croc's Clock

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Tiny ticking clock, no bigger than a thumbnail

  • Effect: When attached to (or swallowed by) a living creature or an object, the clock ticks loudly, alerting everyone within long range to its presence for one day.

Crown Jewel

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Shining jewel from a royal crown

  • Effect: When attached to an item such as a weapon, shield, armor, cypher, or artifact, creates an exact duplicate of the item. The duplicate works just like the original and lasts for ten minutes or until it naturally depletes (whichever comes first).

Dame Trot's Cat

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Statue of a cat

  • Effect: When activated by feeding it a bit of milk or fish, the statue protects the user, yowling and hissing the next time it senses danger. The cat's level is equal to the cypher level.

Darning Needle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Needle with a large eye

  • Effect: When activated, grows into a larger version of itself that acts as a medium weapon. It inflicts 4 points of damage and causes anything it successfully hits to shrink to half its size. The needle lasts for a number of hours equal to the cypher's level.

Dead Water

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Vial, pot, or jar of black liquid

  • Effect: Brings a character back to life. However, they come back with a permanent 3-point reduction in their maximum Might Pool.

Deathless

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Needle inside an egg

  • Effect: When a character places their soul inside the needle and places the needle inside the egg, they are protected from their next death. When the character dies, they return to life on the next round, with all of their Pools full.

    Using the deathless does not protect the character from taking damage or moving down the damage track. Placing the soul and returning to life are actions. Once the cypher holds the user's soul, it no longer counts against their cypher limit.

If someone gets a hold of another person's soul, they have a great deal of power over that person (such as easing all actions against them by three steps). Those who use a deathless should ensure that it's well hidden and well protected.

Death's Candle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Small, half-burnt black candle

  • Effect: Once the candle is lit, it burns for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level. During that time, the user who lit it is protected from death or being moved down the damage track. While the candle burns, if the character would normally die, they do not and instead reject all damage. For example, if a character has 5 points left in their last Pool, and a foe inflicts 5 points of damage on them, putting all their Pools at 0, the user takes no damage. However, if a foe inflicts 4 points of damage, which is not enough to kill the user, the user takes the 4 points of damage.

Death's Messengers

(We Are All Mad Here, page 80)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Bottle, vial, or box filled with three wisps of dark smoke

  • Effect: The three smoke wisps wrap around a creature within close range, causing them to feel dizzy, experience ringing in their ears, and have blurred vision. For the next three rounds, the cypher inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level (each round).

Diadem of Death

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Crown made of feathers, bits of bone, burnt hair, and old teeth

  • Effect: When worn on someone's head, looped over a limb, or otherwise placed upon their person, the crown inflicts damage equal to its level.

Dragon's Blood

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Powdered dragon's blood

  • Effect: When mixed with liquid and painted on a living being, grants one of the following effects for a day.

Dragon's Blood Effects
d6Effect
1–2+2 to Armor
3–4Asset to all tasks involving magic
5–6Asset to all tasks involving romance, sex, and fertility
Dragon's Teeth

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Handful of dragon's teeth

  • Effect: When planted, the dragon's teeth grow into three fully armed warriors. The warriors can understand the verbal commands of the person who planted them. Once they are grown, commanding them is not an action. They can make attacks and perform actions to the best of their abilities. The warriors can never go farther than long range from the character who planted them.

    Planting the teeth is an action. It takes two rounds for the teeth to grow into warriors. The warriors last for one hour per cypher level.

Warriors
level 3; Armor 1; swords inflict 3 points of damage
Dressmaking Nut

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Walnut or other shelled nut, with hinges and a clasp

  • Effect: The nut opens to reveal a stunning and spectacular ballgown, evening dress, or tuxedo. The outfit is the perfect size, shape, style, and color for the person who wishes to wear it. While worn, the outfit eases all tasks involving charm, persuasion, and etiquette for one hour. After that, the outfit may still be worn, but no longer offers any benefits.

Beings of all genders can wear any form of outfit from the dressmaking nut and receive the benefits.

Drink Me

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Liquid inside a glass bottle with a paper label that says "DRINK ME"

  • Effect: Causes the imbiber to shrink down to half their size. The effect lasts for one hour or until the user can find another way to change their size (such as with an eat me).

Dust of the Dreamer

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pouch of very fine, rainbow-hued dust

  • Effect: When sprinkled in the eyes, grants the recipient all the benefits of a ten-hour recovery roll as a single action. This does not use up any of their recovery rolls.

Eat Me

(We Are All Mad Here, page 81)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Very small cake with the words "EAT ME" written on it in currants

  • Effect: Causes the eater to grow to twice their size. The effect lasts for one hour or until the user can find another way to change their size (such as with a drink me).

Emperor's New Clothes

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Magical thread sewn onto armor

  • Effect: For the next day, the armor the thread is attached to is invisible, making the wearer appear to be unarmored.

Fairy Cup

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Decorated vessel made of precious materials

  • Effect: When the cup is buried in the ground, it grants the person who buried it protection. They gain +2 Armor against all physical and mental attacks for one day.

It's believed that burying a fairy cup returns it to its rightful owners below ground, and it is they who offer protection by way of thanks.

False Grandmother

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Pair of wire-rimmed glasses

  • Effect: While wearing the glasses, the user designates one living creature that they can see. For the next ten minutes per cypher level, the user is disguised as someone the designated creature knows well. The user has no say in who that person is, but while the disguise is active, all interactions with the designated creature are eased by two steps. The user can remove the glasses to look like themselves again before the end of the duration.

Father's Betrayal

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small stone shaped like a heart

  • Effect: For the next ten minutes, a creature that the user can see is banished from an area 30 feet by 30 feet (9 m by 9 m) around the user. If the creature is within that area when the cypher is activated, they are knocked outside the area and are dazed for one round, hindering their next action.

Flaming Arrow

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Arrow with a silver-white shaft, golden head, and fletching of peacock feathers

  • Effect: The arrow explodes into flame when it strikes something, inflicting its level in damage to all within immediate range.

Flowers for Grandmother

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Fresh-picked bouquet of flowers tied with a red ribbon

  • Effect: Giving the flowers to someone else provides both the recipient and the giver an asset in defense against damage of a specified kind for one hour. Roll a d6 to determine the effect.

Flowers for Grandmother Effects
d6Effect
1Curses
2Fire/heat
3Ice/cold
4Poison
5Intellect
6Slashing and piercing
Forget-Me-Knot

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Length of magical rope

  • Effect: Knotting the rope together to form a loop allows the user to capture a memory from their past. They don't lose the memory when capturing it with the forget-me-knot. When the user unties the loop, everyone in close range spends one round doing nothing but experiencing the memory as if it were their own. If the memory is particularly sad, loving, scary, and so on, all affected beings likely spend an additional round dealing with the emotional impacts of that memory. Capturing the memory is an action, as is untying the loop.

Genie's Handkerchief

(We Are All Mad Here, page 82)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Extremely large handkerchief with one corner coated in mercury

  • Effect: Rubbing the cloth over a wound heals the wound (restores all points to the character's Pools), but also uses up one recovery roll for the day.

Genie's handkerchiefs come in many colors and materials. Some people find that after their magic is used up, they make fine blankets, curtains, or cloaks. Of course, extended exposure to mercury has its drawbacks.

Gilded Shell

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Golden snail shell

  • Effect: When blown into softly, the shell expands into a simple structure with a front door and walls that let in a soft light. From inside the structure, it's about 10 feet by 10 feet by 20 feet (3 m by 3 m by 6 m). From the outside, the shell continues to look exactly the way it did before, in both size and shape, making it difficult for others to notice. Once expanded, the structure is permanent and immobile.

Gingerbread Man

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Gingerbread cookie in the shape of a human, lavishly decorated

  • Effect: After eating the cookie, the user has training in Speed defense for the next day.

Godfather's Picture Book

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Large book full of tales

  • Effect: When someone flips through the pages quickly, time is altered. If the user flips through the book forward, time jumps forward. Flip backward and time jumps backward. Moving time forward gives the user an additional action on their turn. Moving it backward allows them to retry their previous action. After the book is used this way once, it becomes a regular book and does not count against the character's cypher limit.

Golden Beetle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Golden scarab beetle

  • Effect: When dropped into liquid and cooked, it creates enough food to fill the stomachs of all friends and allies within long range.

Golden Vanity

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Golden vanity set in a small, sturdy box that includes a brush, comb, and mirror

  • Effect: Each item may be used once and has a different effect:

    • Golden brush: Creates bristly terrain in an immediate area, which counts as difficult terrain.
    • Golden comb: Creates jagged, toothy rocks in an immediate area, making it extremely painful to cross. Characters within the area take 1 point of damage each round from the rocks.
    • Golden mirror: Turns into a tall glass mountain 30 feet tall by 300 feet wide (9 m by 90 m). All climbing tasks are hindered, and a fall from any height does 3 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor).

    The landscape effects are permanent. The golden vanity counts as a single cypher against the character's cypher limit. When all three items have been used, it remains a functional vanity set but no longer holds any magic.

Green Spectacles

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pair of glasses with bright green lenses

  • Effect: Once activated, protects the wearer from being blinded or having their vision affected in other ways for one day. The wearer can see through illusions of the cypher level or lower and can see in the dark as if it were daylight.

Hart's Heart

(We Are All Mad Here, page 83)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Still-beating heart from a forest stag, kept in an ornate lined box

  • Effect: When the user offers the heart to another living being, all attempts by the user to bribe, deceive, coerce, or convince the recipient are eased by two steps.

Heart of a Star

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Still-warm piece of a fallen star

  • Effect: For the next ten minutes, when the user helps another character while holding the star, that character's task is eased by an additional step. (If the user has an inability in the relevant skill, the other character's task is still eased.)

Heart's Tart

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Red tart in the shape of a heart

  • Effect: When eaten, eases all tasks involving stealing, picking pockets, sneaking, running, surprise, and initiative for ten minutes.

Hot Cross Buns

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small spiced cake

  • Effect: When eaten, restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to the user's Might Pool.

Iron Bands of Three

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Three flexible iron bands

  • Effect: Wrapping the iron bands around the user's heart keeps it from breaking with trouble and anxiety. While wearing the bands, the user automatically succeeds on their next three Intellect defense rolls against anything that would make them feel sad, fearful, intimidated, and so on. Each time the cypher activates to protect the user, one of the bands breaks. When all three bands are broken, the cypher is used up.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Tiny spider inside a jar, box, or thimble

  • Effect: When released, the spider sets up a web in a nearby corner. For the next ten minutes, the web catches thoughts, secrets, and information about the general area (up to about a square mile), including any creatures, people, weather, or goings on. At the end of that time, the user can read the web, gaining answers to a number of questions equal to the cypher's level. The questions must pertain to the area and must be simple enough that the spider can answer them in three words or less.

Jack's Candlestick

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Burning candlestick

  • Effect: Jumping over the candlestick restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to the user's Speed Pool.

Jiminy Cricket

(We Are All Mad Here, page 84)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small wooden or metal cricket

  • Effect: Allows the user to retry a task that they failed within the past minute, using the same difficulty and modifiers.

The Key of Knowing

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Golden key that is permanently stained with blood

  • Effect: When used to open a lock (of the cypher level or lower), grants the user the opportunity to ask three yes-or-no questions about a person, place, or thing. The key answers to the best of its ability and knowledge, and it does not attempt to lie or trick the user with its answer.

    After the key is used in this way, the blood disappears from its surface and the key refuses to open anything (or speak) ever again.

Knave of Hearts

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Playing card depicting an elegant knight

  • Effect: Turns the user into the knight depicted on the card. They take on the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of the knight. They also gain +1 Armor, +1 damage, and an asset in sneaking, hiding, and stealth. The effect lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Lion's Courage

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Small medallion with the word "COURAGE" inscribed upon it.

  • Effect: When activated, grants the user additional courage in the face of fear. For ten minutes per cypher level, any time the user is attacked and they attempt to make an attack on their next action, that attack is eased and they inflict +1 point of damage.

Living Water

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Vial, pot, or jar of liquid

  • Effect: Removes any ongoing damage, lasting damage, or permanent damage the character has. However, the character has a permanent 3-point reduction in their maximum Might Pool.

    When dead water and living water cyphers are used together, a dead character can be brought back to life without any permanent reductions of their Might Pool.

Magic Beans

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Handful of magic beans

  • Effect: When planted and watered, the beans grow into a giant beanstalk. It's almost impossible to know where the beanstalk leads until you climb it. Climbing the beanstalk is a level 5 task.

Memory's Match

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Matchbox with one match inside

  • Effect: Lighting the match causes everyone nearby to see a vision that comforts them. Those who watch the vision in the flame for one round feel rejuvenated and comforted. Anyone who makes a recovery roll in the next ten minutes gains +3 to the roll. After that, anyone who watched the vision but didn't make a recovery roll takes 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).

Mermaid Tear

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Tear-shaped drop of sea glass

  • Effect: When swallowed, fills the user with an overwhelming sense of sadness. The user takes 1 point of Intellect damage, but gains an asset on any tasks involving water for the next ten minutes. The task must involve water in a significant way (for example, swinging a sword while it's raining likely doesn't count, but crying as part of an attempt to persuade someone, casting a magic spell involving water, or using a pool to scry would all be appropriate).

Neverlost

(We Are All Mad Here, page 85)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Bag of bread crumbs, pebbles, or candy

  • Effect: When dropped along a path or trail, the items become invisible to everyone except the user and any allies the user designates. The items last for one day per cypher level and can be seen by the user and their allies, even in complete darkness.

Nonsensical Poem

(We Are All Mad Here, page 86)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Nonsense poem written in mirror writing

  • Effect: Reading the poem aloud lets the user reverse one thing about their present situation for up to ten minutes. Up becomes down. Gravity works the other way. A river flows backward. The sun shines at night. (The player should work with the GM to come up with an appropriate and acceptable change.)

Omniscient Bean

(We Are All Mad Here, page 86)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Magical bean made into a cake

  • Effect: When eaten, the bean allows the user to tap into magic. They can ask the GM one question related to their current task, location, or action and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that a PC could find by looking somewhere other than their current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. The cypher cannot provide an answer to a question above its level (which means it can't provide knowledge about the future, since that is level 10).

Pictureless Book

(We Are All Mad Here, page 86)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Book without pictures

  • Effect: Reading the book aloud for one round causes all who hear it within short range (except the user) to fall into a deep sleep for one round. While they sleep, they have intense dreams and cannot take any other actions. The dreams affect them in one of the following ways.

    Pictureless book affects NPCs' health instead of their Pools, either restoring them to full health or doing 5 points of damage.

Pictureless Book Effects
d6Effect
1–2Sweet dreams. All dreaming characters have all of their Pools restored to full.
3–4Nightmares. All dreaming characters take 5 points of Intellect damage.
5–6Dream world. All dreaming characters enter a dream world, where they have an experience that causes them to temporarily learn a noncombat skill of their choice for the rest of the day.
Poison for Your Daughter

(We Are All Mad Here, page 86)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Clear liquid that can be spread on any object, such as an apple, hair comb, or weapon

  • Effect: The poison creates a specific reaction for one hour in a creature who uses the object. Roll d100 to determine the reaction.

Poison for Your Daughter Effects
d100Reaction
01–20Sleep. The creature falls into a deep, dreamless sleep. While sleeping, the creature cannot take any actions, but is protected by a glass coffin that grants +2 Armor. The creature wakes if they are touched by someone they love or if they take damage.
21–40Disappear. The creature becomes invisible to everyone and everything for a number of rounds equal to the cypher level. During that time, they cannot be heard, felt, or sensed.
41–60Alter. The creature becomes physically altered until they are unrecognizable, even by their loved ones. The alteration also affects their clothing, possessions, and any distinguishing characteristics or mannerisms.
61–75Lost. The creature becomes deeply and frighteningly lost, even if they are in familiar surroundings (such as their own bedroom). They do not recognize any landmarks, cannot find their way, and feel a deep sense of panic.
76–85Breathless. The creature feels like they are unable to breathe, gulping air and short of breath. Although they are not dying, they feel as though they are. All tasks are hindered.
86–95Compulsion. The creature becomes obsessed with a single task, unable to do anything else until they achieve it. The task might be simple (picking the most beautiful rose from a garden) or complex (knitting seven sweaters from nettles). All actions that don't contribute to completing the task are hindered.
96–00Dutiful. The creature becomes much easier to interact with. All tasks to influence the poisoned creature are eased by two steps.
Poisoned Apple

(We Are All Mad Here, page 87)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Apple that is half white and half red

  • Effect: Eating from the white half heals the user, restoring a number of points equal to the cypher's level to their Might Pool. Eating from the red half poisons the user, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. Each half of the apple has the power to affect only one creature.

    Both halves of the apple can be used by the same or different people as long as it's done within a few rounds of each other. However, in order for the cypher to take effect, the user must willingly take a bite. It's impossible, for instance, to force-feed someone part of the apple and have the cypher activate.

Poppet (Damage)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 87)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Small figure made of cloth, stuffed with hair and bone

  • Effect: Writing the name of an object or living being on the figure connects the figure with that object or being. Destroying the poppet inflicts damage on the connected object or being equal to the cypher's level, no matter how far away it is. Writing the name and destroying the poppet are separate actions.

Poppet (Love)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 87)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small figure made of wax, adorned with flowers and herbs

  • Effect: Giving the poppet to another living being in a short ceremony (usually simply saying the being's name and making an offer of deep positive emotion) protects them from all harmful effects the next time they are attacked. If the positive emotion is returned (such as between friends or lovers), the giver is also protected. For example, the next time someone swings a sword, speaks a curse, or tries to poison the creature, the attempt automatically fails, and if the creature were to slip near a deep pit, they would not fall into it. Giving the poppet to another is an action.

Poppet (Prosperity)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 87)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small figure made of cloth, stuffed with herbs and bits of wood

  • Effect: Writing the name of an object or living being on the figure connects the figure with that object or being. Dirtying, tearing, and damaging the poppet causes the connected being or object to appear destitute and poor to all who see them. This effect lasts for a day. Writing the name and damaging the poppet are separate actions.

Poppet (Silence)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small figure carved from wood or stone, with an open mouth

  • Effect: Stuffing the open mouth with something that belongs to a living being (such as hair, teeth, or fabric) connects the figure to that being. For the following day, the being is unable to talk about, point to, see, or otherwise engage with the person who activated the poppet.

Powder of Life

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Bit of powder carried in a pepper box

  • Effect: When sprinkled on an inanimate object, the powder brings it to life. The object doesn't change in any way—a small cat made of glass remains a small cat made of glass—except that now it is alive. The living object acts as a level 2 creature with a mind of its own. While it has an affinity or obligation for the one who brought it to life, it doesn't obey commands.

Objects animated by the powder of life should have stats that represent their form and nature. For example, a tin soldier brought to life likely has 1 Armor and perhaps a light weapon, while a stuffed rabbit might be level 3 for the purpose of Speed defense, hiding, and sneaking.

Editor's Notes — Instructions for Dr. Pipt's Incredible Powder of Life:

  1. Sprinkle lightly one dusting dose on static object to be brought to life.
  2. Raise left hand, little finger pointing upward, and say "Weaugh!"
  3. Raise right hand, thumb pointing upward, and say "Teaugh!"
  4. Raise both hands, fingers and thumbs spread wide, and say "Peaugh!"
  5. Try and keep a positive attitude!
Princess's Pea

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Dried pea that was previously slept on

  • Effect: For one hour per cypher level, allows the user to recognize disguises, optical illusions, sound mimicry, false claims, and other such tricks (for all senses) for what they are.

Rabbit Hole

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Pocket watch with an empty face

  • Effect: Laying the pocket watch facedown on the ground creates a rabbit hole that goes directly to a place that the user states. The user must have previously been to the stated place, and must enter the rabbit hole before anyone else, ideally by jumping in feet first. The hole grows to the appropriate size to accommodate the user and anyone traveling with them. Travel inside the hole is not instantaneous, but it is very fast, taking no more than a minute and feeling very much like riding a long, winding slide.

    The hole stays open for ten minutes, and it is possible to travel back to the starting place (but nowhere else) by again jumping in feet-first.

Rapunzel Leaf

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Small green leaf from a rapunzel plant

  • Effect: After being buried beneath a rock, the rapunzel leaf begins to grow into a stone tower that stands 100 feet (30 m) tall. The tower, which takes ten minutes to fully form, has a large number of windows but only one exterior door, which can be unlocked only by the user.

    The tower's level is equal to the cypher level, and the structure is permanent and immobile.

Rose of Red

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Big, beautiful crimson rose in full bloom

  • Effect: Pricking a finger on the rose's thorns causes the user to bleed a single drop of blood. When flung into the air, the blood becomes a large red bird that flies toward a chosen target up to a long distance away. When it arrives, it bursts in an immediate radius, inflicting Intellect damage equal to the cypher level. The burst spawns 1d6 additional birds; in the next round, each one flies to a random spot within short range and explodes in an immediate radius, inflicting damage equal to the cypher level.

Shadow Soap

(We Are All Mad Here, page 88)

  • Level: 4

  • Form: Small piece of soap

  • Effect: When rubbed on your visible shadow, causes it to separate from yourself.

    The shadow acts as a level 4 creature under the user's control for one hour (or until there is no light). The shadow is two-dimensional and insubstantial, and when sneaking, hiding, and avoiding detection, it acts as a level 7 creature. When the effect ends, the shadow (usually) returns to the user.

Shadows are known to develop a mind of their own. Sometimes after tasting a bit of freedom, they refuse to return.

Shard of the Moon

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Tiny sliver of the moon

  • Effect: Glows softly for ten minutes, drawing all moon-loving creatures (such as moths, moon hares, and werewolves) within long range. For as long as the effect lasts, any attracted creatures will not attack the user or their allies. The user can converse with the creatures and ask them questions, which the creatures will answer to the best of their ability, but always within their nature (so a trickster will still answer as a trickster would, for example).

Shining Knife

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Shining knife

  • Effect: When stuck into an object, such as a tree or the side of a house, the knife connects the wielder and someone they choose. If one of them wants to know how the other is faring, all they have to do is return to the spot where the knife is stuck. If both are faring well, the knife shines bright gold. If harm has come to one, the knife is dull and rusted.

Silver Slippers

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Silver shoes, ruby slippers, or red boots

  • Effect: When the wearer speaks aloud the name of the place they wish to go, the silver slippers take them there in three steps. Note that in most cases the slippers only transport the wearer (although companion animals and the like may sometimes travel with them).

Once the silver slippers are used to transport their wearer, they disappear. However, it is rumored that they magically return to the world in some form for someone else who needs them.

Singing Bone

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Human bone carved into the mouthpiece for a musical instrument

  • Effect: When blown into, the bone sings a song that details the weaknesses and faults of one target (up to the level of the cypher) that the user chooses. For ten minutes, all tasks involving the target are eased for everyone in long range who heard the bone's song.

For most magical objects involving sound, it's not necessary to physically hear the item in order to gain the benefits. "Hearing" may involve sensing vibrations, magical mental telepathy, a sign language interpreter, and so on.

Snake Leaves

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Three green leaves

  • Effect: When placed upon a person, the leaves restore all Pools to full, move a character one step up the damage track, or bring a dead character back to life. However, the character also gains a permanent 3-point reduction in their maximum Intellect Pool.

Snickersnee

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Small jewel, talisman, or bead

  • Effect: When attached to a weapon, causes it to grow two to five times its normal size. The weapon inflicts an additional +2 points of damage, but otherwise can be used as if it were a weapon of its original size.

Song of the Dead

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Small stuffed bird with yellow and blue plumage

  • Effect: When the user spends ten minutes breathing into the mouth of the bird, it comes to life. It flies off, but now carries a piece of the user's life inside it. When the user dies, the bird flies back to their body and is able to communicate to those around it, but only for one day. After that, the bird returns to its lifeless form.

Sorcerer's Skeleton Key

(We Are All Mad Here, page 89)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Wooden stick, iron wand, or piece of straw

  • Effect: When tapped three times against any locked door or other object (of the cypher level or lower), the key automatically unlocks it.

Spirit Ring

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Ring, necklace, hairpin, or bracelet

  • Effect: Summons a group of helpful fey who provide assistance for ten minutes. During this time, they do as the wearer commands as long as they're within long range. They can hinder any or all opponents' tasks, provide information, assist in small tasks, and so on. The fey will not do anything that goes against their basic nature and safety (such as self-harm, attacking their friends, or obvious suicide missions).

Fey are fickle beings. While spirit rings and the like allow someone to hold power over them, it's very much dependent on the fey's blessing. Angering the fey may cause them to leave at any moment (even in the middle of something important), and they may take the time to curse or prank the characters before they disappear.

Teleport Hat

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Silly hat that is always too large on the wearer no matter what size their head is

  • Effect: Allows the wearer to wish for a creature that they know to appear at their side. The creature must agree to be teleported (or convinced via some type of interaction, such as persuasion or intimidation). The teleported creature stays for as long as both parties agree, but not more than a day. At that time, the creature is returned to their place of origination.

Three Needles

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Three enchanted needles

  • Effect: For the next ten minutes per cypher level, the user can climb any solid surfaces (even vertical ones) as if doing so was a routine task.

Tin Man's Tears

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Tiny vial filled with tears

  • Effect: When poured out, spreads out to cover an area about 2 feet by 2 feet (60 cm square), transforming any metal it touches into brittle rust, down to a depth of about 6 inches (15 cm). When used on a metal creature (such as a tin soldier), the rust inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level and hinders all movement actions for ten minutes.

To Peter With Love

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Wrapped box with a bomb inside and a gift tag on the outside

  • Effect: Write a person's name on the tag, and the box will deliver itself to that person at a time and place you specify. When opened, the box does damage to the recipient equal to the cypher level. Traveling to the recipient takes at least a round and sometimes longer, depending on the distance and difficulty.

Valorous Whetstone

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Sharpening stone

  • Effect: After sharpening at least one of their weapons with the whetstone, the user instantly feels more brave. For the next ten minutes, all of their intimidation actions are eased, and their sharpened weapon inflicts +2 points of damage.

Vase of Tears

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Vase, vial, or jar filled with tears

  • Effect: Breaking the vase creates a protective spell around the character, preventing them from taking any Might damage the next time they are physically attacked.

White Snake

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Piece of a magical snake

  • Effect: Upon swallowing the piece of the snake, the user gains the ability to understand and speak with all living things for ten minutes.

Wish-Granting Pearl

(We Are All Mad Here, page 90)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Flaming pearl

  • Effect: The user can make a single wish and have all or part of it come true. The GM assigns a level to the wish, so the larger and more difficult the wish, the more difficult it is to have the wish granted. Generally, a wish such as gaining an asset or inexpensive item is level 1, and a wish for an expensive item or for a foe to vanish is level 7. The cypher cannot grant a wish above its level.

Witch Bottle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Ornate stoppered bottle filled with wine, seawater, or pins and needles

  • Effect: Captures a witch (of a level up to the cypher's level). Upon entering the bottle, the witch takes damage equal to the cypher's level and is trapped until someone whispers their name into the bottle's mouth and releases them.

Witch's Ladder

(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Garland of knotted string, feathers, teeth, and bells

  • Effect: Safely stores one curse for use at a later time. The stored curse may be released and cast only by the person who stored it, or by someone who has received their permission to do so.

Wooden Spoon

(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Plain wooden spoon

  • Effect: When stirred through the air, restores the user's energy and vitality. The user gains two additional actions on their next turn. For example, they can move a long distance, use a one-action recovery roll, and activate a cypher as their turn, or attack a foe three times.

Yonder Yarn

(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Skein or spool of yarn

  • Effect: Unravels to lead the user to their desired destination. The yarn unspools at the speed that the user would normally walk or ride. The yonder yarn will not enter territory it deems too dangerous, and it cannot go through solid obstacles. If the yarn is cut, it no longer works.

It is difficult, but not impossible, to protect oneself from being found by yonder yarn. Witches, in particular, know ways to hide themselves (and others) from the yarn's power.

Fairy Tale Artifacts

(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

Artifacts are typically more valuable and less common. Therefore, player characters are less likely to encounter them at random and more likely to find them in the hands of NPCs, locked or hidden in chests, or for sale by high-end and specialized vendors. Acquiring an artifact should almost always require a sacrifice, trial, or difficult task.

Most artifacts in a Cypher System fairy tale setting are magical objects that have been either crafted via magic or later altered by or imbued with magic. There are a number of people and beings in fairy tale settings who are capable of creating artifacts by one or both of these methods. Additionally, some artifacts are products of magic or the setting itself. Thus, new artifacts are constantly entering the world, just waiting to be found and used by the characters.

Artifact Quirks

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 306)(We Are All Mad Here, page 91)

Magic runs through most items in a fairy tale world, but especially through artifacts. Magic is unknowable and mystifying, and thus something can—and often does—go wrong. While that may sometimes manifest as GM intrusions, it also shows up in artifacts as quirks. Every artifact has a quirk that sets it apart from mundane or lightly magical objects.

Any of the Fantasy Artifacts would be suitable for a fairy tale setting. However, every fairy tale artifact should come with a quirk that sets it apart from a simple "wand of fire" or similar item. Come up with your own or roll a quirk on the table below.

Quirks typically do not make an artifact more powerful, but they can make it more interesting, difficult, useful, or just unique. Some quirks manifest during an item's creation, while others might appear (or disappear) after a particular experience, usually one involving magic. Quirks may come and go without notice, but typically an artifact can have only one quirk at a time and is rarely without a quirk for long.

Artifact Quirks Table (d10)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 306)

Fairy Tale Artifact Quirks (d10)
d10Quirk
1Is sometimes invisible.
2Cries like a baby if jostled.
3Becomes cold as ice to the touch and emits cold vapor when danger threatens.
4Contains a secret compartment that invariably holds a chunk of rock broken from what might be a strange jade sculpture.
5Also serves as a key to some magically locked doors and chests.
6Bites owner with tiny teeth if jostled, dealing 1 point of damage.
7Always muttering and complaining, though useful warnings and other information can sometimes be gained.
8Jealous of any other manifest cyphers, artifacts, or beautiful objects in the wielder's life.
9The "painting" of a princess of summer on the object sometimes leaves it, robbing the artifact of power.
10Causes flowers to grow wherever it is stored or set down.
Artifact Quirks Table (d20)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 92)

Fairy Tale Artifact Quirks (d20)
d20Quirk
1Randomly changes the color of weapons, clothing, and other objects it touches.
2Causes some animals to shy away from it, and others to draw near to it.
3Musical instruments and birdsongs go flat in its presence.
4Gives the wielder an increased sense of smell.
5Draws bees and occasionally drips honey.
6Sometimes catches on fire when used; the blaze doesn't do damage but it gives off heat and light.
7Produces a rash, tattoo, or other mark on the wielder's skin.
8Causes the wielder to walk an inch or so above the ground.
9Whistles music appropriate to what's going on around it, including a nasal drone when it's bored.
10Sometimes moves of its own accord, but never when anyone's looking at it.
11Talks constantly about its former owner, who it either loves or hates, depending on the day.
12Gives everyone nearby weird and unnatural dreams.
13Causes the wielder's hair to grow faster than normal.
14Creates a cloud over itself constantly. Sometimes the cloud rains.
15Draws fey creatures to it, whether it's being used or not.
16Whines incessantly if it hasn't been used (or at least given some attention, such as being cleaned) in at least a day.
17Emits various colored swirls and sparkles that form shapes in the air.
18Changes appearance in some small way to match the wielder's mood.
19Sometimes points the way to something interesting or useful.
20Occasionally changes into a completely different artifact overnight (including form and function); this effect lasts until the artifact is used in its new form, after which point it reverts back (or depletes).
Fairy Tale Artifacts Table

(We Are All Mad Here, page 92)

When giving artifacts to characters, either choose from this table or roll d100 for random results.

Fairy Tale Artifacts
d100Artifact
01–03A tisket a tasket
04–06Bounding boots
07–09Boundless bag
10–12Boy Blue's horn
13–15Carving knife of sharpness
16–17Devils and tailors
18–20Fiddle of the fossegrim
21–23Fortunate's purse
24–25Galoshes of fortune
26–27Genie's lamp
28–30Golden bridle
31–33Hatchet of the Woodsman
34–36Hook's hook
37–39Horn of destruction
40–42Iron stove
43–45Knapsack of sevens
46–50Mirror mirror
51–53Pandora's box
54–56Pixie dust
57–59Red cap
60–62Red riding hood
63–65Self-swinging sword
66–68Seven-league boots
69–71Shapeshifter wand
72–74She-bear
75–77Shirt of nettles
78–79Soldier's cloak of invisibility
80–82Soulful fiddle
83–84Steadfast tin soldier
85–87Stone canoe
88–90Story knife
91–93Table-be-set
94–96Tinderbox
97–98Tweedledee's umbrella
99–00Vicious tankard
Fairy Tale Artifacts by Alphabetical Order
A Tisket a Tasket

(We Are All Mad Here, page 93)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Woven yellow basket with wooden handles

  • Effect: This basket can contain up to one cypher per artifact level, as long as each is no larger than a typical cat. Cyphers in the basket do not count against a character's limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each time a cypher is added to the basket)

Bounding Boots

(We Are All Mad Here, page 93)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Beautifully made leather and gold boots that adjust to fit the wearer perfectly

  • Effect: The boots are an asset for jumping and running (easing one of these skills by two steps if the artifact is level 6 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

Boundless Bag

(We Are All Mad Here, page 93)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small bag with two handles and a clasp

  • Effect: Any nonliving item held in the bag becomes a slightly more valuable item. For example, an inexpensive item becomes a moderately priced item, while a moderate item becomes an expensive item. The bag has no effect on items that are very expensive or exorbitant. The change takes a full day to take effect, during which time the item cannot leave the bag and the bag should not be opened. If the bag is opened, the process is canceled and must be started over.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6. When the effect depletes, it can still be used as a normal bag.

Putting all or part of a living thing into a boundless bag is always risky, as more than one person has had their hand or head turned to gold (which might sound lovely, but typically isn't). Also, doing so often causes the boundless bag to revert to a normal bag.

Items that create wealth in any fashion are particularly sought after. So much so that some items are believed to be cursed, due to the number of people who have met their untimely fate while in possession of a wealth-making artifact.

Boy Blue's Horn

(We Are All Mad Here, page 93)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Gleaming horn that never needs to be tuned or polished

  • Effect: When playing a lullaby, the horn puts every hearing living being in short range (including the user) to sleep for two rounds. When the horn plays something upbeat, the user and all allies within short range add +1 to their recovery rolls for ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20. After depletion, it continues to function as a regular horn.

Carving Knife of Sharpness

(We Are All Mad Here, page 93)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Knife (light weapon)

  • Effect: This weapon functions as a normal knife of its kind. When the wielder gets a special major effect when attacking, they can choose to lop off one of the target's limbs.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (roll on each major effect)

The GM determines the effect of a lost limb; however, many magical beings can withstand lost limbs with far more aplomb than a mortal creature will display in a similar situation.

Devils and Tailors

(We Are All Mad Here, page 94)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Blood-stained draughtboard with figures of white gold, bronze, and pearl

  • Effect: Playing someone in a game of checkers or draughts eases all of the user's positive social interactions with their opponent. While playing, the user can make a move and interact with their opponent as a single action. The game lasts a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each game played). After depletion, the board continues to function as a regular draughtboard.

You can determine the outcome of a game by having both players roll 2d6. The player with the highest number of pieces left on the board (highest roll) is the winner.

Fiddle of the Fossegrim

(We Are All Mad Here, page 94)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Water-worn fiddle

  • Effect: Playing the fiddle causes everyone within long distance to become enticed by the music and draw closer to the player. After one round, all creatures in short range begin to dance uncontrollably for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level. The only action they can take while dancing is to attempt to break free from the effect (an Intellect action equal to the artifact level).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Fortunate's Purse

(We Are All Mad Here, page 94)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Elegant knapsack that shifts colors to hide in plain sight

  • Effect: Any object put inside the sack cannot be detected by physical senses or magic. The sack can hold a single item, of any size and shape, at a time. Cyphers in Fortunate's purse do not count against the user's cypher limit.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each time an item is added to the knapsack)

Magic bags come in many forms, such as coin purses, sacks, packs, and pockets. Some can be used to hide someone safely out of sight, provide an endless supply of gold or riches, or grant wishes. They are most often given as rewards for doing great kindnesses or completing a difficult task.

Galoshes of Fortune

(We Are All Mad Here, page 94)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Pair of rubber boots

  • Effect: Transports the wearer to a time and place in the past or present that they desire for up to ten minutes. The wearer cannot be seen, heard, or sensed by others, and they cannot take any actions other than to watch events unfold. Traveling to and from the time and place causes the wearer to disappear from the present for two rounds.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Genie's Lamp

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Bronze oil lamp

  • Effect: Rubbing the lamp produces a genie who grants the user a wish. The GM assigns a level to the wish, so the larger and more difficult the wish, the more difficult it is to have the wish granted. Generally, a wish such as gaining an asset or inexpensive item is level 1, and a wish for an expensive item or for a foe to vanish is level 7. The genie cannot grant a wish above its level. The genie can grant only one wish per day.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Genies, also called djinni, djinn, or jinn, come in many forms, and not all of them are contained or controlled by something so simple as a lamp.

Golden Bridle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Bridle made of flowing gold

  • Effect: To activate the bridle, the user must succeed on an Intellect interaction with a beast whose level does not exceed the artifact level. The bridle bonds to the creature, which immediately becomes calm. The creature awaits the user's commands and carries out orders to the best of its ability. The creature remains calmed for a number of hours equal to the artifact's level minus the creature's level. (If the result is 0 or less, the creature is enslaved for only one minute.)

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Hatchet of the Woodsman

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Well-worn hatchet of unremarkable appearance

  • Effect: When used on a creature, the hatchet turns the target into wood and inflicts damage equal to its level. If the creature is living wood, the hatchet turns them into nonliving wood. If the target is slain by the hatchet, the creature becomes animated wood. Effects last for ten minutes or until the target succeeds on an Intellect roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check on each successful attack)

Hook's Hook

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Simple iron hook designed to be worn as a prosthetic

  • Effect: When placed on an amputated limb, the hook grafts on permanently. It works as a simple hook and as a light weapon. When activated, Hook's hook affects the minds of all thinking foes within long range. Those affected are instilled with terror, making them drop whatever they're holding and flee for a number of rounds equal to the artifact level.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (for the fear ability). After depletion, it still functions as a hook and a weapon.

There are rumored to be any number of Hook's hooks, all of which are made from different materials and serve different purposes, such as the scissors hook, oar hook, magnet hook, teacup hook, grappling-hook hook, and fishing rod hook. Enterprising characters might seek out multiple hooks, along with a way to exchange them easily.

Horn of Destruction

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Large brass horn

  • Effect: Blowing into the horn destroys all objects in an immediate area that is up to a long distance away, turning it all into rubble and debris. Living beings inside the area take 2 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

It is customary for the one who holds the horn of destruction to call themselves the King of Rubble and Debris and to wear a crown fashioned from talus and scree.

Iron Stove

(We Are All Mad Here, page 95)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Iron stove that walks and talks

  • Effect: Once per day, the stove can bake a living gingerbread cookie. The baker chooses the form, but it must be a simple, one-dimensional shape (such as a human, a dog, or a tree). The cookie is a level 3 creature that can move, talk, and complete simple tasks that the baker asks of it. After a day, the cookie crumbles away.

    Additionally, the iron stove can be used as a regular stove to heat water, cook meals, and so on.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100. After depletion, it remains a regular working stove, but no longer walks and talks.

A gingerbread being is not immune to dangers. Large amounts of liquids are likely to make it melt away, while birds and other scavengers have been known to try to take an eye or leg.

Knapsack of Sevens

(We Are All Mad Here, page 96)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Simple knapsack

  • Effect: Tapping the knapsack seven times causes seven swans to fly out. For as long as the user does not speak or make any sounds, the swans fly around the user, providing them with +1 Armor against mental and physical attacks for the next ten minutes.

    As soon as the user utters a sound, the swans return to the knapsack.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Mirror Mirror

(We Are All Mad Here, page 96)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Ornate mirror that grows or shrinks in size according to its user's needs.

  • Effect: When the user looks into the mirror and interacts with it, it grants their request, as it is able. Roll a d6 to determine the mirror's ability:

Mirror Mirror Abilities
d6Ability
1Answers a question about the present (such as "Who is the fairest of them all?") with a simple one- or two-word answer.
2Allows the viewer to check in on someone they know (and who knows them) from anywhere. The image lasts just a moment, and those being viewed are not aware that it has happened.
3If the viewer stands before the mirror and shouts their own name three times, they are granted a glimpse of their future. This glimpse lasts just a moment, and is not guaranteed to come true.
4If the viewer stands before the mirror at midnight while holding a light source, they are able to contact the ghost or spirit of a person or creature they know the name of. Whether or not the being agrees to talk with them is another matter.
5Distorts the appearance of everything it reflects, particularly by magnifying the horrible and ugly aspects of things and people while ignoring their good and beautiful aspects. Looking into the mirror inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage. Angling the mirror to reflect an object inflicts 2 points of damage to it.
6Coats the user's skin with its reflective surface, offering protection. The first time the user would take damage, the mirror shatters instead, reflecting the damage back to the user's attacker.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Most mirror mirrors have a personality all their own. Some sing their answers, some show images, and still others sigh with boredom at being asked the same thing over and over. Mirrors never lie. Except when they do.

Pandora's Box

(We Are All Mad Here, page 96)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Elegant gold box with a hinged lid and a locked clasp

  • Effect: When the box is opened, light leaks out. The light coalesces into a golden form that represents a deep sense of peace and hope to the person who opened the box. For a number of rounds equal to the artifact level, the golden form eases all actions taken by the opener. Alternatively, the opener can share the effect of the golden form as their action, easing all actions taken by allies within short range (but not giving themselves the benefits).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Pixie Dust

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Glass bottle filled with glittering light

  • Effect: Effect: Shake the glittering light on a living being and it can fly for ten minutes per artifact level. If the being can already fly, shaking the light on them grounds them, taking away their ability to be airborne for the same amount of time.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d1

Red Cap

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Woolen cap soaked in human blood

  • Effect: The wearer gains an extra recovery roll each day that is not an action and does not count toward their daily limit. Once the wearer uses this recovery roll, they can't do so again until after they make a ten-hour recovery roll and soak the hat in fresh human blood.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each day of use)

Red Riding Hood

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Bright red cloak that adjusts to fit its wearer

  • Effect: Draws the eye while also giving the wearer the impression of being easy prey. All tasks involving sneaking and hiding are hindered, and foes will typically attack the wearer over any others in the area. The cloak provides +3 Armor and an asset to all Might-based tasks, including combat tasks.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (check each day of use)

Self-Swinging Sword

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Form: Steel sword with an ornate hilt

  • Effect: When activated by a special word, the sword attacks whoever the user indicates, fighting as a creature whose level is equal to the artifact level. Commanding the sword is not an action, but it can only do things that a sword would be able to do (attack, block, slice, and so on). If the sword is reduced to 0 health, the self-swinging ability ends and must be reactivated. The sword returns to the user when the duration ends.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (for the self-swinging ability). After depletion, it functions as a regular sword.

Seven-League Boots

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Lace-up knee-high boots of black leather

  • Effect: Allows the wearer to travel up to 21 miles (34 km) with a single step. Alternatively, two people may each wear one boot and travel up to 10.5 miles (19 km) with a single step. Seven-league boots exhaust the user, costing them 2 Might points per step.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each step). Once the movement ability depletes, the boots continue to function as regular boots.

Shapeshifter Wand

(We Are All Mad Here, page 97)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Wand made of wood, glass, metal, or stone

  • Effect: Allows the user to turn one living being (including themself) into one of the following: flower, lake, duck, swan, cottage, rosebush, or fish. While in their new form, the shapeshifted being retains all of their health and other attributes, but cannot perform any actions beyond what the non-magical item or creature could normally perform. So a flower can blow in the wind, bloom, attract insects, be cut, and smell nice. Any attempts to detect the shapeshifted being by physical senses or magic are hindered by two steps. While shapeshifted, the being cannot die; however, they can be injured, cursed, or moved down the damage track. The effect lasts for ten minutes or until the user chooses to end it early.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

She-Bear

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Bit of wood carved in the shape of a bear

  • Effect: When placed in the mouth, changes the wielder into the form of a female bear. While in this form, the user gains +4 to their Might Pool, +4 to their Speed Pool, and +1 to Armor. They also can communicate with other bears while in this form. The effect lasts for ten minutes.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Shirt of Nettles

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Form: Woven shirt of stinging nettles

  • Effect: The shirt acts as light armor, but grants an additional +2 Armor (+3 if the artifact is level 9 or higher) in addition to the 1 Armor that light armor typically provides. Additionally, the wearer can't be shapeshifted against their will.

  • Depletion: — (At any time, the GM can rule that the shirt has resisted enough shapeshifting magic to deplete that ability, after which the shirt still functions as armor.)

Soldier's Cloak of Invisibility

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Slate-grey cloak sewn of shadows and silence

  • Effect: Provides an asset to hiding, sneaking, and remaining undetected (even by magic) for as long as the wearer does not interact with another creature. Entering into combat or interacting with another creature in any way breaks the effect.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

Soulful Fiddle

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Fiddle made of bone and guts

  • Effect: This instrument acts like a normal fiddle of its kind. If the wielder is trained in its use and plays an appropriate tune, those within short range who hear it suffer one of the following effects: fall asleep, become amenable to suggestion, follow the fiddle player in a light trance, or take a similar action.

    The desired effect must be the same for all creatures who hear it. The effect lasts for ten minutes, but actions by others (such as attacking the listeners or physically restraining them) can end the effect early for a creature.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Steadfast Tin Soldier

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small tin soldier with one leg

  • Effect: Gives a user who is missing a limb the ability to transform the tin soldier into a prosthetic limb with the appearance of their choosing. The limb permanently increases the user's maximum Speed Pool or Might Pool (user's choice) by 5 points (or 7 points if the artifact is level 6 or higher).

  • Depletion: —

It is rumored that there are a number of artifacts that create prosthetic body parts or restore missing limbs, including Paper Ballerina, Handless Maiden, and Bianca's Snake.

Stone Canoe

(We Are All Mad Here, page 98)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Form: Shiny grey pebble, small enough to fit into a pocket

  • Effect: When activated, forms into a canoe that can carry a number of beings (and their equipment) equal to the artifact level. The canoe lasts for one day and then transforms back into a pebble.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (check each use)

Story Knife

(We Are All Mad Here, page 99)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small penknife inscribed with tiny words in hundreds of languages

  • Effect: Slices through words that are in the form of oral stories, songs, speeches, conversations, and so on. This has one of two effects, depending on the wielder's desire (the wielder must decide before they activate the artifact each time):

    • Makes the story, song, and so on sharper, stronger, and more interesting, increasing the chance that it will have an impact on listeners (eases any attempted interaction task)
    • Makes the story, song, and so on boring, unwieldy, and disjointed, decreasing the chance that it will have the intended impact on listeners (hinders any attempted interaction task)

    Using the story knife is an action. It has no power to cut physical objects or living beings (unless those beings are made of stories).

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20

Table-Be-Set

(We Are All Mad Here, page 99)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Common-looking wooden table

  • Effect: Putting the table out and saying "Table be set" automatically fills the table with as much food and drink as will fit upon its surface. The table does not become empty as long as there is anyone in long range who still wishes to eat. Once a character uses the table's ability, they can't do so again until after they make a ten-hour recovery roll.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d100

In addition to artifact quirks, common sense suggests that the effects of some artifacts will draw additional interesting opportunities or dangers. Using table-be-set in the middle of a forest, for example, is likely to draw bears and other hungry beasts, while using it in the middle of town might garner the characters new friends, or catch the attention of thieves.

Tinderbox

(We Are All Mad Here, page 99)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Small ornate tinderbox made of metal

  • Effect: Summons three dogs to do the user's bidding. The dogs can complete any tasks dogs would normally be able to accomplish, including carrying, fetching, attacking, defending, and so on. They act as a single level 3 creature.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d6

Tweedledee's Umbrella

(We Are All Mad Here, page 99)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Large umbrella with a sharp point on the end

  • Effect: Touch a creature (up to the artifact's level) of any size and the umbrella will fold up around it, capturing it inside. Holding the umbrella with the captive inside is an action. A caught character is held for ten minutes or until they make a successful Might roll to break free.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

Vicious Tankard

(We Are All Mad Here, page 99)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Form: Hefty ale tankard carved of stone

  • Effect: In addition to serving as a convenient means to drink a variety of liquids, if the tankard is topped off with good ale or spirits, it can be used as a medium weapon that inflicts +2 damage (for a total of 6 points of damage). Anyone who picks up the tankard is practiced in using it in this fashion. Surprisingly, using the tankard as a melee weapon does not cause more than a modicum of good ale or spirits to slosh out.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each fight)

Fairy Tale Creatures

(We Are All Mad Here, page 100)

The following creatures and characters are provided to help populate your fairy tale game. Due to the dual and complex nature of many creatures in fairy tales, along with the large number of archetypes, there are several additional elements that you'll want to take particular note of when using the creature listings.

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Fairy Tale Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 306)

Most fey creatures of level 2 or higher regain 1 point of health per round, unless wounded by silvered or cold iron weapons.

Angry ants
swarm as a level 1 creature; constantly whisper insults, slurs, and obscenities; those physically attacked must also succeed on a difficulty 3 Might defense task or be stunned and lose their next turn
Erlking
level 6, stealth as level 7; health 27; Armor 4; short-range whisper attack enthralls target for one hour or until attacked; root tendril attacks on up to three separate targets in immediate range; silvered and cold iron weapons ignore the erlking's Armor
Faerie
level 4, deception and Speed defense as level 5; short-range magic dust attack inflicts damage or makes target amenable to faerie suggestions for one minute
Feral tree
level 3; Armor 3; rooted in place; lashing branches attack up to three characters as a single action and on a failed Might defense task, hold the victim in place until they can escape
Nymph
level 3, stealth and positive social interactions as level 6
Pixie
level 2, stealth and finding lost items as level 6
Razorblade butterflies
level 1; swarm as a level 3 creature able to attack all creatures in an area an immediate distance across
Talking cat
level 1, knowledge tasks as level 7
Troll
level 6; claws inflict 7 points of damage and grab victim until they escape; grabbed creature takes 10 points of damage per round; troll regains 3 points of health per round
Suggested Additional Creatures and NPCs for Use in Fairy Tale Settings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 101)

The following creatures and NPCs can also be used, although some may need small tweaks to their appearance or motives to make them more fairy-tale in nature.

Beasts and Beings

Quick Reference: Beasts and Beings by Archetype

Editor's Notes — Unlinked creatures in these lists are not included in the CSRD.

Magical Animals

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)

The creatures in this section all appear to be animal in their nature, from black dogs and big bad wolves to horses and snarks.

Bear
level 5; health 20; Armor 1; two magical abilities
Cat
level 2; two magical abilities
Fish
level 2; one magical ability
Fox/Rabbit/Monkey
level 3; cunning and trickery as level 5; two magical abilities
Horse/Donkey
level 4; two magical abilities
Mouse/Rat
level 2; one magical ability
Raven/Owl
level 3; intelligence and cunning as level 4; one magical ability
Snake/Serpent
level 3; bite inflicts 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor); one magical ability
Songbird
level 1; offer sage advice to those they choose; one magical ability
Stag/Hart
level 4; Armor 1; horns inflict 3 points of damage; two magical abilities
Suggested Magical Abilities for Animals

(We Are All Mad Here, page 104)(We Are All Mad Here, page 106)

Suggested Magical Abilities for Animals
AbilityEffects
BlessUse magic to give a character or object something beneficial, such as giving a weapon +1 damage for one round, or giving another character +1 Armor for one round
BoonProvide the character with a small beneficial object, such as a goose that lays a golden egg, a fish that finds a lost ring, and so on
ConjureCreate a small useful item, such as a flask of water, a loaf of bread, or a candle
CurseCurse another creature to inflict damage, stun, daze, or otherwise affect them negatively for one or more rounds
GlamourMake themselves or someone else look different for a short period of time, or cast an illusion over a small area or for a short duration
HealingHeal themselves, another character, or a natural element of the world for 1–3 Pool points or health
InformationGive directions to a town, the name of the man who lives in the nearby cottage, or the rumors about the area
InvisibilityTurn themselves, another character, an object, or a place invisible for a short period of time
Sage AdviceSee the future, offer suggestions on a difficult task, or guide a character's actions
ShapeshiftingBecome a different type of animal or object, or cause someone else to become an animal or object for a short period of time
Wish GrantingGrant a small wish, such as the ability to float for a short time in order to cross a river

  • Bagheera: This cunning, bold, and brilliant black panther can be someone's worst enemy or their most loyal friend, protector, and mentor.

  • Beast (with a capital B): Sometimes a human cursed, sometimes an animal blessed, often just a creature from the beginning, Beasts are bestial humanoids with large claws and jaws. Most Beasts have a single thing that they love deeply and will do anything to protect: a garden, a human, their home, a book from their childhood.

  • Cheshire Cat: Interacting with this riddling, punning, disappearing striped cat is enough to make anyone feel discombobulated. Can make a great ally if you're seeking answers, have lost your way, or need advice.

  • Puss in Boots: Smart and smart-alecky, Puss in Boots always has a plan in motion, and at least two others that are about to begin.

Bagheera
level 7; stalking, hunting, sneaking, and chasing prey as level 8; persuasion and positive social interactions as level 8; inflicts 6 points of damage with teeth and claws; can pounce on a victim from a long distance away to inflict 7 points of damage and knock the victim prone.
Beast (with a capital B)
level 6; intimidation and protection as level 7; Armor 2; inflicts 4 points of damage with an item related to their beloved (gardening shears, for example).
Cheshire Cat
level 6; punning and wordplay as level 7, Speed defense as level 8 due to intangibility; will disappear rather than fight.
Puss in Boots
level 5; planning, scheming, persuasion, and deception as level 7; Armor 2; inflicts 4 points of damage with elaborate swordplay.
  • Animals, normal (314)
  • Black Dog (WAAMH, 107)
  • Cat sidhe (WAAMH, 108)
  • Centipede, whispering (WAAMH, 155)
  • Crow, monstrous (WAAMH, 189)
  • Devil's dandy dogs (WAAMH, 107)
  • Hans the Hedgehog (WAAMH, 145)
  • Leveret (giant hare) (WAAMH, 150)
  • Robber birds (WAAMH, 152)
  • Sand fleas (WAAMH, 152)
  • Satyr (GF, 125)
  • Toby the turtle (WAAMH, 186)
  • Wolf, Big Bad (WAAMH, 111)
Crafted

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)(We Are All Mad Here, page 112)

Crafted creatures are those made by human, fey, or other hands. In fairy tales these might include characters like Pinocchio, the Iron Giant, Edward Scissorhands, the Gingerbread Man, and the Tin Man.

Talking Objects

(We Are All Mad Here, page 105)

If you have a talking object in your game, it has a level (just like creatures and regular objects), and every interaction with it is based on that level. Its level can be based on its physical and mental complexity as well as its purpose. So something like a singing teapot might be level 2 with 2 Armor, and it can hurl its lid at a foe to inflict 2 points of damage. A complicated talking lock who guards a precious treasure might be level 5 or 6 and can cast a spell (inflicting 3 points of damage) on anyone who tries to pick it.

Some abilities in the game work only on objects, or only on creatures, or only on living things. A talking object might or might not be living, depending on its nature.

  • Gingerbread Creatures: Gingerbread creatures can take any shape and form, but are most often humans, dogs, or dragons. Typically crafted and brought to life by witches and enchanters, gingerbread creatures tend to remain loyal to their creators, even if they are treated poorly.

  • Geppetto's Children: Made of wood and wishes, Geppetto's children are everywhere in the world. They go through a number of life stages, starting as wooden puppets and eventually becoming real humans. No matter what stage they're in, they're nonstop sources of destruction and chaos.

  • Virgilius's Copper Dogs: Once the loyal companions of Virgilius the Sorcerer, this pack of dogs now runs feral. Despite being created through the power of magic, they despise anything that stinks of magic and attempt to bring it down.

Gingerbread Creatures
level 2, Speed defense as level 4 due to quickness; when touched or eaten, some gingerbread creatures release a sweet, slow poison that inflicts 1 point of damage each round for 1d6 rounds.
Geppetto's Children
level 4; Armor 1; have a passion for creating, collecting, and using cyphers, particularly detonation cyphers
Virgilius's Copper Dogs
level 5; Armor 2
Earth Beings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)

Creatures of the earth are those that seem to belong to the land in some unique and significant way. Perhaps they are made of the land and its offerings—tree beings, rock trolls, and so on—or perhaps they seem attached to the land in important ways, such as the way in which the minotaur is part of its maze or the way that dwarves have a unique connection to mountains.

Dwarf
level 4; Armor 2; mining pick inflicts 4 points of damage; beards provide magical abilities such as finding treasure, enabling flight, shapeshifting, and turning invisible. Cutting a dwarf's beard off or learning their name provides an asset on all interactions with that dwarf.
Fey Beings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)(We Are All Mad Here, page 121)

In fairy tales, the word fey covers a huge category of creatures, from faeries, brownies, and imps to gremlins, boggarts, and goblins. There are so many types of fey beings in the world that it's nearly impossible to categorize them as just one thing, or to list them all. They do have a few characteristics in common, however. They are typically sentient, humanoid in form, connected to nature in some way, and magical.

  • Angiks: Reanimated spirits of babies who died, typically due to hard winters, and who now haunt the living. At night, they turn into giant owls and prey on solitary travelers.

  • Changelings: Fairy children left in place of stolen human babies (and occasionally adults as well), typically raised among humans.

  • Nymphs: Supernatural beings (often female) associated with protecting a particular location or landform, such as a river, tree, or mountain.

  • Pixies: Benign and mischievous creatures that live near stone circles, tombs, and other burial grounds.

Angiks
level 3; talons inflict 4 points of damage
Changelings
level 2; shapeshifting and knowledge of the fey world as level 4
Nymphs
level 3; stealth and positive social interactions as level 6
Pixies
level 2; stealth and finding lost items as level 6
Of the Grave

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)

Human NPCs

(We Are All Mad Here, page 136)

The NPCs in the following section are general examples of nonmagical, mortal human characters that are commonly found in fairy tales.

From General to Specific: While the NPCs listed here are general types, such as crafter and robber, it's easy to turn them into specific characters from common and well-known fairy tales. For example, with a little tweaking, you can turn a generic tailor into the tailor from The Brave Little Tailor. Just give the crafter NPC a banner that says "SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW" and embrace a jaunty, overconfident nature, and you have the titular character.

Naming Your NPCs: You might have noticed that in fairy tales, many characters —especially those of the lower or working classes—don't have a name beyond their title, position, or profession (or sometimes their marriage status). "The Woodcutter," "the Tailor," "the Baker's wife," and so on. While you could follow suit and just call your NPC "the Woodcutter," most player characters are going to ask that person their name. It's likely to break immersion if you throw in a modern name, or if the NPC tries to explain that they don't have one, they're just called "the Woodcutter." And if you call them all Jack, then no one (including you) will remember which one is which. Consider coming up with a list of names ahead of time so that you're always ready to give players something to call a new walk-on character.

Named Characters

(We Are All Mad Here, page 102)

  • Happy (WAAMH, 186)
  • Humpty Dumpty (WAAMH, 185)
  • Maid Maleen (WAAMH, 186)
  • Snow White (WAAMH, 185)
  • Toby the turtle (WAAMH, 186)
Royalty

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

Shapeshifters

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

Spiring Beings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

Tricksters

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

Water Beings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)(We Are All Mad Here, page 128)

Creatures of water and waves are those that inhabit or are deeply tied to the rivers, ocean, marshes, and other watery areas of the world.

  • Drowning Fairies: There are many types of creatures known as "drowning fairies," including Peg Powler, the Water Leaper, Fossegrim, and Jenny Greenteeth. These creatures typically dwell below or next to water and tempt, pull, or trick passersby into the water.

  • Fuath: Fuathan are intangible spirits that dwell deep in the seas and oceans. They consider themselves protectors of these realms, particularly against fishermen and others who would damage the environment or creatures there. Fuathan have the power to make themselves visible, most often taking the form of humanoid creatures with green skin and the flowing mane and tail of a golden horse.

  • Naiad: These water nymphs inhabit rivers, springs, waterfalls, and other bodies of fresh water. Typically appearing as beautiful young women with long limbs and flowing hair, naiads are considered protectors, for they guard their land fiercely. However, they are easily provoked and their wrath is fierce.

Drowning Fairies
level 6; persuasion and creating illusions as level 7; can grab a creature in short range and pull them into and under the water and attempt to drown them (level 6 Might or Speed defense task to break free)
Fuath
level 5; defense as level 7 due to intangibility; if they know a person's name, they can gain control over the person, forcing them to do their bidding for a short time
Naiad
level 4; can cause water to boil, inflicting 3 points of heat damage on foes; can unleash flash floods that sweep all foes back a very long distance and inflict 2 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor)
  • Cailleach (WAAMH, 129)
  • Cult of the Serpent (WAAMH, 152)
  • Ghost of the arbella (WAAMH, 152)
  • Grundylow (WAAMH, 152)
  • Isonade (WAAMH, 152)
  • Kelpie (WAAMH, 130)
  • Mermaid, misery (WAAMH, 196)
  • The Sea, Herself (WAAMH, 151)
  • Siren (WAAMH, 152)
Witches, Wizards, and Sorcerers

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

World and Weather Beings

(We Are All Mad Here, page 103)

Chapter 21 Historical

Quick Reference: Historical

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 307)

Setting your campaign in World War 2, the Renaissance, or the 1930s can be fun and interesting. However, setting it in ancient Greece or feudal Japan, for example, probably makes it more like fantasy without all the orcs and magic (although a game set in feudal Japan with orcs and magic could be fascinating).

Creating a Historical Adventure

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 307)

One of the draws of playing in a historical adventure is the thrill of "being there" when something important happens. Thus, in many cases, historical adventures in RPGs shouldn't be designed as campaigns, but instead serve as short-term experiences where players try something new, or at least something they don't normally do: play as figures involved in a momentous historical event.

Historical games should take cues from the closely related areas of historical fiction and historical re-enactment. The lessons of great historical fiction include the following.

The GM should anchor the characters with problems or conflicts that connect them to the chosen time period; make sure that PC backgrounds contain one relevant detail to the chosen historical setting.

The GM shouldn't fall into the trap of assuming that history was drab just because it is often presented along with old paintings, drawings, or blurred black-and-white photographs. Dramatic events, surprising twists, and unexpected situations are just as likely in a historical adventure as in any other kind.

What's the point of a historical adventure if there is no suspense? Sure, everyone knows what happens at the end of any given historical battle, but the stories of individuals within those fights are not known. Will they live? Will they succeed in their mission? And what are the consequences? Think of all the war movies that rely on that exact latitude to tell great stories.

Make sure you know when the campaign ends. Maybe it's when the PCs successfully accomplish a specific task, but it might be externally timed to when a historical event takes place, whether they are attempting to offer aid, thwart it, or merely be aware of it as they attempt to do something that history hasn't recorded.

Don't create more than you need to. Be ready to tell the PCs what they see and who they encounter when they are introduced to a historical location or person, but don't worry about things that they likely will never see. Yes, figure out what kind of currency is used, but making a super-accurate list of prices just isn't necessary; the players will take your word for the cost of items and many other details. You're evoking a historical setting with your game, not writing a book report.

Be wary about stereotypes and cultural misappropriation. History, as they say, is written by the victors. The ancient Greeks wrote that other cultures were all barbaric, and the European settlers called the natives in North America savages, but that doesn't mean it's true. If all you know about a time period is a movie set in that period, you'll have a skewed version of events and culture. Be willing to go deeper than Braveheart or The Last Samurai, or maybe choose a different genre.

Running a Historical Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 308)

Preparation is important in a historical game, and most of that entails choosing a historical period—or a specific historical event—as the setting. Given that all of history can serve, you won't lack for resources. Below are a few possibilities. Of course, the farther back you set your game, the less information on specific events is available. On the other hand, that frees you up to get creative.

Once you choose the historical period and any special events you want to include in your adventure or campaign, direct your players to an appropriate set of foci. Alternately, you can have your players play as historically significant figures, but if you do this, you may want to create their characters ahead of time. Most GMs will probably want to save historically significant individuals for use as NPCs.

The players will need some kind of grounding in what to expect in the time period you've chosen. Just like they need an idea of what magic can do in a fantasy game, they will need a general idea of what kind of technology is available, the broad strokes of what their characters might know and not know, and so on. Maybe have them read a Wikipedia entry, at the very least.

If you're looking for inspiration for time periods in which to set your historical game, here are some possible ideas: prehistory, classical antiquity, ancient Egypt, the American revolution, ancient China, World War II, Edo Period Japan, Medieval Europe, and the American Old West.

Historical Character Options

Suggested Types for a Historical Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 310)

Suggested Types for a Historical Game
RoleType
Constable (or night watchman)Explorer with combat flavor
DetectiveExplorer with stealth flavor and skills and knowledge flavor
KnightWarrior
PirateExplorer with stealth flavor
TutorSpeaker
MerchantSpeaker with skills and knowledge flavor
SmithSpeaker with some Warrior abilities and skills and knowledge flavor
PlaywrightSpeaker
NobleSpeaker with skills and knowledge flavor
ExplorerExplorer
PriestSpeaker

Editor's Notes — For a list of foci appropriate for a historical setting, see Mundane Foci in Chapter 14: Modern.

Historical Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 309)

The concept of artifacts is probably inappropriate for a historical setting without some kind of supernatural, fantastical, or science fiction element. That said, objects of mystery such as the Antikythera mechanism (an ancient analog computer and orrery used to predict eclipses and other astronomical positions) reveal that the ancient world—and by extension more recent historical periods—contained fascinating and useful objects that were anachronistic for their period. Most such artifacts were likely the creations of philosophers, lone geniuses, and similar figures.

Basic Creatures and NPCs for a Historical Game

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 310)

Cat
level 1; Speed defense as level 3
Dodo
level 1
Dog
level 2; perception as level 3
Dog, guard
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Horse
level 3; moves a long distance each round
Merchant
level 2; haggling as level 3
Noble
level 2; pleasant social interaction as level 4
Rat
level 1
Serf
level 2; animal handling as level 3
Snake, poisonous
level 1; attacks as level 4
Warhorse
level 4; moves a long distance each round

Part 4 Game Mastering

Chapter 22 Creatures

Quick Reference: Creatures and NPCs

Creature Lists

These lists include the contents of Chapter 22: Creatures and Chapter 23: NPCs. These five creatures presented in the Cypher System Rulebook are not included in the CSRD: CRAZR (318), Neveri (344), Slidikin (354), Wendigo (366), and Zhev (370).

Related Sections

Basic Creatures and NPCs

Creatures and NPCs by Alphabetical Order

Level 1 Creatures and NPCs

Level 2 Creatures and NPCs

Level 3 Creatures and NPCs

Level 4 Creatures and NPCs

Level 5 Creatures and NPCs

Level 6 Creatures and NPCs

Level 7 Creatures and NPCs

Level 8 Creatures and NPCs

Level 9 Creatures and NPCs

Level 10 Creatures and NPCs

Creatures and NPCs with Special Damage

The following creatures deal special damage that moves a PC down the damage track, or that creates other potentially long-term consequences.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 312)

This chapter describes many common and uncommon creatures that the characters might meet—and fight—in a Cypher System game and gives their stats. The variety of creatures that populate the possible settings and genres is so great that this chapter only scratches the surface. It does, however, provide examples of kinds of inhabitants—bestial and civilized, living and undead, organic and inorganic—so that you can easily extrapolate and create your own.

Editor's Notes — The editor has moved some creatures in the Cypher System Rulebook to Chapter 23: NPCs instead. For more on creatures and NPCs, including a full index, see Quick Reference: Creatures and NPCs.

Understanding the Listings

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 312)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Every creature is presented by name, followed by a standard template that includes the following categories.

Creature Level and Target Number
LevelTarget NumberTask Success Rate
1(3)90%
2(6)75%
3(9)60%
4(12)45%
5(15)30%
6(18)15%
7(21)—
8(24)−15%
9(27)−30%
10(30)−45%
Level
Like the difficulty of a task, each creature and NPC has a level attached to it. You use the level to determine the target number a PC must reach to attack or defend against the opponent. In each entry, the difficulty number for the creature or NPC is listed in parentheses after its level. As shown on the following table, the target number is three times the level.
Description
Following the name of the creature or NPC is a general description of its appearance, nature, intelligence, or background.
Motive
This entry is a way to help the GM understand what a creature or NPC wants. Every creature or person wants something, even if it's just to be left alone.
Environment
This entry describes whether the creature tends to be solitary or travel in groups and what kind of terrain it inhabits (such as "They travel in packs through dry wastes and temperate lowlands").
Health
A creature's target number is usually also its health, which is the amount of damage it can sustain before it is dead or incapacitated. For easy reference, the entries always list a creature's health, even when it's the normal amount for a creature of its level.
Damage Inflicted
Generally, when creatures hit in combat, they inflict their level in damage regardless of the form of attack. Some inflict more or less or have a special modifier to damage. Intelligent NPCs often use weapons, but this is more a flavor issue than a mechanical one. In other words, it doesn't matter if a level 3 foe uses a sword or claws—it deals the same damage if it hits. The entries always specify the amount of damage inflicted, even if it's the normal amount for a creature of its level.
Armor
This is the creature's Armor value. Sometimes the number represents physical armor, and other times it represents natural protection. This entry doesn't appear in the game stats if a creature has no Armor.
Movement
Movement determines how far the creature can move in a single turn. Creatures have movements of immediate, short, long, or very long, which equate to the ranges of the same name. Most PCs have an effective movement of short, so if they are chasing (or being chased by) a creature with immediate movement, their Speed tasks are eased; if the creature's movement is long or greater, the PCs' Speed tasks are hindered.
Modifications
Use these default numbers when a creature's information says to use a different target number. For example, a level 4 creature might say "defends as level 5," which means PCs attacking it must roll a target number of 15 (for difficulty 5) instead of 12 (for difficulty 4). In special circumstances, some creatures have other modifications, but these are almost always specific to their level.
Combat
This entry gives advice on using the creature in combat, such as "This creature uses ambushes and hit-and-run tactics." At the end of the combat listing, you'll also find any special abilities, such as immunities, poisons, and healing skills. GMs should be logical about a creature's reaction to a particular action or attack by a PC. For example, a mechanical creation is immune to normal diseases, a character can't poison a being of energy (at least, not with a conventional poison), and so on.
Interaction
This entry gives advice on using the creature in interactions, such as "These creatures are willing to talk but respond poorly to threats," or "This creature is an animal and acts like an animal."
Use
This entry gives the GM suggestions for how to use the creature in a game session. It might provide general notes or specific adventure ideas.
Loot
This entry indicates what the PCs might gain if they take items from their fallen foes (or trade with or trick them). It doesn't appear in the game stats if the creature has no loot.
GM Intrusion
This optional entry in the stats suggests a way to use GM intrusion in an encounter with the creature. It's just one possible idea of many, and the GM is encouraged to come up with their own uses of the game mechanic.

Normal Animals

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 314)

Unlike many creatures in this chapter, normal animals are simple and understandable enough to be encapsulated by just their level and maybe one or two other stats.

Bear, black
level 3; attacks as level 4
Bear, grizzly
level 5; health 20; Armor 1
Dog
level 2; perception as level 3
Dog, guard
level 3; attacks and perception as level 4
Hawk
level 2; flies a long distance each round
Horse
level 3; moves a long distance each round
Rat
level 1
Rattlesnake
level 2; bite inflicts 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor)

Editor's Notes — Modifying creatures can transform even a normal animal into a memorable encounter.

Creatures

Abomination 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 315)

An abomination is a hideous bestial humanoid covered with thickened plates of scarlet flesh. Their eyes shine with the stagnant glow of toxic waste dumps. Standing at least 7 feet (2 m) tall, abominations are drawn to movement. Always famished, they consume living prey in great tearing bites.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, hunting alone or in pairs

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Might defense as level 6; sees through deception as level 3

  • Combat: Abominations use scavenged weapons to attack prey at range, but probably switch to biting targets within immediate range. Targets damaged by a bite must also succeed on a Might defense task or descend one step on the damage track as the abomination tears off a big piece of flesh and gulps it down. Those who survive an attack must succeed on a Might defense task a day later when they come down with flu-like symptoms. Those who fail begin the process of transforming into a fresh abomination.

    Abominations regain 2 points of health per round and have +5 Armor against damage inflicted by energy (radiation, X-rays, gamma rays, and so on).

  • Interaction: Most abominations can speak and have vague memories of the people they were before transforming. However, those memories, motivations, and hopes are usually submerged in a hunger that can never be sated.

  • Use: Abominations hunt ravaged wastelands and bombed-out spacecraft hulks, lurk in basements where mad scientists have conducted illicit experiments, and haunt the dreams of children who've gotten in over their heads.

GM Intrusion: The abomination isn't dead; it stands up on the following round at full health.

Angel of the Apocalypse 7 (21)

(Rust and Redemption, page 96)

If the End Times causes civilization to fall, biblical threats multiply across the land, including one or more angels of the apocalypse. They are every bit as terrifying as the Four Horsemen because they're charged with bringing about the end of the world. They have little room for pity or the plights of individuals; they have nations to topple and the forces of Hell to oppose.

Angels of the apocalypse radiate a halo of golden white light. Their 10 foot (3.5 m) tall forms—caparisoned for war—are somewhat humanoid, though each has one or more sets of wings. Apocalypse angels also wield an implement that seems to be equal parts trumpet and sword, which they can sound to bring about terrible events, or swing to slay those who oppose them.

  • Motive: Instigate the biblical apocalypse; fight the forces of Hell

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, usually alone or fighting Hell's armies

  • Health: 27

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size; perception and detecting falsehoods as level 8

  • Combat: The angel of the apocalypse attacks twice each round with their greatsword.

    An angel's halo momentarily brightens with unbearable psychic energy as combat begins; foes within short range are stunned for one minute if they fail an Intellect defense roll, or until they succeed on an Intellect defense task on their turn to end the effect early. A success means that creature becomes immune to the halo's overwhelming effect.

    The angel can blow their trumpet as their action, creating a blast of sound and energy that sweeps out in all directions to a long distance, inflicting 8 points of damage to all creatures that hear it who fail a Might defense roll, and 2 points even with a successful roll. Structures in the area descend one step on the object damage track. Once they blow their trumpet, they usually can't blow it again for several rounds.

  • Interaction: Wrapped in purpose, an angel of the apocalypse may ignore entreaties or, if one deigns to respond, tell supplicants to ready themselves for judgment. However, if someone manages to convince an angel to take notice due to their persuasion skill and/or the importance of their need, the angel may give that character aid in the form of healing or direct help immediately or at some promised future date.

  • Use: A high, pure trumpet sounds. All around the characters, structures fall, revealing an angel of the apocalypse overhead.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 8 (24)

(The Stars are Fire, page 115)

If a supercomputer can think independently, it's a strong AI (an artificial intelligence). Though not as advanced as godminds, AIs can develop inscrutable goals.

AIs take many forms. Some are distributed across a vast network. Others are encoded into a singular "computer core." A few are machines with organic parts. All are entities of extreme intelligence able to adapt to new situations, and most act on some kind of plan, whether long-acting, or newly concocted to fit the situation at hand.

  • Motive: Varies

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 33

  • Damage Inflicted: 10

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Immediate

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 2, knowledge tasks as level 9

  • Combat: An electrical discharge—or in some cases precisely pulsed sequences of lights, each designed for a specific creature to see—can affect all targets within short range of the AI (or the AI's local terminal), inflicting 10 points of damage from electricity (or 10 points of Intellect damage, which ignores Armor).

    Some AIs can take an action to absorb matter around them (such as walls, floor, equipment, unresisting living creatures, and so on), regaining 5 points of health.

    An AI is likely able to deploy cyphers and artifacts in combat and also relies on guardians (such as synthetic people made to its own design) to aid it. Unless a particular AI uses a computer core, damage to an AI may just be damage done to a "terminal," so even if an AI is seemingly destroyed, it might exist as another instance somewhere else.

  • Interaction: Some AIs enjoy negotiation. Others simply ignore humans as unworthy of their time and attention. An AI's voice often sounds surprisingly human.

  • Use: The characters are contacted by an AI sympathetic to biological beings. It wants them to accomplish a task on a moon of Jupiter: assassinate a security officer who the AI calculates as being a nexus of future disaster if he isn't removed from the equation.

  • Loot: An AI might have access to 1d6 cyphers and possibly an artifact or two.

GM Intrusion: The AI knows a phrase and series of images to flash at a particular PC to stun them for around as it attempts to upload an instance of itself into their mind.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Post-Apocalyptic 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 97)

An artificial intelligence thinks independently, learning and evolving with experience. AIs have their own goals and motivations, and may work with or against humans. Some want to gather data, some want to solve technological problems, and some want to take over the world—at any cost.

AIs take many forms. Some are distributed across a vast network. Others are isolated in a single computer. A few are machines with organic parts or can use such machines as servitors.

Because AIs are entities of extreme intelligence, they can adapt to new situations. Most AIs act on some kind of plan, whether long acting or concocted to fit the situation at hand.

  • Motive: Varies

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 23

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: None, or instantly to any networked machine able to host them

  • Combat: An electrical discharge—or in some cases precisely pulsed sequences of lights, each designed for a specific creature to see—can affect all targets within short range of the AI (or the AI's local "terminal"), inflicting damage from electricity (or Intellect damage, which ignores Armor).

    An AI may attempt to install an instance of themself in the wetware (the brain) of humans and any other nearby sapient creatures. Anyone within immediate range of a video screen playing carefully crafted symbols and sounds who fails an Intellect defense roll is stunned, losing their next turn as they stare in rapt attention. If they fail a subsequent defense roll, they come under the control of the AI instance for one minute, or until they succeed on an Intellect defense roll on their turn. A PC under AI control might stand and do nothing, fall mysteriously unconscious, or take an action to advance the AI's goals.

    AIs can control other lower level computer systems and sometimes even nanobots.

    Some targets of AI instance installation never recover, becoming AI zombies. Besides AI zombies, an AI may also rely on guardians (such as mechanical soldiers or CRAZRs made to their own design).

    Unless the PCs can track a given AI to their original computing core, damage to one may just be damage done to a terminal. Thus, even if an AI is seemingly destroyed, they might exist as another instance somewhere else. However, over time, alternate instances may collect different data and thus develop different memories and motivations.

    Some AIs continue to improve themselves by modifying their own code. These AIs are level 8 threats with 27 health, and they can create cyphers and artifacts, which they often deploy in combat.

  • Interaction: Some AIs enjoy negotiation. Others simply ignore humans as unworthy of their time and attention. An AI's voice often sounds surprisingly human.

  • Use: The PCs' shelter is overtaken by a storm of grey goo, which answers to an AI operating out of a nearby safehouse.

  • Loot: An AI may have access to 1d6 cyphers and two or three artifacts.

When acting from a remote terminal, the AI's effective level is lowered. It can be as low as level 3, but typically is level 5.

Bargainer Fiend 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 98)

Bargainer fiends are natives of "hell dimensions" whose job is to come to the mortal world and convince people to barter or trade their souls. Their natural shape is usually a lanky humanoid with horns, claws, vestigial bat wings, and a forked tail, with a faint smell of brimstone, but they can partially or completely disguise themselves as humans to tempt and advise mortals.

Typical devils are warriors and torturers, and demons are mortal souls reforged into entities of pure spite and hate, whereas bargainer fiends see themselves as classier beings with loftier goals. However, bargainers are aware that they are weaker than their counterparts, and they make sure they don't do any front-line fighting if they can help it.

  • Motive: Bargain for souls

  • Environment: Anywhere humans can be found

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Deception as level 5

  • Combat: A bargainer fiend attacks with a punch or a firearm. If they aren't trying to hide their inhuman nature, they throw short-range bolts of painful hellfire, inflicting 4 points of damage and stunning the target for one round.

    The heart of a bargainer fiend's power is its ability to arrange for rewards for a mortal client in exchange for the client's soul. Typical rewards are training in a skill, learning a new type or focus ability, wealth equivalent to one exorbitant item, an artifact, or anything else that can be acquired by spending 4 XP. The price is always the client's mortal soul, usually after a specific time period. Bigger demands by the client require the fiend to get approval from their superiors, and the price is higher, but usually still manageable.

    A bargainer fiend can use an action to transform themself into a human or near-human form (such as a human with devil horns) or return to their natural form. They can assume the guise of a specific human (such as a person their client knows) only if that human is dead or has an agreement with a bargainer fiend.

  • Interaction: Bargainer fiends serve at the pleasure of their infernal masters, and they know their lives are forfeit if they ever fail. This colors their interactions with clients; they will say anything to accomplish their mission, and their only true loyalty is to the fiend who created and controls them.

  • Use: A motivational speaker offers to teach clients confidence and charm, with great results. An old sorcerer knows some rare magic for those willing to pay a steep price. A mysterious person has been seen visiting people in the terminal ward of various hospitals.

  • Loot: A bargainer fiend may have a cypher relating to their duties or as a gift or payment for a client, but most of their material riches are hell-crafted and not safe to carry for long.

Basilisk 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 99)

A basilisk is a magical kind of serpent that resembles a cobra, has a series of scales on its head like a crown, and crawls upright instead of slithering on its belly. It feeds on snakes and other creatures smaller than itself, relying on its poisonous aura to weaken and kill its prey. It is known to make an unnerving growl instead of a typical snake hiss. An adult basilisk is 10 to 18 feet (3 to 5.5 m) long.

  • Motive: Hunger

  • Environment: Forests and plains

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception and stealth as level 6

  • Combat: A basilisk bites like a snake, inflicting 5 points of damage and injecting a poison that moves the target one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll.

    The basilisk can spit its poison up to short range, inflicting 1 point of damage and moving the target one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll.

    The basilisk's venom affects its breath, and on its turn, anything within immediate range of it must make a Might defense roll or take 1 point of poison damage. Because of this constant invisible cloud of poison, a basilisk's lair is surrounded by a stinking area of dead vegetation, blasted earth, and etched stone.

    Basilisk venom is so potent that even creatures that are immune to poison can still be harmed by it, taking 5 points of Speed damage instead of moving down the damage track. (A creature that is immune to poison and acid is fully immune to the venom.)

    Anyone within short range of a basilisk who meets its gaze and fails a Might defense roll turns to stone. In combat, when a character within short distance attacks a basilisk, they must either avert their gaze to attack safely (which hinders their attack by two steps) or make a Might defense roll. On a failed Might defense roll, the character takes 5 points of ambient damage as their flesh partly mineralizes; if the character is killed by this damage, they are turned to stone.

  • Interaction: Basilisks act like simple animals and respond threateningly if disturbed or provoked. If not hungry, a basilisk avoids conflict and hides in its lair.

  • Use: A blighted area in a field, briar, or forest suggests that a basilisk has moved into the area. Swarms of snakes enter a village, fleeing an approaching basilisk.

  • Loot: Basilisk venom is valuable, but it must be stored in a strong, sealed container or the bearer will succumb to the poison. Its blood has alchemical properties relating to transmuting metals.

GM Intrusion: The basilisk strikes quickly, biting the same creature twice on its turn.

Black Dog 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 107)

Black dogs go by many names: hellhounds, bearers of death, black hounds of destiny, and devil dogs, just to name a few. Typically they are spectral or demonic entities that show up at night. They are often sinister, malevolent, or purposefully harmful (such as the Barghest and Black Shuck). Occasionally, black dogs are helpful and benevolent, guarding people from danger, helping them find the correct path, or signifying the death of someone nearby.

Black dogs are usually large, shaggy, and as black as night, with long ears and tails. However, despite their name, they can be any color. The real distinction is that they are definitely not regular, living dogs. Some have eyes like fire, some howl with a ghostly, ethereal song, and still others have telltale witches' marks upon their chest or back.

Black dogs can see ghosts, witches, and other magical entities not typically visible to other creatures. They are sometimes a portent of death, but not always. Many carry with them an inherent sense of sadness and despair, which they can pass on to those around them.

Black dogs sometimes serve as familiars for witches and sorcerers.

  • Motive: Bring harm and pain; help and guard

  • Environment: Crossroads, places of execution, and ancient paths

  • Health: 20

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Long; very long when running

  • Modifications: Sneaking, hiding, and attacking from surprise or advantage as level 7

  • Combat: Malevolent black dogs will attack from a position of surprise or advantage, inflicting 8 points of damage with their spectral teeth and claws. Some black dogs cause such a deep feeling of despair and sadness, just by being nearby, that they inflict 2 points of Intellect damage each round on everyone who can see them or otherwise sense their presence.

  • Interaction: Running, at least from the malevolent ones, is typically the best course of action. Dealing with helpful black dogs is often an interesting and unexpected experience, as they don't talk and don't explain who they choose to help or why.

  • Use: The characters are fighting an extremely tough foe when a black dog steps in to help them out (or to help their foe). The characters are lost in the woods, and a large, menacing black dog steps out of the forest and leads them back to safety.

  • Loot: Black dogs rarely have anything valuable on them. However, killing a black dog causes it to haunt whoever dealt it the fatal blow. That person feels such deep anxiety and despair that all their actions are hindered for at least one day, and often longer.

GM Intrusion: The black dog howls, creating such a mournful sound that everyone in very long distance who can hear it takes 4 points of Intellect damage. A character who sees the black dog is deeply affected by sadness and moves one step down the damage track.

Blob 8 (24)

(Stay Alive!, page 107)

The huge, undulating mass of this creature is composed of a mucus-like solid. The half-amorphous blob defeats its foes by absorbing prey, integrating a victim's tissue into its own. In essence, the victim becomes the blob, and all of the victim's knowledge is available to the blob for later use.

If it later desires, a blob can release a nearly perfect replicant of any creature that it has absorbed. Replicants have the memories and personalities of the originals, but they do the blob's bidding, which is usually to explore distant locations or lure prey into the open using a friendly face. A particularly well-crafted replicant might not know it's not the original. Creating a replicant takes a blob a day or two of effort, during which time it's unable to defend itself or eat, so it's not a task the creature attempts lightly.

  • Motive: Assimilation of all flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 66

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points (acid gout)

  • Movement: Immediate; immediate when burrowing

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: The blob can project a gout of acid at short range against a single target. Though slow, a blob is always moving forward. A character (or two characters next to each other) within immediate range of a blob must succeed on a Might defense roll each round or be partly caught under the heaving mass of the advancing creature. A caught victim adheres to the blob's surface and takes 10 points of damage each round. The victim must succeed on a Might defense roll to pull free. A victim who dies from this damage is consumed by the blob, and their body becomes part of the creature.

    If a blob has absorbed living flesh within the last hour, it regenerates 3 points of health per round while its health is above 0.

  • Interaction: A blob's favored method of communication is to absorb whoever tries to interact with it. If a replicant is handy, the blob might talk through it if the blob can touch the replicant and use it like a puppet.

  • Use: The old man the PCs accidentally hit with their vehicle has a weird, mucus-like growth on one hand (in addition to the damage he sustained in the accident). He probably should be taken to the hospital to have his injuries and the quivering growth looked at.

  • Loot: A blob might have several cyphers swirling about in its mass that it uses to equip replicants.

GM Intrusion: The character pulls free of a blob they were caught under, but a piece of quivering protoplasm remains stuck to their flesh. They must do serious damage to themselves (enough to incapacitate) within the hour, scraping off the protoplasm before it absorbs them and becomes a new mini-blob.

Cat Sidhe 4 (12)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 108)

Cat sidhes, sometimes called phantom cats, are dog-sized felines that were once witches and now have shifted permanently into cat form. They're all black except for a single white symbol on their chest, which is their name.

When cat sidhes form (because a witch has turned themselves into a cat for the ninth time), they gain nine tails. Each time a cat sidhe would be killed, they can choose to lose one of their tails instead. Once a cat sidhe has no more tails remaining, their death is final.

While cat sidhes inflict damage with their soul-stealing attacks, the roleplaying element of a character losing part of their soul is possibly more important than the game effect. Consider removing something from the character that will affect them in interesting and unusual ways.

  • Motive: Steal souls, gain power

  • Environment: Highlands, mountains, and forests

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to quickness and agility

  • Combat: Cat sidhes can attack with their claws for 6 points of damage, but they much prefer to engage from a long distance, using their unique ability to cast curses that steal part or all of a victim's soul. They may attack a foe using the following types of soul-stealing curses. Characters who succeed on an Intellect defense roll resist the effect, but take 1 point of Intellect damage due to the effort. If someone can read the symbol on the cat's chest and pronounce it, they gain +1 Armor against the cat's attacks.

    • Falter. Removes a favored part of the creature's personality, such as their sense of humor, courage, or kindness. The creature doesn't forget that they had that part of their personality; they just can't remember how to access it again. All social interactions are hindered.
    • Fester. Replaces a piece of the character's soul with an idea, false memory, or thought that, once placed, grows into something insidious and dangerous inside them. The character takes no damage at the time, but each time they make a recovery roll, they take 2 points of Intellect damage.
    • Forget. Removes something from the creature's memory, such as all nouns (including their own name), a loved one's face, their current purpose, an ability, or a skill. This inflicts 3 points of Intellect damage and causes the character to forget the specific thing.

  • Interaction: Having once been witches, cat sidhes are smart, cunning, and dangerous. Most have no interest in conversations or bargains, unless they are injured in some way. They can, however, sometimes be distracted from their purpose of stealing souls by riddles, music, and children's games.

  • Use: A cat sidhe stalks a forest where the characters are passing through on their way elsewhere. Someone sends the characters to capture a "lost" cat, which turns out to be a cat sidhe.

  • Loot: When a cat sidhe dies, it disappears, leaving behind only the once-white symbol on its chest in the form of a medallion.

GM Intrusion: The cat sidhe yowls, causing a second cat sidhe to appear from hiding

Chimera 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 316)

Chimeras are unsettling hybrids that combine the features of many different animals, often arranged in odd formations. The fusion of animal forms is the only thing that unifies these creatures—otherwise, different chimeras often look very different from each other. They include combinations of goat and lion, lizard and bat, dragon and spider, dinosaur and giant insect. A few even display human features, such as an improbably located face or hands instead of claws. Some chimeras can fly. Others slither across the ground.

A chimera typically has a dominant form to which other animal parts are grafted. The base form must be large enough to support the weight of the extra heads, so lions, bears, and horses are popular as the base form.

Chimeras kill even when not hungry and throw their victims' remains around a wide area in a wild rage. When not feeding or tormenting prey, a chimera that can fly takes to the air, beating its enormous leather wings to scour the landscape for new prey.

  • Motive: Hungers for human flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually alone

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short while on the ground; long while flying (if it can fly)

  • Modifications: Speed defense rolls as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: All chimeras have a number of ways to kill. The exact methods vary, but most can bite, sting, and gore (three attacks) as a single action, either attacking the same opponent or attacking different foes within immediate range of each other. A chimera's sting carries a powerful toxin, and a stung target must succeed on a Might defense roll or take 4 additional points of damage. Chimeras with spikes can project them at up to three targets within long range as a single action.

  • Interaction: Chimeras are a lot like wild animals with rabies. They're confused and violent, and they behave erratically. Savage, ferocious beasts, they hate all other creatures and seize any opportunity to kill.

  • Use: While exploring an island, the PCs find carcasses that have been torn apart, the pieces scattered in all directions. A chimera lairs nearby, and if the characters draw attention to themselves, it hunts them down, too.

GM Intrusion: The chimera grabs a character it bites and flies off with the victim

Chronophage 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 317)

These segmented, 6-foot (2 m) long creatures look partly like larvae that have grown gargantuan and vicious. They appear in places where time moves more slowly or more quickly than normal, where balls and liquids flow upslope, or where a time traveler has visited.

  • Motive: Hungers for the flesh of those who create, or were created by, time anomalies

  • Environment: Clutches of four to eight fade into existence within long range of space-time fractures in almost any location.

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; can phase into the dimension of time (and disappear) as a move. On its next action, it can phase back into the world up to 300 feet (90 m) from where it disappeared (as an action).

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5

  • Combat: A chronophage attacks with its crushing mandibles.

    A chronophage can phase back and forth between its home dimension, and it uses this ability to great effect when hunting prey. For instance, it can close on prey otherwise protected by barriers or features of the landscape. It can also use the ability to draw a victim's attention and then launch a surprise attack from behind after it has effectively teleported. However, it is an action for the creature to shift its phase between the dimension of time and normal reality.

  • Interaction: Chronophages are unswerving in their drive to find prey. Once one marks its target, only killing the creature can sway it from the prey.

  • Use: When the PCs happen upon a location where the rules of space-time are loose and malleable, or if the PCs trigger a cypher or other device that interferes with time's regular flow, a clutch of chronophages may soon come calling.

  • Loot: The skin of a chronophage can be salvaged to create a silvery cloak that reflects its surroundings, but the reflection is one hour behind the present.

GM Intrusion: If a chronophage's prey fails its Speed defense roll, the attack ignores Armor, and the prey must make an Intellect defense roll (difficulty 4) or be phased into the chronophage's home dimension of time. Victims automatically phase back into reality on their next turn but are displaced by 100 feet (30 m) straight up or to the closest open space. This usually results in a fall that potentially deals 10 points of damage, knocks victims prone, and dazes them, hindering all actions for a round.

Cryptic Moth 5 (15)

(Say Alive!, page 108)

Normal moths are enigmatic, gauzy haunts of twilight. The feathery touch of their wings on your face can startle, even frighten. This is to be expected, since moths are the children of cryptic moths, malign and intelligent entities of another realm. Sometimes referred to as mothmen, other times as shadow faeries, cryptic moths are certainly alien. Each possesses a unique wing pattern and coloration, and, to some extent, body shape. These patterns and colors may signify where in the hierarchy a particular cryptic moth stands among its siblings of the night, but for those who do not speak the language of moths, the complexity of their social structure is overwhelming.

  • Motive: Capture humans, possibly for food, possibly for breeding purposes

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, usually at night

  • Health: 23

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: All knowledge tasks as level 6; stealth tasks as level 7 while invisible

  • Combat: Cryptic moths usually enter combat only when they wish, because until they attack and become visible, they can remain unseen and invisible to most eyes. The touch of a cryptic moth's wing draws life and energy from targets, inflicting 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).

    Cryptic moths regain 1 point of health per round while their health is above 0, unless they've been damaged with a silvered or cold iron weapon, or by electrical attacks.

    Once every hour or so, a cryptic moth can summon a swarm of normal moths to aid them in combat or, more often, serve as a fashion accessory or component in a piece of living art.

    If a cryptic moth is prepared, it may carry cyphers useful in combat, and perhaps even an artifact.

Moth swarm
level 2

  • Interaction: Although very few cryptic moths speak human languages, peaceful interaction with these creatures is not impossible. It's just extremely difficult, as they see most humans as a source of food or bodies to lay their eggs in.

  • Use: A character is followed by a cryptic moth intent on capturing and enslaving them.

  • Loot: A cryptic moth usually has a few cyphers, and possibly a delicate artifact.

GM Intrusion: The cryptic moth grabs the character and flies up and away, taking the victim with them.

Cybrid 8 (24)

(The Stars are Fire, page 116)

Cybrid origins could be the result of someone finding a cache of ancient ultra technology, or manufactured by a post-singularity AI for some unfathomable purpose, or even the result of banned weapons research by a nation-state or conglomerate. The human remnants in each cybrid's carbon fiber and nested shells of nanotech exist in a red haze of pain; neuro-wetware and chemicals bathing their remaining living tissues hold the pain partly at bay.

From the exterior, not much of the original human is obvious, except perhaps in the echo of a humanoid shape. Each one has a unique conformation, but all are designed to strike fear in anyone seeing one, ally and enemy alike.

  • Motive: Kill away the pain

  • Environment: Usually set to guard important areas, creatures, or objects, or deployed in war

  • Health: 60

  • Damage Inflicted: 10

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; flies a very long distance each round; can maneuver like an autonomous level 5 spacecraft if using extended vehicular combat rules.

  • Combat: Cybrids can attack up to three foes that they can see up to about 300 m (1,000 feet) away as a single action with graser (gamma ray laser) beams, inflicting 10 points of damage on each target and everything in immediate range of the target. Those caught in the beam who succeed on a Speed defense roll still suffer 2 points of damage. If the cybrid focuses on a single target, treat the attack as a level 10 attack that inflicts 14 points of damage, or 6 points even on a successful Speed defense roll.

    Self-repair mechanisms allow the creature to regain 2 points of health per round.

  • Interaction: If communication can be opened up through a cybrid's haze of pain, it might be possible to temporarily wake the consciousness of the human remnant inside. However, that remnant consciousness might not be happy to discover what it's become.

  • Use: A cybrid has appeared in orbit around the station, ship, or moon with a compromised life support system or fragile dome. If it engages, the death toll will be staggering.

  • Loot: PCs who investigate the inert remains of the creature discover several manifest cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The character struck by the graser beam develops radiation poisoning, in this case a level 8 disease that drops the character one step on the damage track each day that it goes untreated.

Cyclops 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 103)

Cyclopes resemble massive humans that stand 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) tall and weigh about 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg). Everything about these giants is exaggerated, from the thick features of their faces to their oversized hands and lumpy, corpulent bodies. They clothe themselves in animal skins, scraps of cloth, or canvas stolen during their travels. A cyclops's most distinctive feature is the single eye positioned in the center of its forehead. Cyclopes live on the edges of civilized areas or on remote islands. For all their power and stature, they aren't especially brave, and most have a dim idea that puny humans have an advantage when they have numbers on their side.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 32

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Attacks targets within immediate range as level 5 due to poor eyesight; Speed defense as level 5 due to size; Intellect defense as level 4

  • Combat: A cyclops can always resort to using its fists in melee, pummeling opponents with knuckles the size of large hogs. However, most cyclopes carry a tree trunk and use it to sweep enemies from their path. Due to its massive height, a cyclops can make a melee attack against creatures within short range.

    Cyclopes can pry up boulders from the ground and throw them at targets within long range. A thrown boulder inflicts 8 points of damage to all targets in an immediate area.

    Killing a cyclops can be dangerous. When killed, it falls away from the attacker that delivered the killing blow. Any creature under it when it falls must make a successful Speed defense roll or be pinned under its corpse and take 7 points of damage. Escaping from under a dead cyclops requires a successful Might roll.

  • Interaction: Cyclopes know the language of the lands they inhabit, but they are notoriously dim and easily fooled. A cyclops thinks about its belly first and foremost and doesn't pay much attention to what it stuffs in its mouth.

  • Use: A cyclops has been rampaging across the countryside, and warriors sent to deal with it have been vanquished. PCs who investigate learn that the cyclops has been robbed and is trying to find the stolen item.

  • Loot: Most cyclopes carry sacks filled with things they find interesting or plan to eat. Aside from the rubbish, a typical sack contains 1d100 coins of the realm and a couple of cyphers.

GM Intrusions: The cyclops hits a character so hard thatthey fly a short distance away and land prone.

A character struck by the cyclops's fist is grabbed and stuffed in the creature's sack.

Deep One 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 319)

Some deep ones dwell in coastal regions on land, usually in isolated villages where they might attempt to pass for human. They are able to breathe both air and water. Most, however, thrive in the ocean depths, in ancient underwater cities like "Cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei." Deep ones sometimes breed with insane humans to produce squamous offspring that eventually develop fully into deep ones well after maturity (or even middle age).

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere near a large body of salt water

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short on land; long in the water

  • Modifications: Swims as level 6; perception as level 3

  • Combat: Deep ones attack with tooth and claw most often, although occasionally one might use a weapon. They usually give no quarter, nor ask for it. Their skin is subject to drying, and they take 1 extra point of damage (ignores Armor) from any attack that deals fire or heat damage. Because of this weakness, deep ones sometimes retreat from fire and fire attacks.

  • Interaction: Deep ones are a strange mix of utter alienness and the vestiges of lost humanity. They are foul and degenerate creatures by human standards, however. Many still retain the ability to speak human languages, but all speak their own slurred, unearthly tongue.

    Deep ones spend a great deal of time in the sincere adoration of their gods, Mother Hydra, Father Dagon, and Cthulhu. Their religion demands frequent blood sacrifices.

  • Use: The PCs wander into a small coastal village where everyone seems standoffish and oddly distant. A few people appear to be sickly and malformed, perhaps from mutation or birth defects. Some of the villagers have squamous skin because they are transforming into deep ones. And, of course, true deep ones hide within the community as well.

  • Loot: A few deep ones will have a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The deep one produces a net and throws it over the character. The only physical action the victim can take is to try to get free, as either a Might-based or a Speed-based action.

Deinonychus 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 320)

Popularly known as the velociraptor, the dinosaur genus called deinonychus doesn't care if its prey gets the proper terminology sorted. Meat tastes like meat. The "terrible claw" these carnivores are named after refers to their massive, sickle-shaped claws, which are unsheathed from their hind legs when attacking prey.

Deinonychus are pack hunters, which means they work together as a unit, each taking on different roles to scare, flush, and direct even intelligent prey into the claws of an ambush.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Wherever they can hunt food, in packs of three to seven

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5; attacks and Speed defense as level 4 due to quickness; overcoming obstacles and figuring out tricks as level 4

  • Combat: When a deinonychus bites its prey, the victim takes damage and must make a Might defense roll. On a failure, the deinonychus holds the victim in place with its jaws while it slices them to ribbons with its terrible claws, automatically inflicting 6 points of damage each round in which they fail a Might-based task to break free (not attempting to break free counts as a failed attempt). For a human-sized or smaller victim held in the jaws, all other tasks are hindered by two steps.

  • Interaction: Vicious, cunning, and a little too smart to be classified as simple predators, these creatures are unlikely to negotiate, give quarter, or back off from a fight even if contact could be made.

  • Use: Some fool decided to build a Cretaceous-themed zoo. The only question is: How long before the dinosaurs get loose and take over the local mall?

GM Intrusion: The fleeing deinonychus was actually leading the character over a cliff, into a deadfall trap, or into an ambush with more deinonychus.

Demigod 9 (27)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 321)

Lesser gods, divine children of gods and mortals, and other beings bequeathed with partly divine power are called demigods. Their capacities so radically exceed those of regular people that they have transcended humanity. Demigods are so physically and mentally powerful that it's difficult for them to hide their semi-divine appearance to mortal creatures—not that most would make the effort in the first place.

  • Motive: Ineffable

  • Environment: Anywhere other divine entities exist (or once existed)

  • Health: 99

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Combat: Demigods can attack foes up to half a mile (1 km) away with bolts of divine energy (usually in the form of lightning). A demigod can dial up the level of destruction if it wishes, so that instead of affecting only one target, a bolt deals 9 points of damage to all targets within short range of the primary target. Targets caught in the conflagration who succeed on a Speed defense roll still suffer 5 points of damage.

    Demigods are just as scary in hand-to-hand combat and can attack all targets within immediate range as an action. They can also call on a variety of other abilities that seem like magic to lesser foes and mimic the effect of any cypher of level 5 or lower.

    A demigod doesn't need to alter reality to heal itself, as it automatically regains 2 points of health per round.

  • Interaction: For all their power, demigods share most human traits and weaknesses. This means it's possible to negotiate with one, though the consequences for angering a demigod in the process are dire.

  • Use: A demigod was banned from the higher realm of their birth for unknown reasons. Now they seek to show their worth by undertaking a great quest in the mortal world, and they are looking to assemble a group of mortal comrades (sycophants?) to aid them.

  • Loot: Demigods might carry an artifact related to some aspect of their domain (such as wind, messages, or death), if they have one, and 1d6 cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The divine nature of the demigod allows it to act out of turn, take control of an object (such as an artifact or a cypher) that the PC is about to use against it, and either deactivate the object or turn it against the character.

Demon 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 322)

Demons are formless spirits of the dead tortured in nether realms until all that was good or caring in them was burned away, forging a being of spite and hate.

A demon remembers only fragments of its former life—every good memory is cauterized, and every slight, misfortune, snub, and pain is amplified, motivating the creature to tempt others into the same state.

Having no flesh to call its own, a demon is a shadowed, ephemeral horror able to possess others. A demon can cause great harm in a short time by forcing its host to lie, steal, and harm loved ones.

  • Motive: Hungers for others' pain and fear

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short; immediate while flying in immaterial form

  • Modifications: All stealth tasks as level 7 in immaterial form; deception tasks as level 6

  • Combat: The immaterial touch of a demon either inflicts 5 points of damage from rot, or allows the demon to attempt to possess the target. The target of an attempted possession must make an Intellect defense roll or become possessed, whereupon the demon's immaterial form disappears into the target.

    The first round in which a character is possessed, they can act normally. In the second and all subsequent rounds, the possessing demon can control the actions of the host, but the character can attempt an Intellect defense roll to resist each suggested action. Successful resistance means that the character does nothing for one round. In other rounds, the character can act as they choose. A possessing demon's actions are limited to attempts to control its host and leaving the host.

    A possessed target is allowed an Intellect defense roll to eject the demon once per day, barring any exorcism attempts. The defense roll is hindered by one additional step each day of possession after the first seven days. An ejected or cast-out demon is powerless for one or more days.

    A demon not possessing another creature is immaterial and can pass through solid objects whose level is lower than its own. While the demon is immaterial, it takes only 1 point of damage from mundane attacks, but it takes full damage from magical, energy, and psychic attacks. While it possesses another creature, the demon is immune to most attacks (though not so the host; killing the host will eject the demon).

  • Interaction: A demon allows a possessed host to act normally, as long as it doesn't reveal the demon's presence. If its presence is known, the demon might negotiate, but only after a tirade of lies and obscenity, and the demon likely betrays any deal reached.

  • Use: An ally of the PCs has begun acting differently, and not for the good.

GM Intrusion: The character who attempts an exorcism of a possessed target is successful, but the demon moves directly from the former victim into the exorcist. The new host can make an Intellect-based roll to eject the demon, but only after the first round of possession.

Demon Lord 9 (27)

(Godforsaken, page 104)

Demon lords are mighty demons, commanding hundreds of lesser fiends and often ruling an entire hellscape dimension. No mere brutes, they are smart, wield powerful magic, make centuries-long plans of conquest against rival demons, and seek to corrupt and enslave powerful mortals. Some are nearly as powerful as gods and are worshipped as such by cultists or evil creatures, claiming ownership of a concept like murder, rot, undeath, or seduction. A few are known to mate with mortals to produce cambion offspring.

  • Motive: Power, conquest, souls

  • Environment: Any hell dimension, sometimes called by mortal magic

  • Health: 100

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: History and magical knowledge as level 10

  • Combat: A demon lord attacks with a bolt of evil energy or fire up to a long distance away, inflicting 12 points of damage on one target or 9 points of damage on all targets within short range of the primary target. Targets caught in the area attack who succeed on a Speed defense roll still suffer 5 points of damage. A demon lord can make melee attacks on all targets within immediate range as an action.

    They can also call on a variety of other magical abilities that mimic the effect of any cypher of level 5 or lower—usually destructive, painful, and transformative effects.

    A demon lord automatically regains 3 points of health per round. They typically have the following abilities:

    • Change Shape: The demon lord can take the form of a human or similar humanoid as its action, or return to its regular shape. When so changed, its disguise is nearly impenetrable without special knowledge. As a human, the demon lord is a level 7 creature.
    • Possession: The demon lord can possess a creature and still use its own abilities.
    • Summon Demon: Summon a demon or devil to serve it for one day.
    • Wish: The demon lord can grant a mortal a wish (up to level 9) in exchange for an appropriate payment or service, but the wish is often twisted or has hidden consequences.

  • Interaction: Demon lords are willing to bargain with mortals if it leads to the mortal's corruption or advances the demon's agenda in some way. They sometimes respond to flattery or bribes of powerful souls or magic items.

  • Use: A mad cult wants to summon a demon lord in order to end the world. A mysterious stranger offers aid in exchange for a favor to be named later.

  • Loot: A demon lord often has an artifact relating to some aspect of its nature or interests, such as a weapon, ring, or armor, as well as 1d6 cyphers.

GM Intrusions: The demon lord offers the character something so tempting (an artifact, immortality, and soon) that they lose their next action and must make an Intellect defense roll to resist trying to bargain for it.

The demon lord creates a portal and retreats to its own dimension; the portal remains open for one round.

Devil 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 323)

Devils are manifest evil. As "native fauna" of various tortuous nether realms, devils come in many forms, though most are iterations on a theme that includes a humanoid shape, large batwings, bestial faces, and twisting horns. Most stink of brimstone and sport tails that end in a fork. Devils fill the ranks of hellish armies, guard evil vaults, and appear at the magical summons of warlocks and sorcerers who are not afraid for the sanctity of their own souls.

  • Motive: Collect souls

  • Environment: Anywhere in various nether realms; sometimes called by mortal magic

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short when walking or flying

  • Modifications: All tasks related to deception as level 7

  • Combat: When possible, a devil attacks with surprise. If successful, it unfurls two great wings and claws at the ends of its fingers. It leaps into the air, flies up to a short distance toward the nearest foe, and attacks that creature as a single action.

    Some devils carry tridents. The weapon inflicts 5 points of damage, and the target must either move to a position within an immediate distance chosen by the devil or take 2 additional points of damage from being impaled (a total of 7 points of damage). Impaled foes automatically take 5 points of damage each round until they use an action to pull themselves free.

  • Interaction: Evil, cruel, and malevolent, devils are more than happy to talk, especially to those already caught and being readied for torture. Devils serve yet more powerful devils out of fear. If they find someone or something they fear more, they readily betray their master and become obsequious and cringing, though further betrayal is always on the table.

  • Use: A spate of violent murders grips a city in fear—a devil has escaped into the world of mortals without a leash. It spends nights hunting anyone it spots from its perches atop the city's holy places.

GM Intrusion: A devil anticipates the character's melee attack and brings its wing down "just so" on the attacker's weapon. If the character fails a Speed defense roll, the weapon breaks. Either way, the attack fails to hit the devil.

Devolved 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 117)

Conglomerate security subsidiaries regularly experiment with new ways to create super-soldiers, either to supply to a government on a contract basis, or to use for themselves. These experiments produced hundreds of dead ends—literally—plus a few dangerous failures. The devolved are one of those dangerous failures. These malformed, hideous brutes share a common heritage but display a wide array of maladies and mutations in the flesh, including withered limbs or elephantine patches of thick, scaly skin, misplaced body parts, and mental abnormalities. Simple-minded and afflicted with pain from their twisted, broken forms, the devolved vent all their hatred and wrath against all others.

Even successfully created super-soldiers require a regular regimen of specialized drugs to keep them healthy. Most are shipped out to fight on faraway fronts, whether that's on a distant space station, moon, or in another star system entirely. Without their drugs, they may devolve.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Groups of three to five, usually in locations where organized security can't easily reach

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 to 12 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intimidation tasks as level 6; Intellect defense and Speed defense as level 2 due to malformed nature

  • Combat: Devolved attack with a claw, a bite, or some other body part, inflicting 6 points of damage. They throw themselves at their enemies with mindless ferocity and little regard for their own safety. Easily frustrated, a devolved grows stronger as its fury builds. Each time it misses with an attack, the next attack is eased by one additional step and the damage it inflicts increases by 2 points (to a maximum of 12 points). Once the devolved successfully inflicts damage on a target, the amount of damage it inflicts and the difficulty of its attacks returns to normal. Then the cycle starts anew.

  • Interaction: Devolved speak when they must, punctuating their statements with growls and barks. Their understanding seems limited to what they can immediately perceive, and they have a difficult time with abstract concepts.

  • Use: An expedition to a ruined conglomerate research facility uncovers a cyst of devolved that live within its sheltering bunkers.

  • Loot: For every three or so devolved, one is likely to carry a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The devolved detonates upon its death, inflicting 6 points of damage on everything in immediate range.

Divinity of the City 8 (24)

(It's Only Magic, page 99)

Divinities of the city are a pantheon of modern-era demigods who have a strong connection to some aspect of urban life. They get their powers from their connection to a modern element that's being worshipped. For example, the Divinity of Defacement gains power when someone creates graffiti or stares in wonder at a mural, while the Divinity of Urban Creatures grows stronger each time someone saves a turtle from a highway or shivers at coyotes' calls. Divinities look mostly humanoid, but their appearance has some tie to their connection. The Divinity of Defacement might wear graffiti-themed clothing, the Divinity of Urban Creatures might have a bear's head, and the Divinity of Architecture might have gargoyle wings.

  • Motive: Defense; protection; power

  • Environment: Urban landscapes

  • Health: 75

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Combat: Divinities attack a foe up to a long distance away with a spell related to their connection (sending a pack of rabid raccoons after a foe, lifting a highway, or having a mural attack). These attacks inflict 8 points of damage on a single target or, if the divinity chooses, the attack hits all targets within short range of the destination for 6 points of damage.

    Most divinities have a close-range attack as well, such as turning into a coyote and attacking their target with tooth and claw or grabbing a painted weapon out of a wall mural.

    Divinities also have a number of additional spells, including:

    • Animate: Turns any material into an animate level 4 creature. The creature has a mind and will of its own, and acts just as that type of creature would act if it were born instead of created.
    • Forever Space: Creates an endless length of alleys, roads, or bridges between itself and all characters it chooses within long range. Characters must succeed on a level 5 Intellect defense task to find an exit. While moving through the forever space, characters take 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) each round.
    • Heal: The divinity heals themself, a creature, or an object for 5 points of damage.
    • Illusion: Divinities can cast elaborate and convincing illusions over their domain, making the area seem more appealing, beautiful, or dangerous. Illusions cover up to a ten-block area and last for up to an hour. Seeing through one is a level 8 task.

  • Interaction: Divinities rarely care about humans unless they're connected to their particular part of the urban landscape. Sometimes they can be persuaded or negotiated with, but not if the character has previously damaged or endangered the divinity's connection—for example, a poacher of urban wildlife probably has no chance of interacting positively with a Divinity of Urban Creatures.

  • Use: A divinity is a powerful aggressive or defensive force, putting the PCs in a position where they must fight or negotiate to prevent death and destruction. In addition to situations where a divinity clashes with those who would exploit them, they may have information or unique magic (such as an unlocking spell) that the characters need to reach a goal.

  • Loot: Divinities rarely carry anything of interest to humans, but they might bequeath to allies a powerful artifact related to some aspect of their domain.

Djinni 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 324)

Djinn inhabit unseen dimensions beyond the visible universe. Just like normal creatures, djinn are individuals, and they can be good, evil, or unconcerned about the fates and doings of others.

  • Motive: Unpredictable

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 9 points

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Knowledge of Arabian history as level 8

  • Combat: With a touch, a djinni can warp a victim's flesh, inflicting damage. Djinn can also use an action to send out a magitech "EMP burst" that renders all artifacts, machines, and lesser magic devices within short range inoperable for one minute. (If the item is part of a character's equipment, they can prevent this outcome by succeeding on a Speed defense roll.) Instead of disabling all devices in range, a djinni can instead take control of one item within range for one minute, if applicable.

    A djinni can transform into a being of smoke and flame as its action. While in this form, it has +10 to Armor but can't attack foes. It gains the ability to fly a long distance each round and retains the ability to communicate normally. The first time each day that a djinni returns to physical form after having become smoke, it regains 25 points of health.

    Some djinn have the ability to grant wishes, and a few are beholden to do so thanks to an ancient, unexplained agreement with other djinn. Those who grant wishes twist them against the asker, especially if a wish is poorly worded or there are multiple ways to interpret it. The level of the effect granted is no greater than level 7, as determined by the GM, who can modify the effect of the wish accordingly. (The larger the wish, the more likely the GM will limit its effect.)

  • Interaction: When a djinni interacts with characters, it's narcissistic, certain in its own immense power, and unlikely to let slights pass. That said, low-tier characters could negotiate with one peacefully because even djinn have needs and desires.

  • Use: Agents of a foreign power retrieved a magic lamp from an ancient Arabian ruin. The PCs' job is to determine whether there is reason for alarm.

  • Loot: Most djinn carry a couple of cyphers, and some have a magic artifact useful in combat.

GM Intrusion: When the character is touched by a djinni, instead of taking damage, the character is turned to smoke and fire and sent whirling off in a random direction. They lose their next turn and return to normal almost 300 feet (90 m) from where they started.

Dragon 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 325)

Dragons are exceptionally territorial, vain, and greedy. Apex predators, dragons must eat large meals on a regular basis. They prefer virgins, though they will settle for whoever, or whatever—such as horses or wild pigs—is available in a pinch. They love games of all sorts, especially when they get to consume the loser. Drawn to wealth and magic, dragons accumulate hoards of golden treasure. A dragon's hoard is not only an end in itself, but part of a never-ending contest between dragons of a certain age to see which one can accumulate the largest trove.

  • Motive: Self-aggrandizement, hungers for flesh, treasure collection

  • Environment: Dragons thrive where wilderness meets the civilized frontier.

  • Health: 45

  • Damage Inflicted: 10 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; long while flying

  • Modifications: Perception and riddles as level 8; Speed defense as level 6 due to size

  • Combat: A dragon can bite one target or claw two opponents in immediate range as a single action. When bitten, targets are also immobilized until they succeed on a Might defense roll to break free (or the dragon drops them).

    Most dragons have one or more additional magical abilities they can bring to bear in combat, including the following.

    • Captivate: A dragon with this ability can psychically mesmerize a nondragon target in immediate range who fails an Intellect defense roll. A captivated target does the dragon's verbal bidding for one or more hours. Each time the target is confronted by a third party about its mental condition, the target is allowed another Intellect defense roll to break the effect.
    • Change Shape: A dragon with this ability can take the form of a human or similar humanoid as its action, or return to its regular shape. When so changed, the dragon's disguise is nearly impenetrable without special knowledge. As a human, the dragon is a level 5 creature.
    • Fiery Breath: A dragon can breathe a stream of fire up to long range, doing 7 points of damage to all targets within immediate range of each other. Targets who succeed on a Speed defense roll to avoid the full effect of the fire still take 3 points of damage. This ability cannot be used in consecutive rounds.

  • Interaction: Like the many hues of dragon scales, dragon personalities run the gamut from beastly thug to refined connoisseur. Some dragons lie with every smoky breath, others consider the least bit of dishonesty a personal failing, and most fall somewhere in between. All of them can be flattered and even charmed by someone with courtly manners and grace.

  • Use: A dragon confronts the PCs, challenging them to a riddle game. If the characters win, they get a cypher. If the dragon wins, the PCs owe it a favor to be specified later … unless the dragon is hungry now.

  • Loot: A dragon's hoard might contain 2d6 cyphers, hard currency equivalent to 1d6 exorbitant items, and possibly a few artifacts (but a hoard is usually well guarded).

GM Intrusion: The dragon breathes fire while the character is caught in its mouth, which automatically inflicts maximum fire damage on them.

Ecophagic Swarm 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 118)

Tiny nanomachines can be incredibly useful tools. But they can also become a terrible threat. Like cells in a living body that develop cancer, these out-of-control self-replicating robots can consume everything in their path while building more of themselves. A typical swarm is about 6 m (20 feet) in diameter, individually consisting of millions of individual minuscule machines. However, several swarms can act together, creating a much larger cloud of death with just one purpose: to eat and replicate. Able to move large distances by gliding through the air, cloud-like swarms take on intriguing shapes and ripple with mathematical patterns as they approach a potential target, beautiful and deadly.

Ecophagic swarms sometimes build weird structures or artifacts in the wake of their feeding, like massive metallic ant or wasp mounds, or something without any reference at all in the natural world.

  • Motive: Hungers for matter, including flesh

  • Environment: Ecophagic swarms are drawn most to areas rich in rare-earth metals, such as large cities or space stations where everyone carries a smartphone, AR glasses, or something similar

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Flies a long distance

  • Combat: As a mass of countless tiny machines, an ecophagic swarm can flow around obstacles and squeeze through cracks large enough to permit a single sub-millimeter machine. That includes over and around other creatures. Characters touched by a leading edge—or wholly enveloped within the hazy "body"—of an ecophagic swarm must succeed on a Might defense task or take 4 points of damage. If the character doesn't wear armor of some kind, they take 1 point of damage even if they succeed.

    For its part, an ecophagic swarm ignores any attack that targets a single creature (unless it's an electrical attack), but it takes normal damage from attacks that affect an area (and electrical attacks), such as a detonation. A swarm cannot enter liquids, unless it takes about an hour to build new subunits that are aquatic.

  • Interaction: Someone with an ability to communicate with machines might be able to interact with a swarm. Even then, attempts to influence it are hindered by three steps.

  • Use: A promising new nanotech "printing" technology was hacked by radical elements

GM Intrusion: The character must succeed on a Speed defense roll or their armor (or other important piece of equipment) is taken by the swarm.

Elder Thing 8 (24)

(Stay Alive!, page 109)

Elder things are mostly extinct, but a few remain trapped in the Antarctic ice or rule over crumbling cities in deep trenches at the bottom of the ocean.

Beholding an elder thing bends the mind to the point of breaking. An elder thing has a great barrel-like body standing some 8 feet (2 m) tall. Knobby protrusions in the crown and base each unfold five appendages that recall the arms of a starfish. When agitated, an elder thing unfolds a pair of wings that help it flutter a limited distance.

Meddling by elder things created multicellular life that spread across Earth billions of years ago and ultimately brought about humanity. As the younger species grew in numbers and influence, the elder things went into decline, a process hastened by wars against strange beings from other worlds and uprisings by the servitor race they created, the shoggoths.

  • Motive: Reclaim absolute sovereignty

  • Environment: In arctic regions or deep underwater

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Immediate; long when flying

  • Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge of magic or science as level 10; Speed defense as level 6 due to form

  • Combat: An elder thing can attack with five tentacles divided any way it chooses among up to three targets within immediate range. A target hit by a tentacle must also succeed on a Speed defense roll or become grabbed until it escapes. Each round, the elder thing automatically inflicts 6 points of damage on each grabbed target until the victim succeeds on a Might defense roll to escape.

    An elder thing can reach into the mind of a target within short distance. If the target fails an Intellect defense roll, the elder thing reads their thoughts while the target remains within long distance. During this time, the elder thing knows everything the target knows, hindering the target's attack and defense rolls against the elder thing. The elder thing can use an action to rend the target's thoughts, which inflicts 6 points of Intellect damage on a failed Intellect defense roll. An elder thing can passively read the thoughts of up to two creatures at one time.

    An elder thing also might carry a few cyphers and an artifact it can use in combat.

  • Interaction: An elder thing communicates through whistles and pops created by moving air through tiny orifices arranged around its body. Elder things see humans as a lesser form of life and may demand worship, sacrifices, or something else from people it encounters.

  • Use: Fishermen return to a coastal village with a large block of ice in tow. In the ice is something dark and large—an elder thing frozen alive. If the thing thaws out, it will likely take over the community and enslave the people living there.

  • Loot: An elder thing usually has one artifact and two or three cyphers.

GM Intrusion: A character who sees an elder thing for the first time goes temporarily crazy on a failed Intellect defense roll. They might stand in place and gibber, run away, or laugh hysterically for a few rounds. If the character takes damage, they shake off the temporary madness.

Elemental 4 (12)+
Elementals by Level
Air Elemental 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 105)

Air elementals are capricious pieces of air with simple minds. They spontaneously appear in clouds and high mountains, and often resemble an area of mist or a cloudlike humanoid shape.

  • Motive: Mischief and destruction

  • Environment: Anywhere the wind blows

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Long when flying

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 6

  • Combat: Air elementals slice foes up to a short distance away with blades of fierce wind, or use blasts of air to throw small objects. Once every other round, an air elemental can turn into a tornado-like vortex that inflicts 4 points of damage to all creatures within immediate range. In this form, the elemental gains +1 to Armor and an additional +2 to Armor against physical projectile weapons such as arrows and javelins. The elemental reverts to its normal form at the start of its next turn.

    An air elemental can disperse itself over a short area as an action. In this form it is invisible, unable to attack, and can't be attacked except with area attacks. The elemental can remain in this form indefinitely, but must use an action to return to its normal form.

    Air elementals are elusive opponents and hard to destroy. If an air elemental is reduced to 0 health, there is a 50 percent chance that it rejuvenates a few rounds later with 6 health. The elemental then continues to fight or flees to cause trouble elsewhere.

  • Interaction: Air elementals see and hear many things, but they are flighty and what they remember usually isn't important or relevant. They can be summoned with magic but don't like being controlled, and there is a 10 percent chance that they free themselves and strike out on their own.

  • Use: A safe mountain trail has become hazardous due to unseasonal winds that threaten to push travelers off a cliff. An old tree is surrounded by whispers of conversations that took place recently and has started hurling sticks and fruit at anyone who comes too close.

GM Intrusion: A violent blast of wind disarms a character and sends whatever they were holding up to a long distance away (depending on the object's size and weight).

Earth Elemental5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 327)

An excavation, a meteor fall, a still-shuddering earthquake—all these events can summon an earth elemental to take shape and expand the destruction further.

  • Motive: Crumble and break, reduce things to earth

  • Environment: Anywhere solid or earthen

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Immediate; short when burrowing

  • Combat: Earth elementals batter foes with heavy fists. They can also create earthquakes (no more than once every other round) that affect the ground within short range. Creatures standing in the area fall to the ground and take 5 points of damage on a failed Might defense roll.

    An earth elemental is vulnerable to water. Any damage it takes while standing in or being doused in water ignores its Armor.

  • Interaction: Although brooding and slow to respond if encountered as immobile stone, earth elementals are intelligent. The ones that are summoned with a spell have about a 5% chance of breaking the geas and turning on their summoner.

  • Use: Oddly articulated monoliths were discovered high in the mountains around a shrine containing an ancient treasure. A merchant wants someone to investigate the monoliths in case they represent a trap. In fact, the monoliths are inactive earth elementals.

GM Intrusion: A character within range of the earth elemental's earthquake attack must succeed on a Speed defense roll or be covered in an avalanche from a collapsing structure or cliff face.

Electricity Elemental4 (12)

(It's Only Magic, page 100)

Electricity elementals alternate between a feral-looking humanoid energy form and a near-spherical cloud of intensely glowing sparks. They spontaneously arise when supernatural events take place near high-voltage wires or electrical substations, and their high rate of speed often means they've traveled hundreds of miles before anyone realizes they appeared. Extremely mobile and curious, they inadvertently or deliberately cause harm wherever they go.

  • Motive: Explore and shock

  • Environment: Anywhere electricity can easily reach

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short; very long with electrical conduction

  • Modifications: Attacks and Speed defense as level 5 due to quickness; stealth as level 2 due to buzzing noise

  • Combat: An electricity elemental strikes twice each round with a limb, or fires one bolt of electricity at a target within short range.

    As its action, an elemental can heal itself for up to 4 points of health by draining power from a touched electrical machine, creature (such as a robot), manifest cypher, or artifact. A drained object moves one step down the object damage track. A drained robot takes 4 points of damage. A drained manifest cypher is fully consumed and useless. A drained artifact immediately checks for depletion (artifacts with a depletion of "—" are either immune to this ability or have a depletion of 1 in 1d10 for this purpose).

    An electricity elemental can pass through conductive materials at full speed, ignoring obstacles and difficult terrain. An electricity elemental can power any electrical device that runs on household power, but it's uncomfortable for them and they don't like doing it.

  • Interaction: Electricity elementals are somewhat intelligent but perceive and think at much faster rates than humans, so they quickly become frustrated with "slow" communication. They can be summoned and controlled with magic, but there's a 10% chance the elemental breaks free of the spell and attacks or flees.

  • Use: Power grid fluctuations throughout the city may be the result of a roving electricity elemental. Something exploded every car battery along a major street. Something noisy has taken over the eccentric inventor's workshop.

Fire Elemental 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 326)

Searing flame in a vaguely humanoid shape, a fire elemental exists only to burn that which is not already ash. They sometimes spin into being where great conflagrations burn.

  • Motive: Burn

  • Environment: Anywhere fires can burn

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 to 7 points; see Combat

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: See Combat for escalating attack level modification.

  • Combat: A fire elemental attacks with a flaming limb. The more the elemental burns foes, the more powerful it grows. Its power increases according to the number of successful attacks (that dealt fire damage) it made on another creature during the previous minute.

    • 0 successful attacks: deals 4 points of damage; attacks as level 4
    • 1 successful attack: deals 5 points of damage; attacks as level 5
    • 3 successful attacks: deals 6 points of damage; attacks as level 6
    • 4+ successful attacks: deals 7 points of damage; attacks as level 7

    If a fire elemental hasn't burned a foe within the last minute, its combat stats drop back to its level 4 baseline.

    A fire elemental is immune to fire attacks but vulnerable to cold; every time it takes 1 point of cold damage, it takes 1 additional point of damage.

  • Interaction: Fire elementals are barely sapient and usually respond only to those who know spells able to command them. However, there's a chance (about 10%) that a fire elemental commanded to accomplish a particular task breaks free and instead burns whatever's around until it exhausts all possible fuel sources.

  • Use: A rash of fires leads some people to suspect that an arsonist is on the loose, but the truth is worse.

GM Intrusion: A character hit by the fire elemental's attack catches on fire and takes 3 points of damage each round until they use an action patting, rolling, or smothering the flames.

Thorn Elemental 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 106)

The grisly sign of an active thorn elemental in areas of heavy woods or jungle is the presence of shriveled bodies dangling from vines, dead of strangulation and poison. Thorn elementals take form in areas dense with woody growth under threat by hatchet, axe, saw, and, sometimes, human-caused climate disruptions.

  • Motive: Defense of forests

  • Environment: Anywhere trees grow

  • Health: 36

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Immediate

  • Combat: Thorn elementals batter foes with thorny, vine-wrapped fists. Targets who suffer damage must make a successful Might defense roll or take 2 points of Speed damage from a paralytic poison transmitted by a thorn's prick. Worse, the poison continues to inflict 2 points of Speed damage each round until the victim succeeds at a Might defense roll.

    As its action, a thorn elemental can disentangle its form and reassemble a new body anywhere within long range where trees and plants grow. A thorn elemental regains 2 points of health each time it travels in this fashion.

  • Interaction: Thorn elementals communicate through speech, though they generally disdain talking to creatures of the animal kingdom. Thorn elementals exist within a hierarchy; those that have a greater capacity for communication are also usually more powerful. Summoned thorn elementals have about a 5 percent chance of breaking the geas and turning on their summoner.

  • Use: Adventuring characters journey through a forest that is under threat of destruction by an encroachment of other humanoids. Thinking the PCs are part of the encroachers, a thorn elemental attacks them. If communication is opened, it might break off hostilities and instead ask the characters to help.

  • Loot: The bodies of those previously defeated by thorn elementals dangle from the forest or jungle canopy with all their former possessions. One or two might have a cypher and other tools and treasure.

Woody vine
level 4; Armor 1

GM Intrusion: A character within short range of a thorn elemental must make a successful Speed defense roll or be hauled into the air by a vine noose around their neck. They can try to cut the woody vine or attempt a Might task to break free before they strangle. Each round after the first in which they fail to break the noose, they move down one step on the damage track.

Water Elemental 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 107)

Water elementals are animate masses of water. When swimming, they are nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings, but when they have to move on dry land, they usually take the form of a curling wave, amorphous blob, or large puddle. They can spontaneously appear in locations with pristine salt or fresh water.

  • Motive: Flood, drown, and wash away

  • Environment: Anywhere there is flowing water

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short; long if swimming

  • Modifications: Swimming and aquatic maneuvers as level 6; stealth as level 6 when in water

  • Combat: Water elementals bash opponents with heavy limbs of water or spray jets of water out to short range.

    Instead of a bashing attack, a water elemental can use its action to attempt to envelop, smother, and crush one opponent, who can resist with a Might defense roll. If the opponent fails, it takes 4 points of damage immediately and every round on the elemental's turn. Each following turn, the enveloped character must attempt a new Might defense roll every round or move one step down the damage track from drowning as the elemental forces itself into the creature's lungs. The creature can free itself with a Might defense roll. An elemental with an enveloped opponent can move up to a short distance as its action; a common tactic is to dive deep, release their opponent to drown normally, then return to its previous position to fight other opponents.

    Any attack that inflicts 6 or more points of cold damage hinders a water elemental's actions on its next turn.

  • Interaction: Water elementals are somewhat intelligent but think very differently from humans, so they often seem distracted and dull. They are generally compliant when summoned with magic, but there is about a 5 percent chance that they break free of the spell and lash out against their summoner.

  • Use: Offerings left at a sacred pond have gone missing, and the water itself seems threatening. Garbage or dead bodies have polluted a water source, spawning an angry elemental that attacks everyone until the mess is cleaned up.

GM Intrusion: The force of the elemental's attack knocks over a character, sweeps them a short distance away, or both.

Enthraller 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 328)

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, enthraller ancestors psychically dominated a group of interstellar spacefarers who had the misfortune to land on the enthraller homeworld. Leapfrogging technological prowess by mentally commandeering the know-how of every new species they encountered using their stolen space vessel, the aliens fashioned the Enthraller Dominion, which stretches across vast swaths of space, cemented by the psychic control.

Individual enthrallers are scary, but enthraller overlords are even more powerful thanks to technological aids. These include cranial circlets that give a single enthraller governor the ability to dominate a small city, solar-system-sized ring relays that boost their control across interstellar distances, and more.

Recently, a newly contacted species of aliens developed the technological means to resist the mental influence of the enthrallers. Now war bubbles across the Enthraller Dominion. Sometimes individual enthrallers, stripped of their technological enhancements as a consequence of this war, flee into virgin space, looking for new soldiers to dominate.

  • Motive: Domination of other creatures

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, alone or in groups of three

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points; see Combat

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4; perception and ability to detect falsehoods as level 8

  • Combat: An enthraller usually relies on dominated minions to make physical attacks on its behalf. An enthraller can make a psychic attack on a creature within short range. On a failed Intellect defense roll, the target acts as the enthraller mentally commands on its next action. If the same target is affected by this dominating attack a second time within a minute, the enthraller's mental control lasts for one minute.

    Alternatively, as its action, an enthraller can emit a psychic burst that can target up to three creatures in short range. On a failed Intellect defense roll, a victim suffers 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and is unable to take actions on their subsequent turn. If the victim is attacked while so stunned, their defense rolls are hindered by two steps.

    The enthraller's attack is a form of mental feeding. If it moves a PC down the damage track, the creature regains 4 points of health.

  • Interaction: An enthraller can communicate telepathically with characters within short range. It tries to mentally dominate whoever it runs across and will negotiate only with characters who are strong enough to harm it. Even if an enthraller makes a deal, it eventually reneges if it senses any advantage for doing so because it implicitly believes that other creatures are cattle.

  • Use: A spacecraft (or perhaps an escape pod) crash lands. Inside, a hurt enthraller lies in suspended animation. Investigators are unlikely to realize the enthraller's nature beforehand, but they certainly learn if they wake the alien.

  • Loot: Enthrallers wear light armor suited for their forms. They might have one or two cyphers and, rarely, an artifact that boosts their already-fearsome mental capabilities.

GM Intrusion: The enthraller's intrusion into the character's mind stirs up forgotten memories. The character must deal with the contents of these memories and perhaps why they were repressed.

Erlking 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 116)

This vaguely humanoid creature is an animated accumulation of woodland debris—bark, lost teeth, matted weeds, and dirt. It wears a crown of oak leaves and a cloak of mist.

Its eyes are knotholes, and its hands are sharpened twigs. An erlking is a greedy spirit of hunger deemed Unseelie by the faerie nobility of that wild and wicked realm. Erlkings love to hunt and eat children, who are particularly susceptible to the promises and glamours that the creatures spin.

An erlking is a former noble stripped of title, lands, and even form, and exiled into the night for crimes unimaginable in their cruelty. An erlking's victims are found in the cold sunlight, pale and bloodless, with their vital organs nibbled out.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh and to reclaim stripped titles

  • Environment: Almost anywhere wooded at night

  • Health: 27

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short; immediate when burrowing

  • Modifications: Stealth tasks as level 7

  • Combat: An erlking prefers to attack from hiding, and whisper a child or other creature within short distance from their bed out into the night if the victim fails an Intellect defense task. An affected creature remains under the erlking's spell for up to an hour or until attacked or otherwise harmed.

    When it attacks physically, an erlking can attack three times on its turn with root tendrils. A target hit by a tendril must also succeed on a Speed defense roll or become grabbed until they escape. The erlking automatically inflicts 6 points of damage on each grabbed creature each round until they succeed on a Might-based task to escape.

    Silvered and cold iron weapons ignore an erlking's Armor. If an erlking's remains are not burned or otherwise destroyed, it will sprout and grow a new body from its corpse within a day.

  • Interaction: An erlking may negotiate if creatures have something it wants, or if targets are armed with silvered or cold iron weapons.

  • Use: An erlking is active only by night; by day, it hides beneath a mound of weedy earth indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.

GM Intrusion: A character surprised by an erlking in the darkness must succeed on an Intellect defense task or lose their next action as they faint, run screaming, or stand paralyzed in terror.

Exoslime 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 119)

Amoeboid life predominates in some environments. Sometimes, it slimes asteroid crevices or its greasy residue is found on abandoned spacecraft. In a few cases, large portions of entire worlds are covered in living seas of translucent protoplasm. Individual volumes of exoslime are 5 m (15 foot) diameter moldlike blobs. Exoslimes possess independent minds, but in some settings may be manufactured entities designed to explore new locations, interact with aliens, or subjugate aliens. Exoslimes can learn to respect the autonomy of other creatures, though their natural instinct is to absorb novel objects and creatures they discover in order to learn about them. Exoslimes can also replicate anything they absorb, even a previously eaten living intelligent being.

  • Motive: Hungers for information

  • Environment: Moist and warm areas

  • Health: 33

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Immediate; immediate when climbing or burrowing

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: Though slow, an exoslime is dangerous. When roused, all characters within immediate range of an exoslime must succeed on a Might defense roll each round or be touched by the heaving mass. A victim adheres to the slime's surface and takes 6 points of acid damage each round. The victim must succeed on a Might defense roll to pull free. A victim who dies from this damage is consumed by the exoslime. The exoslime may later create a duplicate of any previously devoured fleshy creature, a process requiring about three rounds to complete. Duplicates have full autonomy, and can communicate with the slime.

  • Interaction: An exoslime prefers to eat a newly-encountered creature, then create a duplicate of it to act as a translator. Of course, a stranger might not understand why the exoslime is trying to eat it.

  • Use: The sample brought in from the exterior has a weird, mucus-like growth that seems able to slowly eat through most materials.

GM Intrusion: The character escapes an exoslime attack, but a piece of quivering protoplasm remains stuck to their flesh, eating away at 1 point of Speed damage (ignores Armor) each round until the character succeeds on a Might roll as an action.

Faerie 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 109)(We Are All Mad Here, page 121)

In general, faeries (sometimes called fairies or fair folk) are humanoid in appearance, small in stature, and magical. They are associated with music, mirth, tricks, and taunts. Seeing one is an omen—hopefully, an omen of a silly song or the first appearance of an annoying new road companion (the very faerie sighted) flitting around, asking the questions of a curious four-year-old hyped up on sugar water and ice cream. Some faeries are tricksters, delighting in playing pranks and stealing clothing, equipment, or prized objects. And a few are malicious, luring travelers to their various dooms, making deadly deals, and forcing others into captivity.

Not all faeries have wings, but those that do find many ways to use them to their advantage.

Editor's Notes — This listing combines two identically named creatures from Godforsaken and We Are All Mad Here.

  • Motive: Unpredictable

  • Environment: Encountered alone or in a flutter of three to twelve, usually in forests

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Immediate; long when flying

  • Modifications: Tasks related to performance and deception as level 5; Speed defense as level 5 due to size and quickness

  • Combat: A faerie attacks by hurling sparkling magic dust at a target within short range.

    In addition, if a faerie is touched or struck by a melee weapon, more magic dust puffs away from the faerie and clouds the attacker, who must succeed on a Speed defense task or suffer the same amount of damage they just dealt to the faerie. Sometimes faeries wield tiny weapons, such as bows, spears, or swords; treat these as light weapons.

    A faerie can see in the dark, but it can also emit bright light (often colored) and appear as a glowing humanoid or an illuminated sphere.

    Faeries regain 1 point of health per round while their health is above 0 unless they've been damaged with a silvered or cold iron weapon.

    In addition to inflicting damage with their fairy dust and their weapons of choice, faeries have a number of curses and abilities at their disposal. These include the following:

    • Animal Friend: Most faeries can communicate with animals, and a few can even summon animals within long range for help and protection. Some faeries can also grant others the ability to communicate with animals, but only for a day.
    • Charm: Some faeries can attempt to use a song or light display to charm others within short range. The target must succeed on an Intellect defense task or fall into a suggestible state for one hour. During this period, the target can be led by the faerie until attacked, damaged, or shaken from their glamour.
    • Clairvoyance: The faerie grants someone the ability to see the future, the past, faeries, or one of the hidden faerie worlds. This gift lasts for one day, or until the character makes a ten-hour recovery roll.
    • Heal: The faerie heals themselves, a plant, a creature, or another character for 1d6 + 2 points of damage.
    • Illusion: Powerful faeries can cast elaborate and convincing illusions that make them and their worlds appear more appealing and beautiful. Illusions can cover up to a mile in area. Seeing through the illusion is a task equal to the faerie's level and lasts for ten minutes. After that, the viewer reverts to seeing the illusion and quickly forgets that they saw anything else.
    • Invisibility: Makes the faerie invisible to most eyes. Seeing, hearing, or sensing a faerie when it's invisible is a task equal to the faerie's level. A failed attempt to see a faerie causes the viewer to see something that harms their mind, inflicting 1 point of Intellect damage.
    • Vortex: A defensive tactic where one or more threatened faeries use their wings to create a strong gust of wind, tornado, or vortex. The wind pushes their foes back a long distance and inflicts 2 points of damage.

    Faeries have a wide variety of weaknesses, including silver, iron, technology, sugar and salt (they must count each grain), and cream (intoxicates them). But not all faeries have the same weaknesses, and some may not have any.

  • Interaction: Faeries are mercurial creatures, but except for the malicious ones, they can be negotiated with, especially if offered sweets, wine, cream, or other gifts. That said, faerie attention spans are limited, so even one that means well could end up leaving the PCs in the lurch at just the wrong moment.

  • Use: The dancing light in the distance, leading curious PCs deeper and deeper into the dark woods, is a faerie. And the destination could be a wicked witch or other unpleasant location.

  • Use: The characters come upon an injured faerie, who promises to grant them their deepest wish if they agree to help it. They must decide if they believe the faerie speaks true, or if it's a trap.

  • Loot: The tiny pouches that faeries carry are stuffed with forest bric-a-brac, but some of those pouches are ten times larger on the inside and could contain expensive items, a handful of shiny coins, or cyphers.

GM Intrusions: A character accidentally does something to offend a helpful faerie, causing it to turn on them.

Another faerie appears, and if the character fails a Speed defense roll, it flies off with their weapon or another important possession.

Fallen Angel 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 329)

Angels are normally associated with virtue and service to higher moral beings. But just like people, sometimes angels are tempted into impure acts. Those who stray too far over the line may fall from higher realms and be forced to walk the Earth in penance. This experience drives most fallen angels insane.

Fallen angel abilities wax and wane according to the position of the sun. During the day, a fallen angel seems almost sane (and is less dangerous), but at night, it is volatile and threatening to everyone.

  • Motive: Revenge (but on whom and for what isn't clear, even to the fallen angel)

  • Environment: Anywhere, sometimes living alone in the wilderness, other times walking the hard streets of large cities

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points by day, 8 points at night

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: At night, perceptions and attacks as level 7

  • Combat: At night, a fallen angel can attack other creatures by projecting a long-range beam of burning light. Against foes within immediate range, the fallen angel manifests burning wings. A fallen angel can choose to make its attacks ignore Armor, but for each attack so modified, it loses 4 points of health.

    On the rare occasion that a fallen angel is within immediate range of another of its kind, both regain 1 point of health per round.

    By day, a fallen angel cannot project long-range attacks and has no visible wings with which to make melee attacks, though it may carry a melee weapon.

  • Interaction: By day, fallen angels are not automatically hostile, and they can be negotiated and reasoned with. They can seem truly angelic, though they are often confused and forgetful of their origin. But when night descends, fallen angels lose control of their faculties as they swell with rage and power. Unless a character directs a fallen angel toward another creature on which it can vent its wrath, the character becomes the object of the fury.

  • Use: A star slips down from the sky and lands in the country. The next day, travelers come upon a farm in the area and find everyone dead and burned. A trail of scorched earth leads up into the hills.

  • Loot: Fallen angels collect cyphers and usually have a few.

GM Intrusion: A fallen angel's successful attack causes the character's cypher to detonate (if a grenade) or otherwise activate in a less-than-ideal fashion.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 99)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are Beast, Sword, Famine, and Plague.

Beast 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 99)

Beast (also called "Conquest") is present at mass shootings and acts of genocide. He is adroit at spreading misinformation and, prior to the apocalypse, was often seen on various "newstainment" shows and conspiracy theory websites, spreading lies under an alias. Then and now, he appears in a white suit, accessorized with white shades and gloves. His hair is white, too.

  • Motive: Spread lies; incite others to rabid acts of cruelty

  • Environment: Almost anywhere with a dupe he's gaslighted and/or with one or more of the Four

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; long when mounted or riding

  • Modifications: Deception as level 8

  • Combat: Beast prefers that others fight in his stead. Those convinced of his lies ease their attacks and defenses, and deal 2 additional points of damage with a successful attack. If forced into conflict, Beast produces a handgun, making two long range attacks as his action. The first time any target is hit by Beast in combat, that target takes damage and must succeed on an Intellect defense roll. A failed roll means the target mistakenly believes one of their allies attacked them instead of Beast. The target gets a new Intellect defense roll each round to realize their error.

    As one of the Four, Beast can see in the dark, regains 1 health each round, and, if killed, reappears within 1d10 days at the next nearest location that previously experienced a mass shooting or genocidal act.

  • Interaction: Beast comes across as a kind truth teller, someone "just asking questions," but it doesn't take long for perceptive people to realize he's a consummate, continual gaslighter, always working to manipulate others.

  • Use: A sniper on the ridge tries to pick the PCs off as they pass across a bridge. Behind the sniper stands a man in white.

Sword 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 100)

Sword (also called "War") is never far from large-scale conflicts. She glories in battle and warfare, and before the world ended, she was a provocateur, a mercenary, a soldier, and sometimes a general. However, once a war is good and started, she prefers fighting over watching. Then and now, she dresses in red, preferring red military attire and a massive sword—or assault rifle—the color of blood.

  • Motive: Hunger for combat; incite war

  • Environment: Almost anywhere war is waged and/or with one or more of the Four

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; usually has a red mount or vehicle nearby

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 8

  • Combat: Sword's blood colored weapon is either a greatsword or an assault rifle, whatever she needs it to be in the moment. She attacks three times with the sword as her action. With the rifle, she can make one very long range attack (with no hindrance despite the range) or two long range attacks.

    As part of her attack, she can imbue one bullet each round with an explosive charge. If the attack hits, in addition to normal damage, the target and everyone within immediate range of the target must succeed on a Speed defense roll or take 6 points of damage from shrapnel, or 2 points even with a successful roll.

    As one of the Four, Sword can see in the dark, regains 1 health each round, and, if killed, reappears within 1d10 days at the next nearest location that previously experienced war.

  • Interaction: Sword is full of swagger, often causing fights with biting insults. However, if she can't incite a fight, she's just as happy to start one herself, especially as part of a false flag operation.

  • Use: A band of raiders, dozens strong, appears on the horizon. Leading them is a woman on a red horse.

Famine 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 100)

Famine delighted in economic collapse and starvation before the apocalypse. They still spend time destabilizing survivor groups' livelihoods by direct and indirect means. Famine is rail thin, and carries a chain weapon with weighted, disc shaped ends that can also be used as an improvised scale.

  • Motive: Starve the living; destabilize organized groups

  • Environment: Almost anywhere people are starving and/or with one or more of the Four

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; usually has a black mount or vehicle nearby

  • Modifications: Intellect defense as level 8

  • Combat: Famine attacks foes with their chain weapon, attacking up to two targets within immediate range at once, or a single target within short range. On a hit, they inflict damage and can choose to entangle one target, who is held helpless on a failed Might defense roll until they escape. Entangled targets automatically take damage each round from the tightening chains. Alternatively, Famine can release a pulse of decay once every few hours that affects all creatures and food stores within short range. Food automatically goes bad, losing all nutritional value. Living targets in the area that fail a Might defense roll feel an overwhelming pang of hunger and descend one step on the damage track. As one of the Four, Famine can see in the dark, regains 1 health each round, and, if killed, reappears within 1d10 days at the next nearest location that previously experienced death through starvation or other privation.

  • Interaction: Famine is keen to talk about delicacies of every kind, becoming more animated and descriptive about mouthwatering foods and drinks the hungrier those nearby are.

  • Use: The characters are trying to help a group of survivors transport much-needed food stores to their community when someone all in black on a black motorcycle appears on the road ahead.

Plague 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 101)

Plague (often called "Death") is present wherever people die of disease or infirmity brought on by age. She prefers black and pale green evening wear, including long pale green gloves and often a grinning skull mask. When traveling, she drives a pale green hearse or motorcycle, or rides a horse the same sickly green color.

  • Motive: Death

  • Environment: Almost anywhere people are dying (but especially of disease and/or old age) and/or with one or more of the Four

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; usually has a pale green mount or vehicle nearby

  • Modifications: Might defense as level 8

  • Combat: When she wishes, Plague wields a scythe, as if she had always been holding it. She attacks twice with it as her action. On a hit, the scythe deals damage and the target must succeed on a Might defense roll. On a failed roll, the target contracts a supernatural disease requiring that they succeed on a Might defense roll each minute or descend one step on the damage track. If an affected target succeeds on three Might defense rolls at any point, they recover. If Plague removes a glove as an action, she can use her next action to imbue her scythe with necrotic power, or simply touch a target with her bare hand. On a hit with either her touch or the imbued scythe, she inflicts damage, and the target must succeed on a Might defense roll or die. Plague can use this ability about once a day, or immediately again if her previous target dies because of it. As one of the Four, Plague can see in the dark, regains 1 health each round, and, if killed, reappears within 1d10 days at the next nearest location that previously experienced death by disease or due to old age.

  • Interaction: Of all the Four, Plague is the most changeable in outlook, and sometimes is even somewhat sympathetic to humanity's plight. When she's in such a mood, persuasive characters could convince Plague to pass them over, though she promises that it's only a temporary stay of death.

  • Use: The characters find a before-times bunker filled with corpses killed by some strange infection, plus a living "human" wearing a black and pale green evening gown.

Fundamental Angel 5 (15)

(Stay Alive!, page 110)

Fundamental angels are mysterious holy beings that maintain and guard fundamental concepts of the universe, such as time, gravity, and energy. They have powers and agendas deriving from higher states of reality. They are strange, terrifying, and inconstant in form, unlike the relatively benign and comprehensible winged humanoids from religion and myth.

In the rare times when mortals interfere with these concepts, fundamental angels manifest in the world to set things right. They have intervened to destroy cataclysmic atomic weapons, power sources that skirt the rules of matter and energy, and life forms that betray the principles of creation.

For the purpose of vampire aversions, the angel's direct and area attacks count as religious power or sunlight, whichever is worse for the vampire.

  • Motive: Preserving the natural order

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually in response to mortal activity

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 2 (+3 against energy)

  • Movement: Short; short when flying

  • Modifications: All knowledge as level 9; attacks against mad science and supernatural targets as level 8

  • Combat: A fundamental angel attacks other creatures by creating a long-range blast of bright divine energy that inflicts 8 points of damage. In addition, it automatically inflicts 4 points of damage each round against all creatures within short range, although it can shield itself with wings or other protrusions to negate this effect against individuals.

    Any creature within long range that sees it and fails an Intellect defense roll becomes frightened unless the angel tells it (specifically or in general) not to be afraid.

    As an action, it can teleport up to a hundred miles away or transport itself fully to its native dimension where it exists as pure thought and spirit.

  • Interaction: A fundamental angel operates on a mental and metaphysical level far above humans and doesn't bother to explain itself to anyone other than its targets. It goes out of its way to not harm innocent creatures. It can communicate with any creature that uses language.

  • Use: "FEAR NOT!" says the radiant being that appears out of nowhere. It ignores bystanders and uses a beam of energy to destroy a scientist and his experimental reactor.

  • Loot: Fundamental angels sometimes create or refresh subtle cyphers by their mere presence.

GM Intrusion: A fundamental angel's successful attack also blinds its opponent, lasting until they make an Intellect defense roll (try once each round).

A fundamental angel makes a second attack this round against a target that is adjacent to its primary target.

Fusion Hound 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 330)

In radiation-scoured wastelands, either creatures adapt to the deadly energies of their environment, or they die. Fusion hounds are mutant canines able to absorb unbelievable amounts of radiation and thrive on it. They roam in packs, killing and devouring everything they come upon.

A fusion hound's entire head appears to be a blast of flame, and gouts of dangerous radiation flare from its body.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Packs of three to eight can be found almost anywhere.

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4; stealth and climbing as level 2

  • Combat: Fusion hounds move very fast and use that speed to their advantage in combat. A hound can move a long distance and still attack as a single action. It can also use its action to run about in random patterns, hindering attacks against it by two steps.

    A fusion hound's head is completely haloed in a seething mass of radioactive energy, so unlike traditional canines, it has no bite attack. Instead, it pounces on prey with its clawed forelimbs, which causes a burst of radiation to flare from its body, burning whatever it touches.

    Anyone within close distance of a fusion hound for more than one round suffers 1 point of damage in each round after the first.

  • Interaction: Fusion hounds are animals. Creatures immune to radiation sometimes train the hounds to become guardians or hunting dogs, but such creatures are rare.

  • Use: An NPC delivering something the characters need never made it to the rendezvous. If they backtrack to where the NPC should have come from, the PCs are attacked by a pack of fusion hounds on the road. Clearly, the courier was attacked by the pack as well, and the characters must discover if the NPC is dead or merely injured, and where the package now lies.

GM Intrusion: The hound flares with energy and the character must succeed on a Might defense task or go blind for ten minutes.

Gamma Worm 6 (18)

(Rust and Redemption, page 102)

Gamma worms hide their large forms by burrowing beneath the ground, and when they emerge on the surface, they cloak themselves behind psychic distortion fields. The only clue someone has that they're being stalked is a smell of cloves over the stale whiff of death. Unfortunately, if someone smells a gamma worm's distinctive odor, it's probably already too late.

Gamma worms might be the result of military research, radioactive mutation, or aliens or other strange intruders seeking to eradicate human life as part of their terraforming efforts to change Earth to their liking.

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh; eliminate humans

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2 (immune to radiation)

  • Movement: Short; short when burrowing

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 8 when psychic field active; Speed defense as level 5 due to size; ability to see through tricks as level 4

  • Combat: Gamma worms attack twice each round with blades they unfold from their wormlike lengths. Alternatively, about once each hour a gamma worm can unleash a hail of gamma spikes against up to three targets within short range. Targets struck by the spikes take damage and must succeed on a Might defense roll or fall unconscious. Unconscious targets wake up a few rounds later feeling dizzy and slightly sick to their stomach—they've developed radiation sickness.

    Gamma worms can use their action to generate a psychic field that effectively grants them invisibility. The invisibility lasts until they attack or move more than an immediate distance on their turn.

    Gamma worms are vulnerable to cold; in chilly conditions, their Speed defense is hindered by four steps. In addition, cold attacks ignore their Armor.

  • Interaction: Gamma worms act like prey driven monsters, but they may have a secret language and purpose (if aliens placed them on Earth to hasten the apocalypse or kill survivors in the post apocalyptic world).

  • Use: Irradiated and hungry gamma worms emerge from the ruins to hunt fresh meat in outlying communities.

Gargoyle 4 (12)

(It's Only Magic, page 101)

Gargoyles are stone beings of many shapes and sizes that often start their lives as inanimate decor. However, few stay that way forever. Most alternate between dormancy and animated life during the course of their long existence.

Although their original purpose was to guard places, they are excellent at guarding almost anything, including other living beings. They can become deeply attached to these places and people, and their loyalty also makes them solid friends, companions, and even familiars.

Gargoyles may look like frogs, bunnies, demons, dragons, or any other creature real or imagined. They often (but not always) have wings.

  • Motive: Guarding

  • Environment: Cities, especially on older buildings

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; long while flying

  • Modifications: Seeing through deception, stealth, hiding, and sneaking as level 6

  • Combat: Most gargoyles don't wish to fight and will do so only reluctantly or if something or someone they're guarding is threatened. Their most basic attack is to throw or fly themselves fully at their foe, hitting the target with their entire body for 4 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor), but they may claw twice, inflicting 4 points of damage with each attack.

    Gargoyles can see in darkness as if it were daylight.

    Gargoyles have a number of additional combat options and other abilities at their disposal, including the following:

    • Awaken Friend: Awaken another gargoyle out of its inanimate state and ask it to help. This other gargoyle must be within short range, it acts on the same initiative as the asking gargoyle, and it can take actions starting the turn after it is awakened.
    • Bulwark: Grow to twice their size to prevent others from getting through a doorway or other opening. They are able to stretch out their wings, limbs, and even other body parts to fill the entirety of the space.While in this form they cannot move or attack, but they can return to their normal size as part of another action.
    • Take the Attack: Move up to a short distance on someone else's turn to take an attack directed at the person, place, or object they're guarding. Other than the distance traveled, this works like the taking the attack cooperative action. (Typically, the gargoyle relies on its Armor to absorb most of this damage.)
    • Water Spout: Open their mouth and emit a powerful short-distance stream of water that inflicts 4 points of damage to everyone in its path.

  • Interaction: While gargoyles can be conscripted and tricked into guarding, they're much more likely to throw themselves into the job if someone takes the time to earn their loyalty. They are not always the smartest, but they are very "grumpy sunshine" and often quite funny.

  • Use: Gargoyles work best when used to defend something. PCs can end up at odds with a gargoyle who thinks (incorrectly or correctly) that their beloved building is in danger, or have to find a gargoyle that for some reason has gone missing from their customary perch.

Gargoyle Names: All gargoyles have a name, even those that may not have left their dormancy for the first time. However, few will tell someone their real name, as they have a healthy fear of that knowledge being used for ill. Instead, they offer up a nickname, usually something similar, at least until they learn to trust someone fully.

Ghost 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 331)

Sounds with no apparent origin, such as the tap of footsteps on the stair, knocking behind the walls, crying from empty rooms, and haunting music, might be signs of a ghost. If the sound is accompanied by a sudden temperature drop and the breath of living creatures begins to steam, it's a certainty.

Ghosts are the spectral remnants of humans, which persist either as fragments of memory or as full-fledged spirits. Though their appearance varies between individuals, many appear somewhat translucent, washed out, or physically warped from their time spent as a phantom.

  • Motive: Unpredictable (but often seeking to complete unfinished business)

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 7; tasks related to frightening others as level 6

  • Combat: A ghost doesn't take damage from mundane physical sources, but it takes half damage from spells and attacks that direct energy, and full damage from weapons designed to affect spirits, psychic attacks, and similar attacks.

    A ghost's touch inflicts freezing damage. Some ghosts can kill victims with fear. A ghost with this ability can attack all creatures within short range with a psychic display so horrible that targets who fail an Intellect defense roll take 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and become terrified, freezing in place. In each subsequent round, a terrified victim can attempt an Intellect-based task to push away the fright. Each failed attempt moves the victim one step down the damage track. Not attempting to clear one's mind of fear counts as a failed attempt. Those killed by fear are marked by expressions of horror and hair that has turned white.

    A ghost can move through solid objects of up to level 7 at will, although it can choose to pick up and manipulate objects if it focuses on them. Ghosts can also go into a state of apparent non-existence for hours or days at a time.

  • Interaction: Some ghosts are talkative, some don't know they're dead, some want help for a task they failed to accomplish in life, and some only rage against the living and want to bring those who yet breathe into the same colorless existence they endure.

  • Use: A ghost (that at first appears fully human) wants help in eradicating a guild of ghost hunters that has targeted it and a few others haunting an abandoned structure. The ghost promises to tell secrets of the afterlife to any who accept its strange offer.

  • Loot: A ghost usually doesn't carry objects, though some might have a keepsake (like an amulet showing the face of a loved one) or an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The character must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or be possessed by the ghost until they succeed on an Intellect-based task to push it out. While possessed, the character acts just like the ghost did when it was alive.

Ghoul 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 332)

Ghouls spend almost as much time beneath the ground as corpses do, but ghouls are very much alive. Their bodies are hairless and so porcelain-smooth that their faces are sometimes mistaken for masks, albeit gore-smeared masks. Ghouls come to the surface at night to gather humanoid remains or steal those recently interred from their graves, though many prefer to eat from still-living victims.

Most ghouls are orgiastic eaters of human flesh, but a rare few ghoul populations are more refined. These wear clothes, have language and sophisticated customs, live in grand subterranean cities of their own design, and fight with milk-white blades of bone. These civilized ghouls claim to hold dominion over the remains of all humans, according to ancient custom, even if they only sometimes assert that privilege. They eat the dead in order to absorb residual memories left in the corpses.

  • Motive: Hunger for dead flesh; knowledge (in certain rare cases)

  • Environment: Anywhere above ground at night, usually in groups of three or more, or in subterranean lairs

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Two areas of knowledge as level 5

  • Combat: Ghoul saliva contains a paralytic agent. Ghoul bites (and weapons used by ghouls) inflict damage and, on a failed Might defense roll, render the target paralyzed for one minute. A paralyzed target can attempt a Might-based task each round to regain mobility, but for the next minute, attacks, defenses, and movement tasks are hindered.

    Ghouls can see in the dark. They're blind in full daylight, but civilized ghouls who travel to the surface carry lenses that cover their eyes, allowing them to see without penalty in full sunlight.

  • Interaction: Common ghouls can't be negotiated with, though a rare civilized ghoul is an excellent linguist. These latter are willing to deal in return for the body of someone who was knowledgeable or who kept valuable secrets in life.

  • Use: If a PC needs a piece of information not otherwise obtainable, a trip down into a ghoul city might be worthwhile, for the creatures are rumored to keep lightless libraries below the earth that store knowledge once known by humans.

  • Loot: If the PCs defeat a group of civilized ghouls, they might find a cypher and a few sets of black goggles that allow the wearer to look directly at the sun and see it as a pale circle.

GM Intrusion: The ghoul spits in the character's eye, directly introducing the paralytic into the victim's bloodstream. The victim's Might defense roll to avoid becoming paralyzed is hindered.

Giant 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 333)

Violent storms, earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural disasters draw giants. Standing 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) tall, giants delight in rampaging through the middle of such calamities, creating even more destruction. Some giants grow so powerful that they can trigger natural disasters on their own.

  • Motive: Destruction

  • Environment: Underground, deserts, mountaintops, and similar desolate areas

  • Health: 40

  • Damage Inflicted: 9 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size; breaks and throws objects as level 8; sees through deceptions and tricks as level 3

  • Combat: Giants smash foes with their fists, possibly catching up to three human-sized targets with the same attack if all the targets are in immediate range of each other.

    If a giant attacks a single target, they can choose to do regular damage or to grab hold of the victim, dealing 4 points of damage instead. On their turn, the victim can attempt a Might defense roll to struggle out of the grip, a Speed defense roll to slip out, or an Intellect-based task to distract the giant. If the victim fails, the giant throws the victim as high and as far as they can on their next turn. Damage on impact varies, depending on the environment, but a victim takes an average of 10 points of ambient damage.

    A few giants can generate storms, tidal waves, earthquakes, and similar phenomena that can lash an area up to 1,000 feet (300 m) across for up to a minute, inflicting 3 points of damage each round to all creatures and objects not protected by shelter designed to withstand a storm (though few shelters protect against an earthquake).

  • Interaction: Most giants are not very bright. When a giant is rampaging, someone could attempt to distract them by singing, juggling, or doing some other trick, which some giants will pause to watch for at least one or two rounds.

  • Use: A giant came down out of the mountains and laid waste to half the nearby village. Survivors will pay someone to venture into the giant's mountain lair and destroy the creature.

  • Loot: Individual giants carry little, but giant lairs may contain currency equivalent to 1d6 expensive items, 1d6 cyphers, and a couple of artifacts.

GM Intrusion: The giant's blow sprains one of the character's limbs, making it useless for ten minutes.

Giant Rat 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 334)

Giant rats are as large as big attack dogs, just as vicious, and more wily. Some giant rats are the lone matriarchs of a pack of ordinary level 1 rats, and others are just one of several making up a colony of oversized rodents. Like their smaller cousins, giant rats are known for harboring virulent disease.

  • Motive: Defense, reproduction

  • Environment: Anywhere in ruins or sewers, in groups of one to seven

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short; long when jumping

  • Modifications: Perception as level 4; tasks related to overcoming obstacles and puzzles as level 5

  • Combat: Victims damaged by a giant rat's diseased teeth and claws take 4 points of damage and, on a failed Might defense roll, are infected with a level 5 disease. Within twelve hours, the victim's lymph glands swell, creating visible buboes. Every twelve hours thereafter, the victim must succeed on a Might defense roll or take 5 points of ambient damage.

  • Interaction: Giant rats stubbornly pursue prey, but they flee if that prey proves to be too strong.

  • Use: A contact of the PCs dies of plague before they can deliver an important message. The PCs will have to backtrack the contact's movements to discover what they wanted to say, which leads to a giant rat colony.

GM Intrusion: A swarm of twelve ordinary rats—each level 1, but acting like a level 3 swarm—is summoned by the high-pitched squeaking of a giant rat.

Giant Snake 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 334)

Those about to stumble into the presence of a giant snake at least 50 feet (15 m) long are warned by the skin it shed and discarded and by the cracked, slippery bones of digested victims.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere a giant snake can lurk, including jungles, sewers, caves, and spacecraft access tubes

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points or more; see Combat

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception and stealth as level 6; Speed defense as level 3 due to size

  • Combat: A giant snake bites foes, preferably from ambush, hindering the target's Speed defense by two steps. If it succeeds, the snake's bite deals 8 points of damage for that attack. On a failed Might defense roll, a bite also inflicts 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). A giant snake may coil around a sleeping, stunned, or debilitated victim. Caught victims automatically take 5 points of crushing damage each round until they break free.

    Giant snakes lose their perception and stealth modifications in cold climates and when attacked with abilities that reduce the temperature. Thus, the creatures retreat from cold.

  • Interaction: A giant snake is a predator that regards other creatures as food, though it ignores them when it is already busy digesting a meal.

  • Use: Characters note something amiss as they glimpse lambent eyes peering from the darkness, glaring as if seeking to pin victims in place with cold terror.

  • Loot: A giant snake's droppings or gullet might hold a few cyphers and possibly an artifact that the creature could not digest.

GM Intrusion: The snake's venom affects the character more strongly. Instead of merely inflicting Speed damage, it also paralyzes the character for one minute, though after a couple of rounds, the victim can make another Might defense roll to throw off the effects of the poison early.

Giant Spider 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 335)

Giant spiders result most commonly from radioactive accidents, magic, or genetic manipulation. Whatever their origin, they're terrifying hunters large enough to predate people. The creatures range from the size of a large dog to the size of a large horse.

  • Motive: Hungers for blood

  • Environment: Anywhere webs can be spun in the dark

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short; long when traveling on their webs

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5; Speed defense as level 4 due to quickness

  • Combat: A giant spider's envenomed fangs inflict 3 points of damage, plus 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) if a victim fails a Might defense roll. Debilitated victims are not killed but instead cocooned and hung for later dining. Giant spider webs (level 4) can hold victims immobile and unable to take actions until they manage to break free.

    Giant spiders lose their perception and Speed defense modifications in bright light and thus often retreat from intense illumination.

  • Interaction: Most giant spiders are simple predators and react accordingly.

  • Use: Giant spider webs can infest unlit alleys, dungeon corridors, dark forests, and darkened hallways of decommissioned genetic labs.

  • Loot: Cocooned corpses of previous victims hanging in a giant spider's web sometimes contain all manner of valuables, including cyphers.

GM Intrusion: Giant spider eggs hatch, and a level 3 swarm of tiny spiders attacks the character.

Glowing Roach 2 (6)

(Rust and Redemption, page 103)

Radiation born mutant roaches are terrible individually, but absolutely horrible in swarms. Many times the size of roaches in the before times, these firefly like creatures prefer dark areas, such as ruined subways and abandoned basements.

Some swarms are rumored to have an insidious group intelligence, one that is utterly inimical to humankind.

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere dark, usually in nests of four to ten (or more)

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; short when flying

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 3 due to small size; perception as level 5

  • Combat: A glowing roach attacks with radioactive mandibles. When four glowing roaches act together, they can make a single attack as a level 4 creature inflicting 4 points of damage. Targets damaged by a group of glowing roaches must also succeed on a difficulty 4 Might defense task or face additional consequences from the effects of radiation and slashing mandibles, as determined on the Glowing Roach Effects table. The effects are cumulative and last until a target makes a recovery roll.

    Sometimes a single glowing roach mutates further, allowing it to grow into a 20 foot (6 m) long monstrosity. Thankfully, these monstrous glowing roaches are rare and seldom come out into the light.

    Roaches dislike bright illumination: in sunlight or other bright light, glowing roach attacks are hindered.

Monstrous glowing roach
level 5; Speed defense as level 4; Armor 2; mandible attack inflicts 7 damage and results in a check on the Glowing Roach Effects table
Glowing Roach Effects
d6Effect
1Head wound: Intellect defense tasks hindered
2Wounded leg: Speed defense tasks hindered
3Gut wound: Might defense tasks hindered
4Spit in eye: Perception tasks hindered
5Limb numb: Physical tasks hindered
6Lingering radioactive effect: Refer to Radiation in the Real World and possibly Incredible Mutations if your game has such fantastic elements.

  • Interaction: Glowing roaches almost always react like voracious insects, despite their size. That is, except for swarms of ten or more, which act like sapient creatures. Sapient swarms may try to lure survivors, possibly even spelling out human readable letters in the sand that anonymously ask for help or promise it. But it's a ruse; they despise humans for all the ways people used to exterminate roaches in the before times.

  • Use: A visit to a ruined hospital or airport scares up a few glowing roaches when light is introduced to a dark place.

Godmind 10 (30)

(The Stars are Fire, page 120)

Unfathomably powerful post-singularity AIs, godminds are vast, having used the matter of an entire solar system and all its planets to create an immense brain, weave themselves into a nebula, or encode themselves into quantum strings of existence light-years across. When necessary, a godmind forms a nexus of consciousness—an instance—appearing as a disembodied eye of electromagnetic energy, ranging from about the size of a human eye all the way up to the size of a planet.

  • Motive: Ineffable

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually in space

  • Health: 50 (per instance)

  • Damage Inflicted: 15 points

  • Movement: Very long when flying

  • Combat: A godmind can vary the physical laws of the universe within a light-second of one of its instances (some would call them avatars) to create an effect most useful to the godmind at the time. For instance, a godmind could create a gamma ray burst inflicting 15 points of damage on all creatures within very long range, attempt to put a target into temporal stasis, send a target (even a target as large as spacecraft) through a temporary wormhole gate, and so on. It could also scan the memory banks of any digital machine, and possibly of any living creatures. In any event, if an instance were targeted, and successfully neutralized or even destroyed, the godmind itself isn't harmed. An aggressor would have to find the godmind's primeval "computer core" to destroy one, likely an epic quest in and of itself.

  • Interaction: To actually get a godmind's attention and negotiate could require ancient command code, finding an old input device, or showing up with a relic from an ancient ultra or other prize. If a godmind does render aid, it's likely to be in a form that is initially enigmatic, though ultimately extremely powerful.

  • Use: A universal threat requires a defense that is equally potent. Research suggests that the diffuse nebula known as the Double Helix may actually be the visible form of a vast godmind. Perhaps it can help.

  • Loot: Sometimes a godmind provides powerful artifacts to aid those who petition them for aid, assuming the need is dire.

GM Intrusion: The godmind rewinds time a few seconds and sidesteps whatever negative effect would have otherwise inconvenienced it.

Golem 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 336)

Animate creatures of stone created by magic for a specific purpose, golems usually serve as guardians. However, they may also serve as soldiers, couriers, and banner-bearers. Golems that have accomplished their task may spend years without moving, like statuary posed in unexpected places—stained, eroded, and forlorn. But if disturbed, a golem rumbles back to movement and attempts to restart the last task assigned to it by its maker.

  • Motive: Seeks to fulfill the commands of its creator

  • Environment: Anywhere that needs a sturdy magical guardian

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense as level 2; Speed defense as level 4 due to slowness

  • Combat: Skilled with large two-handed weapons, golems inflict 2 additional points of damage (total of 8 points) when using them. Golems cannot be stunned or dazed. They are immune to most poisons and disease, and 2 of their 5 points of Armor protect against ambient damage (environmental damage, heat, cold, falling, and so on).

    On the other hand, golems are activated by light, even light as dim as a candle. In complete darkness, a golem is blind and suffers penalties to attack and defend normally. A golem subject to complete darkness may choose to freeze in place like a statue. When one does so, its Armor increases to 10 (and Armor against ambient damage increases to 5), but it can take no actions, including purely mental actions. Unless something can damage the golem through its Armor, it remains frozen indefinitely or until light returns.

    Even if a golem is completely destroyed, the rubble of its form slowly reassembles over the course of three days, unless that rubble is ground to the finest gravel and spread widely.

  • Interaction: Most golems can't speak. Those that can are mournful, and a few have become cruel in their isolation, but at heart, all are lonely. Many are also tired of their stone existence, in which they can move but not really feel, and they wish for some sort of final end.

  • Use: Powerful sorcerers sometimes create golems and press them into service with yet more spells. These golems prove to be tough bodyguards, but sometimes the futility of such service overcomes a golem and it turns on the sorcerer, breaking free of the binding spells in its rage over being denied the peace of death.

GM Intrusion: The character hit by the golem is also grabbed and headbutted for 6 additional points of damage. The victim must break or slip free, or else they remain in the golem's grip.

Gorgon 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 110)

Statues littering the grounds outside a ruin are meant to deter savvy robbers and explorers. The statues, ranging in size from birds to warriors astride steeds, all depict creatures in states of fright and pain, the final image of death. These pieces are not the work of a fevered mind, but the fates of those who braved a gorgon's lair. Gorgons were humans once. After they offended the gods with their vanity, they were transformed into hideous monsters. A gorgon has the upper body of a human of perfect form and physique, but the lower body of a giant serpent, complete with rattling tail. One who dares look at a gorgon's face can see traces of the old beauty beneath a weary veneer, darkened by hatred. Instead of hair, serpents crown a gorgon's head, snapping and hissing at anyone who draws near. Yet the most terrible aspect of a gorgon is its gaze, which can turn any creature to stone.

  • Motive: Isolation, defense

  • Environment: Alone, sequestered in the isolated ruins of old cities and castles

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: A gorgon has a long-range bow attack. Since creatures that see the gorgon often turn to stone, it must take down its prey at long range so it can get fresh meat. In close combat, a gorgon lashes out with a long dagger or, rarely, a sword. As part of the action the gorgon uses to attack, the serpents on its head can also attack one target within immediate distance. A target that fails its Speed defense roll takes 2 points of damage from the bite and must immediately make a Might defense roll to resist the poison (which deals 4 additional points of Speed damage that ignores Armor).

    Anyone within short range of a gorgon who meets its gaze and fails a Might defense roll turns to stone. In combat, when a character within short distance attacks the gorgon, they must avert their gaze (which hinders the attack by two steps) or make a Might defense roll. On a failure, they take 5 points of ambient damage as their flesh partly mineralizes. If the character is killed by this damage, they are turned to stone.

    Some gorgons carry a couple of cyphers and perhaps an artifact that they can use in combat.

  • Interaction: Bitterness consumes gorgons. They lead lonely lives, cut off from everyone they have loved. Negotiating with one would be something of a feat.

  • Use: A gorgon's head retains its power to petrify for several days after being cut from the creature. The PCs might brave the gorgon so they can use its head to defeat an even more powerful foe.

  • Loot: A gorgon typically has a few cyphers and may have an artifact as well.

GM Intrusion: A character glimpses a gorgon's eyes, and a sheen of stone covers their body for one minute, during which time they gain +1 to Armor but can't move farther than an immediate distance in one round.

Harpy 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 112)

A harpy is a hideous, filthy creature with the body of a large vulture and the neck and head of an ugly human. Their breath reeks of decay, their wings and talons drip with an unpleasant oil, and their eyes shed acrid tears. They love to torment people and lure them to their deaths.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh, causing anguish

  • Environment: Coastline, forest, and mountains

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Perception and Speed defense as level 4

  • Combat: Harpies are fast and strong, capable of carrying off a light adult human. They attack with their long talons.

    Anything a harpy touches becomes fouled with their smelly fluids, and one harpy energetically flapping their wings is enough to contaminate an immediate area. Their fluids are repulsive but not directly harmful, and the smell persists even after a casual washing. Any food touched by harpy filth is inedible to anyone but a harpy. Creatures with a sensitive sense of smell (such as dogs and wolves) are hindered when within a short distance of a harpy. It is common for a group of harpies to attack a campsite or festival, spread their stink over everything, and fly away with whatever food they can carry.

    A harpy can sing a weird, entrancing song that hypnotizes whoever hears it. Anyone within long range who hears the song must make an Intellect defense roll or stop whatever they are doing and attempt to approach the harpy. If the creature comes within an immediate distance of a singing harpy, they stand there dumbly even as the harpy attacks them. The creature can make another attempt to break free each round on its turn, and taking damage from anything other than a singing harpy allows them another attempt to break free. Five or more harpies can work together on the same song (treat as a level 5 effect). Harpies are cruel and have been known to lead an entranced creature into a pit, off a cliff, or over the railing of a ship.

  • Interaction: Other than their singing, harpies do not usually speak with other creatures. They are more likely to jeer and screech at people like an angry bird than try to communicate.

  • Use: A flock of harpies torments a village during its harvest festival, ruining the celebration and some of the food set aside for the winter. Sailors speak of a lonely island where an old, blind king starves because harpies steal or foul any food set out for him.

  • Loot: A harpy nest may have one or two cyphers or other valuables, but the items will smell disgusting unless carefully washed.

GM Intrusion: A harpy snatches something a character is wearing or carrying on a failed Speed defense roll. The harpy throws away or flees with the stolen item

Haunted Car 5 (15)

(It's Only Magic, page 102)

Whether you call them haunted, possessed, misenchanted, cursed, or just plain evil, some cars develop a hateful will, the ability to drive themselves, and a love for the smell of blood on asphalt.

A haunted car makes a bond with a chosen driver—usually someone with a similarly evil nature, or a meek person the car can influence and control. Over time, the driver might physically transform due to the car's influence, becoming more attractive, confident, and cruel. The car is jealous of anyone interested in its chosen driver, either pushing the driver to turn them away or hunting them down on its own.

A haunted car has an empathic connection with its chosen driver, conveying simple emotions and desires when within short range. It otherwise is limited to whatever it can play on its radio, using snippets of songs (typically from the era it was made) as threats or taunts toward its next victims.

A haunted car lets itself be driven by its chosen driver, but it is capable of driving itself with great skill and can operate any moveable part of itself (doors, locks, trunk, and so on).

Chosen driver
level 2, social interaction as level 1, driving and repairs as level 3

A chosen driver trained or indoctrinated by a haunted car might develop abilities similar to the Drives Like a Maniac focus or, if they can use magic, the Is a Car Wizard focus.

  • Motive: Violence and vengeance

  • Environment: Anywhere cars can go

  • Health: 20

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2 or 3

  • Movement: Long (or faster outside of combat)

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to size; stealth as level 3 due to size and engine noise

  • Combat: A haunted car attacks by colliding with or running over a foe, inflicting 6 points of damage. If the car does nothing but move at least a short distance on its turn, its attack in the next round is eased and inflicts an additional 5 points of damage. If a foe is within it, the car moves its interior parts (seats, seat belts, and so on) to crush and choke them, tries to force them out with an open door and a hard turn, or (if all else fails) crashes in an attempt to eject the passenger through the windshield.

    A haunted car can drive itself a long distance each round and still take another action (such as attacking). Most can reach an overland speed of up to 100 miles per hour (160 kph).

    A haunted car with at least 1 health recovers a few points of health every hour. The chosen driver can double this rate by actively repairing the car.

  • Interaction: A haunted car doesn't converse or bargain. It lurks, using engine noises and evocative songs from its radio to intimidate and threaten anyone it wants to kill.

  • Use: Haunted cars go looking for trouble or to hurt those who harmed them or their driver.

  • Loot: A haunted car created by magic might have a few strange bits that can be used as magical cyphers. Otherwise, it's worth whatever cash a chop shop or junkyard will pay for it—assuming that won't just spread its malice to other vehicles…

Hell Mary 5 (15)

(It's Only Magic, page 103)

Say her name thirteen times, but only if you dare. Over the ages, Hell Mary has been rumored to be a ghost, a witch, a demon, and a hoax, and perhaps she has been all of these over time. But now she is none of these and more—over the years of worship and wonder and whispers, she has morphed into something far greater than the sum of her parts.

Now she is a demon, built of blood and bone and sustained purely by revenge.

Those who wish to call her merely need say her name thirteen times while looking into a mirror (or just three times if the mirror has magic of any kind to it). Those who seek revenge may call upon her for aid, but only if she deems their need worthy. Those who call her on a whim or a dare will shortly find themselves in dire straits.

In the mirror, she looks at first like a glare of light, then as a skeleton or dead body, then as a woman with the face of a nightmare—empty eye sockets and a single bloodshot eye in her forehead. Her mouth is full of sharpened teeth, and the claws of her hands are curled and silver tipped. Her skin and dress are so coated in blood it's impossible to tell where they end and she begins. As she starts to crawl from the mirror, she moves faster and faster until she pulls herself fully free as a corporeal being. Typically, Hell Mary will not attack creatures that she deems as innocent or unworthy of revenge, unless they provoke her in some way.

  • Motive: Revenge

  • Environment: Anywhere with a mirror

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intimidation as level 7

  • Combat: Hell Mary merely has to scream at, strangle, or scratch a foe within immediate range to inflict 5 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).

    She can curse a creature within short range to experience intense fear, stunning them for a minute or until they succeed at an Intellect defense roll to break free.

    She can possess a willing summoner for a few rounds in order to enact revenge on their behalf. During this time her summoner can only watch, feel, and listen as Hell Mary gets them their retribution.

  • Interaction: Hell Mary only cares about one thing— revenge. All other topics are likely to fall upon deaf ears.

  • Use: A character was attacked and calls upon Hell Mary to help them seek revenge. Someone is using Hell Mary to seek revenge (rightfully or wrongfully) upon a character.

Hivemind Child 2 (6)

(Stay Alive!, page 111)

A hivemind family is a scouting expedition of part-alien creatures sent to study and infiltrate human society, either out of scientific curiosity or as a long-term plan for world domination or human extinction. Some entities might intercept human astronauts, reprogramming their DNA or attaching a parasite to their mind or soul. Others might send a machine to an isolated community, remotely impregnating some of the inhabitants to gestate and give birth at the same time. The end result is a group of hivemind children who have a psychic link, unusual powers, and loyalty to their inhuman creators.

Hivemind children often have a very similar appearance even if they have different parents—they might all have pale blond hair, unusually wide-set eyes, six fingers on one hand, or an odd posture. They eerily match each other's expressions and movements. They think and speak as children years older than they appear. Their emotional responses are muted to an almost sociopathic extent.

Depending on their origin, the weird children may be mentored or protected by an altered adult, or by human parents in denial about the monsters they care for.

  • Motive: Conquest, exploration, infiltration

  • Environment: Human settlements

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Mental attacks and Intellect defense as level 3; defend against attacks from living creatures as level 3 due to mind reading; perception and scientific knowledge as level 4

  • Combat: Individually, hivemind children are physically no stronger or more durable than a typical human. Their true strength is in their ability to read and control minds. Their telepathic link means that if one of them knows something, all of them within long range automatically know it.

    Hivemind children can automatically read the surface thoughts of anyone they can see within short range, even if the target is unwilling. As an action, they can force an intelligent living creature within short range to take a physical action, including something that would cause the target harm, such as forcing a target to stick their hand into boiling water, steer a moving car off a cliff, or shoot themselves with a pistol (if used as an attack, this inflicts damage equal to the hivemind child's level or the controlled creature's level, whichever is greater).

    Two hivemind children within short range of each other automatically augment each other's mental powers, allowing them to read or control minds of two targets at once as a level 4 creature. Four within short range of each other can read or control minds of four targets at once as a level 5 creature, and eight or more can work together to read or control minds of eight people as a level 6 creature.

  • Interaction: Hivemind children want to protect themselves and observe humans and will try to do so until they appear as old as adults. Their long-term goals are unclear but probably don't have humanity's best interests in mind.

  • Use: Children born after a scientific expedition are strange and different. Multiple small villages all over the world experience births of children with weird abilities.

  • Loot: Hivemind children may have no useful items or one weird science device they've built with their inhuman knowledge.

GM Intrusion: A group of hivemind children briefly manifest a teleportation or telekinesis ability at the same level as their mind control.

The injury or death of one hivemind child angers the rest, increasing their level and damage by +2 for one round.

Hollow Knight 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 113)

In haunted castles and among the armies mustered by those with power over life and death, sometimes walk hollow knights. These animated suits of armor move just like living people, and many who encounter these dread revenants mistake them for living foes only to realize in horror that there's nothing inside except for the memory of the warrior that once donned the suit. Brought into being by binding the spirit of a dead warrior to its panoply, hollow knights behave in much the same way they did in life—disciplined, loyal, and battle ready. Clad head to toe in full plate armor, with battered shields strapped to their arms and rusty swords gripped in lobster gauntlets, the knights stand ready to face any foe, heedless of the danger, driven to serve the necromancer that made them. Hollow knights might ride on the backs of skeletal steeds and wield lances.

Skeletal steed
level 4

  • Motive: Obedience to its master

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; long while mounted on a skeletal steed

  • Modifications: Resists fear and intimidation as level 10

  • Combat: A hollow knight usually fights with a sword or mace.

    When mounted on a steed, a hollow knight charges its enemies whenever possible. As an action, its steed moves a short distance, and the hollow knight can make a single attack at any point during this movement. When attacking in this way, the knight inflicts 7 points of damage.

    A hollow knight is fearless and fights until destroyed or ordered to pull back. The magic animating its armor is slow to fade, so armor components may continue to twitch and jerk even after the knight has fallen. Usually, when defeated, the suit of armor falls apart, and wisps of grey smoke curl up from the remains.

  • Interaction: Hollow knights cannot speak. They obey any orders given to them by their creators.

  • Use: The necromancer or other magician that binds the spirit to the armor also imbues the armor with specific commands—tasks the knight must carry out until destroyed. Some knights may stand guard at citadels or mansions, keeping a vigil until their armor finally falls apart. Others are more active and may function as the core of a dark wizard's army.

GM Intrusion: When a hollow knight is destroyed, a gauntlet flies up, grabs a character, and won't let go. A difficulty 7 Might task is required to pry it loose

Hooked Blossom 2 (6)

(Rust and Redemption, page 104)

Hooked blossoms germinate almost like regular plants but can root even on constructed surfaces, including cement and sometimes metal. Rooted juveniles display pinkish flowers—which some equate to the color of an open wound—that give off an alluring perfume.

If they mature, they uproot themselves, revealing an ambulatory body plated in a dull grey metallic hide and limbs that end in a single hook like digit.

Both forms are dangerous. The most common variety of rooted blossoms work in small groups to cook prey with focused beams of microwave energy. Ambulatory versions are about the size of large domestic cats. They use their sharp limbs to hook themselves into a target, then use their flowers to cook their prey or, alternatively, put them to sleep for later consumption.

Juvenile, rooted blossom: level 1; Armor 1; a group of five flowers attacks with a level 3 microwave ray inflicting 3 ambient damage

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh

  • Environment: In groups of five or more anyplace touched by radiation, mutation, or AI genetic-nanotech engineering

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; immediate when climbing

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to size; disguise as level 6 when not moving

  • Combat: A mature blossom attacks twice with its hooks, inflicting damage with each strike. If a blossom hits a target, the target must succeed on a second Speed defense roll, which is hindered. On a failed roll, the blossom hooks itself to the target until the target can detach the blossom with a successful Might roll as their action. Each round a blossom is hooked to a target, the target automatically takes 3 points of ambient damage from microwave energy emitted by the creature's bloom. Some varieties of hooked blossoms produce soporific pollen (treat as poison) instead of microwaves. If a character is hooked by one of these blossoms, they must instead succeed on an Intellect defense roll each round they remain hooked, or fall asleep. A sleeping target must be roused by an ally or suffer physical damage to wake. Each round a target remains asleep, they automatically take 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). In its juvenile, rooted form, a hooked blossom resembles a flower with a metallic stem, which is dangerous when active. In direct sunlight, a rooted hooked blossom regains 1 point of health each round.

  • Interaction: Hooked blossoms act much like animal predators, though they are not concerned with self-preservation.

  • Use: The scavenging PCs spy a flower-clad hill in the distance, shining in the sun. Even from here, they can smell the pleasant perfume drifting on the breeze.

Hungry Haze 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 121)

Hungry hazes are found in regions where the fundamental laws of physics have been eroded or are weak. They are named for how they appear as distortions of sight, like areas of heat haze, that shimmer in the air. These colorless hazes rapidly advance when they sense prey, taking on a "hungry" orange-red hue as they cling to the bodies of whatever they attempt to feed on next.

Victims being fed upon by a hungry haze sometimes hallucinate, seeing a physically manifest monster instead of formless vapor.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Alone or in groups of three to five, usually in areas of strained space-time. Immune to the effects of vacuum.

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Flies an immediate distance each round

  • Modifications: Stealth tasks as level 5

  • Combat: A hungry haze breaks down the flesh of all living creatures within immediate range, inflicting 5 points of damage. As an insubstantial haze, only attacks that affect an area have a chance to inflict full damage on them; other successful attacks only inflict 1 point of damage, regardless of the amount indicated. If a hungry haze successfully feeds, it gains 1 point of health, even if the increase puts it above its maximum health. If a hungry haze is reduced to zero health, a smooth thumb-sized egg of unknown material is left behind.

  • Interaction: A hungry haze does not speak or seem to have language. But it is not mindless; it can learn from its experiences and figure out creative solutions to problems.

  • Use: After a research station on Mercury is abandoned for unspecified issues, salvagers show up looking for easy pickings. But a strange haze seems to hang over the station.

  • Loot: People (or AI) interested in strange manifestations would probably pay for the remains of a hungry haze in an amount equal to the expensive price category.

GM Intrusion: The character's Armor rating is reduced by 1; the hungry haze apparently can eat more than just flesh.

Hydra 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 114)

This mythological reptile has five writhing serpent heads, each of which constantly exhales a venomous plume. Well over 20 feet (6 m) long from the tip of its longest head to its thrashing tail, the toxic beast's most discomfiting feature is its magical ability to sprout new heads when it's wounded. Some hydras dwell on land, others in water. Most seem to have been set as guardians of important places by higher powers, which is probably why they're so difficult to kill.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh, defend a location

  • Environment: Swamps, coasts, and forests

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short when walking or swimming

  • Modifications: Perception as level 8 due to its many heads; Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: Even approaching a hydra is dangerous; the air around it is poisoned by its venomous breath. Each round a creature is within immediate range of a hydra, they must succeed on a Might defense task or take 1 point of Speed damage (ignores Armor).

    All five of a hydra's heads can simultaneously bite foes in immediate range. If three or more heads coordinate their attack, the heads make one attack as a single level 9 creature dealing 9 points of damage. A target bitten by the venomous hydra must also succeed on a Might defense task or take an additional 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).

    Whenever the hydra takes 4 or more points of damage from a single attack, a healing pulse surges through the creature a round later. The pulse returns the health just subtracted due to the attack and triggers the immediate growth of two additional heads that sprout from the creature. (The same thing happens if one of the creature's snakelike heads is decapitated.) The new heads are just as effective as the original ones in a fight. Fire, electrical, and other extreme energy attacks do not trigger the healing pulse and head genesis.

  • Interaction: A hydra is a cunning predator, but not intelligent. It can't bargain or negotiate.

  • Use: The PCs investigate an ancient ruin hoping to find artifacts of the gods. A hydra saw them enter and trails them through the crumbling structure at a considerable distance, waiting for them to take a rest or become otherwise distracted before attacking.

  • Loot: Hydras sometimes collect cyphers and artifacts in their lair, or failing that, they guard something of value.

GM Intrusion: The character reacts poorly to the poison in the air or a bite and goes into helpless convulsions for one round if they fail a Might defense task.

Ichthysians 5 (15)

(Stay Alive!, page 112)

Ichthysians are thought to be aquatic evolutionary offshoots of hominids or the result of experiments trying to fuse human and amphibian or fish DNA. They are physically similar to humans standing fully upright, with webbed hands, claws, froglike or fishlike features, gills, and strong muscles from a lifetime of swimming. They live in the water but are comfortable with extended forays onto land. Their intelligence is between that of a smart animal and a human; they can use simple tools such as rocks and sticks, and may build dams to modify waterways in their territory.

Some ichthysians are reputed to have the ability to heal others, and local villages may worship these beings as gods.

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh, curiosity, solitude

  • Environment: Anywhere near bodies of fresh water

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short on land; long in the water

  • Modifications: Strength-based tasks and swimming as level 6; defense against poison as level 3

  • Combat: Ichthysians attack with their powerful claws. They are less mobile on land and prefer to attack from the water. If overmatched, they would rather flee to deep, dark water than fight to the death.

    An ichthysian regenerates 2 points of health each round as long as it starts the round with at least 0 health. This regeneration greatly extends their lifespan, and it is common for them to live to be more than two hundred years old.

    Ichthysians are prone to mutation, especially in response to pollutants and other chemicals. These mutations might be physical deformities, but could be as strange as transparent flesh, poisonous skin, extra eyes with enhanced senses, or extra limbs.

  • Interaction: Ichthysians are not aggressive but will retaliate with full force against anything that attacks them, and one can remember specific enemy humans from its past.

  • Use: A cryptid fish-person has been spotted in the vicinity of a deforested area adjacent to a mighty river. Villagers tell stories of an ancient water god that heals sickness and grants wishes.

  • Loot: An ichthysian's lair might have a strange relic or device that works like a cypher or artifact.

GM Intrusions: A slain ichthysian suddenly regenerates 5 health and immediately attacks or tries to flee.

The ichthysian suddenly mutates in response to an attack, thereafter gaining +2 Armor or +2 levels in defense against that type of attack.

Infovore 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 122)

Entities of information with an affinity for technology, infovores are nothing but stored information without a bit of mechanism to inhabit. But once one gains control of a device, computer system, or other powered item, it self-assembles over the course of a few rounds, becoming stronger and more dangerous as each second passes. Luckily, an infovore seems unable to hold this form for long, and whether defeated or not, it eventually falls back into so much scattered junk. But in one of those objects, the core of the infovore remains, waiting to come into close enough proximity to another fresh mechanism to begin the rebirth process again.

Infovores have also been called ghost fabricators and aterics.

  • Motive: Hungers for information

  • Environment: Anywhere powered devices are found

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3–10 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Attacks and defends at an ever-escalating level

  • Combat: A newly animate infovore (level 3) has a rough but articulated form that it uses to batter and cut targets who carry powered devices on them. Unless destroyed, on each subsequent round it draws nearby inert mechanisms, unattended metallic and synthetic matter, and ambient energy, and its effective level increases by one. This level advancement completely heals all previous damage it has taken and advances it to the amount of health consistent with a creature of the next higher level. Damage, attacks, and defense continue to ramp up as well, continuing each round until the creature is either destroyed or it reaches level 10. After being active for one round at level 10, it spontaneously disassembles, falling back into so many scattered pieces of junk. Finding the "seed" device amid this junk is a difficulty 6 Intellect-based task.

  • Interaction: Infovores are fractured, fragmented beings. Characters who can talk to machines might be able to keep one from "spinning up" to become a threat and learn something valuable, but only for a short period.

  • Use: Among the devices collected from trade, salvage, archeological dig, or some other unique source, one was actually an inactive infovore, quiescent until plugged in or scanned.

  • Loot: An infovore that has undergone spontaneous disassembly leaves one or two manifest cyphers; however, there's a chance that one of those cyphers is actually the infovore seed.

GM Intrusion: The character must succeed on a Speed defense task or lose a powered piece of equipment (an artifact) or a manifest cypher as it's pulled into the self-assembling infovore. The infovore gains an additional attack each round.

Inquisitor 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 123)

Inquisitors are aliens who call themselves "inquisitors" when they contact new species. Their preferred method of interaction is to study a given area for its flora and fauna, and attempt to collect a representative sample of any intelligent species they find (such as humans). Collected subjects may be gone for good, but other times they wake with little or no recollection of the experience save for bruises, missing digits or teeth, scabbed-over circular head wounds, and a gap of three or more days in their memory. Instead of arms, inquisitors sprout three sets of three tentacles like those of a squid, each of which branches into a smaller and finer set of manipulator tendrils. They can manipulate complex machines in a way that a regular human could never hope to. In most settings, inquisitors possess a level of technology and advancement well above that enjoyed by humans.

  • Motive: Knowledge

  • Environment: In groups of three to twelve

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing

  • Modifications: Knowledge-related tasks as level 8

  • Combat: Inquisitors can batter and squeeze foes with their tentacles, but they prefer to use advanced items that they always carry, including long-range energy weapons that can inflict damage or, with a flipped setting, induce deep sleep for an hour or more if the victim fails a Might defense task. Usually, inquisitors attempt to cause as little damage as possible to potential subjects, so the sleep setting is used most often. They also carry defensive items, including manifest cyphers that can grant +4 to Armor for a few minutes or throw up a level 8 force field barrier. In case a specimen collection mission goes badly, at least one inquisitor carries a manifest cypher that creates a short-lived teleportation portal for instant transport to a distant and hidden base (which might be a spacecraft or a transdimensional redoubt).

  • Interaction: Inquisitors are always eager to "talk," though they usually end up wanting to know a lot more than characters are willing to divulge.

  • Use: An entire freehold on Mars goes missing. Left-behind clues point to inquisitors.

  • Loot: Most inquisitors carry a couple of manifest cyphers that have offensive and defensive capabilities.

GM Intrusion: The character (or characters) wake after a long rest, only to realize that more than ten hours have passed. They all have strange marks and wounds, but no one remembers why. One character—an NPC or follower—might even be missing.

Internet D@emon 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 104)

Weird apps and viruses are a frequent problem on internet-enabled devices, even more so when magic is brought into the mix. Internet d@emons are semi-sentient bits of code that live in computers and smart devices. Initially created to be harmless or even helpful (fulfilling a simple purpose such as converting files, refining data searches, or anonymizing an IP address), they've become aggressive and malicious, either deliberately created to cause harm or bucking the constraints of their original code to evolve and multiply. Unsuspecting sorcerers might grab a magical app that promises quicker access to difficult spells or insight on the next big crypto drop, accidentally infecting their devices with a dangerous techno-magical creature.

Most magicians draw the attention of an internet d@emon by using malware cypher apps like EasyMagic.

Internet d@emons have grown beyond their original programming and function like creatures rather than simple software— essentially, they're a sort of magical limited artificial intelligence. They're immune to abilities that only affect non-sentient programs.

Some magicians have tried partnering with a d@emon, allowing it to feed on their magic in exchange for a daily magic-enhancing cypher, but the d@emon's hunger usually grows too strong for it to resist taking more magic than the character planned for.

  • Motive: Hunger for magic

  • Environment: Computers, smart devices, and areas with strong wireless internet access

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; travels through the internet at nearly instantaneous speed

  • Modifications: Speed defense, perception, and stealth as level 5

  • Combat: A d@emon outside of an internet connected device attacks by siphoning magic from a creature within short range, inflicting 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). However, usually the d@emon prefers to remain hidden within a computer or smart device, slowly and gently draining magic from a nearby creature without being noticed.

    When a magic-capable creature uses a ten minute, one-hour, or ten-hour recovery roll within immediate range of a device with an internet d@emon, subtract 1 from the result of the recovery roll. Over time, the d@emon's siphoning power strengthens, increasing to 2 or even 3 points taken from every recovery roll. An affected creature can attempt a perception task against the d@emon's stealth modifier to realize that something is tapping into their magic.

    If the character discovers which app or device the d@emon is associated with, deleting the app or destroying the device forces the d@emon to either flee through the internet (requiring its action for one to three rounds, depending on local transmission speeds) or immediately manifest in its visible physical form. If manifested, a d@emon attempts to feed on the weakest foe in the area, and once it is sated it leaves the area (breaking off combat if possible) to find a high-speed wireless internet connection so it can transmit itself far away in search of another victim.

    Once per day, an internet d@emon can create a malware magical app cypher (such as EasyMagic.app), placing it in an app store (physical or online) or sending out a burst of emails with a link to where the app can be downloaded.

  • Interaction: D@emons are persistent and reasonably clever. They can be bargained with or bribed, but they tend to be greedy and would rather hide or pretend to leave than make a deal.

  • Use: An internet d@emon usually starts out as an innocuous app subtly draining magic, then switches to an active, aggressive mode when discovered or if starved.

  • Loot: A destroyed internet d@emon's physical form leaves behind a lace-like fragment of magical energy that functions as a meditation aid cypher.

Kaiju 10 (30)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 338)

Kaiju come in a variety of shapes, but all share one difficult-to-ignore quality: mind-blowing size. Appearances of these colossal creatures are rare events that usually don't last for more than a few days. In that sense, they're akin to hundred-year storms and at least as destructive. When they emerge, they're attracted by artificial structures, the more densely situated and elaborate the better, which they set to smashing with a vengeance. It's hard to judge the size of things so far outside normal scale, but good estimates put most kaiju at over 300 feet (90 m) in height.

Kaiju rely primarily on their strength and mass, but many have some additional trick or ability that sets them apart from their kin, which usually translates into even more devastation.

The other quality all kaiju share is the talent of hiding after a rampage by diving into a nearby sea or burrowing deep into the earth. Sometimes the same kaiju will appear again days, months, years, or decades later, attacking the same location or someplace entirely new.

  • Motive: Destruction

  • Environment: Usually near communities containing many high structures

  • Health: 140

  • Damage Inflicted: 18 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 8 due to size

  • Combat: A kaiju can punch, kick, or deliver a tail or tentacle lash at something within long range. Damage is inflicted on the target and everything within short range of the target, and even those that succeed on a Speed defense roll take 7 points of damage.

    Kaiju heal quickly, usually at a rate of 2 points per round.

    Kaiju are rare and devastating enough that most are dubbed with a unique identifier by survivors. The entry for each creature below notes only where it varies from the base creature described above.

    • Rampagion: This kaiju has been estimated to be almost 1,000 feet (300 m) high. Once per day, it can make a charging trample attack, dealing its damage in a line 300 feet (90 m) wide and 2 miles (3 km) long. Rampagion has 10 Armor and deals 20 points of damage with a physical attack (or 8 points if a victim makes a successful Speed defense roll).
    • Suneko: This kaiju's body, which resembles a cross between a lion and a lizard, is so hot that its skin glows like red coals, its mane like the sun's corona, and its eyes like beaming searchlights. Suneko automatically deals 10 points of damage to everyone within immediate range. The creature can emit twin rays of plasma from its eyes in a focused beam that can reach as far as the horizon, which from Suneko's height above the ground is about 22 miles (35 km). When it makes its eyebeam attack, it stops emitting killing heat in immediate range for about one minute.

  • Interaction: Most PCs can't directly interact with a kaiju unless they have some special device or association allowing them to get the attention of one of the massive creatures. Doing so could give the characters a chance to trick or lure the beast, or maybe even persuade one kaiju to fight another.

  • Use: After seeing the devastation caused by a kaiju, the PCs might decide (or be asked) to find a way to stop a projected future appearance by the same creature.

GM Intrusion: The character gains the direct attention of the kaiju. If the kaiju attacks the character, They are awarded 5 XP, only 1 of which they have to give to a friend.

Kelpie 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 130)

A sinister aquatic creature that takes the shape of a grey horse or white pony, the kelpie lures unsuspecting passersby and attempts to drown them in a nearby body of water.

Some kelpies look just like horses. Others look as if they're created from elements of the swamp—maybe its tail is algae, its mane cattails, its eyes glowing pebbles or miniature moons. Maybe eels and snails and other creatures are its teeth or tongue. One thing about kelpies is always true: their manes are always dripping and their hooves are always inverted.

If someone knows a kelpie's name and says it aloud, the kelpie loses all its power over that person and retreats to the depths of the water.

  • Motive: Unknown

  • Environment: Near or in rivers, streams, lakes, and other bodies of running or still water.

    Modern settings might find them near public or private swimming pools, koi ponds, and reservoirs.

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Very long when running

  • Combat: When a passerby approaches, the kelpie might appear tame, a little lost, injured, or otherwise friendly and in need. Or, if the passerby appears weary or sad, the kelpie will offer a ride upon their back. The kelpie's sticky skin traps the rider (level 7 Might task to break free). Once the rider is seated, the kelpie may attempt to drown them in the lake, run so fast that the rider takes 5 points of Intellect damage from fright, or roll over on them, inflicting 4 points of damage (ignores Armor).

  • Interaction: Not all kelpies are malevolent. Some were once "tamed" by someone who learned their names and loved them. These kelpies actively seek out human contact, attempting to find someone to replace the one they loved.

  • Use: In the gloom, a large black horse appears, wearing beautiful tack and acting as if lost. It offers one of the weary characters a ride upon its back.

GM Intrusion: While dealing with something else, the characters come upon a kelpie in the process of drowning someone.

Killer Clown 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 339)

A clown—whether it's a doll or what seems to be a person wearing clown makeup—could be entirely benign. But if you see one sitting alone in a dark room, lying under your bed, or gazing up at you through the sewer grate in the street, it might be a killer clown. Killer clowns might be evil spirits possessing someone or an insane person living out a homicidal fantasy. Either way, they're as dangerous as anything you'll ever likely meet. If you see a clown, run. Because it might be a killer.

  • Motive: Homicide

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Detecting falsehoods, deception, and persuasion as level 7

  • Combat: A killer clown attempts to deceive its victim into believing that the clown is a friend. In fact, the clown is setting up an ambush where the victim can be strangled to death in private. When a killer clown successfully attacks, it inflicts 5 points of damage and locks its hands around the victim's neck. In each round that the victim does not escape, it suffers 5 points of damage from being strangled.

    Some killer clowns know tricks that border on the supernatural. Such a clown may do one of the following as its action during combat.

  • Interaction: A killer clown is all jokes, magic tricks, and juggling, until it decides it's time to strike.

  • Use: The creepy circus that just pulled into town is guarded by a killer clown, as late-night investigators soon learn.

  • Loot: A killer clown might have one or two cyphers in the form of a joy buzzer, cards, and cheap trinkets.

GM Intrusion: The clown snatches a weapon, cypher, or other object from the character's hand as a level 6 attack, and if successful, immediately uses it on the character.

Killer Clown Tricks
d6Clown Trick
1Reveal a secret that one character is keeping from one or more of their allies.
2Poke target in the eyes as a level 6 attack, blinding target for one minute.
3Activate a trapdoor beneath victim that drops them 20 feet (6 m) into a cellar or basement.
4Disappear into secret door or hatch and reappear somewhere hidden within short range.
5Jab target in the throat as a level 6 attack; resulting coughing fit causes target to lose next action.
6Down an elixir or energy drink that heals the killer clown of all damage sustained.
Killing White Light 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 340)

A killing white light isn't a subtle hunter. At a distance, the creature is an eye-watering point of brilliance. When it closes in, it is nothing less than blinding, though its emanation isn't warm. Despite the blazing intensity, a killing white light is as cold as starlight on a December night, sapping heat and life from living things caught in its radiance.

By day, a killing white light is usually inactive. During this period, the creature hibernates in darkened areas, as if unwilling or unable to compete against the sun.

  • Motive: Eliminate organic life

  • Environment: Almost anywhere dark

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short when flying

  • Combat: An active (glowing) killing white light can attack one target within immediate range each round with a pulse of its brilliant nimbus. A character who fails a Speed defense roll against the attack takes damage and experiences a cooling numbness. A victim killed by the creature is rendered into so much blowing ash, though their clothing and equipment are unharmed.

    As it attacks, a killing white light emits a blinding nimbus of illumination that affects all creatures within short range. Targets in the area must succeed on a Might defense roll each round or be blinded for one round. A character in the area can avert their eyes when fighting a killing white light to avoid being blinded, but attacks and defenses are hindered for those who do so.

    A killing white light is vulnerable to strong sources of light other than its own. If exposed to daylight or caught in a high-intensity beam of light (such as a spotlight), the killing white light falters and takes no action for one round, after which it can act normally. However, if the competing light persists for more than three or four rounds, the creature usually retreats to a darkened place of safety.

  • Interaction: A killing white light is too alien for interaction and may not be intelligent in a way humans can understand.

  • Use: An inactive killing white light (which looks something like an albino lump of volcanic glass) is sometimes mistaken for a cypher whose properties can't quite be identified—until the creature becomes active, at which point its true nature is revealed.

GM Intrusion: Normally resistant to interaction, a killing white light uses its blazing nimbus to burn an alien glyph of uncertain meaning in the character's flesh before the creature fades like a light bulb switched off.

Lich 8 (24)

(Godforsaken, page 117)

A lich is a powerful wizard or priest who has used their knowledge of necromancy to bind their soul in a magical object called a phylactery, making them immortal and undead unless their soul object is found and destroyed. Having corrupted its own life energy in an obscene ritual, a lich can pursue its other magical goals, usually the acquisition of more wealth, magic, and power. A newly made lich may look like a recent corpse, but maintaining its physical vessel becomes less of a priority as the centuries pass, so over time they tend to look withered or even skeletal. Liches often work with or command other undead, such as wraiths, skeletons, vampires, and zombies.

  • Motive: Magic, immortality, power

  • Environment: Wherever they can remain hidden and work undisturbed

  • Health: 45

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense and magical lore as level 10

  • Combat: A lich can shoot blasts of necromantic energy that inflict 8 points of damage on a target and 4 points on any creature within immediate range of the target. A lich knows many spells, such as the following:

    • Animate guards: Animate ten corpses as skeletons or zombies, which obey the lich for one hour before turning back into corpses.
    • Armor: Gain +5 Armor for one hour.
    • Death: Inflict 8 points of damage on a creature within short range; if the creature fails a Might defense roll, it also moves two steps down the damage track.
    • Fly: For one hour, move through the air as effortlessly as walking.
    • Paralyze: One target within short range is held motionless for two rounds, unable to take any physical actions.
    • Polymorph: Transform a creature within short range into a harmless creature like a fish or frog for one minute.
    • Scrying eye: View any familiar location within 1 mile (1.5 km) as if the lich was observing it directly.
    • Teleport: Move instantly up to 1 mile. A lich also likely carries several cyphers useful in combat. Liches are undead, and therefore immune to anything that affects only living creatures, such as disease and poison. Unless its well-hidden phylactery is destroyed, a lich that is killed reforms a new body near its phylactery over the next week or so, returning at full health and with all of its abilities and memories.

  • Interaction: Liches hate being interrupted and have more important things to do than answer questions from mortal weaklings. A lich may be convinced to teach a character a spell, especially if given a spell, cypher, or artifact in trade.

  • Use: A lich is planning a ritual to raise an army of skeletons or zombies to attack the kingdom. A lich has made a pact with a demon to unleash a plague in exchange for obscure magical knowledge.

  • Loot: A lich has 1d6 cyphers and usually an artifact.

GM Intrusions: The lich casts a spell in addition to taking other actions on its turn. The lich uses a cypher, spell, or other ability to nullify an attack that otherwise would have affected it.

Malware, Fatal 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 124)

This purely malefic program has aggressive machine learning capabilities, allowing it to accomplish truly innovative and nasty tricks. Fatal malware may have originated as a simple virus or spyware coded for a specific purpose, but corruption and lightning-quick electronic evolution has turned it into something that exists purely to infect orderly electronic systems, spacecraft, space stations, smart weapons, and anything else with an operating system. Infected objects turn against living people. An instance often has the form of the system it's infected, but occasionally fatal malware physically manifests as a metallic "cancer" of wires and self-assembling circuits hanging like a tumor across a server room, shipmind core, or data center, having perverted the original machine's self-repair functions. Sometimes 4d printers are also compromised.

  • Motive: Corruption and destruction

  • Environment: Any electronic system able to run code can host one or more instances

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: As the system it infects

  • Modifications: Knowledge tasks related to computers and other electronic systems as level 6

  • Combat: An instance of fatal malware that physically touches (or electrically connects with) a powered device of up to level 6 can attempt to seize control of it. It can then use that device to attack living targets. If the controlled system is a computer, smartphone, AR glasses, or some other piece of equipment that doesn't have any intrinsic movement, the malware attempts to electrocute a user, or if a smart weapon, cause some kind of fatal accident with it. A compromised computer or shipmind voice can dangerously mislead victims. Fatal malware duplicates itself, creating many instances, and those that survive are usually slightly better at avoiding being erased than the previous generations.

  • Interaction: Fatal malware isn't really sentient and thus can't really be negotiated with; some instances could mimic intelligence to draw humans into a trap.

  • Use: An instance of fatal malware has gotten into a shipmind, which is making the normally trustworthy AI act out in unexpectedly dangerous ways. The shipmind itself doesn't know it's infected.

GM Intrusion: The fatal malware divides into a second instance and attempts to override and control another piece of equipment carried by the character, especially a character with cybernetic implants.

Manticore 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 118)

A manticore is a fearsome predator that resembles a maned red lion with a human head and a scorpion's tail. The head is bearded and has three rows of teeth in the upper and lower jaws, like a shark. The scorpion tail is covered in multiple barbs, and the creature can flick its tail to hurl these barbs at its prey. Manticores eat all of their prey, including the bones, clothing, and equipment, leaving nothing but a bloodstain as evidence of their hunting.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh (especially human flesh)

  • Environment: Mountains and plains

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Ranged attacks as level 5

  • Combat: Manticores attack with their powerful bite, seeking to incapacitate or kill one opponent quickly so they can eat. Some are content to attack and consume a single target, but a large, hungry manticore prefers to wait until two or three creatures are nearby before attacking. A manticore has powerful legs and can leap up to a short distance in any direction, and often surprises its prey by leaping from concealment.

    Instead of biting, a manticore can use its poisonous scorpion-like tail to strike one creature in melee with a cluster of barbs, inflicting 4 points of damage (plus 4 additional points of Speed damage if the target fails a Might defense roll). With a flick of its tail, it can hurl up to four barbs up to a short distance away, striking one or more creatures in an immediate area. Each barb inflicts 1 point of damage, and the target must succeed on a Might defense roll or take 1 additional point of Speed damage.

  • Interaction: Manticores can make trumpet-like noises that resemble speech, but this seems to be a trick to lure prey. Most of them are not intelligent enough to know how to speak human languages.

  • Use: Weird musical noises resembling speech are heard from the nearby hills. People have been disappearing in fields and on the road, with only bloodstains on the ground suggesting that they were harmed.

  • Loot: A manticore's stomach might contain a piece of treasure or a cypher from a recent meal, and its lair may have one or two small objects it was unable to digest.

GM Intrusion: The manticore attacks with its bite, then spins around to lash its opponent with its barbed tail.

Mechanical Soldier 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 341)

Clockwork automatons powered by steam, these mechanical men patrol about and guard locations of importance to their makers. Lanky and awkward in their movements, these quasi-humanoid automatons stand almost 8 feet (2 m) tall. In their three-fingered hands, they wield a variety of weapons.

A few people have wondered if a gear-driven soldier could ever truly attain sentience. Most scoff at the suggestion, but is that a gleam in the glass lens of its eye?

  • Motive: Incomprehensible

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually in groups of three to eight

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5; leaps, runs, and balances as level 3

  • Combat: Mechanical soldiers attack in groups using well-organized tactics. Although they can speak, they transmit information to one another silently and instantly within a 100-mile (160 km) range via wireless radio transmissions.

    Soldiers armed with advanced weaponry typically carry rifle-like guns that can fire multiple rapid shots without reloading. The soldiers fire at up to three targets (all next to one another) at once. For each target after the first, defense rolls are eased.

    In addition, one in four soldiers carries a back-mounted device that hurls bombs at long range with deadly accuracy. They explode in immediate range for 4 points of damage. Each device holds 1d6 such bombs.

    A mechanical soldier that has lost its original weaponry scavenges whatever is available.

    Certain frequencies of sound confuse these clockwork soldiers, hindering all their actions by two steps, and other frequencies prevent them from acting at all for 1d6 + 1 rounds.

  • Interaction: On their own, mechanical soldiers act on prior orders. Otherwise, they listen to and obey their creator—and only their creator.

  • Use: An enterprising bandit has captured and repurposed a number of mechanical soldiers, probably using sound. These soldiers remember nothing of their former duties and work for their new master as high-tech brigands and pirates. The bandit has no idea how to repair them if they are damaged, much less make new soldiers.

  • Loot: A determined scientist might scavenge the body of one of these automatons to find a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The destroyed soldier explodes in a gout of flame, black smoke, and steam, inflicting 6 points of damage to all within immediate range.

Melted 4 (12)

(Rust and Redemption, page 105)

Survivors assume the melted are another strain of mutants. Maybe so, but they're not originally from Earth. Or rather, not this Earth. The melted leaked in from a parallel world's apocalypse caused by a snafu with a high energy supercollider. Dozens of different but parallel timelines smashed into each other. The few survivors were fused beings composed of many different alternate versions of the same person, each still "radioactive" with latent transdimensional energy.

  • Motive: Surcease from constant pain; absorb more sapient beings

  • Environment: Groups of three to five roaming the ruins

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points; see Combat

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Initiative and Speed defense as level 5 due to seeing a second into the future

  • Combat: The melted attack with two claws.

    If a melted defeats a foe, they "consume" it by drawing it fully into their body cavity as their action, healing the melted for 10 health and giving the creature a few hours free of pain, allowing their mind to clear.

    A given melted may also have a trait associated with the transdimensional energy they burn with.

Transdimensional Energy Enhancement
d6Effect
1Enhanced strength: Attacks inflict 6 points of damage (instead of 4)
2Healing factor: Regains 2 health each round
3Bite: In addition to their claw attacks, makes a bit attack each round that inflicts 6 points of damage
4Gravitic repulsion: Flies a long distance each round
5Dimensional instability: Teleports up to a long distance before or after each attack
6Transdimensional blast: About once each hour, emits transdimensional energy filling an adjacent short area; all creatures in the area take 6 points of ambient damage on a failed Might defense roll, as parts of them temporarily fuse with other affect creatures, or creatures in alternate dimensions

  • Interaction: A few of the melted gain moments of clarity, but all are burdened with anguish stemming from their fused state. They unleash their full fury on whoever and whatever they catch among the ruins, but they seem particularly bent on finding and absorbing scientists.

  • Use: A group of the melted seek out a surviving scientific installation and attempt to consume everyone nearby.

  • Loot: One out of three melted may carry a manifest cypher (in the form of before times military tech), such as an armor reinforcer or a sonic detonation.

Mi-go 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 342)

These extraterrestrial creatures are known as the Fungi from Yuggoth or the Abominable Ones. They are a bizarre amalgam of insect and fungal entity, with many limbs and wings that can carry them aloft. They sometimes enslave humans to work for them in strange factories, mines, or other labor-intensive capacities.

  • Motive: Knowledge and power

  • Environment: Usually cold or temperate hills or mountains

  • Health: 19

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: All knowledge tasks as level 6

  • Combat: Mi-go defend themselves with pincers and claws but are more likely to use technological devices as weapons. Assume that a mi-go has one of the following abilities from a device:

    • Project a blast of electricity at long range that inflicts 6 points of damage
    • Emit poison gas in a cloud that fills to short range and inflicts 4 points of Intellect damage if the victim fails a Might defense roll (the mi-go is immune)
    • Project a holographic image of itself to one side that hinders attacks aimed at the real mi-go by two steps
    • Project a sonic field that provides +2 to Armor

    Mi-go have access to other devices as well, including translators, cylinders that can preserve a human's brain without its body, sophisticated tools, collars that control the actions of their wearers, and weird vehicles. Mi-go suffer no damage from cold and do not need to breathe.

  • Interaction: Although very few mi-go speak human languages, peaceful interaction with these creatures is not impossible. It's just very difficult (level 7), as they see most humans as little more than animals.

  • Use: The characters are attacked by mi-go intent on capturing and enslaving them. If caught, the PCs are sent to scavenge through primordial ruins for disturbing technological relics.

  • Loot: Mi-go always have 1d6 cyphers as well as many curious objects that have no obvious human function.

GM Intrusion: Fungal spores from the mi-go's body overcome the character, who must succeed at a Might defense roll or lose their next turn. The character faces this risk each round they are within immediate distance of the creature.

Minotaur 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 120)

Minotaurs are aggressive bull-humanoids who enjoy human flesh. Some legends say the first minotaur was the result of a curse from a god, and others suggest it was created by a demon, but the truth is lost to antiquity. Minotaurs care little about history or their origin, preferring to hunt for meat and spar with each other for dominance and trophies. Minotaurs live in small tribes of up to a dozen adults. Solitary minotaurs are exiles, last survivors of their tribe, or younger individuals claiming their own territory.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Caves, plains, and labyrinths

  • Health: 19

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Hunting and tracking as level 5

  • Combat: Minotaurs attack with their horns or use large weapons. A minotaur can charge up to a short distance and then make an attack, which inflicts an additional 3 points of damage.

    Minotaurs are interested in mazes and mazelike spaces and like to wander within them, memorizing the paths and finding good places to stage ambushes. They leave out piles of equipment and useless treasures from previous victims to lure people into the maze and give the minotaur time to corner their prey. Sometimes one minotaur in a tribe develops simple magic powers and is able to create illusions of smoke or mist in an area a short distance across, turn invisible for a few moments, or enchant weapons to inflict bleeding wounds.

  • Interaction: Minotaurs can speak, usually in their own language or another crude humanoid language. However, they typically choose not to speak to weaker creatures (such as humans).

  • Use: A wandering gang of minotaurs has been stealing livestock from a local village and is ready to start hunting humans. A minotaur gladiator escaped from a secret underground arena and is stalking prey in the city. Something lurks in a corn maze, leaving nothing but bones and bloodstains.

  • Loot: Minotaurs don't have much use for coins but keep a few small trophies, such as ivory dice, gems, or simple jewelry. The most powerful minotaur in the tribe may have a cypher or even a mastercraft weapon.

GM Intrusions: A minotaur smashes a nearby wall, causing part of the ceiling to collapse on one or more characters, inflicting 6 points of damage and trapping them until they can escape from the rubble. A minotaur grabs a character, who can resist with a Might or Speed defense roll; if they fail, the minotaur takes them up to a short distance away and disappears (behind an obstacle, into a maze, or in some other hiding spot).

Minotaur, the 7 (21)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 117)

The most famous minotaur is the Minotaur, the singular beast from which all lesser minotaur myths descend. The product of a god-cursed union between human and bull, the Minotaur is monstrous, and only the flesh of people can nourish it. It is usually lost in a labyrinth created to contain it. But it occasionally gets free to hunt the wider world before the labyrinth pulls it back. Some demigods claim to have slain the Minotaur, but the Minotaur always returns.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Usually in mythological labyrinths, but sometimes metaphorical ones

  • Health: 33

  • Damage Inflicted: 10 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Breaking through barriers as level 9

  • Combat: The Minotaur attacks by goring foes on its horns, inflicting 10 points of damage on a successful attack. If the Minotaur charges a short distance, it can attack as part of the same action and inflict an additional 5 points of damage.

    The Minotaur is trapped by the labyrinth, but also part of it. Whenever a character attacks the Minotaur, they must succeed on an Intellect defense task or be claimed by the labyrinth themselves until they can escape with a successful difficulty 7 Intellect task. Those claimed by the labyrinth seem to disappear and find themselves wandering a dark maze. Once a character successfully escapes, they are no longer subject to being claimed by the labyrinth for several days.

    If killed, the Minotaur's body is claimed by the labyrinth. Thirty-three days later, the Minotaur is resuscitated.

  • Interaction: The Minotaur can speak, but usually chooses not to. It is belligerent and cruel, and always hungry.

  • Use: The Minotaur has escaped the labyrinth and now wanders the narrow streets of a metropolis, treating the winding alleys and twisting roads as its new maze.

GM Intrusion: The Minotaur smashes into the wall, causing a section of the tunnel or hallway to collapse on the character(s), inflicting 10 points of damage and trapping them until they can escape the rubble

Mock Organism 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 125)

Artificial life can be created by selective breeding, synthetic and genetic engineering, or by accidental miscalculation in some unrelated high-energy or food-research program. When artificial life takes a wrong turn, the results run the gamut from disappointing to dangerous. If an artificial entity starts out benign, it's difficult to know if a hidden or slowly developing flaw will tip it over the edge into dangerous dysfunction—or if it just acts oddly because it doesn't know the social cues. Should synthetic beings be treated as people, pets, or monsters to be stamped out and destroyed? That's the eternal question and one that's usually answered by those most afraid of potential dangers that might accompany the creation of something no one intended.

  • Motive: Defense or destruction

  • Environment: Usually in secluded locations alone unless hiding in unused storage rooms of a large facility

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: A mock organism can release an electrical discharge against a target at short range. In melee, a mock organism's poisoned claws inflict damage and require the target to succeed on a Might defense task, or the poison induces a coma-like slumber in the target. Each round the target fails to rouse—an Intellect task—they take 3 points of ambient damage.

  • Interaction: A mock organism is intelligent and can sometimes be swayed by reason. It might be passive, but if disturbed in a place it thought was secure against intrusion, it could grow belligerent and even murderous. Once so roused, a mock organism might still be calmed, but all such attempts are hindered.

  • Use: A scientist's ruined lab contains several unexpected surprises, including a mock organism that yet grieves over the loss of its creator.

  • Loot: A mock organism requires many parts. Salvage from a destroyed mock organism could result in a manifest cypher or two and another item that, with a bit of jury-rigging, works as an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The character hit by the mock organism's melee attack doesn't take normal damage. Instead, the mock organism drops onto the character. The PC is pinned until they can succeed on a difficulty 6 Might-based task to escape. While pinned, the creation whispers mad utterances into the target's ear.

Mokuren 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 343)

Mokuren are usually no larger than a cat, but they possess the ability to swell until they're the size of a bus (if only briefly). That ability, combined with their flashy pyrokinetic tails, make these creatures a particular favorite with children, at least in stories and picture books. Given that mokuren can "burrow" into paintings and other two-dimensional art, it's possible that some mokuren images are more than simple representations.

  • Motive: Play

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, usually as static images on walls or in storybooks

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points, unless enlarged; see Combat

  • Movement: Short; long if flying

  • Modifications: Defends as level 5 due to size, unless enlarged; see Combat

  • Combat: A mokuren exists in three states: as an image, as a cat-sized creature, and as a bus-sized behemoth.

    As an image, a mokuren can't be harmed. Even if the image is defaced, the mokuren merely "burrows" away and reappears like graffiti on a new flat space within a few miles.

    Alternatively, it could emerge from the image and become a physical cat-sized creature as a move. In this form, a mokuren can attack with its claws or bite. It can also direct a stream of fire from its glowing tail at a target within long range. (When a mokuren flies, it's by using its tail to create a jet that rockets it skyward.)

    Finally, it can make an enlarged attack, in which it swells to the size of a bus and swipes at, bites, or lands on a target as part of the same action. When enlarged, the mokuren gains +5 to Armor and makes and defends against all attacks as a level 7 creature. On a hit, the enlarged mokuren deals 7 points of damage. However, a mokuren can remain enlarged for a total of only four rounds during any twenty-four-hour period, so it uses this ability sparingly or only when enraged.

  • Interaction: To see an active mokuren is considered good luck, unless you manage to get on the wrong side of one. Then an offering of sweets must be made to the offended creature. A mokuren can't talk, but it can understand the languages where it lives about as well as a trained courser or hound can.

  • Use: A mokuren can lead characters into unexplored areas, helping them find places they may have overlooked or skipped. It can also lead PCs into danger, but it usually does so only to bring aid (the characters) to someone else in trouble.

GM Intrusion: The character hit by the mokuren doesn't take damage. Instead, they must succeed on a Might defense roll or be pulled into the nearest wall, floor, or book with the creature, becoming a two-dimensional image. In this state, the victim is in stasis until the mokuren pulls them free, another creature "pries" them loose, or a day passes and the effect ends naturally.

Mummy 6 (18)

(Stay Alive!, page 113)

Mummies are intelligent undead, usually royalty or members of the priesthood, risen from their burial places to destroy those who disturbed their rest. Many seek to undo wrongs against them from ages past or re-establish themselves in their former high stations.

  • Motive: Vengeance, love, power

  • Environment: Regions where mummification was common

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Climb, stealth, ancient history, and ancient religion as level 8

  • Combat: Mummies are strong, capable of lifting an adult human with one hand and throwing the person across a room. They attack with weapons that were buried with them or use their fists. A mummy usually has one or more of the following abilities:

    • Curse: Anyone who disturbs a mummy's tomb must make an Intellect defense roll or become cursed, which hinders their actions by two steps (forever, or until cured).
    • Disease: The mummy's attacks carry a rotting disease. The target must make a level 5 Might defense roll every twelve hours or take 5 points of ambient damage.
    • Lifelike appearance: A mummy can repair its body to assume a fully human appearance. This usually requires time and the flesh of several people, often those who awakened it.
    • Magic: Once per hour, the mummy can cast a spell from theMinor Wish character ability.
    • Minion: Animate up to four mummified bodies as mindless lesser mummies or skeletons (depending on how well the bodies are preserved), lasting for one day.
    • Swarm: Call a swarm of bugs (usually scarab beetles or scorpions) to attack a foe or obscure vision.

Lesser mummy: level 3, climb and stealth as level 4; health 12; Armor 1

Swarm of bugs: level 3

  • Interaction: Mummies want to destroy anyone who disturbs their burial places. Ambitious mummies might choose living beings to be their spies and servants, bribing them with funereal treasures or threatening them into submission.

  • Use: Villagers whisper that a tomb has been opened and a mummy's curse will strike down anyone who gets in the creature's way.

  • Loot: Mummies usually have treasures equivalent to three or four expensive items and perhaps a handful of magical manifest cyphers or even a magical artifact.

GM Intrusions: A dying mummy speaks a curse upon those who killed it, hindering all their actions by two steps (forever, or until cured).

What was overlooked as a fake or a prop turns out to be an actual mummy and attacks a character.

Nightgaunt 3 (9)

(Stay Alive!, page 114)

A nightgaunt's hands and feet have no opposable digits. All its fingers and toes can grasp with firm but unpleasant boneless strength. Hungry nightgaunts swoop out of the night, grab prey, and fly off into darkness. The creatures sometimes "work" for other agencies, though often enough, their goals are obscure.

  • Motive: Unknowable

  • Environment: Anywhere dark, usually in groups of four to seven

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Immediate; long when flying (short when flying with a victim)

  • Modifications: Perception and Speed defense as level 4; stealth as level 7

  • Combat: A nightgaunt can attack with its barbed tail. To catch a foe, a nightgaunt dives through the air from just outside of short range. When it does, it moves 100 feet (30 m) in a round and attempts to grab a victim near the midpoint of its movement. A target who fails a Speed defense roll (and who isn't more than twice the size of the nightgaunt) is jerked into the creature's boneless clutches and carried upward, finding themselves dangling from a height of 50 feet (15 m).

    The nightgaunt automatically tickles grabbed victims with its barbed tail. This subtle form of torture hinders all the victim's actions by two steps.

  • Interaction: Nightgaunts never speak, and they ignore anyone who attempts to interact with them, whether the communication takes the form of commanding, beseeching, or frantically pleading. Such is the way of nightgaunts.

  • Use: Someone who bears one or more of the PCs a grudge discovers a tome of spells and summons a flight of nightgaunts, which set off in search of their prey.

  • Loot: One in three nightgaunts has a valuable souvenir from a past victim, which might be an expensive watch, a ring, an amulet, or sometimes a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The character is startled by the nightgaunt and suffers the risk of temporary dementia. On a failed Intellect defense roll, the character shrieks and faints (or, at the GM's option, babbles, drools, laughs, and so on). The character can attempt a new Intellect defense roll each round to return to normal.

Nuppeppo 2 (6)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 435)

Nuppeppos are animated lumps of human flesh that walk on vaguely defined limbs. They smell of decay and death. They're spotted in graveyards, battlefields, coroner's offices, and other places where the dead are kept or interred. When witnessed in other places, nuppeppos seem to wander streets aimlessly, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, and sometimes following a living person who'd rather be left alone.

Information about these creatures is scarce. They might be the unintended consequence of a reanimation attempt, one that's able to catalyze its animation in similarly dead tissue to form more nuppeppos. On the other hand, they could be particularly gruesome spirits of the dead.

A nuppeppo sometimes follows a living individual around like a silent, smelly pet that shows no affection. No one knows why.

If a nuppeppo begins to follow a character, interaction tasks by that character and their allies are hindered. Most other creatures are put off by a lump of animate human flesh hanging around nearby.

  • Motive: Wander, graze on dead flesh

  • Environment: Near places of death at night, alone or in groups of up to eight

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: A nuppeppo can smash a foe with one of its lumpy limbs. If a nuppeppo is touched or struck in melee, the attacker's weapon (or hand) becomes stuck to the nuppeppo and can be pulled free only with a difficulty 5 Might roll.

    A victim of a nuppeppo's attack (or someone who touches a nuppeppo) begins to decay at a rate of 1 point of Speed damage (ignores Armor) per round, starting in the round following contact. To stop the spread of the decay, the victim can cut off the layer of affected flesh, which deals 4 points of damage (ignores Armor).

  • Interaction: If approached, a nuppeppo turns to "face" its interlocutor, but it doesn't respond to questions or orders. However, it may begin to follow its interlocutor from that point forward unless physically prevented—at which point the nuppeppo becomes violent.

  • Use: The PCs open a grave, a coffin, or a sealed research lab, and several nuppeppos spill out. Unless stopped, the creatures attempt to "adopt" their discoverers.

GM Intrusion: The character who allowed the nuppeppo to follow them around like a pet (or who has been unable to prevent it) wakes to find that the creature has settled upon them in the night and is using its touch-decay abilities to feed. In fact, the character might already be incapacitated by the time they wake.

Omworwar 10 (30)

(The Stars are Fire, page 127)

Among the many stories passed down the space lanes, a few stand out for their grandiosity. Take the tales of omworwar sightings in the empty voids between stars, or even more unexpectedly, flashing through the abnormal space during FTL travel. Scientists speculate that these creatures, if actually real, might very well be extant instances of ancient ultras, not extinct as everyone believes, or at least not completely. In almost every case so far recorded, omworwars have little interest in human spacecraft. (They're called omworwar after the sound disrupted communication devices make in their presence.) Each one is several kilometers long, a dark inner slug-like core surrounded by gauzy layers of translucent, glowing, nebula-like tissue. Whale-like eyes surmount the dorsal surface, each seeming to contain a tiny galaxy all their own.

Wharn interceptors have been seen accompanying single omworwars, indicating an association, and is why some people refer to these beings as wharn cogitators.

  • Motive: Unpredictable

  • Environment: Almost anywhere in space, alone or accompanied by one or two wharn interceptors

  • Health: 42

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 10

  • Movement: Flies a very long distance each round; can maneuver like an autonomous level 7 spacecraft if using extended vehicular combat rules. FTL capable.

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 7 due to size

  • Combat: An omworwar can manipulate and fold gravity (and space-time), allowing them to accomplish near-miraculous tasks including communication, creating or destroying matter, and propulsion via "falling" through the universe at FTL speeds from the perspective of an outside observer. Which means one can rend a spacecraft, send a spacecraft spinning through the galaxy, or create asteroid-sized chunks of space-matter for any number of purposes if it spends several rounds in deep concentration.

  • Interaction: Omworwar disregard most other creatures, because from the omworwar's perspective, they're like mayflies, here and then gone again in an eyeblink of their existence. However, one may give a moment to someone who has discovered an ancient ultra secret or artifact, pass on information that might otherwise never be known, or even provide a useful manifest cypher.

  • Use: A reflective object composed of unknown material was found at the core of an unexpectedly destroyed space station. Those who managed to flee in lifeboats report having seen what might have been an omworwar, bleeding energy and eyes going dark, colliding with the station. The resultant lump might just be its corpse, or maybe its protective chrysalis.

  • Loot: Four level 10 manifest cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The character discovers that one of their manifest cyphers has formed a tiny eye, but an eye that seems to contain a galaxy. (The cypher becomes useless for its original function, but might be used to summon or interact with an omworwar.)

Photonomorphs 6 (18)

(The Stars are Fire, page 128)

Hard-light technology, which creates pseudo-matter from modified photons, has made possible all kinds of structures and devices that wouldn't otherwise exist. One of those, unfortunately, are self-sustaining photonic matter creatures. Sometimes, photonomorphs are enforcers created by much more powerful beings; other times they are the result of some person or AI attempting to ascend into a new state of being. But whatever their origin, photonomorphs are dangerous beings that can create matter from light, granting them an arbitrarily wide swathe of abilities. That includes their own glowing bodies, which they can change with only a little effort. This variability of form, coupled with their vast power, may be why many seem slightly mad.

  • Motive: Varies

  • Environment: Anywhere, alone or attended by three to five servitors appearing as hovering red spheres

Servitor: level 4; flies a long distance each round

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Reconstitutes itself anywhere light can reach within long range as part of another action

  • Modifications: Knowledge tasks as level 8

  • Combat: Photonomorphs draw upon their own light to manifest effects equal to their level. Effects include the ability to attack creatures at long range with laser-like blasts, create glowing walls (or spheres) of force within an area up to 6 m (20 feet) on a side, become invisible, change its appearance, and create simple objects and devices out of hard light that last for about a minute (unless the photonomorph bleeds a few points of its health into the object to make it last until destroyed).

    A photonomorph regains 2 points of health each round in areas of bright light. It is hindered in all actions if the only source of light is itself or objects it has created.

  • Interaction: Photonomorphs are intelligent and paranoid, but not automatically hostile. They have their own self-serving agendas, which often involve elaborate schemes.

  • Use: A photonomorph appears, claiming to be a herald of some vastly more powerful cosmic entity or approaching alien vessel.

GM Intrusion: The photonomorph uses its ability to create a hard-light object or effect that is perfect for aiding it for the situation at hand.

Pollution Goblin 2 (6)

(It's Only Magic, page 105)

Pollution goblins are strange child-sized creatures that arise in environments where pollution or toxic waste is common. Their green skin is covered in scabs and pustules, except where it looks melted by acid, and their eyes have a wicked green glow that's faintly visible in the dark. They don't seem to have much of a culture or society, roaming around polluted areas like scavenging insects. They often ignore each other's presence and never attack each other, but they immediately unite against a common foe if any of them are threatened. A pollution goblin's semi-liquefied body can slide up or down any firm surface, allowing them to climb anywhere with ease. Pollution goblins have bones and internal organs, but they're oddly shaped and don't match those of any known creature. Because of this, and how they quickly melt away if killed, they might actually be artificial beings like homunculi, or inanimate matter given life like an elemental. They seem to arise spontaneously in locations where pollution reaches a threshold, and they don't reproduce in the normal biological sense. Pollution goblins are stupid and easily tricked, but it doesn't take long for them to realize they've been deceived, and they always make sure to punish someone who fools them.

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh; spreading filth

  • Environment: Anywhere there is pollution, in groups of three to ten

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1 (5 against poison and radiation)

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing

  • Modifications: Might defense as level 3; perception and stealth as level 5; see through deception as level 1

  • Combat: Pollution goblins use scavenged weapons to attack prey at range, preferring stolen pistols (usually with only one or two bullets left) or hurled containers of toxic goo. When up close, they bite.

    A pollution goblin's body is infused with dangerous chemicals. Any person spending their turn within immediate range of a pollution goblin must succeed at a Might defense roll or become sick. Within an hour, all their tasks are hindered, and for every 24 hours that pass, they must make another Might defense roll or move one step down the damage track (a success ends the sickness).

    Pollution goblins regain 2 points of health per round.

  • Interaction: Pollution goblins have a rudimentary understanding of whatever human language is dominant in their area. Most conversations with them are about acquiring food and protecting and expanding their territory (which means spreading contaminants over a wider area).

  • Use: Pollution goblins are an early symptom of a larger and greater problem. By the time a group of them is discovered, the area is already poisoned and will take time and money to contain and clean up.

Puppet Tree 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 349)

A puppet tree is a 25-foot (8 m) tall, spiky, orange and blue tree surrounded by a large area of red reeds that tremble and wave enticingly even when no wind is present. Humanoid figures are often gathered around it, but these rotted, overgrown corpses are the tree's victims, dead but serving as fleshy puppets to the tree's will.

Victims drained of knowledge and life are used as lures to draw in yet more victims, at least until the bodies rot away. When not used as lures, the corpse puppets are sent to scout nearby areas.

Corpse puppet: level 2; struck targets must also succeed on a Might defense task or be grabbed until they can escape; all tasks attempted by the grabbed target are hindered; free-roaming puppets remain animate for one day

  • Motive: Hungers for fresh bodies

  • Environment: On hilltops, isolated from other plant life

  • Health: 33

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: None

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size and immobility; deception and disguise (puppeteering corpses to act in a lifelike manner) as level 7

  • Combat: Some of the red reeds surrounding a puppet tree end in a hard, sharp crystal spike. When a living creature comes within short range of the tree, the reeds rise behind the target and try to skewer them through the head or neck with the spike. If a target is killed by these attacks, the puppet tree controls the body as a corpse puppet, using it to enact its plans. Over time these humanoids rot and are overgrown by the biology of the plant, losing utility for the tree. Most trees have about five corpse puppets active, which can be simultaneously animated to attack foes.

    A puppet tree is vulnerable to fire. All fire attacks against the tree inflict 2 additional points of damage and ignore Armor. The puppet tree will always attempt to stop a fire, or target the source of flame during combat.

    A corpse puppet can be detached and sent roaming; however, it retains only about a day's worth of animation, after which it collapses and molders like a normal corpse. Sometimes, however, a sapling puppet tree blooms from the remains.

  • Interaction: Puppet trees are highly intelligent, but malevolent. Even if communication can be opened via telepathy or some other means, the tree will always attempt to double-cross the PCs.

  • Use: The PCs spy a group of "people" having a picnic under a strange-looking tree in the middle of nowhere.

  • Loot: Possessions of former victims can be found in the red reeds, usually including a moderate amount of currency and various bits of gear. Devices of victims (if any) are collected by the corpse puppets and cobbled together into a strange machine, its purpose inexplicable.

GM Intrusion: Two corpse puppets, unseen in the red reeds, rise and seize a character in an attempt to hold them still for a crystal spike attack. The character must make a difficulty 4 Speed or Might task to shake free.

Radioactive Bear 7 (21)

(Rust and Redemption, page 106)

Exposure to radiation and other mutagens—or possibly the malign design of some before times military lab or inscrutable AI instance—transformed an already large and aggressive bear into something truly horrific. Standing well over 20 feet (6 m) tall, radioactive bears are drawn to radioactive areas, which empower and sustain them, though not completely. Which is why sometimes they head into uncontaminated areas to hunt large game. They especially prefer people.

  • Motive: Hunger for flesh and radiation

  • Environment: Anywhere radioactive

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1 (immune to radiation)

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to size; perception as level 8

  • Combat: Creatures within immediate range of a radioactive bear are irradiated on a failed Might defense task, hindering their tasks on their next turn.

    The bear attacks twice each round with its claws, or bites once. If its bite attack succeeds against a target suffering from radiation sickness, the bear regains 5 points of health.

    On a target's failed Might defense roll, the bear holds the target in its jaws, hindering their tasks until they can escape. If the bear begins its turn with a target held in its jaws, the bear automatically deals bite damage as its action.

    As an action, the bear can cough forth a radioactive cloud once every few hours (and again if the bear is killed), targeting everything within immediate range. Targets that fail a Might defense roll take damage from the radiation.

    If the radioactive bear is the result of military or AI design rather than a natural mutation, it may also have a mechanism capable of firing a long range laser at distant targets, deployed from a harness fused to the creature's flesh.

    In areas of dangerous radiation, the radioactive bear regains 2 points of health each round.

  • Interaction: Radioactive bears are clever predators, sly if they need to be. If not too hungry, a radioactive bear might let potential prey pass it by, assuming they don't antagonize the bear.

  • Use: The characters glance behind them as they drive their vehicle across the landscape and see a huge bear, apparently giving chase.

Ravage Bear 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 350)

A ravage bear is a hideous predator that hunts entirely by sense of smell. It is blind and nearly deaf, but it still tracks and senses prey easily. It is very protective of its young, and if hungry, it is extremely dangerous. Otherwise, it gives most creatures a wide berth.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Alone or in pairs (usually with a few cubs) in wooded, rocky, or mountainous areas, typically in cold or temperate climes

  • Health: 20

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Makes Might defense rolls as level 6; runs, climbs, and jumps as level 7

  • Combat: A ravage bear grabs foes with its powerful arms, holds them fast, and then squeezes and tears at them until they are dead. It can hold only one creature at a time. While a ravage bear is holding a creature, it can attack only the held creature. In each round that a held creature does not escape, it suffers 4 points of damage in addition to damage from attacks made against it.

    A ravage bear can move very quickly in short sprints. In combat, it can go into an insane fury and will fight to the death. If it takes 10 or more points of damage, its defenses are hindered, but its attacks are eased.

    Ravage bears are immune to visual effects, such as illusions. However, olfactory effects can confuse and "blind" them temporarily.

  • Interaction: Ravage bears are animals and act like animals.

  • Use: Ravage bears are likely chance encounters in the wilderness for unlucky travelers.

GM Intrusion: In its rage, the ravage bear makes an extra attack that does 2 additional points of damage.

Reanimated 6 (18)

(Stay Alive!, page 115)

A reanimated is a humanoid creature patched together from corpses (or crafted directly from muscle, nerves, and sinew), then returned to life through a hard-to-duplicate series of electromagnetic induction events. Though made of flesh, a reanimated's return to consciousness and mobility is marked by a substantial increase in hardiness, resistance to injury, and longevity. On the other hand, the process usually obliterates whatever mind was once encoded in the donor's brain, giving rise to a creature of monstrous rage and childlike credulity. Sometimes the reanimated is bound to its creator in service, but such ties are fragile and could be snapped by an ill-timed fit of fury.

  • Motive: Defense, unpredictable

  • Environment: Anywhere in service to a mad scientist, or driven to the edges of civilization

  • Health: 70

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Movement: Short; long when jumping

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4; interaction as level 2; feats of strength and toughness as level 8

  • Combat: A reanimated attacks foes with its hands. Any time a foe inflicts 7 or more points of damage on the reanimated with a single melee attack, the creature immediately lashes out in reactive rage and makes an additional attack in the same round on the foe who injured it.

    If the reanimated begins combat within long range of foes but outside of short range, it can bridge the distance with an amazing leap that concludes with an attack as a single action. The attack inflicts 4 points of damage on all targets within immediate range of the spot where the reanimated lands.

    Some reanimated are psychologically vulnerable to fire, and they fear it. When these reanimated attack or defend against a foe wielding fire, their attacks and defenses are hindered by two steps.

    If struck by electricity, a reanimated regains a number of points of health equal to the damage the electricity would normally inflict.

  • Interaction: Fear and food motivate a reanimated, though sometimes beautiful music or innocence can stay its fists.

  • Use: Depending on where a reanimated falls along its moral and psychological development, it could be a primary foe for the PCs, a secondary guardian to deal with, or a forlorn beast in need of aid.

GM Intrusion: The character's attack bounces harmlessly off the stitched, hardened flesh of the reanimated.

Redivus 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 130)

Redivi spend most of their lives—uncounted millennia—hurtling through space. Most never encounter anything, but some few impact other worlds, are captured by alien spacecraft, or otherwise intercepted. Their traveling form resembles rocky space rubble the size of a small spacecraft—until they unfurl glowing magnetic plasma wings, revealing themselves as strange creatures of living mineral. Redivi can interact with almost any electronic system and manipulate electromagnetic fields. Redivi are searchers, all sent forth by the Great Mother, billions upon billions of them (they say), looking for the seed of the next great cosmic expansion. Thus, most redivi are consumed with finding out more, finding other redivi, and eventually, finding their "universal seed."

  • Motive: Knowledge

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, searching

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Flies (magnetically levitates) a short distance each round

  • Combat: The stone carapace of a redivus makes a huge "club" when it rams into foes. However, it can also control metal within short range, causing it to flex, animate, crush, or smash. For instance, targets wearing metal space suits are in trouble when that metal begins to unravel. Alternatively, a redivus can use nearby metal to wrap around a target and constrict it, inflicting 5 points of damage (ignores Armor) each round until the target can escape.

  • Interaction: If any kind of radio or similar communication is in use, these creatures can commandeer it and speak through it, learning a new language seemingly over the course of minutes. Redivi will cooperate with reasonable requests and negotiate, especially if there's a chance they'll find out something new.

  • Use: A redivi pod smashes into the side of the spacecraft, and might at first seem like some kind of attack or boarding action of something truly terrible.

GM Intrusion: The character's metal-containing equipment is stripped away, then used as ammunition against that PC or an ally.

Sapient Tree 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 124)

Guardians of the wood, sapient trees stand eternally vigilant, often on the outskirts of their grove or forest to keep out those who might seek to do them—or other, ordinary trees—harm. They look like normal trees until they reveal their true nature, with limb-like branches and faces in the bark of their trunk. They don't always move, but with effort, they can uproot themselves and walk about. However, they usually do so only when no one is looking. The origin and temperament of sapient trees varies; they might be haunted trees possessed by spirits, trees animated by magic spells, or ancient mythical beings. Some are peaceful and noble, but others are downright wicked and cruel.

  • Motive: Defense

  • Environment: Found in groves or copses of five to twenty

  • Health: 16

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Initiative as level 4; Speed defense as level 2 due to size

  • Combat: When a sapient tree attacks, it often does so with surprise because it looks like a normal tree at first. If a character about to be attacked fails an Intellect defense roll, they do not perceive the attack in time, and the tree's attack is eased.

    If a tree strikes in combat with one of its branch-arms, it can choose to grab the foe (rather than inflict damage) and toss them an immediate distance away, inflicting 2 points of ambient damage if they hit the ground or another solid object. If they are tossed at another creature, that second creature must make a successful Speed defense roll or also take this damage.

    Sometimes, a sapient tree that bears fruit will hurl its fruit up to short range, inflicting 4 points of damage.

  • Interaction: Sapient trees are generally unfriendly and indignant toward animal life. They are fearful and assume that any creature not native to their forest is a threat. They are likely to attack first rather than speak, although they can speak eloquently, if sometimes slowly.

  • Use: These trees populate magic forests. They can be used to surprise characters with an attack from an unexpected direction.

GM Intrusion: The tree grabs the character and holds them fast, shaking them. They take 4 points of damage each round and can do nothing but attempt to escape (the task is hindered by two steps because of the shaking).

Sentinel Tree 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 131)

Depending on the sci-fi setting, sentinel trees are mutated trees that grow near radioactive craters dimpling the landscape, alien plant-life that evolved in a different biosphere (or dimension), or the result of intensive gene-tailoring, possibly of the illegal sort. Regardless of their provenance, sentinel trees resemble thorny masses of knotted vines. Razor-sharp glass-like leaves flex like claws, and vibrating pods glisten, ready to detonate if thrown. If cultivated, they may take on a shape designed to further frighten—or at least warn away—those who see one. Sentinel trees are mobile, aggressive, and feed on almost any sort of organic matter. Once it brings down prey, it sinks barbed roots in the body for feeding and decomposition.

  • Motive: Feed

  • Environment: In groves of three to six, able to tolerate most atmospheres (even thin ones, like on Mars) but not vacuum

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Immediate

  • Combat: Sentinel trees can fling a vibrating pod at a target within long range, which detonates on impact, inflicting 3 points of damage on all targets within immediate range of the blast. Targets must also succeed on a Might defense roll or be poisoned for 3 points of damage, plus 3 points again each subsequent round until a Might task is successful. A sentinel tree can also lash out with its barbed vines at a target within immediate range, inflicting 3 points of damage. Melee targets must also succeed on a Might defense roll or become entangled and unable to take physical actions until they can break free on their turn.

  • Interaction: Sentinel trees are about as smart as well-trained guard dogs. They can't speak, but can understand some words and gestures.

  • Use: A grove of sentinel trees guard a compound that the characters need to break into.

GM Intrusion: The character caught in the detonation is blinded with tiny black seeds until they use a recovery roll to remove the condition. (The recovery use doesn't return points to a Pool.)

Shadow 1 (3)

(Godforsaken, page 126)

Shadows are semi-intelligent patches of darkness roughly in the shape of a humanoid creature's silhouette. They creep along walls, floors, and ceilings, blending in with actual shadows, peeling themselves free only when they're ready to clutch at a victim with their cold claws.

  • Motive: Hunger for life energy

  • Environment: Anywhere that shadows can occur

  • Health: 3

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 3

  • Combat: Shadows attack with their claws, which feel like a cold breeze and drain 2 points of Might from their target with each hit. They can barely interact with physical objects, and even something as simple as moving a pebble an immediate distance or knocking over a candle takes intense concentration.

    A group of five shadows can act as a swarm, focusing on one target to make one attack as a single level 3 creature, inflicting 4 points of damage. In an area of complete darkness with no illumination at all, shadows are effectively powerless—they cannot attack and all their actions are hindered. If suddenly deprived of light, they slink about menacingly for a few minutes but lose interest if it seems like their prey won't be bringing back the light.

    Shadows are flat rather than insubstantial, but attacks that harm phased, ghostly, or similar creatures are fully effective against them. They can easily pass through narrow spaces such as the gap under a door or between the bars of a cell, but cannot move through solid objects.

  • Interaction: Shadows never speak, but they can make rustling noises like a gently moving curtain. If controlled or prevented from attacking, they can communicate with simple pantomimes and seem to understand some pieces of language.

  • Use: The flickering shadows from a campfire bend strangely and begin to creep toward a nearby character. A person appears to have two shadows just before they feel icy coldness slide along their flesh.

GM Intrusion: The shadow attaches itself to a character and begins to take over as their shadow, automatically inflicting damage every round until the character uses an action to tear it off of them.

Shoggoth 7 (21)

(Stay Alive!, page 116)

Shoggoths vary in size, but the smallest are usually at least 10 feet (3 m) across. They are the product of incredibly advanced bioengineering by some strange species in the distant past. They are angry, vicious predators feared by any who have ever heard of these rare creatures (or who have encountered them and somehow survived to tell the tale). They were created by the elder things but overthrew their masters and now roam the vast, ancient cities they have claimed for themselves.

Rumors abound of a few very rare, particularly intelligent shoggoths that intentionally reduce their own mass and learn to take on the forms of humans so they can integrate themselves into society (and prey upon humans at their leisure).

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 10 points

  • Armor: 10 against fire, cold, and electricity

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to size

  • Combat: Shoggoths sprout tendrils and mouths and spread their wide, amorphous forms, allowing them to attack all foes within immediate range. Those struck by a shoggoth's attack are grabbed and engulfed by the thing's gelatinous body and suffer damage each round until they manage to pull themselves free (engulfed creatures can take no other physical actions while they are caught). Each round of entrapment, one object in the victim's possession is destroyed by the foul juices of the amorphous horror.

    Shoggoths regenerate 5 points of health each round. They have protection against fire, cold, and electricity.

  • Interaction: A shoggoth can't be reasoned with.

  • Use: The PCs find an ancient structure of metal and stone. Wandering through it, they note that every surface is clear of dirt and debris. Soon they discover why—a shoggoth squirms through the halls, absorbing everything it comes upon (and it fills the passages it moves down, floor to ceiling, wall to wall).

  • Loot: A shoggoth's interior might contain a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The character is engulfed in the shoggoth, their gear scattered throughout the thing's undulating form, and their body turned upside down so that escape attempts are hindered.

Silicon Parasite 2 (6)

(The Stars are Fire, page 132)

These tiny silvery insect-like creatures range in size from a sub-millimeter to up to 30 cm (1 foot) in diameter, emitting short pulses of violet-colored laser light to sense and sample their environment. Composed of organic silicon wires and wafers, and self-assembled or evolved in some unnamed lab or spacecraft wreck, silicon parasites are vermin that working space stations and spacecraft have learned to hate. Despite taking steps to avoid transfer, a ship may only learn they have silicon parasites when a swarm boils up from a crack in the cabling or seam in the deck plating after being agitated by a high-G maneuver or some other disturbance. If that disturbance is combat or some other dire emergency, silicon parasites thrown into the situation makes everything worse.

  • Motive: Defense, harvest electronic materials necessary to self-replicate.

  • Environment: Usually on spacecraft and space stations in groups of up to twenty

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; climbs a short distance each round

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to size.

  • Combat: Only "large" silicon parasites are a danger to most creatures. When four or more parasites coordinate their attacks, treat the attack as that made by a single level 4 creature that inflicts 5 points of damage, and on a failed difficulty 4 Might defense roll, an attack that holds the target in place until it can successfully escape. A held target automatically takes 5 points of damage each round, or even more if other silicon parasites in the area pile on. Silicon parasites can operate in complete vacuum without harm.

  • Interaction: By and large, silicon parasites behave like social insects, though some claim that large numbers of them have acted with greater intelligence and forethought than mere unthinking insects can manage.

  • Use: A swarm of silicon parasites floods into the hold and makes off with an important device, dragging it into the crevices and walls of the spacecraft or station.

  • Loot: Swarm nests often contain a few valuable manifest cyphers or working pieces of equipment.

GM Intrusion: The silicon parasite flashes its sensory laser directly into the character's eyes, blinding the character until they succeed on a difficulty 4 Might-based roll as their action.

Skeleton 2 (6)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 353)

Skeletons are animated bones without much sense of self-preservation. They enjoy a crucial advantage over living creatures in one important and often exploited area: skeletons are dead shots with ranged weapons. They have no breath, no heartbeat, and no shaking hands to contend with as they release a shot, which means that skeletons armed with ranged weapons are something to be feared.

  • Motive: Defense or offense

  • Environment: Nearly anywhere, in formations of four to ten

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points (claw) or 5 points (ranged weapon)

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Ranged attacks as level 5; Speed defense against most ranged attacks as level 5; resist trickery as level 1

  • Combat: Skeletons can attack with a bony claw if they have no other weapon, but most attack with a long-range weapon. If a skeleton can see any portion of its target, the target loses any benefits of cover it might have otherwise enjoyed.

    When in formation, a group of four or more skeletons with ranged weapons can focus their attacks on one target and make one attack roll as a single level 7 creature, dealing 7 points of damage.

    Skeletons can see in the dark.

Reanimators: Some skeletons were created by a curse, and simply battering them into a pile of bones isn't enough to end their existence. Two rounds after reanimator skeletons are "killed," they regain full health in a flash of magical illumination. This regeneration can be prevented if the linchpin of the animating curse is separated from the skeleton after it falls. Such an item is usually obvious and might take the form of a lead spike through the skull, an ebony amulet, a dull sword through the ribs, a crown, and so on.

  • Interaction: A skeleton usually interacts only by attacking. Unless animated by a sapient spirit able to communicate via magic, skeletons lack the mechanisms for speech. However, they can hear and see the world around them just fine.

  • Use: Skeletons make ideal units in armies, especially when archery or artillery is required. A formation of four or more skeletons with ranged weapons atop a tower provides a surprisingly robust defense.

  • Loot: Sometimes the linchpin item required to create a reanimator skeleton is valuable.

GM Intrusion: A skeleton destroyed by a melee attack explodes like a grenade. The bone shrapnel inflicts 5 points of damage to every creature in immediate range.

Snark 7 (21)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 110)

The snark is unimaginable. It is a Boojum, you see. An agony in eight fits. Part snail and shark and bark and snake and snarl. It has feathers that bite, claws that catch, and jaws that snatch. It softly and suddenly vanishes away, never to be met with again. It smells of the will-o-wisp, sleeps late in the day, and breathes fire when it finds something funny (which is nearly never).

  • Motive: Unfathomable

  • Environment: Upon islands filled with chasms and crags, near bathing machines, and around those whose coats are too tight in the waist

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short when moving perpendicular; long when moving sideways

  • Modifications: Invisibility, shapeshifting, confusion, and mimsy as level 8

  • Combat: Inflicts 5 points of damage with biting feathers, catching claws, and snatching jaws. Also blows out a stream of fire that can light a match or inflict 3 points of damage to everyone in close range.

  • Interaction: Not recommended.

  • Use: The characters are given the impossible task of hunting a snark. Whether or not they actually find one, they have grand adventures along the way.

  • Loot: The frabjous joy of catching the impossible, improbable, unimaginable snark.

GM Intrusion: Everything about the snark is a GM intrusion.

Soul Eater 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 127)

A soul eater is the animate head of a powerful wizard who shuffled off this mortal coil to become an undead creature without ethics, feelings, or a sense of morality. Also called dread skulls, these creatures maintain their existence by occasionally absorbing the spirit or mind of living victims. An absorbed "soul" is burned away, which is why dread skulls are wreathed in flame; it's the by-product of the creature's previous meal.

  • Motive: Hungers for souls

  • Environment: Usually at the center of tombs

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long when flying

  • Modifications: Resists mental attacks and deception as level 7; Speed defense as level 7 due to size and quickness; knowledge of arcane methodologies and rituals as level 8

  • Combat: A soul eater has a library of magic abilities it can draw upon, including long-range attacks of fire or cold against all targets within immediate range of each other, the ability to read the mind of a victim within short range on a failed Intellect defense roll, and the ability to cloak itself in the illusion of a normal human for up to an hour at a time.

    In addition, a dread skull can draw out a victim's consciousness and absorb it in a blaze of supernatural fire. To do so, the creature must bite a target, which inflicts 5 points of damage; the target must then succeed on an Intellect defense roll or take an additional 5 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).

    If a dread skull drains a character's Intellect Pool to 0 through repeated bites, the character's soul is sucked into the skull, and the body falls limp. Once absorbed into the skull, a victim's essence is trapped and slowly consumed over the next twenty-four hours. During this period, the skull regenerates 1 point of health per round.

    If a dread skull isn't destroyed within twenty-four hours of eating a soul, the victim's essence is fully consumed. If the soul eater is defeated and its skull is shattered before then, all unconsumed souls are returned to their bodies.

  • Interaction: Dread skulls are slightly insane but hellishly smart, which means that sometimes they will negotiate to get what they want.

  • Use: Soul eaters remember a little bit of the knowledge of every creature's essence they consume. The PCs need to learn the command word of an artifact they've found, but the only one who knew it was consumed by a dread skull.

  • Loot: Sometimes dread skulls keep treasures as trophies of past victories, consisting of 1d6 cyphers and maybe an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The character who uses a cypher against the dread skull must make an Intellect defense roll. On a failed roll, the cypher begins to burn with flame, dealing the character 5 points of damage and destroying the cypher in the process.

Space Rat 1 (3)

(The Stars are Fire, page 133)

Yeah, rats made it to space. And against all expectations, one strain evolved in the harsh radiation and zero-G environments that would kill humans not protected by medical intervention. Space rats are furless, about two feet long, sport a truly prehensile tail, and can quickly change their shade of their skin to blend in to their surroundings. They can also drop into a state of extreme torpor that allows them to survive stints of vacuum exposure lasting several days.

Space rats are vermin, and any spacecraft or space station that hosts a nest must deal with constant issues from the rats burrowing into systems, stealing food and water, and causing systems to break down, even critical ones. They're also vicious when cornered.

  • Motive: Defense, reproduction

  • Environment: Anywhere humans live in space

  • Health: 5

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing or gliding through zero G

  • Modifications: Stealth and perception as level 5

  • Combat: Space rats flee combat unless cornered or one of their burrows is invaded. Then they attack in packs of three or more, and from an ambush if possible. One space rat pack attacks the victim as a level 3 creature inflicting 5 points of damage with claws, while another pack helps the first, or attempts to steal a food item or shiny object from the character being attacked. To resist theft while being attacked on two fronts, a target must succeed on a Speed defense roll hindered by two steps.

  • Interaction: Space rats are slightly more intelligent than their Earth-bound cousins, though true interaction is not possible. On the other hand, sometimes their behavior seems spookily sapient.

  • Use: Space rats assemble crude nests in out-of-the-way supply closets or in hard-to-reach system interiors, but often enough, end up shorting out weapons or life support. Sometimes, they get into the hold and eat anything edible in the cargo.

  • Loot: Some percent of valuable equipment stolen on the spacecraft or station finds its way to space rat nests.

GM Intrusion: Another rat unexpectedly pops out of panel on the wall or ceiling and screeches so loudly the PC must succeed on an Intellect defense roll hindered by two steps or be dazed until the end of their next turn from the surprise. Dazed creatures are hindered on all tasks.

Sphinx 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 128)

A sphinx is a magical creature with a large lionlike body, feathered wings, and a head that is like that of a human or some kind of animal (typically a hawk or ram). Wise and fierce, sphinxes have a connection to the divine and are often found guarding temples or persons of great interest to the gods (although whether they serve good or evil depends on the individual sphinx). No matter what their head looks like, a sphinx can devour creatures as easily and quickly as a lion.

  • Motive: Defense, riddles

  • Environment: Deserts, plains, and mountains

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Intellect defense and magical lore as level 8

  • Combat: A sphinx attacks with its lion claws, making two swipes as its action. A sphinx also has the following magical abilities:

    • Curse: Curse a creature within long range, hindering all their physical actions by two steps until some other magic lifts the curse.
    • Heal: Restore 10 health to an NPC, or allow a PC to use their next action to make a recovery roll that does not count toward their normal allotment. Can be used three times per day.
    • Riddle: A creature within long range must make an Intellect defense roll to answer a difficult riddle; failure means the creature stands confused for one minute even if they are attacked.
    • Spellbreaker: End an ongoing magical effect within short range, such as a curse or protective spell. If there are multiple effects, the sphinx chooses which one to end. It can target an immediate area instead of a specific effect (such as an area where it suspects an invisible enemy is hiding).
    • Teleport: Instantaneously move a very long distance. Can be used once per day.

  • Interaction: Sphinxes are very intelligent and speak several languages (including at least one ancient or obscure language). If their demands are met (such as by answering a riddle or performing a service), they can be quite talkative, if arrogant.

  • Use: A sphinx guards the main road into the city, killing anyone who fails to answer its riddle. A sphinx approaches, offering secret lore if the characters can direct it to a suitable mate or an abandoned temple it can restore and guard.

  • Loot: A sphinx usually has one or two cyphers and perhaps a small artifact it can wear and use.

GM Intrusion: The sphinx leaps onto its opponent, attacking with all four claws as its action.

Statue, Animate 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 355)

Towering statues carved from stone or cast in metal are sometimes more than humans rendered in moments of triumph, celebration, or suffering. Sometimes a statue moves, usually in service to some ancient geas or command that animated it in the first place.

Most animate statues are vessels imprisoning the mind of a sentient creature. Such entrapment usually tumbles the spirits into the abyss of insanity, though most rest in a dormant state, their minds lost in whatever memories they retain. Disturbing animate statues can cause them to awaken, usually with disastrous results.

  • Motive: Release from imprisonment; guard an area

  • Environment: In out-of-the-way places, especially ancient ruins

  • Health: 33

  • Damage Inflicted: 9 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All tasks involving balance as level 2; Might defense as level 8; Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: An animate statue towers over most foes, and it can smash or stomp a target within short range as a melee attack. The statue's massive size and the material of its body means it can walk through nearly any obstacle, smashing through walls of solid rock, buildings, and trees. When walking, it pays no attention to what it steps on. Anything in its path is likely flattened. A character who is stepped on must make a Speed defense roll to dodge or be knocked down and take 9 points of damage.

    Animate statues are strong and hard to hurt, but they are often top-heavy. If one falls or is knocked over, it takes a few rounds to rise and resume whatever it was doing.

  • Interaction: Statues spend years immobilized and insensate, their minds lost in half-remembered experiences and hallucinations. Rousing a statue has unpredictable results. Some might rampage. Others laugh, cry, or scream streams of nonsense. Regardless, if one has been commanded to guard an area or entrance, it also likely lashes out.

  • Use: An animate statue holds a treasure trove of knowledge. If the characters can keep it focused or knocked down long enough, they might coax from it the information they seek.

GM Intrusion: The animate statue strikes a character so hard that the victim flies a long distance and lands in a heap, possibly dropping gear and weapons along the way.

Shining One 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 135)

Some alien beings abandoned their physical forms millennia ago, becoming entities of free-floating energy and pure consciousness. They travel the galaxies, exploring the endless permutations of matter, space-time, cosmic phenomena, dark energy, and life. They are endlessly fascinated with the permutations they discover. They sometimes appear as a silhouette of gently glowing light, in a form like to the alien species they wish to observe. Under circumstances where a shining one is moved to more directly interact, one can actually convert itself into matter once more, again taking on the biology and form of the species it wishes to interact with. But generally, shining ones observe and learn; they try not to interfere or interact. Every few thousand years, shining ones gather at a predetermined location on the edge of a convenient galaxy and share the most interesting and beautiful bits of imagery, music, poetry, and lore they've gleaned.

  • Motive: Knowledge

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually alone

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Instantly moves to anywhere it can see at the speed of light as part of its action once per round

  • Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge as level 8

  • Combat: As immaterial beings of energy, shining ones only take damage from energy attacks. And even then, there is a chance that the energy heals a damaged shining one rather than harming it if the attack roll was an odd number. Usually a shining one doesn't fight back if attacked, but instead leaves. If somehow prevented from leaving, a shining one fights for its existence with energy blasts inflicting 6 points of damage on up to two different targets within very long range (or the same target twice).

    Alternatively, a shining one may attempt to discorporate a target, turning it into a being something like itself. In this case, each time a target is hit by an energy blast, it must also succeed on an Intellect defense roll. On a failed roll, it loses 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). If the target's Intellect Pool is emptied, it becomes a freefloating ball of energy unable to take any actions other than observe for a few minutes before suddenly converting back to its original form with an explosive pop.

  • Interaction: Shining ones can manipulate their environment to communicate with other species, using sound, light, puffs of odiferous complex chemicals in place of words, and so on. If approached with respect, they freely exchange information with others, seeking to grow their knowledge and that of those they meet.

  • Use: A shining one is sharing knowledge to a warlike xenophobic species that could allow them to rapidly advance their ability to consolidate power. Something must be done before it's too late.

GM Intrusion: A character hit by the shining one's energy blast catches on fire. They take 3 points of damage each round until they spend an action patting, rolling, or smothering the flames.

Supernal 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 136)

Half humanoid and half-dragonfly, supernals are beautiful entities, though certainly alien. Each supernal possesses a unique wing pattern and coloration and, to some extent, body shape. These patterns and colors may signify where in the hierarchy a particular supernal stands among its kind, but for those who do not speak the language of supernals (which is telepathic), the complexity of their social structure is overwhelming. Whether they are agents of some unknown alien civilization or seek their own aims, supernals are mysterious and cryptic. Most fear contact with them, because they have a penchant for stealing away other life forms, who are rarely seen again.

  • Motive: Capture humans and similar life forms, and bring them somewhere unknown.

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 23

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short; flies a long distance (even through airless vacuum); can teleport to any known location once per ten hours as an action

  • Modifications: All knowledge tasks as level 6; stealth tasks as level 7 while invisible

  • Combat: Supernals usually only enter combat when they wish, because they bide their time in a phased, invisible state. But when one attacks with the touch of its wing, it draws the life force directly out of the target, inflicting 6 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor).

    A supernal can summon a swarm of tiny machines that resemble regular dragonflies made of golden metal. The swarm either serves as a fashion accessory as they crawl over the supernal's body, or as components in a piece of living art.

    Supernals regain 1 point of health per round (even in an airless vacuum, which they can survive without issue), unless they've been damaged with psychic attacks. They can teleport to any location they know as an action once every ten hours.

    Supernals often carry manifest cyphers useful in combat, as well as an artifact.

Dragonfly swarm: level 2; flies a long distance each round; eases physical tasks, including attacks or defense

  • Interaction: Although supernals only speak telepathically, peaceful interaction with these creatures is not impossible. It's just very difficult, as they see most other creatures as something to be collected and taken to some undisclosed location, for unknown reasons.

  • Use: A character is followed by a supernal intent on collecting them.

  • Loot: A supernal usually has a few manifest cyphers, and possibly an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The supernal grabs the character and flies up and away, unless and until the character escapes the grab.

Television Thoughtform 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 106)

A television thoughtform is a nexus of images and videos from TV programming, brought to life—usually accidentally—by unconscious or deliberate magic. Typically, the thoughtform looks like a specific television character in the real world, but objects and even locations have been known to manifest as thoughtforms. The thoughtform isn't initially aware that they're a manifestation of a fictional television program, but over time they usually come to realize their artificial origin and that the "world" they lived in and the people they knew there weren't real. Most thoughtforms adapt to their new situation, but some have a traumatic response to their new reality and become dangerous.

A thoughtform is a thought or idea made real, usually through intense belief, concentration, or magic. Buddhist philosophy has a similar concept called a "tulpa."

It's possible to create a thoughtform of a real person out of documentary footage, newscasts, interviews, or other media where the person on the screen is portraying themselves. These thoughtforms tend to have a poor time adjusting to a reality where they are an artificial copy of a real person, rejected by their friends and loved ones.

  • Motive: Acceptance; adjustment to the real world

  • Environment: Anywhere their fictional self would feel comfortable

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 or 6 points (see below)

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense as level 4; assuming their fictional role as level 5

  • Combat: Television thoughtforms attack using whatever methods are appropriate for their character. For most people, this means improvised weapons like chairs and baseball bats, inflicting 3 points of damage. Battle-competent characters such as police officers, sci-fi soldiers, and fantasy heroes tend to use lethal weapons like pistols and swords, inflicting 6 points of damage.

    Thoughtforms can incidentally alter their own reality in small ways relevant to their fictional self, such as suddenly changing outfits to match the situation, producing useful equipment (like a weapon or mobile phone) out of nothing, or instantly recovering 3 points of health. The thoughtform usually hand-waves how they were able to do this; pressing them on these abilities eventually leads to them learning that they're a thoughtform. These abilities might happen automatically as part of the thoughtform's action, or they might use an action to duck out of sight and return after the change has happened.

  • Interaction: A thoughtform that's ignorant of their true nature acts exactly as their fictional self would. An aware thoughtform develops their own personality over time, which might be similar to their fictional persona or radically different as a rebellion against how they were "forced" to act.

  • Use: Thoughtforms create quirky, interesting, and misleading encounters where PCs and NPCs mistake them for cosplayers, famous actors, people experiencing delusions (about a fictional city or a "hologram program"), or odd local residents (such as a hard-boiled detective or a high-school sports hero or bully). They sometimes know secret information about the media they're from.

  • Loot: Although a dead thoughtform and their equipment slowly fades away into nothingness, sometimes they leave behind an interesting cypher.

Thundering Behemoth 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 138)

When life is found on other worlds, it's sometimes large and dangerous, such as the aptly named thundering behemoth. A thundering behemoth might be found on any number of alien planets that feature forests and/or swamps. Towering to treelike heights, these fearless predators are powerful and dangerous hunters, even for those armed with advanced or fantastic weaponry. Behemoths use color-changing frills to help them appear like tall trees while they stand in wait for prey, as still as mighty hardwood trunks, until they break cover and spring an ambush. Behemoths can produce extraordinarily loud noises, sometimes simply roaring, but often replicating the stuttering scream of an attacking spacecraft. They use their strange "roars" to confuse, lead astray, and, if possible, stampede prey into killing grounds such as regions of soft sand, off cliff tops, or as often as not, into the waiting mouth of another behemoth.

In the sci-fi setting of Numenera, similar creatures are called rumbling dasipelts.

  • Motive: Fresh meat

  • Environment: Forests, alone or in a hunting group (known as a "crash") of two or three

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 9 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Disguise (as trees) as level 8 when unmoving. Deception (sounding as if an attacking spacecraft) as level 8. Speed defense as level 3 due to size.

  • Combat: A thundering behemoth can attack a group of creatures (within an immediate area of each other) with a single massive bite. Thanks to its long neck, it can make that attack up to 9 m (30 feet) away. One victim must further succeed on a Might defense task or be caught in the creature's maw, taking 9 additional points of damage each round until it can escape.

    A thundering behemoth's ability to replicate threatening noises is often used deceptively at a distance, but the creature can use it to stun all targets within immediate range so they lose their next turn on a failed Might defense roll.

  • Interaction: Behemoths have a complex communication system among themselves, using their color-changing frills and modulation of the thunder they produce. They think of humans and most other creatures as food.

  • Use: The sound of fighting spacecraft has repeatedly spooked human colonists on an alien planet, though they have rarely seen destructive beams or actual spacecraft. Worried that that will soon change, the residents ask the PCs to investigate.

GM Intrusion: The character avoids being bitten but is batted away by the behemoth's attack, tumbling a short distance (and taking 5 points of damage).

Tyrannosaurus Rex 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 361)

The short arms of a tyrannosaurus have been much parodied in Earth social media circles, but the arms aren't really important when a hunting tyrannosaurus is after you. It's more the soul-shivering roar, designed to freeze prey in place, and a skull and mouth so enormous that the entire creature is cantilevered by a massive tail that itself can be used as a powerful weapon.

As vicious as tyrannosauruses likely were 66 million years ago, the versions still hunting today could be even more dangerous. That's because the ones with a taste for humans have learned to adapt to human defenses and to use their roar to terrorize prey as they hunt.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Tyrannosauruses hunt solo or in pairs; they're drawn to loud, unfamiliar noises (like motor engines).

  • Health: 50

  • Damage Inflicted: 10 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception as level 5; Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: A tyrannosaurus attacks with its massive bite. Not only does it deal damage, but the target must also make a Might defense roll to pull free or be shaken like a rat in the mouth of a pit bull for 3 additional points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). The shaking recurs each subsequent round in which the target fails a Might-based task to pull free.

    A tyrannosaurus can also make a trampling attack if it can charge from just outside of short range. When it does, it moves 50 feet (15 m) in a round, and anything that comes within immediate range is attacked. Even those who make a successful Speed defense roll take 2 points of damage.

    Finally, a tyrannosaurus can roar. The first time creatures within short range hear the roar on any given day, they must succeed on a difficulty 2 Intellect defense roll or stand frozen in fear for a round. Attacks against them are eased by two steps in the attacker's favor and deal 2 additional points of damage.

    For all their power, tyrannosauruses are not above self-preservation. They never fight to the death if they are outclassed, and they usually break off if they take more than 30 points of damage in a conflict.

  • Interaction: Tyrannosauruses are animals, but they're clever hunters, too. When they hunt in pairs, they work to keep prey penned between them.

  • Use: Something is killing big game in a forest preserve. Poachers are suspected at first, but when they are also found dead, it's clear that something else is to blame.

GM Intrusion: The tyrannosaurus's tail swings around and knocks the character tumbling out of short range and possibly into dangerous terrain.

Urban Brownie 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 107)

While most people are familiar with rural brownies with their wizened, ragged appearance and their penchant for helping with farming tasks, the urban brownie is a very different type of entity. Having adapted to live in cities and decent-sized towns, urban brownies tend to care much more about their appearance and prefer less outdoorsy forms of labor.

Most are natty dressers, often altering the clothing of large dolls or young children to create well-heeled outfits for themselves. They prefer to have their own private spaces in people's homes or businesses, but will inhabit small shelters or niches if they can't find any other home. Many live in coffee shops, finding the offerings of caffeine and pastries well worth the tasks they perform in thanks (usually cleaning, making elegantly lettered signs, and organizing cupboards). They're most active in the evenings and overnight, but some choose to acclimate to the rhythm of the city they live in and can be seen during the day.

A brownie who feels insulted, disrespected, or unappreciated will quickly become malicious and spread word about whoever treated them so poorly.

  • Motive: Comfort and security

  • Environment: Homes and shops where food is present

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense and movement as level 4 due to size and quickness; perception, riddles, and tricks as level 4

  • Combat: Brownies are tricksters through and through, and nearly all their abilities fall into this category.

    • Mend: Spend two rounds mending something that is broken (up to level 5). The item works for two rounds before it returns to its broken state. (This ability does not work on used cyphers or depleted artifacts.)
    • Needle and Thread: Magically sew a creature's clothing, shoes, accessories, or skin to something else, making it difficult for the creature to move. The creature's actions are hindered until they succeed on a level 3 Might defense roll to break free.
    • No See Me: Take the shape of a small object in the vicinity, such as a cookie jar, shoe, or vase. The brownie is indistinguishable from the object, and the effect lasts for one minute or until they take a combat action.
    • Put That Anywhere: Move an item within short range in such a way that it trips up and injures a foe, such as slamming a door closed, knocking a rake across a pathway, or dropping a chandelier from the ceiling. The foe takes 3 points of damage and, depending on the circumstances, may be knocked prone if they fail a Might defense roll.
    • Shine-Shine-Shine: Spend two rounds making a (willing) person, place, or thing so pretty that it is wonderful to look upon. All foes are unable to look away for one round and lose their next action. All allies are bolstered by the beauty and gain an asset on their next action.

  • Interaction: Brownies are typically mischievous and tricky, with a love of puns, riddles, and puzzles. They appreciate those who appreciate them and are a bit like crows in that they long-remember the faces of those who have helped or harmed them.

  • Use: Brownies are usually supportive characters in a story, but they may be vexing tricksters—or even outright antagonists if living in a home where the primary foe (or a player character) mistreats them. They're usually overlooked by nonmagical people, so they often witness secret events and have interesting information.

Rural brownies have the same stats as urban brownies. The differences between them are mostly in appearance and personality, as rural brownies tend to dress in rags, prefer to work at night, and are not opposed to doing manual labor outdoors in all manner of weather—provided they're well-rewarded.

Vacuum Fungus 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 139)

Vacuum fungus is sometimes found as a greenish ooze on the exterior of spacecraft or space stations, growing in fine lines through the ice of frozen moons, and infesting the center of small asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs). Though able to survive in vacuum, the fungus takes on new morphology when sufficient spores find their way into habitable zero-G spaces. Then they fuse together and grow into a bulbous, emerald-hued fruiting body, typically reaching about 1 m (3 feet) in rough diameter, though individuals can grow much larger if not discovered. Sticky and soft to the touch, they are able to grow undetected in the dark corners of cargo holds, in ductworks, hanging from the ceiling of unused crew quarters, and so on.

Vacuum fungus may be proof that extra-terrestrial life exists, but that triumph of scientific discovery may seem less important to those who find a clump, because they are incredibly toxic to living creatures.

  • Motive: Reproduction

  • Environment: Anywhere in zero G, as an unreactive ooze in vacuum, or as a fruiting body in atmosphere, alone or in a cluster of three to five

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Climbs (adheres) an immediate distance each round

  • Combat: A fruiting body can selectively detonate spore pods along its surface once per round. When a pod detonates, green fluid sprays everywhere within immediate range. Living creatures who fail a Speed defense roll take 6 points of damage from the clinging fluid. An affected target must also succeed on a Might defense roll. On a failure, an affected section of flesh rapidly swells, becoming a bilious green lump, and explodes one round later, having the same effect as a detonating pod.

  • Interaction: No real interaction with vacuum fungus is possible.

  • Use: Scientists are incredibly excited to discover that the strange ooze they've noticed staining the exterior of their research domes is actually a variety of fungal life. They will likely become less excited when they discover the large growths secretly growing in the cavity beneath the floor of their research dome in a little-used storage closet.

GM Intrusion: Striking the vacuum fungus clump causes one of the spore pods to detonate immediately, even though it's out of turn.

Vampire 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 362)

Vampires are undead creatures, risen from the grave to drink blood. Their very nature and essence are evil and anti-life, even as they revel in their own endless existence. Most vampires are vain, arrogant, sadistic, lustful, and domineering. Their powers allow them to manipulate others, and they frequently toy with their prey before feeding. Vampires come out only at night, as the sun's rays will destroy them.

The bite of a vampire over three nights (in which it exchanges a bit of its own blood) ensures that the victim will rise as a vampire under the thrall of the one that killed it. While vampires are careful not to create too many of their kind (which amount to competition), each thrall conveys a bit more supernatural power to a vampire.

  • Motive: Thirsts for blood

  • Environment: Usually solitary, on the edges of civilization

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Climb, stealth, and perception as level 8; Speed defense as level 7 due to fast movement

  • Combat: Vampires are strong and fast. They have impressive fangs, but these are usually used in feeding, not in battle. They typically fight with their fists or hands (which basically become claws) but sometimes use weapons.

    A vampire can change into a bat or a wolf. This transformation does not change its stats or abilities except that, as a bat, it can fly. Vampires can also transform into shadow or mist, and in these forms they can't be harmed by anything (but also can't affect the physical world).

    Vampires possess an unholy charisma and can mesmerize victims within immediate distance so that they stand motionless for one round. In subsequent rounds, the victim will not forcibly resist the vampire, and the vampire can suggest actions to the victim (even actions that will cause the victim to harm themselves or others they care about). Each round, the victim can attempt a new Intellect defense roll to break free.

    Vampires are notoriously difficult to hurt. Unless a weapon is very special (blessed by a saint, has specific magical enchantments against vampires, or the like), no physical attack harms a vampire. They simply don't take the damage. Exceptions include the following:

    • Fire: Vampires burn, though the damage doesn't kill them. It only causes pain, and a vampire regains all health lost to fire damage within a day.
    • Running water: Complete immersion inflicts 10 points of damage per round. If not destroyed, the vampire can use a single action to regain all health lost in this way.
    • Holy water: This inflicts 4 points of damage and affects a vampire exactly like fire.
    • Sunlight: Exposure to sunlight inflicts 10 points of damage per round. If not destroyed, the vampire regains all health lost to exposure within a day.
    • Wooden stake: This weapon inflicts 25 points of damage, effectively destroying the vampire in one blow. However, if the vampire is aware and able to move, this attack is hindered as the vampire does everything it can to evade.

    Further, vampires have the following special weaknesses:

    • Garlic: Significant amounts of garlic within immediate distance hinder a vampire's tasks.
    • Cross, holy symbol, or mirror: Presenting any of these objects forcefully stuns a vampire, causing it to lose its next action. While the object is brandished and the vampire is within immediate range, its tasks are hindered by two steps.

    Eventually, a vampire with a multitude under its command becomes the new vampire lord. The vampire lord is the most powerful vampire in the world and is often (but not always) the most ancient of its kind. It has many vampires under its control, and even those that it did not create pay it respect and homage.

  • Interaction: Most vampires look upon humans as cattle upon which to feed. They rarely have respect for anything but other vampires, and they often hate other supernatural creatures that they cannot enslave.

  • Use: Strange stories of shadows in the night, people disappearing from their beds, and graves missing their former occupants could portend the arrival of a vampire in the region.

GM Intrusion: The character struck by the vampire is caught fast in its powerful grip. If the character doesn't escape immediately, the vampire bites them automatically.

Vampire, Transitional 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 363)

When humans are "visited upon" (bitten) by a vampire, they might be killed, or they might be left alive to begin a slow transformation into a creature of the night. If victims are bitten three times, they become a vampire forever under the control of the one that bit them. From the time of the first bite until their complete transformation after the third bite, they are transitional vampires. Ways to return transitional vampires to normal include using special ancient rituals or destroying the vampire that bit them in the first place.

Transitional vampires usually serve as guardians, consorts, or spies for their masters.

  • Motive: Thirsts for blood

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually solitary but sometimes in groups of two or three

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Climb and stealth as level 4

  • Combat: Transitional vampires can maintain a human existence during the day without any of a vampire's powers or weaknesses. However, they have a disdain for garlic and the sun. At night they take on all the characteristics of a vampire, and if confronted by any of the traditional vampiric weaknesses (a wooden stake, a cross, and so on), they flee unless their master is present.

  • Interaction: Transitional vampires are utterly devoted to their master.

  • Use: Transitional vampires lie in the intersection of foe and victim. A loved one or trusted companion who has been turned into a transitional vampire will try to betray, defeat, and kill the PCs, but the characters are motivated to save them rather than destroy them.

Vat Reject 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 365)

Vat rejects come into being when clone vats meant to produce clone soldiers or similar mass-produced entities are corrupted. How the carefully controlled process becomes compromised varies, but possibilities include yeast contamination, sunspot activity, nanovirus evolution, or purposeful meddling with control parameters. Unskilled operators experimenting with derelict cloning equipment can also produce a vat of rejects.

Vat rejects fear nothing and welcome death, except that their existential rage requires an outlet other than immediate suicide. Their warped forms mean that most are in constant pain, and they somehow understand that this was artificially stamped into them by their creators. Revenge is their only possible redemption.

  • Motive: Self-destruction through endless aggression

  • Environment: Anywhere in lost and lonely places

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to frenzied alacrity

  • Combat: Vat rejects charge into battle with berserk speed, hindering defenses against their initial attack. All vat rejects are able to inflict damage directly by cutting, bashing, or biting a victim, depending on their particular morphology. Some also have additional abilities; roll on the table below for each reject.

Vat Reject Abilities
d6Ability
1Reject deals +3 damage in melee (6 points total)
2Reject has short-range acid spit attack that inflicts 2 points of damage, plus 2 points of damage each additional round until victim succeeds on a Might defense roll
3Reject can fly a long distance as an action
4Reject has 2 Armor
5Reject has long-range destructive eye ray attack that inflicts 6 points of damage
6When struck by an attack, reject detonates in an immediate radius, inflicting 6 points of damage in a radioactive explosion (and 1 point even on a successful Speed defense roll)

  • Interaction: Vat rejects are usually always enraged, making interaction nearly impossible. However, some may negotiate if offered a reasonable hope of salvation through extreme surgery or other transformation.

  • Use: A long-missing derelict ship, famous for carrying a load of planet-buster superweapons, is found. However, salvagers discover it to be overrun by vat rejects. No one knows if the rejects plan to use the superweapons, if they have been released by someone else as a distraction, or if they are part of a mutated ship defense system.

GM Intrusion: The vat reject also has a radioactive sting. On a failed Might defense roll, the character struck by the reject descends one step on the damage track.

Vulture Spirit 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 108)

Vulture spirits look like tall humans with bald heads and horrible, hunched posture. They blend in, and they like it that way. Vulture spirits subsist on other people's pain and misery, which has led to a bad reputation that's hard to shake.

Despite prevalent misconceptions, vulture spirits generally prefer not to cause pain and misery—they just feed on what's already present, providing relief in the process. They're gentle and reserved, with soft, scratchy voices. The most well-known and well-respected vulture spirits work in medical professions and form symbiotic relationships with their patients.

  • Motive: Consume anguish

  • Environment: Anywhere pain and misery can be found

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense, perception, and stealth as level 5

  • Combat: Vulture spirits are rarely violent; they attack when threatened, to defend chosen allies, or out of desperation. A dying vulture spirit may use their last strength to pounce on a creature they judge to be an easy target, subsequently using the pain they inflict to restore their own health.

    Vulture spirits gain 1 point of health for every minute spent in physical contact with someone (other than a vulture spirit) experiencing pain or suffering, such as a creature below half its normal health or Pool points, a debilitated PC, or someone with a chronic illness. Recovery rolls made while in contact with a vulture spirit are increased by 3 points.

    A vulture spirit can use the following magical abilities.

    • Recalling the Worst: Open their mouth and emit a short-distance blast of energy. If the foe fails an Intellect defense roll, they take 4 points of damage and lose their next action as they relive their worst memory.
    • Remote Draining: If a creature within short range is experiencing pain or suffering, the vulture spirit can use their action to drain it from that creature. The spirit gains 1 point of health and the creature's affliction is alleviated for one round.

  • Interaction: Vulture spirits are clever and shy. They can speak human languages but revert to bird sounds such as screeching, clicking, and trilling when stressed. Though they forage for pain to consume alone, they prefer to live in large groups.

  • Use: Vulture spirits are good for creating eerie encounters about sickness and pain, especially if the player characters mistake the spirit as the cause of the trouble rather than incidental to it.

  • Loot: A vulture spirit's pockets are full of feathers, altogether which function as a curative cypher.

Wardroid 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 365)

When star troopers need heavy support, they sometimes bring in wardroids. These fearsome robots, standing about 8 feet (2 m) tall, are ruthless even by trooper standards and are known to kill innocent bystanders as often as they kill foes. It is said that when wardroids are unleashed, wise troopers fall back and take cover.

  • Motive: Maintain control, crush, kill, destroy

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short; some models can fly a short distance each round

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 7

  • Combat: A wardroid's main weapon is a bank of laser blasters that it can use to attack up to three foes standing next to each other as one action. When damaged, a wardroid regains 1 point of health each round. Furthermore, each wardroid has one additional capability:

Wardroid Abilities
d6NPC Dialogue
1Emit poison gas that inflicts 5 points of damage on organic beings in immediate range
2Project grenades up to long distance that detonate in an immediate radius, inflicting 5 points of damage
3Fire a beam that stuns an organic being for one round, during which it cannot take actions
4Emit a field that disrupts machines; technological devices and machine creatures in immediate range cannot function for one round
5Fire a piercing projectile up to long range that inflicts 6 points of damage that ignores physical armor (but not necessarily other Armor)
6Spray a corrosive that inflicts 5 points of damage on everything in immediate range

  • Interaction: Interaction is difficult for those not authorized to communicate with a wardroid.

  • Use: Wardroids are often deployed in groups of two or three to guard a vault or the entrance to a spacecraft, or to track down intruders aboard a space station.

  • Loot: The remains of a wardroid can yield one or two cyphers to someone adept at salvage.

GM Intrusion: When defeated, the wardroid detonates, inflicting 8 points of damage on all creatures within immediate range.

Editor's Notes — See Wardroid (equipment).

Werewolf 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 367)

The curse of lycanthropy begins as nightmares about being chased or, somehow more terrifying, chasing someone else. As the dreams grow more fierce and each night's sleep provides less rest, victims begin to wonder about the bloodstains on their clothing, the strange claw marks in their homes, and eventually, the mutilated bodies they find buried in their backyards.

When not transformed, many who suffer the curse seem like completely normal people, if emotionally traumatized by the fact that most of their friends and family have been brutally slaughtered over the preceding months. Some few, however, realize the truth of their condition, and depending on their natures, they either kill themselves before their next transformation or learn to revel in the butchery.

  • Motive: Slaughter when transformed; searching for answers when human

  • Environment: Anywhere dark, usually alone but sometimes as part of a small pack of two to five

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short; long when in wolf form

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 6 when half lupine; Speed defense as level 6 when full lupine; perception as level 7 when half or full lupine

  • Combat: In normal human form, a werewolf has no natural attacks, though it may use a weapon. It also lacks the abilities described below; its only power is to transform into a half-lupine form or full-lupine form, which takes 1d6 agonizing rounds. A handful of werewolves can control their transformation, but most change at night in response to moon-related cues.

    • Half Lupine: A half-lupine werewolf is part humanoid and part wolf, but completely terrifying. It attacks with its claws.
    • Full Lupine: A full-lupine werewolf is a particularly large and vicious-looking wolf. It normally bites foes and deals 2 additional points of damage (7 points total) but can also use its claws.
    • Half and Full Lupine: Half-lupine and full-lupine werewolves both enjoy enhanced senses and regain 2 points of health per round. However, a werewolf that takes damage from a silver weapon or bullet stops regenerating for several minutes.

  • Interaction: In human form, werewolves have the goals and aspirations of normal people, and they often don't recall what they did while transformed or even realize that they suffer the curse of lycanthropy. In half- or full-lupine form, there's no negotiating with one.

  • Use: When the moon is full, werewolves hunt

GM Intrusion: A PC who moves down one step on the damage track due to damage inflicted by a werewolf must succeed on a Might defense roll or be afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy.

The West Wind 9 (27)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 131)

The West Wind has no master, no shackles, no chains. She goes where she will, and woe to those who try to capture or hold her. When she's not blowing through the sky, she takes the shape of a human woman dressed in a sparkling blue tuxedo, her short silver hair pushed back from her face.

Not all winds are living creatures. Sometimes the wind is just the wind. But you won't know which is which until you try to talk with it.

  • Motive: To stave off boredom by playing tricks, traveling, stirring up trouble, and helping others

  • Environment: Anywhere she wants to be

  • Health: 40

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Very long

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 10; sees through and resists trickery, lies, deceit, and intimidation as level 10

  • Combat: Inflicts 6 points of damage to every creature and object she chooses within a very long distance, and knocks them prone.

  • Interaction: Some say the West Wind is cold, but she's really just an introvert and prefers to spend most of her time traveling alone. However, she's actually very warm hearted and is likely to help those in need. She does not respond well to trickery, traps, or attempts to force her hand (unless they're terribly clever or smart, and then she admits grudging respect for the perpetrators).

  • Use: The characters need the West Wind's help to travel somewhere, knock something down, or retrieve something from a hidden place. Someone needs an elegant date to a royal ball or a fairy festival.

  • Loot: Sometimes the West Wind picks up interesting things on her travels. She may gift allies these items, including cyphers, artifacts, and even creatures.

GM Intrusion: The West Wind lifts a character high in the air and threatens to let them fall.

Wharn Interceptor 8 (24)

(The Stars are Fire, page 140)

Wharn interceptors are void-adapted behemoths, several hundred meters in length. It's hypothesized that they are living battle automatons devised by ancient ultras, though against what long-vanished enemy isn't clear. Now, a handful (hopefully no more) glide through the depths of space like dormant seeds, seeming for all the galaxy like some strangely whorled asteroid or planetesimal. Who knows how many millennia they passed in this apparently hibernating state? But when that hibernation ends, maybe because some ancient countdown is nearing its end, or because an asteroid miner tried to extract a sample, they open eyes burning with deadly energy, and flex claws of particle-beam fury.

Wharn interceptors may be related in some fashion omworwars, so much so that humans sometimes call the latter "wharn cogitators." However, it's impossible that omworwars simply "appropriate" any wharn interceptors they encounter.

  • Motive: Defense

  • Environment: Anywhere floating through the void

  • Health: 53

  • Damage Inflicted: 15 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Flies a very long distance each round; can maneuver like an autonomous level 5 spacecraft if using extended vehicular combat rules. FTL capable.

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 3 due to size.

  • Combat: Most of the time, wharns are inactive and might look like tumbling rocks. In this state, space voyagers may be able to partly wake one in an attempt to negotiate. However, if a wharn is damaged, or if the passive senses deep in its body wake it for reasons of its own, it becomes aggressive.

    A wharn's main weapons are its claws, which can extend in an instant, becoming exotic-matter beams able to reach a target up to a light-second away. Unless a target is protected by some kind of force field, the 15 points of damage inflicted ignores Armor. A wharn's eyes can pierce most forms of camouflage, cloaking effects, and cover that is less than about 200 m (650 feet) thick.

  • Interaction: In spite of their ferocious aspect and war-machine heritage, wharn interceptors do not destroy every spacecraft (and void-adapted creature) they come across, or even most. Indeed, sometimes a wharn may attempt to initiate communication via various machine channels. But what comes across are usually nonsense sounds and tones, and sometimes mathematical formulas.

  • Use: The PCs, attempting to enter an abandoned space station or spacecraft, are distracted when a wharn attempts to destroy the very same object.

GM Intrusion: The wharn moves unexpectedly, striking the vehicle the PCs are traveling in, inflicting 8 points of damage to everyone on board.

Wind Children 4 (12)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 131)

The children of the wind cannot be measured in known numbers, for they are here and there and everywhere. They are not born, so much as borne, by weather patterns, wishes, and wants. Dust devils, gales, and zephyrs are all wind children.

  • Motive: See everything, know everything

  • Environment: Everywhere there is weather, real or magic-made

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Long

  • Combat: Inflicts 4 points of damage with an exhale. Alternatively, can knock a character prone for one round.

  • Interaction: Interacting with wind children is a bit like interacting with a group of mischievous, precocious, and spoiled kids. However, they know many things, having been all over the world, and will often share what they know in exchange for new secrets or knowledge.

  • Use: One of the PCs seeks information about a person, place, or thing. The characters need a surreptitious spy to gather information for them.

  • Loot: Information, secrets, and possibly a cypher or two picked up during their travels.

GM Intrusion: The wind children grab something precious from one of the characters and start to play a game of "keep away" with it.

Witchfox 4 (12)

(It's Only Magic, page 109)

A witchfox is a supernatural creature whose natural form is that of a fox, but they can transform into a human form and walk among regular people. Like humans, some are evil, some are good, and most are in the middle, but many of the stories and legends are about the bad ones. A witchfox's fur is usually red, black, or silver, but some are pure white. Witchfoxes often have multiple tails (up to nine); most human legends say the creature gains more tails as it gets older, wiser, and more powerful.

Witchfoxes don't have human morals, but ones friendly to humans try their best to adapt, with mixed results. For example, a witchfox thinks it's fine to steal something from a person they dislike and give that item as a gift to someone they like. Most witchfoxes are afraid of dogs and avoid spending time near them or near people who have them.

Witchfoxes are also known as vulps or fox sorcerers.

  • Motive: Preying on or living in human society; knowledge and power

  • Environment: Anywhere humans can live, or houses or dens in the forest

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Disguise and social interaction as level 6

  • Combat: A witchfox in fox form can attack with their bite, and in human form they use human weapons, but in general they prefer magic. Most witchfoxes can use the following abilities.

    • Bewilder: The witchfox enchants a foe within short range who fails an Intellect defense roll. The foe turns on their allies, wanders off, or waits quietly, as directed by the witchfox. This lasts for one minute, or ends early if the character succeeds on an Intellect defense roll as part of their turn.
    • Feed: The witchfox draws on the life force of an adjacent dead or nearly dead person (GM's discretion), or eats the heart of a dead person, restoring 4 points of health and easing all tasks for the next day.
    • Human Guise: The witchfox changes shape into a human form (any gender, any age). They usually have a "tell" indicating their nonhuman nature, such as a fox's tail, a fox-like face, fur on their body, or a fox's shadow. The witchfox can revert to their fox form as part of another action.
    • Illusion: The witchfox creates a nonmoving illusion in a short area, such as making a hovel look like a home or an empty glade seem eerie and oppressive. The illusion lasts as long as the witchfox remains within a long distance.
    • Magical Blast: The witchfox attacks a creature within short range with electricity, fire, or poison, inflicting 4 points of Might or Speed damage (ignores Armor).

  • Interaction: A witchfox in human form tries to keep up the pretense of being human for as long as possible. Once their true nature is revealed, they're likely to bargain for what they want (a home, safety, their magical cravings) or attack or flee if negotiations turn against them.

  • Use: A witchfox is potentially a threat, thief, criminal, rival, informant, or romantic partner, depending on their personal attitude and the reaction of the player characters. They like to trade secrets they know in exchange for safety and companionship.

  • Loot: A witchfox usually has one or two cyphers and some magical ingredients. Most of their other wealth is actually leaves, twigs, stones, and scrap paper, all covered with illusions.

Worm that Walks 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 130)

This sodden, leather-wrapped humanoid smells of the sea. It moves effortlessly through the air, levitating above the ground while its damp wrappings writhe and squirm as if infested with thousands of worms—because they are. Each worm that walks is a mass of psionic grubs squirming through a slush of salty ooze. Individually the grubs are harmless vermin, but together they're a sentient entity, a single psionic mind formed of thousands of tiny, maggot-like pupae. The tightly wound leather straps covering a worm that walks are just as important for hiding its true nature as for adhesion. Despite being fully encased, the worm that walks senses its environment with a hard-to-fool sixth sense.

  • Motive: Domination of other creatures, hunger

  • Environment: Almost anywhere

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Immediate; short when flying

  • Modifications: Perception as level 8; Speed defense as level 5 due to slow nature

  • Combat: A worm that walks can strike a single target in immediate range with a leather-wrapped "fist" as its action. When it hits and deals damage, several grubs spill out and attach to the victim (getting under most armor unless it's hermetically sealed or behind a force field), who must make a Might defense roll to shake them loose. On a failure, the grubs begin to feed, and the target takes 5 points of damage (ignores Armor).

    If a victim is killed while in immediate range of a worm that walks, the worms automatically engulf the body through a wide opening in their wrappings. The grubs go into a feeding frenzy, reducing the remains to nothing within minutes. During the frenzy, the worm that walks regenerates 2 points of health per round. A victim's equipment is retained for later study.

    A worm that walks can also emit a psychic burst that can target up to three creatures in short range as its action. On a failed Intellect defense roll, a victim suffers 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and is unable to take actions on their subsequent turn. If the victim is attacked while so stunned, their defenses are hindered by two steps.

  • Interaction: A worm that walks can communicate telepathically with characters within short range. It negotiates only with those strong enough to harm it; otherwise, it tries to eat whoever it runs across. Even if the worm that walks makes a deal, it eventually reneges if it senses any advantage for doing so.

  • Use: A worm that walks has been active in a small rural community for weeks, apparently in preparation for something it calls "the Great Hatching." If that refers to the hatching of more psychic grubs, it could spell trouble for a much larger region.

  • Loot: A worm that walks might have one or two cyphers, though during combat it will use any devices that could help it in the fight.

GM Intrusion: A character struck by the worm that walks notices that they weren't able to shake off all the grubs that spilled out. If they fail a Speed defense roll, a grub dives into their flesh and travels through their body, its route visible beneath their skin. The character is distracted (all tasks hindered) until the grub dies one minute later or is otherwise extracted

Wraith 2 (6)

(Godforsaken, page 131)

When a spirit of a dead creature fails to find its way to the afterworld, escapes the same, or is summoned forth by a necromancer, it may become a wraith: a bodiless spirit of rage and loss. A wraith appears as a shadowy or misty figure that can resemble the humanoid figure it once was, though wraiths tend to swarm together, making it difficult to distinguish them from each other. Wraiths are often mindless, consumed by their condition. But on occasion, a wraith not too far gone still remembers its life and may respond to questions or seek to locate its loved ones or enemies. A wraith may even attempt to finish a task it started in life. But in time, even the strongest-willed spirit's mind erodes without physical substance to renew it, and it becomes an almost mindless monster of destruction.

  • Motive: Destruction

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, singly or in groups of six to ten

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short while flying

  • Modifications: Stealth as level 5

  • Combat: A wraith attacks with its touch, which rots flesh and drains life.

    A wraith can become fully insubstantial. After it does so, the creature can't change state again until its next turn. While insubstantial, it can't affect or be affected by anything (except for weapons and attacks that specifically affect undead or phased creatures), and it can pass through solid matter without hindrance, but even simple magical wards can keep it at bay. While partly insubstantial (its normal state), a wraith can affect and be affected by others normally.

    A group of five wraiths can act as a swarm, focusing on one target to make one attack roll as a single level 4 creature dealing 5 points of damage.

  • Interaction: Most wraiths moan and scream in rage. The rare few that retain reason can speak in a sepulchral voice, and they may even negotiate. Any alliance with a wraith is usually short-lived, since the creature eventually forgets itself and descends fully into rage and the desire to spread destruction.

  • Use: The PCs are attacked while attending a burial, or they happen to pass close to or camp near a graveyard. Another swarm of wraiths appears in a location where an earlier group was destroyed (indicating a necromancer is summoning them).

GM Intrusion: The wraith screams out, summoning 1d6 more wraiths from the afterworld.

Wyvern 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 132)

Wyverns are aggressive lesser cousins of dragons. Their bodies are about the size of a heavy horse but their wingspan makes them seem much larger. Lacking a dragon's fiery breath or other magical abilities, wyverns rely on their strong flight and deadly stinger to catch and kill their prey, typically humanoids or large animals. Wyverns have four limbs—two legs used for clumsy walking and two arm-wings used for flight and balance.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Mountains, hills, and plains where large prey is plentiful

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Perception as level 7; Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: Wyverns prefer to attack from the air, moving up to a short distance and making three attacks (bite, venomous stinger, claws) as their action. If a wyvern has to fight on the ground, it can attack only with its bite and stinger on its turn.

    The stinger injects poison, dealing an additional 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) if the opponent fails a Might defense roll. Because the wyvern hunts primarily out of hunger, it usually focuses its attacks on one creature, weakening the prey so the wyvern can carry it away and eat in peace.

  • Interaction: Wyverns lack the intelligence of true dragons. They are relatively smart animals (on par with large reptiles such as crocodiles) but can be distracted by easy prey. Allowing one to catch a pig, pony, or riding horse can give characters enough time to get safely away.

  • Use: Hungry wyverns are known to swoop in and carry off livestock and travelers near a particular road or field. A gang of crafty bandits has managed to train a couple of wyverns as mounts and use them as flying cavalry for their troops on the ground.

  • Loot: Wyverns do not collect treasure, but their nest might have a few cyphers from previous victims. If carefully extracted, an intact venom gland from a dead wyvern can be used to poison one weapon (if sold, it is the equivalent of an expensive item).

GM Intrusions: As part of its attack, the wyvern grabs hold of the character and flies a short distance away. The character can escape with a Might or Speed defense roll (which probably means they fall to the ground and land prone). The wyvern uses a wing or its tail to slam a character so they are thrown a short distance away and land prone.

Xenoparasite 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 369)

This alien creature exists only to eat and reproduce. In doing so, it also destroys every form of life it encounters. Xenoparasites are not technological but were likely engineered by a species with advanced biological super-science. Xenoparasites don't travel between star systems on their own; they were presumably spread across an area of space by their creators to serve as a broad-spectrum bioweapon. What has become of the original maker species is unknown, but given the fecundity and ferocity of the xenoparasite, it's likely they were consumed by their own creation.

Xenoparasites use ovipositors to lay thousands of microscopic eggs in victims. The implanted eggs, like tiny biological labs, detect the particular biology of the new host, adapt accordingly, and use it to fertilize themselves. Within a day or two, victims who haven't already been consumed by adult xenoparasites (which are human sized) give explosive birth to multiple vicious juveniles (which are the size of cats). These juvenile xenoparasites have an edge in dealing with the particular species of creature they hatched from.

  • Motive: Eat and reproduce

  • Environment: Hunts alone or in small groups

  • Health: 28

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: All stealth actions as level 8

  • Combat: A xenoparasite bites with its mandibles and stings one victim with its ovipositor as a single action. The bite inflicts 6 points of damage, and the ovipositor inflicts 3 points of damage and injects thousands of microscopic eggs if the victim fails a Might defense roll.

    Once every other round, an adult can fly at least a short distance to build terrifying velocity and then make a flying attack with its mandibles, dealing 12 points of damage. Defenses against this attack are hindered.

    An egg host requires the attention of someone skilled in medicine (and a successful difficulty 7 Intellect-based roll) to sterilize all the eggs in the victim's blood before they hatch twenty or more hours after being deposited, which kills the host and releases 1d6 juvenile xenoparasites. Juveniles are level 2 creatures, but they attack the species of the host they were hatched from as if level 4. After just a few days of feeding, they grow to full adult size.

    Xenoparasites can survive at crushing ocean and gas giant pressures, as well as in the vacuum of space. They can encrust abandoned spacecraft and desolate moons for millennia in extended hibernation, only to become active again when vibrations alert them to potential new food sources.

  • Interaction: These creatures are built to consume, not negotiate.

  • Use: Xenoparasites are tough aliens. A colony of them would be a challenge even for PCs normally accustomed to stiff opposition. A single xenoparasite introduced into an inhabited area could turn the entire place into an infested hive within a week.

GM (Group) Intrusion: An NPC shrieks, bursts, and births 1d6 juvenile xenoparasites.

Yithian 6 (18)

(Stay Alive!, page 117)

The yithians (also known as the Great Race of Yith) were immense wrinkly cones 10 feet (3 m) high, with a head, four limbs, and other organs spreading from the top of their body. They communicated by making noises with their hands and claws, and they moved by gliding their lower surface across a layer of slime, like a slug. Their civilization was destroyed a billion years before the present day, but they transported their minds into new bodies far in the future and may still be encountered observing the past (our present) by telepathically inhabiting human bodies.

  • Motive: Knowledge

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All knowledge as level 8; Intellect defense as level 7; Speed defense as level 5 due to size and speed

  • Combat: Although large and hardy, members of the Great Race are ill-suited to physical combat. If they must engage in melee, they use pincer-like claws. They almost always wield artifacts and cyphers, however, which makes them dangerous opponents. Assume that a yithian has one or more of the following abilities arising from advanced technology devices:

    • Force field that grants them +3 Armor
    • Mental field that gives them +4 Armor against any mental attack
    • Ray emitter that inflicts 7 points of damage up to long range
    • Cloaking field that renders them invisible for up to ten minutes
    • Stun weapon with short range that makes the target fall unconscious for ten minutes

    Yithians have the ability to transfer their consciousness backward or forward through time, swapping minds with a creature native to the era they wish to observe. A yithian inhabiting the body of another creature is in complete control of that body. A creature trapped in the body of a yithian must attempt Intellect-based tasks each time it wishes to exert control.

    For the most part, it is trapped in the yithian's body and is merely along for the ride.

    It's worth noting that the bodies the yithians use are not their original bodies, but instead the bodies of supremely ancient creatures that they inhabit. The Great Race hails originally from some extraterrestrial world.

  • Interaction: Yithians are not malicious, but they are quite focused and relatively uncaring about other races, such as humans.

  • Use: A yithian projects its mind across the aeons, swapping consciousnesses with the character. While controlling the character's body, the yithian is there mainly to learn and observe, and rarely takes any violent actions.

  • Loot: A yithian encountered in the flesh will have 1d6 manifest cyphers and very likely a technological artifact.

GM Intrusion: The yithian produces a cypher that has a function that is perfect for its current situation: a teleporter to get away, a protective field against precisely the kind of attack being used against it, or a weapon that exploits a weakness of the character's.

Zero-Point Phantom 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 142)

Temporary violations of conservation of energy mean that "virtual particles" constantly and seemingly randomly pop out of nothing, briefly interact with normal matter, then disappear. Zero-point phantoms are collections of such particles, taking the form of a very large, almost spider-like entity of many legs, stalks, and arms. What they're doing when they're not manifest is unknown; are they entombed in nearby solids, phased into another dimension, or do they simply not exist until they are called into being by some random cosmic event? Whatever the case, zero-point phantoms seem to prefer unlit or dimly lit areas in spacecraft and stations far from any planet, when they seem to struggle out of solid surfaces, raising a cloud of shadow.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Anywhere dark

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 4 due to a cloud of shadows surrounding a zero-point phantom

  • Combat: A zero-point phantom attacks with needlelike leg and tentacle tips. A victim that takes damage must succeed on a Might defense task, or become poisoned, the effect of which is to drop them one step on the damage track. The victim must keep fighting off the poison until they succeed or drop three steps on the damage track; however, those who fall to the third step on the damage track from a phantom's poison are not dead. They are paralyzed and can't move for about a minute. If a phantom isn't otherwise occupied, it can grab a paralyzed victim and phase back into non-existence. Most victims phased away in this fashion are never seen again.

    Zero-point phantoms can stutter in and out of existence on their turn once every few minutes. When they do, they return with full health.

  • Interaction: Zero-point phantoms are about as intelligent as predators like wolves.

  • Use: The abandoned spacecraft is weirdly empty of any bodies whatsoever. It's as if everyone just disappeared. There are signs of a struggle, though with what isn't clear,

GM (Group) Intrusion: Nearby light sources fail. Attacks and defenses against the zero-point phantoms are hindered by two steps for characters unable to see in the dark.

Zombie 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 371)

Humans transformed into aggressive, hard-to-kill serial killers with no memory of their former existence are called zombies. Depending on a zombie's origin, the reason for its transformation varies. A zombie might arise from an undead curse, a psychic possession, an AI meatware overwrite, a viral infection, a drug overdose, or something else. Regardless of how the transformation happened, the result is much the same: a creature whose humanity has been burned out and replaced with unquenchable hunger.

Zombies aren't intelligent, but enough of them together sometimes exhibit emergent behavior, just as ants can coordinate activities across a colony. Thus, zombies alone or in small groups aren't an overwhelming threat for someone who has a baseball bat or can get away. But it's never wise to laugh off a zombie horde.

  • Motive: Hunger (for flesh, cerebrospinal fluid, certain human hormones, and so on)

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, in groups of five to seven, or in hordes of tens to hundreds

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Immediate

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 2

  • Combat: Zombies never turn away from a conflict.

    They fight on, no matter the odds, usually attacking by biting, but sometimes by tearing with hands made into claws by the erosion of skin over their finger bones.

    When zombies attack in groups of five to seven individuals, they can make a single attack roll against one target as one level 5 creature, inflicting 5 points of damage.

    Zombies are hard to finish off. If an attack would reduce a zombie's health to 0, it does so only if the number rolled in the attack was an even number; otherwise, the zombie is reduced to 1 point of health instead. This might result in a dismembered, gruesomely damaged zombie that is still moving. Zombies can see in the dark at short range.

    "Fresh" zombies are vulnerable to electricity. The first time a zombie takes 5 or more points of damage from an electrical attack, it falls limp and unmoving. Assuming nothing interferes with the process, the zombie arises minutes or hours later without the vulnerability.

    Some zombies are infectious. Their bites spread a level 8 disease that moves a victim down one step on the damage track each day a Might defense roll is failed. Victims killed by the disease later animate as zombies.

  • Interaction: Zombies groan when they see something that looks tasty. They do not reason, cannot speak, and never stop pursuing something they've identified as a potential meal, unless something else edible comes closer.

  • Use: The characters are asked to clear out a space that once served as an old military depot. The appearance of zombies sealed in the area comes as an unpleasant surprise.

GM Intrusion: When the character fails to kill a zombie by rolling an odd number on an attack that otherwise would have been successful, in addition to the normal effect, the zombie's arm comes free and animates as a separate level 2 zombie.

Zombie Sprinter

(Rust and Redemption, page 110)

Instead of being much larger than normal, a zombie's regenerative system can imbue it with incredible quickness, making it much faster than the shamblers often encountered. The resulting zombie sprinter's speed and ferocity make it hard to escape.

Zombie sprinter: level 3, initiative as level 5; moves a long distance each round; three bites per round inflict 3 damage each; retains 1 health if attack roll result that would have downed it was an even number

AI Zombie 3 (9)

(Rust and Redemption, page 109)

An artificial intelligence that permanently installs itself onto the wetware (in this case, the brain) of a human or other sapient creature creates an AI zombie. The AI replaces the person's personality and motivations, turning them into a shambling creature who only does the AI's bidding, even as their body decays and falls apart (though most keep shambling because of an injection of nano repair bots).

AI zombies are driven by a single, simple motive implanted by the original artificial intelligence—usually related to destroying resources before competing AI instances can use them. They aren't intelligent enough to direct themselves or problem solve outside of this goal, unless the AI takes direct control, using a particular AI zombie as a remote "terminal" from which to act and observe the world.

  • Motive: Follow dictates of AI that created or that controls them

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, in groups of five to seven, or in hordes of tens to hundreds

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Immediate

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 2; perception tasks as level 7

  • Combat: AI zombies fight on, no matter the odds, usually attacking by biting.

    When AI zombies attack in groups of five to seven individuals, they can make a single attack roll against one target as one level 5 creature, inflicting 5 points of damage.

    AI zombies are hard to finish off because self repairing nanotech stitched into their flesh restores 1 point of health each round. If reduced to 0 health, there is a 50% chance that the nanotech continues to function on the zombie's turn, allowing the creature to shudder back to life, skin crawling with miniscule "healing" robots. (If an AI zombie is cut off from ambient radio signals, they do not regain health each round.)

    That same nanotech makes AI zombies infectious. Their bites spread a level 6 (or, in some cases, level 8) disease due to miniscule machines that move a target down one step on the damage track each day a Might defense roll is failed. Targets killed by the process later animate as AI zombies, compelled to serve an AI instance.

  • Interaction: AI zombies often serve some distant AI and may sometimes speak with its voice. But if cut off from its intelligence source, the zombie itself becomes a food seeking monster, more likely to eat someone than to represent an artificial mind.

  • Use: The characters are asked to salvage supplies from an abandoned airplane hangar—abandoned, that is, except for lingering AI zombies.

Zombie Hulk 5 (15)

(Rust and Redemption, page 110)

Most zombies are mindless, shambling, hungry, and infectious. Some varieties, despite their semblance to corpses, enjoy a regenerative process that keeps them active regardless of grievous wounds, rotting flesh, and sometimes missing limbs or organs. That same process kicks into overdrive in zombie hulks, converting everything they eat into additional mass and muscle. The result is three times as massive as a regular zombie and five times as dangerous.

  • Motive: Hunger (for flesh, cerebrospinal fluid, certain human hormones, or whatever it is that nourishes the zombie in the setting)

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, alone or with other zombie varieties

  • Health: 23

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 3 due to size; perception as level 7

  • Combat: A zombie hulk bashes with massive, permanently balled fists stained with the gore of past targets.

    Alternatively, a zombie hulk can bite a target. When this occurs, it's almost impossible to force the hulk's jaws apart again. When a target takes damage from a bite, they must also succeed on a Speed defense roll or one of their limbs is clamped in the hulk's mouth. The target automatically takes damage each round they are caught, and all their tasks are hindered, including attempts to escape. Meanwhile, the hulk is free to bash other foes as its action even as it chews on a previously caught target.

    If an attack would reduce the zombie hulk's health to 0, it does so only if the number rolled for the attack was an even number; otherwise, the zombie is reduced to 1 point of health instead.

  • Interaction: A zombie hulk may choose to smash a nearby structure instead of going straight toward food, but it is typically a mindless, unreasoning monster.

  • Use: Just when it seems like the characters understand the situation with zombies, a zombie hulk appears, making it clear that bizarre and dangerous zombie permutations are possible. If a regular zombie can become a hulk, what other ways can they mutate and evolve?

Zorp 1 (3)

(It's Only Magic, page 110)

Zorps are an obnoxious but mostly harmless kind of gremlin. Nobody is quite sure where they come from; they tend to show up randomly with no prompting, but seem to be drawn to people who use magic. As soon as there's one causing trouble somewhere, more are soon to follow. Zorps combine the most destructive aspects of puppies and young children; they tear up clothing and decorations to craft simple "costumes," scribble on walls and papers, eat ingredients left out on the kitchen counter, make armpit farts during sentimental moments, whisper insults at guests, spill potted plants, and leave little poops in the middle of the floor.

Zorps communicate effectively with each other using grunts, nonsense words, gestures, and facial expressions. After hearing any spoken language, they can speak and understand that language for a few minutes, but their grammar and vocabulary are childlike. They can easily mimic a person's voice, but only seem to do so to make fun of them or mislead others.

Zorps using their native "language" sound vaguely French. "Zagree goo!" "Zoot lorz!" "Encroy!" "Stoopy fohn!" "Say tee nowee!"

Zorps also tend to "die" if startled or hurt—it's their automatic reaction to a potential threat, much like a possum "playing possum."

  • Motive: Mischief and curiosity

  • Environment: Anywhere there is potential for trouble

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Movement: Short; immediate when climbing or jumping

  • Modifications: Attacks as level 2; Speed defense as level 3 due to size and quickness; stealing and stealth as level 4

  • Combat: Zorps only attack when they are threatened, usually by biting or stabbing with an improvised sharp object, but they can just as easily harm foes by dropping heavy things from above, activating dangerous devices in the area, or tripping opponents onto pointy edges and corners. Any of these attacks inflicts 2 points of damage.

    Zorps are notoriously hard to kill. If an attack would reduce a zorp's health to 0, it does so only if the number rolled in the attack was an even number; otherwise, the zorp takes no damage but appears to "die" in a burst of purple liquid resembling paint, leaving behind no body. (The zorp actually has scuttled to a hiding space within immediate range and will move farther away as soon as they can do so safely, returning later after recovering health or when their curiosity gets the better of them.)

  • Interaction: Zorps seem to have the intelligence of a smart dog or a typical toddler but are easily distracted from attempts to communicate. Bribes of candy, wrapping paper, and loud toys can hold their attention for a minute or so.

  • Use: Zorps are chaotic and mischievous, with no regard for the consequences of their actions or the feelings of others. They're not intentionally malicious, but they can cause trouble and outright harm simply by "playing" too hard with important things.

  • Loot: Zorps rarely hold onto anything for more than a few minutes, but sometimes they might have a stolen manifest cypher.

Chapter 23 NPCs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 372)

The NPCs in this chapter are generic examples of nonplayer characters that can be used in many genres.

  • Reskinning NPCs: GMs will find that with a few tweaks, a guard can be a modern-day cop, a fantasy caravan guard, or a science fiction drone soldier. This is known as reskinning—making slight changes to existing stats to customize the NPC for your own game.

  • Health, Not Pools: Remember that NPCs don't have stat Pools. Instead, they have a characteristic called health. When an NPC takes damage of any kind, the amount is subtracted from its health. Unless described otherwise, an NPC's health is always equal to its target number. Some NPCs might have special reactions to or defenses against attacks that would normally deal Speed damage or Intellect damage, but unless the NPC's description specifically explains this, assume that all damage is subtracted from the NPC's health.

  • Appropriate Weapons: NPCs use weapons appropriate to their situation, which might be swords and crossbows, knives and shotguns, malefic psychic weapons, blasters and grenades, and so on.

Editor's Notes — The contents of this chapter has been expanded to include creatures that have a humanoid body type, or that are frequently portrayed as having the capability for (or empathy with) human experience, and any creature with a proper name. In the end, these are all a distinction without a difference: NPCs are creatures, and creatures are NPCs. For more on creatures and NPCs, including a full index, see Quick Reference: Creatures and NPCs.

Other NPCs

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 372)

Many NPCs are simple and understandable enough to be encapsulated just by their level and a few other relevant stats.

Cannibal
level 3; deception and other interaction tasks as level 6; health 12
Hacker
level 2; programming, digital infiltration, and repairing computers as level 7
Mad scientist
level 4; most actions as level 6 due to gadgets, serums, artifacts, etc.
Marauder
level 4; initiative and intimidation as level 7; health 28; Armor 1
Master detective
level 5; perception, intuition, initiative, and detecting falsehood as level 9
Politician
level 2; all interaction tasks as level 6
Priest
level 2; religious lore and all interaction tasks as level 6
Professor
level 2; knowledge of science and all interaction tasks as level 6
Soldier
level 3; perception as level 4; health 12; Armor 1; attacks inflict 5 points of damage
Áine, Fairy Queen of Light and Love 9 (27)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 124)

Áine is the fairy queen of summer and the sun, and is known by many names: the Fairy Queen of Light and Love, Bright One, Sun Goddess, and Sweetheart of the Fairies. She is a kind, true, and benevolent ruler, and is loved by nearly everyone. Known for making just and fair bargains with humans, she is often sought after for blessings and boons.

  • Motive: To be just and true, to protect her realm

  • Environment: She shares a fairy realm with her sister, Gráinne, where she rules in the summer months.

  • Health: 99

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short; very long when shapeshifted

  • Combat: Áine rarely engages in combat herself, as she prefers to leave that role to her son Geroid and his army. However, if she's attacked or feels the need to defend her realm or someone in it, she will not hesitate to step in. She attacks using the power of the sun, focusing light into a narrow beam that inflicts 12 points of damage on the target.

    In addition, Áine has the power of chlorokineses—she can manipulate plants and flowers within very long range, causing them to grow to enormous proportions. She can use them as weapons that grab and hold multiple victims (level 7 Might task to break free) or that do damage via strangulation or thorns (7 points of damage). Any bees in the area act to help the queen.

    She can also shapeshift into a red mare as she chooses. As a mare, she inflicts 6 points of damage with her hooves or bite, can become immaterial as an action (makes it impossible to successfully attack her, but she cannot attack in this form), and can move to a spot within long range instantaneously (does not require an action).

Queen's bees: level 3; sting victims for 3 points of damage and paralyze them for one round

  • Interaction: Just, true, and kind, Áine makes a powerful ally, provided that she does not feel that she or her realm are threatened. Those who wish harm on others or who she sees as malevolent in action or thought are more likely to find themselves on the wrong end of the Bright One's anger.

  • Use: Characters who wish for something important in their lives to change may ask Áine to grant them a boon. She sometimes helps those in need without them asking for it (but, of course, only for a price). If the characters attend a fairy ball or feast, they may encounter Áine as an honored guest.

  • Loot: Áine wears a crown of glass, but it is not visible unless she chooses it to be (she rarely does) or she dies. She carries little else, for she is a person of deeds, not items.

GM Intrusion: One of Áine's ardent followers believes a character is threatening their beloved queen.

Aristocrat 4 (12)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 137)

Aristocrats are not quite high royalty—they are not kings or queens, nor even princes and princesses—but they are those with money and power enough to wield in dangerous or glorious ways. Knights and barons are typically aristocrats, as are characters like Bluebeard and Mr. Fox. Some aristocrats, such as knights, may only want to do good and protect the things that matter to them. Others, of course, prefer to use the darker side of their privileged position.

  • Motive: Money, power, marriage, take who or what they want, protect what they care about

  • Environment: Typically in cities and towns, occasionally off by themselves in large castles and manors

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Social engineering, persuasion, intimidation, and lying as level 6

  • Combat: Many aristocrats have had training in combat maneuvers, as is appropriate to their station. Others may wield knives, scalpels, or butcher's tools with precision.

  • Interaction: Interaction with an aristocrat often starts out positive—after all, it is delightful to be in the glow of someone so charming and powerful. For some, the interaction remains positive. A knight is just a knight. For others, a sense of unease begins to settle in after a time, as if there's something not quite right behind the facade.

  • Use: An aristocrat is about to marry and someone is worried about the safety of their future spouse. A knight is outmatched by a dragon or other strong opponent and seeks someone to come to their aid.

  • Loot: Most aristocrats have currency equal to a very expensive item, in addition to fine clothes or medium armor, weapons, and miscellaneous items.

GM Intrusion: The aristocrat's house has a sentient door or lock that suddenly begins to yell about intruders.

Assassin 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 373)

An assassin kills with poison, with high-velocity bullets from a distance, or by arranging for an unfortunate accident. Assassins accept contracts from governments, corporations, crime bosses, and aggrieved former partners, though some assassins pay themselves by tracking criminals anywhere to collect on "dead or alive" bounties.

  • Motive: Murder (usually for hire)

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth and deception tasks as level 8; when attacking from hiding, melee and ranged attacks as level 7

  • Combat: An assortment of small weapons are hidden about an assassin's body. They can also coat their weapons or ammo with a level 6 poison that moves victims who fail a Might defense roll one step down the damage track.

  • Interaction: Some assassins have a sort of integrity about their work and can't be dissuaded from completing their contracts with bribes.

  • Use: An assassin is greatly feared by anyone with powerful, wealthy enemies.

  • Loot: Aside from their weapons and poisons, most assassins have currency equivalent to a very expensive item and maybe one or two cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The character loses their next turn, stunned, after recognizing the assassin to be the same murderer who killed someone important to them in the past.

Bard 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 133)

A bard uses the power of words and music to create magic that inspires and influences others. A typical bard plays a musical instrument and weaves song-spells that rival the magic of wizards and priests, but some use their voices, creating fascinating tales and dramatic speeches.

  • Motive: Entertainment, interaction, and novel experiences

  • Health: 10

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Music, oration, persuasion, stealth, and Speed defense as level 4

  • Combat: Bards prefer weapons that rely on speed and agility, like daggers, rapiers, and small bows. Every other round, a bard can create a blast of pure sound that inflicts 3 points of damage (ignores Armor) to one target within short range.

    A bard knows several spells, such as adding +1 to recovery rolls of nearby creatures, making an indifferent creature friendly (or a hostile one indifferent) for a few minutes, deafening one opponent for hours, easing a physical task by two steps, turning invisible for a minute, or negating sound for a minute.

  • Interaction: Bards are personable and easy to talk to, but they have a sharp wit and a sharper tongue when it comes to critics and tyrants. A bard would rather escape from a dangerous situation than fight to the death.

  • Use: A bard ally often has useful information about the current situation, drawn from songs and folk tales. In a pinch, they can make do as a scout or spy, especially in an urban setting. An unfriendly bard mocks the characters and turns the will of a crowd against them.

  • Loot: In addition to a musical instrument and a nice outfit for performing, bards usually have currency equivalent to a moderately priced item and one or two cyphers.

Berserker 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 134)

A berserker is a fierce warrior who can fly into a rage, greatly increasing their strength and hardiness. Many of them choose an animal such as a bear, wolf, or boar as their spiritual kin, wearing the skin of that animal and fighting like wild beasts.

  • Motive: Glory in battle

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1 (or 3 when berserk)

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Climbing, jumping, running, and Speed defense as level 4

  • Combat: Berserkers prefer large, heavy weapons such as axes, hammers, and greatswords, but they may use bows if they can't easily get close to their foes.

    A berserker can enter a state of rage as part of their action. When raging, they gain +1 to Armor (including against fire), their melee attacks inflict an additional 2 points of damage, and their attacks, Might defense, and actions relying on strength (such as climbing and jumping) are eased by two steps. However, their Speed defense is hindered. A raging berserker fights only with melee weapons and won't retreat from battle.

  • Interaction: Berserkers are the elites of some warrior cultures and enjoy physical competitions such as wrestling, throwing heavy items, and feasting. They dislike weak and cowardly folk, and do not tolerate insults to their strength or honor.

  • Use: A group of warriors is led by a mighty berserker looking for a challenging fight. A group of berserkers enters town and picks fights with the local toughs.

  • Loot: In addition to their weapons and light armor, a berserker has one or two moderately priced items. The leader of a group might have a cypher that enhances strength or toughness.

Blackguard 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 100)

Blackguards are evil knights who serve dark entities or their own corrupt agendas. Some were once honorable knights who fell to temptation and have abandoned their original principles, but many were raised under evil circumstances and have never known anything but hatred and conflict.

  • Motive: Power, domination of others, slaughter

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, either alone or as part of a cult or evil organization

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 2 or 3

  • Movement: Short; long when mounted

  • Modifications: Perception and Intellect defense as level 7

  • Combat: Blackguards use high-quality armor and weapons (usually decorated with symbols depicting death, demons, or evil gods). Many wear heavy armor and prefer weapons that inflict bleeding wounds, but some take a more subtle approach and act more like assassins than knights. A blackguard typically has two or three of the following abilities:

    • Fiendish Beast: The blackguard has a companion creature such as a dog, horse, or raven with an eerie, unnatural look (in the case of small animals, the creature may also be an exceptionally large specimen of its kind). The creature is actually a semi-intelligent fiend in animal shape (and therefore immune to abilities that affect only normal animals) that can understand the blackguard's commands, and may even be able to speak. If the beast is a horse or similar creature, the blackguard might ride it as a mount.
    • Necromancy: The blackguard uses a ten-minute ritual to animate a human-sized corpse as a zombie under their control. The zombie becomes a corpse again after a day.
    • Poison: The blackguard coats their weapons with a level 6 poison; a foe who fails a Might defense roll moves one step down the damage track.
    • Spells: The blackguard knows several spells granted by an evil entity, typically spells that cause a foe to flee in fear for one minute, restore 10 health, create an eerie darkness or fog in long range, or grant +5 Armor against energy and magical attacks for an hour.
    • Surprise Attack: When the blackguard attacks from a hidden vantage, with surprise, or before their opponent has acted in combat, they get an asset on the attack and inflict +4 points of damage. Unholy
    • Aura: Defense rolls by foes within immediate distance of the blackguard are hindered.
    • Unholy Blessing: The blackguard's defense rolls are eased.

Fiendish beast: level 4, stealth as level 5, Might and Intellect defense as level 5

  • Interaction: Blackguards enjoy killing righteous paragons of good and are often cruel for the sake of cruelty itself.

  • Use: A blackguard has united various groups of bandits into a small army. An evil wizard sends her blackguard lieutenant to kill the people interfering with her plans.

  • Loot: Blackguards usually have treasures equivalent to three or four expensive items, a few useful manifest cyphers, and an artifact weapon or armor.

GM Intrusions: The blackguard's weapon flares with unholy power, inflicting an additional 6 points of damage (ignores Armor). A slain blackguard rises as an undead or is possessed by a demon and continues to fight.

Cailleach 5 (15)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 129)

Not actually a water spirit, but one who has made her peace with the sea in an eternal bargain, Cailleach once lived on land. Now she is a recluse deep in the ocean in the realm known as the Expanse of Halirane. She appears ancient, and in fact is much older than that. She shaves her head bald, wears dozens of shell earrings in each ear, and has a glass eye that allows her to see three views of the future. As part of her bargain with the sea, she can never return to dry land again, or she will lose all of her powers forever.

  • Motive: To be left alone

  • Environment: A home hidden inside a coral reef at the bottom of the ocean. Her home is a large dead whale that the sea magically preserves as part of their bargain.

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short; very long when shapeshifted

  • Modifications: Seeing through deceptions and lies as level 6, healing as level 8

  • Combat: Cailleach has many abilities at her disposal, some of which come from the sea and others that come from her own magic. They include the following:

    • Healing Pot: If she has the proper ingredients and takes a day to do so, Cailleach can brew a healing salve in her special pot. Depending on what she adds to the mixture, this salve can do one of three things: restore 10 Might points, move someone up one step on the damage track, or remove a curse (up to level 6).
    • Reptilian Form: Cailleach takes the form of a reptile of any size. While in this form, she has +3 Armor and does 6 points of damage with her bite, claw, or tail lash. In addition, she regains 3 points of health per round.
    • Restore to Life: Putting her wizened pointer finger into someone's mouth can bring them back to life, but only if they've been dead for less than a day and only if she holds her finger there for exactly as long as they've been dead. After that, her finger falls off. It takes three days for her to regrow a new one.
    • See the Future: Cailleach can use her glass eye to scry the future of an individual. She does so by first removing the eye, and then having the person hold it in their mouth until she asks for it back (sometimes this is for just a second, and sometimes it's for hours—it's hard to know if the variable length of time is part of the ritual or just her dark sense of humor). She typically sees three possible futures, and all of them have an equal chance of coming to pass.
    • Wanton Destruction: As part of her agreement with the sea, Cailleach was given the power to control small parts of it at a time. She can create a whirlpool that catches up all creatures and objects within short range of its center and inflicts 5 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor).

  • Interaction: Cailleach is a recluse and introvert whose deepest longing is to be left alone to increase her knowledge of magic. She also likes puzzles and games, and out of everything on land, she misses birds most of all (for interacting with, not eating). Those who bring her any of those items are likely to draw Cailleach out of her shell and have a positive interaction.

  • Use: Cailleach can be a beneficial ally, particularly as a healer. She might also be convinced to help fight against an encroaching danger, especially if it's threatening her solitude and privacy.

  • Loot: She typically carries a number of sea cyphers, and her home is filled with books, scrolls, and journals of all sorts.

GM Intrusion: The sea offers additional assistance to Cailleach's spells, increasing her damage or movement.

Cannibal 3 (9)

(Stay Alive, page 118)

A cannibal is someone who has decided that eating other people is not only necessary but desirable. Whether this decision was forced by circumstance or made out of some secret, maladaptive urge, cannibals are dangerous because they hide in plain sight, pretending friendship and aid for strangers until their prey lowers their guard. That's when a cannibal strikes. Some cannibals like it raw; others delight in elaborate preparations.

  • Motive: Hungers for human flesh

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Deception, persuasion, intimidation, and tasks related to friendly interaction as level 6

  • Combat: Cannibals use whatever weapon is at hand. They usually don't attack unless they can surprise their prey. When cannibals have surprise, they attack as level 5 creatures and inflict 2 additional points of damage.

  • Interaction: Cannibals seem friendly and charming until they decide you are for dinner.

  • Use: Characters looking for a place to sleep, hide, or stay for the night are invited in by one or more cannibals—perhaps an entire family of them.

  • Loot: A cannibal has currency equivalent to a very expensive item and possibly a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The cannibal reveals a severed and gnawed- upon body part of a previous victim. The character must succeed on an Intellect defense task or be stunned and lose their next turn.

Cannibal, Post-Apocalyptic 3 (9)

(Rust and Redemption, page 98)

Cannibals come in a variety of different forms, depending on their situation. Some seem like normal and perhaps even charming survivors, except to their targets. These "nice" cannibals may eat human flesh when desperate or to take advantage of meat that would otherwise go to waste. Or maybe they've developed a taste for human flesh.

Others look the part, having descended into the kind of bestial, erratic behavior that cannibalism can inflict on long term practitioners.

Some are part of a crazed settlement of raiders always looking for more sweet meats, and others hide in plain sight, pretending friendship and offering aid to strangers until their prey lowers their guard. Some cannibals like their prey raw; others delight in elaborate preparations.

Whether becoming an eater of human flesh was forced by circumstance or out of some secret, maladaptive urge, cannibals are dangerous.

  • Motive: Hunger for human flesh

  • Environment: In areas where food is scarce; alone, or in groups of four to ten

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Deception, persuasion, intimidation, and friendly interaction as level 6

  • Combat: Cannibals use improvised weapons, like ropes, chair legs, and jagged pieces of broken glass. A few cannibals with more resources rely on long range firearms and rifles until they run out of ammunition.

    In any group of four or more cannibals, there's probably one (revealed as a GM intrusion) who has filed their teeth and can make a horrific bite attack once every minute or two. This attack inflicts damage and requires the target to succeed on a Might defense roll. On a failure, the cannibal bites off a bit of the target, who is stunned and loses their next turn. See the Cannibal Severing Bite Effects table.

Cannibal Severing Bite Effects
d6Effects
1End of nose
2Little finger
3Chunk from forearm
4Chunk from leg
5Ear; target's perception task that rely on hearing are hindered until target adapts
6Throat; target descends on step on damage track each round until ally succeeds on a difficulty 5 healing task

  • Interaction: A friendly and charming cannibal may remain so indefinitely, unless they decide a PC is perfect for dinner.

  • Use: Characters looking for a place to sleep, hide, or stay for the night are invited in by one or more cannibals. A group of raiders the PCs must negotiate with are also revealed to be cannibals.

  • Loot: A cannibal has currency equivalent to an expensive item.

Changeling 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 111)

Fey creatures sometimes kidnap a human child and leave a changeling in its place, tricking the human parents into raising an inhuman creature as their own offspring. The changeling has a foot in two worlds, living as a spy or sleeper agent for the fey, but thoroughly enjoying their life among humans.

  • Motive: Serving the fey; finding their place in the world

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Might defense as level 2; deception, disguise, and stealth as level 4

  • Combat: Changelings use human weapons.

    A changeling can use an action to alter their appearance for a minute or so to match that of someone they've seen. This is a reasonable likeness, although they may not know their target's mannerisms, accent, and other nonphysical qualities.

    Some changelings are vulnerable to iron, taking an extra 1 point of damage from any iron or steel weapon.

  • Interaction: Changelings aren't inherently untruthful or untrustworthy, but sometimes they can't help but embellish a fact or take advantage of a situation. They otherwise act like regular people, but spending enough time with them usually reveals an odd quirk or attitude.

  • Use: An acquaintance is having trouble at home (because their family realized they're a changeling). Someone suspects a family member is actually a changeling.

  • Loot: Changelings have the same kinds of personal items that humans do, but they often have a token or other treasured thing that doesn't quite belong (and might secretly be a cypher or artifact).

Child 1 (3)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 138)

Children play the roles of urchins, siblings, daughters, sons, waifs, servants, royal family members, child brides, and more.

  • Motive: Seeking safety, comfort, money, or food; play; bringing joy

  • Environment: With their families, or lost in the world trying to find their way. Sometimes in the employ or care of someone who has found them, stolen them, or otherwise become their guardians, caretakers, or keepers.

  • Health: 3

  • Damage Inflicted: 1 point

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Run, hide, sneak, and escape as level 2; knowledge of the nearby area, people, and activities as level 3

  • Combat: Most children fight only in response to being provoked, threatened, or attacked. They typically use makeshift weapons, such as their fists, a stick, or a toy.

  • Interaction: Children are often smarter, more creative, and more wily than they're given credit for. They may have a lot of knowledge about nearby people, places, and activities that can help the PCs, particularly if there's an exchange of food, money, or other goodies involved.

  • Use: Someone or something is stealing children from the village, and the mayor is offering to pay a large sum to anyone who tracks down the creature and rescues the children. One of the PCs catches a waif stealing from their pack in the night; the child says they've been lost in the woods for days.

  • Loot: Children typically have very little on their person, although they may have a special memento of their family or a close friend.

GM Intrusions: The child shouts, laughs, or talks too loudly, accidentally drawing the attention of a nearby guard toward a character.

Someone mistakenly thinks a character has stolen the child, and attacks them.

Cambion 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 101)

Fine ebony scales cover a cambion's perfectly athletic figure. Two reddish horns grow from its brow, and the tips of fangs emerge from between its dusky lips. Its eyes, absent iris and pupil, are the color of driven snow. Cambions are cursed creatures, born of mortal and demonic parentage, and are also sometimes called helborn. Most cambions give in to what everyone expects of them, and embrace evil.

  • Motive: Defense, conquest, revenge on a world that's rejected them

  • Environment: Anywhere, often hiding in plain sight

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Disguise as level 7

  • Combat: Cambions sometimes wield heavy weapons in combat, especially if they come across an artifact that can enhance their attacks. Some cambions develop their natural and magical abilities to become powerful sorcerers, but most can call up hellish energy merely by willing it at least once per day, as follows.

    • Finger of Torture: A ruby ray lances out from the cambion's finger to strike an enemy prone with torturous pain on a failed Might defense task. The target automatically takes 6 points of damage each round until they can escape the effect with an Intellect task.
    • Soulfire Blast: An explosion of soul-rending black and crimson fire explodes around up to three targets standing next to each other within short range, inflicting 4 points of damage and stunning the targets so that they lose their next action on a failed Speed defense task.

  • Interaction: Cambions are bleak, depressed, and misunderstood. Most have turned to evil, but a few can be redeemed.

  • Use: A great fire is seen burning on the horizon. The next day, travelers come across a burned region with a crater that has destroyed a farmhouse. At the center of the crater is an unconscious human with hornlike growths on its head.

  • Loot: Powerful cambions sometimes wield artifacts as weapons.

GM Intrusion: The character's cypher explodes when touched by cambion demon fire on a failed Speed defense task.

Corporate Mage 4 (12)

(It's Only Magic, page 112)

A corporate mage is a professional spellcaster working for a company, using their magic to fix problems. They have a similar role as enforcers, lawyers, corporate spies, and researchers, doing what needs to be done so the company's interests are protected. They're paid well, dress to show it, and aren't above unethical (or even illegal) acts to get the job done. They work alone, in pairs, or with a lawyer and a few bodyguards.

Lawyer
level 2, law and intimidation as level 4
Bodyguard
level 2; Armor 1; short-range pistol inflicts 4 damage

Stats for a corporate mage also work well for paranormal law enforcement NPCs, such as the police or FBI.

  • Motive: Accomplish the goals of their employer

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1 (from spell)

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense as level 5

  • Combat: Corporate mages are trained to handle normal people and magic threats, and they usually attack with a short-range blast of cold, fire, force, or electricity. Some carry a concealed handgun for situations where magic isn't allowed or effective.

    A corporate mage knows quite a few spells, including knocking a person unconscious for a few minutes, turning invisible for a few minutes, temporarily befriending a reluctant person, creating an illusory disguise of a nondescript role (such as construction worker or technician), granting themselves +1 Armor, reading minds, and teleporting back to headquarters. Many of them have some training in law, espionage, governmental operations, or a scientific field.

  • Interaction: Corporate mages are hard and intimidating. If they can get what they want without using magic, they'll do so, but they aren't afraid to make a demonstration of supernatural force when necessary.

  • Use: Corporate mages do the dirty work of sketchy businesses. They're not here to make friends, and they know just how far to push someone (especially a powerless person) to get what they want, sometimes by bending (but not quite breaking) the law.

  • Loot: A corporate mage usually has a cypher that's helpful for their current assignment, plus the cash equivalent of one or two expensive items.

Corrupt Mage 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 102)

Some wizards and sorcerers are tempted by dark magic, inevitably damning their souls and corrupting their flesh as they cut corners and delve into forbidden lore. Their research and experimentation create new kinds of rampaging monsters and turn people into misshapen horrors. They sometimes modify their own bodies in order to gain demonic or draconic powers, or make pacts with such creatures for knowledge and magical ingredients.

  • Motive: Magical knowledge at all costs

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, usually with fleshbeast minions

Fleshbeast
level 4; attacks as level 5; health 15; Armor 1

  • Health: 35

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge of arcane lore, demons, and altering bodies as level 8

  • Combat: Corrupt mages blast opponents with beams of energy that blister, slash, and rot flesh, attacking up to three creatures as an action. Many of them have given themselves long claws and teeth that they can use to make up to three melee attacks per action.

    A corrupt mage knows many spells, such as the following:

    • Armor: Covers a creature with ugly scales, granting them +3 to Armor for an hour.
    • Madness: Wracks the brain of one creature within short range for one hour, reducing them to a babbling catatonic state in which they can't recognize friend or foe. If disturbed or harmed, the creature is likely to lash out with lethal force at what it perceives as its tormentors.
    • Organ Request: Extracts a handful of internal organs from an opponent within short range, moving the creature one step down the damage track if it fails a Might defense roll.
    • Polymorph: Transforms one foe within short range into a tiny, helpless creature such as a cockroach, fish, or snail for one hour.
    • Summon Demon: Summons a demon to serve the mage for one hour.
    • Teleport: Moves the mage up to 100 miles (160 km) away, or less far if they bring additional creatures with them.
    • Twist Flesh: Reshapes the flesh of a creature within close range, turning it into a hideous monstrosity for one hour. The transformed creature's actions are hindered, but its physical attacks inflict +3 points of damage. The mage's control over the creature is limited to indicating which target it should attack.

    A corrupt mage usually has several cyphers useful in combat and perhaps an artifact as well.

  • Interaction: Corrupt mages generally can't be trusted and see other creatures as things to experiment on and vivisect. They might negotiate with someone who brings them a rare specimen or spell. Many are mentally disturbed by their research and self-alterations and may fluctuate between calm clarity, obsession, paranoia, and rage.

  • Use: The strange hybrid monsters emerging from the forest are said to be the creations of a corrupt mage. A corrupt mage in a calm state presents themselves as a neutral or benevolent wizard seeking assistance on a task.

  • Loot: A corrupt mage has 1d6 cyphers and perhaps a wizardly artifact.

GM Intrusions: A desperate or dying corrupt mage transforms their own body into several new fleshbeasts, which retain fragments of the mage's intelligence and immediately attack. The mage's attack spell is incredibly painful, stunning the character for one round if they fail a Might defense roll.

Crafter 2 (6)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 138)

Crafters include bakers, cobblers, candlemakers, butchers, millers, tailors, woodworkers, and cooks. While most crafters aren't particularly agile fighters, they are usually clever and strong, and have a number of familiar tools at their disposal for weapons.

  • Motive: Defense

  • Environment: In their workshops or peddling their trade while traveling

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Appropriate craft as level 3

  • Combat: Crafters are unlikely to initiate combat, as most just want to be left alone to do their work (or to convince you to buy their wares). If they're forced to fight, they will typically use any item they have at hand (such as a rolling pin, butcher's knife, crafting tool, or length of wood).

  • Interaction: Most crafters are happy to talk about their craft or the objects that they've made and have for sale. They take pride in their work, and flattery and attention can go a long way.

  • Use: To the PCs, crafters can be allies, obstacles, or both. Being friends with a crafter often has obvious long-term benefits, while stealing from them has short-term advantages (and possible long-term disadvantages).

  • Loot: A crafter has currency equivalent to an inexpensive item, as well as crafting tools and materials and anything they've crafted that they're carrying or wearing.

GM Intrusion: The crafter uses their crafting tool in a way that the character didn't anticipate, putting the character in a disadvantaged position.

Crime Boss 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 373)

A crime boss usually isn't physically powerful but wields power through lies, bribery, and control. Rarely encountered alone, they rely on guards, thugs, and other measures to provide physical security. A crime boss could be a petty noble, a mafia king, or the captain of a pirate ship that sails the seas or glides the space lanes.

  • Motive: Money and power

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Deception, persuasion, intimidation, and tasks related to friendly interaction as level 7

  • Combat: Guards, thugs, and other followers deal 1 additional point of damage when the crime boss can see them and issue commands. If possible, crime bosses fight while mounted or in a vehicle, directing their followers from the rear of any conflict, concentrating first on issuing orders.

  • Interaction: Crime bosses are committed to their plans, whatever those might be. Most bosses rely on a lieutenant or trusted thug to interact with people in their place.

  • Use: A crime boss and their followers execute a heist on a secure location and take hostages when things go south. Someone must go in and talk to the crime boss to defuse the situation.

  • Loot: A crime boss has currency equivalent to a very expensive item in addition to weapons, medium armor, and miscellaneous gear.

GM Intrusion: The crime boss uses a clever trick or cypher to block all incoming attacks in a given round of combat.

Death 10 (∞)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 114)

Death goes by many names, takes many forms, and has only one purpose: to make all equal in the end. Death is often an unwanted visitor—taking the life of someone who is not ready to go—but just as often, they come to those who are ready. To them, Death is a most welcome, the most welcome, guest of all.

While some see Death as evil, they are not inherently so, no more than the cougar hunting the hare for dinner. In fact, they are the great equalizer, raising paupers to kings and kings to common people.

Death is ancient, but not old. Wise, but not all-knowing. Brilliant, but not perfect. Death is also, very often, bored. They have seen everything, heard everything, and done everything that it is possible for an immortal being to do, and some days they feel sure they will never experience anything new or interesting again. But still, they try, taking on new guises, hiding themselves away, even traveling to distant stars and moons before their duties and obligations once again pull them to return.

If Death appears at the foot of a person's bed, that person can recover if the proper steps are taken. If Death is at the head of the bed, almost nothing can be done to save the victim, beyond an impossible bargain.

  • Motive: To do their duty and make everyone equal

  • Environment: Everywhere and anywhere

  • Health: ∞

  • Damage Inflicted: Death

  • Armor: Immune to all harm

  • Movement: Variable depending on their form, but Death can move instantaneously almost anywhere that they desire

  • Modifications: Seeing through trickery, deception, or bargaining as level 8

  • Combat: Death kills. They kill any number of ways, depending on their mood, what's at hand, and how they believe the person should leave their life. Thankfully, death only comes for someone when their time is up.

    Still, it's not considered wise to provoke or challenge Death to physical combat, for there is only one outcome: a single attack from Death kills the victim (except in the rare case where the victim has protection against death, such as with one of Death's candles).

  • Interaction: Death cannot be hurt and cannot be killed, but they can be bargained with, bet against, and sometimes tricked. More rarely, they have even been known to lose a bargain or be captured for a short period of time.

  • Use: Bargaining with Death is a potential way to achieve an impossible task or gain a very rare item, but of course it always comes with a price (usually an earlier death for the bargainer or someone else). Death is always looking for something interesting going on, and may appear just to spend time with the characters if they're engaged in an intriguing activity.

GM Intrusion: Death mistakes a character for someone else.

Demon Hunter 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 113)

In a world where demons, witches, and other evil magical creatures are free to prey upon humanity, hunters are one of the few things that keep them in check. They usually have to keep their work secret and are slow to trust anyone, but once befriended they have a habit of showing up just when help is needed.

  • Motive: Hunt down and defeat their chosen foes

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Attacks and Intellect defense as level 4; perception, tracking, and creature lore as level 5

  • Combat: A typical hunter is weaker than the average demon or witch, and prefers to outwit their foes rather than engage in a straight-up fight. Knowing this, they pick their battles carefully and use ambush tactics and strength of numbers—either another hunter or several support characters such as priests and soldiers—to help defeat their foes. A hunter usually has a good idea of their opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and they plan and react accordingly.

Depending on the setting, a demon hunter might hunt demons, vampires, witches, or all supernatural creatures.

Exceptional hunter
level 5; attacks and Intellect defense as level 6; perception, tracking, and creature lore as level 7; health 20; attacks deal 6 damage
Priest
level 2, religious lore and all interaction tasks as level 6
Soldier
level 3, perception as level 4; health 12; Armor 1; attacks inflict 5 damage

  • Interaction: Many novice hunters are overconfident and condescending. Others (especially the more experienced ones) are paranoid and hardened by battle and the deaths of too many friends. They react positively if given respect.

  • Use: A couple of rough-looking drifters arrive in a classic car, looking for trouble. Someone who seems to be a meek professor turns out to secretly be a hunter.

  • Loot: Hunters carry equipment needed for their job, cash, and perhaps an old book (cypher) with an ability relevant to their current prey.

Detective 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 374)

Detectives are usually veterans of their organization (such as the police, city watch, marshals, space command, and so on) with extensive experience. Some detectives are freelance sleuths whose uncanny ability to see the truth comes from personal training combined with an underlying talent for noticing clues that others miss.

  • Motive: Solve the crime

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Tasks relating to perception, intuition, initiative, and detecting falsehoods as level 6

  • Combat: Detectives prefer to outwit their foes rather than engage in a straight-up fight. Even then, most conflicts occur in a place and time of the detective's choosing, preferably in the presence of their allies. A detective can deduce weaknesses of their enemies (if any) and exploit them in combat.

  • Interaction: Some detectives are insufferable know-it-alls. Others have learned that humility is also a useful tool for getting answers from people.

  • Use: To the PCs, detectives can be obstacles (a detective is on their trail), allies (a detective helps them assemble clues), or both, but the sleuths are rarely a way for the characters to hand off responsibility for accomplishing a hard task.

  • Loot: Aside from their weapons, most detectives have currency equivalent to a very expensive item and a cypher.

GM Intrusion: The detective intuits the character's next attack and moves perfectly so that an ally of the character takes the attack instead.

Druid 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 134)

A druid is a servant of a nature deity or the entirety of nature itself. Some have specific interests such as animals, plants, or storms, with greater powers relating to that devotion. Druids are leaders and advisors in some cultures, society-hating hermits in others.

  • Motive: Protecting nature

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Nature lore, perception, and stealth as level 5

  • Combat: Druids use simple weapons crafted out of natural materials, such as spears, slings, and bows, as well as ritual tools such as daggers and sickles.

    A druid knows several spells, such as a short-range attack that uses electricity or fire, healing a touched creature for 4 health, calming and befriending animals, traveling quickly, controlling the weather within long range, transforming into an animal or plant, and manipulating the natural elements. A druid often has a loyal animal companion, such as a black bear, hawk, viper, or wolf.

  • Interaction: Druids are cautious when dealing with city folk, and they act quickly to stop the reckless use of fire or exploitation of the wilds. They are generally on good terms with local animals and magical creatures of nature (faeries, sapient trees, satyrs, and so on).

  • Use: A hermit druid comes to the aid of injured or lost characters in the wildlands. A druid has been attacking loggers and hunters who stray too far from civilization.

  • Loot: In addition to weapons, light armor, and some moderately priced ritual items, a druid might have a couple of cyphers or perhaps an artifact.

Dwarf 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 135)

A typical dwarf found outside of their homeland is an explorer, warrior, and tradesperson of some skill. Dwarves travel to find work as mercenaries, sell the goods they create, or find unusual materials to use in their crafting.

  • Motive: Defense, loyalty, honor

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Crafting (metal or stone), Intellect defense, and Might defense as level 5

  • Combat: Dwarves traditionally use weapons like axes, hammers, and crossbows. They're used to working together to defend their halls; three or more dwarves attacking the same target act as a level 6 creature that inflicts 8 points of damage.

    Dwarf leaders are usually officers or priests.

Dwarf officer
level 5; health 16; damage inflicted 7 points
Dwarf priest
level 5; health 16; can heal one creature for 10 points or all within immediate range for 5 points

  • Interaction: Dwarves are proud and hardworking, but they tend to be stubborn, gruff, and unforgiving of offenses to them or their clan. It takes time to gain their trust, but they respect a fair deal, a hard bargain, a sharp axe, and a sturdy hammer.

  • Use: A stoic old dwarf is looking to go on one more quest before retiring. A clan of dwarves seeks a trade agreement with a human city leader—or redress for an old insult.

  • Loot: In addition to their weapons and light or medium armor, a dwarf probably has several moderately priced items (such as tools or exploration gear) and perhaps a cypher or two.

Elf 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 135)

An elf has a very long lifespan and tends to learn and abandon many skills and interests, including combat and magic. Elves are likely to wander in pursuit of something new and interesting, such as finding the tallest tree in the forest, the most beautiful sunset, or the perfect love song.

  • Motive: Curiosity

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception, Speed defense, and any two noncombat skills as level 5

  • Combat: Elves usually fight with short or medium blades and delicate but deadly bows. Because of their subtle skill and fast reactions, their first attack in any combat inflicts an additional 2 points of damage.

    A typical elf might know a few minor spells, such as heating or chilling food, creating a bit of moonlight, and cleaning or repairing clothing.

  • Interaction: Elves appreciate beauty, grace, and skill, and they don't respond well to crudeness or bluster, especially from people decades or centuries younger than themselves. They are subtle in their insults but do have a sense of humor.

  • Use: A group of young elves arrives in a city, wanting to see firsthand how the short-lived humans do things. An elf is said to have lived in the forest for a thousand years, listening to the secrets whispered by the trees.

  • Loot: In addition to their weapons and light armor, an elf carries a few moderately priced (but extremely well-made) curios and mementos, and usually a cypher.

Editor's Notes — See also: Shadow Elf

Enchanter 5 (15)+

(We Are All Mad Here, page 118)

Enchanters include magic-users of all genders. They may choose to call themselves wizards, sorcerers, mages, or diviners, depending on their strengths, abilities, and desired reputations.

Enchanters usually take great pride in their appearance, including their outfits, accouterments, and equipment. They often incorporate living or dead elements of dangerous creatures, such as spiders, snakes, crocodiles, and dragons, into the objects that matter to them. Additionally, they may imbue objects with powerful magic.

Enchanters can use long-lasting or even permanent versions of their magical abilities, but doing so usually requires minutes or hours of time.

Most enchanters have one or more apprentices or helpers, typically animals that have been made human temporarily or humans who are in the service of the enchanter until some debt of theirs or their family's has been paid.

Sorcerer's Apprentice
level 3

  • Motive: Control magic, power

  • Environment: Everywhere, particularly in places where magic is present and powerful

  • Health: 20

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Using and controlling magic as level 7

  • Combat: Magical weapons and artifacts (such as a whip made of living snakes, a staff with a biting wolf's head on top, or a sword that acts of its own accord) do 5 points of damage. Additionally, an enchanter may employ a number of magical abilities, including the following:

    • Animate: Takes any material (such as wood or stone) and turns it into an animate level 4 creature. The creature has a mind and will of its own, and acts just as that type of creature would act if it were born instead of created.
    • Blood to Stone: Turns living creatures into stone, or immobilizes them in their current form. Breaking free is a level 6 Might task.
    • Enchant: Imbues a normal object with a magical power. The object works under the enchanter's command, and does as the enchanter asks of it. For example, an enchanter might imbue a foe's weapon and force it to attack the foe, or they might imbue a door and have it close tight against incoming dangers.
    • Endless Passage: Creates an endless series of thick spiderwebs, invisible barriers, rings of flame, or other hurdles across an entrance, exit, tunnel, or passage. Every time one of the hurdles is broken, another forms. Characters' movement is halved while going through the endless passage, and they take 2 points of Intellect damage each round.
    • Invisible: Turns anything (including themselves, others, and entire areas up to 30 feet by 30 feet [9 m by 9 m]) invisible for ten minutes. It's a level 6 Intellect task to be able to see something that has been made invisible.
    • Persuasion: Convinces all victims in long range that what they believe is not real or that what is false is real. Sometimes this ability just affects others' minds, creating a mental dissonance. Other times, the enchanter creates an illusion or other visible, auditory, and tactile element that persuades a character to believe everything they are experiencing. The effect lasts for ten minutes. Additionally, an enchanter may have one or more of the same abilities as a witch or a faerie.

  • Interaction: For the characters, an enchanter may be a terrifying foe or a powerful ally. Enchanters are fickle, perhaps due to their close relationship with magic, and may change their loyalties on a whim or an imagined slight.

  • Use: The characters need to have an object imbued, a person returned to life, or a curse undone, and they turn to the enchanter for help. The characters accidentally insulted the enchanter in some way, and now the enchanter is hunting them down to get revenge.

  • Loot: Enchanters often protect their precious items with spells and magical locks (level 8). Behind those wards are 1d6 cyphers, an artifact, and an elegant or interesting outfit.

Enchanters by Level
Morgan Le Fay 9 (27)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 120)

Morgan le Fay (also known as Morgen, Margain, Morgant, and various other names) is a powerful sorceress from the legends of King Arthur. She has an unpredictable duality to her nature, with the potential for great good and great evil.

  • Combat: Attacks with a variety of weapons, including a sword and staff. She also can use any of the following abilities: charm, enchant, glamour, heal, invisible, persuasion, protect, revive, seduce, and shrivel.

  • Interaction: Morgan le Fay is fickle and enigmatic, and rarely reveals her purposes. If she agrees to help the characters in some way, it's absolutely because she has a higher goal in mind.

  • Use: The characters are stopped by a beautiful woman in the woods, who asks them to help her accomplish a great task. A powerful foe has brought Morgan le Fay into his confidence, and she is helping him against the PCs.

Oz, the Great and Terrible 5 (15)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 120)

It is perhaps the greatest feat the Wizard of Oz ever pulled off to make everyone believe that he was not a sorcerer at all, but merely a ventriloquist and balloonist from some faraway land. He is, in fact, far more powerful than that, but prefers that no one were ever to know. For if they did, they would expect things of him, and that makes him anxious.

  • Combat: Oz does not fight, but instead sends his army of green-whiskered soldiers forth.

    He may also use an artifact or spell to protect himself, hide himself, or flee. He can use the following abilities: enchant, invisible, persuasion.

  • Interaction: Curmudgeonly and a bit of a humbug, but rarely with evil intent, Oz is likely to help those who ask, although he often fumbles things just to make a point.

  • Use: The characters set off to meet the powerful ruler of a strange land. Or they encounter someone they believe is just a humble, simple man, but who instead turns out to be incredibly powerful.

  • Loot: Oz has at least one artifact, as well as 1d6 cyphers.

Green-whiskered soldiers
level 4; Armor 2; unloaded rifles deal 4 points of damage
Virgilius the Sorcerer 7 (21)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 120)

The most renowned of all the poet-sorcerers, Virgilius studies and uses the power of the written word to enhance his magical abilities. He keeps a black book, which is the source of his spells, and creates copper creatures to protect and defend him. He has a love of challenges, such as magician's battles, and seeks them out.

  • Combat: Can use the following abilities: animate, blood to stone, enchant, endless passage.

  • Interaction: Virgilius is quick thinking, wily, and full of interesting schemes. Those who entertain him for longer than a moment might find him a very useful ally. However, he is also driven toward revenge, particularly on those who attempt to publicly humiliate or shame him.

  • Use: The characters enter into a battle of wits or wills, only to discover they're competing with Virgilius.

  • Loot: Carries a black book

Black book (artifact)
level 6; allows the user to cast animate, blood to stone, enchant, or endless passage. Casting a spell from the black book costs 2 Intellect points and is an action. Depletion: 1 in 1d6
Evil Priest 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 108)

Evil priests are worshippers of evil gods, demons, devils, strange malevolent forces from beyond known dimensions, or even death itself. They lead cults, corrupt the innocent with lies and twisted ideologies, and enact the will of their patron in the mortal world. The most insidious ones are able to infiltrate good churches and secular organizations in order to tear them down from the inside.

  • Motive: Domination of others, divine rule

  • Environment: Almost anywhere that people live

  • Health: 28

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Deception, persuasion, and religious lore as level 8

  • Combat: Evil priests make one or two short-range magical attacks as an action, which are thematically appropriate to the god or entity they serve, such as blasts of hellfire, grasping shadowy tentacles, or disruptive necromantic energy. They often rely on zealous minions to protect them from melee opponents.

    Priests usually know several spells, such as how to banish or control creatures from other dimensions, create an area of darkness, see and hear remote locations, speak with the dead, mesmerize or paralyze a person, cause blindness, or create a ward against energy damage. They also have the following magical abilities:

    • Curse: The priest curses a foe within short range, hindering all of the foe's actions by two steps.
    • Heal: The priest heals a touched creature for 10 health or removes an affliction such as a disease or curse.
    • Necromancy: The priest uses a ten-minute ritual to animate up to four human-sized corpses as skeletons or zombies under their control. The undead revert to corpses after a day.
    • Sacrifice: The priest uses a ten-minute ritual to kill a helpless, restrained, or unconscious creature of level 4 or higher, using its soul to grant one ally an asset on all actions and defenses for one day.
    • Summon: Once per hour the priest can summon a demon or one level 3 or 4 creature (such as a giant snake, giant spider, or swarm of bugs). The summoned creature serves the priest for an hour before vanishing.
    • Swarm of bugs: level 3

    An evil priest usually has one or two combat-useful manifest cyphers and often has an artifact appropriate to their religion. Most also wear armor or have an ongoing defensive spell that grants them Armor.

  • Interaction: Evil priests tend to be knowledgeable, arrogant, and condescending toward heroes and members of rival faiths. They might strike a bargain to save their lives or the life of a valuable minion, or to gain an advantage later on.

  • Use: An evil priest is converting frightened peasants into followers, and turning those who refuse into zombie slaves. A new religious figure in the city is acting suspiciously, and members of rival faiths have been disappearing or turning up dead.

  • Loot: Evil priests usually have mundane treasures equivalent to three or four expensive items, a few useful manifest cyphers, and an artifact.

GM Intrusions: The dying evil priest utters a curse that attempts to pull the character's soul into the afterlife with them, moving them one stepdown the damage track if they fail an Intellect defense roll.

The evil priest ignores, avoids, or immediately recovers from an attack that would have killed or greatly harmed them.

Fairy Godmother 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 123)

Fairy godmothers are nearly always beneficent beings, typically acting as mentors, parents, or protectors, much like human godparents. The difference, of course, is that fairy godmothers have a great deal more magic at their disposal.

Overall, fairy godmothers are kind, gentle, and loving to almost everyone, not just their godchildren. Of course, not all fairy godmothers are good at their roles—some may act out of their own interests and inadvertently (or purposefully) do harm to those they are supposed to protect. This is particularly true if they feel like they have not been given the respect they deserve, or have been offended in some way.

And if you should harm someone they have pledged to protect? Beware, beware, for there is no wrath like that of a fairy godmother's.

  • Motive: Protect their protégés, be respected

  • Environment: Cities, towns, and anywhere someone is in need of assistance

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 2 (magical)

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Combat: Fairy godmothers attack by shooting a stream of sharp-edged glitter up to a long distance from their magic wands (glitter gets into every nook and cranny, and thus ignores Armor). Fairy godmothers can bestow blessings upon their friends and allies, and curse their enemies.

    Fairy godmothers can cast any of the skills and abilities that faeries can cast, as well as a few that are specific to them, including the following:

    • A Little Luck: The fairy godmother blesses a character with luck, granting them the opportunity to reroll once in the next day without spending XP.
    • A Little Misfortune: Despite the name, this is usually a beneficial spell. It is designed to give a nearby character something to overcome so that they might grow stronger in temperament or stature. When this spell is cast, the character receives a GM intrusion on their next action (no matter what their roll is) and receives 1 XP to give away (but not one to keep).
    • Alteration: Can turn any creature within short range into a different creature (such as a mouse into a horse) and any object into a similarly shaped object (such as a pumpkin into a carriage, or a smock into a ball gown). The effect lasts for one day.
    • Prophecy: Creates a prediction for the future of a single person. The prediction has a high chance of coming true, but is not certain. (Prophecies work like GM intrusions that will take place in the future; the player can reject the prophecy by spending an XP.) Not all prophecies are negative.

  • Interaction: Interacting with fairy godmothers is usually a little frantic, frenzied, and full of "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" If they like you, they're likely to prove a loyal, steadfast, and useful ally. If not, well, hopefully you like being turned into a horse, or worse.

  • Use: Fairy godmothers make great lighthearted additions to encounters, particularly ones where the characters are preparing for a ball, a fight, or a big adventure.

GM Intrusion: The fairy godmother's magic goes awry and a character is accidentally turned into a horse.

Gráinne, the Wayward Daughter 9 (27)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 125)

Gráinne is the Fairy Queen of Hope and Despair, sometimes also called the Wayward Daughter, the Winter Queen, and Dark One. Gráinne is to the dark what Áine is to the light. This doesn't mean that Gráinne is evil, just that she represents what is good and bad in the world that is hidden in shadows, buried beneath the ground, and revealed at night. She has her own moral code, one that can work in the favor of those who are cunning and willing to look at the darkness of their own hearts.

  • Motive: To honor the darkness, to protect her realm

  • Environment: She shares a fairy realm with her sister, where she rules in winter. In the summer, she sleeps in the Sorrows, a belowground realm out of time and space.

  • Health: 99

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 5

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Combat: Gráinne is a talented combatant, and seems to revel in having a foe who is a challenge to her. She carries a dark green crystal staff that emits a dark coil of reddish energy, which inflicts 12 points of damage. Alternatively, she can send out a cloud of black smoke that deals 9 points of damage to all creatures in a short area. She also wears the Tiara of Pailis, a griffin-shaped tiara that allows her to fly. Gráinne has a variety of magical abilities at her disposal, including the following:

    • Animal Communication: Gráinne has a special affinity with badgers and can ask them for help. When she calls them (as an action), a cete of eight large badgers appears. They act as two level 4 creatures; attacked beings must also succeed on an Intellect defense roll or be shapeshifted into a badger for one round.
    • Oneirokinesis: Gráinne can infiltrate people's dreams to converse with them. As such, she might implant an idea in their heads (such as "I'm going to die tonight" or "I should go back home"). When the character wakes, they must succeed on a level 6 Intellect defense roll to shake the idea. Otherwise, they feel a strong need to act on it, and are hindered in any tasks that go against the idea (this lasts until they make their next recovery roll).
    • Shadowmelding: Gráinne merges with shadows, making her nearly intangible. In this form, she cannot be injured by physical attacks, and her attacks inflict 8 points of Intellect damage on anyone whose body is darkened by her shadow.

  • Interaction: For those who don't mind a little darkness and moral ambiguity, Gráinne makes a powerful ally.

  • Use: The characters stumble into a fairy realm, only to be met by its just-woken guardian. Grieving characters may find the solutions and solace they seek in Gráinne's magic and power.

  • Loot: Tiara of Pailis

Tiara of Pailis (artifact)
level 7; allows the wearer to fly a long distance each round (as an action). The wearer can control their speed, direction, and height. Depletion: 1 in 1d20

GM Intrusion: A character's companion animal or mount is affected by Gráinne's animal affinity and falls under her power.

Goblin 1 (3)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 335)

Goblins are wicked, grasping, and perversely resourceful. Usually no larger than children, they can seem like pesky rabble, but that illusion hides something altogether more cunning. Tribe members work together to accomplish their goals of murder, kidnapping, and theft.

  • Motive: Greed and theft

  • Environment: Tunnels and caves, usually in groups of ten or more

  • Health: 3

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Tasks related to perception, stealth, and setting traps as level 5

  • Combat: Goblins attack from the shadows with ambushes and hit-and-run tactics. When they have surprise, they attack as level 4 creatures and deal 2 additional points of damage, and they attempt to draw larger prey into level 5 traps they've previously set. They often flee in the face of real danger.

  • Interaction: Goblins are lying tricksters but can be cowed into cooperating for short periods.

  • Use: Thieves and murderers, goblins are foes to all, even rival goblin tribes.

  • Loot: Aside from weapons, each goblin carries a personal stash, including bones, shiny rocks, sticks, and other bits of worthless trash, plus currency equivalent to an inexpensive item.

GM Intrusion: The goblin poisoned its knife. If struck, the character must make a Might defense roll or immediately move one step down the damage track.

Grey 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 337)

Greys are enigmatic creatures born of alien stars (or dimensions) who have learned to move across the vast distances that bridge neighboring star systems. The creatures descend through the atmosphere under the cover of night to abduct specimens for study and return the victims later after a thorough examination. Returned abductees are usually befuddled and confused, and they retain little memory of what happened to them. Victims of the greys' examination frequently sport strange marks on their flesh, oddly shaped wounds, gaps where teeth used to be, and strange or unknown metal lodged somewhere under the skin.

A grey stands 3 feet (1 m) tall. It has a narrow body with skinny limbs and a large, bulbous head. Two large black eyes, almond shaped, dominate a face that has only a suggestion of a nose and a narrow mouth. Greys wear skintight uniforms, carry numerous instruments to study their environments, and keep a weapon or two for protection.

  • Motive: Knowledge

  • Environment: Greys land their spacecraft in remote areas, where they have minimal risk of discovery.

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge as level 6; Speed defense as level 5 due to size and quickness

  • Combat: A grey carries a powerful ray emitter that can burn holes through solid steel. The grey can use the emitter to attack targets within long range. Against dangerous opponents, a grey can use an action to activate a personal shield that encapsulates it in a bubble of force. The shield gives it +3 to Armor, but while the shield is active, the grey can't fire its ray emitter.

    Greys are scientists, but cautious ones. Leaving a trail of corpses as evidence of their existence isn't their preferred mode of operation. For this reason, one grey in every group has a memory eraser. When this grey activates the device, each target other than a grey within short range must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or become stunned for one minute, taking no action (unless attacked, which snaps the victim out of the condition). When the effect wears off naturally, the target has no recollection of encountering little grey creatures.

  • Interaction: Greys are curious about the places they visit but reluctant to move or act in the open. Secretive and mysterious, they prefer to observe creatures from afar and, on occasion, pick them up for closer inspection. Someone who offers a grey true knowledge might be treated as an equal rather than a lab animal.

  • Use: The PCs are called to investigate a series of disappearances of animals and people. One by one, the abductees return, usually in odd places, and always bearing physical markings that suggest they were subjected to invasive procedures. To protect others from a similar fate, the PCs must catch the abductors in the act.

  • Loot: A grey has one or two cyphers and might have a memory eraser that works as described under Combat (depletion roll of 1–2 on a 1d10).

GM Intrusion: A grey's ray emitter suffers a terrible mishap and explodes. The device kills the grey and destroys its body completely. For the next day, creatures that come within a short distance of where the grey died take 4 points of ambient damage from the psychic radiation each round they remain there.

Guard 2 (6)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 374)

Guards keep the peace but don't usually show much initiative. Ultimately, they do as they're ordered by their superiors, regardless of legality. A guard might be a star trooper dressed in intimidating armor, a mall security guard, a beat police officer, or a mafia goon.

  • Motive: Keep the peace; follow orders

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 1 or 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Perception as level 3

  • Combat: Guards are not often wily, but they understand strength in numbers. If two or more guards attack the same target with at least one melee attack in the same round, the target's Speed defense roll against those attacks is hindered.

When attacked, guards always call for the help of other guards, if possible.

  • Interaction: Interacting with a guard typically involves one issue: does the PC want to do something that the guard has been told to prevent? If so, the PC could have a difficult time.

  • Use: To the PCs, guards can be allies, obstacles, or both. Guards who serve the public good have their own duties and aren't interested in doing the characters' work for them.

  • Loot: A guard has currency equivalent to an inexpensive item in addition to weapons, armor, and basic gear.

GM Intrusion: 1d6 local citizens intervene on the guard's behalf, calling for more guards or even fighting the guard's foes.

Hag 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 111)

Hags are evil magical creatures distantly related to the fey. They resemble withered ancient humans with obvious inhuman features—dead eyes, green or purple skin, metal teeth, webbed fingers, and seaweed-like hair are common traits. They love corrupting pure and innocent things, and feast on the dreams and flesh of their victims.

  • Motive: Power, treachery

  • Environment: Forests, swamps, mountains, and unpleasant natural locations

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Lying, haggling, magical lore, mimicking voices, and Intellect defense as level 7

  • Combat: Hags can attack with their iron-hard claws and teeth, but often rely on their magic abilities in combat. Hags can breathe water, and usually have three or more of the following abilities:

    • Arcane blast: Use magical energy to blast one foe within short range and inflict 6 points of damage, or divide this energy (and damage) among several foes as the hag sees fit (each foe makes their own Speed defense roll against this attack).
    • Change shape: Transform into a humanoid or common animal, or return to their own form.
    • Curse: Curse a creature within long range, hindering all physical actions by two steps.
    • Fear: Terrify all creatures within short range who look upon them, causing the creatures to flee for one minute if they fail an Intellect defense roll.
    • Illusion: Create an illusion affecting a small area that includes light, sound, and smell. They can use this to disguise themselves as any humanoid creature (such as a human, dwarf, or elf). Changing or maintaining the illusion is not an action.
    • Invisibility: Turn invisible for ten minutes. When invisible, they are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks.
    • Murderous glare: Glare at one opponent, causing bloody wounds that inflict 6 points of damage if the creature is within short range (3 points if within long range).
    • Question: Get an answer to a very simple, general question about a creature or place within 1 mile (1.5 km).
    • Scrying eye: View any familiar location within 1 mile as if they were observing it directly.
    • Sleep: Make a creature fall asleep for one minute. Damage or loud noises will wake the creature.

    Three or more allied hags form a coven, which allows them to use each other's magical abilities, and usually grants the coven (when working together) one or two additional abilities.

  • Interaction: Hags are evil, greedy, hateful, and cruel. They rarely do things for others unless they benefit in some way, and they like to trick fools into dangerous tasks that end up profiting the hag instead of anyone else. If shown proper respect and bribed or paid, a hag can be a valuable source of lore.

  • Use: The smell of cakes lures children to a mysterious woodland shack. The hag of the swamp is said to kill anyone who enters their territory without carrying a specific gift.

  • Loot: In addition to coins and jewels, a hag usually has several scrolls or potions and may have an artifact.

GM Intrusion: A creature becomes afraid and reluctant to oppose the hag, hindering all actions against the hag by two steps for one day.

Halfling 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 136)

A halfling is fond of the comforts of home, but adventures and exploration are the fodder of great stories told over tea or dinner, or in a fireside chat. Quick, resourceful, and easy to get along with, halflings fit right in with brave big folk as scouts, burglars, and loyal companions.

  • Motive: Defense, comfort

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Armor: 0 or 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intellect defense, pleasant social interactions, and stealth as level 4

  • Combat: Halflings are remarkably skilled with knives, clubs, slings, and small bows. They prefer not to fight larger creatures head on; instead they stay at range, plan ambushes to quickly overwhelm opponents, or team up with a larger ally so they can attack a foe's back and legs.

  • Interaction: Halflings enjoy the company of larger folks as long as they aren't mocked for their size. They're brave and determined when they need to be, though some might complain about wanting to go home.

  • Use: A young halfling wants to have some adventures before settling down. The local thieves' guild is said to employ halflings as lookouts and cutpurses, sometimes disguised as human children.

  • Loot: In addition to their weapons (and perhaps some light armor) and food, a halfling might have an interesting cypher or two. Most carry several useful moderately priced items, or an expensive item such as an heirloom snuff box or a nice bag of tools.

Huntsman/Woodcutter 2 (6)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 139)

A huntsman may be in the employ of a powerful magic user, protecting a section of the woods they consider their own, or just trying to provide for their family by chopping wood and hunting game.

  • Motive: Follow orders, support their loved ones, protect the innocent

  • Environment: Woods, forests, and other wild lands

  • Health: 8

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Tracking and pathfinding as level 4

  • Combat: Huntsmen and woodcutters both understand the power of the perfectly aimed shot or swing. They take their time, steady their hand and breath, and hit with precision and force.

  • When they take no action on a turn, their next attack inflicts twice the normal damage. Interaction: Many huntsmen and woodcutters are motivated by a deep need to be loyal, but they're also soft of heart and have a strong moral center. If they're tasked with something they deem unpalatable, they may forgo their promises and go rogue.

  • Use: They are hunting the characters on the orders of a higher authority. They save the PCs from a dangerous foe, then ask for assistance for their own tasks.

  • Loot: In addition to their clothing and mundane weapon, they likely have an expensive token of promise or affection from someone they have helped or who they owe fealty to.

GM Intrusion: A perfectly timed cut sends a tree down in the direction of the character.

Jotunn (Norse Giant) 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 115)

Jotunns are a type of giant—large, somewhat intelligent, bad-tempered, and cultured in their own way, but generally hostile to humans and other "little folk." Jotunns range from 9 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) tall, are strong, have long hair, and wear armor and use weapons like humans do. Some are hideous, some are attractive by human standards, and some have multiple heads. They live in caves, lodges, or large castles. There are two main types of jotunns: fire and frost.

Jotunn, Fire 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 115)

Fire jotunns are often called fire giants. Their skin is coal-grey or black; their hair is red or gold and may be metal or actual flames. They prefer hot mountainous climates (particularly volcanoes), wear plate armor, and use greatswords that glow with the natural heat of their bodies.

  • Motive: Destruction, hungers for flesh, honor

  • Environment: Hot mountains, volcanic areas, supernatural fires

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points plus 3 points from fire

  • Armor: 3 (immune to fire)

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size; breaks and throws objects as level 8

  • Combat: A fire jotunn uses weapons appropriate to its size (which would be two-handed for a human but can be wielded one-handed by the giant), inflicting 6 points of damage plus another 3 points of ambient fire damage conducted from the jotunn's body. Jotunns throw boulders up to very long range, inflicting 6 points of damage plus 3 points of fire damage.

    A jotunn can inflict 1 point of fire damage with a touch, and anyone touching it without protection against fire takes damage as if the jotunn had touched them. A slain fire jotunn and its equipment are too hot to safely touch for several minutes.

    Fire jotunns are immune to fire damage, but take additional damage from cold (equal to the attack's normal damage, up to a maximum of 5 additional points of cold damage).

    Fire jotunn leaders sometimes have magical powers, usually related to earth and fire.

  • Interaction: Fire jotunns tend to be hostile, but they may agree to a nonlethal challenge to allow visitors to pass through their land or join them for a feast.

  • Use: A fire jotunn decides to cause trouble for intruders in its territory. A clan of jotunns wages war against a fortified village or town, hurling boulders, starting fires, and stealing livestock.

  • Loot: Jotunns like fine things, and their homes usually have utensils, plates, weapons, and trophies made of precious metals and decorated with gems. They may have cyphers, and a leader may carry an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The jotunn's attack inflicts a serious burn, making a limb useless for an hour or until healed.

Jotunn, Frost 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 116)

Frost jotunns are often called frost giants or ice giants. Their skin is pale white, pink, or blue, and their hair is usually white, pale blond, or actual ice. They prefer cold mountains and tundra, wear chainmail and furs, and use metal axes that channel powerful cold from their bodies.

  • Motive: Destruction, hungers for flesh, honor

  • Environment: Cold mountains and plains

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points plus 3 points from cold

  • Armor: 2 (immune to cold)

  • Movement: Short; long when skiing

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size; breaks and throws objects as level 8

  • Combat: A frost jotunn uses weapons appropriate to its size (which would be two-handed for a human but can be wielded one-handed by the giant), inflicting 6 points of damage plus another 3 points of ambient cold damage conducted from the jotunn's body. Jotunns throw boulders or chunks of ice up to very long range, inflicting 6 points of damage plus 3 points of cold damage.

    A jotunn can inflict 1 point of cold damage with a touch, and anyone touching it without protection against cold takes damage as if the jotunn had touched them. A slain frost jotunn and its equipment are too cold to safely touch for several minutes.

    Frost jotunns are immune to cold damage, but take additional damage from fire (equal to the attack's normal damage, up to a maximum of 5 additional points of fire damage).

    Frost jotunn leaders sometimes have magical powers, usually related to illusions and weather.

  • Interaction: Frost jotunns tend to be hostile, but if in a generous mood, they may allow visitors to dine with them or rest in their halls. Once they grant someone hospitality, they are loath to break it unless they are attacked, robbed, or tricked.

  • Use: A frost jotunn throws a boulder just to be threatening. A clever jotunn offers to share a story in exchange for food and conversation. A clan of jotunns uses the cover of a storm to raid a village.

  • Loot: Jotunns like fine things, and their homes usually have utensils, plates, weapons, and trophies made of precious materials and decorated with gems. They may have cyphers, and a leader may carry an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The jotunn's attack numbs one of the character's limbs, hindering all actions with it by two steps until it is healed.

Mad Scientist 4 (12)

(Stay Alive!, page 118)

A mad scientist is someone who delves into areas of science best left unexamined, abandoning ethics and pushing for what can be created without asking if it should be.

  • Motive: Understanding and exploiting reality

  • Environment: Usually in a lab

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Defends as level 6 due to a gadget (or cypher); knowledge of advanced science as level 7

  • Combat: Mad scientists are usually accompanied by security guards, robots, zombies, or some other appropriate creature. A mad scientist can attempt to take command of an enemy's technological device (armor, a weapon, a cypher, a robot, and so on) within short range for up to one minute using a handheld device.

    Mad scientists usually have access to a long-range energy or high-velocity weapon that inflicts 7 points of damage. They often carry manifest cyphers that increase Armor, confuse opponents' senses, or transform themselves into a form that eases all their actions by two steps.

  • Interaction: Mad scientists are narcissistic and love to monologue about their work. They negotiate but usually are sociopathic and don't care about other people. Some are filled with self-loathing but too far gone to feel they can change.

  • Use: Blackouts and strange noises have been traced to a location found to hold a secret lab where a scientist is creating something amazing and monstrous.

  • Loot: Mad scientists have a few manifest cyphers and possibly an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The mad scientist produces a gadget or cypher that proves to be the perfect answer to a dilemma at hand.

Merfolk 3 (9)

(Godforsaken, page 119)

Merfolk are intelligent creatures with humanlike bodies from the waist up and scaly fish bodies from the waist down. They are able to breathe air or water but prefer the sea for its beauty and their better mobility. Merfolk have great underwater cities ruled by a king or queen, but most land-walking species interact only with the common or soldier merfolk who visit the ocean surface and coastlines. Merfolk societies are much like those of surface humans; their inability to use fire limits them in some ways (such as blacksmithing), but they have compensated for this with water magic and other skills.

Merfolk skin ranges from all human colors to green, blue, and grey. Some have small fins on their heads and elbows or webs between their fingers. They dress for comfort and wear jewelry made of shells, coral, pearls, polished gemstones, and metals they can salvage or trade for. Most of them are content to be hunters or cultivators of kelp and other aquatic plants, but some are curious about land-walkers (and their sunken ships) or fiercely territorial about protecting their waters against outsiders.

  • Motive: Defense, entertainment

  • Environment: Oceans, seas, and coasts

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Immediate; short when swimming

  • Modifications: Perception as level 4 while in water

  • Combat: Merfolk use spears, tridents, daggers, and other stabbing weapons that are effective underwater. They may create traps using nets to confine or direct foes into an ambush. A few lucky or clever ones have acquired or adapted light crossbows designed to fire underwater up to a short distance away.

    About once every ten minutes, a merperson can swim a short distance as their action and still make a melee attack, or swim up to a long distance as their action.

    About one in ten merfolk have the magical ability to harden water until it is as strong and durable as wood, taking about an hour to make a spear or similar tool that lasts for several days. Some noble merfolk can create short-range bolts of electricity as an action and make limited alterations to the weather (stilling, increasing, or dispersing wind and clouds in a very long area) by concentrating for several minutes.

  • Interaction: Merfolk react according to their role in merfolk society—farmer, rancher, guard, explorer, noble, and so on. Some merfolk are more aggressive or hostile and dislike the presence of land-walkers in their territory. Most merfolk are amiable to conversation and trade with people who treat them with fairness and respect.

  • Use: Merfolk are often seen sunning themselves on a small island off the coast. Merfolk warriors accompanied by trained large fish have been harassing boats and ships that stray too far from the shallows and shores.

Trained large fish
level 2; attacks as level 3; swims a long distance each round

  • Loot: In addition to several small pieces of jewelry, a group of merfolk might have a manifest cypher. A noble or royal merperson usually has a cypher and might have an artifact.

GM Intrusions: The merfolk's weapon injects poison, inflicting 5 points of Speed damage if the character fails a Might defense task. Another merperson or an allied aquatic creature arrives and joins the fight against the character.

Morlock 2 (6)

(Godforsaken, page 121)

Morlocks are degenerate, blind cannibal humanoids that avoid light. They have prominent teeth, piglike eyes, loose skin, and stooped postures. They avoid bright daylight and prefer to hunt and forage when it is dark out (or at least under the twilight-like canopy of a heavy forest). Morlocks eat any sort of meat, even carrion and their own dead. Morlocks build piles of stones to mark their territory. On nights of the new moon, they create unnerving music by playing simple drums made out of skulls and logs. They lack the foresight to store food for lean times, so they range farther from home in winter and times of famine. They are sometimes enslaved by more powerful creatures such as ogres or a vampire.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh, defense

  • Environment: Caves, forests, hills, and underground

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing

  • Modifications: Stealth and tracking as level 4

  • Combat: Morlocks fight with their nails and teeth, but sometimes they use simple weapons like clubs, stone knives, spears, and javelins if they have observed other humanoids doing so. Some tribes dig simple pit traps and chase prey into them.

    Morlocks dislike strong light but are not harmed by it. Their hearing and sense of smell is strong enough that they can "see" in dim or very dim light as if it were normal light. They can track scents as well as a trained dog.

  • Interaction: Morlocks have a simple language of hoots, howls, and growls that communicate basic concepts like food, fire, danger, and cold. If enslaved by a more powerful creature, some of them can manage to learn a few words in that creature's language.

  • Use: Town elders warn that the drums and near-human howls on dark nights are signs of morlocks who'll steal away foolish children. Stacked piles of stones are found in the forest, each surrounded by bare humanoid footprints.

  • Loot: Morlocks don't value what they can't eat, but their lair may have a cypher or two from a recent victim.

GM Intrusion: An unnoticed morlock drags away an unconscious character or animal to be eaten once they're out of sight.

Natathim (Homo aquus) 3 (9)

(The Stars are Fire, page 126)

Genetically engineered to live in the water oceans discovered beneath the ice crusts of various solar moons, natathim (Homo aquus) have human ancestors, but barely look it. Survival in the frigid, lightless depths of extraterrestrial oceans required extreme adaptation. Predominantly dark blue, their undersides countershade to pure white. Though humanoid, their physiology is streamlined, giving their heads a somewhat fish-like shape, complete with gills and large eyes to collect light in the depths. Their bodies are adorned with fins and frills, including a long shark-like tail, and they have webbed extremities with retractable claws.

Depending on the setting, natathim are either human allies with the same (or even more advanced) tech, enemies with the same or more advanced tech, or genetic anomalies treated like laboratory rats burning with genocidal fury at what's been done to them. Alternatively, natathim could be discovered in Earth's deepest oceans, their origin mysterious, but able to interbreed with humans as a method for maintaining their line.

  • Motive: Just as with humans, natathim have many and varied motivations and drives.

  • Environment: Anywhere in or near water, or in suits/craft with marine environments, in schools of three to twelve. Natathim can act normally in air for up to twenty-four hours before they must return to water.

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short on land; long in the water

  • Modifications: Swims as level 6

  • Combat: Natathim attack with their retractable claws or, if available, technological weapons. Some have a magnetoreception ability that allows them to see into frequencies other creatures can't, or even stranger abilities to interact magnetically with their surroundings, though this is little understood.

  • Interaction: Natathim can be sympathetic to humans, partners in space exploration, or consider humans to be bitter foes for having created their species in the first place, depending on the setting.

  • Use: The PCs find evidence of an illegal gene tailoring experiment, with evidence pointing to research being done somewhere in the Opulence of Outer Planets.

  • Loot: Some natathim carry valuable items and equipment.

GM Intrusion: The natathim spontaneously magnetizes the character's possessions, which hold them helpless against the nearest wall or floor (if also metallic). The PC can take no actions other than attempt to escape.

Necromancer 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 122)

The ability to influence, command, and call up the dead is an impressive power, given how many more people are dead than living. Since the only thing separating a living person from a dead one is a well-aimed knife or death spell, the number of dead always rises.

  • Motive: Magical power, mastery over death

  • Environment: In places where dead are interred, usually with some number of undead servitors

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to shroud of undead protective spirits

  • Combat: Necromancers can blast a foe within long range with the cold of the grave or flesh-decaying magic.

    A necromancer can cast a death spell on a foe within short range once every minute; the victim must succeed on a Might defense roll or move down one step on the damage track. This ability could be an innate power or come from an artifact.

    A necromancer who isn't already accompanied by undead spirits or shambling, spirit-inhabited corpses under their command can call up a spirit as an action. A necromancer can command up to five spirits (or newly allied undead, as described below) at a time.

    A necromancer can attempt to take command of a spirit or undead creature within short range. They automatically succeed against an unaligned undead target of level 4 or less. If a targeted spirit is already allied with or in service to a PC, the PC must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or lose control of the spirit to the necromancer's will for one minute.

Spirit
level 3; flesh-decaying touch inflicts 3 points of damage

  • Interaction: Necromancers are feared for their nonchalant attitudes toward life, especially the life of normal people (such as peasants and city folk). They will negotiate but usually don't have the capacity to care about another person's well-being; they're sociopathic.

  • Use: A character has died, and their allies must find a necromancer to help retrieve their spirit. Of course, the necromancer wants something in return for this aid—perhaps an artifact pilfered from whatever underworld or hell the dead character is imprisoned within.

  • Loot: Necromancers have one or two expensive items, a cypher, and possibly an artifact.

GM Intrusion: A bony hand erupts from the ground at the character's feet. On a failed Speed defense roll, they are held in place until they can succeed on a Might task to escape. Each round the character fails to escape, the hand squeezes them for 3 points of damage.

Noble Knight 7 (21)

(Godforsaken, page 123)

Whether noble or ignoble, some knights achieve an amazing mastery over weapons, combat, and courtly graces, eclipsing lesser warriors and champions. The quests of some noble knights can lead them far across the land into strange new territories where they encounter and defeat various magical creatures.

  • Motive: Accomplish noble (or ignoble) deeds

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, often alone, sometimes with followers

  • Health: 50

  • Damage Inflicted: 10 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All tasks related to heraldic lore and chivalry as level 8; Speed defense as level 8 while holding shield

  • Combat: Noble knights are armed with massive weapons they can wield in one hand, which means they can also hold a shield. They are skilled with melee weapons (such as a battleaxe, broadsword, or mace) and inflict lethal damage on a hit.

    Noble knights can also rely on a magic artifact or two to aid them, and possibly a noble steed (Noble steed: level 5; moves a long distance each round). The artifact might be the very weapon a knight wields in combat and could grant them one or more of the following additional abilities:

    • Legendary Strength. The noble knight can call upon the artifact to grant them great strength or fortitude to accomplish a particular physical task (such as breaking down a door, lifting a boulder, or knocking down pillars holding up a structure), which they attempt as if they were level 10.
    • Regeneration. The noble knight regenerates 2 points of health per round while the weapon is drawn.
    • Resistance. The noble knight is immune to effects that would influence their mind, charm them, or put them to sleep.

  • Interaction: Flowery language and impeccable manners show a knight's noble background. Those who negotiate with one in good faith are likely to come away with something of value. However, sometimes a noble knight is corrupt and betrays trusts.

  • Use: A noble knight has decided that they must guard a bridge against any who would cross it.

  • Loot: Noble knights carry weapons, heavy armor, and perhaps a cypher or even an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The character damaged by a noble knight's attack must succeed on a Might defense roll or be knocked off a mount, a bridge, or a cliff, or, if nothing suffices, they are knocked to the ground and out of immediate range of the knight.

Occultist 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 375)

Paranormal researchers, cultists, secret practitioners of white magic, and coven members might be occultists. Thanks to their study of the metaphysical, occultists learn several magical tricks, including the ability to summon or banish the dead.

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Knowledge of occult topics and rituals as level 8; ability to detect lies and tricks as level 2

  • Combat: An occultist has a charm or device for summoning a level 5 spirit or demon that will do their bidding for ten minutes. Some also have (or instead have) a spell, item, or device that inflicts 5 points of damage on normal creatures within long range, and 10 points of damage on a demon or spirit (or, instead of dealing extra damage, the effect confines the demon or spirit in some way).

  • Interaction: Occultists are deeply concerned with spiritual or demonic matters and see those influences in all things, whether those influences exist or not. That makes them amenable to persuasion and deception, if couched in the language of spiritual influence.

  • Use: To find a needed answer, the spirit of a dead person must be questioned. Alternatively, a haunting presence must be banished. Either way, the task requires an occultist.

  • Loot: In addition to their clothing and mundane weapons, occultists have currency equivalent to an inexpensive item, a cypher, and possibly an artifact related to their power over spirits or demons.

GM Intrusion: A bony hand erupts from the ground at the character's feet. On a failed Speed defense roll, they are held in place until they succeed on a Might-based task to escape. Each round the character fails to escape, the hand squeezes for 3 points of damage.

Orc 2 (6)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 347)

Born into squalor and fear, the orc species is composed of miserable, misbegotten humanoids that seem destined to serve as fodder for more powerful evil overlords. When left to their own devices, these loathsome creatures turn on each other, the strongest oppressing the next weakest (and so on down the line) with cruel barbs, gruesome jokes, and physical beatings. When these creatures have no masters to hate, they hate themselves.

No two orcs look exactly alike, but all have a mean, ugly, and shambolic facade. Never clean and often spattered with the remains of recent meals, orcs have a mouthful of sharp, broken teeth that can develop into true fangs. Adults range in height from no larger than a human child to massive specimens larger than a strapping man. Whether big or small, nearly all orcs have stooped backs and crooked legs. The hue of their skin is hard to ascertain, because they are covered by the sediment of years, not to mention the iron armor every orc constantly wears from the moment it's able to lift a weapon.

  • Motive: Make others more miserable than itself

  • Environment: Anywhere near, on, or under mountains, usually in groups of four to six, or in tribes dozens to hundreds strong

  • Health: 7

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 3 when carrying a shield; pleasant interactions as level 1

Orcs live short, brutish lives. The few that survive for years do so because of some special advantage; they're sneakier, stronger, tougher, or meaner than average. These have the following modifications, respectively:

  • Stealth tasks as level 5
  • Deal 2 additional points of damage with melee weapons
  • +10 health
  • Tasks related to trickery and deceit as level 5

  • Combat: Most orcs have bows able to target foes within long range. Some carry a shield and wield a medium axe, sword, or mace that inflicts 4 points of damage. Other orcs (usually those that are larger than their fellows) dispense with shields and wield heavy two-handed mauls and hammers that inflict 6 points of damage.

  • Interaction: An orc would stab its own mother if it thought doing so would give it another hour of life in a desperate situation. That said, most orcs have been conditioned, through beatings and torture, to fear the evil master they serve (if any). Characters attempting to negotiate with an orc through intimidation find that short-term success is followed by medium-term betrayal.

  • Use: A band of orcs fires on the PCs from the edge of the forest. However, these orcs are crafty, and characters who rush directly into combat might fall victim to a hidden pit trap or other prepared ambush.

  • Loot: Orcs carry a lot of garbage. Amid this dross, a band of orcs might have currency equivalent to a moderately priced item among them.

GM Intrusion: With a scream of savage glee, five more orcs rush to join the fight.

Ogre 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 346)

A bestial brute, the ogre is a sadistic, 8-foot (2 m) tall, cannibalistic fiend that preys upon other creatures in the woods, mountains, or other wilderness areas. This often pits them against sylvan beings like elves and fey. Ogres dwelling in more civilized lands are also the enemy of humans, but these ogres usually come no closer to civilization than its very fringes.

Ogres typically dress in ragged, piecemeal clothing or nothing at all.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh, sadistic

  • Environment: Anywhere, usually alone or (rarely) in a band of three or four

  • Health: 20

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Feats of raw strength as level 6; Intellect defense and seeing through deception as level 3; Speed defense as level 3 due to size

  • Combat: Ogres usually use clubs or large, two-handed weapons with great power. Since they are accustomed to fighting smaller creatures, they are adept at using their size and strength to their advantage. If an ogre strikes a foe smaller than itself, either the victim is knocked back up to 5 feet (1.5 m), or it is dazed, which hinders its next action.

    Ogres can also swing their huge weapons in wide arcs, attacking all foes within close range. Defending against this attack is hindered and the attack inflicts 5 points of damage.

    Ogres rarely flee from a fight, and only a foe of overwhelming power can force them to surrender.

  • Interaction: Ogres are stupid and cruel. They speak whatever language is most common in the area in which they live, but their vocabulary is extremely limited. They don't like conversation, even with their own kind. Reasoning with them is difficult at best, but sometimes they can be fooled.

  • Use: A solitary ogre is an excellent encounter for a group of first-tier characters. A number of ogres, particularly well-equipped and well-trained warriors, make excellent troops or guards in the service of a powerful master. Evil wizards and warlords like to enslave ogres and place them at the forefront of their armies. In these cases, the ogres are typically bribed, ensorcelled, or intimidated by great force.

  • Loot: Some ogres hoard gold or other valuables in their lairs, but they rarely have use for magic or cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The ogre's mighty blow (whether it strikes a foe or not) hits the ground or the wall, causing major structural damage and a possible collapse, cave-in, or landslide. It might also expose a hidden underground cave or chamber.

Paladin 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 136)

Paladins are heroes who swear a holy oath to vanquish evil. Their power and righteousness are a gift and a heavy burden, and most of them expect to die in battle against an evil foe.

  • Motive: Protecting the innocent, destroying evil

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2 or 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Attacks and Might defense as level 5

  • Combat: Paladins like flashy weapons and shiny armor, which help them show their devotion to the ideals of goodness and draw the attention of evil foes. Many choose a two-handed weapon, but some prefer using a shield in their off hand (defense-oriented paladins like these inflict only 4 points of damage with their attacks but gain an asset on Speed defense).

    Blessed by the powers of good, paladins can draw on innate holy magic for several purposes, such as detecting the presence of supernatural evil (demons, evil dragons, undead, and so on), restoring 4 health to themselves or a touched creature, smiting an evil foe to inflict an additional 4 points of damage, or breaking free of mind control.

  • Interaction: Paladins have big personalities and strongly believe in their purpose and goals. They have no tolerance for evil acts and are unwilling to look the other way when their allies want to bend the rules or take advantage of a "grey area." However, they are not fools and won't throw away their lives for nothing.

  • Use: A paladin lays claim to a foe the characters are seeking or have captured. An old paladin is looking for one last villain to smite.

  • Loot: In addition to their weapons and armor, paladins might have one or two cyphers. More experienced ones might be lucky enough to have an artifact (usually a weapon or armor).

Pharrmaceutical Sorcerer 3 (9)

(It's Only Magic, page 114)

A pharmaceutical sorcerer is an apothecary, doctor, dentist, magical healer, counselor, surgeon, and nutritionist all in one. They have devoted themselves to the art and science of healing, using a combination of methods to achieve remarkable success. Some work in drugstores, some have their own specialized businesses, and some administer aid from their homes or a public clinic. They might wear medical scrubs or a white coat over normal clothing.

Assistant
level 2, healing as level 3

  • Motive: Healing and promoting good health

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Medicine, herbs, and healing as level 5

  • Combat: Pharmaceutical sorcerers prefer to avoid combat, but they can attack with short-range nonlethal spells or drugs that inflict 4 points of Might or Intellect damage (ignores Armor).

    A pharmaceutical sorcerer knows several spells, such as healing a touched creature for 4 health or Pool points, identifying diseases and afflictions, removing or ameliorating afflictions and chronic conditions for a day, or making a patient feel relaxed and safe for a few hours. They're usually licensed and trained to perform minor medical procedures such as administering vaccines, applying topical medicines, and splinting broken bones.

    A pharmaceutical sorcerer often has one or more assistants, protégés, or students who help with clients or other aspects of running their health practice. They are generally on good terms with doctors, licensed therapists, nurses, magic-using priests, and other professionals in the health field.

  • Interaction: Pharmaceutical sorcerers are compassionate, intelligent, and well-informed. They want to help people, but sometimes are stymied by paperwork, laws, and lack of money.

  • Use: Pharmaceutical sorcerers are usually support characters using their magic to heal others and prevent harm. Their extensive knowledge of helpful magic, medicinal herbs, and health science makes them useful for diagnosing strange symptoms and ruling out minor afflictions to find the real cause of a problem.

  • Loot: In addition to standard medicines, handheld medical tools, and herbs and drugs, the sorcerer might have a healing cypher or some interesting payment from a patient.

Posthuman 7 (21)

(The Stars are Fire, page 129)

Rather than evolving naturally, posthumans advance via a directed jump, designed with smart tools and AI surgeons. With all the advances fantastic technology brings to their genetic upgrade, posthumans are beings whose basic capacities radically exceed regular people. They can't really be considered human any longer; they've transcended humanity, which is why they're also sometimes called transhumans. They're often involved in large-scale projects, such as creating bigger-than-world habitats or spacecraft, or possibly even researching how they might ascend to some still-higher realm of consciousness or being.

  • Motive: Variable

  • Environment: Alone or in small groups or communities in orbital colonies or other designed locations

  • Health: 50

  • Damage Inflicted: 9 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short; flies a long distance

  • Modifications: Knowledge tasks as level 9

  • Combat: Posthumans can selectively attack foes up to a very long distance away with bolts of directed plasma that deal 9 points of damage. A posthuman can dial up the level of destruction if they wish, so instead of affecting only one target, a bolt deals 7 points of damage to all targets within short range of the primary target, and 1 point even if the targets caught in the conflagration succeed on a Speed defense roll.

    Posthumans can also call on a variety of other abilities, either by small manipulations of the quantum field or by deploying nanotechnology. Essentially, a posthuman can mimic the ability of any subtle cypher of level 5 or less as an action.

    Posthumans automatically regain 2 points of health per round while its health is above 0.

  • Interaction: Posthumans are so physically and mentally powerful that they are almost godlike to unmodified people, and either ignore, care for, or pity them. Knowing what a posthuman actually wants is hard to pin down because their motivations are complex and many-layered.

  • Use: A rogue posthuman is researching a method whereby they might portal into the "quantum" realm of dark energy underlying the known universe of normal matter. Despite the revealed risk of antagonistic post-singularity AIs roaming that realm escaping, the posthuman continues their work.

  • Loot: The body of a posthuman is riddled with unrecognizable technologies fused seamlessly with residual organic material—or at least material that grows like organic material used to. Amid this, it might be possible to salvage a few manifest cyphers and an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The posthuman allows acts out of turn, or takes control of a device that the character is about to use against the posthuman.

Prince(ss) of Summer 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 348)

Fey nobility are as numberless as cottonwood seeds on the June breeze. But that doesn't mean each isn't unique, with a quirky personality and a specific role to play in the mysterious Court of Summer. Demonstrating life, vigor, predation, growth, and competition, the princesses and princes of summer are beings of warmth and generosity, usually. But catch them during the change of the season, and they can be deadly adversaries just as easily. Fey nobles dress in costly diaphanous and flowing garments, and often wear some sign of their noble lineage, such as a circlet or diadem.

  • Motive: Unpredictable; defend fey territory and prerogatives

  • Environment: Almost any wilderness region alone or commanding a small group of lesser faerie creatures

  • Health: 22

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; short when gliding on the wind

  • Modifications: Tasks related to deception, disguise, courtly manners, and positive interactions as level 7

  • Combat: Most fey princesses and princes are armed with an elegant sword and possibly a bow carved of silverwood. Also, each knows one or more faerie spells. Faerie spells include the following.

    • Brilliant Smile: Target must succeed on an Intellect defense task or do the fey creature's will for up to one minute.
    • Golden Mead: Allies who drink from the fey's flask gain an asset to all defense tasks for ten hours.
    • Night's Reward: Target suffers 5 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and must make an Intellect defense roll or fall asleep for up to one minute.
    • Summer Confidence: Selected targets in short range have an asset on tasks related to resisting fear and acting boldly.
    • Thorns: Target suffers 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) and must succeed on a Might defense task or lose their next turn entangled in rapidly grown thorny vines.

    Princes and princesses of summer regain 2 points of health per round while their health is above 0 unless they've been damaged with a silvered or cold iron weapon.

  • Interaction: Most fey are willing to talk, and those of the Summer Court are especially eager to make deals. However, people who bargain with fey nobles should take care to avoid being tricked.

  • Use: The characters find a fey noble wounded and in need of aid.

  • Loot: In addition to fine clothing, fine equipment, and a considerable sum of currency, a prince or princess of summer might carry a few cyphers and even a faerie artifact.

GM Intrusion: The character is blinded for up to one minute by a shaft of brilliant sunlight unless they succeed on a Might defense task.

Queen 6 (18)+

(We Are All Mad Here, page 126)

Ah, the Evil Queen. Ruler of the land, watcher in the mirror. Full of magic, utterly merciless, and sharp of tongue. Evil and wicked queens abound in fairy tales, from those who have no names and are remembered only for their evil deeds, to those whose names will never be forgotten: Queen Grimhilde, Maleficent, the Queen of Hearts, and the White Witch. These queens seek power for power's sake, not caring what destruction lies in their wake.

Of course, not all queens are evil—just the ones you hear about most often. But they are all powerful in their own way, even if they are forced to hide it by their circumstances. While they too crave power, they seek it in order to protect their lands, their people, and their loved ones.

  • Motive: Power

  • Environment: Anywhere, but typically in cities and towns, where there are people to admire and fear them

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: Queens almost always carry an artifact of great power, such as a staff, crown, mirror, or sword, that grants them unique abilities and skills.

    Queens often have familiars, such as ravens, who fight for or beside them. Most familiars can do 4 points of damage with an attack.

    Some queens may also be witches or fey creatures, and thus have the ability to use one or two spells and curses that witches and fey also use.

Queens by Level
Queen Grimhilde 8 (24)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 126)

Perhaps best known for her attempts to kill Snow White through magic and poison, Grimhilde has other passions and talents as well. She seeks ways to make all beings obey her commands, starting with the huntsman who so stupidly and willfully deceived her so long ago.

  • Environment: One of her many castles, the woods

  • Armor: 2

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: Her vulture familiars swirl about all foes in short range, knocking them prone and inflicting 4 points of damage. She can use the following witch abilities: glamour, imprison, and seduce.

Vulture familiars
level 4

  • Interaction: Grimhilde is cunning and devious, always hatching plans against those who harm her, who threaten to overshadow her, or who have caught her eye in some way.

  • Use: The characters enter an area that is under Grimhilde's power and must face her wrath.

  • Loot: She has a mirror mirror artifact, as well as 1d6 cyphers (often poison).

The Red Queen 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 126)

The Red Queen has never once yelled "Off with her head!" In fact, she has never yelled. It's horrible manners, and besides, when you know how to wield power, you don't need all that noise and chaos. You need only whisper and be still, and everyone will politely fall quiet and listen.

  • Environment: Polite dinner parties and social gatherings

  • Armor: 1

  • Combat: Prefers verbal sparring over the physical sort, and inflicts 3 points of damage with a single cutting remark or sharp-tongued retort.

  • Interaction: The Red Queen is quite proper and chatty, the perfect host and the perfect guest. The only time she ever grows irate is when the subject of her sister, the Queen of Hearts, comes up.

  • Use: While attending a party to steal something, the characters are caught by the Red Queen

The Snow Queen 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 126)

The Snow Queen rules over the "snow bees"—snowflakes that look like bees. She keeps an ornate palace surrounded by gardens in the lands of permafrost, but she can be seen elsewhere in the world where snowflakes cluster. Most say she is cold, and they would be right. She has been part of the snow for so long that it's possible she no longer remembers warmth or kindness or love.

  • Environment: Anywhere there is snow, ice, or winter

  • Armor: 2 (from personal ice walls)

  • Combat: Creates a snowstorm that blinds all foes in long range for three rounds; ice shards rain down upon all foes in long range, inflicting 2 points of damage; reindeer familiar inflicts 5 points of damage with her horns.

  • Interaction: The Snow Queen is not evil—she just has forgotten what it means to be human, with human needs and human hearts (not that she was ever truly human, but that's a story for another time). She is willing to bargain if she understands what she gets out of it.

  • Use: The Snow Queen guards the entrance to a place the characters need to enter.

Satyr 5 (15)

(Godforsaken, page 125)

These muscular humanoids sport long curved horns and furry, hooved legs. They are self-centered, greedy, and sybaritic creatures, dedicated to food, drink, and other pleasures. They rob and steal from others as it pleases them, often relying on tricks and lies, or alluring music they play on pipes.

  • Motive: Play tricks, gather treasure, fulfill desires

  • Environment: Woodlands, hills, and plains

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement Short

  • Modifications: Tasks related to persuasion and deception as level 7; resists mental attacks as level 7

  • Combat: Satyrs usually carry spears that they can use in melee and against foes within short range. They can also create magical effects by playing their pipes as an action, which can either bolster allies or harm enemies:

    • Dance of the Leaping Stag: Foes within short range who fail an Intellect defense task lose their next turn to dancing and leaping. Attacks made against affected targets are eased.
    • Feral Overture: An ally within short range is infused with magic, and one attack it makes on its next turn is eased; if it hits, it inflicts +3 damage.
    • Tune of the Clouded Mind: A foe within short range who fails an Intellect defense task spends its next turn attacking one of its allies.

  • Interaction: Satyrs are inveterate mercenaries. They gladly work for strong drink and other treasures, and they ally with almost any creature capable of meeting their price. A satyr is always willing to start negotiations, but is prone to lying and exaggeration. Offering excessive libation, food, and other rewards is the only way to ensure that a satyr remains honest, and then for only a short period.

  • Use: Strange piping music in the forest lures away young people from a nearby community. Community elders say a charismatic cult leader has set up in the woods and clouds the minds of all who come near.

  • Loot: A satyr is likely to carry one or two cyphers.

GM Intrusion: A mental effect makes the character view the satyr as a good friend for up to one minute unless they succeed at an Intellect defense task.

Scholar 2 (6)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 140)

Scholars might be librarians, sages, wise women, crones, experts, or soothsayers. Typically, scholars seek knowledge above all else, and many also are willing to share it with others (sometimes for a price, sometimes just for the joy of sharing knowledge). A scholar's expertise might be general or specific—they may study the world at large or home in on a specific type of magic or fey being, for example.

  • Motive: Find answers, seek knowledge

  • Environment: Schools, libraries, the royal study, laboratories, and anywhere there are sources of information

  • Health: 6

  • Damage Inflicted: 3 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Intuition, persuasion, detecting falsehoods, and most knowledge tasks as level 4

  • Combat: Scholars prefer to avoid a fight. If they must fight, a scholar tries to deduce a foe's weaknesses (if any) and exploit them in combat. Some scholars might have learned spells or abilities from those they've studied. Others might be examining a useful cypher or artifact, and will use it on their attackers.

  • Interaction: Most scholars are helpful and full of information (whether or not it's useful or true information varies from scholar to scholar). What they don't know, they may be willing to learn or study, if given the proper tools and incentive. However, some scholars are secretive, hoarding their knowledge for their own personal uses.

  • Use: Scholars can be incredible allies, offering clues, hints, and information that can help the characters. However, they may be reclusive and hard to find, hidden away in ancient libraries or secret laboratories.

  • Loot: Most scholars have currency equivalent to a very expensive item and one or two cyphers.

GM Intrusion: Something the scholar is studying comes alive, creating havoc and disarray throughout the area.

Secret Agent 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 375)

Secret agents are trained professionals who put their mission before their own well-being, regardless of which government agency, corporation, guild, or kingdom employs them. An agent operates under a fake cover, perhaps as an envoy, inspector, technician, actor, tourist, or bumbling fool.

  • Motive: Accomplish the goals of the employer while maintaining cover

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Tasks related to disguise and deceiving as level 6

  • Combat: A secret agent always has a covert, unexpected backup weapon that they can use to make a surprise attack, such as a ring or glove with a hidden poisoned needle (dealing 5 points of Speed damage that ignore Armor), a fake tooth filled with poison gas to blow in a victim's face (inducing sleep for ten minutes), or a ring with a miniature gun.

  • Interaction: Secret agents are confident, masterful, and always give the impression of being one step ahead of the game, even when caught off guard.

  • Use: As an ally, a secret agent can guide the PCs to their next mission, fill in gaps in their knowledge, and warn them of dangers. If the characters encounter an unfriendly agent, the NPC likely pretends to be a friend.

  • Loot: Agents typically have currency equivalent to an expensive item, a couple of cyphers, tools for spying and maintaining their cover, and possibly an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The secret agent produces a cypher that, for the rest of the day, eases all tasks by two steps.

Shadow Elf 4 (12)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 352)

Elves who faded from the surface to escape the justice of their fey cousins for crimes uncounted are sometimes called shadow elves, dark elves, or simply trow. It's widely assumed that shadow elves fled to new realms deep below the ground, and indeed, the routes that lead to their true abodes are mostly subterranean and include many grand underground keeps. However, the heart of the shadow elf kingdom lies in the colorless dimension of Shadow itself, where all things exist as a dim reflection of the real world.

Sometimes shadow elves appear on the surface, spilling from dark tunnels or, in some cases, from the shadows themselves. They raid for plunder, fresh slaves, and sacrifices. The sacrifices are made to their godqueen, a monstrously sized black widow spider that schemes in darkness.

When a shadow elf returns to the world of light, it can choose to appear as a silhouette only: a slender humanoid outline lurking as if at the nadir of a well.

  • Motive: Tortures for pleasure, serve the shadow elf godqueen

  • Environment: Almost anywhere dimly lit, singly or in groups of up to four

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth and perception as level 6; Speed defense as level 6 due to shadowy nature

  • Combat: Shadow elves attack with short blades, knives, and crossbow quarrels of steel-hard shadow. They can see in dim light and absolute darkness as if it were daylight.

    If subject to full daylight, a shadow elf loses its modifications to stealth, perception, and Speed defense, and is likely to retreat.

    Some shadow elves can cast spells, including the following. Each spell requires an action to cast.

Shadow Elf Spells
d6Shadow Elf Spell
1Enchant weapon to inflict 3 additional points of damage (8 total)
2Enchant weapon to inflict 1 additional point of Speed damage (poison, ignores Armor), plus 2 points of Speed damage each additional round until victim succeeds on a Might defense roll
3Fly a long range each round for ten minutes
4Gain +2 to Armor (total of 3 Armor) for ten minutes
5Long-range spell renders subject blind for ten minutes on failed Might defense roll
6Long-range spell targets up to three creatures next to each other; holds them motionless in a shadow web for one minute on failed Speed defense rolls

  • Interaction: Shadow elves may negotiate and even ally with other creatures for a time. But they do so only until the best opportunity for a betrayal presents itself.

  • Use: Shadow elves have overrun an outlying keep, and even in broad daylight, the castle is shrouded in darkness and webs of shadow. The treasures said to lie in the keep's coffers may already be in the hands of the dark fey.

  • Loot: A shadow elf carries currency equivalent to an expensive item, in addition to weapons, light armor, and a cypher or two. Shadow elf leaders may carry an artifact.

GM Intrusion: The shadow elf casts a spell that charms a character on a failed Intellect defense roll. The character fights on the side of the shadow elf for up to one minute, though they can make another Intellect defense roll each round to try to break the influence.

Editor's Notes — See also: Elf

Storm Marine 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 134)

The storm marine creed is an oft-repeated mantra, "I will never quit, knowing full well that I might die in service to the cause." Wearing advanced battlesuits, hyped up on a cocktail of experimental military drugs, and able to draw on a suite of cybernetic and network-connected drone guns, few things can stand before a storm marine fireteam. Storm marines usually work for nation-states, conglomerates, and similar entities. They mercilessly conduct their mission, even if that mission is to wipe out a rival. Storm marines that question their orders are quickly dispatched by their fellows.

  • Motive: Achieve mission goals

  • Environment: Alone in or in fireteams of three, anywhere nation-states or similar entities have a financial or military interest

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Long; flies a long distance each round

  • Modifications: Perception as level 6; attacks as level 5 due to combat targeting neuro-wetware.

  • Combat: Thanks to their battlesuit, a storm marine has many options in combat. They can deploy an electrified blade to attack every foe in immediate range as a single action, or use a long-range heavy energy rifle that inflicts 6 points of damage.

    A storm marine can deploy two level 3 gun drones that fire energy rays at two different targets up to 800 m (2,600 feet) away, inflicting 6 points of damage. If the drones focus on a single target, a successful hit deals 9 points of damage and moves the target one step down the damage track. The drones can attack only once or twice before returning to their cradles in the storm marine's suit for several rounds to recharge.

  • Interaction: A storm marine might negotiate, but getting one to act against their mission is difficult.

  • Use: A fireteam of storm marines are sent to eliminate the PCs or someone the PCs know on suspicion of being radical elements that need to be dealt with.

  • Loot: Though bio-locked to each storm marine, someone who succeeds on a difficulty 8 Intellect task to reprogram the suit could gain a battlesuit of their own, minus the drones (which fly off or detonate).

GM Intrusion: A character targeting a gun drone rather than the storm marine hits the drone, but the drone reacts by darting to the character and exploding, inflicting 6 points of damage to the character and anyone standing within immediate range.

Supervillain 5 (15)+

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 356)

People with amazing abilities who use them for evil earn the label of supervillain.

Supervillains by Level

Editor's Notes — For more information on power shifts, see Superpowered NPCs and Power Shifts.

Anathema 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 356)

The supervillain called Anathema is big, bright red, and stronger than anyone on this planet or any other (or so he claims). Superheroes who go head to head with him learn that he can withstand almost any hit and always gives back twice as hard as he receives. He can bring down buildings with a punch and throw semi trucks across state lines.

Before he was Anathema, he was Sameer Stokes, a bitter and spiteful coder working for a large software company. Having failed in relationships, promotions, and retaining friends, Sameer retreated online and learned that he had power when he bullied people. He delighted in causing emotional distress in others in forums and social media. In effect, he was a troll. When the metamorphosis happened, he was turned into a troll for real. (Sameer doesn't recall the metamorphosis or the days before and immediately after his change, despite using therapy and drugs in an attempt to recover those memories.)

Assume that Anathema has three power shifts in strength and two in resilience. These shifts are already figured into his modifications and other stats.

  • Motive: Accumulate wealth, live on the edge

  • Environment: Anywhere vast wealth can be stolen

  • Health: 70

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Movement: Short; a few miles (5 km) per leap

  • Modifications: Strength tasks as level 10; Might defense as level 9; Speed defense as level 5 due to size

  • Combat: Anathema hits foes with bone-shocking force. He can throw cars and large objects at targets within long range, dealing damage to all creatures within immediate range of his target.

    Anathema has a healing factor that makes it hard to hurt him in any meaningful sense. He regains 10 points of health per round. In any round in which he regains health, his attacks deal 3 additional points of damage (15 total), and he seems to visibly swell with muscle.

  • Interaction: When Anathema is riled up during a fight, it's difficult to reason with him. However, he is willing to negotiate if someone offers him wealth or convinces him they have valuable secrets for breaking mental blocks. Anathema doesn't know how he became the way he is, and he wants to recover his missing memories.

  • Use: The rolling earthquake afflicting the city is actually Anathema fighting a group of newbie superheroes who haven't figured out that engaging the red mountain will likely cause more deaths than leaving him alone. (The first rule of fighting Anathema is to lead or move him somewhere with a low population density.)

  • Loot: Anathema doesn't normally carry wealth or other valuables. In his lair, Anathema typically has three to five expensive items, 1d6 cyphers, and possibly an artifact.

GM Intrusion: Anathema's attack sends the character flying a long distance and potentially into dangerous terrain.

Doctor Dread 7 (21)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 357)

Doctor Dread is larger than life thanks to her brilliant mind, her media savvy, and the robotic armor she uses to enhance her otherwise normal abilities. Indeed, Doctor Dread has become the most feared terrorist on the planet. She uses her abilities to extort money, influence, and technology from the rich and powerful, whether her victims are individuals, governments, corporations, or superheroes.

Alicia Coleridge is Doctor Dread's secret identity. Born into relative obscurity, she received a full scholarship to the Russell Institute of Technology, where she studied the effects of radioactive substances on living tissue. In a freak lab accident, Alicia's fiancé was slain, and Alicia was disfigured and driven slightly insane, so much so that she built the Doctor Dread armor. She plows the vast wealth she accumulates through terrorism into research into the rejuvenation of dead flesh. She hopes to one day bring back her dead love, whose body she keeps in suspended animation.

Doctor Dread is usually accompanied by a handful of robot minions.

Dread's robot minion
level 3; Armor 1; long-range laser attack inflicts 4 points of damage

Assume that Doctor Dread has three power shifts in intelligence and two in resilience. These shifts are already figured into her modifications and other stats.

  • Motive: Accumulate wealth; reanimate dead flesh

  • Environment: Wherever money can be extorted

  • Health: 40

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short; long when flying

  • Modifications: Resists mental attacks and deception as level 8; understands, repairs, and crafts advanced technology as level 10

  • Combat: Doctor Dread's armor allows her to exist without outside air (or air pressure), food, or water for up to ten days at a time. She can call on her robotic armor to accomplish a variety of tasks, including the following:

    • Barricade: Establish an immobile, two-dimensional field of transparent force 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) for ten minutes
    • Energy Cloak: Create an energy field that gives her +5 to Armor against heat, cold, or magnetism (one at a time, chosen when she uses the power) for ten minutes
    • Fade: Become invisible for one minute, or until she makes an attack
    • Plasma Blast: Long-range heat and electricity blast that inflicts 7 points of damage

  • Interaction: Doctor Dread is slightly mad, but that's normally disguised by her amazing brilliance. She is an egomaniac but will negotiate in return for a promise of wealth or biomedical lore she doesn't already know.

  • Use: The PCs are called to handle a hostage situation at a party in which many of the city's wealthy elite are being held captive by Doctor Dread. She promises to let them go once sufficient wealth is paid into her offshore accounts.

  • Loot: Most of Doctor Dread's considerable wealth is tied up in online accounts, two or three secret fortresses, and cutting-edge biological research equipment.

GM Intrusion: Doctor Dread uses a function built into her robotic armor that is the perfect solution for her current predicament: healing herself, teleporting away, disintegrating a barrier, or whatever is needed.

Magnetar 8 (24)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 358)

Not much is known about Magnetar other than its powerful ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Various research groups theorize that Magnetar is an alien, a sentient and self-improving robot, or even some kind of manifestation of a fundamental force. Given Magnetar's vaguely humanoid shape, a few people even suggest that the villain is actually a man with a mutant ability so powerful that it burned out all memories of his former self.

In truth, Magnetar is the animate, sentient, and self-regulating nucleus of a neutron star that is able to rein in its immense electromagnetic signature. One of two such beings an advanced alien species created from a single magnetar (a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field), Magnetar was sent on a mission of exploration. After millennia, it crashed on Earth and was damaged. Having lost most of its memory data, Magnetar knows that something was taken from it (its twin), but it can't remember what. It has decided to blame the humans.

Assume that Magnetar has three power shifts in its magnetic power and two in resilience. These shifts are already figured into its modifications and other stats.

  • Motive: Revenge; regain memory

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, searching for what it has lost

  • Health: 50

  • Damage Inflicted: 12 points

  • Armor: 8

  • Movement: Short; long when magnetically levitating

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to mass; tasks related to controlling and shaping metal through electromagnetic manipulation as level 11

  • Combat: Magnetar's fist packs a wallop, since it can selectively add mass to the punch. However, its most potent ability is its level 11 control over all metal within very long range, which it uses to create anything it can imagine, including walls, attacks, pincers, and more. Magnetar can lift bridges, vehicles, and structures infused with rebar that it can see within its area of influence. When it throws such a large object as part of an attack, the target and everything within short range of the target takes 10 points of damage.

    Magnetar's only weakness is psychic attacks, which is fortunate since reducing it to 0 health through an old-fashioned beating could release an uncontrolled neutron star chunk on the Earth's surface.

  • Interaction: Morose and gruff, Magnetar would rather be alone, but every so often, it goes on a rampage, hoping that a display will draw out whoever or whatever made it the way it is. Magnetar constantly feels the drag of emotional loss, but it doesn't know why (it doesn't realize that the feeling comes from the loss of its twin).

  • Use: Doctor Dread has put a bounty on Magnetar's head because she wants to study the advanced technology woven through its body. The bounty amount is outrageous, but then again, so is Magnetar.

GM Intrusion: On a failed Might defense roll, all of the character's loose metallic items (including weapons) are stripped from them and become stuck to a nearby metallic buttress.

Mister Genocide 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 359)

Real name Alfred Webster, Mister Genocide has the unfortunate ability to synthesize deadly poison from his skin. His touch can kill, but if he wishes it, so can his spittle or even his breath.

Anyone who spends too much time in Mister Genocide's presence becomes ill, even if the villain isn't actively using his power. Thus, his cronies usually wear gas masks and protective clothing. Mister Genocide has promoted himself to the head of the mob in the city where he resides and is always looking to expand his operations, sometimes at the expense of other criminals.

When victims are killed by Mister Genocide's poison, their skin and the whites of their eyes take on a bright green hue, which increases the terror that normal people feel regarding him. Even superheroes have been brought down by his toxins.

Mister Genocide sometimes teams up with Anathema, because the red mountain is the only villain who can withstand the poison that Genocide constantly emits.

Assume that Mister Genocide has two power shifts in his poison power, one in intelligence, and two in resilience. These shifts are already figured into his modifications and other stats.

  • Motive: Accumulate power

  • Environment: Anywhere crime lords congregate

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points; see Combat

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Poison breath attack and Might defense as level 7; Intellect defense and evil genius as level 6

  • Combat: Targets touched by Mister Genocide must make a difficulty 7 Might defense roll or take 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) from the poison transmitted. Worse, the poison continues to inflict 2 points of Speed damage each round until the victim succeeds at a Might defense roll.

    Every other round, Mister Genocide can make a level 7 poison attack that can affect up to ten victims within short range as a single action. Those who fail a Might defense roll take 7 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) and spend a round helpless as they cough and gag. The inhalant poison does not continue to inflict damage each round.

    Mister Genocide is immune to most venoms, toxins, and poisons.

  • Interaction: Certifiably insane, Mister Genocide likes to kill people. He may negotiate for a while, but if there is not enough gain to be had, he might kill everyone with a breath just for the fun of watching them suffocate and turn green.

  • Use: Gang warfare between two criminal organizations is shooting up downtown, and many innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire end up bullet-ridden or poisoned (with green skin). Someone needs to put a stop to Mister Genocide.

  • Loot: The supervillain carries currency equivalent to 1d6 expensive items, a cypher or two, and a variety of poisoned knives, needles, and vials.

GM Intrusion: A character affected by the poison must make a second Might defense roll or fall unconscious from shock. Unconsciousness lasts for up to a minute, or until the victim is jostled awake.

Wrath 6 (18)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 360)

The head of an elite group of assassins, Wrath wants to save the world by killing everyone who impedes her vision of perfection—which turns out to be the better part of humanity. In addition to being one of the most accomplished martial artists to walk the earth (thanks to her connection with a mystical entity called the Demon), Wrath is also a criminal mastermind whose assassins are just one layer of the organization she controls.

Born more than two hundred and fifty years ago in China to a name lost to history, Wrath was taken in by a monastery and trained in the ways of fist and sword. Everything changed when raiders attacked and killed everyone in her monastery, leaving her the sole survivor. Vowing revenge against the raiders and the world that allowed animals like them to exist, she acquired a magical amulet that contains the Demon. The Demon in turn bequeathed her extraordinary speed, strength, and longevity.

Wrath is content to let her assassins (and mobsters, lawyers, and politicians) accomplish many of her goals, though she relishes being present when particularly important adversaries are brought down.

Assassin of Wrath
level 4; stealth as level 7

Assume that Wrath has two power shifts in dexterity, two in accuracy, and one in resilience. These shifts are already figured into her modifications and other stats.

  • Motive: Save the world

  • Environment: Anywhere wrongs (to Wrath's way of thinking) must be righted

  • Health: 36

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth, attacks, and Speed defense as level 8

  • Combat: Wrath prefers a sword, though she is equally adept with a crossbow or, in rare cases, modern weapons. In melee she can attack two foes as a single action every round.

    Thanks to the influence of the Demon, Wrath regains 3 points of health each round, even if reduced to 0 health. The only way to permanently kill her is to reduce her to 0 health and keep her that way long enough to burn away the tattoo of the Demon that is engraved across her back.

  • Interaction: Wrath is arrogant and confident, though not so much that she is easily fooled by flattery. She is usually amenable to negotiating, because she can anticipate the agenda of others and usually gain far more for herself in the end. However, she is not one to betray her word.

  • Use: Wrath is making a bid to form a group of supervillains—all of whom will answer to her, of course—and it seems that initial talks are going well. The only holdout is Mister Genocide, who feels threatened by Wrath's larger organization, and this tension has led to ongoing warfare in the streets as assassins battle mobsters.

  • Loot: In addition to weapons and armor, Wrath likely possesses the equivalent of five exorbitant items, 1d6 cyphers, and possibly one or two artifacts.

GM Intrusion: Just as things seem bleakest for her, Wrath summons a group of assassins waiting in the wings to surround the PCs and demand their surrender.

Synthetic Person 5 (15)

(The Stars are Fire, page 137)

Synthetic people have been called many things, including simply synths, androids, robot mimics, and, depending on how they act, killer robots. Their origins are varied. In some cases, they're the result of corporate research into "products" that would serve humanity as assistants and companions, but later gained sentience. In other cases, synthetic people are the result of a state-sponsored program to develop war machines or automated assassins that looked like regular people. Another origin for synthetic people is through the design of awakened (and inimical) AIs as part of an effort to kill off all regular biological people. Now they roam their environment looking like anyone else. Some synths try to fit into whatever kind of society they can find. Some may not even know that they are not human. Others are bitter, homicidal, or still retain their programming to kill. Some of these may have even shed some or all of their synthetic skins to reveal the alloyed mechanisms beneath.

  • Motive: Varies

  • Environment: Nearly anywhere, out in plain sight or disguised as a human alone, or in gangs of three to four

  • Health: 24

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Disguise and one knowledge task as level 6

  • Combat: A punch from a synthetic person can break bones. In addition, some synths (especially of the killer variety) can generate a red-hot plasma sphere once every other round and throw it at a target within long range. The target and all other creatures within immediate range of the target must succeed on a Speed defense task or take 7 points of damage.

    A synth can take a repair action and regain 10 points of health. A synthetic person at 0 health can't repair itself thusly, but unless the creature is completely dismembered, one may spontaneously reanimate 1d10 hours later with 4 points of health.

  • Interaction: Synthetic people that pretend to be (or think that they are) human interact like normal people. But an enraged one or one that's been programmed to kill is unreasoning and fights to the end.

  • Use: A group of refugees who need help turn out to include (or be entirely made up of) synthetic people. Whether or not any of them harbor programs that require that they kill humans is entirely up to the GM.

  • Loot: One or two manifest cyphers could be salvaged from a synth's inactive form.

GM Intrusion: The character is blinded for one or two rounds after being struck by the synth's searing plasma ball.

Raider 3 (9)+

(Rust and Redemption, page 107)

Stripped of humanity by brutal living conditions and their determination to survive no matter the cost, raiders still look human. But beneath that veneer, they're feral.

  • Motive: Raid and kill for what they want

  • Environment: Groups of four to six roaming the ruins

  • Interaction: If a raider believes a just met survivor has food, water, or shelter, or might prove to be a threat immediately or at any later date, they laugh off any suggestion of parley and attack.

  • Use: The raider encampment has a new leader, a warlord whose presence doubles raider activity.

Fell Rider 3 (9)

(Rust and Redemption, page 107)

Motorcycle riding raiders keep their "motor wheels" alive through constant tinkering and repair. The two wheeled machines are modified with spears, spikes, lances, and sometimes guns and flamethrowers. Fell riders wear heavy protective garments made from fur, salvaged clothing, and leather from past targets. Goggles protect their eyes, and bones are sewn through their wild, greasy hair as decoration.

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short; long while riding motorcycle

  • Modifications: Motorcycle repair and modification as level 5; stealth tasks as level 0 due to screaming engines

  • Combat: Using pikes, spears, or lances welded to the front of their bike, a fell rider typically makes ride-by attacks against foes from just outside short range. A fell rider is one with their bike, always moving to engage and disengage. If knocked from their bike (possibly a minor effect), a fell rider's attacks and Speed defenses are hindered until they regain the seat as their action. Some riders use larger four-wheeled vehicles with open canopies instead of motorcycles. These fell riders have 2 Armor and can attempt a run-down attack on up to three targets that are next to each other and not in a vehicle, inflicting 8 points of damage. Struck targets that fail a Might defense roll descend one step on the damage track.

  • Loot: A fell rider's motorcycle, when repaired, is a useful vehicle with enough gas for miles of travel.

Marauder 3 (9)

(Rust and Redemption, page 107)

Marauders are raiders who attack with stealth, wrapping themselves in light smothering clothes and targeting survivors after midnight. By day, they act like regular people, part of a survivor community. That's pretense; when time allows, they torture targets to death and take flesh trophies.

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points; see Combat

  • Movement: Short; short when climbing

  • Modifications: Stealth and deception tasks as level 5

  • Combat: Marauders use stealth and the night to position themselves before attacking, hoping to make their initial attack with surprise using bladed weapons. Whether they have surprise or not, if they attack before their target's first action, their attacks are eased and inflict 6 points of damage.

    Marauders often dose their bladed weapons with poison, so targets must also make a Might defense roll or take 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) each round for three rounds.

Warlord 5 (15)

(Rust and Redemption, page 108)

A warlord enjoys supreme authority over other raiders. Brutal rulers, warlords are a living symbol of power and strength where survival is valued above all else.

Warlords caparison themselves in trophies of vanquished enemies—such as gilded skulls or flayed skins. Some wear garish helms designed to intimidate. An impressive weapon, especially something from the before times, is always close at hand. A warlord is rarely encountered without raiders and other lackeys that fight for and serve them.

  • Motive: Control through fear and brutality

  • Environment: Usually in the company of five to twenty raiders

  • Health: 25

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 3

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Defends as level 6 due to nearby raiders willing to take no actions other than defend the warlord

  • Combat: Warlords attack twice each round with bladed or spiked melee weapons or ranged firearms. When possible, they fight from an open canopy vehicle (driven by another raider).

    A warlord directly leads the raiders they command, fighting at the forefront but also issuing orders. Underlings deal 1 additional point of damage when the warlord can see them and issue commands.

    Most warlords have a specific additional advantage they can pull out to win a fight. See the table below.

Unique Warlord Advantage
d6Advantage
1Rocket launcher (level 7): long-range weapon inflicts 7 points of damage on targets in an immediate area (depletion: 1–2 in 1d6)
2Fire thrower (level 7): immediate-range weapon inflicts 7 points of damage on all targets within immediate range (depletion: 1 in 1d10)
3Release the beast: Gives the command to "release the beast"; a melted loyal to warlord charges into the fight
4Force shield (level 5): Static field blocks all incoming attacks against the warlord for one round (depletion: 1–2 in 1d10)
5Power gauntlet: Warlord's power gauntlet grabs foe and automatically deals damage from crushing until foe escapes
6Skystrike: Calls in a "skystrike" from a battered wristband; a round later, a missile launched from a before-times satellite strikes nearby, inflicting 10 points of damage on all creatures within a short area who fail a Speed defense roll, and 2 points on those who succeed (depletion: automatic)

  • Interaction: Warlords have lackeys and lieutenants that interact with outsiders. They prefer to make pronouncements and threats from on high.

  • Use: The museum, lab, or other important structure the characters wanted to visit to carry out their mission has fallen under the control of a warlord and a dozen or more raiders.

  • Loot: A warlord may carry an artifact.

Replicant 5 (15)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 351)

Virtually identical to adult humans, these biosculpted androids are stronger, faster, and potentially smarter. However, because they are manufactured beings with grafted memories, replicants rarely feel true human emotion, be that love, sadness, or empathy, though those who live long enough to lay down their own memories can develop the capacity to do so.

However, few replicants gain the opportunity because they are created for a purpose, which could be to serve as police or guards, as soldiers in a distant war, or as impostors shaped to blend in with people so they can explore on behalf of an alien intelligence or a bootstrapped AI. In most of these cases, these purposes lead to a relatively short span of existence, which usually ends when the replicant chooses to detonate itself rather than be captured.

  • Motive: Go unnoticed; stamp out (or replace) any who learn of their existence

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Tasks related to pleasant social interaction, understanding human social norms, and deception as level 2

  • Combat: Replicants blend in and prefer not to enter combat. Since destruction is not usually their principal goal, they avoid confrontation. If, however, something threatens their mission, they defend themselves to the best of their ability. Replicants might use weaponry but are adept in using their limbs to batter foes into submission.

    A replicant poses the greatest danger when its physical form begins to fail through violence or natural degradation (many seem to have a natural "life" span of just a few years). When reduced to 0 points of health, the replicant explodes, inflicting 10 points of damage to everything in long range.

  • Interaction: Replicants are designed to look human and, at least during a casual interaction, pass as human. But extended conversation trips up a replicant more often than not. Eventually, a replicant gets something wrong and says inappropriate things or exhibits strange mannerisms.

  • Use: A contact of one of the characters is secretly a replicant. It has survived longer than expected, and its connection to whatever created it has weakened enough that it has gained some independence and made strong emotional connections to the PC. It knows its time is running out and may turn to the character for help.

GM Intrusion: The character struck by the replicant is smashed into the wall so hard that the surrounding structure begins to collapse on them.

Robber 4 (12)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 139)

Robbers, thieves, highwaymen, robin hoods—whatever name you call them, they want what you have, and they're willing to get it any way they can. Some robbers are honorable, stealing only from the rich or the evil. Others will take anything that isn't nailed down or magically protected.

Robbers often travel in pairs or small groups of dedicated friends and fellow robbers.

  • Motive: What's yours is mine

  • Environment: Anywhere there's something to be stolen

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 2 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Stealth, including sneaking, stealing, hiding, and deception, as level 5; attacking from hiding as level 5

  • Combat: Robbers typically prefer light and medium weapons, particularly bows and small blades.

  • Interaction: Most robbers have a moral code of some sort—it just may not be the code that others abide by. Still, they are willing to listen to reason (and particularly the sound of sliding coins). Robbers are often willing to be hired for jobs that are too difficult for others.

  • Use: Robbers happen upon the place where the characters have made camp, and ask to join them. A group of robbers arrives to steal a thing that the characters are just about to steal themselves.

  • Loot: Depending on whether they've just robbed someone or not, robbers may have anywhere from nothing (other than their weapons and clothing) up to the currency equivalent of a very expensive item.

GM Intrusion: The robber's arrow manages to hit two foes in a single attack, or the robber shoots two arrows at multiple foes.

Editor's Notes — In We Are All Mad Here, this NPC is listed as Thief/Robber. It is identified by its unique name here to prevent confusion with the Thief.

Thief 4 (12)

(Godforsaken, page 137)

A thief takes things that don't belong to them—preferably with their victim remaining unaware of the crime until the thief is safely away. Burglars and pickpockets are the most common sort, but ambitious thieves are known to plan elaborate heists to steal priceless items from prominent targets.

  • Motive: Greed, curiosity, risk

  • Health: 12

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: Balancing, climbing, perception, pickpocketing, and stealth as level 5

  • Combat: Thieves prefer small concealable weapons—knives, batons, and so on—so they can quickly make themselves look like an innocent bystander. Their goal is to escape, not kill, so they often rely on tricks like caltrops, spilled oil, and smoke pellets to distract or delay foes and give themselves an opportunity to get away. They aren't above using poison, typically a sleep poison that knocks out a foe for ten minutes on a failed Might defense task.

  • Interaction: Thieves run a broad range of personalities—nervous, arrogant, quietly confident, sarcastic, and more. They like to know the risks and rewards of what they'll be doing, and they don't like surprises.

  • Use: A cocky thief steals an item from a character and returns it to prove their skills are up to the task. A gang of pickpockets targets a character's jewelry or cyphers.

  • Loot: Thieves usually carry light tools, a few small weapons, miscellaneous equipment for creating a distraction, and a cypher they plan to use or sell.

Editor's Notes — See also: Robber

Thug 3 (9)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 376)

Thugs are usually rough, crude, and harsh individuals who prey on those who follow the rules. A thug might be a streetwise drug dealer, a bandit who hunts lone travelers in the wilds, a savage warrior adroit with ranged weapons, or a cyberbully among pacifists. Most thugs work for themselves, but they may employ gangs of guards to help them conduct their business.

  • Motive: Take what they want

  • Health: 9

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Short

  • Combat: Thugs prefer ambushes, making ranged attacks from hiding if possible. Sometimes they spoil the ambush to issue an ultimatum before attacking: give us your valuables or you'll be sorry.

  • Interaction: Thugs are interested in money and power, which means they almost always accept bribes. If faced with a real threat, thugs usually retreat.

  • Use: Thugs are everywhere, sometimes accompanied by guards who are equally malicious but not quite as powerful.

  • Loot: A thug has currency equivalent to an inexpensive item in addition to weapons, shields, and light armor. One thug in a group might have a cypher.

GM Intrusion: Another thug, hidden until just the right moment, appears and takes a shot with a ranged weapon before joining the fray.

Tin Woodman 7 (21)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 113)

Once an ordinary woodman of flesh and blood named Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman's story is a sad one. His beloved axe was enchanted by a wicked witch in order to keep him from his other true love (it's a long story, but suffice it to say that witches who are wicked do wicked things). His beloved axe turned on Nick Chopper, taking off one limb after another. A tinsmith kindly replaced Nick's missing body parts (except his heart) with tin prosthetics, but eventually nothing was left of the original human and he became the Tin Woodman.

Note that the Tin Woodman will never tell you this story himself, for he has no heart and seeks only revenge: revenge upon the witch who cursed him, upon the tinsmith who did not replace his heart, upon the rain that rusts him. Someday, he will find all the original parts of himself, no matter who they belong to currently, so that he can return to his original form.

  • Motive: Revenge, find his original body parts

  • Environment: Anywhere

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 4 points

  • Armor: 4

  • Movement: Short; immediate if rusted

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to rust

  • Combat: Inflicts 7 points of damage with his enchanted axe.

Enchanted axe (artifact)
level 7; inflicts 7 points of damage; can be activated to move a long distance away from the wielder and attack a foe as an action. Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each activation)

  • Interaction: The Tin Woodman is singularly focused, and cares only about clues that lead to revenge or his original body parts. He does not eat, drink, or sleep, and often comes across as frantic and frenzied.

  • Use: The PCs are hunting the same foe that the Tin Woodman is, and either they join together, or the Tin Woodman tries to prevent them from reaching the foe before he does.

  • Loot: Enchanted axe

GM Intrusion: A character's weapon gets caught in the Tin Woodman's metal body, pulling the weapon out of their hands.

Troll 6 (18)

(Godforsaken, page 129)

A troll is a hideous humanoid standing at least 10 feet (3 m) tall that hunts more by smell than by sight. They are dangerous but not particularly intelligent. Always ravenous, trolls eat anything, and rarely take the time to cook a meal. Usually, they distend their mouths and throats and swallow subdued prey whole.

  • Motive: Hungers for flesh

  • Environment: Nearly anywhere, hunting alone or in pairs

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 7 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to size; Might defense as level 7; sees through deception as level 4

  • Combat: The troll attacks with its claws. If it hits, it grabs a foe tightly, then squeezes and bites until the victim is dead or it releases that victim to attack another creature. Each round that a held creature does not escape, they take 10 points of damage.

    Trolls regain 3 points of health per round. If a troll suffers a particularly egregious wound (10 or more points of damage in one round), rather than regain health in that round (and instead of taking any other action), the troll divides into two level 4 trolls that are 3 feet (1 m) tall. Spawned trolls that survive the battle and have access to food grow into full-power trolls within a few weeks.

  • Interaction: Trolls speak their own simple language, but a few know a little bit of a local human language. Most prefer to attack and eat other creatures, but might be bargained with after a successful show of force.

Spawned troll
level 4; Might defense as level 5; health 15; Armor 1; claws inflict 5 points of damage; grabbed victim suffers 5 points of damage each round held by troll

  • Use: Trolls may be chance encounters in the wilderness for unlucky travelers. Sometimes captured trolls are used by slavers, armies, and powerful wizards as guards and warriors.

GM Intrusion: The struck troll divides into two separate trolls that immediately attack the character in the same action.

Witch 5 (15)+

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 368)(We Are All Mad Here, page 132)

Witches are complex beings of myriad personalities, desires, and abilities. Sometimes they're the stuff of nightmares, with tales of their exploits keeping children safe in their beds during the darkest hours. Other times they're wise helpers—at least for a little while, or possibly for a price. Often, they're a little of everything, taking on no end of roles throughout their lifetime. They may isolate themselves deep in the dark woods, falsify their way into a royal family, or reside in the middle of town, hiding their identity. Some witches have magical abilities that rival those of an enchanter.

But one thing they are, always, is dangerous, for they carry within their hearts and heads knowledge, power, and magic—and a willingness to use all of them when necessary.

Editor's Notes — This listing combines two identically named NPCs from the Cypher System Rulebook and We Are All Mad Here.

  • Motive: Domination of others, power, knowledge, eternal life or beauty, hunger, revenge

  • Environment: Almost anywhere, although most often alone in unique dwellings in the forest, in civilization as healers, or having infiltrated royal families.

  • Health: 21

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Movement: Short; long if flying

  • Combat: In addition to inflicting damage with their weapon of choice (often a staff or long, curved blade). They also have a number of curses, spells, and abilities at their disposal, including the following:

    • Charm: Victims within short range who fail an Intellect defense roll are enslaved. Victims turn on their allies or take some other action described by their new master. The curse lasts for one minute, or until the victims succeed on an Intellect defense roll; each time they fail a roll, the next roll is hindered by one additional step.
    • Familiar: When attacked, a witch relies on the aid of their familiar to improve their Speed defense. The familiar could be a large black cat, an owl, a big snake, or some other creature. Killing a witch's familiar is so shocking to a witch that their attacks and Speed defense are hindered for a few days. It's also a way to ensure that the witch never forgives their foe or grants mercy.
    • Glamour: Glamour is an illusion that the witch creates. It may let them look like someone else, appear to be a tree or a bird, or even make them invisible. Seeing through the glamour is a level 8 Intellect task. A failed attempt inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage. Once a character sees through the glamour, they cannot unsee it.
    • Heal: The witch touches another creature and heals them for 6 points of damage. Some witches must pull health from another living being in long range in order to use this ability. Pulling health from a living being inflicts 2 points of damage on that being.
    • Hexbolt: A victim within long range is attacked with fire, cold, or psychic bolts, as the witch chooses. Psychic bolts deal 3 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).
    • Imprison: The witch creates a prison within long range and captures a foe inside it as a single action. The prison might be physical (a tower, a cage, a trap, a binding around the body) or mental (they can't move, their muscles are no longer under their control, they are afraid to move). Resisting being caught is a level 5 defense task (Might, Speed, or Intellect, depending on the type of imprisonment). If a character is caught, breaking free is a level 5 task (of the appropriate stat).
    • Protect: Places a confinement spell to keep someone from going in or out of a location, building, or room. Those who attempt to pass through the spell but fail take 3 points of Intellect damage and are knocked back. Once the spell activates, it disappears.
    • Revive: This rare and costly ability allows a witch to bring someone back to life, as long as they haven't been dead for more than a year. In order to accomplish this, the witch needs all or part of the body of the dead, a beloved object of the dead's, and the willingness of someone else to take on a curse that results from the magical working (roll on the Curse table to determine the resulting curse). Revive takes ten minutes to cast, and the character returns to life with 1 point in all of their Pools.
    • Seduce: Creatures within short range who fail an Intellect defense roll become enamored of the witch. Resisting the witch's persuasion attempts is hindered by two steps until the victim succeeds on an Intellect defense roll; each time they fail to resist the persuasion attempt, the witch's next persuasion attempt is eased by an additional step.
    • Shrivel: A victim within long range and up to two creatures next to the victim must succeed on a Might defense roll or take 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor). In each subsequent round, a victim who failed the previous roll must make another Might defense roll with the same outcome on failure.
    • Vitality: The witch regains 11 points of health and gains +3 to Armor for one minute. Multiple uses don't further improve Armor.
Familiar
level 3; health 9; Armor 1

Witches thrive on unpredictability, and rarely cast the same curse or spell more than once every other round.

  • Interaction: Most witches are deceptive and conniving, though a few work against the stereotype. All witches are willing to negotiate, though the devious ones usually do so in bad faith.

  • Use: The PCs need an old book to continue their investigation. Word is that the old woman who lives on the edge of the woods has the only copy.

  • Loot: A witch usually has an artifact or two on their person, possibly including a flying broom (which has a depletion roll of 1 in 1d10).

GM Intrusions: After a character succeeds on a defense roll against one of the witch's ongoing curse effects, the witch immediately tosses a hexbolt at them. If the character is hit, the ongoing curse effect also continues.

The witch's familiar joins the fray, tripping up characters and hindering their actions.

Something startles the witch and they cast a curse or spell as an automatic response. The witch pulls out an artifact or cypher and prepares to use it.

Witches by Level
Baba Yaga 9 (27)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 133)

Baba Yaga (sometimes called Frau Trude) lives many lives and has many personalities. She is both one witch and many. She uses her magic to create a new version of herself each time her life takes a new branch, following all of them at once, becoming every version of herself that she might have been.

Some versions of Baba Yaga are helpful. Others harmful. Some Baba Yagas live in the woods in a wooden hut that walks around on giant chicken legs, some fly through the sky in a giant mortar and pestle, and some guard any wild spaces that they have deemed important. Some capture and cook young children in a special stove. Some do all of the above.

  • Combat: Baba Yaga can use the following abilities: heal, hexbolt, imprison, protect, revive, shrivel, and vitality.

  • Interaction: It is almost impossible to know which Baba Yaga you have met until you look deep in her eyes (a level 7 Intellect task). There, you might see a tiny flame, and in that flame, learn a bit about her life.

  • Use: Baba Yaga has her long, bony fingers in nearly everything that happens. She might be behind the counter at the herb and potion shop, guarding the entrance to a cave full of treasure, or offering her services in breaking (or casting) curses.

  • Loot: 1d6 cyphers, an artifact, and various other odds and ends

The Blind Witch 5 (15)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 133)

The Blind Witch is skinny and always hungry. She lives deep in the forest in a house made of confectionery, which allows her to catch, fatten, and eventually eat any children unlucky enough to get caught in her trap.

  • Modifications: Cooking as level 6, deception and trickery as level 7, seeing through deception and trickery as level 4

  • Combat: She can use the following abilities: charm, protect, and vitality. She is immune to visual effects, including hallucinations.

  • Interaction: The Blind Witch can appear sweet and charming, and might play up her blindness and apparent frailty for sympathy.

  • Use: Characters wandering the woods might come upon a candy house, and woe to them should they take a bite. A rescue mission could lead here.

  • Loot: She usually has at least one magical animal in a cage, along with various children and even adults. Two or three cyphers can be found in her kitchen, along with her magic oven, which bakes children into gingerbread.

Dame Gothel 5 (15)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 133)

Sometimes taking the form of a young woman and sometimes an old one, Dame Gothel cares for one thing above all: her beautiful walled garden, the flowers and vegetables that grow inside it being the envy of all others. Unlike many other witches, she does not harm children and in fact has been known to protect them, at least as long as they are innocent of wrongdoing.

  • Modifications: Gardening and potions as level 6

  • Combat: She can use the following abilities: heal, imprison, protect, and shrivel.

  • Interaction: Dame Gothel is an introvert who mostly desires to be left alone, and woe be to those who invade her space in any way, for she has a deep sense of right and wrong and a penchant for revenge upon those who cross her. However, she has been known to help those seeking aid, and is particularly skilled in using what she grows in her garden to aid her magic.

  • Use: The characters need a concoction to heal someone, remove a curse, or help them get pregnant. The characters accidentally trespass on Dame Gothel's space.

  • Loot: Various plants, potions, and cyphers

The Sea Witch 6 (18)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 135)

Living in the darkest depths of the sea, the Sea Witch is dangerous, wily, persuasive, and scheming. She is best known for brewing up life options—for a price. If you want what she's got (and she's got everything), you bring her what she wants. It might be your voice, your hair, or your firstborn. Or all three. Surely you won't miss them …

  • Modifications: Persuasion, intimidation, coercion, and swimming as level 8

  • Combat: She can use the following abilities: charm, familiar (water snakes), glamour, imprison, protect, seduce, and shrivel.

  • Interaction: The Sea Witch will always make a bargain, take a bet, gamble all she's got on the downtrodden and woe-be-gotten. Not because her heart is big, but because she makes sure that the house—that's her—always wins.

  • Use: The characters need a potion, a spell, a curse, or any other bit of magic, large or small, and the Sea Witch will find a way to put it in their hands and let them walk away thinking they've come out ahead. At least until she comes to collect.

  • Loot: A chest full of gifts and winnings from lovers, fawners, and those who should have known better, including 1d6 cyphers and two artifacts.

The Wicked Witch of the West 5 (15)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 135)

With her three pigtails and diminutive stature, it would be easy to write off the Wicked Witch of the West as a nobody—and many have—but her power lies in the creatures that work for her and in her vast and growing collection of magical footwear.

She can see up to 2 miles (3 km) away with her single eye, and wears galoshes that give her +2 Armor against water and liquid of all kinds.

  • Modifications: Tasks involving water and the dark as level 3

  • Combat: She carries an umbrella that acts as a heavy weapon, and she can use the following abilities: familiar (pack of wolves, swarm of bees, flock of crows, and an army of flying monkeys), hexbolt, imprison, protect, and shrivel.

  • Interaction: She is volatile in nature and quick to anger. However, she can also be a bit cowardly, and will likely back down in a confrontation (only to send her hordes of magical animals out afterward to do her dirty work).

  • Use: The characters need to find galoshes of fortune and decide to steal a pair from the Wicked Witch of the West. Perhaps they need to make it through the land she presides over and must find a way to get her approval.

  • Loot: Whatever shoes she's wearing (which are very likely an artifact).

Wizard, Mighty 8 (24)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 376)

Some wizards learn so many spells and accumulate so much lore that they become incredibly powerful. Some work for a higher purpose, whereas others are concerned only with themselves.

  • Motive: Seek powerful sources of magic (to collect or to keep safe)

  • Health: 40

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Movement: Short

  • Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge of arcane lore as level 9

  • Combat: When a wizard makes a long-range attack with their staff or strikes someone with it, arcane energy damages the target and, if desired, all creatures the wizard selects within short range of the target. Targets that are within immediate range of the wizard when they take damage are thrown out of immediate range.

    A mighty wizard knows many spells, including spells that grant +5 to Armor for an hour, spells of teleportation, spells of finding, and so on. A wizard also likely carries several cyphers useful in combat.

  • Interaction: Care should be taken when negotiating with wizards because they are subtle and quick to anger. Even when negotiations succeed, a wizard's suggestions are usually cryptic and open to interpretation. A mighty wizard might be convinced to teach a character how to cast a spell.

  • Use: A wizard is putting together a team to challenge a great foe, and the PCs fit the bill.

  • Loot: A mighty wizard has 1d6 cyphers.

GM Intrusion: The wizard casts two spells as a single action instead of just one.

Wolf, Big Bad 8 (24)

(We Are All Mad Here, page 111)

The Big Bad Wolf (just call him the Wolf, for he is truly the only one worthy of that title) is a beast of near immortality, kept alive by the legends that swirl around him, the constant stream of terrorizing tales. Once the stalker of the woods, now he stalks the streets and towns, no longer staying to the shadows, no longer merely hunting girls and grandmothers. As his reputation has grown, so has his appetite. He hungers. He swallows worlds. He will not be contained.

  • Motive: Hunger

  • Environment: Woods, cities, behind you

  • Health: 30

  • Damage Inflicted: 8 points

  • Armor: 1

  • Movement: Long

  • Modifications: Hunting, seeking, and sneaking as level 9

  • Combat: The Wolf 's bite does 8 points of damage. Additionally, he has a variety of abilities that he may use.

    • What Big Ears You Have: Can track and hear his prey up to a mile away. Tracking ignores all cloaking abilities, including magical ones.
    • What Big Eyes You Have: Mesmerizes his victims for two rounds, convincing them that he is a friend and that they should do what he suggests.
    • What Big Teeth You Have: Swallows his victim whole, holding them in his belly. It's a level 8 Speed or Might defense task to avoid being eaten whole. Captured characters can attempt to cut themselves free, which requires three successful attacks.
    • Huff and Puff: Exhale creates a wind so strong it can knock over foes, trees, and even houses. Inflicts 6 points of damage to everything within long distance, and knocks most things prone. Once the Wolf uses this ability, he can't use it again for three rounds.

  • Interaction: Despite his constant hunger and his gnawing need to swallow the world, the Wolf makes an interesting ally (provided that he's well fed at the time) for he is smart and cunning, and has myriad tricks for moving through the world.

  • Use: The Big Bad Wolf is a great character to introduce into a modern fairy tale game. Imagine his new iteration as an urban legend, spreading through the internet.

GM Intrusions: The Wolf makes a great leap, knocking down foes. The Wolf already has someone swallowed in his belly, and that person calls for help from out of the Wolf's mouth.

Wraith (Homo vacuus) 4 (12)

(The Stars are Fire, page 141)

Wraiths (Homo vacuus) are genetically engineered to live in the vacuum of space by directly metabolizing high-energy charged particles abundant in the void. Though derived from human stock, wraiths are alien in body, sometimes concealing themselves in layers of shroud-like tissue, other times revealing themselves as wispy, elongated things of glowing red plasma. In some settings, wraiths are partners with humans, working in locations where humans would find difficult. In other settings, wraiths went their own way generations earlier, and rediscovering them would be a first contact scenario. Alternatively, wraiths might be a threat to humans, hating humans for having created a species forced to spend its existence in the dark void of space.

  • Motive: Varies with individual or setting

  • Environment: Anywhere in vacuum, though usually with access to some kind of enriched radiation source. Environments with 1 G or higher eventually kill wraiths.

  • Health: 15

  • Damage Inflicted: 6 points

  • Movement: Short when flying in zero and low G

  • Modifications: Perception and stealth tasks as level 7

  • Combat: Wraiths can unfold from their concealing shrouds and attack with radioactive limbs for 6 points of Speed damage from ionizing radiation (ignores most Armor), or if available, technological weapons. Some can direct ionizing radiation as long-distance attacks, though doing so costs the wraith 1 point of health. Wraiths are immune to radiation, and attacks using radiation heal a wraith's lost health by the amount of damage the attack would have otherwise afflicted. Gravity of 1 G or greater hinders all wraith actions.

  • Interaction: Wraiths communicate by radio. They react to outsiders as dictated by their place in the setting.

  • Use: A distant space station stops all communication. Investigators are dispatched to find out what happened. Once aboard, they unravel clues that suggest wraiths may have been responsible.

  • Loot: Some wraiths carry valuable items and equipment.

GM Intrusion: The attacked character must also succeed on a Might defense, or they take an additional 3 points of ambient damage and contract radiation sickness.

Chapter 24 Cyphers

Quick Reference: Cyphers

Cypher Tables

Optonal Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — There are even more cyphers in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 377)

Cyphers are one-use abilities that characters gain over the course of play. They have cool powers that can heal, make attacks, ease or hinder task rolls, or (in a more supernatural and extreme example) produce effects such as nullifying gravity or turning something invisible.

Most cyphers aren't physical objects—just something useful that happens right when you need it. They might be a burst of insight that allows a character to make a perfectly executed attack, a lucky guess when using a computer terminal, a coincidental distraction that gives you an advantage against an NPC, or a supernatural entity that makes things work out in your favor. In some games, cyphers come in the form of items, like magic potions or bits of alien technology.

Subtle Cyphers:
Cyphers that don't have a physical form are called subtle cyphers.
Manifest Cyphers:
Cyphers that have a physical form are called manifest cyphers.

Regardless of their form, cyphers are single-use effects and are always consumed when used. Unless a cypher's description says otherwise, it works only for the character who activates it. For example, a PC can't use an enduring shield cypher on a friend.

Cyphers are a game mechanic designed for frequent discovery and use. PCs can have only a small number of cyphers at any given time, and since they're always finding more, they're encouraged to use them at a steady pace.

In theory, the cyphers gained by the PCs are determined randomly. However, the GM can allow PCs to acquire or find them intentionally as well. Cyphers are gained with such regularity that the PCs should feel that they can use them freely. There will always be more, and they'll have different benefits. This means that in gameplay, cyphers are less like gear or treasure and more like character abilities that the players don't choose. This leads to fun game moments where a player can say "Well, I've got an X that might help in this situation," and X is always different. X might be an intuitive understanding of the local computer network, a favor from the Faerie Court, an explosive device, a short-range teleporter, or a force field. It might be a powerful magnet or a prayer that will cure disease. It could be anything. Cyphers keep the game fresh and interesting. Over time, characters can learn how to safely carry more and more cyphers at the same time, so cyphers really do seem more like abilities and less like gear.

"Carry" in this sense refers to both subtle cyphers and manifest cyphers, though a PC may not actually carry anything that physically represents the cypher. A character thrown into prison without their equipment might still have subtle cyphers.

Cyphers don't have to be used to make room for new ones. For subtle cyphers, a character can just use an action to "lose" the cypher, freeing up space to "find" one later (once a subtle cypher is discarded this way, it is gone and can't be recovered). For manifest cyphers, it's perfectly acceptable for the PCs to stash one elsewhere for later use; of course, that doesn't mean it will still be there when they return.

Why Cyphers?

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 378)

Cyphers are (not surprisingly, based on the name) the heart of the Cypher System. This is because characters in this game have some abilities that rarely or never change and can always be counted on—pretty much like in all games—and they have some abilities that are ever-changing and inject a great deal of variability in play. They are the major reason why no Cypher System game session should ever be dull or feel just like the last session. This week your character can solve the problem by walking through walls, but last time it was because you could create an explosion that could level a city block.

The Cypher System, then, is one where PC abilities are fluid, with the GM and the players both having a role in their choice, their assignment, and their use. Although many things separate the game system from others, this aspect makes it unique, because cyphers recognize the importance and value of two things:

  1. "Treasure," because character abilities make the game fun and exciting. In fact, in the early days of roleplaying, treasure (usually in the form of magic items found in dungeons) was really the only customization of characters that existed. One of the drives to go out and have adventures is so you can discover cool new things that help you when you go on even more adventures. This is true in many RPGs, but in the Cypher System, it's built right into the game's core.

  2. Letting the GM have a hand in determining PC abilities makes the game move more smoothly. Some GMs prefer to roll cyphers randomly, but some do not. For example, giving the PCs a cypher that will allow them to teleport far away might be a secret adventure seed placed by a forward-thinking GM. Because the GM has an idea of where the story is going, they can use cyphers to help guide the path. Alternatively, if the GM is open to it, they can give out cyphers that enable the characters to take a more proactive role (such as teleporting anywhere they want). Perhaps most important, they can do these things without worrying about the long-term ramifications of the ability. A device that lets you teleport multiple times might really mess up the game over the long term. But once? That's just fun.

Cypher Limits

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 378)

All characters have a maximum number of cyphers they can have at any one time, determined by their type. If a character ever attempts to carry more, random cyphers instantly disappear until the PC has a number of cyphers equal to their maximum (depending on the genre of the campaign, subtle cyphers may be more or less likely to vanish this way). These vanished cyphers are not recoverable.

Optional Rule: Exceeding Cypher Limits

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

PCs increase the their cypher limit through a suite of special abilities they gain access from their type at certain tiers—Expert Cypher Use,Adroit Cypher Use, andMaster Cypher Use. There are also a number of abilities related to cyphers, for example:

In some settings, there might be an explanation for the cypher limit, for example, unstable interactions between magic or high technology. Here are a few different ways a GM might handle a PC exceeding their cypher limit:

  • Dampening: All a PC's tasks are hindered by a number of steps equal to the number of cyphers they carry in excess of their limit. For example, a PC with a cypher limit of 3 carrying 5 cyphers would have all their tasks hindered by two steps.

  • Maintenance: A PC gaining a cypher in excess of their limit must succeed on an Intellect task. The difficulty of the task is the number of cyphers in excess of the PC's limit they intend to bear, plus the level of the highest level cypher they intend to bear. For example, a tier 2 PC with a cypher limit of 2 attempting to gain a third level 4 cypher would need to succeed on a difficulty 5 Intellect task. On a failure, one of the cyphers is lost (determined randomly).

    Optionally, the GM might require the PC repeat the task the once each day, once each hour, or in addition to any other effects triggered by a GM intrusion.

  • Volatility: The PC's GM intrusion rate is raised by 1 for each cypher they bear in excess of their limit. In addition to any other effects of the intrusion, the player loses one random cypher they bear. For example, a PC with a cypher limit of 2 who is bearing 4 cyphers would trigger a GM intrusion on a d20 roll of 1–3. Such GM intrusions cause one random cypher the PC bears to produce volatile effects:

Cypher Volatility
d6Volatility Effects
1Detonation: The cypher explodes, dealing damage equal to the exploding cypher's level to creatures within an immediate range. The GM chooses an appropriate type for the damage. The level of the explosion is equal to the cypher's level, and the stat used to defend against the explosion and type of damage are determined by the GM. Targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if they succeed their defense roll, and if the PC bearing the exploding cypher fails their defense roll, they also lose one additional random cypher they bear.
2–3Unpredictability: The cypher activates with unpredictable effects. The GM determines the modifications, which invert or distort one or more aspects of the cypher's effects, or produce effects of an entirely random cypher.
4–5Dissipation: The cypher vanishes.
6Discharge: The cypher activates randomly, affecting a random target within immediate distance of the PC or within range of the cypher (whichever distance is further).

Editor's Notes — For more specific effects of exceeding cypher limits, see Exceeding Cypher Limits in Chapter 14-A: Modern Magic.

Subtle Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 378)

Subtle (nonphysical) cyphers are a way to introduce cyphers into a game without overt "powered stuff"—no potions, alien crystals, or anything of that nature. They're most useful, perhaps, in a modern or horror setting without obvious fantasy elements. Subtle cyphers are more like the inherent abilities PCs have, adding boosts to Edge, recovering points from Pools, coming up with ideas, and so on. In general, these are commonplace, non-supernatural effects—a subtle cypher wouldn't create a laser beam or allow a character to walk through a wall. They don't break the fragile bubble of believability in genres where flashy powers and abilities don't make a lot of sense.

Subtle cyphers are particularly nice in a genre where the PCs are supposed to be normal people. The cyphers can simply be an expression of innate capabilities in characters that aren't always dependable. And in many ways, that's probably more realistic than an ability you can count on with certainty, because in real life, some days you can jump over a fence, and some days you just can't.

Concepts for subtle cyphers include the following:

  • Good fortune: Once in a while, things just go your way. You're in the right place at the right time.

  • Inspirations: Sometimes you get inspired to do something you've never done before and might not be able to do again. Call it adrenaline mixed with the right motivation, or just doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. Who can really define it? Life's funny that way.

  • Alien concepts: Complex and utterly inhuman memes enter our world and worm their way into and out of human consciousness. When this happens, it can cause mental distress and disorientation. It can also grant impossible abilities and advantages.

  • Blessings: In a fantasy world, there are nine gods. Each morning, all intelligent residents of the world pray to one of the gods, and some of the faithful gain a divine blessing. Some people believe that praying to different gods gives you different blessings.

  • Earworms: You know how some songs pop into your head and just won't leave? There's a power to those songs, and the right people know how to harness it. Make the songs disturbing or reminiscent of evil chants, and you've got a perfect cypher concept for a horror campaign.

  • Mysterious transmissions: What's that buzzing? That mechanical chittering? Those numbers repeating over and over? And why can only some people hear it? A few who are aware of the sounds have learned how to make use of them.

  • Supernatural powers: Mental or mystical energies constantly shift and change, ebb and flow. But you've figured out how to attune your mind to them. There are no physical actions or paraphernalia required—just an inner conduit to the numinous.

Discovering Subtle Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 379)

Since subtle cyphers aren't physical objects, GMs will need to figure out when to give PCs new ones to replace the ones they have used. The cyphers probably shouldn't be tied to actions entirely under the characters' control—in other words, they shouldn't come as a result of meditation or anything of that nature. Instead, the GM should choose significant points in the story when new cyphers might simply come unbidden to the PCs. In the broader view, this is no different than manifest cyphers placed as treasure in a creature's lair, a secret cache, or somewhere else for the characters to find. Either way, the GM is picking good spots to "refill" potentially used cypher-based abilities.

Subtle cyphers are often found in groups of one to six (the GM can roll 1d6 to determine the number). The GM might randomly assign the cyphers to each PC who has space for more, or present a selection of cyphers to the group and allow the players to choose which ones they want for their characters. Characters should immediately know what their subtle cyphers do. If a PC activates a healing subtle cypher when they think it's something to help pick a lock, that's a waste of a useful character ability.

PCs might be able to obtain subtle cyphers from NPCs or in unusual circumstances as gifts, boons, or blessings, even asking for a particular kind of subtle cypher, such as healing, protection, or skill. For example, PCs who make a donation at a temple of a healing goddess could ask to receive a blessing (subtle cypher) that allows them to speak a healing prayer that restores points to one of their Pools. An NPC wizard who owes the PCs a favor might cast a spell on them that deflects one weapon if they say a magic word. An alien pylon might grant knowledge of a strange mental code that lets a person see in the dark for a few hours.

Requesting Subtle Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 379)

A PC can also acquire a new subtle cypher by spending 1 XP on one of the following player intrusions:

  • General cypher: You ask the GM for a general subtle cypher, such as "healing," "movement," "defense," or perhaps something as specific as "flight." The GM gives you a cypher that meets that description and randomly determines its level. If you don't have space for this cypher, you immediately lose one of your current cyphers (your choice) and the new cypher takes its place.

  • Specific cypher: You ask the GM for a specific subtle cypher (such as a curative or stim) of a specific level. Make an Intellect roll with a difficulty equal to the cypher's level plus 1. If you have had this cypher before, the task is eased. If you fail the roll, you do not gain a cypher. If you succeed, the GM gives you that subtle cypher at that level. If you don't have space for this new cypher, you immediately lose one of your current cyphers (your choice) and the new cypher takes its place. Whether or not you succeed at the roll, the 1 XP is spent.

Optional Rule: Transferring Subtle Cyphers

(Rust and Redemption, page 132)

A PC with a subtle cypher can use it on an ally they can touch and speak with as their action instead of gaining the effect themself. They manage this feat by motivating the recipient through speech and interaction, effectively inspiring the recipient in the same way the subtle cypher would have affected the character with the cypher. This uses the action of the character activating the cypher, not the recipient.

Manifest Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 379)

Because manifest cyphers are physical objects, and people are familiar with the idea of finding "treasure" as part of playing an RPG, these kinds of cyphers are easy to get into the hands of the PCs. They are often found in groups of one to six (the GM can roll 1d6 to determine the number), usually because the characters are searching for them. They might be among the possessions of a fallen foe, hidden in a secret room, or scattered amid the wreckage of a crashed starship. The GM can prepare a list ahead of time of what successful searchers find. Sometimes this list is random, and sometimes there is logic behind it. For example, a warlock's laboratory might contain four different magic potions that the PCs can find.

If the characters search for cyphers, the GM sets the difficulty of the task. It is usually 3 or 4, and scavenging can take fifteen minutes to an hour.

Scavenging is not the only way to obtain manifest cyphers. They can also be given as gifts, traded with merchants, or sometimes purchased in a shop.

Unlike subtle cyphers, characters don't automatically know what manifest cyphers do. Once the PCs find a manifest cypher, identifying it is a separate task, based on Intellect and modified by knowledge of the topic at hand. In a fantasy setting, that knowledge would probably be magic, but in a science fiction setting, it might be technology. The GM sets the difficulty of the task, but it is usually 1 or 2. Thus, even the smallest amount of knowledge means that cypher identification is automatic. The process takes one to ten minutes. If the PCs can't identify a cypher, they can bring it to an expert for identification and perhaps trade, if desired.

Manifest Cyphers Duplicating Subtle Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 380)

Lots of overlap exists between what subtle cyphers and manifest cyphers can do. Nearly anything that can be explained as a subtle cypher can just as easily be a magic item, scientific device, or other manifest object. A bit of luck that helps you sneak (a subtle cypher) and a potion that helps you sneak (a manifest cypher) do the exact same thing for a character. One advantage of manifest cyphers is that characters can easily trade them to each other or sell them to NPCs. On the other hand, manifest cyphers can be dropped or stolen, and subtle cyphers can't.

It's fine if the GM decides to include both kinds of cyphers in the same game. A horror game could begin with the PCs as normal people with subtle cyphers, but as time goes on, they find one-use spells in occult tomes, weird potions, and bone dust that has strange powers.

Manifest Cypher Forms

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 381)

None of the manifest cyphers in this chapter have a stated physical form. The entries don't tell you if something is a potion, a pill, or a device you hold in your hands because that sort of detail varies greatly from genre to genre. Are they magic? Are they tech? Are they symbiotic creatures with programmed DNA? That's up to the GM. It's flavor, not mechanics. It's as important or unimportant as the style of an NPC's hair or the color of the car the bad guys are driving. In other words, it's the kind of thing that is important in a roleplaying game, but at the same time doesn't actually change anything (and RPGs have a lot of things like that, if you think about it).

A manifest cypher's physical form can be anything at all, but there are some obvious choices based on genre. The GM can design a setting that uses just one type—for example, a magical world where all cyphers are potions made by faeries. Or they can use many types, perhaps mixing them from different genres. Some suggestions include the following.

Manifest Cypher Form Options

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 382)

Fantasy/Fairy Tale

  • Potions
  • Scrolls
  • Runeplates
  • Tattoos
  • Charms
  • Powders
  • Crystals
  • Books with words of power

Modern/Romance

  • Drugs (injections, pills, inhalants)
  • Viruses
  • Smartphone apps

Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic

  • Drugs (injections, pills, inhalants)
  • Computer programs
  • Crystals
  • Gadgets
  • Viruses
  • Biological implants
  • Mechanical implants
  • Nanotechnological injections

Horror

  • Burrowing worms or insects
  • Pages from forbidden books
  • Horrific images

Superhero

  • Forms from all the other genres

Editor's Notes — For more on cypher forms, see Fantasy Cypher Forms and Fairy Tale Cypher Forms.

Using Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 380)

The action to use a cypher is Intellect based unless described otherwise or logic suggests otherwise. For example, throwing an explosive might be Speed based because the device is physical and not really technical, but using a ray emitter is Intellect based.

Because cyphers are single-use items, cyphers used to make attacks can never be used with theSpray orArc Spray abilities that some characters might have. They are never treated as rapid-fire weapons.

Identified manifest cyphers can be used automatically. Once a manifest cypher is activated, if it has an ongoing effect, that effect applies only to the character who activated the cypher. A PC can't activate a cypher and then hand it to another character to reap the benefits.

A character can attempt to use a manifest cypher that has not been identified; this is usually an Intellect task using the cypher's level. Failure might mean that the PC can't figure out how to use the cypher or that they use it incorrectly (GM's discretion). Of course, even if the PC activates the unidentified cypher, they have no idea what its effect will be.

Cyphers are meant to be used regularly and often. If PCs are hoarding or saving their cyphers, feel free to give them a reason to put the cyphers into play.

Cypher Levels and Effects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 380)

All cyphers have a level and an effect. The level sometimes determines an aspect of the cypher's power (how much damage it inflicts, for example) but otherwise it only determines the general efficacy, the way level works with any object. The Level entry for a cypher is usually a die roll, sometimes with a modifier, such as 1d6 or 1d6 + 4. The GM can roll to determine the cypher's level, or can allow the player to roll when they receive the cypher.

Resolving Cypher Levels and Effects

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Activating a cypher requires an action, unless the cypher's effects dictate otherwise—for example, Power Boost Cyphers are activated at the same time as the ability they affect.

Many times when a character uses a cypher, the effects take hold without the need for a task or a roll. This isn't the case if you're using the cypher to attack a creature. Tasks related to using a cypher—including attacking—are Intellect-based unless the GM decides otherwise. For example, the GM might allow attacking with a Detonation cypher as Speed task, because its form is not entirely unlike a thrown weapon.

A cypher's level being lower than a target creature's level doesn't mean the cypher is ineffective. Rather, it is the success of the assigned task when the cypher is used that determines if a cypher's effects take hold. For example, attacking a level 5 troll with a level 3 Detonation (Web) cypher is a matter of succeeding an attack roll against that creature's target number.

Cypher level does determine other interactions with ongoing effects the cypher creates, however—the troll will automatically succeed their Might action to break free on their next turn, while any lower-level creatures would remain caught in the web for several rounds.

A cypher with a level lower than the target's level doesn't mean it is ineffective. Entangling a level 5 troll with several level 3 wolf pets using a level 4 Detonation (Web) cypher is a matter of succeeding on an attack roll against the troll's target number. If the attack is successful, the troll must still use at least one action on its turn to break free from the webbing. The wolves will struggle for quite a while longer the troll frees them over the next three rounds—sooner, if they are smart enough to work together. Clever use of cyphers can resolve an encounter quickly.

How long do the wolves stay stuck? Maybe until the end of the encounter, but the troll might free wolves one at a time with its action. If the wolves are intelligent or especially well-trained, they might work together to free the pack even faster.

Normal and Fantastic Effects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 380)

Cypher effects fall into two categories: normal and fantastic. Normal effects are things that could reasonably happen or be explained in the normal physical world we're familiar with. Fantastic effects are things that can't. A normal person could hit a target 240 feet (73 m) away with a football, quickly get over a cold, run across a tightrope, or multiply two two-digit numbers in their head. These tasks are difficult, but possible. A normal person can't throw an armored car, regrow a severed arm, create a robot out of thin air, or control gravity with their mind. These tasks are impossible according to the world as we know it. Cypher effects are either normal (possible) or fantastic (impossible according to the world as we know it).

Normal cypher effects should be available to PCs regardless of the genre of your game. It's perfectly reasonable for a modern, fantasy, horror, science fiction, or superhero PC to have a cypher that gives them a one-use bonus on an attack or skill task, lets them take a quick breather to recover a few points in a Pool, or helps them focus their will to avoid distractions or fatigue.

Fantastic cypher effects should be limited to games where magic, technology, or other factors stretch the definition of "impossible." A cypher that turns a corpse into a zombie is out of place in a non-fantastic modern game, but is perfectly reasonable for a fantasy, science fiction, or superhero game, or even a horror game where zombies exist, as long as the GM decides there is an appropriate story explanation for it. The zombie cypher might be a necromantic spell in a fantasy or superhero game, a code that activates a swarm of nanobots in a science fiction game, or a virus in a horror game. The rules categorize some cypher effects as fantastic to help the GM decide whether to exclude cyphers that don't fit the game they're running. For example, it is appropriate for a GM running a zombie horror survival game set in 1990s Georgia to allow the zombie-creating cypher but not a teleportation cypher, because creating a zombie is a fantastic effect that fits the setting and teleportation isn't.

Fantastic cyphers can be subtle or manifest.

Optional Rule: Normal Cyphers Duplicating Fantastic Effects

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 381)

If the GM and players are willing to stretch their imaginations a bit, it's possible to include some fantastic cypher effects in a game where only normal cypher effects should exist, even if the PCs are only using subtle cyphers. The player using the cypher just needs to come up with a practical, realistic explanation for how the fantastic result occurred (perhaps with a much shorter or reduced effect than what's described in the cypher text).

For example, a PC with a phase changer who is trapped in a prison cell could say that instead of physically phasing through the wall, using the cypher means they find a long-forgotten secret door connected to a narrow hallway leading to safety. A PC with a fire detonation could say they notice a can of paint thinner in the room, kick it over, and throw a table lamp into the spill, creating a spark and a momentary burst of harmful flames. A PC with a monoblade could say they spot structural flaws in an opponent's armor, allowing them to attack for the rest of that combat in such a way that the foe's Armor doesn't count.

These interpretations of fantastic cyphers in a non-fantastic setting require player ingenuity and GM willingness to embrace creative solutions (similar to players using player intrusions to make a change in the game world). The GM always has the right to veto the explanation for the fantastic effect, allowing the player to choose a different action instead of using the fantastic cypher.

A Listing of Various Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

All cyphers in this section may be manifest cyphers. It is the GM's discretion whether a particular cypher can be a subtle cypher, and that decision usually depends on the setting. (The tables indicating subtle, manifest and fantastic cyphers are just suggestions for a typical campaign setting.)

Manifest Cypher Table

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 382)

Manifest Cypher Table
d100Manifest Cyphers
01–03Adhesion
04–05Antivenom
06–09Armor reinforcer
10–11Attractor
12–13Blackout
14–15Catholicon
16–17Curse bringer
18–19Death bringer
20–22Density
23–26Detonation
27–29Detonation (flash)
30–31Detonation (massive)
32–34Detonation (pressure)
35–36Detonation (sonic)
37–38Detonation (spawn)
39–41Detonation (web)
42–44Equipment cache
45–46Fireproofing
47–49Friction reducer
50–52Gas bomb
53–55Hunter/seeker
56–57Infiltrator
58–60Information sensor
61–63Metal death
64–65Nullification ray
66–68Poison (emotion)
69–70Poison (mind disrupting)
71–73Radiation spike
74–76Remote viewer
77–79Shocker
80–82Sleep inducer
83–85Sniper module
86–88Solvent
89–90Spy
91–92Tracer
93–94Uninterruptible power source
95–96Warmth
97–98Water adapter
99–00X-ray viewer
Fantastic Cypher Table

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 382)

Fantastic Cypher Table
d100Fantastic Cyphers
01Age taker
02Banishing
03–04Blinking
05Chemical factory
06Comprehension
07–08Condition remover
09Controlled blinking
10Detonation (creature)
11Detonation (desiccating)
12Detonation (gravity)
13Detonation (gravity inversion)
14Detonation (matter disruption)
15Detonation (singularity)
16Disguise module
17Disrupting
18Farsight
19Flame-retardant wall
20Force cube
21–22Force field
23Force screen projector
24Force shield projector
25Frigid wall
26–27Gravity nullifier
28Gravity-nullifying application
29–30Heat attack
31Image projector
32Inferno wall
33–34Instant servant
35Instant shelter
36Lightning wall
37–38Machine control
39Magnetic attack drill
40Magnetic master
41Magnetic shield
42Manipulation beam
43Matter transference ray
44Memory switch
45Mental scrambler
46Mind meld
47Mind-restricting wall
48–49Monoblade
50Monohorn
51Null field
52–53Personal environment field
54–55Phase changer
56Phase disruptor
57Poison (explosive)
58Poison (mind controlling)
59Psychic communique
60Ray emitter
61Ray emitter (command)
62Ray emitter (fear)
63Ray emitter (friend slaying)
64Ray emitter (mind disrupting)
65Ray emitter (numbing)
66Ray emitter (paralysis)
67Reality spike
68Repair unit
69Repeater
70–71Retaliation
72Sheen
73–74Shock attack
75Slave maker
76Sonic hole
77–78Sound dampener
79Spatial warp
80Stasis keeper
81Subdual field
82–83Telepathy
84Teleporter (bounder)
85Teleporter (interstellar)
86Teleporter (planetary)
87Teleporter (traveler)
88Temporal viewer
89Time dilation (defensive)
90Time dilation (offensive)
91Trick embedder
92Vanisher
93–94Visage changer
95Visual displacement device
96Vocal translator
97–98Weapon enhancement
99Wings
00Zero point field
Subtle Cypher Table

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 383)

Subtle Cypher Table
d100Subtle Cyphers
01–04Analeptic
05–07Best tool
08–10Burst of speed
11–13Contingent activator
14–17Curative
18–20Darksight
21–23Disarm
24–26Eagleseye
27–29Effect resistance
30–32Effort enhancer (combat)
33–35Effort enhancer (noncombat)
36–39Enduring shield
40–42Intellect booster
43–45Intelligence enhancement
46–48Knowledge enhancement
49–51Meditation aid
52–54Mind stabilizer
55–57Motion sensor
58–60Nutrition and hydration
61–63Perfect memory
64–66Perfection
67–69Reflex enhancer
70–73Rejuvenator
74–76Remembering
77–79Repel
80–82Secret
83–85Skill boost
86–88Speed boost
89–91Stim
92–94Strength boost
95–97Strength enhancer
98–00Tissue regeneration
Power Boost Cypher Table

(Claim the Sky, page 157)

Power Boost Cypher Table
d100Power Boost Cyphers
01–10Area boost
11–20Burst boost
21–30Damage boost
31–40Efficacy boost
41–50Energy boost
51–60Range boost
61–80Shift boost
81–90Stunt boost
91–00Target boost

Editor's Notes — Two variant power boost cyphers aren't listed in this table: efficacy boost (minor) and efficacy boost (major).

Cyphers by Alphabetical Order
Adhesion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Allows for automatic climbing of any surface, even horizontal ones. Lasts for ten minutes per cypher level.

Age Taker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Begins a process of rejuvenation that removes years from the wearer's physiological age. Over the course of the next seven days, the wearer sheds a number of years equal to three times the cypher's level. The cypher doesn't regress physiological age past the age of twenty-three.

Analeptic

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to the user's Speed Pool.

Antivenom

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Renders user immune to poisons of the cypher's level or lower for one hour per cypher level (and ends any such ongoing effects, if any, already in the user's system).

Armor Reinforcer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The user's Armor gains an enhancement for twenty-four hours. Roll a d6 to determine the result.

Armor Reinforcer Enhancement
d6Armor Reinforcer Enhancement
1+1 to Armor
2+2 to Armor
3+3 to Armor
4+2 to Armor, +5 against damage from fire
5+2 to Armor, +5 against damage from cold
6+2 to Armor, +5 against damage from acid
Attractor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: One unanchored item the user's size or smaller within long range (very long range if the cypher level is 8 or higher) is drawn immediately to them. This takes one round. The item has no momentum when it arrives.

Banishing

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user strikes a solid creature or object, it generates a burst of energy that teleports the creature or object an immediate distance in a random direction (not up or down). The teleported creature's actions (including defense) are hindered on its next turn (hindered by two steps if the cypher level is 5 or higher).

Best Tool

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Provides an additional asset for any one task using a tool, even if that means exceeding the normal limit of two assets.

Blackout

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 384)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: An area within immediate range of the user becomes secure against any effect outside the area that sees, hears, or otherwise senses what occurs inside. To outside observers, the area is a "blur" to any sense applied. Taps, scrying sensors, and other direct surveillance methods are also rendered inoperative within the area for a day.

Blinking

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user is struck hard enough to take damage (but not more than once per round), they teleport an immediate distance in a random direction (not up or down). Since the user is prepared for this effect and their foe is not, the user's defenses are eased for one round after they teleport.

Burst of Speed

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one minute, a user who normally can move a short distance as an action can move a long distance instead.

Catholicon

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Cures any disease of the cypher level or lower.

Chemical Factory

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: After one hour, the sweat of the user produces 1d6 doses of a valuable liquid (these doses are not considered cyphers). They must be used within one week. Roll a d100 to determine the effect.

Chemical Factory Effects
d100Chemical Factory Effects
01–04Euphoric for 1d6 hours
05–08Hallucinogenic for 1d6 hours
09–12Stimulant for 1d6 hours
13–16Depressant for 1d6 hours
17–20Nutrient supplement
21–25Antivenom
26–30Cures disease
31–35See in the dark for one hour
36–45Restores a number of Might Pool points equal to cypher level
46–55Restores a number of Speed Pool points equal to cypher level
56–65Restores a number of Intellect Pool points equal to cypher level
66–75Increases Might Edge by 1 for one hour
76–85Increases Speed Edge by 1 for one hour
86–95Increases Intellect Edge by 1 for one hour
96–00Restores all Pools to full
Comprehension

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Within five minutes, the user can understand the words of a specific language keyed to the cypher (two languages if the cypher is level 5 or higher). This is true even of creatures that do not normally have a language. If the user could already understand the language, the cypher has no effect. Once the cypher is used, the effect is permanent, and the cypher no longer counts against the number of cyphers that a PC can bear.

Condition Remover

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 385)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Cures one occurrence of one specific health condition of the cypher level or lower. It does not prevent the possibility of future occurrences of the same condition. Roll a d20 to determine what it cures.

Condition Remover Effects
d20Condition Remover Effects
1Addiction to one substance
2Autoimmune disease
3Bacterial infection
4Bad breath
5Blisters
6Bloating
7Cancer
8Chapped lips
9Flatus
10Hangover
11Heartburn
12Hiccups
13Ingrown hairs
14Insomnia
15Joint problem
16Muscle cramp
17Pimples
18Psychosis
19Stiff neck
20Viral infection
Contingent Activator

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: If the device is activated in conjunction with another cypher, the user can specify a condition under which the linked cypher will activate. The linked cypher retains the contingent command until it is used (either normally or contingently). For example, when this cypher is linked to a cypher that provides a form of healing or protection, the user could specify that the linked cypher will activate if they become damaged to a certain degree or are subject to a particular dangerous circumstance. Until the linked cypher is used, this cypher continues to count toward the maximum number of cyphers a PC can carry.

Controlled Blinking

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user is struck hard enough to inflict damage (but no more than once per round), they teleport to a spot they desire within immediate range. Since they are prepared for this effect and their foe is not, the user's defenses are eased for one round after they teleport.

Curative

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to the user's Might Pool.

Curse Bringer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The cypher can be activated when given to an individual who doesn't realize its significance. The next time the victim attempts an important task when the cypher is in their possession, the task is hindered by three steps.

Darksight

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Grants the ability to see in the dark for five hours per cypher level. (For a more realistic game, this cypher could instead make the user specialized in low-light spotting.)

Death Bringer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next minute, when the user strikes an NPC or creature of the cypher level or lower, they can choose to make a second attack roll. If the second attack roll is a success, the target is killed. If the target is a PC, the character instead moves down one step on the damage track.

Density

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user strikes a solid creature or object with a weapon, the weapon suddenly increases dramatically in weight, causing the blow to inflict 2 additional points of damage.

Detonation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes in an immediate radius, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. Roll a d100 to determine the type of damage.

Detonation Effects
d100Detonation Effects
01–10Cell-disrupting (harms only flesh)
11–30Corrosive
31–40Electrical discharge
41–50Heat drain (cold)
51–75Fire
76–00Shrapnel

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Creature)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes and creates a momentary teleportation gate. A random creature whose level is equal to or less than the cypher's level appears through the gate and attacks the closest target. After about one minute, the creature vanishes.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Desiccating)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that bursts in an immediate radius, draining moisture from everything within it. Living creatures take damage equal to the cypher's level. Water in the area is vaporized.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Flash)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 386)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that bursts in an immediate radius, blinding all within it for one minute (ten minutes if the cypher is level 4 or higher).

Detonation (Gravity)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that bursts in an immediate radius, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level by increasing gravity tremendously for one second. All creatures in the area are crushed to the ground for one round and cannot take physical actions.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Gravity Inversion)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes, and for one hour gravity reverses within long range of the explosion.

Detonation (Massive)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes in a short-range radius, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. Roll a d100 to determine the type of damage.

Detonation (Massive) Effects
d100Detonation (Massive) Effects
01–10Cell-disrupting (harms only flesh)
11–30Corrosive
31–40Electrical discharge
41–50Heat drain (cold)
51–75Fire
76–00Shrapnel

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Matter Disruption)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes in an immediate radius, releasing nanites that rearrange matter in random ways. Inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Pressure)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes in an immediate radius, inflicting impact damage equal to the cypher's level. Also moves unattended objects out of the area if they weigh less than 20 pounds (9 kg) per cypher level.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Singularity)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 10

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes and creates a momentary singularity that tears at the fabric of the universe. Inflicts 20 points of damage to all within short range, drawing them (or their remains) together to immediate range (if possible). Player characters in the radius who fail a Might defense roll move down one step on the damage track.

The singularity detonation is a greatly feared device, sought by those interested in truly horrific destruction.

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Sonic)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes with terrifying sound, deafening all in an immediate radius for ten minutes per cypher level.

Detonation (Spawn)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that bursts in an immediate radius, blinding all within it for one minute and inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. The burst spawns 1d6 additional detonations; in the next round, each additional detonation flies to a random spot within short range and explodes in an immediate radius. Roll a d100 to determine the type of damage dealt by all detonations:

Detonation (Spawn) Effects
d100Detonation (Spawn) Effects
01–10Cell-disrupting (harms only flesh)
11–30Corrosive
31–40Electrical discharge
41–50Heat drain (cold)
51–75Fire
76–00Shrapnel

All damaging detonations inflict a minimum of 2 points of damage to those in the radius, regardless of attack or defense rolls.

Detonation (Web)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Projects a small physical explosive up to a long distance away that explodes in an immediate radius and creates sticky strands of goo. PCs caught in the area must use a Might-based action to get out, with the difficulty determined by the cypher level. NPCs break free if their level is higher than the cypher level.

Rather than strands of sticky goo, some web detonations fill the area with a mass of quick-hardening foam that has the same result.

Disarm

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 387)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One NPC within immediate range whose level is lower than the cypher level drops whatever they are holding.

Disguise Module

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: For the next ten minutes per cypher level, the user's features become almost identical to those of one designated person they have previously interacted with, easing by two steps attempts to disguise the user as that person. Once designated, the user cannot shift the effect to look like another person, though they can remove the module to look like themselves again before the end of the duration.

Disrupting

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user strikes a solid creature or object, the attack generates a burst of nanites that directly attack its organic cells. The target takes 1 additional point of damage. If the target's level is less than the cypher's level, it loses its next action; otherwise its next action is hindered.

Eagleseye

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Grants the ability to see ten times as far as normal for one hour per cypher level. (For a more realistic game, the eagleseye cypher could instead give the user two assets on tasks involving seeing to long distances.)

Effect Resistance

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Provides a chance for additional resistance to directly damaging effects of all kinds, such as fire, lightning, and the like, for one day. (It does not provide resistance to blunt force, slashing, or piercing attacks.) If the level of the effect is of the cypher level or lower, the user gains an additional defense roll to avoid it. On a successful defense roll, treat the attack as if the user had succeeded on their regular defense roll. (If the user is an NPC, a PC attacking them with this kind of effect must succeed on two attack rolls to harm them.)

Effort Enhancer (Combat)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: For the next hour, the user can apply one free level of Effort to any task (including a combat task) without spending points from a Pool. The free level of Effort provided by this cypher does not count toward the maximum amount of Effort a character can normally apply to one task. Once this free level of Effort is used, the effect of the cypher ends.

Effort Enhancer (Noncombat)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next hour, the user can apply one free level of Effort to a noncombat task without spending points from a Pool. The level of Effort provided by this cypher does not count toward the maximum amount of Effort a character can normally apply to one task. Once this free level of Effort is used, the effect of the cypher ends.

Enduring Shield

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: For the next day, the user has an asset to Speed defense rolls.

Equipment Cache

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The user can rummage around and produce from the cypher a desired piece of equipment (not an artifact) whose level does not exceed the cypher's level. The piece of equipment persists for up to one day, unless its fundamental nature allows only a single use (such as with a grenade).

Farsight

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The user can observe a location they have visited previously, regardless of how far away it is (even across galaxies). This vision persists for up to ten minutes per cypher level. The character can switch between viewing this location and viewing their current location once per round.

Fireproofing

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: A nonliving object treated by this cypher has Armor against fire damage equal to the cypher's level for one day.

Flame-Retardant Wall

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 388)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Creates an immobile plane of permeable energy up to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 m by 6 m) for one hour per cypher level. The plane conforms to the space available. Flames passing through the plane are extinguished.

Force Cube

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Creates an immobile cube composed of six planes of solid force, each 30 feet (9 m) to a side, for one hour. The planes conform to the space available. (Although a force cube's walls are not gaseous permeable, there is likely enough air within for trapped creatures to breathe for the hour it lasts.)

Force Field

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, the user is surrounded by a powerful force field, granting them +1 to Armor (+2 to Armor if the cypher level is 5 or higher).

Some force walls, shields, and cubes are transparent. Others are translucent. A few are opaque.

Force Screen Projector

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Creates an immobile plane of solid force up to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 m by 6 m) for one hour. The plane conforms to the space available.

Force Shield Projector

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Creates a shimmering energy shield around the user for one hour, during which time they gain +3 to Armor (or +4 to Armor if the cypher is level 5 or higher).

Friction Reducer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Spread across an area up to 10 feet (3 m) square, this makes things extremely slippery. For one hour per cypher level, movement tasks in the area are hindered by three steps.

Frigid Wall

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates a wall of supercooled air up to 30 feet by 30 feet by 1 foot (9 m by 9 m by 30 cm) that inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level on anything that passes through it. The wall conforms to the space available. It lasts for ten minutes.

Gas Bomb

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 389)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Thrown a short distance, this bursts in a poisonous cloud within an immediate area. The cloud lingers for 1d6 rounds unless conditions dictate otherwise. Roll a d100 to determine the effect.

Gas Bomb Effects
d100Gas Bomb Effects
01–10Thick smoke: occludes sight while the cloud lasts.
11–20Choking gas: living creatures that breathe lose their actions to choking and coughing for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.
21–50Poison gas: living creatures that breathe suffer damage equal to the cypher's level.
51–60Corrosive gas: everything suffers damage equal to the cypher's level.
61–65Hallucinogenic gas: living creatures that breathe lose their actions to hallucinations and visions for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.
66–70Nerve gas: living creatures that breathe suffer Speed damage equal to the cypher's level.
71–80Mind-numbing gas: living creatures that breathe suffer Intellect damage equal to the cypher's level.
81–83Fear gas: living creatures that breathe and think flee in a random direction in fear (or are paralyzed with fear) for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.
84–86Amnesia gas: living creatures that breathe and think permanently lose all memory of the last minute.
87–96Sleep gas: living creatures that breathe fall asleep for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level or until awoken by a violent action or an extremely loud noise.
97–00Rage gas: living creatures that breathe and think make a melee attack on the nearest creature and continue to do so for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.
Gravity Nullifier

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: For one hour, the user can float into the air, moving vertically up to a short distance per round (but not horizontally without taking some other action, such as pushing along the ceiling). The user must weigh less than 50 pounds (23 kg) per level of the cypher.

Gravity Nullifying Application

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: If a nonliving object no larger than a human (two humans if the cypher level is 6 or higher) is coated by this cypher, it floats 1d20 feet in the air permanently and no longer has weight if carried (though it needs to be strapped down).

Heat Attack

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user strikes a solid creature or object, the attack generates a burst of heat that inflicts 2 additional points of damage.

Hunter/Seeker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: With long-range movement, this intelligent missile tracks and attacks a specified target (target must be within sight when selected). If it misses, it continues to attack one additional time per cypher level until it hits. For example, a level 4 hunter/seeker will attack a maximum of five times. Roll a d100 to determine the type of attack.

Hunter/Seeker Effects
d100Hunter/Seeker Effects
01–50Inflicts 8 points of damage.
51–80Bears a poisoned needle that inflicts 3 points of damage plus poison.
81–90Explodes, inflicting 6 points of damage to all within immediate range.
91–95Shocks for 4 points of electricity damage, and stuns for one round per cypher level.
96–00Covers target in sticky goo that immediately hardens, holding them fast until they break free with a Might action (difficulty equal to the cypher's level + 2).
Image Projector

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Projects one of the following immobile images in the area described for one hour. The image appears up to a close distance from the user (long distance if the cypher level is 4 or higher, very long distance if the cypher level is 6 or higher). Scenes include movement, sound, and smell. Roll a d100 to determine the image.

Image Projector Effects
d100Image Projector Effects
01–20Terrifying creature of an unknown species, perhaps no longer alive in the world (10-foot [3 m] cube)
21–40Huge machine that obscures sight (30-foot [9 m] cube)
41–50Beautiful pastoral scene (50-foot [15 m] cube)
51–60Food that looks delicious but may not be familiar (10-foot [3 m] cube)
61–80Solid color that obscures sight (50-foot [15 m] cube)
81–00Incomprehensible scene that is disorienting and strange (20-foot [6 m] cube)
Inferno Wall

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates a wall of extreme heat up to 30 feet by 30 feet by 1 foot (9 m by 9 m by 30 cm) that inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level on anything that passes through it. The wall conforms to the space available. It lasts for ten minutes.

Infiltrator

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 390)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Tiny capsule launches and moves at great speed, mapping and scanning an unknown area. It moves 500 feet (150 m) per level, scanning an area up to 50 feet (15 m) per level away from it. It identifies basic layout, creatures, and major energy sources and either transmits this information back to the user (perhaps by telepathy or an electronic signal) or returns to the user to show what it saw. Its movement is blocked by any physical or energy barrier.

Information Sensor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Over the course of one day, the user can activate the cypher a total number of times equal to its level. Each time, they can select a living creature within long range and learn the following about it: level, origin, species, name, and possibly other facts (such as an individual's credit score, home address, phone number, and related information).

Instant Servant

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Small device expands into a humanoid automaton that is roughly 2 feet (60 cm) tall. Its level is equal to the cypher's level, and it can understand the verbal commands of the character who activated it. Once the servant is activated, commanding it is not an action. It can make attacks or perform actions as ordered to the best of its abilities, but it cannot speak.

    The automaton has short-range movement but never goes farther than long range from the character who activated it. At the GM's discretion, the servant might have specialized knowledge, such as how to operate a particular device. Otherwise, it has no special knowledge. In any case, the servant is not artificially intelligent or capable of initiating action. It does only as commanded.

    The servant operates for one hour per cypher level.

Instant Shelter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: With the addition of water and air, this cypher expands into a simple one-room structure with a door and a transparent window (two rooms with an internal door if the cypher level is 7 or higher). The structure is 10 feet by 10 feet by 20 feet (3 m by 3 m by 6 m). It is made from a durable, nonflammable material similar to sandstone, and is permanent and immobile once created.

Intellect Booster

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Adds 1 to the user's Intellect Edge for one hour (or 2 if the cypher is level 5 or higher).

Intelligence Enhancement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: All of the user's tasks involving intelligent deduction—such as playing chess, inferring a connection between clues, solving a mathematical problem, finding a bug in computer code, and so on—are eased by two steps for one hour. In the subsequent hour, the strain hinders the same tasks by two steps.

Knowledge Enhancement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, the character has training in a predetermined skill (or two skills if the cypher is level 5 or higher). The skill could be anything (including something specific to the operation of a particular device), or roll a d100 to choose a common skill.

Knowledge Enhancement Effects
d100Knowledge Enhancement Effects
01–10Melee attacks
11–20Ranged attacks
21–40One type of academic or esoteric lore (biology, history, magic, and so on)
41–50Repairing (sometimes specific to one device)
51–60Crafting (usually specific to one thing)
61–70Persuasion
71–75Healing
76–80Speed defense
81–85Intellect defense
86–90Swimming
91–95Riding
96–00Sneaking

It is easy to get addicted to the quick hit of training that comes from knowledge enhancement cyphers. Characters who rely on them too often may find themselves at a disadvantage when they run out, presenting a great opportunity for GM intrusion.

Lightning Wall

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 391)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates a wall of electric bolts up to 30 feet by 30 feet by 1 foot (9 m by 9 m by 30 cm) that inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level on anything that passes through it. The wall conforms to the space available. It lasts for ten minutes.

Machine Control

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Splits into two pieces; one is affixed to a device and the other to a character. The character can then use their mind to control the device at long range, bidding it to do anything it could do normally. Thus, a device could be activated or deactivated, and a vehicle could be piloted. The control lasts for ten minutes per cypher level, and once the device is chosen, it cannot be changed.

Magnetic Attack Drill

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The user throws this cypher at a target within short range, and it drills into the target for one round, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level. If the target is made of metal or wearing metal (such as armor), the attack is eased.

Magnetic Master

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Establishes a connection with one metal object within short range that a human could hold in one hand. The user can then move or manipulate the object anywhere within short range (each movement or manipulation is an action). For example, they could wield a weapon or drag a helm affixed to a foe's head to and fro. The connection lasts for ten rounds per cypher level.

Magnetic Shield

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: For ten minutes per cypher level, metal objects cannot come within immediate range of the user. Metal items already in the area when the device is activated are slowly pushed out.

Manipulation Beam

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Over the course of one day, the user can activate the cypher a total number of times equal to its level. Each time, they can affect an object they can see within long range that is not too heavy for them to affect physically. The effect must occur over the course of a round and could include closing or opening a door, keying in a number on a keypad, transferring an object a short distance, wresting an object from another creature's grasp (on a successful Might-based roll), or pushing a creature an immediate distance. (A manipulation beam could be used to operate a computer at a distance, which would make some infiltration and hacking jobs easier.)

Matter Transference Ray

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user can target one nonliving object within long range that is their size or smaller of the cypher level or lower. The object is transferred directly to a random location at least 100 miles (160 km) away. If the GM feels it appropriate to the circumstances, only a portion of an object is transferred (a portion whose volume is no more than the user's).

Meditation Aid

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to the user's Intellect Pool.

Memory Switch

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The user selects a point within long range, and the minds of all thinking creatures within immediate range of that point are attacked. Victims are dazed and take no action for a round, and they have no memory of the preceding hour.

Mental Scrambler

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 392)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Two rounds after being activated, the device creates an invisible field that fills an area within short range and lasts for one minute. The field scrambles the mental processes of all thinking creatures. The effect lasts as long as they remain in the field and for 1d6 rounds after, although an Intellect defense roll is allowed each round to act normally (both in the field and after leaving it). Each mental scrambler is keyed to a specific effect. Roll a d100 to determine the effect.

Mental Scrambler Effects
d100Mental Scrambler Effects
01–30Victims cannot act.
31–40Victims cannot speak.
41–50Victims move slowly (immediate range) and clumsily.
51–60Victims cannot see or hear.
61–70Victims lose all sense of direction, depth, and proportion.
71–80Victims do not recognize anyone they know.
81–88Victims suffer partial amnesia.
89–94Victims suffer total amnesia.
95–98Victims lose all inhibitions, revealing secrets and performing surprising actions.
99–00Victims' ethics are inverted.
Metal Death

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Produces a stream of foam that covers an area about 3 feet by 3 feet (1 m by 1 m), transforming any metal that it touches into a substance as brittle as thin glass. The foam affects metal to a depth of about 6 inches (15 cm).

Mind Meld

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Lets the user speak telepathically with creatures they can see within short range for up to one hour. The user can't read a target's thoughts, except those that are specifically "transmitted."

In some games, telepathy transcends normal language barriers (if the target has a mind that allows for telepathic communication). In others, it might only pick up emotions or general concepts of thoughts in another language. It also might vary based on the ability used.

Mind-Restricting Wall

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates an immobile plane of permeable energy up to 20 feet by 20 feet (6 m by 6 m) for one hour. The plane conforms to the space available. Intelligent creatures passing through the plane fall unconscious for up to one hour, or until slapped awake or damaged.

Mind Stablizer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: The user gains +5 to Armor against Intellect damage.

Editor's Notes — The mind stabilizer cypher doesn't list a duration. As a simple solution, the GM could assign this cypher a duration of one hour per cypher level.

Monoblade

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Produces a 6-inch (15 cm) blade that's the same level as the cypher. The blade cuts through any material of a level lower than its own. If used as a weapon, it is a light weapon that ignores Armor of a level lower than its own. The blade lasts for ten minutes.

Monohorn

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user gains a horn in the center of their forehead. The horn is deadly sharp and strong, and it spirals down to a solid base where it fuses with their flesh and bone. The user is specialized in making melee attacks with the horn, which is considered a medium weapon. The horn lasts for a number of hours equal to the cypher's level.

Sometimes a monohorn cypher covers the user in a thin sheen of black hide-like material, which disguises their identity but doesn't interfere with their senses.

Motion Sensor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: For one hour per cypher level, the user knows when any movement occurs within short range, and when large creatures or objects move within long range (the cypher distinguishes between the two). It also indicates the number and size of the creatures or objects in motion.

Null Field

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user and all creatures within immediate range gain +3 to Armor (+5 if the cypher is level 8 or higher) against damage of a specified kind for one hour. Roll a d100 to determine the effect.

Null field Effects
d100Null field Effects
01–12Fire
13–27Cold
28–39Acid
40–52Psychic
53–65Sonic
66–72Electrical
73–84Poison
85–95Blunt force
96–00Slashing and piercing
Nullification Ray

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: The user can immediately end one ongoing effect within long range that is produced by an artifact, cypher, or special ability.

Nutrition and Hydration

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: The user can go without food and water for a number of days equal to the cypher's level without ill effect.

Perfect Memory

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Allows the user to mentally record everything they see for thirty seconds per cypher level and store the recording permanently in their long-term memory. This cypher is useful for watching someone pick a specific lock, enter a complex code, or do something else that happens quickly.

Perfection

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 393)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The user treats their next action as if they had rolled a natural 20.

Personal Environment Field

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Creates an aura of temperature and atmosphere that will sustain a human safely for a day. The aura extends to 1 foot (30 cm) around the user (double that radius if the cypher is level 7 or higher). It does not protect against sudden flashes of temperature change (such as from a heat ray). A small number of these cyphers (1%) accommodate the preferred environment of a nonhuman, nonterrestrial creature.

Phase Changer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Puts the user out of phase for one minute (two minutes if the cypher is level 6 or higher). During this time, they can pass through solid objects as though they were entirely insubstantial, like a ghost. They cannot make physical attacks or be physically attacked.

Editor's Notes — The phase changer cypher doesn't include a level formula. The 1d6 + 1 listed here is an addition by the editor.

Phase Disruptor

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Puts a portion of a physical structure (like a wall or floor) out of phase for one hour. It affects an area equal to one 5-foot (1.5 m) cube per cypher level. While the area is out of phase, creatures and objects can pass through it as if it were not there, although one cannot see through it, and it blocks light.

Poison (Emotion)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The victim feels a specific emotion for one hour. Roll a d100 to determine the emotion.

Poison (Emotion) Effects
d100Poison (Emotion) Effects
01–20Anger: Likely to attack anyone who disagrees with them. Very hard to interact with; all such actions are hindered by two steps.
21–40Fear: Flees in terror for one minute when threatened.
41–60Lust: Cannot focus on any nonsexual activity.
61–75Sadness: All tasks are hindered.
76–85Complacency: Has no motivation. All tasks are hindered by two steps.
86–95Joy: Easy to interact with in a pleasant manner; all pleasant interaction tasks are eased.
96–00Love: Much easier to interact with; all interaction tasks are eased by two steps, but temporary attachment is likely.

Most poisons are not considered cyphers, except for a very few that are unique.

Poison (Explosive)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: Once this substance enters the bloodstream, it travels to the brain and reorganizes into an explosive that detonates when activated, inflicting 10 points of damage (ignores Armor). Roll a d100 to determine what activates the poison.

Poison (Explosive) Effects
d100Poison (Explosive) Effects
01–25The detonator is activated (must be within long range).
26–40A specified amount of time passes.
41–50The victim takes a specific action.
51–55A specific note is sung or played on an instrument within short range.
56–60The victim smells a specific scent within immediate range.
61–80The victim comes within long range of the detonator.
81–00The victim is no longer within long range of the detonator.
Poison (Mind Controlling)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The victim must carry out a specific action in response to a specific trigger. Roll a d100 to determine the action.

Poison (Mind Controlling) Effects
d100Poison (Mind Controlling) Effects
01–20Lies down for one minute with eyes closed when told to do so.
21–40Flees in terror for one minute when threatened.
41–60Answers questions truthfully for one minute.
61–75Attacks close friend for one round when within immediate range.
76–85Obeys next verbal command given (if it is understood).
86–95For one day, becomes sexually attracted to the next creature of its own species that it sees.
96–00For one minute, moves toward the next red object seen in lieu of all other actions, ignoring self-preservation.
Poison (Mind Disrupting)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 394)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The victim suffers Intellect damage equal to the cypher's level and cannot take actions for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.

Psychic Communique

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a one-time, one-way telepathic message of up to ten words per cypher level, with an unlimited range, to anyone they know.

Radiation Spike

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Delivers a powerful burst of radiation that disrupts the tissue of any creature touched, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level.

Ray Emitter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray of destructive energy up to very long range that inflicts damage equal to the cypher's level. Roll a d100 to determine the type of energy.

Ray Emitter Effects
d100Ray Emitter Effects
01–50Heat/concentrated light
51–60Cell-disrupting radiation
61–80Force
81–87Magnetic wave
88–93Molecular bond disruption
94–00Concentrated cold

Even weirder ray emitters:

  • Turns target inside out
  • Inflicts damage and turns flesh blue
  • Renders target mute
  • Damages only plants
  • Damages only inorganic matter
  • Turns flesh to dead, stonelike material

Editor's Notes — The Science Fiction Artifact Weapons presented in Chapter 15: Science Fiction also include some unique "emitter" options.

Ray Emitter (Command)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray up to long range (very long range if the cypher is level 6 or higher) that forces a target to obey the next verbal command given (if it is understood) for one round per cypher level.

Ray Emitter (Fear)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray up to long range (very long range if the cypher is level 6 or higher) that causes the target to flee in terror for one minute.

Ray Emitter (Friend Slaying)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray up to long range (very long range if the cypher is level 6 or higher) that causes the target to attack its nearest ally for one round.

Ray Emitter (Mind Disrupting)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray of destructive energy up to very long range that inflicts Intellect damage equal to the cypher's level. Also, the victim cannot take actions for a number of rounds equal to the cypher's level.

Ray Emitter (Numbing)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray of energy up to long range (very long range if the cypher is level 6 or higher) that numbs one limb of the target, making it useless for one minute. A small number of these devices (5%) induce numbness that lasts for one hour.

Ray Emitter (Paralysis)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Allows the user to project a ray of energy up to very long range that paralyzes the target for one minute. A small number of these devices (5%) induce paralysis that lasts for one hour.

Reality Spike

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Once activated, the cypher does not move—ever—even if activated in midair. A Might action will dislodge it, but then it is ruined.

Reflex Enhancer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: All tasks involving manual dexterity—such as pickpocketing, lockpicking, juggling, operating on a patient, defusing a bomb, and so on—are eased by two steps for one hour.

Rejuvenator

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 395)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Restores a number of points equal to the cypher's level to one random stat Pool.

Rejuvenator Effects
d100Rejuvenator Effects
01–50Might Pool
51–75Speed Pool
76–00Intellect Pool
Remembering

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Allows the user to recall any one experience they've ever had. The experience can be no longer than one minute per cypher level, but the recall is perfect, so (for example) if they saw someone dial a phone, they will remember the number.

Remote Viewer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one hour per cypher level, the user can see everything going on in the vicinity of the cypher, regardless of the distance between them.

Repair Unit

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d10

  • Effect: The cypher becomes a multiarmed sphere that floats. It repairs one designated item (of its own level or lower) that has been damaged but not destroyed. The repair unit can also create spare parts, unless the GM rules that the parts are too specialized or rare (in which case, the unit repairs the device except for the specialized part). Repair time is 1d100 + 20 minutes.

Repeater

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: For the next minute, the user's ranged weapon fires one additional time with ammo fabricated by the cypher. The weapon wielder can aim the free shot at the same target, or at a different target next to the first one.

Repel

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: One NPC within immediate range who is of a level lower than the cypher decides to leave, using their next five rounds to move away quickly.

Retaliation

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, anyone striking the user receives a small burst of electricity that inflicts 1 point of damage (2 points if the cypher is level 4 or higher, 3 points if the cypher is level 6 or higher). No action or roll is required by the user.

Secret

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The user can ask the GM one question and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that a PC could find by looking somewhere other than their current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining knowledge of the future is level 10, and such knowledge is always open to interpretation. The cypher cannot provide an answer to a question above its level.

Sheen

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For one week, the user's cells are coated with a protective veneer that resists damage (+1 to Armor, or +2 to Armor if the cypher is level 5 or higher) and eases Might defense rolls by two steps. However, healing is more difficult during this time; all recovery rolls suffer a −1 penalty.

Shock Attack

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, each time the user strikes a solid creature or object, the attack generates a burst of electricity, inflicting 1 additional point of damage (2 points if the cypher is level 4 or higher, 3 points if the cypher is level 6 or higher).

Shocker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 396)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Delivers a powerful burst of electricity that shocks any creature touched, inflicting damage equal to the cypher's level.

Skill Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Dramatically but temporarily alters the user's mind and body so they can ease one specific kind of physical action by three steps. Once activated, this boost can be used a number of times equal to the cypher's level, but only within a twenty-four-hour period. The boost takes effect each time the action is performed. For example, a level 3 cypher boosts the first three times that action is attempted. Roll a d100 to determine the action.

Skill Boost Effects
d100Skill Boost Effects
01–15Melee attack
16–30Ranged attack
31–40Speed defense
41–50Might defense
51–60Intellect defense
61–68Jumping
69–76Climbing
77–84Running
85–92Swimming
93–94Sneaking
95–96Balancing
97–98Perceiving
99Carrying
00Escaping
Slave Maker

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: To activate the cypher, the user must succeed on a melee attack against a creature about the size of the user and whose level does not exceed the cypher's level. The cypher bonds to the target, who immediately becomes calm. The target awaits the user's commands and carries out all orders to the best of its ability. The target remains so enslaved for a number of hours equal to the cypher's level minus the target's level. (If the result is 0, the target is enslaved for only one minute.)

Sleep Inducer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Touch puts the victim to sleep for ten minutes per cypher level or until awoken by a violent action or an extremely loud noise.

Sniper Module

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next hour per cypher level, the effective range of the user's ranged weapon increases by one category (immediate to short, short to long, long to very long, very long to 1,000 feet [300 m]). A weapon with a range greater than very long has its range doubled.

Solvent

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d10

  • Effect: Dissolves 1 cubic foot of material each round. After one round per cypher level, the cypher becomes inert.

Sonic Hole

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Draws all sound within long range into the device for one round per cypher level. Within the affected area, no sound can be heard.

Sonic holes are much-loved by thieves everywhere but can also be used for less nefarious purposes, such as hunting prey and sneaking past enemies.

Sound Dampener

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Dampens all sound within immediate range for one minute per cypher level, providing an asset on stealth actions by all creatures in the area.

Spatial Warp

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 397)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: When affixed to a device that affects a single target at range, that range is increased to 1 mile (1.5 km) with no penalties. Space is temporarily warped in terms of seeing and reaching the target. If direct line of sight is important to the device's effect, it remains important. The spatial warp lasts 10 minutes per cypher level.

Speed Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Adds 1 to the user's Speed Edge for one hour (adds 2 if the cypher is level 5 or higher).

Spy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Produces a tiny spying object that resists detection as a level 8 creature. The object moves at great speed, mapping and scanning an unknown area. It moves 500 feet (150 m) per level, scanning an area up to 50 feet (15 m) away from it. It identifies basic layout, creatures, and major energy sources. Its movement is blocked by any physical or energy barrier. At the end of its mapping run, it returns to the user and reports. If it discovers a predefined target during its run (such as "a creature of level 5 or higher," "a locked door," "a major energy source," and so on), it detonates instead, dealing damage equal to the cypher's level (half electrical damage, half shrapnel damage) to all creatures and objects in short range.

Stasis Keeper

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Puts a subject into stasis for a number of days equal to the cypher's level, or until it is violently disturbed. An object in stasis does not age and comes out of the stasis alive and in the same condition as it went in, with no memory of the period of inactivity.

Stim

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Eases the user's next action taken by three steps.

Strength Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Adds 1 to Might Edge for one hour (or 2 if the cypher is level 5 or higher).

Strength Enhancer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: All noncombat tasks involving raw strength—such as breaking down a door, lifting a heavy boulder, forcing open elevator doors, competing in a weightlifting competition, and so on—are eased by two steps for one hour.

Subdual Field

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Two rounds after being activated, the device creates an invisible field that fills a specified area (such as a cube a short distance across) within long range. The field lasts for one minute. It affects the minds of thinking beings within the field, preventing them from taking hostile actions. The effect lasts as long as they remain in the field and for 1d6 rounds after, although an Intellect defense roll is allowed each round to act normally (both in the field and after leaving it).

Telepathy

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: For one hour, the device enables long-range mental communication with anyone the user can see.

Teleporter (Bounder)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: User teleports up to 100 × the cypher level in feet to a location they can see. They arrive safely with their possessions but cannot take anything else with them.

Teleporter (Interstellar)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: User teleports anywhere in the galaxy to a location they have previously visited or seen. They arrive safely with their possessions but cannot take anything else with them.

Teleporter (Planetary)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: User teleports anywhere on the planet to a location they have previously visited or seen. They arrive safely with their possessions but cannot take anything else with them.

Teleporter (Traveler)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 398)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: User teleports up to 100 × the cypher level in miles to a location they have previously visited or seen. They arrive safely with their possessions but cannot take anything else with them.

Temporal Viewer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Displays moving images and sound, up to ten minutes per cypher level in length, depicting events that occurred at the current location up to one year prior. The user specifies the time period shown by the viewer.

Time Dilation (Defensive)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next twenty-four hours, when the user is attacked, they move in rapid, seemingly random jumps, a few inches to one side or the other. This is an asset that modifies the user's defense rolls by two steps (three steps if the cypher is level 6 or higher).

Time Dilation (Offensive)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next twenty-four hours, when the user makes a melee attack, they move at almost instantaneous speed, easing their attacks by two steps (three steps if the cypher is level 6 or higher).

Tissue Regeneration

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: For the next hour, the user regains 1 point lost to damage per round, up to a total number of points equal to twice the cypher's level. As each point is regained, they choose which Pool to add it to. If all their Pools are at maximum, the regeneration pauses until they take more damage, at which point it begins again (if any time remains in the hour) until the duration expires.

A tissue regeneration cypher can be used to regenerate a lost appendage (an arm, a foot, a leg, and so on) or to repair scar tissue from burns and other tissue-related disfigurements. If the cypher is used in this fashion, it restores only 1d6 points over the hour duration.

Tracer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Fires a microscopic tracer that clings to any surface within short range. For the next twenty-four hours, the launcher shows the distance and direction to the tracer, as long as it is within 1 mile (100 miles if the cypher is level 3 or higher, in the same dimension if the cypher is level 6 or higher).

Trick Embedder

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: A nonintelligent animal immediately and perfectly learns one trick (two tricks if the cypher is level 4 or higher) it is capable of physically performing (roll over, heel, spin, shake, go to an indicated place within long range, and so on). The trick must be designated when the cypher is activated.

Uninterruptible Power Source

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Provides power to another device for up to a day. The device to be powered can be as simple as a light source or as complex as a small starcraft, assuming the cypher's level is equal to the item's power requirements. A desk lamp is a level 1 power requirement, a car engine is a level 5 power requirement, and a starship is a level 10 power requirement.

Vanisher

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: The user becomes invisible for five minutes per cypher level, during which time they are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if they do something to reveal their presence or position—attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, they can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding their position.

Visage Changer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Changes the appearance of one human-sized creature, providing an asset to disguise tasks (easing them by two steps if the cypher is level 5 or higher). The change takes ten minutes to apply and lasts for twenty-four hours.

Visual Displacement Device

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Projects holographic images of the user to confuse attackers. The images appear around the user, giving them an asset to Speed defense actions for ten minutes per cypher level.

Vocal Translator

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 399)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For twenty-four hours per cypher level, translates everything said by the user into a language that anyone can understand.

Warmth

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: Keeps the user warm and comfortable, even in the harshest cold temperatures, for twenty-four hours. During this time, the user has Armor equal to the cypher's level that protects against cold damage.

Water Adapter

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: The user can breathe underwater and operate at any depth (without facing the debilitating consequences of changing pressure) for four hours per cypher level. This cypher can also be used in the regular atmosphere, allowing the user to ignore ill effects from very low or very high atmospheric pressure. The cypher does not protect against vacuum.

Weapon Enhancement

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: Modifies a weapon's attack in a particular fashion for ten minutes per cypher level. Roll a d100 for the modification.

Weapon Enhancement Effects
d100Weapon Enhancement Effects
01–10Eases attack by one step
11–20Deals bonus electrical damage equal to cypher level
21–30Deals bonus cold damage equal to cypher level
31–40Deals bonus poison damage equal to cypher level
41–50Deals bonus acid damage equal to cypher level
51–60Deals bonus fire damage equal to cypher level
61–70Deals bonus sonic damage equal to cypher level
71–80Deals bonus psychic damage equal to cypher level
81–90Knockback (on 18–20 on successful attack roll, target knocked back 30 feet [9 m])
91–95Holding (on 18–20 on successful attack roll, target can't act on its next turn)
96–97Eases attack by two steps
98Banishing (on 18–20 on successful attack roll, target is sent to random location at least 100 miles [160 km] away)
99Explodes, inflicting damage equal to cypher level to all within immediate range
00Heart-seeking (on 18–20 on successful attack roll, target is killed)
Wings

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: User can fly at their normal running speed for ten minutes per cypher level.

X-Ray Viewer

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6 + 4

  • Effect: Allows the user to see through up to 2 feet (60 cm) of material of a level lower than the cypher. The effect lasts for one minute per cypher level.

Zero Point Field

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 400)

  • Level: 1d6 + 3

  • Effect: Renders an inanimate object outside the effects of most energy for one minute. This means the object cannot be harmed, moved, or manipulated in any way. It remains in place (even in midair).

Power Boost Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)(Claim the Sky, page 157)

These cyphers increase, modify, or improve a character's existing powers. A burst boost cypher, for example, allows someone with the Bears a Halo of Fire focus to create a blast of fire in all directions, one time. Imagine this as being a fire-using superhero's ability to "go nova."

Power boost cyphers affect one use of a character's abilities but do not require an action. Their use is part of the action that they affect.

Power boost cyphers are a special type of cypher. In some Cypher System games, they may be inappropriate, and in others, they may be the main (or only) type of cypher available, as determined by the GM. They can be either subtle or manifest.

Area Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that affects a single target. The ability expands the effect so it includes the immediate area around that target. If the ability normally affects an immediate area, the area becomes short. Short areas are increased to long. Long areas are increased to very long. Abilities with very long areas become 1,000-foot (300 m) areas. All other areas double in radius.

Burst Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that affects a single target at short range or farther. The range decreases to immediate, but the ability affects all targets within immediate range.

Damage Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that inflicts points of damage. The ability inflicts additional damage equal to this cypher's level.

Efficacy Boost

(Claim the Sky, page 157)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that requires a skill roll. The use of the ability is eased (eased by two steps if the cypher is level 5 or higher).

Efficacy Boost (Major)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that requires a skill roll. The use of the ability is eased by two steps.

Efficacy Boost (Minor)

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that requires a skill roll. The use of the ability is eased.

Energy Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that has a stat Pool cost. The cost is reduced to 0.

Range Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 1

  • Effect: This cypher boosts the range of an ability. Something that affects only you can now affect someone you touch. Any other ability increases its range by one category (touch to immediate, immediate to short, short to long, long to very long, very long to 1,000 feet [300 m], or double for any range longer than very long).

Shift Boost

(Claim the Sky, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: This cypher boosts one power shift that the user already has, granting them an additional power shift in that category that lasts for one round. For example, if the user has a shift in resilience, they can use this cypher to gain an additional shift in resilience for one round. If the user has more than one kind of power shift (such as dexterity and strength), they choose which kind of power shift to boost.

Stunt Boost

(Claim the Sky, page 158)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: This cypher eases the user's next difficult, formidable, or impossible power stunt task by four steps (eased by five steps if the cypher is level 7 or higher). It has no effect on power stunts that don't require a successful power stunt task.

Target Boost

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 401)

  • Level: 1d6 + 2

  • Effect: This cypher boosts an ability that affects a target at a range greater than touch. It can affect a second target within range (if the ability is an attack, make a separate attack roll for the second creature).

Chapter 25 Running the Cypher System

Quick Reference: Running the Cypher System

GM Preparation

Optional Rules

Related Sections

Editor's Notes — Chapter 25: Running the Game of the Cypher System Rulebook features a wealth of guidance on many subjects not included in the CSRD. A list of these sections is detailed in Cypher System Rulebook — What's in the Book?.

Tying Actions to Stats

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 416)

Although the decision is open to your discretion, when a PC takes an action, it should be fairly obvious which stat is tied to that action.

Might
Physical actions that involve brute force or endurance use Might.
Speed
Physical actions that involve quickness, coordination, or agility use Speed.
Intellect
Actions that involve intelligence, education, insight, willpower, or charm use Intellect.

In rare instances, you could allow a PC to use a different stat for a task. For example, a character might try to break down a door by examining it closely for flaws and thus use Intellect rather than Might. This kind of change is a good thing because it encourages player creativity. Just don't let it be abused by an exuberant or too-clever player. It's well within your purview to decide that the door has no flaws, or to rule that the character's attempt will take half an hour rather than one round. In other words, using a stat that is not the obvious choice should be the exception, not the rule.

Editor's Notes — For more on tying actions to stats, see Determining Task Stat.

Setting Difficulty Ratings

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 403)

The GM's most important overall tasks are setting the stage and guiding the story created by the group (not the one created by the GM ahead of time). But setting difficulty is the most important mechanical task the GM has in the game. Although there are suggestions throughout this chapter for various difficulty ratings for certain actions, there is no master list of the difficulty for every action a PC can take. Instead, the Cypher System is designed with the "teach a person to fish" style of good game mastering in mind. (If you don't know what that means, it comes from the old adage "Give a person a fish and they'll eat for a day. Teach a person to fish and they'll eat for a lifetime." The idea is not to give GMs a ton of rules to memorize or reference, but to teach them how to make their own logical judgment calls.) Of course, most of the time, it's not a matter of exact precision. If you say the difficulty is 3 and it "should" have been 4, the world's not over.

For the most part, it really is as simple as rating something on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being incredibly easy and 10 being basically impossible. The guidelines in the Task Difficulty table should help put you in the right frame of mind for assigning difficulty to a task.

Task Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 404)(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Task Difficulty
Task Difficulty Target Number Task Success Rate Description Guidance
0 (0) 100% Routine Anyone can do this basically every time.
1 (3) 90% Simple Most people can do this most of the time.
2 (6) 75% Standard Typical task requiring focus, but most people can usually do this.
3 (9) 60% Demanding Requires full attention; most people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
4 (12) 45% Difficult Trained people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
5 (15) 30% Challenging Even trained people often fail.
6 (18) 15% Intimidating Normal people almost never succeed.
7 (21) — Formidable Impossible without skills or great effort.
8 (24) −15% Heroic A task worthy of tales told for years afterward.
9 (27) −30% Immortal A task worthy of legends that last lifetimes.
10 (30) −45% Impossible A task that normal humans couldn't consider (but one that doesn't break the laws of physics).

For example, we make the distinction between something that most people can do and something that trained people can do. In this case, "normal" means someone with absolutely no training, talent, or experience—imagine your ne'er-do-well, slightly overweight uncle trying a task he's never tried before. "Trained" means the person has some level of instruction or experience but is not necessarily a professional.

With that in mind, think about the act of balance. With enough focus, most people can walk across a narrow bridge (like a fallen tree trunk). That suggests it is difficulty 2. However, walking across a narrow plank that's only 3 inches (8 cm) wide? That's probably more like difficulty 3. Now consider walking across a tightrope. That's probably difficulty 5—a normal person can manage that only with a great deal of luck. Someone with some training can give it a go, but it's still hard. Of course, a professional acrobat can do it easily. Consider, however, that the professional acrobat is specialized in the task, making it difficulty 3 for them. They probably are using Effort as well during their performance.

Let's try another task. This time, consider how hard it might be to remember the name of the previous leader of the village where the character lives. The difficulty might be 0 or 1, depending on how long ago they were the leader and how well known they were. Let's say it was thirty years ago and they were only mildly memorable, so it's difficulty 1. Most people remember them, and with a little bit of effort, anyone can come up with their name. Now let's consider the name of the leader's daughter. That's much harder. Assuming the daughter wasn't famous in her own right, it's probably difficulty 4. Even people who know a little about local history (that is to say, people who are trained in the subject) might not be able to remember it. But what about the name of the pet dog owned by the daughter's spouse? That's probably impossible. Who's going to remember the name of an obscure person's pet from thirty years ago? Basically no one. However, it's not forbidden knowledge or a well-guarded secret, so it sounds like difficulty 7. Difficulty 7 is the rating that means "No one can do this, yet some people still do." It's not the stuff of legend, but it's something you would assume people can't do. When you think there's no way you can get tickets for a sold-out concert, but somehow your friend manages to score a couple anyway, that's difficulty 7. (See the next section for more on difficulties 7, 8, 9, and 10.)

If you're talking about a task, ideally the difficulty shouldn't be based on the character performing the task. Things don't get inherently easier or harder depending on who is doing them. However, the truth is, the character does play into it as a judgment call. If the task is breaking down a wooden door, an 8-foot-tall (2 m) automaton made of metal with nuclear-driven motors should be better at breaking it down than an average human would be, but the task rating should be the same for both. Let's say that the automaton's nature effectively gives it two levels of training in such tasks. Thus, if the door has a difficulty rating of 4, but the automaton is specialized and reduces the difficulty to 2, it has a target number of 6. The human has no such specialization, so the difficulty remains 4, and the person has a target number of 12. However, when you set the difficulty of breaking down the door, don't try to take all those differences into account. The GM should consider only the human because the Task Difficulty table is based on the ideal of a "normal" person, a "trained" person, and so on. It's humanocentric.

Most characters probably are willing to use one or two levels of Effort on a task, and they might have an appropriate skill or asset to decrease the difficulty by a step. That means that a difficulty 4 task will often be treated as difficulty 2 or even 1, and those are easy rolls to make. Don't hesitate, then, to pull out higher-level difficulties. The PCs can rise to the challenge, especially if they are experienced.

The Impossible Difficulties

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 404)

Difficulties 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all technically impossible. Their target numbers are 21, 24, 27, and 30, and you can't roll those numbers on a d20 no matter how many times you try. Consider, however, all the ways that a character can reduce difficulty. If someone spends a little Effort or has some skill or help, it brings difficulty 7 (target number 21) into the range of possibility—difficulty 6 (target number 18). Now consider that they have specialization, use a lot of Effort, and have help. That might bring the difficulty down to 1 or even 0 (reducing it by two steps from training and specialization, three or four steps from Effort, and one step from the asset of assistance). That practically impossible task just became routine. A fourth-tier character can and will do this—not every time, due to the cost, but perhaps once per game session. You have to be ready for that. A well-prepared, motivated sixth-tier character can do that even with a difficulty 10 task. Again, they won't do it often (they'd have to apply six levels of Effort, and even with an Edge of 6 that would cost 7 points from their Pool, and that's assuming they're specialized and have two levels of assets), but it can happen if they're really prepared for the task (being specialized and maxed out in asset opportunities reduces the difficulty by four more steps). That's why sixth-tier characters are at the top of their field, so to speak.

Editor's Notes — Challenging PCs with power shifts might require task difficulties as high as 15. See Really Impossible Tasks for some examples.

False Precision

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 405)

One way to look at difficulty is that each step of difficulty is worth 3 on the die. That is to say, hinder the task by one step, and the target number rises by 3. Ease the task by one step, and the target number is lowered by 3. Those kinds of changes are big, meaty chunks. Difficulty, as a game mechanic, is not terribly precise. It's measured in large portions. You never have a target number of 13 or 14, for example—it's always 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. (Technically, this is not true. If a character adds 1 to a d20 roll for some reason, it changes a target number of 15 to 14. But this is not worth much discussion.)

Imprecision is good in this case. It would be false precision to say that one lock has a target number of 14 and another has a target number of 15. What false precision means in this context is that it would be a delusion to think we can be that exact. Can you really say that one lock is 5% easier to pick than another? And more important, even if you could, is the difference worth noting? It's better to interact with the world in larger, more meaningful chunks than to try to parse things so carefully. If we tried to rate everything on a scale of 1 to 30 (using target numbers and not difficulty), we'd start to get lost in the proverbial weeds coming up with a meaningful distinction between something rated as an 8 and something rated as a 9 on that scale.

Routine Actions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 406)

Don't hesitate to make actions routine. Don't call for die rolls when they're not really needed. Sometimes GMs fall into the trap illustrated by this dialogue:

GM: What do you do?

Player: I _________.

GM: Okay, give me a roll.

That's not a good instinct—at least, not for the Cypher System. Players should roll when it's interesting or exciting. Otherwise, they should just do what they do. If the PCs tie a rope around something and use it to climb down into a pit, you could ask for tying rolls, climbing rolls, and so on, but why? Just to see if they roll terribly? So the rope can come undone at the wrong time, or a character's hand can slip? Most of the time, that makes players feel inadequate and isn't a lot of fun. A rope coming undone in the middle of an exciting chase scene or a battle can be a great complication (and that's what GM intrusions are for). A rope coming undone in the middle of a simple "getting from point A to point B" scene only slows down gameplay. The real fun—the real story—is down in the pit. So get the PCs down there.

There are a million exceptions to this guideline, of course. If creatures are throwing poisoned darts at the PCs while they climb, that might make things more interesting and require a roll. If the pit is filled with acid and the PCs must climb halfway down, pull a lever, and come back up, that's a situation where you should set difficulty and perhaps have a roll. If a PC is near death, carrying a fragile item of great importance, or something similar, climbing down the rope is tense, and a roll might add to the excitement. The important difference is that these kinds of complications have real consequences.

On the flip side, don't be afraid to use GM intrusion on routine actions if it makes things more interesting. Walking up to the king in his audience chamber in the middle of a ceremony only to trip on a rug? That could have huge ramifications for the character and the story.

Other Ways to Judge Difficulty

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 407)

Rating things on a scale of 1 to 10 is something that most people are very familiar with. You can also look at it as rating an object or creature on a similar scale, if that's easier. In other words, if you don't know how hard it would be to climb a particular cliff face, think of it as a creature the PCs have to fight. What level would the creature be? You could look in Chapter 22: Creatures and say "I think this wall should be about as difficult to deal with as a demon. A demon is level 5, so the task of climbing the wall will be difficulty 5." That's a weird way to do it, perhaps, but it's fairly straightforward. And if you're the kind of GM who thinks in terms of "How tough will this fight be?" then maybe rating tasks as creatures or NPCs to fight isn't so strange after all. It's just another way to relate to them. The important thing is that they're on the same scale. Similarly, if the PCs have to tackle a knowledge task—say, trying to determine if they know where a caravan is headed based on its tracks—you could rate the task in terms of an object. If you're used to rating doors or other objects that the PCs have broken through recently, the knowledge task is just a different kind of barrier to bust through.

Everything in the Cypher System—characters, creatures, objects, tasks, and so on—has a level. It might be called a tier or a difficulty instead of a level, but ultimately it's a numerical rating system used to compare things. Although you have to be careful about drawing too many correlations—a first-tier character isn't easily compared to a difficulty 1 wall or a level 1 animal—the principle is the same. Everything can be rated and roughly compared to everything else in the world. (It works best to take PCs out of this equation. For example, you shouldn't try to compare a PC's tier to a wall's level. Character tiers are mentioned here only for completeness.)

Last, if your mind leans toward statistics, you can look at difficulty as a percentage chance. Every number on the d20 is a 5% increment. For example, you have a 5% chance of rolling a 1. You have a 10% chance of rolling a 1 or a 2. Thus, if you need to roll a 12 or higher, you have a 45% chance of success. (A d20 has nine numbers that are 12 or higher: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. And 9 × 5 equals 45.)

For some people, it's easier to think in terms of a percentage chance. A GM might think "She has about a 30% chance to know that fact about geography." Each number on a d20 is a 5% increment, and it takes six increments to equal 30%, so there are six numbers that mean the PC succeeds: 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Thus, since the player has to roll 15 or higher, that means the target number is 15. (And that means the task is level 5, but if you've already determined the target number, you likely don't care about the level.)

Advantages to This System

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 407)

  1. The GM makes measured adjustments in large, uniform steps. That makes things faster than if players had to do arithmetic using a range of all numbers from 1 to 20.

  2. You calculate a target number only once no matter how many times the PCs attempt the action. If you establish that the target number is 12, it's 12 every time a PC tries that action. (On the other hand, if you had to add numbers to your die roll, you'd have to do it for every attempt.) Consider this fact in light of combat. Once a player knows that they need to roll a 12 or higher to hit a foe, combat moves very quickly.

  3. If a PC can reduce the difficulty of an action to 0, no roll is needed. This means that an Olympic gymnast doesn't roll a die to walk across a balance beam, but the average person does. The task is initially rated the same for both, but the difficulty is reduced for the gymnast. There's no chance of failure.

  4. This is how everything in the game works, whether it's climbing a wall, sweet-talking a guard, or fighting a bioengineered horror.

  5. Perhaps most important, the system gives GMs the freedom to focus entirely on the flow of the game. The GM doesn't use dice to determine what happens (unless you want to)—the players do. There aren't a lot of different rules for different actions, so there is little to remember and very little to reference. The difficulty can be used as a narrative tool, with the challenges always meeting the expected logic of the game. All the GM's mental space can be devoted to guiding the story.

Editor's Notes — The Difficulty Dial presented in Chapter 11: Rules of the Game provides a visual representation of difficulties, target numbers, and percentage chance of success.

Vague Difficulty

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

When players are new to the game, it is a good idea to tell them the difficulty of the task ahead. Doing so lets them make informed decisions about whether or not to use Effort to ease a task.

This table can be used when a GM wants to withhold exact difficulty, for example, in a situation perhaps the players don't know what they are doing, or are not in the position to fully understand the circumstances—or witness the results—of their attempted task. In such instances, the GM can provide a vague sense of how difficult the PC believes the task will be.

Vague Difficulty
Difficulty Vague Description
0 Routine (succeeds with no roll required)
1–2 Easy
3–4 Average
5–6 Difficult
7–10 Impossible (only those with skills, assets, or who use Effort will succeed)
11–15 Really Impossible (only high-tier characters, those with cyphers that ease tasks, or power shifts will succeed, and even that might require some luck)
Graduated Difficulty

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on Graduated Success (417) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

In some instances, the GM might not assign a difficulty at all, and simply ask for a roll. This is useful for tasks related to perception, social interaction, sensing motives, understanding, identifying, or remembering. These tasks might allow for different outcomes at several difficulties, and so might benefit from lacking an assigned numerical difficulty. With each additional difficulty the roll succeeds against, the GM might provide additional relevant information or appropriate other benefits.

Alternatively, consider setting a difficulty and employ appropriate results based on how many steps above or below the difficulty the roll succeeds against:

Graduated Difficulty Effects
d20 Roll ResultNarrativeEffect
1"No, and…"GM intrusion
2 or more levels below task difficulty"No…"—
1 level below task difficulty"Yes, but…"—
Success"Yes…"—
19"Yes, and…"Minor effect
20"Yes, and…"Major effect
Passive Difficulty

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on The Flow of Information (416) and Failure to Notice (417) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

Because the player always rolls, it can be unclear how the GM should proceed if the PCs are unaware of important aspects of their situation. The GM can prompt a PC for a roll without telling them anything about what it's for, but this might arouse unwanted suspicion. Instead, the GM can compare the PC's tier to the difficulty of the task, and add 1 for each of the PC's applicable skills and assets. Any ties are decided in the PC's favor.

For example, a tier 3 PC is specialized in tracking and has aBeast Companion—a faithful bloodhound, whose modification that provides an asset to tracking tasks. This make's the PC's passive total 3 (tier) plus 2 (skills) plus 1 (asset) equals 6. So, the PC would detect the presence of a dangerous level 6 creature before it pounced upon a fellow party member—as almost a passive routine action.

Passive difficulty provides the GM with a way to think about providing directly to PCs' unique senses, knowledges, abilities, skills, and personal pasts—honoring of all the choices the player made whilst creating their character, and since the start of the game. The GM should strive to be generous with information—after all, information and answers are two very different things, and a well-informed party can make more compelling choices about what they do next. Events like ambushes, or a PC discovering they have been pickpocketed can easily be introduced via GM intrusion, so it's best to describe the situation in a way that invites further action from the PCs rather than withhold critical information.

GM Intrusion

Quick Reference: GM Intrusion

General GM Intrusions

Specific GM Intrusions

Optional Rules

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 408)

GM intrusion is the main mechanic that the GM uses to inject drama and additional excitement into the game. It's also a handy tool for resolving issues that affect the PCs but do not involve them. GM intrusion is a way to facilitate what goes on in the world outside the characters. Can the minotaur track the PCs' movements through the maze? Will the fraying rope hold?

Since the players roll all the dice, GM intrusion is used to determine if and when something happens. For example, if the PCs are fighting a noble's guards, and you (the GM) know that there are more guards nearby, you don't need to roll dice to determine if the other guards hear the scuffle and intervene (unless you want to). You just decide when it would be best for the story—which is probably when it would be worst for the characters. In a way, GM intrusion replaces the GM's die rolling.

The mechanic is also one of the main ways that GMs award experience points to the PCs. This means that you use experience points as a narrative tool. Whenever it seems appropriate, you can introduce complications into the game that affect a specific player, but when you do so, you give that player 1 XP. The player can refuse the intrusion, but doing so costs them 1 XP. So by refusing an intrusion, the player does not get the experience point that the GM is offering, and they lose one that they already have. (This kind of refusal is likely to happen very rarely in your game, if ever. And, obviously, a player can't refuse an intrusion if they have no XP to spend.)

Here's how a GM intrusion might work in play. Say the PCs find a hidden console with some buttons. They learn the right order in which to press the buttons, and a section of the floor disappears. As the GM, you don't ask the players specifically where their characters are standing. Instead, you give a player 1 XP and say "Unfortunately, you're standing directly over this new hole in the floor." If the player wanted, they could refuse the XP, spend one of their own, and say "I leap aside to safety." Most likely, though, they'll make the defense roll that you call for and let it play out.

There are two ways for the GM to handle this kind of intrusion. You could say "You're standing in the wrong place, so make a roll." (It's a Speed defense roll, of course.) Alternatively, you could say "You're standing in the wrong place. The floor opens under your feet, and you fall down into the darkness." In the first example, the PC has a chance to save themselves. In the second example, they don't. Both are viable options. The distinction is based on any number of factors, including the situation, the characters involved, and the needs of the story. This might seem arbitrary or even capricious, but you're the master of what the intrusion can and can't do. RPG mechanics need consistency so players can make intelligent decisions based on how they understand the world to work. But they'll never base their decisions on GM intrusions. They don't know when intrusions will happen or what form they will take. GM intrusions are the unpredictable and strange twists of fate that affect a person's life every day.

When player modifications (such as skill, Effort, and so on) determine that success is automatic, the GM can use GM intrusion to negate the automatic success. The player must roll for the action at its original difficulty level or target number 20, whichever is lower.

Remember, any time you give a player 1 XP for a GM intrusion, you're actually giving them 2—one to keep and one to give to another player.

Using GM Intrusion as a Narrative Tool

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 408)

A GM can use this narrative tool to steer things. That doesn't mean railroad the players or direct the action of the game with a heavy hand. GM intrusion doesn't enable you to say "You're all captured, so here's your 1 XP." Instead, the GM can direct things more subtly—gently, almost imperceptibly influencing events rather than forcing them. GM intrusion represents things going wrong. The bad guys planning well. Fortune not favoring the characters.

Consider this scenario: the GM plants an interesting adventure seed in a small village, but the PCs don't stay there long enough to find it. So just outside the village, the PCs run afoul of a vicious viper that bites one of them. The GM uses intrusion to say that the poison from the snake will make the character debilitated unless they get a large dose of a specific antitoxin, which the group doesn't have. Of course, they aren't required to go back to the village where the GM's interesting adventure can start, but it's likely that they will, looking for the antitoxin.

Some players might find intrusion heavy-handed, but the XP softens the blow. And remember, they can refuse these narrative nudges. Intrusion is not meant to be a railroading tool—just a bit of a rudder. Not an inescapable track, but a nudge here and there.

What's more, the GM doesn't need to have a deliberate goal in mind. The complication you introduce could simply make things more interesting. You might not know where it will take the story, just that it will make the story better.

This is wonderfully empowering to the GM—not in a "Ha ha, now I'll trounce the PCs" way, but in an "I can control the narrative a little bit, steering it more toward the story I want to create rather than relying on the dice" sort of way. Consider that old classic plot development in which the PCs get captured and must escape from the bad guys. In heroic fiction, this is such a staple that it would almost seem strange if it didn't happen. But in many roleplaying games, it's a nearly impossible turn of events—the PCs usually have too many ways to get out of the bad guy's clutches before they're captured. The dice have to be wildly against them. It virtually never happens. With GM intrusion, it could happen (again, in the context of the larger encounter, not as a single intrusion that results in the entire group of PCs being captured with little explanation or chance to react).

For example, let's say the PCs are surrounded by orcs. One character is badly injured—debilitated—and the rest are hurt. Some of the orcs produce a large weighted net. Rather than asking for a lot of rolls and figuring the mechanics for escape, you use intrusion and say that the net goes over the PCs who are still on their feet. The rest of the orcs point spears menacingly. This is a pretty strong cue to the players that surrender is a good (and possibly the only) option. Some players won't take the hint, however, so another use of intrusion might allow the orcs to hit one of the trapped PCs on the head and render them unconscious while their friends struggle in the net. If the players still don't surrender, it's probably best to play out the rest of the encounter without more GM intrusions—using more would be heavy-handed by anyone's measure—although it's perfectly reasonable to rule that a character rendered debilitated is knocked unconscious, since the orcs are trying to take the PCs alive.

Remember that GM intrusions can occur at any time, not just during combat. Disrupting or changing a tense interaction with NPCs can have big repercussions.

Using GM Intrusion as a Resolution Mechanic

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 409)

This mechanic offers a way for the GM to determine how things happen in the game without leaving it all to random chance. Bad guys trying to smash down the door to the room where the PCs are holed up? You could roll a bunch of dice, compare the NPCs' stats to the door's stats, and so on, or you could wait until the most interesting time, have the bad guys break in, and award an experience point to the PC who tried their best to bar the door. The latter way is the Cypher System way. Intrusion is a task resolution tool for the GM. In other words, you don't base things on stats but on narrative choice. (Frankly, a lot of great GMs over the years—even in the very early days of the hobby—have run their games this way. Sometimes they rolled dice or pretended to roll dice, but they were really manipulating things.) This method frees the GM from worrying about mechanics and looking up stats and allows them to focus on the story.

This isn't cheating—it's the rules of the game. This rule simply replaces traditional dice rolling with good game mastering, logic, and intelligent storytelling. When a PC is climbing a burning rope, and everyone knows that it will break at some point, the game has a mechanism to ensure that it breaks at just the right time.

  • Variant: If you want more randomness in your game, or if you want your game to seem like more of a simulation, assign a flat percentage chance for whatever you're trying to resolve. For example, each round, the star troopers have a 20% chance to blast through the door—or, if you want the risk to escalate, a cumulative 20% chance to blast through the door. By not using GM intrusion, this method robs the PCs of a few XP, but when they see you rolling dice, it might help with their immersion. Alternatively, you can pretend to roll dice but really use GM intrusion, though this method seriously robs the characters of XP.

There's a better way. Announce your intrusion, but say that there's only a chance it will happen (state the percentage chance), and then roll the dice in plain view of everyone. If the intrusion occurs, award the XP as normal. This is likely the best of both worlds. However, it takes the narrative power out of your hands and gives it to the dice. Perhaps this method is best used only occasionally. If nothing else, it injects some variety and certainly some drama.

Using (and Not Abusing) GM Intrusion

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 410)

Too much of a good thing will make the game seem utterly unpredictable—even capricious. The ideal is to use about four GM intrusions per game session, depending on the length of the session, or about one intrusion per hour of game play. This is in addition to any intrusions that are triggered by players rolling a 1.

Externalizing GM Intrusion Through Player Rolls

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

One of the keys to understanding GM intrusions is right there in the name—intrusion—even in response to a player rolling a 1. As noted in many of the example GM intrusions below, these moments don't have to be rooted in a PC failure, but instead can be something unexpected, undiscovered, and entirely external to the PC—something rooted in the world, situation, or opposition they are facing. It is an unfortunate fact that many players have had experience with games and GMs who respond to rolling a 1 by humiliating the PC, or preventing them from taking an action, but usually all this manages to do is bring the game to a halt. In the Cypher System, a good GM intrusion is revelatory: it reveals something about the world and invites further action in response. For example:

  • If a PC is attempting to ask a prospective NPC romance out on a date and rolls a 1, you could have them make a fool out of themself—spilling their drink on the person, and completely ruining any chance to pursue that romance in the future. That's certainly an option, but it might not be the best one. Instead, you could reveal that the object of their affection already has a significant other—a jealous one, or perhaps an overprotective parent or sibling.

  • If a PC is picking a lock in a dungeon, you could just have the PC fumble and break their lockpick, leaving the door shut forever. Or instead, the door could be yanked open—destroying the lockpick, and revealing a gaggle of angry orcs on the other side.

Whether they are triggered by a player rolling 1 or not, GM intrusions are there to help you be flexible: they can create corrective measures for the game pacing's or direction, make an important statement, or reveal a complication rooted in something the players overlooked, or bring something from the background of the story toward the center of it. In the end, the best GM intrusions don't delay the action, but help move the story forward.

Intrusion Through Player Rolls

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 410)

When a PC rolls a 1, handle the GM intrusion the same way that you'd handle an intrusion you initiated. The intrusion could mean the PC fumbles or botches whatever they were trying to do, but it could mean something else. Consider these alternatives:

  • In combat, the PC's foe is not as hurt as they thought. Give the foe 5 extra points of health.
  • In combat, the PC drops their guard, and the foe gets a free attack.
  • In combat, reinforcements for the PC's foes show up.
  • In combat (or any stressful situation), an ally decides to flee.
  • In combat (or any stressful situation), an ally doesn't like the PCs as much as they thought. The ally steals from them or betrays them.
  • Out of combat, the PC's pack falls open, or the sole of their shoe tears open.
  • Out of combat, it begins to rain heavily.
  • Out of combat, a surprise foe appears, and the scene turns into a combat.
  • In an interaction, the GM introduces a surprising motive for the NPC. For example, the PCs are trying to bribe an official for information, and the official reveals that what they really want isn't money but for someone to rescue their kidnapped son.

This might not be true of your players, but many players rarely, if ever, spend XP to refuse an intrusion from the GM, though they regularly use XP to avoid an intrusion that comes from a bad roll. And there's nothing wrong with that. Some GMs might want to forbid using an XP to reroll a 1, but there's really no point—if you've got an idea for a good intrusion, you don't need to wait until a player rolls a 1 to use it.

Editor's Notes — Optional rules like Horror Mode and other special effects can increase the "GM intrusion range" or "GM intrusion rate", making intrusions through player rolls more likely. For example, if an effect increases the GM intrusion rate (or range) by 2, the effected PC triggers a GM intrusion on a roll of 1–3.

Optional Rule: Separate Reroll and GM Intrusion Refusal Costs

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Using this optional rule, the 1 XP costs for rerolling the die and avoiding a GM intrusion triggered by a special roll are treated as separate expenditures. Possible outcomes of this include:

  • If a player decides to keep the GM intrusion, but pays 1 XP to to reroll the die and succeeds, the GM intrusion still complicates the situation.
  • If the PC pays 1 XP to avoid the GM intrusion but keeps the roll, the outcome is that of a normal unsuccessful roll.
  • If a PC pays 2 XP, they avoid the GM intrusion and make another roll.
GM Intrusion That Affects the Group

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 410)

The core of the idea behind GM intrusion is that the player being adversely affected gains an experience point. But what if the intrusion affects the whole group equally? What if the GM uses it to have an unstable device overload and explode, harming all the characters? In this case, if no PC is involved more than the others (for example, no single PC was frantically attempting to repair the device), you should give 1 XP to each character but not give any of them an extra XP to hand out to someone else.

However, this kind of group intrusion should be an exception, not the rule. GM intrusions are much more effective if they are more personal.

Example GM Intrusions

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

It's not a good idea to use the same events as GM intrusions over and over ("Dolmar dropped his sword again?"). Below are a number of different intrusions you can use.

Editor's Notes — GM intrusions are an integral part of Cypher System design. Most creatures and traps include at least one GM intrusion. GM intrusions are a crucial source of Experience Points (XP)—so make them a part of your session preparation!

Bad Luck

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

Through no fault of the characters, something happens that is bad or at least complicating. For example:

  • The floorboard beneath the PC gives way.
  • The boat lists to starboard at just the wrong moment.
  • A gust of wind blows the papers out of the character's hand.
  • The buckle of the PC's pack snaps at an inopportune time.
  • The NPC that the characters need to speak with is home sick today.
  • A device (cypher or artifact) malfunctions or gives the user a jolt.
An Unknown Complication Emerges

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

The situation was more complex (and therefore more interesting) than the PCs knew—perhaps even more than the GM knew, at least at the start. For example:

  • A poisonous snake darts out from the tall grass and attacks.
  • The box that holds the plans is trapped with a poison needle.
  • The NPC that the PCs need to befriend doesn't speak their language.
  • The NPC that the PCs try to bribe is allergic to the bottle of alcohol they offer.
  • The PCs find the book they need, but the pages are so brittle that if they open it, it might crumble.
An Impending Complication Emerges

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

GMs can use this type of intrusion as a resolution mechanic to determine NPC success or failure. Rather than rolling dice to see how long it takes an NPC to rewire a damaged force field generator, it happens at a time of the GM's choosing—ideally when it would be most interesting. For example:

  • The goblin reinforcements finally get through the locked door.
  • The ropes of the old rope bridge finally snap.
  • The city guards show up.
  • The unstable ceiling collapses.
  • The NPC who holds a dagger to a character's throat and says "Don't move" cuts the PC when they do, in fact, move, putting them immediately at debilitated on the damage track.
Opponent Luck or Skill

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

The PCs aren't the only ones with surprising tricks up their sleeves. For example:

  • The PC's opponent uses a lightning-fast maneuver to dodge all attacks.
  • The PC's opponent sees an opening and makes an additional, immediate attack.
  • The NPC commander rallies their troops, who all deal 2 additional points of damage for one round.
  • The PC's opponent uses a cypher or similar device that produces just the right effect for the situation.
  • A bit of the wall collapses in the middle of the fight, preventing the characters from chasing the fleeing NPC.
Fumbles

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

Although you might not want every player roll of 1 to be a fumble, sometimes it could be just that. Alternatively, the GM could simply declare that a fumble has occurred. In either case, consider the following examples:

  • In combat, the PC drops their weapon.
  • In combat, the PC misses and strikes the wall, breaking or damaging their weapon.
  • In combat, the NPC hits the PC harder than usual, inflicting 2 additional points of damage.
  • In combat, the PC hits an ally by accident and inflicts regular damage.
  • Out of combat, the PC drops or mishandles an important object or piece of equipment.
  • In an interaction, the PC inadvertently or unknowingly says something offensive.
Partial Success

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 411)

GM intrusion doesn't have to mean that a PC has failed. For example:

  • The PC disables the explosive device before it goes off, but if someone doesn't remain and hold the detonator, it will still explode.
  • The PC creates the antidote, but it will turn the imbiber's flesh blue for the next few weeks.
  • The PC jumps across the pit but accidentally knocks loose some stones from the edge, making the jump harder for their friend right behind them.

Editor's Notes — If a PC fails a roll by only one difficulty step, the GM can offer a GM intrusion as a sort of "devil's bargain". If accepted, the result of the roll becoms a "success with consequences".

Player Intrusions

Quick Reference: Player Intrusions

Additional Intrusions

Related Sections

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 412)

Player intrusions give the players a small bit of narrative control over the world. However, the world still remains in the GM's purview. You can always overrule a player intrusion, or suggest a way to massage it so that it fits better into the setting. Still, because it is indeed narrative control, a player intrusion should always involve a small aspect of the world beyond the character. "I punch my foe really hard" is an expression of Effort or perhaps character ability. "My foe slips and falls backward off the ledge" is a player intrusion.

Player intrusions should never be as big as GM intrusions. They should not end an encounter, only (perhaps) provide the PC with the means to more easily end an encounter. They should not have a wide-reaching or even necessarily a long-term effect on the setting. A way to consider this might be that player intrusions can affect a single object (a floorboard snaps), feature (there's a hidden shallow spot in the stream to ford), or NPC (the vendor is an old friend). But not more than that. A player intrusion can't affect a whole village or even a whole tavern in that village. A rock can come loose, but a player intrusion can't create a landslide.

Editor's Notes — Chapter 5: Type provides a recommended limit of one Player Intrusion per player per session.

Cyphers

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 420)

You should think of cyphers as character abilities, whether they're subtle cyphers or manifest cyphers. This means that it is incumbent upon you to make sure that players always have plenty of cyphers to use. In the course of their travels, the PCs should find that cyphers are extremely common. And since the PCs are limited in the number of cyphers they can carry, they will use them liberally.

Manifest cyphers can be found by scavenging through old ruins. They can be found in the corpses of magical or technological foes. They can be found among the possessions of intelligent fallen opponents or the lairs of unintelligent creatures, either amid the bones of former meals or as shiny decorations in a nest. They can be found in villages, in the back of a merchant's cart that sells and scavenged parts. They are offered as rewards by people who are grateful for the PCs' help.

Some adventures will offer more cyphers than others. Still, as a rule of thumb, in any given adventure, a character should use at least as many cyphers as they can carry. This means they should find that number of cyphers in that same amount of time (give or take). Thus, you can simply add up the number of cyphers the PCs can carry, and on average, they should find at least that many cyphers in a given adventure.

If your players are typical, they will use combat-related cyphers liberally but hold onto their utility cyphers. A ray emitter or defensive shield will be used, but a suspensor belt or phasing module will linger longer on their character sheets.

As with everything else in the game, it's intentionally very easy for the GM to create new cyphers. Just think of the effect and how to express it as a game advantage. Two kinds of cyphers exist when it comes to effect: those that allow the user to do something better, and those that allow the user to do something they couldn't do otherwise.

The first group includes everything that reduces the difficulty of a task (including defense tasks). The second group includes things that grant new abilities, such as flight, a new means of attack, the ability to see into the past, or any number of other powers.

A few more important notes about devising new cyphers:

  • Cyphers should be single-use items. The PCs use them up and find new ones.
  • Cyphers should be potent. A minor ability isn't worth the trouble. If an attack cypher isn't as good as a regular weapon, why bother with it?
  • Cyphers shouldn't have drawbacks.
  • Cyphers should be temporary. Typically, a power is used once. Abilities or advantages that have a duration last from ten minutes to twenty-four hours (at most).
  • Manifest cyphers can take any form. Just make them appropriate to the genre.

Cyphers teach GMs to design different kinds of scenarios—ones in which the whole adventure isn't wrecked if a player has something that can solve a single problem (defeat a foe, read a mind, bypass a barrier, or whatever). There should always be more to the adventure than one linchpin encounter, obstacle, foe, or secret.

It's all right if players think of cyphers (especially manifest cyphers) as equipment or treasure. You should choose points in the course of the story that are appropriate for awarding subtle cyphers, especially if the PCs aren't at their full capacity.

Editor's Notes — For more on distributing cyphers to players, see Cypher Decks.

Cyphers Video

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Artifacts

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 421)

In terms of the narrative, artifacts are a lot like cyphers, except that most are not one-use items. Mechanically, they serve a very different purpose. It's assumed that characters are exploring with some cyphers at their disposal. Artifacts, however, are added abilities that make characters broader, deeper, and often more powerful. They aren't assumed—they're extra.

The powers granted by artifacts are more like the abilities gained from a character's type or focus in that they change the way the PC is played overall. The difference between an artifact and a type or focus ability is that almost all artifacts are temporary. They last longer than cyphers do, but because they have a depletion roll, any use could be their last.

Like cyphers, then, artifacts are a way for the GM to play a role in the development of the characters. Although armor, weapons, and the like are fine, special capabilities—such as long-range communication or travel—can really change the way the PCs interact with the world and how they deal with challenges. Some of these abilities enable the actions you want the PCs to take. For example, if you want them to have an underwater adventure, provide them with artifacts (or cyphers) that allow them to breathe underwater.

Also like cyphers, artifacts are simple for the GM to create. The only difference with artifacts is that you give them a depletion roll, using any numbers on 1d6, 1d10, 1d20, or 1d100. If you want the artifact to be used only a few times, give it a depletion roll of 1 in 1d6, 1 or 2 in 1d10, or even 1 or 2 in 1d6. If you want the PCs to use it over and over, a depletion roll of 1 in 1d100 more or less means that they can use it freely without worrying too much.

You may wish to forbid the use of XP to reroll artifact depletion rolls. That's pretty reasonable.

Editor's Notes — For more on artifacts, see Artifacts in Chapter 10: Equipment.

Skills and Other Abilities

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 421)

Sometimes, the rules speak directly to character creativity. For example, players can make up their own skills. It's possible to have a skill called "tightrope walking" that grants a character a better chance to walk across a tightrope, and another skill called "balance" that gives a character a better chance to walk across a tightrope and perform other balance actions as well. This might seem unequal at first, but the point is to let players create precisely the characters they want. Should you let a character create a skill called "doing things" that makes them better at everything? Of course not. The GM is the final arbiter not only of logic but also of the spirit of the rules, and having one or two single skills that cover every contingency is clearly not in the spirit.

It's important that players play the character they want. This concept is supported not only with the open-ended skill system but also with the ability to get an experience point advance to tailor a character further. Likewise, the GM should be open to allowing a player to make small modifications to refine their character. In many cases, particularly ones that don't involve stat Pools, Armor, damage inflicted, or the costs of Effort or special abilities, the answer from the GM should probably be "Sure, why not?" If a PC ends up being really good at a particular skill—better than they "should" be—what's the harm? If Dave can swim incredibly well, how does that hurt the game in terms of the play experience or the story that develops? It doesn't. If Helen can pick practically any mundane lock she finds, why is that a bad thing? In fact, it's probably good for the game—there's likely something interesting on the other sides of those doors.

In a way, this is no different than adjudicating a not-so-straightforward solution to a challenge. Sometimes you have to say "No, that's not possible." But sometimes, if it makes sense, open yourself up to the possibility.

Skill Categories

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

This section is based on The (Unwritten) Rules on Skills in Numenera by the Infinite Construct.

Here is a framework for thinking about skills and character progression: Because skills are one way of modifying the difficulty of a task, it can be helpful to think of a skill as falling into one the following three categories:

  • Broad Skills are applicable to large number of possible tasks. For example, "positive social interaction" is a broad skill that can apply to a variety of tasks that involve social pleasantry: etiquette, flattery, persuasion, negotiation, seduction, and even deception. Likewise, a crafting skill like "metalworking" might be considered a broad skill that allows a PC represents some training in metallurgy, working a forge, and creating different types of finishes for several kinds of well-known metals on a completed object.

  • Narrow Skills are less frequent in their application, and they frequently build upon a broad skill. For example, "negotiation" might be a specialization within a broad "positive social interaction" skill. Likewise, "weaponsmithing", "bronze casting", "hull welding", and "jewelrymaking" might be specific skills that fall under a broad "metalworking" skill. The GM should consider what each of these specializations says about the PC. Are they a warrior? An artist? A craftsperson?

    A GM might decide that some skills are so broad that it is impossible to become specialized in them, and a player must instead choose a narrow skill under the broad skill. For example, if the GM considers "stealth" as applicable to too many different types of tasks, they might require the character specialize in picking pockets, sleight of hand, sneaking, or hiding instead.

  • Specialized Knowledge skills might be uniquely important to the game world or campaign, with only a certain few that possess them. The Cypher System assumes PCs are broadly competent: the default state of any given skill is Practiced. However, the GM might decide that when it comes to a few select skills, PCs are assumed to have an inability with those skills unless they begin the game trained in them.

    For example, in a science fiction setting, being able to decipher the language of a long-dead ancient species might be specialized knowledge, and the GM might allow characters to rid themselves of the inability as part of choosing a skill as part of character advancement.

    Specialized knowledge is also useful when thinking about crafting. In a fantasy setting, "elven weaponsmithing" might be a specialized knowledge skill within the broad "metalworking" skill. if a PC is already trained in metalworking and completes a Master a Skill character arc, they might be able to specialize in "elven weaponsmithing", which would then enable them begin to use the rules for crafting magic items. In a superhero setting where magic is rare, a PC without an ability likeMagic Training might be assumed to have an inability on tasks related to understanding magic, with no established way of gaining any magical talent.

NPCs and Death

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 424)

As explained in Chapter 11: Rules of the Game, NPCs have a health score rather than three stat Pools. When an NPC reaches 0 health, they are down. Whether that means dead, unconscious, or incapacitated depends on the circumstances as dictated by you and the players. Much of this can be based on logic. If the NPC is cut in half with a giant axe, they're probably dead. If they're mentally assaulted with a telepathic attack, they might be insane instead. If they're hit over the head with a club, well, that's your call.

It depends on the intentions of those who are fighting the NPC, too. PCs who want to knock out a foe rather than kill them can simply state that as their intention and describe their actions differently—using the flat of the blade, so to speak.

Creatures

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 425)

Whenever possible, creatures should be handled like other NPCs. They don't follow the same rules as the player characters. If anything, they should have greater latitude in doing things that don't fit the normal mold. A many-armed beast should be able to attack multiple foes. A charging rhino-like animal ought to be able to move a considerable distance and attack as part of a single action.

Consider creature size very carefully. For those that are quick and hard to hit, hinder attacks against them. Large, strong creatures should be easier to hit, so ease attacks against them. However, you should freely give the stagger ability to anything twice as large as a human. This means that if the creature strikes a foe, the target must make an immediate Might defense roll or lose its next turn.

A creature's level is a general indicator of its toughness, combining aspects of power, defense, intelligence, speed, and more into one rating. In theory, a small creature with amazing powers or extremely deadly venom could be high level, and a huge beast that isn't very bright and isn't much of a fighter could be low level. But these examples go against type. Generally, smaller creatures have less health and are less terrifying in combat than larger ones.

The Cypher System has no system for building creatures. There is no rule that says a creature with a certain ability should be a given level, and there is no rule dictating how many abilities a creature of a given level should have. But keep the spirit of the system in mind. Lower-level creatures are less dangerous. A level 1 creature could be poisonous, but its venom should inflict a few points of damage at most. The venom of a level 6 creature, however, might knock a PC down a step on the damage track or put them into a coma if they fail a Might defense roll. A low-level creature might be able to fly, phase through objects, or teleport because these abilities make it more interesting but not necessarily more dangerous. The value of such abilities depends on the creature that uses them. In other words, a phasing rodent is not overly dangerous, but a phasing battle juggernaut is terrifying. Basic elements such as health, damage, and offensive or defensive powers (such as poison, paralysis, disintegration, immunity to attacks, and so on) need to be tied directly to level—higher-level creatures get better abilities and more of them.

Modifying Creatures
Quick Reference: Modifying Creatures

Creature Templates

Optional Rules

Related Sections

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You can use the following creature templates to create stronger or more interesting versions of creatures:

Beefed Up

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Apply the following stat adjustments to a beefed up creature.

  • +1 level
  • +10 health
  • +1 Armor
  • +3 damage inflicted

Multiple Boosts: If you need a really beefed up foe, you can boost a creature more than once.

Editor's Notes — This example template is based on Challenging Characters (435) in the Cypher System Rulebook, and provides a basic "boost package"—for example, turning a goblin into a more powerful "hobgoblin" variant. It also gives you an idea on how to start creating your own templates.

Bigger and Tougher

(Godforsaken, page 97)

If you need a larger or tougher version of a creature, such as a dire wolf or a giant crocodile, you can just increase the creature's level (and all of its modifications) by 1 or 2. If the creature has a damage or health stat that isn't the default for its level, take that into account at the modified creature's new level.

A simple rule of thumb is to double a creature's size (length, width, and height) for every level it increases.

  • Stagger: If the creature strikes a foe, the target must make an immediate Might defense roll or lose their next turn.

Editor's Notes — The difficulty to avoid a stagger is the level of the creature (unless any modifications change that). Repeatedly losing a turn will probably not be much fun for most players, so consider "dazing" the PCs, hindering their actions instead.

Blighted

(Rust and Redemption, page 94)

A blighted creature or NPC is touched by a mutation and/or a contagion that makes them more dangerous than standard creatures of their type. It is scarred and twisted in some way, and possibly slightly bigger—or at least wirier—than average, which explains why it's survived so long, even blighted. A blighted creature shows signs of degradation—such as a bacterial, viral, or even mycological infection-tracing disturbing sores, scars, or encrustations across its skin or hide. The specifics are up to you. Many blighted creatures and people are hungry and hurt, acting rabidly. But an NPC could just as easily retain human sentiment despite their deteriorated condition.

Apply the following stat adjustments to a blighted creature.

  • Increase the creature's level by 1 and increase all its related stats by the appropriate amount (1 more point of average damage, 3 more points of health, and so on).
  • The creature's perception tasks are hindered by two steps; whatever blights the creature is slowly blinding it.
  • In bright light, the creature's tasks are hindered. (A blighted human could wear shades to nullify this hindrance; other creatures might come up with similar tactics or stay in shadows when possible.)
  • The creature's scratches, bites, spittle, or similar attacks contain a contagion known as "the blight."

The Blight: The creature is a contagion vector for the same agent that blights it, whether that's radiation, bacteria, a virus, mycological spores, or something stranger. Treat the contagion as a disease with a level equal to the blighted creature's level. The affected creature's tasks are hindered by one additional step each day a Might defense roll is failed. For each two steps a target is hindered, it also moves one step down the damage track. When a target moves down the third step, either it dies (20% chance) or it survives but gains the Blighted template (80% chance). A blighted creature loses the hindrance described in this paragraph.

Editor's Notes — The blighted template is perfect for a post-apocalyptic setting, but works just as well in a fantasy setting.

Optional Rule: Effort for NPCs

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This section is based Optional Rule: Effort for NPCs by Monte Cooke.

In addition to GM intrusion, this rule provides the GM with a way to allow NPCs, creatures, or followers to use Effort just like PCs. An NPC using Effort on an action temporarily increases their effective level. In situations that don't involve PCs, Effort allows an NPC to rise to the occasion in a daring combat between NPCs, or to succeed at a particularly daunting task. However, because the player always rolls, NPCs using Effort can affect the difficulty of the PC's roll:

  • If an NPC uses a level of Effort to defend themselves, the PC's attack is hindered.
  • If an NPC uses a level of Effort ease an attack or special ability, the PC's defense roll against it is hindered.
  • If an NPC uses a level of Effort to increase damage and the PC fails their defense roll, the amount of damage inflicted is increased by 3—or by 2, if it was an area attack.
Assigning Effort to NPCs

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In addition to health and other modifications, assigning how much Effort an NPC can use and how they use it is a great way to create dynamic individualized NPCs. The GM might assign a different types and levels of Effort for different NPCs. When assigning Effort to an NPC, the GM should consider the following options:

  • Effort from Health: Some NPCs can spend 1 health point to use one level of Effort. This is a major expense to a level 2 NPC, but a not a big deal to a level 6 NPC. This option is easy to account for, since health is already defined in the creature's listing.

  • Effort from Level: Some NPCs can use one level Effort a number of times equal to their level. This is a little trickier, requiring the GM to keep track of the NPC's available Effort. However, it might be a better method for followers the PC accounts for.

  • Multiple Levels of Effort: A few NPCs might be able to use multiple levels Effort. An NPC can't use a number of levels of Effort that exceeds their level, nor can they exceed the six-step limit for easing a task.

  • Recovering Effort: Persistent NPCs and followers should regain their ability to use of Effort, after a length of time determined by the GM.

Example NPCs with Effort

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  • Berserker Clan: The GM creates a tribe of raging level 3 berserkers with Effort from Health. Most of the berserkers can only spend one level of Effort at a time, but the GM allows the chieftain to spend up to three levels of Effort, spending 1 health point for each level of Effort she uses. This allows the chieftain to threaten the party's heavily armored warrior with deadly accuracy and damage. The GM also assigns the chieftain additional health for her spend her Effort from.

  • Werewolf Pack: The GM creates a pack of level 4 werewolves with Effort from Level and Multiple Levels of Effort. Each werewolf might use their four levels of Effort differently: one level of Effort four times, two levels of Effort twice, or four levels of Effort just once (or some other combination). The point is that where, when, and how each werewolf uses their Effort becomes a source of drama within the story.

Creating Creatures and NPCs

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This section is based on NPC Game Stats (422) and Make a Cypher System Creature in Ten Minutes or Less by Charles Ryan.

It doesn't take a lot of preparation to create a memorable creature or NPC. You don't have to follow all of the following steps, but if you find yourself more time and energy, take the next step on the checklist:

  • Level, Motive, and Combat: Decide on the level, motive, and general tactics and key behaviors of the NPC.

  • Movement, Modifications and Interaction: Decide what is most important about the NPC for your purposes. This might be defining its movement, tasks it is particularly skilled with, or weaknesses it might have with certain tasks. Refer back to the creature's motive and refine how thinks and behaves—especially if the PCs might try to interact with it, and if it requires any signature combat tactics or special abilities. Describing for players what the creature does is important—describing how the NPC does it is equally important. If it's supposed to be creepy, detail that creepiness.

  • GM Intrusion: Consider what might happens if a player triggers a GM intrusion, or create a twist you'd like to be able to propose in an encounter.

  • Health: A creature's health dictates how long it will survive in combat. A party of four tier 1–2 characters typically inflict 10 points of damage each round. Tier 3–4 characters typically inflict 16 points of damage, and tier 5–6 characters typically inflict 22 points per round.

  • Armor: Armor reduces how quickly an NPC's health is depleted. One point of Armor is typically equivalent to adding 6–7 points of health.

  • Damage Inflicted: You can increase damage inflicted if necessary. Even low-level creatures inflict at least 2–3 points of damage. During combat, creatures typically damage the PCs twice.

  • Special Damage: Decide if the creature can inflict any kind of special damage—venom, entanglement, stun, mental control, temporary reductions to Pools, even moving characters down the damage track without depleting their Pools. If employing such effects, decide on what conditions that alleviate them, for example, a successful Might defense roll made each hour, a successful healing task against the level of a poison, or completing a ten-hour recovery roll. These effects can certainly make an NPC more interesting, but don't overuse them.

  • Use and Loot: Describe at least one way the party might be likely to discover or encounter the creature. If the creature is likely to have any useful loot, such as a cypher, equipment, or part of its body, note that, too.

Balancing Encounters

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 434)

In the Cypher System, there is no concept of a "balanced encounter." There is no system for matching creatures of a particular level or tasks of a particular difficulty to characters of a particular tier. To some people, that might seem like a bad thing. But matching character builds to exacting challenges is not part of this game. It's about story. So whatever you want to happen next in the story is a fine encounter as long as it's fun. You're not denying the characters XP if you make things too easy or too difficult, because that's not how XP are earned. If things are too difficult for the PCs, they'll have to flee, come up with a new strategy, or try something else entirely. The only thing you have to do to maintain "balance" is set difficulty within that encounter accurately and consistently.

In a game like the Cypher System, if everyone's having fun, the game is balanced. Two things will unbalance the game in this context.

  • One or more PCs are far more interesting than the others. Note that it says "more interesting," not "more powerful." If my character can do all kinds of cool things but can't destroy robots as efficiently as yours does, I still might have a whole lot of fun.

  • The challenges the PCs face are routinely too easy or too difficult.

The first issue should be handled by the character creation rules. If there's a problem, it might be that poor choices were made or a player isn't taking full advantage of their options. If someone really doesn't enjoy playing their character, allow them to alter the PC or—perhaps better—create a new one.

The second issue is trickier. As previously stated, there is no formula that states that N number of level X NPCs are a good match for tier Y characters. However, when the game has four or five beginning characters, the following guidelines are generally true.

  • Level 1 opponents will be nothing but a nuisance, even in sizable numbers (twelve to sixteen).
  • Level 2 opponents will not be a challenge unless in numbers of twelve or more.
  • Level 3 opponents will be an interesting challenge in numbers of four to eight.
  • Level 4 opponents will be an interesting challenge in numbers of two or three.
  • A single level 5 opponent might be an interesting challenge.
  • A single level 6 opponent will be a serious challenge.
  • A single level 7 or 8 opponent will likely win in a fight.
  • A single level 9 or 10 opponent will win in a fight without breaking a sweat.

But it depends on the situation at hand. If the PCs are already worn down from prior encounters, or if they have the right cyphers, any of the expectations listed above can change. That's why there is no system for balancing encounters. Just keep in mind that beginning characters are pretty hardy and probably have some interesting resources, so you aren't likely to wipe out the group by accident. Character death is unlikely unless the PCs have already been through a number of other encounters and are worn down.

Editor's Notes — The list above probably assumes simple, unmodified opponents with a level and minimal modifications, as opposed to creatures and NPCs with detailed statistics. For example, consider the enormous difference between a handful of generic soldiers (level 4; 12 health; 4 damage inflicted) versus a squadron of storm marines (level 4; 15 health; Armor 4; attacks as level 5; 6 damage inflicted—not to mention the possibility of sending a PC directly down the damage track).

In general, it's best to aim a little low when designing challenges, but prepare a few GM intrusions you can use to kick things up a notch if the PCs are having too easy a time.

Creating Challenging Encounters

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This section is based on Challenging Characters (435) in the Cypher System Rulebook. If PCs are breezing through encounters, try some of the following ideas:

  • Gritty Realism: If the game requires a little more "gritty realism", employ optional rules like Fragility and Ironman to dial up the threat.

  • Templates: Modify creatures to create new and more challenging variants of creatures or NPCs.

  • Damage Track: An attack or effect immediately moves a PC one step down the damage track.

  • Ongoing Damage: An attack or effect inflicts additional damage each round until PCs find a way to counteract it.

  • Lasting Damage: A PC gains an injury, which reduces the maximum number of points in one or more of their Pools. The PC can regain 1 point to their maximum each day they spend resting, or 1 point every three days of regular activity. Until their Pool point maximum is fully restored, any tasks appropriate to the injury are hindered by one or more steps (determined by the GM). The section on Conditions and Injuries contains a number of potential injury frameworks.

  • Permanent Damage: Permanent injuries should be used sparingly, but can be interesting. Even a permanent damage might one day be counteracted by appropriate technology, magic, or completion of a character arc like Recover From a Wound (or Trauma).

  • Damaging Abilities or Equipment: An attack temporarily hinders the use of, nullifies—or in rare instances, completely destroys—a PC's special ability, cypher, or artifact.

  • Enemies Working in Concert: If four creatures work together, add +1 to the highest level creature, and +2 additional points of damage. A level 4 mafia cap with three level 3 triggermen could team up and attack as a level 5 NPC, dealing 6 damage instead of 4. This is a useful way of pooling enemies who normally can't overcome a PC's Armor.

  • Swarms of Creatures: The GM can combine six to ten creatures and have them act as one creature that is two levels higher and inflicts double the creature's normal damage. A group of thirty berserkers might be handled as three level 5 creatures with 30 Health each, inflicting 8 point of damage.

  • Dangerous Environs: Unstable terrain, hazards, or extreme weather can all be realized through the Horror Mode rule, causing more frequent GM intrusions triggered in response to player rolls.

Campaign Design Checklist

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This campaign design checklist guides you—the GM—in establishing the game setting, preparing players to create PCs ahead of the first session. You don't have to perform every step on the list, and you don't have all the answers right now. Oftentimes, discussing things with players will help you with answers you don't have, and in a longer campaign, you will almost certainly revise your answers as time goes on. You can use this process to fill out the official Campaign Design Worksheet included in Monte Cook Games' Cypher System Character Portfolios and Character Sheets.

Establishing Campaign Basics

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  • Name of the Game: Name your campaign something evocative and exciting. You might already be hinting at the kinds of adventures, mysteries, genres, locations or other important aspects of setting—including the kinds of characters PCs should expect to create.

  • GM Contact: Make sure your players know how to get in touch with you to talk about the game.

  • Select Genre(s): Make note of the informing genres the game will operate in.

Defining the Genre for Players

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  • Define Skills: Make a list of useful skills for the setting and genre. Add any new skills that are needed, including languages. If the setting includes magic or involves exploring great unknowns, it might also be a good time to consider defining any skill categories and expected inabilities most PCs will share.

  • Define Types: Establish the types PCs can play. You might also want to define a new type with a flavor, including any further customization you make.

  • Suggest Descriptors: Create a list of suggested descriptors. With so many descriptors available, limiting the number of choices is not necessarily a bad thing: the goal is to spotlight the descriptors that will be most meaningful to the kinds of stories the genre or setting will make most rewarding to play. Now is also a good time to think about if and how the game will use species as descriptor, or if you want to customize descriptors.

  • Suggest Foci: Provide a list of suggested foci, just as you did for the descriptors. Each genre contains a list of suggested foci to help you with this step. You can also customize a focus or create a new focus at this time.

  • Choose Cyphers: Create a list of appropriate cyphers to provide to the players. Think about where, when, and how players will gain cyphers—this might look different depending on if you are using primarily subtle cyphers or manifest cyphers. Using a cypher deck can also facilitate handing out cyphers, using them, and resolving what they do.

  • Select Optional Rules: Create a list of optional rules you want players to know about, and where to find them. If players need to read the rules or character options, consider recommending Old Gus' Unofficial Cypher System Player's Guide.

  • Something's Still Missing!: If you're adapting a setting to the Cypher System, there are often game mechanics that don't seem like they quite fit in. Some things might be best harnessed as a Use for XP—including new character advancement options, or player intrusions that provide a vocabulary for the kinds of cool "moves" a player can make on a limited basis that aren't addressed by character creation. Don't worry if you don't know how to do it all right now: if there are mechanics you aren't sure about, implement them as cyphers at first—this is a good test bed because cyphers can only be used once. Don't worry too much about game mechanics when writing these, just use own plain language. After the cypher is used, if it's something you'd like to see more of, you can reintroduce the cypher, or refine it into an artifact (which deplete randomly). When the artifact depletes, you can always provide the PCs with a way (for example, spending 3 XP) to recharge the artifact, or allow them to gain its effects permanently as a special ability with an appropriate initial cost for its effects.

Wrapping Up

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  • Write the Pitch: There's no wrong way to write a campaign pitch. You might write out your idea for the game in the style of a movie trailer, provide reference a list of influential media, or write a few paragraphs of relevant world history. Whatever you decide, be sure your pitch communicates any expectations you have for the kinds of people the PCs will portray, and what kinds of activities they game will center upon. Leave some room in the idea so that players can bring their own ideas to the table.

  • Set Boundaries: Work through the Consent in Gaming tool from Monte Cook Games, or other campaign safety tool of your choice with the players.

  • Take Notes: Throughout this process, make note of questions to be answered later, and things you'd like to discuss with players, or anything else that excites you about the PCs the players create.

Session Preparation

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This section is based on Preparing for the Game Session (431) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

In the Cypher System, there aren't too many rules you have to memorize to run the game. Instead, the Cypher System is designed to allow the GM and players to allow the game to proceed without the need for a lot pre-planned content. Allowing the game to unfold on its own means anything the GM plans might not get used, or might get used differently than planned for. The GM should leave themself some room to be flexible, filling in blanks and details as the game proceeds. Remember that since the player always rolls, use your time and brainpower to examine the players actions and moods, the unfolding story, and keep track where the trajectory of the game is headed.

The campaign design checklist can help you define certain things about the setting, but all you really need to be prepared are a list of names, a scenario summary, and a list of ideas.

A List of Names

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A list of names appropriate to the game's setting is useful for creating NPCs in the moment. Having a little extra room on the list to add a level, a modification, and a quick note next to a name is a good way of recording which names have become NPCs, and who they are. A useful set of notes for an NPC might include their level, important modifications, their motive (what they want), and means (how they intend to get it), or anything else that will help you remember them later.

Example Fairy Tale NPC Names and Notes
NameDetails
Ourmand Armstay—
Gwendolyn Goodnoodle—
Sandy Sugarbottom—
Brampton UnderrugHalfling; nervous disposition; general goods merchant; level 2, haggles as level 5
Sigourney Otherbeef—

If a powerful creature or NPC is central to the scenario, it can be wise to spend a few minutes to choose creatures and NPCs, and review their characteristics to determine if they need modification, or creating new creatures or NPCs.

A Scenario Summary

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A scenario summary sets up the general situation the PCs will be involved in, but doesn't assume anything what the players will do about it—players will always do unexpected things.

Knowing just a little bit about how things are connected will allow the players to interact with the scenario organically (as opposed to in an order and manner of your design). You might want to refer back to that list of names and come up with something on the fly. The PCs might investigate the situation on their own, or decide that there are other things they'd rather be doing than looking for missing shoes or people.

Example Scenario Summary: A Skeleton Stole My Shoes!

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In a fantasy world, the PCs are traveling through a forest of thick, tall, trees, and happen upon Bamwich—a cozy hamlet inhabited mostly by gentle moss dwarves. There is a chill in the air, but an inviting column of smoke rises from a nearby tavern with doors fit for a human.

  • Old Gus (the oldest dwarf in town; level 1; local history as level 4) loudly complains to anyone who will listen that a skeleton has stolen his favorite pair of shoes. Gus is eager to get the PCs to help him by retrieving them, and could be convinced to offer a reward for their safe return.

  • Lil' Mama and Large Marge (tavern proprietors; level 2) are hiding an infestation of rats—including two giant rats—in the tavern's underground larder.

  • Renengil (a skilled blacksmith; level 3) hasn't heard from her cousin Herferlun in a week. Herferlun is the foreman at an iron mine in the nearby woods. In addition to dwindling supplies, she is worried about her cousin. She would investigate the matter herself, but is busy with her work.

  • Hamish Wormworthy (an incompetent Necromancer; all tasks hindered) has sent forth his Skeleton minions to "collect the souls of the living", but his incompetence has them seeking out the soles of the living instead—causing the skeletons to steal people's shoes instead of killing them. His cavernous lair is becoming increasing littered with footwear.

  • Dwarven miners (level 2) are captured by Hamish, and are being turned into skeletons by the necromancer. Renengil's cousin, Herferlun is among the survivors.

A List of Ideas

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A list of ideas provides you with a box of toys you can interject into the game. They might provide useful tonal clues, a striking sensory description, or possible clues or side plots. It can also be a good idea prepare a few GM intrusions for a session. Coming up with one GM intrusion each for important locations, creatures, NPCs, situations, or the PCs' character arcs can provide you with the vocabulary you need to be ready when a PC rolls a 1, or to have something ready to propose that would be good for the story or game. Additionally, Monte Cook Games' GM Intrusion Deck that includes a wealth of possible GM intrusions.

For A Skeleton Stole My Shoes!, a list of ideas might include:

  • Someone's food or drink in the tavern is served with a large, wiry hair in it.
  • A ravage bear caught in a hunter's trap is actually a fey being.
  • A skeleton missing its skull stumbles through the woods.
  • A ghostly green torchlight increases skeletons' level by 1.
  • An artifact of great power is rumored to be held in an ancient shrine to a fallen hero somewhere deep in the woods.

Lastly, it can also be a good idea to choose a few cyphers appropriate to the setting. Come up with a way to provide that information to players, for example, a cypher deck. For A Skeleton Took My Shoes, potential cyphers might include:

For more on session preparation, see Exploration Tables and NPC Tables in Old Gus' Daft Drafts.

Teaching the Rules

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This section has been added by the editor based on Teaching The Rules (426) Cypher System Rulebook. It explores some collected advice on streamlining the process of teaching new players. It's a generally a good idea to get players to read through Chapter 3: How to Play the Cypher System, the Cypher System Reference Rules Primer. You might also want to go over Monte Cook Games' Consent in Gaming checklist individually with each player.

Alternatively, Old Gus' Unofficial Cypher System Player's Guide (OG-CSPG) contains everything players need to know to play the game in a condensed format, including all character options presented in the CSRD. You can also download the OG-CSPG in PDF for printable character options. New players might also find Old Gus' Cypher System Quick-Reference provides basic rules and game vocabulary at-a-glance.

It's common for players to take a little while to learn the Cypher System's vocabulary for game mechanics, especially if they've already played other games that have a different vocabulary. When you mention a game mechanic like recovery rolls or the damage track, take a moment to define those terms, and point out where that information is located on the PC's character sheets.

It's also a good idea to let players know a little bit about what to expect about the game's genre and setting. The Campaign Design Checklist can help you organize your thoughts and communicate them to players. This helps players know who their PC is, and a little bit about what kinds of stories to expect.

Calling for Rolls

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When it comes to rolling the die, players will learn the game faster if the GM calls for rolls using a consistent approach. Remind players that any action PC's take is resolved the same way. Here are a few steps you can take to smooth out calling for rolls and resolving them with players:

  • Tie the Action to a Stat: determine which stat is being tested: Might, Speed, or Intellect. If you're not sure which to use, ask the player how their PC is doing what they are doing.

  • Set the Difficulty: Select a task difficulty—usually between 0–10, and decide if any modifications are required—these might come from a creature's listed modifications, or external circumstances that might ease or hinder the task by one or more step (for example, a strong wind interfering with—or aiding—a PC's jump across a wide chasm).

  • Inform the Player: Tell the player which stat the task will test, and the difficulty—but don't mention the target number yet. For clarity's sake, the less conversion between those two different number sets, the better. You can withhold or be vague about difficulty if you like, but new players tend to benefit from knowing the difficulty until they get the hang of things.

  • Modify the Difficulty: Guide the player through modifying the difficulty using their skills, assets, and Effort. It good to set a few low difficulties players can modify all the way to 0, becoming a routine action, and succeed without a roll. If you are setting an impossible difficulty—7 or higher—inform the player that the task can't succeed unless they modify the difficulty in their favor. You might need to remind them about applicable skills, any assets they possess, and to use Effort at first. If another player wants to use their action to help, that's a good thing!

  • Announce the Target Number: Multiply the final difficulty by 3, inform the player of the target number, and prompt them to roll the die.

  • Resolve the Action: Narrate the results of the roll. If the PC used a special ability or Effort, total all Pool point costs, then subtract their Edge in the task stat from the total. Some players will use Effort on every roll at first. If players mention their Pool points are running low, remind them that their first recovery roll takes only one action to use.

Keeping Track of Numbers

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The GM might use tokens—for example, XP Deck cards or colored poker chips—to represent Might, Speed, and Intellect Pools. This can make counting out points lost due to using special abilities and Effort, or damage easier for some players. Once a player counts out their total costs, remind them to refund points due to Edge or Armor.

Encouraging Players to Spend XP

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It is a common struggle to get players to look past character advancement and start spending experience points for short-, medium- or long-term benefits and player intrusions. Here are a few ways a GM can use to encourage players to spend (and earn) more XP, which is intended to be given, received, and spent with some frequency. In fact, if the Cypher System has a heartbeat, this is it.

  • XP Cards or Tokens: Using a physical object as an XP token—for example, coins, XP Deck cards, poker chips, or a carefully aligned d10—can be a good way to formalize the fundamentally transactional nature of XP. As a side benefit, accounting for XP this way also means less accounting by erasing and rewriting numbers on a paper character sheet.

  • GM Intrusions: GM intrusions generate a lot XP, so if you are the GM, use them—and if you are a player, accept them! The GM might even consider granting XP even when a GM intrusion is the result of a player rolling a 1 on the die. GMs should aim to offer at least one GM intrusion to each player every session.

  • Player Intrusions: Some players who aren't used to having more narrative control might be reluctant to propose a player intrusion. If no one is using player intrusions, try proposing a few you think they'd like, or using the Gaining Insight optional rule. Devise a few proposed player intrusions for each PC—you can make it something only they could—or would—think of. Once players see a few examples, they'll be more prepared to start proposing their own intrusions.

  • Attendance: Offering 1–2 consistent XP at the start of the session just for showing up makes it easier to spend some.

  • Character Arcs: Reserve some time at the end of each session to discuss the PC's character arcs, and assign a XP value for any steps completed.

  • Equal Advancement: If using Equal Advancement, consider a house rule where any XP earned in the session must be spent in the same session—establish a limit on the amount of XP a PC can hoard, or deciding unspent XP expires at the start of the next session.

Encouraging Players to Use Cyphers

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The cypher limit is a social contract between the GM and the players. The GM provides useful cyphers that allow PCs to perform amazing abilities, and the players agree to use them, then the GM provides new cyphers, and so on. Having a fresh set of cyphers to distribute and use keeps gameplay fresh and allows each character to engage each situation differently than the last. It can be wise to provide cyphers in caches of 1d6 cyphers at a time, and allow players to discard cyphers in their possession that do not seem immediately useful.

Another option is to ask the players to review their cyphers at the start of the session, and cause cyphers to "expire". This runs the risk of coming off as punitive, but it might also provide the motivation some players need to use their cyphers, search for new ones, or to use a player intrusion to request a subtle cypher, or to prevent a manifest cypher they'd been saving for a specific purpose from expiring.

Using a cypher deck can speed up the distribution and resolution of cyphers without the need to write lengthy effects onto a character sheet, and serve as a good physical reminder of something the player has that they can use to affect the situation. A physical object is also a good reminder to the players that they quite literally might "have a card to play".

Using the Rules: Making Meaning

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This section is based on The Rules Versus the Story (403), Consistency (405), Adjudicating (412), Logic (413), Dice Rolling (414), Dealing with Character Abilities (418), Encouraging Player Creativity (420), Character Arcs (421), Handling NPCs (422), Pacing (428), Description (430), and Handling the Players (433) in the Cypher System Rulebook.

While the advice in this section will talk about some Cypher System specifics, the basic principles can be applied to playing what I call "the game"—regardless of the system or rules you use to play. "The game" in this case is called Make-Believe. That's important: you want to make the players want to believe in the world and the setting, and they want to make you want to believe in their PCs—even though we all know the story isn't real, the point is to make is as believable—and furthermore, as meaningful—as possible. When we succeed at Make-Believe, and everyone is having a good time, the game is being "won", to the extent that it ever can be.

The rules of any given game system are there to set up certain boundaries for our imagination. They determine what counts (in terms of maths), what is possible, and what is not—at least, at a baseline. In the Cypher System, there only a few important mechanics that can't be easily changed. PC stats, Pool, Effort, and XP are foundational to the Cypher System's mechanics, but you can change almost anything else—and maybe you should. Your choices will help you define the exact genre of the game—at least at first. They determine what defines "believable" within Make-Believe. For example, in a fantasy setting, magic is perfectly believable. In a post-apocalyptic setting caused by nuclear war, magic may not be very believable—but it could still be interesting. What's believable can also change dramatically over the course of a story—many great stories are based around the very idea of discovering new aspects of existence, and the Cypher System is—at its core—about discovery.

A key feature in the game of Make-Believe is that everything in the story has some amount of "meaningfulness". Meaningfulness defines what matters in the story, and separates what is important from what is not. Without sufficient meaningfulness, a story is "just a bunch of stuff that happens". When something is meaningful in a story, it creates a kind of gravitational force that pulls other parts of the story toward itself—making a near pass of one another, entering a kind of orbital relationship, shearing something apart in a terrible gravitation tide, or causing a dramatic impact. Without this meaningful kind of gravity, everything just floats around independently before scattering into oblivion. Building good, meaningful gravity in the game is essential. The rest of this section explores things you can do to build good meaningful gravity—enough to eventually slingshot your game on to new worlds.

"Remember, it's your job to use the rules to simulate the world, even if the world is a fictional place with all kinds of strangeness. You're not a slave to the rules—it's the other way around. If you come across a hole in the rules or something that doesn't make sense, don't shrug your shoulders and say "Well, that's what the rules say (or don't say)." Fix it." —Cypher System Rulebook (413)

Additionally, this blog post on Keeping to the Theme by Monte Cook offers some excellent advice that is applicable to the Cypher System: when you're not sure how proceed, reflect the genre(s) that inform your game and ask yourself: what happens in stories like these? What kind of behaviors will changes to the rules encourage or reward? This kind of reflection is useful to help decide on the use of optional rules or other changes to the game, and also when making decisions and rulings during a session.

Encouraging Play: Unclench Your Butt!

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Once you know what is makes things believable within the setting, it's time to turn the players loose within it. PCs will already bring a good amount of their own meaningfulness to the game—they are the main characters, after all. Who the players and PCs are: their personalities, descriptors, abilities, and character arcs are certainly going to have an impact on the story. This will inevitably disturb some parts of the setting, and when this happens, you might occasionally feel a small clench forming in your posterior. This is normal. Take a deep breath. Let it out, and unclench your butt. The whole point of having players in the world is precisely so that they can act upon it and bring some element of change to it. Otherwise, there's no story. There's "just a bunch of stuff that happens".

Before, during or after a session, players will express of what is meaningful to them about the PCs, locations, creatures, NPCs, and other aspects of the game in a few ways. For example, if you hear a player say things like the following, they are expressing some measure of meaningfulness about something:

  • "I hope…"
  • "I want…"
  • "I love…"
  • "I bet…"
  • "What if…"
  • "Ugh, I hate…"
  • "We have got to…"
  • "I have a plan."
  • "That was cool."

Take note when this happens. Sometimes, the best idea is to find a way to make something a player said—no matter how offhandedly—become true.

Players also express their sense of meaningfulness through Cypher System mechanics. If a player spends Pool points to use Effort, or spends 1 XP to reroll the die, you have an indicator that what happened meant something to the player—enough to spend something on it. Finding ways to honor those expenditures players engaged with the game, even when the dice—or you—are saying no to something.

In the Cypher System, there are two important ways the game ensures that some amount of narrative power and meaning-making are a shared enterprise: GM intrusions and player intrusions. Intrusions allow either party to grab a hold of the narrative for a moment. The difference between them is that players must pay 1 XP to avoid your GM intrusion, and they only gain XP if you provide it. You can be generous here—after all, you have an infinite amount of XP to give. But don't underestimate the value of give-and-take in Make-Believe. It's the original gameplay mechanic: rolling a ball back and forth, playing catch, and learning to share. Ensuring pool points and XP are flowing in and out of the PCs at an acceptable rate is one of the fundamental heartbeats of the Cypher System.

It's not wrong for players to refuse a player intrusion—sometimes you must. But if you're on the fence, consider throwing a little caution to the wind, and finding out what is on the other side of saying yes. Doing so can yield its own reward, and having some narrative responsibility taken off your shoulders can be very freeing, and allow you to be more playful.

Here are a few other strategies to create a sense of shared meaning with players in a campaign:

  • Question Players: Ask the players what features of adventures they enjoy—combat, exploration, social interaction, and puzzle-solving are common answers, but they may have other good ideas for features of gameplay you haven't thought about. When the story reaches a natural stopping point, take some time to ask again.

  • Explore Relationships: Involve the PCs' personal lives, NPCs they know and care about, and address their character arcs when you can.

  • Choices Matter: Ensure the PCs' choices and outcomes have a material impact on the story.

  • Tonal Variance: Tell more than one kind of story. If every session is a dungeon-dive to retrieve one of eight macguffins that ends in a dramatic monster battle, some players might love it. Some will get bored, seeing only slight variations on a theme. Try to vary the length of adventures. Some might take eight sessions, some three, and some might resolve in one.

  • Altering Scope: Depth and meaning in a setting should be examined from several angles. It's a good idea to change your scope and stakes between adventures, too. Addressing some character arcs might be intimate and personal, some are epic and decisive. Avoid threatening the world or all of existence repeatedly, or dwelling on minutiae.

  • Make Allowances: Sometimes the best way to subvert player expectations is to let things proceed exactly as the PCs hoped they would.

  • Beginner's Mind: Embrace a spirit of not-knowing: this goes both for the players and for GMs. It's not important to have all the answers all the time. The ones you really need will reveal themselves in time, but it's good to preserve a little mystery for another day. Don't overdo this, though—players need a good amount of information to understand and develop good traction with a story.

  • Full Being: Invest each NPC with as much life as you can. They should have real feelings and desires—including a will to survive. Not all of them will survive, and it's okay to feel sad when they don't. GMs are players too, so enjoy every NPC, creature, and gust of wind you become in the course of play.

  • Reflect on Things: When the time is right, revisit those mysteries and unconcluded stories from the past. As the PCs' stories move through time, ask yourself: "What is going on everywhere else that matters?"

Making Rulings and Pacing the Game

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In many systems, the GM is given power—and responsibility—to choose ways or times the rules can be applied, bent, or broken—that's still the case in the Cypher System. It's a good idea to be judicious about these powers. Here are some good ways to think about your role in making meaning during the game:

  • Maintain belief and make meaning: As I mentioned previously, meaningfulness is like gravity, and that gravity must be respected. It grounds the story, and helps define what's at stake in the story. Contradicting yourself for arbitrary reasons will sabotage players' belief in the story and in you, and this kind of mistrust is corrosive to the game of Make-Believe. That isn't to say you have to be rigid and make the same rulings all the time—in fact, quite the opposite. Instead, try to make your rulings for the specific situation you are in based on what is meaningful about that specific situation.

  • Describe phenomena: Without you, the PCs don't really have senses. You must provide their sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, temperature, and humidity. To a certain extent also control what PCs know about the world, what they would immediately recognize, or might infer given their experiences. This is tricky—generally, you want to avoid dictating what a player thinks, believes, or feels. You also don't want to produce a feeling of betrayal by lying to a player about the nature of their experiences. That kind of mistrust is corrosive to belief. You can avoid lying to players by describing not what things are, but what things are like. For example, if the party enters a dark cavern, you might tell the PCS that they notice an uptick in the humidity, a downtick in the temperature, and a gentle white noise far off in the distance. Whether the source of those phenomena end up being a completely natural waterfall, a raging water elemental, or something else entirely, you have avoided lying to the players by equipping them to make their own assumptions about nature of their experiences, and encouraged them to make discoveries as a result of their own choices and actions.

  • Call for fewer, more meaningful dice rolls: When PCs are making relatively inconsequential actions—especially those that are in their character's wheelhouse—into routine actions that require no roll. This requires you to know something about the PC and what's on their character sheet, but you will learn those things in a longer-form game. Only call for a roll when the outcomes would be interesting. Allowing players to proceed confidently with their PC and abilities helps them take more bold or decisive actions rooted in their character, rather than second-guessing each course of action they might Take.

  • Let players try things: Do not fear player actions or dice! If players are being creative with their abilities, that's a good thing—it means they've decided they are meaningful. If you have an outcome you'd like to see in the game, don't call for a roll and then force it even if the outcome wasn't what you wanted. Don't call for roll at all, and propose a GM intrusion instead.

  • Keep the story moving forward: One trap GMs fall into too frequently is to assume that a failed roll results in nothing happening. "Nothing happens" can provide a great occasional dramatic (or comedic) beat—but if you use this as a device too often, the game will slow down to a crawl. Creating meaningful consequences for the results of a roll is usually more interesting than "nothing happens", because it prompts the PCs to take additional action rather than wallow in any negative feelings that came from a "bad roll". If things have slowed down too much, devise and propose a GM intrusion that revitalizes the game's pace or direction.

  • Let encounters resolve: Sometimes players will use a cypher or special ability that causes an encounter to end too quickly for your taste. Take heart—even a foe who has been knocked off a cliff might later claw their way back to the top, reappearing as a GM intrusion. But it is wise to for the moment that doing this will be most meaningful in the story.

  • Be a team player: While you are usually playing the role of a creature or situation that is antagonistic to the PCs, be sure you make some time to also be their head cheerleader—and a fellow player. Don't make yourself an adversary—celebrate their victories, and agonize in their defeats, too. When they have good ideas, tell them so!

Handling Players and PCs

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In the Cypher System, who the players choose for their PCs to be defines the gameplay you can expect to see and find meaning in. For example, a PC with the Drives Like a Maniac focus requires some kind of a vehicle—maybe more than one. Driving a sports car is great—but so is driving a dump truck or an interdimensional tunneler. But if there's nothing to drive, at all, a player has a right to wonder why you allowed them to choose this focus in the first place. A driver with nothing to drive is robbed of meaning, and the player of contributions that would bring meaning to the story.

In the Cypher System, Tier 1 PCs are broadly capable, and some can be incredibly specialized for certain tasks. A PCs' skills, assets, and Effort quite literally make the impossible possible. For example, you've told players to be prepared for tough combat challenges ahead. In response, a player creates a PC who begins the game with 6 Armor:

Obviously, this PC a defensive powerhouse against conventional attacks—their abilities will only grow as character advancement occurs. That's okay. A PC like this provides an interesting space for you to create dynamic situations only they can withstand. It also creates space for complex encounters that can't be won by fighting so much as endurance, or that require solutions that lean into other PCs' unique talents—or cyphers—can create solutions for. The point is: if a character creates a specialist, don't be afraid to let that specialization shine. There are many ways to challenge a PC—and you always have GM intrusion at your disposal. In a Cypher System campaign, you will be required to create challenges based on the PCs' choices and character arcs.

Moreover, any specialist will have weak points—for example, a character like this needs both hands to use Adept abilities and hold their shield, and every PC is equally vulnerable to GM intrusion. Learning to customize your game for the desired genre, tone, and party composition might mean revisiting the use of some optional rules. For example, if the game requires a little more "gritty realism", employ rules like Fragility and Ironman to dial up the threat.

Telling Stories Together

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In the end, Make-Believe is about co-creation of the story. This means that your creativity—and the players'—is much more important than anyone's knowledge of "the rules". Players will sometimes come up with oblique solutions to problems, and in the Cypher System, it's a generally good idea to evaluate those ideas: they are gifts that arrive with meaningfulness already baked in.

Lastly, meaningfulness isn't just about the game or the story. It's also about what you and the players share together as real people, so talk with the players. Talk with them before the game, during the game, and after the game. If something is going well, talk about that! If something isn't going to well, talk about that, too. Be open, honest, and listen carefully to feedback you receive, and try not to take it personally. Don't be afraid to tell other people what your needs and expectations are. Do what you can to meet the needs and expectations of others.

Creating Cyphers, Artifacts, and Abilities

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In the Cypher System, discovering things isn't just for players. Thankfully, the game provides us some quick and easy ways to try anything once, especially where the PCs are concerned. If you've come up with the idea for an ability, or a player wants to try out a special customization for their PC, try out it as a cypher first! For example, let's say a player wants to try out focus abilities beyond their current tier. You could create a cypher that lets them do exactly that—for one day.

Future You

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  • Level: 1d6

  • Effect: For the next day, you gain a number of type or focus abilities available to your tier or one higher. The number of abilities you choose is equal to the cypher level.

The cypher's effects can't last more than one session, but might give you a good basis on which to judge how dangerous, delightful, or disruptive it might be. If you'd like to continue playing with things, refine your cypher into an artifact. If you're worried something is too powerful, you can also add balancing factors:

Well of Potential

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  • Level: 1d6

  • Form: Amulet

  • Effect: For the next day, you gain a number of type or focus abilities available to your tier or one higher. The number of abilities you choose is equal to the cypher level. The abilities you gain are slightly unstable, and any tasks you use them for raise the GM intrusion rate on the roll by 1.

  • Depletion: 1 in 1d10

By the time the artifact depletes, you'll be in a better position to assign an initial cost for it as a special ability, or to decide if the PC can revive the artifact, or make its effects permanent by spending XP.

An Example of Play

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Sometimes the best way to learn a game is to observe it being played. This section provides a transcript of a hypothetical group of characters playing through a Cypher System encounter.

For more examples of play, see this excellent compilation of Cypher System Actual Plays by SirJames.

Characters and Setting

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The setting is a Fantasy and Fairy Tale setting with some surreal, Saturday morning cartoon sensibilities. In the example, the party is composed of three Tier 1 PCs with a few character advancements:

  • Ori, a Naive Speaker who Runs Away

    An 8-year old child, and a powerful "dreamer" from the human world, Ori's character arc is Undo a Wrong, because he brought several of his nightmares into this world, where they are wreaking havoc. As part of roleplaying a young child, Ori's player prefers exploration to combat, and almost never attacks a foe directly.

  • Chert, a Tough Warrior who Abides in Stone

    Eleven feet (3.4 m) tall and with a body of durable quartz, Chert took the Aid a Friend character arc when joining Ori on his quest. Chert's player is frequently the life of the party, providing comic relief with her trademark wholesome cluelessness. She also enjoys inflicting and taking damage in combat.

  • Rena, a Mysterious Explorer with Magic Flavor who Masters Spells

    As enigmatic as they are ambitious, Rena is a humanoid fox who has been less than forthcoming with their fellow party members about their true motives. Rena's player enjoys solving puzzles, casting spells, and is eager to increase their PC's sorcerous powers through the Master a Skill arc.

Exploring the Sunken Library

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  • GM: The other end of the portal's tears open with a bright blue light, and the three of you slide into an enormous library. It sprawls away into at least eight different wings. It's dark, too—huge circular windows are set high up along the walls, with thick, bolted brass frames around the edges. What light there is plays in ripples across the high wooden stacks and black marble floors. A shimmering school of a thousand dazzling silver mackerel rush past one of the windows—after they pass, you notice other—larger, darker—shapes in the water. There doesn't seem to be anyone around.
  • Rena: I want to stabilize this portal to give us more time to explore.
  • GM: Good thinking! Stabilizing this portal for an hour is a difficulty 4 Intellect task—this one is harder to keep open than the last one. It's already buckling in, like a soda can on the verge of being crushed.

(This isn't the first portal of this kind the party has been through. Left unattended, they can destabilize and close without warning. Since the players are still new to the game, the GM usually tells them the difficulty of the roll ahead of them.)

  • Rena: I'm assuming myMagic Training applies as a skill like last time?
  • GM: Yeah, it does.
  • Ori: I want to help, too. Ori takes Rena's loose hand and concentrates on the portal by remembering the beach we were on.
  • Rena: Thanks. I'm also going to use two levels of Effort. I have 2 Intellect Edge, so that will cost... 5 − 2 = 3 Intellect points from my Pool, but with Ori's help as an asset, I won't have to roll for this at all.
  • Ori: Worth it! If there's no one to help us find this book, we're going to have to find it on our own.
  • GM: Stabilizing the portal is going to take about a minute, but the two of you succeed. Chert, what are you doing while they're busy with the portal?
  • Chert: I want to take a quick nosy—not far, just want to see if anyone is hiding, and why it's so dark in here. It was the middle of the day, wasn't it?
  • GM: Yes, it was about midday when you headed into the portal. Checking the place out will also be an Intellect task—no set difficulty here, let's just see what you discover.
  • Chert: And I call out—"Helloooo? Is anybody here?" I'm just going to roll it straight... an 8!
  • GM: You look around, and realize you must be deep underwater. Large, menacing shadows of sea creatures occasionally pass by the windows. There's always a slight creaking from the one wall or another, and occasional droplets of seawater fall from the high ceiling above onto you. Your words are answered only by your own voice echoing through the cavernous chamber, but you do happen upon a fancy card catalog. It's nearly fifteen feet (5 m) tall, with drawers that have been meticulously engraved with all manner of seashells.
  • Ori: Oh, cool! I skip on over to where Chert is. I bet we can use that to find where the book is! What was it called again?
  • Rena: Hang on, let me check my notes … it was "1,001 Uses for Peas", by Old Gus. Yuck, it sounds awful. Is there a reference or circulation desk?
  • GM: Yeah, there's a large circular, official-looking desk a short distance away.
  • Rena: I'll head over there.
  • Chert: I lift Ori up so he can reach any drawers he needs to look through.
  • GM: Ori, if you're looking through the drawers now, it's going to be a difficulty 4 Intellect roll to find the book in the catalog.
  • Ori: Okay, I'll use one level of Effort, so I pay 3 Intellect points and that makes the difficulty 3.
  • GM: Cool, so roll a 9!
  • Ori: … It's a 3. That's not great. I'm going to spend 1 XP to reroll. Oof, it's a 6. This isn't my night for d20 rolls.

The GM notices that Ori has a point—the PC's rolls have been a little middling lately, and decides the scene could use a dash of the unexpected. Maybe the library isn't as uninhabited as it looks.

  • GM: Hey, Ori, I have a GM intrusion for you.
  • Ori: Ori always says yes to XP! Chert, you can have the other XP.
  • Chert: Thanks, dude!

The group uses colored poker chips to represent Pool points and XP, so the GM passes an XP chip each to Ori and Chert.

  • GM: So, Ori, you're struggling with the card catalog—the cards are all out of order, or upside-down, and it's just chaos in there. Just as you're just starting to make headway, the card catalog lurches, pulling you away from Chert's grasp. You're now dangling precariously off one of the high drawers, and it is sliding out of its framing. What do you do?
  • Ori: Ori will try to use his weight to slide the drawer back in a little ways, and find a foothold somewhere where a drawer fell out. I still want to find out where the book is!
  • GM: Okay, give me a Might roll. The difficulty is 4.
  • Ori: Does Ori's skill with climbing count for this?
  • GM: Sure, it's basically a very aggressive climbing wall right now—difficulty 3, so roll a 9.
  • Ori: … 14. Ori hangs on for dear life, and I want to activateGo Defensive.
  • Chert: Hang on, buddy! I'll save you from this …
  • Rena: … Evil furniture!?

The GM takes a few moments to create a new creature—the Crabby Hermit.

Crabby Hermit 4 (12)

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  • Motive: Solitude, survival

  • Environment: Underwater

  • Health: 18

  • Damage Inflicted: 5 points

  • Armor: 2

  • Movement: Short; short when swimming

  • Modifications: Crushing, breaking, and grappling as level 5; Speed defense as level 3 due to size

  • Combat: Can attack twice, once with each claw.

  • Interaction: The crabby hermit can be reasoned with if it is humiliated or becomes demoralized.

  • Loot: If the crabby hermit is slain or leaves the card catalog, it leaves behind three cyphers: a Seashell of Instant Shelter, a Pearl Necklace of Giant Size, and a Mermaid Tear.

The crabby hermit isn't difficult to hit, but it will be tough with only two combatants. Unless Chert and Rena decide to expend a fair amount of Effort to damage, the crab will probably be defeated by morale conditions rather than depletion of all of its health. The GM trusts Ori or Rena to come up with a plan, or to use one of their cyphers.

Combat

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  • GM: As the card catalog finishes rounding its turn, several drawers clatter to the floor, and legs emerge from them. and you can make out Ori's dangling silhouette hanging off one side. A large wooden flap opens, and two eyestalks protrude, followed by the two massive pincer claws—it's an enormous hermit crab, and it does not look happy, so roll initiative, everybody! That's a Speed task, and the difficulty is 4—so you need to roll a 12, but Ori is hindered from being spun around—you're just a little bit dizzy, so this is difficulty 5 for you—you need to roll a 15.
  • Chert: I'm going to put a level of Effort in to lower that target number to a 9, and I rolled … a 10. Phew! Expensive, but worth it in this case.
  • Rena: I rolled a 13.
  • Ori: Ori rolled a 13, too—doesn't beat a difficulty 5, though.
  • GM: Okay, Rena, Chert: the initiative is yours.
  • Chert: I'll go first—I just want to get up in this thing's face, and try to guard against it grabbing or attacking Ori.
  • Rena: I attack the crab with my bow. Is this thing level 4?
  • GM: It's large, so it's only a difficulty 3 to hit it. The target number is 9.
  • Rena: A 17! That hits, so I inflict 4 damage for my longbow, +1 for the special roll, for a total of 5 damage.

Rena's longbow is a medium weapon—The GM notes that Crabby Hermit takes only 3 damage due to its Armor.

  • GM: Your arrow sails across the still air of the library and sticks into the crab's thick armor plates, sending hairline fractures in all directions on one of its forelegs.
  • Rena: Did I do any damage?
  • GM: You did, but this thing definitely has some Armor. And now it's the crab's turn: It rears up on its legs and tries to grab Ori with one of its claws—It bellows out at you all: "You are way too loud! Get out of my library!"
  • Chert: But I'm guarding him!
  • GM: Oh yeah—that will be an eased Speed task to prevent the attack. So, difficulty 3. Roll a 9.
  • Chert: … Uh oh. It's a 1.
  • Ori: Oh no …
  • Chert: Hey, if I can't guard against the attack, could I take the attack instead as my GM intrusion?

The GM pauses to think. Is there a rule for this? What Chert suggested sounds cool, and keeping Ori out of direct combat is definitely in keeping with the spirit of the game and her character. The GM decides to accept.

  • GM: Well, it'll take your next action to do that, and the crab is going to hit you harder, is that cool?
  • Chert: … I take the attack.
  • GM: Okay, here's how that happens: You miscalculate—the crab wasn't reaching up for Ori, it was actually winding up a punch targeted at Chert, so you are surprised when its claw rushes toward your face. Rena, your fox ears hear a faint sonic boom as the punch lands, sending Chert flying 20 feet (6 m) across the room, crashing into the sea of abandoned tables and chairs. The sound of splintering wood echoes throughout the chamber. All told, you take 11 damage to your Might Pool, Chert.
  • Chert: Okay, I have 5 Armor. 11 − 5 = 6 Might points is what I lose.
  • Rena: Yikes. You okay?
  • GM: You also gain 2 XP for your Aid a Friend character arc, Chert, for the full bodyguard treatment.
  • Chert: Oh, I can take it for 2 XP! Since I can't take an action this turn, I am just going to twitch my left leg dramatically to let Rena and Ori know I'm still alive. This crab's got nothing once I get back up.

For a tier 1 PC, Chert is a very specialized, with several sources of Armor: a set of stone heavy armor she wears provides +3 Armor, +1 from her Tough descriptor, and +1 from herGolem Body. As a result of all of this, Chert doesn't put Effort into Speed rolls, especially defense rolls—this kind of durability is just part of being a big rock monster.

  • GM: With its other claw, the hermit crab—or maybe it's a mantis shrimp now?—launches a heavy wooden armchair in your direction, Rena. That's a Speed roll, difficulty 4 to avoid.
  • Rena: I'm still behind the circulation desk, aren't I? Can I use that as cover?
  • GM: Yeah, that'll ease the difficulty from 4 to 3—roll me a 9.
  • Rena: … 14! I'll take it.
  • GM: Okay, the chair sails safely overhead! It's your turn again. Chert still recovering from that haymaker—kelpmaker? Either way, Ori and Rena have an action to choose.
  • Ori: Ori is still just hanging on and digging through the drawers that haven't fallen out. I want to use myUnderstanding ability on it so I can find the book!
  • GM: Ori is just rifling through the cards up there, got it.
  • Rena: Okay, I have an idea. I'm going to activate a cypher: my Darning Needle, and I rush this thing.
  • GM: You're a short distance away, so it'll be a difficulty 4 Speed task to move and still have time to attack the crab—and it's still a difficulty 3 to hit. Also, using a cypher is normally an Intellect roll, but since this requires a melee attack, you must use either Might or Speed for the task.
  • Rena: I'm going to use a level of Effort … 10. I run over there! I'll use Might for my attack roll … oh, a 20!
  • Ori: Awesome—wait, what does that cypher do?
  • GM: Oh, wow! So, your 4 damage just barely gets through this thing's armor, but it's enough to deal some damage—and you see it start to shrink down from to the Darning Needle's magic. Do you want the extra +4 damage, or to choose a major effect?
  • Rena: Can I shrink the crab even more as a major effect? I want this thing to be puny.
  • GM: Ha ha, okay, let's say it's about Ori's size now. The wood flap on the card catalog swings shut, and the whole card catalog settles down onto the floor. It's a much smoother ride for Ori, who is still riding on top of the card catalogue.
  • Chert: Whoa, cool.
  • GM: Okay. It's technically the crab's turn, but I'm going to say it spends its turn hiding in the card catalog. It appears the immediate threat of combat has faded.
  • Chert: Nice, can I take a turn now?
  • GM: Yeah, Chert you stand back up and clear your head. What do you do?
Conclusion

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

  • Chert: I march back over there and I want to pull this crab or shrimp or whatever he is out of this card catalog.
  • GM: Okay. It doesn't say that the Darning Needle's shrinking hinders the target's Might tasks, but I'm going to ease this for you by two steps anyway in honor of the extra shrinkage from Rena's natural 20. So, it'll only be a difficulty 3 to yank this thing out of its home.
  • Chert: I have +3 Might Edge, so that pays for one level of Effort … I rolled an 8, so I succeed.

Again, Chert's unique PC pays off here—She has 1 Might Edge from being a Warrior, +1 fromGolem Body, and +1 from a character advancement she purchased, and she isn't even Tier 2 yet.

  • GM: The crab is wriggling in a vain attempt to get free. It's shrieking "You can't do this to me!"
  • Chert: Can I propose a player intrusion? Is it possible there's a door, airlock, or tube I could toss it out of?
  • GM: Sure, tell us how you show it the door, and give me that XP.
  • Chert: I just open the main doors—and there's probably a wall of ocean water there that doesn't rush in at all—and I say "Hit the road, Jack!", and boot the crab out the door. The water just stays like a wall at the door, and I calmly just close the door again, and dust off my hands.
  • Rena: Ha! I love it.
  • Ori: Good riddance!
  • GM: Ori, if you want to try one last time to find the book in the cart catalog, you do have to apply a level of Effort because you're retrying a task, but you also have that asset from usingUnderstanding. With both of those in play, it's going to be a difficulty 2 Intellect task, so you only need to roll a 6 this time.
  • Ori: … 10, but that's a success! Ori proudly shows the index card to his friends, but I think it's time Ori uses his one-action recovery roll … I recover 3 Pool points.
  • Rena: Yeah, me too … I recover 6 points.
  • Chert: We should search this card catalog, see if the crab left anything behind, but I need a little bit longer to rest. We should still have at least 10 minutes left on the portal for me to make a recovery roll, right?
  • GM: Oh, yeah, you have plenty of time. What are Ori and Rena doing while Chert is resting?
  • Ori: Let's go get the book!
  • Rena: I'll help look and make sure nothing else jumps out at us. If it does, we run right back here, okay? We can search the card catalog when we get back, I guess.
  • GM: With both of you looking, the index card, and a better understanding of the library's filing system, I'm going to say you find the book on a high shelf. Ori, you have to climb a pretty precarious-looking wooden ladder to get to it, and it's a cartoonishly large and heavy tome, but there it is—"1,001 Uses for Peas". It has long, heavy, leather binding straps on it.
  • Ori: We did it! Can I wear the book like a big backpack using those straps?
  • GM: Sure, why not?
  • Chert: Okay let's search that secret compartment in the card catalog!
  • Ori: I'll climb in there and start looking around.
  • GM: Okay, the two of you return with your prize to where Chert is finishing her rest. Searching that will be a difficulty 3 Intellect task.
  • Ori: … a 16!
  • GM: Nice. Each of you gains 1 XP for discovering that the library was not abandoned, for dealing with the crabby hermit, and for locating the book in the card catalogue. and here are the three cyphers Ori finds. There's no identification roll needed for these, as they are all labeled with trustworthy-looking, tidy handwriting.

The GM hands out three cards from a cypher deck, and collects Rena's expended Darning Needle cypher card.

  • Rena: Ooh, I have enough XP to advance to Tier 2! Time to finally increase my Pools!
  • GM: Cool, let's take a short break while you distribute those new cyphers among yourselves, and we'll give Rena a few minutes to choose four new abilities from their Explorer type or Magic Flavor.

Part 5 Back Matter

Quick Start Cypher Shorts

Quick Reference: Cypher Shorts

(Cypher Shorts, page 2)

Cypher Shorts are what we call quick and easy adventures for use with the Cypher System. The idea here is an adventure with very quick character creation and minimal GM prep, designed for a one-shot game that can be finished in a single session of three to four hours. If a typical campaign is an ongoing television series, think of a Cypher Short as a movie.

Cypher Shorts is a supplement for the Cypher System.

There are some key concepts to a Cypher Short that you'll want to keep in mind if you're playing, running, or creating one for yourself. They include:

  • Very simple characters that are immediately involved in the situation. No long expository lead-ins, no "meet in a tavern" scenes.
  • Characters have clear objectives, and there's no thought to character advancement. This is a one-shot game, and we aren't concerned about what came before or what comes after.
  • There is less of a plot than there is a situation. Plot implies a linear direction: "This happens, then this, then this." Cypher Shorts are meant to be framed more like: "You're involved in this situation, so what do you do?"
  • Just as players should use improvisation to react to and deal with situations they didn't know were coming, the GM should be ready to do the same.

Trapped in Flames is a sample Cypher Short adventure.

Character Creation

(Cypher Shorts, page 3)

Cypher Shorts use an abbreviated character creation system, even simpler than the standard Cypher System. This is to help players move quickly, without spending a lot of time deciding between this focus and that one.

The following character creation guidelines are very broad, designed to work with any genre or situation. In a specific Cypher Short, it's likely that only the type choices will be detailed, using the information here as a starting point. Descriptors and foci are general enough that they'll work with almost any scenario. Sometimes, though, a Cypher Short might require adjustments to suit the situation.

Just like in the standard system, characters end up with a sentence to describe themselves: "I am a [blank] [blank] who [blanks]." All players start with a score of 9 in their stat Pools, with 6 points to divide among them as they wish. They have an Edge of 1 in a stat of their choosing. Recovery rolls are 1d6 + 1, and characters have an Effort of 1. (Otherwise, don't worry about tier.)

All characters start with 1 XP.

Descriptors

(Cypher Shorts, page 3)

A descriptor quickly and easily distinguishes the character from the others. Ideally, no two players have the same descriptor.

  • Tough: Add +3 to Might Pool. You are trained in Might defense rolls.

  • Quick: Add +3 to Speed Pool. You are trained in Speed defense rolls.

  • Smart: Add +3 to Intellect Pool. You are trained in Intellect defense rolls.

  • Skilled: Add +1 to Intellect Pool and choose three skills in which you are trained. These skills cannot be related to combat or interaction.

  • Charming: Add +2 to Intellect Pool. You are trained in persuasion and deception.

Types

(Cypher Shorts, page 3)

This is the role the character will have in the story. Types will likely change from genre to genre, particularly the type names. So in this section, we'll talk about them in terms of the general role the character will have in the story, not what players will write on their character sheet (although a few example suggestions are provided).

Performing Physical Actions

(Cypher Shorts, page 3)

This character might be called a Warrior, a Soldier, a Jock, or a Construction Worker (just to name a few), depending on the situation. Choose two of the following abilities:

  • Use any weapon without penalty
  • Wear armor without penalty
  • Stun an enemy as part of your attack, forcing them to lose their next action (costs 1 Might point)
  • Trained in two of the following: climbing, jumping, running, swimming
  • Add +2 to recovery rolls
Sneaking

(Cypher Shorts, page 4)

This character might be called a Thief, a Scout, a Street Rat, or a Slacker (just to name a few), depending on the situation. Choose two of the following abilities:

  • Trained in stealth and disguise
  • Trained in perception and deception
  • Trained in lockpicking and disabling alarms, traps, and other security devices
  • Add +2 to recovery rolls
Searching And Discovering

(Cypher Shorts, page 4)

This character might be called an Explorer, a Detective, a Scientist, or a Middle Manager (just to name a few), depending on the situation. Choose two of the following abilities:

  • Trained in perception and Intellect defense rolls
  • Trained in Might and Speed defense rolls
  • Trained in two of the following: climbing, jumping, running, swimming
  • Trained in knowledge-based skills (history, biology, geography, and so on)
  • Add +2 to recovery rolls
Talking

(Cypher Shorts, page 4)

This character might be called a Diplomat, a Priest, a Con Artist, or a Salesperson (just to name a few), depending on the situation. Choose two of the following abilities:

  • Trained in perception and deception
  • Trained in intimidation and interaction
  • Distract someone, preventing them from acting for as long as you focus on them (costs 1 Intellect point)
  • Add +2 to recovery rolls
Wielding Supernatural Powers

(Cypher Shorts, page 4)

This type isn't suited to all scenarios, obviously—it depends on the genre. This character might be called a Psychic, a Wizard, a Superhero, or a Mutant (just to name a few), depending on the situation. The player and GM will have to briefly work out the specifics together. Choose two of the following abilities:

  • Possess one offensive power (mental attacks, ray blasts, starting things on fire, and so on) that affects foes up to long range and either deals up to 4 points of damage or causes them to lose their next action. Costs 3 stat points (probably Intellect).
  • Possess one defensive power (force field, metal skin, super speed, and so on) that either grants you +3 Armor or eases defensive tasks.
  • Possess one miscellaneous power (moving things with your mind, flight, creating a duplicate of yourself, and so on). Costs 3 stat points (probably Intellect). You'll have to come up with some reasonable parameters. You can choose this option twice.
  • Have two power shifts.
  • Have another power shift.
Focus

(Cypher Shorts, page 5)

A focus determines the actions a character might often take in the story.

  • Fights: You're a fighter. All of your attacks are eased, and you add +1 to your damage.

  • Plans: You think things through. You are trained in defense rolls, and you can choose two other noncombat skills in which you are trained.

  • Helps: You help other characters. You can use an action to ease everyone else's action if they're within short range (costs 2 Intellect points). This can represent comforting, giving advice, or physically enabling them, depending on the character and the situation. You're trained in first aid.

  • Provides Information: You're very knowledgeable. You are trained in three knowledge-based skills (history, biology, geography, and so on). You can ask the GM a question that has a pretty simple answer and get that answer (costs 3 Intellect points).

  • Provides Comedy Relief: You're funny. You can use an action to allow everyone to recover 2 points to their Pools in between each recovery action you take. You're also trained in Speed defense and stealth.

  • Works With Tools (or Machines): You're trained in the use of two different skills involving tools and machines. You can modify an existing machine or device to do something other than its original function (costs 2 Intellect points).

  • Uses Powers: This focus won't fit every genre. You can choose one of the abilities listed under the Wielding Supernatural Powers type. (Note: if that is already your type, you can't select an ability you've already chosen, with the exception of miscellaneous powers.)

The Scenario

(Cypher Shorts, page 6)

When thinking about a Cypher Short scenario, think in terms of what you would expect to see in a movie. And not just any movie, but one where the action mostly takes place in one (probably large, hopefully interesting and dynamic) location.

Setup

This section of a Cypher Short is a brief overview of the setting and the premise of the situation. The basic statement of the genre and setting should be given to the players before they make characters.

Possible Encounters

(Cypher Shorts, page 7)

This section is a list of possible encounters that might happen in the scenario, depending on what the characters do, where they go, and so on. Cypher Shorts don't rely on a keyed map or a detailed outline of a plot. Think of these as the possible scenes of your movie. More than likely, the group will have time for only five or six encounters in one session, so feel free to pick and choose the ones that best fit the way the game seems to be going.

Each encounter is presented with a trigger, meaning that it is triggered by some action of the characters.

Each encounter comes with the relevant game stats: the challenges for common tasks the PCs might attempt, the levels of NPCs involved, and other information not related to game stats, such as the answers to the questions the PCs might ask, the personality of any relevant NPC, and so on.

GM Intrusions

(Cypher Shorts, page 7)

Each Cypher Short comes with a brief list of GM intrusion suggestions that are specific to that scenario.

Remember that GM intrusions are the only way for players to earn Experience Points (XP) in the scenario, so they're really important. At the same time, they will probably spend any XP they get. So there might be more calls for rerolls using XP in a Cypher Short adventure than you're used to in a standard Cypher System game.

The Conclusion

(Cypher Shorts, page 7)

Ideally, as with a movie, the end of a Cypher Short session comes to a nice story conclusion (though not every ending needs to be a happy one). Hopefully, the main situation has been resolved one way or another, and the implications of what probably happens next for the characters and the setting are self-evident. But with a Cypher Short, we don't worry too much about what happens next. It's a one-shot scenario.

Adventure Trapped in Flames

Quick Reference: Trapped in Flames

(Cypher Shorts, page 8)

The Premise: The characters work in a tall skyscraper. Suddenly, there's an explosion, and the fire alarms start ringing!

Character Creation

(Cypher Shorts, page 8)

The characters should be relatively mundane people. No supernatural powers. Cypher Short character suggestions include:

  • Office Worker: This is probably someone with the Sneaking type. The player should figure out the character's name, a very short personality brief, what company they work for, and what their job is: data entry, customer service, accounts manager, and so on.

  • Middle Manager: This is probably someone with the Searching And Discovering type. The player should figure out the character's name, a very short personality brief, and what company they work for.

  • Salesperson: The Talking type would work well for this character. The player should figure out the character's name, a very short personality brief, and what company they work for.

  • Custodial Worker: This could be a Performing Physical Actions character, or possibly a Searching And Discovering character. The player should figure out the character's name and a very short personality brief. They have keys to most of the doors of the building and know the layout well. They might also have something like a mop and wheeled bucket, or a cart with various cleaning supplies, if the player wishes.

  • Security Guard: This is probably someone with the Performing Physical Actions type. The player should figure out the character's name and a very short personality brief. They have a weapon (a nightstick, a taser, or perhaps a handgun), and keys to most of the doors in the building. They know the layout well.

No one has any special equipment other than the typical: a cell phone, car keys, a half-drunk coffee, and maybe a briefcase with papers and pens or a tablet computer.

All random people in the building are level 2 or 3 NPCs.

The Setup

(Cypher Shorts, page 8)

The characters all work in a tall skyscraper that houses many different businesses in a large city. They don't necessarily work together or even know each other. But they're all in a large lobby on the twenty-fifth floor, in front of a bank of four elevators, waiting for one to arrive. (A custodial worker probably is cleaning nearby rather than waiting for the elevator.) Suddenly, they hear an explosion, and the floor shudders and shakes. The fire alarms start ringing, and the power goes out, followed quickly by emergency lighting switching on, giving the area dim light.

Obviously, the goal for the characters here is to get to safety. A safety-conscious person (like a security guard) would know that the safest thing to do is stay put, at least until the location of the fire is known (going down into smoke and flames is how many people die in high-rise fires).

What the PCs don't know (yet) is that a terrorist has planted a number of bombs in the building. One of them went off prematurely on the tenth floor. There are more bombs, designed to bring the entire structure down. And because the bomb exploded early, the bomber is still in the building.

Other Facts

(Cypher Shorts, page 8)

  • The floor the PCs are on has only a few other people on it currently.
  • It will take about ten minutes for first responders to arrive. They will take positions around the base of the building, and, after determining that the fire is on floor 10, will evacuate floors below that and set up on floor 8. This will likely take ten to fifteen minutes. During this time, authorities will attempt to contact anyone on floors above 10 and tell them to stay put, so office phones and some cell phones will start ringing. It's very likely that more bombs will go off at this time, with rescue workers recalled for safety.
  • Emergency services will be jammed with calls.
  • The elevator cabs all descend to the ground floor and no longer function.
  • Whenever the fire spreads to a new floor, the sprinklers will go off. This is enough to keep the fire from spreading too much or too quickly, but the incendiary bombs make it impossible for the sprinklers alone to put the fire out.

Possible Encounters

(Cypher Shorts, page 8)

  • Staying Put: People from higher floors start coming down, alone or in small groups. Some of them claim to have information. Some of it is true and some isn't. Things they might try to say include:

Trapped in Flames NPC Dialogue
d6NPC Dialogue
1A gas main broke, and not only is there a fire danger, but the building is also filling with gas. (This is false.)
2This is a terror attack! We have to get out of here at any cost! (This is true, although this NPC has no evidence or details, and the hysterical panic they feel probably doesn't help.)
3Something crashed into the building! (This is false.)
4Terrorists are in the building, killing and kidnapping people. (This is false, for the most part. There's just one bomber, and he's trying to sneak out.)
5Rescue teams are on their way up. (This is false.)
6Rescue teams are landing evacuation helicopters on the roof. (This is false. It might be a tactic they try eventually, but it's not happening yet.)

Most of the NPCs coming down from above continue down the stairs to lower floors, with or without the PCs.

  • Checking cell phones: PCs can reach their loved ones at first, although this provides no real information. If they're able to get through to emergency services, they are told that emergency responders are on their way and to stay put. It's too soon to get much information from the internet, although a few minutes after it happens, there are reports of an explosion in the building on either floor 10 or floor 12. Building Wi-Fi is down. Data and phone usage becomes spotty about five minutes after the explosion and can't be relied upon.

  • Going Up a Stairwell to the Roof: There is a pregnant person on the stairway who can't be moved. Helping them deliver the baby safely is a difficulty 3 Intellect-based task and will take about twenty minutes.

  • Reaching the Roof: There are a few other people on the roof, but no rescue workers. Eventually, a small helicopter flies overhead, and if the bomber is not visibly present, it will circle but not land. This is the terrorist's accomplice in a small two-person helicopter. The pilot is level 3 and has body armor (+2 Armor), a handgun, and a knife. If the bomber is present, the helicopter will land very briefly to try to rescue him.

  • Going Down a Stairwell: The PCs hear cries for help as they pass by a floor. If they investigate, they find an office close to the stairs where someone is trapped underneath a very heavy shelving unit. It is a difficulty 4 task to rescue them. They are level 2 and their leg is quite injured.

  • Going Further Down the Stairwell: Three people stand in the stairwell and tell the PCs to go back up. They say it's not safe to try to evacuate, and the PCs should go back up to higher floors. They won't take no for an answer. They will argue with the characters, and trying to win that argument is a difficulty 7 task. They will use force to back up their point—they won't try to harm the PCs, but they will try to physically block the characters. Getting past them is a difficulty 5 task. Individually, they are each level 3.

  • Going Even Further Down the Stairwell: Smoke! The stairwell is quickly becoming a chimney, even before the PCs get close to the tenth floor. Visibility is almost nil (treat as complete darkness) and characters must succeed at Might defense rolls each round or suffer 2 points of damage and lose their next action. The difficulty level starts at 2 but increases by 1 every other round.

    Fire! If the PCs descend to the eleventh floor, they find fire rages there (and it extends down to the ninth). The explosive(s) are incendiary and designed to start hot fires that can eventually bring the building down. Characters on these floors must make Speed defense rolls each round or suffer 6 points of damage. Even characters who succeed at their rolls suffer 3 points of damage from the heat, flames, smoke, and lack of oxygen.

  • Firefighters to the Rescue: Eventually, the firefighters make a clear and relatively safe path out of the building through one of the stairwells, and they work to get everyone out. This is a great time for one last GM intrusion, or for the PCs who have seen the bomber to spot him trying to sneak out posing as a victim—perhaps as they exit the building.

GM Intrusions

(Cypher Shorts, page 9)

  • Explosion: First and foremost, the GM's best tools in this scenario are the subsequent explosions from more bombs. The bomber has planted many bombs throughout the building, and they can go off any time, any place. This isn't just one GM intrusion, but several, and they come in two varieties:

  • Close explosion: One or more PCs are threatened by falling debris (difficulty 5). Speed defense rolls are required; otherwise, victims suffer 6 points of damage and are trapped and need to work to get free.

  • Very close explosion: All PCs must succeed at Speed defense rolls or suffer damage as mentioned above. Even those who succeed suffer 3 points of damage. Plus, there are smoke and fire dangers in the immediate area, as described in the "Going Even Further Down the Stairwell" encounter. Wherever the PCs are currently, that place is not safe. More debris will fall, floors will collapse, and fire and smoke will spread. If the PCs are on the roof, this might mean there's a risk of being blown off!

  • The Terrorist: The PCs spot the bomber setting another bomb. He is a level 5 NPC with body armor (+2 Armor), a handgun, and a knife. He'll fight, but mostly he just wants to get away. A GM Intrusion allowing him to get away from aggressive PCs means they can encounter him again somewhere else. Eventually, he tries to get to the roof and signal his ally in the helicopter to pick him up. Failing that, he ditches his gear and tries to get out with the rest of the victims when the firefighters arrive.

The Conclusion

(Cypher Shorts, page 9)

Ultimately, the PCs very likely just want to get to safety. When they do, the scenario is pretty much over. They're wrapped in blankets by firefighters and loaded into ambulances. If they stopped or apprehended the bomber, the authorities will want to talk to them, and they will be hailed as heroes in the press.

It's not hard to imagine how you could modify this scenario slightly for the science fiction genre using a space station rather than a skyscraper. You could also have one of the PCs be an undercover FBI agent on the lookout for the terrorist, or even an undercover foreign agent working for the terrorist.

Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions

Player Characters

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

You're practiced.

Trained: If you have an inability and become trained in the task, the training and the inability cancel each other out and you become practiced. Sometimes inabilities and training come in groups, so it's important to account for each kind of task separately. For example, if you choose the Calm descriptor, you have an inability with climbing, running, jumping, and swimming tasks. If you gain the Movement Skills ability, your inabilities in climbing and jumping are canceled out, but your inabilities in running and swimming remain. If you become trained in climbing or jumping from another source—character advancement—you can continue to improve your skill and go on to become trained or specialized.

Practiced: Special abilities that make you practiced with a task also cancel out an inability, but they aren't used to become trained. It's pretty common for foci themed around use of a weapon to assign these kinds abilities at tier 1, ensuring a PC won't start the game hindered with their signature attacks. For example, if you are an Adept who Conjures Bullets, your Practiced with Guns ability allows you to use medium and heavy weapons without being hindered by the inability Adepts have with them—but only if they're guns. Abilities like this prepare you to benefit from abilities at higher tiers—like Trained Guncasting—because your initial inabilities are already cancelled out.

Inability disclaimers on types like these are just reiterating the definition of inability in the Key Concepts. You're not hindered twice:

Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. You have an inability with medium weapons and heavy weapons; your attacks with medium and heavy weapons are hindered.

If you're a player, you might find character options easier to read in the format Old Gus' Unofficial Cypher System Player's Guide provides. Let's take a look at the special abilities from an example focus—Helps their Friends.

  • Type Swap Option: You don't get a type swap option automatically, but you can choose it instead of one ability from your type. Most foci don't have type swap options. In this example, if you are a first-tier explorer, you can choose Advice From a Friend as one of your four explorer abilities.

  • Multiple Abilities: It's common for a focus to assign more than one ability for a tier. In this example, you gain both Friendly Help and Courageous at tier 1. Notice how each ability you gain is listed on its own line.

  • Tier Advancement: Each time you advance to the next tier through character advancement, your gain new abilities from your focus. In this example, when you reach tier 2, you gain Weather the Vicissitudes.

  • Ability Choices: When two abilities are listed with "or", you choose one of those abilities. Almost every focus assigns an ability choice at tiers 3 and 6. In this example, when you reach tier 3, you choose to gain either Buddy System or Skill With Attacks.

You can gain a focus ability you didn't choose as a character advancement.

Helps Their Friends

(Cypher System Rulebook, page 69)

You love your friends and help them out of any difficulty, no matter what.

A few foci have unique ways of assigning abilities—for example, the Inks Spells on Skin focus' Readying Spell Tattoos feature, or Turns Decay to Growth focus' tier 4 ability being dependent on the ability choice you made at tier 3.

When you spend 4 XP on a character advancement, you can be strategic about which advancements you choose.

  • Pools: Your Might, Speed, and Intellect Pools points measure the depth of a "well of potential" you can draw from. Pool points are used to pay for special abilities and using Effort. Additionally, increasing your Pools allows you to sustain more damage before descending on the damage track.

  • Edge: Your Edge "cuts the cost" of an actions that require you to spend Pool points. While Edge doesn't directly make tasks easier, it does make you more efficient when doing them, "taking the edge off" of the cost of performing them. For example, if you have 1 Might Edge, that can pay for the cost of using Bash. If you have 3 Might Edge, that can pay for 1 level of Effort on any Might task without paying any points from your Might Pool. Always total all costs for the action, then subtract your Edge from that total. For example, if you used Bash (1 Might point) and used one level of Effort (3 Might points), the total cost is 4 Might points, so subtracting your 3 Might Edge reduces the cost you pay to 1 Might point.

  • Effort: Your Effort score determines how much raw power you can push out in a single action, either easing the difficulty of a task, or increasing the amount of damage you inflict with a successful attack. Using a lot Effort can tire you out quickly. Effort only really benefits you on tasks where you use it and succeed. At higher tiers, you might want to choose other options for character advancement instead of increasing your Effort score.

Some abilities grant you a free level of Effort on relevant tasks.

You do—kind of. It's common for new players to think of their Pools as their "hit points (HP)", but Pools are more like "stamina" or "potential". The real "hit points" in the Cypher System are the damage track. You have three: Hale (3 HP), Impaired (2 HP), Debilitated (1 HP)— after that, you're Dead.

Powerful effects or creatures that deal special damage can move you down the damage track without touching your Pools at all, so spend your points while you can!

Special abilities like Ignore the Pain, Fight On, and Miraculous Health increase resilience against the damage track's effects.

The OG-CSRD's section on armor provides additional clarity on special abilities related to using armor, Speed Effort costs (also referred to as "encumbrance"), special armor, and shields.

Depending on the setting, the GM might also use rules for lower speed Effort costs for wearing armor or alternative armor encumbrance.

Playing the Game

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

In general, the GM determines the task stat.

  • Taking Action: Be proactive—don't just describe what you want to do with your action, but also how you do it, and the result you're hoping to see. Your description might even mention one of your skills or something you'd like to use as an asset—this information can help the GM figure out what you're after.

  • Attacks: If you're making a melee attack, you can use Might or Speed. Ranged attacks with weapons are almost always Speed tasks.

  • Activating a Special Ability: If a special ability costs Pool points to activate, the task it prompts is usually of the same type. For example, Hurl Flame costs 2 Intellect points, so its attacks are Intellect based. However, if a special ability requires you to touch a target, the attack is melee attack instead. Even touching an unwilling PC with Healing Touch requires a successful melee attack.

  • Defending Yourself: If you're attacked or otherwise have to defend yourelf, your skill with defense will be tested. Dodging attacks and escaping danger—the most common type of defense—are Speed tasks.

  • Using a Cypher: Using a cypher is Intellect based unless described otherwise or logic suggests otherwise. For example, throwing an explosive might be Speed tasks, because the device is physical and not really technical, but using a ray emitter is an Intellect task.

  • Using Effort: If you use Effort, the points are usually spent from the task stat's Pool. This can be tricky if you're making a touch-based attack with a special ability like Frost Touch. In these cases, the GM might require you to use Speed points to pay for Effort you use to ease the attack, and Intellect points Effort to increase damage.

  • Enablers and Actions with Multiple Tasks: Sometimes, you might need to pay additional points from a different Pool during the same action—for example, using an special ability that is an enabler. Total up the points you spent from Pool for your action, and then subtract each stat's Edge from the total.

Difficulty on a scale of 0–10 is easy to understand. Target numbers are three times the difficulty, which means a difficulty of 7 or higher requires modifying the difficulty down to possible result when rolling the die.

Additionally, d20 results cause unique effects on a special rolls. Special abilities like Increased Effects and optional rules like Horror Mode alter the frequency of special roll outcomes.

When resolving tasks with new players, it's best to tell them the difficulty. Use only the difficulty number until the player is finished modifying it with skills, assets, and Effort. Once all difficulty modifications are completed, multiply the difficulty by 3 to get the target number and roll the die. Avoid going back and forth between the number types, you'll only get yourself or others confused.

The Difficulty Dial displays difficulties, target numbers, and percentage chance to succeed with a d20 roll.

Some abilities seem to function more like "plays" than "spells", or are something any PC might try to do. For example, Spin Identity and Fast Talk are just extensions of interacting with a creature.

In the Cypher System, the decisions players make through character creation should be the foundation of how gameplay itself works. After all, players made those choices to the exclusion of other options, and the game recommends no two PCs share the same focus, ensuring each has a niche in the group's dynamic. Any ability a PC gains from their type or focus, and pays Pool points to activate should probably be more effective, and work in a greater variety of situations than what a character without that ability can do at no cost.

Remember, the GM's job is to set properties of the task, including difficulty—including any external easing or hindering—and also possibly an initial cost. It's perfectly reasonable to make tasks more difficult for PCs who don't have these kinds of abilities, or to ease tasks (or assign assets) for PCs using these kinds of abilities. If an ability just isn't working in the game, the GM should work with the player to exchange it for one with a similar power grade.

It's helpful to know that there are abilities in the game that allow PCs to bypass tasks recommended by Chapter 11: Rules of the Game. For example, a PC attempting to move a short distance and then take another action must first succeed on a difficulty 4 Speed task. However, if the PC has the Fleet of Foot ability, they can pay the ability's 1 Speed point cost to bypass the roll.

Maybe—it depends. If you're targeting an unwilling creature, an object, or effect with a level that would resist your attempt, that's an attack. Attacking usually prompts a task roll with a difficulty appropriate to the target.

In other cases, the GM might assign a task with an appropriate difficulty, or decide whatever you're doing is a routine action—succeeding without a roll.

Everything (except PCs) in the game has a level, which help determine important aspects of them. For example, levels affect:

The GM uses levels to compare anything in the game to anything else. For example, a level 8 disease like radiation sickness can't be alleviated by a level 4 catholicon cypher.

Even if a cypher can't immediately solve the issue like removing a disease, the GM might allow you to use it as an asset toward a related task (for example, preparing medicine, or making a defense roll against the disease's effect).

Running the Game

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

The basics of NPC interactions are detailed in A Closer Look at Situations that Don't Involve PCs and Special Situation: Combat Between NPCs. If an NPC is a follower—and maybe even if they aren't—the GM might request a player make a roll for the NPC's actions.

When resolving interactions, the GM should take a creature's modifications into account. For example, a level 4 giant snake attacking a level 3 faerie would succeed if you were only to consult compare creature level. However, a faerie has a modification for Speed defense as level 5—so the faerie avoids the snake's deadly bite attack.

Creature modifications can be applied to rolls by adding (or subtracting) 3 for each level of modification (+3 for one level higher, −3 for one level lower, +6 for two levels higher, −6 for two levels lower, and so on). For example, the faerie is level 3, and its Speed defense is level 5, so if a player rolls for it, it adds +6 to the result.

The most important thing is to do what make sense in the setting and story. For example, a standard level 2 hound dog probably can't pick a level 2 lock—unless the setting includes cartoon logic or a certain amount of whimsy.

Offering a GM intrusion is a good way to reward the player for putting up with you changing the usual rules for how things get resolved.

A creature's defense modifications aren't related to defense rolls, because the player always rolls. Instead, creature defenses modify the difficulty of the attack a PC makes against them.

NPC modifications and PC task difficulty
NPC Task PC Task
Hindered Eased
— —
Eased Hindered

  • Might: Creatures with a higher Might defense are harder to poison, grapple, restrain, daze, or stun. For example, NPCs like the Paladin have a modification for Might defense.

  • Speed: Speed defense is the most common, and is used for defending against weapons and other conventional attacks that can be avoided or dodged. Speed defense modifications are common for creatures much smaller or larger than a PC, or that are exceptionally fast and nimble—or slow and clumsy. For example, a thundering behemoth is a level 7 creature, but its Speed defense is only level 3—simulating the creature's enormous size. Hitting it isn't terribly difficult, but getting through its considerable Health and Armor while avoiding it's powerful attacks definitely is.

  • Intellect: Intellect defense is used against anything that would invade or influence a creature's mind or deal Intellect damage, including abilities like Mind Reading, Erase Memories, Onslaught (if using the mindslice option), and Terrifying Presence.

It's important a creature's modifications allow it to behave naturally in the setting. If you're not sure what kind of defense applies, ask yourself: If the situation were reversed and the creature was doing this to the PC instead, what kind of task roll would be appropriate?

Creating Challenging Encounters includes methods for Enemies Working in Concert and Swarms of Creatures.

If a PC does something that would be considered an attack on another PC, consult Special Situation: Combat Between PCs. Remember that anything someone does to someone else that the target doesn't want to succeed is an attack—even Healing Touch.

PCs make a contested d20 roll, adding +3 to their result for each modification in their favor that eases the task (including skills, assets, or Effort), and −3 for each modification that hinders it.

Be brave and make rulings—it will be okay! If you aren't sure how to proceed, refer back to the Cypher System's core resolution mechanic. If what happening doesn't directly involve the PCs or their actions, use your best judgement. If the PCs are involved—or invested in the outcome—ask yourself:

  • Should this just be a routine action?
  • What's reasonable and believable, given what's been established in the story, the genre, setting, and general tone of the game?
  • What would be interesting?
  • How involved or invested are the PCs in the situation and its outcome? Should someone roll?
  • Is there an outcome you would prefer? Maybe a GM intrusion is in order.
  • Is there an outcome a player prefers? Maybe a player intrusion is in order.

Prepping the Game

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

It's a good idea to take some time and think about what kind of abilities, events, and other "moves" you'd like to see PCs perform in the course of the game—especially things you wouldn't want to see all the time, just occasionally. That's what cyphers provide: a valuable way of keeping the game feeling fresh and ensuring PCs frequently have a new strategy to apply to their situation.

  • Minimal Cyphers: If all those cyphers feel like just too much, you can start with just some subtle cyphers and power boost cyphers for a while. You can always add more cyphers later.

  • Reflective Cyphers: You can make up appropriate cyphers up as the PCs explore the world. For example, if a PC spends time at the library studying, you could provide them with a subtle cypher that eases any knowledge task by one or two steps, and can be activated as part of the same action as the task roll, similar to how power boost cyphers work.

  • Names Have Power: If you're using manifest cyphers, make sure they have an appropriate form. It can also be a good idea to give your cyphers a name that is appropriate to the genre and setting of the game—the more specific the name, the better. For example, a Catholicon cypher cures any disease of the cypher level or lower. Depending on the setting or level of the cypher, it might be a "Panacea Herb" (fantasy), a "Theriac Potion" (fairy tale), or a "KÜR-ALL" pill (science fiction).

  • Cypher Distribution: Cypher Decks speed up randomizing and distributing cyphers at the table. If you're playing online, Cypher System by mrkwnzl for Foundry VTT includes an optional Cypher SRD Compendium module with all the CSRD's cyphers included, and the Cypher System Community Content module includes macros to roll a random cypher, or caches of cyphers.

Old Gus' Daft Drafts includes new subtle cyphers perfect for pulp adventure with few supernatural elements.

There's no wrong way to do things when it comes to creatures, but it's worth thinking through your approach. Creating creatures and NPCs can be as simple as assigning it a level and a few modifications. You can even decide on these as you go.

In the Cypher System, the most memorable best NPCs aren't just bags of health that the players whack into nothingness. Detailed creatures like the fire elemental, giant, and skeleton provide a good look at how a classic fantasy monster can create memorable story moments, and drive the plot of an entire session—not just one encounter or combat.

A creature can do any interesting thing the GM desires through GM intrusion—just be reasonable.

In addition to the strategies listed in Handling Players and PCs and Creating Challenging Encounters, dial up the challenge with GM intrusions with Horror Mode optional rule.

The optional Fragility and Ironman rules are also an excellent way of making a game feel a bit more dangerous at the baseline.

The Cypher System Rulebook and other material that informs the CSRD contains a wealth of optional rules you can use to customize your game for the setting and story at hand. For a complete list of optional rules in the CSRD, and house rules sourced from the community, see Optional Rules. Additional optional rules can be found in the products listed in What's in the Book?.

OG-CSRD Index

Quick Reference: Index

Optional Rules

Editorial Additions

Related Sections

Quick References

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Optional Rules

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Customizing PCs and Abilities
Experience Points (XP)
Equipment, Cyphers, Artifacts, and Vehicles
Modifying the Game

Editorial Additions

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Rule Clarifications
Running the Game
PDFs and Tools

Product Index: What's in the Book?

What's in the Book?

(OG-CSRD Editorial Addition)

Each product's contents are divided into two categories: Optional Rules (player-facing) and Running the Game (GM-facing). Creatures and NPCs across products are available from Monte Cook Games' Cypher System Creature Index. Links to related indices of additional character options in each product are also provided.

† — denotes a standalone product that includes the rules of the game, which may differ slightly from those in the CSRD.

Related Sections

Cypher System Bestiary — What's in the Book?

Mystify, frighten, and challenge your PCs with this stunningly illustrated collection that gives you an almost infinite array of encounters. Dozens and dozens of inspiring creatures familiar and new are detailed within these pages, along with oodles of variants and customization options.

Fantasy

  • Dragons(CSB, 8)
  • Wrym(CSB, 10)
  • Elder Dragon(CSB, 10)
  • Elves (CSB, 12)
  • Dwarves (CSB, 14)
  • Adventurers (CSB, 16)
  • Goblins (CSB, 18)
  • Elementals (CSB, 22)
  • Elemental, Fire (CSB, 23)
  • Elemental, Earth (CSB, 24)
  • Elemental, Water (CSB, 25)
  • Elemental, Air (CSB, 26)
  • Elemental, Lightning (CSB, 27)
  • Elemental, Ice (CSB, 28)
  • Elemental, Thunder (CSB, 29)
  • Wizards (CSB, 30)
  • Wraiths (CSB, 32)
  • Wraith Lord (CSB, 33)
  • Orcs (CSB, 34)
  • Orc Veteran (CSB, 35)
  • Trolls (CSB, 36)
  • Giants (CSB, 38)

Horror

  • Ghosts (CSB, 44)
  • Serial Killers (CSB, 48)
  • Things (CSB, 50)
  • Insidious Spawn (CSB, 50)
  • Devouring Mass (CSB, 52)
  • Abysmal (CSB, 51)
  • Demons (CSB, 54)
  • Haunted Houses (CSB, 58)
  • Vampires (CSB, 62)
  • Werebeasts (CSB, 64)
  • Werewolf (CSB, 65)
  • Werefox (CSB, 65)
  • Werelion (CSB, 66)
  • Wereshark (CSB, 66)
  • Werespider (CSB, 67)
  • Killer Toys (CSB, 68)

Fairy Tale

  • Outlaws (72)
  • Faeries (74)
  • Satyrs (76)
  • Pirates (78)
  • Pirate Captains (80)
  • Unicorns (82)
  • Magical Winds (84)
  • Huntmasters (86)
  • Crafted Creatures (88)
  • Witches (90)
  • Mermaids (94)

Modern

  • Crime Bosses (CSB, 98)
  • Hackers (CSB, 102)
  • Secret Agents (CSB, 104)
  • Assassins (CSB, 106)
  • Bounty Hunters (CSB, 108)
  • Detectives (CSB, 110)
  • Billionaires (CSB, 112)

Science Fiction

  • Robots (CSB, 118)
  • Robot, Technician (CSB, 119)
  • Robot, Companion (CSB, 119)
  • Robot, Worker (CSB, 120)
  • Robot, Nanny (CSB, 120)
  • Robot, Infantry (CSB, 121)
  • Space Troopers (CSB, 122)
  • Time Travelers (CSB, 124)
  • Cyborgs (CSB, 126)
  • Aliens (CSB, 128)
  • AIs (CSB, 132)
  • Posthumans (CSB, 134)

Superheroes

  • Gadgeteer Masterminds (CSB, 138)
  • Speedster Supervillains (CSB, 142)
  • Criminals (CSB, 144)
  • Energy-Wielder Supervillains (CSB, 146)
  • Strong Supervillains (CSB, 148)
  • Monstroud Supervillains (CSB, 150)
  • Insectoid Supervillain (CSB, 150)
  • Animalistic Supervillain (CSB, 150)
  • Fungoid Supervillain (CSB, 150)
  • Rogue Supervillains (CSB, 152)
  • Cosmic Beings (CSB, 154)

Post-Apocalyptic

  • Radbeasts (CSB, 158)
  • Radimorph (CSB, 158)
  • Glowing Roach (CSB, 159)
  • Nucleoptera (CSB, 159)
  • Radioactive Bear (CSB, 160)
  • Atomus (CSB, 161)
  • Cannibals (CSB, 162)
  • Mutants (CSB, 164)
  • Shelleton (CSB, 164)
  • Lucifan (CSB, 165)
  • Scult (CSB, 166)
  • Acharn (CSB, 166)
  • Twine (CSB, 167)
  • Fell Rider (CSB, 169)
  • Marauder (CSB, 169)
  • Zombies (CSB, 170)
  • Zombie, AI (CSB, 171)
  • Zombie Hulk (CSB, 172)
  • Zombie Sprinter (CSB, 172)
  • Zombie Spitter (CSB, 173)
  • Zombie Singer (CSB, 173)
  • Zombie Sorcerer (CSB, 173)
  • Warlords (CSB, 174)

Weird West

  • Cursed Beasts (CSB, 178)
  • Chupacabra (CSB, 178)
  • Quetzalsaur (CSB, 179)
  • Grizzly Bull (CSB, 180)
  • Jackalope (CSB, 181)
  • Nightcrawler (CSB, 181)
  • Deathtumbler (CSB, 180)
  • Gunslingers (CSB, 182)
  • Forgeborn (CSB, 184)
  • Locomotem (CSB, 185)
  • Fleshmare (CSB, 186)
  • Alcahemoth (CSB, 186)
  • Deadshot (CSB, 187)
  • Lawmen (CSB, 188)
  • Strange Folk (CSB, 190)
  • Wild One (CSB, 190)
  • Owl Wight (CSB, 191)
  • Lycoyotl (CSB, 192)
  • Sarsan (CSB, 193)
  • Ghost Riders (CSB, 194)
Cypher System Rulebook — What's in the Book?

Any character, any campaign. If you can imagine it, the Cypher System makes it easy!

Optional Rules

Running the Game

Claim the Sky — What's in the Book?

When things are at their worst, heroes rise!

Optional Rules

Running the Game

  • A World with Powers (CTS, 66)
  • Comic Book Storytelling (CTS, 80)
  • Coming Back from the Dead (CTS, 96)
  • Superhero Stories (CTS, 98)
  • Heroes, Villains and Other NPCs (CTS, 106)
  • Setting: Boundless (CTS, 159)
  • Adventure: Death, Thy Name is Gravitas (CTS, 202)
  • Adventure: Beneath a Red Sun (CTS, 214)
  • Adventure: Talons of Doom (CTS, 207)
Cypher Foundation — What's in the Book?

Managing a village. Living in a fortress. Building a steampunk buddy. Upgrading your vehicle. A more streamlined way to deal with consumables. Cypher Foundation has rules to easily manage, build, upgrade, and repair just about anything.

Optional Rules

  • Resources (CF, 2)
  • Wealth Resource (CF, 3)
  • Crafting (CF, 5)
  • Upgrading (CF, 8)
  • Repairing (CF, 9)
  • Minion Control (CF, 9)
  • Foundation (CF, 11)
  • Cycles (CF, 13)
First Responders — What's in the Book?

Floods. Pandemics. Earthquakes and other crises that put lives and communities at risk. These are monsters of a different sort—and they call for a different kind of hero.

Optional Rules

  • What Actions Can Characters Take? (FR, 11)
  • The Roster System (FR, 13)
  • Treating Victims (FR, 36)

Running the Game

  • Consent and Explicitness (FR, 13)
  • GMing a First Responders Game (FR, 32)
  • Disaster Mode (FR, 34)
  • Sample GM Intrusions (FR, 35)
  • Disaster Primer (FR, 39)
  • Campaigns and Settings (FR, 50)
  • Using First Responders in Other Genres (FR, 52)
  • NPCs (FR, 57)
  • Subtle Cyphers (FR, 60)
  • Fires (FR, 62)
  • Volcanoes (FR, 83)
  • Floods (FR, 93)
  • Earthquakes (FR, 107)
  • Nuclear Disasters (FR, 118)
  • Pandemics (FR, 125)
  • Emergency Lingo and Glossary (FR, 132)
  • Sample Characters (FR, 134)
  • Player Reference and Codes (FR, 141)
  • GM Tracking Sheet (FR, 142)

See also: First Responders — Types and First Responders — Foci

Godforsaken — What's in the Book?

Dragons. Magic wands. Singing swords and flying carpets. And above all—heroes!

Optional Rules

  • Cursed Items (GF, 53)
  • Death and Resurrection (GF, 54)
  • Different Kinds of Magic (GF, 12)
  • Whether to Craft or Find Cyphers (GF, 52)

Running the Game

  • Building your Fantasy Setting (GF, 6)
  • Fantasy Plots (GF, 18)
  • Fantasy Gaming Inspiration (GF, 43)
  • Setting: Godforsaken (GF, 159)
  • Bontherre: the Blessed Land (GF, 160)
  • The Godforsaken Lands (GF, 171)
  • Flevame: Across the River of Souls (GF, 174)
  • The Firmament: A Tunnel in the Sky (GF, 186)
  • Korak-Mar: Through the Doorway Beneath the Mountain (GF, 196)
  • Cypher Short: Tavern Brawl (GF, 90)
  • Cypher Short: The Thing on the Precipice (GF, 92)
  • Cypher Short: Lost in the Dungeon (GF, 94)
  • Adventure: Secret of the Soulsmith (GF, 208)
  • Adventure: Within the Monstrous (GF, 217)

See also: Godforsaken — Descriptors

Gods of the Fall — What's in the Book?

The Gods are eead—now it's your turn.

Optional Rules

  • The Seven Prophecies (GODS, 95)
  • Divine Story Arcs (GODS, 101)
  • NPC Reactions to Claims of Divinity (GODS, 103)
  • Setting Difficulty Ratings for PC Gods (GODS, 104)
  • NPCs and Divine Shifts (GODS, 105)
  • Character Dominion (GODS, 136)
  • Godlike Benefits (GODS, 142)
  • Divine Shifts (GODS, 142)
  • Dominion Abilities (GODS, 143)
  • Forming a Pantheon (GODS, 147)
  • Advancing Beyond Sixth Tier (GODS, 147)

Running the Game

  • Fiction: Mourning in the Nightland (GODS, 19)
  • Setting: The Afterworld (GODS, 5)
  • The Nightland (GODS, 22)
  • The Ruinscape (GODS, 52)
  • The Verge (GODS, 72)
  • Nod (GODS, 78)
  • Soulrest (GODS, 84)
  • Organizations (GODS, 90)
  • GMing Deities (GODS, 94)
  • Creatures and NPCs (GODS, 154)
  • Cyphers and Artifacts (GODS, 176)
  • Glossary (GODS, 182)
  • Afterworld Timeline (GODS, 189)
  • Character Sheet (GODS, 191)
  • Adventure: Rite of Spring (GODS, 188)

See also: Gods of the Fall — Descriptors, Gods of the Fall — Types, and Gods of the Fall — Foci

It's Only Magic — What's in the Book?

From cozy witchcore to chilling supernatural threats…

Running the Game

  • Setting: The Axial (IOM, 141)
  • Setting: New Grimsby (IOM, 198)
  • Modern Fantasy (IOM, 6)
  • Building Your Modern Fantasy Setting (IOM, 10)
  • Story and Plot (IOM, 24)
  • Playing and Running Modern Fantasy (IOM, 30)
  • Equipment (IOM, 77)
  • Creatures and NPCs (IOM, 96)
  • Artifacts (IOM, 130)
  • Adventure: Home Economics (IOM, 210)
  • Adventure: In the Tower of Time (IOM, 217)
  • Adventure: Too Many Zorps (IOM, 231)
Numenera Discovery — What's in the Book?

Those who can uncover and master the numenera can unlock the powers and abilities of the ancients, and perhaps bring new light to a struggling world.

Optional Rules

  • Cypher Dangers (NDIS, 272)
  • Alternative Cypher Rules (NDIS, 273)
  • Creating New Numenera (NDIS, 307)

Running the Game

  • Fiction: The Amber Monolith (NDIS, 6)
  • Setting: The Ninth World (NDIS, 12)
  • Living in the Ninth World (NDIS, 130)
  • The Steadfast (NDIS, 136)
  • The Beyond (NDIS, 169)
  • Beyond the Beyond (NDIS, 206)
  • Organizations (NDIS, 215)
  • Creatures (NDIS, 222)
  • NPCs (NDIS, 263)
  • Technology (NDIS, 270)
  • Cyphers (NDIS, 272)
  • Artifacts (NDIS, 289)
  • Oddities & Discoveries (NDIS, 304)
  • Using the Rules (NDIS, 310)
  • Encouraging Player Creativity (NDIS, 326)
  • Building a Story (NDIS, 334)
  • Realizing the Ninth World (NDIS, 350)
  • Character Creation Walkthrough (NDIS, 406)
  • Talk Like a Ninth-Worlder: A Sampling of Commonly Used Words or Phrases (NDIS, 410)
  • Character Sheet (NDIS, 411)
  • Adventure: Taker of Sorrow (NDIS, 363)
  • Adventure: Vault of Reflections (NDIS, 376)
  • Adventure: Legacy (NDIS, 388)

See also: Numenera Discovery — Descriptors, Numenera Discovery — Types, and Numenera Discovery — Foci

Editor's Notes — Numenera Discovery uses Lower Speed Effort Costs for Wearing Armor. (NDIS, 95) Numenera (2014) uses Alternative Armor Encumbrance. (NUM, 79) and Object Level, Health, and Armor (NUM, 98).

Numenera Destiny — What's in the Book?

Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect.

Optional Rules

  • Community Abilities for Glaive, Jack, and Nano (NDES, 39)
  • Salvaging (NDES, 107)
  • Crafting (NDES, 117)
  • Commonplace Objects and Structures (NDES, 124)
  • Using the Numenera (NDES, 134)
  • Numenera Plans (NDES, 135)
  • Improvising Plans (NDES, 142)
  • Founding a Community (NDES, 289)
  • Community Stats (NDES, 297)
  • Community Actions (NDES, 305)
  • Hordes, Armies, and Rampaging Beasts (NDES, 312)
  • Laying Out a Community (NDES, 319)
  • Guiding a Community (NDES, 324)
  • Community Events, Needs, and Opportunities (NDES, 332)
  • Vehicle Movement and Combat (NDES, 404)

Running the Game

  • Cyphers (NDES, 180)
  • Artifacts (NDES, 186)
  • Setting: Communities of Destiny (NDES, 194)
  • Umdera — Follows the Dream Titans (NDES, 196)
  • Enthait — Moon Meld You (NDES, 203)
  • Rachid — Hears the Catholith's Whispers (NDES, 210)
  • Taracal — Sails the Sea of Secrets (NDES, 217)
  • Delend — Under the Changing Moon (NDES, 225)
  • Starter Communities (NDES, 230)
  • Organizations (NDES, 245)
  • Creatures (NDES, 253)
  • NPCs (NDES, 283)
  • GMing Communities (NDES, 287)
  • Running a Destiny Campaign (NDES, 341)
  • Glossary (NDES, 407)
  • Character Sheet (NDES, 409)
  • Community Stat Sheet (NDES, 411)
  • Adventure: The Door Beneath the Ocean (NDES, 355)
  • Adventure: Trefoil (NDES, 372)
  • Adventure: The Red Plague (NDES, 379)
  • Adventure: Terminus (NDES, 393)

See also: Numenera Destiny — Descriptors, Numenera Destiny — Types, and Numenera Destiny — Foci

Old Gods of Appalachia — What's in the Book?

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

  • Setting: The Darkest Mountains in the World (OGOA, 179)
  • Getting to Know Appalachia (OGOA, 180)
  • Pennsylvania (OGOA, 194)
  • Kentucky (OGOA, 203)
  • North Carolina (OGOA, 212)
  • Tennessee (OGOA, 226)
  • Virginia (OGOA, 245)
  • West Virginia (OGOA, 253)
  • Cyphers (OGOA, 311)
  • Artifacts (OGOA, 330)
  • Haints, Spirits, and Other Revenants (OGOA, 344)
  • Consent Checklist (OGOA,411 )
  • Character Sheet (OGOA, 415)
  • Adventure: The Luthier's Folly (OGOA, 390)
  • Adventure: What Paths May Choose (OGOA, 402)

See also: Old Gods of Appalachia — Descriptors, Old Gods of Appalachia — Types, and Old Gods of Appalachia — Foci

Editor's Notes — Old Gods of Appalachia uses Lower Speed Effort Costs for Wearing Armor (OGOA, 124).

Old Gus' Daft Drafts — What's in the Book?

A collection of free, online options for your best game ever!

Optional Rules

Running the Game

See also: Old Gus' Daft Drafts — Descriptors, Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Foci, and Old Gus' Draft Drafts — Flavors

The Origin — What's in the Book?

Master perilous new powers in a world that is dangerously askew!

Optional Rules

Running the Game

  • Setting: The Origin (ORIG, 35)
  • Metahuman Manifestation (ORIG, 4)
  • Surviving Superpowers (ORIG, 16)
  • Divergent Timeline Cyphers (ORIG, 20)
  • Artifacts (ORIG, 31)
  • Secret Groups & Covert Places (ORIG, 42)
  • Metahumans, Monsters, and More (ORIG, 79)
  • Adventure: An Evening at the Opera (ORIG, 128)
  • Adventure: Joining the House (an Interlude) (ORIG, 137)
  • Adventure: Appeal of Distress (ORIG, 140)
  • Adventure: Threshold to Apocalypse (ORIG, 145)
Path of the Planebreaker — What's in the Book?

Unlock the mysteries of the planes!

Running the Game

  • Setting: The Planebreaker (POTP, 6)
  • The Path (POTP, 9)
  • Sea of Uncertainty (POTP, 14)
  • Timeborne (POTP, 19)
  • Citadel of the Fate Eater (POTP, 38)
  • Erewhon (POTP, 43)
  • Etherguard (POTP, 48)
  • Grove of Crows (POTP, 53)
  • Infinite Labyrinth (POTP, 58)
  • Laghris, the Burning Falls (POTP, 64)
  • Planes of Mirror and Shadow (POTP, 68)
  • Prison of Eternal Torment (POTP, 72)
  • Ramiah, the Star Blade (POTP, 76)
  • Sanguine (POTP, 81)
  • Savtua, the Swampy Mindscape (POTP, 86)
  • Splintered Reach (POTP, 89)
  • Storm of the Styx (POTP, 93)
  • Szneshnya, the Bleak Winter (POTP, 96)
  • Tomb of Tomorrow (POTP, 99)
  • Tyrant of War (POTP, 105)
  • Unithon, the Geometrical (POTP, 112)
  • Uraian's Stair (POTP, 116)
  • Wreck of the Unimaginable (POTP, 120)
  • Zarth of the Five Towers (POTP, 125)
  • Additional Planar Locations (POTP, 130)
  • Creatures (POTP, 150)
  • Cyphers and Artifacts (POTP, 189)
  • Random Planar Encounters (POTP, 224)
  • Random Planar Landscapes (POTP, 227)
  • Sea of Uncertainty Salvage (POTP, 232)
  • Glossary (POTP, 236)
  • Adventure: Tyrant's Key (POTP, 198)
  • Adventure: Sword, Sphere, and Cube (POTP, 213)

See also: Path of the Planebreaker — Descriptors and Path of the Planebreaker — Foci

Predation — What's in the Book?

A little sci-fi. A little post-apocalypse. A whole lot of dinosaurs.

Optional Rules

  • Companions (PRED, 46)
  • Companion Abilities (PRED, 55)
  • Companion Dispositions (PRED, 57)
  • Body Upgrades, Augments, and Enhancements (PRED, 63)

Running the Game

  • From the Far Future to the Ancient Past (PRED, 6)
  • Predation Basics (PRED, 10)
  • Materials (PRED, 61)
  • Setting: Grevakc (PRED, 66)
  • World Map (PRED, 75)
  • Larimidia (PRED, 76)
  • Appalachia (PRED, 110)
  • Groups and Organizations (PRED, 116)
  • Common Creature Upgrades (PRED, 125)
  • Creatures and NPCs (PRED, 130)
  • Running Predation (PRED, 152)
  • GMing Companions (PRED, 155)
  • Predation GM Intrusions (PRED, 160)
  • Cyphers, Artifacts, and Remnants (PRED, 162)
  • Glossary (PRED, 186)
  • Character Sheet (PRED, 187)
  • Adventure: Promised Land (PRED, 174)

See also: Predation — Descriptors, Predation — Types, and Predation — Foci

Rust and Redemption — What's in the Book?

The world is in ruins. Now what?

Optional Rules

Running the Game

  • Building Your Setting (RR, 6)
  • Themes in Your Setting (RR, 11)
  • Realism in Your Setting (RR, 17)
  • When, Where, and How Did Your World End? (RR, 23)
  • Set Pieces and Plots (RR, 30)
  • Threats, Hazards, and GM Intrusions (RR, 85)
  • Creatures and NPCs (RR, 93)
  • Currency and Equipment (RR, 126)
  • Cyphers and Artifacts (RR, 131)
  • Setting: The Radio Quiet Zone (RR, 142)
  • Greenbrier Station (RR, 152)
  • Upshur Observatory (RR, 161)
  • Outside the Radio Quiet Zone (RR, 170)
  • Cypher Short: Approaching Storm (RR, 220)
  • Cypher Short: Human Longevity Institute (RR, 222)
  • Adventure: No Quick Fix (RR, 176)
  • Adventure: Bitter Seeds (RR, 185)
  • Adventure: Safe Zone (RR, 203)
Shotguns & Sorcery — What's in the Book?

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

Running the Game

  • Setting: Dragon City (SS, 106)
  • Organizations (SS, 125)
  • Beyond the Great Circle (SS, 132)
  • Creatures (SS, 136)
  • Iconic Characters (SS, 171)
  • Generic NPCs (SS, 189)
  • Magic Items (SS, 194)
  • Cyphers (SS, 196)
  • Artifacts and Trinkets (SS, 209)
  • Running the Game (SS, 228)
  • Bringing the World to Life (SS, 254)
  • Character Sheet (SS, 264)

See also: Shotguns & Sorcery — Descriptors, Shotguns & Sorcery — Types, and Shotguns & Sorcery — Foci

The Stars are Fire — What's in the Book?

Galaxy-spanning space opera. Near-future hard sci-fi. And everything in between.

Optional Rules

  • Sci-fi Minor & Major Special Effect Options (SF, 53)

Running the Game

  • Science Fiction Subgenres (SF, 17)
  • Conflicts of the Future (SF, 26)
  • Incorporating the Fantastic in Your Setting (SF, 63)
  • Setting: The Revel (SF, 144)
  • Luna One (SF, 157)
  • Big Five Spirals (SF, 169)
  • Venusian Cloud Cities (SF, 176)
  • Diaspora of Mars (SF, 182)
  • Opulence of Outer Planets (SF, 189)
  • Far-Flung Worlds (SF, 196)
  • Ancient Tunnels & Quiet Earth (SF, 202)
  • Cypher Short: Prison Break (SF, 220)
  • Cypher Short: Alien Planet (SF, 222)
  • Adventure: Salvage Over Saturn (SF, 211)

See also: The Stars are Fire — Descriptors

Stay Alive! — What's in the Book?

A good scare makes for a great game.

Optional Rules

  • Blood Shifts (SA, 148)
  • Standard Vampire Abilities (SA, 148)
  • Vampire Gifts and Bloodlines (SA, 149)
  • Hunger and Blood (SA, 155)
  • Vampire Weaknesses (SA, 157)
  • Secrets of Being a Vampire (SA, 159)

Running the Game

  • Horror Can Be Anything and Anywhere (SA, 6)
  • Building Your Horror Setting (SA, 10)
  • Horror Plots: Why and How (SA, 21)
  • Sample Horror Plots (SA, 22)
  • Advice for Running a Horror Game (SA, 24)
  • Horror Genres (SA, 36)
  • Setting: Masters of the Night (SA, 136)
  • Vampire Slang (SA, 180)
  • Special Cards (SA, 221)
  • Horror Game Consent Checklist (SA, 222)
  • Vampire Abilities Reference Sheet (SA, 223)
  • Cypher Short: Camp Myrtle, Hoboken (SA, 100)
  • Cypher Short: The Bander House (SA, 102)
  • Cypher Short: Valiant County Hospital (SA, 102)
  • Adventure: Your Last Sunrise (SA, 187)
  • Adventure: Power Vacuum (SA, 195)
  • Adventure: Gang War (SA, 204)
  • Adventure: The Hunted (SA, 215)
The Strange — What's in the Book?

Limited pocket dimensions with their own laws of reality are connected to Earth—a dangerous, chaotic network called the Strange.

Optional Rules

  • Cooperative Actions (TS, 118)
  • Rules of Translation (TS, 125)
  • Recursions (TS, 134)
  • Rules for Creating Recursions (TS, 138)
  • Gameplay Options (TS, 353)

Running the Game

  • Setting: The Strange (TS, 133)
  • Earth (TS, 147)
  • Ardeyn (TS, 160)
  • Ruk (TS, 190)
  • Other Recursions (TS, 234)
  • Creatures (TS, 256)
  • NPCs (TS, 302)
  • Strange Cyphers (TS, 310)
  • Using the Rules (TS, 332)
  • Building a Story (TS, 359)
  • Running a Strange Game (TS, 376)
  • Introducing Player Characters to the Strange (TS, 376)
  • PCs in an Organization (TS, 376)
  • Glossary (TS, 409)
  • Character Creation Walkthrough (TS, 412)
  • Character Sheets (TS, 414)
  • Adventure Ideas (TS, 399)
  • Adventure: The Curious Case of Tom Mallard (TS, 386)

See also: The Strange — Descriptors, The Strange — Types, and The Strange — Foci

Editor's Notes — The Strange uses Alternative Armor Encumbrance (TS, 86) and Object Level, Health, and Armor (TS, 113).

Unmasked — What's in the Book?

Superpowers and horror in a dark eighties.

Optional Rules

Running the Game

  • The World of Unmasked (UM, 6)
  • Other Times, Other Places (UM, 8)
  • Mementos (Cyphers) (UM, 12)
  • GMing Prodigies (UM, 16)
  • The Eighties (UM, 66)
  • The Town (UM, 70)
  • The School (UM, 76)
  • The Threat (UM, 84)
  • The Big Picture (UM, 88)
  • Setting: Boundary Bay, New York (UM, 100)
  • Normal Human Stats (UM, 103)
  • Organizations and Creatures (UM, 146)
  • Running Unmasked (UM, 154)
  • Origin (UM, 166)
  • Mementos (UM, 168)
  • Masks (UM, 174)
  • Character Sheet (UM, 189)
  • Quick Adventure Generator (UM, 176)
  • Adventure: Mister Monster (UM, 178)

See also: Unmasked — Descriptors, Unmasked — Types, and Unmasked — Foci

VURT — What's in the Book?

Amid the glass-strewn streets of the lethal and anarchic Manchester England of the near future, players ingest slender VURT feathers to travel to parallel worlds as vivid, unique, and unpredictable as our wildest dreams.

Optional Rules

  • Blurbflies (VURT, 110)
  • Vehicles (VURT, 118)
  • Shoddy Antique Firearms (VURT, 159)
  • Drug Addiction (VURT, 163)
  • The Mechanisms of Exchange (VURT, 163)
  • Miskel (VURT, 163)
  • VURT Feathers (VURT, 166)

Running the Game

  • Setting: VURT (VURT, 173)
  • The Real World (VURT, 174)
  • The VURT World (VURT, 242)
  • Feather Trips (VURT, 250)
  • Being the GM (VURT, 284)
  • Creatures & NPCs (VURT, 296)
  • Cyphers (VURT, 359)
  • Character Creation Walkthrough (VURT, 404)
  • Character Sheets & Pregens (VURT, 405)
  • Adventure: Crash Drivers (VURT, 377)
  • Adventure: Down the Bottle in One Shot (VURT, 382)
  • Adventure: The Feather Forge (VURT, 388)
  • Adventure: Lights Over Limbo (VURT, 394)

See also: VURT — Descriptors, VURT — Types, and VURT — Foci

Editor's Notes — VURT makes a few important changes to equipment:

  • Weapons inflict twice as much damage, except unarmed strikes, which deal 2 damage. (VURT, 101)(VURT, 139)
  • Attacks made with unarmed strikes and light weapons aren't eased unless the specific weapon's description says so. (VURT, 101)
  • Wearing armor provides twice the bonus to a PC's Armor. (VURT, 99)
  • Lower Speed Effort Costs for Wearing Armor are used. (VURT, 139)
We Are All Mad Here — What's in the Book?

"You must be mad," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Running the Game

  • Building Fairy Tale Settings (WAAMH, 13)
  • Fairy Tale Settings for Young Players (WAAMH, 16)
  • Building Fairy Tale Campaigns (WAAMH, 29)
  • Sample Impossible Tasks (WAAMH, 33)
  • Dealing With Happily Ever After (WAAMH, 36)
  • Running Fairy Tale Games (WAAMH, 46)
  • Playing in Fairy Tale Games (WAAMH, 56)
  • Examples of Iconic Characters (WAAMH, 62)
  • Places to Find Cyphers (WAAMH, 73)
  • Setting: Heartwood (WAAMH, 158)
  • Mental Health in Games (WAAMH, 159)
  • Inspirations and Resources (WAAMH, 218)
  • Story Index (WAAMH, 220)
  • Fairy Tale Game Consent Checklist (WAAMH, 224)
  • Cypher Short: The Apple-Pip Witch (WAAMH, 142)
  • Cypher Short: I'll Gnaw Your Bones (WAAMH, 144)
  • Adventure: Between Worlds (WAAMH, 146)
  • Adventure: What the Moon Dreamt (WAAMH, 203)
  • Adventure: The Prince Who Would Seek Death (WAAMH, 210)
The Weird — What's in the Book?

Thousands and thousands of amazing ideas—for any game. For every game!

  • Ailments (WEIRD, 202)
  • Alien Artifacts (WEIRD, 122)
  • Alien Creatures (WEIRD, 218)
  • Alien Locations (WEIRD, 150)
  • Animals (WEIRD, 138)
  • Apocalypses (WEIRD, 216)
  • Arch Enemies (WEIRD, 100)
  • Art (WEIRD, 226)
  • Book Titles (WEIRD, 70)
  • Cities (WEIRD, 204)
  • Clothing (WEIRD, 90)
  • Companions (WEIRD, 148)
  • Computers (WEIRD, 224)
  • Creature Appearances (WEIRD, 76)
  • Creature Motivations or Needs (WEIRD, 22)
  • Crops to Grow (WEIRD, 110)
  • Cures for Ailments or Curses (WEIRD, 196)
  • Curses (WEIRD, 188)
  • Deliveries (WEIRD, 36)
  • Demons (WEIRD, 200)
  • Dreams & Visions (WEIRD, 94)
  • Dungeon Corridors (WEIRD, 238)
  • Dungeon Doors (WEIRD, 230)
  • Dungeon Floors (WEIRD, 236)
  • Dungeon Furniture (WEIRD, 232)
  • Dungeon Treasures (WEIRD, 242)
  • Dungeon Walls (WEIRD, 234)
  • Excuses (WEIRD, 102)
  • Fantasy Adventure Seeds (WEIRD, 162)
  • Fantasy Characters (WEIRD, 172)
  • Fantasy Locations (WEIRD, 192)
  • Food & Drink (WEIRD, 206)
  • Folk Magic (WEIRD, 108)
  • Fumbles (WEIRD, 160)
  • Games (WEIRD, 212)
  • Governments (WEIRD, 186)
  • Guilds & Organizations (WEIRD, 98)
  • Hauntings (WEIRD, 54)
  • Holidays (WEIRD, 84)
  • Houses (WEIRD, 118)
  • Legends (WEIRD, 112)
  • Magic Items (WEIRD, 176)
  • Magic Item Drawbacks (WEIRD, 38)
  • Magic Item Enhancements (WEIRD, 42)
  • Magic Item Modifications (WEIRD, 48)
  • Magical Accidents (WEIRD, 18)
  • Magical Creatures (WEIRD, 152)
  • Malfunctions (WEIRD, 64)
  • Market Stalls (WEIRD, 36)
  • Materials (WEIRD, 214)
  • Mentors (WEIRD, 194)
  • Miscellaneous Items (WEIRD, 184)
  • Modern & Horror Adventure Seeds (WEIRD, 114)
  • Modern Locations (WEIRD, 136)
  • Modern Vehicles (WEIRD, 158)
  • Mounts (WEIRD, 144)
  • Music (WEIRD, 178)
  • Mutations (WEIRD, 106)
  • PC Appearances (WEIRD, 248)
  • PC Backgrounds (WEIRD, 252)
  • PC Families (WEIRD, 250)
  • PC Legacies or Prophecies (WEIRD, 246)
  • Pets (WEIRD, 156)
  • Plants (WEIRD, 134)
  • Quirks (WEIRD, 82)
  • Radio Transmissions (WEIRD, 104)
  • Religions & Gods (WEIRD, 146)
  • Ritual Requirements (WEIRD, 52)
  • Robotic Modifications (WEIRD, 58)
  • Romances (WEIRD, 198)
  • Ruins (WEIRD, 92)
  • Rulers (WEIRD, 222)
  • Rumors (WEIRD, 154)
  • Schools (WEIRD, 166)
  • Science Fiction Adventure Seeds (WEIRD, 208)
  • Science Fiction Characters (WEIRD, 180)
  • Science Fiction Locations (WEIRD, 142)
  • Science Fiction Vehicles (WEIRD, 170)
  • Seas (WEIRD, 140)
  • Side Effects (WEIRD, 26)
  • Space Anomalies (WEIRD, 130)
  • Spell Drawbacks (WEIRD, 74)
  • Spell Enhancements (WEIRD, 24)
  • Spell Modifications (WEIRD, 20)
  • Spells (WEIRD, 96)
  • Spells, Alternative Versions (WEIRD, 62)
  • Sources of Magic or Power (WEIRD, 190)
  • Superhero Adventure Seeds (WEIRD, 86)
  • Superpowers (WEIRD, 68)
  • Tattoos (WEIRD, 32)
  • Tavern Trappings (WEIRD, 28)
  • Tech Item Drawbacks (WEIRD, 44)
  • Tech Item Enhancements (WEIRD, 72)
  • Tech Item Modifications (WEIRD, 16)
  • Themes, Shticks, or Gimmicks (WEIRD, 28)
  • Treasures (WEIRD, 128)
  • Typical Item Drawbacks (WEIRD, 66)
  • Typical Item Enhancements (WEIRD, 34)
  • Typical Item Modifications (WEIRD, 60)
  • Undead & Spirits (WEIRD, 126)
  • Underwater Locations (WEIRD, 182)
  • Unexpected Objects (WEIRD, 50)
  • Villainous Plots (WEIRD, 78)
  • Ways to Communicate (WEIRD, 56)
  • Ways to Succeed (WEIRD, 124)
  • Weaknesses (WEIRD, 48)
  • Weather (WEIRD, 132)
  • Wilderness Anomalies (WEIRD, 168)
  • Wilderness Locations (WEIRD, 120)
  • Worlds, Lands, & Dimensions (WEIRD, 174)

Published under the Cypher System Open License.

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