I backed the Amber Archive so I got all of the current system as part of my reward. After I read Discovery and Destiny where do I go next? It's a ton of content that comes with the game and with 20+ adventures, supplements and other material its hard to know what's worth jumping into for a campaign.
To preferences this, I am still VERY new to this system. I just finished reading through the rules primer and I’m currently going through the base rule book. I also have the stars are fire and godsforsaken. But already my mind is ABSOLUTELY BURSTING with ideas! This system is so simple that I feel like I could have a lot of wiggle room for my own stuff. I actually have some ideas for custom descriptors (adjective) and types (nouns) that I’ll probably post here to get some suggestions from people who know the system better than me. But I need to read through everything first and see if they have anything I could use as a base. With all that being said, I mentioned it because there already might be a dedicated way to multiclass that I’m just not aware of yet, so forgive me if there is already one.
The “and statement” is simple, when you reach tier 5 you get access to the “and statement” that you can place anywhere in your character sentence. If I understand the tier system well enough, it’s basically the equivalent to levels. You have to get four unique attributes to go up a tier. Increasing pools, increasing effort, increasing edge, learning a skill, training a skill or gaining a new ability. Getting 4 unique versions of those bring you up a tier. So by the time you reach tier 5, you should be somewhat invested in your character.
An and statement can only be taken once, and will allow you to take a descriptor, type or focus.
For example. A base sentence may look like “I i’m a clever warrior who wields two weapons at once.” a sentence using the and statement might look something like this. “I am a clever and stealthy warrior who uses two weapons at once”, “I am a clever, warrior and speaker who uses two weapons at once”, or “I am a clever warrior who uses two weapons at once and casts spells”.
If taken, you have to be tier 5 or higher, a character will gain access to whatever benefits the specific part of the sentence they take grants them. If they’re able to upgrade any abilities or skills from their new and statement word that will count as a unique upgrade as part of their tier. However, whatever abilities/skills they gain access to do not start upgraded. They will have to spend their XP to upgrade them. Basically, any new abilities/skills they can get start off as if they were a fresh character, but they keep the progress they’ve made for their base sentence. This way you have to pick and choose what abilities/skills you’ll level up when and how far you want to focus on one versus another. It won’t stop from fully upgrading both, but it will take a lot longer.
Don’t know how balanced that is or if the books have their own version or something similar. Any suggestions would be appreciated, and if this is unique and you like it, feel free to take it with any modifications you want :) and if this already exists, please correct me.
In our 5e games, we homebrewed a Character Bonds subsystem where relationships between PCs would grow through meaningful in-game moments — roleplay scenes, Help Actions, or even RP conversations in Discord between sessions. As those bonds strengthened, characters gained a scaling bonus (d4–d12) they could add to Help Actions instead of simply granting Advantage.
Does the Cypher System have any optional or homebrew mechanics that similarly reward players for developing relationships and roleplaying between characters with tangible in-game benefits?
Hey, I want to make a character that prominently uses fans. What are some good focuses that you can think of for that? Masters weaponry and using blades fans was my first idea, but I’d love to hear others!
Hello all, one of our playgroups broke up so a couple of the players and I are about to begin looking at and testing other systems, beginning with Cypher - specifically Rust and Redemption and the post-apocalyptic setting. We'll be playing on Foundry VTT and I have backed all the recent kickstarters and the megadungeon but we'll be getting started before those are fully released.
With only 2 players, I'm wondering what the best approach is for running the system for them - should they control 2 characters each for 4 total, or just 1 per player? They are skilled and smart players and have some experience with running multiple characters (shout out to DCC), but I'm curious what the best approach might be in Cypher. It seems like the XP that's handed out for intrusions will be a bit awkward either way.
Another question I have is how combat encounters should be designed and hopefully "balanced". I realize the system kind of glosses over this a bit but as a new GM I don't really want to ~vibe~ my way into a serious TPK or just throw them easy softballs over and over. Is there a good rule of thumb for creating combat encounters? I understand cyphers and intrusions can change encounters significantly, but hoping to have a baseline to begin with.
Other suggestions for a new GM running for just two players would be very much appreciated; we're coming from a long amount of time playing PF2e/SF2e. Thanks!