#cypher ttrpg
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character for an upcoming Cypher game I'm playing, set at a magic academy in the Ptolus setting! Patch Peterbell, a Risk-Taking Adept who Drives Like a Maniac
I was going for a sort of "Pidge from VLD meets Pippi Longstocking" vibe and ended up getting "If 19-yo Ms Frizzle went to a school with a uniform"
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HOLY SHIT INVISIBLE SUN IS COMING BACK AND IT'S MY FAVORITE RPG OF ALL TIME PLEASE BACK IT SO I (or we, I guess) CAN GET THE WELLSPRING:
https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/monte-cook-games/invisible-sun-return-of-the-black-cube#top
For those of you unfamiliar with Invisible Sun, it's an rpg where every single player is a spell caster of some variety, each with their own unique way of interacting with magic.
The Vances are the most traditional spellcasters, but they eschew spell lists in favor of literally filling a grid with spell cards, representing their limited cognitive space being taken up by spells. They get more space, and literally bigger spells as you progress.
Weavers take two concepts and combine them to produce an effect, very much like Ars Magica or Mage: The Ascension, if you're familiar with those. They get the ability to combine more concepts together, and to have mastery over more concepts as they progress.
Makers are this game's artificer, and they have a robust system for making quirky magic items that have fun, interesting, unique side effects or downsides every time you use them. Their progression is the most straight forward by the numbers "the things you make are more powerful and you're better at making them" of the bunch, but the system lets you, for instance, make a gun out of the body of a dead(?) god, so I'll give this a pass.
Lastly, there are the Goetics, who summon and bind otherworldly creatures to their wills. This takes the form of a conversation and negotiation with your GM over what you have to do for your bound creature, and what exactly they do for you in exchange. If you've ever played a warlock and felt like patrons weren't a big enough deal, this is an entire "class" that lets those relationships (yes, plural) take center stage.
The entire system feels very much like Cypher system 2.0, with a d10 dice pool system with a straight forward level of difficulty to hit, very much like the levels of difficulty in base cypher system, just made easier to manage. It even uses the "I'm an Adjective Noun who Verbs" character structure from Cypher system, here made much more interesting by the addition of a funky little xp system.
Invisible Sun has one of the most interesting advancement systems I've ever seen: aside from normal, average, "you do a thing, you get xp" system, here called "Acumen" (used to increase your stats and skills) there is a separate xp system related to good and bad things happening to your character, called "Joy" and "Despair" respectively. You combine one Joy with one Despair to get a "Crux" which is the xp currency you need to advance your class and focus abilities. This incentivizes players to not only let bad things happen to them, but to SEEK THEM OUT, which is huge! Players often think they want to win all the time, but they don't actually want that, it makes for a boring narrative. This is one of the very few systems I've seen incentivize this story structure, and I'm absolutely in love with it.
Lastly, because the game focuses so heavily on Magic, it has the only system for simulating the ebbs and flows of magic I've seen done well! This involves "The Path of Suns" and the "Sooth deck" which is the in game name for a specific pattern of laying out what amounts to tarot cards that make magic dynamic, interesting, and unpredictable in a way I've never seen before, and rarely since. (Pathfinder's Secrets of Magic is the only other supplement I can think of, and that was almost 5 years after this game came out)
Anyway, I can't recommend this game enough, the systems are unique, the vibes are immaculate, and it's so fuckin WEIRD in the best way.
#ttrpgs#indie ttrpg#ttrpg#indie games#rpg#tabletop#invisible sun#monte cook games#mcg#cypher system#magic#magic system
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One thing I like to do for my players when I'm introducing them to a new game is provide them with player-kits, which I create on Google Sheets. I'm sure that others have created player-kits for their own games, but I figured I would show off some of the ones I've used in the past. If it's something folks are interested in, I might share more!
Blades in the Dark
Mausritter
Thirsty Sword Lesbians
Cypher System
#ttrpg#tabletop games#cypher system#mausritter#blades in the dark#thirsty sword lesbians#pbta#spreadsheets
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Okay so I've been keeping an eye on my most recently read TTRPGs, this has been a thread going on twitter, but as I move over here, I wanna start it up here, I guess this will be a tag! #BasiliskReadsTTRPGs
Würm • Primal Quest • Cypher • #iHunt • OpenLegend • Sundown • Here, there, be monsters • Perilous • Nahual • Orun • Roots & Flowers • Mouse Guard
#BasiliskReadsTTRPGs#Mine#Würm#Primal Quest#Cypher#iHunt#OpenLegend#Sundown#Here there be monsters#perilous ttrpg#nahual#orun#roots and flowers#mouse guard#ttrpg#indie ttrpg#indie ttrpg game
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Alternative systems to publish your TTRPG content under now that WotC is promising to steal your stuff if you make it with D&D:
Cypher System by Monte Cook Games:
Apocalypse World/Powered by the Apocalypse:
Blades in the Dark:
Modiphius (2d20 system):
I know there are many more, but those are the big systems that pop in my head at the moment. (Technically, GURPS also lives in my head, but that's more of a curse, really.)
Go make your cool stuff and don't let anyone tell you it isn't yours just because you used their game rules.
#ttrpg#roleplaying games#ttrpg community#ogl 1.1#wizards of the coast#wotc#cypher system#monte cook games#apocalypse world#powered by the apocalypse#pbta#blades in the dark#forged in the dark#modiphius#2d20 system#d&d
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Introducing Our Current Setting Focus: Wyld Space!
Wyld Space is a science fiction setting designed on the bones of the Cypher System, so many of the common features, mechanics, and tropes that you would expect from that combination will be present while you’re playing in this setting. However, Wyld Space is its own fully realized world (or system filled with worlds, as it may be) with all of its own original tweaks that make it what it is.
The important quirks of the Wyld Space setting are presented below, as a helpful primer to get you in the right headspace while you’re getting started. Most of these highlights will be explored in greater detail in their appropriate sections later in this book.
You Go Hard, The Sci-Fi Doesn’t
Wyld Space is not a hard science fiction setting. The capability of technology that is available strays far outside the realm of current possibility and dances on the outskirts of the fantastic. Starships powered by cores that make traveling through star systems and back as easy as taking a trip to the town over, nanotechnology that can mend metals designed to withstand the wildest space anomalies, machines that can create food and water out of thin air. The difference in access between those living in collective space and those braving the unknown of flux space may make the availability of certain advancements difficult to come by, but even the most backwater station floating past the bounds of the helix sphere will have use of some piece of tech that would look like magic to those out of the know.
Who You Are
In this setting, humans don’t exist. And beyond that, only the dustiest xenobiologist believes that those ancient aliens ever really existed in the first place. You instead play as wylds, the dominant sapient genus that has claimed the known galaxy and carried the torch of civilization into space. Wyldkind is varied and beautiful, composed of highly evolved anthropomorphic versions of the myriad mammals, birds, and reptiles that you can currently see around you on Earth.
Additionally, you play as an outlier—someone who has been designated as irregular and nonconformist by the Intergalactic Network of Collectives (the governing body of collective space) and the sinister megacorps that truly call the shots behind the scenes. Being designated as an outlier could mean a lot of things in Wyld Space. It could mean that you take direct action against the systems that you see as corrupt. It could simply mean that you want to live as freely and purely as possible on your own terms. It could also mean that you’re an active criminal running various contraband back and forth through flux space. At the end of the day, being an outlier means that you refuse to cow down to the accepted status quo.
Who They Are
The primary antagonists of Wyld Space are the government and the corporations that secretly control it. The Intergalactic Network of Collectives (INC), although founded with lofty goals and good intentions, was quickly corrupted by the influence and money of the three megacorps that were allowed to bloat out of control. Mercenary groups, bounty hunters, and purchased police are just a fraction of the corpo agents that you’ll have to maneuver as you traverse the setting.
Void Titans
Colossal beasts with their own biological equivalents of ship-to-ship weaponry, void titans (or simply titans) are creatures that stalk flux space and hunt the starships that brave the sector. Trapped behind the fury of the helix sphere, those who stay within the safety of collective space never have to worry about these alien terrors—which is knowledge that the megacorps are more than happy to propagate.
Element 427: Foxfire
Element 427, called foxfire by everyone but corpo scientists, was the miracle discovery that changed the course of wyldkind forever. Not truly understood, but coveted nonetheless, foxfire is a quantum material highly valued for its matter-enhancing and physics-defying characteristics. Any of the truly fantastic properties exhibited by ships, weapons, cyphers, or artifacts can be tied to foxfire, and its presence in flux space is what drives the megacorps to push into the sector.
Kinetics
Whether the result of genetic tampering, the presence of foxfire, or a little of both, there are wylds who can manipulate the world around them using only the powers of their mind. Called kinetics, these incredible people can create fire, generate electricity, or turn their bodies into living weapons with only a thought.
And that’s only a portion of what you’ll be able to unlock and explore in Wyld Space!
Ready To Get Wyld?
Join our Patreon at the $3 monthly tier and receive all early access updates for Wyld Space as well as exclusive feedback and playtest surveys that allow you to impact the setting!
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I have a player that says, "Gaaaaaah. So good!" At the end of every Cypher session we play, and as a GM, that means everything to me.
#musings#silly goofy mood#cypher game system#cypher#monte cook games#numenara#ttrpg community#ttrpg#gming#game master
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We are excited to announce our @crowdfundr to raise funding for scholarships to the Storytelling Collective! Help us raise money to empower more individuals in the ttrpg community to pursue their dreams!
Find the Crowdfundr here! Rewards include maps, stock art, adventures, and more!
#ttrpg community#ttrpg design#indie ttrpg#dnd#ttrpg#rising tide#pathfinder#crowdfundr#fundraising#fundrasier#cypher system
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sharing some old art because 2022 was a really good year for rendering pieces (except seline, he's just there for fun)
praying on times like these again where i have the zest and patience to colour things T_T
#neoart#wei ao kai “kain”#seline lockjaw#bastion “baz” ripley#ezra knight#abel keyes#cosmos cassiopeia#ttrpg oc#dnd oc#cypher oc#so many tags for so many guys for so many changes in art styles
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You know what to do. I’m not going to tell you but do it!
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While D&D remains iconic, other RPG systems provide unique canvases to create immersive content in any genre. Janet sat down with Dominique Dickey, to talk about designing for RPGs outside D&D as well as the creative process of making your own game!
youtube
#worldbuilding#ttrpg#dnd5e#cypher system#belonging outside belonging#for the queen#powered by the apocalypse#pbta#game design#tabletop rpgs#indie games#solo games#journaling game#Youtube
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Bringing Starfield to the Tabletop!
You’re playing it on your computer or console. You’re loving it. You want to bring it to the tabletop. This post is all about bringing Starfield from the screen to the gamer table!
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Don't Miss These Free One-Shots!
Next week, our first collection of sci-fi cypher shorts goes live and officially kicks off our next genre/setting cycle.
To celebrate, we're giving away our first collection of fantasy cypher shorts for free!
Between now and 6/23, hit the link below to snag your copy of Cypher Shorts: Fantasy Shorts Vol. 1 for the low, low price of absolutely free. (Courtesy of the support of our amazing Patreon community)
Want to know what's inside? Check out the product page below for descriptions of all 3 included shorts (3-4 hours of fun each) plus the product review of volumes 1 and 2 by the one and only Qedhup!
Grab Yours Here!
#cypher system#ttrpg#monte cook games#cypher#freebies#indie publishing#ttrpg community#ttrpg design#CSOL#Numenera#CSRD
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Numenera Character Concept
Okay. So the Dungeon Dudes recently did a video on 5 non-D&D ttrpgs they played in 2023, and one of the ones they mentioned was Numenera, from the Cypher System. And I’ve been curious about that for a while because the Fast Character online character builder (throws up quick pre-gens for D&D 5e) also supports the Cypher System, and the whole concept of the character descriptors intrigued me. I can choose to be a ‘craven’ character, and that has mechanical impact. That’s fascinating. So I decided to browse this system/setting a bit. I got the Numenera Players Guide pdf (the Cypher System Core book and the two Numenera Core setting books will have to wait until I have more free cash). Just, you know. To see.
And, first thing. I do like this setting. It’s a science fantasy setting where the whole is a billion years old and all the ‘magic’ comes from ancient lost nanotechnology from previous civilisations that no one understands or often even knows exists anymore. The whole concept of the setting is that your characters are exploring a strange, deadly world littered with the ruins and ancient unknown magic/technology of previous lost civilisations. Artefacts of that technology are a main gameplay element, as ‘cyphers’, one shot artefacts that produce effects, are things your character constantly discovers and equips, along with ‘artifacts’ (multi-use objects) and ‘oddities’ (weird little bits and bobs, like ancient photo displays and doorbells and other weird bits of junk).
Also, the emphasis is, at least from the descriptions, on exploration and discovery, not combat. You don’t get XP from combat or killing things, you get XP from dealing with complications and problems your DM throws your character mid-flow, and from your party’s overall actions and what they’ve discovered. That’s cool to me. I’ve mentioned before that I really want a game experience that’s about exploration, so this system/setting already sounds awesome. So.
The book I got is mostly a 64-page player facing character creation guide, with a little bit of preface on the system and the setting. Judging from the options as compared to Fast Character, this are very much the core, basic, PHB sort of character options. Just your essentials. But. Something did immediately catch my eye. And not the descriptors. A character focus instead, actually.
Characters in Cypher follow the pattern of an [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]. The noun is your character type, essentially your class, there’s 3 options in this book, the adjective is your character descriptor, or personality, and the verb is your character focus, the thing they do in the world, which can be wild. You’ve got options like ‘Works the Back Alleys’ and ‘Carries a Quiver’, and then ones like ‘Murders’, and then ones like ‘Howls at the Moon’ and ‘Exists Partially Out of Phase’. So the structure is who you are, what you are, and what you do. And. The thing that caught my eye was ‘Wears a Sheen of Ice’. Which is basically an ice mage. Cold damage my under-appreciated beloved. So. Here we go.
Of the three character type options, I am tempted by Jack, the rogue/skilled option, but ice mages are mages, so we’ll go with Nano. And the thing I actually had the hardest time with was the descriptor, despite those being the thing that drew me towards Numenera in the first place, but it came down to two: Tough, and Strong-Willed. Strong-Willed has a flaw/inability that’s tricky for me, on a character that wants to explore, in that it’s harder for a strong-willed character to solve puzzles and use/remember lore, which feels weird for a high-intellect explorer character, but … I’ll do Tough on a different character. For my ice mage, I feel like being stubborn.
So. Juvenna Rorkh, a Strong-Willed Nano who Wears A Sheen of Ice.
As a Tier 1, starting Nano, with everything added up, I’ll have a Might Pool of 10, a Speed Pool of 10, and an Intellect Pool of 18. I’ll have an Effort of 1, an Intellect Edge of 1, and Might and Speed Edges of 0. I can bear 3 cyphers at a time, I’m practiced with light weapons, and I’m trained in understanding, or at least attempting to understand, the numenera (the cyphers/artefacts/etc).
For my Nano background, the source of my abilities … Forbidden Knowledge is tempting, given exploration, but we’re not Learned or Intelligent, we’re Strong-Willed. We don’t like things to be fussy or complicated. No piecing together information and puzzles. No, I think we’re going to be Psionic. We interface with the mystical nano-machines of this world by raw force of will. And I think we gained our psionic abilities from the suggested ‘natural result of extreme exposure to technology’. We got flooded by a nanite cloud, maybe not an Iron Wind, but definitely some concentration of nano-machines, and our raw stubborn kicked on and helped us survive and take some of them with us.
For my background connection, I decided to roll on the table, and the result was that I trained for a while with a group of Aeon Priests, presumably to develop my psionics, and they still regard me pretty fondly.
For my two starting esoteries (magic powers from technology), I could go Ward, for a +1 to Armour, since I don’t have any yet, but I’ll get Ice Armour from Wears a Sheen of Ice, which is also a +1 for 10mins. I could still take Ward, because they stack. But. I want Onslaught (basically an energy attack), for an offensive option, plus something for my Ice Esoteries to change to cold damage. And I want Scan, because I do still want some exploration-focused options. So. Maybe we’ll get a chance to pick up Ward later.
I also get 3 GM-chosen starting cyphers, and a starting oddity.
From Strong-Willed, I got a +4 to my Intellect Pool that brought me up to 18. I’m trained in resisting mental effects, and in tasks that require focus or concentration, but the difficulty of any task that involves figuring out puzzles or problems, memorizing things, or using lore is increased by one step.
And from my Sheen of Ice, I get a nice stronglass weapon that looks like ice. I get Ice Esoteries, which influences any other esoteries I might have to be ice-themed if possible. My minor/major effects when I roll a 19/20 will have ice themes as well, the suggestion is for minor to produce slippery ice around the target to make footing dangerous, and the major to coat them in ice for a minute, making everything they try 1 step more difficult. And I get Ice Armour, which will coat my body in a sheen of ice when I wish it, giving me a +1 to Armour for the duration, I feel no discomfort from normal cold enviroments, and I get an extra +2 to Armour against cold damage specifically (I’m not sure if that’s total +2 against cold, or +2 extra after the base +1).
You also get a connection to the other players from your focus, and I love the one from Wears a Sheen of Ice. I get to pick one member of my party and, due to a weird quirk on the part of the numenera/nanites that give me my powers, if they’re standing next to me when I ice-armour up, they also get the benefits of my Ice Armour. So, like. One of your buddies, your nanites just like them. I love that.
So. Juvenne Rorkh. A highly intelligence, pig-stubborn, single-minded psionic ice mage, who doesn’t like things to be fussy or complicated, and whose nanites are weirdly fond of one person in particular. My first attempt at a Numenera character.
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Marabas, crown jewel of the Leavinine Sea.
We made a new Cypher System stream called Brine & Blight with our dear friend Stellaluna, and it’s premiering on November 8 at 8 EST on twitch.tv/stellaluna. The cast is legendary, the setting sits on the brink of a people’s revolution. Also we made all the background and character art!
Also wowee but it’s been a minute. Nice to see you again tumblr! Thank you for still being here now that twitter has lit itself on fire. We promise to actually post again!
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A quick repost of some the Kael art I've done over the past few months. Kael is my character from Empyrean Rising, a Cypher System actual play. You can check us out here! Or watch our stream live this Sunday!
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