UNMASKED: A REVIEW OF THE NEW CYPHER SYSTEM SUPERHERO SETTING

Some are satin, some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on...

-Billy Joel, "The Stranger"

1986...

It's the year the Challenger exploded, the year Chernobyl blew.  It's the year Halley's Comet revisited us, and the first PC virus, Brain, made its debut. Thatcher is in London.  Reagan's in Washington.  Gorbachev is in Moscow. "Money for Nothing" and "Addicted to Love" are the two hottest things on MTV.  And your life, the life that you have been living, is about to change.

Just a few weeks before your first day of high school, you wake up different. You somehow are able to see. All around you, all around town, random little objects now pulse, shimmer, with power. A soupspoon. A broken shard of glass. A bird feather. The hands of a clock. Somehow you can see which objects have been imbued and which haven't...and if you touch these objects, you somehow know what they can do. Each one of them has a trick, a spell, a power. Use the power once and its gone.

But wait...

...some of these random little things call out to you, whisper in your brain. Not many; just a select few. Somehow you just know which ones you need to collect. Somehow you just know what they want you to do. You collect these charms and they teach you, they show you how to make it.

Your Mask.

When you put that Mask on you are not you anymore. You are something more powerful. Something greater. Something more than human...something superhuman.

And this is how it all begins...

Origin Stories

Unmasked (192 pages, $44.99 hardcover, $17.99 pdf) is the latest offering from Monte Cook Games.  Unlike Ravendesk's Vurt, this is not a stand-alone game powered by the Cypher System, but a setting and sourcebook for the Cypher System Rulebook itself.  You'll need that book to use it.

Unmasked is the welcome return of veteran game designer Dennis Detwiller to the superhero genre. Part of the team that brought the world "Cthulhu meets X-Files" classic Delta Green, Detwiller was later the driving force behind Godlike, a 2001 RPG that married superheroes to the gritty, "war is hell" setting of WWII.  Godlike was very well received as a fresh take on what was already a bit of a warn-out RPG genre.  It's protagonists, called "Talents," eschewed the costumes and the masks for a much more grounded, realistic take than we had seen before.  This is a bit ironic, because Unmasked is literally all about the masks.

Funny things, masks.  They seem to embody the very concepts of transformation and mystery.  Their earliest uses in the murky origins of human society seem to be shamanic; in putting on the mask, the wearer channels or even becomes a god or spirit.  Even the word itself, "mask," is problematic.  We have no clear idea where it comes from or what it really means.  It might derive from a proto Indo-European word meaning "black, obscure," the Spanish más que la cara ("more than the face"), or even the Arabic masakha, meaning "transformed."  All of this feeds quite nicely into the mythology Detwiller is creating here, marrying the mythic, almost religious mask traditions with the concept of the "masked man" or masked hero.  The result is a game about perfectly normally teenagers compelled to create and wear Masks that transform then, body, mind, and perhaps even soul.

That is something critical to understand here.  This is not a game about super beings who put on a mask (or pair of glasses) to conceal their identities.  The Teen and the Mask are two different entities.  A Mask might be a different race, a different gender, a different species from the Teen that crafted it.  It might have very different drives and agendas.  The protagonists in this game are more like Billy Batson than Peter Parker.  This is where the game's much promoted "horror" elements come in.  The Mask isn't you...or is it?

We Could Be Heroes

Because this is a Cypher System Rulebook supplement, from here on it we will assume you know that game.  If not, following the link above for any of what follows to make sense to you.

Mechanically, Unmasked builds on the rules Monte Cook gave us in the core game.  Characters are once again defined by being "An (Adjective) (Noun) that (Verbs)."  This time, however, there is a twist.  The character sheet is split into the Teen and the Mask.  The Teen is defined only by a Descriptor and some appropriate skills.  He or she might be a "Tough Teen," or a "Naive Teen," a "Driven Teen" or a "Weird Teen." The Teen then gets his or her own Stat Pools (each starts at 6, with two additional points to assign).  This is the unmasked character.

The game calls its protagonists "Prodigies," and as hinted at above, they are normal young men and women who wake up in a world that has suddenly changed, but only they can see it.  Some event--and the nature of that event is very much up the the GM--has littered the world with cyphers (in this setting, called "Mementos").  As in other Cypher games, these are one use objects each containing a single special power.  Prodigies are the only people who know a Memento when they see it, and when they touch it they know what it can do.  Likewise, they are also able to identify each other.  What transformed these teens and these objects?  That is part of the story, and Detwiller gives the GM specific rules to decide the nature of the changes (Psychic? Mutation?  Mystical?) and guidelines on how to reveal the answers over the ongoing campaign.  However, the Prodigies are haunted by dreams of a nightmarish figure, the monstrous Prester John, who seems to be hunting Prodigies the way the First was hunting potential Slayers in the final season of Buffy.

Some Mementos call to Prodigies more powerfully than others, compelling the Teen to assemble them and use them to create a Mask.  Each Mask is unique.  When the Teen puts the Mask on, he or she becomes a completely new character, this time with its own Descriptor, Type, and Focus.  These Masks also have their own Stat pools and skills.  Most importantly, perhaps, they have "Power Shifts" (Cypher System, p. 270).  These shifts automatically lower difficulty levels by one step each.  So a Mask with 4 shifts in "Feats of Strength" would automatically lower any difficulty of that type by four, even before effort or other assets are applied.  This is part of what makes them truly superhuman.

Descriptors:  Given the nature of the game and the genre, any Descriptor from the Cypher System Rulebook or even Numenera or The Strange might be acceptable with GM approval.  While the game introduces new Teen Descriptors (Metal Head, New Wave, Punk, and Show-off) there are none that are Mask specific.

Types: The four standard Types have been reworked a bit here into the Smasher (Warrior), Thinker (Adept), Mover (Explorer) and Changer (Speaker).  They Type determines your initial stat pools (still a total of 34 points, but with the base values altered a bit), suggests where you put your Power Shifts and what Focus you chose, and gives you additional Power Shifts and abilities as you rise through the tiers.  

Foci:  Surprisingly, Unmasked introduces relatively few new Foci; Flies by Night, Lives on the Dark Side, Travels back from the Future, and Wants to be Adored are the only new entries.  Groups will need to really on the core rulebook (and possibly Expanded Worlds) for these power suites, and given the nature of the genre, any applicable Foci from Numenera or The Strange as well.

What emerges is a superhero form that is an entirely different entity from the Teen character.  This recalls heroes like Shazam, Thor (in the old days), and the Hulk, and introduces all sorts of role-play contradictions.  The Teen and the Mask share memories, but do they share goals?  Values?  Agendas? Are they operating in concert or at odds?  These are character design questions each player will need to consider as they craft their Masks.

Once a Mask is made it forms an almost supernatural bond with its Teen.  It cannot be "lost," and will always somehow return to the Teen who made it.  It cannot be destroyed by anything other than another Mask.  If a normal human tries to destroy it, the Mask will miraculously survive.  Even for other Masks, it is a level 15 difficulty challenge to destroy a Mask; doing so unleashes an "explosion" of power only other Masks can sense, and creates a half dozen or so new Mementos (cyphers) in the area.  Removing a Mask from another Mask is also an epic task, with a difficulty of 10.  Note this means Unmasked follows the Superhero genre conventions in Cypher by expanding difficulties from 1 to 10 to 1 to 15.  Since normal humans lack Power Shifts, tasks beyond 7 remain nearly impossible.

Two other points need to be made about Masks.

First, a Mask cannot be killed.  It has a separate damage track from the Teen wearing it, and when its Pools are depleted, the Mask simply falls off.  It cannot be worn again until a recovery role is made, and though the Mask and the Teen have discrete damage tracks, they share their recovery rolls.  This could easily result in an exhausted and beaten Mask falling off of a Teen and leaving them vulnerable in the midst of battle.  Teens can be killed.

Second, the Mask advances using XP, not the Teen.  Despite this, the Teen can gain XP for the Mask by (for example) doing their homework and fitting in at school, keeping their connection to the Mask a secret, and keeping the whole Mask phenomenon under wraps.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Unmasked is very concerned with its setting, with the world the Masks inhabit and bringing it to life. More than half the book is devoted to this.

In broad strokes, this is a world in which Teens have gained impossible powers and are drawn into a secret war.  The game focuses on the 1980s as the backdrop, but other eras, such as the Roaring 20s, the 1960s, or even our own could be selected instead.  A modern campaign probably provides the biggest thematic challenges; how can we believe in a secret war in an age when everyone has cameras and the Internet?

Detailed rules are given to walk GMs through creating the town the Teens inhabit and the high schools they attend; rural like Smallville?  Suburban like Buffy?  Urban like Spider-man Homecoming?  Something else?  There is ample support in the book to craft these key elements of the setting however you like.  

Also to be considered is the nature of what is going on.  Where do these Masks come from?  Who is the villainous Prester John?  Are their evil Masks to fight?  What do the police know?  What does the government know?  Unmasked walks you through all of this, and your choices will make each campaign unique.  Your game could be a supernatural one like Buffy, connected to alien technology like Smallville, extra-dimensional like Stranger Things, or a half dozen other options.  

Unmasked offers guidelines for making these choices and then structuring the campaign around them, Tier by Tier, to build a satisfying arc.  To my mind, this is where Unmasked shines the brightest.  It painstakingly details how to guide the players through becoming Masks, mastering their powers, encountering their first threats, dealing with the Big Picture, and confronting the final foe.  Several model campaign arcs are outlined, as well as a complete example campaign setting.  Since the rules are already covered in the core rulebook, Unmasked devotes its bulk to actually using those rules to create a vibrant campaign.  It is a page count well-spent.

If you have been itching to play superheroes in Cypher, this is the perfect opportunity to do it.  Dennis Detwiller has proved the old adage wrong by making lighting strike twice.  While Godlike and Unmasked are light years apart in many ways, both are stories of ordinary young people dragged into massive and monstrous conflicts by powers they struggle to understand and control.  They are both extraordinary tales of superhumans (and come to think of it, Unmasked would work very well in Godlike's WWII setting as well).  I highly recommend Unmasked to lovers of the Cypher system and lovers of the supers genre.  It doesn't disappoint.

THINGS NOT MEANT TO KNOW: HP LOVECRAFT IN THE CYPHER SYSTEM

For decades, the definitive representation of Lovecraft at the gaming table has been Chaosium's classic Call of Cthulhu. While other Mythos-releated game systems have appeared sporadically in its wake, most of them (Trail of Cthulhu, Realms of Cthulhu, d20 Call of Cthulhu, GURPS Cthulhupunk) have looked to Call of Cthulhu for guidance on recreating the genre. Because it is so radically different--in both mechanics and tone--from the Chaosium game, Monte Cook's Cypher System might appear a poor choice for authentic Lovecraftian play. Cypher System characters can take a lot more punishment, have a wider range of abilities, and follow a much more traditional progression in power and options than classic Cthulhu Investigators. But Cypher is a surprisingly flexible tool, and can easily be dialed up to handle four color superheroes or dialed down to portray normal men and women pitted against the titanic, unknowable powers of the Mythos. In this article, we hope to show you how.

GETTING THE GENRE RIGHT

The Cypher System system rulebook includes five chapters on adapting the game to portray different genres; Fantasy, Science Fiction, Modern, Horror, and Superheroes. Expanded Worlds builds on these by introducing seven "Fantastical" and "Gritty" sub-genres. None of these, however, is actually right. 

First published in 1981, Call of Cthulhu billed itself as "Fantasy Role-Playing in the Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft." Later editions would change that to "Horror Roleplaying." Given that Lovecraft's work frequently dealt with alien races or scientific experiments gone wrong, a case might even be made for "Science Fiction Roleplaying." So which exactly is it? If we look to Lovecraft himself, he would have defined his fiction as Weird.

To get a handle on what Weird fiction is, let's look at a few different voices in the genre. First, James Raggi, the author of Weird Fantasy Roleplaying, distinguishes between the Horror and Weird genres in this way;

The main thing that separates a Weird Tale from a conventional horror story is the forces completely out of the control of those who encounter them. A thing that cannot be explained, cannot be defeated, cannot be solved...

Jeff Vandermeer, author of (among many other things) the superb Wonderbook, wrote for The Atlantic;

...the weird tale, or literature of the strange...fascinates by presenting a dark mystery beyond our ken and engaging the subconscious. Just as in real life, things don’t always quite add up, the narrative isn’t quite what we expected...

Both of these place emphasis on inexplicable rather than horrific, If the intent of the Horror story is to scare, the intent of the Weird tale is to instill a sense of having confronted something incomprehensible. Fear is often a byproduct of this, but so is wonder or awe. Lovecraft himself describes this by emphasizing a sense of having left reality behind;

...I believe that weird writing...should be realistic and atmospheric--confining its departure from Nature to the one supernatural channel chosen, and remembering that scene, and phenomena are more important...than are characters or plot. The "punch" of a truly weird tale is simply some violation or transcending of fixed cosmic law--an imaginative escape from palling reality...

So what exactly does this mean for your gaming table? 

First, it suggests that the GM should create a world as realistic and mundane as possible. If everything is Weird, then nothing is. Instead, you want to create a sane and ordered world into which the Weird intrudes from outside, violating sanity and reality when it does. Use the "Modern" setting as your starting point, or better still, the "Historical" setting in Expanded Worlds (most Lovecraftian games are set in the 20s and 30s, though the Victorian Era is another popular choice). 

Second, make sure that all "supernatural" or "paranormal" elements in the setting are in the GM's hands, not the players'. Character Types should all be based on Warriors, Explorers, and Speakers, with no Adepts and no Magic flavor available. It is important for all paranormal elements to be inexplicable, incomprehensible, and beyond mortal control. If player really wants to create a psychic or medium character, have them create a Scholar or Dilettante or Professional instead...but then handle their "paranormal" abilities as GM intrusions rather than powers. The characters are not in control of these extraordinary talents, and cannot reliably call upon them. They never know when a sudden vision or cryptic communication will occur...and when these do, they are probably damaging to the character's psyche (see Mere Mortals below).

Finally, don't feel pressured to define the Weird elements as either "magic" or "science." Don't define it at all! Blur the lines. Clarke's Third Law applies here anyway; any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Are the spells in the dread Necronomicon sorcery, or some advanced mathematical formulas that bend the fabric of time and space? There is no answer to that question--it is beyond mortal ken. 

MERE MORTALS

Call of Cthulhu differs in feel and motivation from other roleplaying games. in many such games, player characters can directly confront and attempt to destroy obstacles and opponents. This strategy typically leads to disaster in Cthulhu scenarios. The majority of the other-world monstrosities are so terrible and often so invulnerable that chasing open combat almost guarantees a gruesome end for an investigator. Even the merest glimpse of some of the more macabre horrors can send one screaming into insanity...

Call of Cthulhu, 6th Edition

While they are capable of great heroism, and even on occasion do manage to drive the horrors of the Mythos back (see The Dunwich Horror), Lovecraft's protagonists are all mere mortals. These are not action heroes or supermen. To get the genre right, and to raise the stakes, the player characters need to be considerable more vulnerable than the average Cypher System character. Physical combat must be deadly, and encountering the alien, incomprehensible forces of the Mythos must be damaging to the psyche.

To simulate this, the optional "Shock" and "Madness" rules in the Horror setting chapter are a good start, and every Lovecraftian game should include them. When a character encounters something Weird or horrific, he or she needs to make an Intellect defense roll, the level of which provides both the Difficulty AND the Intellect damage suffered if the roll is failed. For example, when the intrepid cub Reporter sees a chair move across the floor of a haunted house, he makes a Difficult 4 (12 or better) roll, and if he fails, he loses 4 INT points from his pool. Failure also results in shock; for one round the character panics, freezes, or flees.

Encountering Weird entities--alien races and horrors--triggers the same response. Seeing a Deep One (a level 4 creature) requires a level 4 (12 or better) roll and inflicts 4 INT points of damage. However the gods and Great Old Ones of the Mythos are infinitely worse. Beholding Yog Sothoth or Great Cthulhu is a mind-shattering event. These beings inflict at least three times their level in INT damage. Watching Shub Niggurath manifest in this dimension, might require a Difficult 9 (27) Intellect defense roll, with failure causing the lost of 27 points from the INT pool!

While the optional "Madness" rules model the slow and steady slide into insanity common in long term Mythos games, true Lovecraftian gaming needs even more "punch" in the sanity department. In Lovcraftian games, if any character suffers an INT loss larger than their maximum value, he or she must make a second Intellect defense roll (against the last Difficulty) or go permanently insane on the spot.  For example, our cub Reporter has an Intellect of 16. Seeing Shub Niggurath manifest, he fails his Level 9 (27) defense roll and loses 27 Intellect points...far more than his maximum number (16). He now must immediately make a second Level 9 roll or go permanently insane. 

Another option you may want to consider is to take away the damage track.

If a character's Speed pool is depleted, he or she is paralyzed. If his or her Intellect pool reaches zero, he or she is stunned and helpless. And if the Might pool is emptied, the character is unconscious and at the mercy of the opposition. This will definitely make players think twice about entering combat, and much better reflects the grittiness of the genre. GMs should seriously consider using the "Lasting" and "Permanent" damage rules as well.

CYPHERS

It wouldn't be the Cypher System without cyphers, but how do these fit into a Weird game?

To start with, make "Subtle Cyphers" the primary ones in the game. These are the lucky breaks, flashes of inspiration, or extremes of effort characters call upon in their struggles against the Weird and horrific forces of the Mythos. 

Manifest cyphers can be fun as well, but these must take the form of Weird spells, chemicals, or devices and as such should be used VERY sparingly. Further, using a manifest cypher is by definition an encounter with the Weird and thus triggers a Shock test (Difficulty 3 or 4 most commonly).

WAIT...HORROR MODE?

"Horror Mode" (also discussed in the Horror setting chapter) is a good mechanic, but I think the methods discussed above are sufficient for creating the right sense of trepidation and dread. While Horror Mode does ramp up the tension, it also telegraphs ahead that something Weird is coming. Opting not to use it, and emphasizing that the Weird can intrude any time any place without warning, better suits the genre.

   

CYPHER SYSTEM 2D10?

EVEN THOUGH I AM currently running The Dracula Dossier, Monte Cook Game's Cypher System remains my current favorite RPG.  Despite all the things I love about it--the simple "on a scale of 1 to 10" resolution mechanic, the "hands free" approach to game mastering, the experience system, etc--after a lengthy Numenera campaign some of my players had concerns.  Well, perhaps "concerns" is the wrong word, but "complaints" isn't right either.  Let's just say they expressed a preference, and not exactly a new one.  As the perennial GM, I think it is crucial to listen to your players, and since the preferences they expressed exist throughout gaming circles, I thought I would share their feedback and my response to it here.

It's the d20.

Cypher works--as you may already know--by assigning a Difficulty of 1 to 10, with 1 being ridiculously easy and 10 being nearly impossible.  Applying character assets--skills, abilities, equipment, favorable conditions--lowers this Difficulty. The final Difficulty level is then multiplied by 3, giving the number you must roll equal to or higher on a d20.  It works beautifully.  

But...the d20 is a flat roll.  There is no bell curve there.  You have the same chance (5%) of rolling a 1 and triggering a free GM intrusion as you do a 20 and earning a major effect (think fumble and critical if you are an old grognard like me).  Technically you have the same chance of rolling your target number as well.  Imagine the frustration of tackling a massive, Level 6 Difficulty; you apply your skill specialization and drop it two levels to 4, and splurge on a massive three levels of effort to lower that to 1.  All you need to do is beat a 3.  Aaaaaaand then you roll a 1.

Sure, "them's the breaks" in a dice-based system.  It's been an (in)famous aspect of d20 systems for a while (and the source of innumerable D&D memes).  On the other hand I can well appreciate the player frustration of exerting such massive skill and effort to a task and still failing disastrously.  Not only that, but it tends to make games more extreme with disasters and amazing successes cropping up equally often.   

Now you may well see this as a feature rather than a flaw, and to be honest so do I.  I've heard similar complaints over the last thirty years running Call of Cthulhu with Chaosium's equally flat percentile roll, in which far too many detectives miss vital clues and expert scientists botch the most basic analyses.  Heck, that's where Trail of Cthulhu came from.  To my mind Cypher has greatly mitigated the frustrations of the old Basic Roleplaying system with ideas like assets and effort.  But for groups who dislike the flatness of the d20, there are a couple of easy fixes.

1. THE SLIGHTLY TORG SOLUTION

Peering back through the ages to West End Game's TORG, we find one possible solution.  TORG had an experience point/hero point combination called "Possibilities."  While used to advance characters with new skills and higher stats, they could also be spent for in-game goodies.  Like Cypher, TORG used a d20, and one of the things a player could do was spend a Possibility to ensure a roll of 10 or higher.  After spending that point, any roll of 1-9 effectively counted as a 10, while 10 or higher remained the same.

This works just as well for Cypher.  Spend an XP and guarantee a roll of 10 or higher.  This is a perfect solution for more cinematic games, where players usually succeed at the critical moment.  At the same time, experience is experience, and not something players want to spend willy nilly.  

If you really want to go over the top--and this works very well for four-color supers and cinematic secret agents--allow a player to spend two experience points for an automatic 20.

2. THE BASICALLY GURPS ANSWER

Trade in the d20 for 2d10.

This was the way Steve Jackson went with his GURPS, built around 3d6 for all die resolutions.  By making the switch, you are installing a built-in bell curve.  Behold the following graph, shamelessly borrowed Scott Boehmer's excellent discussion on 2d10 in D&D; 

Click me to enlarge

Making this switch, you have roughly the same chance of rolling a 10 or less, about 50% in both cases, but the likelihood of extreme rolls greatly decreases.  The odds of rolling a 1 or a 20 drops from 5% to 1%.  This has the effect of really making a character's assets and effort more important; in the example above, after dropping the Difficulty from 6 to 1 the player has a 1% chance of failing, down from 10%.  In essence, it shines the spotlight on a character's training and determination, reducing the whims of chance and fate.  On the other hand, you are greatly reducing the odds of triggering the special effects and bonuses that come with high rolls.  

       

TURN UP THE DRAMA: THE TORG DRAMA DECK FOR THE CYPHER SYSTEM

90s RPG titan TORG is making a comeback via Kickstarter. While that is great news, that old Drama Deck you've got lying around is already the perfect tool to spice up your Cypher System combats, whether you are Storm Running in the Possibility Wars or playing in any other cinematic setting.  Try it in Numenera to give the game a more "Star Wars" feel, in The Strange to make that game even more TORG-like, or any other Cypher game where you want a Hollywood summer blockbuster feel.  So dig out those decks and read on.

The Basics

This Cypher System rules variation uses the old TORG drama cards to recreate the ebb and flow of action commonly found in adventure stories and films. First, the GM deals a hand of cards to each player character equal to the number of Cyphers the character can bear. The rest of the cards are placed into a pile on the table, aka "the Drama Deck." When cards are discarded they are placed face up into the discard pile to the side of the Drama Deck. When cards are flipped by the GM they are placed in front of the deck in the Action Stack. 

During normal scenes, when the player characters are searching a room, discussing amongst themselves, etc., time passes about the same rate in game as it does in real life. At these times, cards may be played at any time during the scene.

During a scene that involves a chase, combat, or other conflict, action is divided into rounds.

During a scene with rounds, only one card may be played each round. Each round the gamemaster flips a card from the drama deck and places it on the action stack. Even if the action is not combat and is not proceeding in 10-second incriments, the gamemaster might still flip cards to mark the beats and to regulate the amount of action each character performs in a given part of the scene. The cards affect the flow of the action by giving initiative to one side or another, and by introducing additional dramatic elements. The cards have text which explains many of their functions.

Standard Versus Dramatic Scene

The GM sets the tone of a scene depending upon how important the scene is to the story. Ordinary scenes are called standard scenes. In a standard scene, the player characters have the edge; the pace is quick and the action fast. In a dramatic scene, your party is faced with a tough situation or conflict central to the story. The cards are stacked against you -- only clever play, good cards, or luck will save the day. The pace is slower and more intense, as there is more at stake and the odds are greater.

Initiative And Advantage

The card on top of the action stack determines which side of a conflict has initiative and what advantages or disadvantages, if any, the sides have. The deck assumes there are two sides to any conflict: the hero side, consisting of player characters and their allies, and the villain side, which is composed of all of the characters opposed to the heroes. If the action includes true neutrals, those who are simply caught in the way, they are lumped with the heroes for card purposes.

The faction listed on the left half of the encounter line has the initiative. An H stands for hero and V for villain. Any other advantages, disadvantages, or instructions are listed next to the appropriate faction.

A faction can have one of the following advantages: flurry, inspiration, or up. A faction can have one of the following disadvantages: break, confused, fatigue, stymied, or setback. A —- means that no advantage or disadvantage is in effect.

Conflict Line Advantages/Disadvantages

The dramatic text above the conflict line (“They’re on the run!”) is included for flavor, and has no effect on play.

Flurry: Each character gets 2 rounds of action before the other side can react.

Inspiration: Heroes get an instant free recovery roll (d6+Tier) and add these points to any depleted pools.  Villains get their Level back in Health.

Up: All get a free Asset to any and all rolls (in addition to any other Assets), essentially lowering all Difficulties one level that round.

Break: Villains only. Damaged characters who fail to hit will flee.

Confused: No player may activate a card from her pool.

Fatigued: All characters take 3 points of "shock" damage, due to fatigue, stress, or similar depletion.

Setback: Triggers a free GM Intrusion against heroes (no experience points).

Stymied: All Difficulty levels for the characters are raised by one.  For villains, the heroes get a free Asset to resist actions taken against them.

Taunt, Test, Trick, and/or Intimidate: If villain succeeds in a skill use, may remove card(s) from opponent's pool.

Your Hand

The cards dealt into your hand are separate from the rest of the drama deck. Ignore the part of each card with the H and V Conflict Lines; you are interested only in the half  which gives you advantages over your opponents by increasing a skill value or bonus, or by allowing you to “break the rules” in some specific way.  These cards are, essentially, Subtle Cyphers, and replace Cyphers in games using the Drama Deck.  Player characters may play these cards directly from their hand, at any time during any scene. Note to TORG players that this adaptation does not embrace the idea of "card pools," one of the changes made to fuse the Drama Deck with the Subtle Cyphers of standard Cypher System rules.

Approved Actions

During each combat round, there are at least two actions that are designated as “Approved Actions.” If a character succeeds at an approved action, the player draws a card. If a villain succeeds at an approved action (certain conflict lines allow them to initiate approved actions for this purpose), the player affected by the approved action loses a card. Each action can only result in the gain of one card per round, but a character can earn multiple cards if he or she does multiple approved actions. If the conflict line allows “Any” approved action, a character can gain a card for each standard action category (Attack, Defend, Maneuver, Trick, Test, Taunt, Intimidate, Other).

Attack/Defend: These are fairly self explanatory.  Any successful attack or defense against attack earns a card.

Maneuver: The character forgoes any action this round to move into a better position.  This usually will require a Speed roll against the opponent's level.  With a success, the character earns an extra Asset against his or her opponent the next round.

Trick/Test/Taunt/Intimidate: The character outwits, stares down, harangues, or threatens his opponent in lieu of any other action.  Trick can be an Intellect or Speed action that somehow fools or deceives the opponent.  Test of Wills is a steely eyed stare-down (an Intellect action).  Taunt is another Intellect action, but this time designed to enrage the opponent via verbal barrage, rude gestures, etc.  Intimidate can be a Might, Speed, OR Intellect action depending on how the character choses to frighten his opponent.  In all cases, roll the action against the opponent's level, adding in any appropriate Skills or Assets.  Success stymies NPC opponents the next round; player characters, however, lose a card from their hands.      

Dramatic Resolution

The only time two uses from a single card affect the game at the same time is when a card is placed on the action stack during a conflict, and dramatic resolution is also in effect. Use both the upper and middle parts of the card in this case.

In most situations, you will want to resolve an action or Test in a single roll. But there are times when it is desirable for the sake of drama to stretch out the resolution, to introduce tension that is not possible in single roll.

For example, disarming a bomb falls could be done in a single roll. This misses the point, though, of disarming a bomb in a story; if that bomb was a important element in a movie, a considerable amount of screen time could be devoted to defusing it. For this reason, at such moments we prefer to use dramatic resolution.

A dramatic resolution breaks down the use of a single action into four steps, labeled A through D. As GM you decide, preferably in advance, what each step repersents when preforming the task. You also need to define what the difficulty of the action is. Each step of a dramatic  resolution has that difficulty.

In a round a character may only attempt the steps that are listed on the top card of the action stack. To succeed at a dramatic skill resolution, a caracter must succeed at step A,B,C and D in that order. Succeeding at each step requires a die roll.

Bad Things Can Happen

Not only can dramatic actions take time, but things can make a character's life harded along the way. These include Possible Setback, Complication, and Critical Problem. Each of these effects occurs when listed, if the character fails his skill roll for that round.If he susseeds, he does not gain a step, but there is no penalty.

Possible Setback: Failing when a Possible Setback appears causes the character to lose a step. If he had been on step C, something causes the character to slip back to step B: step C must be repeated.

Complication: A Complication makes life more difficult. Failing the die during a Complication round adds 1 Level to the difficulty of all further rolls for this action.

Critical Problem: Failing a die roll during a Critical Problem round is real trouble: now the character must use another skill to accomplish the task, or attack the problem from a new angle ( which would mean starting over from step A). The player is responsible for figuring out the new skill or course of action: if it does not sound convincing, he must try a different task next round.

Losing Cards

Enemy action can actually remove cards from your pool through tricks, tests, and taunts used by the villains. If a villain successfully uses one of these skills on your character, the gamemaster may remove one of the cards from your hand. 

Trading Cards

Players may trade eligible cards with other players on a one-for-one basis, and may make as many trades as they wish, but only with players whose characters are in the same “combat.” So if there is a combat in one room with a vampire, and another combat nearby with a werewolf, the players in each combat can trade with each other, but they can’t trade with people in the other combat. If the one group defeats the vampire, and then joins the fight with the werewolf, they can then start trading with the players already there.

Replenishing You Hand

At the end of each scene, and at the end of each combat that occurs in the middle of a scene, the characters undergo the hand reset. The player is dealt enough cards to replenish his or her hand back up the maximum number.  This happens at the end of combat; in combat, the only way to replenish cards is to attempt approved actions.  

Card Descriptions

There are three types of cards that don't count against your hand total.  Once received, they must be immediately played.  The exception is the Subplot card, which may be immediately discarded rather than played if the player doesn't wish to activate it.  Once played, these cards remain on the table until they are used, or until the end of the adventure. These three types of cards are Alertness cards, Connection cards, and Subplot cards.

Alertness

This card allows a player to notice an otherwise unnoticed fact, clue, etc. It must be played immediately, face up on the table.  The effect of this card usually ends once the card activates. Alertness does not count against your hand total.

Connection

This card allows a player to find another character in the area who can help out in a situation. It is up to the gamemaster to determine who the connection is and what help is available. Again, this Subplot usually ends when the card activates.

Subplots

When a player plays a Subplot card, it immediately goes face-up on the table.  If a player does not want the Subplot to take effect, he or she may discard it. Likewise, a gamemaster may feel a specific Subplot is inappropriate, and order it discarded, giving the character an XP as compensation. If it is appropriate, the character earns one XP at the end of every act in which the Subplot influences the story.  Subplots are, essentially, ongoing intrusions. Subplots end when the adventure ends unless a Campaign card is played.

Campaign: This card can only be played by a character with an active Subplot in effect. It allows the Subplot to influence other adventures beyond the current one.

Martyr: This Subplot allows a character to prepare for his or her death, and at the appropriate moment, sacrifice his or her life to achieve a party goal with automatic success. It is important to remember that the character with this subplot in effect does not have to sacrifice his life, it is simply an option when all else fails. However, if you have this subplot in play and do not use it, you forgo an experience award that session (though experience is still gained by Intrusions).

Mistaken Identity: This Subplot causes a character to make a mistake about another person’s identity.

Nemesis: This Subplot causes a character to acquire a nemesis, who will take special attention to the character.

Romance: This card introduces a romantic element into the story. It does not have to be reciprocated. Some of the more interesting story elements come from having someone having romantic feelings for a person who doesn’t notice what’s going on. 

Suspicion: This Subplot makes a character suspicious of another character’s actions or intentions.

True Identity: As above, but the suspected identity is true. True Identity can also mean that the character discovers something about him or herself. 

Action Cards

These cards replace "Subtle Cyphers."  Thus the character is only allowed to carry as many of them in his hand as his character type allows.

Action: This card acts as an additional Asset to any single roll, making any Level 1 Difficult task automatic.  More than one Action card can be played at once.

Adrenalin, Willpower and Presence: These cards are grouped together because they do the same thing, only for different classes of skills. They allow a character to add an Asset to any tests that round.  Adrenaline modifies Might and Speed tests, Willpower modifies Intellect tests, and Presence modifies Intellect tests for interpersonal uses (persuading, charming, intimidating, etc). Notice the modification lasts for the entire round. 

Coup de Grace: Increases the Damage inflicted by a character by 4 points...the equivalent of a natural 20.  Note this does not effect the actual die roll, it just adds extra damage or allows the character to trigger a Major Effect.  

Possibility Cards (Hero and Drama): The Hero card  replaces a die roll with an automatic result of 10, beating any Difficulty of 3 or less, or any Difficulty that has been lowered to 3 or less.  The Drama card works the same way, but is an automatic natural 20, with all attendant benefits.

Other Cards

Defiance: Grants an Asset to all skills and tests used to defend against 1 specific opponent until the end of the scene.

Escape: This card insures that the group can escape an encounter alive. 

Glory: If played after rolling a natural 20 for a key action during a dramatic scene, automatically grants a 1 XP award to all players.

Haste: Gives an extra action at any time during the round.

Hero Fails: This card cancels one of your successful actions in exchange for 1-3 XP, based on the severity of the failure.  

Idea: This card lets you ask about what course of action your characters should take. You will receive at least one useful idea about the next course of action.

Inspire: Use this card to trigger a free recovery roll (1d6+Tier level). 

Leadership: This card take the cards from your hand and give them to other players. You then draw cards to refill your hand.

Master Plan: You may exchange a Master Plan for the top card of the discard pile. 

Monologue: This card stops hostile actions while you make a dramatic speech. 

Opponent Fails: This card cancels an opponent’s action that was aimed at you. If the opponent aimed at multiple people, only the result against you is canceled.

Rally: This card allows all players in the combat to keep or discard any cards in their hands. Once all players have done so, they each draw until their hand is refilled.

Second Chance: This card lets you retry an action that has been ruled a failure.

Seize Initiative: May keep current card on the action stack for next round or immediately flip a new card onto the stack. 

CYPHER SYSTEM SUPERHEROES: KRYPTONIANS

SUPERHEROES, and especially a character on the level of Superman, are a tall order for any system to replicate.  The following was a bit of test run, seeing how well the Cypher System could handle the Man of Steel.  This version is a bit closer to the New 52 Superman, especially in earlier issues, where he can still be injured and is often battered and bruised.  It also tips its hat to Clark from Smallville.  

Obviously, the Superman we all know would be a Sixth Tier character, with access to all the following powers.  He would have concentrated on Might and Speed, building large pools and three or four points of Edge in each.  I also assumed he bought additional Power Shifts, giving him 5 in Strength and Resilience each (see below).  Rather than present his full stats (I saw him as a Tier 6 Mild-Mannered Reporter Who Hails From Krypton) I have decided to post just his Focus.  It might be useful for players who want a young Kryptonian slowly growing into his powers.

The Tier abilities are drawn from various other Foci around the core rulebook (X-Ray vision from Sees Beyond, Heat vision from Blazes With Radiance, and even Teleportation from the Magic Flavor tweaked into Supersonic flight.  

HAILS FROM KRYPTON

While race is usually best handled as a Descriptor, as the source of all of their powers and what makes them unique, Kryptonians take their race as a Focus. Survivors of the doomed world of Krypton, Kryptonians outwardly appear to be human but are immensely more powerful. Their cells absorb and metabolize solar energy from yellow stars like Earth's sun, giving them powers they wouldn't possess under Krypton's red supergiant, Rao. This, combined with their incredible molecular density, is the source of their abilities on Earth.

Kryptonians apply their 5 Power Shifts (p. 270) to Might-based Strength (3 Shifts) and Resilience (2 Shifts) rolls, giving them base attack damage of 9 and 2 points of natural armor. Additional Shifts can be purchased for either category at a cost of 10 XP each, adding +3 damage or +1 Armor. The presence of the radioactive mineral Kryptonite cancels out these Power Shifts so long as the Kryptonian remains in short distance of it. In addition, being in immediate distance to Kryptonite causes the character to take 5 points of damage per round, first from Might, then from Speed and Intellect.

CONNECTION

1. Pick one PC who knows your secret and believes that you have been sent to the Earth with a great purpose, such as providing an example to the rest of humanity with your actions and deeds. Not living up to these expectations can be greatly disappointing to that character.

2. Pick one PC who suspects your alien origin and is suspicious of you, seeing you as a possible threat to humanity or the scout of an invasion force.

3. Pick one PC that you would do anything to protect, and who you will race to the side of whenever they are in danger or need.

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your amazing actions inspire your allies around you, giving them all a +2 to die rolls the next round.

Major Effect Suggestion: You do something so amazing that bystanders and your opponents are stunned, doing nothing but gaping in awe. If you don't already have it, this gives you and your allies the initiative the next round.

TIER ONE

Man of Steel: In addition to making Might Defense rolls against toxins, diseases, and environmental damage, the Kryptonian can also use his Might in place of a Speed Defense against physical attacks. In effect, instead of dodging an attack, the Kryptonian lets it hit and just shrugs it off. Note that his or her Power Shifts affect the roll. Enabler.

   Rapid Recovery: Your ten-minute recovery roll takes one action instead, so that your first two recovery rolls take one action, the third takes one hour, and the fourth takes ten hours. Enabler.

TIER TWO

X-Ray Vision (3 Intellect Points): The Kryptonian can see through matter as if it were transparent. You can see through up to 6 inches (15 cm) of material for one round, although some materials might be harder to see through than others, and lead blocks this power completely. Action.

TIER THREE

Heat Vision (3 Intellect Points): As an Intellect action, the Kryptonian shoots beam of fiery red light from his eyes at a target within long range. This heat melts and burns, dealing 5 points of damage. Action.

TIER FOUR

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet (4 Speed Points) The Kryptonian moves with blinding speed up to 1,000 feet (305 m) in one round. Action.

   Up to Speed. If you do nothing but move for three actions in a row, the Kryptonian accelerates greatly and can move up to 200 mph (about 2,000 feet each round) for up to ten minutes (about 35 miles), after which he or she must stop and make a recovery roll. (Move up to 322 kph [about 610 m each round] for up to ten minutes [about 56 km].) Enabler.

TIER FIVE

Super-breath (+5 Might Points): The Kryptonian emits a blast of cold from his or her lungs in a wide cone in front of him or her up to short range. This blast instantly freezes water and extinguishes flames. All within the burst take 5 points of damage. If Effort is applied to increase the damage rather than to decrease the difficulty, 2 additional points of damage per level of Effort are dealt (instead of 3 points), and targets in the area take 1 point of damage even if the Kryptonian fails the attack roll. Action.

TIER SIX

Look! Up in the Sky! (4 Speed Points): The Kryptonian can float and fly through the air for one hour. The power is an expansion of Tier Four "Up to Speed." By doing nothing more than move for three rounds, the Kryptonian accelerates to 200 mph (322 kph). Anything he or she can normally carry can be carried while flying.

   Supersonic (6 Speed Points): The Kryptonian launches himself or herself at unearthly speeds, traveling almost instantaneously (mere minutes) to any location that he or she has seen or been to, no matter the distance, as long as it is on the same world

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NUMENERA: JIHAD, "THE CROSSROADS"

EVERY STORY BENEFITS from twists and turns.  They are what keep us tuned in, turning pages, or--in table top gaming--turning up.  I have been trying to run Jihad in the style of television programmes like Buffy, Babylon V, or more recently Doctor Who, shows that contain distinct stories each week but in addition link into longer arcs.  Obviously, inside the stories themselves there are plot twists to keep the audience on its toes, but you also need a few in the larger arc to keep that interesting too.  Crossroads follows hard on the heels of just such a twist.  The Amber Pope prophesied the rise of a terrible threat in the north at the start of the first session.  Six more sessions in, it turns out the players themselves are responsible for releasing it.  

Now, the thing that is unique about table-top gaming is that the characters are people with minds and wills of their own.  The argument can be made--and I have often made it--that this holds true of characters in any tale.  In my experience at least, characters are feisty little buggers that happily rebel when the author foolishly tries to make them do what they think they wouldn't or shouldn't.  But in gaming, the characters are sitting right there staring at you instead of whispering in your head.  The good gamemaster (and no, I am not qualifying that with an "in my opinion") understands that everyone at the table is co-authoring the tale, and needs to let them cut their own path through the jungle.  Nobody likes railroading, the primary characteristic of the weaker GM.

So after having the equivalent of a narrative atomic bomb blow up in their faces, it was time to pull way back and turn over a session to them in which they could digest the twist in the narrative arc and figure out how to respond.  As all GMs know, this can be tricky...because the players are expecting a story as well.

Crossroads kicks off with one of my favourite GMing dirty tricks.  Since the party was split the last session, and because we were introducing a new character, I had two parallel threads  to bring back together.  So we start with Myrna, our Graceful Jack Who Fights With Panache, coming to from unconsciousness in a make-shift cell.  She is a prisoner of the Angulan Knights, along with a frightened twelve-year old girl from one of the local tribes, and a pale, red-eyed stranger.  She has no idea how she got there; the last thing she remembers was going into the Box that housed Bilu-sha-ziri. As her player couldn't make the last session, I used an intrusion here to put her in the cell and explain her absence.

And the dirty trick?  To keep the three other players engaged while their characters were off somewhere else, I put them in the roles of an Angulan Knight, her Knight Commander, and the Aeon Priest chaplain assigned to them.

In Jihad the Knights Angulan take the place of the Knights Templar.  Though they follow the Truth taught by the Aeon Priests, they are a separate order altogether.  The Papacy teaches the eventually re-ascension of Man; the Knights Angulan go a step further and claim that cannot happen so long as the race is "impure."  They are mutant hunters, abhuman killers, and ISIS-like zealots.  Historically, they have uneven relations with the Order of Truth, but with the Amber Pope's declaration of the Gaian Crusade, an agreement has been reached.  The Knights have put their considerable military muscle at the Order's disposal, in return for the Papacy's sanction allowing them to freely hunt the impure throughout the Steadfast.

Myrna, thanks to an artefact in her possession, has a mutation.  So apparently do the two other prisoners.  When she comes to in her cell, it is just hours before the Knights launch their assault on the Scorpion Sanctum.  The very first scene puts her in an uncomfortable position.  Two of the guards, not Knights themselves but mercenaries employed by them, decide that while the Knights are readying for the assault they have time to have a bit of fun with the prisoners. They decide the little girl is easier pickings.  But Myrna is having none of it.  Despite being injured and unarmed, she lays into the pair as they enter the cell she shares with the girl.  Deftly lifting a dagger from one's belt to slit his throat and then using his dropped sword to run the other one through.  

She fights with panache, remember?  It didn't hurt that her player got lucky with rolling a pair of 20s.

Lifting the keys from the fallen guards, she releases the third prisoner and a new protagonist; Hanna, an Exiled Glaive Who Siphons Power.  Hanna hails from the Beyond, and his mutation makes him an energy vampire, draining power from both numenera and living things.  Naturally, he doesn't disclose this up front.

The trio decide that discretion is the better part of valour, and led by the tribal girl, slip from the camp into the wastes.  Mid-escape, they are spotted by the Aeon Priest chaplain...but as a quiet sign that the alliance between the Order and the Knights is not entirely a  harmonious one, he turns a blind eye to their escape.

Now we shift scenes.  Several hours later, Lugar of the Marked Name (our Wasteland Glaive Who Knows Too Much), Karasht (our Charming Nano Who Works Miracles), and Beatrix (our Impulsive Jack Who Fuses Flesh And Steel), have just escaped Bilu-sha-ziri's extra dimensional prison, allowing him to escape as well.  They emerge in the midst of the Knights Angulan laying waste to the Scorpion Sanctum around them.  Bilu-sha-ziri effortlessly destroys the Knights before flying north, leaving his three "rescuers" to pick the cypher and artefact rich corpses of the fallen Knights.  Since they are on the edge of the Cloudcrystal Skyfields, in the lands of Lugar's own people--the Sha'sara--they decide to seek them out for help in escaping the wastelands.

THE SHA'SARA (A Wasteland Culture)

A nomadic people who roam the Fallen Fields and the foothills of the Black Riage, the Sha'sara survive by herding flocks of yols (see "Livestock," p. 12 of The Ninth World Bestiary) and gathering desert plants like the uwama.  They are not above supplementing their diet and supplies by raiding settlements along the wastes.  Matriarchal, men are considered too temperamental and emotional to lead, and instead serve the women as warriors and labourers.  Sha'sara women--either through mutation or contact with some numenera in the distant past--possess the ability to decide whether or not they wish to conceive, giving them ultimate power over the continuance of the tribe.  They are thus polyandrous, and wealthier matriarchs may have up to half a dozen husbands.

The Sha'sara do not follow the Truth, though they can speak Tru, the lower form of the language associated with it.  Instead, they worship the crystals of the Skyfields themselves, which they believe house the spirits of ancestors as well as the yet-to-be-born.  Their shamanesses, the Listeners, interpret the resonances of the crystals to predict future events.  The only men who hold spiritual positions are the half-insane Vajra-Ajari, who are regarded with cautious fear.  

The Sha'sara are easily recognised by their ochre colour robes, and the eerie phosphorescent body paint their employ drawn from uwama berries.  These intricate designs mark tribe, clan, and status. 

Lugar leads his friends across the wastes following Sha'sara trail markers, and by nightfall they make the encampment.  We discover Lugar's mother is actually the wealthiest and most influential of the tribe's matriarchs, but not particularly pleased to see him.  We also discover that Myrna and Hanna are here as well, since the little girl they rescued was Sha'sara as well.  Reunited, they catch up on all that has happened and consider where to go from here.

And this is where player agency comes in, and as a GM you need to be flexible.  Having designed a campaign in which a massive, epic crusade is slowly brewing, the group decided they want none of it.  Their plan is to find a pass across the Black Riage and strike out into the Beyond, as far away from the shifting politics of the Steadfast as they can get.  Putting distance between themselves and the fallen god they just released made sense to them as well.  The group's response to the plot twist was to escape it.

To that end they ask the tribe for help.  They need provisions and a good pass across the mountains.  But the Sha'sara have a price.  

Some of their men, on a raiding party, have been taken by the goatish abhumans known as Margr (p. 244 of Numenera).  Brutal and frightening prolific, I decided to borrow a page from my favourite Gloranthan monster, the Broo.  In Jihad there are no female Margr, and the males reproduce by rape.  They can rape any animal, male or female, and their hideous seed steals DNA from the host organism to create one to five hybrids.  Female victims have, on occasion, survived Margr birth.  Male victims never do, torn open from inside as their offspring wriggle out.  The Sha'sara want their men back.

The Margr, who like Games Workshop's Chaos Beastmen owe their inspiration to RuneQuest's horrifying Broo

The party then tracks the Margr to their nest, and engages them in battle.  Karasht, meanwhile, uses his Alleviate power to "cure" the impregnated male victims in a grotesque scene that liquifies the offspring and expels them as a stinking black goo.  Their end of the bargain upheld, they lead the male Sha'sara back to the tribe.

Next time...they cross the mountains.