Colonial space marines against Gigeresque horrors? Silver Age heroes defending the weak against megalomaniacal supervillians—or megalomaniacal supervillians seeking world domination? The Old West? An underwater colony on a faraway moon? Cthulhoid horrors by gaslight?
Name your campaign, and the Cypher System will give you a game that supports your vision. Build worlds, and know that the Cypher System will support them, bending easily to your will and always remaining easy to run and prep for. Your players will stay focused on the setting, story, and details you want to give them, and you’ll find your mind freed from the burden of game technicalities and able to focus on creative adventures, encounters, NPCs, and events.
Character generation isn’t just flexible, it’s completely customizable. Types can be easily “flavored” to tailor them to a specific genre. Flavor the adept with magic, and you get a character that feels distinctly different from one flavored with technology. Foci and descriptors are tagged for different genres. “Is Idolized by Millions” is a great descriptor for modern and science-fiction settings, but the fantasy list has descriptors like “Bears a Halo of Fire” and “Hunts Outcasts.” Some descriptors, like “Commands Mental Powers,” might be easily at home in many different settings. (Our lists are just suggestions, of course. If “Is Idolized by Millions” happens to make sense in your fantasy campaign, there’s no reason you can’t use it!)
The Cypher System Rulebook has specific sections for the nine different genres, including fantasy, superhero, horror, science-fiction, modern, post-apocalyptic, and more. You’ll find additional rules, great GMing advice, equipment, artifacts, racial descriptions, and more for each genre. And special rules for insight, vehicular combat, crafting, and a host of other optional systems can be applied as you see fit.
So launch that steampunk horror campaign! Delve into the setting of your favorite science-fiction novels, or build a classic medieval fantasy campaign! The Cypher System is ready for it!
