This summer I have an opportunity to get away for a weekend with four friends and run an extended series of a mini-campaign. Some of the features we’re looking for in this campaign are:

  • It will be an epic fantasy story.
  • We are focusing on a serious narrative. We do not want it to be slapstick.
  • We’ll run 4 sessions, with the last one probably being shorter than the rest. This is important for my planning.
  • After some discussion, I’ve decided to be GM and we’re going to use the Cypher system. I’ve never used it, but one of my players has been GM for Numenera and the other has been a player in it.

Here I’m collecting my thoughts on how to introduce the game to my players. I hope to also run a one-shot using the same setup with my family before the weekend outing.

Start with the Narrative

  • People are not excited about mechanics. They are excited about the game they’re going to play.
  • Explanation of the basic setting. See the notes in Introduction to Essirene.
  • This is a narrative focused game. We may have some times where there will be combat but the goal is to be heavy in the role playing.
  • Cypher is great for keeping things flowing. It has a few simple mechanics that make for some fun experiences.
  • There are lots of single use magic items!

Characters

  • Ask what kinds of characters they would enjoy playing in general.
  • Talk about the types of characters this setting will have.
    • Everyone has a species, a type (similar to a class), a descriptor, and a focus.

Species

  • Your species can be Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, or Half-Orc. If you want to play something more exotic or a mix between two species, talk to me about it.
  • Species is not part of Cypher’s core system but is something I’m using for this campaign.
  • In Cypher terms, we’re treating these as being a second descriptor .
  • See more in Fantasy Species in Essirene.

Type

Your type describes what you’re best at. These map somewhat to the classes in D&D. The types we have available in this campaign are:

  • Warrior
  • Knight
  • Ranger
  • Barbarian
  • Thief
  • Wizard
  • Cleric
  • Druid
  • Warrior Mage
  • Bard

Descriptor

Your descriptor is a very short description of what your character’s personality is like. The available descriptors for this campaign are:

  • Appealing, Beneficent, Brash, Calm, Chaotic, Charming
  • Clever, Creative, Doomed, Exiled, Fast, Foolish
  • Graceful, Guarded, Hardy, Honorable, Impulsive, Inquisitive
  • Intelligent, Intuitive, Jovial, Kind, Learned, Lucky
  • Mysterious, Mystical, Perceptive, Resilient, Risk-Taking, Rugged
  • Sharp-Eyed, Stealthy, Strong, Strong-Willed, Swift, Tough

Focus

Your focus is what you are best known for doing, being, or having. Available foci for this campaign are:

  • Bears a Halo of Fire, Blazes With Radiance, Brandishes an Exotic Shield
  • Channels Divine Blessings, Commands Mental Powers, Controls Beasts
  • Crafts Illusions, Crafts Unique Objects, Defends the Weak
  • Entertains, Explores Dark Places, Fights Dirty
  • Fights With Panache, Grows to Towering Heights, Helps Their Friends
  • Is Idolized by Millions, Is Wanted by the Law, Keeps a Magic Ally
  • Lives in the Wilderness, Looks for Trouble, Masters Defense
  • Masters Spells, Masters the Swarm, Masters Weaponry
  • Metes Out Justice, Moves Like a Cat, Needs No Weapon
  • Never Says Die, Rages, Scavenges
  • Slays Monsters, Speaks for the Land, Stands Like a Bastion
  • Throws With Deadly Accuracy, Thunders, Wears a Sheen of Ice
  • Wields Two Weapons at Once, Works for a Living, Would Rather Be Reading

Experience Points

Experience points in this game are not the same as in games like D&D where they accumulate. Here, XP is the currency of the game and they are meant to be earned and spent. You gain XP by having experiences - either by difficulties arising in the normal course of the game or by discovery. When you discover something new and important in this world, you gain experience points.

You can spend experience points in two ways: either to expand your character’s abilities or to change the narrative. You can do this in the form of intrusions, where you force a change of events such as an ally showing up at the perfect opportunity. In this case you would spend some of your XP currency to modify the narrative to your liking.

Might, Speed, and Intellect

There are only three stats for your character: Might, Speed, and Intellect. Everything you do that requires a dice roll will fall into one of these 3 categories. When it comes to your character there are two numbers relevant to each stat.

  • Pool: This is a measure of your endurance in that area. How many times in a day can I push myself in Might based tasks or Intellect based challenges?
  • Edge: How good you are at that area. This cuts into how much it costs to do an action.

You’ll have some number of pool in each of these. Suppose you have a Speed pool of 13 and edge of 2. You come up to some task, such as doing some kick butt parkour move between two narrow buildings. You want to make it easier so you’re going to apply some effort to doing this task, which would cost 3 points from your Speed pool. However your Edge of 2 means it will only cost 1 point from your speed pool.

You can replenish points in your pools 3 times a day by taking rests.

Abilities

You have many abilities that come with your character’s type and Tier. They’re meant to be fun. The names give a good indicator of what each one does, but feel free to ask any questions you have.

Spells

In this campaign we are using the optional spell rule. This means everyone can learn a low tier spell as part of their character advancement.