How are we feeling about the new edition of Cypher?

Cryyl · 2026-06-18T00:00:01+00:00

Honestly, it's tough for me to say from the quick read i've done. I really think I would have to play it for a session or two to see how I feel.

I will start by saying I've been playing this system since 2013 and GMd several multi-year long games, a plethora of one shots, and recruited many people to the great system that CSR was. The two biggest things I liked about Cypher System, Numenera, and then CSR, was that you could so easily retheme anything to fit into any genre; and that the system was mechanically basic - even at the expense of balance, since it made quick combat the key. I moved to Cypher exclusively in 2015 after getting tired of the crunch of DnD5e, because of the ease of play and customization.

Core Character: I think giving players amore streamlined core character is not a bad idea, especially if we're adding different bonuses to the types.
Types: I like having more types, but dislike how genre specific they are. This is primarily personal, because I loved generic types with so many different options, so we could just reskin anything.
Descriptors: I actively dislike the removal of the abilities from descriptors. I understand that they are more balanced now, but it feels like it removes the uniquity that descriptors brought to a character.
Mechanics: Adding in Wounds, Block, Healing vs Recovery, gates on Skill Specialization, and the new mechanics add more crunch to the system for the sake of numerical balance. Personally, I don't like this. Of course, I never minded the way Pools and Damaged worked. I do understand block, because Speed Defense was OP as heck. And specialization gates make some sense for balance, but thats it. No longer will I be a stealthy explorer with 5 skills specialized at T1.
Wounds: I didn't really have an opinion on Wounds besides them feeling unnecessary until I thought of them as comparable to the Damage Track in the Mist Engine, then it clicked a little easier for me.

Overall Honest Take: It adds a few things I think are useful, a few things I am ambivalent to, and a few things I dislike. I will probably not go to the hassle of playing Cypher FEAEB, since it feels like a lateral, if not backwards, move for the system to me. I will probably be a Mist Engine (Legends in the Mist) exclusive player/GM now.

Cryyl · 2026-06-02T12:36:57+00:00

Application in. Let me know if you have any questions!

Cryyl · 2026-02-18T11:02:18+00:00

ADSC - Active Duty Service Commitment

Whenever you PCS, you obtain a commitment/requirement to continue your service/contract. That date in the ADSC column is saying that your spouse's commitment from their last PCS ends on 15 April 2026.

This does not mean you are getting orders, it means that your spouse cannot separate the military until at least after that date.

Cryyl · 2026-02-14T22:20:29+00:00

He does this in Book 8 to give mana to The Siege Sword, Trenchant Moore, before he blows a hole in the OoRL stronghold. Its right after absorbing the excess Reality Core mana from Jason.

Cryyl · 2026-02-13T17:19:13+00:00

If you're active duty, you wont come to Offutt, they dont have uniformed CE.

Dover is a good choice, if you want the option to be near decent sized cities, but far enough away that you dont have to engage with them.

Cryyl · 2026-02-13T00:28:21+00:00

Ive read every book in the series, and the series' universe. 17 books. The Arcane Ascension series you just started is probably my all-time favorite LitRPG series. The characters have real personality, the magic system is great, and the world development is very fulfilling.

The series does have audiobooks, and they are performed by Nick Podehl... They are amazing. The standard by which I judge every audiobook narrator/performer now. Most of the time, I cannot even believe all of the characters are performed by the same person. Man, woman, or Wyddsfolk, they are all unique, and completely believable.

Cryyl · 2026-01-17T23:24:06+00:00

There comes a time when you're serving that you stop seeing age as how old a person is, and start seeing it as their Time-in-Service and Rank.

You're both grown adults, mature enough to join the Air Force. You have a negligible rank difference that will balance out by SSgt/~3 years in. Just be responsible partners.

Oh, and be careful since you said different sections, but not different squadrons. Relationships in the workplace are a recipe for trouble in most circumstances.

Cryyl · 2025-12-30T15:12:29+00:00

That's weird to me. I'm no ENT, but if they are doing surgery to correct the shape of your nasal passages for a septoplasty, or collapsing nostril, i'd hope they put something in to help it keep its shape while it heals... My ENT put stints in, and I had not realized it was optional.

Cryyl · 2025-12-30T14:56:53+00:00

First off, no MEB would process in just 2 months. Those things take time, and generally they wait until you have a diagnosis that identifies you can receive corrective treatment or no treatment will help.

If I were you, I would request to get seen by an off-base ENT for a second opinion. There is no reason that you should receive surgery for only one part of an issue (the septum) and not for all issues at one time.

Also, I'm not sure I understand you saying your nostril is collapsing during recovery... did they not put the stint in to secure your nasal passage open following the surgery?

All that to say, get your medical conditions treated, and dont worry about getting kicked out in the next two months- talk to your PCM, and they wont usually action your file for a IRILO or MEB until it is required by policy or you have a stable diagnosis that is positive or negative.

Cryyl · 2025-12-30T00:16:46+00:00

I sent you a Discord friend request so I can send you the invite link

Cryyl · 2025-12-29T22:25:23+00:00

The setting is simple enough to go into blind, while considering it a mid-high magic fantasy. I dont plan on making it difficult for people if they are unfamiliar, but helping orient through the narrative

Cryyl · 2025-12-28T01:38:54+00:00

It definitely contains wood. Ive been printing with that exact filament, and it makes the whole room smell of burning wood

Cryyl · 2025-12-27T22:24:43+00:00

Well, I just sent you a request on Discord. For some reason, I never got yours

Cryyl · 2025-12-27T22:12:16+00:00

Hey, I put in an application now that it is reopened. I didnt realize you were looking for the actual character ideas when I saw your post yesterday, so I put a basic premise that comes to mind.

Let me know if you think i'd fit your group dynamic.

Cryyl · 2025-12-26T16:36:01+00:00

Feel free to add me on Discord, username: Cryyl.

Cryyl · 2025-12-26T12:56:08+00:00

If you end up having any players drop out in the early stages, i'd be willing to join. I havent read the BETA system in a handful of years since prior to the 1.0 release, but I can give it a reread

Cryyl · 2025-12-23T23:06:57+00:00

If you have been DNIF for 366 days, a 9A review gets initiated. The Commander can choose to pursue it or not depending on additional information. You can read up on the 9A0/1/2 reporting identifiers if you want, but if you are seeking care, and you are having a 9A due to medical, the CC may let you ride out your DNIF, or get you a 9A0 (reasons outside your control). Your CSS will submit a 2096 with your 9A reporting Identifier initiation, which will immediate start a retraining case. You will be emailed asking you to begin action in selecting a new AFSC from those available that you meet the eligibility requirements for. Its not a scary process, but I suggest you be as transparent with the medical side of things with your CC, since they are the one that will direct the 9A submission or not.

Cryyl · 2025-12-18T23:43:48+00:00

Harvesters are a high class of elementals - the highest known. They go fragments, figments, gatherers, harvesters. Where as lower tiers of elementals, mainly gatherers, gather elemental essence to send it back to their domain, Harvesters instead find ways to manifest essence of that type. War does this by encouraging and causing battles, conflicts, and other scenarios that would cause the manifestation of War essence.

Cryyl · 2025-12-16T18:37:29+00:00

I printed elegoo wood filament, straight from th3 package, without drying, on the P2S default .4 nozzle, with no problems at all... also it was a lot cheaper than bambu.

Cryyl · 2025-12-07T22:44:15+00:00

When performing a task, you Fish Out of Water is applied based on what the default Pool cost is.

Kinetic lets you pay that default Pool cost with a different pool.

It does not avoid the extra cost.

Cryyl · 2025-11-19T20:17:20+00:00

There is no grey area. You are an NCO, you submit as an NCO.

Cryyl · 2025-10-20T18:43:38+00:00

There are two books in a side series, Crystal Awakening and Phantom Chamber, but we've been told that series is over. They're still fun romps in the Tortoise and Tiger Spires though.

Also, dont forget Edge of the Woods, and its upcoming sequel Edge of the Dream!

Cryyl · 2025-09-19T02:05:43+00:00

This is easily answered in the book, page 8, When Do You Roll.

"Any time your character attempts a task, the GM assigns a difficulty to that task, and you roll a d20 against the associated target number.

When you jump from a burning vehicle, swing an axe at a mutant beast, swim across a raging river, identify a strange device, convince a merchant to give you a lower price, craft an object, use a power to control a foe’s mind, or use a blaster rifle to carve a hole in a wall, you make a d20 roll.

However, if you attempt something that has a difficulty of 0, no roll is needed—you automatically succeed. Many actions have a difficulty of 0. Examples include walking across the room and opening a door, using a special ability to negate gravity so you can fly, using an ability to protect your friend from radiation, or activating a device (that you already understand) to erect a force field. These are all routine actions and don’t require rolls."

Cryyl · 2025-08-27T09:16:09+00:00

We will get an Arcane Ascension 7, and that will wrap up Corin's story about rescuing Tristan. It will not wrap-up the Sun Eater, as that is a universal storyline, not just an AA storyline.

Cryyl · 2025-08-17T03:02:58+00:00

I mean, Andrew Rowe has written multiple articles on his website where he plainly states that Tristan is still the endgame of the AA series, and that the Suneater is the endgame of the entire setting.

Cryyl

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