If you’re just a player, everything you need is in the Cypher Character Rulebook. That’s why there’s a pledge level for just that title. If you’re a GM, you need both Cypher Character Rulebook and Cypher GM’s Guide. That’s why this is the core offering of the campaign, and why we’re making a slipcase set for them. So, every game table will need both books. You may want additional copies of the Cypher Character Rulebook so you don’t have to pass the GM’s copy around (and there’s a great add-on that gives you four additional copies and a rockin’ discount!).

The Cypher Character Rulebook and Cypher GM’s Guide are new books from the ground up.

Backers at the ALL-IN pledge levels get early access to the text content of the Cypher Character Rulebook and Cypher GM’s Guide. This will consist of text documents for those books. We’ll deliver them as soon as the text is complete and presentable (meaning through the early stages of editing, but not necessarily proofed or finalized). We expect to deliver these documents within a few months of the campaign closing—by the end of 2025. Although these drafts will not be formatted or laid out, they’ll have all the information you need to play the new edition of Cypher.

As a thank-you to you, our backers, we’re going to give your copies of the corebooks some premium features that won’t be available to future purchasers. The content won’t be any different, but we’ve already unlocked a foil cover treatment, and deluxe features like bound-in satin bookmarks, page-edge gilding, and so on may be added as the campaign progresses.

Absolutely! We’ll provide guidelines when the new edition is available.

Most content in the many existing Cypher System products is compatible with the new edition of Cypher. Here’s a breakdown: The central mechanic for resolving tasks isn’t changing. If, for example, disarming a trap in an existing adventure is a difficulty 4 task, it’s still a difficulty 4 task, and it works the same way, in the new Cypher. Anything with a level (and, in both editions, that’s everything) resolves the same way. You can use any of the existing 1700+ creatures that appear in Cypher System products by making a simple change to the damage it inflicts. The instruction is a single sentence, and takes a mere second or two to implement. Creatures are the primary mechanical element of most adventures and campaign settings. So if you can make the small damage adjustment to creatures encountered, you can use any adventure or campaign settings as written! Existing cyphers, artifacts, and other items are generally compatible with the new Cypher (because their effects are generally tied to their level), but you may find similar options in the new edition that are easier to use (due to streamlined duration rules and similar changes). Most character options won’t work well with characters created in the new edition.

While Monte, Sean, and Bruce are just about done with design work for the new edition of Cypher, not every detail is final, and we’re not ready to share chunks of the game piecemeal. The most complete source of info is the Cypher Preview, which you can download from the WHAT IS CYPHER? or ALREADY A CYPHER FAN? sections of the campaign page. Beyond that, we can’t answer individual questions about the rules. Well, sorta. . . . Monte and the design team will be holding AMAs over the course of this campaign. Watch our updates for details on where and when. It might not be the right time to answer every question you have about how the rules work, but you can ask, and maybe there’s more info they’re ready to share. Looking forward, the best way to get a good look at the rules is through the ALL-IN pledge levels, which include early access. Backers with early access will get their hands on the text for the new corebooks within just a few months—we anticipate delivering that reward by the end of the year.

The Cypher Bestiary is a reissue of the existing Cypher System Bestiary. It contains the same creatures, the same art, and essentially the same text. Creatures from the existing Cypher System Bestiary (as from all Cypher System sources) can be used with the new edition of Cypher by making a simple conversion to one element in their stat block—the amount of damage they inflict. The instruction is a single sentence, and takes a mere second or two to implement. If you have the Cypher System Bestiary already, you don’t need the new one. So why reissue it? Because bestiaries are often seen as the “third corebook,” and many people (including us) might want one that matches the new Cypher Books in look and feel. (Especially since the backer version is upgraded with premium features.) So that’s what we’re providing—and as long as we’re doing it, we’re tweaking those stat blocks too, so you won’t have to.

Cyphers are getting an overhaul. Things like level and duration are becoming more consistent and easier to manage, and the nature of effects between standard (or “subtle”) and manifest cyphers is better focused. All of the cyphers in the cypher decks are redesigned to these standards. Many have effects that overlap or even duplicate the effects of cyphers in the current edition, but they’re all new in the sense that they’re redesigned. Mechanically, existing cyphers, like most things, work just fine in the new edition. You can use cyphers from your current products, but their use won’t be as smooth and consistent as cyphers built for the new edition.

The existing PDFs offered as a free bonus at each pledge level are just that: A bonus. A gift to you for your support in making the new edition of Cypher a reality. A freebee. The cost of these items isn’t factored into the price of your pledge—they’re literally a free extra. If you’re a past backer, or you’ve purchased these titles in the past—thanks! You’ve helped keep us in business, and your support of Cypher has brought us to where we are now! We hope you’ve enjoyed them. Please remember that even if you’re missing one single title (out of the nearly 30 we’re offering), you’re getting something extra for free. And if you have every single title, well, again—thanks! But we can’t replace this offer with anything else. THAT SAID: If you’d like to gift your free PDFs to another gamer who might love to discover or explore Cypher, we’ll facilitate that. You’ll be able to give the CSR, or any or all of the three collections, to a friend. You’ll tell us your friend’s email address in the pledge manager, and we’l deliver the PDFs to them instead of to you. There’s no practical way to do this on a title-by-title basis. For each collection (the CSR, the Adventures Library, the Settings Library, and the Genres Library) you’ll decide whether the PDFs go to you or someone else instead. Gifted PDFs will be delivered via the MCG Shop or DriveThruRPG (your friend can choose either one), but they won’t be downloadable directly via BackerKit.

At this point, we only have the resources to support Roll20 and Alchemy. We're looking into even more options, however, including Foundry, and maybe it's something we can explore through this campaign.

Yep! The stickers are a bonus reward for every single backer, no matter what level they pledge for. The stickers are a physical item, so at the time of fulfillment you'll have to pay for shipping. Some PDF-only backers don't want any physical rewards, or don't want to pay for any shipping. If that's you, no problem. Simply don't redeem this reward when it becomes available. We won't ship it to you, and you won't pay any shipping.

No, only one person (typically the GM) needs VTT access. Once you’re set up with Cypher on Roll20 or Alchemy, you can invite your players to join your game. Or games, for that matter—you can run as many Cypher campaigns or adventures as you like! Your players might not have access to all of the features for running Cypher, but they’ll have all they need to play.

Unfortunately, that’s a glitch in BackerKit’s system. There’s only the one pin; you receive it by meeting either (or both) criteria: signing up and/or backing early.

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