As the Cypher corebooks finish the final stages of development and move into the production phase, the design team wanted to share some insights into the new Cypher—and, as a backer of this campaign, we're giving you an advanced look. (This series of articles will go up on our website, but not until we're much closer to the release of the new Cypher.) It's a small way of saying thank you to everyone involved in this campaign.

Later this year we’re releasing the new version of Cypher that you crowdfunded in 2025. The two game editions are very compatible, but there are a few changes to the rules that will have an impact on characters, creatures, and cyphers. This article is the first in a six-part series about how you can start incorporating some of these changes into the Cypher System game you’re playing right now!

Playing by the existing Cypher System rules, you’ve probably been in a situation where you roll on a task, the roll is pretty low, and then you realize you have a subtle cypher that would have eased the roll. In most cases (especially as it takes an action to activate a cypher), the cypher couldn’t help with that roll. But not anymore!

First, subtle cyphers (which, in the new Cypher, will just be called "cyphers") are becoming what we call instant effects—activating one isn’t an action. That means if you have a skill boost cypher that eases your next two Speed defense tasks by three steps, you can trigger it even when it’s not your turn, like when something is attacking you unexpectedly.

Second, most subtle cyphers that ease skill rolls can be used either before or after you roll. This means that if you roll and don’t like the number you got, you can activate the cypher and affect the roll—no more worrying that you forgot a bonus that could have helped you! You still have to decide to use the cypher before the GM tells you if you succeed or fail at the task, but it’s a nice advantage if you think you fell short by just a little bit.

Cyphers are an important option for players—that’s why we named the game after them! In the new version of the game, we wanted to make subtle cyphers extra useful, so you can take advantage of their benefits instead of saving them and missing an opportunity where they would have helped you. Also, because (unlike your type or focus abilities) your roster of subtle cyphers changes from session to session, you might forget you have a relevant cypher until the exact moment that d20 falls from your hand. Subtle cyphers being instant, and some of them usable after a roll, makes them a more intuitive part of gameplay.

 

Stay tuned for more ways to use new Cypher rules in your current game!

Numenera: The Amber Archive is funding the new edition of Numenera. The original Numenera launched the Cypher System, and this new edition is a setting for the new edition of Cypher. The campaign is not only fully funded and well into stretch goals, but thanks to your fantastic support, we passed a truly incredible threshold: $517,255. What makes this number particularly special (besides being over the gobsmacking half-a-million mark) is that it represents the funding total for the original 2012 Numenera crowdfunding campaign! Check it out now.