This is the second in a series of web articles about some of the changes to the Cypher rules and how you can start incorporating them into the Cypher System game you’re playing right now!

Because your type determines which of your three stats gets an Edge of 1, sometimes your combination of type and focus means that you’re paying a little extra for your focus abilities—like if you’re a Warrior or Explorer (which by default have a Might Edge of 1) with a focus that relies on Intellect. You could choose Improved Edge as one of your starting type abilities to get an Edge of 1 in a second stat, but that means one fewer starting ability that lets you do something fun or interesting during gameplay.

So in the new Cypher, all types get to choose which of their three stats has Edge 1 (the other two stats have Edge 0).

If you have an existing character whose starting Edge 1 wasn’t a good fit for your focus abilities, ask the GM if you can swap that around to a different stat (this usually just means adding 1 to your desired Edge and subtracting 1 from the Edge you don’t use very often).

When you have a cool character concept but the math doesn’t work out in your favor, that’s kind of disappointing. By making this change, you can play your dream character from tier 1, without waiting until you get enough advancements to offset the built-in type abilities. (Of course, you can still choose to make a character with a non-optimal Edge stat, perhaps because you want to play through the idea of someone who is just starting to learn how to use their abilities, but now it’s an option instead of a requirement.)

You may have noticed that we already put this choose-your-Edge option in the new types we created for books like Neon Rain (because any cyberpunk character can be good at Intellect tasks like hacking, or physical combat with katanas and pistols) and Gunslinger Knights (because even a fully-armored knight who channels power from magical storms ought to be good at their main type abilities from the get-go). For the new Cypher, we’ve just extended this idea to all character types.

 

Come back next week for another sneak peek at the new rules—this one’s really going to give players a lot of options!

The new edition of Numenera is already fully funded and has unlocked eight stretch goals so far! The ninth stretch goal is well in hand, and now there's a chance to grab physical shins (the numenera currency) for the first time in years! Check out the update now!