cyphersystem
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Loving the Game, Not the Grind I’ve always loved a good crunchy system. There is something satisfying about sitting down with a blank character sheet and letting the possibilities open up. Building a character from nothing, weaving abilities together, finding the perfect combination of stats, it scratches the same part of the brain as a…
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In preparation for my group’s upcoming fantasy one-shot, I’ve put together the initial story hook. The title of this adventure gives away a bit too much, so I will hold that back until after my players have had their chance to run through it. Once they do, I’ll share the full write-up, including the stylized…
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The finale of our first session. If you have seen them yet, check out Part One and Part Two. I hope you enjoy. Evelyn Cross stepped into the tent, her expression composed and businesslike. She greeted the group with a polite nod, then asked John Miller and Father Mateo to remain behind. The others were…
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Since the transcription bot refused to cooperate, I had to rely on a quick voice recording from memory right after the session. That means some dialogue and narrative beats couldn’t be perfectly reconstructed, and a few smaller details may have slipped through. I’ll be rebuilding this one in parts, blending what I remember with my…
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This is the full narrative of our presession for Strange Beginnings, the first story arc in my homebrew The End of the Institute campaign. The actual Session One took place last night, but unfortunately, our transcription bot died mid-way through and took the record with it. I’ll be recreating that session from memory as best I…
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One of the things I love about the Cypher System is how streamlined it is. But sometimes that elegance leaves gaps where I want just a little more teeth. Case in point: There are ways to shut down magic in Cypher, but none of them happen in the moment. Nothing that lets you throw yourself…
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The last three players for my End of the Institute campaign have completed their sheets, chosen their roles, and have received their position perks. First we have an Elocutionist whose character personality did not align well with any of the existing Descriptors from the Magnus Archives core rulebook so I allowed them to check out…
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Just completed another character sheet creation for one of the players of my End of the Institute campaign. This player is playing a Scholarly Elocutionist Who Solves Mysteries and has taken a position as Artifact Handler. Artifacts being potentially dangerous require special care and so below are the Position Perks I have created for this…
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During Session Zero, our group began character creation. One of our players was trying to choose a focus and was having difficulty as the provided ones did not fully suit their character vision. As they describe their character concept, the joke was made “If only there was a ‘Cut a Bitch’ focus.” This led to…
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This time, we have a character in the End of the Institute campaign that has chosen the Junior Administrator role within the Institute. Here are the position perks created for this character and position: Technicality: Policies and rules are your bread and butter. Tasks involving navigating bureaucracy, legal matters, or regulation are eased by one…
Mason Beck Fiction 