Nuts & Bolts #153 - Hacking the Cypher System - Nightbane

Nightbane is not a game that a lot of folks know. I've mentioned it in the past. It's an older game from Palladium Books that I first picked up in college back in 1996 (a fact that I know because I found the receipt in the back of the book last night). I've long since given up on Palladium's house system because I just find it to be too much, and as a result a lot of the games I played when I started gaming have sat on bookshelves and waited for their turn to come back around again. Always I would see them and want to play but every time I tried the rules stopped me cold.

When the Cypher System Rulebook came out a couple of years back I really started to look at Cypher as a way to bring back Nightbane for myself and my friends. The focus changing aspects of The Strange had shown me that there a way forward, but I still couldn't quite break the problem of the core characters, the titular nightbane. Nightbane are supernatural shapeshifters. The have a human facade and a monstrous morphus. The facade form is just human, no powers, no abilities beyond that of a normal non-heroic person, but the morphus is a powerhouse.

Thankfully Unmasked came along and gave me the final piece of the puzzle. A duality for form can exist no just by replacing a part of the character's sentence as in The Strange, but by omitting it entirely. The teens in Unmasked are given only a few pool points and a descriptor. Their masked alter egos gain not only a full character sentence but shifts as well. My eyes were opened and I knew, at last, how to make the nightbane work.

I started my players with a descriptor and an occupation, a Hideous Gravedigger, a Perceptive Electrician, and a Creative Tech Consultant. These were the human guises of the players, the as yet unaware of their true nature nightbane player characters. Each character started with 5 points in each pool, modified by their descriptor as appropriate, and that was it. This is less than the teens in Unmasked, and may seem harsh, but Nightbane is, in part, a horror game and the mortal facade form needs to feel weak and vulnerable.

Their morphus forms however gained not just a type and descriptor, becoming a Hideous Warrior who Rages, a Perceptive Explorer who is Sworn to the Seal*, and a Creative Adept who Needs no Weapons, but they also gained shifts, assigned by me, based on the appearance of their twisted and monstrous nightbane morphuses. These we determined the old fashioned way, using the tables in the original RPG's book.

*Sworn to the Seal is a rename of Sworn to the Crown, but this character is loyal to the US Government instead.

Getting back to my gaming past proved a wonderful experience and CYpher proved more than equal to the task of taking an old Palladium Books game and breathing new life into it for my friends and I, much in the same way that it had for Palladium's After the Bomb at Gen Con 2017 when I ran Furry Road.

The Alphabet of Outer Beings - B is for Boons

Image Source: https://www.deviantart.com/jameszapata/art/Boon-336424298

B is for Boons

Deities provide many boons for their followers in the form of blessings, spells, and other divine gifts. Patrons often reward their followers with knowledge and understanding. Occasionally a patron may make a more direct hand in the affairs of their mortal followers however and provide direct assistance. These boons may come at after a great deed or labor is performed or be bestowed prior to the vassal embarking upon a notable quest for their patron. The boon lasts until such time as the patron deems the vassal no longer worthy, or as noted.

Table B1: Supernatural Boons (roll 1d20)

1. Blessing of the Dragon's Blood (gain +1 AC)
2. Gift of Hermes (gain +30' movement per round)
3. Favor of Charon (may automatically succeed at a "roll the body" check one time)
4. Gift of Zeus (increase all lightning damage dice +1d)
5. Blessing of Horus (gain a +1 to Will saves)
6. Gift of Aphrodite (gain +1 Personality)
7. Blessing of Fortune (gain +1 Luck)
8. Gift of Athena (gain +1 to Intelligence) 
9. Blessing of the Crone (gain +1 to spell checks)
10. Gift of Hades (increase all cold damage dice +1d)
11. Blessing of Cthulhu (gain a cumulative 1% chance to spontaneously resurrect from death for every 100 years dead)
12. Gift of Mars (gain +1 to attack rolls)
13. Blessing of Osiris (gain +1 to Fortitude saves)
14. Gift of Hephaestus (increase all fire damage dice +1d)
15. Blessing of Achilles (gain +1 to Reflex saves)
16. Gift of Poseidon (may breathe under water for 1 turn per level per day) 
17. Blessing of Merlin (immune to surprise attacks) 
18. Gift of Artemis (gain +1d on ranged attack rolls) 
19. Twist the Strands of Fate (once per day re-roll a die roll)
20. Gift of Aesculapius (gain a +1 to all HP recovery rolls)

Nuts & Bolts #152 - Hacking the Cypher System - Minions & NPCs

Minions in Cypher System have always been a bit of a mixed bag. The level system makes minion stats very easy to determine and their approximate power easy to gage. However because of the simplified way that minions operate they tend to suffer diminishing returns later in the game state as their skills do not generally increase nor do they gain the ability to apply effort to their rolls. As a result as antagonist NPC levels rise the target numbers for NPCs and Minions steadily increase and reduce the effectivity of the Minion or NPC.

This has been observed and discussed in the past with both fans and creators proposing ways for NPCs & Minions to grant assets, or apply effort out of their health, and similar. Ultimately however, none of these solutions have really solved the core problem. If a level 5 NPC face off against a level 6 NPC that level 5 is pretty much destined to lose. While defeat may be inevitable, there should be a way for that level 5 NPC to affect the level 6 without relying on 15% of rolls to be able to do anything. Likewise a level 6 NPC should be able to make short work of a level 2 NPC without the risk of poor dice rolling.

I'm proposing a simple fix, one that doesn't require the GM to pick up dice, that will help even low level creatures contribute (even if only a little), but that also allows high level NPCs to act accordingly. Best of all, it's super simple.

1. Determine level of task the NPC/Minion is attempting
2. Subtract the NPC/Minion level from the level of the task, the remainder is the final difficulty level
1. If the remainder is positive this number x3 is the d20 target for the player rolling the dice.
2. If the remainder is zero no roll is needed, the NPC performs the task, and if an attack deals their normal damage.
3. If the remainder is a negative number the NPC/Minion applies that many levels of free effort, or may provide an asset to the PCs or other NPCs on a one for one basis. 

Easy right? How about some quick examples:

• A level 4 minion attacking a level 7 creature that it's master is fighting. The player rolls at a level 3 (9+) for the minion (instead of a 21+ using the rules as written).
• A level 6 NPC ally attacks a level 2 creature ambushing the group. It applies 4 levels of effort (potentially one hit killing it) or can provide as many as 4 assets to the PCs.
• A level 3 minion trying to defend against a level 3 creature succeeds with no roll required. 

The GM can always use an intrusion to allow lower level NPCs to succeed on higher level tasks of course, which also means that the GM gains the leverage to keep the story momentum going where they need it.