The Strange

Okay, I literally stumbled into The Strange while reading another book I recently got called The Weird. That was a book that contained a number of random roll tables full of ... weirdness! I like!

The Strange is a complementary setting for use with the Cypher System, but saying this, that it is its own self-contained setting! A wonderful setting where you can not only transfer between recursions like Ardeyn (think of high fantasy like J. R. R. Tolken) and Ruk (think Mad Scientists), but also to any fictional realm you can think of, whether it's from a book, a movie, a television show, your own imagination... the possibilities are endless! The point being to this setting sit that you're an Agent for the Estate that can move between these worlds, and safeguard Earth. Yes, the core setting is very Science Fiction rooted, but, the overall setting involves any kind of fiction.

I'm immediately thinking of that old show Quantum Leap, only instead of a single person, you may be assigned as part of an entire team. Ooooo, the possibilities of chaos are tantalizing!

The Core Mechanic:
Just like in Cypher System, every task has a difficulty rating (DR) between 0 and 10. You roll a d20 and multiple your roll by three. If you meet or beat the DR you get to do the thing! There are no modifiers add or subtracted to your roll. Instead you negotiate to decrease the DR with the use of Assets, Skills, and possibly Player Intrusions. Each one of these things your character possesses, decreases the DR by one. If you manage to decrease the DR to zero (0), you don't need to roll-- you automatically succeed!

If you roll a Natural One (1), you get a Game Master Intrusion. An Intrusion is a narrative twist that complicates the story
line slightly, and makes the character's life more interesting. But if you roll either a 19 or 20, you gain a Player Intrusion as either a Minor Effect or a Major Effect, respectively. These work just like a GM Intrusion, but benefit the character in some minor way. But those are just special rolls. The really cool thing about the Cypher System is that Intrusions can be invoked at any time. When the GM Intrudes, the player directly facing the challenge will be given two (2) XP (experience points). One is for them, while the other is for another party member. While a player can trade an XP (1) to invoke a Player Intrusion. And that's only one of the many things that can be done with XP. Players can use XP to invoke Player Intrusions, of course, but also to re-roll dice results. I believe a player can also trade an XP to act as a Recovery, in case he/she is badly damaged, and of course, you can spend your XP to level up.

The Strange, much like Cypher System primarily uses Theater of Mind, although there are rules (at least within Cypher System) to convert the concepts of Range and Speed from abstract distances to more concrete measurements. You can even use a Hex/Grid if you'd like.

Probably one of the coolest things about The Strange (and Cypher System) is the use of Cyphers. These are normally single use items (or concepts in the case of a Subtle Cypher) that allows your character to do really cool things. The Game Master is prodded to dish these delicious trinkets out frequently. Some of the effects are mundane, they may cause a Recovery to one of your Stat Pools, or provide an extra point of damage. Other times the effects are truly fantastic. I've seen a Cypher that can completely alter matter! But the Strange includes two new types of Cypers: Anoetic (simple-to-use devices or pills with rather mundane effects), and Occultic (more complicated and dangerous). These count as two-Cyphers.

Character Creation:
Characters are literally a simple sentence comprised of Adjective Noun who Verbs. You fill in these blanks using Descriptors, Types, and a Focus. Each character also have three Stats, referred to as Stat Pools. They are Might, Speed, and Intellect. Your Type will tell you how much Stat Points you begin with. You're also given an Edge value and an Effort value. Just as Cypher System doesn't have a dedicated Hit Point pool, neither does The Strange. Any damage you suffer is first deducted from your Might Pool, then your Speed Pool, and finally your Intellect Pool (unless a specific Pool is named). With each Pool reaching a zero (0) value, your character descends down the Damage Track. First you're at Hale (perfect health), when one of your Pools hits zero, then you're considered Impaired, and suffer an additional one (1) point cost for every action. When two Stat Pools reach zero (0), you're considered Debilitatied. You can't take any actions other than crawl (unless your Speed has been reduced to zero, then you're pretty much immobilized. If all three Pools reach zero (0), you're considered Dead. But don't worry, there's plenty of ways to restore your various Pools.

As with Cypher System, you're going to want to start your Character Concept sentence by looking at the three new Types that are introduced within The Strange. (Note that you can use the standard four Types from Cypher as well.) In The Strange you have the choice between being a Vector (action oriented Agents, such as hunters, firefighters, explorers, etc), Paradox (breakers of reality, think mad scientists or sorcerers), and Spinner (the silver-tongued fast-talkers, think people who specialize in negotiation, bluff, charisma based things).

And just like Cypher, there are a total of six tiers (levels) that a character can upgade through. Although, let's be truthful, the Cypher System in general focuses on the story and characer development/growth rather than upgrading characters constantly.

I could probably continue and spill many more secrets about this book, but, I'd rather hear what you think about this system!