If you like story-focussed fun with some rules and structure, roleplaying over ruleplaying, player agency, GMs who don’t roll dice, and/or can embrace a game that values simplicity, sometimes more so than balance or entirely sensible game mechanics, buy it. Also, if you have a limited budget and already own previous Cypher-based games, this book might not offer enough for you to justify the outlay (see Upfront for Fans, below).
If you like layers of crunch, power gaming/munchkinism, GMs who roll dice, carefully balanced levels and advancement, and/or differentiation between your characteristics and health – the Cypher System probably isn’t for you.
I’ve written quite a lot about this game, so you might want to know now whether you should buy it. Upfront for People With Short Attention Spans The CSR has the simple core system present and correct, then plugs in a major dose of customisation and flexibility. Monte Cook has looked to take his enthusiastically received system and serve it up as a generic game engine. The Cypher System Rulebook presents the mechanics behind Numenera and The Strange without the setting. The notes hold fluff or provide a means to quickly flip to a page with additional information. The margin holds cross-references to other sections, background notes, alternate rule suggestions and GM Intrusions. The book follows the standard format of two-column pages with a thick margin on the outer page edge. Plenty of single character imagery to illustrate the sort of personalities you might play in the game, as well as flavourful encounter images and richly coloured backdrops. From the PDF alone, you have a richly illustrated volume that draws together more of the work from the familiar artists. The physical feel and appearance of the book will doubtless mirror the previous books, with solid covers and slightly glossy pages, but I’m guessing. It’s about 100-pages more than the 5e D&D Player’s Handbook, but nothing compared to, say, Pathfinder or Mindjammer. If you have concerns about the strength and stability of your shelving, now would be the time to invest in reinforcements. That’s precisely the same size as both the Numenera and The Strange core books. The pre-release PDF of the Cypher System Rulebook comes to a hefty 416-pages. You might be expecting a pamphlet, right? OK, you know I’m kidding. My thanks to those who answered my open and somewhat vague questions about this on Google+. Some of my focus in this review comes from asking people what they hoped the new book would offer them. I have run both Numenera and The Strange – and, therefore, can make judgements and comparisons based on experience as a GM and player of other Cypher-driven games. I have had a chance to tinker around with character generation, but not yet run the game direct from the text. I’m writing this review based on reading a pre-release proof. What could the Cypher System Rulebook offer? Between these two games, we’ve also had Character Options, Bestiaries, Cypher Books and a dozen or so Glimmers, covering everything from Sex in the Ninth World to Lovecraftian nightmares. The Strange – the second highly successful Kickstarter – offered something a little more generic than the Ninth World, expanding the range of options available to encompass the diverse worlds accessible through pocket dimension hopping. The original Numenera setting had a very specific focus and provided the first look at the Cypher system. Sitting down to read – and then review – the Cypher System Rulebook from Monte Cook Games, it had me thinking: what are gamers expecting from this core generic package that they haven’t got in their hands already? Cypher System Rulebook Pre-order PDF on RPGNow
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