How do you create an adventure when it can be about "anything?"

[overgeeked]

So, you were in this situation, how would you do it?

Ask him what his favorite genres are and start there. Drill down with a few favorite films, TV series, novels, graphic novels, whatever. Take a few of those, mash them up, and go.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I've been asked to run a Cypher game for my dad, who is on a big streamlined RPG kick. After we play through the intro adventure in the Cypher intro rulebook, he wants me to make up another.

"Here's the best thing: It can be about anything!"

Ugh. You can tell he doesn't do a lot of creative works. Having no restrictions is kind of overwhelming. Not only do I have to think of an adventure, I have to first start with genre, game world elements, etc.

So, you were in this situation, how would you do it?

What’s the gist of the intro adventure that you’re starting with? Maybe build on that, if it’s enjoyable.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Read Law & Order episode summaries. Watch the first half of one that sounds the most interesting (you don't need the courtroom drama). Take a few notes. Plug the murder investigation into a town. add a run-in with bandits getting to the town, and you're done.

 

[prabe]

For Cypher--presuming you're using the generic, not one of the settings--I'd start by nailing down the gist of the setting.

I'm running Cypher for my wife and a couple of friends, set in "The real world, with weirdness around the edges." I pre-genned ... three characters of all four types in the core book, and offered those descriptions to the players, then went around the table asking a few questions (What's your name? How do you present yourself to the world? {so I have a stage magician, a journalist, and a paranoral investigator} Tell me about a couple people and a place/group, and your relationship to them. How do you know the PC run by the player to your left?) and I've been free-running things since, for ... something like ten or twelve sessions, I think.

My point, I think, is that while the system can be about anything, more or less, you can narrow things down quite a lot in setting up your campaign.

 

[Darth Solo]

Upon hearing "anything" I'd creep towards either a Superhero RPG or RIFTS (Palladium's rather than the rated-G SW edition). You want "anything" do you?

 

[MichaelSomething]

Ninjas have kidnapped the president. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For Cypher--presuming you're using the generic, not one of the settings--I'd start by nailing down the gist of the setting.

I'm running Cypher for my wife and a couple of friends, set in "The real world, with weirdness around the edges." I pre-genned ... three characters of all four types in the core book, and offered those descriptions to the players, then went around the table asking a few questions (What's your name? How do you present yourself to the world? {so I have a stage magician, a journalist, and a paranoral investigator} Tell me about a couple people and a place/group, and your relationship to them. How do you know the PC run by the player to your left?) and I've been free-running things since, for ... something like ten or twelve sessions, I think.

My point, I think, is that while the system can be about anything, more or less, you can narrow things down quite a lot in setting up your campaign.

I think that's probably the tone I'm going to take. I'm thinking of pulling my copies of Suppressed Transmission 1 & 2 from my garage, finding some weird hooks to plug into the "real world" and let the players get tangled up in that, although probably with a Coen/Tarantino-esque low level criminals angle as well.

 

[prabe]

I think that's probably the tone I'm going to take. I'm thinking of pulling my copies of Suppressed Transmission 1 & 2 from my garage, finding some weird hooks to plug into the "real world" and let the players get tangled up in that, although probably with a Coen/Tarantino-esque low level criminals angle as well.

That seems like a workable approach. I'm not sure whether working up pre-gens or walking the players through chargen is less work--and it probably depends on both the GM and the players. If nothing else, pre-genning the characters will mean you're happy with all the Focus choices (some might not work for what you have in mind/how you intend to run).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That seems like a workable approach. I'm not sure whether working up pre-gens or walking the players through chargen is less work--and it probably depends on both the GM and the players. If nothing else, pre-genning the characters will mean you're happy with all the Focus choices (some might not work for what you have in mind/how you intend to run).

Is there a good Cypher community out there on the internet that I should connect with as a newbie?

 

[prabe]

Is there a good Cypher community out there on the internet that I should connect with as a newbie?

There's at least Cypher Unlimited Discord I've heard good things about. For anything else, I kinda hate to do this, but @Aldarc knows the community better than I do--I'm not much of a joiner, alas.