There's A New Edition Of The Cypher System Coming

Next year, 2026, Monte Cook Games will be releasing a new edition of its in-house Cypher System rules system.

Originally launched over a decade ago, the Cypher System powers games like Numenera, The Strange, and The Magnus Archives. It's a d20-based multi-genre game system known for its character generation method which has the player filling out the sentence "I am a [adjective] [noun] who [verb]" -- such as "I am a jovial Explorer who howls at the moon". The titular cyphers are one-time use abilities or items. Task resolution involves rolling a d20 against a 1-10 difficulty scale.

This new edition includes a bunch of changes, including genre-specific character creation, character damage and armour, and a greater emphasis on subtle cyphers.

Two new core rulebooks will be published. The Cypher Character Rulebook will delve into creating characters for a variety of different genres, while the Cypher GM's Guide will contain rules, GM advice and resources for creating and running games.

They'll be hitting a crowdfunding platform near you very soon, in late summer, with the books coming out mid-2026.

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[SpellObjectEnthusiast]

Thanks both

I did look at the preview, I was just wondering if more change had been shown cased as the campaign progressed.

If you already don't like Cypher, the new edition won't change enough to change that. If you're on the fence or already do like it, I think the new edition will bring lots of welcome improvements, from what I've seen.

 

[Thaumaturge]

If you already don't like Cypher, the new edition won't change enough to change that. If you're on the fence or already do like it, I think the new edition will bring lots of welcome improvements, from what I've seen.

This matches my assessment. And I think it’s a good strategy—making your existing base happier and tweaking things to lure in those on the fence seems better than throwing out everything and hoping to make everyone happy.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I waffled on backing this because I haven't gotten nearly enough mileage out of the Revised book, but finally relented. Now, as with all Kickstarters, I must cross my fingers and hope I am still excited for it a year from now (I do love Cypher, so I probably will be).

 

[Thaumaturge]

The overtime mechanic on Backerkit is pretty great.

Also, they can now at least round to $1mil.

Thaumaturge.