Game Master (GM or in D&D, DM) prep is a chore. No matter how much you love world building and creating stories, there is a lot to get done in order to play a game. Generally, GMs end up handling scheduling, educating players about the game, creating stories and maintaining the flow of the game.
To make things as easy as possible, the Cypher System uses a simple level system to determine difficulties and levels of effect. This can be a wonderful thing when you want to focus your prep time on stories and interactions.
The level system is very simple and applies to everything the GM is responsible for. The difficulty of a task is given a level from 1-10 (sometimes greater). To achieve success, a player needs to roll equal to or higher than the difficulty * 3 on a 2-sided die (d20). So a level 10 difficulty requires a 30 (which is impossible) and a level 1 is a 3. Anything that is a difficulty 0 is automatically successful.
To create Non-Player Characters (NPCs), traps, Cyphers (special items that players can use), or anything else players interact with, the GM gives it a level. If two GM things interact, the one with the highest number wins.
An example (very simple) NPC:
Goblin War Boss
Level 4
Level 5 with entangling chain attacks
Level 3 for spotting lies and deception
This simple NPC is Level 4 (roll a 12 or more) for hitting with an attack, spotting when hiding or trying to bluff. When in combat, it excels at making attacks with its dangerous spiked chain, so defense rolls against it require a player to roll 15 or more. However, the NPC is also bad at telling truth from falsehood (for fun role-playing) so a player need only roll a 9 to tell the War Boss a lie and be believed ('there's a T-Rex right behind you!').
When I run a Cypher game, I make a first pass and determine my obstacles. I give them levels or rate them relative to one another. I find 4-5 good levels for Tier 1 characters to oppose.I then flesh out the numbers with descriptions. I know what the obstacles are, so I can take time defining what the people are like, what the trap looks and sounds like, etc. I also try to determine a strength and weakness to every NPC for contrast.
To make things as easy as possible, the Cypher System uses a simple level system to determine difficulties and levels of effect. This can be a wonderful thing when you want to focus your prep time on stories and interactions.
The level system is very simple and applies to everything the GM is responsible for. The difficulty of a task is given a level from 1-10 (sometimes greater). To achieve success, a player needs to roll equal to or higher than the difficulty * 3 on a 2-sided die (d20). So a level 10 difficulty requires a 30 (which is impossible) and a level 1 is a 3. Anything that is a difficulty 0 is automatically successful.
To create Non-Player Characters (NPCs), traps, Cyphers (special items that players can use), or anything else players interact with, the GM gives it a level. If two GM things interact, the one with the highest number wins.
An example (very simple) NPC:
Goblin War Boss
Level 4
Level 5 with entangling chain attacks
Level 3 for spotting lies and deception
This simple NPC is Level 4 (roll a 12 or more) for hitting with an attack, spotting when hiding or trying to bluff. When in combat, it excels at making attacks with its dangerous spiked chain, so defense rolls against it require a player to roll 15 or more. However, the NPC is also bad at telling truth from falsehood (for fun role-playing) so a player need only roll a 9 to tell the War Boss a lie and be believed ('there's a T-Rex right behind you!').
When I run a Cypher game, I make a first pass and determine my obstacles. I give them levels or rate them relative to one another. I find 4-5 good levels for Tier 1 characters to oppose.I then flesh out the numbers with descriptions. I know what the obstacles are, so I can take time defining what the people are like, what the trap looks and sounds like, etc. I also try to determine a strength and weakness to every NPC for contrast.
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