A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement The Strange

The Strange by Bruce R. Cordell and Monte Cook is a role playing game supplement published by Monte Cook Games for use with the Cypher System. Unlike the setting supplements, this is a complete game in and of itself and doesn’t require the Cypher System core rulebook to play.

The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $19.99 and is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. It has 418 pages with one being the front cover, three the front matter, one the Table of Contents, two the Index and three the character sheet.

Worlds of Wonder has two introductions, one from each author, explaining that this is the second game from Monte Cook Games and the second using the Cypher System, the first being Numenera, with some notes on inspiration and how the game came about.

Part 1: Getting Started starts with Chapter 1: Welcome to the Strange. This is a couple of pages that give an overview of various concepts related to the game, as if written for the Estate (the Estate is described later in the book).

Chapter 2: How to Play the Strange has a summary of how to play the game. Tasks are given a difficulty, from 1-10, by the GM, and the target number to roll on d20 is three times the difficulty; rolls can be modified by various factors. There is a table of difficulties with the target numbers, descriptions and guidance as to what such a difficulty would be like.

Rolls are made whenever a task needs doing, though difficulty 0 means no roll is needed. There is also a chance of remarkable success on a 19 or 20. Combat works the same way, with a difficulty roll by the player, and players make all die rolls; they roll for attack and roll for defence. Damage is reduced by armour and there are three categories of weapons that inflict fixed damage; 2, 4 and 6. Sometimes instead of difficulty being reduced by something, a bonus is given instead. Rolls of 19 have a minor effect; rolls of 20 a major one. Range is divided into short, medium and long.

Experience points are given when a GM intrudes into the story with a new challenge, and between sessions. They are primarily used for character advancement but can also be spent to roll two dice and take the better roll. Cyphers, the main feature of Cypher System games, are in this case single use manifestations of the Strange. These provide special powers and are simple or more complex. A character can only have a limited number of cyphers and they are used up, meaning characters always end up with different powers when they find new cyphers. As well as a d20, d6s and d% are also needed. This chapter also has a short glossary of terms.

Part 2: Character Creation starts with Chapter 3: Creating Your Character. Characters have three stats; Might, Speed and Intellect. Each stat has two components; Pool and Edge. There is a third element tied into this, which is Effort, and when characters really need to accomplish a task, they apply Effort. The Pool is the most basic stat measurement, and in general a character with a larger Pool is more powerful in the stat. Pool points can be temporarily lost, and the speed at which they are recovered can be altered. When points are spent from a Pool to do something, Edge reduces that cost. Effort requires spending more points from a stat Pool in order to increase the chance of success, or to increase damage caused. This is followed by an example of these in action.

Characters have tiers, will all be starting at first tier, and advancing up to tier six. Even first tier characters are proficient, and as higher tiers are gained, new abilities are acquired, Effort can be increased, a stat’s Edge or the stat itself can be increased. Characters have skills, which reduces the difficulty of related tasks.

Characters are built using a statement: “I am an adjective noun who verbs.” The adjective is the descriptor, the noun is the character type and the verb is the focus. These are covered in the next chapters. Types and foci grant special abilities at each new tier, and using these usually costs Pool points. A sidebar looks at skills; the game has no definitive list of them but examples are given and players can create more. Skills are not defined like they are in some games.

Background is an important element for the character, as it explains how much the character already knows about the Strange, and experience with recursions and translating, which may be nothing, but could easily be more, especially for characters who are members of organisations. Characters who leave Earth to explore recursions are called recursors, and everyone on Earth possesses what’s called the spark, which is self-awareness. Quickened characters possess the spark and a connection to the Strange. Following this are nine background options with descriptions as to how the character became aware of the Strange and how it affects advancement.

Chapter 4: Character Type explains that this is the core of your character, the noun from the description. There are three different character types: vector, paradox and spinner. Each is given an overview, including how they fit in society, how they fit into groups, how they relate to the Strange and advanced version, descriptions of six tiers and an example of one being created. Vectors are described as being the action-oriented people with physical talents, paradoxes are mad scientists, sorcerors and those who break reality’s rules and spinners are those who can spin the truth, lies or anything in-between.

Chapter 5: Character Descriptor is the descriptor, which is the adjective of the character sentence. These add extra characteristics, including abilities, skills or modifications to stat Pools, and descriptors include some negative features, such as inabilities. They also have a list of four ways that can link the character to the starting adventure. Descriptors do not advance with tiers. Thirteen descriptors are then covered.

Chapter 6: Character Focus covers the focus, which is the final part of the character sentence, the verb. This gives the character a special connection to one or more other NPCs, a first-tier ability and possibly more starting equipment. Some may also slightly alter talents. Foci offers suggestions to GMs and platers for what might happen with really good or really bad rolls. As a character advances in tier, they gain new abilities from their focus.

There are ten foci for Ardeyn, eight for Earth, seven for Ruk and one special. A sidebar also looks at what happens to a foci when a character translates to another recursion; it may change to a new one whilst others will remain on the new world. The different foci are then described, with a description, character connection, equipment, minor and major effect suggestions and details on what is gained for each of the six tiers. The occasional sidebar provides additional information, if needed.

Chapter 7: Equipment explains that different recursions have different equipment; this is a bigger difference in this game than many others (Torg would be an exception) as some equipment varies in technology level and magic, and when translating, characters get new, equivalent equipment in that recursion. With equipment coming from different recursions, when it comes to prices, the prices are those for that recursion and in that currency. Encumbrance is not listed or tracked, but if the GM decides the character is carrying too much, or lifting something heavy, a Speed and Might cost is deducted from the appropriate pools.

Armour is in three categories, light, medium and heavy, and different characters may struggle with certain types. Only one type of armour can be worn at a time, but Armor bonuses from multiple sources will stack. Weapons are light, medium and heavy, and do a specific amount of damage. A sidebar looks at how to estimate equipment quality. Lists of equipment follow, for Earth, Ardeyn and Ruk, after which there is a section on artefacts and finding and using them, with a list and page number, with hyperlink, to where each is described in the supplement.

Part 3: Playing the Game starts with Chapter 8: Rules of the Game. This begins with how to play The Strange, which is a short section. The player tells the Gm what they want their character to do, the GM determines if there’s a chance of failure, otherwise no roll is made, difficulty and any modifiers are calculated and if this still means a roll is needed, as the modifiers could make it routine, a d20 is rolled. Success is rolling equal or higher than the target number. This is used for any task in the game, and The Strange can be run with just this information, even if all other rules were ignored. Following this is a section that covers this in more detail, with a sidebar for task difficulty going from 0 to 10, with a description, target number and guidance, from 0 being anyone can do this every time to 10 being one that normal humans couldn’t consider, but doesn’t break the laws of physics. The task difficulty can be modified by spending Effort. Finally, a d20 is rolled to see if the task is successful.

Natural rolls of 1, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are special rolls. On a 1, the GM makes an intrusion (GM intrusions are covered elsewhere), but no XP is gained for such. On rolls that inflict damage, 17 adds 1 and 18 adds 2. 19 adds 3 points on damage rolls and on non-damage rolls the PC gets a minor effect. On a 20, 4 points are added to damage rolls, a non-damage roll gains a major effect and if points were spent from a stat Pool, the cost is reduced to 0. Intrusions, minor and major effects are then covered.

If a task is failed, it can be retried, but at least one level of Effort must be applied to it. A retry is a new action, not the original one; it needs doing over again and will take the same amount of time as before. There’s a table of example tasks and how long they would take. Sometimes, a task might require Effort be spent in order to try it at all; in such cases, the level of Effort required doesn’t reduce the difficulty.

Distance is comparatively abstract, divided into immediate, short and long. General timekeeping follows the normal pattern. When an encounter happens, it moves into rounds, with a round being about 5-10 seconds. Encounters can be combat, but don’t necessarily have to be. Initiative is rolled at the beginning of an encounter to determine who goes first. Actions are the things that characters do in a round, and are anything that could take place in that length of time. In combat, attacking is naturally one of those. Combat, and other damage, isn’t rolled; specific amounts of damage are done depending on damage source, then adjusted for any relevant modifiers. The more damage a character suffers, the more they drop down the damage track. Damage is taken from stat pools and death is a definitely possibility. How damage is recovered and special types of damage are also covered. There are a variety of different actions characters can take in combat, and others that can also be used outside of combat, mostly falling into the category of “do something else,” and cooperating with other characters.

Experience points are what characters get in order to improve. In a typical session, a character might earn 2-4 XP and another 2 between sessions. A GM intrusion generates two XP, if the player agrees, one for them and one to gift to another. The player may spend 1 XP to refuse the intrusion. Intrusions should happen at least once a session, but no more than once or twice per character in that session. Characters can also earn XP for discovering new things, being awarded them by the GM or by achieving a character goal. XP can be spent to refuse an intrusion, as mentioned, as well as to reroll any roll, including those made by others, to gain new skills and experience and to advance the character. In some ways, XP is a combination of Fate tokens (or similar) and normal experience as seen in other games. XP is also meant to be spent, not hoarded.

Chapter 9: Rules of Translation covers how characters move between recursions. When a character translates to a new recursion, their consciousness moves to a newly created appropriate physical form appropriate to the recursion they are translating into. This has rules on how to translate, which involves going into a trance, what’s needed to do it, how to try and make it faster, how difficult a translation is, how to try and ease it and what can happen if the translation roll fails.

It looks at where characters appear when they translate, as different recursions have different default locations, translating into warded locations, what happens to the original body – it disappears, with a new one created when they return – whether creatures of the recursion notice a translation, and those lacking the spark rarely do, what happens to cyphers, which translate but may take a new form, how to get into the Strange, which isn’t translated into, how recursion keys make translating easier, the perils of translating too often and the advantages of a high roll when translating.

Part 4: The Setting starts with Chapter 10: Recursions. Recursions are the unique but limited worlds that exist in the dark energy network that is the Strange. Each has different laws, allowing things like magic and super-science, depending on the recursion in question. Recursions may be visited through translation gates, which translate objects, and creatures, that pass through to match the physical laws of the destination recursion. Inapposite gates allow things to pass through without translating them at all. Portal spheres can create temporary versions of either to a pre-keyed destination.

The different attributes of recursions are covered next. These are the level, which is how difficult it is to translate to, the laws, which cover standard physics, magic, mad science, psionics, substandard physics and exotic; the last is a catch-all qualification for many of the weirder recursions. Playable races, skills, foci, connections to the Strange and to Earth, size, the spark, which is the possibility for inhabitants to possess consciousness, and traits are covered.

There are rules for creating recursions, and details on reality seeds, which are used to make them; characters can make their own recursions, as can others. The process by which a recursion is grown is detailed, along with definitions as to size and how long it takes to reach them, with details as to what each size is. Recursions can be improved and there are details for the GM to design new recursions.

Chapter 11: Earth covers Earth, which is not technically a recursion but a prime world. It starts with Earth’s attributes, as covered in the previous chapter, and gives an overview on life on Earth and its connections to the Strange; Earth itself isn’t covered in great detail because, well, it’s Earth and the mundane details are easily available. This chapter also covers the Estate, a group that characters may well be part of, its primary headquarters and mission. Other important groups are covered in less detail, especially as some are headquartered elsewhere; these are Ruk’s Quiet Cabal, the Circle of Liberty, Butterfly Objectors, September Project, Recursion Miners, Spiralers, the Office of Strategic Recursion, a US government organisation, and Starseeds. Each is given an overview, some details of important people or locations, if any, and some ways characters might interact with them. Earth Artifacts finally gives some samples of these.

Chapter 12: Ardeyn starts with Ardeyn’s attributes, as well as a list of what recursors know in general about the place, which is one of Earth’s major recursions. Ardeyn itself is a recursion where magic operates, and details are given on the recursion’s history, both what is believed and what is true. Details are given on living in the recursion and its people, including the land’s shape, as it isn’t a globe but a lump of earth and rock. The various different parts of Ardeyn are covered and the chapter ends with artefacts from the recursion.

Chapter 13: Ruk again starts with a list of attributes and what recursors know about Ruk. Ruk itself was forged as a lifeboat fleeing the destruction of its civilisation by a planetovore and which became shipwrecked on the Shoals of Earth, where it has hidden ever since. Ruk is a high-tech civilisation and details are given on Ruk, including a map, Earth’s discovery of it, the factions that rule Ruk and locations of importance. Biotechnology is common on Ruk, and the land itself grows, as it was damaged when it wrecked itself on the Shoals. The different places are covered and some artefacts associated with Ruk.

Chapter 14: The Strange looks at the dark energy network itself, but again starts with its attributes. There are details on the Strange and life in it, as well as how to travel through it, including entering recursions. There is a map of the Strange itself, which consists largely of points of interest, together with the Shoals of Earth and Earth’s recursions. Being in the Strange itself is dangerous for creatures from the universe of normal matter and their minds can be affected by alienation.

Also covered are lifeforms of the Strange, various useful items and substances that are only found in the network itself, and how the dark energy network relates to the Fermi Paradox. Basically, there isn’t much intelligent life in the universe, because prime worlds that connect directly to the Strange risk encountering a planetovore and they are eaten. Various points of interest, which sometimes mostly function as navigational waypoints, and travel time to them, are covered, along with artefacts of the Strange, which includes chaos skiffs, ships used to travel the dark energy network.

Chapter 15: Other Recursions gives briefer overviews of more recursions. Each has the typical recursion attribute box, then a description of the recursion itself, which may include organisations, new game options and more artefacts. Following this is a look at recursions in the public domain, giving a brief overview of various ones that are based on public domain fiction and then some artefacts for them.

Part 5: Creatures & Characters starts with Chapter 16: Creatures. This starts by explaining how to read the listings, which is similar to how most Cypher System creatures are displayed. There are stats, interactions, GM intrusions and an example of in-game use, usually one creature to a page. Where it differs is that each creature also has a home recursion, or other similar region, where it is normally found. A sidebar at the beginning looks at what might happen if the creature is found elsewhere. The sidebar also has a list of the creatures by level. Descriptions of the creatures follow, with most being one to a page. The creatures are from Ardeyn, Ruk and the Strange itself, and are therefore varied in type, from traditional fantasy to biological tech.

Chapter 17: Nonplayer Characters is similar to the previous chapter. NPCs don’t follow the same rules as player characters in the game. There are basic stats for various different types of NPC, and these have descriptions, and customisation stats, for finding them on Earth, Ardeyn or Ruk. St the end of the chapter are a couple of people of renown who are described in more detail.

Part 6: Running the Game starts with Chapter 18: Strange Cyphers. Cyphers are a fundamental part of this, and any other Cypher System game. They are single-use items that characters will obtain frequently and have a range of powers and, because they are single-use, these powers may be far greater than a character would have in something they can use over and over again. There’s a limit to how many cyphers a character can have, and the two kids of cyphers in this game are anoetic cyphers and occultic cyphers. Anoetic are simple items that easy to use by anyone whereas occultic are more complicated items or devices and count as two cyphers towards a character’s limit. Cyphers take on different forms, and these alter as they translate into different recursions. There’s a d100 list with 95 example cyphers on it. These cyphers are then described, with a name, their appearance on Earth, Ardeyn and Ruk and the effect they have when used.

Chapter 19: Using the Rules starts by explaining that this chapter is written specifically for the GM. It states that being a GM is challenging, but The Strange has been designed to make the task as simple as possible, and that it has also been designed to work the way many experienced GMs run their games, which is to realise that the rules are a tool. It then looks at how the story is the important thing, and that how there aren’t a lot of specifics in the rules; they can be summed up in a single roll and the GM and players build the story around that.

Following this are some tips on setting difficulty ratings, and there’s a list of the 10 difficulty levels again. Difficulties 7-10 are all, technically, impossible, as they require more than 20 to be rolled, which can’t be done on a d20. However, there are ways in which difficulty can be lowered, especially by higher-tier characters, which makes the impossible possible even if not probable. There’s a look at the level of precision used in the table, which isn’t precise, and that it’s important that the difficulty of tasks be consistent. In addition, rolls should only be made when they are needed; routine actions should be routine. It also looks at the advantages of this system, which is that it works for everything in game, is done in measured and easy to understand steps and gives the GM freedom to focus on the game, rather than the mechanics.

GM intrusions are then looked at. This is how the GM injects additional drama and excitement into the game, and it’s also the main way that the GM hands out XP to characters. It looks at how XP from intrusions is handled, and how intrusions can be used as a narrative tool or resolution mechanic. There’s also advice on not abusing GM intrusions; they can give a GM a lot of power to change things and shouldn’t be overused. There are also examples of different types of GM intrusions; others are scattered in various places throughout the book where they are relevant.

The section then looks at actually using the rules, and how to interpret them logically for different situations rather than provide a rule for every situation, which is why the rules are a comparatively small fraction of the book. There are said to be two ways of interpreting the rules wrong; when they break the players’ willing suspension of disbelief and when they are applied inconsistently. Dice need to be rolled so that the game isn’t predetermined, but dice should only be rolled when there’s a chance of failure and failure means something. Actions taken should also be tied to a stat, which in most cases should be obvious.

The GM is responsible for the information that the players get, but their characters have skills that can reveal information to them, which would often require a roll. As this can make it obvious when there’s something to be revealed, it can therefore be worthwhile having them make the occasional roll when there isn’t something to be revealed by it; a kind of subversion to only rolling when it means something. The GM can also look at the character and decide whether or not they would have uncovered or noticed something, or just spring whatever it is as a surprise using an intrusion. However, if failing to notice something important will derail the plot, it should be revealed in some way, even if this is as an intrusion. A final way is graduated success, where something may only partly succeed.

The section then explains that this isn’t a class and level game, despite it having what appear to be classes and levels. In Cypher System games, characters don’t have to wait until they advance enough to have special abilities; this is where cyphers are used. The right cypher, and these are generally single use, can grant a character the ability to do incredible things – once. Skills can be made up by players, and though skills do have a game effect, they are far less clearly defined in their nature than in other systems.

The next part looks at handling NPCs. They shouldn’t be treated as cannon fodder, but they are also easy to make, with some specific examples already given. NPCs don’t follow the same rules as characters; they barely follow any rules at all outside of story. If an NPC needs to be able to do something, they can. Not having NPCs that can do everything, but if an NPC is being created with a specific purpose or skillset, they have that purpose or skillset. Characters may end up interacting with NPCs in different ways; they aren’t necessarily just foes.

Following this are some options to add complexity to the game. These start with optional rules for damage; trading damage for effect, having the effects of damage be lasting or permanent to be more realistic, having lasting or permanent damage be a replacement for character death and alternatives for points of damage. Following this are modifying abilities, choosing to roll when no roll is necessary, such as to reduce Effort spent, acting whilst under attack, modifying the range of weapons by letting out of range opponents be attacked but at a disadvantage and adding to a roll when a major effect is rolled.

Finally, there are some options for customising character types, descriptors, foci, drawbacks and penalties and some optional XP rules.

Chapter 20: Building a Story starts by explaining that though it isn’t really the GM’s job to teach players the rules, though they will often have to. It then looks at playing the first few sessions, then handling the first few translations, as the changes may be overwhelming to start with. Advice here is to not translate in the first few sessions, or overwhelm players with knowledge of recursions. Combats in The Strange are covered next, and the advice is to make them about something other than not dying. Adventures should also not always come to a climactic boss battle. It explains that combat doesn’t work in a mechanical way as it does in many other games, where hit points or similar are whittled down. Players will instead choose to spend Pool points to avoid being hit.

The GM’s main job is crafting stories and advice is given on this, as well as ensuring that things are kept moving, within an encounter, a game session a story or a campaign. It references Chapter 19 and how descriptions should be concise and precise and avoid relative or emotional terms. Action should be described, especially as given the nature of the game, combat leaves lots of room for descriptions of what happened. Recursions should be described in ways that are weirder and less familiar than Earth.

There are some tips for how to prepare for the game session, and this explains there aren’t huge amounts of rules to memorise or detailed NPC stat blocks to come up with, so what’s needed are things like names, an outline of the plot and ideas. This is followed by some help on how to handle players, especially troublesome ones; the main tip here is to try to get rid of disruptive and offensive players. Mature themes should be handled in a way that players are comfortable with, with movie ratings considered as an example.

Encounters are looked at, including complex ones, and in The Strange balanced encounters are not a thing; there isn’t a way in the system for matching creatures of a certain level to characters of a certain tier, something that is likely going to be unusual for those coming from more structured games. Encounters will be resolved by playing the game, not planning. Characters may in fact find things too easy rather than too difficult, so there are tips on how to challenge them, especially tier five and tier six characters. There are also tips on handling character death, including having them be not quite dead, and finally an example of an encounter being played through.

Chapter 21: Running a Game starts by looking at how to introduce characters to the Strange. A standard campaign begins with them on Earth with some knowledge of the Strange, which means they are likely members of the Estate or the Quiet Cabal. It isn’t required that this be the case, though. There are three categories of in the know characters, Estate Operative, Quiet Cabal Agent and Ardeyn Native, and three naive characters, Off the Street, Six Weeks Later and Character Player, the last being a player playing a character that is them. Each category comes with an overview, a “first” category that alters in specifics, such as mission or encounter, and what’s next.

Following this are tips on how to make a game of The Strange feel like a game of The Strange, with one of the main factors being the travel to other worlds, and the different ways of doing this. The spark is an important element in NPCs; whilst everyone on Earth has it, and it’s stated that the best description is free will, this is not true in other recursions. Many of the recursions around Earth come from fictional leakage from Earth, and there can be ones that are commingled from different fictional representations or duplicates of others. There are tips on exploring the Strange, the dark energy network, itself, and advice on how to create new recursions.

Part 7: Adventures starts with Chapter 22: The Curious Case of Tom Mallard. This adventure is aimed at characters who already know something about recursions and quickened abilities, and who might already be associated with the Estate, though it is intended to provide players with their first real experience with adventuring in the Strange as they investigate a recursion miner.

Chapter 23: Adventure Ideas has four brief adventure hooks, each with an overview, details on how to get the PCs involved, complications and the final “boss” fight.

Part 8: Back Matter begins with Appendix A: Resources, which has list of inspirational fiction, non-fiction and movies and television.

Appendix B: Kickstarter Backers is a list of the Kickstarter backers.

The Glossary defines various terms, mostly to do with The Strange but a few more general.

The Index is self-explanatory.

Character Creation Walkthrough is a thirteen-step process for creating a character.

The Character Sheet is also self-explanatory.

The Strange in Review

The PDF is bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The Table of Contents only covers the major sections but is hyperlinked. The Index is thorough and is hyperlinked. In addition, there are many internal hyperlinks within the sidebars. Navigation is good. The text primarily maintains a two columns with sidebar format and appeared to be free of errors. The sidebars are used for additional details, game stats, internal links and references to other material. There are extensive colour illustrations, up to about half page in size. Presentation is good.

This book is an all-in-one core book, so it’s all that’s needed to play The Strange. It includes adventures, and adventure ideas scattered throughout the book, setting details, organisations, a bestiary and material that can be used to create more setting material. Despite the size of the book, The Strange, like other Cypher System games, is not complicated. The fundamental rules are simple enough, and the section on running the game has more to do with the philosophy of running the game than anything else.

Again, as with other Cypher System games, the story is considered to be the main thing, not the mechanics. It isn’t a complete story-driven game, and it does explain why dice are used, but the mechanics are a lot less fundamental, and lighter, than seen in other systems. Even such as skills are covered in a considerably more lightweight manner than any other game that uses skills, and even some that don’t. Players coming from more complex games will likely be surprised at just how rules-lite The Strange is.

The book does contain everything needed to run The Strange, though there are naturally more supplements available, with more setting information and more adventures. The Strange is a surprisingly simple game and it can be found by clicking here.