It is no secret that the rules for Numenera and The Cypher System are simple, yet paradoxically they are also unintuitive (at least at first). Perhaps that is why there are certain advantageous wrinkles in the rules that are right there in plain sight for all to see, yet it seems very few know about and take advantage of them (kinda like the auction rule in Monopoly, I guess, haha).
Not everyone min-maxes, sure, and I in fact would argue that literal min-maxing of a Cypher System character (e.g. assigning zero discretionary points to, say, Intellect and max points to Might), actually makes that character less robust when it comes to general-purpose adventuring than spreading things around, to an extent. Everyone needs some Intellect (for Perception, if nothing else), some Speed (for Speed Defense, if nothing else), and some Might (which, if nothing else, is your de facto hitpoint pool). Being somewhat specialized, but not over-specialized, seems to be the way to go. Min-maxing is of limited usefulness at best-- one of the things I like about this system.
This post isn't about that, though. These are rules, that are not min-maxing, that you may not be aware of, that you can take advantage of to improve your Numenera/CS play experience.
(Yeah, yeah, I know... "it's role-playing, not roll-playing", but bear with me. I believe these rules are intended to be used this way, and do not cheapen the role-play experience at all. These are not, I emphasize, rules-lawyering loopholes, but, in my opinion, the actual intent and spirit of the rules, which for some reason are not widely known in their specific applications.)
I think people may miss this one in the rules because of what it's called. "Modifying" an ability, to me, sounds like a permanent change. It sounds like customizing the abilities your character has during character creation or perhaps advancement. When I was going through the old Core Rules the first time, I saw "Modifying Abilities", assumed it was an advanced character creation option, and moved on without reading it. I did not notice what I'd missed until much later.
That may just be me, I dunno. But it seems to me a lot of people don't know about modifying your abilities.
Anyway, "modifying" abilities is not about permanently changing them, but adapting them on an ad hoc basis to deal with the situation at hand. The example in the rules is of using the Hover esotery, which is normally self-only, on someone else. Ok, show of hands: how many people out there knew you could use Hover to make your friend hover? Or that you could use the ability Walks Through Walls from the Exists Partially Out of Phase focus on a friend? Or use teleporting abilities like Far Step or Bolt Rider on friends?
It is a difficulty 4 task to "modify" an ability in this way, so long as it is "within the […] general idea of the [original] ability". And using self-only buffs on people who aren't your self evidently falls within that paradigm. Actually if making self-only buffs other-castable were all you could do with this rule it would still be huge. But you can modify your abilities to do anything within the general idea of the ability, limited only by your imagination.
And some abilities have a pretty darn broad "general idea" of what they do. Think about Hedge Magic.
Have you ever encountered a player who took Hedge Magic as an ability and tried to use it for everything under the sun? This rule is how you adjudicate that kind of thing. Hedge Magic as written is extremely broad in the kinds of things it can do: moving things around, mending items, temporarily changing appearances, and more. It is generally limited to targeting "small" things in its ability description, but "modifying" it per this rule greatly, greatly expands the scope of what can be manipulated with Hedge. If making a self-only power target others is within the general idea of the original, then so is targeting big things with a small-thing-targeting power.
Note: Modifying a non-attacking power to be an attack is always at least a Formidable (difficulty 7) task. And formidable only if what you're trying to do is otherwise somewhat related to the theme of the original ability; the example from the rules is using Hover to make an enemy fly up rapidly and bump its head on the ceiling. That is difficulty 7 for the modify, followed by the attack roll against the enemy's level. Modifying Hover to shoot fireballs is difficulty 10, aka "impossible", but in fact theoretically possible given enough effort and training.
That brings us to our next Cypher System life-hack.
So, you can't, as a nano, take training in "attacks" generally, or even "attacks with esoteries", but you CAN take training in Onslaught (specifically). Since 99% of nanos use Onslaught as their primary (or sole) attack ability, it amounts to having attack training.
This life-hack can be combined with the previous one too. If you have an ability that you're likely to want to modify frequently, like Hover, Walk Through Walls, Hedge Magic, or Far Step, taking training in that specific ability (easing the modifies) may be worth considering.
***
These are both important rules to know, but they are not as widely known as they should be.
Not everyone min-maxes, sure, and I in fact would argue that literal min-maxing of a Cypher System character (e.g. assigning zero discretionary points to, say, Intellect and max points to Might), actually makes that character less robust when it comes to general-purpose adventuring than spreading things around, to an extent. Everyone needs some Intellect (for Perception, if nothing else), some Speed (for Speed Defense, if nothing else), and some Might (which, if nothing else, is your de facto hitpoint pool). Being somewhat specialized, but not over-specialized, seems to be the way to go. Min-maxing is of limited usefulness at best-- one of the things I like about this system.
This post isn't about that, though. These are rules, that are not min-maxing, that you may not be aware of, that you can take advantage of to improve your Numenera/CS play experience.
(Yeah, yeah, I know... "it's role-playing, not roll-playing", but bear with me. I believe these rules are intended to be used this way, and do not cheapen the role-play experience at all. These are not, I emphasize, rules-lawyering loopholes, but, in my opinion, the actual intent and spirit of the rules, which for some reason are not widely known in their specific applications.)
"Modify" Your Abilities (On the Fly)
Page 326 of the new Discovery book says something interesting. The passage in question is "Optional Rule: Modifying Abilities". (This passage exists also, worded largely the same, in the Cypher System book and first-edition Numenera book. I assume The Strange has it as well.)I think people may miss this one in the rules because of what it's called. "Modifying" an ability, to me, sounds like a permanent change. It sounds like customizing the abilities your character has during character creation or perhaps advancement. When I was going through the old Core Rules the first time, I saw "Modifying Abilities", assumed it was an advanced character creation option, and moved on without reading it. I did not notice what I'd missed until much later.
That may just be me, I dunno. But it seems to me a lot of people don't know about modifying your abilities.
Anyway, "modifying" abilities is not about permanently changing them, but adapting them on an ad hoc basis to deal with the situation at hand. The example in the rules is of using the Hover esotery, which is normally self-only, on someone else. Ok, show of hands: how many people out there knew you could use Hover to make your friend hover? Or that you could use the ability Walks Through Walls from the Exists Partially Out of Phase focus on a friend? Or use teleporting abilities like Far Step or Bolt Rider on friends?
It is a difficulty 4 task to "modify" an ability in this way, so long as it is "within the […] general idea of the [original] ability". And using self-only buffs on people who aren't your self evidently falls within that paradigm. Actually if making self-only buffs other-castable were all you could do with this rule it would still be huge. But you can modify your abilities to do anything within the general idea of the ability, limited only by your imagination.
And some abilities have a pretty darn broad "general idea" of what they do. Think about Hedge Magic.
Have you ever encountered a player who took Hedge Magic as an ability and tried to use it for everything under the sun? This rule is how you adjudicate that kind of thing. Hedge Magic as written is extremely broad in the kinds of things it can do: moving things around, mending items, temporarily changing appearances, and more. It is generally limited to targeting "small" things in its ability description, but "modifying" it per this rule greatly, greatly expands the scope of what can be manipulated with Hedge. If making a self-only power target others is within the general idea of the original, then so is targeting big things with a small-thing-targeting power.
Note: Modifying a non-attacking power to be an attack is always at least a Formidable (difficulty 7) task. And formidable only if what you're trying to do is otherwise somewhat related to the theme of the original ability; the example from the rules is using Hover to make an enemy fly up rapidly and bump its head on the ceiling. That is difficulty 7 for the modify, followed by the attack roll against the enemy's level. Modifying Hover to shoot fireballs is difficulty 10, aka "impossible", but in fact theoretically possible given enough effort and training.
That brings us to our next Cypher System life-hack.
Training in Specific Abilities
Another show of hands: how many of you knew nanos could become trained in attacks as a result of taking a trained skill for character advancement? "But Troy," I hear you saying, "the rules specifically say 'Choose one skill other than attacks or defense...'-- everyone knows only glaives can get training in attacks!" (Discovery page 128). Yes, yes, but on that same page, it also says, "if your character can make an Intellect roll to blast an enemy with mental force, you can become trained in using that ability, easing the task of using it."So, you can't, as a nano, take training in "attacks" generally, or even "attacks with esoteries", but you CAN take training in Onslaught (specifically). Since 99% of nanos use Onslaught as their primary (or sole) attack ability, it amounts to having attack training.
This life-hack can be combined with the previous one too. If you have an ability that you're likely to want to modify frequently, like Hover, Walk Through Walls, Hedge Magic, or Far Step, taking training in that specific ability (easing the modifies) may be worth considering.
***
These are both important rules to know, but they are not as widely known as they should be.
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