So here’s my first attempt at a Racial Descriptor using the rules on p.67 of the Cypher System Rulebook as a guide.
Drow
A race of cruel subterranean elves who worship a degenerate spider goddess, the Drow seek to enslave sentient races and eventually overtake the surface world and plunge it into darkness. A political war is waged underground between conniving Great Houses, always fighting for dominance in the dark.
So here’s my first attempt at a Cypher System hero, using the new rulebook from Monte Cook Games (with a splash of Numenera). I’ll give you the nice crunchy stats first, then after that I’ll explain how I put it all together. Hope you enjoy!
Geralt of Rivia, Witcher.
A Mutant Warrior who Slays Monsters.
Tier: 1
Effort: 1
Recovery: 1d6+1
Might : 13 Edge: 1
Speed: 11 Edge: 1
Intellect: 10 Edge: 0
Damage: Two Handed Sword 6, Light Crossbow 4
Armor: 1
Skills:
Climbing (T)
Jumping (T)
Herbalism (T)
Tracking (T)
Abilities:
Physical Nature, Cypher Use (2), Practiced with all Weapons, Extra Edge. Control the Field, Physical Skills (Climbing and Jumping), Entangling Force. Immune to Disease, Telekinetic Shield, Cosmetic Mutations: White Skin, White Hair, Yellow Eyes. Sword Wielder, Monster Bane, Monster Lore.
Inabilities:
Pleasant Social Interactions
Equipment:
Heavy Silver Blade, Heavy Iron Blade, Light Crossbow, Simple Clothing, Leather Jerkin (Light armor), Bedroll, Iron Rations (1), Crossbow Bolts (12), Burlap sack, Torches (3).
Building a Witcher
So with the Cypher System rulebook in my sweaty mitts (metaphorically speaking, I have the PDF version) I fancy having a crack at making a hero. In this case it is one of the protagonists from The Witcher games, Geralt of Rivia. So following the creative flow from the rulebook, let’s look at Type.
TYPE
I think Warrior is the perfect fit for Geralt as after all “Killing Monsters” is what he’s best at. I think a convincing argument could be made for the Explorer type, but I’m going to stick with my initial choice. However I think adding the Magic Flavour is also a good fit to represent his Wards and other inherent abilities. Bear in mind at Tier 1 this would be Geralt *very* early in his monster slaying career, so not every one of his abilities will be reflected here.
So alongside the standard abilities for being a Warrior, I need to make four ability choices. I decide on Extra Edge in order to give Geralt both a Might and Speed Edge. This represents both the alterations Geralts body has undergone and his rigorous Witcher training. In much the same vein Control the Field seems a good choice as Geralt is always seeking the upper hand with positioning in a fight. Physical Skills seems a wise choice, so I picked Climbing and Jumping. Lastly to represent some of his magical abilities, I chose Entangling Force, which could represent the Yrden sign.
DESCRIPTOR
Now on to his Descriptor. I’m going to cheat a little and dive into Numenera for this one as I think that ruleset has the perfect fit. Mutant. I’m going to take a few liberties and pick the mutations rather than rolling for them randomly. Firstly Immunity to Disease, fairly self explanatory. Secondly, Telekinetic Shield. Now, I’m going to handwave this and say its actually his enhanced reactions that grant him the bonus to his speed defense, not an actual manifestation. Last but by no means least, three cosmetic mutations. White hair, White Skin and Yellow Eyes, like those of a cat.
FOCUS
Lastly but by no means least, his Focus. This one is not a hard decision. Slays Monsters. Skill with a blade, extra damage to monsters and monster lore. Perfect. However I think there are still a couple of tweaks that need to be made just to round out our Witcher.
FINAL TWEAKS
Using the optional rules, I think giving Geralt Herbalism as a background skill won’t be game breaking and represents his ability to harvest ingredients and perhaps craft potions. Combining this with Monster Lore could mean Geralt harvests strange organs from monsters to make bizarre concoctions. Also, it’s not much good being an expert monster fighter if you can never find your quarry. However, I’m out of skills choices at the moment. Utilizing the optional rules once again, I give Geralt an Inability at Pleasant Social Interactions. Witchers are feared by reputation and their bizarre appearance so this seems a good choice. This means I can now pick one extra skill, which will be Tracking. With that, I think Geralt of Rivia is pretty much done.
GEARING UP
Now for his equipment. His weapon choices have to be two heavy blades, one iron, one silver. The argument could be made that they are ‘hand and a half’ weapons, but Geralts fighting style is ostensibly two handed. Perhaps Geralt only gets his damage bonus against monsters from his Focus if he is using the Silver Blade, just for giggles. A light crossbow for some ranged threat. Let’s give him some Leather Armor, which gives him a good mix of mobility and protection. As his skills develop he can purchase some heavier armor. A bedroll for camping out under the stars. Throw in some iron rations, crossbow bolts, a burlap sack for monster trophies, three torches to stave off the dark and Geralt is ready to go.
Oh, perhaps one last thing, again stealing from Numenera, an oddity in the shape of a wolfs head amulet, jaws agape, that vibrates when a monster is within Immediate distance.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Geralt certainly isn’t the most resilient warrior on the block, however he’s adept at dodging blows and gaining good battlefield positioning over his enemies. His non combat skills provide good utility for pursuing his quarry and for negotiating terrain. In combat he hits like a freight train when fighting monsters, doing a colossal 7 points of damage base with his two handed swords. While society may not accept him due to his strange origins and appearance, sometimes your problem can only be solved by a Witcher.
So there you have it, one Witcher ready to enact some heavy punishment on the monsters of your Cypher System world. Would you do it differently?
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Cypher System Core Rulebook is property of Monte Cook Games.
The Witcher Video Game franchise is property of CD Projekt RED which is based on the literary works of Andrezj Sapkowski.
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