Resource Points

Resource points are a way to accomplish goals you set for yourself. They allow you to choose what you want to do and then advance toward that goal. Need to know a secret way into the castle? Need to get the ship's hyperdrive back on line? Need to convince someone to keep an eye on things while you're gone? Spend resource points.

Gaining Resource Points

Each time you advance your character (such as by learning a new skill, increasing your Effort score, adding another point to your Edge, and so on), you also gain 1 resource point. Starting at tier 3, you gain 2 resource points (instead of 1) each time you advance. At tier 5, you gain 3 resource points (instead of 2) each time you advance.

The GM may award you additional resource points depending on the situation.

Goals and Activities

The following is not a comprehensive list of goals and activities, but it gives a general idea of what you can accomplish by spending resource points (or, in the case of resting and carousing, what you don't accomplish).

Carouse (0 Resource Points): Most times, carousing merely means enjoying ale drinks at an inn, but occasionally, interesting things happen as a result.

Rest (0 Resource Points): Resting, relaxing, visiting friends and/or loved ones, or otherwise taking it easy.

Collaborate (1+ Resource Points): You help another character with their endeavor by contributing your resources to their effort. You both gain the benefit—sharing the new connection made, making the new friend, or learning the interesting information together.

If the character you're helping is crafting an object, doing something that benefits only them, or otherwise pursuing a singular goal, don't contribute your resource points on the collaboration unless you just want to help (and not because you feel obligated or expect something in return).

Craft Cypher (1+ Resource Points): You can craft a specific manifest cypher appropriate to your genre from the list of manifest cyphers. Your crafting skill determines the power level of cypher you can craft, and the power level determines the resource point cost.

Some character types have a special ability that allows them to craft cyphers without spending resource points. Of course, these characters can still spend resource points to craft something outside their area of expertise. For example, a Witch can use Brew Potion to make a potion cypher without spending resource points, but the character could spend resource points to make a "magic arrow" cypher.

Craft Object (1 Resource Point): If you are trained in crafting, you craft an item appropriate to your genre of up to level 4. This might be a piece of furniture, a weapon, an art object, a garment, and so on (but not a cypher or artifact). Higher-level and higher-technology items cost more resource points and require at least specialization in crafting; work with your GM for the point cost and details.

Make a Contact (1+ Resource Points): You make a useful contact that may help you in one future task, such as a local blacksmith, the innkeeper, a guild rep for the star pilot's union, the magistrate, and so on. The contact isn't your ally, but they slip you a warning, give you a heads up when something interesting happens, give you a discount on a service, or something similar. The contact's level is 3 if you spend 1 resource point, 5 if you spend 2 points, and 7 if you spend 3 points. You can't usually make a contact higher than level 7 using resource points.

Make Investment (1 Resource Point): You invest some funds (at least an expensive amount) in an NPC's business, expedition, or other venture. If things go well with the venture, you might earn dividends (regular income) from it in the future.

Repair Object (1 Resource Point): If you are trained in crafting, you repair an item appropriate to your genre of up to level 4. The repairs you can do depend on the genre you're playing. For example, if playing in a modern real-world game, you could repair a broken or failing engine, an electrical outlet, an air conditioner, and so on. If you're playing in a science fiction game, you can repair more complicated genre-appropriate items such as a water purifier, hovercar, blaster weapon, ship's hyperdrive, and so on.

Research (1+ Resource Points): You learn a useful piece of information, such as a demon's name, the general layout of an important place like a castle or battlecruiser, who you really need to talk to in order to begin negotiations, a computer password, and so on.

The higher the level of information you wish to learn (usually equal to the level of the most important NPC involved or the level of the secret the GM determines), the higher the resource point cost.

Information above level 7 usually can't be researched using resource points; it happens during actual game sessions.

Restore Follower (1+ Resource Points): If your follower dies, is destroyed, is severely incapacitated, or is otherwise lost, you can spend resource points to revive, replace, heal, or rediscover the follower, returning them to their normal healthy and active state. This resource point cost is half the follower's level (minimum 1). How much time it takes depends on the ability that gave you the follower (usually several days); if the ability doesn't specify how much time it takes, you need to spend about a week.

Befriend (2+ Resource Points): You tentatively make a friend (such as a drinking buddy at a tavern, another adventurer, an artist or performer, and so on) who has a strong potential to remain your friend for a long time. Your friend might be convinced to accompany you on a single outing (such as a date, a trip, or perhaps even an adventure if they have that skillset). If this friend ends up hurt or worse while with you, the resource point cost for befriending anyone else doubles. The resource point cost of the friend is equal to twice the friend's level, up to a maximum of level 7. Work with your GM to determine your friend's details.

Note that you can also make friends with NPCs you meet through the normal course of play without spending resource points. The "befriend" goal merely offers another option.

Craft Artifact (5+ Resource Points): If you are specialized or expert in crafting, you can create an artifact appropriate to your genre of up to level 5. The artifact usually only grants a single benefit, such as easing a particular task or attack, or inflicting additional damage if an attack hits. The Cypher GM's Guide has many examples of simple artifacts; work with your GM to figure out the details of what you can make.

[!quote] Resource points represent a high-level synthesis of your character's available time, access to appropriate resources, luck, perhaps additional financial resources not listed on your character sheet, and any other factors that might contribute to accomplishing a particular goal.

Spending Time

Most things you use resource points for take time to accomplish, with the amount of time depending on your goal. In a real-world game, fixing an electrical outlet might take an hour or two, making a friend might require a few nights out on the town, and repairing an engine might take the better part of a week. In a sci-fi game where you have a workshop with advanced fabrication machines, building a vehicle or a suit of power armor might be something you design on a computer for a few hours and set aside to be 3D- or 4D-printed overnight. There's no hard and fast rule; it just needs to fit the story and make sense. The time you spend could be entirely during downtime but is more likely intertwined with everything else your character does, including adventuring.

Once you've put in the amount of time required, you spend the resource points and accomplish the goal. Usually, no roll is required.