Introduction

The word "edition" does not have a very precise definition. Sometimes, a book that's just had some typos corrected and a new cover is called a new edition of that book. That seems more like a "revised edition" to me at best, but like I said, definitions are murky in the publishing industry. When it comes to roleplaying game players, though, we're all pretty much nerds of one stripe or another. And as nerds, we all like somewhat more precise definitions for our stuff.

I have some experience in this regard. So I'm taking it upon myself to put forth this definition for our specific nerdy needs:

A new edition of a roleplaying game is one that isn't just revised. The contents have been written from the ground up. Some original text might be reused, but only after it's been thoroughly examined and tested to make sure it works with the new material. All the material has been presented based on extensive experience playing the prior edition to make it easier to learn and reference in a game. While the game's overall vibe may or may not be significantly different, the gameplay is significantly altered. There might be some attempts to make the new edition compatible with the prior one (usually referred to as "backward compatibility"), but any player of the old edition who plays the new one should realize almost immediately that things are quite different. And, ideally, better.

What you're reading now is absolutely a new edition. It's Cypher System second edition, to be precise, although we just call it Cypher now. If you're looking for a name to distinguish it, I hear the cool kids call it Cypher 2, or just C2. But your mileage may vary.

(Some of you might say, "Um, actually, it's the third edition because the first edition came out in 2015 and the second in 2019." No. The 2019 book was Cypher System revised. Almost none of the rules changed - we just changed the way the material was presented so that it was easier to use as a toolbox for the GM to build their own world and game.)

Cypher System truly launched in 2013 in the pages of the Numenera corebook, where the rules debuted. And that makes Cypher the exception rather than the rule. Often, when a game gets a new edition, the designer or designers behind it have changed. In the best-case scenario, the new designers bring new ideas and a fresh perspective. In the worst, they ignore (or simply don't know) the lessons learned in prior editions and are mostly interested in making their own mark on the game.

But for better or worse, I've personally overseen every revision, every edition, and (almost) every game we've produced that uses the Cypher rules, in collaboration with the same designers - Bruce Cordell, Sean Reynolds, and Shanna Germain - who have worked on almost every version. I think it's safe to say that no one on the planet has logged more hours playing and running this game than this team. And I daresay that experience matters. It matters because it's taught us what needs to change and what needs to remain the same.

Our team has also spent a lot of time reading what people say about the game online. We talk to people at conventions and game stores. Many of these people are huge fans of the game with lots of experience using the rules themselves. Others found that the game wasn't for them for various reasons. Regardless, we listened to everyone and took every bit of feedback seriously.

When done right, a second edition of a game is pretty much always an improvement. A designer who puts together a brand-new game can playtest it extensively, but it's never going to get as much play as when it's been out for a few (around a dozen or so) years. All those new players will find any and all of the flaws or holes in a brand-new (first edition) of a game. But by the time a second edition comes around, the core of that game has been put through its paces. Tens of thousands of people have played some version of Cypher and probably found things they loved and other things they loved less. We've worked hard to use all that gameplay as the foundation of this new edition of Cypher.

Obviously, the book you have before you itself represents a huge change. It's not the entire game - just the material geared toward players. It might be too much to ask everyone at a table to own a copy of a big rulebook, and with printing costs going up and up, that seems even more onerous. Only the GM needs all the GM advice, the creature stats, the worldbuilding material, and so on, so we've put all of that in the Cypher GM's Guide. Oh, you could play the game with just this book (and if that's what you want to do, more power to you), but if you're the GM, you'll probably get a lot out of having both books as a nice set. And of course, there's a Cypher Bestiary and more books to come to support the game and give you lots of exciting material to make your own campaigns better and better.

I first started testing Numenera back in 2010, and what you hold in your hands now is the result of fifteen years of design and play experience. All of us that have a hand in its creation feel certain that you'll like what you find in its pages. We've been getting a lot out of this new set of rules, and we're so happy to share it with you.

Monte Cook