IN TRANSLATION
The Strange Character Options
Writer/Designer Bruce R. Cordell
Developer
Monte Cook
Creative Director Shanna Germain
Editor and Proofreader Ray Vallese
Cover Artist Matt Stawicki
Graphic Designer Bear Weiter
Artists Jacob Atienza, Marco Caradonna, Nicholas Cloister, Sam Cullum, Dreamstime.com,
David Hueso, Baldi Konijn, Guido Kuip, Brandon Leach, Eric Lofgren, Grzegorz Pedrycz,
Mike Perry, John Petersen, Michael Phillippi, Roberto Pitturru, Joe Slucher, Lee Smith,
Matt Stawicki, Cyril Terpent, Cory Trego-Erdner, Tiffany Turrill, Shane Tyree, Cathy Wilkins
Monte Cook Games Editorial Board Scott C. Bourgeois, David Wilson Brown, Eric Coates, Gareth
Hodges, Jeremy Land, Laura Wilkinson, Marina Wold, George Ziets
© 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.
THE STRANGE and its logo are
trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.
All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the
distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC.
Printed in Canada
Credits
Table of Contents
4
In Translation is crammed with more options for creating new characters, options for advancing
existing characters to higher tiers, and perhaps most important, additional
foci
for existing
characters when they translate between recursions. In fact, In Translation more than doubles the
number of foci presented in The Strange corebook. That’s important for several reasons.
When a player character begins playing The Strange, she starts from a single recursion, which
is probably Earth. Because only some of all the foci in the corebook are available in any given
recursion, the PC chooses her focus from a limited subset. So even though about thirty foci are
presented in The Strange corebook, a PC starting on Earth can choose from only about eight of
them. With In Translation, which introduces more than thirty new foci, that’s now opened up.
That said, PCs in The Strange have the opportunity to gain additional foci each time they
translate, which is another reason why In Translation was needed. Characters will go through foci
at a much higher rate over the course of a campaign than in another Cypher System game where
a PC’s focus remains static over the same period. More foci means that player characters have
more potential to remain differentiated as they adventure amid the limited worlds of Magic, Mad
Science, Standard Physics, and more.
In addition, foci are a great way for players (and GMs) to learn more about the recursion
where the foci are offered, even if indirectly. For example, it says something about a recursion if a
character can choose
Pilots Starcraft
as opposed to
Throws Boulders
.
Finally, it was important to create more foci because, essentially, foci are cool.
INTRODUCTION
5
INTRODUCTION
One of the biggest challenges in writing In Translation was coming up with more interesting
foci for Earth, especially when foci like
Soars Across the Sky
and
Aspires to Be Posthuman
are
available. Lots of Earth professions are too narrow, too limited, or—let’s face it—too boring to
interest a player. The discerning question we had to ask ourselves was, “Would a tier 6 ability
of a proposed Earth focus stack up reasonably well against a tier 6 ability from an Ardeyn or
Ruk focus?” If the answer was no, that focus concept was discarded. Thankfully, after some
brainstorming and deep thinking, we’re thrilled with what we’ve come up with for new Earth foci,
and we think you will be too.
Besides foci, In Translation offers new
descriptors
, including
Introverted
,
Crazy
,
Spiritual
, and
Slacker
.
Last but not least, the Character Type Options chapter offers tons of new special abilities for
paradoxes, spinners, and vectors.
So there you have it: a big book of new options designed to give your characters years of
additional fun exploring the recursions of The Strange!
Throughout this book, you’ll see page
references to various items accompanied by
this symbol. These are page references to
The Strange corebook, where you can find
additional details about that item, place,
creature, or concept. It isn’t necessary to look
up the referenced items in the corebook, but
doing so will provide useful information for
character creation and gameplay.
Aspires to Be Posthuman,
page 29
I AM AN
ADJECTIVE NOUN WHO VERBS
As a reminder, creating your character for The Strange comes down to building a simple sentence: “I am a [fill in an
adjective here] [fill in a noun here] who [fill in a verb here].” Thus: “I am an adjective noun who verbs.”
For example, you might say, “I am a Meticulous spinner who Aspires to Be Posthuman” or “I am a Crazy paradox
who Manipulates Strange Energy.”
In this sentence, the adjective is your descriptor.
The noun is your character type.
The verb is your focus.
For complete details on creating a character for The Strange, including stats, tiers, skills, character sheets, and a
character creation walkthrough, see The Strange corebook (especially Part 2: Character Creation).
6
If you play a vector, paradox, or spinner in The
Strange, the total number of moves, revisions, and
twists you can choose from each tier just expanded.
Using Special Abilities: Using these abilities
often costs points from your stat
Pools
. The
cost is listed in parentheses after the ability
name. Your
Edge
in the appropriate stat can
reduce the cost of the ability, but remember
that you can apply Edge only once per action.
Sometimes the point cost for an ability has a
+ sign after the number. For example, the cost
might be given as “2+ Intellect points.” That
means you can spend more points or more
levels of
Effort
to improve the ability further.
Many special abilities grant a character the
option to perform an action that she couldn’t
normally do, such as summoning an object
from a recursion or attacking multiple foes at
once. Using one of these abilities is an action
unto itself, and the end of the ability description
says “Action” to remind you. It also might
provide more information about when or how
you perform the action.
Some special abilities allow you to perform a
familiar action—one that you can already do—in
a different way. For example, an ability might
let you weather mental effects, gain mastery
over routine tasks, or inflict damage if attacking
someone from the shadows. These abilities
are called enablers. Using one of these abilities
is not considered an action. Enablers either
function constantly (such as being able to wear
heavy armor, which isn’t an action) or happen
as part of another action (such as summoning
an object to your hand immediately before using
the object as your normal action). If a special
ability is an enabler, the end of the ability’s
description says “Enabler” to remind you.
CHARACTER TYPE OPTIONS
Pool, page 16
Edge, page 17
Effort, page 17
7
CHARACTER TYPE OPTIONS
Fleet of Foot, page 26
SECOND-TIER VECTOR
Drop Out (2 Might points): You enter into a
deathlike trance so deep that you appear to be
dead for up to one day. During this time you
do not need food or water, and you have +5 to
Armor against the effects of cold, fire, vacuum,
or other extreme effects of the environment.
Against damage from attacks, this same benefit
grants you +2 to Armor, though a direct attack
also shocks you out of your trance. You are
not aware of your surroundings while you’ve
dropped out. Action to initiate.
Mighty Blow (2 Might points): You strike two
foes with a single blow. Make separate attack
rolls for each foe, but both attacks count as
a single action in a single round. You remain
limited by the amount of Effort you can apply
on one action. Anything that modifies your
attack or damage applies to both of these
attacks. Action.
VECTOR: NEW MOVES
Vectors can add these new special abilities to
the list when selecting their moves for each tier.
FIRST-TIER VECTOR
Control the Field (1 Might point): This melee
attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than
normal, but regardless of whether you hit the
target, you maneuver it into a position you
desire within immediate range. Action.
Move Like the Wind (3 Speed points): When
you call on your reserves, you can move a long
distance each round as your turn. If you also have
the
Fleet of Foot
move and you use Move Like the
Wind, if you succeed at a difficulty 2 Speed roll to
run, you can move a long distance and take an
action in the same round (in that order). Action.
Opportunist: You have an asset on any attack roll
you make against a creature within immediate
range that has been attacked at some point
during the round by someone else. Enabler.
8
by one step. If you also have
Ignore the Pain
,
make a difficulty 1 Might defense roll when
you reach 0 points in all three of your Pools to
immediately regain 1 Might point and avoid
dying. Each time you attempt to save yourself
with this ability before your next ten-hour
recovery roll
, the difficulty increases by one
step. Enabler.
FIFTH-TIER VECTOR
Assassinate (5 Intellect points): If you
successfully attack a creature that was
previously unaware of your presence, you deal
9 additional points of damage. Enabler.
Improved Success: When you roll a 17 or higher
on an attack roll that deals damage, you deal an
additional point of damage. For instance, if you
roll a natural 18, which normally deals 2 extra
points of damage, you deal 3 extra points instead.
If you roll a natural 20 and choose to deal damage
instead of achieve a special major effect, you deal
5 extra points of damage. Enabler.
Take Command (3 Intellect points): You draw
upon your presence and authority as a vector
to issue a specific command to an ally. On
the ally’s turn, if it chooses to listen to your
command, the difficulty of any task or attack it
attempts is reduced by one step, and it deals 3
additional points of damage. Action.
SIXTH-TIER VECTOR
Magnificent Moment: If you make an attack or
attempt a task with the immediate action you
gain by using Seize the Moment, the difficulty
is reduced by one step. Enabler.
Wild Vitality (4 Intellect points): You attune with
the life force of a natural creature (your size
or bigger) within long range that you can see.
This is a level 2 Intellect task. If you succeed,
the creature is not harmed, but through
resonance with its wild vitality, you gain several
benefits for up to one minute: an asset to all
your Might-based tasks (including attacks and
defenses), +2 to your Might Edge and Speed
Edge, and 2 additional points of damage on all
successful melee attacks. Action to initiate.
Sidestep Detonation: You have an uncanny
ability to avoid ground zero for explosive
attacks, such as those created by grenade
detonations or similar effects. Even if you fail
a Speed defense roll to avoid such an attack,
you gain +2 to Armor against the damage that
particular attack inflicts. Enabler.
THIRD-TIER VECTOR
From the Shadows: If you successfully attack
a creature that was previously unaware of
your presence, you deal 3 additional points of
damage. Enabler.
Reaction: If a creature you attacked on your last
turn with a melee attack uses its action to move
out of immediate range, you gain an action
to attack the creature as a parting blow, even
if you have already taken a turn in the round.
Enabler.
Seize the Moment (4+ Speed points): If you
succeed on a Speed defense roll to resist an
attack, you gain an action. You can use the
action immediately even if you have already
taken a turn in the round. You don’t take an
action during the next round, unless you
apply a level of Effort when you use Seize the
Moment. Enabler.
FOURTH-TIER VECTOR
Momentum: If you use an action to move, your
next attack made using a melee weapon before
the end of the next round inflicts 2 additional
points of damage. Enabler.
Opening Gambit (4 Might points): Your melee
attack shreds the defenses of a target. Any
energy-based defenses it has (such as a force
field or mental ward) are negated for 1d6 + 1
rounds. If the creature has no energy-based
defenses, its Armor is reduced by 2 for one
minute. If it has no energy-based defenses or
Armor, the difficulty of all attacks made against
the creature is lowered by one step for one
minute. Action.
Tough As Nails: When you are impaired or
debilitated, the difficulty of Might-based tasks
and defense rolls you attempt is decreased
Ignore the Pain,
page 28
Recovery roll, page 108
Bash, page 26
Characters can’t apply
Effort or other moves,
such as Bash, to any task
they accomplish using
Tough As Nails.
9
CHARACTER TYPE OPTIONS
If you apply a level of Effort when you use this
ability on an intelligent target that doesn’t share
your language, you can communicate with the
target reasonably well. Action to initiate.
Summon From Recursion (3 Intellect points):
An object that you’ve previously designated
and prepared instantly appears in your hand.
The object must be small enough to fit in your
hand. This is a difficulty 2 Intellect-based task.
Preparing a designated object requires that
you use this power on it as you place it in a
secure location you’ve set aside, such as a
locked chest, safe, or treasury. If the object is
moved after you’ve prepared and secured it,
you lose your link to it. You can have up to three
prepared items at the same time. Enabler.
PARADOX: NEW REVISIONS
Paradoxes can add these new special abilities to
the list when selecting their revisions for each
tier.
FIRST-TIER PARADOX
Anomalous Pulse (1 Intellect point): A target
within long range is subject to a disorienting,
brain-jarring pulse of energy that deals 1 point
of damage that ignores Armor. On a successful
attack, in addition to the damage, the difficulty
of all actions attempted by the target on its next
turn increases by one step. Action.
Disperse Strange Energy (2 Intellect points): An
ongoing effect created by a cypher within short
range ends. If the effect is affecting a creature,
you must succeed on an Intellect-based attack
to end it. Action.
Entangling Force (1+ Intellect point): A target
within short range is subject to a snare
constructed of semi-tangible lines of force
for one minute. The force snare is a level 2
construct. A target caught in the force snare
cannot move from its position, but it can attack
and defend normally. The target can also spend
its action attempting to break free. You can
apply Effort to increase the level of the force
snare by 1 per level of Effort applied. Action to
initiate.
SECOND-TIER PARADOX
Concussive Blast (2 Intellect points): You
release a beam of pure force that smashes
into a creature within short range, inflicting 5
points of damage and moving it an immediate
distance farther back. Action.
Mental Link (1+ Intellect point): You open a
pathway to another creature’s mind via a light
touch, which allows you to transmit thoughts
and images to each other. You can communicate
without having to speak, though communication
is vastly improved if you both speak the same
language. The mental link remains regardless of
distance (but not across recursion boundaries)
and lasts for one hour. Instead of applying Effort
to decrease the difficulty, you can extend the
duration by one hour for each level of Effort
applied.
Disperse Strange Energy
could reintroduce to the
timestream the target of a
stasis keeper, strip away the
asset to Speed defense rolls
granted by a temporary
shield, make visible the
subject of a vanisher, or
eliminate the ability of
a water adapter user to
breathe underwater, for
example.