First Responders

First Responders is yet another addition to the fantastic Cypher System multiverse (Cypherverse?), featuring full games like Numenera, The Strange, and supplemental games to the core rules like Predation, We’re All Mad Here, and Claim the Sky..

Here, designers Bruce R. Cordell and Shanna Germain trade fantasy heroics for ones that mirror real acts of heroism, with players taking on the roles of firefighters, medics, bomb disposal experts, or anyone who’d fall under the category of “First Responder” when a real-world catastrophe strikes. It can add these features to existing Cypher System games, or become a game on its own with the full rules provided by the Cypher System Rulebook.

The book makes it clear that this game might not feel right for some, as we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, and climate change is creating very real world crises. But this game isn’t about perfectly simulating a real-world crisis. The goal still is narrative and drama, but instead of being a bunch of elves stopping an evil sorcerer from assembling all the crystal shards of power, you’re preventing a building from collapsing, putting out a fire, or giving people life-saving treatments.

But nothing’s stopping you from adding these rules to a fantasy setting. If you like playing Cypher System games like Numenera or The Strange, or are using the setting books like The Stars Are Fire or Godforsaken, this supplement will help you find game scenarios that aren’t just about defeating enemies, and will let you flesh out what life looks like for people who do live in fantastical settings.

A dragon obliterates a fantasy village: Who shows up to help those people? A radiation leak is causing havoc on a space station orbiting Europa: Who steps in to secure that? First Responders provides the rules to handle those scenarios. It’s kind of a game-changer for the Cypher System, providing way more than stock TTRPG hero shenanigans.

I hope Monte Cook Games considers doing something like this for 5e, honestly. Because these ideas are too good to be confined to a single system.