Browse the Cypher System

Creating illusions and affecting minds are sometimes considered "soft" magical disciplines (as opposed to "hard" disciplines that manipulate energy or physical matter). It's common for a character with an interest in one to learn a few spells in the other.

Combat flavor makes a character more martial. A Speaker with combat flavor in a fantasy setting would be a battle bard. An Explorer with combat flavor in a historical game might be a pirate. An Adept flavored with combat in a science fiction setting could be a veteran of a thousand psychic wars.

Sometimes a sorcerer isn't interested in combat magic and secrets of the universe. Sometimes "cozy magic" is enough: bonding with a group of close friends, having a nice house, and providing support and comfort in times of need.

Knowledge is power! Characters with the divination flavor are familiar with using magic to learn information, see into hidden places, and discover secrets.

You know a little about magic. You might not be a wizard, but you know the basics--how it works, and how to accomplish a few wondrous things. Of course, in your setting, "magic" might actually mean psychic powers, mutant abilities, weird alien tech, or anything else that produces interesting and useful effects. An Explorer flavored with magic might be a wizard-hunter, and a Speaker with magical flavor might be a sorcerer-bard. Although an Adept flavored with magic is still an Adept, you might find that swapping some of the type's basic abilities with those given here tailors the character in desirable ways.

Characters who live in a modern world with magic and technology often know a bit about mixing the two of them together. These characters usually pick up a few useful spells (such as disrupting hostile magic or disabling a mugger's pistol) from various sources, much like how people tend to learn skills unrelated to their day job (like cooking, dancing, and playing guitar).

Characters with the protection flavor use magic to defend against hostile environments, hazardous substances, dangerous creatures, and intrusive mental powers.

This flavor is for characters in roles that call for more knowledge and more real-world application of talent. It's less flashy and dramatic than supernatural powers or the ability to hack apart multiple foes, but sometimes expertise orknow-how is the real solution to a problem. A Warrior flavored with skills and knowledge might be a military engineer. An Explorer flavored with skills and knowledge could be a field scientist. A Speaker with this flavor might be a teacher.

Characters with the stealth flavor are good at sneaking around, infiltrating places they don't belong, and deceiving others. They use these abilities in a variety of ways, including combat. An Explorer with stealth flavor might be a thief, while a Warrior with stealth flavor might be an assassin. An Explorer with stealth flavor in a superhero setting might be a crimefighter who stalks the streets at night.

Characters with a flavor of technology typically are from science fiction or at least modern-day settings (although anything is possible). They excel at using, dealing with, and building machines. An Explorer with technology flavor might be a starship pilot, and a Speaker flavored with technology could be a techno-priest. Some of the less computer-oriented abilities might be appropriate for a steampunk character, while a modern-day character could use some of the abilities that don't involve starships or ultratech.