Be Thankful For Your Health -- The 5e Park Ranger!
7 months ago
– Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 10:21:52 AM
I’ll cut the preamble. This update was interrupted by my heart attack.
The event also revealed I’m a Type II diabetic so my life is in a rearrangement mode right now. (Very luckily, I am surrounded by caring family and friends.) So partner, I strongly advise this holiday season you cherish your loved ones. When you find out how much time you have with them, it’s sort of too late.
The 5e Park Ranger!
Reaching its final form, * we have the Park Ranger ready for 5e. The Park Ranger is as much at home inside the PBSO as much as outside of it (until those voices call them back to the Pit.) Those who read a bit further will notice a new tool proficiency and a new skill!
You have already noticed, as befits a game of satire and cosmic horror, the class levels only go to 10th level. In general, PCs in horror campaigns do not last as long as a traditional campaign; and at some point, the monsters get less scary when you have killed a parade of them. Games of horror and/or humor tend to run shorter.
Regardless, enjoy! We will have more previews coming soon!
Park Ranger
Hit Dice: d10
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Wisdom
Armor: Light and Medium
Weapons: Any
Tools: Anodyne tech manual and choice of one type of artisan’s tools or chemkit.
Skills (Choose 3): Acrobatics, Athletics, Geobiology Insight, Investigation, Perception, Stealth, and Survival
Park Ranger Features
You gain the following features when you reach the specified levels.
Level 1: Explorer Specialty
Choose one of the following benefits:
Pathfinder. You ignore difficult terrain.
Scout. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide.
Survivor. You are resistant to necrotic and poison damage. You also have advantage on saving throws made to avoid being poisoned.
Level 1: Overwatch
You gain the following benefits.
· You have advantage on initiative rolls.
· You have advantage on checks and saving throws made to avoid being surprised.
· At the start of combat and until the end of your first turn, you gain a bonus to your AC equal to half your proficiency modifier (rounded down).
Level 2: Vital Strike
You strike a target’s weak spot. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can use this feature to deal an additional 2d8 of your weapon’s damage.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain one expended use when you finish a short rest and all uses when you finish a long rest.
Level 3: Advanced Training
You gain one of the following benefits:
Cautious. You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid traps and hazards.
Nimble. You do not have disadvantage to your Dexterity (Stealth) checks due to wearing medium armor.
Vigilant. Being in dim light or a lightly obscured area doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Level 3: Expert Traveler
You have a climb and swim speed equal to your normal speed. In addition, you can add your Dexterity modifier instead of Strength when calculating your jumping distance.
Level 4: Ability Score Increase
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
You gain this feature again at Level 6, and again at Level 8.
You can attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Level 7: Agile Movements
You gain the following benefits:
· You have advantage on saving throws made to escape a grapple or avoid being knocked prone.
· Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Level 9: Deadly Strike
The bonus damage from your Vital Strike increases to 3d8.
Level 10: Ranger Adept
You gain the following benefits:
· Gain expertise in two skills of your choice from the Park Ranger skill list.
· You can take the Dash or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns. In addition, while you are hiding, any Wisdom or Intelligence checks made to locate or track your movements have disadvantage.
Surprise! As a thank you for your support we threw in an explosive feat as a bonus!
Demolitionist
You are skilled at using grenades and explosives.
• Increase your Strength or Wisdom score (choose one) by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You gain proficiency with grenades
• You can set an explosive charge or similar explosive device by using a bonus action.
*Does anything really reach its final form?
Long overdue but the Stretch goal PDF is here!
9 months ago
– Wed, Oct 08, 2025 at 08:36:29 PM
The Cypher PDF Stretch Goal!
Just last week, we sent the final Stretch Goal PDF, Excursion Codicil 3.6c, out to the inboxes for Docent, Records Keeper, Vice President, C-Suite, Entrepreneur, and Senator pledges. If you haven’t seen it yet, please check your spam folders first
With over fifty pages of Mystery Flesh Pit RPG goodness, the PDF is filled scenarios, creatures, NPCs and new rules. We also have a typo form for any issues are found. If you see something, say something (pretty please.) https://forms.gle/PVrKdArrZQVguSQV7
This is the last stretch goal for the Cypher System! We appreciate your patience and hope you have fun engaging with the chaos and carnage of the Mystery Flesh Pit.
The 5e Update:
Some unexpected roadblocks allowed us more playtest time to make some tweaks to the rules. Those hurdles, however, are now gone so the project should go to editing and layout soon. We hope to have the game out within a couple of months. I'm making a commitment to improving our communication again. Thank you again your support.
Setbacks and GenCon.
11 months ago
– Tue, Jul 29, 2025 at 08:50:10 PM
The 5e Mystery Flesh Pit PDF
This is still going forward but real life has slowed down our team as we wrap up the last bits of design and editing. We appreciate your patience for those who really excited for this part of the project.
MFP Stretch Goal PDF
I’ll get the unpleasantness out of the way; we lost our editor for the MFP Stretch Goal PDF at this moment.
Due to my fault, the pdf has quite a bit overstuffed and taken longer to edit than anticipated as well. It now has over 20 monsters, several locations to use and reuse for your missions in any of the three frameworks, and a couple of new tools like Secret Agendas and Manhunt Checks.
GenCon!
Which is why I’ll be taking hard copy to edit while I am at GenCon this weekend (7/31-8/3.) You can find me for most of GenCon at the Studio 2 alley (1929, 2029), though, with SkyDawn Studios. These are the guys who will bring Phatasy Star to the ttrpg scene next year.
Though I do plan to drop by Monte Cook Games space a few times, they can be found at ICC 131 & 132 across from the dealer’s hall. They invented the Cypher System, so you should swing by check out all the amazing, jaw-dropping things they do.
Again, thank you all for your support as we get closer to the finish line for the KS and look into the future.
