Cypher and horror
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 10, 2023 at 09:15:10 PM

Out on the Internet, some have voiced confusion about using Cypher as a Horror ttRPG. While it is true that Cypher leans towards competent heroes that grown even stronger, a lot can be changed when a GM curates the power level of the Focuses they allow for a campaign. Rides the Lightning has a different Tier 6 vibe than Would Rather Be Reading for example.

The core game, though, has Stay Alive! a horror genre book and Monte Cook Game had a $2 million crowdfunding to use Cypher as a the ttRPG for the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast with Cypher. So the game is no stranger to the darker side.

What we tweaked

For Mystery Flesh Pit, we dig even deeper (see what we did there) to increase the horror vibe and impending doom. Some Cypher basics have been modified. 

A GM Intrusion cannot be rerolled with Grit (more on Grit in a later update), and the escalating Horror Mode from Cypher’s Horror genre chapter is cranked up to eleven, allowing a GM to activate the mode even when a character uses PBSO-Manifestation.

PBSO- Manifestations

Mystery Flesh Pit fans know the in-universe name for the Pit is the Permian Basin Superorganism, or PBSO. So what are Manifestations?

There is a new Flavor introduced in Mystery Flesh Pit game and it also serves as bit of side-canon to the MFP universe. Either by contact with industrial MFP by-product or simply having your ancestors live above a cosmic horror for generations, you have developed abilities. You may call them a curse, but Anodyne and others call them Manifestations. 

And as a Flavor, it costs a player their Type abilities to acquire them – but it is not the only cost.

Cyphers and Artifacts are still in the game as Prototypes and Special Issue. Prototypes are still one use items delivering amazing powers to the PCs, though they had a tendency to ruin your eyesight or explode. Special Issue items are much more dependable and several of them will look familiar to MFP fans.

If half those words didn’t mean a thing, we’ve got you covered on a future update!

Mea Cupa, Dang URLs

For whatever reason, Mr. Tarrasque's Isle of the Dreaded Accursed KS hyperlink  didn’t hyper nor link even though the link was in the copy. I’m trying this one more time to make good. Check his KS out for more Cypher System fantasy goodness.

Just on the edge of $35,000 and secrets unveiled!
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 08, 2023 at 06:33:16 PM

That was fast but are you up for a challenge

Wow. I had no idea our humble stretch goals would be almost gone in under a week! Which means we are down to our two mysterious final Stretch Goals! 

$45,000 - More Cypher goodness PDF

More art, more critters, more prototypes and more special issue items. If we reach this, the book will be more jaw dropping and the PDF stretch goal will stretch even more with a Requisitions Catalogue.   

$60,000 - Unlocking another rule set

The beauty of tabletop gaming is there so many ways to do it. At this level of support we add another rule set. The final form of these rules will depend on final funding. 

But we need to know what rule system that will be! Please let us know here, what game you are thinking of with this very simple poll. 

There is never enough  Cypher Fantasy 

We bring you more cool people and cool Cypher project with Mr. Tarrasque! His Isle of the Dreaded Accursed, a fantasy adventure originally written and published for 5th edition but now Mr. Tarrasque, and a small team of enthusiasts (some you might know), want to translate it in to the Cypher System. The KS is focused on one PDF pledge.  Check it out! 

https://www.backerkit.com/c/henrik-hertogs/isle-of-the-dreaded-accursed-for-the-cypher-system?ref=pit

Do Not Attempt To Adjust The Picture …
over 1 year ago – Fri, May 05, 2023 at 10:18:04 AM

… We will control all that you see and hear

Last night we had the game designer, Christopher Robin Negelein/Ganza Gaming on the Cypher Unlimited Twitch podcast. MFP Creator, Trevor Roberts, had technical issues but popped up in chat!

Check it out on their YouTube channel and learn about the mysteries of the Cypher System and the Pit – and also learn they are doing raffle for one or two spots be part of something special next Thursday.

What is this special event? It is cooler than that BOGO sale back in the 1980s for MFP beanie babies! it is a streaming game this Thursday run by the game designer for the CU crew and one lucky YouTube commenter. Check out the CU channel for more or dive into the CU Discord.!

Especially what you see

Some MFP fans, may have noticed these tourists are not on the Mystery Flesh Pit website. They are all original art for this Kickstarter. All of the art in the book, new and classic MFP, will be by Trevor. 

We are not yet in the layout stage so we do not know what the final ratio of old to new will be. But there's a way you can directly influence that - by spreading the word! Because the bigger our final number, the more art we can commission for Trevor!

You are controlling the transmission

And when you spread the word, don’t forget we now have new pledge packages and still still have $45,000 adventure trilogy stretch goal to bag and tag with more on the horizon! 

They are here! All digital pledge and international shipping! 1st Stretch Goal Down!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 04, 2023 at 09:50:41 PM

Thank you all for your patience and understanding

You asked and we listened. 

Pledges with book rewards now have an international shipping option and we have two new pledges!

The first new pledge are for those who wanted an all digital tier!

Docent - $30: In the book's Pledge Gratitude section, you will be listed as a Docent In addition to early access, you will also get the PDF and all PDF stretch goals. 

More people wanted awesome patches but were bummed the C-Suite was closed. The new Vice President pledge now offers a different exclusive Wave 2 patch. Those who backed at the C-Suite will also get Wave 2 patch gratis as a thank you for being an early bird supporter!

Vice President- $75: In the book's Pledge Gratitude section, you will be listed as a Vice President. You get all the previous goodies plus an exclusive physical Wave 2 MFP patch! This is an unlimited pledge.

We will update the KS story tomorrow to reflect the new pledges. 

In the meantime, if you know someone who was holding off in hopes of these pledges, please let them know!

Dang! First Stretch Goal Bagged!

We have even more news tomorrow, but we felt that hitting you with three updates within in 12 hours would be a bit spammy so we're including it here. 

We hit the More Lifeforms stretch goal so your books will be graced with 10 more intrapit life forms. Keep your oxygen tanks and copepod repellant handy! Trevor has some twisted visuals coming our way! 

The $35,000 Stretch Goal (The I-9 Adventure Trilogy - PDF only) is next! 

The trilogy supports the three different frameworks introduced in the core book, Public Service, Private Contractors, and Special Contingency. While the core book explains the frameworks and provide mini-adventures. The I-9 Trilogy will provide GM tools and bigger adventures to inspire whole campaigns.

What's coming after the I-9 Trilogy? Stay tuned 'cause we digging even deeper into the Pit! 

The turnstiles are packed!
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 03, 2023 at 03:54:49 PM

The ride will begin shortly

First of all, thanks again for all of you making this a successful Kickstarter in less than a day! None of us would have guess that was going to happen. So much so that our pledge goals were designed for a smaller audience.  We are going to need more guest seating in our Venterial Environment Excursion Vehicles!

Right now, We are doing the math and talking to vendors to either modify or create new pledges to accommodate demand, so please give us a few days to straighten it out. It is greatly appreciated!

Q&A

We have also had supporters ask for clarifications about the core book, shipping, a pledge, and what's our Cypher street cred, which means if one person has taken the time to ask, there are many others who wondering the same:

• The Book: It will be a full color standard hardcover POD book, and thanks to your support will already be 200 + pages. 
• On shipping: After we collect the mailing addresses,  we will send the spreadsheet to DTRPG for printing and shipping. No need to have a DTRPG account or pay for at cost printing. We felt that was less hassle for our supporters compared to buying the book with an at-cost print code.
• The Record Keeper Pledge: It does provide both the book and PDF. The PDF is mentioned again because it includes all the PDF stretch goals.

Cypher System street cred

Until very recently, every Cypher System Kickstarter was from Monte Cook Games and they have set a high bar with their excellent production values and game design. So, some supporters ask how we fit into the Cypher System family. 

Months before MCG went public with the Cypher System Open License, they selected us and two other publishers to be the first adopters of the open license. They had seen the work we had put out in the community content sphere both in graphic and game designs. For example here at the Ganza Gaming label, we have made numerous 5-star community content Cypher PDFs and our Mortal Fantasy PDF is a Gold seller on DriveThru RPG.

In essence, while we are not Monte Cook Games, they gave us an opportunity and we are grateful for it.

And if you are not familiar with the Cypher community overall, we are always excited for new things, cool people, and to spread the love. So if you like crystalpunk fantasy in your Cypher, then check out Underground Oracle Publishing’s KS, which is ending soon! They are bringing their world from 5e to Cypher!