Basic Roleplaying vs Cypher System
Compare Basic Roleplaying and Cypher System side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Basic Roleplaying | Cypher System | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Skill-Based, Modular, Simulation, Gritty, Roleplay-Heavy, Investigation, Low-Fantasy, Classless | Narrative, Low-Prep, Exploration, Cinematic, Collaborative, Theater of the Mind, Roleplay-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 under your skill percentage to succeed. Critical success on 1/20th of skill value, fumble on 99–100. Opposed rolls compare results. Optional rules layer on complexity as desired. | GM sets difficulty 1–10, multiply by 3 for target number. Players spend Effort to reduce difficulty. |
| Dice | d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Community | Medium | High |
| License | ORC | Cypher System Open License |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium Inc. | Monte Cook Games |
| Year | 2023 | 2019 |
| Best For | GMs who want a modular, genre-agnostic percentile system they can tailor to any setting with optional rules for powers, combat, and more. | GMs who want minimal prep and players who enjoy spending resources to shape the story. |
| Highlights | Highly modular — add or remove subsystems at will, intuitive percentile mechanic, unified system across any genre, skill-based progression through use, long design heritage | Very easy GM prep, flexible character descriptors, XP for discovery |
| Considerations | Can feel generic without a specific setting, requires GM effort to select which optional rules to use, combat can be deadly and swingy | Players track most complexity, limited tactical combat, can feel same-y |