Cypher System vs D6 System
Compare Cypher System and D6 System side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cypher System | D6 System | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Narrative, Low-Prep, Exploration, Cinematic, Collaborative, Theater of the Mind, Roleplay-Heavy | Toolkit, Modular, Cinematic, Hackable, Skill-Based, Character Building |
| Core Mechanic | GM sets difficulty 1–10, multiply by 3 for target number. Players spend Effort to reduce difficulty. | Rate attributes and skills in numbers of six-sided dice, then roll that pool and total it against a difficulty number set by the GM. One die is the Wild Die: a 6 explodes and is rolled again, while a 1 can introduce a complication. Pips give +1 or +2 between full dice, and Character Points can be spent to add dice to a roll. |
| Dice | d20 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Low |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Cypher System Open License | Proprietary (licensed from West End Games) |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Monte Cook Games | Gallant Knight Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2024 |
| Best For | GMs who want minimal prep and players who enjoy spending resources to shape the story. | Groups who want one adaptable engine they can take across genres — cinematic action, fantasy, cyberpunk — with modular crunch they can dial up or down. |
| Highlights | Very easy GM prep, flexible character descriptors, XP for discovery | Attributes and skills are rated in numbers of d6 that you pool, sum, and compare to a difficulty number, so improving a trait literally adds dice. One die in every pool is the Wild Die, which explodes on a 6 to push results higher and can trigger a complication on a 1. Genre Modules for fantasy, cyberpunk, superpowers, and more bolt onto the same core, so one engine spans many settings. |
| Considerations | Players track most complexity, limited tactical combat, can feel same-y | Large dice pools mean rolling and summing many d6s per action, which slows resolution for highly skilled characters. The breadth of optional modules and rules variants means groups must decide which subsystems to use before play. Character creation allocates dice and pips across attributes and skills, requiring some up-front arithmetic. |