Cypher System vs Fate Core
Compare Cypher System and Fate Core side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cypher System | Fate Core | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Narrative, Low-Prep, Exploration, Cinematic, Collaborative, Theater of the Mind, Roleplay-Heavy | Narrative, Rules-Light, Collaborative, Cinematic, Improvisation, Theater of the Mind, Low-Prep, Roleplay-Heavy, Drama, Freeform Magic, Open Source, Tag-Based |
| Core Mechanic | GM sets difficulty 1–10, multiply by 3 for target number. Players spend Effort to reduce difficulty. | Roll 4 Fudge dice + skill vs. difficulty. Spend/earn Fate points to invoke aspects. |
| Dice | d20 | 4dF (Fudge dice) |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Community | High | High |
| License | Cypher System Open License | CC BY 3.0 |
| Cost | $$ | Free (SRD) |
| Publisher | Monte Cook Games | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2019 | 2013 |
| Best For | GMs who want minimal prep and players who enjoy spending resources to shape the story. | Narrative-focused groups who want to tell collaborative stories in any genre with minimal rules. |
| Highlights | Very easy GM prep, flexible character descriptors, XP for discovery | Genre-agnostic, encourages narrative play, free rules |
| Considerations | Players track most complexity, limited tactical combat, can feel same-y | Aspect economy demands constant creative input which can exhaust players, character differentiation can blur with freeform aspects, requires system mastery from the GM to run smoothly |