Charles Ryan
CREATOR
6 months ago

Project Update: Corebooks Upgraded. Now Let’s Try to Enter The Strange!

Graphic header: Stretch Goal!


Hello, backers—

You made short work of that stretch goal! Thanks to all your great help spreading the word, the upgrade to the Cypher Character Rulebook, the Cypher GM’s Guide, and the matching version of the Cypher Bestiary has been unlocked, and they’re all getting foil-printed covers!
Image of the Cypher Character Reference, Cypher GM's Guide, and Cypher Bestiary with lustrous foil covers.
And as a bonus reward, every backer gets this vinyl sticker added to their rewards! That makes two you’ve unlocked so far. Here's the winner of today's poll, and the collection you've built so far.


Let Us Tell You about The Strange

Earth. The present day. The world as we know it.

Except: in the dimness of a chaotic extra-dimensional zone known by a few as “the Strange” lie thousands of Earth’s “recursions”—pocket dimensions that spawn from human myth, legend, and fiction. Rarely larger than a continent, and sometimes no bigger than a few city blocks, these aren’t full-fledged parallel universes. Rather, they’re reflections of human imagination—one might be the halls of Valhalla; another the sands of ancient Egypt; yet another the foggy East End of Jack the Ripper’s London or even the plains of Rohan. If a realm has been imagined on Earth, there is probably a recursion somewhere in our world’s shoals that represents it.

Scene showing a human desperately attempting to decipher a heiroglyphic like code on an ancient carving while two companions--one cyborg-like being and the other a magical jackal-headed character--stand guard.

These mini-worlds have gone unnoticed for millennia, but in recent times, a rare few have discovered them—and how to reach them. Some do so for the sake of discovery. Some for plunder. A few for even more nefarious purposes. Regardless of these motives, the rare but increasing traffic between Earth and its recursions has inevitably allowed forces from these realms to discover ours.

For while most beings in these recursions are simply facets of the fiction that creates them, a rare few have “the spark.” Awareness. An ability to recognize that their own realm is limited—but that a broader, fuller world exists. Some of these beings cast ambitious eyes on our Earth. And some are very, very dangerous.

The Strange roleplaying game was originally published by MCG about a decade ago, and powered by the Cypher System. (In fact, its publication predates the original Cypher System Rulebook.) It’s been out of print for a while, but remains a fan favorite. Player characters work for The Estate, a secretive organization that seeks to protect Earth from the dangers increasingly leaking into our world. Adventures set on Earth have an X-Files sort of feel, as the PCs investigate odd happenings and combat other shadowy figures and organizations that exploit the Strange and its recursions. When adventures take them into these other realms, the PCs usual take on aspects of the recursion. They don’t just visit a space-opera realm. They translate to it, becoming, in part, the types of aliens and characters that inhabit that world.

It's a dimension-hopping game filled with intrigue, mystery, and planet-threatening danger. And we want to bring it back!

Stretch Goal: The Strange
Mockup of a new version of The Strange.

We want to create a whole new edition of The Strange, powered by Cypher! It will be a setting book you use with your Cypher corebooks (it won’t contain its own game rules), and will be thoroughly revised and updated, with new content, adventures, and options.

And it will be a whole new book—a thick, hefty hardcover—added to the rewards of the ALL-IN (print and PDF) pledge level, as a PDF to the ALL-IN (PDF only) pledge levels, and available as an add-on for backers at other levels.

We will unlock The Strange when we reach 2200 backers.

Oh, and a Sticker!

Every time we unlock a stretch goal, we throw in a bonus reward—a free thank-you for every backer, no matter what pledge level. Help us choose the next vinyl sticker to add to the collection:


Vote for your choice, and it will be added to your rewards, for free, when we unlock The Strange!

It’s Up to YOU

We need your help to reach 2200 backers and unlock The Strange. If you haven’t already, you can take part in this contest to help spread the word—and maybe win some beautiful custom art for your Cypher character!

And here are some great graphics to share on social media, on reddit, or wherever you talk about games online—right-click to download them:


Thanks for your support!

—Team MCG
user avatar image for Kate Evans
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