A decade on and Monte Cook Games is still setting the bar for innovation in tabletop RPGs
Game designers Monte Cook and Shanna Germain have a lot to celebrate this month. Their Ennie award-winning publishing company, Monte Cook Games, is coming off of yet another successful crowdfunding campaign. Old Gods of Appalachia smashed its goals — and Kickstarter’s own tabletop records — garnering more than $2 million in backer support. August 2022 also marks an important milestone: It’s officially been a decade since the two launched their first crowdfunding campaign for Numenera, which is powered by Cook’s own Cypher System.
Cypher is a “rules lite” RPG game engine that emphasizes narrative and ease-of-use. Game masters (GMs) focus less on dice and more on keeping the story moving, and players can dive right in because character creation is as simple as a three-word sentence. Powers and features are drawn from the system’s namesake — think of cyphers as modular, single-use abilities that incentivize discovery, experience, and creativity. In the rich science fantasy setting of Numenera, which takes place after humanity has risen and fallen eight times previously, cyphers motivate both characters and story, challenging players to determine what comes next.
To celebrate, the MCG team has a number of plans in the works for Gen Con and beyond. They’ve compiled and bound some of their favorite adventures, drawn from the many public events that they’ve run at Gen Con over the years, including this year’s batch, into Ten Years of Adventure. The hardback anthology will be available in Indianapolis and at the MCG online storefront for a limited time. MCG has also announced the Cypher System Open License, which will make it much easier for independent creators to design and market games compatible with Cypher.
They’re also set
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