Mar 5, 2015 5:50 pm
Quote:
Per the Corebook on page 280: Once the PCs find a cypher, identifying it is a separate task, also based on Intellect and modified by knowledge of the numenera. The GM sets the difficulty of the task, but it is usually 1 or 2. Thus, even the smallest amount of knowledge means that cypher identification is automatic. The process takes one to ten minutes. If the PCs can’t identify a cypher, they can bring it to an Aeon Priest clave for identification and perhaps trade, if desiredWhy then would you need to bring it to a priest clave? The odds are someone in your party can get it.
This has been the discussion. Some cyphers are common and others are rare. Some are easy (a stim injector) and some more advanced (a cell disruptor). The rules say "usually a 1 or 2", some of the GM's have added a house rule (below).
The reason is that while you may be surrounded by Numenera, you have no way to know how to build, rebuild, repair or reuse some of the more complex machines with your current knowledge. It would be like having a stone mason who is used to working with a hammer and chisel or wedge and giving him a jack hammer. He might be able to figure out how to use it and maybe how to sharpen the bits, but it is far more advanced than what he is used to. Now give him a laser stone cutter and he is out of his league. He has not idea how it works, just that a light is emitted when he presses the button and it cuts through stone. "Hmmmm... if I point this at a beetle or some other creature, it could be a weapon!"
House Rule: The GM gives you a cypher (based on a random roll, a deck draw, or the GM giving you like items) and you roll a D6 to get its level (and any other rolls needed, like affect which is usually a D100, but I will ask when those come up). The level plus or minus any modifiers on the cypher itself is the cypher's level and that level is what you will need to roll to get ID the cypher and what it does. If you miss, the GM has the ability to give you bits and pieces, comparing it to maybe something else, but you do not know everything about it.
Example 1: I give you a cypher and ask you to roll a D6. This is to determine the level of the cypher. If the cypher is a say a 1D6+3 and you roll a 1, then the difficulty to ID it is a 4 (a target of 12).
Example 2: I give you a cypher and ask you to roll a D6. This is to determine the level of the cypher. If the cypher is a say a 1D6+3 and you roll a 6, then the difficulty to ID it is a 9 (a target of 27).
Example 3: I give you a cypher and ask you to roll a D6. This is to determine the level of the cypher. If the cypher is a say a 1D6+3 and you roll a 1, then the difficulty to ID it is a 4 (a target of 12). You are trained, it is a level 3 and you have a book, it is a level 2.
Example 4: I give you a cypher and ask you to roll a D6. This is to determine the level of the cypher. If the cypher is a say a 1D6+3 and you roll a 6, then the difficulty to ID it is a 9 (a target of 27). You are specialized, it is a level 7 and you have a book, it is a level 6. Your final target is an 18. (Spend intellect and it goes to a 15.)
Does that make sense? Some things, especially more complex or rare items are harder, but definitely NOT a level TWO.
Oh, and the reason you might want to carry two books. One is a book of common Numenra and helps you. The second is YOUR book of Numenera. It is what YOU write your discoveries into. If you have come across something similar in the past and it is in our book, you may lower the level one more (this is usually conferred with the GM)
