OOC Thread

How does the Note post function work?

Yes, it's a secret note sent to a fellow player, or to several players, or to the GM, or aby combination. The GM sees all notes, even if he/she is not a recipient.

It's a way to have a private conversation in the thread....akin to passing a note at the table if you're playing in RL. If you specify a username(s) in the Note="" section, only that user(s) will be able to read it....and the GM. :)

How does that work, are you supposed to put the name of the recipient in to the pop-up window?

Yep, or you can add it to the code afterward. I believe you can send it to multiple people if you separate the usernames by commas.

Ahh... cool. I was wondering about how to do address another player without everyone else being able to read it... Is it usually for OOC content, or side-conversations, or?

Some ways that I've seen it be used is if a player is wanting to perform an action without anyone else knowing about it or what the results of that action are. I've also seen it to be a way for the GM to indicate that one player is aware of something that the others aren't (eg they are able to understand a language that no one else can). At that point, it's in the player's hands whether or not to share that information with the others....and how much to share. In that regard, it's a good way to help separate character knowledge from player knowledge.

Personally, I like playing with an open hand, so I'm more likely to put things like that in a Spoiler instead of a Note. But if you initiate something with a Note, I'll respect that and respond similarly.

Good call on the spoiler. Will do it that way moving forward.

Another way I've used it is writing a secret note to myself (visible to the GM of course) containing tracking info (current hp, spell slots remaining, etc) that would otherwise clutter the post. Also useful for tracking characters or NPC's in a game that you run.

Would OOLIN (still by the cart) have heard the conversation with the stranger? I think she might be able to mend the wheel with Hedge Magic but if she didn't hear then she doesn't know.

You can hear voices but not you're not close enough to make out the conversation

So this is how I'm imagining OOLIN's Hedge "Magic": it's her cybernetics, which she doesn't exactly understand how they work. They just DO THINGS, sometimes without her full control.

So how does this work? Do I spend 1 point from my Intellect pool?

As I understand the rules, you don't spend the Int point because you have an edge of 1.

Oh that's right. Thanks!

This is something that's still unclear to me: the dice pool is an exhaustible resource (that can be partially replenished with recoveries) but you can stave off the stat point cost if you have an edge in the stat. Is the edge also an exhaustible resource? Do you always spend less of that particular stat pool owing to your Edge, or is Edge merely a buffer that gets spent the first time you use it and so is no longer there when another challenge comes along?

Does my question make sense?

Makes perfect sense. Edge isn't exhausted. Let's say, for example, you had gone for a more combat oriented build and chosen "Thrust" as one of OOLIN's Tricks as well as having chosen to put your edge into might ... In a fight you decide to use thrust in the 1st round... Doesn't cost you a might point due to edge... But you miss, so next round you decide to apply a level of effort as well as using thrust. You can't apply edge to both Thrust and Effort, so the action would cost you 3 might points (1 for thrust, plus 3 for short, minus 1 for edge)

Does that make sense?

Yeah I think I get it... thanks! I will be asking many more questions and making mistakes for sure as we go along, so I apologize in advance! :-)

Agreed, Edge/Effort is the most confusing aspect of Cypher. I don't quite get it either.

Don't apologise, we're all learning together

I look at the pools as how much stamina you have at the type of task.

A Might Pool of 10 abstractly you can spend X hours lugging sacks of grain per 2 points out of the pool. (Work doing manual labor)

Might Edge would be how skilled you are at doing something physical so you can move more bags faster. (Burlier worker doing manual labor)

Effort would be an exertion when you want more of an effect but don't have the time. (You're done for the day after these last 4 sacks are moved so you go in one go.

Does that help or confuse you more.

Ha! I was following you up until you said, "look".... JK

I get the stat pools are a Resource/Reserve of a certain type of energy.
I get that you can spend those pools as Effort to reduce the goal.
I get that Edge enters in to the equation somehow, but I get lost in the factoring... eyes roll back in head...

1st effort cost 3, 2nd and all other efforts exerted after that cost 2. So to get a free effort with an edge of two you need to spend 2 effort (3+2) which still cost 3 plus if there's a cost for the action taken or ability used.

Edge I guess can be looked at mechanically as a discount for tasks involving that kind of edge. Have a task that cost 1 in a pool and you have 1 edge? It's Free. Have 3 edge and you attack using that pool? It's free effort (if you state in advance you're applying effort). Can you literally knock yourself unconscious attempting something with effort? Yes... *looks at former GM* yes yes you can... stop smiling Joe it's not funny. T_T