Cypher System Deadlands Homebrew Progress 4

Ugh, slow progress. Between work being nightmarish and Red Dead Redemption 2 being dreamy, I’ve had little energy to devote to getting Foci done, so it has taken a while. But it’s done! There wasn’t too much real change to be made: a little more horse, a little less computers and a few word changes to the Foci in the Cypher System Rulebook and we’re good.

Some of these might seem familiar to Numenera players, but there are some fascinating new ones thrown in there too allowing you to make characters who…

• Awakens Dreams; pretty rad dream powers, putting people into dreams, pulling stuff out of dreams and into the real world.
• Bears a Halo of Fire; one of the “Covered in _” foci, bursting into flames as a way of life, with a few cool burning shit up abilities.
• Blazes with Radiance; another “Covered in _” foci, this has only a little overlap with Bears a Halo of Fire and focuses more on light manipulation.
• Builds Robots; I kept this even though we have a Weird Science Flavour, for people who want to double down on tinkerin’ with gadgets. Doesn’t mean you couldn’t play a gadgeteer or the like, even if you don’t take Weird Science. Maybe you’re a Mormon Drifter and you just like a little company. I’m not going to judge.
• Calculates the Incalculable; a mathematics savant who uses predictive models to make life easier for themselves.
• Carries a Quiver; archery specialist, obviously. Can use Intellect or Speed to aim arrows, which is kinda cool.
• Channels Divine Blessings; almost didn’t keep this because of overlap with Blessed Type, but who am I to deprive anyone of making a Holy Roller Fightin’ Sort? You get to choose your God’s portfolio, which is nice.
• Commands Mental Powers; all sorts of telepathic shenanigans.
• Consorts with the Dead; Necromancy by any other name would smell as – augh, good god, what is that stench? Speaking to the dead has its advantages though. Unlike Shepherds Spirits below, you get to animate corpses to do your bidding.
• Controls Beasts; Beast buddies, beast mounts, beast allies.
• Crafts Illusions; Illusionist, pretty simple looking. At least that’s what they want you to see.
• Crafts Unique Objects; Craftsman who can increase the utility of his own gear and also eventually craft artifacts.
• Defends the Weak; bonuses for being the party Tank with some crowd control.
• Doesn’t Do Much; a boost to combat abilities and non-combat skills
• Employs Magnetism; seems pretty overpowered, this is a powerful array of metal-manipulation abilities. And at 6, you get to treat a non-magnetic thing as though it is magnetic… so… Fortunately the Intellect cost is high.
• Entertains; BARD.
• Exists in Two Places at Once; Creepy mirror twin follower who will go do stuff for you.
• Exists Partially out of Phase; Meef’s ability from our Numenera game, he isn’t entirely all there.
• Explores Dark Places; getting into and out of places abilities.
• Fights Dirty; an array of dastardly abilities to help you out in combat.
• Fights with Panache; an array of swashbuckling abilities to help you out in combat.
• Focuses Mind over Matter; Telekinetic abilities, as displayed by Giana in Numenera.
• Howls at the Moon; Lycanthrope abilities
• Hunts Outcasts; Primed with skills for taking on the humanoid abominations of the Weird West.
• Hunts with Great Skill; Trackin’ and Sneakin’ with extra abilities for use against your quarry.
• Infiltrates; a lot of overlap with the Stealth Flavour.
• Interprets the Law; finally fulfill your dream of being a simple country lawyer! Also, you get to shout Objection! as a stunning attack on people. True.
• Leads; as seen in Numenera exemplified by Sharad who bosses people around and what-not.
• Lives by the Gun; firearm expertise.
• Lives in the Wilderness; lots of wilderness survival skills
• Looks for Trouble; a mix of fightin’ and healin’ abilities.
• Masters the Swarm; creepy-ass swarm abilities.
• Masters Weaponry; since archery and gunplay are covered in other Foci this one covers melee weapons (pretty much). “Throws with -” below covers throwing weapons.
• Metes Out Justice; you get to decide who is innocent and who is guilty and then you get abilities to treat them accordingly.
• Moves Like a Cat; knock things off shelves. But also, a big boost for Speed users.
• Moves Like the Wind; even more goodies for Speed users, this one lets you move real fast. Like, real fast. SO fast people can’t identify you as you run past them.
• Murder; focus on ambush and sudden, overwhelming strikes.
• Needs No Weapon; one of a few ways of building a Kung Fu-Western character.
• Never Says Die; an impressive array of damage mitigation abilities, to help you build a very durable tank.
• Operates Undercover; bunch of spy abilities.
• Performs Feats of Strength; big boosts to Might and abilities related to that.
• Rages; another Might boosting and utilizing Foci, this focussing on temporary surges.
• Rides the Lightning; another “Covered in _” Foci that mixes damage dealing with movement abilities.
• Sees Beyond; A Foci that lets you see way more than other folks experience and makes visible (to you) the invisible and hidden.
• Separates Mind from Body; give your mortal coil a rest for a bit and send your soul out wanderin’, doin’ stuff.
• Shepherds Spirits; similiar to Consorts with the Dead in that it has communication skills, but this time you get assistance from spirits. These characters are so au fait with the spirit world that they get to choose whether or not to come back as Harrowed when they die.
• Siphons Power; be an energy vampire! Why not?!
• Slays Monsters; the monster equivalent Hunts Outcasts, this is primed with skills for taking on the monsters of the Weird West.
• Solves Mysteries; lets you spend Might and Speed to Intellect tasks, so it lets you turn a non-Intellect heavy Types into a bit of a thinker. Other generally useful spread of abilities.
• Throws with Deadly Accuracy; the last of the weapon specialization Foci.
• Wears a Sheen of Ice; a “Covered In _” Foci with a greater emphasis on crowd control and protection.
• Wields Two Weapons at Once; As modelled by Red Pepper, this lets you hit with two weapons, with increasing effect.
• Works Miracles; different to the Channel Divine Blessings because it focuses almost entirely on healing.
• Works the Back Alleys; The Urban Ranger, a spread of abilities to help out.
• Works  the System; more con-man than thief, lots of ways of during people especially those that rely on bureaucratic systems. I edited a lot of this because it originally had a lot to do with computers.
• Would Rather be Reading; Boosts to Intellect with some non-combat skill benefits.

Alright, Descriptors shouldn’t take too long as they’re pretty short.

Then we’re good to make characters!