Cypher System Team Manuevers

Team Maneuvers? What?

So you have a super team? A full blow super team like the X-Men, Justice League, The Avengers in your Claim the Sky campaign. Or just a group of mask bearing Prodigies in your Unmasked campaign.

What happens when your players want to use a move that resembles some of those in the comic books? When they want to execute that Fastball Special (Colossus picks up and throws Wolverine at a target), Or Iron Man or Thor use Captain America and his shield as a ricochet point to spread their beam attack across multiple enemies.

With these rules, you can attempt to simulate this in your superhero based Cypher System game.

How Do They Work?

To be blunt, when it comes to game mechanics, team moves add a power shift to the effect of an attack, based on how many participants take part in the move. When the conditions are right, the team members in the move, start a chain of rolls for their part of the move. When done, if they succeed, they perform the chain and the total effects all add up.

The following Condition(s) must be met to start a Team Maneuver

• All members in the move chain will need to be able to act at the same time. This can be done by either all rolling well (or poorly) on their intiative, or by members who need to holding their action until they can act with their fellow members to start the chain.

And the following is the path for the chain that will then (hopefully) make this awesome team move happen.

• The members figure out their role in the move and where their spot is in the chain
• Starting with the first link in the chain, each makes their required rolls
  • Each step after the first, has its difficulty increased by one step
• Depending on if every roll in the chain succeeds, then the move is successful, with a power shift added for each successful link in the chain that succeeds
• If any link in the chain fails, then the move fails as a whole. Depending on the moves/powers/etc incorporated that did succeed, there may be some concessions given, based on the game/gm and players determination.
  • Example Concessions:
    • If the first move is a ranged attack: the attack should succeed, with no bonuses.
    • If the first move is a melee grappling attack: the enemy should still be grappled, as if the attack was executed normally

We’ll look into some examples of this a little bit later on. However, in thinking out these and play testing, some ideas came about for what I’d say would be optional rules that you and your players (or if you’re a player taking this to your GM, you and the rest of your table) should maybe consider.

• Optional Rules:

  • Recovery of Actions on a failed chain

    • If a move in the middle of a chain fails, under the above steps, the entire chain would fail. However, those after the failed spot may think they’re characters are quick of whit or speed enough to realize the failure and wish to react. And we are playing superheros here, so maybe they are.
    • The Possible Fix: Have each character after the failed link may one or two rolls, a Difficulty 4 (TN:12) Intellect or Speed test to see if they can recover.
    • In some gritty campaigns, you may think about requiring BOTH tests to pass, speed and intellect.
      • A note on requiring two tests: As a compromise, you may consider allowing each test to restore one simple action. So succeeding in the intellect test adds a simple action, the speed test a simple action, and in both restoring your full action round.
    • If they succeed, that character may recover their action and change what they’re doing, getting out of the team move.
    • Example: A 4 man move is setup by a super team. The third person in the chain fails their roll. The chain ends there, but the 4th character’s player wants to try to recover this situation. As he’s a speedster, his GM allows her to roll a speed test against a target number of 9. If she succeeds, she can pull out of the chain and execute her saved move as normal.

  • Chain fails that aren’t needed

    • In some chains, some players may be able to justify that certain links aren’t needed to fully succeed. If this is determined to be allowed at your table, then missed links just don’t add their bonus to the final result.
      • Example: In the first move in the chain, the team’s brick (yes, going back to my Champions days there) grapples the enemy and holds them in place. The rest of the team then unleashes their strongest ranged attack upon them. In this example, the three ranged attacks might not be required to hit. If only 2 of the three hit, then give them credit for those two, without breaking the chain at any point.
      • A futher note on that exmple I’d not want to be the first player in that chain if the ranged attackers just happen to generate a GM Intrusion, would you?

So What Happens When a Move Is Performed, Based On Cypher System Mechanics

To put it very simply: each successful addition to the chain adds a free powershift to the final results of the move.

These Power Shifts can be used as free levels or effort, or for additional affects base.

• Most would take the +3 to damage on the final result of the power(s)

• Use a powershift to grant an additional round to any stun effects that would be generated by the powers or abilities used. The GM could also allow stun effects to be just added due to the nature of a coordinated team attack hitting, not relying on stuns to be chosen as powers used in the attack in the first place.

• Additionally, for each shift you can spread an attack out

  • 1 shift could be used for a 90 degree cone (or up to 2 or 3 additional opponents)
  • a 2nd shift for a 180 degree arc
  • 3 and 4 could be used to spread more, but make sure your players can explain this. Remember the chaining rules as well.

• Variant Rule: if the chain’s setup relies on the final move to do the biggest amount of damage, or effect then each successful shift could be added to that final move to reduce the difficulty for very powerful enemies.

  • Example: Going against a Difficulty 10 enemy (Target Number 30), a team of supers uses a team move to reduce the final difficulty of a powerful attack against their enemy. Using skills, powershifts and anything else, the more capable members attempt to help their energy projector to delivery a major blast against their enemy. The first three members succeeding in their parts grants 3 powershifts to use as free effort to their final member, reducing the base difficulty from 10 to 7, and bringing the required base TN from 30 to 21.

  Variant Rule: Minor and Major Effects on Chain Rolls

  • A pretty significant reward might be adding additional power shifts to the final result for minor and major effects rolled during the chain. Suggested for this is (1) additional powershift for a minor effect, and (2) for a major effect.

How Do You Learn These Team Maneuvers?

This is where things get a little bit heavier to the roleplay and setup of your team. These are only suggestions, but one can concede that you don’t want a team coming up with a bunch of moves that they constantly go through during every combat to try to generate the big “F-yeah” moment.

Suggestions: each team gets a number of “slots' to record and remember moves. This denotes practice and planning by the team (such as the X-Men working in the Danger Room to practice team tactics)

• Free Move “Slots”

  • 1 free move slot for every 2 members of the team, round down.
    • Example: a 5 person team would have 2 slots available. If they added a 6th member, they’d gain a new one at 3 slots.
    • A parternership of 2 people, such as a hero and a sidekick (Batman & Robin) would thus have 1 free move to come up with a team move.
  • Add an additional slot for every Average Tier rating of the team.
    • Example: Our 5 person team from before has an average Tier rating of (2) when they form up. This gives them (2) additional slots to fill with team moves. If they all level up in their tier rating, to Tier (3) then they’d gain an additional move.

• Non-Free Move Slots

  • Additional moves can be purchased by all members of the chain spending (4) xp.
    • a 3 person move would need each member of the move to spend (4) xp, each.
    • These do not count as spending xp for personal advancement.

• Skill Options

  • As these are tasks that can be performed, being able to take skills in them is highly suggested. But some suggestions for these will follow
    • Skilled with Team Maneuvers: this should be allowed to be purchased as a normal skill. Trained and Specialized levels as normal.
    • Skilled with a Single Team Maneuver - some team members prefer to use certain moves, so allowing them to specialize should be allowed. But this can be a bit of a game breaker at lower tiers. But in a Tier 4 or higher game, this should be almost needed.
      • Suggested to only allow taking this as a specialized skill at tier 4 or higher.
    • Note: If you have both the general skill and a skill with an individual team move, due to the complexity of higher tier enemies, allowing the skills to be ‘stacked’ should not be too game breaking, especially at higher tiers and can help offset large penalties for acting at a later link in the chain.
      • Example: Cheshire, a speedster martial artists is usually at the 4th spot on a team move, and as such usually has to deal with 3 penalties in performing her part of the move. So she takes both skills, the general skill at specialized, and a specific skill at trained, as she levels up to offset the 3 penalties she deals with in performing her spot.

• Learning new team moves

  • Some campaigns might prefer to have that “Danger Room” training time to perfect new team moves. This can be done ‘offscreen’ and just simulated as a couple of rolls.
    • Suggestion: all characters that have a chain spot in a roll should make two rolls, both standard difficulty (3), so Target Number of (9)
      • The first roll is the roll for the skill/power/ability being used: might, speed or intellect
      • The second roll is for Intellect only, simulating putting your role in the chain to memory
      • If all members succed in their rolls the new move can be moved into a slot.
      • Moves not in slots cannot gain the power shift bonuses available.
      • Some campaigns may work by allowing players to ‘hold’ their successes, and only retry their failed rolls on later practices.

• Moves on the fly

  • Sometimes, when using these rules, players may come up with a move on the fly that they’d want to add to their team usage. Of course they won’t get to add powershifts to this first time, unless the GM allows due to rolling very well (minor and major effects)
  • However, as an encouragement for this type of creativity, rolling well on a team move done on the fly, might add assets to their rolls to learn it later on in a training situation.
    • Rolling a minor effect on performing a move on the fly should give (1) asset on the learning rolls later
    • Rolling a major effect on performing a move on the fly should give (2) assets on the learning rolls later.

Examples From Popular Culture and Other Sources

• Fast Ball Special | Wolverine & Colossus | Marvel Comics

  • Step 1: Colossus picks up wolverine and uses him as a thrown projectile weapon at their enemy (example: Difficulty 5, TN 15)
  • Step 2: Colossus rolls a might based attack against their enemy to throw the small, but heavy Canadian Death Machine at him. His target number is a 15 to start before he applies any skills or assets to this roll.
  • Step 3: Wolverine extends his claws and rolls an attack against the enemy, taking a penalty (+1 to TN). His target number is an 18 before applying any bonuses, skills or assets to this roll.
  • Successful Results: With a free powershift, Wolverine can add +3 damage to his claw attack against their enemy.

• Ricochet and Spread a blast Off of Captain America’s Shield | Captain America and either Iron Man or Thor | Marvel Cinematic Movies

  • Step 1: Captain America and Iron Man line up, with a group of mooks coming at them down a hallway.
  • Step 2: Iron Man rolls to attack the mooks, but explains how he’s aiming it at Captain America’s Shield.
  • Step 3: Captain America rolls a test using the mooks target number, with a penalty (+1 to TN)
  • Successful Results: Using the free powershift granted, they spread Iron Man’s blast across a 90 degree arc, hitting them all. Each takes a full bit of damage from the blast, however Iron Man set it up.

• Taser Hose | Uldar and Anyone Else | My Unmasked Campaign

  • Step 1: The setup, Uldar is a lightning elemental. Someone else would grab a firehose and spray it at a target (or group of targets)
  • Step 2: The first person would roll to use the firehose, with all determined bonuses for doing so (not exactly a hard thing to do when you think about it)
  • Step 3: Uldar would use his Onslaught power (lightning bolt) on the now very wet and possibly grounded targets with a penalty of +1 to the difficulty of the shot.
  • Successful Results: Against one target, could add +3 to the damage, 1 round of a stun result, or if targeting more than one enemy, spread it to a small group of them.

• The Chain Effect | Flux, Wrecker, Uldar, Cheshire | My Unmasked Campaign

  • This one is a full chain as we had come up with when making these rules. For the sake of this example, these are Tier (3) characters, fighting a tier (5) enemy
  • The Setup: As mentioned earlier, Wrecker is a big strong guy, Uldar is a lightning elemental. Flux is a mistress of magnetism, and Cheshire is a teleporting martial artist.
  • The Chain:
    • Move 1: Flux performs Fling (Cypher System Revised Page 141 ) on an enemy, throwing them magnetically in Wreckers direction
      • Flux has a powershift on this for +3 damage, and uses a level of effort for damage.
      • She uses the other two levels of effort on her roll to hit, bringing the Difficulty down from 5 to 3, for a target number of 9, and succeeds.
      • Total Damage on the attack would be 4+3+3 = 10 points
    • Move 2: Wrecker performs Bash (Page 112), with a boost from using Fury (Page 144). This is usually done by him using a weapon to hit them like a big baseball bat, usually his oversized crowbar, but using make shift weapons look cool too.
      • He adds one level of effort to the damage, and two to reduce the difficulty. He is also trained in brawling, gaining 1 asset on this attack roll. These bring the difficulty down to (2), for a TN of (6).
      • As this is the 2nd spot on the chain, the level of difficulty is increased by (1), bringing it to final difficulty of (3), and a TN of (9).
      • Total Damage: 3 (power) + 2 (fury) + 3 (effort) = 8 points, plus (1) round of a staggered condition (stun)
    • Move 3: Uldar uses a lightning bolt, this is Uldar’s Onslaught power
      • He adds a level of effort to the damage, and two to reduce the difficulty
      • Uldar has a powershift already on this power, for damage, as well as a skill being trained in its use. This brings the Difficulty to a (2)
      • As this is the 3rd spot on the chain, the final TN is increased by (2), This brings it back up to to a Difficulty (4), and TN of (12)
      • The final damage will be 4 + 3 (power shift) + 3 (effort) = 10 points
    • Move 4: Cheshire teleports (half move) and then executes a martial arts throw, sending them back down to the ground
      • This is using Cheshires Power of No Need For A Weapon (page 166). She has a powershift for damage, and will be using 1 level of effort for damage, and 2 to reduce the difficulty. She is also specialized in hand to hand combat for 2 assets.
      • As this is the 4th move on the chain and will suffer a TN increase of (3). The final difficulty is 5 (base) - 2 (effort) - 2 (assets) + 3 (chain) for a final difficulty of (4) with a target number of (12)
      • The final damage will be 4 + 3 (power shift) + 3 (effort) = 10 points of damage
    • If Everyone Succeeds in their attack rolls the following will be done
      • Total Base Damage for the entire move: 38 with 1 round of a staggered condition
      • Note: If an enemy target has an armor rating that applies, then it should be put against all of the attacks individually. So if this bad guy was wearing armor that had 3 points of armor, that would reduce the final damage to 26 (4 attacks at 3 points of armor, so reduce by 12 points).
      • 4 move chain adds 4 power shifts that can be split in the following ways
        • Each can do +3 damage (up to 12 more points)
        • Each can do +1 round added to the staggered condition
        • They choose to capitalize, and do 9 more points of damage, and 1 additional round of staggered
        • Final Damage: 47 points (35 after armor effect), and 2 rounds in the staggered condition.
        • A BIG NOTE most Tier 5 threats would not survive that, so the extra rounds of staggered condition would not help out. If they were facing Doctor Dread from Cypher System Rulebook (Page 357), the diffuculties would be 2 harder, and each attack would get the Doctor’s 5 armor applied against it.
          • Final damage vs doctor dread would be (10 - 5) + (8 - 5) + (10 - 5) + (10 - 5) = 18 points of damage, and 2 rounds of a staggard condition.

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