The Strange

This article is about the tabletop RPG. For other uses, see Strange (disambiguation).

The Strange

Cover by Matt Stawicki
Designers	Bruce Cordell Monte Cook
Publishers	Monte Cook Games
Publication	2014 (2014)
Genres	Science Fantasy
Systems	Cypher system

The Strange is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game, written by Bruce Cordell and Monte Cook, and published by Monte Cook Games.

History

The Strange was published in 2014 by Monte Cook Games, as a result of a crowd funding campaign in 2013. The campaign raised $418,478 from 2,883 backers.

Game

Setting

The Strange is set in modern-day Earth but allows a GM to take their stories through many different "recursions", worlds based frequently on literary creations.

Character creation

Character creation has been simplified by having players fill in the blanks to the statement:

"I am a __________ __________ who _________s."

1. The first blank, the adjective in the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Descriptor", a way to describe the character's strongest characteristic.
2. The second blank, the noun of the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Type", which is either a "Vector", a "Paradox", or a "Spinner".
3. The third blank, the verb of the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Focus", or what the character is most known for or their special talent.

Game mechanics

The Strange uses the Cypher System, developed for Numenera and is played primarily using a d20, but is used to determine if the player has beaten the difficulty of the task. The GM sets the initial difficulty and will relay that to the player prior to the roll to help them determine their course of action. A player uses their training and/or may apply "effort" to lower the level of difficulty prior to the roll, rather than heavily augmenting the result of the roll to beat a target.

Products

Title	Authors	Date	Pages	Formats	ISBN
The Paradox Room	Monte Cook, Bruce Cordell	October 2013	X	epub, mobi, PDF
An anthology of two short stories released with the Kickstarter to illustrate the setting
Tales from the Strange	Bruce Cordell, Monte Cook, Shanna Germain	December 2013	X	epub, mobi, PDF
An anthology of short stories set in The Strange setting
The Strange Corebook	Bruce Cordell & Monte Cook	August 15, 2014	416	Print, Deluxe, PDF
The Strange Player's Guide	Bruce Cordell & Monte Cook	August 15, 2014	64	Print, PDF
Book focused on the player characters; subset of content from the Corebook
The Strange XP Card Deck	Monte Cook	August 15, 2014	30 cards	Print, PDF
Cards representing a character's XP points
The Strange Cypher Card Deck	Monte Cook	August 15, 2014	120 cards	Print, PDF
Cards representing cypher items available in game
The Dark Spiral	Bruce Cordell	October 2014	96	Print, PDF
Collection of interwoven adventurers
The Strange Bestiary	Bruce Cordell, Monte Cook, & Robert J. Schwalb	November 2014	160	Print, PDF
A collection of creatures from various recursions in The Strange
The Strange Creature Card Deck	Monte Cook	November 2014	100 cards	Print, PDF
Cards representing creatures in The Strange
In Translation: The Strange Character Options	Bruce Cordell	April 2015	96	Print, PDF
Additional character options for The Strange

Reception

The Strange won the 2015 Silver Ennie Award for "Best Interior Art", "Best Game", and "Best Setting".

External links

• The Strange at RPGeek
• The Strange (Official Site)