Generate random cyphers on the fly for your modern, sci-fi, or other realistic game Cyphers—single-use abilities that characters gain over the course of play—lie, not surprisingly, at the heart of the Cypher System. In many genres, cyphers come in the form of items, like magic potions, one-shot spell scrolls, or bits of alien technology. But physical items with overt, supernatural-seeming effects don't fit every setting. Modern, historical, near-future science-fiction and similar genres demand realistic character abilities, and magic crystals or bizarre alien doohickies don't fit. These types of games use "subtle cyphers," which grant effects that are believable, minor, and not connected to physical items. - from the publisher's blurb