THE INFINITY SHIFT

By Dennis Detwiller
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THE ADVENTURE 3
A DESCRIPTION OF THE FACILITY 4
GAME START: THE BROWNCOW INCIDENT 5
ON THE SURFACE 12
RESOLUTION 13
PREGENERATED CHARACTERS 15

CREDITS
Writer/Designer Dennis Detwiller
Creative Director Monte Cook
Managing Editor Shanna Germain
Editor Elisa Mader
Proofer Jeremy Land
Cover Artist Kieran Yanner
Graphic Designer Bear Weiter
Layout Zoa Smalley

Artists
Grzegorz Pedrycz, Chris Waller, Ben Wootten, Kieran Yanner

Cartographer
Hugo Solis

Monte Cook Games Editorial Board

Scott C. Bourgeois, David Wilson Brown, Eric Coates, Gareth Hodges, Mila Irek,
Jeremy Land, Laura Wilkinson, Marina Wold, George Ziets

As we agree with the growing consensus that “they” can and should be used as a gender-neutral, singular English language pronoun when one is needed,
we have adopted that as the style in our products. If you see this grammatical construction, it is intentional.

© 2017 Monte Cook Games, LLC. CYPHER SYSTEM and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Monte Cook Games
characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC.

2
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

THE INFINITY SHIFT

ABOUT THE ADVENTURE or so to see how bad things have gotten.
Welcome to the High Frequency Active All the HAARP experiments on the bizarre
Auroral Research Program! They call it equipment that runs there are operated
HAARP. You call it the rear end of a two-year remotely via satellite by military personnel
stint at the United States Air Force base in at Crystal Palace, Wyoming, or at the Sandia
Gakona, Alaska. Nothing ever happens at National Laboratories. The tests are all the
HAARP—or at least nothing used to happen same: “Crew, flip breakers 78 through 1,913,
until they really turned on the machine for plus breaker 2,133, and then we’ll turn it
the first time. Now, everything happens on. Nothing, huh? Okay. Why don’t you try
there, all at once. Can you and your buddies breakers 73 through…”
survive one eternal shift at the center of all The PCs are the full-time residents of
space-time? Gakona. All they do is eat, sleep, play cards,
watch videotapes of Three’s Company, and
occasionally track down a junction box in the
GAKONA miles of tunnels to flip a breaker. It’s a boring,
Welcome to Gakona, Alaska, armpit of the isolated, stupid, waste-of-time life. Oh, and
Air Force. there is no Internet or cable television.
Gakona is precisely the kind of place you Aim high, Air Force.
don’t want to be assigned to as career Air
Force. Assigned is not even the proper word THE WINTER OF 2016
for Gakona; you end up there. The dregs, the It is the winter of 2016. Four and a half
near-washouts, the people the Air Force just feet of snowfall cover the ground above
can’t come up with a real reason to shake— Gakona AFB. The hundreds of weird radio
Gakona is their playpen, an isolated place transmitters that make up HAARP are
where they can stay and “work” while the clear of snow, thanks to heating elements
rest of the girls and boys protect the United that cause the snow to melt off, but the
States from airborne attack. airfield is closed and will be until at least
Except for the bizarre mile-after-mile of April—months from now. Still, the team at
high-frequency radar arrays that cover the Gakona is in touch with the various remote
This adventure includes
ground like a grid of electric trees and a scientific crews that put HAARP through its page references to various
jet-capable airstrip, most of Gakona AFB is strange turns (which, as far as the crew can subjects accompanied
underground. There is a whole dorm, rec tell, do little or nothing except cause a low by this symbol. These
references are to the
rooms, cafeterias, resonance chambers, thrumming sound throughout the base).
Cypher System Rulebook,
sewage treatment rooms, and more—too The good news is: the end is in where you can find
many rooms for the skeleton crew that sight! HAARP is set to be permanently additional details about
now occupies the base, really—all below shuttered as of May 1, 2017. You and your that item, place, creature,
or concept. It isn’t
the snow. It was supposed to be a big “compatriots” are in the homestretch. There necessary to look up
deal, HAARP, though no one on-site has are only ten more tests between here and the referenced items in
any idea what that deal was supposed to there. Ten more tests and then a plane back the book; doing so is an
be, precisely. It had something to do with to the world. Yay. optional way to provide
additional information to
the magnetosphere, something to do with your players.
radar. It’s complicated.
They never could get it to work just right, THE PREAMBLE AND THE CREW
anyway. The preamble is this: You and your five
There are only six full-time residents of compatriots all work and live at Gakona
Gakona now—the dregs, overseen by an AFB. You are a skeleton crew looking after a
officer or two who fly in every six months high-tech experiment in electronics and radar

3
 called HAARP—High frequency something, A DESCRIPTION OF THE FACILITY
something, something, whatever. You live like Gakona AFB consists of twelve miles of
moles underground, because aboveground, tunnels that run directly under the hundreds
it’s ice and snow and nothing for hundreds of odd “electric tree” high-energy arrays
of miles in all directions. You do what’s which stand on the ground above. From
asked of you via radio, the Air Force does its the air, the base looks like a bizarre solar
experiments, and then you kill time until the farm without the panels installed. This
next test. On May 1, they will permanently forest of radio arrays covers eight square
shutter the base and you’ll rotate back to the miles. While the rest of the area for miles is
world, but May is a long, long way away. covered in thick snowfall, all the arrays are
Today, you will carry out Test #24114, devoid of snow, as heating elements keep
Operation BROWNCOW. Whoopdeedoo. the snow from accumulating on them.
Buried under the snow, there are a jet
Hand out the six pregenerated characters airfield, a low-slung, heavily sloped hangar,
and let the players have a few minutes to a security door that leads to the big elevator
look over them. The six bullet points beneath to the base—and below it all, about 30
each character description contain the keys feet (10 m) beneath the earth, a complex
to portraying the character—a secret, a skill, of rooms and tunnels where the Air Force
and some info about relationships. personnel live and work.
The skeleton crew of Gakona AFB is There is no cable or satellite TV, no
composed of the following: Internet, and nothing in the way of truly
• E-2 Airman Angela Ruiz is a Guarded modern amenities. There is a bitching
Explorer who Doesn’t Do Much; this Boston ping-pong table, a 1986 Nintendo
native has a dislike of E-3s and a habit of Entertainment System with four games,
sneaking off to a hideout in the facility. and two jealously hoarded TV/VCR
• E-2 Airman Albert “Fish” Bogosta is a combos, as well as a videotape collection
Kind Speaker who Works the System; with the entire run of Three’s Company, a
this Floridian electronics whiz loves single semiruined copy of Megaforce, and
Gakona AFB, where he runs to breakers a feature on the making of Logan’s Run. It’s
and troubleshoots to keep the base in not exactly Club Med.
good shape.
• E-2 Airman Kolani Watts is a Brash TEST #24114
Explorer who Looks for Trouble; this Test #24114, designated BROWNCOW, is
communications and radio expert being run by Dr. Evan Ionescu from the
from Chicago despises Gakona and his applied physics and high-energy research
compatriots, though he’d never let them lab at the Sandia National Laboratories
down. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ionescu is
• E-2 Airman John Johnson is a Perceptive a naturalized American born in Greece
Warrior who Entertains; this Minnesotan who has dealt with the test crew before;
used to living in isolation cleans the facility they call him “Doctor Nonsense.” He has
and knows all its areas inside and out. caused them no end of trouble, radioing
• E-3 Airman First Class Elizabeth in incredibly complex instructions and
Blumgartner is a Driven Speaker who lapsing into Greek when something is done
Fights Dirty; this stickler for rules from incorrectly. During these tests, Ionescu
Sacramento plays nice to Senior Airman often asks the crew to run down the many
Berkman but can be mean to her inferiors. miles of service tunnels to manually flip
• E-4 Senior Airman Michael Berkman dozens of breakers in an attempt to get
is a Naive Warrior who Would Rather a precise electromagnetic reading on the
Be Reading; this big, strapping Ohio satellite. Test #24114 seems like more of the
native—the ranking airman on-site— same.
really wants to help people but looks to The setup for BROWNCOW involved a
higher authority when in doubt. week of flipping various breakers in the

4
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

FPO

access tunnels connected to the electronic go out into the tunnels. When they do so
radio arrays above, and then checking and during a test, they use something called a
rechecking that the proper switches were degaussing station to remove any residual
thrown or turned off. In previous tests, static charge. Most of the time, a test lasts
large numbers of breakers were on, but in an hour or two of the crew sitting in the
BROWNCOW almost all are off. Only five control room watching cameras and lights.
switches scattered throughout the tunnels Not with BROWNCOW. Immediately,
at weird intervals are in the “on” position. everything goes south.
• First, the entire facility shakes as if it were
being struck by a minor earthquake.
GAME START: • The power cuts out.
THE BROWNCOW INCIDENT • This, of course, cuts the radio, stopping
Welcome to BROWNCOW, January 29, 2017, all communication, cutting off Ionescu
08:09. midquestion.
Now, with the crew gathered in the • The emergency power fails to come on.
control center on the radio with Dr. Ionescu,
the HAARP equipment is turned on. The INSIDE THE CONTROL ROOM
crew is usually kept here during tests to The control room is a small chamber
avoid their catching static charges from the crammed with radio equipment, a wall
array, though sometimes people have to of screens that show the long expanses

5
 of most extension tunnels, and a control have convinced themselves they didn’t hear
board that indicates which arrays are anything, it happens again.
on or off. Before the test was triggered, Investigating the Howl: Those poking
the configuration of lights on the board their heads out into the darkened corridor
matched Ionescu’s designation perfectly. listening for a repeat of the howl are
Now, after the power failure, it is dark—as rewarded with one a few moments later.
in, pitch dark. This one comes from somewhat closer
• The Radio: The radio is in A-OK shape, and, disturbingly, it is joined by a second
except it (like everything else) has no howl from another direction that ends in
power. a very strange staccato hooting, which
• The Screen Bank: Like the radio, this sounds entirely unlike a wolf or dog, and
would work, except there’s no power. more like a wind instrument. Then, there
• The Control Board: Again, no power. is silence. Those who wander off alone are
• Other Stuff: There is a medical kit in not seen alive again (see Extradimensional
the room, as well as a full toolkit, an Replacements on page 11 for more details).
unopened bag of ranch-flavored chips,
and a golf bag and putter set with a WHAT DO THE PCs DO?
rolled-up mat of fake grass. • Find some weapons: There’s not much in
• The Walkie-Talkies: Each crew member the way of weaponry in the control room.
has a walkie-talkie. Usually the devices There are four flashlights, three golf clubs,
suck, and very rarely have they worked and a packet of flavored tortilla chips,
properly. However, the advent of the though. Moving to the weapon closet
dimensional rift has somehow made that Johnson knows of requires the PCs
them amazing radio transmitters and to survive an encounter (as picked by the
receivers. They will work flawlessly GM). Once the PCs make it to the closet,
anywhere in the facility or above. they can equip each crew member with the
following: a submachine gun (6 points of
OFF, BUT STILL ON damage) or pistol (4 points of damage),
Despite the power being cut, anyone with two grenades (5 points of damage in a 10-
a brain can tell the array is somehow still foot [2 m] radius) and a single-shot LAW
functioning. There is an otherworldly hum rocket launcher (10 points of damage,
in the air. Touching the walls throws slight ignores 4 points of Armor).
sparks, and all the PCs’ saliva tastes of • Turn on the auxiliary power: The reset
metal. panel for the auxiliary power is quite
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to a distance from the control room
figure out that turning off the breakers (about a mile). To get there, the PCs
that were turned on should do the trick will have to deal with two encounters;
and restore things to normal. The problem the Raptormen! and the Plant in the
is, between the PCs and the breakers, in Walls! encounters (see below) are
the shimmering, weirdly lit darkness of recommended. Turning on the auxiliary
the tunnels, things have come from other power restores lighting in most of the
dimensions to hunt, feed, and interrogate— crew area as well as the emergency
and they don’t want those switches thrown. lighting in the tunnels.
• Go to the main power plant: The
THE HOWL FROM THE HALLWAY main power is equally far away in the
While the PCs figure out what to do, there is opposite direction (just under a mile).
a long, low, weird howl heard from beyond To get there, the PCs will have to deal
the locked control room door. Somewhere with two encounters; the Raptormen!
out in the winding passages, something big and the Fifth Reich! encounters are
and most definitely not human lets loose recommended. Once at the main power
a chilling cry—it sounds like a wolf or dog. plant, the PCs can restore all power to
The howl fades, and just when the PCs the facility.

6
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

• Turn off the breakers for BROWNCOW: moving a hand up and down a keyboard.
Those who can move about in the dark, The facility and everything in it are being
find the breakers they switched on for thrown through hyperspatial rifts every
BROWNCOW, and switch them off can picosecond, and outside of the degaussing
shut down the individual dimensional chambers and the sealed Faraday cage that
effect that a breaker is causing. If the is the control room, the air seems to swirl
PCs shut down switch 36, for example, with vague colors as it stutters through
the plant-thing vanishes back to its twenty-two dimensions as well as up and
reality. The PCs must face an encounter down the timeline of causality. Sometimes
to access each switch. things boil into existence in the base—not
• Go to the crew quarters or some other all of them are friendly.
crew room: These are closer than either of Long story short is, there is only one way
the power stations or the breakers, but the to stop this, and that is to turn off all the
PCs encounter a pair of Gigantopithecus switches. Even without power, the effect is
blacki. See the How You Say Big…uh… still operating. (The power is on in some of
feets? encounter on page 9. those dimensions, right?)
• Attempt to reach the surface via the
elevator: See On the Surface on page 12 PLANT IN THE WALLS!
for more details. The PCs come upon an area filled with
• Howl Back or Go as a Group toward a hanging ground mist. Soon, the air
the Howl: Those who make significant becomes rich with the smell of rotting
noise in the hallway, or who move as a vegetation. There are even some small
group toward the noise, end up in the pools of standing water. Those entering
Raptormen! encounter on page 8. the area find that they can see occasional
movement at the periphery of their vision.
INTO THE UTILITY HALLWAYS Sometimes, a noise will draw their attention
The tunnels are a confusing mess. Each away and they’ll catch sight of something
is labeled, but the letter and number slithering down into the water, only to
designations often don’t seem to make vanish a moment later.
sense. The passages wind in strange This plant-thing is from Earth at a Plant-Thing: level 9,
patterns and sometimes cross over or vibrational frequency of 11,011 MHz, and it perception as level 6; health
55; Armor 3; fire attacks
under each other. Occasionally, there is a is controlled by switch 36. It is the classic ignore armor; tentacle
ladder to a small tunnel leading all the way giant “Venus fly-trap,” but big enough to smash inflicts 7 points of
to a door that opens to the surface, but a gobble an economy car. Its sliding, ropy damage
Might task (level 4) is required to open such tentacles will creep forth and then grab and
a door (see On the Surface on page 12 for toss unsuspecting victims into its maw,
more details). where they’ll be devoured.
There is a large breaker and control box in
the tunnels corresponding to each array on Goals:
the surface. Each box has two switches, one • Grab!: The plant has a dozen fully motile
red, one black. The red switches are marked tentacles the size of fire hoses that
“Surface Snow Suppression,” and almost all slink and move through the low pools
of them are on. The black ones are marked of water and attempt to snake around
“EM Control,” and almost all are off (except a limb of a target. The target must
for the ones activated for BROWNCOW). succeed at a difficulty 3 Speed-based
task or a difficulty 5 Might-based task to
struggle free. If the plant grabs a victim,
EVERY DIMENSION TELLS it pulls the target toward its maw (this
At the end of the plant
encounter, every character
A STORY, DON’T IT? takes three rounds). On each round, should get a subtle cypher.
HAARP has worked, finally! But it has done the target may attempt a difficulty 3
terrible things to the space-time continuum Speed-based task or a difficulty 5 Might-
Subtle Cypher, page 343
in the process, playing with it like a toddler based task to struggle free (each person

7
 damage doing so. If they fail, they suffer
9 points of damage as the plant chomps
on them.
• Reproduce!: If the plant-thing kills and
eats any human-sized target, it fires a
spore to a nearby location on the next
round. Each round, that spore gains a
level and 6 health (from level 1 up to
level 9). At level 3 it can attack and eat
targets like its parent.

Cross-Interactions:
• Against the Raptormen!: The plant-thing
will eat the raptormen! Equipment might
be left over (chemical vials).
• Against How You Say Big…uh…feets?:
The plant-thing will eat the big…feet!
• Against the Fifth Reich!: The plant-
thing will eat the Fifth Reich agents!
Equipment might be left over (machine
guns and grenades, etc.).
• Against Double Duty!: The plant-thing
will eat the doubles! Interesting bits may
be left over (i.e., uniforms with name
tags identical to the PCs’, etc.).

RAPTORMEN!
The howling hoots in the hallways of
the facility come from four raptormen
from Earth at a vibrational frequency of
12,919 MHz, and they are controlled by
switch 2,123. They are intelligent, evolved
descendants of a world of dinosaurs where
the extinction event never occurred and
mammals never gained the upper hand.
While on patrol in their enclave, they
discovered themselves transported to the
interior of a web of bizarre metal tubes.
They have the intellectual capacity of
humans (and are maybe even a bit smarter),
One of the raptormen helping them reduces the difficulty by but their technology is mostly chemical-
carries a cypher (a one step). On a success, they suffer based, and they limit their use of machines
chemical vial that is a
curative, combat effort
1 point of damage but are free of the to simple hand-operated devices.
enhancer, meditation aid, plant’s grasp. Each raptorman stands 7 feet (2 m)
or strength boost). • Eat!: If a target is dragged toward tall and is built like a humanoid, though
the maw for three rounds without it stands tipped slightly forward, with a
successfully breaking free, they are somewhat pointed ovoid face, faceted
thrown into the maw on the fourth spiky teeth, blue-green globe-like eyes, and
round. They are permitted a single a spray of odd, stringy, colorful feathers
difficulty 6 Speed-based task to dodge all over its body. It can jump, climb, and
the gnashing teeth of the plant-thing move much faster than a normal human.
and fall free. Still, they suffer 2 points of Each raptorman carries four colored vials of

8
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

liquid on a bandolier shaped out of some HOW YOU SAY BIG…UH…FEETS?

sort of leather. A duo of Gigantopithecus blacki, colloquially Gigantopithecus blacki:
known as “bigfeet,” have been snatched level 8, stealth, lifting,
smashing, and running as
Goals: from Earth at a vibrational frequency of level 9; health 50; Armor 1;
• Stun! (or Kill!): The raptormen will 4,652 MHz, and the creatures are controlled flailing arm smash inflicts 8
attempt to hit the target with their by switch 131. They are intelligent, and points of damage
red chemical vial to stun the target. If represent the highest form of ape life on
the target is stunned, they attempt to their peaceful, silent world. The tubes
kidnap the target. If a target injures any and tunnels of Gakona AFB are small,
raptormen, they shift their attacks to constricting, and terrifying to the 10-foot-
kill, and will lead with a chemical assault tall (3 m) beasts. They are certain the tiny
followed by a claw and bite attack. pink apes are responsible for their sudden
• Kidnap!: The raptormen lash any displacement.
stunned target with a weird, weblike
netting made of some sort of animal Goals:
skin and pull the target off at high • Hide and Stalk!: Despite their scale, the
speed. They settle in somewhere in the Gigantopithecus blacki are shy, withdrawn
tunnels and set a guard—and then two creatures. They will hide, fleeing away
of the raptormen move on to Study! from any sound, and only when they feel
• Study!: A kidnapped target is subjected they are unobserved will they double
to weird howls and hoots from the back to track the PCs (or any other
raptormen, who have never seen a living thing). After a time, they begin to
mammal larger than a field mouse. They Imitate! them.
have no knowledge of technology, and • Imitate!: If exposed long enough to any
devices such as radios will be baffling creature or threat, the Gigantopithecus
and very interesting to them. blacki learn to imitate its vocalizations Raptorman: level 6,
perfectly. Anytime they overhear a perception, jumping,
running, and climbing as
Cross-Interactions: human shouting something (like
level 7; health 22; Armor 1;
• Against the Plant in the Walls!: The “stop!” or “no!” or any command in red chemical attack stuns
raptormen attack with the red chemical. any language), they can replicate the (Might); claw and bite
When the plant is poisoned, the sound exactly. They are smart enough to attack inflicts 6 points of
damage; blue chemical
raptormen will wait for it to die and then associate names with particular Gakona attack causes disorientation
take samples. AFB crew members if they stalk their (Intellect); yellow chemical
• Against How You Say Big…uh…feets?: target long enough. attack causes target to
slip and fall (Speed); each
The raptormen attack with the yellow • Disable!: If confronted, the
calls for a single difficulty
chemical (bigfoot slip-and-slide)! If they Gigantopithecus blacki will attempt to 5 Might-, Intellect-, or
can’t kill one Gigantopithecus blacki in smash the target into unconsciousness, Speed-based task to avoid a
three or four rounds once it is hit, the but they’ll try their best not to kill it. negative effect; if the victim
is affected, all actions for
raptormen will flee. that stat are treated as two
• Against the Fifth Reich!: The raptormen Cross-Interactions: steps more difficult for an
capture and study the Fifth Reich agents • Against the Plant in the Walls!: The hour
as they would normal PCs! They will Gigantopithecus blacki smash and eat it!
strip all of them of their vacuum suits • Against the Raptormen!: The
and drag them around in their net, Gigantopithecus blacki run away and stalk
hooting and poking and prodding them. the raptormen!
• Against Double Duty!: The raptormen • Against the Fifth Reich!: The
capture and study the doubles as they Gigantopithecus blacki smash the Fifth At the end of the bigfoot
would normal PCs! They will drag them Reich agents and run (but then stalk encounter, every character
should get a subtle cypher.
around in their net, hooting and poking them)!
and prodding them. • Against Double Duty!: The
Gigantopithecus blacki run away (but
Subtle Cypher, page 343
then stalk the doubles)!

9
 FIFTH REICH! Goals:
A team of seven extradimensional explorers • Locate and Contain!: The Fifth Reich is
from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Physik, here for one purpose: to document this
Munich, on Earth at a vibrational frequency reality. They will investigate everything
of 17 MHz, has come through a portal to they come across, paying special
investigate the strange world on the other attention to books or printed materials,
side. They are controlled by switch 541. and they will collect small cultural
They come from an Earth where the Allies tokens from Gakona AFB. Once they
conceded the war in 1957, England and locate people, they will hunt them down.
Russia are now German colonies, and the • Subdue and Transmit!: They have visited
United States barely hangs on in the midst hundreds of other worlds, but none
Agent of the Fifth Reich: of a second Civil War. The agents of the Fifth of them was an Earth where Germany
level 5, attacks as level 6, Reich are well armed and wearing vacuum was defeated. Once they have subdued
science and technology as
level 7; health 18; Armor
suits. They are under orders to kill and bring targets, they will use their bizarre
1 (vacuum suit provides back any odd specimens they might find on transdimensional radio equipment to
24 hours of atmosphere the other side of the portal (including the radio Munich on Earth at a vibrational
and +10 to Armor against PCs). If any of the explorers is injured, they frequency of 17 MHz—and tell them to
extreme temperatures);
thermite grenade inflicts very much subscribe to the “shoot first and send more troops!
5 points of damage in ask questions later” school of thought. • Exterminate!: Once their reinforcements
immediate radius; machine If they capture any normal human PCs, arrive, they will line up their prisoners
gun inflicts 4 points of
one member of their team who spent the and dispatch them with ruthless
damage
early 1950s occupying England and speaks efficiency.
The leader of the Reich English will interrogate a PC—possibly the
team carries two cyphers. highest-ranking PC—and then compare Cross-Interactions:
notes with his compatriots. • Against the Plant in the Walls!: The
agents of the Fifth Reich use their

10
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

thermite grenades to attack the plant- AN ENCOUNTER DOES NOT

thing and take samples! (NECESSARILY) MEAN COMBAT!
• Against the Raptormen!: The Change it up. If the PCs have been in too
agents of the Fifth Reich use their much combat, reel it back and let them
Maschinengewehr! (“Machine gun!”) observe one of the new threats from a place
• Against How You Say Big…uh…feets?: of concealment, to discover its motivations
The agents of the Fifth Reich use their and actions at a distance, or even have such
Maschinengewehr! (“Machine gun!”) a threat approach them in a nonthreatening
• Against Double Duty!: The agents of the manner. Or, if you want to amp the players
Fifth Reich capture and question the up, have them find evidence or hear a noise
doubles as if they were normal PCs! from a threat they have not yet seen.

DOUBLE DUTY! WHEN IN DOUBT, HINT!

Doubles of PCs that died have wandered Giant footprints, spent Nazi machine-gun A newly-arrived duplicate
over from Earth at a vibrational frequency shells, weird glass vials, webbing, or clothing of a dead PC has a full
allotment of subtle cyphers.
of 8,919 MHz—from their alternate Gakona from near-identical dimensional duplicates—
where they never died. They are controlled any of these items can be thrown in to make
by switch 777. For some reason, only dead an otherwise standard hallway become
PCs do this (perhaps only one may exist suddenly interesting. Take these moments Subtle Cypher, page 343

on a vibrational plane at any time). Each to tell a story. (If a lone Fifth Reich survivor
duplicate is extremely similar to their “home whose team was eaten by the plant-thing
world” counterpart, with some obvious and fled up the hallway away from a bigfoot while
some not-so-obvious differences. emptying his machine gun, what evidence
would that leave?) Doing so will cause the
players to slow down, take a moment, and try
A NOTE (OR THREE) to figure out what is going on.
ABOUT PACING
This scenario is meant to be free-form and EXTRADIMENSIONAL REPLACEMENTS
flowing. It contains several independent Players whose characters are killed in their
elements that can appear, move about attempt to save Gakona can be handed a
independently, and interact with one duplicate of their dead PC who is alive and
another. Here are some tips about making it well, but from another dimension. In other
flow smoothly. words, they get to play their character again,
but with slight changes.
THERE ISN’T ONLY ONE!?
The five distinct encounters are not the E-2 AIRMAN ANGELA RUIZ FROM EARTH
only beasties wandering the halls. Feel free (8,919 MHZ)
to improvise—anything can be wandering PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE:
the tunnels at Gakona AFB. Even better, • You are incredibly cooperative.
just because you triumph in one encounter • You love small spaces.
doesn’t mean there aren’t more mutated • You come from Tranquility Base,
plants, raptormen, bigfeet, Fifth Reich Tycho—the fifty-first state.
agents, or dimensional duplicates out there. • You are a firebug; fire is your friend.
• You once dated Fish.
THEY FIGHT EACH OTHER, TOO! • You are an electronics expert.
The doors truly get blown off a scenario
like this when the weird extradimensional E-2 AIRMAN ALBERT “FISH” BOGOSTA
groups cross each other’s path and mix FROM EARTH (8,919 MHZ)
it up. Have the Fifth Reich get into a PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE:
machine-gun fight with the plant-thing, or • You look the same, but you’re a foot
have the Gigantopithecus blacki capture a taller and built.
raptorman—nothing is static. • You tend to mouth off to everyone.

11
 • You always carry an automatic pistol (4 • You’re just waiting for your chance
points of damage) on you. to expose and kill Berkman, who is
• You can speak and read Japanese, obviously a spy from another dimension.
German, and Italian. • You are extremely lax and just want to do
• Your parents had three of you, and your as little as possible.
brothers (called “bottle babies”) live in • You are eidetic; you remember anything
New York City. you’ve ever looked at or read.
• You are very overweight and out of shape. • You wear a standard-issue Air Force
stunner, which causes 2 points of
E-2 AIRMAN KOLANI WATTS FROM damage and stuns a target for one round.
EARTH (8,919 MHZ) • You have one shot of “cure-all,” which
PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE: can immediately restore all Pools to full
• You are a cook, and you have no idea (or an NPC to full health).
about anything to do with electronics.
• You are a coward and will do anything E-4 SENIOR AIRMAN MICHAEL
you can to cover your own ass. BERKMAN
• You killed Fish Bogosta, but most likely he’s PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE:
here when you arrive. That’s kind of scary. • You are decisive and wise, and people
• You are a team player and think everyone look up to you.
has something to add to the process. • You formulate multiple plans, and fall back
• You grew up in Tala, Alaska, in a city built on contingencies when things go south.
in the crater left by a nuke detonated • You are totally bald.
underground. • You can levitate and fly (covering up to
• You don’t feel secure unless you’re a short distance in one round), and you
carrying (or using) a machine gun. think everyone else can as well.
• You have a cybernetic Web uplink in your
E-2 AIRMAN JOHN JOHNSON FROM eye that lets you surf the Internet.
EARTH (8,919 MHZ) • You’re pretty sure all the others are
PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE: shapeshifting aliens who need to be
• You were once the commander of the base, destroyed.
but you lost your rank due to drug use.
• Your family is filthy rich, and you have
tons of valuable knickknacks such as ON THE SURFACE
electronics and video game systems. PCs who somehow manage to make it to
• You have a terrible memory and sense of the surface when breakers are still turned
direction—you have no idea where you on and HAARP is still engaged are met by
are going in the facility. one of the following sights (this sight will
• Your keys look like the right keys, but change as switches are turned off below).
none of them work. • As normal, but the moon is a huge,
• You have two hand grenades you keep unblemished sphere—super close to
on your person, just in case (6 points Earth—with not a single crater or mark
damage in a 10-foot [3 m] radius). on it.
• You are a secret operative of the Fifth • As normal, but a ring surrounding the
Reich from Earth (17 MHz), waiting for Earth (like the ring around Saturn)
your chance. traces a vast ellipse in a purple sky.
• As normal, but the snow is light
E-3 AIRMAN FIRST CLASS ELIZABETH green, and clear, harmless tentacles
BLUMGARTNER are wiggling in the snow everywhere,
PICK ONE DIMENSIONAL CHANGE: apparently growing from the ground.
• You were born in Austin, but your • As normal, but some sort of huge,
parents left right before it was leveled in oblong metal structure hangs in the
the first dimensional war. sky in orbit. It is about a quarter of the

12
 THE INFINITY SHIFT

moon in size, and it has some sort of If dead PCs have been replaced by
geometric logo on it. duplicates from Earth (8,919 MHz), when
• As normal, but a small blue-white sun that breaker is shut down, the doubles
hangs in the air next to a low giant red remain permanently integrated into this
sun. The sky is lit red-green, and the Earth (perhaps they “slot” in to their new
snow is double its previous depth. Earth, filling the gap in reality left behind
• As normal, but the snow is covered in by their dead counterpart). Each threat that
weird, thin casings that resemble leaves. is dismissed in this manner causes the
It takes a moment to realize they are remaining frequencies to double up (more
all just the desiccated, hollowed-out of the threat from that location begins to
exoskeletons of dead bugs. Occasional appear).
swarms of these bugs fly in the distance, Bodies, equipment, and other items
boiling across the sky. brought through (except for the human
No matter what, the surface is duplicates from Earth at 8,919 MHz)
inhospitable arctic tundra, and there’s no vanish when their breaker is thrown, but
real way out of Gakona. It should be clear the damage they inflicted remains behind
that if the PCs leave on foot, they will die of (though bullets from the Fifth Reich
exposure long before they find another soul. would vanish from inside injured PCs, for
example).
The PCs will have a very hard time
RESOLUTION explaining to their superiors just what
Turning off all the breakers is the only clear happened here unless they manage to turn
resolution to the problem of BROWNCOW. on the auxiliary or main power. If they do so,
Once a breaker is switched off, turning it a closed-circuit television system captures
back on does nothing. The dimensional everything in every room and hallway, no
effect does not return. matter how bizarre.

13
GM’S NOTES
 E-2 Airman Angela Ruiz ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Guarded Explorer stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Doesn’t Do Much
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I
Climbing X

10 1 15 11
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed Intellect defense tasks X
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage Discerning the truth, piercing disguises, and
recognizing falsehoods X
Computers X EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons Deception or persuasion X Lighter
Danger Sense (1 Speed point): The difficulty of your initiative roll is
reduced by one step. Enabler.
Fleet of Foot: If you succeed at a difficulty 2 Speed roll to run, you
can move a short distance and take an action in the same round. ATTACKS MOD DAM
Enabler. Utility knife -1 2
No Need for Weapons: When you make an unarmed attack (such
as a punch or kick), you can choose whether it is considered a
medium weapon or a light weapon. Enabler.
Surging Confidence (1 Might point): When you use an action to
make your first recovery roll of the day, you immediately gain
another action. Enabler.

ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
You are from Boston, Massachusetts, and Gakona is as
close to open wilderness as you ever hope to come. In the
beginning, that wilderness was magical, but now, you are
absolutely sick to death of everyone, and since the winter
has come, you’re trapped underground with them. You’ve
been here for two years, and that’s two years too long. You
were dumped in this hole because you dated and then
dumped an E-3 at Andrews AFB, and he had his revenge by
getting you reassigned. Now you do what you can to ruin
all E-3s’ lives whenever you come across one. At Gakona,
you know everyone so well—too well. So much so that
you know what everyone is going to say before they say it.
You do your best to avoid work by making yourself scarce.
Often, you find solace in the nooks and crannies off the
utility tunnels—you’ve been building yourself a nest in a
small closet out there, having managed to smuggle in food,
some water, and an old integrated TV/VCR. You’ve only got
ten tests until this place is mothballed.
You are very good at arguing; in fact, it might be your
calling.
You are claustrophobic in very small places such as pipes
or access tunnels.
You have a hideout in the facility no one else knows
about.
You want to ruin E-3 AFC Elizabeth Blumgartner’s life
without being caught.
You kind of hate everyone’s guts (though Fish Bogosta is
okay).
Your job is to make sure the test is a success, whatever
that takes.
 E-2 Airman Albert “Fish” Bogosta ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Kind Speaker stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Works the System
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I

11 12 13 1
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed Electronics X
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage Oratory X
Pleasant social interactions X
Computer programming X EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With Light Weapons Detecting falsehoods in speech and mannerisms X Electronics toolkit (soldering iron, wire, electrical
Computer Programming: You are trained in using (and exploiting) tape, etc.)
computer software, you know one or more computer languages
well enough to write basic programs, and you are fluent in Internet
protocol. Enabler. ATTACKS MOD DAM
Encouragement (1 Intellect point): While you maintain this ability Utility knife -1 2
through ongoing inspiring oration, your allies within short range
modify the difficulty of one of the following task types (your choice)
by one step to their benefit: defense tasks, attack tasks, or tasks
related to any skill that you are trained or specialized in. Action.
Fast Talk (1 Intellect point): When speaking with an intelligent
creature who can understand you and isn’t hostile, you convince
that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A
continued on back
ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
You are from Tampa, Florida. Everyone calls you “Fish,” and Special Abilities (continued)
it’s either because of your bug eyes, or the fact that you’re reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not
the only one who likes the frozen fish sticks—you’re afraid put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of
to ask. Gakona is a dump, but it’s your dump, and you do character. Action.
your best to keep it running. Maybe, sometime, someone Hack the Impossible (3 Intellect points): You can persuade
will notice and get your ass out of here. Though everyone automatons, machines, and computers to do your bidding. You
keeps talking about the station being “end-of-life,” you just can discover an encrypted password, break through security on a
can’t imagine it closing down. Everyone here is okay, and website, briefly turn off a machine such as a surveillance camera, or
you do your best to please anyone you can, within reason. disable a robot with a moment’s worth of fiddling. Action.
People sometimes call you a “kiss ass,” but you prefer the Interaction Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not
term “operationally motivated.” You know your way around already trained. Enabler.
a high-energy radar array and transceiver, and—miracle of Karma: Sometimes, strangers just help you out. To gain the aid of a
miracles—you’re self-taught. What else are you going to stranger, you must pay 1 XP to the GM, and the GM determines the
do when you can’t go outside nine months out of the year, nature of the aid you gain. Usually, the act of kindness isn’t enough
after all? You can only play so many games of Master of to turn a bad situation completely around, but it may moderate a
Orion. bad situation and lead to new opportunities. For example, if you are
captured, a guard loosens your bonds slightly, brings you water, or
You are good with electronics. delivers a message.
You must kiss ass straight up the chain of command. Understanding (2 Intellect points): You observe or study a creature
You are neutral. Everyone tolerates you (within reason). or object. The next time you interact with it, the difficulty of the
You love Gakona, and want to keep it in tip-top shape. related task is reduced by one step. Action.
You can climb, crawl, and maneuver through all the
nooks and crannies of the base.
Your job is to run to breakers, or troubleshoot problems
as needed on the fly.
 E-2 Airman Kolani Watts ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Brash Explorer stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Looks for Trouble
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I

12 1 15 9
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage

EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons Four golf balls
Bold: You are trained in all actions that involve overcoming or Tiny bottle of super glue
ignoring the effects of fear or intimidation.
Brawler: You inflict 1 additional point of damage in melee
(including with your bare fists). ATTACKS MOD DAM
Endurance: Any duration dealing with physical actions is either Utility knife -1 2
doubled or halved, whichever is better for you. For example, if
the typical person can hold his breath for thirty seconds, you can
hold it for one minute. If the typical person can march for four
hours without stopping, you can do so for eight hours. In terms
of harmful effects, if a poison paralyzes its victims for one minute,
you are paralyzed for thirty seconds. The minimum duration is
always one round. Enabler.
continued on back
ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
You are from Chicago, Illinois. You play basketball in the Special Abilities (continued)
gymnasium to make certain you don’t kill anyone, because Fleet of Foot: If you succeed at a difficulty 2 Speed roll to run, you
man, everyone here has their idiot dial turned up to 11. can move a short distance and take an action in the same round.
It’s not an irrational hate either. Each person here (except Enabler.
maybe Fish Bogosta, who just does his job and tries to stay Muscles of Iron (2 Might points): For the next ten minutes, the
out of the way) is just a unique piece of work. You trained in difficulty of all Might-based actions other than attack rolls that you
radios, communications, and ELF arrays, and you’re here to attempt is reduced by one step. Enabler.
make sure that when Sandia or Wyoming rings up Gakona, Surging Confidence (1 Might point): When you use an action to
the connection comes through loud and clear. As far as you make your first recovery roll of the day, you immediately gain
can tell, HAARP is just another multibillion-dollar waste of another action. Enabler.
money that will amount to nothing; but some of the stuff Wound Tender: You are trained in healing.
here is weird. When they shutter this place, you’ll dance
on its grave. And that can’t happen soon enough for your
liking.
You are an expert on radios, radiation, and
communication equipment.
You are forced to prove yourself whenever directly
challenged.
You dislike everyone except Fish Bogosta.
You are brave, and despite not liking most of the crew,
you’ll try your best to help them.
You just want to do your job without having to answer to
stupid people.
Your job is to keep the radio operating.
 E-2 Airman John Johnson ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Perceptive Warrior stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Entertains Intimidation X
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I

10 14 1 12
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed Perception X
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage Trivia X

EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With All Weapons Giant tangled keyring
Bash (1 Might point): This is a pummeling melee attack. Your Scary clown mask
attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal but dazes your
target for one round, during which time the difficulty of all tasks it
performs is modified by one step to its detriment. Action. ATTACKS MOD DAM
Control the Field (1 Might point): This melee attack inflicts 1 less Utility knife -1 2
point of damage than normal, but regardless of whether you hit the
target, you maneuver it into a position you desire within immediate
range. Action.
Levity: Through wit, charm, humor, and grace, you are trained
in all social interactions other than those involving coercion or
intimidation. During rests, you put friends and comrades at ease
so much that they gain +1 to their recovery rolls. Enabler.
continued on back
ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
Your name is John Johnson, and you’re not from Wisconsin Special Abilities (continued)
(something you’ve been asked countless times). You’re No Need for Weapons: When you make an unarmed attack (such
from Riley, Minnesota. Gakona is not too much different: as a punch or kick), it counts as a medium weapon instead of a
snow, some trees, animals, nothing… You know, a life light weapon. Enabler.
of isolation. Living at Gakona is like living on a very big Swipe (1 Speed point): This is a quick, agile melee attack. Your
submarine. You wander the halls with your mop and bucket, attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal but dazes your
polishing your way back and forth around the miles of target for one round, during which time the difficulty of all tasks it
corridors while listening to the Grateful Dead on your iPod. performs is modified by one step to its detriment. Action.
When you reach one end of the facility, you start again and
go back the other way. You figure you’ll cover the whole
facility another forty to fifty times before it’s closed for
good.
You have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the areas of
the facility.
You have keys to all rooms, doors, and corridors.
You tend to say precisely what’s on your mind all the time
(this is usually not good).
You hate talking to groups of people; one on one you’re
usually OK, but in groups you sometimes freeze up.
A month ago, you found an armory closet no one
seems to know is there. It’s filled with Cold War ordnance:
grenades, machine guns, ammo—heck, there are a dozen
LAW rockets in there! You cleaned the floor and left without
mentioning it to anyone.
Your job is to clean stuff up and, sometimes, to point
people to the proper location.
 E-3 Airman First Class Elizabeth Blumgartner ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Driven Speaker stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Fights Dirty
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I

10 15 11 1
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed Intellect defense actions X
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage Daily skill X
Perception X
EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With Light Weapons Tin full of powerful breath mints
Aggression (2 Intellect points): Your words twist the mind of Standard toolkit (screwdriver, hammer, etc.)
a character within short range who is able to understand you,
unlocking her more primitive instincts. As a result, she gains an
asset on her Might-based attack rolls for one minute. Action to ATTACKS MOD DAM
initiate. Utility knife -1 2
Enthrall (1 Intellect point): While talking, you grab and keep another
creature’s attention, even if the creature can’t understand you. For
as long as you do nothing but speak (you can’t even move), the
other creature takes no actions other than to defend itself, even
over multiple rounds. If the creature is attacked, the effect ends.
Action.
Fast Talk (1 Intellect point): When speaking with an intelligent
continued on back
ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
You were raised in Sacramento, California. Gakona is the Special Abilities (continued)
result of your pushing your luck just one step too far. You creature who can understand you and isn’t hostile, you convince
were this close to promotion to staff sergeant at Whidbey that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A
Island when you were caught off base after hours—line reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not
dancing of all things. NO ONE MUST KNOW. At Gakona, put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of
you thought you’d have the highest rank, but then character. Action.
“Jerkman” (Senior Airman Berkman) showed up. Now you Liar: You are trained in all forms of deception. Enabler.
need to play second fiddle to a person who thinks Euripides Spin Identity (2+ Intellect points): You convince all intelligent
is a side dish at a Greek restaurant. So it goes. You can get creatures who can see, hear, and understand you that you are
through anything. If you play your cards right and make it someone or something other than who you actually are. You
through these last few tests, you can get reassigned back to don’t impersonate a specific individual known to the victim.
the world and catch that elusive promotion. Instead, you convince the victim that you are someone they do not
know belonging to a certain category of people. “We’re from the
You pretend to be super nice in front of Senior Airman government.” “I’m just a simple farmer from the next town over.”
Berkman. “Your commander sent me.” A disguise isn’t necessary, but a good
You are mean and petty to the other personnel when disguise will almost certainly be an asset to the roll involved. If
Berkman is not present. you attempt to convince more than one creature, the Intellect cost
You are a stickler; everything must be completed increases by 1 point per additional victim. Fooled creatures remain
perfectly, or it is not completed at all. so for up to an hour, unless your actions or other circumstances
You try (and often fail) to quote deep and meaningful reveal your true identity earlier. Action.
philosophy. Taking Advantage: When your foe is weakened, dazed, stunned,
You go by the book. You’re no-nonsense and kind of moved down the damage track, or disadvantaged in some other
annoying—you like the limited power you have over the way, the difficulty of your attacks against that foe is decreased by
others. one step beyond any other modifications due to the disadvantage.
Your job is to keep all the E-2 knuckleheads in line and Enabler.
follow orders from E-4 Berkman.
 E-4 Senior Airman Michael Berkman ADVANCEMENT TM
NAME
INCREASE MOVE TOWARD EXTRA SKILL OTHER
CAPABILITIES PERFECTION EFFORT TRAINING Refer to the
+4 points into +1 to the Edge +1 into Effort Train in a skill or specialize Cypher System
Naive Warrior stat Pools of your choice in a trained skill Rulebook
IS A WHO
DESCRIPTOR TYPE
SKILLS • MIGHT T = trained, S = specialized, I = inability T S I
Would Rather Be Reading
FOCUS CYPHERS

1 1
TIER EFFORT XP

MIGHT SPEED INTELLECT

SKILLS • SPEED T S I
Climbing X

14 1 10 10
POOL EDGE POOL EDGE POOL EDGE

RECOVERY ROLLS 1d6+ DAMAGE TRACK

IMPAIRED DEBILITATED
1 ACTION 1 HOUR +1 Effort per level Can move only an
Ignore minor and major immediate distance SKILLS • INTELLECT T S I
effect results on rolls Cannot move if Speed Perception X
2
10 MINS 10 HOURS Combat roll of 17-20 Pool is 0 LIMIT
deals only +1 damage Cooking X

EQUIPMENT
SPECIAL ABILITIES Utility knife
Practiced With All Weapons Football
Bash (1 Might point): This is a pummeling melee attack. Your Battered paperback fantasy novel
attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal, but dazes your
target for one round, during which time the difficulty of all tasks it
performs is modified by one step to its detriment. Action. ATTACKS MOD DAM
Fresh: You add +1 to your recovery rolls. Utility knife -1 2
Incorruptible: You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and all tasks
that involve resisting temptation.
No Need for Weapons: When you make an unarmed attack (such
as a punch or kick), it counts as a medium weapon instead of a
light weapon. Enabler.
Swipe (1 Speed point): This is a quick, agile melee attack. Your
attack inflicts 1 less point of damage than normal but dazes your
continued on back
ARMOR MONEY
BACKGROUND NOTES PORTRAIT
You were raised in Dayton, Ohio. Listen, you have no idea Special Abilities (continued)
how you got here, okay, man? Dude. You’re big and good- target for one round, during which time the difficulty of all tasks it
looking, and you can follow basic instructions. You’re well performs is modified by one step to its detriment. Action.
read (I mean, you LOVE books), but heck, you don’t really Thrust (1 Might point): This is a powerful melee stab. You make an
like school. Still, after you read the E-4 manual, you walked attack and inflict 1 additional point of damage if your weapon has a
through your E-4 test without even really thinking about it, sharp edge or point. Action.
and then you were on a plane to Alaska. It’s not really your
command (they have an E-6 technical sergeant who flies
in every half year or so), but you’re in charge while he’s not
here. You don’t like it any better than the people under you
like it. Why does this stuff always happen to you?
You often ask people what they think you should do,
despite the fact that this seems to upset them.
No matter how hard you try (or how long you’re with the
same people), you can’t keep all their names straight.
You really (like, really, really. man) want to help people,
but you always feel like you’re messing up.
You are strong and fit—probably the strongest person on
base—and you often run and lift weights.
Whenever you feel like you don’t know what to do next,
you try to call command on the radio.
Your job is to keep Dr. Ionescu happy and make sure
BROWNCOW goes off without a hitch.