Rules Clarification

[u/LawfulnessOrganic715]

Hello everyone. I have quick rule question for Cypher System second edition (C2).

I have played Cypher since 2019, so I know rule usually is "do what fits your table." But C2 feels more strict with rules now, so maybe I miss something important?

In C2 book, there is ability called "Reload". It says you can reload firearm as extra action. But I looked everywhere and cannot find normal rules for reloading weapons! No rules for guns, no difference for tech levels, no rules for crossbows.

My questions:

• Without "Reload" ability, how many actions it takes to reload firearm tje normal way?
• Is reloading a First, Action, Last, or something else?
• Do all guns reload same? Like, modern gun vs flintlock / muzzle loader vs sci-fi weapon?
• Are there reloading rules for normal crossbow? (Spray ability mentions Repeating Crossbow, but no normal crossbow rules).

I know GM can just decide based on genre. But if there is no general rule, how can "specific rule beats general rule"? Also people think differently about same genre.

Am I crazy? Thanks for help!

[u/sakiasakura]

Yes - this is an item the book doesn't fully cover.

Unfortunately, with what's out now for C2, you'll just have to decide what you want to do.

For me, I would consider Reloading an Action, and would allow weapons like bows or slings to be loaded as part of the attack that uses them.

[u/ohdang_raptor → u/sakiasakura]

This. I use the rules from Alien: the Roleplaying Game for ammo for most of my games, nowadays, and they suit Cypher fairly well (pretty similar to an artifact “burning out”). In Alien it’s your “stress dice”. For Cypher I add an additional “ammo die”. If it lands on a 1, you need to reload. A firearm with more controlled recoil or larger ammo capacity has a larger ammo die. Also use GM intrusions as needed.

[u/BasilNeverHerb]

they go into a bit more information with ammo in the gm book but overall i do think it can easily be inferred by the ability, that reloading if your gonna use it as a mechanic, would take a action as standard.

I think they dont go into the details because they also dont have a standard of how many bullets can be in your gun at once. That level of detail isnt intended for this sort of game outright and is more for the gm and others to decide.

i think its also why reload is put in the way it is in the chart, where if you dont take realod, you can still access the wrest of the tree just as easily as if you did take it. so there is no dead choice if you do or dont pick it.

[u/knightcrawler75]

The book recommends to not track ammo or use it as a gm intrusion. So if you play according to the book if a GM gives you an intrusion for reloading you could say you have the reload ability thus solving the intrusion.

If you want to use ammo it makes sense to use it as an action as doing anything that takes longer than a second or two would require an action and depending on how you load it, it can either be a normal, First, or Last. For example loading a clip from a bandolier I would rule it to be a first action. But loading a revolver, muzzle loader or bazooka would be a last action. As far as a bow or xbow I would say loading and firing would be a Last action. So if you were loaded and ready your fist shot would be normal or first if it was a xbow and the rest would be Last.