Services, such as example meals and boarding, are included under appropriate price categories for The Real World Genre, science fiction, and fantasy genres.

Equipment in Cypher plays only a small role. It's far more important to focus on what you can do than on what you have. Still, sometimes it's important to know if you've got enough rope or what kind of gun your space pilot has at their hip.

In the Cypher rules, when it comes to prices we talk in generalities rather than specifics. Instead of having exact currency values like "10 gold pieces" or "30 Imperial credits" or "50 exodollars," we use general price categories like "inexpensive" and "expensive."

The GM can figure out what those categories mean in their setting. In a fantasy setting, an inexpensive item might be 1 or 2 copper pennies, while an expensive item might require gold coins. In a futuristic setting, a moderately priced item might cost a few hundred credits, and a very expensive one costs kilocredits or megacredits.

Some GMs prefer exact currency numbers for items---so a backpack is 2 gold or 50 credits---and you'll keep track of your character's money much like you do in real life. If this is the case in your game, the GM will develop a detailed price list for the setting you're playing in, you'll track your character's money on your character sheet to determine what you can afford, and you'll never use the price categories after you initially build your character.

But some GMs might want to keep things simple and use only the general categories, indicating currency just as flavor now and then. In a fantasy game, looting a dungeon might net each character enough gold and gems for a couple of moderately priced items. In a spacefaring sci-fi game, hauling passengers to another star system might earn the whole PC crew enough for six expensive items after paying for fuel and such. In either case, the exact amounts don't matter---the fantasy characters are probably trading old coins and jewelry for new things, and the sci-fi characters may be dealing with currencies from two different planetary economies.

There are five price categories for goods and services.

Each price category costs about ten times more than the one before it. For example, a moderately priced item is about ten times the cost of an inexpensive item. An expensive item is about ten times the cost of a moderately priced item. A very expensive item is about ten times the cost of an expensive one, a hundred times the cost of a moderate one, and a thousand times the cost of an inexpensive one. An exorbitant item is ten times the cost of a very expensive one.

You can use the price categories in a variety of ways.

It's easy for a GM to say to you, "You can afford two extra moderately priced things at the start of the game." Then you can look on the list and pick two moderately priced items without worrying about their cost. Plus, this approach makes it clear that you get two items, not twenty inexpensive items (which might be a lot to carry) and not an expensive item (which might not be appropriate for a starting character). The categories make it easy to lump similar items together.

The GM can also say, "You can have whatever inexpensive items you want, and don't worry about the cost." For later stages of the campaign, when the PCs have more wealth, followers, and so on, the GM can do this with moderate or even expensive items. This allows the group to skip over playing through a shopping trip to get supplies, and you don't have to track prices down to the last coin or credit.

You can use the categories to estimate the cost of a lower- or higher-quality item. If an average-quality shirt (like a T-shirt) is an inexpensive item, a nice shirt (like a button-down shirt for an office job) is a moderately priced item, and an exceptional shirt (fashionable and/or suitable for a fancy event) is an expensive item. If a typical broadsword is an expensive item, a rusted or low‑quality broadsword is a moderately priced item (and likely to break after a few fights), and a jeweled sword is a very expensive item.

Finally, you can use the categories as shorthand when evaluating loot, dividing up the spoils among the PCs, and resolving other story-based occurrences that crop up in the game without dealing in the minutiae of exact prices. This is especially useful in high‑powered games where your PCs are rich and powerful.

The context in pricing often matters. In a real‑world setting on modern-day Earth, a matchstick is almost worthless (many establishments give away books of them), but it would be very valuable in an Iron Age or Stone Age society. A sword might be expensive in a fantasy setting, but mostly worthless in the far future other than as a collector's item (although it hurts just the same if you're hit with it), making it either inexpensive or very expensive. A motorcycle would be expensive in a real-world setting, moderate at best in a future setting---again, unless it's a collector's item---and utterly priceless in the Iron Age (as long as the fuel lasted) if it somehow found its way to 1000 BC (where it would be an artifact). In a fantasy setting, a magically fueled motorcycle might have the same value as a flying carpet or trained gryphon.

This is why you can't have a standardized price list that applies to every setting, genre, and time period. It's all about context.

One common piece of RPG equipment is armor, which protects characters from wounds. Various kinds of armor are described in this section, but they all fall into one of three armor categories---light, medium, or heavy.

Your type tells you what kind of armor you can freely use.

Light armor eases your block rolls and hinders your dodge rolls.

Medium armor eases your block rolls by two steps and hinders your dodge rolls by two steps.

Heavy armor eases your block rolls by three steps and hinders your dodge rolls by three steps.

If you cannot freely use the armor you are wearing, its dodge penalty also applies to all of your Speed tasks (not just to Speed defense rolls to dodge). For example, if you are wearing heavy armor but can't freely use it, all of your Speed tasks are hindered by three steps. Any character can use a shield.

Armor GM intrusion: Your armor gets damaged (either from one big attack or from a lot of attacks over time), reducing how much it eases your block tasks by one step, but still hindering your dodge attacks the normal amount. For example, damaged leather armor might not ease block rolls at all and still hinder your dodge rolls.

Not all characters can freely use all kinds of weapons. Your type determines which ones you are experienced with and can freely use, meaning that you don't have a penalty when using that kind of weapon. If you attack using a weapon you can't freely use, your attack roll is hindered. Obviously, warrior types like the Barbarian, Paladin, and Soldier can use all kinds of weapons, and other types like the Mage and Diplomat have a more limited selection.

In a few cases, your focus might add to the list of weapons you can freely use.There are three categories of weapons in the game.

Light weapons inflict 2 damage. Attacks with them are eased because they are fast and easy to use. Light weapons are punches, kicks, knives, handaxes, darts, very small handguns, and so on. Weapons that are particularly small are light weapons. If you wish, you can attack with a light weapon as a First action (First actions go first in the combat round).

Medium weapons inflict 4 damage. Medium weapons include broadswords, battleaxes, maces, crossbows, spears, typical handguns, light rifles, sawed-off shotguns, and so on. Most weapons are medium weapons. Anything that could comfortably be used in one hand (even if it's often used in two hands, such as a quarterstaff or spear) is a medium weapon.

Heavy weapons inflict 6 damage. You must use two hands to attack with them. Heavy weapons include greatswords, greataxes, polearms, heavy crossbows, rifles, regular shotguns, assault rifles, and so on. Anything that must be used in two hands is a heavy weapon. Attacking with a heavy weapon is a Last action (Last actions go last in the combat round).

Because the weapon categories are generalized, if you want to use a specific weapon that's not listed in this book, you can use the game stats for a similar weapon. For example, if you want your character to wield a katana, you can choose a broadsword from the equipment table and call it a katana. If you'd prefer a two-handed nodachi, choose a greatsword and call it a nodachi.

In general, light weapons are moderately priced items, medium weapons are expensive, and heavy weapons are very expensive. Ammunition for a ranged weapon is inexpensive.

The rest of this section is divided into sections based on genre, and those sections give more specific details on what weapons are available in each genre.

Keep in mind that in many genres, it's not acceptable to run around carrying dangerous weapons. Your sword might not draw much attention in a fantasy game, or your oversized handgun in a sci-fi game, but carrying either of those weapons in a real-world game set on modern-day Earth is a different story.

You can use a melee weapon to attack a foe that's adjacent to you (next to you) or within reach (immediate range).

Some melee weapons are also meant to be thrown, such as knives and axes. You can throw this kind of weapon up to short range.

A ranged weapon specifies what its maximum range is; most ranged weapons can attack out to short range or long range. If your target is just at the limit of the weapon's range, that's called extreme range, and your attack against them is hindered.

Bombs, grenades, missiles, and other explosives operate differently than weapons like swords and handguns---they can affect multiple targets in an area (usually an immediate area). When you attack with these kinds of weapons, make separate attack rolls for each creature in the area (although the GM may simplify this by having you make one attack roll, which they'll compare to the difficulty of each target in the area). Success means the target takes the normal damage for the explosive weapon; failure typically means the target still takes a smaller amount of damage, usually 1 point.

You can throw a grenade or similar explosive a short distance. Otherwise, you need another weapon or device (such as a grenade launcher or rocket launcher) to shoot them at the target area.

You can use Effort for damage with explosive weapons, but each level of Effort adds only 2 damage (instead of the normal 3).
PCs in the area of an explosive weapon make block or dodge rolls instead of the attacking character making attack rolls.

Exactly what items are available for sale varies greatly based on the setting---blasters and spaceships aren't available in a typical fantasy game, and a sci-fi game probably doesn't have many places where you could buy a sword. Items like food, lodging, and clothing are available in just about any setting, and in different levels of quality according to the price category. For example, you can buy an inexpensive meal, a moderately priced meal, an expensive meal, and so on. An inexpensive meal is light and probably not very nutritious. An expensive meal is available only in nice restaurants in certain locations. An exorbitant meal is probably a feast for a crowd, with the finest food and drink available.

Lodging for a night is similar, although the bottom end starts out worse. An inexpensive night's lodging is probably a flea-ridden mat on the floor of a room filled with other lodgers. Moderate lodging is usually a private room with a decent bed. Very expensive lodging might be a suite of rooms with delicious meals and personal services (such as massages and laundry) included.

Inexpensive clothing is just a step up from rags, but moderately priced clothing is decent enough. For a formal party, you'd want expensive clothing. Rich people likely wear very expensive clothing most of the time, and put on exorbitant clothing (and jewelry) when they go to a fancy party.

Equipment Levels

Typical equipment is about level 4---less if it's of inferior quality or materials, more if it's of superior quality or materials. This means that in a setting based on the distant past, the default level might be 3, while in the future it might be 5 or 6. So an average serf's tool in the Dark Ages is level 3, easily broken, while an average tool on a space station is level 6, made of advanced polymers. A tiny item like a ring or watch will usually have a lower level, and a large item like a car will have a higher level.

Cyphers are one-use abilities. In some settings, cyphers are physical items, like a magic potion or high-tech gizmo, but you shouldn't think of them as regular equipment like backpacks, swords, and horses---they have special rules and often aren't available to buy or sell. Cyphers are more like special abilities (from your type or focus) than common equipment. A later section has more information on cyphers, including how they work, how many you can carry, and how to get them.

Some character types and some foci allow you to craft cyphers, modify the power level of a cypher, or use a cypher more than once.

It is likely that if you play a character for a while, you'll end up with a cypher you've had before, and that's totally fine. It's also okay if you end up with two of the same cypher at the same time, but if that happens you might want to discard one so you have more options.

Artifacts are like cyphers in that they're more like special abilities than common equipment. Unlike cyphers, artifacts can be used more than once.

Every artifact has a special statistic called depletion, which is usually written as a number range, like "1 in 1d6" or "1--3 in 1d20." When you use or activate an artifact, you roll the die in the depletion stat. If your roll is in the depletion range of numbers, the artifact works, but that is its last use.

Some rare artifacts have a depletion stat of "---" which means they never deplete.

Artifact depletion means you never have to keep track of how many charges an item has or its "battery level."

The GM has more information about artifacts.

The following items (and anything else appropriate to The Real World Genre, meaning modern-day Earth) are usually available for purchase.

For any game set in the modern day, catalogs or shopping websites can provide prices for any kind of item that you might need. Likewise for historical games, an internet search can quickly get you price lists from old mail-order catalogues.

Easily destroyed: The item might break on a GM intrusion, through frequent use, over time, or for no apparent reason at all.

If desired, the group can ignore ammunition amounts for guns, bows, and the like and simply rely on GM intrusions to indicate when one runs out of ammo. Running out of ammo is a great and easy intrusion for when a player rolls a 1 with a weapon that uses it.

Here are some suggested real-world currency values (in US dollars) for the general price categories.

In a typical pseudo-Medieval fantasy setting, the following items (and anything else appropriate to that time period) are usually available.

GM intrusion: The character's limited-use piece of equipment (like a healer's kit, disguise kit, or or box of ammunition) has run out. Perhaps they used it all up and didn't realize, they spilled some, it's expired, or it's been ruined somehow.

Here are some suggested fantasy currency values for the general price categories.

In a science fiction setting, the following items are usually available. An item marked with an asterisk (*) indicates fantastic-level technology (such as cybernetic limbs, multidimensional storage, and personal energy shields) available only in far-future or advanced-technology settings.

An asterisk (*) indicates fantastic-level technology (such as cybernetic limbs, multidimensional storage, and personal energy shields) available only in far-future or advanced-technology settings.

Vacuum pistols and vacuum assault rifles use special self-propelling rounds that can fire in oxygen-free environments; the rounds produce no recoil, so firing the weapon doesn't push or spin the character.

If the GM uses specific currency amounts and makes in-game prices about the same as the price of modern goods, that makes it easy for everyone to understand a quoted price. For example, if a nice sandwich costs $10 in modern-day Earth and 10 sol credits in a futuristic planetary exploration game, you have a reasonable idea of how much a ground car or apartment costs. With that in mind, here are some suggested sci-fi currency values for the general price categories, whether the GM is using sol credits, star dollars, Imperial credits, or platinum chips.

In a postapocalyptic game set after a modern-era apocalypse, the following long-lasting and newly made modern items are generally available. Fuel, batteries, and devices that rely on such things, as well as items that break down quickly or are difficult to manufacture, will be much rarer. The GM might decide that such things are at least one price category more expensive than what they're listed as in the Real‑World Equipment table, or say that they are essentially unavailable and treat them like artifacts rather than equipment.

Postapocalyptic settings usually "reset" the common currency and amounts to small, manageable numbers, and they don't generally have inflation to drive up prices of common items to more than what you can carry in one hand. Here are some suggested postapocalypse currency values for the general price categories. Depending on the setting, currency units might be bottle caps, teeth, bullets, cans of food, quarters, or gold rings.

A typical superhero game takes place in a real-world (modern-day Earth) setting, so you can use the Real-World Equipment table to see what sorts of things are available. Keep in mind that for most superheroes, powers and skills make the character, and equipment is almost irrelevant. However, the following items may be useful for a busy hero on the go.