''The Strange'' is a

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

, written by

Bruce Cordell Bruce Robert Cordell (born 1968) is an American author of roleplaying games and fantasy novels. He has worked on ''Dungeons & Dragons'' games for Wizards of the Coast. He won the Origins Award for ''Return to the Tomb of Horrors'' and has also wo ...

Monte Cook Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, worki ...

, and published by

Monte Cook Games Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, worki ...

History

''The Strange'' was published in 2014 by

, 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." # 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. # 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". # 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 ''Numenera'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in the far distant future, written by Monte Cook, published in 2013. Game Setting Numenera is set on Earth approximately one billion years in the future. The setting is cal ...

'' 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

Reception

''The Strange'' won the 2015 Silver

Ennie Award The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

for "Best Interior Art", "Best Game", and "Best Setting".

References

External links

The Strange at RPGeekThe Strange (Official Site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange ENnies winners Fantasy role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 2014 Science fantasy role-playing games Science fiction role-playing games