We'll be dropping the last two volumes of our Dark Supers shorts cycle this month and next, which means we need to plan for the next trio of one-shot volumes—and that's where you come in!

For the first time, we're opening up for suggestions from the public!

Just drop a comment below with the genre you'd like us to cover in our next cycle and we'll include it in a poll for members of our Sage and up tiers to vote on. Do you want to see fairy tale, weird west, or cyberpunk? Want to see us dig back into fantasy or horror? Have a combo or other subgenre in mind that you'd like to see the UO crew tackle?

Add your comment below and join us as a Free member if you have a moment to drop your email here. 

Suggestions will be open until 11/22/24.

You can view our past collections of Cypher Shorts in our store or on DrivethruRPG. 

Happy end o' September, Folks!

Cypher Shorts: Dark Supers Shorts Vol. 1 is live! 

I'm not going to lie, this is the volume I've been waiting to get out in front of you for more than a hot minute. We're big, big fans of the supers genre in general here at UO headquarters, but the occult/paranormal corners of comics are flush with storytelling potential. Plus, it's full-on fall and we're getting in that appropriately spooky mood. 

If you were a reader of 90s Vertigo comics, you'll undoubtedly see a lot of their influence in this volume, although Kayla went with a more modern/Zach Snyder approach to 'Doom is the Cost of Power' that you're also going to love. 

This was an incredibly fun and refreshing volume to write and I would love to hear how these scenarios play out at your tables in the comments below or on the socials. 

If you're a member of the Sage or higher tier, use promo code 'SAVIOUR_MACHINE' to grab your free copy from the UO store below. (This code will expire when the next volume of shorts drops.)

Read more about what's inside below and then head over and grab your copy at the links.

UO Store | Drivethru

Enjoy and happy gaming!

~ Jess

This Volume of Cypher Shorts Includes:

• A Darkening Light: The characters are each a part of the occult and supernatural underworld who have been brought together to stop a fallen angel from opening a gate to a dark dimension. Can they outmaneuver the sinister powereds protecting her before she cracks the door to the end of days?
• Doom is the Cost of Power: Years ago, the characters each made a deal that made them the most powerful heroes on Earth. All that was required in exchange for their power was a favor that would be called due sometime in the future. Now, it's time to pay their tab, and it could spell the end of the world they traded their souls to protect.
• The Far Side Of Town:  The characters are a team of outsiders who have been called in to deal with Reverie, a powered who has trapped a psychiatric hospital in her dreamscape. Can they get her to release her psychic hold or will they find themselves lost in the psychedelic recesses of her subconscious?

Since we're officially back in the saddle, it seemed only appropriate to kick this first week of August (how??) off with a brand new Echoes From The Underground! Let's see if we can keep this thing going, shall we?

Pro-tip: Don't forget to check out this month's Question for The Oracle at the end of this article!

July's Member Bonus: Tidal Child Species

Whether you're playing in a more traditional fantasy setting or are enjoying the recent release of It's Only Magic by the fine folks over at MCG, the tidal child species makes for a fun and unique player option to add to your games. 

Choose from one of four different water fey ancestries–the asrai, nereid, nixie, and undine–each with their own physical traits, personality quirks, and special ability. If you're feeling particularly bold or are a little disappointed that we didn't include your favorite water fey (there are...a lot) feel free to use our supplied ancestries as a template to create your own.

Let us know if you do in the comments below!

Now Exiting The Post-Apocalypse

With the release of Cypher Shorts: Post-Apocalypse Shorts Vol. 3, we have officially exited our post-apocalypse shorts cycle!

This volume, like all previous releases, contains three very different shorts for three equally different post-apocalyptic scenarios.

• What if we foolishly woke the dragons that slumber deep beneath the Earth's crust? 
• What if the citizenship test to enter paradise required more of you than you could imagine?
• What if the very water that we need to survive turned against us? 

Find out the answers to all of the above in our latest release.

Now on to those dark supers shorts!

Free Materials Update: Insidious Knowledge Rule

As I'm sure you've already read, when we hit new free member milestones we take an exclusive article from our catalog of member-only materials and make it available to all of our free supporters. 

Our latest update now includes the insidious knowledge rule, which is perfect for any cypher games where you're dealing with the sorts of dark, demonic, or eldritch beings that have access to the characters' deepest flaws and fears and are more than happy to use them against them. 

(If you're not already a free member, drop your email here and check out our current catalog of freebies.) 

Question For The Oracle: Species As A Descriptor? 

Hey guys, My question is of course Cypher related. What is your take on race as a descriptor? I personally feel like making a player pick a race instead of a descriptor feels a little funny. It also implies that everyone from the same race has the same traits, which isn't great storytelling in my opinion...I was just wondering what is your thoughts on this topic. Thank you for your time.

 - Spiggs18 or Anthony from Cypher Unlimited

We are 100% of one mind there, Spiggs.

The Underground Oracle Publishing character sentence for Cypher System includes species as well as a descriptor. So far we’ve only presented it in Harrow, but we consider it our in-house standard and it’s how we prefer to play our games.

I like to look at it as combining both the nature and the nurture aspects of a character. Species being the “nature” qualities (like wings, horns, inborn abilities, etc) or the things that might be picked up by living in the home culture. And descriptor representing the “nurture” qualities, or those things picked up from the character’s lived experiences and their reactions to them.

It’s also just incredibly fun to have more options at the table, so why limit a PC who wants to get creative in a way that isn’t going to hurt the overall table experience?

Do you have a question for The Oracle? Comment below and you could see it in the next Echoes From The Underground!

Members' Corner

• Congrats to free members Moddy Moon, Matt Blakeley, and Skywarp, the winners of our August Sage tier upgrades!
• Missing your member notifications? Make sure to whitelist emails from undergroundoracle.com to keep them in your inbox. 
• Have questions or concerns for the UO Team? Send a direct message to Jess through the member's section right here on the site!

We're back, folks!

And we're officially putting our first post-apocalypse cycle to bed with Cypher Shorts: Post-Apocalypse Shorts Vol. 3.

Once again we offer a wide variety of scenarios for a smattering of different ended worlds, and once again I want to send a sincere thank you to our members for their constant support while we've been handling the curveballs the universe keeps chucking. 

If you're a member of the Sage or higher tier, use promo code 'ALMOST_PARADISE' to grab your free copy from the UO store below. (This code will expire when the next volume of shorts drops.)

Read more about what's inside below and then head over and grab your copy at the links.

UO Store | Drivethru

Enjoy and happy gaming!

~ Jess

This Volume of Cypher Shorts Includes:

• In the Time of Brimstone: In a world destroyed by dragons, the players are part of a meager resistance trying to reclaim the earth from the claws of the draconic threat. But a new utopia promising safety for humanity could derail civilization’s comeback if the PCs don’t intervene. 
• The Path To Citizenship: In a post-irradiated world, the players have found themselves at the gates of paradise—a city with electricity, running water, and safety from the dangers of the surrounding wastes. The only thing that stands between the characters and their dream life is the city’s formidable citizenship test.
• Raining Death:  In a newly fallen world where the water’s turned deadly, what remains of civilization is desperate for respite. After years of avoiding contact with the once life-giving resource, hope appears in the form of a lost child standing in the rain. But will the PCs be strong enough to keep her safe and unlock the secret of her immunity?
• Cypher Shorts Guidelines: The simplified rules that you need to run and create characters for your Cypher Shorts.

Happy Sunday, folks!

With the Harrow core book on the very near horizon, we've dropped the kickstarter-funded wallpaper pack on our site for free to get you properly stoked to explore the wonders of the Blighted Plane.

This wallpaper set features 8 amazing scenes from the world of Harrow beautifully realized by Tasca Skelton and formatted for your desktop, laptop, or mobile screens.

Snag yours here

Enjoy and happy gaming!

~ Jess

P.S. If anyone wanted to try out that new share post option to show this to your social feeds, that would be both super rad and appreciated.