Tags & Recursions

Tags and recursions are used to quickly switch between different sets of items. They can be enabled in the actor settings.

For a quick video explanation of tags, check out Qedhup’s video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/2iY_FH_83xU?si=dEecIZKhk9ej8BPw.

For example character showcasing tags (and other features), check out the Cypher System Community Content module

Tags

Tags are mainly used to quickly archive and unarchive sets of items. In order to do that, enable tags in the actor settings, and create the tags you want. In each item, there’s a tags tab where you can select with which tags they are tagged. If you then use the #-button on the tags tab, it either archives or unarchives all items that are tagged.

The item description on the actor sheet will show all tags the item is tagged with as well as which tag is currently active. You can press these buttons to activate or deactivate the tags right there.

Tags can also have stat changes associated with them. For an example of that, see “Exclusive Tags” below.

Example: Taggart has two tags defined in the tags list: Sword & Shield and Crossbow. He has tagged his sword attack and shield armor items with #Sword & Shield. His crossbow attack and crossbow ammo are tagged with #Crossbow. Right now, Taggart has his sword and shield equipped (meaning that those items aren’t archived), while his crossbow and ammo is archived. If he now uses the #-button of the Sword & Shield tag item, both his sword and shield are archived. With a click on the #-button of the crossbow tag item, his crossbow and ammo are unarchived and ready to use. This way, he can quickly switch between two sets of equipment.

Exclusive Tags

In the tag item settings, you can define a tag as an exclusive tag. Exclusive tags have one difference compared to regular tags: Only one exclusive tag can be active at the same time. Possible use case for exclusive macros is when a PC has two different forms, which gives access to different stats, abilities, or equipment, but only when in that form. When an exclusive tag is active, a !# icon appears on the character portrait as a reminder.

Example: Sarah is an Explorer who Howls at the Moon. She sets up a Beast Form tag, where she add the stats modifiers her beast form gives her: +8 to her Might Pool, +1 to her Might Edge, +2 to her Speed Pool, and +1 to her Speed Edge. When the Beast Form tag is enabled, those modifiers are applied to her. She also sets up an ability she calls “Can’t spend Intellect points,” which she tags with #Beast Form as a reminder that she cannot spend Intellect points while in beast form. This ability is unarchived while Beast form is active, and archived while Beast Form is inactive. Later in the game, she can set up more abilities that are only active while in beast form by adding #Beast Form to those abilities as well. If she wanted, she could also set up her Normal Form as an exclusive tag. The stat modifiers would all stay 0 in that tag, and she could tag all skills, abilities and equipment she wouldn’t have access to in her beast form with #Normal Form so that they all get automatically archived whenever she activates the Beast Form tag. If she activates her Normal Form after being in beast form, her beast form items would be archived automatically.

Recursions

Recursions basically work like exclusive tags, with the following differences: (1) Items tagged for recursions use @ instead of # for its tags, (2) you can specify the focus for that recursion, and (3) you can’t simply disable a recursion, you have to translate to a different one, so that there’s always a recursion active. But you can also tag all items with @recursion you’d have only access to on that recursion, and you can specify stat modifiers just as with exclusive tags.

Example: Hopper has been on Earth and Ardeyn, so there are two recursions specified in the new tab. On Earth, Hopper Entertains, while on Ardeyn, Hopper Slays Dragons. Because of that, Hopper’s player has added @Earth to the ability Levity, but @Ardeyn to the skills Greatswords and lances and Names, habits, suspected lairs, and related topics regarding dragons in Ardeyn. You can make yourself understood in the language of dragons, which Hopper is practiced and trained in, respectively, on Ardeyn. Hopper also added @Ardeyn to the ability Dragon Bane. When Hopper translates from Earth to Ardeyn, Levity is being archived, while the Ardeyn-specific skills and Dragon Bane are being unarchived.