CY6HER SYSTEM

Reading through the first couple chapters of the Monte Cook's Cypher System, and it is pretty neat.  The only thing that seems a bit odd to me is the requirement to multiply a Difficulty rating (1-10) to a Target Number rating (Difficulty x3) which is actually rolled against.  This seems especially odd in the case of expending effort, where you spend several points to lower the difficulty, which in turn lowers the Target Number, which you then roll against.

Also while reading, the three pool system brought to mind Michael Wolf's wonderful WYRM System.  This in turn led to wondering:

Why not just roll a d6 for Cypher and cut out the x3 Difficulty conversion?

Looking into this, there's little trouble so far in switching from d20 to a d6 system.

Maybe as I read Cypher further there'll be a later section where the need to multiply by x3 will be better justified.  But in the meantime, the conversion seems pretty straightforward:

Basic roll

The standard roll for each system is as follows:

Cypher:	Roll 1d20 TN (3-30) = 3x Difficulty (1-10)
d6:	Roll 1d6 TN (1-10) = Difficulty (1-10)

Special Rolls
Conversion:

Cypher:	Roll 17 = +1 Damage Roll 18 = +2 Damage Roll 19 = +3 Damage or Minor effect Roll 20 = +4 Damage or Major effect
d6:	If rolling a 6, reroll and interpret the reroll as follows: Reroll 1 = +1 Damage Reroll 2 = +2 Damage Reroll 3-4 = +3 Damage or Minor effect Reroll 5-6 = +4 Damage or Major effect

Effort

Example: Using 1 Effort.

Cypher:	Spend 3pt then Difficulty -1 (TN -3)
d6:	Spend 3pt then Difficulty -1

Edge 1

Example: Trying to reduce the Difficulty by -1 and Edge 1 applies.

Cypher:	Spend 2pt (instead of 3) then the difficulty is -1.
d6:	Spend 2pt (instead of 3) then the difficulty is -1.

Bonuses

Bonuses are a tricky conversion because it's the only place I've noticed so far where a number directly effects TN result and not difficulty. Tentative conversion is to treat each bonus as an Edge specific to the situation

Example: Bonus of +2 used to expend Effort 1.

Cypher:	+2 to the d20 roll.
d6:	Bonus of +2 lets you spend only 1point to (3-2=1) to reduce the Difficulty one step.

CY6HER (PDF)