Dark, gritty, grimy. Cipher's got it all. It may not be the happiest setting out there, but the setting and system are well-thought out.

Run from mysterious forces and join some yourself, all while trying to figure out your place in the world. A classic theme, but it never gets old, and with some innovation and solid mechanics, it makes Cipher a product to at least check out.

The first product from Broken Meme, is a dark atmospheric game of super human Ciphers; hunted by black ops government agents and creatures of horror.

A Cipher, is a human; who has developed super-human mental abilities like Telepathy or Telekinesis. Set in modern times, players take the roles of Rogue Ciphers; where they live out the fearful existence a Rogue lives. The history of Ciphers is murky, with many legends or rumours about where they came from. What is known, is that they aren't normal; some would say abnormal or abominations.

In the early days, the government knew nothing; but they soon learned the potential of Ciphers. Used as intelligence gatherers, spies and covert ops from the 1930's onwards; they served a purpose at a cost. The need-to-know organisation called DAEMON came about. DAEMON were tasked to research, develop and use Ciphers. Aegis, the research arm of DAEMON and Veritas; the military/enforcement branch.

If a Ciphers life isn't hard enough on the run, there are other terrors to contend with. Chimera's, mutated horrors evolved from Ciphers; hunting out Ciphers to drain them of juice. Bogeymen, Cipher dopplegangers; who can mimic talents of a Cipher. Finally there is normals, the every day joe; who has no powers at all. Do they know your a Cipher? Would they help or report you to DAEMON?

With all this going on, the rules are very simple to learn. Character generation is based on 6 attributes, from which other stats and super-human talents are derived. Combat and skill checks are simple 2D10, target number checks; makes this a quick and easy mechanic to pick up.

The thing I loved about this system, is the emphisis making the players feel the fear their charaters are experiencing. Imagine yourself hunted, no friends; no one you can turn to for help. DAEMON are closing in on you, do you run, hide or do you reveal your Cipher abilities and fight? Every choice is fraught with consequences, good or bad. It could mean the difference between living, capture or ending up dead.