Numenera
 Numenera Logo | |
| Designers | Monte Cook |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Monte Cook Games |
| Publication | 2013 |
| Genres | Science Fantasy |
| Systems | the Cypher System |
| Playing time | Varies |
| Chance | Dice rolling |
| Skills | Role-playing, improvisation |
| Website | Numenera.com |
Numenera is an award-winning science fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) set in the far distant future, written by Monte Cook.[1][2][3] It has been translated into Italian,[4] German[5] and French.
Game
Setting
Numenera is set on Earth approximately one billion years in the future. The setting is called "The Ninth World" due to the fact that eight civilizations have risen and fallen prior to the current era.[6]
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 a "Glaive" (a warrior type), a "Nano" (a technology adept type), or a "Jack" (as in jack-of-all-trades).
- 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.[7]
Technology
The name "Numenera" is a reference to the bits of technology leftover from past civilizations. The word "numen" is a Latin root word meaning a "pervading divine presence"[8] and "era" refers to the period (1 billion years in the future) in which this universe takes place. The world is utterly filled with "nanites" (the divine presence) that some beings in this universe can tap into and control. With a nod towards Clarke's Third Law, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic",[9] the setting treats technology with much the same approach as magic in a fantasy setting. The native tech level is roughly medieval.[10]
Development
The Numenera Team
Lead Designer: Monte Cook[11]
Lead Artist: Kieran Yanner[11]
Lead Editor: Shanna Germain[11]
Contributing Artists: Scott Purdy, Lee Smith, Patrick McEvoy, Eric Lofgren, Guido Kuip, Matthew Stawicki, Keith Thompson, Jeremy McHugh, Jason Engle[12]
Cartographer: Christopher West[12]
Inspirations
"If you're a fan of outside-of-the-box gameplay such as that found in Planescape, Dark Space, or Chaositech, the far-future stories of Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, or Jack Vance, or mind-blowing visuals like those found in the work of French artist Moebius, you're going to love Numenera." - Monte Cook[13]
Launch
Numenera was launched via a Kickstarter campaign, that set a record for "most money raised for a tabletop role-playing game" at $517,255 by 4,658 backers,[14] surpassing the previous record set by the Kickstarter for Traveller 5th edition.[15] Originally intended just to fund the initial Core rulebook, the campaign more than doubled its fund goal within the first 24 hours.[16] "Stretch-goals" that were announced as the level of funding grew increased the output of products, ending up producing an entire game line.[17]
Products
Core Products
| Title | Authors | Date | Pages | Formats | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numenera Corebook | Monte Cook | August 14, 2013 | 416 | Print, Deluxe, PDF | 9781939979001 |
|
The main rulebook for the game | |||||
| Numenera Player's Guide | Monte Cook | August 14, 2013 | 64 | Print, PDF | 9781939979018 |
|
Book focused on the player characters; subset of content from the Corebook | |||||
| The Ninth World Bestiary | Monte Cook & Bruce Cordell | February 2014 | 160 | Print, PDF | 9781939979094 |
|
A collection of Numenera creatures | |||||
| Numenera Character Options | Monte Cook | May 2014 | 96 | Print, PDF | 9781939979148 |
|
A collection of more descriptors and foci | |||||
| Technology Compendium: Sir Arthour's Guide to the Numenera | Monte Cook | August 2014 | 160 | Print, PDF | 9781939979209 |
|
A collection of Numenera cyphers, oddities and artifacts | |||||
| The Ninth World Guidebook | Monte Cook & Shanna Germain | January 2015 | 256 | Print, PDF | 9781939979247 |
|
A setting book about the Ninth World, its locations and denizens | |||||
| Numenra Character Options 2 | Monte Cook & Bruce Cordell | September 2016 | 96 | Print, PDF | 9781939979551 |
|
A collection introducing two new character types as well as more descriptors and foci | |||||
There are also some adventure collections that have appeared in print:
| Title | Authors | Date | Pages | Formats | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Devil's Spine | Monte Cook | October 2013 | 96 | Print, PDF | 9781939979025 |
|
Three 32 page adventures, "The Devil's Spine", "The Mechanized Tomb", "The Other Side of the Maelstrom" | |||||
| Weird Discoveries: Ten Instant Adventures for Numenera | Monte Cook | April 2015 | 96 | Print, PDF | |
|
Ten fully developed adventures that can be run with little preparation time. | |||||
Adventures & Glimmers
Glimmers are short, PDF-only publications meant to enrich the game experience.
| Title | Authors | Date | Pages | Formats | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nightmare Switch | Monte Cook | August 14, 2013 | 32 | PDF Only | |
|
A Kickstarter exclusive adventure | |||||
Game Aids
| Title | Date | Pages | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numenera GM Screen | August 14, 2013 | N/A | Print, PDF |
|
Four-panel, landscape format vinyl GM's screen | |||
| Numenera XP Card Deck | August 14, 2013 | 30 cards | Print, PDF |
|
Cards representing a character's XP points | |||
| Numenera Cypher Card Deck | August 14, 2013 | 120 cards | Print, PDF |
|
Cards representing cypher Numenera available in game | |||
| Numenera Cypher Card Deck 2 | 2014 | 120 cards | Print, PDF |
|
Cards representing cypher Numenera available in game | |||
| Numenera Creature Card Deck | February 2014 | 100 cards | Print, PDF |
|
Cards representing Numenera creatures | |||
| Numenera Cypher Chest | 2014 | 250 cards | |
|
Contains the XP, Cypher and Creature decks. | |||
| Numenera Character Sheets | 2014 | 104 (print) | Print, PDF |
|
Blank character sheets and a character generation walkthrough. | |||
Fiction
| Title | Authors | Date | Pages | Formats | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Amber Monolith | Monte Cook | August 2012 | 18 | PDF Only | |
|
Introductory short story to the Numenera setting; included within the Corebook | |||||
| Tales from the Ninth World | Monte Cook | June 2013 | 79 | epub, mobi, PDF | |
|
Collection of short stories set in the Numenera setting | |||||
| The Poison Eater | Shanna Germain | January 2017 | epub, mobi, print | ||
|
The first full-length novel set in the Numenera setting | |||||
Related Products
There have been several announced tie-ins to the brand:
- Numenera App by 3lb Games, for iOS, Android & PC[18]
- Thunderstone Advance: Numenera by AEG, an expansion to the Thunderstone deck-building card game, set in the world of Numenera.[19]
- Torment: Tides of Numenera by inXile, a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment by Interplay.[20] This computer game was also launched by Kickstarter and was itself a record setter for Kickstarter, being the fastest to $1 million up to that time.
- Reaper Miniatures is releasing a boxed set of 28-mm scale miniature figures for Numenera.[21]
Awards
Awards Numenera products have received include:[22]
- 2014 ENnie Award SILVER (Best Game: Numenera corebook, Best Interior Art: Numenera corebook, Best Cartography: Numenera corebook, Best Monster or Adversary: The Ninth World Bestiary, Best Podcast: Numenera: The Signal)
- 2014 ENnie Award GOLD (Product of the Year: Numenera corebook, Best Setting: Numenera corebook, Best Writing: Numenera corebook, Best Production Values: Numenera corebook, Best Aid or Accessory: Numenera Creature Deck)
- 2014 Origins Award (Best New Roleplaying Game: Numenera)
References
- ^ Webb, Travis. (4 May 2013). "Tylerpaper.com: Kickstarted; "Crowdfunding" continues to change face of gaming". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Nerdluster: Numenera RPG Kickstarter". 14 August 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Tech2: Monte Cook GenCon Panel". 19 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Announcing the Numenera box set".
- ^ "Crowdfunding campaign for German translation of the corebook".
- ^ "Transmissions from the Ninth World:A Billion Years in the Future!". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Transmissions from the Ninth World:Creative Characters!". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/numen
- ^ "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon", Astounding February 1942, p. 39.
- ^ "Transmissions from the Ninth World:Eponymous". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "The Numenera Team". Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Numenera Art Gallery". Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ "Kickstarter "Numenera: A new roleplaying game from Monte Cook"". 8 August 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ "Kickstarter "Discover / Games / Most Funded"". Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/games/most-funded
- ^ "KickTraq: Numenera Pledges & Backers by Day".
- ^ "Rich Howard: Numenera".
- ^ "Numenera App in Development". 5 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ "Thunderstone Numenera: Two Games Enter, One Game Leaves". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Kickstarter: Torment:Tides of Numenera".
- ^ "Reaper Miniatures: Numenera". Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "Official award list".