Numenera

Numenera

Numenera Logo
Designer(s)	Monte Cook
Publisher(s)	Monte Cook Games
Publication date	2013
Genre(s)	Science Fantasy
System(s)	the Cypher System
Playing time	Varies
Random chance	Dice rolling
Skill(s) required	Role-playing, improvisation
Website	Numenera.com

Numenera is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) set in the far distant future, written by Monte Cook.^[1][2][3][4]

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.^[5]

Character Creation

Character creation has been simplified by having players fill in the blanks to the statement:

"I am a __________ __________ who _________s."

1. 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.
2. The second blank, the noun of the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Type", which is either a "Glaive" (a warrior type), a "Nano" (a technology adept type), or a "Jack" (as in jack-of-all-trades).
3. 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.^[6]

Technology

The name "Numenera" is a reference to the bits of technology leftover from past civilizations. With a nod towards Clarke's Third Law, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic",^[7] the setting treats technology with much the same approach as magic in a fantasy setting. The native tech level is roughly medieval.^[8]

Development

The Numenera Team

Lead Designer: Monte Cook^[9]
Lead Artist: Kieran Yanner^[9]
Lead Editor: Shanna Germain^[9]
Contributing Artists: Scott Purdy, Lee Smith, Patrick McEvoy, Eric Lofgren, Guido Kuip, Matthew Stawicki, Keith Thompson, Jeremy McHugh, Jason Engle^[10]
Cartographer: Christopher West^[10]

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^[11]

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,^[12] surpassing the previous record set by the Kickstarter for Traveller 5th edition.^[13] Originally intended just to fund the initial Core rulebook, the campaign more than doubled its fund goal within the first 24 hours."^[14] Stretch-goals" that were announced as the level of funding grew increased the output of products, ending up producing an entire game line.^[15]

Products

Core Products

Related Products

There have been several announced tie-ins to the brand:

• Numenera App by 3lb Games, for iOS, Android & PC^[16]
• Thunderstone Advance: Numenera by AEG, an expansion to the Thunderstone deck-building card game, set in the world of Numenera.^[17]
• Torment: Tides of Numenera by inXile, a spiritual successor to Planescape:Torment by Interplay.^[18] 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 Numenara.^[19]

References

External links

• Numenera (Official Site)
• Monte Cook Games
• Numenera Facebook Page
• The Ninth World Hub (Unofficial Numenera Fan Site)
• Transmissions from the Ninth World (Unofficial Numenera Podcast)