Numenera is a game in which player characters explore the ruins of aeons past to gather amazing treasures and help build a new future for a world struggling in darkness. Since the launch of Numenera in 2013, we have delivered well on the first part, but we’ve always wanted to do a more thorough job exploring that second part. That desire has led us to Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny.
Numenera Discovery will be a book that covers familiar territory; it is basically a revision of the original Numenera corebook. Next summer, we will allow the original corebook to go out of print, and Numenera Discovery will take its place. In Numenera Discovery, you’ll get some revisions to make things clearer and more fun, and to increase the options available to players. Nanos, Jacks, and Glaives will get an overhaul. Many foci and some of the descriptors might see some reworking. You’ll have more options, clearer rules, and perhaps a bit of expansion to the regions of the Steadfast and the Beyond that are covered in the existing corebook.
As excited as we are about Numenera Discovery, we may be even more excited about Numenera Destiny. This title will enable characters to truly become a part of the setting—to help shape the future of the Ninth World. The people of the Ninth World are locked in a medieval-like state, a world of struggle and danger and often suffering in the shadow of the prior worlds’ wonders. Numenera Destiny allows you to build adventures and campaigns in which players don’t just explore the wonders of the past—they utilize them to help lift the Ninth World out of darkness.
You can make the world a better place. Help a community defend itself from abhumans or the iron wind. Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect. Manage an entire community and help it prosper and grow—or simply create a cool base or vehicle for your adventuring group. Numenera Destiny will allow you to take what you discover and make your mark on history as someone who elevated the Ninth World into the future.
Adventuring—exploring the weird and wondrous remnants of the prior worlds—remains, of course, at the core of Numenera play. Numenera Destiny will give you new things to do with your discoveries, along with entirely new and epic ways to structure your campaigns. You’ll discover materials, power sources, and treasures that you can utilize in an entirely new, robust crafting and building system. And perhaps best of all, Numenera Destiny will offer three new character types and a number of new descriptors and foci geared toward this innovative style of play.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Shins! The Iron Wind! Hark, A Game!
over 8 years ago
– Tue, Oct 17, 2017 at 12:11:46 AM
Iadace, Numenera backers—
Over the course of this Kickstarter, we’ve had the good fortune of being able to unveil a number of items that aren’t stretch goals or otherwise directly funded by the campaign, but that are things we really just want to make. These include:
Given how great things have been going recently, we’re now adding this:
Shins are the common currency of the Ninth World. Small remnants of the prior worlds, but lacking the intrinsic value of cyphers or oddities, shins can take literally almost any form—so long as it’s shiny and small.
We’ve partnered with our friends at Campaign Coins to create a Shin Set for Numenera. The set contains roughly 50 shins in a variety of designs and finishes. “Real” Ninth-World shins are unique—every one is different—and while we can’t make every shin unique, this set replicates that with a wide variety of design, metal, and finish combinations. It even comes with a velvet Campaign Coins bag!
We’re adding the Shin Set as an add-on, for $40. It’s available now!
(If you’ve never done an add-on before, it’s easy: Simply increase the amount of your pledge to include the add-on cost, but don’t change your reward level. If you’re backing at the DISCOVERY AND DESTINY IN PRINT level ($120), for example, and you want to add the Shin Set, just increase your pledge amount to $160. After the campaign ends we’ll ask you what the extra money is for, via our pledge management system. You can also use our pledge manager to work out your total.)
We’re really excited for the Shin Set—we hope you like it as much as we do!
The Game’s Afoot
To showcase Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny, this week Monte will run a game of Numenera live on Twitch! See the new kinds of characters you can create using Numenera Discovery and Destiny character options, and experience the new kinds of stories you can tell.
Watch live and chat with other viewers on Thursday, October 19 at 5pm PT, and you’ll have opportunities to influence the game by spreading the word! During the adventure, you'll learn more about the community of Ellomyr and see it—and its inhabitants—through the eyes of the PCs, as it continues to strive toward a better, safer future.
Learn more about the player characters here and save time on your calendar to join us as we enter the Ninth World!
But What About Ellomyr?
We set a lofty goal and didn’t quite make it. We used our diplomacy far and wide to seek a way to defend against the iron wind, and found nothing. But that’s okay. There are few easy answers in the Ninth World. But Ellomyr still needs defense. And they’ve got to come up with it themselves. Help the effort! If we can reach 2610 backers by Wednesday, October 18, one of our wrights or nanos might just have a breakthrough!
“I have to admit,” Ghela said, “I really got my hopes up.”
“I know,” Thominas said, shaking her head. “You would think that if anyone could help us, it would be an Aeon Priest. But he didn’t know anything more about the iron wind than we do.”
Ghela collapsed into the chair in front of her lab table. A tiny metal disk floated up from it, and she caught it in her hand. “Sometimes I think the only thing we can do is make little trinkets.” She tossed disk up into the air, and it hovered in place. “Toys. Our understanding of the numenera amounts to toymaking.”
Thominas felt her frustration. She stood beside the bookshelf. It seemed bare today, where once it had felt so full. In the past, she had reveled in the knowledge they had amassed, but now it felt like so little. But worse, it felt like the rest of the world were as ignorant as they were.
She sighed. “Moping isn’t going to help Ellomyr.” Were those words for Ghela or herself? Probably both.
“Do you think we should talk with Prolett about evacuation plans again?”
“And go where? Word from Jharoch is that the hills are still full of abhumans, even after all this time. Othmar? Our relationship with them is still shaky. No, I think we need to keep working on some kind of defense. If the world doesn’t know how to stop the iron wind, then let Ellomyr be the place where that secret is discovered. Rather than look elsewhere for salvation, one day they will look to us.”
Ghela smiled. “I’m with you.”
Iadace! —Monte and the MCG Team
Ellomyr: The Blowing of the Iron Wind
over 8 years ago
– Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 03:50:08 PM
Iadace, defenders of Ellomyr—
The Iron Wind is on its way! But Ellomyr is not without resources, and if we can hit 2600 backers by this evening, the community will discover a significant means of defense. The last few days have been great for this campaign, so if we can keep it up that should be easy—but that will only happen if you spread the word.
We accidentally grabbed the wrong snippet of fiction for yesterday’s update, so here’s a new piece for you!
The very words, “Iron Wind,” sent a shudder through Bari’s neck and shoulders. The wright, Ghela, and the nano, Thominas, kept saying it over and over as they discussed their work with furrowed brows and shakes of their heads. The laboratory they shared bubbled with concoctions and whirred with little oddities. Ghela and Thominas were two of the smartest people Bari knew, but they were clearly at an impasse.
Bari carried in boxes of supplies while they talked. Their concentration kept them from even looking up at him.
“So the shield won’t work. We can’t generate enough power to sustain it,” Ghela said.
“And the redirecting device we discussed would be reshaped by the nanoparticles before it could affect the cloud,” Thominas replied.
Bari set the last box down. They suddenly both looked up at him.
“All done unloading,” he told them and then started to leave. But in mid-stride, he froze. “You two are both twice as smart as me. I know you’ll come up with something to save us all.”
“Thanks, Bari, but I’m afraid we don’t have a solution yet,” Ghela told him, her mouth just a flat line.
“Well,” Bari said after a moment, “I’ve lived in Ellomyr all my days, like my folks and their folks before them. And something that I think about all the time is: we’re not alone like we used to be. There’s a road to Othmar now. And roads to places I never even heard of. New people come and go, always bringing ideas and magic and whatnot. We don’t have to solve all our problems all by ourselves anymore.”
“Bari,” Thominas said, writing something down as she spoke, “You’re brilliant. I need you to take a message to the arkus. We need to get some help.”
Iadace! —Monte and the MCG Team
Ellomyr Prospers—but the Iron Wind Nears
over 8 years ago
– Sun, Oct 15, 2017 at 11:20:17 PM
Ellomyr recently learned that the Iron Wind approaches. This destructive cloud of slowly moving nano particles reshapes matter, energy, and even reality, so the people of Ellomyr are doing everything they can to prepare.
Ellomyr has expanded and prospered in the last couple of years, however, and so its resources have grown. One such resource involves trade and communication with the outside world. The arkai have put out the diplomatic call for help. Explorers in the newly built vehicle head out to see if they can find some solution. If we can get to 2600 backers by Monday evening (October 16th), that will indicate that some significant help or solution has been found. You can help this effort just like the people of Ellomyr by reaching out in any way possible and putting out the call for help.
When spreading the word of this Kickstarter, you might mention that every backer level offers a free EXCLUSIVE 64+ page sourcebook (with poster map) and a half-off coupon for Torment: Tides of Numenera, the hit CRPG from inXile Entertainment. And that’s in addition to all the other great rewards that make up Numenera 2. Your gamer friends will thank you!
Yoil’s skin tingled as she walked past one of the many orbs that maintained Ellomyr’s force field. How quickly things had changed. She still thought of Ellomyr as a village. For her entire life, it had numbered fewer than 200 people—small enough that she could name every single one of them. But now it was truly a town, with new residents outnumbering those who had lived here for generations, more people than she could easily count. Word had gotten out that Ellomyr was growing, and strong enough to defend itself, and a place where knowledge of the numenera was respected. Strangers had come to farm, build, and—if they were brave enough—volunteer for the salvaging expeditions to nearby ruins.
But Yoil’s favorite visitors were the traders from other settlements and far-off lands beyond the Golden Sliver. They came from places she had only heard of in stories told by Gurner when she was a child. These people walked, rode, or wheeled their way into Ellomyr, bringing wondrous oddities, strange animals, and foreign goods. The traffic to and from the town had grown so frequent that Jird insisted on having workers widen the nearby paths and hard-pack the drit into durable roads. As these earthen fingers grew toward the horizon, each day meant another new face and new goods to barter. Yoil was saving her shins to buy a furred honey-making laak sold by Khol, the trapper from Bodrov. Her sibling Eem wanted a knife from Thaemor. Her parents bragged every day about their leather shoes made in Shallamas.
She was still cautious about the magic of the numenera, but the small, “real” things brought to the town by traders were little miracles that she could savor every day. Life was getting easier and better. The hearts of the hard-working people of Ellomyr carried a spark of joy, as they looked forward to the surprises the next day at the market would bring.
Iadace! —Monte and the MCG Team
Announcing the Ninth World Bestiary 3!
over 8 years ago
– Sun, Oct 15, 2017 at 01:05:10 AM
Good morning, Numenera backers! Great news: overnight you unlocked another stretch goal. The Ruin Deck is now a reality! It’s an official reward for anyone backing at a level that gets all the titles in print or PDF. I personally am very excited to build and flesh out fantastic prior-world ruins, with all the wonder and weirdness you expect in the Ninth World, and super pleased that this deck has been funded.
So now we’re officially taking the wraps off this beauty:
This isn’t the first actual announcement for this title. We couldn’t contain our excitement for it, and actually unveiled it a few days ago. But now it’s totally official: We will unlock the 160-page hardcover Ninth World Bestiary 3 when we hit $517,255.
Why that number in particular? Because that’s the grand total of the original Numenera Kickstarter campaign, held almost exactly five years ago. That campaign launched not just Numenera but Monte Cook Games itself, and we want to honor it with this stretch goal.
Every backer who backs at a level that gets all the titles will get the Ninth World Bestiary 3, in print or PDF. Those backer levels are already turning into a great deal, and this title gets piled on to the rewards for those backers.
Things have really been heating up in recent days, and the campaign still has two full weeks to go. We can hit this goal and, with your help, probably several more. To make that happen, keep spreading the word. Let people know about the campaign, and what a great deal it’s turning into!
(And don’t forget to check back in on Monday, when we’ll be announcing another cool little thing!)
Iadace! —Charles and the MCG Team
A Look at the Delve!
over 8 years ago
– Sat, Oct 14, 2017 at 12:27:10 AM
Numenera 2 allows players to choose from a total of six different character types: the Glaive, Nano, and Jack described in Numenera Discovery, and the Arkus, Wright, and Delve presented in Numenera Destiny.
Today, let’s take a high-level look at the Delve!
About Delves
Delves number among those willing to risk everything just to find something new, something that no one else has ever seen before. They are driven to expand the boundaries of the known, usually by rediscovering what was long forgotten. Delves delight in finding never-before explored ruins of the prior worlds and cataloguing them, top to bottom. Mysteries presented by weird machines and broken scrap are nearly identical for Delves. They know that what others dismiss as debris, apparently good for nothing else than a few scavenged shins, might contain hidden treasure called iotum. Iotum like apt clay, protomatter, philosophine, data orbs, and more! That's what most Delves seek, though of course they won’t ignore cyphers and artifacts prized by others. It’s just that Delves see deeper, and are skilled at extracting the building blocks of the prior worlds.
As with other kinds of explorers, Delves are rare. Most people in the Ninth World would rather gnaw off a hand than risk the horrors they imagine to lie within ruins, or even just over the next hill. But without Delves, who would bring back the bounty of special components that some crafters have come to depend on? Delves aren’t fools; they’re not immune to fear. They take precautions. But the lure of the unknown and the thrill of discovery outweigh mundane concerns. Longevity isn’t necessarily a Delve’s top goal; discovery is. That said, one won’t discover much unless they have the stamina to push through even when things get tough.
Delve Abilities
Delves are capable PCs and share the basic suite of beginning abilities that any explorer has, including knowledge of weapons, equipment, the ability to use Cyphers, starting Pools, and so on.
As explorers, Delves have a choice to gain training in tasks related to navigation, salvaging numenera, sensing danger, initiative, tracking, and opening peaceful negotiations with strangers. In addition, when a Delve is actively aiding a community they’ve chosen to foster, the entire community’s effective rank for tasks related to finding resources, locating new trade routes, knowing about conditions just beyond the community, as well as detecting sneak attacks by enemies is enhanced.
Starting Delves have a wide choice of options to choose from. They can become experts in a small area relatively quickly, and thereby gain various benefits while they are active in that area. They can improvise various iotum they find to create temporary tools helpful in general situations, such as climbing, escaping, distracting, and so on. They can even choose to trigger iotum to release a blast of potent energy at a foe. Such uses burn out the iotum, but Delves know where to find more.
As Delves advance in tier, they gain yet more facility with situations related to exploration. They have a powerful ability to find the right path, can withstand the vicissitudes of exploration, and evade traps. They have options for adapting iotum in unique (but temporary ways) to their needs, including options for lifting free of gravity’s grasp and creating energy barriers to fence out threats.
At upper tiers, Delves can create powerful weapons, defenses, and modes of travel with adapted iotum, coordinate the entire party’s actions to ensure an expedition’s success, throw off conditions that would leave others unable to act, and even survive a deathblow. Should a Delve choose to, they can also pursue greater and greater mastery of weapons, so that their ability to fight might be second only to a Glaive’s.
If you want a character who lives to explore and find new things, a Delve is the type for you.
