Harman Patil (Editor)

Numenera

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Designer(s)
  
Monte Cook

Publication date
  
2013

System(s)
  
the Cypher System

Publisher(s)
  
Monte Cook Games

Genre(s)
  
Science Fantasy

Playing time
  
Varies

Numenera wwwnumeneracomwpcontentuploads201210Landsc

Numenera rpg part 1


Numenera is an award-winning science fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) set in the far distant future, written by Monte Cook. It has been translated into Italian, German Spanish and French.

Contents

Numenera Numenera What is Numenera

Torment tides of numenera the world of numenera trailer ps4


Setting

Numenera Numenera Monte Cook Games Store

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.

Character Creation

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

"I am a __________ __________ who _________s."
Numenera Numenera Numenera Art
  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 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.

Technology

Numenera Numenera Monte Cook Games Store

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" 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", the setting treats technology with much the same approach as magic in a fantasy setting. The native tech level is roughly medieval.

The Numenera Team

Numenera Numenera Numenera Art

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

Inspirations

Numenera The Ninth World Guidebook Monte Cook Games Store

"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

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

Core Products

There are also some adventure collections that have appeared in print:

Adventures & Glimmers

Glimmers are short, PDF-only publications meant to enrich the game experience.

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

  • Numenera App by 3lb Games, for iOS, Android & PC
  • Thunderstone Advance: Numenera by AEG, an expansion to the Thunderstone deck-building card game, set in the world of Numenera.
  • Torment: Tides of Numenera by inXile, a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment by Interplay. 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 released a boxed set of 28-mm scale miniature figures for Numenera.

    • Awards

    Awards Numenera products have received include:

  • 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

    Numenera Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


    Similar Topics