Greetings gamers! Three weeks ago, we took a look at the game mechanics of the generic TTRPG, the Cypher System. This week I will look at the game that the Cypher System was derived from: Numenera. As I mentioned in the article on the Cypher System, Numenera is a critically acclaimed science-fantasy TTRPG published by Monte Cook Games. I recently discovered Numenera while searching for post-apocalyptic games and fiction (one of my favorite genres). Every once in a while, you come across a game that has such a cool premise that it immediately takes precedence on the list of TTRPGs you’re looking to play. Numenera is one of these games. Heavily influenced by the science-fantasy fiction of authors such as Jack Vance and Gene Wolf, Numenera posits a far future Earth wherein a re-emergent humanity seeks to establish itself amongst a landscape populated by dangerous creatures, alien beings, and the wondrous remnants of past civilizations. When fully fleshed out, the resultant setting can only be described as incredibly weird, in the best possible way.

The Ninth World: An Overview

The setting of Numenera takes place on Earth, approximately one billion years in the future. Eight great civilizations have come and gone in that time, leaving evidence of their grandeur behind in the form of numenera; incomprehensible technologies and objects of power that provide testament to the might and achievements of these prior worlds. Little is known for certain about the nature of these civilizations or the fate of their inhabitants, save for what may be inferred from what they have left behind. At least some of these civilizations had the power to terraform planets, alter the course of celestial bodies, build a galactic empire, explore other dimensions, and suffuse the world with nanites capable of reshaping matter and energy at will. It is also apparent that at least some of these civilizations were not human. It is among the remnants of these civilizations that the inhabitants of the current age, called the Ninth World, are left to forge their destiny.

The primary inhabitants of the Ninth World are humans. Humanity, long extinct, inexplicably reappeared about 900 years ago and the humans themselves are unaware of their origins. Since their mysterious reappearance, humans have managed to create roughly medieval societies in a small corner of the world called the Steadfast. Within the Steadfast are nine kingdoms, each comprised of a handful of cities and a plethora of agrarian communities. These kingdoms are united into a single human civilization by a religion called the Order of Truth, whose clergy, called Aeon Priests, are dedicated to uncovering the knowledge of the ancient past. The Aeon Priests devote their lives to understanding the numenera in order to aid the young human civilization gain a more secure foothold in the Ninth world. The landmasses of the Ninth World are consolidated in the form of a single supercontinent, and the vast majority of the world is unexplored territory, called the Beyond. The Beyond is a vast wilderness where isolated human communities attempt to survive among the ruins of previous ages. Surrounding these isolated human villages are dangers untold. Savage beasts, rogue automatons, hostile mutants, bestial abhumans, transdimensional ultraterrestrials, uncanny extraterrestrials, and transmogrifying clouds of nanites are an ever-present threat to unwary explorers. Above all, the most ubiquitous danger to humans in the Beyond and elsewhere is also their greatest source of security and survival: the numenera.  

Numenera: Remnants of a Glorious Past

As the title of the game suggests, the beating heart of the setting is the numemera. Numenera is a catch-all term for the hyper-advanced technology that exists everywhere in the Ninth World. From arcane devices to killer cyborgs and bioengineered monsters, numenera come in many forms. Perhaps the one thing all numenera have in common is that they are all examples of what might be considered the supernatural. Following from Arthur C. Clark’s third law that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, the numenera are often seen as magical beings and objects of power by the inhabitants of the Ninth World. While many Nanos (the casters of the Ninth World) would balk at such a description, it is not altogether inaccurate. After all, what is magic if not the ability to bend reality to one’s will in fantastic ways via the application of secret knowledge?  As befitting their arcane status, Ninth World inhabitants who use numemera often have no idea about their intended function. Even those who specialize in studying numenera, such as Aeon Priests or Nanos, have only an inkling of what they are for. Consequently, numenera in the Ninth World are almost always used in ways not originally intended by their creators.  

While the term numenera refers to anything from giant floating obelisks to transdimensional beings, the numenera the PCs will have the most direct experience with come in three distinct types: artifacts, cyphers, and oddities. Artifacts are items that may be used repeatedly before becoming depleted, such as a sword with a blade made of pure energy or a cybernetic limb that grants enhanced strength. Cyphers refer to single-use expendable items that have a powerful effect. Examples of cyphers might be a nanite-infused solution that, when imbibed, causes rapid cellular regeneration, or a softball-sized sphere that, when activated, detonates, turning flesh into stone within its area of effect. Cyphers specifically, and numenera more generally, are inherently unpredictable and often dangerous to use. To reflect this, characters can only carry a certain amount of cyphers (the specific amount being contingent on character type) before risking negative effects. These effects vary from the character’s cyphers exploding and damaging the character to the creation of a microsingularity that consumes the character and all of her possessions. Oddities describe numenera that are interesting but provide no real game value (in terms of combat or utility). Examples include a t-shirt that allows observers to see the skeleton, musculature, and internal organs of the wearer, or a lump of metal that contorts itself into a variety of shapes when left alone. Often, oddities are created when artifacts and cyphers are expended and are often used as a form of currency to be traded, sold, or given as gifts.

 Parting Thoughts

While I simply cannot do justice to the setting of Numenera in the space of this article, I hope the brief overview I’ve articulated above has piqued your interest. If Numenera sounds like your kind of game, I would recommend beginning your foray into the Ninth World with the core books Numenera: Discovery and Numenera: Destiny. Discovery is the main core book and provides everything you need to explore the Ninth World. Destiny is the companion book to Discovery and expands on the theme of exploration while providing a plethora of additional character options and numenera, as well as providing rules for salvaging, crafting, and community building. You can find them both here. Additionally, you can explore the rich setting of Numenera by playing Torment: Tides of Numenera, an electronic RPG, available for Mac, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Torment: Tides of Numenera is the spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment and is, without a doubt, the best ERPG I have played in years. On a final note, I am looking forward to running a game of Numemera in the near future, definitely IRL, but also possibly on livestream for the Goblin’s Corner. If so, I hope you’ll check it out!

Until next time, happy gaming!