Numenera: Discovery

TM

DISCOVERY

CREDITS


Designers Monte Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, Sean K. Reynolds

Creative Director Monte Cook
Managing Editor Shanna Germain
Editor/Proofreader Ray Vallese
Art Director Bear Weiter
Additional Graphic Design Zoa Smalley
Cover Artist Lie Setiawan

Artists
Samuel Araya, Eren Arik, Jacob Atienza, Bruce Brenneise, Richard Burgess, chrom, Biagio D’Alessandro, Florian Devos,

Sara Diesel, Dreamstime.com, Jason Engle, Felipe Escobar, Luke Green, Josu Hernaiz, Inkognit, Guido Kuip,
Kezrek Laczin, Brandon Leach, Eric Lofgren, Anton Kagounkin Magdalina, Patrick McEvoy, Jeremy McHugh,
Brynn Metheney, Giorgio De Michele (Erebus), Federico Musetti, Irina Nordsol, Mirco Paganessi, Grzegorz Pedrycz,
Mike Perry, John Petersen, Michael Phillippi, Roberto Pitturru, Scott Purdy, Aaron Riley, Riccardo Rullo, Seth Rutledge,
Sam Santala, Lie Setiawan, Joe Slucher, Lee Smith, Kim Sokol, Hugo Solis, Matt Stawicki, Mark Tarrisse, Cyril Terpent,
Allison Theus, Prosper Tipaldi, Cory Trego-Erdner, Tiffany Turrill, Shane Tyree, Jordan K. Walker, Chris Waller,

Adrian Wilkins, Cathy Wilkins, Ben Wootten, Kieran Yanner, Kirsten Zirngibl

Cartographers
Hugo Solis, Christopher West

Monte Cook Games Editorial Board
Scott C. Bourgeois, David Wilson Brown, Eric Coates, Gareth Hodges, Mila Irek,

Jeremy Land, Laura Wilkinson, Marina Wold, George Ziets

Dedicated to all the gamers in the world willing to take a chance on something a bit . . . weird.

As we agree with the growing consensus that “they” can and should be used as a gender-neutral, singular English-language pronoun when one is needed,
we have adopted that as the style in our products. If you see this grammatical construction, it is intentional.

© 2018 Monte Cook Games, LLC. NUMENERA and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.
All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Printed in Canada

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1234

INTO THE DISTANT FUTURE 4 PART 6: THE NUMENERA 269

A Billion Years in the Making 4 Chapter 16: Technology 270
The Amber Monolith 6 Chapter 17: Cyphers 272
Chapter 18: Artifacts 289
PART 1: GETTING STARTED 11 Chapter 19: Oddities & Discoveries 304

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Ninth World 12 PART 7: RUNNING THE GAME 309
Chapter 2: How to Play Numenera 15
Chapter 20: Using the Rules 310
PART 2: CHARACTERS 21 Chapter 21: Building a Story 334
Chapter 22: Realizing the Ninth World 350
Chapter 3: Creating Your Character 22
Chapter 4: Character Type 28 PART 8: ADVENTURES 361
Chapter 5: Character Descriptor 53
Chapter 6: Character Focus 58 Chapter 23: Adventures Overview 362
Chapter 7: Equipment 93 Chapter 24: Taker of Sorrow 363
Chapter 25: Vault of Reflections 376
PART 3: PLAYING THE GAME 99 Chapter 26: Legacy 388

Chapter 8: Rules of the Game 100

PART 9: BACK MATTER 393

PART 4: THE SETTING 129 Appendix A: Species Options 394

Chapter 9: Living in the Ninth World 130 Appendix B: Bibliography and Resources 403
Chapter 10: The Steadfast 136
Chapter 11: The Beyond 169 Appendix C: Billion and Five Club 404
Chapter 12: Beyond the Beyond 206
Chapter 13: Organizations 215 Appendix D: Character Creation Walkthrough 406

Appendix E: Glossary 408

Numenera Character Sheet 411

Index 413

PART 5: CREATURES & CHARACTERS 221

Chapter 14: Creatures 222

Chapter 15: Non-Player Characters 263

56789

A BILLION YEARS
IN THE MAKING

Numenera is a tale that has grown in the telling. Which is the final layer of the complexities of Numenera.
When I started working on it six years ago, Because just as we don’t possess the context to understand
the setting and concepts grew out of a strange those two figures (the people living a billion years in the
image I’d imagined with two figures in simple, tattered future), they don’t have the context to understand their
cloaks (monks? Medieval travelers?) walking across a vast world. These people living amid the detritus of civilizations
expanse. When our vantage pulls back, we see that they’re far older and far greater than their own can’t possibly
actually walking across the surface of a massive gearwheel. understand it. Not truly. So maybe we understand them—
It’s all part of a giant machine. The underlying theme in or at least some aspect of them—better than we thought.
that vision was Numenera in the broadest sense: a fantasy For them, though, it’s more a matter of survival than
world with a technological underpinning. I’d had sparks understanding. They learn bits and pieces—just enough to
of ideas that ran along similar lines for many years. Most get by. And thus, so do we.
boiled down to a group of magicians or priests performing
a complex rite but utilizing some kind of devices, intoning All of that thinking represents the seeds from which
incantations with every manipulation of the controls. Numenera grew. In 2012, we launched a Kickstarter
campaign to fund its creation and ended up funding a
Technology that seems like magic. That’s where our good whole line of products. (And, in effect, Monte Cook Games
friend Arthur C. Clarke comes in with his words of wisdom: as a whole, which is now a company with ten employees,
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable multiple game lines, and lots of big and interesting plans
from magic.” And that’s the core idea of where Numenera for the future.) We created all those products, further
comes from. developing and broadening the world and the game. And
then we made a bunch more. We explored the reaches of
But those two cloaked figures walking slowly and quietly space, the depths of the sea, and the dimensions beyond
across that gigantic gear hold other concepts as well. the familiar. We added more creatures and foes, more
They’re mysterious. They’re distant. The scene is very weird. treasures, and more adventures to be had. All told, as
We cannot imagine, in our own understanding of our of this writing, there are 70 products in the Numenera
world, how such a scene might occur. It’s clearly a different line, counting novels, card decks, character sheets, dice,
context than one we possess in our current lives. and more. There are licensed Numenera miniatures, dice
bags, t-shirts, two card-based games, an award-winning
So Numenera had to be those things as well. Not computer game, and a short film.
everything is explained. Weirdness—particularly out-of-
context weirdness—is prevalent. We don’t fully understand Thus, in those intervening years, Numenera has become
the lives or motivations of these people because how on so much more than just that simple little dreamy image.
Earth (pun intended) could we? We can only guess. We It’s grown, expanded, and developed. Multiple authors
apply our own templates to them. For example, to us, they have lent multiple voices to this world, creating something
seem sort of medieval, so we’ll use concepts and terms that has extended well beyond one person’s vision. And yet
and imagery that befit our history to describe a future so there’s still so much more to do. You hold in your hand, in
distant we can’t even comprehend it. fact, the first step of a whole new Numenera journey. Don’t
worry if this is your first foray into this strange place—
But that’s what makes it all so interesting. It’s like when everything you need to start is within these pages. But if
you’re a child and see just a few moments of a television you’re an old hand, or even have been with us from the
show or movie, or maybe a few images from a book, and beginning, you’re going to find some exciting new stuff.
you have no idea what it all means. You start filling in your
own guesses as to who these characters are and what And we’re happy to have all of you with us. Some of
they’re doing. You have no idea if you’re right, but you know my favorite Numenera-related moments of the last five
one thing—you want to know more. But you can’t know years have been hearing from people saying that they
everything. It’s beyond our understanding. So really, it’s the never played an RPG before, but Numenera hooked them.
striving for understanding that is important. The journey Or, even more often, that Numenera was the game that
rather than the destination.

4

A BILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING

got them to start running games as a game master. Or many details about the Ninth World, the kinds of things
various people telling us how much they appreciated that characters will do in the game, and the amount of latitude
in Numenera they found representation for themselves. GMs and players have to stretch their imaginations here.
Whether they were women, people of color, people in the
LGBTQ community, or others, they didn’t find themselves Then read Chapter 1: Welcome to the Ninth World, which
excluded from the Ninth World. And perhaps even more presents things a bit more plainly. After that, read Chapter
important, they found something there that seemed like a 2: How to Play Numenera, and you’ll pretty much have a
piece of them. And really, how cool is that? How amazing good handle on the essentials of what you need to know.
that we can all look to a world a billion years in our future The rest—character creation, the full rules, the setting, the
and find a bit of ourselves, no matter who we are. creatures, and so on—are just details, although hopefully
they’re fun and interesting details. (Here’s a hint that I hope
As befits the expanding nature of Numenera, this game will really help: use How to Play Numenera [page 15] to
is no longer the work of one designer. As I said, there have learn and teach the essentials of the game, and use Chapter
been many voices involved and this book is no exception. 8: Rules of the Game [page 100] as your reference tool
Designers Sean Reynolds and Bruce Cordell and managing when you have questions.)
editor Shanna Germain have worked with me on much of
the revisions here. If you’re going to be a GM, read the Running the Game
chapters (starting on page 309) carefully after reading the
And in addition to my fine compatriots, and of course, rules. There I’ve done my best to convey what the game’s
Clarke, there’s someone else who needs mentioning. all about and provide some of my secrets to running a great
As I wrote in the introduction to the original Numenera game.
corebook, so much of what inspired Numenera comes
from one of my favorite authors, Gene Wolfe. In The Book If you’re experienced with Numenera, you’ll want to take
of the New Sun, Wolfe accomplishes with astonishing literary a look in particular at Chapter 4: Character Type (page 28)
depth a work that at first seems to be a fantasy set in the to see the many changes there (including player
past, but eventually we learn that it is, in fact, a science intrusions!). You’ll also want to take a look at chapter 8 to
fiction story set in the far, far future. It is brilliant and well see how the rules have been streamlined. And of course,
written, as full of creative ideas as anything I’ve ever read. look at the all-new adventures (starting on page 361). You’ll
You should read it, too. I was fortunate enough to study note, though, that we didn’t make a single change that
fiction under Wolfe, and I learned a great deal about writing. alters the way most of the previously published Numenera
Thus, his work and his style will always be an inspiration to books work. Your bestiaries, adventures, cyphers, artifacts,
me, but never more than in Numenera, to be sure. and more all still work with the rules here.

There are, of course, many inspirations for Numenera,
so I created a bibliography for the game that you’ll find in
Appendix B (page 403). But long before you get there, why
not give “The Amber Monolith” (page 6) a quick read? The
story sets the tone for the setting and establishes a great

5

THE AMBER MONOLITH

The Catechism of Lore:
All glory to the originators of truth and understanding.

Praise to the innovators of steel and synth.
Praise to the shapers of flesh, of bone, and of mind.
Glory to those who re-sculpted the sustaining earth and the life-giving sun.
Praise to the senders of signals, who even now whisper into machine ears and give life to the inanimate.
Praise to those who traveled to the stars, and the realms beyond the stars.
All glory to the originators of truth and understanding.

Let us then resume the recitation of the Sacred Chronicle of High Father Calaval, Amber Pope and Founder of the
Citadel of the Conduit and the Order of Truth, as written by his grandniece, Doroa of the Silent Song:

CHAPTER IX: WIND OF IRON History taught that the ancient species that had dwelled
upon earth before the Ninth World wielded great power.
In which we learn the lesson of dedication. This power came from knowledge. It might not be possible
for Calaval, the Aeon Priests, or anyone else on earth of the
Calaval climbed the hill, his pet thuman at his side. present to master all that knowledge, but surely there were
Crumbling bits of ancient brick turned to gravel with each secrets there, lost to the past, upon which they could build
step. At the top, he saw the amber obelisk the old woman a future.
had told him about. It stretched impossibly into the sky.
The reddish-yellow light of the old, tired sun caught in Calaval was certain of it. It just had to be discovered. Or
its angles high above the plain of ruin. Even after all rather, rediscovered. He had a plan on how to start.
these eons, the machine at the heart of the obelisk still
thrummed with power. Rings orbited the device, spinning A red cloud rose on the horizon, beyond the obelisk in
with unearthly precision. the sky. Someone moving across the dry plain? Certainly
something big if that was the case. Perhaps a herd. Perhaps
The thuman sat on its haunches, multi-jointed legs a pack of raiders.
folding beneath it. It looked up at its master with narrow,
black eyes. Red dust covered the furry crest atop its head. Feddik whined. The cloud loomed larger. No herd. No
creature at all—a dust storm.
Calaval set his heavy pack down next to him, exhausted.
He bent down and brushed the dirt and dust away from it, Calaval unpacked his desert filter and put it over his
and then from his clothes. Finally, he brushed the red dust mouth. Then he fitted one over Feddik’s nose and mouth.
from the thuman. “Don’t worry, Feddik,” he whispered. The beast pawed at it a few times, but accepted it quickly.
“You won’t have to go inside. I’ll have to do that alone.” They had been through dust storms together before.

Feddik’s gaze, as always, made it seem as though he The barren plain offered little shelter. Calaval kept
understood. walking, for there were few other options. The thuman
stayed very close. The wall of onrushing red engulfed the
After a short rest, the pair resumed their journey. The obelisk and bore down upon the explorers like a monster.
people in the last village, Cloudridge, had called this Through his filter, a scent caught the young man’s
the Plain of Brick. The lack of creativity did not surprise attention. It jogged a memory. It triggered fear.
Calaval. A simple folk without a clave, they toiled in fields
and herded shereh in the fertile valley to the south. But “Iron wind!”
they’d given him food in exchange for a few baubles and Calaval looked around helplessly for some kind of shelter.
shins he carried with him, and gave him a place to sleep, But there was nowhere to hide. Not from the wind.
so it was difficult to feel anything but kindly toward them. He would stand against the ravages of a sandstorm,
Isolated villages with Aeon Priests often became fearful even as it tore at his flesh, but the iron wind was something
of strangers and dangerously insular. Once, he had come different altogether. It didn’t just tear at flesh, it altered it.
upon a community that had stumbled upon a buried Within the wind lived particles crafted by the numenera far
facility from the prior worlds while digging a well. They too tiny for a man to see. Calaval wasn’t actually certain
had inadvertently released a noxious gas, transforming the that “particles” was the right word. Creatures? Machines? It
entire population into maniacal, superhuman cannibals. surpassed understanding.
Calaval had barely escaped alive. His pack thudded on the ground. He rummaged through
its contents while the thuman whined. Finally, he produced
Aeon Priests and their knowledge of numenera could a small iron awl and a device that looked like it was meant
prevent incidents like that. Calaval sought to join their ranks. to fit snugly in a person’s clenched fist, if a person had six

6

THE AMBER MONOLITH

fingers. In two places across its synth surface small wires only at his longtime companion slowly writhing on the
lay exposed. Calaval crouched low. ground. Pain was evident in every fiber of the creature, new
and old.
A small glass panel on one side showed lighted symbols
when he pressed a small stud where his thumb would fit. With a wail, Calaval drew the long knife at his side from
He didn’t know what the symbols meant, but he knew that its leather sheath.
when a symbol that reminded him a bit of a bird in flight
flashed, he needed to press the stud again. He glanced He held his breath. Tears streamed down his face. He
up and saw the roiling red cloud approach. Ignoring the wanted to close his eyes, but he feared his aim would fail.
sweat beading at the bridge of his nose, Calaval pushed So he stared down at Feddik. He watched his friend’s eyes
the awl up into the cavity among the exposed wires near as he sliced into the nonmetallic part of its neck. Blood
the bottom. The device shook a bit and there was a sizzling pooled around the creature. It died in silence.
sound and the smell of burnt air. Suddenly, a droning noise
engulfed Calaval and the nerves all along his flesh tingled Calaval did not curse the gods his mother had taught
unpleasantly. The awl slipped from his hand. him, nor did he pray to them for mercy. It wasn’t that he
did not believe in vast, nonhuman intelligences living in the
He clenched the device and pulled Feddik close. The sky above—he had seen them orbiting in Yessai’s telescope
thuman squirmed as the air around them shimmered. night after night—he just did not believe that they directed
The hair on Calaval’s arms rose and his skin prickled. The events. He believed in cause and effect. Not gods. Even the
shimmering air smelled like a thunderstorm. He knew things inhabiting the datasphere were created, the result of
that it was a sort of halo around him. An aura. A field. He someone’s knowledge and understanding. He believed in the
did not know, but he hoped, that the field would repel the universe and its laws, set in motion billions of years earlier.
dangerous, unseen things in the iron wind.
Just because the people of this world called it magic did
The approaching numenera storm did not offer him not mean that he could not see beyond. That was what the
much time to wonder if it would work. The air was suddenly Aeon Priests did, and—as hard as it was to accept—that is
red, churning. The generator in his hand vibrated at a what he would do too. The numenera, as the priests called
terrible frequency. It numbed his hand and then his arm. it, arose because of the intellect of the people of the prior
He concentrated on holding fast to it even though he could worlds. It only seemed like miracles.
no longer feel it. He told himself that the billions of tiny
shrieks in the wind were but his imagination. It only seemed like damnation.

The iron wind roiled around him, but it did not harm him. CHAPTER X: ALONE
With a whine that quickly became a howl, Feddik twisted
from his grasp, pulling away. Calaval shouted without In which we learn the lesson of loss.
sound. The beast’s leftmost limbs and side emerged from
the shimmering distortion and entered the wind. Alas, Chapter X is lost to us. It is believed by the council
Calaval could not see what happened, nor could he still that it contained details of Calaval’s mourning of his
hear his companion. The thuman’s body thrashed. Calaval animal, and thus described his compassion and capacity
grabbed a handful of Feddik’s hair and held on as best he for love. Likely it also detailed his fantastic intelligence
could while the device in his other hand numbed more and (particularly his near-perfect recall) and his great wisdom,
more of his body, weakening every muscle he had. often being well prepared for contingencies that most
He closed his eyes. others would never have foreseen.
The wind passed more quickly than any sandstorm
would, but none too quickly for Calaval. The device Instead of its contents enriching us, let us contemplate on
dropped from his contorted, numb fist onto the stony the significance of lost knowledge. No greater loss exists.
ground. He collapsed, but was careful to pull Feddik atop
him, rather than to fall upon the beast. All glory to the originators of truth and understanding.
Feddik made a plaintive moan unlike anything Calaval
had ever heard. CHAPTER XI: ENTERING THE OBELISK
When he could manage it, Calaval lifted his head to
look at his pet. Hundreds of tiny, wormlike tendrils flailed In which we learn the lesson of perseverance.
where Feddik’s left two limbs had once been. The flesh
around those legs, and all along the left side, looked and The Amber Monolith rose high above Calaval. Almost directly
felt like metallic plates. Orifices that Calaval could not below the obelisk machine, the noise that the vast spinning
begin to understand erupted and closed on the beast’s new mechanism produced drowned out the sounds of his own
portions. The left side of its face contorted with opening weary breath. The rotating rings moved and thrummed in a
and closing eyes as if a crowd of smaller creatures had rhythm that heartened him. It was exactly what he was looking
taken up residence in its head. for. The old woman in Cloudridge had told the truth.
The wind had rewritten the thuman. Every bit of its flesh
that the wind had touched, it changed. Calaval had only one last trick in his bag. The rest of its
Calaval pushed Feddik from atop him and stood. His contents were mundane supplies, tools, and equipment.
stance was not steady, but he hardly noticed. He looked But he had saved one minor bit of numenera for just this
moment. He pulled a wire mesh belt from the bag and
affixed it around his waist. A metal device on the side of

7

the belt had some simple controls. Sometimes bits of he knew he would soon faint and fall, he let go of his own
technology like this—cyphers, most people called them— wrist and thrashed at the hatch to try to find a way to open it.
seemed like they were once parts of other, larger devices.
Those who had come before him had just figured out a That task, at least, was surprisingly simple. An easily
way to make use of them in a temporary, usually one-shot, moved lever produced a sudden hiss, and then the hatch
damn-the-risks sort of way. Calaval knew a lot of the tricks. opened slowly. Calaval struggled to hang on to the moving
He didn’t fully understand how they worked. No one he hatch. When it stopped, he twisted his body around to
knew did. But he knew enough to try that switch, or cross look up into the opening it gave. It was dark, but a metallic
those wires, or look for a readout with this symbol on it. ladder offered a way up through an amber shaft. With his
Enough to sometimes get an effect he wanted. Something free hand, he grabbed the bottom rung, but as he did his
he could use. Like now. other arm wrenched free.

Except the belt wasn’t like that. The belt, Calaval felt Again, terrific pain lanced down his body from shoulder
sure, was intended for precisely the purpose for which he to hip. He bit down on his tongue, which may have been the
was about to use it. The only thing was the way it fit him. only thing that kept him conscious. His one arm dangled,
Obviously, it had been designed for a creature other than a useless. He had no idea how he would climb up the ladder.
human to wear it.
He did the only thing he could think of, and pulled
Calaval manipulated the controls. Soundlessly, his feet himself up as high as he could and kicked his leg up to
left the ground. Buoyant, he floated upward. The belt gently hook it onto a rung. After a few tries, he succeeded. But
removed him from the grasp of gravity. He soared ever when he did, his pack came loose and spilled its contents
higher. The red brick landscape stretched below him. A down the long way to the ground.
warm wind tugged at his tanned leather clothing—his coat,
his cap. It brushed against his worn, unshaven face. Thoughts of gods to curse once again came to his mind.
Once again, he refused.
Above him, the Amber Monolith drew closer, and he
could see that, true to its name, the yellowish-brown CHAPTER XII: HUNTED IN THE DARK
structure offered a translucent surface in contrast to the
silvery metallic mechanism at its heart. The obelisk offered In which we learn the lesson of ingenuity.
a pointed top and bottom, but the center was a massive
clockwork device with spinning rings orbiting around it at The climb was long and agonizing. Every surface around
skewed but somehow extraordinarily precise angles. Calaval vibrated slightly with a constant thrum that kept time
with the spinning rings of the central heart of the monolith.
As he got very close—likely hundreds of feet above the Even the air seemed to shake, ever so slightly. Exactly the
ground—the very lowest point of the hovering obelisk rhythm he had memorized. The one he had been looking for.
offered a metallic hatch to Calaval. Controlling his horizontal
position presented some difficulties. Once again, the The top of the amber shaft offered light too dim to see,
position of the belt’s console suggested a wearer with a and Calaval had lost his glowglobes when his pack fell.
very different body type than his. His arm grew sore from With his good hand, he pulled a box of matches from his
reaching down and around to touch the tiny, glowing panels. pocket and struck one. He confirmed that his immediate
The wind made things even harder. Calaval maneuvered surroundings were safe, and then tossed the match away,
toward the hatch, but then the breeze carried him off in the collapsing on his side for an unknown time. He knew he
wrong direction again. The situation suggested how hard it had to push his arm back into its proper position. When he
might be to be a leaf in the breeze with an objective. Or even was a young man, he had seen his farmer father in a similar
a butterfly. Calaval fumbled across the belt controls over and situation. He had had to help the man reset his shoulder.
over, grasping at the hatch as he got close each time, and
each time failing to reach it. Today Calaval would have to do it himself. He struggled to
his feet. The pain made his head swim and he almost fell.
He began to worry about just how much power the belt
had. How long a duration the gravity-nullifying effect offered. He felt the wall in the dim amber-hued light. He
positioned his dislocated limb with his useful arm. He took
His arms sore, each from stretching in different directions, in three quick breaths. Not giving himself time to think about
different awkward positions, he tried one last time, and finally it, he rammed his body against the wall.
maneuvered close enough to loop his arm through a handle
on the hatch like a hook. The incoherent sound he made was a He shrieked and fell to the floor, writhing in agony.
moan of exasperation and a cry of triumph at once. He shrieked louder the second time. He passed out for
a time—he did not know for how long—after realizing that
Then the power of the belt gave out. that attempt didn’t succeed either.
His own sudden weight jerked on his arm, wrenching The third attempt had a similar result.
it with a painful cracking noise. Agony shot down his Finally, the fourth try gave him success. He did not pass
shoulder and into his side. He grabbed his wrist with his out, but lay, resting in his own sweat, for what seemed
free hand to make it harder for him to slip loose, but he about an hour. Once he recovered, he climbed once again
almost blacked out from the pain. to his feet. He stood steadier than before. With three deep
Dangling from the bottom of the obelisk, he gasped for breaths, he gathered himself mentally and physically. At
a breath he could not seem to get. His mind swam and he last, he decided to explore.
had to fight to keep a focus. Finally, because if he did not, He had come here for a reason, after all.

8

THE AMBER MONOLITH

He found himself within a series of tunnels wending only occasionally. But its drops were longer, its movements
their way through vast, incomprehensible machines. Or more skilled.
perhaps, he considered, parts of one large machine. The
latter, he determined, seemed most likely. Calaval reached the bottom of the shaft, but knew that
the thing would reach him this time.
After burning through half his matches in his explorations,
he found a pile of scrap synth in various sizes and colors. In fact, he counted on it.
Mostly pipes, some of which were hollow, and others filled with He grasped the jagged length of synth tubing and thrust
cables and wires. Some were broken and jagged. Calaval found it up the shaft, one end braced against the floor.
a hollow pipe of white synth about two feet long. He used his Immediately, the beast dropped down upon the tube, its
knife to cut his leather cap into strips. Poking a strip down into weight snapping it in two and knocking Calaval to the ground.
the pipe, he created a makeshift torch. It wouldn’t last long, and Calaval’s head struck the wall. He saw white in the darkness.
it created a lot of smoke, but it would last longer than a match, He found himself lying on the tremulous metal floor,
and he had many strips of leather and cloth to use. unable to see. The sound of his own breaths was drowned
out by another sound—rhythmic, wet, gurgling wheezes
He climbed another shaft, and after wandering more, yet from not far away.
another. During each ascent his torch failed him and he had Calaval struck a match. In the light, he saw the ape-thing,
to relight it in the dim light once he reached the top. By the with metal plates and fleshy parts integrated into a cobbled
time he did this after the third climb, a loud staccato burst of whole. There was nothing beautiful, careful, or elegant about
sound startled him. He dropped the torch and the barely lit the thing’s construction. Even its organic portions did not
leather strip fell out. seem to exist in any sort of natural relationship. Hairlike
tendrils writhed across its body, each ending in a tiny
The strange, irregular noise accompanied a flash of blue- sphincter mouth. And each tiny mouth whined in agony.
white illumination. And again. Through the center of its broad torso projected the
broken tube. The momentum of the creature’s descent had
In these brief instances of light, he saw something thrust the shaft more than three feet into its innards. The
move. A panel in one wall opened. More light from within. beast did not move. Each breath was labored and filled with
With a yawning hiss, a silhouette emerged. Clatter. Whir. fluid. Blood mixed with some white milky liquids pooled
Groan. Ancient limbs stretched to life. Metal, flesh, and around its prone body.
wiring shambled in the form of a looming ape. Shaggy hair Calaval’s fear turned to remorse. Pity. He thought that
fluttered about it, as if each strand had its own prehensile the best thing he could do was bring the beast’s suffering
life. White eyes glared from above a wide snout, symbols to an end. He wanted to give it a quick death.
scrolling across them from side to side. He had no idea how to do that. His small knife, now in his
hand, seemed ridiculously tiny and fragile for the task. He
Calaval did not wait to see more. He leapt down the shaft, approached closer in the light of a new match, but the creature
throwing himself from rung to rung, letting gravity take him howled and struggled to move, causing it far more pain.
at speed. His shoulder was still tender, but he ignored it. Calaval sighed. His thoughts drifted back to Feddik.
He sat on the floor. He stayed with the creature until it
A howl from above shook his bones. A dark shape drew its last labored breath.
blotted out the light from above.
CHAPTER XIII: MACHINE’S HEART
He climbed down faster. Recklessly, he dropped down
the shaft. Each drop risked pulling his arm from its socket, In which we learn the lesson of comprehension
but terror ruled his behavior, not pain. and understanding.

At the bottom of the shaft, he retraced his path through In the mechanical parts of the dead guardian, Calaval
the winding maze of machine access conduits. He heard had found some easily removed bits that, with some
the thing land at the bottom behind him with a powerful slight modifications and adaptations, he could use. If
grunt. He was sure that he could smell the beast too. Musk he hadn’t dropped most of his tools with the rest of his
and machine oil mixed with something he couldn’t place. gear, he perhaps could have achieved more.

In the near darkness, he surged down the corridors, Perhaps most important of them all were the glowing
running a hand along the walls. The guardian thing that modules in the creature’s eyes that, once removed,
he had awoken was behind him, tracking him. By sound, provided about as much light as his tiny torch. He knew
perhaps? Calaval tried to be as quiet as he could, but soon that their illumination would fade, but in terms of his own
gave up and erred on the side of speed. The thing could be needs, it would be long after it ceased being important.
following him by scent. It could even be following a heat trail
of his own steps. He knew such things were possible. With these new cyphers, he ascended back up through
the obelisk’s inner workings. He crept slowly now. Quietly.
Finally, he reached the pile of scrap tubing. The pipes, No more guardians appeared.
however, once he grasped a few, seemed far too light to be
used as weapons. Instead, he grabbed one about his height He stopped to rest, and regretted having no food.
and got moving again. He slept.

The bestial thing lumbered ever closer.
Calaval reached the shaft down and dropped the tube.
Then he followed it down, again performing more of a
barely controlled drop than a climbing descent.
The creature came down behind him. Closer this time, and
gaining. Like Calaval, it was dropping down, using the rungs

9

Steadily, he climbed the length as though it was an invisible fist, he
of the massive monolith, until the pulled back and the panel tore from its
quivering in every surface reached a mountings.
powerful intensity. Reaching the top of
the twenty-third shaft he had climbed, he Calaval tossed the device to the
determined that he had found the heart floor next to it with satisfaction.
of the machine. At that level, he began
to explore in earnest, carefully noting The newly exposed glass plate flared
everything he found. to life and light, showing symbols and
diagrams. Calaval recognized almost
The glowing cylinder stretched nothing, but after a few tries, touching
twenty feet across, thirty feet high. the screen and moving the symbols as
Made of blue metal, it gave off a blue- though they were objects rather than
white glow. It floated two feet from the bits of light, he quickly figured out how
ground and hovered two feet from the to activate the cylinder’s door.
high ceiling. Nothing connected to it
from all the machinery around it, but Turning to face it, he watched as the
Calaval knew that it was connected by square section of the machine’s heart
invisible fields of energy and force. simply faded from sight.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. This revealed an empty but brightly
The interior of the monolith was warm lit interior.
and humid. The air was stale. Stifling.
He needed to get inside that cylinder. Without hesitation, Calaval entered
the cylinder.
He studied its surface for hours, looking for an access
panel or a hidden hatch. He found nothing. And then stood elsewhere.
Without realization of transition or
He slept again. Fitfully. translation, Calaval had moved vast distances. As he had
He searched the walls of the large chamber around the hoped. Long ago he had learned of this place.
cylinder. He studied them for mechanisms that might open High above him stretched a transparent dome. Through
or provide access into it. Finally, he returned to the cylinder it, he looked up at the world, displayed before him as the
and scoured its vibrating, glowing surface again. At long center jewel of a vast night-sky panorama. Or rather, he
last, he determined that there was a panel in its surface—a reasoned, he looked down at the world. For he knew that he
door—almost impossible to perceive. But there was no was in a citadel created in eons past by inhuman hands and
obvious way to open it. placed high above, permanently in the sky.
Driven by this new discovery, he returned to the machine- Legends spoke of a citadel in the sky so high that it was
filled perimeter of the room. He followed lines of conduits barely visible from the ground. Calaval had seen it in Yessai’s
that ran across their surfaces, up to the ceiling and down to telescope. And the old woman in Cloudridge had given him the
the floor. He ascertained that the controls of some important secret of how to access it.
function lay behind a large metal panel, but when he tried to Here, Calaval knew, were the true secrets of the
pry it off with his knife, its iron blade snapped. numenera. Here he could perhaps—just perhaps—speak
He sat down on the floor, tired and hungry. with one of the vast intelligences given life in the prior
“Of course,” he said aloud. He pulled out one of the worlds. If he could make his questions understood, he
components he had removed from the guardian creature. could find the knowledge he sought to join the Aeon
A weapon had been built into one of its arms, and he could Priesthood, and perhaps even become a prominent
coax its power for a different use of his own. Sliding open a member of their ranks.
tiny panel at one end of the device, he moved a tiny switch Thus ends the second part of the Sacred Chronicle of the
while pointing it at the panel. He saw nothing, but felt the Amber Papacy. Little did Calaval know that the knowledge he
fist-sized thing almost buck out of his hand. would gain would make him not an Aeon Priest, but greatest
He thrust it toward the panel, which buckled with a among them: the high father, greatest of the Aeon Priests, and
loud bang and folded like paper. Guiding it with the device founder of the Order of Truth.

All glory to the originators of truth and understanding.
Praise to the innovators of steel and synth.

Praise to the shapers of flesh, of bone, and of mind.
Glory to those who re-sculpted the sustaining earth and the life-giving sun.
Praise to the senders of signals, who even now whisper into machine ears and give life to the inanimate.
Praise to those who traveled to the stars, and the realms beyond the stars.

All glory to the originators of truth and understanding.

10

PART 1:

GETTING STARTED

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Ninth World 12
Chapter 2: How to Play Numenera 15

CHAPTER 1

WELCOME TO THE
NINTH WORLD

The Ninth World is about discovering the wonders of the worlds that came before it, not
for their own sake, but as the means to improve the present and build a future.

Iron wind, page 135 T here have been eight previous worlds. continents of iron and glass—below, upon,
You may refer to them as ages, aeons, and above the earth—hold vast treasures,
Numenera, page 13 epochs, or eras, but it’s not wrong to and that secret doorways to stars and other
think of each as its own individual world. Each dimensions and realms provide power and
Steadfast, page 136 former world stretched across vast millennia secrets and death. They sometimes call it
of time. Each played host to a species magic, and who are we to say that they’re
Amber Pope, page 215 whose civilizations rose to supremacy but wrong?
eventually died or scattered, disappeared or
Order of Truth, page 215 transcended. During the time that each world More often, however, when they find
flourished, those who ruled it spoke to the leftovers of the old worlds—the devices,
Beyond, page 169 stars, reengineered their physical bodies, and the vast machine complexes, the altered
mastered form and essence, all in their own landscapes, the changes wrought upon living
Aeon Priest, page 264 unique ways. creatures by ancient energies, the invisible
nano-spirits hovering in the air in clouds called
Claves—small cloistered Each left behind remnants. the iron wind, the information transmitted into
groups of Aeon Priests in The Ninth World is built on the bones of the so-called datasphere, and the remnants
the previous eight, and in particular the last of visitors from other dimensions and alien
the Beyond—can offer four. Reach into the dust, and you’ll find that planets—they call these things the numenera.
protection and resources each particle has been worked, manufactured, In the Ninth World, the numenera is both a
or grown, and then ground back into drit—a boon and a bane. It makes life very different
for the communities fine, artificial soil—by the relentless power of from any other time on Earth.
that spring up around time. Look to the horizon—is that a mountain,
them. However, claves or part of an impossible monument to the In a southern part of the vast, singular
sometimes become so forgotten emperor of a lost people? Feel that continent of the Ninth World lies a cluster
insular and focused on subtle vibration beneath your feet and know of settled lands collectively called the
that ancient engines—vast machines the size Steadfast. Although each of the kingdoms and
their work that they of kingdoms—still operate in the bowels of the principalities of the Steadfast has its own ruler,
end up putting the earth. a leader known as the Amber Pope guides
community at risk with The Ninth World is about discovering the the Order of Truth, an organization of Aeon
their strange experiments. wonders of the worlds that came before it, Priests that commands a great deal of respect
not for their own sake, but as the means to in the region. Thus, the Amber Pope is likely
12 improve the present and build a future. the most powerful ruler in the Steadfast even
Each of the prior eight worlds, in its though he does not govern a single square
own way, is too distant, too different, too foot of land. The Order of Truth reveres the
incomprehensible. Life today is too dangerous people of the past and their knowledge on a
to dwell on a past that cannot be understood. quasi-religious level of adoration and faith. It is
The people excavate and study the marvels a religion devoted to science.
of the prior epochs just enough to help them
survive in the world they have been given. Deeper in the wilds lies a region called the
They know that energies and knowledge are Beyond, where villages and communities
suspended invisibly in the air, that reshaped are isolated and rare. Here, Aeon Priests still
study the secrets of the past, but they do so
cloistered in remote claves. These priests do

WELCOME TO THE NINTH WORLD

little more than pay lip service to the Amber and devices. Some of these materials are Abhumans:
Pope, if that, and are not considered part of metals, but others are (or appear to be) glass, Chirog, page 229
the Order of Truth. Like the regions in which stone, bone, flesh, or substances that defy Margr, page 240
they live, and the claves in which they work, categorization and understanding. Murden, page 243
they are isolated, islands unto themselves. Sathosh, page 251
Those who risk the mysterious dangers Yovok, page 261
THE PEOPLE OF to recover the relics of the past provide a
THE NINTH WORLD valuable service. Typically these brave souls— Visitants:
warrior Glaives, science-wielding Nanos, and Lattimors, page 396
In the youth of an age, people use the wily Jacks—bring their findings to the Aeon Varjellen, page 394
resources they have on hand, coupled with Priests, who use the artifacts to fashion tools,
whatever understanding of their world they weapons, and other boons for the growing Artifacts, page 289
can master, to carve out a life for themselves. civilization. As time passes, more individuals Cyphers, page 272
In the Ninth World, the resources are the learn to use the numenera, but it still remains Oddities, page 304
numenera—the detritus of the prior eras— a mystery to most people.
and the people’s understanding of these
resources is crude and incomplete. The Aeon Who, then, are the people of the Ninth
Priests possess just enough discernment and World? Most are humans, although not all that
knowledge to suggest possible uses for things, call themselves human truly are. There are
but so much remains to be discovered. Even likewise the abhumans: mutants, crossbreeds,
the creatures and plants of the Ninth World are genetically engineered, and their offspring.
strange by-products of the prior ages; the past And then there are the visitants, who are
left behind flora, fauna, and machines, some not native to the earth but who now call the
designed by lore or nature, others transplanted Ninth World home, and who have no more
from distant stars or dimensions. understanding of the past (even their own)
than anyone else.
The people of the Ninth World clothe
themselves in newly spun fabrics but weave THE NUMENERA
the artifacts of the past into each garment.
They forge armor, weapons, and tools from People with knowledge of the relics of older
materials recovered from ancient structures worlds divide them into three types: artifacts,
cyphers, and oddities.

13

For more information ARTIFACTS are large devices that typically LOOKING AT
on the Ninth World, see can be used more than once to produce the THE NINTH WORLD
Part 4: The Setting (page same result. An artifact might be a belt that FROM THE 21ST CENTURY
129). Game masters will creates a shield of invisible force to protect
want to refer to Chapter the wearer or a flying skiff that carries people The Ninth World is a science-fantasy setting
22: Realizing the Ninth and cargo from one place to another. The approximately a billion years in the future. The
term is almost always used for an item people of the world dwell amid the flotsam of
World (page 350). that has an obvious purpose—a weapon, a impossible ultratech of eight prior civilizations
defense, a mode of transport, a means of and call it magic. Unimaginably huge
Numenera items such communication or learning new information, a machines lie beneath the earth, and satellites
as artifacts and cyphers means of obtaining food or other necessities, orbit high above, transmitting a web of data
and so forth. Artifacts make their users more and free energy. Nanotech, gravitic technology,
add capabilities to powerful, or they make life easier or better. genetic engineering, spatial warping, and
the player character’s superdense polymers allowed the inhabitants
repertoire, but they are CYPHERS are usually small, minor devices that of the previous worlds to reshape the planet.
the purview of the game most characters can coax a single effect from Mass and energy were theirs to command.
master. Very rarely does before they are depleted and become curiosities
a player choose these or decorations. They might include a quick In many ways, the Ninth World is a medieval
items; they are discovered injection designed to repair physical damage in fantasy setting without the historicity. When
while exploring ancient a living creature or a handheld object that, when people who haven’t done a lot of homework
manipulated properly, becomes a weapon that on the dark ages run a traditional fantasy
ruins or overcoming explodes with tremendous force. However, game, they often insert modern sensibilities
other challenges of cyphers are dangerous when gathered together or developments such as democracy, hygiene,
because they create radiation and harmonic or matches. But in the Ninth World, these
the Ninth World. frequencies that are inimical to human life. things, and more, make sense. Characters
can have rain slickers, ink pens, zippers, and
14 ODDITIES are the relics that are neither plastic bags, all left over from the prior eras (or
cyphers nor artifacts. They serve no obvious fashioned from leavings of the past). They can
purpose but have strange functions that are understand how illnesses are transmitted or
at least curious, if not downright entertaining. how socialism works. They can know that the
Examples include a piece of glass in a metal earth revolves around the sun and be aware of
frame that shows peculiar images or a box other “anachronistic” bits of knowledge.
with three bells that ring at unpredictable
times. Not everything from the prior worlds On the other hand, characters in Numenera
can be understood. In fact, much of it cannot. don’t refer to weapons as “guns” or to
vehicles as “cars.” The technology in the Ninth
Numenera Discovery is a stand-alone World is too advanced and too alien for such
corebook; you don't need Numenera terminology to have endured. Using 21st-
Destiny to play. However, the two are century terms for weapons and vehicles is as
designed to work together, so while it isn't inappropriate as using medieval terms. The
necessary to look up the referenced items numenera is weird—much of it wasn’t created
in Numenera Destiny, doing so can provide by humans or for humans. It isn’t designed
additional information to enhance and or presented in any way that might be familiar
deepen character creation and gameplay. to the players or the characters. Only through
experimentation, player insight, and character
LOOKING FOR skill can the player characters (PCs) identify,
If another Numenera supplement and possibly use, what they find.
references a page number in the corebook,
this symbol shows where to find that Perhaps even more important, the artifacts,
reference in Numenera Discovery. cyphers, and oddities that characters use
probably aren’t serving their original purpose.
Some content that was in the original The explosive cypher that a character tosses at
corebook has been removed from an enemy might have been the power source
Numenera Discovery and is now offered in a for a vehicle. The force field the enemy uses to
free supplement that you can download at protect herself from the blast might have been
montecookgames.com designed to contain the radiation of the fuel
rods in a miniature nuclear reactor.

Welcome to the Ninth World, where every
discovery might save you—or kill you. But you
won’t know until you try.

HOW TO PLAY NUMENERA

CHAPTER 2

HOW TO PLAY
NUMENERA

T he rules of Numenera are quite specialized in climbing, she turns a difficulty 6 Skills, page 27
straightforward at their heart, as climb into a difficulty 4 climb. This is called easing Chapter 8: Rules of
all of gameplay is based around a the difficulty by two steps. Decreasing the difficulty the Game, page 100
few core concepts. of a task can also be called simply easing a
task. Some situations increase, or hinder, the Trained, page 101
This chapter provides a brief explanation of how difficulty of a task. If a task is hindered, it Difficulty, page 102
to play the game, and it’s useful for learning the increases the difficulty by one step. Specialized, page 101
game. Once you understand the basic concepts, Asset, page 103
you’ll likely want to reference Chapter 8: Rules of the A skill is a category of knowledge, ability, or Effort, page 23
Game for a more in-depth treatment. activity relating to a task, such as climbing,
geography, or persuasiveness. A character
Numenera uses a twenty-sided die (d20) who has a skill is better at completing related
to determine the results of most actions. tasks than a character who lacks the skill.
Whenever a roll of any kind is called for and no A character’s level of skill is either trained
die is specified, roll a d20. (reasonably skilled) or specialized (very skilled).

The game master (GM) sets a difficulty for any If you are trained in a skill relating to a task,
given task. There are 10 degrees of difficulty. Thus, the you ease the difficulty of that task by one step.
difficulty of a task can be rated on a scale of 1 to 10. If you are specialized, you ease the difficulty
by two steps. A skill can never ease a task’s
Each difficulty has a target number associated difficulty by more than two steps.
with it. The target number is always three times
the task’s difficulty, so a difficulty 4 task has a Anything else that reduces difficulty (help from an
target number of 12. To succeed at the task, you ally, a particular piece of equipment, or some other
must roll the target number or higher. advantage) is referred to as an asset. Assets can
never ease a task’s difficulty by more than two steps.
Character skills, favorable circumstances, or
excellent equipment can decrease the difficulty You can also ease the difficulty of a given
of a task. For example, if a character is trained task by applying Effort. (Effort is described in
in climbing, she turns a difficulty 6 climb into more detail in Chapter 8: Rules of the Game.)
a difficulty 5 climb. This is called easing the
difficulty by one step (or just easing the difficulty, To sum up, three things can ease a task’s
which assumes it’s eased by one step). If she is difficulty: skills, assets, and Effort.

Task Difficulty Description Target No. Guidance
0 Routine 0 Anyone can do this basically every time.
1 Simple 3 Most people can do this most of the time.
2 Standard 6 Typical task requiring focus, but most people can usually do this.
3 Demanding 9 Requires full attention; most people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
4 Difficult 12 Trained people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
5 Challenging 15 Even trained people often fail.
6 Intimidating 18 Normal people almost never succeed.
7 Formidable 21 Impossible without skills or great effort.
8 Heroic 24 A task worthy of tales told for years afterward.
9 Immortal 27 A task worthy of legends that last lifetimes.
10 Impossible 30 A task that normal humans couldn’t consider (but one that doesn’t break
the laws of physics).

15

You don’t earn XP for killing foes or overcoming standard challenges in the
course of play. Discovery is the soul of Numenera.

Special Rolls, page 18 If you can ease a task so that its difficulty is and thus negate the need for a roll. Walking
reduced to 0, you automatically succeed and across a narrow wooden beam is tricky for
“I love the feeling of don’t need to make a roll. most people, but for an experienced gymnast,
defeating someone just it’s routine. You can even ease the difficulty of
by using my words. With WHEN DO YOU ROLL? an attack on a foe to 0 and succeed without
a threat and a cold look, rolling.
I can scare a guard into Any time your character attempts a task, the
letting me pass. And it GM assigns a difficulty to that task, and you roll If there’s no roll, there’s no chance for failure.
saves me having to clean a d20 against the associated target number. However, there’s also no chance for remarkable
their blood off my knives.” success (in Numenera, that usually means
When you jump from a burning vehicle, rolling a 19 or 20; see Special Rolls in Chapter 8:
~Dalk the Ravenous swing a battleaxe at a mutant beast, swim Rules of the Game).
across a raging river, identify a strange device,
LOOKING FOR convince a merchant to give you a lower price, COMBAT
Defense roll, see page 17 craft an object, use a power to control a foe’s
mind, or use a heat-beam emitter to carve a Making an attack in combat works the same
hole in a wall, you make a d20 roll. way as any other roll: the GM assigns a
difficulty to the task, and you roll a d20 against
However, if you attempt something that the associated target number.
has a difficulty of 0, no roll is needed—you
automatically succeed. Many actions have a The difficulty of your attack roll depends on
difficulty of 0. Examples include walking across how powerful your opponent is. Just as tasks
the room and opening a door, using a special have a difficulty from 1 to 10, creatures have
ability to negate gravity so you can fly, using a level from 1 to 10. Most of the time, the
an ability to protect your friend from radiation, difficulty of your attack roll is the same as the
or activating a device (that you already creature’s level. For example, if you attack a
understand) to erect a force field. These are all level 2 bandit, it’s a level 2 task, so your target
routine actions and don’t require rolls. number is 6.

Using skills, assets, and Effort, you can It’s worth noting that players make all die
ease the difficulty of potentially any task to 0 rolls. If a character attacks a creature, the player

GLOSSARY

Game Master (GM): The player who doesn’t run a character, but instead guides the flow of the story (and runs all the NPCs).

Nonplayer Character (NPC): Characters run by the GM. Think of them as the minor characters in the story, or the
villains or opponents. This includes any kind of creature as well as people.

Party: A group of player characters (and perhaps some NPC allies).

Player Character (PC): A character run by a player rather than the GM. Think of them as the main characters in the story.

Player: The players who run characters in the game.

Session: A single play experience. Usually lasts a few hours. Sometimes one adventure can be accomplished in a
session. More often, one adventure is multiple sessions.

Adventure: A single portion of the campaign with a beginning and an end. Usually defined at the beginning by a goal
put forth by the PCs and at the end by whether or not they achieve that goal.

Campaign: A series of sessions strung together with an overarching story (or linked stories) with the same characters.
Often, but not always, a campaign involves a number of adventures.

Character: Anything that can act in the game. While this includes PCs and human NPCs, it also includes creatures,
aliens, mutants, automatons, animate plants, and so on. The word “creature” is usually synonymous.

16

HOW TO PLAY NUMENERA

makes an attack roll. If a creature attacks a because they are fast and easy to use. Light Armor, page 109
character, the player makes a defense roll. weapons are punches, kicks, clubs, knives,
handaxes, rapiers, and so on. Weapons that Combat will be an
The damage dealt by an attack is not are particularly small are light weapons. important part of
determined by a roll—it’s a flat number based Numenera for some
on the weapon or attack used. For example, a MEDIUM WEAPONS inflict 4 points of people. However, this is
spear always does 4 points of damage. damage. Medium weapons include swords, your choice; Numenera
battleaxes, maces, crossbows, spears, and so doesn’t have to be a
Your Armor characteristic reduces the damage on. Most weapons are medium. Anything that game about combat.
you take from attacks directed at you. You get could be used in one hand (even if it’s often
Armor from wearing physical armor (such as used in two hands, such as a quarterstaff or Although the Ninth
a sturdy leather jerkin or chainmail) or from spear) is a medium weapon. World has many quasi-
special abilities. Like weapon damage, Armor historical weapons and
is a flat number, not a roll. If you’re attacked, HEAVY WEAPONS inflict 6 points of damage, armor like swords, spears,
subtract your Armor from the damage you take. and you must use two hands to attack with and chainmail, it also has
For example, a leather jerkin gives you 1 point them. Heavy weapons are huge swords, great unique items like razor
of Armor, meaning that you take 1 less point of hammers, massive axes, halberds, heavy rings, which are bladed
damage from attacks. If a bandit hits you with a crossbows, and so on. Anything that must be metal throwing weapons.
knife for 2 points of damage while you’re wearing used in two hands is a heavy weapon. For more on the
a leather jerkin, you take only 1 point of damage. types of weapons that
If your Armor reduces the damage from an attack BONUSES your characters can
to 0, you take no damage from that attack. use, see Chapter 7:
Rarely, an ability or piece of equipment does not Equipment (page 93).
When you see the word “Armor” capitalized ease a task’s difficulty but instead adds a bonus
in the game rules (other than as the name to the die roll. Bonuses always add together, 17
of a special ability), it refers to your Armor so if you get a +1 bonus from two different
characteristic—the number you subtract from sources, you have a +2 bonus. If you get
incoming damage. When you see the word enough bonuses to add up to a +3 bonus for a
“armor” with a lowercase “a,” it refers to any task, treat it as an asset: instead of adding the
physical armor you might wear. bonus to your roll, you ease the task. Therefore,
you never add more than +1 or +2 to a die roll.
Typical physical weapons come in three
categories: light, medium, and heavy.

LIGHT WEAPONS inflict only 2 points of
damage, but they ease attack rolls by one step

For more information on SPECIAL ROLLS In combat (and only in combat), if you roll
special rolls and how they a natural 17 or 18 on your attack roll, you add 1
When you roll a natural 19 (the d20 shows or 2 additional points of damage, respectively.
affect combat and other “19”) and the roll is a success, you also have a Neither roll has any special effect options—
interactions, see page 104. minor effect. In combat, a minor effect inflicts 3 just the extra damage.
additional points of damage with your attack, or,
Distance, page 106 if you’d prefer a special result, you could decide Rolling a natural 1 is always bad. It means
instead that you knock the foe back, distract that the GM introduces a new complication
People of the Ninth them, or something similar. When not in combat, into the encounter.
World have units of a minor effect could mean that you perform the
measurement very action with particular grace. For example, when RANGE AND SPEED
different from our own. jumping down from a ledge, you land smoothly
When converting these on your feet, or when trying to persuade Distance is simplified into four categories:
to U.S. standard and someone, you convince them that you’re smarter immediate, short, long, and very long.
metric units, we’ve used than you really are. In other words, you not only
approximations rather succeed but also go a bit further. IMMEDIATE DISTANCE from a character
than precise conversions is within reach or within a few steps. If a
When you roll a natural 20 (the d20 shows character stands in a small room, everything
for ease of use. “20”) and the roll is a success, you also have in the room is within immediate distance. At
a major effect. This is similar to a minor effect, most, immediate distance is 10 feet (3 m).
18 but the results are more remarkable. In combat,
a major effect inflicts 4 additional points of SHORT DISTANCE is anything greater than
damage with your attack, but again, you can immediate distance but less than 50 feet (15 m)
choose instead to introduce a dramatic event or so.
such as knocking down your foe, stunning
them, or taking an extra action. Outside of LONG DISTANCE is anything greater than short
combat, a major effect means that something distance but less than 100 feet (30 m) or so.
beneficial happens based on the circumstance.
For example, when climbing up a cliff wall, VERY LONG DISTANCE is anything greater than
you make the ascent twice as fast. When a roll long distance but less than 500 feet (150 m) or so.
grants you a major effect, you can choose to use (Beyond that range, distances are always specified—
a minor effect instead if you prefer. 1,000 feet [300 m], a mile [1.5 km], and so on.)

HOW TO PLAY NUMENERA

The idea is that it’s not necessary to measure considered short distance. It does matter if it’s GM intrusion, page 123
precise distances. Immediate distance is right more than 50 feet (15 m) away because that Nano, page 36
there, practically next to the character. Short distance would require a long move. Onslaught, page 40
distance is nearby. Long distance is farther off.
Very long distance is really far off. EXPERIENCE POINTS Abhuman, page 13
Chapter 3: Creating Your
All weapons and special abilities use these Experience points (XP) are rewards given to Character, page 22
terms for ranges. For example, all melee players when the GM intrudes on the story with
weapons have immediate range—they are a new and unexpected challenge (an event called
close-combat weapons, and you can use them a GM intrusion). For example, in the middle of
to attack anyone within immediate distance. A combat, the GM might inform the player that
thrown knife (and most other thrown weapons) they drop their weapon. However, to intrude in
has short range. A bow has long range. A Nano’s this manner, the GM must award the player 2 XP.
Onslaught ability also has short range. The rewarded player, in turn, must immediately
give one of those XP to another player and justify
A character can move an immediate distance the gift (perhaps the other player had a good
as part of another action. In other words, they idea, told a funny joke, performed an action that
can take a few steps over to the control panel saved a life, and so on).
and activate a switch. They can lunge across
a small room to attack a foe. They can open a Alternatively, the player can refuse the GM
door and step through. intrusion. If they do so, they don’t get the 2 XP
from the GM, and they must also spend 1 XP
A character can move a short distance as that they already have. If the player has no XP to
their entire action for a turn. They can also try spend, they can’t refuse the intrusion.
to move a long distance as their entire action,
but the player might have to roll to see if the The GM can also give players XP between
character slips, trips, or stumbles as the result sessions as a reward for recovering interesting
of moving so far so quickly. artifacts or making discoveries during an
adventure. You don’t earn XP for killing foes or
For example, if the PCs are fighting a group overcoming standard challenges in the course of
of abhumans, any character can likely attack play. Discovery is the soul of Numenera.
any abhuman in the general melee—they’re
all within immediate range. Exact positions Experience points are used primarily for
aren’t important. Creatures in a fight are always character advancement (for details, see
moving, shifting, and jostling, anyway. However, Chapter 3: Creating Your Character), but a
if one abhuman stayed back to use its crossbow, player can also spend 1 XP to reroll any die roll
a character might have to use their entire action and take the better of the two rolls.
to move the short distance required to attack
that foe. It doesn’t matter if the abhuman is 20
feet (6 m) or 40 feet (12 m) away—it’s simply

In Numenera, players make all die rolls. If a character attacks a creature, the player
makes an attack roll. If a creature attacks a character, the player makes a defense roll.

19

Cypher, page 272 CYPHERS place and the last digit of the second roll as
the “ones” place. For example, rolling a 17 and
A d6 is used most As explained in Chapter 1: Welcome to the a 9 gives you 79, rolling a 3 and an 18 gives you
often for recovery Ninth World, cyphers are a type of numenera 38, and rolling a 20 and a 10 gives you 00 (also
rolls (page 111) and to that have a single minor use. A character can known as 100). If you have a d10 (a ten-sided
determine the effects carry cyphers and use them during the game. die), you can use it instead of the d20 to roll
of numenera devices You can’t bear many cyphers at a time because numbers between 1 and 100.
(Part 6, page 269). a large number of these weird items emit
radiation or dangerous chemicals that don’t
mix well. Gathering cyphers together in one
place is extraordinarily unhealthy.

Characters will find new cyphers frequently in
the course of play, so players shouldn’t hesitate
to use their cypher abilities. Because cyphers are
always different, the characters will always have
new special powers to try.

Most cyphers are as simple to use as
swallowing a pill, flipping a switch on a
handheld device, or throwing a bomb. Some
are more complex, with multiple buttons,
switches, knobs, keypads, touchscreen
controls, wires, and so on, and may take
longer to understand, but otherwise they are
still one-use items.

LOOKING FOR OTHER DICE

Might, see page 22 In addition to a d20, you’ll need a d6 (a six-
Speed, see page 22
Intellect, see page 22 sided die). Rarely, you’ll need to roll a number
Stat pools, see page 22
between 1 and 100 (often called a d100 or d%
Edge, see page 23
roll), which you can do by rolling a d20 twice,

using the last digit of the first roll as the “tens”

THERE’S MORE TO EXPLORE

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. The original Numenera corebook delivered well on the first part,
and Numenera Discovery is an updated version of that book. Here you have the rules for three character types (Glaive,
Jack, and Nano), exploration, using ancient technology, and combat, as well as advice about how to run a campaign
set in the Ninth World.

Numenera Destiny allows you to take the game in a direction that we only touched on before. The people of the
Ninth World are locked in a medieval-like state, a world of struggle and danger, and they are 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 but use 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 PC 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.

If you’re ready for more, we’ve published a lot of books sure to appeal to your interests. If you want more
creatures, there’s the Ninth World Bestiary and Ninth World Bestiary 2. For more weird technology, read the Technology
Compendium: Sir Arthour’s Guide to the Numenera. For more descriptions of places and people, there’s the Ninth
World Guidebook and Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer’s Guide. For advice on campaigns underwater, in
space, and other dimensions, we have Into the Deep, Into the Night, and Into the Outside. If you want a campaign’s
worth of adventures, try The Devil’s Spine or Jade Colossus: Ruins of the Prior Worlds. For fiction about the Ninth World,
we’ve published many short stories and two full-length novels, The Poison Eater and The Night Clave. Altogether, we’ve
published more than 60 supplements and accessories, and the Ninth World has spawned a critically acclaimed hit
computer game, board games, an excellent short film, and a line of novels. And all of that just scratches the surface
of Numenera.

20

PART 2:

CHAR ACTER S

Chapter 3: Creating Your Character 22
Chapter 4: Character Type 28
Chapter 5: Character Descriptor 53
Chapter 6: Character Focus 58
Chapter 7: Equipment 93

CHAPTER 3

CREATING YOUR
CHAR ACTER

Intellect could be thought T his section explains how to create INTELLECT: This stat determines how smart,
of as Intellect/Personality characters to play in a Numenera game. knowledgeable, and likable your character is.
This involves a series of decisions that It includes intelligence, wisdom, charisma,
because it governs will shape your character, so the more you education, reasoning, wit, willpower, and
both intelligence and understand what kind of character you want to charm. Intellect governs solving puzzles,
play, the easier character creation will be. The remembering facts, telling convincing lies, and
charisma. process involves understanding the values of using mental powers. Characters interested
three game statistics and choosing three aspects in communicating effectively, being learned
that determine your character’s capabilities. scholars, and wielding the numenera should
stress their Intellect stat.

Might could be thought CHARACTER STATS POOL, EDGE, AND EFFORT
of as Might/Health
Every player character has three defining Each of your stats has two components: your
because it governs how characteristics, which are typically called “statistics” Pool and your Edge. Your Pool represents your
strong you are and or “stats.” These stats are Might, Speed, and raw, innate ability, and your Edge represents
how much physical Intellect. They are broad categories that cover many knowing how to use what you have. A third
different but related aspects of a character. element ties into this concept: Effort. When
punishment you can take. your character really needs to accomplish a
MIGHT: Might defines how strong and durable task, you apply Effort.
Speed could be thought of your character is. The concepts of strength,
as Speed/Agility because endurance, constitution, hardiness, and physical POOL
it governs your overall prowess are all folded into this one stat. Might Your Pool is the most basic measurement of a
swiftness and reflexes. isn’t relative to size; instead, it’s an absolute stat. Comparing the Pools of two creatures will
measurement. An elephant has more Might give you a general sense of which creature is
Recovering Points in than the mightiest tiger, which has more superior in that stat. For example, a character
a Pool, page 111 Might than the mightiest rat, which has who has a Might Pool of 16 is stronger (in a
more Might than the mightiest spider. basic sense) than a character who has a Might
22 Pool of 12. Most characters start with a Pool
Might governs actions from forcing doors of 9 to 12 in most stats—that’s the average
open to walking for days without food to range.
resisting disease. It’s also the primary means of
determining how much damage your character When your character is injured, sickened,
can sustain in a dangerous situation. Physical or attacked, you temporarily lose points from
characters, tough characters, and characters one of your stat Pools. The nature of the
interested in fighting should focus on Might. attack determines which Pool loses points.
For example, physical damage from a sword
SPEED: Speed describes how fast and reduces your Might Pool, a poison that makes
physically coordinated your character is. The you clumsy reduces your Speed Pool, and a
stat embodies quickness, movement, dexterity, mental blast reduces your Intellect Pool. You
and reflexes. Speed governs such divergent can also spend points from one of your stat
actions as dodging attacks, sneaking around Pools to decrease a task’s difficulty (see Effort,
quietly, and throwing a ball accurately. It helps next page). You can rest to regain lost points
determine whether you can move farther on from a stat Pool (see Recovering Points in a
your turn. Nimble, fast, or sneaky characters Pool), and some special abilities or numenera
will want good Speed stats, as will those might allow you to recover lost points quickly.
interested in ranged combat.

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

Every character starts the game at the first tier. Tier is a measurement of power,
toughness, and ability. Characters can advance up to the sixth tier.

EDGE Pool. Once a stat’s Edge reaches 3, you can It may help to think
Although your Pool is the basic measurement apply one level of Effort (see below) for free. of Edge as a negative
of a stat, your Edge is also important. When number—it’s something
something requires you to spend points from A character who has a low Might Pool but a you subtract from the
a stat Pool, your Edge for that stat reduces high Might Edge has the potential to perform cost of spending points
the cost. It also reduces the cost of applying Might actions consistently better than a from your Pool.
Effort to a roll. character who has a Might Edge of 0. The high
Edge will reduce the cost of spending points Ease, page 15
For example, let’s say you have a mental from the Pool, which means they’ll have more
blast ability, and activating it costs 1 point points available to spend on applying Effort. Your stat Pools, as
from your Intellect Pool. Subtract your Intellect well as your Effort and
Edge from the activation cost, and the result is EFFORT Edge, are determined
how many points you must spend to use the When your character really needs to by the character type,
mental blast. If using your Edge reduces the accomplish a task, you can apply Effort to descriptor, and focus
cost to 0, you can use the ability for free. reduce the difficulty of a task (also called that you choose. Within
easing a task). For a beginning character, those guidelines,
Your Edge can be different for each stat. For applying Effort requires spending 3 points however, you have a lot
example, you could have a Might Edge of 1, a from the stat Pool appropriate to the action. of flexibility in how you
Speed Edge of 1, and an Intellect Edge of 0. Thus, if your character tries to dodge an develop your character.
You’ll always have an Edge of at least 1 in one attack (a Speed roll) and wants to increase
stat. Your Edge for a stat reduces the cost of the chance for success, you can apply Effort
spending points from that stat Pool, but not by spending 3 points from your Speed Pool.
from other Pools. Your Might Edge reduces the Using Effort eases the task by one step. This is
cost of spending points from your Might Pool, called applying one level of Effort.
but it doesn’t affect your Speed Pool or Intellect

23

ease the task by one step. Normally, that would
cost 3 points from your Speed Pool. However,
if you have a Speed Edge of 2, you subtract that
from the cost. Thus, applying Effort to the roll
costs only 1 point from your Speed Pool.

What if you applied two levels of Effort to the
Speed roll instead of just one? That would ease
the task by two steps. Normally, it would cost 5
points from your Speed Pool, but after subtracting
your Speed Edge of 2, it costs only 3 points.

Once a stat’s Edge reaches 3, you can apply
one level of Effort for free. For example, if you
have a Speed Edge of 3 and you apply one level
of Effort to a Speed roll, it costs you 0 points
from your Speed Pool. (Normally, applying
one level of Effort would cost 3 points, but
you subtract your Speed Edge from that cost,
reducing it to 0.)

Skills and other advantages also ease a task,
and you can use them in conjunction with
Effort. In addition, your character might have
special abilities or equipment that allow you
to apply Effort to accomplish a special effect,
such as knocking down a foe with an attack
or affecting multiple targets with a power that
normally affects only one.

For information on You don’t have to apply Effort if you don’t EFFORT AND DAMAGE
additional types want to. If you choose to apply Effort to a task, Instead of applying Effort to ease your attack,
of damage, see you must do it before you attempt the roll— you can apply Effort to increase the amount
you can’t roll first and then decide to apply of damage you inflict with an attack. For each
Damage Track, page Effort if you rolled poorly. level of Effort you apply in this way, you inflict
110, and Special 3 additional points of damage. This works
Applying more Effort can lower a task’s for any kind of attack that inflicts damage,
Damage, page 112. difficulty further: each additional level of Effort whether a sword, a crossbow, a mind blast, or
eases the task by another step. Applying one something else.
Flash, page 40 level of Effort eases the task by one step,
applying two levels eases the task by two When using Effort to increase the damage of
MAKING ATTACKS steps, and so on. Each level of Effort after the an area attack, such as the explosion created
When applying Effort to first costs only 2 points from the stat Pool by a Nano’s Flash ability, you inflict 2 additional
melee attacks, you have instead of 3. So applying two levels of Effort points of damage instead of 3 points. However,
costs 5 points (3 for the first level plus 2 for the additional points are dealt to all targets in
the option of spending the second level), applying three levels costs 7 the area. Further, even if one or more of the
points from either your points (3 plus 2 plus 2), and so on. targets in the area resist the attack, you still
Might Pool or your Speed inflict 1 point of damage to them.
Every character has an Effort score, which
Pool. When making indicates the maximum number of levels of MULTIPLE USES OF EFFORT AND EDGE
ranged attacks, you may Effort that can be applied to a roll. A beginning If your Effort is 2 or higher, you can apply Effort
(first-tier) character has an Effort of 1, meaning to multiple aspects of a single action. For
spend points only from you can apply only one level of Effort to a roll. example, if you make an attack, you can apply
your Speed Pool. This A more experienced character has a higher Effort to your attack roll and apply Effort to
reflects that with melee Effort score and can apply more levels of Effort increase the damage.
you sometimes use brute to a roll. For example, a character who has an
force and sometimes use Effort of 3 can apply up to three levels of Effort The total amount of Effort you apply can’t be
finesse, but with ranged to ease a task. higher than your Effort score. For example, if
attacks, it’s always about your Effort is 2, you can apply up to two levels of
When you apply Effort, subtract your relevant Effort. You could apply one level to an attack roll
careful targeting. Edge from the total cost of applying Effort. For and one level to its damage, two levels to the
example, let’s say you need to make a Speed attack and no levels to the damage, or no levels
24 roll. To increase your chance for success, you to the attack and two levels to the damage.
decide to apply one level of Effort, which will

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

“I am a [fill in an adjective here] [fill in a noun here] who [fill in a verb here].”

You can use Edge for a particular stat equal to the target number of the task, he Broken hound, page 226
only once per action. For example, if you succeeds. However, if he had not applied some Skills are a broad
apply Effort to a Might attack roll and to Effort, he would have failed because his roll (8) category of things your
your damage, you can use your Might Edge would have been less than the task’s original character can learn and
to reduce the cost of one of those uses of target number (9). accomplish. For a list
Effort, not both. If you spend 1 Intellect point of sample skills, see the
to activate your mind blast and one level of CHARACTER TIERS Skills sidebar on page 27.
Effort to ease the attack roll, you can use your AND BENEFITS
Intellect Edge to reduce the cost of one of Character advancement,
those things, not both. Every character starts the game at the first tier. page 128
Tier is a measurement of power, toughness,
STAT EXAMPLES and ability. Characters can advance up to 25
the sixth tier. As your character advances to
A beginning character is fighting a creature higher tiers, you gain more abilities, increase
called a broken hound. She stabs her spear at your Effort, and can improve a stat’s Edge
the broken hound, which is a level 2 creature or increase a stat. Generally speaking, even
and thus has a target number of 6. The first-tier characters are quite capable. It’s
character stands atop a boulder and strikes safe to assume that they’ve already got some
downward at the beast, and the GM rules experience under their belt. This is not a “zero
that this helpful tactic is an asset that eases to hero” progression, but rather an instance
the attack by one step (to difficulty 1). That of competent people refining and honing their
lowers the target number to 3. Attacking with capabilities and knowledge. Advancing to
a spear is a Might action; the character has higher tiers is not really the goal of Numenera
a Might Pool of 11 and a Might Edge of 0. characters, but rather a representation of how
Before making the roll, she decides to apply characters progress in a story.
a level of Effort to ease the attack. That costs
3 points from her Might Pool, reducing the To progress to the next tier, characters
Pool to 8. But they appear to be points well earn experience points (XP) by exploring new
spent. Applying the Effort lowers the difficulty places and discovering new things—the Ninth
from 1 to 0, so no roll is needed—the attack World is about discovery of the past and what
automatically succeeds. it means for the future. Experience points
have many uses, and one use is to purchase
Another character is attempting to convince character benefits. After your character
a guard to let him into a private office to speak purchases four character benefits, they go up
to an influential noble. The GM rules that this to the next tier.
is an Intellect action. The character is third tier
and has an Effort of 3, an Intellect Pool of 13,
and an Intellect Edge of 1. Before making the
roll, he must decide whether to apply Effort. He
can choose to apply one, two, or three levels
of Effort, or apply none at all. This action is
important to him, so he decides to apply two
levels of Effort, easing the task by two steps.
Thanks to his Intellect Edge, applying the Effort
costs only 4 points from his Intellect Pool (3
points for the first level of Effort plus 2 points
for the second level minus 1 point for his Edge).
Spending those points reduces his Intellect
Pool to 9. The GM decides that convincing the
guard is a difficulty 3 (demanding) task with
a target number of 9; applying two levels of
Effort reduces the difficulty to 1 (simple) and
the target number to 3. The player rolls a d20
and gets an 8. Because this result is at least

Character descriptor, CHARACTER DESCRIPTOR, which starts the campaign) and helps provide
page 53 TYPE, AND FOCUS motivation. It’s the adjective of the sentence “I
am an adjective noun who verbs.”
Character focus, page 58 To create your character, you build a simple
statement that describes them. The statement You can choose from many character
Onslaught, page 40 takes this form: “I am a [fill in an adjective here] descriptors.
Glaive, page 28 [fill in a noun here] who [fill in a verb here].”
Jack, page 44 Focus is what your character does best. Focus
Nano, page 36 Thus: “I am an adjective noun who verbs.” For gives your character specificity and provides
example, you might say, “I am a Rugged Glaive interesting new abilities that might come in
LOOKING FOR who Controls Beasts” or “I am a Charming handy. Your focus also helps you understand
Skills, page 27 Nano who Focuses Mind Over Matter.” how you relate with the other player characters
in your group. It’s the verb of the sentence “I
26 In this sentence, the adjective is called your am an adjective noun who verbs.”
descriptor.
There are many character foci to choose
The noun is your character type. from.
The verb is called your focus.
Even though character type is in the middle SPECIAL ABILITIES
of the sentence, that’s where we’ll start this
discussion. (Just as in a sentence, the noun Character types and foci grant PCs special
provides the foundation.) abilities at each new tier. Using these abilities
Character type is the core of your character. usually costs points from your stat Pools; the
In some roleplaying games, it might be called cost is listed in parentheses after the ability
your character class. Your type helps determine name. Your Edge in the appropriate stat can
your character’s place in the world and reduce the cost of the ability, but remember
relationship with other people in the setting. that you can apply Edge only once per action.
It’s the noun of the sentence “I am an adjective For example, let’s say a Nano with an Intellect
noun who verbs.” Edge of 2 wants to use their Onslaught ability
You can choose from three character types: to create a bolt of force, which costs 1 Intellect
Glaive, Jack, and Nano. point. They also want to increase the damage
Descriptor defines your character—it flavors from the attack by using a level of Effort, which
everything you do. Your descriptor places your costs 3 Intellect points. The total cost for their
character in the situation (the first adventure,

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

SKILLS

Sometimes your character gains training in a specific skill or task. For example, your focus might mean that you’re
trained in sneaking, in climbing and jumping, or in social interactions. Other times, your character can choose a skill
to become trained in, and you can pick a skill that relates to any task you think you might face.

The game has no definitive list of skills. However, the following list offers ideas:

Astronomy History Philosophy
Balancing Identifying Pickpocketing
Carrying Initiative Repairing
Climbing Intimidation Riding
Crafting numenera* Jumping Salvaging numenera*
Deceiving Leatherworking Smashing
Economics Literature Sneaking
Escaping Lockpicking Swimming
Geography Metalworking Understanding numenera*
Geology Perception Woodworking
Healing Persuasion

* This skill requires detailed knowledge. If you aren’t trained or specialized in this skill, you have an inability in the
skill. See Inability, page 101.

You could choose a skill that incorporates more than one of these areas (interacting might include deceiving,
intimidation, and persuasion) or is a more specific version of one (hiding might be sneaking when you’re not
moving). You could also make up more general, professional skills, such as baker, sailor, or lumberjack. If you want to
choose a skill that’s not on this list, it’s probably best to run it past the GM first, but in general, the most important
aspect is to choose skills that are appropriate to your character.

Remember that if you gain a skill that you’re already trained in, you become specialized in that skill, which eases
related tasks by two steps instead of one. Because skill descriptions can be nebulous, determining whether you’re
trained or specialized might take some thinking. For example, if you’re trained in lying and later gain an ability
that grants you skill with all social interactions, you become specialized in lying and trained in all other types of
interactions. Being trained three times in a skill is no better than being trained twice (in other words, specialized is as
good as it gets).

Only skills gained through character type abilities (such as the Glaive’s fighting moves), focus abilities, or other rare
instances allow you to become skilled with attack or defense tasks.

If you gain a special ability through your type, your focus, or some other aspect of your character, you can choose
it in place of a skill and become trained or specialized in that ability. For example, if you have a mind blast, when it’s
time to choose a skill to be trained in, you can select your mind blast as your skill. That would ease the task every time
you used it. Each ability you have counts as a separate skill for this purpose. You can’t select “all mind powers” or “all
esoteries” as one skill and become trained or specialized in such a broad category.

action is 2 points from their Intellect Pool (1 Some special abilities allow you to perform
point for the bolt of force plus 3 points for a familiar action—one that you can already
using Effort minus 2 points from their Edge). do—in a different way. For example, an ability
might let you wear heavy armor, ease Speed
Sometimes the point cost for an ability has a defense rolls, or add 2 points of fire damage to
+ sign after the number. For example, the cost your weapon damage. These abilities are called
might be stated as “2+ Intellect points.” That enablers. Using one of these abilities is not
means you can spend more points or more considered an action. Enablers either function
levels of Effort to improve the ability further. constantly (such as being able to wear heavy
armor, which isn’t an action) or happen as part
Many special abilities grant a character the of another action (such as adding fire damage
option to perform an action that they couldn’t to your weapon damage, which happens as
normally do, such as projecting rays of cold or part of your attack action). If a special ability is
attacking multiple foes at once. Using one of an enabler, the end of the ability’s description
these abilities is an action unto itself, and the end says “Enabler” to remind you.
of the ability’s description says “Action” to remind
you. It also might provide more information about
when or how you perform the action.

27

CHAPTER 4

CHARACTER TYPE

In some roleplaying C haracter type is the core of your Not surprisingly, Glaives often get along
games, character type character. Your type helps determine best with other Glaives, or at least soldiers,
your character’s place in the world and guards, or similar comrades in arms. Nanos,
might be called your relationship with other people in the setting. scholars, and people who aren’t terribly
character class. It’s the noun of the sentence “I am an adjective physical are less likely to mix well with Glaives,
noun who verbs.” but obviously not every Glaive is the same.
Steadfast, page 136 They focus on their bodies, but that doesn’t
Beyond, page 169 You can choose from three character types: mean they don’t value more cerebral pursuits
Might, page 22 Glaive, Nano, and Jack. as well. A Glaive need not follow the stereotype
Speed, page 22 of the dumb bruiser with a sword or an axe.
GLAIVE
28 Glaives in the Group: In a group of
Glaives are the elite warriors of the Ninth World, explorers, Glaives typically take the lead.
using weapons and armor to fight their enemies. They’re usually the most physically capable,
Hunters, guardians, and soldiers could be the most durable, and the most ready to
Glaives. Sometimes scouts, warlords, bandits, meet danger head-on. Sometimes they act
and even athletes are Glaives. “Glaive” is a protectively toward their companions; other
common slang term used almost everywhere times, they’re more self-interested.
in the Steadfast and the Beyond for any person Either way, a Glaive’s place is
skilled with weapons or a martial art, but in truth, often in the middle of the
it applies only to the best of the best. Glaives fray.
are warriors who command abilities far beyond
those of a typical person with a sword.

Most Glaives are either strong (using the
heaviest armor and weapons available and
having a high Might) or fast (sticking
with light weapons and armor and having
a high Speed). A few attempt to use both
Might and Speed and stay somewhere
in the middle. Glaives also use ranged
weapons such as bows or darts. Some
don’t rely on weapons at all, preferring to
use their bodies in hand-to-hand combat—
punching, kicking, grabbing, throwing, and
so on.

Glaives in Society: In most cities and
villages, people hold Glaives in great esteem.
Although a Glaive could just as likely be a thug
as a noble warrior, those who help protect their
fellow humans from the dangers of the Ninth
World are always treated with respect. There is
no shame in getting paid for the use of one’s
skills, so being a blade for hire is a perfectly
acceptable profession. Restrictions on carrying
weapons openly are rare, and most Glaives
wear the tools of their trade with pride.

CHARACTER TYPE

Glaives and the Numenera: When it comes INTENSIVE TRAINING Numenera, page 13
to the numenera, most Glaives are interested You are strong, fast, or both, but what really Black Riage, page 172
in weapons, armor, or devices that aid them separates you from the crowd is your training. Qi, page 144
in combat. The ancients produced all sorts Perhaps you ascended the highest peak of the
of incredibly durable substances, many of Black Riage or sought the deepest sewers beneath Cypher, page 272
which can be made into armor that is lighter Qi to find teachers who could show you how to
and more protective than steel. Sometimes, move, fight, and endure beyond normal human Many of the people you
Glaives can scavenge a suit of armor limits. You know a thousand ways to kill a foe, meet in the Ninth World
composed of these advanced materials, but most of them secret to all but a chosen few. You’re are mutants, whether you
more often they find the materials and then privy to techniques and fighting styles that most are aware of it or not.
ask a crafter or smith to make the armor. Of people in the Ninth World have never seen. You For more information on
course, the problem is that a substance that is have learned that the impossible is possible— the types of mutations,
difficult to damage is also hard to work. as long as you know the secret. Your body is a see page 397.
weapon, and your weapon is part of your body.
As varied as armoring materials might be, You have studied with the masters, and now you LOOKING FOR
numenera weaponry is infinitely more so. carry that regimen as you venture into the world. Fighting moves, page 31
These items include melee weapons that
shock, stun, or burn whatever they touch; Advancement: You need to train and practice 29
and ranged weapons that blast projectiles constantly to hone your skills and develop new
with incredible power or bursts of strange techniques, building on what you’ve been taught.
energies. There are also bombs, damaging Perhaps at some point you will return to your secret
energy fields, poisonous gases, and far masters for further initiation or find new teachers
stranger weaponry, but some Glaives find or lessons that can take you to the next step.
that such complex objects are better off in
the hands of a Nano. Maneuverability is just When you gain additional points for your
as important as attack or defense, however, stat Pools, an increase to a stat’s Edge, or an
so an item that allows a Glaive to move increase in the level of Effort you can apply, the
quickly or negate gravity is a great prize. benefit comes as the result of rigorous exercise
and personal development. When you gain a
As for cyphers, Glaives prefer physically new skill or Glaive ability, it’s the result of the
enhancing or restorative objects, such as martial arts you have studied.
injections of chemicals that improve reaction
time or pills with microscopic repair devices INBORN TRAITS
that heal wounds and restore fatigued muscle You’ve trained under excellent instructors and
tissue. They use the nickname “boost” for any have experience in many dangerous situations,
cypher that enhances their strength, stamina, but what makes you different is deep inside,
reflexes, or other physical aspects, while one entwined in your genetic heritage. Maybe it
that repairs damage or alleviates fatigue is was the luck of being born fit. Maybe you’re
called a “treat.” a hulking brute—a mountainous figure who
commands attention when you enter a room.
Advanced Glaives: As they progress, Glaives Or maybe your strength is more subtle; you
become better combatants, often felling multiple might be the descendant of a bioengineered
foes in a single stroke. They gain special types species bred (or designed) for perfection.
of attacks and learn to use armor more efficiently Perhaps you’re a mutant with psychic abilities
to get the most out of the protection it offers. that augment your physical nature; you guide
and enhance your attacks with telekinesis,
GLAIVE BACKGROUND or you use a natural mutation in your brain
to control matter on a molecular level to
Glaives are no mere bandits or town guards. resist blows and inflict harm. Perhaps you’re
They stand head and shoulders above ordinary something wholly new: an aberration or a
soldiers and brawlers. Something in your human so perfect that you’re beyond human.
background—whether intensive training, You might be a posthuman—the next step
inborn traits, or biomechanical modification— toward the true destiny of the people of the
has made you more than the others around Ninth World.
you. Choose one of those three options
(described below) as the source of your Advancement: You have talents of which you
skills, strength, reflexes, and stamina. It will are only dimly aware. You must practice and
provide the foundation of your background experiment to find your limitations, if any. At
and give you an idea of how you can improve. some point in the future, you might have to
The GM can use this information to develop seek out someone who can help you master
adventures and quests that are specific to your your inherent abilities. You were born with great
character and play a role in your advancement.

Aeon Priest, page 264 power. Now you need to learn how to use that faster, tougher, and more proficient in attack
power, even if the education takes a lifetime. and defense than anyone around you.
GM intrusion, page 123
When your stats improve, it’s because you’re Whatever the case, you’re the result of
Player intrusions tapping deeper into the unknown reserves ancient knowledge made manifest in the
should be limited to within you. When you gain a new Glaive ability, present, and now you’re shaping the future.
no more than one per it’s the result of your superhuman traits as much Perhaps your modifications are obvious and
as it is about your study, practice, or knowledge. visible; perhaps they’re not. Regardless, you
player per session. You can do things that other people simply know that you’re more than merely human.
Object damage cannot, no matter how hard they train.
track, page 116 Advancement: Your body is an ongoing
BIOMECHANICAL MODIFICATION project. In a way, it’s a work of art, although
LOOKING FOR You might be a fighter, but you’re no archaic its beauty comes not from its appearance but
Spray, page 33 stereotype—this is the Ninth World, after all. from what it can do. As you go forward, you
Although you trained and gained your share of should keep an eye out at all times for new parts
30 practical experience, you have the numenera and systems that can be incorporated into your
on your side as well. Some of your knowledge body, or new doses of drugs and supplements to
of fighting techniques is implanted in your maintain your abilities. You might need to seek
brain and spine, wired into your nerves and out surgeons, mechanics, or bioenhancement
muscles. Your joints have surgically implanted specialists to take you to the next level. Perhaps
servo motors. Subdermal plating makes you the Aeon Priests can help. Perhaps the parts you
tougher than should be possible. Your muscle need can be found only in the ruins of the past or
tissue is augmented with artificial fibers. the dangerous black market of a faraway city.

Perhaps your genetic code has been rewritten When your stats improve, it’s because you
by engineered viruses, or the tissues in your body literally have added something new to your
have been reworked by nanotech, turning you body. When you gain a new ability, it’s the
into an efficient battle machine. Or maybe you’ve direct result of a tangible change in your own
been altered by strange science—radioactive physical being.
treatments of bizarre energies, chemical
compounds and drugs, or extradimensional GLAIVE PLAYER INTRUSIONS
enhancements—that makes you stronger,
As a Glaive, you can spend 1XP to use one of
PLAYER INTRUSION the following player intrusions, provided the
situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
A player intrusion is the player choosing
to alter something in the campaign, Perfect Setup: You’re fighting at least three
making things easier for a player character. foes and each one is standing in exactly the
Conceptually, it is the reverse of a GM right spot for you to use a move you trained
intrusion: instead of the GM giving the in long ago, allowing you to attack all three as
player XP and introducing an unexpected a single action. Make a separate attack roll for
complication for a character, the player spends each foe. You remain limited by the amount of
1 XP and presents a solution to a problem Effort you can apply on one action.
or complication. What a player intrusion can
do depends on the PC’s type, and it usually Old Friend: A comrade in arms from your
introduces a change to the world or current past shows up unexpectedly and provides
circumstances rather than directly changing aid in whatever you’re doing. They are on a
the character. If a player has no XP to spend, mission of their own and can’t stay longer
they can’t use a player intrusion. than it takes to help out, chat a while after, and
perhaps share a quick meal.
Not every player intrusion listed here is
appropriate for all situations. The GM may Weapon Break: Your foe’s weapon has a
allow players to come up with other player weak spot and in the course of the combat
intrusion suggestions, but the GM is the final quickly becomes damaged and moves two
arbiter of whether the suggested intrusion is steps down the object damage track.
appropriate for the character’s type and
suitable for the situation. If the GM refuses GLAIVE STAT POOLS
the intrusion, the player doesn’t spend the 1
XP, and the intrusion doesn’t occur. Stat Pool Starting Value

Using an intrusion does not require a Might 11
character to use an action to trigger it. A
player intrusion just happens. Speed 10

Intellect 7

You get 6 additional points to divide among
your stat Pools however you wish.

CHARACTER TYPE

GLAIVE TIERS you wish, but it ends if no combat is taking Armor, page 109
place within range of your senses. Enabler.
FIRST-TIER GLAIVE • Fleet of Foot (1+ Speed points): You can Inability, page 101
move a short distance as part of another
First-tier Glaives have the following abilities: action. You can move a long distance as Your character’s
Effort: Your Effort is 1. your entire action for a turn. If you apply a starting equipment is
Fighter: You have a Might Edge of 1, a Speed level of Effort to this ability, you can move as important as their
a long distance and make an attack as your beginning skills. Learn
Edge of 1, and an Intellect Edge of 0. entire action for a turn, but the attack is more about what you
Combat Prowess: You add +1 damage to one hindered. Enabler. carry and what it’s
• Impressive Display (2 Might points): used for in Chapter 7:
type of attack of your choice: melee attacks or You perform a feat of strength, speed, Equipment (page 93).
ranged attacks. Enabler. or combat, impressing those nearby. For
the next minute you gain an asset in all Descriptor, page 53
Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time. interaction tasks with people who saw you
Trained in Armor: You can wear armor for use this ability. Action. Focus, page 58
long periods of time without tiring and can • Misdirect (3 Speed points): When an
compensate for slowed reactions from wearing opponent misses you, you can redirect Density nodule, page 277
armor. You reduce the Speed Effort cost for their attack to another target (a creature
wearing armor by 1. Enabler. or object) of your choosing that’s within Rejuvenator, page 286
Weapons: You can use any weapon without immediate range of you. Make an
penalty. unmodified attack roll against the new Oddities, page 304
Physical Skills: Choose one of the following target (do not use any of your or the
skills in which you aren’t already trained: opponent’s modifiers to the attack roll, but The GM should keep
balancing, climbing, jumping, or swimming. you can apply Effort for accuracy). If the careful track of combat
You are trained in this skill. You have an attack hits, the target takes damage from order, as a player
inability in crafting numenera, salvaging your opponent’s attack. Enabler. using Misdirect to
numenera, and understanding numenera. • No Need for Weapons: When you make an make an attack roll
Starting Equipment: You start with clothing, unarmed attack (such as a punch or kick), out of turn may cause
two weapons (or one weapon and a shield), it counts as a medium weapon instead of a confusion about who is
light or medium armor, an explorer’s pack, light weapon. Enabler. supposed to act next.
two cyphers (chosen for you by the GM), one • Trained Without Armor: You are trained in
oddity (chosen for you by the GM), and 5 shins Speed defense actions when not wearing
(coins). If you start with a ranged weapon that armor. Enabler.
requires ammunition (arrows, for example), you
start with 12 of that type of ammunition. Before LOOKING FOR
selecting your weapons, armor, and other gear, Arc Spray, page 34
you might want to wait until after you’ve chosen
your fighting moves, descriptor, and focus. 31
Default Starting Cyphers and Oddity: Your GM
may provide you with starting cyphers and an
oddity. Otherwise, you begin with the following.
• Cyphers: density nodule, rejuvenator
• Oddity: Blob of clay that takes on various

mysterious shapes when left alone
Fighting Moves: You have a special talent for
combat and can perform feats that others can
barely imagine. These feats are called fighting
moves. Some fighting moves are constant, ongoing
effects, and others are specific actions that usually
cost points from one of your stat Pools.
Choose two of the fighting moves described
below. You can’t choose the same fighting
move more than once unless its description
says otherwise.
• Aggression (2 Might points): You focus on

making attacks to such an extent that you
leave yourself vulnerable to your opponents.
While this ability is active, you gain an
asset on your melee attacks, and your Speed
defense rolls against melee and ranged attacks
are hindered. This effect lasts for as long as

GLAIVE CONNECTION

Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection
to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Roll Background
1 You were in the military and have friends who still serve. Your former commander remembers you well.
2 You were the personal guard of a wealthy merchant who accused you of theft. You left her service in disgrace.
3 You were the bouncer in a local bar for a while, and the patrons there remember you.
4 You trained with a highly respected mentor. He regards you well, but he has many enemies.
5 You trained in an isolated monastery far away. The monks think of you as a brother, but you’re a stranger
to all others.
6 You have no formal training. Your abilities come to you naturally (or unnaturally).
7 You spent time on the streets and even were in prison for a while.
8 You were conscripted into military service, but you deserted before long.
9 You served as a bodyguard to a powerful criminal who now owes you his life.
10 You worked as a constable. Everyone knows you, but their opinions of you vary.
11 Your older sibling is an infamous glaive who has been disgraced.
12 You served as a caravan guard. You know a smattering of people in many cities and towns.
13 Your best friend is a sage and a scholar. She is a great source of knowledge.
14 You and a friend both smoke the same kind of rare, expensive tobacco. The two of you get together weekly to
chat and smoke.
15 Your uncle runs a theater in town. You know all the actors and watch all the shows for free.
16 Your blacksmith friend sometimes calls on you for help at the forge. However, he pays you well.
17 Your mentor wrote a book on the martial arts. Sometimes other warriors seek you out to ask about its
stranger passages.
18 A man you fought alongside in the military is now the mayor of a nearby town.
19 You saved the lives of a family when their house burned down. They’re indebted to you, and their neighbors
regard you as a hero.
20 Your old trainer still expects you to come back and sharpen her blades and clean up after her classes, but
when you do, she occasionally shares interesting rumors.

If you become trained SECOND-TIER GLAIVE damage by making a recovery roll, using
with a weapon that you any ability that heals it, or using its action
have an inability in, the Second-tier Glaives have the following abilities: to attend to the injury. In addition to
Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in the normal options for using Effort, you
inability and training can choose to use Effort to increase this
cancel each other out. which you are not already trained: light bashing, duration by one round. Action.
light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, • Reload (1 Speed point): When using a weapon
Free level of Effort, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, that normally requires an action to reload, such
page 103. heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in as a heavy crossbow, you can reload and fire
attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler. (or fire and reload) in the same action. Enabler.
LOOKING FOR • Skill With Defense: Choose one type of
Nano, page 36 Fighting Moves: Choose one of the following defense task in which you are not already
fighting moves (or a move from a lower tier) trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are
32 to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can trained in defense tasks of that type. Unlike
replace one of your first-tier fighting moves most fighting moves, you can select this
with a different first-tier fighting move. move up to three times. Each time you
select it, you must choose a different type
• Crushing Blow (2 Might points): When you of defense task. Enabler.
use a bashing or bladed weapon in both • Successive Attack (2 Speed points): If you
hands and apply Effort on the attack, you take down a foe, you can immediately
get a free level of Effort on the damage. (If make another attack on that same turn
fighting unarmed, this attack is made with against a new foe within your reach. The
both fists or both feet together.) Action. second attack is part of the same action.
You can use this fighting move with melee
• Hemorrhage (2+ Might points): You make attacks and ranged attacks. Enabler.
a powerful and precise strike that inflicts
additional damage later. On your next turn,
the target of this attack takes an additional
3 points of damage (this ignores Armor).
The target can prevent this additional

CHARACTER TYPE

THIRD-TIER GLAIVE shots around your target to increase the Defense tasks are when
chance of hitting. This move uses 1d6 + 1 a player makes a roll
Third-tier Glaives have the following abilities: rounds of ammo (or all the ammo in the to keep something
Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three weapon, if it has less than the number undesirable from
rolled). You are trained in making this happening to their
cyphers at a time. attack. If the attack is successful, it deals 1 PC. The type of
Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in less point of damage than normal. Action. defense task matters
• Trick Shot (2 Speed points): As part of when using Effort.
which you are not already trained: light bashing, the same action, you make a ranged Might defense: Used for
light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, attack against two targets that are within resisting poison, disease,
medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, immediate range of each other. Make a and anything else that
heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in separate attack roll against each target. The can be overcome with
attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler. attack rolls are hindered. Action. strength and health.
• Vigilance (2 Intellect points): You take a Speed defense: Used
Fighting Moves: Choose one of the following cautious approach to combat, focusing for dodging attacks
fighting moves (or a move from a lower tier) to more on protecting yourself than on hurting and escaping danger.
add to your repertoire. In addition, you can also your opponents. While this ability is active, This is by far the
replace one of your lower-tier fighting moves with you gain an asset on Speed defense rolls most commonly
a different fighting move from the same lower tier. against melee and ranged attacks, and your used defense task.
melee and ranged attacks are hindered. Intellect defense: Used
• Energy Resistance: Choose a discrete type This effect lasts for as long as you wish, but for fending off mental
of energy that you have experience with it ends if no combat is taking place within attacks or anything
(such as heat, sonic, electricity, and so on). range of your senses. Action to initiate. that might affect or
You gain +5 to Armor against damage from influence one’s mind.
that type of energy. You must be familiar FOURTH-TIER GLAIVE
with the type of energy; for example, if you Trained in Armor, page 31
have no experience with a certain kind of Fourth-tier Glaives have the following abilities:
extradimensional energy, you can’t protect Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in Crank crossbow, page 95
against it. Unlike most fighting moves, you
can select this more than once. Each time which you are not already trained: light bashing, 33
you select it, you must choose a different light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing,
kind of energy. Enabler. medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing,
heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in
• Lunge (2 Might points): This move requires attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler.
you to extend yourself for a powerful stab
or smash. The awkward lunge hinders the Fighting Moves: Choose one of the following
attack roll. If your attack is successful, it fighting moves (or a move from a lower tier) to
inflicts 4 additional points of damage. Action. add to your repertoire. In addition, you can also
replace one of your lower-tier fighting moves with
• Obstacle Running (3 Speed points): For the a different fighting move from the same lower tier.
next minute, you can ignore obstacles that
slow your movement, allowing you to travel • Amazing Effort: When you apply at least one
at normal speed through areas with rubble, level of Effort to a non-combat task, you get
fences, tables, and similar objects that you a free level of Effort on that task. When you
would have to climb over or move around. choose this fighting move, decide if this ability
This movement might include sliding on a applies to Might Effort or Speed Effort. Enabler.
railing, briefly running along a wall, or even
stepping on a creature to boost yourself • Capable Warrior: Your attacks deal 1
over something. If an obstacle would additional point of damage. Enabler.
normally require a Might or Speed task to
overcome, such as swinging on a rope, • Experienced Defender: When wearing
balancing on a rope, or jumping over a armor, you gain +1 to Armor. Enabler.
hole, you are trained at that task. Enabler.
• Feint (2 Speed points): If you spend one
• Slice (2 Speed points): This is a quick attack action creating a misdirection or diversion,
with a bladed or pointed weapon that is in the next round you can take advantage
hard to defend against. You are trained in of your opponent’s lowered defenses. Make
this task. If the attack is successful, it deals 1 a melee attack roll against that opponent.
less point of damage than normal. Action. You gain an asset on this attack. If your
attack is successful, it inflicts 4 additional
• Specialized in Armor: The cost reduction points of damage. Action.
from your Trained in Armor ability improves.
You now reduce the Speed Effort cost for • Minor to Major: You treat rolls of natural 19
wearing armor by an additional 1. Enabler. as rolls of natural 20 for Might attack rolls
or Speed attack rolls (your choice when you
• Spray (2 Speed points): If a weapon has the gain this ability). This allows you to gain a
ability to fire rapid shots without reloading major effect on a natural 19 or 20. Enabler.
(usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as
a crank crossbow), you can spray multiple

Jumping, page 121 • Snipe (2 Speed points): If you spend one them into an awkward corner that hinders
You can use Jump Attack action aiming, in the next round you their melee attacks or a weak spot on the
can make a precise ranged attack. You frozen lake that will break if they stand on it.
to reach an opponent are trained in this task. If your attack is You can apply Effort to learn one additional
that is above you. successful, it inflicts 4 additional points of good or bad location within range (one
damage. Action. location per level of Effort), increase the
Trained in Armor, page 31 range of this ability (another short distance
FIFTH-TIER GLAIVE per level of Effort), or both. Enabler.
Crank crossbow, page 95 • Jump Attack (5 Might points): You attempt
Fifth-tier Glaives have the following abilities: a difficulty 4 Might roll to jump high into
GM intrusions and other Adept Cypher Use: You can bear four the air as part of your melee attack action.
significant changes to If you succeed at the jump and your attack
cyphers at a time. hits, you inflict 3 additional points of
the location may negate Mastery With Attacks: Choose one type of damage and knock the foe prone. If you
the advantages and fail at the jump, you still make your normal
attack in which you are trained: light bashing, attack roll, but you don’t inflict the extra
disadvantages discovered light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, damage or knock down the opponent if you
by Battlefield Tactician. medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy hit. In addition to the normal options for
bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You using Effort, you can choose to use Effort
One Glaive of renown are specialized in attacks using that type of to enhance your jump; each level of Effort
in the Steadfast is Yerra weapon. Enabler. (In place of this ability, you used in this way adds +2 feet to the height
Mestanir, who held off may instead select Skill With Attacks to become and +1 damage to the attack. Action.
trained in one type of attack.) • Mastery With Defense: Choose one type of
the Squirming Horde defense task in which you are trained: Might,
on her own in Batrak’s Fighting Moves: Choose one of the following Speed, or Intellect. You are specialized in
Pass until the armies of fighting moves (or a move from a lower tier) to defense tasks of that type. Unlike most fighting
Navarene could arrive. add to your repertoire. In addition, you can also moves, you can select this move up to three
replace one of your lower-tier fighting moves with times. Each time you select it, you must
Single-handedly, she a different fighting move from the same lower tier. choose a different type of defense task. Enabler.
likely saved the eastern • Parry (5 Speed points): You can deflect
portion of the kingdom • Mastery in Armor: The cost reduction from incoming attacks quickly. When you
from destruction at the your Trained in Armor ability improves. activate this move, for the next ten rounds
hands of the abhumans. You now reduce the Speed Effort cost for you ease all Speed defense rolls. Enabler.
wearing armor by an additional 1. Enabler.
34 SIXTH-TIER GLAIVE
• Arc Spray (3 Speed points): If a weapon
has the ability to fire rapid shots without Sixth-tier Glaives have the following abilities:
reloading (usually called a rapid-fire Mastery With Attacks: Choose one type of
weapon, such as a crank crossbow), you
can fire your weapon at up to three targets attack in which you are trained: light bashing,
(all next to one another) at once. Make a light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing,
separate attack roll against each target. medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy
Each attack is hindered. Action. bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You
are specialized in attacks using that type
• Battlefield Tactician (2+ Intellect points): You of weapon. Enabler. (In place of this ability,
scrutinize your surroundings, learning you may instead select Skill With Attacks to
whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent become trained in one type of attack.)
about attacking, defending, maneuvering,
and dealing with environmental hazards Fighting Moves: Choose one of the following
within a short distance. For example, you fighting moves (or a move from a lower tier)
might notice a pile of rubble you can stand to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can
on for an advantage in melee, a sheltered also replace one of your lower-tier fighting
corner to help protect against enemy attacks, moves with a different fighting move from the
a less-slippery part of a frozen lake, or a same lower tier.
place where the poison gas is thinner than
elsewhere. If you (or someone you tell) • Again and Again (8 Speed points): You
move to that location, you (or the person can take an additional action in a round in
told) gain an asset on tasks related to that which you have already acted. Enabler.
optimal position (such as attack rolls from
the high ground, Speed defense rolls from • Finishing Blow (5 Might points): If your foe
the sheltered corner, balance rolls on the is prone, stunned, or somehow helpless
frozen lake, or Might defense rolls against or incapacitated when you strike, you
the poisonous cloud). Instead of gaining an inflict 7 additional points of damage on a
advantageous location, you might learn a successful hit. Enabler.
disadvantageous location that you could use
against your enemies, such as maneuvering

CHARACTER TYPE

• Slayer (3 Might points): When you he had chosen jumping as his physical skill, Damage track, page 110
successfully strike an NPC or creature of the Strong descriptor would have made him Masters Weaponry,
level 5 or lower, make another roll (using specialized in jumping instead of trained.) page 80
whichever stat you used to attack). If you Being Strong also gives Colin an extra medium Heavy crossbow, page 96
succeed on the second roll, you kill the or heavy weapon. He chooses another Trained Without
target outright. If you use this fighting move broadsword as a backup blade. He decides that Armor, page 31
against a PC of any tier and you succeed on one sword is slightly smaller than the other, and Strong, page 57
the second roll, the character moves down he’ll sheathe them together on his left side.
one step on the damage track. Enabler. LOOKING FOR
For his focus, Colin chooses Masters Weaponry. Esoteries, page 40
• Spin Attack (5 Speed points): You stand still This gives him yet another weapon of high Onslaught, page 40
and make attacks against up to five foes, all quality. He chooses a broadsword and asks the
as part of the same action in one round. All GM if his first sword can be a shield instead, 35
of the attacks have to be the same sort of which will ease his Speed defense rolls (the
attack (melee or ranged). Make a separate shield counts as an asset). The GM agrees to
attack roll for each foe. You remain limited the change. During the game, Colin’s Glaive will
by the amount of Effort you can apply on be hard to hit—he is trained in Speed defense
one action. Anything that modifies your rolls and his shield also eases those rolls.
attack or damage applies to all of these
attacks. In addition to the normal options for Thanks to his focus, he also inflicts 1
using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to additional point of damage with his chosen
increase the number of foes you can attack weapon. Now he inflicts 5 points of damage
with this ability (one additional foe per with his blade. Colin’s character is a deadly
level of Effort used in this way). Action. combatant, likely starting the game with some
amount of renown as a swordsman.
GLAIVE EXAMPLE

Colin wants to create a Glaive character who
is fast and strong. He puts 3 of his additional
points into his Might Pool and 3 into his Speed
Pool; his stat Pools are now Might 14, Speed
13, Intellect 7. As a first-tier character, his Effort
is 1, his Might Edge and Speed Edge are 1,
and his Intellect Edge is 0. His Glaive is not
particularly smart or charismatic.

He wants to use a broadsword (a medium
weapon that inflicts 4 points of damage) and a
heavy crossbow (a heavy weapon that inflicts 6
points of damage but requires the use of both
hands). Colin decides not to wear armor, so for his
first fighting move, he chooses Trained Without
Armor so he eases Speed defense actions. For
his second fighting move, he chooses Impressive
Display so he can use his physical fitness to
compensate for his lack of social skills.

The GM generously gives Colin an extra 10
shins because he chose to forgo armor, and
he uses this money to buy more crossbow
bolts. The Glaive’s starting equipment includes
two cyphers, and the GM decides that Colin’s
cyphers are a pill that restores 6 points of
Might when swallowed and a small device
that explodes like a firebomb when thrown,
inflicting 3 points of damage to all within
immediate range. Colin chooses swimming for
his trained physical skill.

He still needs to choose a descriptor and a
focus. Looking ahead to the descriptor rules,
Colin chooses Strong, which increases his
Might Pool to 18. He also becomes trained in
jumping and breaking inanimate objects. (If

Numenera, page 13 NANO Nanos wield their power in the form of what
Iron wind, page 135 they call esoteries, although some prefer to call
“The Aeon Priests have Nanos are sometimes called mages, wizards, them spells, enchantments, or charms. Nanos
discovered the means to sorcerers, or witches by the people of the are proficient with other devices as well, and
directly control people’s Ninth World. Nano-sorcerer is also a common sometimes their powers are actually the subtle
thoughts simply through term, with their abilities referred to as nano- use of such items hidden upon their person.
the use of words and sorcery. Some claim to be the representatives All Nanos call forth their power in slightly
images. Everything they of gods or other supernatural agencies. different ways.
say, do, and even wear is Whatever they’re called, Nanos master the
carefully calculated.” mysteries of the past to the degree that they Typically, Nanos are intelligent, learned,
seem to perform miracles. They tap into the and insightful. Most of the time, they devote
~Narada Trome, numenera to alter reality or learn things that themselves to the numenera and other
anti-papist they couldn’t otherwise know. esoterica rather than to purely physical pursuits.
As a result, they’re often well versed in the
LOOKING FOR The term “Nano” is derived from the artifacts and leftovers of the previous worlds.
Scan, page 40 nanotechnology that is omnipresent throughout
Ward, page 40 the Ninth World (whether anyone realizes it or Nanos in Society: Frequently, common
not). Sometimes people call these invisible, folks fear Nanos or look upon them with
36 numinous particles that infuse the landscape suspicion. It’s easy to be afraid of a brute with
nano-spirits. Sometimes these spirits take on a an axe, but when it comes to someone who
devastating manifestation called the iron wind wields invisible powers—magic, for lack of a
and move through the air in clouds, which can better term—too much is unknown. A Nano’s
be far more dangerous than any conventional strange abilities are unsettling even to the
storm. In truth, nanites are literally everywhere. bravest souls unless they have a modicum of
knowledge about the numenera. That said,
not everyone is frightened of or intimidated
by Nanos. There are other people and
creatures that have capabilities far beyond the
understanding of normal folks—things that
even Nanos might not understand. Things that
even Nanos might fear.

Like the wizards of fables, some Nanos
dwell in solitude to study and conduct odd
experiments, while others gather in schools and
teach those with potential to use their abilities.
They enjoy time in the company of people with
similar predilections and interests. Not every
Nano is a frail bookworm, however—that’s just
the stereotype placed upon them by society.
Sometimes, people view Nanos as
representatives of the powers that be: gods,
demons, or spirits. That’s not too surprising
considering that they affect the world around
them in ways that most people can’t fathom.
What’s more surprising is that some Nanos
believe this to be true as well. They call
themselves priests or shamans and treat
their esoteries more like rituals, prayers, or
invocations. When these Nanos gather, they
do so in temples, but just as often one of them
lives alone amid a flock of the faithful. Some
of these loner Nanos don’t call themselves
priests; they call themselves gods.

Nanos in the Group: Typically, a Nano is
the party member who keeps to the back of
the group, as far from the danger as possible.
Compared to their comrades, Nanos are often
a bit fragile and less well protected against
threats. In addition, most of their abilities work
best at range.

CHARACTER TYPE

As useful and impressive as Nanos’ offensive all around you, you know how to activate these Datasphere, page 355
powers can be, their knowledge is often most machines and make them do what you wish, One infamous Nano is
valuable to a group. When the party comes at least in limited, specific ways. These uses of Nordarvar, who was the
upon mysterious devices, weird creatures, or power are called esoteries. first to develop the now-
other aspects of the numenera, the Nano is ubiquitous Push esotery.
usually the one who knows how to identify or Through various tiny devices that you He used it to knock Duke
deal with the finds. They can scavenge for new possess, which probably seem like magic Guchian off the top of his
cyphers or figure out how to use artifacts from charms to the uninitiated, you “conjure” own tower, thus ending
the past. Many Nanos possess other valuable energy. By accessing the datasphere the War of Three Lillies.
knowledge in areas such as geography, botany, transmitted across the world, you connect with
medicine, and more. machines—including the nanites—to change LOOKING FOR
your environment. Flash, page 40
Nanos and the Numenera: All Nanos know a Hover, page 41
fair bit about the numenera. In many ways, it’s Advancement: You must continue to study. Mind Reading, page 41
their lifeblood. When a group finds a broken There’s far more to the numenera than one Sensor, page 42
vehicle, an inactive automaton, or an ancient person can ever know, but that doesn’t mean
machine, the Nano steps up and searches it you shouldn’t try to learn it all. More secrets 37
for useful devices. and more knowledge mean more power. At
some point in your career, you might need to
Almost any numenera item would be find a teacher or another source of knowledge.
welcome, but generally, Nanos are most So many questions need answers.
interested in ranged weapons, protective
devices other than armor, and devices that have When your stats improve or you learn new
interesting utility effects—using magnetism, skills, it’s because you have mastered another
creating force fields, healing wounds, reshaping new technique that taps into the secret world.
flesh, creating or destroying matter, and so on. When you gain a new esotery, it’s the result of
This is true of cyphers as well as artifacts. long hours of study and practice in using your
mysterious lore.
Advanced Nanos: As Nanos gain more
experience, they typically learn new and more PSIONICS
powerful esoteries. They begin their careers by You know that the world is filled with ancient
making personal shields and blasting foes with machines and their creations. Some of them
energy, but eventually, they can fly through the are visible, but many are not. It’s not just skill
air, disintegrate matter, teleport vast distances, or knowledge that allows you to gain access
and control the weather. to them. You have a psychic talent to interface
with the machines to produce various effects.
NANO BACKGROUND Some of these machines are secreted about
your person, and others are infused into the
Nanos can do things that seem like magic to environment of the Ninth World.
other people, but their powers aren’t based
on charms or spellcasting—the explanation You can’t conjure energy or warp matter on
is likely far stranger. Choose one of the three your own, but you have the rare and spectacular
options described below as the source of your ability to control the invisible nano-machines
abilities. It will provide the foundation of your that do it for you. Is this gift the natural result
background and give you an idea of how you of extreme exposure to technology? Is it the
can improve. The GM can use this information fusion of the biological and the mechanical? Is
to develop adventures and quests that are it the design of a genius architect, generations
specific to your character and play a role in earlier, who manipulated the genetics of your
your advancement. family? Or is it just a random mutation? In any
case, you’re the natural synthesis of human and
FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE machine, working as one.
You understand the numenera far better than
most people do. You know that it isn’t just Advancement: Understanding this natural
strange machines buried in old ruins. The talent took time and training, and more of
numenera is everywhere, beyond the perception both is needed to expand and refine your
of humans. You know that microscopic powers. In addition to seeking help with your
machines called nanites are threaded instruction, you might need to find drugs,
through every inch of the world, waiting to be devices, or other external stimulation.
activated. You know that satellites in orbit are
broadcasting information, waiting for someone When aspects of your character improve or
to access it. Having studied long and hard, you learn new skills or esoteries, it’s because
learning the proper ways to tap into the forces you have mastered a new facet of your psychic
abilities or discovered an entirely new use for a
machine in your environment.

NANO CONNECTION

Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection
to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Roll Background

1 You served as an apprentice for a nano-sorcerer respected and feared by many people. Now you bear his mark.

2 You studied in a school infamous for its dark, brooding instructors and graduates.

3 You learned nano-sorcery (or gained your modifications) in the temple of an obscure god. Its priests and
worshippers, although small in number, respect and admire your talents and potential.

4 While traveling alone, you saved the life of a powerful abhuman brute. Although unwilling to accompany you
on your journey, he remains indebted to you.

5 Your mother was a powerful nano while she lived, helpful to many locals. They look upon you kindly, but they
also expect much from you.

6 You owe money to a number of people around town and don’t have the funds to pay your debts.

7 You failed disgracefully at your initial studies with your teacher and now proceed on your own.

8 You learned your skills faster than your teachers had ever seen before. The powers that be took notice and are
paying close attention.

9 You killed a well-known criminal in self-defense, earning the respect of many and the enmity of a dangerous few.

10 You trained as a glaive, but your skills with the numenera and other types of lore eventually led you down a
different path. Your former comrades don’t understand you, but they respect you.

11 While studying to be a nano, you worked as an assistant for a seamstress, making friends with the owner and
the clientele.

12 Your family owns a large vineyard nearby known to all for its fine wine and fair business dealings.

13 You trained for a time with a group of Aeon Priests, and they still look upon you with fondness.

14 You worked the gardens in the palace of an influential noble. She wouldn’t remember you, but you made
friends with her young daughter.

15 An experiment you conducted in the past went horribly awry. The locals remember you as a dangerous and
foolhardy individual.

16 You hail from a distant land where you were well known and regarded, but people here treat you with suspicion.

17 People you meet seem put off by the strange birthmark on your face.

18 Your best friend is also a nano. You and she share discoveries and secrets readily.

19 You know a local merchant very well. Since you give him so much business, he offers you discounts and special
treatment.

20 You belong to a secretive social club that gathers monthly to drink and talk.

“When adding a PORTS AND PLUGS your modifications can be hidden by a hooded
fluctuating generator You have a connection with machines for cloak or similar garment.
to an unstable warp one clear reason: you’re practically a machine
capacitor, make sure yourself. Your nervous system is laced with Advancement: Do you want to gain more
you polarize the endings circuitry, and your body has implanted jacks abilities? Just find new hardware and plug it in.
correctly or you’ll end up and ports where you plug in modules and other Although talent and practice are still involved,
draining the energy . . . technological bits that provide your capabilities. physical upgrades are your primary means
directly into your brain.” When you produce effects or manipulate of picking up new tricks. Adding points to
nanites, you do so through your body’s direct your stat Pools might mean undergoing new
~Sir Arthour mechanical interface. Your force blasts might procedures. Adding a new esotery might require
come from a device implanted in your palm or putting an implant in your head, although
Player intrusion, page 30 fingertip. Your ability to tap into the datasphere changing one esotery to another could be as
might come from the receiver plugged into a simple as unplugging one module and jacking
LOOKING FOR port you built in the back of your neck. in a replacement.
Glimmer, page 43
Obviously, to become a Nano, you NANO PLAYER INTRUSIONS
Mind Control, page 42 have undergone numerous surgeries and
procedures (either willingly or unwillingly). You When playing a Nano, you can spend 1 XP
38 are forever changed. Some people treat you to use one of the following player intrusions,
with disdain or derision, but perhaps most of provided the situation is appropriate and the
GM agrees.

CHARACTER TYPE

Advantageous Malfunction: A numenera NANO TIERS Your character’s
device that is being used against you starting equipment is
malfunctions. It might harm the user or one of FIRST-TIER NANO as important as your
their allies for a round, or activate a dramatic character’s beginning
and distracting side effect for a few rounds. First-tier Nanos have the following abilities: skills. Learn more about
Effort: Your Effort is 1. what you carry and what
Convenient Glimmer: A glimmer provides Genius: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a it’s used for in Chapter
you with a clear answer or suggests a course 7: Equipment, page 93.
of action with regard to an urgent question, Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.
problem, or obstacle you’re facing. Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three Inability, page 101

Inexplicably Unbroken: An inactive, ruined, cyphers at a time. Understanding
or presumed-destroyed device temporarily Weapons: You can use light weapons without numenera, page 27
activates and performs a useful function
relevant to the situation. This is enough to buy penalty. You have an inability with medium Gravity-nullifying
you some time for a better solution, alleviate weapons and heavy weapons; your attacks with spray, page 280
a complication that was interfering with your medium and heavy weapons are hindered.
abilities, or just get you one more use out of a Telepathy implant,
depleted cypher or artifact. Skills: You are trained in understanding page 287
numenera.
NANO STAT POOLS Teleporter, page 287
Starting Equipment: You start with clothing,
Stat Pool Starting Value one weapon, a book about the numenera, Oddities, page 304
three cyphers (chosen for you by the GM),
Might 7 one oddity (chosen for you by the GM), and 4 LOOKING FOR
shins (coins). Before selecting your weapons, Traverse the Worlds,
Speed 9 armor, and other gear, you might want to page 43
wait until after you’ve chosen your esoteries,
Intellect 12 descriptor, and focus. 39

You get 6 additional points to divide among Default Starting Cyphers and Oddity: Your
your stat Pools however you wish. GM may provide you with starting cyphers
and an oddity. Otherwise, you begin with the
following.

• Cyphers: gravity-nullifying spray, telepathy
implant, teleporter

• Oddity: Metallic jar that maintains the
temperature of liquid inside indefinitely

Esoteries: You can tap into the numenera of poisonous gas, and that its metal stand

to reshape the world around you. Similar in has an electrical field running through it

appearance to the way a fabled wizard might that connects to a metal mesh in the floor.

seem to cast spells, these expressions of your You might learn that the creature standing

knowledge are called esoteries. People who are before you is a mammal with a small brain.

not Nanos sometimes call them spells or charms. However, this esotery doesn’t tell you what

Most esoteries must be activated, which the information means. Thus, in the first

requires that you have a free hand and spend 1 example, you don’t know what the metal

or more Intellect points. If no Intellect point cost and synth device does. In the second, you

is given for an esotery, it functions continuously don’t know if stepping on the floor causes

without needing to be activated. Some esoteries the cylinder to release the gas. In the third,

specify a duration, but you can always end one of you might suspect that the creature is not

your own esoteries anytime you wish. very intelligent, but scans, like looks, can be

Choose two of the esoteries described below. deceiving. Many materials and energy fields

You can’t choose the same esotery more than prevent or resist scanning. Action.

once unless its description says otherwise. • Ward: You have a shield of energy around

• Hedge Magic (1 Intellect point): You can you at all times that helps deflect attacks.

perform small tricks: temporarily change You gain +1 to Armor. Enabler.

the color or basic appearance of a small

object, cause small objects to float through SECOND-TIER NANO

the air, clean a small area, mend a broken Second-tier Nanos have the following abilities:

object, prepare (but not create) food, and Esoteries: Choose one of the following

so on. You can’t use Hedge Magic to harm esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to

another creature or object. Action. add to your repertoire. In addition, you can

• Onslaught (1 Intellect point): You attack a replace one of your first-tier esoteries with a

foe using energies that assail either their different first-tier esotery.

physical form or their mind. In either case, • Adaptation (2+ Intellect points): You adapt

you must be able to see your target. If the to a hostile environment for 28 hours.

attack is physical, you emit a short-range ray As a result, you can breathe safely, the

of force that inflicts 4 points of damage. If temperature doesn’t kill you (though it might

the attack is mental, you focus your mental be extremely uncomfortable or debilitating),

energy to blast the thought processes of crushing gravity doesn’t incapacitate or

another creature within short range. This harm you (though, again, you might be

mindslice inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage seriously hindered), and so on. In extreme

Armor, page 109 (and thus ignores Armor). Some creatures environments, the GM might increase the

without minds (such as automatons) might cost of activating this esotery to a maximum

be immune to your mindslice. Action. cost of 10 Intellect points. Roughly speaking,

• Push (2 Intellect points): You push a the cost should equal the amount of damage

creature or object an immediate distance you would sustain in a given round. For

in any direction you wish. You must be able example, if you enter a hostile environment

to see the target, which must be your size that would normally deal 6 points of damage

or smaller, must not be affixed to anything, per round, using Adaptation to avoid that

and must be within short range. The push damage costs 6 points. You can protect

is quick, and the force is too crude to be other creatures in addition to yourself,

manipulated. For example, you can’t use but each additional creature costs you the

this esotery to pull a lever or even close a same number of Intellect points as it costs

door. Action. to protect you. Thus, if it costs 6 points to

• Scan (2 Intellect points): You scan an protect yourself, it costs 12 more to protect

area equal in size to a 10-foot (3 m) cube, two other people. This esotery never protects

including all objects or creatures within against quick, instantaneous threats, like an

that area. The area must be within short attack with a weapon or a sudden explosion

range. Scanning a creature or object always of fire. Action to initiate.

Level, page 102 reveals its level (a measure of how powerful, • Flash (4 Intellect points): You create an

dangerous, or difficult it is). You also learn explosion of energy at a point within close

whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent range, affecting an area up to immediate

about the matter and energy in that area. For range from that point. You must be able to

example, you might learn that the wooden see the location where you intend to center

box contains a device of metal and synth. the explosion. The blast inflicts 2 points of

40 You might learn that the glass cylinder is full damage to all creatures or objects within

CHARACTER TYPE

the area. Because this is an area attack, range. Alternatively, you can use this as “Humans lived on Earth
adding Effort to increase your damage a defense action to cancel any incoming many millions of years
works differently than it does for single- esotery targeted at you, or you can cancel ago, in at least one if not
target attacks. If you apply a level of Effort any numenera device or the effect of any many great civilizations
to increase the damage, add 2 points of numenera device for 1d6 rounds. You must that rose and fell. For
damage for each target, and even if you fail touch the effect or device to cancel it. Action. some of the planet’s
your attack roll, all targets in the area still • Energy Protection (3+ Intellect points): history, there were
take 1 point of damage. Action. Choose a discrete type of energy that you no humans. But now
• Hover (2 Intellect points): You float have experience with (such as heat, sonic, humans are back. How
slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you electricity, and so on). You gain +10 to can that be? Where were
can control your movement to remain Armor against damage from that type of they in the intervening
motionless in the air or float up to a short energy for ten minutes. Alternatively, you time?”
distance as your action; otherwise, you gain +1 to Armor against damage from that ~Visixtru, varjellen
drift with the wind or with any momentum energy for 28 hours. You must be familiar philosopher
you have gained. This effect lasts for up to with the type of energy; for example, if you
ten minutes. Action to initiate. have no experience with a certain kind of
• Mind Reading (4 Intellect points): You can extradimensional energy, you can’t protect
read the surface thoughts of a creature against it. In addition to the normal options
within short range of you, even if the target for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort
doesn’t want you to. You must be able to to protect more targets; each level of Effort
see the target. Once you have established used in this way affects up to two additional
contact, you can read the target’s thoughts targets. You must touch additional targets to
for up to one minute. If you or the target protect them. Action to initiate.
move out of range, the connection is
broken. Action to initiate. 41
• Stasis (3 Intellect points): You surround a
foe of your size or smaller with scintillating
energy, keeping it from moving or acting for
one minute, as if frozen solid. You must be
able to see the target, and it must be within
short range. While in stasis, the target is
impervious to harm, cannot be moved,
and is immune to all effects. Action.

THIRD-TIER NANO

Third-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Adept Cypher Use: You can bear four

cyphers at a time.
Esoteries: Choose one of the following

esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to
add to your repertoire. In addition, you can
replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a
different esotery from the same lower tier.

• Barrier (3+ Intellect points): You create an
opaque, stationary barrier of solid energy
within immediate range. The barrier is
10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) and of
negligible thickness. It is a level 2 barrier
and lasts for ten minutes. It can be placed
anywhere it fits, whether against a solid
object (including the ground) or floating
in the air. Each level of Effort you apply
strengthens the barrier by one level. For
example, applying two levels of Effort
creates a level 4 barrier. Action.

• Countermeasures (4 Intellect points):
You immediately end one ongoing
numenera effect (such as an effect
created by an esotery) within immediate

Onslaught, page 40 • Sensor (4 Intellect points): You create • Invisibility (4 Intellect points): You become
an immobile, invisible sensor within invisible for ten minutes. While invisible, you
immediate range that lasts for 28 hours. are specialized in stealth and Speed defense
At any time during that duration, you tasks. This effect ends if you do something to
can concentrate to see, hear, and smell reveal your presence or position—attacking,
through the sensor, no matter how far you performing an esotery, using an ability, moving
move from it. The sensor doesn’t grant a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you
you sensory capabilities beyond the norm. can regain the remaining invisibility effect
Action to create; action to check. by taking an action to focus on hiding your
position. Action to initiate or reinitiate.
• Targeting Eye: You are trained in any
physical ranged attack that is an esotery • Mind Control (6+ Intellect points): You
or comes from a numenera device. For control the actions of another creature you
example, you are trained when using touch. This effect lasts for one minute. The
an Onslaught force blast because it’s a target must be level 2 or lower. Once you
physical attack, but not when using an have established control, you maintain
Onslaught mindslice because it’s a mental mental contact with the target and sense
attack. Enabler. what it senses. You can allow it to act freely
or override its control on a case-by-case
Scan, page 40 FOURTH-TIER NANO basis. In addition to the normal options
for using Effort, you can choose to use
LOOKING FOR Fourth-tier Nanos have the following abilities: Effort to increase the maximum level of
Tricks of the Trade, Esoteries: Choose one of the following the target or increase the duration by one
page 47 minute. Thus, to control the mind of a level
esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to 5 target (three levels above the normal
add to your repertoire. In addition, you can limit) or control a target for four minutes
replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a (three levels above the normal duration),
different esotery from the same lower tier. you must apply three levels of Effort. Smart
Nanos use the Scan esotery on a creature
42 to learn its level before trying to control
its mind. When the Mind Control esotery
ends, the creature doesn’t remember being
controlled or anything it did while under
your command. Action to initiate.

• Regeneration (6 Intellect points): You
restore points to a target’s Might or Speed
Pool in one of two ways: either the chosen
Pool regains up to 6 points, or it is restored
to a total value of 12. You make this decision
when you initiate this esotery. Points are
regenerated at a rate of 1 point each round.
You must maintain contact with the target
the whole time. In no case can this raise a
Pool higher than its maximum. Action.

• Reshape (5 Intellect points): You reshape
matter within short range in an area no
larger than a 5-foot (1.5 m) cube. If you
use only one action on this esotery, the
changes you make are crude at best. If you
spend at least ten minutes and succeed
at an appropriate crafting task (which
is hindered, due to the circumstances),
you can make complex changes to the
material. You can’t change the nature of
the material, only its shape. Thus, you can
make a hole in a wall or floor, or you can
seal one up. You can fashion a rudimentary
sword from a large piece of iron. You can
break or repair a chain. With multiple uses
of this esotery, you could bring about large

CHARACTER TYPE

changes, making a bridge, a wall, or a no matter the distance, as long as it is on Throughout the Ninth
similar structure. Action. Earth (or whatever world you’re currently World, people of all walks
• Slay (6 Intellect points): You gather on). In addition to the normal options for of life report random
disrupting energy in your fingertip and using Effort, you can choose to use Effort glimmers of images or
touch a creature. If the target is an NPC or to bring other people with you; each level information that seem
a creature of level 3 or lower, it dies. If the of Effort used in this way affects up to three to come from nowhere.
target is a PC of any tier, they move down additional targets. You must touch any These unexpected
one step on the damage track. Action. additional targets. Action. bursts of data are often
• True Senses: You can see in complete darkness nonsensical, rarely
FIFTH-TIER NANO up to 50 feet (15 m) as if it were dim light. useful or pertinent, and
You recognize holograms, disguises, optical sometimes disturbing.
Fifth-tier Nanos have the following abilities: illusions, sound mimicry, and other such tricks While some call them
Master Cypher Use: You can bear five (for all senses) for what they are. Enabler. visions, Nanos and
other experts in the
cyphers at a time. SIXTH-TIER NANO numenera believe that
Esoteries: Choose one of the following the “glimmers” are
Sixth-tier Nanos have the following abilities: malfunctions of the
esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to Esoteries: Choose one of the following datasphere that still
add to your repertoire. In addition, you can permeates the world.
replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to
different esotery from the same lower tier. add to your repertoire. In addition, you can Damage track, page 110
replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a
• Absorb Energy (7 Intellect points): You touch different esotery from the same lower tier. “I used to hoard cyphers,
an object and absorb its energy. If you touch not wanting to use them
a cypher, you render it useless. If you touch • Control Weather (10 Intellect points): You if I didn’t absolutely
an artifact, roll for the artifact’s depletion. If change the weather in your general region. need to. Now I know
you touch another kind of powered machine If performed indoors, this esotery creates that the treasures of the
or device, the GM determines whether its only minor weather effects, such as mist, numenera are all around
power is fully drained. In any case, you absorb mild temperature changes, and so on. If us, and I’ll always be
energy from the object touched and regain performed outside, you can create rain, fog, able to find more when I
1d10 Intellect points. If this would give you snow, wind, or any other kind of normal (not need them. Old ruins are
more Intellect than your Pool’s maximum, overly severe) weather. The change lasts for a littered with the bones of
the extra points are lost, and you must make natural length of time, so a storm might last explorers who didn’t use
a Might defense roll. The difficulty of the roll for an hour, fog for two or three hours, and cyphers they were saving
is equal to the number of points over your snow for a few hours (or for ten minutes if for later.”
maximum you absorbed. If you fail the roll, it’s out of season). For the first ten minutes ~Yaim Three-Shins
you take 5 points of damage and are unable after activating this esotery, you can create
to act for one round. You can use this esotery more dramatic and specific effects, such as Datasphere, page 355
as a defense action when you’re the target of lightning strikes, giant hailstones, twisters,
an incoming esotery. Doing so cancels the hurricane force winds, and so on. These 43
incoming esotery, and you absorb the energy effects must occur within 1,000 feet (300
as if it were a device. Action. m) of your location. You must spend your
turn concentrating to create an effect or to
• Dust to Dust (7 Intellect points): You maintain it in a new round. These effects
disintegrate one object that is smaller than you inflict 6 points of damage each round. Action.
and whose level is less than or equal to your
tier. You must touch the object to affect it. If the • Move Mountains (9 Intellect points): You
GM feels it appropriate to the circumstances, exert a tremendous amount of physical
you can disintegrate a portion of an object force within 250 feet (75 m) of you. You
(the total volume of which is smaller than you) can push up to 10 tons (9 t) of material up
rather than the entire thing. Action. to 50 feet (15 m). This force can collapse
buildings, redirect small rivers, or perform
• Knowing the Unknown (6 Intellect points): other dramatic effects. Action.
Tapping into the datasphere, you can ask the
GM one question and get a general answer. • Traverse the Worlds (8+ Intellect points): You
The GM assigns a level to the question, so the instantaneously transmit yourself to another
more obscure the answer, the more difficult planet, dimension, plane, or level of reality. You
the task. Generally, knowledge that you could must know that the destination exists; the GM
find by looking somewhere other than your will decide if you have enough information to
current location is level 1, and obscure confirm its existence and the level of difficulty
knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining to reach the destination. In addition to the
knowledge of the future is impossible. Action. normal options for using Effort, you can
choose to use Effort to bring other people with
• Teleportation (6+ Intellect points): You you; each level of Effort used in this way affects
instantaneously transmit yourself to any
location that you have seen or been to,

up to three additional targets. You must touch JACK

any additional targets. Action. Jacks are intrepid explorers. They are jacks of all

• Usurp Cypher: Choose one cypher that you trades—hence the name—although the word also

Cypher, page 272 carry. The cypher must have an effect that is hearkens back to fables involving a wily, resourceful

not instantaneous. You destroy the cypher hero who always seems to be named Jack. Used as

and gain its power, which functions for you a verb, “to jack” means to steal, to deceive, or to

continuously. You can choose a cypher when get out of a tight scrape through ingenuity or luck.

you gain this ability, or you can wait and Jacks don’t use one skill or tactic exclusively;

make the choice later. However, once you they use whatever weapons, armor, esoteries,

usurp a cypher’s power, you cannot later or anything else might help them. They are

switch to a different cypher—the esotery hunters (particularly treasure hunters), con

works only once. Action to initiate. artists, skalds, rogues, scouts, and experts in a

variety of fields.

NANO EXAMPLE Jacks in Society: Jacks are crafters, entertainers,

Shanna wants to create a Nano. She decides leaders, and thieves. They’re architects, engineers,

to be somewhat well rounded, so she puts 2 con artists, salespeople, and teachers. This

of her additional points into each stat Pool, diversity doesn’t mean that the Jack is the

giving her a Might Pool of 9, a Speed Pool of archetypal everyman—that kind of simple

11, and an Intellect Pool of 14. Her Nano is categorization would diminish the character type.

smart and quick. She has an Intellect Edge of Jacks are remarkable in that they can do so many

1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0. different things, and some do multiple things. If

As a first-tier character, her Effort is 1. She is one Jack is an artist and another is an explorer,

trained in understanding numenera. As her there’s likely a third who is both at once.

initial esoteries, she chooses Onslaught and Skilled and learned Jacks who share their gifts

Ward, giving her a strong offense and defense. with others are prized members of society, well

She can bear three cyphers. The GM gives respected for what they know and can do. A village

her a handheld, short-range teleporter, a device might be protected by warriors, but it’s the Jack

that explodes like a fiery bomb, and goggles that who makes everything run smoothly by repairing

let her mentally record everything she sees for or building whatever is needed, handling disputes,

one minute. For her weapon, Shanna chooses a investigating mysteries, and so on. On the other

knife, which is a light weapon. hand, Jacks who use their varied abilities

Graceful, page 54 For her descriptor, Shanna chooses Graceful, to benefit only themselves are distrusted at

which adds 2 points to her Speed Pool, bringing best and reviled at worst. The murderers and

it to 13. That descriptor means she is trained thieves of a community are likely Jacks.

in balancing and anything requiring careful Jacks in the Group: Jacks fill in the space

movements, physical performing arts, and between the extremes of Nanos and Glaives. They

Speed defense tasks. Perhaps she is a dancer. frequently do a little of everything and know a little

In fact, she begins to develop a backstory that of everything. They can fight alongside a Glaive

involves graceful, lithe movements that she or have a scholarly talk with a Nano. There are

incorporates into her esotery performance. no right or wrong places, actions, or roles for

Rides the Lightning, For her focus, she chooses Rides the Lightning. Jacks. They can hold their own in combat or

page 83 This gives her Shock, another offensive power, other dangerous situations, but they excel at many

which she plans on using with the knife if she ever assorted tasks like searching for clues, using

gets into hand-to-hand combat (though she’ll try diplomacy with the locals, or repairing a piece of

to avoid that). She also gains Charge, which will broken gear. The drawback, of course, is that Jacks

come in handy when she finds more numenera are rarely the best fighters in combat or the best

artifacts in her explorations. numenera handlers. They might, however, be the

Her esoteries and focus abilities cost Intellect best at more specialized skills. They’re the most

points to activate, so she’s glad to have a lot likely characters to know how to climb, how to

of points in her Intellect Pool. In addition, her stand watch effectively, how to jimmy a lock, and

Intellect Edge will help reduce those costs. If how to jury-rig a makeshift shelter or snare trap.

she uses her Onslaught force blast without Jacks and the Numenera: Jacks gravitate

applying Effort, it costs her 0 Intellect points toward cyphers or artifacts that expand their

and deals 4 points of damage. Likewise, using array of options even further. An enhanced

her Shock ability without applying Effort costs piece of armor might be fine for a Glaive, but

0 Intellect points. Her Intellect Edge will allow many Jacks would rather have an object that

her to save points to devote toward applying allows them to communicate at a distance,

Effort for other purposes, perhaps to boost the walk through walls, or put foes to sleep.

44 accuracy of her Onslaught or Shock abilities.

CHARACTER TYPE

JACK CONNECTION

Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection
to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

Roll Background
1 You come from a large family and had to fend for yourself from an early age.
2 Your older sister is a skilled nano. You weren’t able to follow her path, but the numenera is not unknown to you.
3 You’re a member of a guild of explorers who specialize in uncovering ancient mysteries.
4 You worked alongside your father, who was skilled in many things, until he disappeared one day with no explanation.
5 You grew up on the streets and studied at the school of hard knocks.
6 You remember little of your past, which has always seemed strange to you.
7 You came of age in the wild and are used to living rough.
8 Your family is wealthy but earns little respect from the locals.
9 You’re friends with many people in the community and are generally well regarded.
10 You have an annoying rival who always seems to get in your way or foil your plans.
11 You’re in love with a local shopkeeper, but that person shows little interest in you.
12 Several expeditions preparing to explore old ruins and odd mysteries would like you to join them because you
seem like a promising addition to the team.
13 Your best friend from childhood is now an Aeon Priest.
14 You come from a nearby community, but the locals consider the folk of your hometown to be untrustworthy rivals.
15 You’re close friends with a local married couple, both of whom are experienced nanos.
16 You’re drinking buddies with a number of the local guards and glaives.
17 You once saved the child of a local noble from a fire, and she is very grateful.
18 You used to work with a troupe of traveling minstrels and performers, and they remember you fondly
(as do people in the places you visited).
19 You’re wanted for a crime you didn’t commit.
20 You have a friend with an extensive library, plenty of food and drink, and a comfortable home—and the door is
always open to you.

Advanced Jacks: Jacks are the most flexible of BORN LUCKY Esoteries, page 40
the character types, and advanced Jacks are no You seem to be better than most people
different. Some learn esoteries, as Nanos do. because you are. Your ancestors were part Confusingly, in some
Others hone their combat abilities. Some Jacks of a genetic experiment, and your genes are cultures, the term “jack”
do both, gaining more skills and improving at, superior to those of the average human. is an insult, while in
well, a little bit of everything. You’re smarter, stronger, more dexterous, and others it’s a compliment.
able to learn mental and physical skills more
JACK BACKGROUND quickly. Folks might call you charismatic,
blessed, divinely gifted, or just plain lucky.
You might hear people say that a Jack is just They probably said the same thing about your
the typical everyman (or everyperson), but parents, their parents, and so on. Some of
don’t believe it. You aren’t like anyone else. You your genetic advantage might even grant you
can do things that no one else can do because low-level psychic abilities that greatly resemble
you do so many things. You’re a warrior, you’re the “miracles” performed by Nanos.
a thief, you’re a diplomat, you’re a sage, and
you’re a spy. Advancement: You might be a superhuman,
but you’re still limited by what you learn and
When you choose Jack as your character experience. Therefore, you must continue to
type, come up with an explanation for how you train and study. Practice is the key—it just
learned your wide variety of talents. Choose comes easier for you than it does for others.
one of the three options described below. It
will provide the foundation of your background When you improve, it’s because you have
and give you an idea of how you can improve. honed your natural abilities or unlocked
The GM can use this information to develop heretofore unknown genetic traits.
adventures and quests that are specific to your
character and play a role in your advancement.

45

Player intrusion, page 30 SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS A COBBLED JUMBLE
You learned things the hard way—on your You’re the product of generations of eugenics,
own. Adaptive and canny, you express the true bolstered by minor cybernetic enhancements,
strengths of humanity in your ability to adjust a few small psychic abilities, and the lessons
quickly to circumstances, pick up new tricks of secret masters. In other words, you don’t
to succeed, and ultimately survive when you have one source of power or one explanation
probably should be dead. for your abilities—you have many, and as far
as you’re concerned, that’s the best formula for
Most likely, you grew up on your own, perhaps success. You don’t put all your eggs in a single
on the streets, in the wilderness, or amid proverbial basket. To really get ahead, you
ruins. The details don’t really matter. What’s must rely on multiple strengths.
important is that you taught yourself how to
overcome whatever challenges came along. You’ve always got an unexpected trick up your
sleeve or a fallback contingency. For example, you
Advancement: Just keep on keeping on. You might have subdermal implants that make you
got to where you are by observing, learning, more resilient, your training might let you sense
adapting, and adopting. To advance, you need a foe’s attack before he strikes, and your psychic
to do more of the same. Constant wariness abilities could allow you to push your enemy’s
coupled (somewhat paradoxically) with blade slightly to the left so you can just barely
constant curiosity allows you to hone your dodge it. In the end, you’re simply hard to hurt.
skills and new capabilities.
Advancement: You have chosen every path,
so you must travel each of them. Training and
drugs fuel your body and mind, brain implants
grant you additional skills, and devices hidden in
your palms give you fresh abilities. Advancement
means new teachers and technicians, strange
substances and radiations, and an ever-
increasing need to discover the secrets of the
past that will prove essential for your future.

JACK PLAYER INTRUSIONS

When playing a Jack, you can spend 1 XP to use
one of the following player intrusions, provided
the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.

Familiar Insight: You know this person (or
heard about them somewhere) well enough to
give insight about their motives or intentions
and how best to convince them to see things
your way. You know the right words, posturing,
inflection, amount of emotional manipulation,
or even what sort of joke or agreeable complaint
might sway them. This can convince a neutral
person to take your side, or a hostile one to
hear you out for a little while longer.

Inspirational Recall: You recall an important
detail from a previous encounter (perhaps
something you don’t even remember noticing
at the time) that suggests a successful course of
action for your current situation. This might be
recognizing a password hidden in an innocuous
code or riddle, realizing you saw a suspicious
individual near a crime scene, overhearing an
important conversation between two NPCs, or
understanding that an NPC’s subtle glance or
gesture had additional connotations indicating
what you should do.

Lucky Break: Something unexpected
happens that is to your advantage. A rope
your opponent is hanging from might snap,

46

CHARACTER TYPE

the person you’re debating in front of an mundane. Some tricks are constant, ongoing Jacks are able to take
influential Aeon Priest might trip or forget effects; others are specific actions that usually the best of all abilities
what they were going to say, or something that cost points from one of your stat Pools. and fuse them into a
was supposed to last only a round or two lasts style all their own.
a little while longer. Choose two of the tricks described below.
You can’t choose the same trick more than Poison applied to a
JACK STAT POOLS Pool Starting Value once unless its description says otherwise. weapon lasts for one
10 successful attack. If
Stat 10 • Trained in Armor: You can wear armor for you want to poison
Might 10 long periods of time without tiring and someone else with the
Speed can compensate for slowed reactions from weapon after that,
Intellect wearing armor. You can wear any kind of you need to apply a
armor. You reduce the Speed Effort cost for new dose of poison.
You get 6 additional points to divide among wearing armor by 1. Enabler.
your stat Pools however you wish. Although technically
• Create Deadly Poison (3+ Intellect points): esoteries are Nano
JACK TIERS You create one dose of a level 2 poison that abilities, Jacks often refer
inflicts 5 points of damage. You can apply to their more clearly
FIRST-TIER JACK this poison to a weapon, food, or drink as supernatural tricks of the
part of the action of creating it. In addition to trade as esoteries as well.
First-tier Jacks have the following abilities: the normal options for using Effort, you can
Effort: Your Effort is 1. choose to use Effort to increase the level of the Inability, page 101
Jack of All Trades: You have an Edge of 1 for one poison; each level of Effort used in this way
increases the poison level by 1. If unused, the Your character’s
stat of your choice: Might, Speed, or Intellect. poison loses its potency after one hour. Action. starting equipment is
You have an Edge of 0 for the other two stats. as important as your
• Critter Companion: A level 1 creature character’s beginning
Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time. accompanies you and follows your skills. Learn more about
Weapons: You can use light and medium instructions. This creature is no larger than what you carry and what
weapons without penalty. You have an inability a large cat (about 20 pounds, or 9 kg) and it’s used for in Chapter
with heavy weapons; your attacks with heavy is normally some sort of domesticated 7: Equipment, page 93.
weapons are hindered. species. You and the GM must work out the
Skills: Choose one skill (other than attacks details of your creature, and you’ll probably Machine control
or defense) in which you aren’t already trained. make rolls for it in combat or when it takes implant, page 282
You are trained in this skill. actions. The critter companion acts on your
Flex Skill: At the beginning of each day, turn. As a level 1 creature, it has a target Visage changer, page 288
choose one task (other than attacks or number of 3 and a 3 health, and it inflicts
defense) on which you will concentrate. For 1 point of damage. Its movement is based Oddities, page 304
the rest of that day, you’re trained in that task. on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so
You can’t use this ability with a skill you’re on). If your critter companion dies, you can LOOKING FOR
already trained in to become specialized. search an urban or wild environment for 1d6 Descriptors, page 53
Starting Equipment: You start with clothing, days to find a new companion. Enabler.
two weapons, light armor, an explorer’s pack, 47
a pack of light tools, two cyphers (chosen • Face Morph (2+ Intellect points): You alter your
for you by the GM), one oddity (chosen by features and coloration for one hour, hiding
the GM), and 8 shins. Before selecting your your identity or impersonating someone. This
weapons, armor, and other gear, you might affects only your face, not the rest of your body.
want to wait until after you’ve chosen your You can’t perfectly duplicate someone else’s
tricks of the trade, descriptor, and focus. face, but you can be accurate enough to fool
Default Starting Cyphers and Oddity: Your someone who knows that person casually. You
GM may provide you with starting cyphers have an asset in all tasks involving disguise.
and an oddity. Otherwise, you begin with the You must apply a level of Effort to be able to
following. impersonate a different species. Action.
• Cyphers: machine control implant, visage
• Fleet of Foot (1+ Speed points): You can move
changer a short distance as part of another action.
• Oddity: Small square cage that puts whatever You can move a long distance as your entire
action for a turn. If you apply a level of Effort
single creature is inside it into stasis to this ability, you can move a long distance
Tricks of the Trade: You have a wide range of and make an attack as your entire action for a
abilities that keep people guessing. Some of turn, but the attack is hindered. Enabler.
these tricks of the trade are technically esoteries,
using the numenera, while others are more • Late Inspiration (3 Intellect points): You retry
a task you failed within the past one minute,
using the same difficulty and modifiers,
except this time you have an asset on the

You can only have one task. If this retry fails, you can’t use this weapon, food, or drink as part of the action of
phased pocket at a time. ability to retry it again. Enabler. creating it. In addition to the normal options
• Link Senses (2 Intellect points): You touch a for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort
It's like a concealed willing creature and link its senses to yours to increase the level of the poison; each level
pocket in your clothing, for one minute. At any time during that of Effort used in this way increases the poison
except it goes to a tiny duration, you can concentrate to see, hear, level by 1. If unused, the poison loses its
and smell what that creature is experiencing, potency after one hour. Action.
private dimension. Its instead of using your own senses. If you or • Encouraging Presence (2 Intellect points):
opening is big enough the creature move out of long range, the For one minute, allies within short range
for your fist. The pocket connection is broken. Action to initiate. gain an asset on defense rolls. Action.
and everything inside • Phased Pocket (2+ Intellect points): You • Illusory Duplicate (2 Intellect points): You
of it moves with you. connect yourself for one hour to a small create a single image of yourself within
space that is out of phase and moves with immediate range. The image looks like
Feiren Quevas is a well- you. You can access this space as if it were a you as you are now (including how you
known Jack who sought convenient pocket or bag, but nobody else can are dressed). The image can move (for
the legendary three keys perceive or access the space unless they have example, you could make it walk or attack),
the ability to interact with transdimensional but it can’t move more than an immediate
of the Silver Door, the areas. The space can hold up to 1 cubic foot. distance from where you created it. The
only entrance to the The space is a part of you, so you can’t use illusion includes sound and smell. It lasts
it to carry more cyphers than your limit, a for ten minutes and changes as you direct
massive numenera object detonation cypher activated inside the space (no concentration is needed). If you move
known as the Mushroom harms you, and so on. When the connection beyond short range of the illusion, it
due to its shape. Although ends, anything in the space falls out. For each vanishes. Action to create.
2 additional Intellect points you spend, the • Intense Interaction (3 Intellect points): You
he never possessed all pocket lasts an additional hour. Enabler. gain an asset on intimidating, persuading, and
three keys at once, he • Vanish (2 Intellect points): You become influencing people for ten minutes. Action.
did manage to uncover invisible for a short amount of time. While • Restful Presence: Creatures who make a
an artifact known as the invisible, you have an asset on stealth recovery roll within short range of you add
Red Glove, which could and Speed defense tasks. The invisibility +1 to their roll. Enabler.
transmute any material ends at the end of your next turn, or if • Skill With Defense: Choose one type of
you do something to reveal your presence defense task in which you are not already
touched to vapor. or position—attacking, using an ability, trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are
moving a large object, and so on. Action. trained in defense tasks of that type. Unlike
48 most tricks of the trade, you can select
SECOND-TIER JACK this trick up to three times. Each time you
select it, you must choose a different type
Second-tier Jacks have the following abilities: of defense task. Enabler.
Skills: You are trained in one task of your
THIRD-TIER JACK
choosing (other than attacks or defense). If
you choose a task you’re already trained in, Third-tier Jacks have the following abilities:
you become specialized in that task. You can’t Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three
choose a task you’re already specialized in.
cyphers at a time.
Tricks of the Trade: Choose one of the Skills: You are trained in one task of your
following tricks (or a trick from a lower tier) to
add to your repertoire. Instead of selecting a choosing (other than attacks or defense). If
trick, you can select a lower-tier Glaive fighting you choose a task you’re already trained in,
move or Nano esotery. In addition, you can you become specialized in that task. You can’t
replace one of your first-tier tricks with a choose a task you’re already specialized in.
different first-tier trick.
Tricks of the Trade: Choose one of the
• Augment Cypher (2+ Intellect points): When following tricks (or a trick from a lower tier) to
you activate a cypher, add +1 to its level. In add to your repertoire. Instead of selecting a
addition to the normal options for using Effort, trick, you can select a lower-tier Glaive fighting
you can choose to use Effort to increase the move or Nano esotery. In addition, you can
level of the cypher by an additional +1 (per replace one of your lower-tier tricks with a
level of Effort applied). You can’t increase the different trick from the same lower tier.
cypher’s level above 10. Enabler.
• Far Hands (2 Intellect points): You can
• Create Debilitating Poison (3+ Intellect points): use your tricks of the trade from one
You create one dose of a level 2 poison that range category farther away than normal:
hinders the poisoned creature’s actions for immediate becomes short, short becomes
ten minutes. You can apply this poison to a long, long becomes very long. Using the