![Numenera-Ninth-World-Guidebook-2[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ymPH4Y1.jpg "Numenera-Ninth-World-Guidebook-2[1].jpg")
What does /tg/ think of Numenera?
Started a new campaign last week. Have 3 dungeons ready to go depending what hooks the party picks up.
>>43894593
We have threads about twice a week, general consensus is that it's good but doesn't advertise enough to build a big fanbase.
If you lurked, you would notice.
>>43894593
My friend plays in a game and has described stuff to me and I've watched two online groups play.
I can't make heads or tails out of it. The gist I have is 'Game is set in the far flung future, players find ancient tech and do stuff with it'
>>43894593
In italy numenera wins the award for the best 2015 rpg
>>43894817
At GenCon in the US it won the same/similar awards.
It's most popular in Spain, though.
>>43894898
Here( in Italy) we love Monte Cook. Numnera and The strange had an italian translation, d&d 5th didn t
>>43894966
Since when is WotC worse than GW?
>>43894757
The entire setting is set a couple billion of years in the future and relies on the law "technology that has advanced sufficiently is, in the eyes of a beholder, indistinguishable from magic." What a civilization a thousand generations past would call a "blaster," you call a "fire lance."
Fun stuff. I have a buddy who wants to run it in a world where pretty much all the major science fiction franchises came and went so that he can shove their stuff in as artifacts where he wants.
Meh, not my thing. Fighter types get hosed again, no combat XP seems kinda weird to me, most of the fluff is just kinda dull, and the tone seems really schizophrenic.
I've enjoyed both playing and running Numenera.
>>43900123
>Fighter types get hosed again.
The games reliance on cypher and artifacts make this false. Nano's can consistently doa few special things, but everyone's doing all sorts of utility shit all the time, and Glaives can easily power through the same challenges that will destroy nanos.
>>43894593
>Have 3 dungeons ready to go depending what hooks the party picks up.
We started playing Numenera last night , I'm playing A rugged nano who talks to machines and we also have a glaive and another nano. I wanted to take Onslaught and/or Ward although I though those were a little bit cookie cutter. But the other nano took them first (he's a new player). I chose to be different and took Scan and Push. I imagine my character to be kinda fighty but mechanically I'm probably the weakest of the bunch (I rolled like a god though and dealt quite a lot of damage with my light weapons). My esoteries are not very useful in a fight also. There are just zero options to make a different fighty nano then taking onslaught and ward! Do you think there's a problem? Should I ask my GM to change my esoteries? Maybe change my character type to Jack?
>>43900123
>Fighter type gets hosed again
Yeah, just like Fighting Man gets hosed in Basic when you don't give XP for killing monsters.
Oh wait, that's wrong faggot!
>>43906750
>when you don't give XP for killing monsters.
That relies on the DM deliberately removing that from the system.
>>43906545
Look into the Character options book, and yes, talk to your GM about something custom if you're dissatisfied.
>>43906757
Default in Numenera is that you do not gain XP only from killing a monster.
>>43894593
Oh look it's this thread again.
>>43906819
>Default in Numenera is that you do not gain XP only from killing a monster.
I was talking about Basic.
>>43906845
Well, that's an unrelated and random side comment to a post in the thread, so the only thing I can muster is "Yes, and?"
>>43906828
>Secret Octopus handshake.
>>43906902
>Well, that's an unrelated and random side comment to a post in the thread, so the only thing I can muster is "Yes, and?"
Why the fuck did you post this waste of data, when you could have just posted the second half of your comment?
>>43906907
I'm curious if you can see the irony in responding with an even larger waste of data.
>>43906923
I'll copy-paste the Wikipedia article on Transmetropolitan in here, see if I don'tget banned for spamming.
>>43906545
The character options PDF is great. Also, onslaught 'looks' vastly different depending on your focus, and some of Tue foci give offensive powers.
But yeah, onslaught is great and every nano should have it unless they have a well planned alternative.
Since your focus is a non-fighty one, then you really arent going to be the fightiest of nanos. If being fighty is what you want then you should absolutely change your esoteries around. Changing to Jack could be nice, iirc you can keep scan.
>>43894593
It's really hard to find pictures for something that is the most blatant science fantasy I have ever seen.
>>43909048
Did you try searching for science fantasy? Or early 80's space fantasy?
>>43894704
>general consensus is that it's good but doesn't advertise enough to build a big fanbase
You wish.
>>43909048
https://www.google.com/search?q=moebius&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEmtuLyrjJAhXKcT4KHc_bCPIQ_AUIBygB&biw=1366&bih=705#
>>43894593
>What does /tg/ think of Numenera?
Poor man's Dark Sun without the Dark or the Sun made by a guy who's famous for being a shit developer.
>>43909260
They're called designer's, anon. Your /v/ is showing.
>>43909222
It has precedence, I have seen a helluva lot more positive things and posters talking about this game than AW, or GURPS, or 13th Age, or most games.
Three weeks ago ish there was a 300+, 80+ poster thread on Numenera that didn't have any trolling and caught my attention.
So he probably concludes correctly; either this game is well-regarded, or it has an abnormally high amount of fans on /tg/ compared to other, less mainstream titles
>>43909357
No they're not
>>43909613
The credits page in my Cypher System Rulebook begs to differ.
>>43909613
Not him, so take your impotent rage elsewhere, but try to not be /v/ while you visit our board. You can continue being wrong if you want, though.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developer
>>43909260
Honestly gamers are the biggest faggots on this site at least the pony and pokemon fags stick to their containment boards
>>43894817
>In italy numenera wins the award for the best 2015 rpg
The italian awards are a joke. And the fact that there are basically two publishers should make that clear.
The concept is neat. I made one of my favorite characters in Numenera.
However, I hate the game because there was this one guy in my playgroup that forced us to play it. Even if we met for non-RPG stuff, it all came back to Numera.
Fucker even interrupted my win streak when we were playing fighting games to bring out Numenera.
>>43897893
WotC isn't allowing localizations for its own reasons that have nothing to do with the popularity of the game. It's not that there isn't anybody here who would like to do the translation, it's WotC that doesn't want to.
>>43909530
It doesn't have a lot of trolling because nobody cares enough to troll.
Numenera is an OK system with some good ideas and some stupid ideas. If it wasn't made by Monte Cook nobody would have known about it.
>>43909792
The most hardcore fanboys can ruin literally anything.
>>43909758
I think you mean /pol/.
>>43909260
Why is Severian such a dick?
>>43904499
Are we just going to ignore the fact that Glaives have the worst cypher progression in the game?
>>43909953
One less cypher for one more edge. (Which is a pretty good trade.) It's also the exact same progression as the Jack.
>>43909953
Yes?
>>43909901
/Pol/ is not as common as the faggots from /v/
>>43910056
Jacks also get most of the Glaive abilities, some Nano ones, plus some of their own. Why would you ever pick a Glaive over a Jack or Nano? It seems like a glaring trap option.
>>43910188
>Three classes
>One is a trap
Thanks Monte
>>43910736
The worst part is that people will defend this kind of bullshit.
>>43910188
Its really not. Jack is kind of the shittiest since it doesn't get all the nano esoteries, but is a lighter and weaker class then the glaive.
>>43894593
I like the general concept but don't like the execution.
>>43910188
Jack is the shittiest because you have to optimize as half-Glaive or half-Nano. Glaive is kind of the strongest because of high Might plus cyphers but they're mostly close.
>>43909953
By god!
Next you'll be telling us about the other ways that the classes aren't identical!
>>43912791
Classes is a bit of a misnomer, calling the Cypher System Type's "classes" instead of "small packages" is like calling Motherfuckin Space Crab Truckers a Crunch-heavy game.
>>43913383
>Space Crab Truckers
>Space
>>43910188
>>43910736
>>43911029
>>43911789
I think we've just disproven that (Jack || Glavie) is a trap option, unless both of them are trap options
>>43914764
They're only a trap option if you convince yourself that the small suite of powers nanos get makes them superior to jacks and glaives, which has not been my experience.
>>43914764
>>43915035
It comes from lack of knowledge.
People who are used to playing only DnD might convince themselves that Nano's are the best with a cursory glance.
When to people who have played, it's like an outsider going "Look at how many hit points fighters get?! Why would you ever play a druid?"
In reality, they're all able to be built very similarly, since it's about 1/4 of a characters suite of abilities.
It's about 20% Descriptor, 25% Type, another 15% your choices in the Type, and 40% Focus.
Then in actual play, your true scope of abilities comes with what cyphers you're hoarding having a huge impact.I still think Glaives are too stronk, they are more applicable in most situations with the double edge and the way damage is dealt. A newbie GM will not realize the alternative damage available and may not be able to deal with optimized Glaives when starting out.
My problem with Glaives is that their abilities are boring. Though character options helps that a bit.
Broken Lord* Glaive who Siphons Power
* as per Diruk from Character Options
Might: 15/3
Speed: 12/1
Intellect: 7/0
Bash, No Need for Weapons
>>43917489
That is a damn hardy fighter who has 3 might and 1 speed edge at first level! Yow!
Your GM will never have some ancient console threaten you again.
Siphons Power wants for more synergy, I would adjust it as a GM.
It's final tier ability is very awesome, but prior to that it's mostly for sadistically leeching every machine, captive, and docile creature you come across for power.
I'd probably add some more utility to it, such as boosting it's healing rate, and definitely not having to touch people to Share the Power.
I feel like the designer was too afraid to make it overpowered, so he fell short.
>>43918278
Broken Lord/Diruk also get 3 armour for free. Though they can't wear anything else. I actually have no idea what's powerful in Numenera I was just trying to build a Broken Lord in the system.
They shouldn't be able to heal naturally either, but I couldn't find a way to shoehorn that in.
>>43918278
He has a weakness in speed tasks (Notably, this'd be dodging.) Initiative (So, a double weakness.) and social interactions. So, a bit balanced out.
>>43918494
Look at Fuses Flesh with Machine (Or whatever it's called) Which requires manual repai. Just have your DM give you that. Take a narrow skill to make up for it. (Something a Broken Lord would have.)
Although, there's no Dust in Numenera, so, not sure how you'd work around with that without doing a custom setting.
>>43918494
As well as Fuses Flesh with Machine from the corebook you could look at the Artificially Intelligent descriptor from the Technology Compendium.
Pic related.
Checked. Corebook focus is called Fuses Flesh And Steel.
>>43918692
>He has a weakness
Yeah the Diruk template has a lot of inabilities.
>Look at Fuses Flesh with Machine
Since the focus is such a big deal I'd prefer not to lock all BL character to one focus (not all of them can do the power drain after all).
I'd probably just add it as yet another disadvantage in the race descriptor.
I'm basically using Numenera to run a EL inspired campaign. Since they are both weird fantasy a lot of stuff can cross-over pretty easily.
>>43918881
I don't think the settings reliance on dust will translate as easily into the Cypher system, but best of luck to you.
>>43918786
Where does one get all these pdfs?
I think I've just found myself a new weekend RPG.
>>43918908
Dust is just unusual money for the most part. There's not really any need for special rules for it.
>>43918964
It's also used to fuel magic.
So is it possible to make this happen?
Source is All you need is Kill.
Think power armoured guy gets caught in perpetual time loop of battle where he's constantly fighting, dying, being thrown back, but retaining all his XP.
Crummy ranged weapons, awesome close combattoooo
>>43919332
As a GM, yeah, sure, you could definitely do 'Groundhog day with Experience' as a campaign.
As a player, not really, not as an individual. It's the type of theme that either needs to be worked into the whole campaign, or something you need to work *really* closely with your GM on.
>>43919465
I was just more wondering in lines with the tech. Is something resembling powered armour a thing that is reasonably attainable?
Standard loadout is a "Pilebunker" (gauntlet that uses an explosive charge to ram a spike for CC attacks) or fuck-off choppy axe, and something akin to a bolter from 40k.
The setting is easy enough for me to handle, I'm just wondering if there's enough tech to go around.
>>43919245
Yeah but that can be handwaved much like the nano is in Numenera.
>>43918944
There's a few torrents around.
>>43918944
RPGNow, if purchase is your idea.
>>43921404
I'm a fan of trying before buying.
If I love it, i'll sure as hell support it.
>>43919677
Are you asking if you can get these things as a player, or if you can give them to your players as a GM?
As a player, power-armor is pretty much a no at the start. Your GM may give you a home-brewed artifact down the line, or you might master the use of armor, so that you can walk around in armor made out of cobbled together power-tech.
>Pilebunker
If it's a light weapon it does 2 damage and is easier to hit with. If it's a medium weapon it does 4 damage. If it's an explosive charge piece of technology that rams a spike through future armor, it's an artifact.
>Fuck-off choppy axe
Medium weapon. Or heavy (Which takes 2 hands.)
>Something akin to a grenade-launching heavy pistol.
Artifact that can be loaded with cyphers.
Any concept that relies on a consistent type of technology is going to require a homebrew. If you want guaranteed access to these things, you could trade XP for them. 3 XP for each artifact, IIRC. (For comparison, a skill costs 4 XP, and is one of the four steps you need to take to go up a level.)
There's also taking pre-existing mechanics and refluffing them, which is completely within the spirit of the game.
>>43921827
Sounds great! Thanks anon.
Yeah, I figured i'd kick them off after a few rewinds so their gear will be mostly broken and in need of repairs, their ammunition will be low and their memory hazy.
Might kick them off at level 2 to represent that.
Great idea for the guns though! The axe is 2 handed, so heavy sounds suitable.
GM Mode engaged.
>>43921941
Do you want to specifically do Numenera, or do you just like the Cypher system?
>>43921985
First of all, new system. I like trying out new things.
Second of all, apocalyptic "what's all this old shit" scenarios are always cool. Always wanted to do something along those lines.
Being able to throw players in with little to no backstory to how and why they're randomly in a deserted wasteland is perfect.
>>43922518
Okay, so, whatever their time thing is, it's messed up and sent them too far back?Or forward
>>43922567
I'm thinking they start off the campaign mid battle, getting their shit wrecked.
Standard plot start: You died. Oh wait, no actually you didn't. But wait, everything's fucking destroyed and you're in a desolate wasteland. Oh actually, you're not. There are inhabitants, but none of them are human. Collect resources and repair your stuff, jump back in time, relive the battle and try to change the war so humanity wins. If you die? VOIP, back to the future where everything's fucked up again.
Think Majora's Mask meets Fallout?
>>43922518
Heavy armor is +3 in Numenera, and has some penalties associated with it. So Power Armor would probably be +4, with no penalties. However, since this is Numenera and everything is crumbling, all technological artifacts have a chance of 'depletion'.
Have the players roll 1/ce battle to see if their armor depletes. Somewhere from 1 out of 10 to 1 out of 100 depending on how likely you want it to be. If it depletes, it's Heavy Armor, and if they aren't trained in using armor then they're going to be in for a rough time.
>Bolter
Most ranged weapons don't really go past medium (4 damage). Grenades (Which you'll find in the cyphers in the back, under the name 'detonation') do about 6 damage, with an aoe that's roughly ten feet. (Hit everything in an 'immediate' radius from it landed.) These'll automatically destroy most low level threats, en masse.
Have it risk a depletion roll every time it fires a detonation.
Also, some of the character generation stuff in Numenera assumes the characters are relatively native to the setting, or that they'll at least naturally fit into the motifs. You might want to look into the Cypher System Rulebook, which has options that are more applicable to sci-fi soldiers.
http://muletorrent.com/cypher-system-rulebook-pdf-t10997445.html
It's completely compatible with all the stuff in Numenera.
>>43894757
I like to describe it as "if Destiny was good."
>>43900062
What you call a 'blaster' they call a 'industrial laser used as a part inside their mirror-cased engines to use Light-Power to turn their pistons, which is turned on by getting the finger crank to rotate at a certain volume and making sure the focusing lenses are aligned right.'
You will never* know why you have a bar with a tiny crank on the end that makes a laser, but you know that it can be used as a weapon.
*Depending on the artifact, the player, and the GM.
>>43922623
>>43922733
Also, it should be noted for power balancing reasons that a threat deals damage equal to its tier. A tier four threat is a pretty credible issue. (4 of them are a manageable, but straining encounter for a team of tier PC's.) Your power armor will make them immune to most regular creatures. They can still be hurt by more unorthdox methods (Psionic brain blasts, temporal attacks that attack their speed, etc.) But bandits, bears, etc, not a challenge.So, if you want them to have to worry about those things, then +4 Armor is too much armor.
>>43923038
Should say team of tier 1 PC's.
>>43923038
>>43922733
>>43922567
Came back and saw all this stuff,
thanks anons!
Managed to track down a pdf so you can share in fun time-shenanigans murder storytime as thanks.
Anyone find the extra classes in Strange and Cypher to be useful in Numenera? Spinner from Strange and Explorer from Cypher look like they would fit it.
>>43923638
This is probably my favorite novella.
>>43909781
>2 publisher
Serpentarium
Raven Distribution
Wyrd
Giochi uniti
And the indie ones( black box, mondi selvaggi etc etc)
>>43924507
Serpentarium is basically indie, as it only has their own creator-owned games (Sine Requie and the new one).
Raven is mostly a distributor for older stuff. And in fact, Wyrd and Giochi Uniti are not too far away, even if they do translate some of the new stuff.
But even if they are 4 instead of 2, it doesn't change my point. The industry is tiny, and the awards are a joke.
>>43924574
Raven distribution has a lot of indie: #UrbanHeroes, NamelessLand, Anima e Sangue.
And a lot of games like Lone Wolf, MiniGames, Kult and all the White Wolf games.
Serpentarium has Alba di Cthulhu and Sine Requie( who wins the Best Rpg of the year in 2011, an indie game).
Wyrd has Pathfinder, The Strange, Numenera and Mouse Guard.
Giochi Uniti Dark Heresy, One Ring, Rogue Trader, Trail Of Cthulhu, CoC, Warhammer fantasy Roleplay, Pathfinder, DEATHWATCH, Anima RPG, Black Crusade, GIRSA etc etc
Fate Italia
Savage Worlds Italia
WoftC Italia
Narattiva( DungeonWorld etc etc)
Black Box( eldritch pulse)
EtcEtc...
for you, who deserves the b(rpg)oty 2015?
>>43924702
What's your point? Are you trying to prove that the italian RPG industry is not tiny by citing a ton of tiny games and two producers/distributors that hold all the big properties?
>>43924574
I don't think you comprehend overseas licensing.
>>43924758
Oh. Yeah, good point. The trading Card Game industry in the U.S. is tiny too, it's basically only owned by Konami and Wizards of the coast. Both of which are tiny companies owning tiny properties. Even its tiny rpg industry is tiny. Actually, every country has a tiny rpg industry so all their tiny achievements are tiny and meaningless.words, what do they mean?
>>43924967
>I don't think you comprehend overseas licensing.
I still don't get what the other guy is trying to say. He corrected me about the number of publishers in Italy, possibly out of sheer persnicketiness? Good for him I guess?
That doesn't change that game awards in Italy are not representative of anything since there's four guys running and it's mostly a political thing among publishers.
>>43924998
Ok so some folks here publish RPG books. OK. How many books do you think are sold, outside of Pathfinder?
>>43924998
I mean the fucking Drizzit RPG was one of the runner-ups for Best Game 2015. Come on.
The character creation system is interesting but i don't see why we should chose between three class when you have the Jack that is so overpowered that the Glaive and Nano look useless
>>43925019
Game Awards =/= Publisher Awards.
Do you think movies or actors don't win awards, just Universal Studios or Fox?
>>43925032
Easily hundreds of thousands if you count them all combined.
Paizo sells the most, enough to maintain a huge company. WotC sells almost as much. There is an Enormous RPG industry. The Cypher System has made about 2+ million from kickstarter and sold god knows how many other books, lets not even talk about Fate.
It'd be impossible if it wasn't for other countries like Spain, or I guess Italy.
>>43925076
The Jack is like a red mage, weaker than Glaive and less versatile than Nano. Does that make red mage bad? Nope.
See: >>43915906
Also, see the rest of the thread for the full answer.
>>43925085
Looking, how the fuck have Cypher System games won over things like DnD and Pathfinder?
I thought the Ennies were fan voted, yet there is no way there are more strange/numenera fans than pathfinder.
>>43925134
Yeah, but Pathfinder fans don' give a shit about EnWorldlike any sensible person.
>>43925149
Neither do most of the Ennie voters.
They're mostly comprised of GenCon attendees. Which is sponsored and full of Pathfinder players.
Ho ho. You know nothing.
>>43925085
>Game Awards =/= Publisher Awards.
>Do you think movies or actors don't win awards, just Universal Studios or Fox?
Do you know how Lucca's best game works?
>Easily hundreds of thousands if you count them all combined.
I'm talking about Italy here, not worldwide. And when D&D was still translated, it sold in the low thousands of copies (again, in Italy, not worldwide). I don't see Numenera going a lot beyond that.
"Popular RPG in Italy" means 5000 copies sold tops, and "Award winner in Italy" means absolutely nothing.
>>43925201
>And when D&D was still translated, it sold in the low thousands of copies (again, in Italy, not worldwide).
Citation? Wizards of the Coast does not release ANY sales data and never has, so I'm curious if it's Italian equivalent does.
>>43925160
>>43925149
It looks like the only things allowed to run are products released that year.
Numenera came in second place a lot of categories to PF stuff that year.
And it has judges. So it's probably not just mob voting.
http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/about-us/2014-ennie-awards-nominees/
>>43925201
... How do Itlian awards ceremonies work? Do they only give awards to publishers? Are Numenera and Pathfinder not able to compete for awards?
>43925234
The Italian licensee was a small, family-run print publisher and distributor. Average print runs for books in Italy are around 3500 copies. I don't have the exact numbers, but it's not hard to eyeball it.
>>43927666
You don't see how an award in an industry where there are less than 10 entities, where most people have worked at some point for everyone else, is going to be led more by favors and clientele than quality?
>>43894898
I'm spanish and is the first time i hear this . Nobady i know play this game . But maybe is because is not popular where i live .
>>43928152
Coulda just said it works the same way everything else does in Italy.
>>43909901
>Why is Severian such a dick?
Because he'sunreliable.
*ba-dump-tish*
>>43922623
>. Collect resources and repair your stuff, jump back in time, relive the battle and try to change the war so humanity wins
Wasn't that the plot of that tom cruise movie?
>>43925234
>Citation?
Sounds like that guy is just pulling numbers out of his ass. There's no sales data for italian D&D.
>>43894593
>What does /tg/ think of Numenera?
I think the game is gonna be great
>>43930226
What? Nonsense. You can totally eyeball this if you know the secret mafia knock that they use to rig their tradeshows.
>>43930164
Yeah, the Tom Cruise movie is based on All You Need is Kill. My weeb roommate was pretty shocked when he saw the trailers.
I think I'll run a Numenera game with nothing but Moebius's illustrations.
>>43930387
>>43930408
The little hands at the bottom are the best part.
I can't...even describe this, let alone explain it.
>>43930438
Stop it, you're blowing my tiny little mind.
>>43930226
>>43930326
Ok, smartasses. Humor me. How many copies of Numenera do you think were sold in Italy?
>>43930059
Thank you for that Anon, I laughed.
>>43930439
There's like a whole Numenera adventure in this picture.
>>43930456
Well, since it has a human face and human hands, you can surmise that the ruins and technology we, most likely, built by people. The moat around it seems to be a reflective metal, and not water. Although it could just as easily be a liquid that happens to repel solids.
How will the players interact with that glowing pyramid? Is it an oracle that can talk about the future? Does it remember distant parts of the past that'll lead them to treasure, or know something about how to use an aspect of the Numenera? Is it a person that you can have a conversation with? Can it even talk? Is it just a statue? Are the hands static? If there's a puzzle in the temple, can the position of the hands be used as a tool or a clue?
>>43930439
The tracks looks like they are made from shoddy wood, which means that the people there built them, and they are not relics.
Man, this guy loved pillars and crystals.
Don't blame him, those are both cool things.
>>43930635
>MFW he illustrated Dante's Inferno and did some pretty good porn too
>>43894593
To me it was a huge disappointment. I was expecting something like Wolfe's 'New Sun' or Zelazny's 'Lord of Light', science fiction with a veneer of fantasy telling stories uniquely different from those normally associated with both genres. Ancient gods turn out to be aliens, a hidden world of the past veiled by obscure myth.
Instead I got D&D, with all references to 'magic' replaced with 'tech'. Monte Cook has made a setting so bland and boring it almost crosses over to become impressive in its complete lack of soul. There are ancient artifacts (whose only purpose is buffing players), long lists of uninteresting locales (that could fit seamlessly into any generic fantasy setting) and tons of dungeons to explore.
The setting's past is stated to be vast, yet it is also completely irrelevant. All ancient artifacts are reskinned '+1 something of something', all ancient being are monsters to beat up. It has nothing to do with science fiction, it's a dungeon crawl game with elves and mages replaced with aliens and (urgh...) 'tech'. Really, the entirely ridiculous treatment of science as generic do-everything 'tech' almost pisses me off the most. Instead of using this golden opportunity to think up awesome ways for a barbarian society to interact with the remnants of its highly developed past is entirely wasted.
>>43930721
Somewhat agree, it doesn't have the layered pseudo-history of New Sun or the depth of Viriconium, but it's tough to describe a whole world rather than a plot like in the novels. To me it resembles Viriconium in that it's basically a medieval (Renaissance) society with ancient tech thrown in for spice, like the baan blades.
Maybe he should have written it as a travelogue instead, to give it more authenticity.
Here's my ancient artifact...are these tentacles edible? Wait, what are these strange moon symbols on it...?
>>43930721
Setting really works for me, since it's got a good mixture of tightly defined areas to use as examples, and places that have far less to them, allowing me to use them as easy springboards. It's focus on the present works a lot for me, because I'm not looking to present my players with a unified history of the past. I want everything they come across to no only be a mystery, but a mystery that doesn't have anything to do with last weeks mystery... and if they do have a connection, I want that to stand out.
Artifacts are mostly *not* '+1 to whatever's' However, their presentation is fairly dry and non-descript, which means they rely heavily on the GM to make them interesting.
Numenera is a system that rely's on the GM a lot.
Rules are bad and the class balance is fucked (Glaives are boring pieces of shit that can only fight and nothing else, Nanos get all the cool out of combat stuff, and Jacks have way too much copy-paste going on and not enough unique abilities) but the setting books are good and are definitely worth a look at.
What's the deal/origin story with The Major in Moebius's works? I only know him from The Airtight Garage. Would /co/ know?
>>43930721
Setting is bad, but the part about artifacts is untrue. Tons of shit in the book does all kinds of insane stuff, you're telling a bold lie unless you're saying things like
>+1 to ability of seeing molecular level detail
>+1 to ability to teleport
>+1 to ability to turn anything inside out
Where 0 and 1 are some binary state.
There are ancient artifacts whose only purpose is running cities, making strange nanomachines, baffling players, and sometimes yes, buffing them.
>>43932244
Not that guy, but he's half right. Quite a few artifacts give +x damage, +1 edge, or +5 pool.
>>43932244
All the items are either a) useless both for the game narrative and for PC use b) serve a binary function of 'turn on to do X and nothing else' c) buff someone, add more dakka, more 'spells', more hack and slash. Shatterwand, second skin, suspensor belt - they are all the same shit, buffs a character to make him move freely (for combat), slice armor (for combat) or blast monsters (for combat). Everything else is just an afterthought.
>>43932638
This guys gets it.
I'll admit there are a few artifacts designed with something broader and more interesting in mind than the standard D&D idea of 'more magic = more kill'. Yet these are few and far between.
Where are 'New Sun's ancient robots, royal fliers and repurposed dams? Where are 'Lord of Light's pray-o-matics and cloning technology? I'd even settle for Mars' fallen civilizations and their half-understood machines now used by techno-babarians, or some Lovecraftian horrible alien machines man was never meant to know, but no, no and no. It's all 'space guns and longswords! OMG AWESOME!!'
>>43933548
Why are you confusing game terms?
One second you're bitching about the big, setting related ancient technology, which actually is in the game all fucking over.
Whether it's "Ancient robots, royal fliers, and cloning technology" or whatever weird fuck have you.
The next you're bitching about how the smaller artifacts are all about "for combat"
Which is fucking bullshit, see below faggot
Try to have some consistency in your thoughts, or your opinions will continue to be bullshit.
>Open up a Numenera artifact table; going IN ORDER
>Lets you see in all directions around you
>Lets you point at any structure and get a 3D hologram of the inside, and allows you to walk around it as if you were inside
>lets you see 100x the distance
>a video recorder that records everything around it for 28 hours then replays it in hologram form
>a briefcase that folds out into an armored car
>a cloth-like material that makes anything you adhere it too a surface that you can walk through
OMG da combatz!
>>43933785
I'm leaving out all the extra fluff and other suggested quirks for Artifacts because that's for the GM to tailor to the flavour of their game.
Let's do corebook Artifacts from the beginning too, for fun.
>A set of tubes and hoses, creates a glass 10ft cube around something within short range, encasing everything inside in a preservative like amber
>dongle attachment that makes ancient technology unable to activate if it's trying to harm someone holding it
>A creature that burrows into your brain, and creates subdermal plating to make something gain harder skin (Combat!)
>An automaton that makes food out of water and any organic material
One out of five.
>>43933906
Polite sage for forgetting that there is also an analysis shield that lets you see the weak points in things, which is great for combat.
>>43933785
>a cloth-like material that makes anything you adhere it too a surface that you can walk through
If I drape this on somebody, can I put my arm through them?
>>43934085
Yes, I have no idea what that would do to them.
Some GM's would have them flow around the arm, others...
Well, I would stick a damn grenade in the hole.
>>43934105
>reverse pickpocket a grenade. Into their ribcage.
I like you.
>>43933785
At least I do not retort to writing incoherent insults aimed at the people who disagree with me.
My complaint is that the weird stuff in Numenera serves no real purpose beyond window dressing. New Sun, Old Mars, Lord of Light etc. reinvented old genres by intricately weaving technology into the very fabric of the setting. Numenera provides lots of throw-away references to technology, yet does not bind it into the setting for any larger purpose than as more monsters, more dungeons, more artifacts. How does it affect society that the children all learn from a robot in the town square? How are the Angulan Knights meaningfully different from any 'Fighters' Guild' in any given fantasy setting? Numenera do not give me any adequate answers for those questions.
Looking at the 'Artifacts' table in my PDF, p. 301, I get:
Amber Casement: Encloses others to 'suffocate or starve'
Amulet of Safety: Weapon accessory.
Analyzing Shield: + 3 to specific combat roll.
Automated Flesh: A suit of armor.
Automated Cook: Non-combat. Actually quite a fun little item.
This lead me to think that we are not looking at the same table. What specific table are you referring to?
>>43934450
Are there any RPG's that have the depth of a novel?
>>43934568
If you don't have any creativity, you have to spend your time endlessly complaining about not being spoonfed everything.
Especially if the product is intentionally made so that you can adapt it to your tastes.
>>43934568
A fair point. Still, I believe Numenera's setting could have done a lot more to become something unique.
>>43934676
I think that's what some people want from the setting of Numenera, and it explains the frustration.
Numenera's setting is pretty broad, and pretty adaptable. These are things the GM is supposed to work out for his campaign. The short stories (Which aren't very good.) answer the sorts of questions he's asking.
>>43934718
It probably could've been, but it would also need to be more narrow.
Check out the guidebook, which focuses more extensively on smaller areas. You might like it.
It combines all the worst traits of D&D and WOD.
>>43934450
>At least I do not retort to writing incoherent insults aimed at the people who disagree with me.
There's a big difference between not disagreeing, and pointing out that you're full of shit.
>All ancient artifacts are reskinned '+1 something of something'
Objectively false, realistically not even 50% correct.
>All ancient being are monsters to beat up.
Objectively false, realistically only partially correct if you ignore the NPC's and instead choose to look only at the Bestiary. Sadly, even the Bestiary isn't full of only things to kill. Why would they stat something then imply I don't have to kill it, why?!
>Dimiss all the non-combat artifacts as an "afterthought" to try and colour own stupid opinion
>Ignore all the setting technology and claim that since the player artifact section only includes some of my favourite fiction technology that it is instead devoid of it entirely
I hate the Numenera setting, but I hate misinformation more.
>>43934719
>>43934676
Broad and adaptable is a fair design criteria. But the setting as is does not really speak to me, which is why it fails in my opinion. It does not create a meaningful interaction between the setting fiction and the players and GM as active partners in a story. It simply serves what I find a stale story that could have been your standard fantasy, yet masquerades as something it is not. I did not buy Numenera for a dungeon crawl game, and feel that I did not get the most out of my money.
And 'if it doesn't work for you it's because you are too dumb/unimaginative/lazy to understand it' is like the Godwin's Law of /tg/. You have officially lost grip of the discussion if that is your only meaningful argument.
>>43934450
Because you're supposed to fill that in yourself. As the GM. Don't expect the book to do all the hardwork for you.
It's given you the skeleton, add the muscle and skin!
>>43934845
>Buying the system before reading it.
I mean, you're right, it isn't what you wanted, but there are ways to prevent this.
>>43934881
God bless 4chan.
>>43934845
>That feeling when dungeon crawl is a term used by morons with the same meaninglessness as "luxury" "old-fashioned" "deluxe" and other pointless nothings.
>>43934835
If you hate misinformation, selective quotations and deliberate misquotes might be something to avoid. Valued statements like 'you are full of shit' are also generally considered counter-productive.
You mention the bestiary. It has creatures by level, random encounter tables, sections on combat stats, details on how to make creatures deadly. Yet no section on interacting with the creatures, or how to use these creatures outside of narrowly defined stats that put them as challenges for players to slay or overcome. It all screams 'Monster Manual' to me. This is a list of creatures to slay, even though the game specifically states that this is not the purpose of the game, I see much in the bestiary that does lend itself to that kind of action.
Of course these creatures can be reinvented for others purposes. Of course there are exceptions. Yet mostly, taking something from narrowly defined 'threat' to broad 'narrative element' will require considerable rethinking.
And with that, I am out. It is late here. Good night.
>>43935071
>deliberate misquotes
>but can't point one out
>No section on interacting with the creatures
>LITERALLY UNDER EVERY MONSTER!
>THE FIRST MONSTER IN THE BESTIARY TALKS ABOUT WAYS TO INTERACT WITH IT IN THREE SEPARATE PLACES
>Goes "I'm out" then runs before he can be called on his bullshit.
Good ridden you literal piece of shit.
>>43935133
Man I fuckken love Johnny Ridden.
>>43935188
He was so misunderstood, everyone always thought he was Char, or copying Char, he was great.
Ever read the interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino? Because it's hilarious.
>>43935071
I really wanted you to see the YOU, it's important to me.
>>43935223
>Ever read the interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino? Because it's hilarious.
No, but I will now.
>>43935252
The top part actually has the hooks that help the GM in this case. Interaction is just how the players interact with it.
Granted that could be fleshed out more. They could give a couple examples to show how that works out in practice. Use could be another paragraph. It'd double the length of the bestiary. (Or, halve the amount of creatures in it, which is more likely.
/tg/
Go from throwing insults at someone who is probably clinically retarded and doesn't deserve the abuse to broing over giant robots in 10 minutes flat.
>>43935252
>"no section on interaction"
>there is literally a section on interaction
Must have been a Virtoptim drive-by stupiding.
There should have been more Keith Thompson large-panel art though.
>>43934085
Wait a sec. This is a motherfucking Portable Hole. Monte cook reskins D&D in a technobabble coat and suddenly it's a great and innovative setting?
>>43942631
Do you not know what a portable hole is?
I feel bad for you.
Oblivion had some nice bits that could be used in Numenera.
>>43894593
As a huge fan of both Star Wars and SG-1 I get this dissonant vibe from the books. Like, as soon as you see the art and read the descriptions you want to either rebuild the place into a normal place, or look for the giant nuke button (either of which the point of the setting).
I'll admit that the art is good and that it has some interesting ideas, but after the initial wonder the whole thing is apathy-inducing. It isn't even the good kind of anger, the kind that gets the story going or drives the players into making up something interesting, but simply the kind that makes people lose interest and start a vicious cycle of "I'll try GM-ing next week.".
>>43934568
Anything WoD.
>>43949643
>As a huge fan of both Star Wars and SG-1
Well there's your problem right there.
>>43949831
lel
