How come nobody ever talks about this? Anybody played it?
My FLGS has a bunch of miniatures for Numenera so I grabbed an eyeless bear and checked out the system once I got home.
>Character creation has been simplified by having players fill in the blanks to the statement:
>"I am a __________ __________ who _________s."
> The first blank, the adjective in the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Descriptor", a way to describe the character's strongest characteristic.
> The second blank, the noun of the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Type", which is either a "Glaive" (a warrior type), a "Nano" (a technology adept type), or a "Jack" (as in jack-of-all-trades).
> The third blank, the verb of the sentence, is filled in by a character's "Focus", or what the character is most known for or their special talent.[7]
Seems like it mite b cool.
>>45692041
I haven't played it, but it looks cool. Finding a non-3.x game in my neck of the woods is like finding unicorns and virgins.
>>45692041
I haven't played it, but something I heard that really turned me off (correct me if I'm wrong here) is that you get expendable artifacts at every level (that you can't get back) instead of powers or skills that you can use whenever.
>>45692176
Nah, the expendable artifacts are things you find and are supposed to have a constant flow of them. You can only carry a certain number of these doodads, at higher levels you get more slots so you can keep more around to increase your versatility.
>>45692041
I enjoyed reading it, but it never excited me enough to want to run it. It doesn't have quite the burning aura of mystery and discovery that its source novels had.
>>45692041
If the new Torment game is any good the setting could see some renewed interest.
The general feel I got was that it's too weird for most people to really touch.
Also, it has limited meme potential, which limits how much it will be discussed on /tg/.
>>45692041
I SEE YOU SHILL BAD GAMES
YOU SHOULD BE DAMN ASHAMED
SOMEONE SHOULD REPORT COOK
FOR THE STOLEN CASH HE TOOK
>>45693985
So not only are you making this shitty thread over and over again but you're actually cutting and pasting the same posts into it too?
Jesus christ you must be pretty fucking desperate.
>>45694320
nigga wat
I didn't make this thread.
Last time I discussed Numenera on 4chan it was on /v/ like 4 months ago.
>>45694379
nice try, better delete this thread before someone posts screenshots
>>45694390
I'm serious man, blame me for fetishposting and memeing up the Modern general all you want, but this Numenera business isn't my fault.
>>45692041
Because it sucks and the "Adjective Verb who Nouns" is potentially the only good design idea behind it. That, and maybe the monster design.
It's a malformed bastard of d20 and Savage Worlds/Fate that manages to bake in Caster Supremacy in a game that doesn't even have fucking Wizards. It also doesn't do anything with the Science Fantasy setting.
At least The Strange lets you do multiverse Fanfic bullshit.
>>45693985
>The general feel I got was that it's too weird for most people to really touch.
On the contrary, it's not weird enough. It just seems like it took a shitload of standard fantasy magic fare and said LOOK! It's TECHNO-magic! BECAUSE NANOMACHINES!
It doesn't have half the weirdness of Viriconium or The Night Land.
It seems like it can't decide if it wants to be rule light or rule heavy and ends up flailing retardedly somewhere in between.
Also for magical science fantasy I prefer Auriga from Endless Legend.
>>45697504
>It seems like it can't decide if it wants to be rule light or rule heavy and ends up flailing retardedly somewhere in between.
>
>Also for magical science fantasy I prefer Auriga from Endless Legend.
My raptor! EL Auriga would make for a great setting. Numanuma setting on the other hand is a shitty hogh fantasy pretending to be science magic where everything is "mystic", "weird", bland and vague and nothing is ever truly explained (becauae noone fucking understands anything). And the system is nothing to write home about.
>>45692176
At every level you get new powers and skills from your type and your focus.
You also have cyphers, which are like scrolls and potions. They're a constant revolving door of one use powers. You have a limit on how many you can carry, so don't hoard them.
Artifacts in the game are like cyphers, except that they usually don't get used up. Every time you use an artifact you roll for depletion. Some artifacts almost never deplete(1/1d100) Some will deplete soon. (1/1d6).
>>45694483
In my experience, the glaive's been the strongest party member. The Jack's do pretty well, and the nano has to work hard to make the most out of his niche.
So, no caster supremacy.
>>45692474
This is due more to the difference between novels and RPGs than anything that is Numenera's fault specifically. Novel thrive on not revealing things to the reader and the protagonist, while RPGs that do this are accused of being on The Plan, being poorly set in the first place, or lacking "concept". Numenera presents a fairly large area to adventure in, and the scale of that map means that even the kingdoms of the Steadfast have a lot of nooks and crannies to find new things in.
More mystery comes from the standard approach in RPGs of describing what the PCs come across. Learning to give away only the details you want to is a skill that can take time to develop.
>>45694483
>At least The Strange lets you do multiverse Fanfic bullshit.
And yet The Strange interests me less.
The Ninth World is only generic fantasy if you let it be. The weird is there, but if every square mile was too weird to describe it would be worse.
>>45698935
Anecdotal fallacy.
Just because you don't have a problem, does not mean a problem does not exist.
There is a definite imbalance between Nano and the other two classes, especially at mid-to-late levels. The Focuses have problems as well. Some are just straight up better than others.
>>45697504
>Also for magical science fantasy I prefer Auriga from Endless Legend.
Then go do that. Shitting on things other people like is a waste of *your* time.
>>45700370
>The Focuses have problems as well. Some are just straight up better than others.
While true, the power balance is less important than the fun balance.
Howls at the Moon is best as a "Curse Focus", while the hulk out focus you would take on purpose is the Guyver Suit equivalent from The Strange refluffed to taste.
>>45700513
Power balance ties into the "fun balance" though. If you take Carries a Quiver and someone else takes Controls Gravity or Bears a Halo of Fire, you are probably going to be outshined in most situations. After all, when someone can reverse gravity or shoot fire from their eyes or whatever, what good is an archer?
It's not fun to take a character option that is presented as valid only to find out later that it's actually pretty lame.
The Cypher system really has me enthralls I so badly want to try it with a group soon.
The Numenera world while it's got some neat elements to it, doesn't really intrigue me as much as say it's sister setting This-Strange does.
So if I ever end up running a game it's likely to be in the strange... and also probably going to just toss in the 9th world in as a recursion because Why Fucking Not?
>>45700648
>>45700513
While I agree that the Nano is superior to the other two classes, it also tends to be rendered completely mote by Focus type.
For more or less these reasons >>45700648
A Nano choosing Control Gravity is mostly useless because it is a lot of redundant abilities, and most focus in draining your limited Intell stat, making your burn out faster. When Glaive/Jack takes Gravity Control it only raising them back to the Nano's level. Meaning everyone is on par again.
So Nanos often choose not quite as good focuses just to diversify, over having redundantly abilities. While that sounds good it often means the Nanos are weaker in those areas.
Really I think the Focus system is pretty smart because the vast majority of the time it slaps the caster-supremacy problem in the face. The classes are unbalanced by themselves in a vacuum, but that`s not how you play Numenera.
>>45692041
it's a little too pretentious for me, rubs me the wrong way.
"OOOH! Most things in the setting not even the GM gets to know what they are or what they do! BECAUSE IT'S SOOOOOO ADVANCED THAT OUR PRIMITIVE MONKEY BRAINS COULDN'T EVEN COMPREHEND IT!"
Monte Cook is a bad writer. Neat idea though.
>>45700784
/HFY/ is that way -->
>>45700784
They did that a lot in 2ed D&D, and just like 2ed they slowly do explain what's going on in other official adventures. Encourages you to buy more stuff, they are a business still.
>>45700762
>A Nano choosing Control Gravity is mostly useless
The dude can hover for free. All he needs is a stiff breeze or for someone to push him around with a stick, and if her takes the Hover esotery, he doesn't even need that.
>limited Intell stat
Not even. You can potentially have a lot of points to throw around, even at first level. And since most things are directed at your Might pool anyway, you avoid the casting from HP problem of the other classes.
I also assume you can increase your Edge somehow, but I can't be assed to dig through the book to find the rules for it.
The point is, Nanos are just straight up better, with or without the focuses. There's no reason to play anything else.
>>45692041
GM intervention feels cheap, forced, breaks immersion and forces you to admit you're railroading the party
>>45701185
So you invoke Rule of Cool, then spout a bunch of reasons that actually DO apply to the Jack and Glaive as much as they apply to the Nano.
Your filters need cleaning.
>>45701281
If you use it wrong, sure.
>>45701185
>The dude can hover for free.
So can anyone with a Focus. Heck even some Descriptors grant that. And thus if a Nano takes any of those, it`ll be redundant.
>You can potentially have a lot of points to throw around, even at first level.
I am not certain how the games you have played have gone, but in the ones I've experiences as soon as you start encountering situations where you need your Effort level to be two or three, you don't have as many point as you'd like. And edges are really only a nice bonus, they are far better at tier 1 then they are at higher tiers.
>>45701281
Totally disagree.
I feel it add more to narrative and simply having more fun with the players. Of course it follows all the same guide lines of why not to rail-road in an RPG but we'll assume everyone in this thread already knows how to use that correctly or else this devolves into a rail-roading thread.
>>45701284
It's not Rule of Cool, it's utility. Pseudo-flight is supremely useful in a number of situations. Again, it's better than most other abilities at a comparable level.
And no, those reasons don't apply to the Glaive and Jack. Nanos get a head start on their Intellect Edge, get a bigger pool for it in the first place, and get a multitude of other abilities that are unavailable to the other two. Besides, Jacks are the ultimate example of "we just didn't give a shit" by the authors.
Look, I'm not saying you can't like the game. You can, and it's entirely possible to have tons of fun with it. But it has some very deep flaws in its system, and if you claim otherwise then you're just wrong.
>>45701281
>and forces you to admit you're railroading the party
Because, of course, you should trick people into having fun.
>>45692176
Kind of. Those are the titular Cyphers. Monte Cook thinks they are the coolest fucking thing ever. They are just one use magic items you can find literally the entire world. Nothing fancy, if you have played the latest Gamma World (dnd4e one) they are almost exactly Omega Tech. But like +X swords in dnd 3.5, these one use items are part of the game balance and you can carry more as you level up.
It works in Numenera really well, but it gets awkward to cram it into other settings with the generic Cypher system book.
I tried to make a Rogue Trader game out of the Cypher system, but I got frustrated trying to reskin cyphers and I gave up.
>>45700648
I hate this example because, mechanically, carries a quiver is like ten times more powerful than controls gravity. So it shows the person making the statement knows jackshit about the system and is just tossing shit they heard about.
>>45701360
>So can anyone with a Focus
False. Nanos start with an Intellect Edge of 1, and the Hover ability of Controls Gravity costs 1 intellect. It also explicitly states that if you get the Hover Esotery you get a doubled duration and you can move at your speed. This doesn't increase the cost.
And no Descriptor lets you fucking fly. Come on now.
>>45692041
The system is crap and the math is embarrassingly terrible, just like everything else monte cook touches.
>>45701525
>One ability lets you shoot mans really super good
>The other lets you become immune to projectiles, grant flight to multiple people, immobilize groups of enemies, AND lets you kill dudes.
Yeah, I must be retarded or something. Bow dude seems super useful. Who'd want to fly and shit anyway? That's lame.
>>45701458
because, of course, you never fudged a dice in favor of your players, or to achieve a more dramatic outcome
>>45700370
>There is a definite imbalance between Nano's and the other two classes.
How so? Have you actually played the game?
>The focuses are uneven.
Absolutely true.
>>45700648
The biggest problem with carries a quiver is that two of its abilities are ones a glaive would get anyway, meaning an archer glaive would have to also specialize in a melee weapon.
That said, carries a quiver is a great add on for a jack. And Bears a Halo of Flame is fairly lackluster.
>>45701360
He's never actually played the game. If he did he'd know edge goes up every level.
>>45701525
>>45701651
>>45701767
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/04/19/emulator-part-five
>>45701454
>Psuedo flight
>Can't change vector.
>Can't use an action.
>Not taking Far-Step at second tier, something Jack's can also do.
>Not being able to just climb shit like any Glaive.
>Anyone could have cypher that accomplishes the same utility, potentially rendering your hovering redundant at best.
It's cool and all, but it's really not that great.
>>45701812
In this case, Carries a quiver is 15 points in archery, while the base class and descriptor add everything else. It's not a fully apt comparison.
>>45701802
You wanna run a game then? If playing with it magically makes all the problems inherent in the system vanish, then I'd be more than happy to try it.
>>45701550
>This doesn't increase the cost.
All three of the Types get Edge in their areas of expertise, which was the point of my rebuttal. You are obviously playing TheoryCypher. Please go play a game with people who actually possess the chops to be interesting, and then report back.
>>45701454
>But it has some very deep flaws in its system, and if you claim otherwise then you're just wrong.
You and I have different definitions of "system". And for mine, you are the one who is wrong.
>>45702179
>If playing with it magically makes all the problems inherent in the system vanish
That's a high standard that literally no system can meet.
Exceptions you may come up with merely show your blind spots and bias.
>>45692041
are there any good Actual Plays of Numenera?
I've listened to GM Intrusions and Knights of The Night, but am struggling to find anything other than these that doesnt devolve int ofull on randumb shit
or is randumb shit the norm for actual play podcasts? maybe they need to be more draconian in the editing suite
>>45702179
I'm running my second campaign, and I've done a handful of one shots.
I will admit that we haven't gotten to tier 4 yet, but I don't see any risk of things falling apart.
I'd say the strongest point of the system is how flexible it is. I've only had to specificaly build around a character once (High armor.) And it wasn't hard to damage his mind and speed, directly attack his damage track, and to target other party members. I've yet to have a nano do anything worrisome. And I've got a guy who erases memories.
That's not that useful in a game about exploration.
But sorry man, I'm not going to start running an online game.
>>45701550
Jacks also start with a Intelligence edge of 1, and a speed edge of 1. Gravity gives a second level of speed edge for free at second tier.
Controls Gravity is a better focus for Jacks, who can get way more out of the utility granted by the hover-flight they get at second tier, assuming they double down on hover.
At 3 speed edge, you can start dodging things for free. Which means a Gravity Jack can be free dodging at second tier.
>>45692041
The setting left me kind of cold. It's like you took a standard fantasy setting and added some super-technology to spice things up and just left it at that. The implications of the technology isn't really considered, and the setting ends up having the same elements that fantasy settings have. The art was another thing that turned me off, most of it has a punk-vibe that, to me, doesn't really fit the theme.
The great thing about Gene Wolfe, Vance or Michael Moorcock's use of high tech in medieval settings was that it gave the setting something different, made it more unique. Somehow Numenera included high tech and still managed to make its setting seem like every other fantasy setting. WHich is fine, if that's what you want, but to me it was a real letdown.
>>45702280
>Hey, this thing has some problems.
>DURR YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED IT!
>Does actually playing it fix anything? Are the problems not that bad in actual play?
>HURR DAT'S NOT FAIR!
I'll ask again. Will you run a game to prove that Numenera isn't riddled with issues?No, of course you won't.
>>45702400
Brethren!
>>45702465
pretty sure your (too polite for you) answer is at >>45702317
Do you really think random people on the internet are somehow obligated to run a game for you? Nobody can be this dumb.
>>45702465
>This thing looks like it has some problems.
>I can assure you through actual play that those aren't really problems.
>Impossible! Sacrifice a minimum of 6 hours of your life to prove me, one random person on the internet, wrong!
No.
>>45702528
>>45702555
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Just an FYI, your arguments don't have any merit if you're not going to back them up. You can say that there's no problems in play all you want, but if you're unwilling to prove it then you're not really saying anything important.
>>45702609
Why don't you round up your friends and play it?
At best our arguments are at an impasse, except I trust mine more because I've actually played it.
The most troubling character in my game is the crafting jack who I have to be careful with because if I give him too much leeway he'll have an arsenal of answers, not the nano.
>>45702609
you expect him to organise an run an entire game just to prove you wrong lol?
jesus /tg/ is bad at magic
>>45701708
>never fudged a dice
Yeah, because i'm not a retard who rolls for EVERYTHING, only for uncertain things.
>>45692041
>"I am a *lying* *liar* who *lies*." - OP, 2016
>>45702609
if you're going to get into debate club merit, you were pretty clearly arguing in bad faith when you asked for a demonstration you didn't think was going to happen, or even want. That's not even getting into how it seems apparent that you have already made a conclusion prior to playing the game and would be uninterested in being proven wrong via experience.
