| Numenera | |
| Publisher: | Monte Cook Games |
| System: | Cypher System |
| Genre: | Science Fantasy |
| Designer: | Monte Cook |
Numenera is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in the far distant future, written by Monte Cook, published in 2013.[1] [2] [3]
Numenera is set on Earth approximately one billion years in the future. The setting is called "The Ninth World" due to the fact that eight civilizations have risen and fallen prior to the current era.[4]
Character creation has been simplified by having players fill in the blanks to the statement:
The name "Numenera" is a reference to the bits of technology left over from past civilizations. The word "numen" is a Latin root word meaning a "pervading divine presence"[6] and "era" refers to the period (1 billion years in the future) in which this universe takes place. The world is utterly filled with "nanites" (the divine presence) that some beings in this universe can tap into and control. With a nod towards Clarke's Third Law, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic",[7] the setting treats technology with much the same approach as magic in a fantasy setting. The native tech level is roughly medieval.[8]
Numenera was launched via a Kickstarter campaign and set a record for "most money raised for a tabletop role-playing game" at $517,255 by 4,658 backers, surpassing the previous record set by the Kickstarter for Traveller 5th edition. Originally intended just to fund the initial core rulebook, the campaign more than doubled its funding goal within the first 24 hours. "Stretch goals" that were announced as the level of funding grew increased the output of products, ending up producing an entire game line.[9]
This two volume replacement for the original rulebook was crowdfunded in 2017. It increased emphasis on exploration, discovery, and building. It also incorporated a few revisions from the Cypher rule system that had been released subsequent to the original Numenera release.[10] Calling itself Numenera 2, it also used a Kickstarter campaign for initial funding, obtaining $845,258 from 4,185 backers.
Numenera: Discovery is a revision of the original core rulebook. The Jack character type was substantially revised to be more distinctive compared to Nanos and Glaives. Also added are player intrusions, a mechanism allowing players to alter the environment by spending an experience point.[10]
Legacy material from the original Numenera book, not included in the new edition, were made available for free as a PDF.[11]
Numenera: Destiny is mostly new material offering three new character types: Arkus, Delve, and Wright, new descriptors and new foci. The book also emphasizes crafting along with community protection and development with these character types taking lead positions in such an endeavor. A major section on crafting mechanisms and a major section on communities are provided. The manner of running a community game can be described as treating the community as an NPC in the game with stats that the player characters enhance. New monsters, NPCs, and settings are also offered in the Destiny core rulebook.
The core rulebook of Numenera has been translated into Italian,[12] German,[13] Spanish, French and Portuguese.[14]
Glimmers are short, PDF-only publications. There are also some adventure collections that have appeared in print:
There have been several announced tie-ins to the brand:
In a review of Numenera in Black Gate, John ONeill said "The book is splendidly designed and a pleasure to read. It's also packed with gorgeous artwork. This is exactly the kind of gamebook that makes you ache to pick up your dice and start playing."[17]
Numenera received the 2014 Origins Award for "Best New Roleplaying Game".[18]