numenera players guide
TRANSCRIPT
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TABL OF COTTS
THE NINTH WOD
NUMENE OVERVIEW
CEATING YOUR CHACTER
CHACTER TPE
CHACTER DESCPTOR
CHACTER FOCUS
EQUIPMENT
2
4
10
16
34
38
61
For a ee downloadable copy of the ocial Numenera character sheet and a step-by-step
guide to character creation using this sheet, visit www.numenera.com/charactersheet.
CDITS
Writer/Designer Monte CookRul e Developers Monte Cook and Sean K. Reynold s
Additional Writing Shanna Germa in
Lead Editor Shanna Germa in
Editor Ray Val ese
Prooeader Mi chele Carter
Cover Designer and Lead Artist Kieran Yanne r
Graphic Designer Sarah Rob inson
Artists
Ja son Engl e , Gu ido Kui p , Patr ick McEvoy, M att Stawicki , Adr ian Wi lk i ns , Kieran Yann er
Cartographer Christopher West
Alpha Playtesters Shan na Germain , Ray Va l ese , Co l i n M cComb, James Be l l , Er ik Mona , Dan ica K ing ,
Sean Reynolds , Stan! , Hyrum Savage
© 2013 ont Cook Gms, LLC
NuMEERA nd its logo tdmks of ont Cook Gms, LLC in th U.S.. nd oth contis. ll ont Cook Gms chcts nd chct nms, nd th distinctiv
liknsss thof, tdmks of ont Cook Gms, LLC.
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�LME NE
The older man stokes the re, stirring the embers, some of which oat into the night sky. The young girl's
gaze follows them as the sparks join the panoply of stars."Our world is very young, the man says. He leans heavily on his gnarled wooden sta and adjusts his
tattered cloak with one hand. "But it is built upon the bones of anothe much older world.
The girl nods.
"Many worlds, actually. Most people say eight, but it could be more. They say eight so that they can call
our world the Ninth World.
She nods again, but he can see that she doesn't truly undetand. Does he? Can anyone comprehend
such a passage of time? The face of the world had shed so much. Even the stars were not untouched by
the changing aeons.
"The people that came before us, people they were, commanded great powers. He pulls from his
leather pouch a thing made of metal and the light, smooth material called synth. He uses his thumb totouch the clear panel in well practiced, not entirely understood, ways. The air arund the device lls with
light that dances and moves in symbols and pictures that mean nothing to him. The girl gasps and then
laughs in delight.
"Some of their ancient powe remain, even though the people do not, he tells he "And some bring wonder
and beauty. But othe bring deaths for which we have no name. Their legacy is a blessing and a cue.
"Magic, the girl whispe.
The man smiles. "We call it the numenera.
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elcome to the N inth World, where technol ogy is
magic and even ou r most distant future is sti l l very
much the past. The N inth World is the setting ofthe roleplaying game NMEE™. This book is the Numene
Player's Guide, not the ful l ru lebook. The Player's Guide oers
a b rief overview of the settin g and the rules of the ga me, and
it provides al l the i nrmation you nee d to create a character
so you can pl ay Num enera, explore the N inth World, a nd
di scover its wonde rs and d angers r yoursel
In a ro lep l aying game, the p layers take on the ro les of
people in a ctional world. Each player creates a character
to portray, an d togethe r, the p layers create a story. I n the ir
ima ginat ion, the p l ayers exper ience the same chal lenges
and rewards that their characters experience. cil itate
th is , the ru les of the game govern whether characterssucceed or il at what they try to do. Thi s book someti mes
refers to the p layer cha racters as PCs.
In addit i on to the p layers who are the cha racters in the
story, the re is another p layerthe ga me m asterwho
is not only the arbiter of the ru les but a ls o the craer of
the narrative. The game master (sometimes referred to
as the GM) int roduces compl icat ions , enemies , a l l i es ,
twists , and s urpr ises into the story. He or she sho uld have
a copy of th e fu ll corebook, wh ic h i nc lu de s
al l the inrmation om this book, p l us mu ch more. As a
PLAYR'S GD
pl ayer, you can read through th e corebook if you wish , but
everything you need is here.
Nu menera is a ll about discovery. I n the game, your characterwil l d iscover wonders of the prior ages (our own world' s r
distant future) and a technology so advanced that, as author
Arthu r C. Clarke wrote, it is i nd istin guis hab le om magic. You
wil l d iscover mysteries to solve and meet interesting people who
popul ate this strange world. You wil l d iscover dangerous es
in the rm of eraterrestrial s, robots, m utants, o r the genetic
experiments of the past. You wi ll dis cover technology called the
nu menera that wil l aid in your endeavors.
The key to playi ng N um enera i s the story. The way to "win
thi s gam e is t o come away with a great tale. Always remember
that your character is one of the m ain heroes in a bul ous
science-ntasy narrative. The Ninth World is a weird andwondrous place, an d the trials a nd tribu lations you ce are
part of that story. T hrough your ch aracter, you wil l d iscover
thi ngs un l i ke anythi ng you've dreamed of, and in so doing
cra a tale wi th your iends that you' l l always remember.
Read through the N umen era Overview (page 4) , an d
then j ump r ight i n and make a character. You don' t have
to read th rough every character option right awayju st
choose a type, descriptor, and cus that sound interesting,
and get goin g!
A whol e new world awa its you .
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LME NE
NUMENE OVERVIEny suciently advanced technology is
indistinguishable om magic.-Arhur C Clarke
The key to playing Numene is the stoy. Theway to "win this game is to come a way with
a great tale.
There have been e ight p revious worlds . You ma y refer
to them as ages , aeons , epochs , or eras , but it ' s not
wrong to th i nk of each as its own i nd iv idua l wor ld .
Each rme r wor ld s t retched across vast mi l lenn i a of t ime .Eac h p l ayed host to a race whose civ i l izat ion s rose to
sup remacy but eventual ly d ied or scattered, d i sappeared or
transcended . Dur ing the t ime that each wor ld our ished ,
those that ru led it spoke to the stars , reengineered their
phys ica l bod ies , and mastered rm and essence, a l l i n the i r
own u ni que ways .
Each left behin d remna nts .
The N inth World is b ui lt on the bones of the previous
eight , and in part icu lar the last ur. Reach i nto the
du st , and you' l l nd that each part ic le has been worked,
man uctured, or grown, and th en grou nd back into a
ne, articial soi lby the rele ntle ss power of tim e. Look to
the hor izonis that a mounta in , or part of an im poss ib l emonu ment to the rgotten emperor of a lo st people ?
Feel that su btle vib ration b eneath your feet and k now that
ancient enginesvast machines the s ize ofkingdomssti l l
operate in t he bowels ofth e earth .
The N inth World is about d i scover ing the wonders ofthe
worlds that came bere it , not r their own sake, but as
the means to im prove the present and bu i ld a ture.
Each of the pr ior e ight wor lds , in its own way, is too
distant, too dierent, too incomprehensible. Life today
is too dan gerous to dwel l on a pa st that cann ot be
un derstood. The peop le excavate and study the marvels of
the pr ior epochs just enough to help them survive in theworld they have been given. They know that energies and
knowledge are suspend ed invi s i b ly in the a ir , that resha ped
continents of iron and glassbelow, upon, and above the
earthhold vas t treasu res, an d that secret doorways to
stars and other d imens i ons and rea lms prov ide power and
secrets and death. They sometimes cal l i t magic , and who
are we to say that th ey're wrong?
More oen, however, whe n they nd leovers of the
old wor ldsthe devices , the vast machi ne compl exes ,
the a ltered land scapes , the changes wrought upon l iv ing
creatures by anc ient energ ies , the i nv is ib le nano-sp i r i t s
hover in g in the a i r in c louds cal led the I ron Wind , the
inrmation transm itted into the so-cal l ed datasphere, and
the remnants of v is itors fom other d ime ns io ns and a l ienplan etsthey cal l these th i ngs the numene. I n the N inth
World , the nu menera is both a boon and a bane. I t makes
l i fe very dierent om any other tim e on Earth.
In a southern part of the vast, s ingu lar cont inent of
the N inth World l ies a c l uster of sett led l and s col lect ively
cal led the Steadst. Although each of the ki ngdoms a nd
pr inc ipa l i t ies ofthe Steadst has its own ru le r, a l eader
known as th e Amber Pope gu ides th e Order of Truth, an
organizat ion of Aeon Pr iests that command s a great deal
of respect i n the reg ion . Th us , the Amber Pope i s l i ke ly the
most powerful ru ler i n the Steadst even though he does
not govern a s in g le squa re ot of land. The Order of Truth
reveres the peop le of the p ast and their k nowledge on aquas i re l ig i ous level of adorat ion and ith. I t is a re l ig ion
devoted to scien ce.
Deeper in the wi lds l ies a region cal led the Beyond, where
vi l lages and commun it ies are iso lated and rare. Here, Aeon
Pr iests st i l l st udy the secrets of the p ast , but they do so
clo istered in remote c laves . These pr iests do l i tt le more
tha n pay l i p service to the Amber Pope , if that, a nd a re not
cons idered part of the Order of Truth. L ike the regions in
which t hey l ive, an d the c laves i n which they work, they are
iso lated, is lands unto themselves .
THE PEOPLE OF THENINTH WODI n the youth of an age, people use the resou rces they have
on ha nd, cou pled with whatever und erstand ing of the ir world
they can ma ster, to carve out a l ife r th ems elves . In th e
N inth World, the resources are the n ume nerathe detritus
of the pr ior erasand the people 's understanding of these
resources is crude and incomp lete. The Aeon Priests possess
just enough di scernment and knowledge to suggest poss ib le
uses r th ings , but so much remains to be d i scovered. Even
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the creatures and p lants of the Ni nth World a re strange by
products of the prior ages; the past le beh ind ora, un a,
and machines , some des igned by lore or nature, others
transplanted om distant stars or dimensions.
The people of the N inth World c lothe themselves in
newly spun brics but weave the art icts of the p ast i nto
each garmen t. They rge armor, weapons, and tools om
materials recovered om ancient structures and devices.
Some of these m ateria l s are metals , but others a re (or
appear to be) g lass , stone, bone, e sh, or su bstances that
de categor izat ion an d u nderstandi ng.Those who r isk the myster ious d angers to recover the
re l ics of the past provide a valu abl e service. Typical ly these
brave soul swarr ior g la ives , sc ien ce-wie ld in g nanos , a nd
wi ly jacksbring thei r ndings to the Aeon Pr iests , who use
the art icts to shion tools , weapons , a nd other boons r
the growing c iv i l i zat ion . As t ime passes , more in d iv idua ls
lea rn to use the nume nera, but it st i l l rema ins a mystery to
most people.
Who, then, are the people ofthe N inth World? M ost are
hu mans, a lthough not al l that cal l themselves huma n truly are.
There are l i kewise the abhum ans: some mutants, crossbreeds,
genetical ly engi neered, and t heir ospring. And then there arethe vis itants, who a re not n ative to the earth b ut who now cal l
th e Ni nth World home, an d wh o have no more unde rstand ing
ofthe past (even their own) than a nyone else.
THE NUMENEPeople with knowledge of the re l ics of o lder wor lds d iv ide
them into three types : art icts , cyphers , and oddit ies .
ARTIFACTS are large devices that typical ly can be used
more than on ce to produce the sam e resul t. An artict
PLAYR'S GD
mi ght be a belt that creates a shi eld of inv is i bl e rce to
protect the wearer or a yin g ski that carrie s peop le a nd
cargo om one p lace to an other. The ter m is a lm ost always
used r an item that has an obvious purposea weapon,
a defen se, a mode of tran sport, a mea ns of comm un ication
or learn ing new inrmat ion , a means of obta in ing od or
other necess it ies , a nd so rth. Art icts make thei r users
more powerful, or they make life easier or better.
CYPHERS are usual ly sma l l , mi nor devices that most
characters can coax a single eect om bere they aredepleted and become cur ios it ies or decorat ions . They
might inc lude a qu ick i n ject ion des igned to repa i r phys ica l
damage i n a l iv i ng creature or a hand held object that , when
manipulated properly, becomes a weapon that explodes
with tremendous rce. However, cyphers are dangerous
when gathered together because they create radiation and
harmo nic equencies that are in im ical to human l ife .
ODDITIES are the rel ics that are neither cyphers nor
articts. They serve no obvio us pu rpose but h ave strange
functions that are at least curious, if not downright
entertain ing. Examples i nc lu de a p iece of g lass in a metalame that shows pecul iar i mages or a box with three bel l s
that r ing at u npredictable t ime s . Not everythi ng om the
pr ior wor lds can be und erstood. In ct, m uch of it cannot.
LOOKING AT THE NINTH WOD
FROM THE 21 ST CENTURYThe Ni nth World is a sc ience-ntasy sett in g approximately
a b i l l ion years i n the future. The people of the wor ld dwel l
amid the otsam of imposs ib l e u l t ratech ofe ight p r io r
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LME NE
c iv i l i zat ions and ca l l i t magic . U n i mag inab ly huge mach ines
l ie be neath the earth, a nd sate l l i tes orbit h ig h above,
tran sm itting a web of data an d fee energy. Na notech,
gravit ic technology, genet ic engi neer ing, spat ia l warpin g,
and s uperdense polymers a l lowed the in ha bitants of the
previous wor lds to reshape the p lan et . Mas s and energy
were theirs to command .
In man y ways , the N inth World is a medieval ntasysett in g without the h istor ic ity. When people who h aven't
done a lot of homework on the da rk ages run a tradit ional
ntasy game , they oen in sert modern sens ib i l i t ies or
developens suh as deoay, hygiene, o ahes . Bu
in the N i nth Wor ld , these th ings , and more , make sense .
Characters can have ra in s l ickers , in k pens , z ippers , and
plast ic bags , a l l left over om the pr ior eras (or sh ioned
om leavin gs of the past) . They can u nde rstand h ow
i l lnes ses are trans mitted or how socia l i sm works . They can
know that the earth revolves arou nd the sun a nd be aware
of other "ana chroni st ic b its of knowledge.
On the other hand , characters in N umen era don't referto weapons as "gun s or vehic les as "cars . The technology
in the N inth World is too advanced and too a l i en r such
termin ology to have endu red. Us in g 21 st-century terms r
weapons and vehi c les is as ina ppropr iate as us i ng medieval
terms . The nu men era is weirdmuch of it wasn 't created
by humans or r huma ns . I t i sn ' t des igned or presented
in any way that mi ght be mi l i ar to the p layers or the
characters . Only through exper imentat ion, p layer ins ight ,
and character ski l l can the PCs ident i, and poss ib ly use,
what they nd.
Perhaps even more i mportant , the art icts , cyphers , a nd
oddit ies that characters use probably aren't serving the ir
or ig in a l purpose. The explos ive cypher that a ch aractertosses at an ene my migh t have been the power source r
a vehic le . The rce eld the enemy uses to protect herse lf
om the b last might h ave been des i gned to contain the
radia tion of the fuel rods in a m in iatu re nucl ear reactor.
Welcome to the N inth World, where every di scovery mi ght
save youor kil l you. But you won't know u ntil you try.
TASK DIFFICULT
Throughout th is book you' l l nd p laces wherewe suggest you ask your G M r additi onalinrmation. The GM can nd this inrmationin the Nu menera corebook.
RULES OVERVIEWN umen era uses a twenty-s ided die (1 d20) to determine the
resu lts of most actions . When ever a roll of any k ind i s ca l ledr and no die i s specied, ro l l a d20.
The game m aster sets a dculty r any given task. Th ere
are 1 0 degrees of di fculty. T hus , th e d ifculty of a task can
be aed on a sal e of 1 o 1 0.
Each d i culty has a target number associated with it . The
target n um ber is a lways three t imes the task's d iculty , so a
di fculty 4 task h as a target num ber of 1 2. su cceed at the
task, you mu st ro l l the target nu mber or h i gher .
Character ski l l s , vorable c i rcumstances , or excel lent
equ ip ment can de crease the difculty of a task. For
examp le, if a character is tra ined i n c l i mbi ng, sh e turns
a d iculty 6 c l im b into a d iculty 5 c l im b. This i s ca l leddecreasing the d culty by one step If she is specia l ized i n
c l i mbi ng, sh e tu rn s a d iculty 6 c l i mb i nto a d ifculty 4
c l im b . Th is i s ca l led decreasing the d culty by two steps
A skill is a category of knowledge, ability, or activity
re lat ing to a task, suc h as c l imb ing , geography, or
persuasiveness. A character who has a ski l l is better at
complet in g re lated tasks than a character who l acks the
ski l l . A character 's level of ski l l is e ither trined (reasonably
sk i l l ed) or specialized (very ski l led).
If you are tra ined in a sk i l l re lat ing to a task, you decrease
the d ifculty of that task by one step. If you are spe cial ized,
you decrease the di fculty by two steps. A sk i l l can never
decrease a task's diculty by more than two steps.Anythi ng e lse that reduces d iculty ( he lp om an a l ly, a
part icu lar p iece of equi pment, or some other advantage) i s
referred to a s a n asset Assets ca n never decrease a task's
di fculty by more tha n two steps.
You ca n al so decrease the diculty ofa given task by
appl yin g Ert. (Eort is described in more detai l on page 1 1 .)
TASK DI FFIC U LTY DESCRIPTION TARGET NO. GU I DANCE
0 Rout ineS imp le
2 Standard
3 Demand ing
4 Dicult
5 Cha l l eng i ng
6 In t im idat i ng
7 Formidab le
8 Heroic
9 Immorta l
1 0 Imposs ib le
03
6
9
1 2
1 5
1 8
2 1
24
2 7
3 0
Anyone can d o this bas ica l ly every t ime.Most people can do thi s most of the t ime.
Typ ica l task requ i r ing cus , but most peop le can u sua l ly do th is .
Requi res l l attent ion; mos t people have a 50/50 chance to succeed.
Trai ned peop le h ave a 50/50 chan ce to succeed.
Even tra ined peopl e oen i l .
Nor mal peopl e a lmost never succeed.
Im poss ib le without sk i l l s or great eort .
A task worthy of tales told r years aerward.
A task worthy of legen ds th at last l ifetime s.
A task that normal h uma ns couldn 't consid er (but one that doesn't
break the laws of physics) .
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su m up , three th ings can decrease a task's d iculty :
sk i l ls , assets , an d Eort.
If you can decrease a t ask' s d icu lty to 0, you
automatical ly succeed and don't need to make a ro l l .
WHEN DO YOU ROLL?Any t ime your character attempts a task, the G M ass ig ns
a d ifculty to that task , and you ro l l a d20 agai nst the
associ ated target num ber.When you jum p fom a burn in g veh ic le , swi ng a batt leaxe
at a mutant beast, swi m across a ragin g river, id enti fy a
strange device, convi nce a merch ant to give you a lower
price, craft an object, use a power to control a e's m in d,
or use a heat-beam em itter to carve a ho le i n a wal l , you
make a d20 ro l l .
However, i fyou attempt something that has a diculty
of 0, no rol l is neededyou automa tical ly succeed. Ma ny
act ions h ave a d ifculty of. Examp les in c lu de walk ing
across the room and open in g a door, us in g a specia l abi l i ty
to negate gravity so you can y, u si ng an ab i l ity to protect
your iend om radi ation , or activatin g a device (that youalready understand) to erect a rce eld. These are al l
rout ine act ions and don ' t requ i re ro l l s .
Us i ng sk i l l , assets , and Eort , you can decrease the
difculty of potent ia l ly an y tas k to 0 and thu s negate the
need r a ro l l . Walk ing across a na rrow wooden beam i s
tr icky r most people , b ut r an exper ienced gymnast , i t 's
routin e. You can even decreas e the d icu lty of an attack on
a e to 0 and succeed without ro l l ing .
If there's no ro l l , there's no chan ce r i lu re. H owever,
there's a l so no chance r remarkable success ( in
PLAYR'S GD
Nu menera, that usu al ly means ro l l in g a 1 9 or 20; see
Specia l Ro l ls on page 8) .
COMBATMa ki ng an attack in com bat works the sa me way as any
other ro l l : the GM ass igns a d ifculty to the task, an d you
rol l a d20 against the associated target number.
The d icu lty of your attack rol l d epe nds on how powerful
your oppone nt is . Ju st as tasks have a difculty om 1 to1 0, creatures have a level om 1 to 1 0. Mos t of the tim e,
the d ifculty of your attack ro l l is the same as the creature's
level. For exampl e, if you attack a level 2 ba nd it, it 's a level 2
task, so your target nu mbe r is 6.
It 's worth n oting that players make al l di e rol ls . If a character
attacks a creature, the p layer makes a n attack roll . If a creature
attacks a character, the pl ayer makes a defense roll .
The da mage dealt by an attack is not determined b y a
rol lit's a at number based on the weapon or attack used.
For examp le, a s pear a lways does 4 points of damage.
You r Armor cha racterist ic reduces th e da mage you take
fom attacks directed at you. You get Armor om wearingphys ica l armor (such as a s turdy leather jerk in or cha i nmai l )
or fom specia l ab i l i t ies . L ike weapon dam age, Armor is
a at num ber, not a rol l . I f you' re attacked, su btract your
Armor om th e damage you take. For example, a leather
jerki n gives you 1 poin t of Armor, mean in g that you take
1 less poin t of da mage om attacks. If a ba ndi t hits you
with a k nife r 2 poi nts of da mage whi le you' re weari ng
a leather jerkin , you take only 1 poi nt of damage. If your
Armor reduces th e dama ge om a n attack to 0, you take no
da mage om that attack.
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LME NE
When you see the word "Armor capital ized i n the game
rules (other than a s the nam e of a specia l abi l i ty) , i t refers
to you r Armor cha racterist icthe nu mbe r you s ubtract
om incomi ng dam age. When you see the word "armor
with a l owercase "a, it rers to any physi cal ar mor you
mi ght wear.
Typical phys ica l weapons come i n three categor ies : l ight ,
medi um and heavy.
LIGHT WEAPONS in ict only 2 points of dam age, but they
reduce the d ifculty of the attack rol l by one step becau se
hey ae s and easy o use. L igh weapons a e punh es ,
k icks , c lu bs , kn ives , hand axes , rapiers , and so on. Weapons
that are part icu lar ly smal l are l ight weapons .
MED IUM WEAPONS in ict 4 points of damage. Medi um
weapons in c lud e swords , batt leaxes , maces , crossbows,
spears , and so on. Most weapons are medi um . Anythi ng
that coul d be used i n one ha nd (even if it ' s often used i n
two han ds , su ch as a quartersta or spear) is a medi umweapon.
HEAVY WEAPONS in ict 6 points of dam age, and you
mu st use two hand s to attack with them. Heavy weapons
are huge swords , great ham mers , mas s ive axes , ha l berds ,
heavy crossbows, and so on . Anythi ng that must be used i n
two ha nd s is a heavy weapon.
BONUSESRarely, an ab i l ity or piece of equ ip ment does not decrease
a task's d ifculty but instead adds a bon us to the d ie ro l l .
Bon uses always ad d togethe r, so if you get a +l bonus
om two dierent sources, you h ave a +2 b onu s. If you geteno ugh b onu ses to add up to a +3 bonu s r a task, treat
it as an asset : i nstead of addi ng the bonu s to your ro l l ,
decrease the d ifculty by one step. Therere, you never add
more than + l or +2 to a d ie ro l l .
SPECIAL ROLLSWhen you ro l l a natura l 1 9 ( the d20 shows " 1 9 ) and the
rol l is a success, you also have a minor eect. In combat,
a mi nor eect in icts 3 addit ion al poi nts of da mage with
your attack, or, if you'd prer a special resul t, you could
decide i nstead that you knock the e back, d i stract h im,
or somethin g s i mi lar . Whe n not in combat, a mi nor eectcould mean that you perrm the act ion with part icu l ar
grace. For exampl e, when jump ing down om a l edge, you
land smoothly on your feet, or when tryin g to persuade
someone, you convince h er that you' re smarter than you
real ly are. In other words , you not on ly succeed but also go
a bi t furth er.
When you ro l l a n atura l 20 (the d20 shows "20) a nd the
ro l l i s a success , you a lso have a major eect. This is s imi lar
to a min or eect, but the resu lts are more rema rkable .
In com bat, a major eect in i cts 4 addi tion al po ints of
You don't earn XP r ki l l ing es or overcomingstandard ch al l enges i n the course of p lay.Discovery is the soul of Nume nera.
damage with your attack, but agai n , you can choose in stead
to introduce a dramatic event such a s knockin g down your
e, s tunn i ng h im , or tak ing an extra act ion . O uts ide ofcombat, a major eect means that something benecial
happ ens based on the c ircumstance. For example, whe n
cl i mbi ng u p a c l i wal l , you make the ascent twice as st .
When a ol l gan s you a ajo ee, you an hoose o
use a m in or eect i nste ad i f you p refer.
I n combat (and only in combat) , if you ro l l a natura l 1 7
or 1 8 on your attack ro l l , you add l or 2 addit iona l pointsof da mage, respectively. N eit her rol l has any special eect
optionsjust the extra damage.
Rol l i ng a natura l l i s a lways bad . I t means that the G Mintroduces a new compl icat ion i nto the encounter.
NGE AND SPEEDDistance is s i mpl ied into three categor ies : im mediate,
short , and long.
I MM EDIATE DISTANCE om a cha racter is withi n reach or
with i n a few steps . I f a character stands in a sma l l room,
everythi ng i n the room is with i n i mmed iate d istance. At
most, im mediate d istance is 1 0 feet (3 m).
SHORT DISTANCE i s anythi ng greater than im mediate
di stance but les s than feet l m) or so.
LONG DI STANCE i s an ything greater than short d istancebut less than l 00 feet (30 m or so. (Beyond that range,distances are always specied feet [l 2 m], a m i l e [l . 6km] , and so on . )
The idea is that it 's not necessary to measu re precise
di stances . I mmedi ate d i stance is r ight there, pract ica l ly next
to the character. Short distance is nearby. Long distance is
rther o
Al l weapons and specia l a bi l i t ies use these terms r
ranges . For examp le, a l l mel ee weapons have immedi ate
rangethey are close-combat weapons, and you can use
them to attack anyone with i n im mediate d i stance of you. Ath rown kni fe (an d most othe r th rown weapo ns) h as sho rt
range. A bow has long range. A nano's On s lau ght abi l i ty
a lso ha s short range.
A character can move an immediate distance as part of
anoth er action. In oth er words, he can take a few steps over
to the control pa nel a nd act ivate a switch. H e can lu nge
across a sm al l room to attack a e. He can op en a door
and step through.
A character can m ove a short di stance as h is ent ire
action r a tur n. He can a lso try to move a lon g dista nce
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as h i s ent ire act ion, but the p layer might h ave to ro l l to
see if the cha racter s l i ps, tr ips, or stu mb les as the resu lt of
moving so r so quickly.
For exam ple, if the PCs are ght ing a group of abh uma ns ,
any character can l i ke ly attack any ab huma n in the genera l
meleethey're a l l with i n i mmed iate range. Exact pos it ions
aren't i mportant . Creatures i n a ght are a lways moving,
sh iin g, and jost l i ng, anyway. H owever, if one ab hum anstayed back to use h is cross bow, a character mi ght have to
use her ent ire action to move the sh ort di stance requ ired to
attack that e. It doesn' t matter if the ab hum an is 20 et
(6 ) o 40 fee (1 2 ) awayi's s i p ly ons id eed sho
di stance. It does matter if he' s more tha n 50 feet (1 5 m)
away because that distance would require a long move.
EXPEENCE POINTSExperience points (XP) are rewards given to players when
the GM i ntrudes on the story (th i s is ca l led GM i ntrus ion)
with a new and unexpected chal le nge. For example, in the
mid dle of combat, the GM mi ght inrm the p l ayer thathe drops h i s weapon. However, to intrude i n th i s ma nner ,
the G M m ust award the player 2 XP. The rewarded pl ayer,
in tu rn, mu st imm ediate ly g ive one of those XP to another
player and ju st i the g i (perhaps the other p l ayer had
a good id ea, told a n ny joke, perrmed a n action that
saved a l ife, an d so on) .
Alternat ive ly, the p l ayer can refuse the G M i ntrus ion . f he
does so, he doesn 't get the 2 XP om the G M, and he mu st
also spend XP that he already has. If the p l ayer has no XP
to spend , he can ' t rese the int rus ion .
The GM can a lso g ive p layers XP between ses s ions a s
a reward r recovering interesting articts or making
di scover ies d ur in g an adventure. You don' t earn XP rk i l l i ng es or overcoming s tandard cha l lenges i n the
course of p lay. Discovery is the s oul of N umen era.
Experience points are
used pr ima r i ly r character
advancement (r detai ls ,
see Cha pter 3: Creat ing Your
Character, page 1 0) , b ut a p l ayer
can a lso spend 1 XP to rero l l any
die ro l l and t ake the better of the
two ro l ls .
CYPHEAs expla ined in Ch apter 2 :N ume nera Overview, cyphe rs
are a type of nu men era that
have a s ing le m inor use. A
cha racter can carry cyphers an d
use them du r ing the game. You
can' t bear man y cyphe rs at a
t ime because a l arge num ber of
these weird items emit radiat ion
or dangerous chemica ls that
PLAYR'S GD
I n N umen era, players make al l die rolls . If a characterattacks a creature, the player makes an attack roll.If a creature attacks a cha racter, th e pl ayer makes adefense roll.
don't mi x wel l . Gather in g cyphers together in one p l ace is
extraordi nar i ly un healthy.
Characters wi l l nd new cyphers equent ly i n thecourse of p lay, so p layers should n't hes itate to use their
cypher abi l it ies. Because cyphers are always dierent, the
cha racters wil l al ways have new speci al powers to try.
Thee ae wo kinds of yphes anoetic and occultic
ANOETIC CYPH ERS are simple to use: a pi l l to swallow, a
small handheld device with a switch to ip, or a bomb to
throw.
OCCULTIC CYPHERS are more compl ex and more
dangerous, but they often have better and more interesting
eects. An occulti c cyph er counts as two cyphe rs r thepurpose of determini ng h ow many you can bear at the
same t ime .
OTHER DICEI n addit ion to a d20, you' l l need a d6 (a s ix-s ided di e) .
Rarely, you' l l need to rol l a n um ber between and 00
(oen cal l ed a d or d% ro l l ) , which you can do by ro l l in g
a d20 twice, us in g the las t d ig i t ofthe rst ro l l as the " tens
place and the la st d i g it ofthe second ro l l as the "ones
p lace . For example , ro l l i ng a 1 7 and a 9 g ives you 79 , ro l l i n g
a 3 and an 18 g ives you 38, and ro l l in g a 20 and a 10 g ives
you 00 (also known as 1 00) . I f you have a d 0 (a ten-si ded
die) , you can use it in stead of the d20 to ro l l nu mbersbetween and 1 00.
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LME NE
CAING YOURCHACER
This section eplains how to create charcters to play in aNumene game . r a ee downloadable copy of the ocial Numene
chacter sheet and a stepbystep guide to chacter creation using this sheet,visit www.numene. comchactersheet.
CHACTER STATS
Every p layer character ha s th ree denin g cha racter ist ics ,which are typical ly cal l ed "stat ist ics or "stats . These stats
are Might, Speed, and Intel lect. They are broad categories
that cover many d ierent b ut rel ated as pects of a ch aracter.
MIGHT Mi ght denes how strong and du rable your
character i s . T he concepts of strength, endurance,
constitut ion, ha rdiness , a nd phys ica l prowess are a l l lded
into this one stat. M ight isn 't relative to size; instead, it 's an
absolute measurement. An e lephant has more M ight than
the mi ght iest t iger, which has more M ight than the might iest
rat , which has more Mi ght than the might iest sp ider .
M ight governs action s fom rcing doors open to
walk i ng r days without od to res ist ing d i sease. I t 's a ls othe pr i mary means of determini ng how much da mage your
character can sustain i n a dangerous s ituat ion. Phys ica l
characters, tough characters, and characters interested in
ght ing shou ld cus on M ight .
SPEED Speed descr ibes how st and phys ica l ly
coordin ated your character is . The stat embodies q uicknes s ,
movement, d exterity, and reexes. S peed govern s such
divergent act ions a s dodgin g attacks , sneaki ng around
qu iet ly, and th rowing a bal l accurate ly. I t he lp s determi ne
whether you can move rther on your turn . N i mb le , st , or
sneaky characters wi l l wan t good Speed stats , as wi l l t hoseinterested i n ranged combat.
INTELLECT Thi s stat determines how smart ,
knowledgeab le , and l i kab le your character i s . I t in c ludes
inte l l igence , wisdom, char i sma, educat ion , reason ing , wit ,
wi l lpower, and charm . I nte l lect governs so lv ing puzzles ,
remember ing cts , te l l i ng conv inc ing l i es , and us in g
mental powers . Characters interested in commu nicat ing
eect ively, be ing lea rned scholars , and wie l d i ng the
nu menera shou ld stress thei r Inte l l ect stat .
POOL, EDGE, AND EFFORT
Each of these stats ha s two components: you r Pool an d yourEdge. Your Pool represents your raw, i nn ate abi l ity, and your
Edge represents knowi ng h ow to us e what you have. A third
eleme nt ties into thi s concept: Eort. When your cha racter
really needs to accomplish a task, you apply Eort.
PoolYou r Pool is the most b asi c measu rement of a stat.
Compa rin g the Pool s of two creatures wil l give you a
genera l sens e of wh ich creature is s uper ior in th at stat. For
examp le, a cha racter who has a M ight Pool of 1 6 is stronger
( in a b as ic sense) tha n a character who has a Mi ght Pool
of 1 2. Most characters start with a Pool of 9 to 1 2 in most
statsthat 's the average range.When your character is inj ured, s ickened, or attacked,
you temporar i ly lose points om one of your stat Pools . The
nature of the attack determin es whic h P ool loses points .
For example, physical damage om a sword reduces your
M ight Pool , a poison th at makes you c lumsy reduces your
Speed Pool , an d a ps ionic b l ast reduces your I nte l lect Pool .
You can a l so spend poi nts om one ofyour stat Pool s to
decrease a task' s dicu lty (see Eort, next page). You can
rest to regai n lo st points om a stat Pool (ask your G M
r add i t iona l inrmat ion) , and some spec ial ab i l i t ies or
numenera might al low you to recover lost points quickly.
EdgeAlthou gh your Pool is the bas ic meas urement of a stat, your
Edge is a lso i mportant. When somethi ng requi res you to
spen d poi nts om a stat Pool, your Edge r that stat reduces
the cost. It al so reduces th e cost of appl yin g Eort to a roll .
For example, let's say you have a mental blast ability, and
activating it costs 1 point om your I ntellect Pool. S ubtract your
I ntellect Edge om the activation cost, and th e result i s how
many points you mu st spend to use the mental bl ast. If usi ng
your E dge reduces the cost to 0, you ca n u se the abi lity r ee.
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You r Edge can be dierent r each stat. For examp le ,
you cou ld have a Might Edge of , a Speed Edge of , and
an I nte l lect Edge of 0. You' l l a lways h ave an Edge of at
le ast 1 in one stat. You r Edge r a stat redu ces the costof spen d in g points om that stat Pool, but not fom other
Pools . Your Mi ght Ed ge reduces the cost of spend ing points
om your Mi ght Pool , but it doesn't aect your S peed Pool
or Intel lect Pool. Once a stat's Edge reaches 3, you can
apply one level of Eort r fee.
A character who has a low Mi ght Pool but a h i gh
M ight Edge has the potent ia l to perrm M ight act ions
cons istently better tha n a character who ha s a M ight E dge
of. The h igh Edge wi l l let her reduce the cost of spend ing
points om the Pool , whi ch mea ns she' l l have more points
avai lab l e to spend on ap ply ing Eort .
EortWhen your cha racter real ly needs to accompl ish a task, you
can ap ply Eort. For a begin ni ng cha racter, app lyi ng Eort
requires spen di ng 3 poi nts om the stat Pool app ropr iate
to the act ion. Thu s , if your character tr ies to dodge an
attack (a Speed ro l l ) and wants to increase the chance r
success , you can app ly Eort by spendin g 3 points om
your S peed Pool. Eort lowers the d ifculty of the task by
one step. Thi s is cal led ap plyi ng one level of Eort.
You d on 't h ave to app ly Eort if you do n't want to. If you
PLAYR'S GD
choos e to ap pl y Eort to a task , you m ust do it be re you
attem pt the rol lyou can' t rol l rst and t hen d ecid e to
apply Eort if you rolled poorly.
Apply i ng m ore Eort can lower a task' s d ifculty rther :each ad dit ion al level of Eort reduces the d ifcu lty by
another step. Apply i ng one level of Eort lowers the
difculty by one step, ap ply i ng two levels lowers the
difculty by two steps , and so on. However, each level of
Eort aer the rst costs on ly 2 points fom th e stat Pool
in stead of 3. So ap ply i ng two level s of Eort costs 5 points
(3 r the rst leve l p lus 2 r the second leve l ) , app ly i ng
three leve ls costs 7 po ints (3 p l us 2 p lu s 2) , and so on .
Every character has a n Eort score, wh ic h in d icates th e
maximu m num ber of leve ls ofEort that can b e app l ied
to a rol l . A begi nn in g (rst-tier) cha racter has an Eort of
, mea nin g you can apply only one level of Efrt to a ro l l .A more experie nced cha racter ha s a h igh er Eort score
and c an ap ply mo re levels of Eort to a rol l . For exampl e, a
cha racter who has an Eort of 3 can a ppl y up to three levels
of Efrt to red uce a ta sk 's d icu lty.
When you a ppl y Eort, subtract you r relevant Edge om
the total cost of app lyi ng Eort. For exampl e, let's say you
need to make a Speed rol l . To in crease you r cha nce r
success , you decide to ap ply one l evel of Eort , which wi l l
reduce the d ifculty ofthe task b y one s tep . Normal ly, that
woul d cost 3 po ints om you r Speed Pool . H owever, you
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LME NE
have a Speed Edge of 2, so you su btract that om the cost.
Th us, a ppl yin g Eort to the rol l costs on ly 1 poin t om your
Speed Pool .
What if you appl ied two levels of Eort to the Speed ro l l
i ns tead of ju st one ? That would reduce th e d ifculty of the
task by two steps. Norm al ly, it would cost 5 poi nts om
your Speed Pool, but after subtractin g you r Speed Edge of
2, it costs on ly 3 points.Once a stat 's Edge reaches 3, you can appl y one level of
Eort r ee. For examp le, if you have a S peed Edge of 3
an d you app ly one l evel of Eort to a Speed rol l , it costs you
0 poins o you Speed Pool . (Noa l ly , apply in g one
level of Eort woul d cost 3 po ints , b ut you su btract your
Speed Edge fom that cost, reduci ng it to 0.)
Ski l l s and other advantages a lso decrease a task's
d icu lty , and you can use them in conjunct ion with Eort .
I n add i t ion , your character might have spec ia l ab i l i t ies or
equi pment that a l low you to apply Efrt to accompl i sh a
speci al eect, such as knocki ng down a e with an attack
or aect ing mu lt ip l e targets with a power that norma l lyaects only one.
Eort and DamageI n stead of app lyi ng Eort to red uce the di culty of your
attack, you can app ly Efrt to i ncrease th e amou nt of
damage you inict with an attack. For each level of Eort
you ap ply in t h is way, you in ict 3 addi t ional points of
da mage. Th is works r any ki nd of attack that i ni cts
damage, whether a sword, a crossbow, a mind blast, or
someth in g e lse .
When usi ng Eort to in crease the dama ge of an a rea
attack, such as the explos ion created by a nano' s F l ash
abi l i ty, you in ict 2 addit i onal points of dam age insteadof 3 poi nts. However, the add iti ona l poi nts are dealt to
al l targets in the a rea. F urther, even i f one or more of the
targets in the area res ist the attack, you st i l l i n i ct 1 point of
dam age to them .
Multiple Uses of Eort and EdgeIf your Eort is 2 or hi ghe r, you can ap ply Eort to mul tip le
aspects of a s i ng le act ion. For example, if you ma ke an
attack, you can a pply Eort to your attack ro l l and app ly
Eort to i ncrease the d amage .
The total amount of Eort you apply can 't be h igh er tha n
your Eort score. For examp le, if your Eort is 2 , you ca napply up t o two levels of Eort. You could apply one level
to an attack rol l an d one level to its dam age, two level s to
the attack and no levels to the da mage, or no levels to the
attack and two levels to the dam age.
You can use Edge r a part icu lar stat only once per
action . For exampl e, i f you app ly Eort to a M ight attack
ro l l and to your damage, you can use your M ight E dge to
reduce the cost of one of those use s of Eort, not both. If
you spen d 1 I nte l lect point to act ivate your mind b last and
one level o f Eort to decrease the di fculty of the attack ro l l ,
you can u se your I nte l lect Edge to reduce the cost of one of
those th ings , n ot both.
STAT EXAMPLESA beginning character is ghting a creature cal led a broken
hou nd. She stabs her spear at the broken houn d, which is
a level 2 creature and th us has a target nu mbe r of 6. The
character stands atop a boulder and strikes downward atthe beast , and the GM ru les that th is he lpl tact ic is an
asset that decreases th e di culty by one step (to di fculty
1 ) . That l owers the target nu mbe r to 3. Attacking with a
spea is a M igh a ion he ha ae has a M igh Pool
of 1 1 and a M ight Edge of 0. Bere making the ro l l , she
deci des to a pply a level of Eort to decrease the d ifculty
of the attack. That costs 3 poi nts om her M ight Pool ,
reduc ing the Pool to 8 . But they appear to be po ints we l l
spent . Apply i ng the Efrt lowers th e d iculty om 1 to 0 ,
so no ro l l is neededthe attack automatica l ly succeeds .
Another cha racter is attempti ng to convince a gua rd
to let h im into a pr ivate oce to speak to an in u ent i a lnob le . The GM ru les that th is i s an I nte l lect act ion . The
character i s th i rd t ier and ha s an Eort of3 , an I nte l lect
Poo l of 1 3 , and an I nte l lect Edge of 1 . Bere mak ing
the ro l l , h e mu st dec id e whether to app ly Eort . He can
choose to appl y one, two, or three l evels of Eort , or app ly
none at a l l . Th is act ion i s i mportant to h im, so he dec ides
to app ly two l evels of Eort , decreas i ng the d ifculty by
two steps . Th an ks to h is I nte l l ect Edge, apply i ng the Eort
costs on ly 4 points fom his I nte l l ect Pool (3 poi nts r the
rst level of Eort p lus 2 p oints r the second l evel mi nu s
1 po int r h i s Edge) . Spen d in g those po ints reduces
h i s I nte l lect Poo l to 9 . The GM dec ides that conv inc in g
the gua rd is a d ifculty 3 (dem and in g) task wit h a targetnu mbe r of 9; a pply i ng two levels of Eort reduces t he
d ifcu l ty to 1 (s im p le) and the target nu mber to 3 . The
p layer rol l s a d20 and gets an 8 . Because th is resu l t i s at
least equa l to the target nu mber of the task , he succeeds .
However, if he ha d n ot appl ied so me Eort , he would have
i l ed because h is ro l l (8) wou ld h ave been less than the
task 's or ig in a l target num ber (9) .
CHACTER TIE AND BENEFITSEvery character starts the game at the rst tier. Tier
is a meas uremen t of power, tough nes s , an d ab i l i ty .
Cha racters can advan ce up to the s ixth t ie r. As yourcharacter advances to h igher t iers , you ga in more
ab i l i t ies , in crease your Eort , and can im prove a stat 's
Edge or increase a stat. Gene ral l y speaki ng, even rst t ier
cha racters are a l ready qu ite capa ble . I t ' s safe to assu me
that they've a l ready got some exper ience und er thei r be lt .
This is not a "zero to hero progress ion , but rather an
in stance of competent peop le ren i ng and hon i ng the i r
capab i l i t ies and knowledge . Advanc ing to h igher t iers i s
not rea l ly the "goa l of Nu menera characters , but rather a
representation of how characters progress in a story.
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Every cha racter starts the game at the rst tie r.Tier is a measurement of power, toughness, andab i l ity. Characters can advan ce up to the s ixth tier.
To progress to the next tier, ch aracters earn experi encepoints (XP) by goin g on adventures and di scover ing new
thi ngsthe Ni nth World is about d iscovery of the past an d
what it means r the future. Experience points have many
uses , and one u se i s to purchase cha racter benets . Aer
your character pu rchases ur cha racter benets , he or she
goes up to the n ext tier. Eac h ben et costs 4 XP, and you
can pu rchase them in any order, but you mu st purchase
one of each kin d of benet (after which you advan ce to the
next tier be re you can purch ase the same benet again .
Th e ur character benets are as l lows.
I NCREASIN G CAPABILITI ES You gai n 4 poi nts to add toyour stat Pools . You can a l l ocate the points a mong the
Pools however you wish .
MOVIN G TOWARD PERFECTION : You add 1 to your M ight
Edge, your Speed Ed ge, or your I nte l lect Edge (your choice) .
EXTRA EFFORT: You r Eort score in creases by 1 .
SKILLS: You become t ra i ned i n one s k i l l o f your cho ice,
other than attacks or defense . As descr ibed i n the Ru les
PLAYR'S GD
Overv iew (page 6) , a character t ra in ed i n a sk i l l t reats the
d ifcu l ty of a re lated task as on e s tep lower than norma l .
The s k i l l you choose r th i s benet can be anyth i ng
y ou w i s h , s u c h a s c l i m b i n g , j u m p i n g , p e r su a d i n g , o r
sneak i ng . You can a l so choose to be knowledgeab le i n a
certain area of lore, such as history or geology. You caneven choose a sk i l l based on your character ' s spec ia l
ab i l i t ies . For example , i f your character can m ake an
I nte l lect ro l l to b las t an ene my with menta l rce , you can
become tra ined in us i ng that ab i l i ty, t reat in g i ts d ifcu l ty
as one s tep lower than n ormal . I f you choose a sk i l l that
you are a l ready t ra ined in , you become spec ia l ized in that
ski l l , redu ci ng the d ifcu lty of re lated tasks by two steps
in stead of one .
P layers can a lso spen d 4 XP to purchase other spec ia l
opt ions in l i eu of ga in in g a new sk i l l . Se lect ing any of these
optio ns counts as the s ki l l benet necessary to advance to
the n ext t ier. The s pecia l opt ions are as l lows: Reduce the cost r wear ing armor. Th is opt ion lowers
the M ight cost by 1 and lowers the Speed red uction by 1 .
Add 2 to your recovery rol ls .
If you' re a glaive, select a new ghting m ove. Th e move
mu st be fom you r tier or a lower tier.
If you' re a na no, select a n ew esotery. The esotery must
be om your tie r or a lower tie r.
If you' re a jack, s elect a n ew trick of the trade. The trick
mu st be fom you r tier or a lower tier.
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LME NE�
SKILLSSometimes your character gai ns tra in in g in a specic ski l l or task. For examp le, your cus mi ght mean that you' re
tra ined in sneak ing , i n c l i mb in g and jum ping , or in soc ia l interact ions . Other t imes , your character can choose a sk i l l
to become tra ined i n , and you can p ick a sk i l l that re lates to any task you th ink you might ce.
The game has no den it ive l ist of ski l ls . However, the l l owing l i st oers ideas :
Astronomy Hea l i ng Perception
Ba l anc i ng History Persuas ionBiology Ident i ing Ph i losophy
Botany In it iat ive P ickpocket ing
Carrying Int imidat ion Repa i r ing
C l imb ing u m p i n g R id i ng
Deceiv ing Leatherworking Smash ing
Escap ing Lockpicking Sneak ing
Geography Metalworking Swimming
Geology Numenera Woodworking
You cou ld ch oose a sk i l l that incorporates more than one of these areas ( interact ing might i nc lude dece iving ,
int i m idat ing , and persuad in g) or i s a more specic vers ion of one (h id i ng might be sneak i ng when you ' re not
moving) . You cou ld a lso ma ke up more genera l , profess iona l sk i l l s , such as baker, sa i lo r , or lumber jack . I f youwant to choose a ski l l that 's not on th i s l i st , i t 's probabl y best to run it past the GM rst , but in gen eral , the most
im portant aspect is to choose ski l l s that are app ropr iate to your ch aracter.
Remember that if you ga in a s k i l l that you ' re a l ready t ra ined in , you become spec ia l ized i n that sk i l l . Because
sk i l l descr ipt ions can be neb u lous , d etermin ing whether you ' re t ra ined or spec ia l ized might take some th in k ing .
For exampl e , if you ' re t ra ined in ly ing and later ga in an ab i l i ty that grants you sk i l l w i th a l l soc ia l interact ions , you
become spec ia l ized i n ly in g and t ra ined in a l l other types of interact ions . Be ing t ra ined three t imes i n a sk i l l i s no
better than be i ng t ra ined twice ( in other words , spec ia l ized i s as good as i t gets ) .
Only sk i l l s gained th rough character type abi l i t ies , su ch as the g la ives ght ing moves cus abi l i t ies , or other rare
in stances a l l ow you to become s ki l led with attack or defense tasks .
I f you gain a s pecia l abi l i ty through your type, your cus , or some other aspect of your character, you can ch oose
it in p lace of a ski l l a nd become tra ined or specia l ized in that abi l i ty. For examp le, if you have a mind b last , when it 's
t ime to choose a ski l l to be tra ined in , you can se lect your m ind b last as your ski l l . That woul d reduce the d ifculty
every t ime you used it . Each a bi l i ty you have counts as a sep arate ski l l r th i s pu rpose. You can't se lect "a l l min dpowers or "a l l esoter ies as one s ki l l an d become tra ined or specia l ized in s uch a broad category.
CHACTER DESCPTOR,
TPE, AND FOCUSTo create your character, you bu i l d a s im pl e statemen t that
descr ibes h im or her. The statement takes th i s rm: " I am
a [ l l i n an adject ive here] [ l l i n a n oun here] who [ l l i n a
verb he re].
Thu s : " I am an adjective noun who verbs" For example ,you might say, " I am a Rugged glaive who Controls Beasts
or " I a m a Charmin g nano who Focuses M ind over Matter.
I n th is sentence, the adject ive is ca l led your descriptor
The noun is your character type
The verb is ca l l ed your focus
Even thou gh ch aracter type is in t he mi ddl e of the
sentence, that 's where we' l l start th is d isc uss io n. (J ust as in
a sentence, the no un provides the un dat ion.)
Character type is the core of your cha racter. In some
roleplayi ng games, it might be cal led your character class .
Your type he lps d etermine your character's place i n the world
and re lat ionsh ip with other people in the sett ing. I t 's the
noun of the sentence "I am an adjective noun who verbs"
You can ch oose om three character types: gl aive, jack,
and nano .
Descr iptor denes your c haracterit avors everything
you do. Your descr iptor p l aces your cha racter in t he
s ituat ion (the rst adventure, which starts the campaign)and help s provide motivat ion. I t 's th e adjective of the
sentence " I am an adjective noun who verbs"
You can c hoose om twelve cha racter descri ptors.
Focus is what your character does best . Focus g ives your
character specicity and provides interest ing new ab i l i t i es
that mi ght come i n ha ndy. Your cus a lso helps you
un de rstand h ow you relate with the othe r player characters
in your group. It ' s the verb of the sentence "I am an
adjective noun who verbs"
The re are many cha racter ci to choose om.
1
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SPECIAL ABILITIESCha racter types and ci grant PCs speci al a bi litie s at each new
tier. Usi ng these abi l it ies usu al ly costs poi nts om your stat
Pools; the cost is listed in parentheses aer the ability name.
You r Edge i n the ap propriate stat can reduce the cost ofthe
abi l ity, but remembe r that you can app ly Edge only once per
action. For example, let's say a nano with an Intellect Edge of
2 wants to use his On sla ught ab il ity to create a bolt of rce,whic h costs 1 I ntell ect point. He also wants to increase the
dam age om the attack by us in g a l evel of Eort, which costs
3 I ntell ect point s. The total cost r his action is 2 points om
hi s I ntell ect Pool (1 point r the bolt of rce pl us 3 poi nts r
usi ng Eort minu s 2 points om h is Edge).
Sometimes the point cost r an a bi l i ty has a + s ign after
the n um ber. For examp le, the cost might be g iven as "2+
I nte l lect points . That means you can spend more points or
more l evels of Eort to im prove the ab i l ity rthe r.
Many speci a l a bi l i t ies grant a character the opt ion to
PLAYR'S GD
perrm an act ion that she coul dn't no rmal ly do, such as
project in g rays of cold or attacking mu lt ip l e es at once.
Us ing o ne of these ab i l i t ies is an act ion u nto itse lf, and th e
end of the ab i l i ty's descr ipt ion says "Act ion to remin d you.
It a l so mi ght provide more i nrmation about when or how
you perrm the action.
Some spec ia l ab i l i t ies a l low you to perrm a mi l ia r
actionone that you can a lready doin a d ierent way. Forexampl e, an a bi l ity mig ht let you wear heavy armor, reduce
the d ifculty of Speed defens e rol ls , or add 2 poi nts of re
damage to your weapon da mage. These ab i l i t ies are cal led
enab lers . U s i ng one of these abi l i t ies is not cons idered an
act ion. Ena blers e ither funct ion constant ly (such as bein g
able to wear heavy armor, whic h i sn 't an act ion) or hap pen
as pa rt of another act ion ( such a s add ing re damage to
your weapon d amage, whi ch happ ens as part of your attack
act ion) . If a specia l abi l i ty is an en able r, the end of the
abi l i ty 's descr ipt ion says "En abler to remind you.
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LME NE
CHACER PE
Chacter type is the core of your chacte In some leplaying games, it m ight be calledyour chacter class. Your type he lps determine your chacter's place in the world and relationship with other people in the setting. It's the noun of the sentence "I am an adjective
n o u n who verbs."You can choose om three chacter types: glaie, nano, andjack.
GLAIVEGla ives a re the e l i t e war r io r s of the N i n th Wor ld , u s i ng
weapons and a rmor to ght the i r enem ies . Hu nte r s,gua rd i ans , and so ld i e r s cou ld be g l a i ves . Somet imes
scouts , war lords , ban d i ts , a nd even ath letes are
g l a i ves . "G l a i ve i s a common s l ang te rm used a lmos t
everywhere in the Steadst and the Beyond r any
person sk i l l ed with weapons or a mart ia l a r t, but in
t ruth , i t app l ies on l y to the best of the best . G la ives are
warr iors who comma nd a b i l i t ies r beyond those of a
typical person with a sword.
Most g la ives are e ither strongusi ng the heaviest armor
and weapons avai la b le and h aving a h igh M ightor st,
s t ick ing with l ight weapons and armor and hav ing a h igh
Speed . A few attempt to use both Mi ght and S peed and stay
somewhere in the midd le . Gl a ives a lso use ranged weaponssuch as bows or darts. Some don 't re ly on weapons at a l l ,
preferr ing to use the ir bodies i n ha nd-to-hand combat
punching, k icking, grabbing, throwing, and so on.
Glaives in Society: I n mo st ci t ies and v i l l ages , peop le ho ld
gla ives i n great esteem. Although a g la ive could just as
l i kely be a thug as a nob le warrior, those who h elp p rotect
thei r fe l l ow hum ans om the d angers of the Ni nth World
are always treated with respect. There is no shame in
gett ing paid r the use of one's sk i l l s , so bein g a b lade r
hi re is a perct ly acceptable pross ion. Restr ict ions on
carry ing weapons openl y are rare, a nd most g la ives wearthe too ls of the i r t rade with pr ide .
Not surpr i s i ng ly, g l a ives oen get a long best with other
g la ives, or at least so ld iers , guards , or s imi lar comrades
in arms . Nanos , scho lars , and peop le who aren ' t terr ib ly
phys ica l are les s l i ke ly to mix wel l with g la ives , but obvious ly
not every gla ive is the same. They cus on th eir bodi es, but
that doesn't mean they don't valu e more cerebral p ursu its
as wel l . A g la ive need n ot l low the stereotype of the d um b
bru ise r with a sword or an axe.
GLAIVE STAT POOLSStat
MightSpeed
Inte l lect
Pool Starting Value
1 11 0
7
You get 6 addi t ional points to d iv ide amon g your stat Pools
however you wis h.
Glaives in the Group: I n a group ofexplorers , g la ives
typical l y take the lead . They're us ual ly the most phys ica l ly
capable , th e most durabl e , an d the most ready to meet
da nger head -on . Someti mes th ey act protectively toward
thei r compan ions ; other t imes , they're more se lf- i nterested.
Eit her way, a gl aive' s pl ace is often i n the mid dle of the ay.
Glaives and the Numenera: When it comes to the
nu menera, most g la ives are interested in weapons , armor,
or devices that a id the m i n combat. The ancients produced
al l sorts of incredi b ly du rable su bstances , man y of which
can be made into armor that is l ighter and more protective
than steel . Sometimes , g la ives can scavenge a suit of armor
composed of these a dvanced materia ls , but more often they
nd the mater ia ls a nd the n as k a crafter or smith to ma ke
the arm or. Of course, th e probl em is that a substa nce th at
is dicu lt to damage is als o hard to work.
As var ied as armor ing mater ia l s might be , nu menera
weaponry i s in n i te ly more so . These items in c lu demelee weapons that sh ock , s tun , or bu rn whatever they
touch ; an d ranged weapons that b las t p ro ject i l es with
incred i b le power or bursts of s t range energ ies . There are
a l so bombs , d amag ing energy e lds , po i sonous gases ,
and r s t ranger weaponry, but some g l a ives nd th at
suc h com pl ex objects are better o in the ha nd s of a
nano . Ma neuverab i l i ty i s ju s t as im portant as attack or
defens e, h owever , so an it em that a l l ows a g la ive to move
qu ickly or negate gravity is a great pr ize.
As r cyphers, glaives prefer physical ly en hanc ing or
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restorative objects, such as i njections of chem ical s that
imp rove reaction time or pi l ls with microscopic repai r devices
that heal wounds and restore tigued muscle tissue. They
use the n ickname " boost r any cypher that enh ances their
strength, stamina, reexes, or other physical as pects, whi le
one that repairs damage or al leviates tigue is cal led a "treat.
Advanced Glaives: As they progress , gl aives become bettercombatants , oen fel l in g mu lt ip l e es in a s in g le stroke.
They gain s peci al types of attacks and learn to use armor
more ecientl y to get the most out of the protection it
oes.
GLAIVE BACKGROUNDGl aives are no mere band its or town gua rds. They stand
head and shou lders above ordi nary soldiers and brawlers.
Something in your backgroundwhether intensive trai ni ng,
in born traits, or biomechan ical modicationhas made
you more than th e others around you . Choose one of those
three options (described below) as the so urce of your ski l ls ,strength, reexes, and stamina. It wil l provide the undation
of your backgroun d a nd gi ve you an idea of how you can
imp rove. The GM can use this inrmation to develop
adventures an d que sts that are specic to your cha racter and
play a role i n your advancement.
Intensive TrainingYou a re strong, st, or both, but what real ly separates you
om the crowd is you r trai ni ng. Pe rhap s you ascended
the h ighest peak of the B lack R iage or sought the deepest
sewers beneath Qi to nd teachers who coul d sh ow you
how to move, ght , and en du re beyond no rmal h um an
l i mits . You know a thousand ways to ki l l a e, most of themsecret to al l but a chos en few. You 're p rivy to techni que s
and ght in g sty les that most people i n the N inth World
have never seen. You have learned that the i mposs ib l e is
poss ib leas lon g as you know the secret. You r body is a
weapon , an d your weapon i s part of your body. You have
stud ied with the master s, and now you carry that regime n
as you ventu re into the world .
Advancement: You need to tra i n a nd pract ice constant ly
to hone your sk i l l s and deve lop new techn iques , bu i l d ing
on what you've been taught . Perh aps at some point you wi l l
return t o your secret masters r further i n it iat ion or nd
new teachers or les sons t hat can take you to the next step.When you gain addit ional points r your stat Pools , an
in crease to a stat's Ed ge, or an increase i n the l evel of Eort
you can a pp ly, the be net comes as the res ul t of rigorou s
exercise and perso nal developmen t. When you gai n a new
ski l l or glaive abi l ity, it 's the resu lt of the ma rtial arts you h ave
studied.
Inborn TraitsYou've tra ined und er excel lent in structors and have
exper ience in many dangerous s itu at ions , but what
PLAYR'S GD
makes you dierent is deep ins ide, entwined i n your
genet ic her i tage . Maybe i t was the lu ck of be in g born t .
Maybe you' re a hul k in g brutea mountain ous gure who
comma nd s attention when you enter a room. Or maybe
your strength is more subt le ; you might be the descendant
of a b ioengi neered race bred ( or des igned) r perfect ion.
Perhaps you're a mutant with psychi c abi l i t ies that augment
your phys ica l n ature; you gu ide an d en han ce your attackswith te leki nes i s , or you use a natura l mutat ion in your
brain to contro l matter on a molecul ar level to res ist b lows
and in ict harm. Perhaps you' re somethin g whol ly new:
an abe aion o a hu an so pefe ha you 'e beyond
hum an. You m ight be a posth um anthe next step toward
the true dest iny of the people of the Ni nth World .
Advancement: You h ave talents of whic h you are only
di mly aware. You mu st practice and experime nt to nd your
l i mitation s, if any. At some point i n the future, you migh t
have to seek out someone who can hel p you master your
in herent a bi l it ies. You were born with great powernow you
need to learn how to use th at power, even if the ed ucatio ntakes a l ifetime .
When your stats i mprove, i t 's because you're tapping
deeper into the un known reserves withi n you. When you gai n
a new glaive abi l ity, it 's the result ofyour superhu man traits
as m uch as it is a bout your study, practice, or knowledge. You
can do thin gs that other people si mpl y can not, no matter how
hard they train.
Biomechanical ModicationYou m ight be a ghter, b ut you're no archa ic stereotype
thi s is the N inth World , after a l l . A lthough you tra i ned and
gained your sha re of pract ica l exper ience, you have the
nu menera on your s ide as we l l . Some of your knowledge ofght ing techn i ques i s im p lanted in your bra in an d sp ine ,
wired i nto your nerves and mu scles . Your jo ints h ave
surgical ly implanted servo motors . Subdermal p lat ing
makes you tougher than shou ld be poss ib le . Your musc le
t issue i s augmented with art icia l bers .
Perhaps your genet ic code has been rewritten by
engi neered viruses , or the t issues in your body have
been reworked by nan otech, turn in g you into an efcient
battle machine. Or maybe you've been altered by strange
scie nceradioa ctive treatments of biza rre energies ,
chemica l compounds and drugs , or extrad ime ns iona l
en ha ncemen tsthat m akes you stronger, ster, tough er,and more procient i n attack and defense tha n anyone
around you .
Whatever the case, you're the result o fancient knowledge
made ma nifest in the present, and now you're sha pin g the
future. Perha ps your modications are obvious and vis ible ;
perhaps they're not. Regardless , you know that you're more than
merely human.
Advancement: You r body is an on goin g project. In a way,
it 's a work of art, al thou gh its beauty comes not fom its
ap pearance but om what it can do . As you go rward,
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LME NE
you sho ul d keep an eye out at al l t ime s r new parts and
systems t hat can be in corporated into your body, or new
doses of drugs and supp lements to mainta in your ab i l i t ies .
You m ight need to seek out surgeons , mecha nics , or
bioen hancement s pecia l i sts to take you to the next level .
Perhaps the Aeon Pr iests can h elp . Perhaps the pa rts you
need can be und o nly in the ru in s of the past or the
da ngerous bl ack ma rket of a raway city.When your stats imp rove, i t 's because you l i tera l ly h ave
added someth in g new to your body. When you gai n a new
abi l i ty, i t 's the d irect result of a tangib le cha nge in your own
phys ia l be ing .
GLAIVE TIE
First-Tier GlaiveFi rst-t ier g la ives have the l lowing ab i l i t ies :
Eort: Your Eort is 1 .
Fighter: You h ave a M ight Edge of 1 , a Speed Edge of 1 ,
and an I nte l lect Edge of.Cypher Use: You ca n bear two cyphers at a ti me.
Practiced in Ar mor: Gla ives can wear armor r long
per iods of t ime without t ir ing and can compensate r
slowed reactions om wearing armor. You can wear any kind
of armor. You reduce the M ight cost per hour r weari ng
armor and the Speed Pool reduct ion r wear ing armor by 2.
Enabler.
Practiced With All Weapon s: You can use any weapon.
Enabler .
Physical Skills: You a re trai ned in you r choice of one of
the l lowing : ba lanc ing , c l imb i ng , jumpin g , or swimm ing .
Enabler .
Starting Equipment: You start with cloth in g, two weapo ns(or one weapon and a s h ie ld ) , l ight or med i um armor, an
explorer 's pack, two cyphers (chosen r you by the GM ),
one odd i ty (chosen r you by the GM ) , a nd 5 s h i ns (co ins ) .
If you start with a ran ged weapon that requ ires am mu niti on
(arrows, r examp le) , you start with 1 2 of that type of
am mun it ion. Bere se lect in g your weapons , armor, and
other gear, you might wan t to wait unt i l after you've chosen
your ght in g moves , descr iptor, an d cus .
Fighting Moves: You have a speci al tale nt r combat
and can perrm feats that others can barely i magi ne.
These ats are cal led . Some ght in g moves are constant ,
ongoing eects , a nd others a re specic act ions t hat us ual lycost poi nts om one of your stat Pools .
Choose two ofthe ghti ng moves descri bed bel ow. You
can't choose the same ght in g move more than once
un less its descr ipt ion says otherwise.
• Bash 1 Might point): This is a pu mme l in g melee attack.Your attack inicts 1 less point of damage than normal ,
but dazes your target r one round , dur in g wh ich t i me
the d icu l ty of a l l t asks i t perrms i s mod ied by one
step to its detr iment .
• No Need r Weapons: When you make an u narmed
attack (such as a punch or k ick) , i t counts as a medi um
weapon instead of a l i ght weapon. En able r.
• Pierce 1 Speed point): This is a wel l -a imed, penetrat ingranged attack. You make an attack and in ict 1 ad dit ional
point of dam age if your weapon has a sha rp poi nt. Action.
• Thrust 1 Might point): This is a powerful melee sta b. Youmake an attack and in ict 1 addit io nal point of damage if
your weapon h as a s harp edge or point . Act ion.• Trained Without Armor: You are trained in Speed defense
act ions wh en not wear ing ar mor. Enab ler .
Second-Tier GlaiveSecond-t ier g la ives have the l lowing ab i l i t ies :
Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack i n wh ich
you are not a l ready tra ined : l ight bash ing , l ight b laded , l ight
ranged , med iu m bash i ng , med ium b l aded , med ium ranged ,
heavy bashi ng, he avy blade d, or heavy ranged. You are
tra ined in attacks us i ng that type of weapon. Enab ler .
Fighting Moves: Choose one of the l lowing ght ing
moves (o r a move om a lower tier) to add to yourreperto i re . In add i t ion , you can rep lace one ofyour rst-t ier
ght ing moves with a d ierent rst-t ier ght ing move.
• Chop (2 Might points): Th is i s a heavy, powerful s l ice
with a b l aded weapon, probably overha nd. You m ust gr ip
your weapon with two hands to chop. When making th is
attack, you take a 1 penalty to the attack ro l l , a nd you
in ict 3 add it ional points of dama ge. Act ion.
• Crush (2 Might points): This i s a powerl pummel ing
attack with a bas hi ng weapon, probably overhan d. You
mu st grip your weapon with two han ds to crush . ( If
ght in g unarmed , th i s attack is made with both sts or
bot h feet together.) When mak ing th is attack, you take a
1 penalty to the attack ro l l , and you in ict 3 addi t ionalpoints of damage. Act ion.
• Reload 1 Speed point): When us ing a weapon thatnormally requires an action to reload, such as a heavy
crossbow, you can reload and re (or re and reload) in
the same act ion . Enab ler .
• Sk ill With Dense: Choose o ne type of defens e task
in whic h you are not a l ready tra ined : M ight , Speed, or
I ntel l ect. You are trained in defens e tasks of that type.
Un l i ke most ght ing moves , you can se lect th is move up
to three times. Each time you select it , you must choose
a di erent type of defens e task. Ena bl er.
• Successive Attack (2 Speed points) : If you take down ae, you can im med iately make anoth er attack on that
same turn again st a new e with i n your reach. The
second attack is part of the sa me act ion. You can u se th i s
ghting move with melee attacks and ranged attacks.
Enabler .
Third-Tier GlaiveThi rd -t ier g la ives have the l lowing ab i l i t ies :
Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time.
Sk il l With Attacks: Choose on e type of attack in which
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PLAYR'S GD
GLAIVE CONNECTIONRoll a d20 or choose om the llowi ng l ist to determi ne a specic ct about your backgroun d that provides a
conn ection to the rest of the world . You ca n a lso create you r own ct.
Roll Background
1 You were i n tle mi l i ta! an lave iens wlo st i l l serve. Your rmer commane r rememers ylo w
l ___
2 You were the persona l gua rd of a wealthy merchant who accused you of the. You left her service in di sgrace.
3 You were tle ou ncer in a local ar r a wli le, an tle patrons tlere remem er you.
4 You trai ned with a hi ghl y respected mentor. He regards you well , but he has many ene mie s.5 You train ed in an isol ated monaste r awa . The mo nks thi nk of you as a brother, but you're a stranger to all others.
6 You have no rmal tra in ing. Your abi l i t ies come to you natura l ly (or un natura l ly) .
7 You s nt t ime on the streets and even were in r ison r a whi le .
8 You wee onsi ped ino i l i ay sevie, bu you dese ed bee lon g.
9 You served as a bodygu ard to a owerful cri mi na l who now owes you h is li fe.
1 0 You worked a s a constable . Everyone knows you, but thei r opin ion s of you vary.
1 1 Your o lder s ib l ing i s an inmous g la ive who has been d isgraced .
1 2 You served as a caravan guard. You know a smatter ing of people i n many cit ies and towns.
1 3 Your best iend i s a sage and a scholar . She i s a great source ofknowledge.
1 4 You and a iend both smo ke the same kin d of rare, expens ive tobacco. The two of you get togethe r weekly to
chat and smoke.
1 5 Your uncle runs a theater i n town. You know al l the actors and watch a l l the shows r ee.1 6 Your b lacksmith iend sometimes cal ls on you r hel p at the rge. However, h e pays you wel l .
1 7 Your mentor wrote a book on the martial arts. Sometimes other warriors seek you out to ask about its stranger passages.
1 8 A man you ught a long s ide i n the mi l i tary i s now the mayor of a nearby town.
1 9 You saved the l ives of a mi ly when their hou se bu rned down. They're inde bted to you, and th eir nei ghbors
regard you as a hero.
20 Your old tra ine r st i l l expects you to come back and sharpen her b lades and c lean up aer her c lasses , but when
you do, she occas iona l ly shares interest ing rumors .
you are not a l ready tra ined: l ight bashi ng, l ight b laded, l i ght
ranged , med iu m bash i ng , med ium b l aded , med ium ranged ,
heavy bashi ng, h eavy bl aded , or heavy ran ged. You are
tra ined in attacks us i ng that type of weapon. Enab ler .Fighting Moves: Choose one of the l lowing ght ing
moves (or a move om a lower t ier) to add t o your
reperto ire . I n addit ion, you can a lso replace on e of your
lower-tier ghtin g moves with a d ierent ghtin g move
om the sa me l ower tier.
• Experienced With Armor: The cost reduct ion om your
Practiced in Armor abi l ity im proves. You now reduce the
Mi ght cost per hour and the Speed Poo l reduct ion by 3.
Enabler .
• Lunge (2 Might points): Th is move requi res you to extend
yoursel f r a powerful stab or sma sh. T he awkward l un ge
increases the d ifculty of the attack ro l l by one step. Ifyour attack is successl , i t in icts 4 addit i onal points of
dam age. Act ion.
• Slice ( 2 Speed points): Thi s is a q uick attack with a b laded
or pointed weapon that is hard to defend again st . The
diculty of the attack ro l l is decreased by one step. If the
attack is successful , i t deal s 1 less p oint of damage than
normal . Act ion.
• Spray (2 Speed poi nts): I f a weapon has the ab i l i ty to
re rapid s hots withou t re loadin g (us ual ly cal led a
rapid re weapon, such as the crank crossbow), you
can sp ray mu lt ip l e sh ots around your target to in crease
the chance of hitt ing. Th is move uses d6 + 1 rounds
of ammo ( or a l l the ammo in the weapon , i f i t has less
than the nu mber ro l led) . The diculty of the attack ro l l isdecreased by one step. If the attack is su ccessful , i t dea ls
1 less po int of damage than n ormal . Act ion .
• Trick Shot (2 S peed points): As part of the s ame act ion,
you m ake a ran ged attack agai nst two targets that are
with in im med iate range of each other. Make a separate
attack rol l aga in st each target. The dicu lty of each
attack ro l l is increased by one step. Act ion.
Fourth-Tier GlaiveFourth-t ier g la ives have the l lowin g abi l i t ies :
Ski ll With Attacks: Choose on e type of attack in wh ich
you are not a lready tra ined: l ight bashing, l ight b laded, l ightranged , med iu m bash i ng , med ium b l aded , med ium ranged ,
heavy bashi ng, he avy blade d, or heavy ranged. You are
tra ined in attacks us i ng that type of weapon. Enab ler .
Fighting Moves: Choose one of the l lowing ght ing
moves (o r a move om a lower tier) to add to your
reperto i re . In add i t ion , you can a l so rep lace one of your
lower-tier ghtin g moves with a d ierent ghtin g move
fom the same lower tier.
• Capable Warrior: Your attacks deal 1 addit ional point of
damage. Enabler .
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LME NE
• Experienced Defender : When wear i ng armor, you gai n + 1
to Armor. Ena bl er.
• Feint (2 Speed points): I f you spend one act ion creat in g a
mis di rect ion or d ivers ion, in th e next round you can take
advantage of your opponent 's lowered den ses . Make
a melee attack rol l against that opponent. The difculty
of the rol l is decreased by one step. If your attack is
successful , i t in icts 4 addit ional points of dam age.Act ion.
• Minor to Major: You treat ro l ls of natura l 1 9 as ro l l s of
natur a l 20 r Might attack ro l ls o r Speed attack ro l l s
(you hoie when you gain h is a bi l i y) . Thi s a l l ows you
to gain a major eect on a nat ural 1 9 or 20. E nab ler.
• Snipe (2 Speed points): I f you spend one act ion a imi ng ,
in th e next round you can m ake a precise ran ged attack.
The d iculty of the attack ro l l is decreased by one step. If
your attack is successl , i t in icts 4 addit i onal points of
dam age. Act ion.
Fih-Tier GlaiveFih-t ier g la ives have the l lowing abi l i t ies :Adept Cypher Use: You can bear ur cyphers at a time.
Ski ll With Attacks: Choo se one type of attack, even one
in wh ich you are a l ready t ra ined : l ight bash ing , l ight b laded ,
l ight ranged , med i um bash i ng , med iu m b laded , med i um
ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You
are trained in attacks us in g that type of weapon. If you' re
al ready trai ned i n that type of attack, you i nstead become
speci al ized i n that type of attack. Ena bl er.
Fighting Moves: Choose one of the l lowing ght ing
moves (or a move om a lower t ier) to add t o your
reperto ire . I n addit ion, you can a lso replace on e of your
lower-tier ghtin g moves with a d ierent ghtin g moveom the sa me l ower tier.
• Arc Spray (3 Speed points): If a weapon has th e ab i l ity to
re rapid shots without re loading (usual ly cal led a rapid
re weapon, such as the crank crossbow) , you can re your
weapon at u p to th ree targets (al l next to one a nother) at
once. Make a separate attack roll against each target. The
dicu lty of each attack is i ncreased by one step. Action.
• Jump Atack (5 Might points): You attem pt a dicu lty
4 M ight action to ju mp h igh into the ai r as part of
your mel ee attack. If you su cceed, your attack ini cts 3
addi tiona l poi nts of dam age and knocks the e down.
If you il , you sti l l m ake your no rmal attack rol l , but youdon 't in ict the extra damage or knock down the opponent
if you hit. Action .
• Mastery With Armor: Whe n you wear any armo r, you
reduce the armor's penalt ies (Might cost and S peed
reduction) to 0. If you select this ghti ng move and you
already have the Experienced With Armor move, you
shou ld replace Experienced With Armor with a di erent
th ird-tier move because Mastery With Armor is better.
Enabler.
• Mastery With Defense: Choose one type of defens e
task in which you are tra ined: Mi ght , Speed, or Inte l lect.
You are spec ial ized in defens e tasks of that type. Un li ke
most ghtin g moves, you can sel ect th is move up to
three t imes . Each t ime you se lect it , you m ust choose a
di erent type of defens e task. Ena ble r.
• Parry (5 Speed points): You can deect inco mi ng attacks
qu ickly. When you activate th is move, r the next 10
rounds you reduce the d ifculty r a l l Speed defensero l ls by one step. En abl er.
Sixth-Tier GlaiveSixh- ie g la ives have he l lowing ab i l i ies
Skil l With Attacks: Cho ose one type of attack, even one
in which you are a lready tra ined: l ight bashi ng, l i ght b laded,
l ight ranged , med ium bash ing , med ium b laded , med ium
ranged, h eavy bash ing, heavy blad ed, or heavy ranged.
You a re trained in attacks us in g that type of weapon. If
you're a lready trai ned in that type of attack, you i nstead are
speci al ized i n that type of attack. En abl er.
Fighting Moves: Choose one of the l lowing ght ingmoves (o r a move om a lower tier) to add to your
reperto i re . In add i t ion , you can a l so rep lace one of your
lower-tier ghtin g moves with a d ierent ghtin g move
fom the same lower tier.
• Finishing Blow (5 Might points): If your e is prone,
stun ned, or somehow help less or incapacitated when
you strike, you in ict 6 addit ional poi nts of da mage on a
successful h it . Enab ler .
• Slayer (3 Mi ght points): When you successl ly str ike an
N PC or creature of level 5 o r lower, m ake anot her rol l
(us ing wh ichever stat you u sed to attack) . If you su cceed
on the second ro l l , you ki l l the target outr ight . If you
use th is ght ing move again st a PC of any t ier and yousucceed on the second rol l , the character moves down
one step on the da mage track. En able r.
• Spin Attack (5 Speed points): You stand st i