Numenera PnP thread

[PrimeJunta]

So, Numenera is out. Any other prospective players/GM's here? What d'you think?

 

I'm going to start my campaign in another few weeks, after my D&D one winds to a close. Been reading the Corebook. My impressions so far --

 

I love the mechanics. Just enough to give the game structure but not get in the way. Some simple yet brilliant ideas there, such as making the rules asymmetrical, with a bare minimum for NPC's and lots of stuff for PC's, the GM intervention rules, and the rules encouraging player creativity, such as spending XP for short-term or long-term benefits, modifying esotery effects, and awarding each other XP. They suit my way of running the campaign to a T.

 

I'm less awed by the setting. It's very much of a kitchen-sink, with some way-cool, out-there ideas and locations. Unfortunately it's also a bit of a hodgepodge. As presented it strikes me as too poorly structured to be really believable. Weird and unknown is fantastic, but there has to be a minimum of underlying logic to make it work. There are also some downright dumb bits here and there ("Temple de Frogue" -- really?), with some fairly plain-vanilla kingdoms and empires and such. I prefer settings with more structure and a stronger history, and at least some high-level explanations for how they got that way. Al-Qadim, Planescape, and Dark Sun all qualify in this respect; the Ninth World, not so much.

 

Then again, I like world-building, and there are plenty of things to dip into, there. I have a hunch this may be what the designers intended; deliberately leaving fundamental things open so GM's and players can fill them in. 

 

Anyone else have any thoughts on this at this point?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I don't have a rule book, but some guys at my LCS were thinking of starting a Numenera or SR 5th game. Would you say that it is pretty easy to learn the rules in a couple of hours?

[Keyrock]

I'm only about 100 pages into the core book at this point, so I haven't gotten to reading about the setting in-depth yet.  I mirror your thoughts on the rules, though.  Until I actually play the game, whether from the GM side or the player side, this is all speculation, but I really like the system as it's presented.  It seems wonderfully simple, yet gives the player a lot of control over their actions.  In particular, the effort system seems brilliant.  The idea of being able to apply extra effort when you really need something to succeed, but at the cost of leaving you vulnerable and with less options going forward, is fantastic.  I also like how absolutely every action in the game, whether combat, athletic, intellectual, etc. is resolved in exactly the same manner.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out in practice.

[PrimeJunta]

I don't have a rule book, but some guys at my LCS were thinking of starting a Numenera or SR 5th game. Would you say that it is pretty easy to learn the rules in a couple of hours?

 

Definitely. It's by far the simplest RPG ruleset I've come across. The GM needs to do a bit of homework to get his/her end of the operation down, of course, but the core rules fit into a few pages.

[Keyrock]

I don't have a rule book, but some guys at my LCS were thinking of starting a Numenera or SR 5th game. Would you say that it is pretty easy to learn the rules in a couple of hours?

The rules are extremely simple.  The main thing to learn is the few exceptions and all the modifiers, but that mainly happens during character creation and advancement, and you would generally have those handy.  The core of the system is extremely simple:  GM assigns a difficulty level to a task, whatever it may be (attacking an enemy, breaking down a door, jumping across a ravine, etc.).  The player needs to roll a certain number or higher on d20 to succeed (3 times the level of the task [e.g. a lev 4 task would require a roll of 12 or higher, a lev 2 task a roll of 6 or higher]).  Player applies any applicable assets (devices that would make the task easier [e.g. a crowbar would make breaking down a door easier]) and any effort they desire to reduce the difficulty of a task (e.g you can decrease a lev 4 task to a lev 3 task so you only need to roll a 9 rather than a 12 to succeed).  Player rolls and either succeeds or fails.  In a nutshell, that's the complete system right there.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Keyrock

[kgambit]

I found this Numenera character generator which shows how the 3 word description alters your stats.  You can either let it randomize the descriptors or select each one from a pull down menu.

 

http://darkliquid.co.uk/playground/numenera/

[PrimeJunta]

Great find. From character creation to play in about fifteen seconds...!

[PrimeJunta]

I thought that chargen utility was a bit limited, so I made my own. Not as pretty (not a graphic designer here) but it has some more stuff in it.

 

http://www.prime-junta.net/numenera/chargen.html

[Keyrock]

I found this Numenera character generator which shows how the 3 word description alters your stats.  You can either let it randomize the descriptors or select each one from a pull down menu.

 

http://darkliquid.co.uk/playground/numenera/

 

 

I thought that chargen utility was a bit limited, so I made my own. Not as pretty (not a graphic designer here) but it has some more stuff in it.

 

http://www.prime-junta.net/numenera/chargen.html

Nice, both of them.

[kgambit]

I thought that chargen utility was a bit limited, so I made my own. Not as pretty (not a graphic designer here) but it has some more stuff in it.

 

http://www.prime-junta.net/numenera/chargen.html

 

Nicely done.  I bookmarked that for future reference. 

[PrimeJunta]

I've updated it a bit: added Connections, fixed some errors in the data, disabled the buttons when you've hit the limits, and gave it a bit of a visual makeover. Still not a graphic designer though, but hey.

[Gromnir]

we haven't played a numenera session yet. have read rules and we has some minor quibbles, and a faq or errata is looking like a necessity, but am otherwise impressed. effort/edge doesnt feel intuitive, but no doubt after we plays a few sessions, we become comfortable. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[aluminiumtrioxid]

So, Numenera is out. Any other prospective players/GM's here? What d'you think?

 

Anyone else have any thoughts on this at this point?

 

I think it has some really, really cool things, but the setting is somewhat lacking. I can't point my finger exactly how, but I definitely feel it's not bold and weird enough (compared to some of the recommended literature, e.g. Planetary or The Book of the New Sun - also, how on Earth did the Dark Tower series end up missing from that list?). Still, the underlying system, the ability to create a full-fledged character with personality, backstory and crunch under half an hour, and the few inspirationally weird ideas make it worth playing.

[Keyrock]

The setting is...  serviceable.  I too was hoping for something more, but it's okay.  Like the rest here, I'm very impressed with the system.  I'm getting ready to run an adventure from the back of the core book on my own, as both GM and player, just to get a feeling for how the system plays out in action.  I have an idea in my head, but reading about the rules and implementing them in action are entirely different things, so I feel a test run is in order.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

...Aaaaand two days after I've got the core books, I already have an eager player How are the official adventures?