Overview
Sometimes PCs find things that are interesting but have no real game value. They don’t help in combat. They don’t grant amazing powers. They don’t protect the user. Not everything the ancients created was a combat device or can be used as one now. In Numenera, these devices are called oddities, and they serve a number of purposes. First, they provide verisimilitude—not everything is suited for an explorer. Second, they’re interesting—weird little things that can be sold or used for barter or gifts. Third, and perhaps most important, they add more mystery and feelings of the unknown to the game because oddities are really, well, odd. Why did their creators make them? Were they once a part of a larger device with a more understandable function? No one knows, and it’s likely that no one ever will.
USING ODDITIES IN THE GAME
Oddities can be traded, sold, used, or given as interesting gifts. Usually, their value is around 10 shins, but some oddities might fetch as much as 50 shins depending on their potential utility. Many of the oddities listed were left vague so the GM can tailor them as needed. The size, color, shape, and so on can be changed. Ninth World crafters might set some of the oddities into jewelry or on the end of a staff. GMs are encouraged to ensure that oddities always seem odd. One day, have a PC’s oddity work differently. For example, the cup that boils liquid now freezes it instead. The rod with blinking lights goes crazy with lights and starts beeping as well. The small mirrored cube starts spinning on its own. No explanation is needed because the owner didn’t really understand the oddity in the first place.
DISCOVERIES
Discoveries are a catch-all category of numenera that don’t fit into the other categories. These are not devices the PCs can claim as their own. The characters probably can’t take a discovery with them, and usually they would have no reason to do so, anyway. A discovery might be a bio lab where genetically engineered creatures are still being artificially produced, a receiver that picks up signals transmitted from a station on Mars, or a still-functioning hovertrain. While these discoveries can be useful, they do not necessarily make the characters more powerful.
New Technology Compendium Oddities
ODDITIES TABLE
When giving oddities to characters, either choose from this table or roll 1d100 for random oddities.| d100 | Oddity |
| 1 | Crystal that shatters easily but then instantly reforms |
| 2 | Egg-shaped metallic bauble that occasionally spins and speaks in a language no one knows |
| 3 | Aerosol can that sprays sparkling paint that hangs in the air |
| 4 | Device that emits a projection of a human face that changes expression depending on the direction in which it’s looking |
| 5 | Unknown musical instrument that plays only soft, unpleasant sounds |
| 6 | Circular stone plate with a human face that occasionally changes expression or appears to speak (but has no voice) |
| 7 | Box with a tiny group of musicians in it who play when it is opened and look horrified when it is closed |
| 8 | Remote-controlled dragonfly with a tiny, handheld controller |
| 9 | Pants that fit perfectly and never seem to get dirty but are always chilly |
| 10 | Blob of clay that takes on various mysterious shapes when left alone |
| 11 | Crystal that hums |
| 12 | Necklace made of gears and other machine parts |
| 13 | Flute with buttons rather than holes so you can play music without blowing into it |
| 14 | Lightning bug in a glass globe |
| 15 | Plastic disk that displays ever-changing but meaningless symbols |
| 16 | Small rod that emits a voice saying the same thing in an unknown language every time a button is pushed |
| 17 | Glass plate that shows what seems to be a live image of the moon, but from a closer vantage |
| 18 | Comb that glows when used |
| 19 | Small square cage that puts whatever single creature is inside it into stasis |
| 20 | Plastic bottle containing a spray that cleans any stain and never runs out |
| 21 | Metallic device that creates one sheet of new paper each day |
| 22 | Pen that writes in invisible ink revealed only at a very low temperature |
| 23 | Tiny toy ornithopter made of a solid piece of material that seems indestructible |
| 24 | Fuzzy stuffed ravage bear that makes growling noises when you squeeze it |
| 25 | Goggles that tint everything green |
| 26 | Series of thin plastic cards that show all kinds of unknown creatures |
| 27 | Candle that never runs down |
| 28 | Bag of sixteen rubber balloons |
| 29 | Three silken gloves with six fingers each |
| 30 | Metallic jar that maintains the temperature of liquid inside indefinitely |
| 31 | Blue crystal that glows as bright as a candle when held |
| 32 | Small coin pouch that holds twice as much as it appears it should |
| 33 | Small wand-like device that keeps away normal insects in a 5-foot (1.5 m) radius |
| 34 | Unknown plastic device with lights that occasionally blink |
| 35 | Powerful magnifying glass |
| 36 | Bag that contains dice, each with a different number of sides |
| 37 | Small mirrored cube |
| 38 | Piece of extremely strong and thin cable 8 feet (2.5 m) long |
| 39 | Feathered hat that occasionally makes bird noises |
| 40 | Wooden rod that increases in length by about 1 inch (2.5 cm) a month |
| 41 | Brass device with nested circular plates that rotate and click |
| 42 | Cape that billows as if blown by the wind when worn, even in still air |
| 43 | Glass cube that shows what seems to be a live aerial view of an unknown, ruined city |
| 44 | Armband that tightens slightly when within 100 feet (30 m) of abhumans |
| 45 | Small jar of black paint that refills itself each day |
| 46 | Metallic mask that fits perfectly on your face and changes expression when you do |
| 47 | Five metallic plates that orbit around your head and display ever-changing, unknown symbols |
| 48 | Green glass sphere that floats next to you and whistles when you are angry |
| 49 | Metal canister that fills with 4 quarts (3.8 liters) of water at the same time each day |
| 50 | Metal and glass disk that, when pressed against flesh, instantly etches a tattoo of a black scorpion |
| 51 | Small mirror that shows someone other than you when you gaze into it |
| 52 | Canister that produces an extremely foul odor and a puff of dark red smoke when opened |
| 53 | Goggles that allow you to see perfectly through steam or smoke |
| 54 | Box that produces a 3-inch (7.5 cm) cube of a firm but gelatinous substance at the same time each day |
| 55 | Shirt that displays your muscles, bones, and internal organs when you wear it |
| 56 | Small leather case of cosmetics that never seem to run out |
| 57 | Amulet that, when worn, projects holographic images of fish swimming around you |
| 58 | Bracelet with a tiny bell charm that rings like a massive bell when intentionally rung |
| 59 | Metallic, pointed-toe boots designed to fit an aneen or a similar creature |
| 60 | Cup that instantly boils any liquid poured into it |
| 61 | Spectacles that project strange images on the lenses so the wearer sees things that are not there |
| 62 | Box of a dozen matchsticks that, when burned, release puffs of lingering smoke that take on the shapes of faces, creatures, or other things |
| 63 | Blanket that makes a pleasant, soft humming noise while covering a living creature |
| 64 | Semicircular device of metal and glass that projects a harmless, thin red beam up to 50 feet (15 m) when activated |
| 65 | Two 5-inch (12.7 cm) metal and glass disks that hover around your wrists |
| 66 | Six small, clear synth bags that can be sealed and are very durable |
| 67 | Glass orb that always drips perfumed water very slowly |
| 68 | Jar of sixteen seeds; when planted, each seed grows into a daffodil made of gold in six months |
| 69 | Rose made of nigh-indestructible glass |
| 70 | Octagon-shaped amulet that is black during the day and sky blue at night |
| 71 | Mummified fish with feathered wings in a wooden box |
| 72 | Two-headed animal fetus in a glass jar |
| 73 | Saddle sized for a very small animal, such as a squirrel or a small cat |
| 74 | Small rectangular device that makes a chirping sound at the same time each day |
| 75 | Pair of tiny metal rods that, when brought within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of each other, vibrate exactly fifteen minutes before the sun rises on any given day |
| 76 | Ceramic ring that makes you feel as though gentle hands are caressing your body |
| 77 | Bottle of twenty-four pills that make you vividly dream about your favorite memory when you next sleep |
| 78 | Cylinder that clears the air of smoke, foul smells, and the like in an enclosed room in one minute’s time |
| 79 | A pair of small, floating cubes that keep a small, enclosed room at the temperature at which water freezes |
| 80 | Bracelet that renders you unable to reproduce while worn |
| 81 | Chair that can be stored in an extradimensional space when activated |
| 82 | Synth disk that will restore a rotten vegetable or piece of fruit |
| 83 | Cylinder that, if you speak through it, makes your voice sound wavering and strange |
| 84 | Scarf that appears to be made of silk but is virtually indestructible and cannot be dirtied or stained |
| 85 | Egg-shaped device that temporarily negates all odor within 3 feet (1 m) |
| 86 | Short metal rod that is insubstantial to all matter except the special synth glove that goes with it |
| 87 | Cube that, when activated, disappears for one minute and then reappears in the same spot |
| 88 | Wristband that buzzes when in complete darkness |
| 89 | Plate of glass that, when you view the night sky through it, reveals ten times as many stars |
| 90 | Ceramic pot that produces a tiny puff of colored smoke once every hour and a half |
| 91 | Hoop that sharpens any blade passed through it |
| 92 | Sphere that produces vigorous bubbles when placed in water |
| 93 | Tiny awl that inflicts no pain when it pierces flesh |
| 94 | Contact lenses that make your eyes seem completely white with no pupils |
| 95 | Silken string 3 feet (1 m) long that coils around whatever it touches |
| 96 | Large, clear synth bag that keeps food inside it fresh indefinitely |
| 97 | Stockings that are always warm |
| 98 | Single rubber glove that is extremely durable and resistant |
| 99 | Box filled with two dozen spherical magnets, each about the size of a pea |
| 100 | Pair of clear drinking glasses that change color depending on the contents |