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Table of Contents
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Numenera is played in the joint imagination of all the players, including the GM. The GM sets the scene, the players state what their characters attempt to do, and the GM determines what happens next. The rules and the dice help make the game run smoothly, but it’s the people, not the rules or the dice, that direct the action and determine the story—and the fun. If a rule gets in the way or detracts from the game, the players and the GM should work together to change it.
This is how you play Numenera:
1. The player tells the GM what they want to do. This is a character action.
2. The GM determines if that action is routine (and therefore works without needing a roll) or if there’s a chance of failure.
3. If there is a chance of failure, the GM determines which stat the task uses (Might, Speed, or Intellect) and the task’s difficulty—how hard it will be on a scale from 1 (really easy) to 10 (basically impossible).
4. The player and the GM determine if anything about the character—such as training, equipment, special abilities, or various actions— can modify the difficulty up or down by one or more steps. If these modifications reduce the difficulty to less than 1, the action is routine (and therefore works with no roll needed).
5. If the action still isn’t routine, the GM uses its difficulty to determine the target number—how high the player must roll to succeed at the action (see the Task Difficulty table in Rules). The GM doesn’t have to tell the player what the target number is, but they can give the player a hint, especially if the character would reasonably know if the action was easy, average, difficult, or impossible.
6. The player rolls a d20. If they roll equal to or higher than the target number, they succeed.
That’s it. That’s how to do anything, whether it’s identifying a strange device, calming a raging drunk, climbing a treacherous cliff, or battling a savage cragworm. Even if you ignored all the other rules, you could still play Numenera with just this information. The key features here are: character actions, determining task difficulty, and determining modifications.
TAKING ACTION
Each character gets one turn each round. On a character’s turn, they can do one thing—an action. All actions fall into one of three categories: Might, Speed, or Intellect (just like the three stats). Many actions require dierolls—rolling a d20.
Every action performs a task, and every task has a difficulty that determines what number a character must reach or surpass with a die roll to succeed. Most tasks have a difficulty of 0, which means the character succeeds automatically. For example, walking across a room, opening a door, and throwing a stone into a nearby bucket are actions, but none of them requires a roll. Actions that are usually difficult or that become difficult due to the situation (such as shooting at a target in a blizzard) have a higher difficulty. These actions usually require a roll.
Some actions require a minimum expenditure of Might, Speed, or Intellect points. If a character cannot spend the minimum number of points needed to complete the action, they automatically fail at the task.
DETERMINING TASK STAT
Every task relates to one of a character’s three stats: Might, Speed, or Intellect. Physical activities that require strength, power, or endurance relate to Might. Physical activities that require agility, flexibility, or fast reflexes relate to Speed. Mental activities that require force of will, memory, or mental power relate to Intellect. This means you can generalize tasks into three categories: Might tasks, Speed tasks, and Intellect tasks. You can also generalize rolls into three categories: Might rolls, Speed rolls, and Intellect rolls. The category of the task or roll determines what kind of Effort you can apply to the roll and may determine how your other abilities affect the roll. For example, a Nano may have an ability that makes them better at Intellect rolls, and a Jack may have an ability that makes them better at Speed rolls.
DETERMINING TASK DIFFICULTY
The most frequent thing a GM does during the game—and probably the most important thing—is set a task’s difficulty. To make the job easier, use the Task Difficulty table, which associates difficulty rating with a descriptive name, a target number, and general guidance about the difficulty.
TASK DIFFICULTY
Every difficulty from 1 to 10 has a target number associated with it. The target number is easy to remember: it’s always three times the difficulty. The target number is the minimum number a player needs to roll on a d20 to succeed at the task. Moving up or down on the table is called hindering or easing, which is measured in steps. For example, reducing a difficulty 5 task to a difficulty 4 task is “easing the difficulty by one step” or just “easing the difficulty” or “easing the task.” Most modifiers affect the difficulty rather than the player’s roll.
This has two consequences:
1. Low target numbers such as 3 or 6, which would be boring in most games that use a d20, are not boring in Numenera. For example, if you need to roll a 6 or higher, you still have a 25% chance to fail.
2. The upper levels of difficulty (7, 8, 9, and 10) are all but impossible because the target numbers are 21 or higher, which you can’t roll on a d20. However, it’s common for PCs to have abilities or equipment that ease a task and thus lower the target number to something they can roll on a d20.
A character’s tier does not determine a task’s level. Things don’t get more difficult just because a character’s tier increases—the world doesn’t instantly become a more difficult place. Fourth-tier characters don’t deal only with level 4 creatures or difficulty 4 tasks (although a fourth-tier character probably has a better shot at success than a first-tier character does). Just because something is level 4 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meant only for fourth-tier characters. Similarly, depending on the situation, a fifth tier character could find a difficulty 2 task just as challenging as a second-tier character does. Therefore, when setting the difficulty of a task, the GM should rate the task on its own merits, not on the power of the characters.
MODIFYING THE DIFFICULTY: EASING AND HINDERING
Once the GM sets the difficulty for a task, the player can try to modify it for their character. Any such modification applies only to this particular attempt at the task. In other words, rewiring an electronic door lock normally might be difficulty 6, but since the character doing the work is skilled in such tasks, has the right tools, and has help from another PC, the difficulty in this instance might be much lower. That’s why it’s important for the GM to set a task’s difficulty without taking the character into account. The character comes in at this step.
By using skills and assets, working together, and—perhaps most important—applying Effort, a character can ease a task by multiple steps to make it easier. Rather than adding bonuses to the player’s roll, easing lowers the target number that they need to reach. If the player can reduce the difficulty of a task to 0, no roll is needed; success is automatic. (An exception is if the GM decides to use a GM intrusion on the task, in which case the player would have to make a roll at the original difficulty.)
There are three basic ways in which a character can ease a task: skills, assets, and Effort. Each of them eases the task by at least one step—never in smaller increments.
SKILLS: Characters may be skilled at performing a specific task. A skill can vary from character to character. For example, one character might be skilled at lying, another might be skilled at trickery, and a third might be skilled in all interpersonal interactions. The first level of being skilled is called being trained, and it eases that task by one step. More rarely, a character can be incredibly skilled at performing a task. This is called being specialized, and it eases the task by two steps instead of one. Skills can never ease a task by more than two steps—any more than two steps from being trained and specialized don’t count.
ASSETS: An asset is anything that helps a character with a task, such as having a really good crowbar when trying to force open a door or being in a rainstorm when trying to put out a fire. Appropriate assets vary from task to task. The perfect awl might help when woodworking, but it won’t make a dance performance much better. An asset usually eases a task by one step. Assets can never ease a task by more than two steps—any more than two steps from assets don’t count.
EFFORT: A player can apply Effort to ease a task. To do this, the player spends points from the stat Pool that’s most appropriate to the task. For example, applying Effort to push a heavy rock off a cliff requires a player to spend points from the character’s Might Pool; applying Effort to activate an unusual machine interface requires them to spend points from the Intellect Pool. For every level of Effort spent on a task, the task’s difficulty eases by one step. It costs 3 points from a stat Pool to apply one level of Effort, and it costs 2 additional points for every level thereafter (so it costs 5 points for two levels of Effort, 7 points for three levels of Effort, and so on). A character must spend points from the same stat Pool as the type of task or roll—Might points for a Might roll, Speed points for a Speed roll, or Intellect points for an Intellect roll. Every character has a maximum level of Effort they can apply to a single task. Effort can never ease a task by more than six steps—any more than six steps from applying Effort doesn’t count.
Free Level of Effort: A few abilities give you a free level of Effort (these usually require you to apply at least one level of Effort to a task). In effect, you’re getting one more level of Effort than what you paid for. This free level of Effort can exceed the Effort limit for your character, but not the six-step limit for easing a task.
ROLLING THE DIE
To determine success or failure, a player rolls a die (always a d20). If they roll the target number or higher, they succeed. Most of the time, that’s the end of it—nothing else needs to be done. Rarely, a character might apply a small modifier to the roll. If they have a +2 bonus when attempting a specific action, they add 2 to the number rolled. However, the original roll sometimes matters (see Special Rolls). If a character applies a modifier to their die roll, it’s possible to get a result of 21 or
higher, in which case they can attempt a task with a target number above 20. But if there is no possibility for success—if not even rolling a natural 20 (meaning the d20 shows that number) is sufficient to accomplish the task—then no roll is made. Otherwise, characters would have a chance to succeed at everything, even impossible or ridiculous tasks such as climbing moonbeams, throwing elephants, or hitting a target on the opposite side of a mountain with an arrow.
If a character’s modifiers add up to +3, treat them as an asset instead. In other words, instead of adding a +3 bonus to the roll, reduce the difficulty by one step. For example, if a Glaive has a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a minor effect, a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a special weapon quality, and a +1 bonus to attack rolls from a special ability, they do not add 3 to their attack roll—instead, they ease the attack task by one step. So if they attack a level 3 foe, they would normally roll against difficulty 3 and try to reach a target number of 9, but thanks to their asset, they roll against difficulty 2 and try to reach a target number of 6. This distinction is important when stacking skills and assets to ease an action, especially since reducing the difficulty to 0 or lower means no roll is needed.
THE PLAYER ALWAYS ROLLS
In Numenera, players always drive the action. That means they make all the die rolls. If a PC leaps out of a moving vehicle, the player rolls to see if they succeed. If a PC searches for a hidden panel, the player rolls to determine whether they find it. If a rockslide falls on a PC, the player rolls to try to get out of the way. If a PC and an NPC arm wrestle, the player rolls, and the NPC’s level determines the target number. If a PC attacks a foe, the player rolls to see if the attack hits. If a foe attacks the PC, the player rolls to see if their PC dodges the blow.
As shown by the last two examples, the PC rolls whether they are attacking or defending. Thus, something that improves defenses might help or hinder their rolls. For example, if a PC uses a low wall to gain cover from attacks, the wall eases the player’s defense rolls. If a foe uses the wall to gain cover from the PC’s attacks, it hinders the player’s attack rolls.
SPECIAL ROLLS
If a character rolls a natural 1, 17, 18, 19, or 20 (meaning the d20 shows that number), special rules come into play. These are explained in more detail in the following sections.
1: GM Intrusion. The GM makes a free GM intrusion (see below) and doesn’t award experience points (XP) for it.
17: Damage Bonus. If the roll was an attack, it deals 1 additional point of damage.
18: Damage Bonus. If the roll was an attack, it deals 2 additional points of damage.
19: Minor Effect. If the roll was an attack, it deals 3 additional points of damage. If the roll was something other than an attack, the PC gets a minor effect in addition to the normal results of the task.
20: Major Effect. If the roll was an attack, it deals 4 additional points of damage. If the roll was something other than an attack, the PC gets a major effect in addition to the normal results of the task. If the PC spent points from a stat Pool on the action, the point cost for the action decreases to 0, meaning the character regains those points as if they had not spent any at all.
GM INTRUSION
GM intrusion is explained in detail elsewhere, but essentially it means that something occurs to complicate the character’s life. The character hasn’t necessarily fumbled or done anything wrong (although perhaps they did). It could just be that the task presents an unexpected difficulty or that something unrelated affects the current situation. For a GM intrusion on a defense roll, a roll of 1 might just mean that the PC takes 2 additional points of damage from the attack, indicating that the opponent got in a lucky blow.
MINOR EFFECT
A minor effect happens when a player rolls a natural 19. Most of the time, a minor effect is slightly beneficial to the PC, but not overwhelming. A climber gets up the steep slope a bit faster. A repaired machine works a bit better. A character jumping down into a pit lands on their feet. Either the GM or the player can come up with a possible minor effect that fits the situation, but both must agree on what it should be. Don’t waste a lot of time thinking of a minor effect if nothing appropriate suggests itself. Sometimes, in cases where only success or failure matters, it’s okay to have no minor effect. Keep the game moving at an exciting pace. In combat, the easiest and most straightforward minor effect is dealing 3 additional points of damage with an attack. The following are other common minor effects for combat:
Damage object: Instead of striking the foe, the attack strikes what the foe is holding. If the attack hits, the character makes a Might roll with a difficulty equal to the object’s level. On a success, the object moves one or more steps down the object damage track.
Distract: For one round, all of the foe’s tasks are hindered.
Knock back: The foe is knocked or forced back a few feet. Most of the time, this doesn’t matter much, but if the fight takes place on a ledge or next to a pit of lava, the effect can be significant.
Move past: The character can move a short distance at the end of the attack. This effect is useful to get past a foe guarding a door, for example.
Strike a specific body part: The attacker strikes a specific spot on the defender’s body. The GM rules what special effect, if any, results. For example, hitting a creature’s tentacle that is wrapped around an ally might make it easier for the ally to escape. Hitting a foe in the eye might blind it for one round. Hitting a creature in its one vulnerable spot might ignore Armor. Usually, the GM just has the desired minor effect occur. For example, rolling a 19 against a relatively weak foe means it is knocked off the cliff. The effect makes the round more exciting, but the defeat of a minor creature has no significant impact on the story. Other times, the GM might rule that an additional roll is needed to achieve the effect—the special roll only gives the PC the opportunity for a minor effect. This mostly happens when the desired effect is very unlikely, such as pushing a 50-ton battle automaton off a cliff. If the player just wants to deal 3 additional points of damage as the minor effect, no extra roll is needed.
MAJOR EFFECT
A major effect happens when a player rolls a natural 20. Most of the time, a major effect is quite beneficial to the character. A climber gets up the steep slope in half the time. A jumper lands with such panache that those nearby are impressed and possibly intimidated. A defender makes a free attack on a foe. Either the GM or the player can come up with a possible major effect that fits the situation, but both must agree on what it should be. As with minor effects, don’t spend a lot of time agonizing over the details of a major effect. In cases where only success or failure matters, a major effect might offer the character a one-time asset, easing the task the next time they attempt a similar action. When nothing else seems appropriate, the GM can simply grant the PC an additional action on their turn that same round. In combat, the easiest and most straightforward major effect is dealing 4 additional points of damage with an attack. The following are other common major effects for combat.
Disarm: The foe drops one object that it is holding.
Impair: For the rest of the combat, all tasks the foe attempts are hindered.
Knock down: The foe is knocked prone. It can get up on its turn.
Stun: The foe loses its next action. As with minor effects, usually the GM just has the desired major effect occur, but sometimes the GM might require an extra roll if the major effect is unusual or unlikely.
RETRYING A TASK AFTER FAILURE
If a character fails a task (whether it’s climbing a wall, picking a lock, trying to figure out a mysterious device, or something else), they can attempt it again, but they must apply at least one level of Effort to do so. A retry is a new action, not part of the same action that failed, and it takes the same amount of time as the first attempt did. Sometimes the GM might rule that retries are impossible. Perhaps a character has one chance to convince the leader of a group of bandits not to attack, and after that, no amount of talking will stop them. This rule doesn’t apply to something like attacking a foe in combat because combat is always changing and fluid. Each round’s situation is new, not a repeat of a previous situation, so a missed attack can’t be retried.
INITIAL COST
The GM can assign a point cost to a task just for trying it. Called an initial cost, it’s simply an indication that the task is particularly taxing. For example, let’s say a character wants to try a Might action to open a heavy iron door that is partially rusted shut. The GM says that forcing the door open is a difficulty 5 task, and there’s an initial cost of 3 Might points simply to try. This initial cost is in addition to any points the character chooses to spend on the roll (such as when applying Effort), and the initial cost points do not affect the difficulty of the task. In other words, the character must spend 3 Might points to attempt the task at all, but that doesn’t help them open the door. If they want to apply Effort to ease the difficulty, they’d have to spend more points from their Might Pool.
Edge helps with the initial cost of a task, just as it does with any expenditure from a character’s Pool. In the previous example, if the character had a Might Edge of 2, they would have to spend only 1 point (3 points minus 2 from their Might Edge) for the initial cost to attempt the task. If they also applied a level of Effort to open the door, they couldn’t use their Edge again—Edge applies only once per action—so using the Effort would cost the full 3 points. Thus, they’d spend a total of 4 points (1 for the initial cost plus 3 for the Effort) from their Might Pool. The rationale of the initial cost optional rule is that even in Numenera, where things like Effort can help a character succeed on an action, logic still suggests that some actions are very difficult and taxing, particularly for some PCs more than others.
DISTANCE
Distance is simplified into four basic categories: immediate, short, long, and very long.
Immediate distance from a character is within reach or within a few steps. If a character stands in a small room, everything in the room is within immediate distance. At most, immediate distance is 10 feet (3 m).
Short distance is anything greater than immediate distance but less than 50 feet (15 m) or so.
Long distance is anything greater than short distance but less than 100 feet (30 m) or so.
Very long distance is anything greater than long distance but less than 500 feet (150 m) or so.
Beyond that range, distances are always specified—1,000 feet (300 m), 1 mile (1.5 km), and so on. All weapons and special abilities use these terms for ranges. For example, all melee weapons have immediate range—they are close-combat weapons, and you can use them to attack anyone within immediate distance of you. A thrown knife has short range (as do most other thrown weapons). A Nano’s Onslaught ability also has short range. A bow has long range. A character can move an immediate distance as a part of another action. In other words, they can take a few steps to the control panel and activate a switch. They can lunge across a small room to attack a foe. They can open a door and step through. A character can move a short distance as their entire action for a turn. They can also try to move a long distance as their entire action, but the player might have to make a difficulty 4 Speed roll to see if the character slips, trips, or stumbles while moving so far so quickly. GMs and players don’t need to determine exact distances. For example, if the PCs are fighting a group of culovas, any character can likely attack any culova in the general melee—they’re all within immediate range. However, if one culova stays back to throw javelins, a character might have to use their entire action to move the short distance required to attack that foe. It doesn’t matter if the culova is 20 feet (6 m) or 40 feet (12 m) away—it’s simply considered short distance. It does matter if the culova is more than 50 feet (15 m) away because that distance would require a long move.
TIMEKEEPING
Generally, keep time the same way that you normally would, using minutes, hours, days, and weeks. Due to a slow but steady change in the Earth’s rotation over the past billion years, days in the Ninth World are 28 hours long (though because the Earth’s period of revolution around the sun is still more or less the same, years in the Ninth World are only 312 days long). Thus, if the characters walk overland for 15 miles (24 km), about eight hours pass, even though the journey can be described in only a few seconds at the game table. Precision timekeeping is rarely important. Most of the time, saying things like “That takes about an hour” works fine. This is true even when a special ability has a specific duration. In an encounter, a duration of “one minute” is mostly the same as saying “the rest of the encounter.” You don’t have to track each round that ticks by if you don’t want to. Likewise, an ability that lasts for ten minutes can safely be considered the length of an in-depth conversation, the time it takes to quickly explore a small area, or the time it takes to rest after a strenuous activity.
ENCOUNTERS, ROUNDS, AND INITIATIVE
Sometimes in the course of the game, the GM or players will refer to an encounter. Encounters are not so much measurements of time as they are events or instances in which something happens, like a scene of a movie or a chapter in a book. An encounter might be a fight with a foe, a dramatic crossing of a raging river, or a stressful negotiation with an important official. It’s useful to use the word when referring to a specific scene, as in “My Might Pool is low after that encounter with the jiraskar yesterday.” A round is about five to ten seconds. The length of time is variable because sometimes one round might be a bit longer than another. You don’t need to measure time more precisely than that. You can estimate that on average there are about ten rounds in a minute. In a round, everyone—each character and NPC—gets to take one action. To determine who goes first, second, and so on in a round, each player makes a Speed roll called an initiative roll. Most of the time, it’s only important to know which characters act before the NPCs and which act after the NPCs. On an initiative roll, a character who rolls higher than an NPC’s target number takes their action before the NPC does. As with all target numbers, an NPC’s initiative roll target number is three times the NPC’s level. Many times, the GM will have all NPCs take their actions at the same time, using the highest target number from among all the NPCs. Using this method, any characters who rolled higher than the target number act first, then all the NPCs act, and finally any characters who rolled lower than the target number act.
The order in which the characters act usually isn’t important. If the players want to go in a precise order, they can act in initiative order (highest to lowest), go around the table, go oldest to youngest, and so on. For example, Colin, James, and Shanna are in combat with two level 2 abhumans. The GM has the players make Speed rolls to determine initiative. Colin rolls an 8, Shanna rolls a 15, and James rolls a 4. The target number for a level 2 creature is 6, so each round Colin and Shanna act before the abhumans, then the abhumans act, and finally James acts. It doesn’t matter whether Colin acts before or after Shanna, as long as they think it’s fair. After all PCs and NPCs in the combat have a turn, the round ends and a new round begins. In all rounds after the first, everyone acts in the same order as they did in the first round. The characters cycle through this order until the logical end of the encounter (the end of the fight or the completion of the event) or until the GM asks them to make new initiative rolls. The GM can call for new initiative rolls at the beginning of any new round when conditions drastically change. For example, if the NPCs gain reinforcements, the environment changes (perhaps the lights go out), the terrain changes (maybe part of the balcony collapses under the PCs), or something similar occurs, the GM can call for new initiative rolls. Since the action moves as a cycle, anything that lasts for a round ends where it started in the cycle. If Valleris the Nano uses an esotery on an opponent that hinders its defenses for one round, the effect lasts until Valleris acts on his next turn.
Faster Initiative (Optional Rule): To make an encounter move faster, if at least one character rolls high enough to beat the target number of the NPC(s), all the characters act before the NPC(s). If nobody rolls high enough to beat the target number of the NPCs, all the characters act after the NPC(s). On the characters’ turn, go clockwise around the table.
ACTIONS
Anything that your character does in a round is an action. It’s easiest to think of an action as a single thing that you can do in five to ten seconds. For example, if you use your dart thrower to shoot a strange floating orb, that’s one action. So is running for cover behind a stack of barrels, prying open a stuck door, using a rope to pull your friend up from a pit, or activating a cypher (even if it’s stored in your pack).
Opening a door and attacking an abhuman on the other side are two actions. It’s more a matter of focus than time. Drawing your sword and attacking a foe is all one action. Putting away your bow and pushing a heavy bookcase to block a door are two actions because each requires a different train of thought. If the action you want to accomplish is not within reach, you can move a little bit. Essentially, you can move up to an immediate distance to perform your action. For example, you can move an immediate distance and attack a foe, open a door and move an immediate distance into the hallway beyond, or grab your hurt friend lying on the ground and pull them back a few steps.
This movement can occur before or after your action, so you can move to a door and open it, or you can open a door and move through it.
The most common actions are:
- Attack
- Activate a special ability (one that isn’t an attack)
- Move
- Wait
- Defend
- Do something else
ACTION: ATTACK
An attack is anything that you do to someone that they don’t want you to do. Slashing a foe with a curved dagger is an attack, blasting a foe with a lightning artifact is an attack, wrapping a foe in magnetically controlled metal cables is an attack, and controlling someone’s mind is an attack. An attack almost always requires a roll to see if you hit or otherwise affect your target.
In the simplest kind of attack, such as a PC trying to stab a bandit with their spear, the player rolls and compares their result against the opponent’s target number. If their roll is equal to or greater than the target number, the attack hits. Just as with any kind of task, the GM might modify the difficulty based on the situation, and the player might have a bonus to the roll or might try to ease it using skills, assets, or Effort.
A less straightforward attack might be a special ability that stuns a foe with a mental blast. However, it’s handled the same way: the player makes a roll against the opponent’s target number. Similarly, an attempt to tackle a foe and wrestle it to the ground is still just a roll against the foe’s target number. Attacks are sometimes categorized as “melee” attacks, meaning that you hurt or affect something within immediate reach, or “ranged” attacks, meaning that you hurt or affect something at a distance. Melee attacks can be Might or Speed actions—player choice. Physical ranged attacks (such as bows and thrown weapons) are almost always Speed actions, but those that come from special abilities like esoteries are probably Intellect actions. Esoteries or effects that require touching the target require a melee attack. If the attack misses, the power is not wasted, and you can try again each round as your action until you hit the target, use another ability, or take a different action that requires you to use your hands. These attempts in later rounds count as different actions, so you don’t have to keep track of how much Effort you used when you activated the ability or how you used Edge. For example, let’s say that on the first round of combat, you activate an esotery, use Effort to ease the attack, and miss your foe. On the second round of combat, you can try attacking again and use Effort to ease the attack.
The GM is encouraged to describe every attack with flavor and flair. One attack roll might be a stab to the foe’s arm. A miss might be the PC’s sword slamming into the wall. Combatants lunge, block, duck, spin, leap, and make all kinds of movements that should keep combat visually interesting and compelling. The game mastering section has much more guidance in this regard. Common elements that ease or hinder a combat task are cover, range, and darkness. The rules for these and other modifiers are explained in the Attack Modifiers and Special Situations section.
DAMAGE
When an attack strikes a character, it usually means the character takes damage. An attack against a PC subtracts points from one of the character’s stat Pools—usually the Might Pool. Whenever an attack simply says it deals “damage” without specifying the type, it means Might damage, which is by far the most common type. Intellect damage, which is usually the result of a mental attack, is always labeled as Intellect damage. Speed damage is often a physical attack, but attacks that deal Speed damage are fairly rare. NPCs don’t have stat Pools. Instead, they have a characteristic called health. When an NPC takes damage of any kind, the amount is subtracted from their health. Unless described otherwise, an NPC’s health is always equal to their target number. Some NPCs might have special reactions to or defenses against attacks that would normally deal Speed damage or Intellect damage, but unless the NPC’s description specifically explains this, assume that all damage is subtracted from the NPC’s health.
Objects don’t have stat Pools or health. They have an object damage track, just like how PCs have a damage track. Attacking objects might move them down their damage track. Damage is always a specific amount determined by the attack. For example, a slash with a broadsword deals 4 points of damage. A Nano’s Onslaught force blast deals 4 points of damage. Often, there are ways for the attacker to increase the damage. For example, a PC can apply Effort to deal 3 additional points of damage, and rolling a natural 17 on the attack roll deals 1 additional point of damage.
ARMOR
Pieces of equipment and special abilities protect a character from damage by giving them Armor. Each time a character takes damage, subtract their Armor value from the damage before reducing their stat Pool or health. For example, if a Jack with 2 Armor is hit by a sword that deals 4 points of damage, the Jack takes only 2 points of damage (4 minus 2 from their Armor). If Armor reduces the incoming damage to 0 or lower, the character takes no damage from the attack. For example, the Jack’s 2 Armor protects them from all physical attacks that deal 1 or 2 points of damage. The most common way to get Armor is to wear physical armor, such as a leather coat, heavy animal hides, or metal plates. All physical armor comes in one of three categories: light, medium, or heavy. Light armor gives the wearer 1 point of Armor, medium gives 2 points of Armor, and heavy gives 3 points of Armor.
When you see the word “Armor” capitalized in the game rules (other than as the name of a special ability), it refers to your Armor characteristic—the number you subtract from incoming damage. When you see the lowercase word “armor,” it refers to any physical armor you might wear. Other effects can add to a character’s Armor. If a character is wearing chainmail (2 points of Armor) and has an ability that covers them in a protective sheen of ice (1 point of Armor), their total is 3 Armor. If they also have a cypher that creates a force field (1 point of Armor), their total is 4 Armor. Some types of damage ignore physical armor. Attacks that specifically deal Speed damage or Intellect damage ignore Armor; the creature takes the listed amount of damage without any reduction from Armor. Ambient damage (see below) usually ignores Armor as well.
A creature may have a special bonus to Armor against certain kinds of attacks. For example, a protective suit made of a sturdy, fire-resistant material might normally give its wearer 1 point of Armor but count as 3 points of Armor against fire attacks. An artifact worn as a helmet might add 2 points of Armor only against mental attacks.
AMBIENT DAMAGE
Some kinds of damage aren’t direct attacks against a creature, but they indirectly affect everything in the area. Most of these are environmental effects such as winter cold, high temperatures, or background radiation. Damage from these kinds of sources is called ambient damage. Physical armor usually doesn’t protect against ambient damage, though a well-insulated suit of armor can protect against cold weather.
DAMAGE FROM HAZARDS
Attacks aren’t the only way to inflict damage on a character. Experiences such as falling from a great height, being burned in a fire, and spending time in severe weather also deal damage. Although no list of potential hazards could be comprehensive, the Damage From Hazards table includes common examples.
THE EFFECTS OF TAKING DAMAGE
When an NPC reaches 0 health, it is either dead or (if the attacker wishes it) incapacitated, meaning unconscious or beaten into submission. As previously mentioned, damage from most sources is applied to a character’s Might Pool. Otherwise, stat damage always reduces the Pool of the stat it affects. If damage reduces a character’s stat Pool to 0, any further damage to that stat (including excess damage from the attack that reduced the stat to 0) is applied to another stat Pool.
Damage is applied to Pools in this order:
1. Might (unless the Pool is 0)
2. Speed (unless the Pool is 0)
3. Intellect
Even if the damage is applied to another stat Pool, it still counts as its original type for the purpose of Armor and special abilities that affect damage. For example, if a Glaive with 2 Armor is reduced to 0 Might and then is hit by a creature’s claw for 3 points of damage, it still counts as Might damage, so the Glaive’s 2 Armor reduces the damage to 1 point, which then is applied to their Speed Pool. In other words, even though the Glaive takes the damage from their Speed Pool, it doesn’t ignore Armor like Speed damage normally would. In addition to taking damage from their Might Pool, Speed Pool, or Intellect Pool, PCs also have a damage track. The damage track has four states (from best to worst): hale, impaired, debilitated, and dead. When one of a PC’s stat Pools reaches 0, the character moves one step down the damage track. Thus, if they are hale, they become impaired. If they are already impaired, they become debilitated. If they are already debilitated, they become dead. Some effects can immediately shift a PC one or more steps on the damage track. These include rare poisons, cellular disruption attacks, and massive traumas (such as falls from very great heights, being run over by a speeding vehicle, and so on, as determined by the GM). Some attacks, like venom from a serpent’s bite, a Nano’s Stasis esotery, or the mindcontrolling influence of a sarrak, have effects other than damage to a stat Pool or shifting the PC on the damage track. These attacks can cause unconsciousness, paralysis, and so on.
THE DAMAGE TRACK
Hale is the normal state for a character: all three stat Pools are at 1 or higher, and the PC has no penalties from harmful conditions. When a hale PC takes enough damage to reduce one of their stat Pools to 0, they become impaired. Note that a character whose stat pools are much lower than normal can still be hale.
Impaired is a wounded or injured state. When an impaired character applies Effort, it costs 1 extra point per level applied. For example, applying one level of Effort costs 4 points instead of 3, and applying two levels of Effort costs 7 points instead of 5. An impaired character ignores minor and major effect results on their rolls, and they don’t deal as much extra damage in combat with a special roll. In combat, a roll of 17 or higher deals only 1 additional point of damage. When an impaired PC takes enough damage to reduce one of their stat Pools to 0, they become debilitated.
Debilitated is a critically injured state. A debilitated character may not take any actions other than to move (probably crawl) no more than an immediate distance. If a debilitated character’s Speed Pool is 0, they can’t move at all. When a debilitated PC takes enough damage to reduce a stat Pool to 0, they are dead.
Dead is dead.
RECOVERING POINTS IN A POOL
After losing or spending points in a Pool, you recover those points by resting. You can’t increase a Pool past its maximum by resting—just back to its normal level. Any extra points gained go away with no effect. The amount of points you recover from a rest, and how long each rest takes, depends on how many times you have rested so far that day. When you rest, make a recovery roll. To do this, roll 1d6 and add your tier. You recover that many points, and you can divide them among your stat Pools however you wish.
For example, if your recovery roll is 4 and you’ve lost 4 points of Might and 2 points of Speed, you can recover 4 points of Might, or 2 points of Might and 2 points of Speed, or any other combination adding up to 4 points. The first time you rest each day, it takes only a few seconds to catch your breath. If you rest this way in the middle of an encounter, it takes one action on your turn. The second time you rest each day, you must rest for ten minutes to make a recovery roll. The third time you rest each day, you must rest for one hour to make a recovery roll. The fourth time you rest each day, you must rest for ten hours to make a recovery roll (usually, this occurs when you sleep). After that much rest, it’s assumed to be a new day (Ninth World days are 28 hours long), so the next time you rest, it takes only a few seconds. The next rest takes ten minutes, then one hour, and so on, in a cycle. If you haven’t rested yet that day and you take a lot of damage in a fight, you could rest a few seconds (regaining 1d6 points + 1 point per tier) and then immediately rest for ten minutes (regaining another 1d6 points + 1 point per tier). Thus, in one full day of doing nothing but resting, you could recover 4d6 points + 4 points per tier. Each character chooses when to make recovery rolls. If a party of five PCs rests for ten minutes because two members want to make recovery rolls, the other characters don’t have to make rolls at that time. Later in the day, those three can decide to rest for ten minutes and make recovery rolls.
| Recovery Roll | Rest Time Needed |
| First recovery roll | One action |
| Second recovery roll | Ten minutes |
| Third recovery roll | One hour |
| Fourth recovery roll | Ten hours |
RESTORING THE DAMAGE TRACK
Using points from a recovery roll to raise a stat Pool from 0 to 1 or higher also automatically moves the character up one step on the damage track.
If all of a PC’s stat Pools are above 0 and the character has taken special damage that moved them down the damage track, they can use a recovery roll to move up one step on the damage track instead of recovering points. For example, a Jack who is debilitated from a hit with a cell-disrupting numenera device can rest and move up to impaired rather than recover points in a Pool.
**SPECIAL DAMAGE
In the course of playing the game, characters face all manner of threats that can harm them in a variety of ways, only some of which are easily represented by points of damage.
Dazed and Stunned: Characters can be dazed when struck hard on the head, exposed to extremely loud sounds, or affected by a mental attack. When this happens, for the duration of the daze effect (usually one round), all of the character’s tasks are hindered. Similar but more severe attacks can stun characters. Stunned characters lose their turn (but can still defend against attacks normally).
Poison and Disease: When characters encounter poison—whether the venom of a serpent, a pinch of diabolis powder slipped into a flagon of ale, or blackroot oil applied to the tip of a dart—they make a Might defense roll to resist it. Failure to resist can result in points of damage, moving down the damage track, or a specific effect such as paralysis, unconsciousness, disability, or something stranger. For example, some numenera poisons affect the brain, making it impossible to say certain words, take certain actions, resist certain effects, or recover points to a stat Pool. Diseases work like poisons, but their effect occurs every day, so the victim must make a Might defense roll each day or suffer the effects. Disease effects are as varied as poisons: points of damage, moving down the damage track, disability, and so on. Many diseases inflict damage that cannot be restored through conventional means.
Paralysis: Paralytic effects cause a character to drop to the ground, unable to move. Unless otherwise specified, they can still take actions that require no physical movement.
Other Effects:Other special effects can render a character blind or deaf, unable to stand without falling over, or unable to breathe. Stranger effect might negate gravity for the character (or increase it a hundredfold), transport them to another place, render them out of phase, mutate their physical form, implant false memories or senses, alter the way their brain processes information, or inflame their nerves so they are in constant, excruciating pain. Each special effect must be handled on a case-by-case basis. The GM adjudicates how the character is affected and how the condition can be alleviated (if possible).
NPCs AND SPECIAL DAMAGE
The GM always has final say over what special damage will affect an NPC. Human NPCs usually react like characters, but the Ninth World has too many types of nonhuman creatures to categorize. For example, a tiny bit of venom is unlikely to hurt a gigantic cragworm, and it won’t affect an automaton or an ultraterrestrial at all. If an NPC is susceptible to an attack that would shift a character down the damage track, using that attack on the NPC usually renders it unconscious or dead. Alternatively, the GM could apply the debilitated condition to the NPC, with the same effect as it would have on a PC.
DAMAGE FROM HAZARDS
| Source* | **Damage | Notes |
| Falling | 1 point per 10 feet (3 m) fallen (ambient damage) | — |
| Minor fire | 3 points per round (ambient damage) | Torch |
| Major fire | 6 points per round (ambient damage) | Engulfed in flames; lava |
| Acid splash | 2 points per round (ambient damage) | — |
| Acid bath | 6 points per round (ambient damage) | Immersed in acid |
| Cold | 1 point per round (ambient damage) | Below freezing temperatures |
| Severe cold | 3 points per round (ambient damage) | Liquid nitrogen |
| Shock | 1 point per round (ambient damage) | Often involves losing next action |
| Electrocution | 6 points per round (ambient damage) | Often involves losing next action |
| Crush | 3 points | Object or creature falls on character |
| Huge crush | 6 points | Roof collapse; cave-in |
| Collision | 6 points | Large, fast object strikes character |
ATTACK MODIFIERS AND SPECIAL SITUATIONS
In combat situations, many modifiers might come into play. Although the GM is at liberty to assess whatever modifiers they think are appropriate to the situation (that’s their role in the game), the following suggestions and guidelines might make that easier. Often the modifier is applied as a step in difficulty. So if a situation hinders attacks, that means if a PC attacks an NPC, the difficulty for the attack roll is increased by one step, and if an NPC attacks a PC, the difficulty of the defense roll is decreased by one step. This is because players make all rolls, whether they are attacking or defending—
NPCs never make attack or defense rolls. When in doubt, if it seems like it should be harder to attack in a situation, hinder the attack rolls. If it seems like attacks should gain an advantage or be easier
in some way, hinder the defense rolls.
COVER
If a character is behind cover so that a significant portion of their body is behind something sturdy, attacks against the character are hindered. If a character is entirely behind cover (their entire body is behind something sturdy), they can’t be attacked unless the attack can go through the cover. For example, if a character hides behind a thin wooden screen and their opponent shoots the screen with a powered crossbow that can penetrate the wood, the character can be attacked. However, because the attacker can’t see the character clearly, this still counts as cover (attacks against the character are hindered).
POSITION
Sometimes where a character stands gives them an advantage or a disadvantage.
Prone Target: In melee, a prone target is easier to hit (attacks against them are eased). In ranged combat, a prone target is harder to hit (attacks against them are hindered).
Higher Ground: In either ranged or melee combat, attacks by an opponent on higher ground are eased.
SURPRISE
When a target isn’t aware of an incoming attack, the attacker has an advantage. Attacks by a ranged sniper in a hidden position, an invisible assailant, or the first salvo in a successful ambush are all eased by two steps. For the attacker to gain this advantage, however, the defender truly must have no idea that the attack is coming. If the defender isn’t sure of the attacker’s location but is still on guard, the attacks are eased by only one step.
RANGE
In melee, you can attack a foe who is adjacent to you (next to you) or within reach (immediate range). If you enter into melee with one or more foes, usually you can attack most or all of the combatants, meaning they are next to you, within reach, or within reach if you move slightly or have a long weapon that extends your reach.
The majority of ranged attacks have only two ranges: short range and long range (a few have very long range). Short range is generally less than 50 feet (15 m) or so. Long range is generally from 50 feet (15 m) to about 100 feet (30 m). Very long range is generally 100 feet (30 m) to 500 feet (150 m). Greater precision than that isn’t important in Numenera. If anything is longer than very long range, the exact range is usually spelled out, such as with a numenera item that can fire a beam 1,000 feet (300 m) or teleport you up to 1 mile (1.5 km) away. Thus, the game has four measurements of distance: immediate, short, long, and very long. These apply to movement as well. A few special cases—point-blank range and extreme range—modify an attack’s chance to successfully hit.
Point-Blank Range: If a character uses a ranged weapon against a target within immediate range, the attack is eased.
Extreme Range: Targets just at the limit of a weapon’s range are at extreme range. Attacks against such targets are hindered.
ILLUMINATION
What characters can see (and how well they can see) plays a huge factor in combat.
Dim Light: Dim light is approximately the amount of light on a night with a bright full moon or the illumination provided by a torch, glowglobe, or desk lamp. Dim light allows you to see out to short range. Targets in dim light are harder to hit. Attacks against such targets are hindered. Attackers trained in low-light spotting negate this modifier.
Very Dim Light: Very dim light is approximately the amount of light on a starry night with no visible moon, or the glow provided by a candle or an illuminated control panel. Very dim light allows you to see clearly only within immediate range and perceive vague shapes to short range. Targets in very dim light are harder to hit. Attacks against targets within immediate range are hindered, and attacks against those in short range are hindered by two steps. Attackers trained in low-light spotting modify these difficulties by one step in their favor. Attackers specialized in low-light spotting modify these difficulties by two steps in their favor.
Darkness: Darkness is an area with no illumination at all, such as a moonless night with cloud cover or a room with no lights. Targets in complete darkness are nearly impossible to hit. If an attacker can use other senses (such as hearing) to get an idea of where the opponent might be, attacks against such targets are hindered by four steps. Otherwise, attacks in complete darkness fail without the need for a roll unless the player spends 1 XP to “make a lucky shot” or the GM uses GM intrusion. Attackers trained in lowlight spotting modify this difficulty by one step in their favor. Attackers specialized in low-light spotting modify this difficulty by two steps in their favor.
VISIBILITY
Similar to illumination, factors that obscure vision affect combat.
Mist: A target in mist is similar to one in dim light. Ranged attacks against such targets are hindered. Particularly dense mist makes ranged attacks nearly impossible (treat as darkness), and even melee attacks are hindered.
Hiding Target: A target in dense foliage, behind a screen, or crawling amid the rubble in a ruin is hard to hit because they’re hard to see. Ranged attacks against such targets are hindered.
Invisible Target: If an attacker can use other senses (such as hearing) to get an idea of where the opponent might be, attacks against such targets are hindered by four steps. Otherwise, attacks against an invisible creature fail without the need for a roll unless the player spends 1 XP to “make a lucky shot” or the GM uses GM intrusion.
WATER
Being in shallow water can make it hard to move, but it doesn’t affect combat. Being in deep water can make things difficult, and being underwater entirely can seem as different as being on another world.
Deep Water: Being in water up to your chest (or the equivalent thereof) hinders your attacks. Aquatic creatures ignore this modifier.
Underwater Melee Combat: For nonaquatic creatures, being completely underwater makes attacking very difficult. Attacks with stabbing weapons are hindered, and melee attacks with slashing or bashing weapons are hindered by two steps. Aquatic creatures ignore these penalties.
Underwater Ranged Combat: As with melee combat, nonaquatic creatures have difficulty fighting underwater. Some ranged attacks are impossible underwater—you can’t throw things, fire a bow or crossbow, or use a blowgun. Attacks with weapons that do work underwater are hindered. Ranges underwater are reduced by one category; long-range weapons work only to short range, and short-range weapons work onlyto immediate range.
MOVING TARGETS
Moving targets are harder to hit, and moving attackers have a difficult time as well.
Target Is Moving: Attackers trying to hit a foe who is moving very fast are hindered. (A foe moving very fast is one who is doing nothing but running, mounted on a moving creature, riding on a vehicle or moving conveyance, and so on.)
Attacker Is Moving: An attacker trying to make an attack while moving under their own power (walking, running, swimming, and so on) takes no penalties. Attacks from a moving mount or moving vehicle are hindered; an attacker trained in riding or driving ignores these hindrances.
Attacker Is Jostled: Being jostled, such as while standing on a listing ship or a vibrating platform, makes attacking difficult. Such attacks are hindered. Characters trained in balancing or sailing ignore this hindrance.
GRAVITY
In the Ninth World, the numenera can cause gravity to fluctuate. In addition, characters who have a large amount of metal (wearing metal armor, using metal weapons, and so on) can be affected by fluctuating magnetism just as a character is affected by gravity.
Low Gravity: Weapons that rely on weight, such as all heavy weapons, deal 2 fewer points of damage (dealing a minimum of 1 point of damage). Weapons with short range can reach to long range, and long-range weapons can reach to very long range. Characters trained in low-gravity maneuvering ignore the damage penalty.
High Gravity: It’s hard to make effective attacks when the pull of gravity is very strong. Attacks (and all physical actions) made in high gravity are hindered. Ranges in high gravity are reduced by one category (long-range weapons reach only to short range, and short-range weapons reach only to immediate range). Characters trained in high-gravity maneuvering ignore the change in difficulty but not the range decreases.
Zero Gravity: It’s hard to maneuver in an environment without gravity. All physical actions (including attacks) made in zero gravity are hindered. Weapons with short range can reach to long range, long-range weapons can reach to very long range, and very long-range weapons can reach to about 1,000 feet (300 m) instead of 500 feet (150 m). Characters trained in zero-gravity maneuvering ignore the change in difficulty.
SPECIAL SITUATION: COMBAT BETWEEN NPCs
When an NPC attacks another NPC, the GM should designate a player to roll for one of the NPCs. Often, the choice is obvious. For example, a character who has a trained attack animal should roll when their pet attacks enemies. If an NPC ally accompanying the party leaps into the fray, that ally’s favorite PC rolls for them.
NPCs cannot apply Effort.
SPECIAL SITUATION: COMBAT BETWEEN PCs
When one PC attacks another PC, the attacking character makes an attack roll, and the other character makes a defense roll, adding any appropriate modifiers. If the attacking PC has a skill, ability, asset, or other effect that would ease the attack if it were made against an NPC, the character adds 3 to the roll for each step reduction (+3 for one step, +6 for two steps, and so on). If the attacker’s final result is higher, the attack hits. If the defender’s result is higher, the attack misses. Damage is resolved normally. The GM mediates all special effects.
SPECIAL SITUATION: AREA ATTACKS
Sometimes, an attack or effect affects an area rather than a single target. For example, a Nano’s Flash esotery or a landslide can potentially harm or affect everyone in the area. In an area attack, all PCs in the area make appropriate defense rolls against the attack to determine its effect on them. If there are any NPCs in the area, the attacker makes a single attack roll against all NPCs (one roll, not one roll per NPC) and compares it to the target number of each NPC. If the roll is equal to or greater than the target number of a particular NPC, the attack hits that NPC. Some area attacks always deal at least a minimum amount of damage, even if the attacks miss or if a PC makes a successful defense roll.
For example, consider a Nano who uses Flash to attack six cultists (level 2; target number of 6) and their leader (level 4; target number of 12). The Nano applies Effort to increase the damage and rolls an 11 for the Flash attack roll. This hits the six cultists, but not the leader, so the Flash deals 4 points of damage to each of the cultists. However, the description of the Flash esotery says that applying Effort to increase the damage also means that targets take 1 point of damage if the Nano fails the attack roll, so the leader takes 1 point of damage. In terms of what happens in the story, the cultists are caught flat-footed by the Nano’s burst of energy, but the leader ducks and shields herself from the blast. However, the blast is so intense that, despite the cult leader’s best attempt, she is still burned.
SPECIAL SITUATION: ATTACKING OBJECTS
Attacking an object is rarely a matter of hitting it. Sure, you can hit the broad side of a barn, but can you damage it? Attacking an object with a melee weapon is a Might action. Objects have levels and thus target numbers. Objects have a damage track that works like the damage track for PCs.
Intact is the default state for an object.
Minor damage is a slightly damaged state. An object with minor damage reduces its level by 1.
Major damage is a critically damaged state. An object with major damage is broken and no longer functions.
Destroyed is destroyed. The object is ruined, no longer functions, and cannot be repaired.
If the Might action to damage an object is a success, the object moves one step down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeded the difficulty by 2 levels, the object instead moves two steps down the object damage track. If the Might roll exceeded the difficulty by 4 levels, the object instead moves three steps down the object damage track. Objects with minor or major damage can be repaired, moving them one or more steps up on the object damage track.
Brittle or fragile objects, like paper or glass, decrease the effective level of the object itself for the purposes of determining if it is damaged. Hard objects, like those made of wood or stone, add 1 to the effective level. Very hard objects, like those made of metal, add 2. (The GM may rule that some exotic materials add 3.)
Special Requirements to Damage an Object: The tool or weapon used to attack the object must be at least as hard as the object itself. Further, if the amount of damage the attack could inflict—not modified by a special die roll—does not equal or exceed the effective level of the object, the attack cannot damage the object no matter what the roll.
ACTION: ACTIVATE A SPECIAL ABILITY
Special abilities are things like esoteries, abilities granted through a character’s focus, or powers granted by cyphers or artifacts. If a special ability affects another character in any kind of unwanted manner, it’s handled as an attack. This is true even if the ability is normally not considered an attack. For example, if a character has a healing touch, but their friend doesn’t want to be healed for some reason, an attempt to heal the unwilling friend is handled as an attack.
However, plenty of special abilities and esoteries do not affect another character in an unwanted manner. For example, a Nano might use Hover to float into the air. A character with a matter-reorganizing device might change a stone wall into glass. A character who Exists Partially Out of Phase might walk through a wall. None of these requires an attack roll (although when turning a stone wall to glass, the character must still make a roll to successfully affect the wall). If the character spends points to apply Effort on the attempt, they might want to roll anyway to see if they get a major effect, which would reduce the cost for their action.
ACTION: MOVE
As part of another action, a character can adjust their position—stepping back a few feet while performing an esotery, sliding over in combat to take on a different opponent to help a friend, pushing through a door they just opened, and so on. This range is an immediate distance, and a character can move this far as part of another action. In a combat situation, if a character is in a large melee, they’re usually considered to be next to most other combatants, unless the GM rules that they’re farther away because the melee is especially large or the situation dictates it. If they’re not in melee but still nearby, they’re considered to be a short distance away—usually less than 50 feet (15 m).
If they’re farther away than that but still involved in the combat, they’re considered to be a long distance away, usually 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m). In a round, as an action, a character can move a short distance—up to about 50 feet (15 m). Some terrain or situations will change how far a character can move, but generally, making a short move is considered to be a difficulty 0 action. A character can try to make a long move—up to 100 feet (30 m) or so—in one round. This is a Speed task with a difficulty of 4.A successful roll means the character moved the distance safely. Failure means that at some point during the move, they stop or stumble (the GM determines where this happens).
LONG-TERM MOVEMENT
When talking about movement in terms of traveling rather than round-by-round action, typical characters can travel on a road about 20 miles (32 km) per day, averaging about 3 miles (5 km) per hour, including a few stops. When traveling overland, they can move about 12 miles (19 km) per day, averaging 2 miles (3 km) per hour, again with some stops. Mounted characters—such as those riding an aneen or a snow loper— can go twice as far. Other modes of travel (flying craft, sailing ships, and so on) have their own rates of movement.
MOVEMENT MODIFIERS
Different environments affect movement in different ways.
Rough Terrain: A surface that’s considered rough terrain is covered in loose stones or other material, uneven or with unsure footing, unsteady, stairs, or a surface that requires movement across a narrow space, such as a cramped corridor or a slender ledge. Rough terrain hinders move rolls. Rough terrain cuts long-term movement rates in half.
Difficult Terrain: Difficult terrain is an area filled with challenging obstacles—water up to waist height, a very steep slope, an especially narrow ledge, slippery ice, a foot or more of snow, a space so small that one must crawl through it, and so on. Difficult terrain hinders move rolls and halves movement on a roundby-round basis. This means that a short move is about 25 feet (7.5 m), and a long move is about 50 feet (15 m). Difficult terrain reduces longterm movement to a third of its normal rate.
Water: Deep water, in which a character is mostly or entirely submerged, hinders move rolls and reduces round-by-round and longterm movement to one quarter its normal rate. This means that a short move is about 12 feet (4 m), and a long move is about 25 feet (7.5 m). Characters trained in swimming halve their movement only while in deep water.
Low Gravity: Movement in low gravity is easier but not much faster. All move rolls are eased.
High Gravity: In an environment of high gravity, treat all moving characters as if they were in difficult terrain. Characters trained in high-gravity maneuvering negate this penalty. High gravity reduces long-term movement to a third of its normal rate.
Zero Gravity: In an environment without gravity, characters cannot move normally. Instead, they must push off from a surface and succeed at a Might roll to move (the difficulty is equal to one-quarter the distance traveled in feet). Without a surface to push off from, a character cannot move. Unless the character’s movement takes them to a stable object that they can grab or land against, they continue to drift in that direction each round, traveling half the distance of the initial push.
SPECIAL SITUATION: A CHASE
When a PC is chasing an NPC or vice versa, the player should attempt a Speed action, with the difficulty based on the NPC’s level. If the PC succeeds at the roll, they catch the NPC (if chasing) or they get away (if chased). In terms of the story, this one-roll mechanic can be the result of a long chase over many rounds. Alternatively, if the GM wants to play out a long chase, the character can make many rolls (perhaps one per level of the NPC) to finish the pursuit successfully. For every failure, the PC must make another success, and if they ever have more failures than successes, the PC fails to catch the NPC (if chasing) or is caught (if chased). As with combat, the GM is encouraged to describe the results of these rolls with flavor. A success might mean the PC has rounded a corner and gained some distance. A failure might mean that a basket of fruit topples over in front of them, slowing them down.
ACTION: WAIT
You can wait to react to another character’s action. You decide what action will trigger your action, and if the triggering action happens, you get to take your action first (unless going first wouldn’t make any sense, like attacking a foe before it comes into view). For example, if an abhuman threatens you with a spear, on your turn you can decide to wait, stating, “If it stabs at me with that spear, I’m going to slash it with my sword.” On the abhuman’s turn, it tries to stab you, so you make your sword attack before that happens. Waiting is also a good way to deal with a ranged attacker who rises from behind cover, fires an attack, and ducks back down. You could say, “I wait to see them pop up from behind cover and then I shoot them.”
ACTION: DEFEND
Defending is a special action that only PCs can do, and only in response to being attacked. In other words, an NPC uses their action to attack, which forces a PC to make a defense roll. This is handled like any other kind of action, with circumstances, skill, assets, and Effort all potentially coming into play. Defending is a special kind of action in that it does not happen on the PC’s turn. It’s never an action that a player decides to make; it’s always a reaction to an attack. A PC can make a defense action when attacked (on the attacking NPC’s turn) and still take another action on their own turn.
The type of defense roll depends on the type of attack. If a foe attacks a character with an axe, the PC can use Speed to duck or block it with what they’re holding. If they’re struck by a poisoned dart, they can use a Might action to resist its effects. If a psi-worm attempts to control their mind, they can use Intellect to fend off the intrusion.
Sometimes an attack provokes two defense actions. For example, a poisonous reptile tries to bite a PC. They try to dodge the bite with a Speed action. If they fail, they take damage from the bite, and they must also attempt a Might action to resist the poison’s effects. If a character does not know an attack is coming, usually they can still make a defense roll, but they can’t add modifiers (including the modifier from a shield) or use skill or Effort to ease the roll. If circumstances warrant—such as if the attacker is right next to the character—the GM might rule that the surprise attack simply hits.
A character can always choose to forgo a defense action, in which case the attack automatically hits.
Some abilities (such as the Countermeasures esotery) allow you to do something special as a defense action.
ACTION: DO SOMETHING ELSE
You can try anything you can think of, although that doesn’t mean anything is possible. The GM sets the difficulty—that’s their primary role in the game. Still, guided by the bounds of logic, players and GMs will find all manner of actions and options that aren’t covered by a rule. That’s a good thing. Players should not feel constrained by the game mechanics when taking actions. Skills are not required to attempt an action. Someone who’s never picked a lock can still try. The GM might hinder the difficulty, but the character can still attempt the action. Thus, players and GMs can return to the beginning of this chapter and look at the most basic expression of the rules. A player wants to take an action. The GM decides, on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult that task would be and what stat it uses. The player determines whether they have anything that might modify the difficulty and considers whether they want to apply Effort. Once the final determination is made, the player rolls to see if their character succeeds. It’s as easy as that. As further guidance, some of the more common actions a PC might take are described in the next sections.
CLIMBING
When a character climbs, the GM sets a difficulty based on the surface being climbed. Climbing is like moving through difficult terrain: the move roll is hindered and movement is at half speed. Unusual circumstances, such as climbing while being attacked, pose additional step penalties.
| Difficulty | Surface |
| 2 | Surface with lots of handholds |
| 3 | Stone wall or similar surface (a few handholds) |
| 4 | Crumbling or slippery surface |
| 5 | Smooth stone wall or similar surface |
| 6 | Metal wall or similar surface |
| 8 | Smooth, horizontal surface (climber is upside down) |
| 10 | Glass wall or similar surface |
CRAFTING, BUILDING, AND REPAIRING
Crafting is a tricky topic in the Ninth World because the same rules that govern building a spear also cover repairing a teleporter. Normally, the level of the item determines the difficulty of creating or repairing it as well as the time required. For numenera items (cyphers, artifacts, and oddities), add 5 to the item’s level to determine the difficulty of creating or repairing it. Sometimes, if the item is artistic in nature, the GM will add to the difficulty and time required. For example, a crude wooden stool might be hammered together in an hour. A beautiful finished piece might take a week or longer and would require more skill on the part of the crafter.
The GM is free to overrule some attempts at creation, building, or repair, requiring that the character have a certain level of skill, proper tools and materials, and so forth. A level 0 object requires no skill to make and is easily found in most locations. Sling stones and firewood are level 0 items—producing them is routine. Making a torch from spare wood and oil-soaked cloth is simple, so it’s a level 1 object. Making an arrow or a spear is fairly standard but not simple, so it’s a level 2 object. Generally speaking, a device to be crafted requires materials equal to its level and all the levels below it. So a level 5 device requires level 5 material, level 4 material, level 3 material, level 2 material, and level 1 material (and, technically, level 0 material).
The GM and players can gloss over much of the crafting details, if desired. Gathering all the materials to make a mundane item might not be worth playing out—but then again, it might be. For example, making a wooden spear in a forest isn’t very interesting, but what if the characters have to make a spear in a treeless desert? Finding the wreckage of something made of wood or forcing a PC to fashion a spear out of the bones of a large beast could be interesting situations. The time required to create an item is up to the GM, but the guidelines in the crafting table are a good starting point. Generally, repairing an item takes somewhere between half the creation time and the full creation time, depending on the item, the aspect that needs repairing, and the circumstances. For example, if creating an item takes one hour, repairing it takes between thirty minutes and one hour. Sometimes a GM will allow a rush job if the circumstances warrant it. This is different than using skill to reduce the time required. In this case, the quality of the item is affected. Let’s say that a character needs to create a tool that will cut through solid steel with a heat beam (a level 7 item), but she has to do it in one day. The GM might allow it, but the device might be extremely volatile, inflicting damage on the user, or it might work only once. The device is still considered a level 7 item to create in all other respects.
| Difficulty | Craft General | Time to Build |
| 0 | Something extremely simple, like tying a rope or finding an appropriately sized rock | A few minutes at most |
| 1 | Torch | 5 minutes |
| 2 | Spear, simple shelter, or piece of furniture | 1 hour |
| 3 | Bow, door | 1 day |
| 4 | Sword, chainmail vest | 1 to 2 days |
| 5 | Common numenera item (glowglobe, shaper key) | 1 week |
| 6 | Simple numenera item | 1 month |
| 7 | Numenera item | 1 year |
| 8 | Numenera item | Many years |
| 9 | Numenera item | Many years |
| 10 | Numenera item | Many years |
GUARDING
In a combat situation, a character can stand guard as their action. They do not make attacks, but all their defense tasks are eased. Further, if an NPC tries to get by them or take an action that they are guarding against, they can attempt a hindered Speed action based on the level of the NPC. Success means that the NPC is prevented from taking the action; the NPC’s action that turn is wasted. This is useful for blocking a doorway, guarding a friend, and so forth.
If an NPC is standing guard, use the same procedure, but to get past the guard, the PC attempts a hindered Speed action against the NPC. For example, Latora is an NPC human with a level 3 bodyguard. The bodyguard uses their action to guard Latora. If a PC wants to attack Latora, the PC first must succeed at a difficulty 4 Speed task to get past the guard. If the PC succeeds, they can make their attack normally.
HEALING
You can administer aid through bandaging and other succor, attempting to heal each patient once per day. This healing restores points to a stat Pool of your choice. Decide how many points you want to heal, and then make an Intellect action with a difficulty equal to that number. For example, if you want to heal someone for 3 points, that’s a difficulty 3 task.
JUMPING
Decide how far you want to jump, and that sets the difficulty of your Might roll. For a standing jump, subtract 4 from the distance in feet to determine the difficulty of the jump. For example, jumping 10 feet has a difficulty of 6. If you run an immediate distance before jumping, it counts as an asset, easing the jump. If you run a short distance before jumping, divide the jump distance (in feet) by 2 and then subtract 4 to determine the difficulty of the jump.
Because you’re running an immediate distance (and then some), you also count your running as an asset. For example, jumping a distance of 20 feet with a short running start has a difficulty of 5 (20 feet divided by 2 is 10, minus 4 is 6, minus 1 for running an immediate distance). For a vertical jump, the distance you clear (in feet) is equal to the difficulty of the jumping task. If you run an immediate distance, it counts as an asset, easing the jump.
LOOKING OR LISTENING
Generally, the GM will describe any sight or sound that’s not purposefully difficult to detect. But if you want to look for a hidden enemy, search for a secret panel, or listen for someone sneaking up on you, make an Intellect roll. If it’s a creature, its level determines the difficulty of your roll. If it’s something else, the GM determines the difficulty of your roll.
INTERACTING WITH CREATURES
The level of the creature determines the target number, just as with combat. Thus, bribing a guard works much like punching them or affecting them with an esotery. This is true of persuading someone, intimidating someone, calming a wild beast, or anything of the kind. Interaction is an Intellect task.
MOVING A HEAVY OBJECT
You can push or pull something very heavy and move it an immediate distance as your action. The weight of the object determines the difficulty of the Might roll to move it; every 50 pounds (23 kg) hinders the task by one step. So moving something that weighs 150 pounds (68 kg) is difficulty 3, and moving something that weighs 400 pounds (180 kg) is difficulty 8. If you can reduce the difficulty of the task to 0, you can move a heavy object up to a short distance as your action. Being skilled in carrying or pushing reduces the difficulty of this task.
OPERATING OR DISABLING A DEVICE, OR PICKING A LOCK
As with figuring out a device, the level of the device usually determines the difficulty of the Intellect roll. However, unless a device is very complex, the GM will often rule that once you figure it out, no roll is needed to operate it except under special circumstances. So if the PCs find and figure out how to use a hovering platform, they can operate it. However, if they are attacked, they might need to roll to ensure that they don’t crash the platform into a wall while trying to avoid being hit.
Unlike operating a device, disabling a device and picking a lock usually require rolls. These actions often involve special tools and assume that the character is not trying to destroy the device or lock. (If you are attempting to destroy it, you probably should make a Might roll to smash it rather than a Speed or Intellect roll requiring patience and know-how.)
RIDING
If you’re riding an animal that’s trained to be a mount, and you’re doing something routine such as riding from one village to another or from one part of a field to another, you don’t need to make a roll (just as you wouldn’t need to make a roll to walk there). However, staying mounted during a fight or doing something tricky requires a Speed roll to succeed. A saddle or other appropriate gear is an asset and eases the riding task. Flying mounts include rasters and xi-drakes. A windrider is a technological mount.
| Difficulty | Maneuver |
| 0 | Riding |
| 1 | Staying on a mount in a battle or other difficult situation |
| 3 | Staying on a mount when you take damage |
| 4 | Mounting a moving steed |
| 5 | Coaxing a mount to move or jump twice as fast or far as normal for one round |
SNEAKING
The difficulty of sneaking by a creature is determined by its level. Sneaking is a Speed roll. Moving at half speed eases the sneaking task. Appropriate camouflage or other gear may count as an asset and ease the task, as will dim lighting conditions and having plenty of things to hide behind.
SWIMMING
If you’re simply swimming from one place to another, such as across a calm river or lake, use the standard movement rules, noting the fact that your character is in deep water. However, sometimes, special circumstances require a Might roll to make progress while swimming, such as when trying to avoid a current, being dragged into a whirlpool, and so on.
UNDERSTANDING, IDENTIFYING, OR REMEMBERING
When characters try to identify or figure out how to use a device, the level of the device determines the difficulty of the Intellect roll. For a bit o knowledge, the GM determines the difficulty.
| Difficulty | Knowledge |
| 0 | Common knowledge |
| 1 | Simple knowledge |
| 3 | Something a scholar probably knows |
| 5 | Something even a scholar might not know |
| 7 | Knowledge very few people possess |
| 10 | Completely lost knowledge |
EXPERIENCE POINTS
Experience points (XP) are the currency by which players gain benefits for their characters. The most common ways to earn XP are through GM intrusions and by discovering new and amazing things. Sometimes experience points are earned during a game session, and sometimes they’re earned between sessions. In a typical session, a player might earn 2 to 4 XP, and between sessions, perhaps another 2 XP (on average). The exact amounts depend on the events of the session and the discoveries made.
GM INTRUSION
At any time, the GM can introduce an unexpected complication for a character. When they intrude in this manner, they must give that character 2 XP. That player, in turn, must immediately give one of those XP to another player and justify the gift (perhaps the other player had a good idea, told a funny joke, performed an action that saved a life, and so on). Often, the GM intrudes when a player attempts an action that, according to the rules, should be an automatic success. However, the GM is free to intrude at other times. As a general rule, the GM should intrude at least once each session, but no more than once or twice each session per character. Anytime the GM intrudes, the player can spend 1 XP to refuse the intrusion, though that also means they don’t get the 2 XP. If the player has no XP to spend, they can’t refusethe intrusion.
Example 1: Through skill and the aid of another character, a fourth-tier PC reduces a wall climbing task from difficulty 2 to difficulty 0. Normally, they would succeed at the task automatically, but the GM intrudes and says, “No, a bit of the crumbling wall gives way, so you still have to make a roll.” As with any difficulty 2 task, the target number is 6. The PC attempts the roll as normal, and because the GM intruded, the character gains 2 XP. They immediately give one of those XP to another player.
Example 2: During a fight, a PC swings their axe and damages a foe with a slice across the shoulder. The GM intrudes by saying that the foe turned just as the axe struck, wrenching the weapon from the character’s grip and sending it clattering across the floor. The axe comes to a stop 10 feet (3 m) away. Because the GM intruded, the PC gains 2 XP, and they immediately give one of those XP to another player. Now the character must deal with the dropped weapon, perhaps drawing a different weapon or using their next turn to scramble after the axe.
If a character rolls a 1 on a die, the GM can intrude without giving the character any XP. This kind of intrusion happens immediately or very soon thereafter.
DISCOVERING NEW THINGS
The core of gameplay in Numenera—the answer to the question “What do characters do in this game?”—is “Discover new things or old things that are new again.” This can be the discovery of something a character can use, like an artifact. It makes the character more powerful because it almost certainly grants a new capability or option, but it’s also a discovery unto itself and results in a gain of experience points. Discovery can also mean finding a new numenera procedure or device (something too big to be considered a piece of equipment) or even previously unknown information. If the PCs find an ancient hovertrain and get it working again so they can use it to reach a distant location, that’s a discovery. If they locate a signal receiving station and figure out how to turn off the transmission from an overhead satellite that’s causing all the animals in the region to become hostile, that’s a discovery. The common thread is that the PCs discover something that they can understand and put to use. A cure for a plague, the means to draw power from a hydroelectric plant, an operational flying craft, or an injection that grants the knowledge to create a protective force field dome over a structure—these are all discoveries. Last, depending on the GM’s outlook and the kind of campaign the group wants to play, a discovery could be as abstract as a truth. This could be an ethical idea such as “What goes around comes around,” or it might be an adage such as “Everyone has their price.” Typically, the PCs will earn about half their total experience points by making discoveries.
Artifacts: When the group gains an artifact, award XP equal to the artifact’s level and divide it among the PCs (minimum 1 XP for each character). Round down if necessary. For example, if four PCs discover a level 5 artifact, they each get 1 XP. Cyphers and oddities are not worth XP.
Other Devices: These devices are often large, immobile objects found in the ruins left behind from the prior worlds, not artifacts that characters can take with them and use. Experimenting with a device to discover what it does might grant 1 XP to each PC involved, particularly if they return to civilization with an interesting tale of the wonders of the past.
Miscellaneous Discoveries: Various other discoveries might grant 1 XP to each PC involved. These aren’t always devices, but they’re usually some kind of items or contraptions left over from the ancients. They might include:
- A huge vat of a gelatinous substance that alters normal animals submersed into it, slowly transforming them into gigantic versions of themselves.
- A miniature black hole that is used to power a dimension-spanning device.
- A series of replacement organs held in stasis that can be used for transplants—if a qualified chiurgeon is available.
- A storage unit that keeps food fresh indefinitely.
- A tower-mounted turret cannon that can be moved (with great effort) and reassembled to help protect a city against invasion.
Shins are not worth experience points. Finding money can help the characters buy equipment, but it doesn’t earn them XP.
GM AWARDS
Sometimes, a group will have an adventure that doesn’t deal primarily with uncovering the past or exploring ruins for artifacts. In this case, it’s a good idea for the GM to award XP for accomplishing other tasks. A goal or a mission is normally worth 1 to 4 XP for each PC involved, depending on the difficulty and length of the work. As a general rule, a mission should be worth at least 1 XP per game session involved in accomplishing it.
For example, saving a family on an isolated farm beset by abhuman raiders might be worth 1 XP for each character. Of course, saving the family might mean relocating them, parleying with the abhumans, or chasing off the raiders. It doesn’t have to mean slaying all the abhumans, although that would work, too. Delivering a message to a remote village high in the mountains that requires the PCs to climb in dangerous conditions and risk possible attacks by bandits is probably a mission worth 2 XP per character.
On the other hand, if the PCs can fly safely over the mountains or teleport to the village, the mission is probably worth just 1 XP per character. Thus, GM awards are based not only on the task, but on the PCs and their capabilities as well. However, that doesn’t mean the characters should earn fewer XP if they make a lot of lucky rolls or devise a clever plan to overcome obstacles. Being lucky or smart doesn’t make a difficult challenge less difficult—it just means the PCs succeed more easily.
PLAYER-DRIVEN AWARDS
Players can create their own missions by setting goals for their characters. If they succeed, they earn XP just as if they were sent on the mission by an NPC. For example, if the characters decide on their own to help find a lost caravan in the mountains, that’s a goal and a mission.
Sometimes character goals are more personal. If a PC vows to avenge the death of her brother, that’s still a mission. These kinds of goals that are important to a character’s background should be set at or near the outset of the game. When completed, a character goal should be worth at least 1 XP (and perhaps as much as 4 XP) to the PC. This encourages players to develop their character’s background and to build in opportunities for action in the future. Doing so makes the background more than just backstory or flavor—it becomes something that can propel the campaign forward. With GM approval, players can also earn XP advances for building a background.
SPENDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Experience points are meant to be used. Hoarding them is not a good idea, and if a player ever accumulates more than 10 XP at once, the GM can require them to spend some immediately.
Generally, experience points can be spent in four ways: immediate benefits, short-term and medium-term benefits, long-term benefits, and character advancement.
IMMEDIATE BENEFITS
The easiest, most straightforward way for a player to use XP is to reroll any roll in the game—even one that they didn’t make. This costs 1 XP per reroll. The player can reroll and use either the new roll or the original, whichever is better. They can continue to spend XP on more rerolls, but this can quickly become an expensive proposition. It’s a fine way to attempt to prevent a disaster, but it’s not a good idea to use a lot of XP to reroll a single action over and over. As mentioned earlier, a player can also spend 1 XP to refuse a GM intrusion.
SHORT-TERM AND MEDIUM-TERM BENEFITS
By spending 2 XP, a character can gain a skill—or, more rarely, an ability—that provides a short-term benefit. For example, let’s say that a character notices that all the locks in the Citadel of the Iron Saint are similar to those crafted by a locksmith who worked in her village when she was young. She spends 2 XP and says that in her youth, she visited the locksmith and learned the inner workings of those locks. As a result, she is trained in picking the locks in the Citadel of the Iron Saint. This is just like being trained in lockpicking, but it applies only to locks found in that particular location. The skill is extremely useful in the citadel, but nowhere else. Medium-term benefits are usually story based. For example, a character can spend 2 XP while climbing through mountains and say that she has experience with climbing in regions like these, or perhaps she spends the XP after she’s been in the mountains for a while and says that she’s picked up the feel for climbing there. Either way, from now on, she is trained in climbing in those mountains. This helps her now and any time she returns to the area, but she’s not trained in climbing everywhere.
This method allows a character to get immediate training in a skill for half the normal cost. (Normally, it costs 4 XP to become trained in a skill, as explained in Character Advancement.) It’s also a way to gain a new skill even if the PC has already gained a new skill as a step toward attaining the next tier.
In rare cases, a GM might allow a character to spend 2 XP to gain an entirely new ability—such as a device, an esotery, or a mental power—for a short time, usually no longer than the course of one scenario. The player and the GM should agree on a story-based explanation for the benefit. Perhaps the esotery or ability has a specific, rare requirement, such as a tool, a battery, a drug, or some kind of treatment.
For example, a character who wants to explore a submerged location has several numenera components, and they spend 2 XP to cobble together a device for breathing underwater. This gives them the ability for a considerable length of time, but not permanently—the device might work for only eight hours. Again, the story and the logic of the situation dictate the parameters.
LONG-TERM BENEFITS
In many ways, the long-term benefits a character can gain by spending XP are a means of integrating the mechanics of the game with the story. Players can codify things that happen to their characters (or that they want to have happen to their characters) by talking to the GM and spending 3 XP.
For example, a Jack named Therik spends a long time posing as a librarian in a huge library in the river city of Charmonde so he can intercept messages secretly disseminated from the head scribe to a group of criminals. During that time, he becomes very familiar with using a library. Therik’s player talks with the GM and says that he would like to have the Jack’s experiences have a lasting effect on the character. He spends 3 XP and gains familiarity with research of all kinds. Some things that a PC can acquire as a long-term benefit are story based. For example, in the course of play, the character might gain a friend (a contact) or build a log cabin (a home). These benefits are probably not the result of spending XP. The new contact comes to the PC and starts the relationship. The new home is granted to them as a reward for service to a powerful or wealthy patron, or maybe the character inherits the home from a relative or just stumbles into it. Things that affect character abilities, like a familiarity or an artifact, are different. They likely require XP and time, money, and so on. Long-term benefits can include the following.
Contact: The character gains a long-term NPC contact of importance—someone who will help them with information, equipment, shelter, or physical tasks. The player and GM should work out the details of the NPC and their relationship with the character.
Home: The PC acquires a full-time residence. This can be an apartment in a city, a house, a cabin in the wilderness, a base in an ancient complex, or whatever fits the situation. The residence should be a secure place where the PC can leave their belongings and sleep soundly at night. Conceivably, several characters could combine their XP resources and buy a home together.
Title or job: The PC is granted a position of importance or authority. Although it might come with responsibilities, it probably also comes with prestige and reward. It might also simply be an honorific.
Wealth: The PC comes into a considerable amount of wealth, whether it’s a windfall, an inheritance, or a gift. It might be enough to buy a home or a title, but that’s not really the point. The main benefit is that the character no longer needs to worry about the cost of simple equipment, lodging, food, and so on. This wealth could mean a set amount—perhaps 500 shins—or it could bestow the ability to ignore minor costs, as decided by the player and GM.
Artifact: The PC creates an artifact that has a power of their choosing. If the item is fairly simple, the GM can skip the crafting details and just say that after a period of time, the PC creates it. For an item that significantly alters gameplay—granting the character vast telepathic powers or giving them the ability to teleport at will—the GM might require difficult rolls, a considerable amount of time, and rare, hard-to-find components and materials.
CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT
Progressing to the next tier involves four steps. When a character has spent XP on each of the four steps, they advance to the next tier and gain all the benefits of that tier, both from their character type and from their character focus. Each step costs 4 XP. The four steps can be purchased in any order, but each can be purchased only once per tier. In other words, a character must buy all four steps and advance to the next tier before they can buy the same step again.
Increasing Capabilities: You gain 4 new points to add to your stat Pools. You can allocate the points among your Pools however you wish.
Moving Toward Perfection: You add 1 to your Might Edge, your Speed Edge, or your Intellect Edge (your choice).
Extra Effort: Your Effort score increases by 1.
Skills: Chose one skill other than attacks or defense, such as climbing, jumping, persuading, sneaking, history, or understanding numenera. You become trained in that skill. You can even choose a skill based on your character’s special abilities. For example, if your character can make an Intellect roll to blast an enemy with mental force, you can become trained in using that ability, easing the task of using it. If you choose a skill that you are already trained in, you become specialized in that skill, easing the task by two steps instead of one. If you choose a skill that you have an inability in, the training and the inability cancel each other out (you aren’t eased or hindered in that task). For example, if you have an inability in understanding numenera, becoming trained in that cancels out the inability.
Other Options: Players can also spend 4 XP to purchase other special options. Selecting any of these options counts as purchasing one of the four steps necessary to advance to the next tier. The special options are as follows.
- Reduce the cost for wearing armor. This option lowers the Speed Effort cost by 1.
- Add 2 to your recovery rolls.
- Select another focus ability available to you at tier 3. (You must be tier 3 or higher to do this. Characters advancing beyond tier 6 can use this option to select their other tier 6 focus option.)
- If you’re a Glaive, select a new fighting move. The fighting move must be from your tier or a lower tier.
- If you’re a Nano, select a new esotery. The esotery must be from your tier or a lower tier.
- If you’re a Jack, select a new trick of the trade. The trick must be from your tier or a lower tier.
- For other types, choose a new ability from your tier or lower.
EQUAL ADVANCEMENT
It’s worthwhile if all characters advance through the six tiers at about the same rate—an important issue for some players. A good GM can achieve this result by carefully handing out XP rewards, some during play (which will tend to get used immediately) and some after play concludes, especially after completing a major story arc or quest so the GM can hand out 4 XP in one go (which will tend to get used for advancement). Many groups will discover while playing that equal advancement isn’t an important issue in Numenera, but people should get to play the game the way they want to play it.