How will 5e change Numenera/9th World?

gyor · Apr 15, 2019

How will 5e change Numenera/9th World?

I'm assuming that Numenera will be additive, not subtractive to the D&D 5e core books, which means Numenera will have to make space for both more magic/fantasy elements and Core D&D classes and races like Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Half Orcs (by extension Orcs), Half Elves, Tieflings, Dragonborn, Gnomes, Barbarians, Clerics, Wizards, Druids, Sorcerers, Bards, Monks, Paladins, Rangers, Warlocks, Fighters, Rogues. We know it's making space for Dragons thanks to the picture of a Dragon battling an alien creature.

So how will Numenera have to adapt to 5e both in mechanics and theme? (speculation).

Morrus · Apr 15, 2019

I don’t see why it needs to do that. It wouldn’t be Numenera any more, it would be D&D.

I haven’t read up on it, but my WAG will be something akin to Adventures in Middle Earth: a whole replacement set of classes and races.

robus · Apr 15, 2019

gyor said:
How will 5e change Numenera/9th World?

I'm assuming that Numenera will be additive, not subtractive to the D&D 5e core books, which means Numenera will have to make space for both more magic/fantasy elements and Core D&D classes and races like Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Half Orcs (by extension Orcs), Half Elves, Tieflings, Dragonborn, Gnomes, Barbarians, Clerics, Wizards, Druids, Sorcerers, Bards, Monks, Paladins, Rangers, Warlocks, Fighters, Rogues. We know it's making space for Dragons thanks to the picture of a Dragon battling an alien creature.

So how will Numenera have to adapt to 5e both in mechanics and theme? (speculation).

I really don't understand this attitude. Not everywhere needs to become the Forgotten Realms. I think one of its great weaknesses is the fact that it's a kitchen-sink, anything goes setting that drowns in the mess of it all.

WotC needs to remember that less is more. The PHB, MM and DMG are resources to be mined for assets to add to your game, not an a la carte menu that must be available to all games and all settings.

I was quite disappointed that they chickened out with Curse of Strahd and allowed pretty much anything to go in that setting also, despite the setting being primarily populated with humans (I know that it's a demiplane of some sort but the genre calls out for a humans only adventuring party.)

gyor · Apr 15, 2019

robus said:
I really don't understand this attitude. Not everywhere needs to become the Forgotten Realms. I think one of its great weaknesses is the fact that it's a kitchen-sink, anything goes setting that drowns in the mess of it all.

WotC needs to remember that less is more. The PHB, MM and DMG are resources to be mined for assets to add to your game, not an a la carte menu that must be available to all games and all settings.

I was quite disappointed that they chickened out with Curse of Strahd and allowed pretty much anything to go in that setting also, despite the setting being primarily populated with humans (I know that it's a demiplane of some sort but the genre calls out for a humans only adventuring party.)

It doesn't call out for that at all, nothing says you can't have Elves in horror.

If you want to play in an all human party go ahead, but don't push it on everybody.

gyor · Apr 15, 2019

Morrus said:
I don’t see why it needs to do that. It wouldn’t be Numenera any more, it would be D&D.

I haven’t read up on it, but my WAG will be something akin to Adventures in Middle Earth: a whole replacement set of classes and races.

I tell you why it will have those races, Arcana of the Ancients is designed for use with other D&D settings, like FR and I believe that Underneath the Monolith will be designed to work with Arcana of the Ancients.

Morrus · Apr 15, 2019

gyor said:
I tell you why it will have those races, Arcana of the Ancients is designed for use with other D&D settings, like FR and I believe that Underneath the Monolith will be designed to work with Arcana of the Ancients.

OK. I don’t think it will have those races, but we’ll see. One of us will be right, the other will be wrong.

I’m sure that info is probably out there somewhere.

jayoungr · Apr 15, 2019

gyor said:
I'm assuming that Numenera will be additive, not subtractive to the D&D 5e core books

I wouldn't assume that. There are two separate books, after all: Arcana of the Ancients (the 5E science fantasy sourcebook) and Beneath the Monolith (the Numenera setting conversion). It would make a lot of sense for AotA to be additive but for BtM to be much more selective in order to keep the flavor of the original setting.

We know it's making space for Dragons thanks to the picture of a Dragon battling an alien creature.

Again, that picture is on the cover of Arcana of the Ancients. We don't know that there will be dragons in Beneath the Monolith.

ETA: Oops, just realized Morrus beat me to it; I missed his response in skimming the thread earlier.

gyor · Apr 15, 2019

Morrus said:
OK. I don’t think it will have those races, but we’ll see. One of us will be right, the other will be wrong.

I’m sure that info is probably out there somewhere.

Very true. Still it can be fun to speculate.

gyor · Apr 15, 2019

jayoungr said:
I wouldn't assume that. There are two separate books, after all: Arcana of the Ancients (the 5E science fantasy sourcebook) and Beneath the Monolith (the Numenera setting conversion). It would make a lot of sense for AotA to be additive but for BtM to be much more selective in order to keep the flavor of the original setting.

Again, that picture is on the cover of Arcana of the Ancients. We don't know that there will be dragons in Beneath the Monolith.

ETA: Oops, just realized Morrus beat me to it; I missed his response in skimming the thread earlier.

At the very least it needs to have the classes, otherwise it will have to build classes from Scratch.

Of course it could just greatly refluff races abd classes so it fits into the setting better. Like maybe Clerics gain power from AI systems or trensended beings and Elves are just another strange mutant. I think Tieflings are weird enough to fit the settling, just make their origin more Alien then infernal and the Dragonborn could be Aliens as well.

Retreater · Apr 15, 2019

Hopefully it will change Numenera so my Nano can have more than one skill and one thing he can do in combat. The system was ... boring? We abandoned it after two sessions.