Anyone else looking forward to running or playing Numenera?

[TreChriron]

I love the Diamond Throne setting, and I think Monte Cook is a super creative guy. I'm super excited about this game. I pledged for every book and I also pitched in for the Torment Kickstarter to get the digital Numenera PDF tie-in. The artwork is decorating my desktop at home, and I think this game is going to prove to be a strong successful gaming line for Mr. Cook. The whole thing just drips fun.

 

[frankthedm]

I'm curious about the game, but I'll have to look through a few books further down the release schedule to make a judgement on the game. Liking the Barlowesque feel the critters have.

Presenting a good setting is one thing, but way too many games hold back material that IMHO ought to have been in the main rulebook to sell supplements.

 

[LexStarwalker]

If you check the Numenera group I created on this site, I linked an article where Monte broke down what will be in the core book. Basically, it has rules, setting, NPCs and monsters, and at least one adventure.

There will also be a player's guide that will contain the information from the core book that a player needs, so your players don't have to buy a 400+ page hard back book if they don't want to.

 

[frankthedm]

Pre release information is nice and all, but nothing beats having the books in hand to make informed purchases. Seeing there was a Player's book, besides there being a Core book gave me flashbacks to the WhiteWolf shload O' $upplements publishing strategy. But rather than jump to conclusions, I'll just wait till I can judge the books on their content.

 

[AnotherPerson]

What excites you about it, LexStarwalker (and others)?

I've read some bits and pieces, but really all I know is that's vaguely sci-fi/fantasy (which is intriguing in it's self) but little detail beyond that has been released; and that Monte Cook is involved, who was heavily involved in Planescape (fantastic setting, and apparently computer game is a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment), but he was also heavily involved in the mechanics of D&D 3.x (my least favourite version of D&D)

Is there more I should know, and reasons I should be excited?

 

[LexStarwalker]

Read Monte Cook's blog. There's been a LOT of details released.

What interests me most about the game is mainly the setting and after that the system.

The setting is on Earth approximately one billion years in the future. It's called the "Ninth World" to indicate that many civilizations have risen and fallen in the past one billion years. It is science fantasy. At first blush, it looks like a fantasy game and setting with a medieval level of technology. However, instead of magic, there are remnants of advanced technology from the past civilizations, tech that is far beyond what we have today.

The system insterests me too, though I've seen less detail on that. What I have seen that I like is that the mechanics take a back seat to the setting and characters. The rules of the game are described in a couple of relatively short chapters in the book. The focus is on fun and story, not crunching numbers or going through endless charts. I'm really hoping for a system that you can just run on the fly and never have to look anything up.

Going by Monte's work in the past, I think it's fairly safe to have high expectations!

As to supplements, I'm sure there will be. That is how a publisher makes money--publishing books. However, such supplements are never required for any game, and certainly won't be in one where the system is simple and streamlined.

 

[fjw70]

The setting looks really interesting. I got turned off somewhat on the rules when it was referred to as a narrative system. Not that there is anything wrong narrative systems but it seems everyone is doing narrative systems lately.

i will check it out when it is released. I am soured on Kickstarters and preorders lately. It seems no one in the RPG industry can accuractely estimate or meet deadlines.

 

[Super Pony]

For lack of a better analogy I am kind of drawn to the "sunny apocalypse" aspect with its light sprinkling of sci-fi instead of typical magical underpinnings. In some ways it's like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks propped up, taken a little more seriously and spread out across an entire world that can be as much or as little like the Earth we know. What could possibly be left of Portland Oregon in 1 billion years?...let's find out in Numenera. Something akin to Phantasy Star...but not really. Even a teensy bit of Eberron...but not really. I dunno *laughs*. Like I alluded previously, it just shines a light on a part of my imagination that hasn't really been worked out in recent years.

The mechanics? I will leave it to others that may know more. I have some hunches, and even a couple confirmed "hits" but nothing cohesive enough to really sell someone on the system alone.

 

[LexStarwalker]

Yeah, in my opinion, the less crunch in the mechanics the better. Some of the best roleplaying sessions I've had were when we didn't roll dice at all. Nothing kills the momentum of a story more than having to look up a rule, or worse people arguing about the rules.

I too think the setting really frees you up to do whatever you want. There are no limits. I'm really looking forward to see what the published adventures are like. It will be nice to have them as a launching point, and then take the game where I want to go with it.

 

[LexStarwalker]

Here's a link to the Numenera group I created. I've been posting some of Monte's blog posts about the game on there.