Seeking Numenera/The Strange campaign ideas

[Dannyalcatraz]

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I am thinking about running a campaign using Numenera & The Strange. I have been assured that the character options in those games are 100% compatible.

I now have to figure out the details of a campaign that I can pitch to my group.

My first thought is to have a small group of strange beings summon the PCs out of time & space to save them from being the victims of genocide.

My second thought was to make those beings somewhat deserving of their death sentence, having been really nasty to everyone else- Dalek level nasty.

My third thought was to make at least some, if not all of those begs unaware of their past history, and so, genuinely puzzled at why they are so reviled.

My fourth thought was to have them uncover the secret of their past and embrace it...and begin to rise again.

How does that sound as a campaign arc? How would you tweak it? How would you flesh it out? All suggestions are welcome.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Nobody gots nuttin' t'add?

 

[MasterTrancer]

Hi! My two cents to revive this thread; I'm not versed in The Strange, only in Numenera though, and I think that will bias my post.

The campaign arc you described seems interesting and has big potential, but I can't really see how does it fit into the Ninth World theme: are your Daleklings perchance one of the previous nine civilizations? If that's the case, I would have the PCs "summoned" only at a later Tier, say the 3rd at least, building in the first 2 the knowledge of the Daleklings through related findings (artefacts, lore in some form and so on); I would also create buildings or artefacts that the PCs themselves later on would create in the past.

On the same track, now that I think about it, you can move the PCs in the future, having them find traces of the civilization they were brought from.

Let me know how it will play though, please.

 

[Gamgee]

Hmmm is this primarily a Numenera or The Strange game? As a GM of Numenera I don't find any of those plots would necessarily hook me as a player unless there was something far more mysterious and unique to them. I know your throwing basic ideas at a paper hoping some stick but I suggest keep brain storming.

How about an insane robot or creature thinks that the PC's are the heirs of a lost kingdom on the ninth world. This is located in a populated area of the world (steadfast or a kingdom works depending on the scale you want). He plans to use ancient numenera devices, automatons, and biological manipulation to recreate everything from this old kingdom. They view the current kingdoms as a disgrace and lesser in all ways. They feel justified in bringing a superior enlightened culture back to the world. The current inhabitants of the location will be mostly killed off or converted into a slave like race. Anything he can do to remake his perfect vision of his perfect world. I imagine he has some sort of holographic numenera that displays a map or an image of his kingdom important to them personally in some way.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks for the food for thought!

I haven't decided whether this is more Numenera or The Strange. I'm really at just the beginning stages, so really, NOTHING is set in stone.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

are your Daleklings perchance one of the previous nine civilizations?

If I go primarily Numenera, I like this. What I don't follow is why you suggest later tier PCs. Why do you think I should do so?

How about an insane robot or creature thinks that the PC's are the heirs of a lost kingdom on the ninth world. This is located in a populated area of the world (steadfast or a kingdom works depending on the scale you want). He plans to use ancient numenera devices, automatons, and biological manipulation to recreate everything from this old kingdom. They view the current kingdoms as a disgrace and lesser in all ways. They feel justified in bringing a superior enlightened culture back to the world.

This dovetails nicely with the fourth idea in the original post.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

There is actually an official PDF discussing such crossovers. You have to consider several options:

- Is the world of Numenera just another recursion within the Strange, albeit a truly massive one? That would mean that the PCs could get back to modern-day Earth, eventually.

- Is everything within the Strange - including our own Earth - just a simulation on a massive Numenera artifact? That would mean that their whole life was a lie (though an expertly simulated one), akin to the plot in The Matrix - what they thought was modern-day Earth is a billion years gone, and what they experienced was just a computer simulation based on ancient records. Presumably, there is some device which can give them physical bodies in the world of Numenera. Sure, they could go back to the "Earth Simulation" - but knowing what they do, would they really prefer a fake life in a fictional universe to living in the Real World, however bizarre the Real World has become? And can they somehow "save" other people from the "Earth Simulation" and populate the world of Numenera with them?

- The last option is that they experience genuine time travel. In this case, the entities using this device probably barely understand it (it, too, is a leftover from a prior civilization) and do not have much fine control over the destination. Their bizarre religious beliefs make them think they are getting their Prophesized Saviors, but actually they are just getting some random dudes who happen to be the PCs. The PCs might eventually gain control over this device, but they shouldn't figure out how to control it very well - just enough to send them back and forth to the same place in time, along with some notion that it might explode or something if it is used too often. With this approach, you will also have to figure out what recursions exist within the Numenera setting - these are likely very different from the Strange setting, and utterly bizarre and alien.


Depending on which approach you pick, your campaign will work very differently - so it's probably a good idea to choose early.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There is actually an official PDF discussing such crossovers. You have to consider several options:

- Is the world of Numenera just another recursion within the Strange, albeit a truly massive one? That would mean that the PCs could get back to modern-day Earth, eventually.

- Is everything within the Strange - including our own Earth - just a simulation on a massive Numenera artifact? That would mean that their whole life was a lie (though an expertly simulated one), akin to the plot in The Matrix - what they thought was modern-day Earth is a billion years gone, and what they experienced was just a computer simulation based on ancient records. Presumably, there is some device which can give them physical bodies in the world of Numenera. Sure, they could go back to the "Earth Simulation" - but knowing what they do, would they really prefer a fake life in a fictional universe to living in the Real World, however bizarre the Real World has become? And can they somehow "save" other people from the "Earth Simulation" and populate the world of Numenera with them?

I'll have to give that some thought- both options have excellent possibilities. Ever hear of the TV shows Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes?

- The last option is that they experience genuine time travel. In this case, the entities using this device probably barely understand it (it, too, is a leftover from a prior civilization) and do not have much fine control over the destination. Their bizarre religious beliefs make them think they are getting their Prophesized Saviors, but actually they are just getting some random dudes who happen to be the PCs. The PCs might eventually gain control over this device, but they shouldn't figure out how to control it very well - just enough to send them back and forth to the same place in time, along with some notion that it might explode or something if it is used too often. With this approach, you will also have to figure out what recursions exist within the Numenera setting - these are likely very different from the Strange setting, and utterly bizarre and alien.


Depending on which approach you pick, your campaign will work very differently - so it's probably a good idea to choose early.

Genuine time travel was my original idea...but the twist of the PCs being plucked from their realities by random chance because of operator incompetence has strong appeal. Nice twist!

 

[MasterTrancer]

If I go primarily Numenera, I like this. What I don't follow is why you suggest later tier PCs. Why do you think I should do so?

So that you can have the PCs explore the remnants of the Daleklings, seeing them as they are in the Ninth World...and then have them visit the places when they were built and fully functional, thus creating a sense of continuity.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I'll have to give that some thought- both options have excellent possibilities. Ever hear of the TV shows Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes?

No - I sadly have little time for TV.

Genuine time travel was my original idea...but the twist of the PCs being plucked from their realities by random chance because of operator incompetence has strong appeal. Nice twist!

It also fits with the themes of Numenera, as well as the genre Numenera is part of - there are strange religions all over the place, and using ancient artifacts to provide "miracles" for the believers is very much a common trope.

How about this: That species is getting desperate because of the many enemies it has made, and the religious leadership who had been busy encouraging their campaign of genocide against the unbelievers realizes that they have to do something to get morale around. And then one elderly priest uncovers an ancient prophecy that if they activate the Idol of the Ancients (that is, the time travel device) at just the right phase of the Moon, the Chosen Saviors will appear. So they try that, and the device snatches a group of people from a random time in history - i.e. the player characters, who just happened to be together at the right place and the right time.

So... the cult leadership has gotten everyone's hopes up with their talk of Chosen Saviors - but the people who appear are humans, which is what their species has been fighting all the time. Whoops! But never fear - their inferior form is because of all the setbacks the Cult has experienced, and once the Cult has won ground again, they will reincarnate into their true form and lead the Cult to everlasting glory! Yeah!

(It probably helps if the Cult has some bizarre beliefs about reincarnation...)

So the PCs arrive in a strange place full of bizarre creatures who seem intent to keep them close by - they don't want to hurt them and seem to treat them deferentially, but they also don't want them to leave. After a while, the creatures install translation artifacts into their heads and are told that they are the Chosen Ones, so they get to look all representative. What is that - actually lead the cult? No, no, the Chosen Ones should not bother themselves with such trivialities...

Then different factions arise in the cult. The Cynical Leadership wants to manage them to maintain power. The True Believers want to "rescue" them from the Cult Leadership. The Zealots want to kill them so that they are reincarnated into their proper form. The Radicals want to kill them because having humans as the "Chosen Ones" makes a mockery of their Holy War against the humans.

Oh, and optionally you can have slaves who have been captured and ordered to serve the every whim of the Chosen Ones - whether they will be help or hindrance remains to be seen, but at least they can give another perspective on the world to the player characters...


Incidentally, I recommend getting the adventure "Canal Priests of Mars" for Space:1889, which has a similar plot.