by Otterpoet | Feb 17, 2015 | Foci
See P. 53 of Numenera Character Options for full text
by Otterpoet | Feb 17, 2015 | Foci
See P. 61 of Numenera Corebook for full text
by Otterpoet | Feb 17, 2015 | Recursions
“… A river of pus? Yeah, this is the perfect place to build a summer home.” ~ Loretta Walsh, Recursion Miner Description Also known as the Place of Fear, the sprawling underground city of Xibalba truly earns it unsavory title. Ruled by seven Death Gods, its labyrinthine halls, overgrown gardens, vaulted chambers, and Mayan structures brim with traps and tests meant to confound and slay the unworthy. Those foolish enough to venture into the shadows find themselves stalked by a myriad of creatures like giant scorpions, diseased bats, relentless undead, and cunning jaguar men. And, even though the city is far beneath the ground, unnatural weather patterns like hail, freezing cold, and blistering heat can appear at random and with deadly consequence. The city expands outward from a centric point (The Ball Court) to roughly form a ‘clock’ shape with twelve temple complexes built at regular intervals. Five of these complexes have fallen into ruin, while seven are the homes for the Xibalba’s remaining Death Gods. Three rivers divide the city’s convoluted interior like canals – one of scorpions, one of blood, and one of pus. Scattered throughout the city are the terrifying Houses – nightmarish structures where travelers are ‘tested’ by threats such as complete darkness, bottomless pits, flying swords, and monstrous creatures. Worse yet, one may not even realize they’ve stumbled into a House until it is too late. The city shifts constantly, rearranging its internal structures, confounding even the most wizened inhabitant. First-time Recursors arrive in the Ball Court. Once built for deadly competition, the city’s human inhabitants have transformed the extensive area into a small...
by Matthew Craft | Feb 17, 2015 | Recursions
The City Wrought In Neon is the dark echo of Earth’s city of Las Vegas. On the surface, it seems like a typical night along the – tall buildings covered in blinking lights, mirrored windows, and omnipresent neon lighting proclaiming the wonders and marvels of the City and the buildings within it. The inhabitants of the city are loud and raucous, revelers to the core in clothing that ranges from elegant formal outfits and evening gowns to little more than sequined bikinis with feather headdresses. Every minute of every hour is a new performance, a new excitement, with revelers who reach exhaustion either collapsing in the narrow alleys between the casinos to sleep in the detritus of a never-ending party, or staggering into the casino hotels to collapse in rooms that are always almost but not quite sold out. Scratch the surface and the glamour fades; the alleys behind the casinos are home to men and women in dark, sober attire reminiscent of the Mob that once ruled Las Vegas, and they’re always busy running supplies of alcohol, food, drugs, and stranger things that seem to appear from nowhere in shipments that arrive from somewhere unknown. If a reveler stumbles into this area, they’re quickly escorted away with a free sample of something to take away the memory of what they just saw. Recursors are also likely to find the mobsters trying to hustle them away; resisting will see a bristling array of weaponry produced from under coats and inside cars, the sober faces turning grim. Dig a little deeper yet, and recursors can find the real trouble of...
by Mikkel Berget | Feb 15, 2015 | Recursions
New-Tokio 2034 New-Tokio is a large futuristic metropolis with almost 50 mio. inhabitants run by three mega corporations simply known as the Monoliths. Mifune Environmental, Gijutsu Ryu and Roberts and Roberts (R&R) were instrumental in rebuilding the city after it was devastated in 1980 by a cataclysmic explosion that destroyed most of Tokio leaving it a toxic wasteland. Mifune Environmental provided toxic clean up and medical assistance, Gijutsu Ryus remote controlled machines cleared most of the rubble and rebuilt the city while R&R supplied the security and man power required to keep the city from anarky. The Monoliths also supplied the funds to keep the city running and in return they were each given control over a part of the new city. Each Monolith built a giant skyscraper in the middle of their territory to remind everyone of what they did for the city and to remind them that they are in control in that area. The skyscrapers are at least 50 floors taller than the other high rises in New Tokio and can be seen from any part of the city. The city council consist of two members from each Monoliths and a representative from the city though most important decisions are made by the chairmen or boards of the Monoliths. In mutual agreement the Monoliths have allowed the city to run the major utilities like power, water, gas and the web to prevent the inevitable power struggles over these to plunge the city into chaos. The city also runs a small overworked police force, who are constantly at odds with the private security forces of the Monoliths...
by James Stutz | Feb 14, 2015 | Foci
Whether you volunteered or were pressed into service, at some point in the past you found yourself aboard a sailing ship. Turns out, you were pretty good at it, and it didn’t take you long to figure out how most everything aboard her worked. Maybe you worked your way up to command a ship of your own, or maybe you were just the old jack-tar that knew your vessel like the back of your hand. Either way, salt water runs in your veins, and you feel most at home on the open ocean. You probably dress simply if you’re a sailor, or a bit more sharply if you’re the one in charge. Your hands are likely rough from years of hard work at the lines, and your skin has seen more than its fair share of sun and salt spray. Vectors are most likely to have sea legs, but Spinners have the charm necessary to rise through the ranks of a 19th-century European navy, and Nanos could fulfill specialized roles (sailing master or ship’s surgeon). Note that, while women were not generally found among the crews of Napoleonic vessels, there are plenty of historical precedents for exception, from women who disguised themselves as men, to the openly female captains of earlier Age-of-Sail pirate ships. Tier 1: Know the Ropes: You know a little bit about almost every function of a sailing ship. You are trained in sailing (points of sail, reading ships’ colours, etc.), climbing, and swimming. Enabler. Tier 2: Well-Traveled: You’ve put in at plenty of ports around the world, and you know a man or two in...
by Fred Wolke | Feb 14, 2015 | Foci
You are either a Mavin, Mafact, or Madia; similarly to other magic wielders, you have a connection to magic on a cellular level, but the element you manipulate is life. Tier 1: Healing Touch (1 intellect point). With a touch, you restore 1d6+1 to either the might or speed pool of any creature. This ability is a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Each time you attempt to heal the same creature, the task difficulty increases by one step. The difficulty returns to 2 after that creature rests for ten hours. Action. Class Privilege: Any Thunian who knows you wield magic will treat you with a certain minimum of respect. Social consequences that befall you will not be as severe as they could be; praise that comes your way will be amplified. However, in order to benefit from this effect, you must not be seen to be actively undermining the social order. All actions using the Community skill are one difficulty level easier. If you are a Mavin, you receive a further +2 on the roll. Tier 2: Restore (3 intellect points). With a touch, you can attempt to cure one poison or disease in one creature. The difficulty of the task depends on the lethality of the condition. Tier 3: Pay the Price. With your approval, a mage who is touching you may transfer the cost of casting to your intellect pool instead of her own. You use your own intellect edge instead of the caster’s for this purpose. Tier 4: Combat Transformation (4 intellect points). You, or a willing creature you touch, becomes stronger, faster, tougher, and takes on...
by Fred Wolke | Feb 14, 2015 | Foci
You are either a Mavin, Mafact, or Madia; similarly to other magic wielders, you have a connection to magic on a cellular level, but the element you manipulate is magic itself. You can disrupt, enhance, redirect, and transform the magical workings of other people. Tier 1: Counterspell (1 intellect point). You are able to disrupt magical workings. If you take a “wait” action (see page 113 of The Strange) specifically to watch for enemy spells to disrupt, you can attack the spell itself, disrupting its connection to the caster. On a successful attack roll against the caster, the spell is spoiled. They still must make whatever expenditure is required to cast the spell. This has no effect on spells which have already been completed. Tier 2: Support. You can make your intellect pool available to a person you are touching when they spend intellect for working magic. The edge applied to the expenditure is the lowest of yours and your target’s. You can extend this effect to any ally within immediate range by spending an extra 2 intellect. The effect lasts for as long as you are touching, up to two minutes. Tier 3: Dispel (3+ intellect points). You designate one target within short range. Make an attack roll against each spell currently active on the target. The difficulty of the check is equal to the tier of the caster. For an extra 4 points, all spells within immediate range of the target can also be attacked. Tier 4: Anchor (4 intellect points). You can link a magical working, as it is being cast, to ambient sources of magic...
by Fred Wolke | Feb 14, 2015 | Foci
Every cell of your body is tuned to interact with one of the primal forces of magic. Casting a spell is less a matter of formula and ritual, and more of reaching inside yourself and focusing your will. When you take this focus, pick one of the following elements to represent the dominant mode where it operates: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water Tier 1: Elemental Touch (1 intellect point) You channel your magic into your hands, turning them into deadly weapons. Earth: Your fists are covered by a layer of hard, jagged stone that does 3 points of damage. Air: Your hands crackle with lightning. Your touch does 2 points of electrical damage. Targets wearing metal armor take a minimum of 1 point of damage. Fire: Your hands burst into flame. Your touch does 3 points of damage from heat. Water: Your touch drives water away, causing flesh to become dessicated. When used against creatures of flesh and blood, this causes 2 points of might damage that ignores armor. Class Privilege: Any Thunian who knows you wield magic will treat you with a certain minimum of respect. Social consequences that befall you will not be as severe as they could be; praise that comes your way will be amplified. However, in order to benefit from this effect, you must not be seen to be actively undermining the social order. All actions using the Community skill are one difficulty level easier. If you are a Mavin, you receive a further +2 on the roll. Tier 2: Elemental Construct (2 Intellect Points). You can shape your element into a semi-permanent, visible...
by Fred Wolke | Feb 14, 2015 | Foci
You bear the Thunian “T” chromosome for mind magic. For you, the thoughts and feelings of the people around you are open books. You occupy a special place in Thunian culture, simultaneously essential to the smooth operation of politics and trade, but also distrusted for the subtlety of your influence. Tier 1: Silent Sendings (1+ intellect point) You can speak telepathically with others who are in short range. Communication is two-way, but the other party must be willing and able to communicate. You don’t have to see the target, but you must know that she is within range. You can have more than one active contact at once, but you must establish contact with each target individually. Each contact lasts up to ten minutes. If you apply a level of Effort to increase the duration rather than affect the difficulty, the contact lasts until you sleep. Action to establish contact. Class Privilege: Any Thunian who knows you wield magic will treat you with a certain minimum of respect. Social consequences that befall you will not be as severe as they could be; praise that comes your way will be amplified. However, in order to benefit from this effect, you must not be seen to be actively undermining the social order. All actions using the Community skill are one difficulty level easier. If you are a Mavin, you receive a further +2 on the roll. Attempts to persuade, intimidate, or influence people who are below you on the social hierarchy are one difficulty level easier. Tier 2: Urge Projection (2 intellect points). You strengthen the primal needs of one...
