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 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...
