Numenera - A Game by Monte Cook

[Xaelvaen]

Just thought I'd start a thread here about Numenera, the new Science-Fantasy world (and mechanics) being created by Monte Cook.

For those of you who do not know, Monte Cook was one of the original creators of Dungeons and Dragons third edition and has been in the game designing industry for over 25 years. Numenera is his new project with many promises, and you can find his Kickstarter here.

A quick rundown: Its a Science-Fantasy world (combinining fantasy elements with science-fiction and technology) about the Earth so far into the future that our own Era of time is nigh-forgotten. The system promises to be GM-centric, with easy-to-create (and run) npcs and monsters, simple mechanics, and built around the story coming before the mechanics. I encourage you to check it out yourself (and comment on your thoughts here as well, heh).

[Xaelvaen]

Information Bump:

The initial goal of 20,000 dollars was hit within the first 12 hours of the Kickstarter launch. Now, roughly three days into it, he has tripled this number to 60,000 dollars.

Again, if anyone is interested, there is autographed material available to backers (for any of us silly diehard fans).

Congratulations Monte!

[Bone White]

It's good he's still making the rounds, but I doubt he'll ever top Alternity (At least not for me anyway).

[Xaelvaen]

It seems he's taking a 'low modifier' approach, with things simply increasing your chance of success inherently (much akin to Alternity, which raises your number to roll under). Speaking that since 3.0 released some 12 years ago, I've hated skill ranks, I'm rather eagerly looking forward to the 'low modifier' approach. It always so silly when that trained rogue adding 9 to his stealth rolls a 10 and gets passed by the fighter with 12 dexterity and no training rolls a 19 to beat the rogue by 1 point.

Obviously I can't say for sure whether or not this flaw within a d20 will be fixed, but I'm hoping eagerly. That was an aspect I really loved about Alternity; your training and raw talent was really well demonstrated by the roll's variations instead of exploited.

Update: 70k and climbing - this means another free adventure =)

[Xaelvaen]

Update: 90,000. This is the big push time.

Upon reaching 100,000 - he is giving away 300 free copies of the book to educators and libraries around the world. There's also some more personalized material left for contributors, and plenty of cheap ebook based packages.

Less about the Kickstarter, and more about the world, he's announced character creation information, and soon to come are the attributes/stats at Numenera.com. Please check it out =)

[Xaelvaen]

Update: 120,000 (for those not actually visiting the kickstarter regularly).

This means there is also a Bestiary in the works - at 160,000, backers can actually submit monster ideas/art and have a chance of getting it published.

If you haven't visited it yet, I strongly encourage you to do so - at the very least he is constantly submitting more information about the world and system, and its a fun read.

[Rumble]

If anyone is interested, in this thread at RPGNet I summarized his GenCon session on the game. He spoke at length about it (and other topics). There's also links to Youtube videos of the session in that thread as well.

[Xaelvaen]

Thanks for that Rumble - already watched the video since I can never make it to GenCon. Nice summary - I always thought they should get some high quality filiming equipment in there; it could be similarly as big as E3, and thats always televised >.>

Update: 140k (Nearly 150k). At the 160k mark, the bestiary is full color with more artwork.

[Xaelvaen]

Update: 170k

This was a pretty nice goal to hit, as the character creation app will be also produced for the PC. An avid fan of Maptools and not-so-much a fan of iOS... anything, I'm kinda happy here.

The 200k goals quickly approach, which include free military contributions, another book in the works, and much more.

Remember, all contributions get credit - either on his website (with a quote), and $5+ gets credited in the back of the corebook!

[Xaelvaen]

Update: 200k

Free copies sent to military installments around the world. The exact details of to whom these free resources would be sent are undisclosed, but British, Canadian, and U.S. military have all been cited as possible recipients. I love this global approach to just helping out those who have a hard time getting their hands on the material in their foreign affairs. Deitific Influence of your Choice Bless the World, right?

Upcoming goals include new materials, custom Dice, leatherbound collector's editions, and much, much more. Remember, you don't have to buy into the large packages to just get the cool stuff you're interested in; there are pdf versions of all the material available for pennies.

[Xaelvaen]

Update 240K+: Best Day so Far!

Today, new dice were announced, a bigger and in color tech book (more information on how the mechanics of the system work on his site's blog), all just this week really. The amount of support has become overwhelmingly crazy.

New stretch goals were anounced; some in fun, some in honest hard work. At 500,000 (a really difficult goal to reach in 11 days), he's dedicated himself to making a short film based in the world he's creating. However, at 300,000 (a much more reasonable goal) a limited edition leather-bound core rulebook will be created and offered.

If you're interested in Science-Fiction meets Fantasy, or Science-Fantasy, I encourage you to at the least take a look at His Site and see all the information of the world, how the mechanics will work, and see if you're interested in a new RPG. I'm personally a backer and invite you to do the same - its honestly a really great deal for the money.

At the moment, the completist level ($270) gets you hardcover/color: Core Rulebook (personalized Signature), Bestiary, Equipment Compendium (and the pdf for them all), as well as 4 adventures, a player's guide, a deckbuilding game from AEG, and quite a bit more. It'll be a lot cheaper through the kickstarter than retail, so I'm pretty much all in, heh.

[Xaelvaen]

Update (nearly) 270k:

Monte finally released a short-story based upon his new world, Numenera. Its absolutely free for everyone to read, and you can find it here.

[Xaelvaen]

Update 310k+

Leatherbound, limited-edition, whooo! If you're already a backer, this badboy is only gonna cost you an extra 60 bucks. Not a backer yet? You totally should be. Who doesn't want a signed, numbered, and personalized leather-bound core rulebook? Cheers!

[Xaelvaen]

Well, its the last 3 days of the kickstarter, with 350,000+ raised so far (a new RPG record for a non-mini KS). And of course, the last three days are crucial.

I encourage you to check out montecook.com (you can get a link in my sig or at the start of this post) and read about the ins and outs of the system. Its brilliant and simple, if you dig that sorta thing, and hopefully you'll dig it as well.

If you like it, go ahead and pledge! While the actual books may not be due til July, there's a possibility of early pdf release, and playtest material isn't that expensive of a pledge (which starts in November).

So again, just give it a look, see what you think, and join this great cause. For 50 bucks, you can get a slew of pdfs (11+ I believe at current), including printable pdf cards for monsters, random magic items, and more.

Finally, if you're already a backer, you helped make all this amazing success possible, and I personally thank you for my Leatherbound Core Rulebook.

[Xaelvaen]

The Kickstarter has ended with a record-breaking 517,000 dollars earned for Numenera! It is now the highest-funded tabletop RPG in Kickstarter History (and then some) which is fantastic. If you missed out on funding the Kickstarter, items are available at Numenera.com (Link below) for a limited time via paypal.

Thanks and congratulations go out to the supporters!