Pardon me while I rant a bit then ask for help. Maybe in the other order. Are there good cheat-sheets for Numenera combat and experience? Is there a good story/dungeon builder? I’m at my wits’ end.
Rant ON!
I run a Numenera game, and it drives me batty! Completely batty. It promises to be light weight and easy to use, but it is neither. A novice can make a PbtA character in minutes, but it can take (literally) hours in Numenera. The mechanics are vague not abstract. There isn’t a story-building system in the core book, a problem it shares with D&D and its children.
The worst sin in my mind, though, is how easy it is to read the book and absorb almost none of the mechanics. The numbers nerd of my group sat down and scrubbed the book for ways to make her character more badass. She found damage and leveling mechanics that I’d never seen on my three times reading the book. I expect this sort of nonsense from an older game. Those games at least had the decency to admit they weren’t simple, and included cheat sheets and callout boxes and the like.
Rant OFF.
Sorry
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Numenera sits in that really uncomfortable space between rules-lite, narrative-driven games and crunchy games. Those were popular for a little while (Marvel Heroic and the FF Star Wars game are other examples), but somewhat unsatisfying because they necessarily make compromises in both directions.
Numenera sits in that really uncomfortable space between rules-lite, narrative-driven games and crunchy games. Those were popular for a little while (Marvel Heroic and the FF Star Wars game are other examples), but somewhat unsatisfying because they necessarily make compromises in both directions.
Hmm, I like Cypher System (Numenera) in principle but haven’t had the opportunity to play it yet
Hmm, I like Cypher System (Numenera) in principle but haven’t had the opportunity to play it yet
I think I’m going to have to be the resource I want to see in the world.
I think I’m going to have to be the resource I want to see in the world.
River Williamson have you tried asking/looking in the Numenera Fans G+ community?
River Williamson have you tried asking/looking in the Numenera Fans G+ community?
Numenera is very much hybrid in my mind (ala Fate, Savage Worlds, etc). I ran a couple games of it and found it really easy though. The actual rules/game mechanics are all of like 15-20 pages of the book. All the rest is fluff or extra details you can you if you want. Character creation wasn’t super fast, which isn’t surprising, but didn’t seem to take that long for 6 players. Certainly no PbtA though!
Numenera is very much hybrid in my mind (ala Fate, Savage Worlds, etc). I ran a couple games of it and found it really easy though. The actual rules/game mechanics are all of like 15-20 pages of the book. All the rest is fluff or extra details you can you if you want. Character creation wasn’t super fast, which isn’t surprising, but didn’t seem to take that long for 6 players. Certainly no PbtA though!
RPG Geek usually has decent resources, as well.
RPG Geek usually has decent resources, as well.
I haven’t compiled my thoughts on the Cypher system formally yet, Kerry Harrison. It’s hard to differentiate the problems with the books from that of the system. (The short version is that I agree with what Jason Cordova said.)
I’m pretty certain that Cypher doesn’t work as a generic system, and that it doesn’t work for much the same reason that most generic systems don’t. I see two core problems.
1) There’s just too much work to go from what the system provides to a distinct setting.
2) The flavor of the system just cannot be ignored no matter what setting you put it in.
But, there’s no use going into all that. There’s probably an entire Gauntlet episode worth of discussion to be had over the topic of “There is No Generic System.”
I haven’t compiled my thoughts on the Cypher system formally yet, Kerry Harrison. It’s hard to differentiate the problems with the books from that of the system. (The short version is that I agree with what Jason Cordova said.)
I’m pretty certain that Cypher doesn’t work as a generic system, and that it doesn’t work for much the same reason that most generic systems don’t. I see two core problems.
1) There’s just too much work to go from what the system provides to a distinct setting.
2) The flavor of the system just cannot be ignored no matter what setting you put it in.
But, there’s no use going into all that. There’s probably an entire Gauntlet episode worth of discussion to be had over the topic of “There is No Generic System.”
Thanks Kerry Harrison and Jason Cordova . I’ll check out the Numenera Fans group here, and I’ll look through RPG Geek.
Thanks Kerry Harrison and Jason Cordova . I’ll check out the Numenera Fans group here, and I’ll look through RPG Geek.
My experience with the system differs vastly than yours. I found it to be fairly simple mechanically after my initial time GMing it. To me the biggest complexity in character creation is an overabundance of options especially if you add the character options books and the Strange options as well.
That said I am clearly an outlier in this group as I am really not a fan of the PbtA system as many times as I have tried to like it. Ryan Poe has run DW for us and an aborted MotW game and desires to run AW for us. It’s ok I suppose, beats doing nothing but it just never scratches the itch for me.
My experience with the system differs vastly than yours. I found it to be fairly simple mechanically after my initial time GMing it. To me the biggest complexity in character creation is an overabundance of options especially if you add the character options books and the Strange options as well.
That said I am clearly an outlier in this group as I am really not a fan of the PbtA system as many times as I have tried to like it. Ryan Poe has run DW for us and an aborted MotW game and desires to run AW for us. It’s ok I suppose, beats doing nothing but it just never scratches the itch for me.
River Williamson I’ve played Numenera (and the Cypher System) half a dozen or more times, and I’ve run it before.
Sean Smith is correct that the Cypher System is a hybrid between Narrative and Traditional gaming systems. The game tries really hard, and I think it’s heart is in the right place.
In no way will it ever compare to the ease of a PbtA game, as it is a different flavor of game. Some players prefer a game with more specific rules, but a cost for this can be a more complex system.
To address you questions, the Numenera character sheet doesn’t work very well–it is better as art than a character sheet.
I would use the generic Cypher System character sheet, as it is easier to use.(http://bit.ly/1QSdhb1)
Next, use the pregens that are out there until the players are more familiar with the system. I think the Vortex PDF has characters in it.
There are also several good adventures out there like the Weird Discoveries book that has 10 write ups (about 3-4 pages each) for some example stories, and it has good artwork to show players.
There are also several PDFs for adventures (the Vortex, Into the Violet Vale, The Hideous Game) as well as a longer adventure (the Devil’s Spine).
Finally, I haven’t found a cheat sheet that I’m happy with.
The best one I’ve found is http://bit.ly/1TPuZwj.
It’s still too complicated for me, so I only use pages 2 and 3.
I like the game, but, as you say, that would be a long discussion topic.
Just like AW’s “Fiction First” tenet, Numenera says something similar.
This is one of my favorite quotes (on p346).
“The rules exist to facilitate the story and portray the world.”
It goes on to say that if a player (or something else) produces an “illogical or unenjoyable result” then use the “spirit of the rules” as the “story being told is key.”
If the system isn’t working for you or your players, then try adapting or writing some PbtA playbooks for it. (and let me know if you do!)
I’m also open to more discussion or helping out with any specific issues. Just let me know. 🙂
River Williamson I’ve played Numenera (and the Cypher System) half a dozen or more times, and I’ve run it before.
Sean Smith is correct that the Cypher System is a hybrid between Narrative and Traditional gaming systems. The game tries really hard, and I think it’s heart is in the right place.
In no way will it ever compare to the ease of a PbtA game, as it is a different flavor of game. Some players prefer a game with more specific rules, but a cost for this can be a more complex system.
To address you questions, the Numenera character sheet doesn’t work very well–it is better as art than a character sheet.
I would use the generic Cypher System character sheet, as it is easier to use.(http://bit.ly/1QSdhb1)
Next, use the pregens that are out there until the players are more familiar with the system. I think the Vortex PDF has characters in it.
There are also several good adventures out there like the Weird Discoveries book that has 10 write ups (about 3-4 pages each) for some example stories, and it has good artwork to show players.
There are also several PDFs for adventures (the Vortex, Into the Violet Vale, The Hideous Game) as well as a longer adventure (the Devil’s Spine).
Finally, I haven’t found a cheat sheet that I’m happy with.
The best one I’ve found is http://bit.ly/1TPuZwj.
It’s still too complicated for me, so I only use pages 2 and 3.
I like the game, but, as you say, that would be a long discussion topic.
Just like AW’s “Fiction First” tenet, Numenera says something similar.
This is one of my favorite quotes (on p346).
“The rules exist to facilitate the story and portray the world.”
It goes on to say that if a player (or something else) produces an “illogical or unenjoyable result” then use the “spirit of the rules” as the “story being told is key.”
If the system isn’t working for you or your players, then try adapting or writing some PbtA playbooks for it. (and let me know if you do!)
I’m also open to more discussion or helping out with any specific issues. Just let me know. 🙂
I really like the resource management aspect of the stat pools, but overall the mechanics fell flat for me, and I agree with Hans Zieger that it took more time than I wanted to spend to sift through character options
I didn’t find it difficult to grasp, just felt like I was doing the same 1 to 3 things over and over
Hans, hopefully we can get a proper apocalypse engine campaign in, because that’s when the system really seems to shine
I really like the resource management aspect of the stat pools, but overall the mechanics fell flat for me, and I agree with Hans Zieger that it took more time than I wanted to spend to sift through character options
I didn’t find it difficult to grasp, just felt like I was doing the same 1 to 3 things over and over
Hans, hopefully we can get a proper apocalypse engine campaign in, because that’s when the system really seems to shine
I agree to an extent about the lack of actions available at early “levels” in Cypher system. I think it may benefit from front loading abilities a bit more at lower tiers and then having them incrementally improve at higher tiers to get some variety.
As for Apocalypse Engine…I am certainly game to give it a fair shake. But the guts of the system just don’t really appeal to my play style.
I agree to an extent about the lack of actions available at early “levels” in Cypher system. I think it may benefit from front loading abilities a bit more at lower tiers and then having them incrementally improve at higher tiers to get some variety.
As for Apocalypse Engine…I am certainly game to give it a fair shake. But the guts of the system just don’t really appeal to my play style.
That cheat sheet it’s wonderful. Thank you, steven watkins.
That cheat sheet it’s wonderful. Thank you, steven watkins.
River Williamson This is not something you specifically mentioned a concern about but I will point out anyway. When we played Cypher system here we used different colored poker chips in stacks to represent our stat pools and xp. For example red for might, green, for speed, blue for intellect, white for XP and then black for Edge on the bottom of each stack. This, for me anyway as GM, gave a quick visual indicator of the party’s condition. It also helped to quickly take edge into account properly for reducing cost of effort/abilities since you only count it once in the stack.
For the XP you could see if you had any to spend and hand it to the GM to avoid and Intrusion…or the GM could hand you 2 when you accept an Intrusion and you can pass one to another player.
River Williamson This is not something you specifically mentioned a concern about but I will point out anyway. When we played Cypher system here we used different colored poker chips in stacks to represent our stat pools and xp. For example red for might, green, for speed, blue for intellect, white for XP and then black for Edge on the bottom of each stack. This, for me anyway as GM, gave a quick visual indicator of the party’s condition. It also helped to quickly take edge into account properly for reducing cost of effort/abilities since you only count it once in the stack.
For the XP you could see if you had any to spend and hand it to the GM to avoid and Intrusion…or the GM could hand you 2 when you accept an Intrusion and you can pass one to another player.
Hans Zieger I’ve used the poker chips for the pools as well, and I liked it. Some players can find that it makes the game too fiddly, though.
We didn’t use poker chips for XP–we used the XP cards that the company makes.
I’d seen where players were hoarding XP, and not spending it. With a physical card in their hand, they seemed more willing to use it as a currency. (sort of like having physical objects for Fate points helps as well)
Hans Zieger I’ve used the poker chips for the pools as well, and I liked it. Some players can find that it makes the game too fiddly, though.
We didn’t use poker chips for XP–we used the XP cards that the company makes.
I’d seen where players were hoarding XP, and not spending it. With a physical card in their hand, they seemed more willing to use it as a currency. (sort of like having physical objects for Fate points helps as well)