The Numenera Corebook is the main rulebook. It’s a 416 page hardcover with color art,
some of which we’ve previewed for you. This book gives you all the rules of the game as well as the Ninth World setting, GM advice, and even some adventures to get you started. We’re taking the lessons that I learned creating Ptolus and applying them here, so if you liked the way that book was presented and organized, you’re going to like this book.
These are the sections of the book:
Welcome to the Ninth World: This is a brief overview of the setting to give you a feel for things as we go forward.
An Introduction to Numenera: This is an overview of the rules. Basically, in just a few short pages, you’ll learn everything you need to play the game.
Creating Your Character: All the stuff you need to make a very memorable character, with an emphasis on story and getting to play exactly the character you want to play.
Playing the Game: This is the more complete and in-depth explanation of the rules. (Although it’s still pretty short as RPG rulesets go.) While “An Introduction to Numenera” teaches you to play, this is the chapter you’ll refer to when you want to remember how to use the rules to do something.
Optional Rules: I didn’t want to clutter the very simple and straightforward rules with a lot of options or complications, so they all go here. If you want a more complex, robust game, you might want to add in some or all of these optional rules. If you want to keep things simple, just skip this chapter.
Discovering the Ninth World: The longest section of the book, this provides a lot of information about the setting, with an emphasis on weird things to discover and exciting things to do.
Creatures and Characters: The Ninth World is filled with interesting creatures and NPCs. This chapter provides details on a number of them.
The Numenera: This section provides you with heaps of interesting items and weird technologies to include in the game.
Running the Game: Perhaps the most important of the book, this lengthy section provides GMs with all the advice and insight in running a Numenera game. This is very much the blueprint for “running an rpg the Monte Cook way,” so if that’s of interest to you, you might want to give this a read.
Adventures: There’s really no better way to learn a game than by playing, and these adventures will get you playing right away. Further, they provide insight for GMs into what kinds of adventures they might want to create on their own, and what can be done in a Numenera scenario.
More information.
