The Devil's Spine (A Short Numenera Campaign)

Numenera on Discord

About the adventure

A billion years in the future, Earth is all but unrecognizable. Civilizations have risen and fallen, leaving behind a world not shaped by nature or gods, but by beings both local and alien. In the remains of this strangeness, humans struggle to make use of these wonders to claim the land for their own. None of that was at the forefront of your mind when you agreed to housesit for a rich noble, and uncovered the dread secrets beneath his noble home... A game of adventure, wonder, and the splendors of the weird.

Additional Details

How to prepare

I run games by voice, so you'll want a decent mic. I don't currently use a webcam. Since the game is digital, we'll use a digital dice roller and a drive file for character sheets. If you don't have the rules or are new to Numenera, that's fine. What you really need is some enthusiasm to play, and a sense of wonder!

What I provide

I'll set up the digital space, provide a PDF of the rules, but as a virtual game there aren't going to be feelies. I do record my games, and will make the recordings available to all players.

Gameplay details

The game focus is on a sense of wonder ad exploration, the joy of mysteries, and stories within stories. Sessions will focus primarily on exploration and interaction with the world and its denizens. Major action scenes, including combat, will be around once a session on average, sometimes more. Exact ratios depend on player tastes, and finding the right fit for everyone. When action occurs, I prefer theater of the mind to detailed maps and charts, as it allows looser interpretation of movement and a wider range of creative moves. That said, Devil's Spine is a prewritten adventure with a lot of great artwork and maps to help flesh things out. The game may include some gruesome ideas and imagery, and not everyone in. Numenera uses the Cypher System, a game with a similar crunch level to D&D 5e, but with a greater focus on resource management and exploration.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

Player characters will start as Tier One. The first session will start going over character creation, but if players walk in with a strong idea for a character it will go more smoothly. Character options are pretty wide in Numenera, and the only real qualification is that they have to be the kind of people a noble will hire to secure and watch his house while he's gone. I'm more than happy to walk new players through character creation. I love introducing players to a new game!

Players can expect

Have a game in mind?

We will make it happen!

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.