In Numenera (and in the forthcoming The Strange), characters advance from Tier 1 to Tier 6. This is meant to show a progression, but not a so-called “zero to hero” progression. In other words, characters don’t start out as weak nobodies. They’re already quite competent. They improve–in many ways greatly–but they don’t become godlike. Something I considered late in the process was to use words rather than numbers to show this progression. Ultimately, I decided against it for the rules in the corebook, because I don’t think it’s for everyone. However, there’s no reason you can’t still use the system if it appeals to you.
If you choose to, the following adjectives can be used instead of tiers.
- Tier 1: Typical
- Tier 2: Accomplished
- Tier 3: Impressive
- Tier 4: Exceptional
- Tier 5: Prominent
- Tier 6: Renowned
Thus, you can say that you’re a typical clever nano who bears a halo of fire, an exceptional mad jack who fights with two weapons, or a renowed strong-willed glaive who hunts abhumans (I’m using some of the new descriptors and foci from Numenera Character Options). It’s all words rather than numbers, but the words carry specific meanings in the game.
If you’re curious, my criteria in choosing these specific adjectives were threefold:
- I didn’t want the Tier 1 title to be diminishing in any way, and I didn’t want the Tier 6 adjective to be too grandiose. They reflect reputation as much as power level.
- I wanted them all to start with a different letter so that they didn’t get confused. (For a moment, I tried to make it so that they were in alphabetical order, but I ultimately decided that conceit wasn’t worth choosing less-than-perfect words, so I ditched it.)
- I wanted them to be very natural words, so that it felt right when you used them. In the same way that you state you are a blank blank who blanks, and that conveys information but is still fairly casual, I wanted this to add to that sentence.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that these same adjectives could work well for characters in the upcoming The Strange RPG. If you’re going to start up a new campaign for that game when it comes out, maybe give this option a whirl. It’s not for everyone, but it might be fun and flavorful for some groups.
