We’ve seen a lot of fantastic Numenera-related stuff lately. So much that it’s hard to stay on top of everything.
But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try! So let’s look as some of the many wonderful things people have been saying about Numenera, including a few retailers who supported the Kickstarter. After that, we’d like to draw your attention to the many exceptional fan creations that support the game.
WONDERFUL NUMENERA REVIEWS
Clockwork Angel Studios One of our favorite reviews is from Jason Jahr at Clockwork Angel Studios. During his video review, John says a lot in praise of the books, such as:
“I could set this down in front of a GM and group of players who’ve never played it before and tell them that they’ve got 15 minutes to figure out how character creation works. And you know what? Chances are, they’re going to figure it out.”
-Full Review: http://youtu.be/1DVW9k-rzdQ
IO9 On the pages of prestigious scifi blog IO9, Ed Grabianowski says that a new age of science-fantasy RPGs dawns with Numenera. We agree, of course, and moreover, we like how Ed characterizes the launch:
“Every year at Gen Con there are a few games that generate a lot of buzz, often selling out within hours. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, but Numenera is the kind of gaming blockbuster you see coming a mile away.”
-Full Review: http://bit.ly/io9_dawnOfNewAge
Trollish Delver Scott Malthouse says that the Numenera is weird, that he loves it, and that Monte is both minx-like and delectable. He also says this about gameplay:
“One player has a glass sphere that whistles depending on how angry he is. I can’t tell you how hilarious this was when he was facing down some warrior jock who was getting all up in his grill. Also, all the stuff is definitely not what you think. One player has a metal box that produces a sheet of paper every day. What’s that all about? I don’t know but we love it.”
-Full Review: http://bit.ly/WeirdAndILoveIt
Geek Smash Colin O’Boyle of Geek Smash reviews the top 5 books of September, including science fiction, fantasy, and others. While we always like to get recommendations on what to add to our reading pile, scroll through to his #1 pick . . . Oh, hell, let’s ruin the surprise. It’s Numenera!
“Monte Cook’s Numenera is a book, but not a novel, and its place on this list wins it not only the first non-novel book to get a spot in my “Favorite Booklist of the Month,” but also the #1 spot on said list, and that’s for a very good reason: This book is frickin’ amazing.”
-Full Review: http://geeksmash.com/books/5-must-read-books-october213
And All The Rest We’ve collected several great reviews here if you’re interested in seeing even more:
-Others: http://www.numenera.com/reviews-play-reports/
ULTIMATE RETAILER REACTIONS
For the right project, a Kickstarter campaign draws far more attention to a game than advertising or marketing could. Which means retailers can benefit from the free marketing the Numenera Kickstarter, with its massive success, generated. Add that to retailer backer levels that include retailer pricing and possibly even a store visit from Monte and Shanna, and you’ve got several happy retailers.
Astral Games For instance, Aaron Hassell at Astral Games (http://www.astralgamesonline.com/) said he was proud to have been a part of the whole process from the beginning, that he would love to have Monte and Shanna back in the future. More importantly, he said that sales were strong. Pics of the event: http://bit.ly/1hqqzUV
Kirwan’s Game Shop Stephen Kirwan from Kirwan’s Game Shop (http://www.kirwansgamestore.com/) was also positive about his experience with the program. And check out this marvelous coverage of the event by the local Catskill Register: http://bit.ly/CoverageKirwansVisit
Wyvern’s Tale On the 5th of October, we visit Wyvern’s Tale in Asheville, North Carolina (https://www.facebook.com/thewyvernstale). We expect it to be a great time!
FAN CREATIONS
And finally as promised, check out some of these wonderful resources that you, the wonderful fans of Numenera, have created that will improve everyone’s experience with the game!
Ninth World Hub Ninth World Hub is the first fan-built site dedicated to Numenera, created by the ever-enthusiastic David Brown. There you can (and should!) go to find other fans, share stories, ask questions, and even find other players for your Numenera games (use Google+ Hangouts to stretch your game table around the world, as David did for a recent Numenera game he game mastered). Plus, you can find the latest episode of Transmissions from the Ninth World! At the Hub, there’s always a conversation happening, with topics ranging from, Numenera, RPGs, strategies for GM Intrusions, and sometimes, cookies!
Creating Your Numenera Character (in 5 mins or less!) Richard Malena put together this clever, funny, and USEFUL video on how to put together your character quickly. Better yet, it’s a wonderful overview of the concepts. Show it to someone who’s new to the game, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, ok, NOW I get it!”
Creation Guide Video: http://youtu.be/fxv6naySlmU
Online Generators Speaking of quickness, this resource will REALLY speed up your character generation–a random generator for your character. Random, but oh, so useful. And if you’re having trouble coming up with a name for your character who lives a BILLION years in the future, let the random name generator do its thing.
Random Character Generator: http://bit.ly/RandomNumeneraCharacters
Random Numenera Name: http://darkliquid.co.uk/playground/numenera/names/
The Ninth World The Ninth World is an unofficial community content site in support of Numenera, featuring articles, cyphers, artifacts, character sheets, oddities, and a whole lot more! This site has the potential to really bring your game to the next level.
The Ninth World: http://theninthworld.com
The Signal Let’s end on something really incredible. “The Signal,” a mysterious broadcast to the people of the Ninth World, is done in-character by Vaux, an informed jack who tells tales. Can you hear the signal?
The Signal: http://numenerathesignal.blogspot.ca
