Numenera: The Amber Archive is live and funded!

Numenera is a vast and fascinating science-fantasy TTRPG world set a billion (with a "B") years in the future. The people of the Ninth World live on a far-future Earth that has been thoroughly shaped and reformed by prior great civilizations—not once, but time and again over thousands of millennia. Theirs is a medieval world, with the ever-present remnants of the prior worlds as inscrutable—and as powerful—as magic.

But while most Ninth Worlders hold the works of the ancients in awe, trepidation, and ignorance, one organization—the Order of the Truth—has dedicated itself to understanding and reverence for science, technology, and the past—to understanding the numenera. Now the Order's perseverance has been rewarded with the discovery of the Amber Archive, a long-lost repository created by none other than High Father Calaval, Amber Pope and Founder of the Citadel of the Conduit and the Order of Truth.

Like so many things in the Ninth World, much of the Amber Archive has been altered and decimated by the passage of innumerable millennia, but its depths still contain great multitudes of information, knowledge, and numenera, just waiting for explorers brave and smart enough to seek them out. For you.

Numenera's history is nearly as rich as the Ninth World's! The original edition was crowdfunded in 2012 (and published in 2013). At that time, no roleplaying game—and very few tabletop games in general—had ever funded above $100,000; Numenera smashed all records when it reached $517,255. It spawned two board games (Thunderstone Advance: Numenera and The Ninth World), a AAA video game (Torment: Tides of Numenera), a short film (Numenera: Strand), scores of supplements, and many printings of the corebook over two editions. This new version of Numenera draws on that entire legacy, with fully new content that builds on all that lore without relegating, rebooting, or retconning anything that undermines your campaign, your love of the setting, or the existing books.

This new version of Numenera is a setting for the Cypher roleplaying game; unlike past editions it isn't a standalone game on its own. The new Cypher corebooks are in production now, and will be out this summer—well ahead of Numenera. You will need the Cypher Character Rulebook (and ideally the Cypher GM's Guide, though that's optional) to play Numenera. You can get these books at a specially discounted backer price as an add-on through this campaign, and they'll be delivered as soon as they're available.

Discover Numenera in this new edition that delivers all the mystery, astonishment, danger, and wonder that's defined over a decade of Numenera play—now faster, easier, and with even more to explore. Launch a new campaign or take your existing game to fascinating new places as you unlock the secrets of the Amber Archive!

Numenera. This hefty hardcover supplement brings the Ninth World to life at your game table. A setting for the Cypher game system (you’ll need the Cypher rules to play), it includes everything you need to build and play Numenera characters; extensive lore and setting information; and loads of weird Ninth World creatures and encounters, cyphers, artifacts, and adventures. This is a meaty book, drawing on years of Numenera gameplay and development but fully updated and filled with new art, creatures, numenera items, and adventures. If you're looking to explore the Ninth World, this is the key book.

We’re making an exclusive, upgraded version of this book just for you, our backers, that's more deluxe than the version you’ll see in stores. But the price is the same—the upgrade is a special reward to thank you for helping bring this new version of Numenera to life. Even better: backers at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) pledge level will get autographed books, plus early access as the manuscript is finalized!

Beasts of the Amber Archive. All-new creatures! What strange beasts walk (slide, slither, crawl, or fly) the Ninth World? This bestiary is full of new beings to haunt, stalk, confuse, and intrigue even the most experienced Ninth Worlders—with all the weirdness, mystery, excitement, and danger Numenera encounters are known for. Thanks to new discoveries in the Amber Archive, the creature listings also include details such as lair maps, additional interactions and abilities, and secret knowledge, helping the GM easily conjure the unique Ninth World vibe in cool, memorable encounters.

The Catechism of Lore. This hefty campaign-length adventure book set your explorers on the path of High Father Calaval, the first Amber Pope and Founder of the Order of Truth. They’ll traverse much of the Ninth World and beyond—from land to sea to the far reaches of the galaxy to places that are only accessible via the clues Father Calaval left behind. Those few smart, brave, and curious enough to make the entirety of the journey may unlock a parallel dimension and be called into the secret fortress of the Aeon Priests—the Citadel of the Conduit! A big hardcover adventure book The Catechism of Lore is specially designed to help new players and GMs step into the Ninth World and discover its mysteries—and then experience a wondrous, fast-paced, full-length campaign.

Calaval’s Eyes! Deck. Calaval’s eyes! is a common Ninth World curse or reaction of surprise—an exclamation when the dangerous, frightening, or unexpected appears. The Calaval’s Eyes! Deck enhances gameplay, prompts inspiration, and conjures the unique Numenera vibe at the game table. Draw a card and discover something new to add to the story, potently influencing the direction of events in large and small ways. It's a great source of inspiration and ideas during game prep and at the table, and especially useful for building the unique atmosphere of the Ninth World and Numenera play. The digital version of this deck is accessed through the Datasphere Deck Tool (just below).

MCG makes a lot of decks. They're easy to use, save you time in prep and at the table, and are loaded with inspiration. We’ve traditionally offered them, like our books, in PDF as well as print format. PDFs of cards are fine if you want to print your own, but we want our digital decks to match the time-saving and inspirational utility of a print deck. So we’re rolling out the new Datasphere Deck Tool that makes our digital decks as useful for online play as the print decks are in at the physical game table. Draw random cards, “hand” them to your players in the form of card images, or copy the card text with the click of a button. Peruse them easily, sort them, or organize your cards as you see fit. And you can still download a PDF from the tool—so if you love the old-fashioned PDFs, that’s still part of the deal! If you back at a level that includes the Calaval’s Eyes! Deck, Amber Archive Deck, the XP Deck, or any other deck product, your digital reward will give you access to the deck on the Datasphere Deck Tool, including the downloadable PDF of the deck.

Amber Archive Deck. This 100-card resource deck speeds game prep and play with creatures, cyphers and other numenera items, and GM intrusions drawn from the titles funded by this campaign. Need a quick encounter? Draw a creature card—it has an image to share with the players on one side and stats for the GM on the other. Stumped for a cool intrusion idea? Draw an intrusion card—or draw several, and see which one fits (or inspires your own ideas). A PC has discovered a new cypher? Generate it randomly from the deck, then simply hand the card to your player (saving the time and effort of copying down the effects on their character sheet, only to erase it a few hours later when the cypher is used). The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Datasphere Deck Tool (above).

XP Deck. Exploration and discovery are at the heart of Numenera. PCs earn experience points (XP) not for defeating monsters (though danger and peril are often part of exploration!) but for unlocking mysteries, advancing stories, and making discoveries. The GM also rewards players with XP when activating a GM intrusion—a narrative tool that throws an unexpected twist or complication into a scene or story. Players spend XP on advancement between sessions, and also in-game, for their own narrative tools, including rerolls and player intrusions. Because XP comes and goes frequently, it’s handy to have a set of tokens to represent them, and the cards in this 30-card deck are perfect for the job. The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Digital Deck Tool (above).

Sites Deck. The Ninth World is filled with wondrous locations, the works of a billion years and eight prior advanced civilizations. Transport your players into the Ninth World with a set of oversized cards featuring stunning sharable art on one side, and useful GM info on the other. Marvel at Ossam’s Traveling Menagerie and Soaring Circus, explore Neverlost, or simply take in the overwhelming presence of the Amber Monolith. This is an awesome tool for immersing your game in the truly unique vibe of the Ninth World! The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Digital Deck Tool (above).

Glimmers in Amber. “Glimmers” are short, unpredictable, often incomprehensible bursts of seemingly random information from the datasphere—a vast network crafted by the ancients that permeates the Ninth World. This short zine-format product (with a twist!) gives you dozens of plot hooks and adventure seeds in the form of glimmer transmissions you can share directly with your players. The twist? Glimmers often take the form of ideas beamed directly into the heads of those who receive them, and this zine comes with audio files for each glimmer, so you can bring the experience to life for your players!

Ninth World Explorer’s Pack. In the Ninth World, savvy explorers know it's wise to carry a pack for essential items—and interesting discoveries they've made along the way. Our Ninth World Explorer's Pack comes with everything you need to survive and thrive, whether at the table or in the Steadfast and Beyond. It starts with a hardy, handy carryall bag big enough for a handful of cyphers, at least one artifact, and even a few game books. Inside you’ll find a discovery passport with unique stamps to mark your achievements; a handy and beautiful travel journal; some smart-ass Numenera pencils; insignia patches from your favorite (or least-favorite) organizations; and more. And who knows what other goodies you’ll add to your bag as this crowdfunding campaign reaches new heights?

Sling this awesome pack over your shoulder on your way to your game—or to the far reaches of the Ninth World—and go explore. It's a handy accessory and a unique, campaign-exclusive collectable all in one!

Numenera Dice Set. Cypher uses a d20, d6, and percentile dice. You can use standard dice, but in Cypher some results, especially on the d20, have special effects—particularly the 1, the 20, and the 17, 18, and 19. These high-quality, sharp-edged resin Numenera dice are specially marked for Cypher results—and they’re beautiful, elegant, and immersive. You’ll love the convenience and ease of the special markings—and really love the way they feel and look at the game table!

EXCLUSIVE BONUS WITH EVERY PLEDGE: Just as the Ninth World is built upon the innumerable works of the prior worlds, the Numenera game setting is built on thousands of pages of prior editions. Dozens of books and supplements—including hundreds of gorgeous illustrations and maps—have explored it. Want to dive in, or grab a standalone adventure and start playing right away? A huge library of existing Numenera supplements in PDF—roughly 45 products, totaling around 4500 pages—can be yours, free, with your pledge! The new edition of Numenera is largely backward-compatible; you can use creatures and items with very little conversion, and we aren't retconning any of the lore. So you’ll be using these excellent PDFs for years! Plus every pledge level includes the current edition corebooks, which include complete rules for Numenera as a standalone Cypher System game—so you can get playing even before the new edition is available. (These PDFs are all delivered early, shortly after the pledge manager closes.)

Numenera Adventure Collection: Fourteen titles containing nearly 50 standalone adventures and adventure paths you can run as one-shots or integrate into an ongoing campaign. Titles include the individual adventures Beyond All Worlds; Forgetting Doomsday; Into the Violet Vale; Shadewalker; Shards of the Looking Glass; Skein of Blackbone Bride; The Hideous Game; The Thief, the Clave, and the Ultimatum; Vertices; and Vortex; campaign books Slaves of the Machine God and The Devil's Spine; and the collections Explorer's Keys and Weird Discoveries, with a total of twenty instant adventures.

Numenera Sourcebook Collection: Fifteen books filled with creatures, encounters, cyphers, artifacts, character options, and more! Artifacts and Oddities, Break the Horizon, Building Tomorrow, Cypher Collection 1, Priests of the Aeons, Technology Compendium: Sir Arthur's Guide to the Numenera, and The Nightcraft are filled with items and options; In Strange Aeons: Lovecraftian Numenera, Injecting the Weird, Love and Sex in the Ninth World, and Taking the Narrative by the Tail: GM Intrusions and Special Effects help you run a great Numenera campaign; and Ninth World Bestiary, Ninth World Bestiary 2, Ninth World Bestiary 3, and The Octopi of the Ninth World populate your game with hundreds and hundreds of fascinating encounters.

Numenera Ninth World Collection: Explore the vast and ever-fascinating Ninth World with fourteen titles that take you across the Earth of a billion years in the future—and far beyond it! Over 1700 pages of content include Edge of the Sun, Exploring Numenera: Strand, In Alternate Dimensions, Into the Deep, Into the Night, Into the Outside, Jade Colossus, Liminal Shore, Maps of the Ninth World, Maps of the Ninth World 2, The Glimmering Valley, The Ninth World Guidebook, Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide, and Voices of the Datasphere.

Every pledge also comes with the existing Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny corebooks in PDF, so you can plan a campaign—or even launch one—right away!

It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: There’s never any AI in MCG’s products. We make great RPGs because we love making great RPGs, and every word and image comes straight from our 100% human imaginations. We won’t insult your creativity, or ours, by delivering purposeless machine-generated drek, especially when we have so many great visions and ideas we’re excited to share with you!

Play entirely online? Prefer to access the game and its rules through your favorite virtual tabletop (VTT)?
The VTT implementation of Numenera includes complete compendium access to Numenera, Beasts of the Amber Archive, and The Catechism of Lore along with interactive character sheets, tokens, cards, and other elements, for Roll20 or Alchemy. (You need the Cypher rules, not included, to play Numenera.) 
There are two ways to get Numenera on VTT:

• If that's all you want, there's a pledge level just for you. Pledge at the NUMENERA ON VTT level.
• If you want other items from this campaign, including the exclusive premium edition of Numenera, the physical Calaval's Eyes Deck, early access, and so on, pledge at the level that includes those items. Then add the Cypher on VTT add-on.

The add-on price gives you a substantial discount, so the better deal is to get VTT support as an add-on to a different pledge level. And for the best deal, back at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) pledge level for a massive 50% discount when you add on the VTT.

Regardless of how you pledge for it, you can get the VTT package for either Roll20 or Alchemy. You'll tell us which one you want in the pledge manager after the campaign ends. (If you want both, simply purchase the add-on again.)