Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has ten rumours for that setting. The rumours, which are similar to the Hearsay that can be found in the official books, can be used as adventure hooks or as simple misinformation.

1. As people from the Steadfast have moved south into Matheunis to get away from kings and empires, so too has the attention of said rulers and realms moved south as well, to eye up the lands. It’s rumoured that the Empress of Pytharon is preparing to start building outposts in the region of the Cold Desert south of the Sadara River, in preparation for the empire moving to start taking control of the land.
2. Gayv-oreth is the ruler of the First Tier of Nihliesh in Matheunis and is generally a kind and compassionate ruler, though sometimes he becomes a dangerous, insatiable monster when his appetites get the better of him. So far, his people have forgiven him each time this has happened, but it’s rumoured that these instances are happening with increasing frequency and it could be that Gayv-oreth will eventually become the monster all the time.
3. Mada-liviss, the ruler of the Third Tier of Nihliesh in Matheunis, has been seen in public less and less in recent times. In fact, there are rumours that she hasn’t truly been seen in public for many weeks, with claims that her apparent appearances are, instead, some sort of numenera-created illusion or hologram.
4. Matheunis is, for some reason, home to a larger number of mutants than other regions, especially margr and murden. There’s a rumour that the reason for this is that there’s a machine from a prior world somewhere deep within the Cold Desert, a machine that, somehow, created mutants, perhaps by changing humans into abhumans.
5. Ni-chodoss, the ruler of the Second Tier of the city of Nihliesh in Matheunis, is whispered to exert a large amount of influence on the city as a whole, with a network of spies, thieves and assassins, something that has allowed her to become far wealthier than those she rules. There are rumours, though, that inhabitants of both the Second and First Tiers are growing tired of Ni-chodoss and would depose her if they could do so.
6. Nihliesh in Matheunis is a city built atop a half-buried ancient machine, using a material called churn, an orange-brown fluid created by two mechanisms inside the city that dries harder than stone. There’s a rumour that the flow of churn has become more sluggish recently, meaning that less is available for expanding or building the city in any way.
7. The Foundation Stones in Matheunis, the Cold Desert, are said by some to be the foundations of the sky. They float above the surface of the desert, but there’s a rumour that the stones have been gradually growing closer to the surface over the years. Some say if the stones ever reach the ground, the sky will fall down.
8. The inhabitants of Matheunis, the Cold Desert, domesticate a species of fly called the drakka, which grows up to a foot in length. Drakka are fairly intelligent, but some think they are even more intelligent than they let on. Many people keep drakka as pets or to herd or watch animals, which means a lot of households have drakka in them. There are claims that this is deliberate on the part of the drakka, though whether this is being done by an intelligent creature looking to be cared for, or one infiltrating a potential enemy, is another matter.
9. The Symbol Stone, one of the seven Foundation stones in Matheunis, the Cold Desert, has a symbol floating above it, easily visible at night, and has four separate streams of water pouring down its sides onto the desert, the source of a small river. There are rumours that, sometimes, the colour of the symbol changes, and when that happens, the water takes on strange properties.
10. Up until now, the residents of the First Tier in Nihliesh in Matheunis have been perfectly happy living in the tainted air of churn production for, despite how it shortened their lives, there was always a chance their offspring could become Fahat, the most revered people, all mutants, in the city. It’s rumoured, though, that changes have been made that still keep the First Tier’s lives short, but greatly reduce the chance of Fahat being born, which could cause the residents to rebel.

Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.