Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has eight 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.
- The Allagos is the ruler of the Augur city of Urzat Zarteri, and gaining the position requires experience, appointment and formal combat. There’s a rumour that the current Allagos has been suffering from an illness recently, which may make her unsuitable for the position, or at least unable to defend it in combat.
- It’s said that the Augurs of Augur-Kala used to have a strong affinity to the numenera, but that their knowledge of it is declining over the years, as those with the expertise grow old and die, taking their knowledge with them. There are rumours that some of the Augurs have been looking to the numenera, hoping to find methods, perhaps extreme ones, of preserving the knowledge of the past.
- Near the centre of Augur-Kala is a metal structure that appears to have burst violently from the earth. The Augurs are said to be descended from a people who lived in the structure, though memories of this have long been lost. It’s rumoured that there are other, similar structures buried underground in the region, but how these could be found isn’t known.
- The Augur fortress city of Urzat Zarteri is guarded by floating sentries called Narit Gresh, which looks like cylinders of rusty metal combines with grafted flesh and weapons. Sometimes, it’s said, one of the Narit Gresh goes wild and starts attacking anything nearby; this can only be stopped by removing the flesh currently grafted to the machine.
- The Augurs of Augur-Kala inside the Clock of Kala look like normal humans, they are on the whole better; smarter, stronger, faster, more attractive and longer-lived. There are rumours that some of the Augurs believe that they natural superiority makes them the natural rulers of humanity, and are working towards that goal.
- The Lug Sorek of Augur-Kala are creatures that resemble great winged cragworms, and they are one of the most dangerous things found in the land. It’s said that the numbers of Lug Sorek have been gradually increasing over the years, and eventually they will be in large enough numbers to pose enough of a threat that they could overrun Augur-Kala.
- The numbers of the Augurs of Augur-Kala have been steadily declining over the years, despite their greater age and health, and they are rarely able to have children with outsiders. There are rumours of dubious breeding experiments being carried out within the land, whereby the Augurs hope to increase their numbers by making unions with outsiders more fertile.
- The Zealitor is the ruler of Augur-Kala, a being of gengineered flesh fused with synth enhancements who lives in the city of Sada Emidu. It’s rumoured that the Zealitor is also bound to his grand palace in some way, and that the being is unable to leave it without losing a significant amount of his power.
Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.