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.
- A nano has been seeking help with a dread excavator that is currently disassembled. Those who have heard about the nano believe they are insane to even think of messing with the things, but the nano apparently found something in a numenera ruin that they believe can be used to control the machines.
- A newly-constructed building is considered to be cursed, as a number of those who have used it have disappeared, never to be found again. Unknown to most, the builder made a deal with a conundary, promising that the creature would have prey to feed on if it helped in the building’s construction.
- A settlement is being plagued by at least two balithaurs, who seem to be acting in a manner that is even more disruptive than usual. If the matter is investigated, the balithaurs can be seen wearing what appear to be, and are, numenera devices; they are under the control of someone who is trying to deliberately cause harm to the settlement.
- An inventor is looking for people to capture babirasa for them, as the individual believes that they can make use of the natural electricity generated by the creatures as a source of power. A reward is only being offered for live and unharmed specimens, not injured or dead ones.
- Anhedrons are known to be searching for something they call the Meeting of All Things, and it’s said that a number of recently encountered anhedrons have been seeking out a specific person. Unfortunately for the anhedrons, they do not seem to know what that person’s name is. It’s thought that this individual might know something about the Meeting of All Things, which is why they are being sought out.
- Choanids are hill-sized creatures that are constantly secreting toxins. Recently, a community has been afflicted by sickness that has been determined as being like that caused by a choanid, yet none can be discovered in the area. Someone has successfully managed to use a numenera to effectively bottle choanid toxin and is releasing it in the settlement.
- Cuiddits are levitating spheres that follow beings around until destroyed or driven away; they can sometimes be helpful but also sometimes harmful. Recently, explorers of a numenera ruin seem to have disturbed a cache of these beings which are now roaming the surrounding countryside causing random damage.
- Cynoclepts are usually found alone, but recently the surrounding area has been troubled by a number of the creatures preying on cyphers and amber crystal, and raiding those who own such. The cynoclepts are proving to be a serious problem, and they appear to be originating in a nearby ruin.
- Esculants are known to not always try to eat living creatures they encounter, only to follow them. Someone is paying money for details of these happenings, such as how long the creatures followed and where they stopped. It’s said that the employer believes that there is a hidden motive behind the creatures’ actions.
- It’s rumoured that there is an entire community consisting just of flesh ghosts in Beyond, where they live and work as if they were the people they originally were. It’s also rumoured that those who travel to this community may not always return, as the flesh ghosts are harvesting them for parts.
Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.
