Tag Archives: Numenera

D8: Numenera Rumours – Augur-Kala

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

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D6: Numenera Rumours – The Clock of Kala

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has six 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. “Iyene Who Knows” is a broker of knowledge in Norou outside the Clock of Kala. She trades information and is known to many, from criminals to the law-abiding to those in distant towns. Iyene is always increasing the amount of information she has, and there are rumours that she has also amassed a stock of blackmail material that means she is the true power in the city.
  2. Lord Abellor is the tyrannical despot of Norou, the trade city that serves as the last waypoint for people heading through the Clock of Kala. Abellor has soldiers, but his brain is also encased inside a powerful automaton, meaning that defeating him is extremely difficult. There’s a rumour, though, that the automaton needs certain specialised compounds in order to keep functioning and that, if it was deprived of those, Lord Abellor would become powerless.
  3. The circular mountain range known as the Clock of Kala gains its name for its resemblance to a clock face, when viewed from above. There’s a rumour that this name is not merely because of the range’s resemblance to a clock, but it is a clock, one constructed by a prior civilisation for an unknown reason and purpose. It’s said if the clock starts ticking again, it will be the herald of the end of the Ninth World and the start of the Tenth.
  4. The Ghostis is the ruler of Wislayn in the Clock of Kala and behaves as if the town is her own private home and that others are only there as her guests. She is said to have the ability to eject people from the extradimensional space, and it’s rumoured that some of those ejected don’t end up back in the normal world.
  5. The Sheer is a clearly artificial path cut through the Clock of Kala and, despite years of geologic activity, it has remained in almost the same shape as when it was first cut. There’s a rumour, though, that rockfalls have been more common of late; usually, they are so uncommon that it’s possible for none to happen in a human lifetime. Why this should be happening, if true, isn’t known.
  6. Wislayn is in the middle of the eastern end of the Sheer of the Clock of Kala, and is a strange artefact that appears to resemble a living thing made of violent crystal, perhaps a polyp, tree or tentacled sea creature. About a thousand people use this artefact as their home, living in an extradimensional space inside the artefact. There’s a rumour that Wislayn doesn’t merely resemble a living creature, it is one, though one that is currently in some form of stasis. What might happen to the people inside should this turn out to be true, and the stasis broken, isn’t known.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – Matheunis, the Cold Desert

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – Guran

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. Guran is known for the luminous blue baubles that are found in the nearby mines, which caused the Bauble Rush that resulted in the city’s founding. So many baubles were found that they have little value, but there are persistent rumours of baubles in colours other than blue, which are said to fetch a significantly higher price due to their scarcity. No-one seems to have ever seen these differently coloured baubles in person, though, with the rumours being relegated to the friend of a friend territory.
  2. In the Clave, the oldest part of Guran, stands an unused morgue that was apparently ordered built by the town’s council during the Rose Plague, but was completed too late, after the plague had spent its course, and now stands empty. There are rumours, though, that this isn’t the real reason why the morgue was left empty after use, and that something happened in it during the plague that caused those who knew about it to hush it up.
  3. Maggie and Marchie Yets run two different tailors in Guran’s Midmarket district. The two make different types of clothing, and would appear to have no real areas of conflict over what they make. Yet it’s rumoured that the sisters detest each other and have a long-standing conflict wherein each is trying to undermine the business of the other, whilst presenting a friendly face as far as the outside world can see.
  4. Mylian Acan is the leader of Guran and has the support of much of the populace. He is an Aeon Priest and sometimes comes into conflict with some of the more fervent members of the order. It’s rumoured that this conflict is only deepening, as some of the other priests are objecting to how Mylian is making use of the numenera, and are working to undermine Mylian in any way they can. Or, perhaps, even take more extreme measures.
  5. Sweet End is the part of Guran to visit for entertainment that is not of a family friendly nature and, given that its heart never closes, a lot of people are visiting to enjoy such entertainment. There are rumours of darker places, off Forever Street and away from the constant glow of baubles, were one can find entertainment that is outright illegal and would be shut down, should it ever be discovered by the authorities.
  6. The Council of Guran assists the city’s leader, Mylian Acan, in governing the city and is also authorised to rule should anything happen to Mylian, though they must find a replacement within a week. There’s a rumour that several members of the council have already been corrupted by an opponent of Mylian, who plans to enlist a majority on their side before they strike down Mylian themselves.
  7. The Hatchet in Guran is the town’s slum and is reputedly ruled by a mutant called Jirlin and his gang, with Jirlin feeding those who cross him to the ravage bear kept in a pit in the district. There’s a rumour, though, that the bear is looking rather sickly, and perhaps is dying from its long captivity. Should that be the case, Jirlin will lose one of his most effective measures against those who oppose him.
  8. The part of Guran known simply as “that place” is a piece of forested land that is often used for hunting, as well as a meeting spot, whether that be for young couples or clandestine meetings. Due to hunting being common, it is also common for others visiting it to end up injured by accident. Though there are rumours that not every injury is accidental in nature.
  9. The Rusted Relic in Guran is run by a woman called Mecky, who used to be a well-known Nano in the Steadfast and the right-hand woman of one of its leaders. There are many rumours about what happened that resulted in Mecky ending up in Guran and recently there are rumours that someone has been asking around after her, though it isn’t known why.
  10. The Upper West and the Lower West are two districts of Guran which constantly engage in ribbing as to which of the two is better. Most of the time, this is good-natured, but sometimes it isn’t and there are suggestions that the ribbing might be about to degenerate into more active conflict between the two districts, though no-one seems to know why the situation has deteriorated so much.

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D6: Numenera Rumours – Seshar

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. King Falton and Queen Sheranoa are the rulers of Seshar, though they rule little more than the city of Nebalich these days following the kingdom’s collapse. The two are much loved by the citizenry and certainly present a pleasant face, but there is the occasional rumour that this pleasantness is just a face, and that beneath that face lies one that is much more disturbing, one the rulers take pains to keep hidden.
  2. Margr are a problem for the lands of Seshar, though usually the abhumans don’t come near to the canals where most of the people in the land live, though marauders can be troublesome. Recently, though, margr have been seen in greater numbers than usual near to the canals, and seem to be spending more time closer to civilisation, which has the definite potential to cause a major problem for those living in Seshar.
  3. Professional thieves known as the Yellow Serpent operate out of the city of Nebalich in Seshar, preying on everyone in the surrounding area, and, it’s rumoured, not just as thieves but as assassins too. There are rumours that a number of high-profile deaths in Nebalich are the work of the Yellow Serpent, who are either working for someone who is attempting to take power, or trying to gain control of the city themselves.
  4. Redstone is a village in Seshar that is named after the interesting red stone that is quarried from the top of the slope up from the canal the village is next to. The stone always seems to contain a pattern of straight lines with multiple angles, and there are rumours that sometimes the patterns inside the stone move, though not whilst anyone is watching.
  5. Seshar used to be an independent kingdom, but the kingdom collapsed when the ruling family couldn’t sustain its holdings. There are rumours, though, that the collapse might have been avoided and that the real reason for it was that the someone close to the rulers was bleeding their land dry. It’s said that those responsible fled with much of what they stole, but had to leave some of it behind and that, somewhere in Seshar, there is still a cache of valuables that were never smuggled out.
  6. The canals of Seshar are essentially the lifeblood of the land, allowing barges and ships to travel along them and maintain trade between the different settlements of the region. The canals were not built by the inhabitants, but by a prior world, and are arranged in a strange pattern. There are rumours that if the canals are travelled in a specific manner, they can transport the craft doing so somewhere else, and that every so often a barge disappears without a trace, never to return.

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D6: Numenera Rumours – The Amorphous Fields

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. A tower of living, greenish flesh, known as the Twisted Spire, stands near the centre of the Amorphous Fields. About three quarters of the way up is a ring of metal called the Halo, that slowly spins around the spire. There are rumours that the speed at which the Halo is turning has been gradually increasing over the years, and that it is now increasing in speed at a greater rate.
  2. Dalthius is a well-known figure in Vebar, the City of Night in the Amorphous Fields. They were found in a metal cylinder not far from the city and seems to have difficulty in open air and sunlight. Dalthius is known to be friendly and helpful, as well as widely liked and the first to leap to the city’s defence. There are occasional murmurings, though, that Dalthius’s friendly nature hides a much darker secret, and that they are nowhere near as pleasant as they appear.
  3. Fungi are the only things that grow in the Amorphous Fields, of types not found elsewhere, and whilst some are poisonous, others have valuable medicinal effects. It’s rumoured that some of the fungi are predatory as well, putting to sleep living creatures with spores, then feeding off their corpses.
  4. Only a few people live in the unstable terrain of the Amorphous Fields and most outsiders consider them insane. The inhabitants know the routes across the terrain that are, mostly, safe, and live in areas of continuously stable ground. However, it’s rumoured that a few of these supposedly stable settlements have been swallowed up by the churning terrain, suggesting that the ground the settlements are built on is not as stable as might be believed.
  5. The inhabitants of Vebar, the City of Night, an underground city in the Amorphous Fields, worship a being called Ourthalas that is said to live in the Cave of Life-Giving Shadow. It’s rumoured that this cave does exist and it’s close to Vebar, and that Ourthalas’s blind wife-priestesses know how to get there and take sacrifices of intelligent beings to feed to their god.
  6. The ligoshi of the Amorphous Fields are house-sized bioluminescent jellyfish that swim in the liquid below the ground, emerging now and then when the crust breaks and floating in the air for hours. The ligoshi seem to enjoy wrapping their paralyzing tentacles around creatures, and some speculate the jellyfish may be more intelligent than they seem, doing this out of a love of cruelty.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – The Divided Seas

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. Astaria in the Divided Seas has built a large membrane across the Imoros Strait which is only opened for passing ships and water transports once per day, and at a cost at that. There are rumours that Astaria is planning to increase the amount they charge to open the membrane, and counter rumours that some of those who have to use the strait are getting increasingly tired of being gouged and are seeking other methods of dealing with the tariff.
  2. Halite Gabra is the current head of Our Order of the Lady of the Salt Way in the Divided Seas and used to be a member of the Order of Truth until she blinded and deafened herself following a vision. Or, at least, so it is claimed. Gabra is now said to see and hear using mechanical eyes and hearing aids, but there are rumours that perhaps she might not be as blind and death as she’s supposed to be, or that these were not self-inflicted.
  3. Hayrest in the Divided Seas is a surprising centre of scholarly pursuits, which some link to the city’s large population of varjellen. There are rumours, though, that strife is increasing between certain elements of the human population and the varjellen. Should this continue, the entire city could be put at risk of internal conflict.
  4. Hiberz is the nominal leader of the submerged city of Salachia in the Divided Seas. Some consider him to be the city’s saviour; others, its destroyer. The latter would happily see Hiberz dead so that they could restore the city properly, and its rumoured they have made several attempts to make this goal a reality, but so far have been unsuccessful.
  5. Navae Marica in the Divided Seas is smaller and shallower than the Sere Marica but, unlike the larger sea, is a source of fresh water, rather than salt. There are rumours, though, that recently the Navae Marica’s water has started to taste slightly salty, and that the saltiness is gradually increasing over time. If it is turning to salt, this could cause a serious problem for those that rely on its fresh water.
  6. Our Order of the Lady of the Salt Way in the Divided Seas like many religions considers others to be horribly misguided, though the Order is reputedly just waiting patiently for everyone else to see their truth. There’s a rumour, though, that a splinter faction of halites within the order have decided to hurry matters along a bit, by targeting followers of other religions and eliminating them; the more powerful the individual is within the religion, the better.
  7. Salachia is an underwater city at the bottom of the Sere Marica in the Divided Seas. The outside of the city is covered in crystalline creatures called chiffons that inhale the carbon dioxide released by the city’s inhabitants and exhale the oxygen needed to breathe. As well as the crisis caused by the city’s diminishing population, which results in fewer chiffons being attracted, it’s also rumoured that they have recently been dying off.
  8. Sere Marica in the Divided Seas is known for how hostile the environment surrounding it is to mechanical beings, as the salt is very hard on their mechanisms. It’s rumoured that the salt that appears in the Sere Marica is part of an ancient defence mechanism, one set up by a civilisation of a prior world that was under attack by mechanical foes.
  9. The halites, the followers of Our Order of the Lady of the Salt Way, live on an island in the Salted Marshes of the Divided Seas. There have been rumours about members of the group possibly eating their dead, after being cured in salt, but other, darker rumours suggest that a number of travellers in the region disappear and end up on the tables of the halites where they are consumed.
  10. The Sere Marica in the Divided Seas is a body of water filled with blue salts, though the water that flows into it is fresh. There’s a rumour of a vast ancient mechanism located somewhere on the bottom of the sea, one that changes the waters that enter the Sere Marica, adding the salt to them.

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D6: Numenera Rumours – Ba-Adenu Forest

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. Druissi in the Ba-Adenu Forest is built on ancient wreckage that has, until now, generated heat all year round at a stable level, allowing the inhabitants to use the heat to warm everything from food to water. There’s a rumour, though, that the temperature has been gradually increasing in recent months. Not enough to cause an immediate problem but, should the rise continue, it could eventually reach potentially hazardous levels.
  2. Padun in the Ba-Adenu Forest is an enormous oval wall, one that has been repaired over the years, and sometimes breached as well. Inside are the ruins of cities and strongholds that have been built within the wall’s defensive perimeter, all of which have fallen due to the difficulty of defending a wall of such a size. There’s a rumour that a new ruler is building a city within Padun, but that they are ensuring that there will be defences on the inside as well as Padun itself.
  3. The Ba-Adenu Forest encompasses a vast area of the Beyond, with many different beings living beneath its boughs in the different climates that can be found within it. There’s a rumour, though, that the forest has recently started to shrink in size, with trees on the borders quickly dying and collapsing into rot, diminishing the size of the forest slowly but steadily.
  4. The inhabitants of Ephremon in the Ba-Adenu Forest worship a being called the Falgreen which appears in the form of a floating young woman in a tattered dress with twigs for hair. Some outsiders say the Falgreen is the spirit of the Ba-Adenu Forest, taking on a form that allows it to interact with humans, though at a price, claiming that the Falgreen desires human sacrifice above all other things.
  5. The part of the Ba-Adenu Forest that borders the Black Riage is known for its strong winds and the frequent tendency for trees to fall in them. Calls to warn others of falling trees are equally common, and there’s a rumour that someone has been studying tree falls for some time. They have apparently come to the conclusion that many of the falls are not accidental, and that the reason so many encounter falling trees, is they are most likely to happen when there are people around. Perhaps suggesting the tree falls are deliberate.
  6. The Untethered Legion in the Ba-Adenu Forest is an area where pools of a murky red substance gradually birth hounds, which when born are ridden by the biomechanical humans of the Legion. The forces of the Untethered Legion have been gathering in the forest for some time, though no-one knows what for, but there’s a rumour that they have finally started to stir and venture further afield.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – Dessanedi

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. Mining operations on the Lambent Fields of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, uncovered a giant mechanical creature, whose discovery brought matters to a standstill, or at least legal activities. There are rumours of pitched fights happening on the Lambent Fields during the night, though there never appears to be any sign of large-scale conflict in the morning. Some say that this is because it isn’t happening; others that someone, or something, is removing any traces of conflict.
  2. Selascor Castle is a ruin south of White Lake in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, formerly home to the ruler of the area until he was hanged by his subjects after an uprising. There are rumours that those who have been near the 400-year-old ruin in recent months have seen signs of new construction at the castle, suggesting that someone has moved in again and is rebuilding the fortress.
  3. Sine Picalah in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, excavated a giant mechanical creature in the Lambent Fields, there have been continual problems as the city has split into different factions with different ideas as to what should be done from henceforth. There’s a rumour that, although mining operations have effectively come to a standstill, proof has been found that more of the mechanical creatures are buried beneath the fields.
  4. The city of Picalah in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, split into different factions following the discovery of a mechanical creature during mining operations. The four factions that formed have been fighting amongst each other and it’s rumoured this fighting is starting to become physical, not just verbal, with assassination attempts on members of opposing factions.
  5. The dust of the Lambent Fields in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is multicoloured and sines int he dimmest light. It is used by the wealthy to decorate everything from their homes to their bodies. There’s a rumour, though, that sometimes those who have been in direct contact with the dust for too long start to change, as the dust has an effect on their flesh.
  6. The Great Slab is a huge construct rising from the ground of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. The Slab is steep-sided and a reddish black oil runs down the sides, making it impossible to climb. There are rumours that some have managed to reach the top of the Great Slab, but anyone claiming to have done so seems to disappear not long afterwards.
  7. The land of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is covered with broken shards of glass, splintered from the outcroppings that form the region. Some say that the glass is not as inanimate as it sometimes appears to be. That, in parts of the wastes, the glass shards creep across the landscape, looking for creatures to enshroud and feed on.
  8. The town of Yosh-ul in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is not much more than a meeting point for the nomadic tribes of the plains, though it has permanent residents as well as transitory ones. The town has a natural spring that provides water for the inhabitants and some fields of food, but there’s a rumour that the spring’s flow has become increasingly erratic of late, as if it’s on the verge of drying up. Should that happen then Yosh-ul will become uninhabitable and will have to be abandoned.
  9. The Wandering Walk is a pilgrimage route through the Ninth World and parts of it pass through Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. The wastes are not the safest places to travel through at the best of times, but there are rumours of numerous parties of pilgrims disappearing along the route in recent months. It seems that those most likely to disappear are those new to the Walk, which might be a reasonable explanation for why they disappear, but not why the number has increased.
  10. White Lake in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is a small town on the edge of a lake where ferrix turtles lay their eggs every spring. The eggs are a delicacy and the inhabitants carefully leave enough to ensure another generation every year. However, the number of eggs being laid by the turtles is reportedly decreasing year on year, meaning the number that can safely harvested each year is also declining. It could be that the turtles are dying out.

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D8: Numenera Rumours – Cloudcrystal Skyfields

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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.

  1. Deathwater Canyon on the edge of the Black Riage is noted for the network of huge ceramic pipes that run through it, exiting from the rock, running outside it, and then entering back in. The pipes are said to be empty, or nearly so, but recently travellers who have passed through the canyon have claimed they have heard something in some of the smaller pipes, perhaps a liquid, though no-one seems exactly sure what they heard. This has raised some concern, as many of the larger pipes are used as thoroughfares.
  2. Scorpion Sanctum in the desert around the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is a place rarely visited due to the presence of chirog raiders, and that seems to be the way the residents of the Sanctum like it. There’s a rumour that whoever lives there encourages the chirog raiders to attack travellers, to ensure their own privacy and, perhaps, acquire anything of interest to them that the chirog might loot.
  3. Seven families who have lived in Uxphon, built in Deathwater Canyon, the longest claim noble status and essentially rule the city. There are rumours that the families have hidden chambers beneath their manors where they hide treasures and their secrets, though none have managed to find any. There are rumours, though, that these secret chambers were not built by the nobles, but were already there and the manors built on top of them, which some believe means they could contain far more secrets than those of the families.
  4. The Cloudcrystal Skyfields float in the sky to the north of the Steadfast, beyond the Tithe River. The crystalline shards continually grow, but some fall to the ground as well, littering the fields below with their shattered remnants. There are rumours that in recent months more crystals than usual have been dropping out of the sky, making passing beneath them substantially more dangerous, especially as a crystal the size of a city is almost impossible to avoid if it falls.
  5. The Crowd City is a mass of millions of corpses of all types of beings beneath the Cloudcrystal Skyfields that have been fused together into a strange city, with the dead making buildings, streets and the other structures of a city. Even stranger, the city frequently moves position, though usually very slowly. Some believe that the Crowd City’s movement has meaning, and that the patterns reveal some insight, though nobody seems to know what.
  6. The Unseen Lake in the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is a lake of invisible water, though it will regain a more normal appearance after a few days, unless tightly sealed in a container. There’s a rumour that the lake’s water can be used to make a concoction that will render the imbiber invisible as well, and more than one thief, assassin or spy, or those who employ such, has tried to find out how this can be done.
  7. There are people rumoured to be living beneath a small lake to the far west of the Skyfields, in a place called Deep Vormask. The inhabitants are said to have access to a strange, odd technology that is only found within the caverns and doesn’t work anywhere else. A Nano plans to lead an expedition to Deep Vormask in an attempt to discover just what this technology is. By the sounds of it, the Nano isn’t bothered about how they go about this.
  8. Uxphon in the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is known for its slave market and in particular its gladiatorial arena, where slave combatants fight each other, as well as beasts, with the most successful of these gaining not only their freedom but also gaining wealth. There’s a rumour that the arena has put out a call for something different. That they are seeking new beasts to fight that are more than a little unusual. It’s said that the arena isn’t really bothered what, just as long as they’re something previously unseen.

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