Numenera: The First Guests in the Needle Universe

Hello Ninth Worlders and beyond.

Last Saturday marked my first guests into the Needles Universe. +Megan Peterson  and Aser Tolentino from The Redacted Files. Not only were they part of the foundation of the podcast series but GM Numenera and The Strange, respectively. The Redacted Files' audio casts  cover everything from Call of Cthuhlu, to The Strange, along with a prolific blog. Speaking of the blog, now that I am properly geared up for taking on the community I really want to do more, such as audio casts, GM interviews and a lot more so next week I will be setting up a Patron Account, if you have any suggestions for monthly donator perks, let me know.

 From their choice of games and themes the Needles universe suited them down to the ground. I will be doing an with them next week after they finish their guest spot on the 31st.  If you fancy having a go with a one shot in the Needles Universe, or perhaps a short stay, give me a message either on google+ or on twitter @Proftesla.

Their first session turned out to be full of much darker things. Here's the set up for the guest game:

A man by name Froge, who is now wheelchair bound and in his late eighties , received a surprising letter. He used to investigate tales of strange and wondrous stories to write down and sell with his co-author Zeigev.  One of these tales was of a living house that could move at will. It's beating heart an object made from the wood  used in the Acardaeum.  After many years of searching the pair had found their quarry and entered after a particularly violent Iron Wind. What happened inside remains locked up and repressed by Froge, who only remembers fragments of the horror. There were stories inside gruesome tales in a very distinct penmanship, a script burned into his mind. His lasting memory was closing the door behind him alone, soaked in blood. When he turned around in fear of something chasing him, the house had gone.  Fifty or so years have passed since and the letter he received was penned by the same hand as the books from the house. It invited him to a private dinner on the edge of the Morianna Nature Reserve, close to the trade route to Jyrek. Now that he cannot follow up the invitation he seeks someone else to survive the house, and bring back a tale to finish his novel.

For the guests they took a very surprising approach to the characters. Not only did they play as a pair, their characters came as one two. Again I can't really discuss this, this week but their actions were certainly entertaining. I can however talk about how I linked their characters into the game and the overall mythos.  As mercenaries on one level or another it allowed me to follow up on an unexplored connection with one of the players, as well as to the house. Thanks to Megan a more recent visit to the house left a trapped group one less member on their way out, as well as fuller stomachs.

Next week I will be hosting Andrew Wieland from the community.  And for the first time I get to use my creative juices and add something to the Numenera universe in the form of a new descriptor. Guldspar. Now if you know your Needles mythos the Guldspar a gold veined empath who can also share sensations. They haven't really been featured before as a main character within the game, although Shroud did take the Guldspar drug, the player soon vacated his seat at the table and therefore died. So a W.I.P for their descriptor.

Guldspar

As a Guldspar Monk you were either forced into service by being injected as part of determining your guilt for a crime, or you were devoted to the idea of existing linked with a hive of other, like minded individuals.

Guldspar

A Guldspar Monk is injected with a liquid called Judgement, it is a vial of golden shimmering liquid full of nanites that establish long distance networks with any other individual injected with Judgement. Depending on the dosage and experience with the nanites, a user can have no control over what they experience or project to being able to manipulate others and to network with hosts who try to hide their broadcasts. Some have been able to use their nanites to establish a network with those that have not taken Judgment, extending as far as allegedly allowing direct communication.

 The liquid, after injected, forms flowing golden veins underneath the skin. Depending on the dosage the nanites can infect the bloodstream, allowing them to convert it to allow the nanites to survive. This results in the host's blood turning gold and certain physical characteristics taking on a golden hue.

Some of the ideas behind the abilities of the Guldspar are taken as religious tenants. Some venerate the Guldspar Monks by joining them but not injected by Judgement. They show their devotion with a tattoo or marking on their skin of golden veins. The Guldspar Monks are in certain regions very common, making this religion and their appearance therefore unremarkable and mundane. The Guldspar are seen as a neutral party to that of the local law enforcement and generally seen as upstanding members of society, which has increased their reach to broader social circles and geographical locations.

The Guldspar have also invented a drug called the Gate to the Forking Path which allows them to force a disconnection with others around and reconnect to the Data-Sphere, allowing them to experience alternate lives in their mind's eye. However this can cause an addiction to the alternative lives and the data sphere, resulting in withdrawal from reality.

Smart: + 2 to Intellect

Mental Esoteries: Any ability that requires the manipulation of the mind or the connection between minds, you are trained in.
Skill : Body Language
Skill: Perception

Inability: When in the presence of other Guldspar or sources of psychic energy/strong emotion, you cannot help but feel the state of mind  and/or  senses. You have an inability in defending against psychic based attacks from that source.

Inability: When in the presence of other Guldspar or sources of psychic energy/strong emotion, you cannot help but feel the same state of mind/ or senses. You can, at times, be completely taken over by your sensations and lose your next action.

Equipment: 12 vials of Gate to the Forking Paths

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure:

1. You witnessed another PC committing a crime which the Guldspar may now sense. You are undecided if you should tell them this and are trying to ascertain more evidence.

2. You have lived your life taking far too much of Gate to the Forking Paths, your own identity is lost on you are searching for people whose traits you would like emulate.

3. You have been tasked by the local law enforcement to inject another party member with an untraceable amount of Judgement as they are under suspicion on a crime and their guilt needs to be decided.

4. You have felt a strong emotional or psychic presence and require a group to investigate. You feel as if this emotion could overwhelm you.

Intrusion: If an entity that the PC is linked with takes damage, she takes one point of intellect damage for every successful injury on the entity. If the creature dies the PC receives the same killing blow and intellect damage.

Intrusion: After taking a considerable about of Gate to the Forking Paths, the PC becomes socially withdrawn and suffers an inability to social interactions for 28 hours.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments.

Like I said right at the top, if you want to take a seat at the Needles table and join in with the mythos and feature in the story blog and on here, let me know. If there is anything Numenera that's going on in your life right now, or you want to promote something you're already doing in the Cypher Universe I'll be happy to give you a shout out on here.

Dont forget to subscribe, add me to your circles & follow me on twitter @proftesla. Hope you guys are having an awesome week (apart from all the storms) and I'll talk to you guys later on in the week. 

/Drew - Tesla

(PS. Sorry about the  delay)