Level: 8
Form: Large, heavy device with an array of glass screens and controls Effect: Detects the presence of a
navigation beacon (which most artificial structures in the void have, unless their creators wanted them to be secret) within an interstellar range. Once the sensor detects a beacon, the user may be able to glean a bit of information about the location (a difficulty 8 task). In any event, if the sensor is used aboard an interstellar vessel, the craft can be guided to the source of the beacon.
Depletion: 1–2 in 1d100
universe of the Nibovians. Nibovians cannot leave their universe under any circumstances, but they can send their creations through for mysterious (and certainly malevolent) purposes without the use of the anomaly. However, the hole in space is the only known way for people of our universe to get to that other universe, should such a journey ever wish to be attempted. Because of the anomaly, Farundiel is as plagued by the treacherous creations of the Nibovians as much as the Ninth World is, if not more so.
Farundiel is a populous world, and its people have advanced technologies and understanding of mechanical science. They have craft that fly through the air at great speeds, machines that think and teach, and devices that service needs and provide extravagant comforts. The technologies of Farundiel, however, are nothing like anything found in the Ninth World. The parts and pieces do not interface with anything the PCs likely brought with them, and numenera knowledge provides little insight in dealing with Farundiel things.
The people of Farundiel look almost like humans, although their skin is a ruddy pale color, and their hair is always white. They call themselves the farun. The farun live in weird globular cities and can negate the effects of gravity with ease, flying through the sky in gleaming craft of metal and synth. The people are divided into hundreds of fractious groups, each with its own leaders. Skirmishes, raids, and struggles among these groups are common, and the weapons the farun wield are as potent as any Ninth World ray emitter, detonation, or offensive artifact.
Farundiel is a world next to a strange hole in space, through which leaks ultraterrestrial energies unknown in this universe. All of the farun’s machines and devices draw energy directly from the anomaly and don’t function anywhere other than on Farundiel.
Thus, farun never leave their homeworld, and it’s not a particularly good place for Ninth Worlders to come to gain new cyphers or artifacts.
Still, explorers may wish to visit Farundiel because of the anomaly itself. It is a doorway between our universe and the
FARUNDIEL
Typical farun: level 2, using the numenera as level 3, using its own technologies as level 4
Nibovian wife, page 249
Although farun devices do not work elsewhere, numenera the PCs bring with them to Farundiel function normally.
humanoid. The clure dwell in cities that are likewise formed from shaped force fields that contain a wet, sticky biomass of a wide variety of organisms. The clure swim within these force-field cities made of globes and cylinders of green life.
Without the aid of telepathy or something similar, communication with the clure is nearly impossible. Still, if one wanted to find a cure for a disease or a way to deal with some other organic threat, the clure would be more likely to know the answer than just about anyone else. Similarly, the clure manufacture poisons that can kill any creature (as well as antidotes). Last, they design organic microorganisms that can perform almost any conceivable task, not unlike the nanotechnology found elsewhere.
The clure would be willing to barter any of these things for interesting cyphers or artifacts.
Verdant does not begin to describe the world of Garanthal. Teeming with life, the majority of the planet is covered in a shallow sea just a few feet deep. Within the endless coral reef live fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and other creatures. A great deal of plantlife of all varieties thrives in the water as well. But as thick as the sea is with these creatures and plants, Garanthal is truly dense with living creatures that are too small to see, except when in great numbers.
The green vastness of these tiny single-celled creatures fills the shallow sea, the occasional rocky islands, and even the air.
Gravity on Garanthal is slightly less than on Earth, but the atmosphere is so filled with tiny living organisms that it is dangerous for traditional beings (like humans) to breathe the air.
The intelligent inhabitants of Garanthal are the clure, each of which is a colony of tiny creatures, all dwelling within a transparent field of force in the shape of a
GARANTHAL
For every hour that non-natives breathe the air on Garanthal, they must make a Might defense roll or move one step down the damage track due to colonies of creatures filling and multiplying in their lungs.
Typical clure: level 3, all matters pertaining to biological knowledge as level 5; health 5; Armor 4; does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe in any way familiar to humans
creature or object, “possessing” it and—if the creature or object is lower than level 5, or if a PC fails an Intellect defense roll—
controlling it, if applicable. A powerful jolt of energy (something that is level 5 or higher or that inflicts at least 8 points of damage) drives the eulm out of whatever it possesses.
Near the center of the Haunted Cloud lies an interstellar vessel called the Rosenant, piloted by a man named Quientan. He visits the region to study its strange effects and negotiate with its inhabitants. A quiet megalomaniac, Quientan seeks to return to his homeworld with a secret he can glean from the cloud that would make him powerful or give him an edge against his enemies. (An army of eulm allies or slaves would certainly suffice.) He will not speak of his home to others under any circumstances. Although he appears to be human, he is not from Earth.
A mass of dust and gas lurking in the void,