Mechanics

Adventurer Skills

Numina Specific Rules

Reading Skill Listings

Each skill is listed in a table with the following entries:

• Skill Name: The name of the skill. Use this for reference or to identify related skills.
• Cost: The number of CP (Character Points) required to purchase the skill.
• Verbal: The phrase you say when using the skill, and the effect it produces. For example, if the verbal is “5 Damage by Fire,” the effect is a 5-damage fire attack.
• Description: Flavor text and instructions on how the skill works and how to use it. For example, if the description says, “Spend an attribute to gain three packet attacks to burn your foes,” you know that spending the required attribute points grants you three packet attacks. The Verbal column then tells you those attacks are “5 damage by Fire.”
• Attribute: Indicates which attribute you spend to use the skill, if applicable. For skills with limited uses (per rest or per event), this field will specify that. If the skill is a thread skill, this will also be noted here.

For skills without a verbal, the description will explain how they are used.

Weapons Guidance

• Basic One handed weapons: include swords, maces, clubs, and axes. They must have a single striking surface (ie, not a double blade) and cannot have overlarge hilts or crossguards.
• Basic Two handed weapons: are any weapon up to 64’, to include staffs, two handed swords, spears, two handed clubs and shorter glaives.
• Hafted Weapons: include those weapons up to 72’ in length, to include polearms, giant hammers and other larger weapons.
• Two-Handed Weapon Requirements: Spears, staves, glaives, and other two-handed weapons require two hands to wield unless a specific skill allows for the use of that weapon in one hand.
• Shield Size Limits: A full-sized shield cannot be more than 60" in the combination of width and length, and no more than 36’ in any one dimension. For example, a rectangular shield can be 36’ long and 24’ wide. Whereas a circular shield can be 30’ in diameter.
• Buckler rules:
• Bow rules:
• Two Weapons: To wield a weapon in each hand in combat requires a skill which grants the ability to have a second weapon. If you do not have such a skill then the second weapon is treated as a non-combat object and, as with all non-combat objects, if struck you either must drop the weapon or take the damage done to the weapon.
• Adventurer Skills: Every player gains the ability to use certain weapons through Adventuring Skills.

Armor

Characters may wear physical armor or use game skills to gain points of Armor. Distinct types of armor give different amounts of armor as described below.

• Unarmored [0 points]- you aren’t wearing armor.
• Light Armor [2 points] - You are wearing armor with either your chest or your extremities covered by a flexible, reinforced material. Examples might be a leather jerkin. Or Arm guards plus Leg guards.
• Skill based armor [2 points] - You have a skill which counts as two armor points. The skill defines if there is a costuming requirement.
• Medium [3 points] - Either you must have both a flexible reinforced chest piece and extremities covered, or a rigid chest piece.
• Heavy [4 points] - You must have a rigid chest piece and rigid extremity covers

Armor Effects - Skills, Imbues and Grant may Increase the total value of armor you are wearing to a maximum of 4 points if you are not wearing heavy armor and 5 points if you are wearing heavy armor. Your armor points cannot exceed these maximums unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Armor materials do not have to be authentic, wearing shaped fiberglass or foam prepared and painted to look like plate metal would be treated as plate metal for example. The goal of armor should be to enhance the look of your character, not provide you a physical impediment.

Thread Skills

Numina has a class of skills called Thread Skills. Thread Skills enhance other skills. Thread Skills that do not denote specific skills apply to all skills. Thread Skills are subject to the following limitations on use:

• You may only use three Thread Skills to change or enhance a single skill.
• You cannot use a Thread Skill on uncalled damage or effects that come from grants, items, or other non-skill-based effects.
• Thread Skills that work based on a minimum numeric value, for example a Thread Skill that only increases damage effects greater than three, use the base value of the skill they are changing to define if they can be applied.
• Thread Skills that work based on the trait of the effect, for example +1 Increase to healing effects of the Will trait, work off the final trait of the effect, so you can apply one Thread Skill to change the effect to ‘Will’ then another Thread Skill that increased effects by Will.
• Skills that are specifically marked as ‘Extra Thread Skill’ do not count against the three Thread limit and you may combine one Extra Thread Skill with your three standard Thread Skills.

Note that some unique Thread Skills may contradict these rules, those skills explicitly state they are exceptions, and those exceptions override the normal rules.

Here are two examples of Thread Skills in use. In example one, Tharadon uses his skill which provides him with two melee attacks of three damage. He applies his first Thread Skill which increases the damage of a melee attack from three damage to four damage. Tharadon then would like to apply a second Thread Skill which increases any melee attack of four or greater by one. However, as the base attack was not four or greater, Tharadon could not use that skill. Instead for his second Thread Skill Tharadon used a skill that changed the attack from base damage to Fire damage. At this point Tharadon has two melee attacks of ‘4 damage by Fire’. If he has another applicable Thread Skill Tharadon could still use it.

In example two, Chandara uses spell that has two packet attacks of three damage by Force. Chandara applies three Thread Skills to this spell, all of which Increase the number of packet attacks by one. This changes the spell so that she now has five packet attacks of three damage by Force.

Resting and Focus

There are two types of Rest defined in Numina, short and long.

A Short Rest requires one minute without the use of game skills. This should be represented by rest, be it sitting, leaning against a tree or other relaxed position. You may not perform Skills that require Focus during a Short Rest unless the skill says so. Taking damage during a Short Rest does not interrupt the rest unless you use an active game skill to resist the effect. Passive effects such as a Guard do not interrupt the rest. Falling unconscious due to damage is also considered still Resting. Being paralyzed or stunned also counts as Rest.

A Long Rest takes five minutes and requires a Place of Peace. A Place of Peace refers to the main town area of Numina if there is no combat going on in that area. If there are monsters or other combat taking place in the town (not duels, but general combat) the town cannot be considered a Place of Peace. Other areas might be explicitly marked by a tag or spirit as a Place of Peace.

Imbue Rest

Imbue Short Rest - If you are the recipient of an ‘Imbue Short Rest’ you can use skills and attributes as if you had just completed a Short Rest.

Imbue Long Rest - If you are the recipient of an ‘Imbue Long Rest’ you can use skills and attributes as if you had just completed a Long Rest.

Centering

Numina introduces a concept called Centering. Any player can Center by taking a Short Rest. At the completion of your Short Rest, you are Centered. You lose your Centering if you move from the location where you took your Short Rest. While you are not Rooted there, if you take any steps away from your location, such as taking a step or two away to attack a foe or heal an ally, your Centering is lost the moment you leave your spot. (The spirit of the rule is not that you are stuck unmoving in that place for the duration; rather, if you move away, you are no longer Centered) This includes having to move away from your spot due to a Repel or a Disengage. If you have used a Skill with multiple effects that was enhanced by a Thread Skill that requires Centering, and you lose your Centering, any remaining effects that were unused are lost. The Centering mechanic is used in Skills of the Earth Domain and associated Excellencies.

Multiple Effects

Some Skills result in you being able to use Multiple Effects. For example, a skill might grant you three, ‘2 Damage’ melee attacks. You spend the Attribute or use of the Skill when you activate the Skill. You can utilize other Skills while the first Skill with multiple effects is active, and you retain all unused effects from the Skill. You may even activate other Skills that have multiple effects and have them all active. All unused effects are lost when you take a Long Rest or reactivate the same Skill. Some Skills may have unique exceptions to these rules, in that case those exceptions apply.

Spellcasting

In Numina, any ability which involves making a Packet Attack (versus a melee or missile attack) including a beneficial effect via a touch packet is, for the purposes of rules, a spell. By default, anyone with a skill to cast a spell must do so with both their hands free of anything except packets and follow the rules to ‘cast’ the spell. This includes effects granted from items such as potions, tinkered items, or enchanted items. If you, or any item you are holding is struck by an effect during the casting, including Beneficial and Voice effects, the casting is interrupted, and you will have to perform the casting again. No use of the Skill or Attribute is lost due to the interruption.

Numina follows a packet flurry system in the same way that there is a melee flurry system. You can throw three packets without a break. After three packets you must perform a visible / audible roleplay that takes at least three seconds. This RP is the reset of your flurry and afterwards you can cast three additional packets. This rule applies to touch packets as well as thrown packets. The ’ Surge ’ skill allows an individual to cast more than three packets in a row, when these skills are used you must say ‘Surge’ to communicate that you are resetting your Packet Flurry via a skill.

Methods:

This section will go into the details of the Packet Attack rules, called Methods. Methods describe how you focus your powers. At character creation there are three Methods available to characters: Verbal, Somatic, and Preparation.

Verbal is when the Spell is cast through an incantation prior to invoking the spell. The requirements of an incantation are:

1. It must be at least 3 seconds in length (dramatic pauses are not included in your 3 seconds).
2. The incantation must be about the spell you are casting. For example, the incantation ‘I conjure forth the fires of the heavens to burn you to ash’ would be a valid incantation, assuming you didn’t rush it and say it too quickly. However, the incantation ‘Mary had a little lamb, Death by Magic’ would not be a valid incantation.
3. The incantation must be as loud as the Effect you cast. You can whisper a Spell, but then you must whisper the Effect.
4. Each Spell should have a custom incantation tailored to that Spell.

Somatic spells involve a complex motion prior to casting the spells. If you have the ability to cast while holding something in your off hand, you are not required to drop the item; however, you must incorporate your off hand and/or the item into your gesture. Your gestures must:

1. Be performed in the direction of your target
2. Be visible at least 10+ feet away from you
3. Be nearly continuous movement (stopping for 2 seconds like a statue isn’t a valid gesture)
4. Take at least 3 seconds to perform
5. Each spell should have something distinct about its gesture

Preparation refers to the crafting of items where powering the Effect is represented by the time spent creating them, versus the time required to use them. The attribute is used when you create the item, not when you invoke the ability. Examples of Skills that involve Preparation include:

• Alchemy
• Tinkering
• Arcaneering

Another known Preparation Method is Enchanting (not available at character creation, but may become available during play).

Other known Methods include:

1. Talismancer (using items)
2. Performance (using song)
3. Scholarly (using scrolls and books)

Magical Sources:

One of the main aspects of Numina is that it is a world full of magic and wonder. When a player creates a character, they pick Skills which come from inside of them, such as skill with swinging a sword, or a skill which is powered from an outside source, such as channeling the magic of the Genesori. Sources do not affect the rules of the game. They help shape the story of the game and the ways in which you, the player, are interacting with the primal forces of the game world.

An example of potential variation in Sources would be a tinkered device that shoots a bolt of flame. One person expresses that they craft their device through clockwork parts, a second uses Elemental power, and a third uses the Arcane. All three devices operate with the same game rules by enabling the player to make a Packet Attack of ‘5 damage by Fire.’ What changes is the story, that player tells about their device and its crafting.

All Spells and crafted items in Numina have a Source. While you can choose the Source yourself, not every Skill allows every Source and not every Source is available at character creation. At game start, when taking a spell casting Excellency or Open Skill, you can pick either Arcane or Divine as your source to power those Spells. For Beneficial Spell casting Excellencies you may also choose Surgery. For Skills from your Aspect, your Source is the Aspect itself. For crafting, the specific Excellency will define the Source of Alchemical, Arcaneering, or Tinkered item. There are other known Sources of power in Numina including the Shade, Enchanting, Blood Magic, and others.

Archery Attacks

Numina has a specific type of attack listed which is an ‘Archery Attack.’ This is a missile attack, but requires a Bow or Crossbow prop to be held in the offhand while making the attack. Skills that grant Archery attacks do not work with thrown weapons.

Crafting Skills

There are four known types of items in Numina: Alchemy, Acraneering, Tinkering, and Enchantment.

How crafted Items work

The following are true for all crafted items:

• Crafted items last for only one event. If they are not used during the event in which they were created, then the power of the item fades into nothingness between events.
• Crafted items require formulas. The formulas listed in the rulebook are available to every character with the appropriate Excellency, but other formulas may be found in-game. These formulas may have other special limits such as a number of uses or an expiration date.
• Unless otherwise noted, all crafted items may only be used once.
• If a crafted item may be used multiple times before it is expended, each activation counts as a separate use of the item. That means that you may rest between uses without losing charges unlike most skills.

Crafting Ingredients

All crafting requires two things: the expenditure of your attributes and the expenditure of coin. The cost in coin is an abstract representation of the costs of various materials used in production. By default a crafted item costs 1 Drakar to produce. Some particularly rare or difficult items may cost more, and those additional costs will be noted. Additionally, special components can be found in-game that can be spent during item creation to improve the resulting item.

Components:

Numina uses two forms of components to enhance crafted items, referred to as common and rare components. These components take various forms in-game, appearing as crystals, plants, bugs, shells, mechanical scraps, or other small items. Common components appear as a single item or small item: One crystal, a single leaf, a bug under 1 inch long, etc. Rare components are always either groups or large items: A cluster of crystals, a sizable plant, a bug 2+ inches long, etc.

In rare cases components can be infused with additional magical energy. Some rare or advanced crafting recipes may be modified by or even require these special components. The magical nature of these components can be revealed by placing the component under an ultraviolet light placed at an in-game crafting location. One will be present at the main crafting station, and a player that sets up their own crafting area may place a UV light there as well. Players may not carry UV lights on their person for the purpose of component identification. If a magical component is used to craft a Formula that does not require one, the magic in the component can instead be used instead of spending an attribute to craft that Formula.

Crafting Forge, Lab, etc

To craft an item a character must also have a forge, lab, workshop, or other area where they work. This can be represented in-game however a character wishes but must be placed at the beginning of the event and cannot be moved once placed. There is no limit to the number of crafters that may share a workspace, and there will be a Crafting space provided in-game that PCs can use and even contribute items to personalize the space. It is not required to use this crafting area and a PC can make their own if they want provided it is relatively apparent that the props define a crafting area. For example if a poisoner wants to keep their alchemy lab a secret, then they are welcome to do so!

Info Skills

There is a class of Skills called Info Skills. These Skills allow you to impact the Numina game world between events. This can be through a letter to a contact, a question you research, a holding you utilize, or other means. Replies can come via email before the event, at check in, in-game, or between events. You can use two Info Skills between events. Your first Info Skill has no in-game cost. Your second Info Skill has an in-game cost of 2 Ketch.

You may also use one Info Skill during an event if you can find an appropriate NPC. You do so by giving a clearly written info skill to an appropriate contact. For example, a letter should be given to someone who can access the Courier network, whereas the use of your Holding should be given, in written form, to a staff member related to the plot you intend to impact. It is appropriate to ask a specific NPC if they can take your Info Skill. Using an Info Skill during an event does not count against your two between-event Info Skills. Some Info Skills are limited to one use per event; using such a skill during an event prevents using it again that event, but still does not count against your two between-event uses.

All Info Skills are marked as such in the rulebook.

Imbue Extra Info Skill: An NPC can Imbue an extra Info Skill to you. The NPC does so by saying ‘Imbue Extra Info Skill’. If they do so, that Info Skill must be used either during that event, or between that event and the next event you attend. You cannot save Imbued Extra Info Skills. An Extra Info Skill does not have a monetary cost. Often the Imbue Extra Info Skill is used to allow you to reach out to a specific NPC about a plot or follow up on a discussion. You may only have one Extra Information Skill at any one time. If you get a second Imbue Information Skill you must choose which one to keep. If you do not have the Info Skill type imbued you may still use this one Info Skill.

Numina Currency

When you Die

In Numina 3, when you become a Spirit of the Dead you must immediately go to the Gate of Death, an in-game location on the site. Once you arrive at the Gate of Death, there will be an indicator you can use to alert the game staff that you are awaiting assistance with the Death mechanic. If no one comes within 1 minute of waiting, you can enter the gate and there will be instructions on how to proceed.

Post Event Letters (PELs)

One method that the staff of Numina uses to plan for future events is the PEL. A PEL is a write up of what you did during the event, what encounters you enjoyed, and what you would like to see in the future. We ask that you do not use your PEL as a method to raise concerns with the game. Please send concerns to the Numina GM alias via the website. We want to make sure concerns are seen and that mechanism ensures we hear any concerns you have and can react to them. Both Players and NPCs are encouraged to send in PELs after an event events. As described in the CP section, submitting a PEL is worth .5 CP.

To work on your PEL, or submit it for reading, go to the database. Under Event Details (for the event you just attended), you should see a link to “Start Your PEL.” There are question prompts to get you going. Numina has what we call a positive PEL philosophy, detailed here.

Positive PEL Philosophy

Our PEL (Player Event Letter) philosophy states what we look for in PELs, and how we use them, as well as things should be sent to other venues instead of the PEL address. There have been some shifts in what we look for in PELs since we have gained experience as staffers, so read on!

PELs are the longest-lasting form of communication between players and staff, with the most value and relevance to collaborative storytelling. PELS are a fabulous place to tell us what mods you experienced over the weekend, conversations with PCs and NPCs, and other activities that helped you move your character and the stories of Rues along. We love to hear the flow of your event, your understanding of what you learned, and your ideas of where you think it is going, what you are interested in pursuing, and reminders of conversations you had with NPCs.

The other value of PELs is to inspire the staff and NPCs for the next event. The time you take on your PEL to relay compliments, excitement, good-natured fistshaking, and observations of our efforts goes miles in keeping us excited to entertain you.

PELS are intended to be a productive and positive experience for staff and players that will be used as a tool to build off the ideas and excitement you had for the next events. We understand, of course, that not all experiences are positive. PELs are also a fine place to share constructive improvement suggestions, especially as they relate to your enjoyment of the event and what might help you have more fun with the game.

If you have had a negative experience at an event and you aren’t sure how to make constructive comments about it, please send us those writings at numinadirector@gmail.com. That allows the directors to get the relevant staff involved without unnecessarily bringing down the spirits of the whole PEL audience. One ‘just needed to vent’ PEL, unfortunately, wipe out a lot of excitement.

The Short Version

What we look for in PELs

• Your weekend mods and experiences
• Your conversations with PCs and NPCs that provided moments of character or plot growth
• Your ideas and theories about plots and what the future holds
• Your hopes for what the future holds
• Compliments and Kudos for NPCs, mods, props, stories, and other players.
• Ideas for what would make the game more fun for you and your character
• Ways to change or alter an encounter or plotline to make it more fun or impactful to you.

What you should send to numinadirector@gmail.com

• Anger
• Negative interactions with other PCs, or NPCs unless going through the Player Rep
• Logistic issues that impacted your event
• Game issues or plot issues that impacted your event
• Criticism on the way something was done or presented

Important Contact Information

Please don’t DM individual staff for Holdings approval or plot questions. Email the appropriate Numina address instead so your request can be tracked and answered by the full team.

Important Email Addresses:

• Character Histories: NuminaHistory@gmail.com
• Post-Event Letters (PELs): NuminaPEL@gmail.com
• Rules Questions: NuminaRules@gmail.com
• Character Sheet Updates: NuminaCharacter@gmail.com
• Player Rep: NuminaPlayerRep@gmail.com
• Directors: NuminaDirector@gmail.com
• Owner: zyzadventures@gmail.com

Imbue Long and Short Rest

Imbue Short Rest: If someone uses an effect on you of ‘Imbue Short Rest’ you gain the effect of having completed a short rest. You can spend Void as if you took a Short rest, utilize any skills which require a Short Rest, etc. You do not gain the effect of Focus time.

Imbue Long Rest: If someone uses an effect on you of ‘Imbue Long Rest’ you gain the effect of having completed a Long rest. You can spend Purpose as if you took a Long rest at a Place of Peace, utilize any skills which require a Long Rest, Rest off any effects which are not permanent, etc. You do not gain the effect of Focus time.

Adventurer Skills

These skills are known by all adventurers who are in Numina. You begin game with all these skills.