Record-breaking RPG Numenera is getting a sequel next year

Numenera, the sci-fi roleplaying game created by veteran designer Monte Cook, is getting a sequel complete with a brand new set of core rulebooks.

The original Numenera was launched on Kickstarter in 2012, and went on to become the highest-funded RPG on the crowdfunding site at the time, raising over $517,000 (£381,000). It’s since been surpassed by the campaigns for games including the Conan Roleplaying Game, Call of Cthulhu: Seventh Edition, the Corvus Belli Infinity RPG and Monte Cook’s own Invisible Sun.

Set a billion years into humanity’s future, Numenera takes place on The Ninth World – as Earth is known – and follows groups of explorers seeking out ancient power to fight back an age of darkness.

As well as the original corebook, which has seen four printings, and more than 60 supplements and expansions, the game has inspired novels, the computer game Torment: Tides of Numenera and spin-off board games The Ninth World and Thunderstone Advance: Numenera.

Now, Numenera is getting a follow-up, pithily titled Numenera 2, which has just launched on Kickstarter. 

Numenera 2 will split the first game’s rulebook into two new volumes, called Discovery and Destiny, which will replace the original game’s book next summer.

Discovery is a revision of the original Numerea corebook, which Monte Cook claims will streamline and clarify certain rules without changing the game’s core gameplay. This means existing expansions and supplements will work with the updated book, as it’s angled as a revision rather than a completely new edition.

Meanwhile, Destiny is a completely new tome that serves as a kind of guide to the world of Numenera, providing details on writing campaigns and digging deeper into the expansive setting. Among the big features introduced in Destiny are new systems for crafting and building, plus three new character types and traits.

Discovery and Destiny will be available as a single set, combining both the 417-page volumes in a slipcase. The physical editions of the books are $60 (£44) separately on Kickstarter, with the double-pack costing $120 (£88).

Having already raised $250,000 (£184,000) on Kickstarter, Numenera 2 is due for release next June.