We are Bruce Cordell, Monte Cook, and Shanna Germain, designers and lead editor of The Strange tabletop RPG. Ask Us Anything. AMA

Had great time, thanks for all your interest!

Planetovores: Are they individual beings, faceless groups, cthulu like monsters? Can you clarify them more?

Could a rogue faction of world exploting humans be considered Planetovores?

Usually a planetovore is an individual being, an entity who is (or becomes) willing (or even eager) and able to subsume a prime world.

A rogue faction made of up of many individuals that wanted to destroy the Earth for some other reason probably wouldn't be referred to as a planetovore. Though we might be down to semantics at this point :-)

Focusing on the world The Strange takes place in, I have two questions. First how do you jump from Recursion to Recursion ? Are you entering a portal, flipping a switch, or are there multiple ways. I guess this first is focused on leaving earth. Second, is The Strange just focused around earth or is there ways to get to other actual planets through this. This goes under the assumption Recursion are not other planets, which I could be wrong.

Jumping from recursion to recursion, which we call translating, will be possible in a variety of ways. One of those ways will be through certain PC abilities. Other ways will probably include special cyphers, and even "traditional" portals. But we're also imagining even stranger methods, so to speak!

The Strange, the initial game setting, has a focus around Earth and it's recursions. However, the original alien data system was actually built to allow for interstellar travel. Which means that, yes, there is the possibility to use the Strange to actually travel to other places in our universe!

Not a The Strange-related question.

How has the fanbase for tabletop RPG's changed in terms of numbers and demographics since the '80's, and where do you see it going from here?

I am in my late 30's and enjoyed playing RPG's in my teens and 20's. On the one hand, it seems as though MMORPG's have supplanted tabletops among people who are now of that age-group, but on the other hand I know of people my age that still play tabletop.

So I don't have a sense as to whether the tabletop industry has enough adherents to sustain itself, or if it's to a degree living off the enthusiasm of people who got into it 20 years ago.

In your view, are there enough young players getting into it to keep it sustainable? I figure that, as industry veterans, you'd have a good perspective. The fact that you're launching a new product probably is indicative of some optimism, but I'm still interested in what exactly you're seeing.

Are you aware of any industry sales figures over time that are available anywhere?

In my view (I think Monte also has a perspective on this), it's not that MMORPG's have supplanted tabletop games, its that they exist as an option where they didn't before. In my experience with MMORPGs (and I've played most of them; still paying GW2), any given game is a passion that lasts for awhile, then subsides. That's when you look for something new. And there's no real barrier to that something new being a tabletop RPG campaign. I've seen it happen a lot, in fact. And there are certainly more people who feel comfortable in traditional RPG genres then when I was in my teens and 20s!

First off, I'd like to say that I am really impressed with Numenera. I love the way the rules cater for a more spontaneous style of gameplay. It really suits the way my brothers and I (the group I usually play with) have played D&D over the last 15 years so I am really excited to get started on a campaign.

Just one question: How much of the Numenera core book will be repeated in the Strange core book considering the two books use the same system?

Thanks! Glad you like it.

As you know, the game system is actually a pretty small part of the Numenera corebook. Since The Strange has new types and foci and (some) new descriptors, most of that will be all new. Plus the setting, the adventure, the creatures, the equipment, and the GM advice will be new. Lastly, the Strange needs a number of additional mechanics to make it work (like rules for creating recursions), so in the end, the answer is, not very much.

Thanks for the reply, but let me put the question differently: Will players/GMs that are already familiar with Numenera need to learn a lot of new rules before playing or could a group leave a Numenera campaign and pick up on a Strange campaign in the next session?

Players could make that transition, generally speaking, if the GM wanted to bring glaives, jacks, and nanos into The Strange! The characters types of The Strange (Vortex, Spinner, and Paradox) will be balanced with those of Numenera.

Okay, I've thought of a few more specific questions.

1. Is there a limit to the number of Recursions out there?
2. Is Numenera a Recursion in the canon world? Or Numenera the result of events happening in The Strange?
3. Do you have any plans for the system beyond the Kickstarter yet, or are you focusing on that first?
4. Were you aware of the slang connotations of the phrase "the strange" when you came up with the title?

1. There is a limit, because the Strange (the dark energy network) is as cosmic sized, and growing, but it isn't infinite. But there ARE a lot of them. However, there are a much more limited number of them around Earth. Each prime can only host so many.

2. If the GM wants that to happen... we're not going to close to the door on any possibility. The rules will allow you to play it however you want.

3. You answer the question; we're going to focus on the Kickstarter.

4. If you go to Urban Dictionary, you'll find that every word has some kind of slang usage. We are aware of 'strange' as a slang term that bachelors used to refer to the mass of women they hadn't yet met but wanted to; is there something else you've found that is 'the strange?'

Physicists in South Dakota just released their research on dark matter experiments conducted a mile beneath the earth. Are they about to find The Strange?!

What's even weirder is that Bruce and I are both from South Dakota. Coincidence????

(Actually, the Strange is a network of Dark Energy, which is a very different concept than Dark Matter, but you never know what those crazy South Dakota folks might stumble unto...)

Oh no!!! And here I thought you guys were cool. But, I am from North Dakota, so I can't mingle with you lesser Dakotans!

Us Dakotans got to stick together! ;-)

Is there any chance we'll see any of you at Gary Con this coming March showing off Numenera or The Strange...or just throwin' down for some old school gaming with the folks from TSR?

Me too!

Are there any special rules for using firearms?

The Cypher System system handles all kinds of combat really quickly, so in that sense, yes!

Hi, I'm a massive fan of Numenera and I'm really looking forward to The Strange.

Based on what I've heard about foci changing based on which recursion you inhabit in The Strange, it seems like there is quite the additional burden on GMs when dealing with custom recursions or foci - every foci needs a mapping from one into another for each recursion, or so it sounds from what I've heard so far.

Numenera was a little 'light' in terms of helping people drum up additional foci, but in The Strange, coming up with new recursions seems baked into the setting, which makes coming up with new foci a necessity - will there be more in-depth examples and instructions for foci creation in The Strange to help GMs/players?

Glad to hear it... and I think I recognize your handle--did you create those sweet generators for Numenera?

Anyway, your question is similar to a question I answered above, so I'm going to use it as a basis:

When PCs translate to a different recursion, if they haven't been to that recursion before, we are experimenting with two options. The one I like best at the moment is that upon finding oneself in a new recursion, a PC randomly rolls for a new foci available there. Later, the PC can either choose to cement that foci, or pick a different one.

In the future, should that PC return to that recursion, the chosen foci will once again become active.

As far as burden on the GM, we will have several pre-made recursions made up, with foci ready to go. I'm also imagining that we'll also have several sets of broadly similar tables of foci in the "how to create your own recursion" section of The Strange book that will be really useful for doing things both on the fly, and with some forethought.

I know that making characters for a RPG is part of the fun typically but for gaming groups that are just testing out a game or using it as a one-shot substitution for their normal campaign then having to make full-fledged characters can be an extra bar to entry. For example, I'd love to introduce Numenera to my normal D&D playing group during an off-week but since we only have about 3 hours to play during our session, I feel the need to pre-make characters which adds even more prep work for me as the GM. Would you consider having some pre-made characters (stats and story) to accompany any adventures (e.g. ones in the core book or even stand-alone)?

Vortex (a recent glimmer we made available) does just that! I can imagine doing something similar for The Strange.

Though if you're going strictly old school with character creation, using pen and paper, it's about 15 minutes to create a character out of the Numenera corebook (the same will be true for The Strange).

That said, there's also various character creation software for Numenera, including our very own Numenera Character Creator App.

Monte, Shanna, Bruce, I can't wait to get the notification "Your package is being delivered". I have one question for both The Strange and Numenera - What's the minimum group necessary to play? Can I play with 1 GM / 1 Player? Is it better to have at least 3 players?

We can't wait either!

As to your question, yeah to "play" you'd want at least one player and a GM. Given the Cypher System rules system, that actually works fairly well. However, for an ongoing game, I personally usually find that having at least 2 or 3 players provides more avenues for laughs and interaction.

When a Planetovores subsumes a Prime does it change to their reality...or just disappear?

Do Planetovores use minions, agents?

Various things can happen, depending on what a planetovore wants (see below). And yep, some do use minions and agents.

The worst case scenario is when a planetovore subsumes a prime in order to establish a control node outside the network of the Strange. Once it does so, it can attempt to erase every recursion a prime world hosts, then create a single massive recursion of its own, with the rules it wants and none other. To do this requires that the prime world be converted into a mechanism that best leverages the planetovore's power. All matter on the prime world is converted, all life, dirt, air, etc. Not a good way to go.

Whoa. It just hit me. Rogue high level PC's could be considered Planetovores if they attacked another Prime in order to use the Strange to transform it into their own recursions! Is the same process that allows PC's to build recursions what Planetovores use to eat worlds?

Whoa! No, it's a different process for PCs who create recursions, because it's more limited and doesn't require the prime world to be subsumed in even a small part.

But I suppose rogue players that gained access to the raw processing power available in the Strange and the resources a planetovore can command could take on similar aspirations. Yikes!

For both of you, what is your absolute favorite RPG character you have conceived and played?

That's hard to choose. Archinemus and Canabulum in the Ptolus campaign (3e), Melech, a tiefling warlock in an I'omandra campaign, Lord Dessatysso a half-demon wizard in a Homeworld campaign (1e), Japheth Dark a warlock (1E) in my friend JD's Descent campaign... and many more.

Okay. Got a few:

1. Can PC's force foci from recursions outside of their current active in any way?

2. Can PC's enter a recursion based on the 9th World?

3. Do recursions move in real time to the current recursion? Or do some have different time rates?

4. How much TORG 'storming' style mechanics can we expect?

5. If the players push into unique recursions can they use it as a quick and dirty travel method?

6. Are there roles in this system?

Okay, back at you:

1: Normally, no, but I can imagine special circumstances, abilities, and cyphers that might allow this to happen.

2: If the GM wants that to happen... we're not going to close to the door on any possibility. The rules will allow you to play it however you want.

3: Our assumption is that time moves in step across all recursions. Of course GMs are free to do what they want for the betterment of their game.

4: I don't know what that means.

1. Generally no; see 3.

2. Not in the 4th edition sense, but The Strange has three basic character types, as follows.

Vectors are the muscle of setting. Vectors use persistent force to accomplish their goals and overcome whatever problem faces them. Vectors can wear heavy armor and wield massive weapons, or they can fight with light weapons—including the fists, elbows, and knees—and light or no armor so they can move quickly.

Paradoxes are the mad scientists, the sorcerers, and those who break the rules of reality. Whether using science, the power of the mind, spells, or something else entirely, a paradox is not bound by what others believe to be true.

Spinners are striking individuals, and possess a personality that allows them to spin tales, spin lies, or spin a version of the truth that makes others see things in a whole new way. If anyone is going to make a friend of an enemy, bluff their way into a high security compound, or mislead a world-devouring planetovore, it’s a spinner.

Will there be an OGL or related license for the Cypher system? It's perfect for a setting I've been working on, but the restrictions on crowdfunding in the limited license for Numenera make it difficult to put together a quality product.

Once The Strange is published, we might consider doing that! But not before.

Hi! I was wondering if the way the PCs change with each world they travel to is somehow "predeterminated" (e.g. in Ruk every Focus will be tech-related).

When PCs translate to a different recursion, if they haven't been to that recursion before, we are experimenting with two options. The one I like best at the moment is that upon finding oneself in a new recursion, a PC randomly rolls for a new foci available there. Later, the PC can either choose to cement that foci, or pick a different one.

In the future, should that PC return to that recursion, the chosen foci will once again become active.

Also, yes different recursion's foci are broadly thematically similar.

I think I have as decent a handle as we can on how characters transition between recursions, but do their cyphers translate as well and do they get modified by each recursion? I could see it getting pretty complicated if each recursion has different effects for cyphers.

Cyphers are actually the most simple to deal with; they stay the same wherever you go. Why? Because in The Strange RPG, cyphers are bits of raw data. Also known as a snippet of “god code” or a bit of “fundament,” this is an element of information and structure so potent that it temporarily overwrites the rules of a recursion or even the prime universe to accomplish some task. Clearly, these are extraordinarily powerful and highly sought after treasures. Cyphers often take the form of a swirling bit of fractal-like energy in the Strange, but taken into another world they immediately adapt to the context of their surroundings. A cypher on Earth looks like a new piece of cutting edge technology. On Ardeyn, however, the same cypher might look like a ring of power or the gem glistening atop a staff or in the pommel of a sword.

How are you going to approach developing the game world? Adventures, fiction, splatbooks, some combination thereof? Personally, I'd love to see an old-school Shadowrun style approach with an in-game sourcebook full of unreliable narrators...

Hey man!

Yes! Adventures, fiction, a corebook and other follow-on books, and other support, probably similar to what we've been doing for Numenera (the Devil's Spine adventure just released in print, and In Strange Aeons, the Cthulhu-Numenera glimmer just a day or two ago, the Bestiary in a few months... like that!)

First off , thanks for doing this! As an aspiring RPG game/world designer, whats the best advice you can give?

That's a rather large question, but let's see if I can do it some justice.

First, you should read a lot. Not just games, but novels of all sorts that are tangentially related to the RPG genre you most enjoy.

Second, you have to learn how to take editorial advice. Easy to say, but hard to learn. But the one thing you have to remember is that editorial advice is given to make YOU look better. And not only does it make you look better for that piece, you'll learn something and move forward a better writer or game designer, too.

Third, play. Have a group of folks (even if just via hangouts, which I found fabulous) who you can try your game ideas on. It's like having alpha readers for a novelist. You don't have to do everything they say, but its a good test to see how they react.

Fourth, find places to submit you're work, but only after it's ready.

Rinse, and repeat!

Can you clarify the "Defend" part of your character's role? Any new details about the foes you will face?

PCs can "Defend" on a couple different levels.

One level is the way that PCs normally defend ideals, the innocent, and themselves from various dastardly interests, monsters, and entities of a given recursion (or shadowy groups on Earth).

But something exists out in the Strange that truly requires Defense with a capitol D: Planetovores.

Panetovores are creatures that use the Strange to find and access inhabited prime planets (such as Earth) and subsume them. Each one is unique in its origin and personality, but all ultimately have the power and desire to take over a prime world. Although some planetovores are native to the Strange, not all are. Other planetovore origins might include alien artificial intelligences (AIs), aliens displaced into the Strange (perhaps originally by other planetovores), and once-fictional creatures birthed in recursions of distant star systems who broke free of their original conception.

Hey guys,

What were some of the inspirations for the mechanics of the Cypher system? The Numenera corebook lists setting inspirations (second question being are there any other films/shows you would put on that list for The Strange [my players asked me this last night while we were trying to figure out what to watch]), but I would love to hear more about your experience at WotC, developing Ptolus, etc. (also relevant experience for Shanna and Bruce [though for Bruce I'd ask what are the challenges and pleasures of coming into the Cypher system already established] and how that led to the formation of this system.

Furthermore, what are the difficulties inherent in writing story content for RPGs that you find aren't there when writing short stories, scripts, and other forms of media meant to be less interactive (if any)?

For me the challenges and pleasures of coming into the already established Cypher System was far more pleasure than challenge. The pleasure comes from finding a game that is both incredibly easy to play in and run, but one which also allows for all manner of adaptation; the game assumes that its players and the GM are smart! What a relief.

The challenge is to find a way to use the Cypher System in a new way that preserves the mechanics everyone playing Numenera is familiar with, but to twist them as well. Right now, that's a story twist for cyphers (cyphers are the one kind of equipment that reliably travels with you from recursion to recursion), and the ability to change your focus with each new recursion you travel to!

I assume you guys play at home, early playtests etc. Do you guys now play Numenera AND the Strange?

Right now, we've got an ongoing Numenera game, but yep, starting as soon as next week, we'll have enough to at least do some prototype play for The Strange! Very exciting!

Bruce, I wanted to give you a special thank you. My favorite book of yours was when you breathed new and awesome life into my favorite D&D setting with "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft".

With that, you get one, and only one, guess on what recursion is getting created first in The Strange...

Thanks for the kind words! Hmm, let me think... ;-). Sounds like a blast!

Are all Primes located in this dimension? Or can Primes be on another dimension all together?

This universe and dimension is the only one (that we know of!) that hosts a dark matter network like the Strange, so yep, prime worlds are planets of normal "baryonic" matter in our universe.

I admittedly haven't had a chance to play Numenera yet, but I am trying to get my group together to play it, and looking through the character foci I noticed that the majority of them relied on Intelligence, which would imply that they're of more benefit to Nanos then Glaives or Jacks.

I understand that it's probably easier to create foci that act like esoteries, but any plans in the future to create more Speed- and Might-based foci?

The Strange is going to give us a really great opportunity to create several different categories of foci, each broadly themed toward a given recursion. So, yes!

Thank You all for being here.

@brucecordell

Typical gathering of friends. We want to play some role-playing game. We're new to business, so terms like "Planescape" or "D&D" means nothing to us. We're open to new possibilities. How would You encourage us to play "The Strange"?

@Monte

You invested plenty of time into projects like Ptolus or your "WoD". How do you deal with coming out of immersion? I mean, one day you practically live in your fantasy world, work on details, dream about it and then BAM, you need to at least partially leave that behind and work on something else.

Any suggestion how to separate yourself from something like that?

@Shann

Can't think about some interesting questions, but let me congratulate on that painting behind you. Looks a bit like something that haunted my party's dreams a month or so ago. I believe it was... pink. And huge. :]

I'd say this: The Strange hosts numberless worlds, called recursions, that you and your group can explore, defend, adventure through, and eventually even creat one of your own!

I'd say (just this one question more) "I see. So it's a little bit like Dr Who meets Stargate SG-1, meets fantasy, right?"

And then I'd say, "Yep, but no time travel, and you can throw in a 'meets superhero flick, meets espionage thriller.'"

Obvious question: If a recursion were created in which the rules of The Strange game were the rules of its universe, would it be infinitely recursive?

Whoa! Nice idea, by no, because the dark energy network is not infinite, and has finite "local" capacity. Generally, a recursion doesn't host another recursion . . . but interesting idea ;-)

If you spend a lot of time in one Recursion picking up foci and powers there, what happens when you go to another and they all turn off. Can you wind up with a lot of 'locked out' exp? What do you do systme wise to prevent that?

No worries, there won't be any XP lockout. Because of the way XP in the cypher sytem works (much more fluid than more traditional XP), you're not penalized for moving between recursions and trying on different foci.

Actually...how will Strange XP work with regards to the broad long term benefits...rich, a permanent artifact, etc? (versus how it would work if you left your "home" area for somewhere else, in Numenera)

Some things (many things!) on the design side of things are not yet nailed down, as I'm sure you can imagine. That said, you can expect XP to work like it works in Numenera, in that you can use it on the fly to improve your chances in a given situation, or more deliberately to permanently improve your character. An idea we'll be trying is that you could use your XP toward the seeding of your own recursion in the Strange!

First, I love Numenera. It's a great product with a great setting. Love the blend of sci-fi and fantasy elements. Any plans in the future, near or far, to release a campaign for Numenera? What about other adventures?

The Devil's Spine for Numenera just released, which is a set of three adventures that can serve as a mini-campaign. There's also Vortex, which we released as a glimmer a while back, and of course the adventures in the corebook. We don't have any set plans, but we have general plans to continue supporting the Numenera line over the long haul, and that may well include additional adventures.

So how close to Nexus: the Infinite City is this? Because that's what I'm seeing. A little Torg too.

How inspirational are those to the design?

I've never heard of the first, and while I have certainly heard of Torg, I'm afraid I never played it. So directly, anyway, very little inspiration. But if they're like The Strange, they sound fun!

Hi! I haven't used or read up on the Cypher system yet, so please forgive my ignorance, but what you are proposing in The Strange is essentially a campaign setting composed of many mini-genres. Given each of those genres will require some fairly specific player specifications, how are you balancing those specs with each other? For example, how do make a system in which catastrophic technological abilities co-exist (albeit on a different plane) with primitive tribe culture?

Good question! The answer is that the Cypher System is sort of designed with this sort of cross-genre adventuring in mind, given the setting for Numenera's Ninth World:

Numenera is set a billion years in the future. Civilizations have risen and fallen on Earth. Even though the current inhabitants live at about a Medieval level of technology, the leftover remnants of these advanced societies lie all around them. Some of these are extremely helpful: advanced tools, valuable means of communication and learning, transportation, defenses, and weapons. Others are dangerous: genetically altered monstrosities, flesh-warping radiation, creatures transplanted from distant stars, and clouds of out-of-control nanobots, just to name a few.

From a business development side, what have been the biggest challenges in founding MGC and developing new properties while staying in the black and keeping enough capital on hand for future development? How integral to your future plans as a company are Kickstarter funding (and other sorts of crowdsourcing funding)?

The biggest challenge has been the workload. We started with just one person (me) and quickly became two (as Shanna became my partner and co-owner). We are now five full-time people (and a number of contractors) and it's still a challenge. But that's been because at every step, things have been bigger and more successful than we thought. But success means more work! Thanks to the initial KS, cashflow has not been an issue, and sales of Numenera since its release have been strong so we have no worries on that front.

That said, I am a huge fan of crowdfunding and I suspect we'll continue to use it in the future. It's not only a way to get the message of the product out, and drum up interest, but it's a way to gauge interest. If we had done a KS for The Strange and it hadn't taken off right out of the gate (as it did), we would have had the opportunity to reexamine our plans. It's market research, in a way.

Plus, it's a great way for us to reward our truest fans and early adopters. People who pledge to the KS get the best rewards (the average Numenera KS supporter chose the $60 level and got almost $300 worth of stuff), and that's a great way for us to say thank you.

Of your full-time staff (save yourself and Shanna), what's the breakdown of their duties? What do you find can be contracted out and what needs to be kept in-house? As a more general industry question, how prevalent are NDAs and how restrictive are they? Is IP theft a major concern?

The creative staff is Monte, Shanna, and me. The administrative and business staff is Charles and Tammie. All things on those broad fronts start with us, but we contract as needed (such as for additional editing, web dev, and so on).

NDAs are standard in every setting I've worked in. It's mostly about making sure all the Ts are crossed.