House Rules: Using Fate Assessment and Declaration rules in other systems (FATE, Cypher System, D&D 5e)

House Rule; A version of the Declarations rules for FATE are available as part of the Cypher system.

This is an expansion of the existing rules for spending XP to gain short/medium term benefits. Rather than gaining a skill or ability you declare a certain thing about the area, environment, or world to be true. This should have something to do with the nature of the character. For example, a character with the History skill might state that the decor of a palace dates is more than a hundred years old and that suggests a particular place where weapons would be displayed, and thus creates a place the characters can find arms in the heat of the moment, while a character who Employs Magnetism might determine that the table hidden under a tablecloth is made of a ferrous metal. Obviously, declarations cannot be made that relate to things already known to be false, such as trying to place such a weapons display in a location where the characters previously looked for them without success. While, generally, this will cost the player 2 experience points as a short/medium term benefit some declarations with more lasting significance may instead be 3 point long term benefits. Only rarely will a declaration will be instant, such as a fighter declaring that an opponent in the middle of an open ballroom has stepped directly below a chandelier.
GMs have the right to veto any suggestions that seem out of scope (or ask the player to revise them), especially if the rest of the group isn’t buying into it, or they can veto with an offer for the character to make an appropriate skill check to get alternate similarly useful information instead. Finally, the GM can simply veto by giving the player an experience point, as a player refusing a GM intrusion.

House Rule; A version of the Assessment and Declaration rules  are available in D&D.

The player can declare their character "notices" or "remembers" some piece of knowledge. Based on the obscurity of that knowledge the GM sets a DC and the player makes an Intelligence roll. Depending on the nature of the declared item, they may add their proficiency and other bonuses based on skills. For example, recognizing the god to which a now-defiled altar was once sanctified would be an Intelligence (Religion) roll or a warrior may use Intelligence(History) to know the background, and a particular weakness, of a fighting style an opponent uses.

If the DM has already determined a piece of information a player wants to declare, they treat the roll normally but provide the predetermined answer on a successful roll. Similarly, if a player attempts to determine information that the DM has not pre-decided after a successful roll the player may determine the answer as if they had made a declaration at the outset. As always, DMs have the right to veto any suggestions that seem out of scope, specifically asking the player to revise them, especially if the rest of the group isn’t buying into it.

Such pieces of information can be used to provide advantage or force disadvantage on a roll taken that they might influence. Only the character who made the discovery can use benefit unless they specifically share the information with another. After being used once it cannot be used again by any character with the party until after the character which used it takes a short rest.

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New Artifact: Armor of Lamain dHall (Numenera)

Level: d4+6
Form: This massive synth "suit" blurs the line between the wearing of armor and piloting of a light ship. It can be "worn" by any creature of roughly human size and shape, but slightly more than doubles their size in all dimensions, towering more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall. In addition to its bulk, the materials from which it is made are far hardier than Ninth World smithing techniques could ever manage with steel. For all of that, it would be virtually impossible to wear and carry alone. Instead it requires complex systems to move and counterbalance its weight and mass. However, with only a slight charge to energize these systems the slightest movements of the wearer are translated into titanic movements.

Silicon Shadows- Table of Contents/Navigation (Numenera/the Strange)

part one - introducing the datasphere
part two - entering the datasphere 2a) datasphere access cyphers and artifacts
part three - translation into the datasphere
part four - places in the datasphere 4a1) the Avaloria Rex 4a2) Dangers of Avaloria
part five - adventuring in the datasphere
part six - exiting the datasphere

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Silicon Shadows- Exiting the Datasphere (Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

The most common way for entrants to the datasphere to exit is by means of their entry point. Whether their entry point remains open until they emerge, has an automatic recall system, or simply leaves them stranded them if they overstay their allowed time. Generally it takes something dramatic to make an exception to this basic rule.

Silicon Shadows- Adventuring in the Datasphere (Numenera/the Strange)

Silicon Shadows

Beyond the defined borders of the established systems is the vast "unformatted" space. This "fractal network" called the Strange changes not at all from the way it is presented in the Strange core book. (Ch14 p 212). Key points of interest are the ability to travel between recursions directly through the Strange (p214) and relics of the Strange (p218). Conversely, the threats of the Strange are at least as great as those of the formatted Recursions into which most access pods and juncture points will deliver travelers. Alienation (p216) threatens those exposed to this unformatted space and various creatures call it home (p217).

Silicon Shadows; Places in the Datasphere- Dangers of Avaloria (the Strange/Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

the Avaloria Rex

While it might seem like Avaloria is an idyllic place of harmony and peace at first, there are a number of threats in this recursion. The most obvious is the wildlife. While it may seem odd that a designed digital system like the Avaloria would have flora and fauna, especially those of a dangerous nature, these things simply represent the various sub-programs and algorithms that maintain the overall system. It is worth remembering that the Avalorians themselves are little different in this respect. In fact, the majority of Avalorian wildlife is dangerous to some degree, either through its own predatory nature or defenses evolved against predators. Such scourges range from skiel, vicious, rodent-like scavengers that have far too many claws and mouths, to classic wyverns. There are even reports near the wastes that great lizard-like creatures have taken to the sky, breathing fire and raging. The purpose and origins of these dragons, for that is what they appear to be, is unknown. While the Avalorian clerics hope they are a sign that their gods have returned and sent these creatures to protect them from the encroaching darkness many fear that they are twisted creations of the invading evils representing their imminent doom.

Silicon Shadows; Places in the Datasphere- Avaloria Rex (the Strange/Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

Ages ago the Avaloria Rex was a ship of the line in the fleets of a now vanished civilization. What happened to that civilization is unknown, but the Avaloria was abandoned when a fault forced the crew to jettison the main drives leaving the ship stranded in interstellar space. The crew then abandoned her, leaving this vast construct abandoned and alone. Secondary power has proven more than sufficient to keep the remaining systems operational, cycling over to a similarly complete tertiary power for regular maintenance. The result is a great space fortress far from any threat or life. While its sublight drives remain active, and has a course laid in for the nearest stellar object, it will be over a thousand years before it reaches the binary star system that is its target. At that point appearances are that she will be captured between the two stars and remain there, drawing power and waiting in standby mode, until its systems give out.

Silicon Shadows- Places in the Datasphere (Numenera/the Strange)

Silicon Shadows

For most intents and purposes, adventuring through the datasphere is identical to a game of the Strange. For example, if the characters do find their way from one zone to another their interface goes through a process of recontextualization; their descriptor, their focus, and their equipment change to be appropriate for the new zone. It is worth remembering that, as a character can only translate to locations they have previously visited, new visitors to the datasphere are going to be heavily reliant on gates and other methods of finding their way into locations other than the zone they arrive in.
Within the datasphere recursions are datasphere zones, terms which may be used interchangeably, and the varying physical laws of these different zones reflect the differing nature and interpretations of the systems visited.

Silicon Shadows- Becoming Part of the Datasphere (Numenera/the Strange)

Silicon Shadows

When a character enters the datasphere, whether their body is converted or they leave it behind, an Avatar is created for them. This digital persona reflects who they are in the real world, as part of any insertion process is to convert the things they encounter into a sensory experience their minds and bodies can process, understand, and react to. The first time a character enters a datasphere zone there is a basic imprinting done on their personality. The character's type is converted to its equivalent from the Strange (glaive to vector, nano to paradox, jack to spinner). Their stats, tier, experience, and advancement choices remain unchanged, however. Further advancement is simply layered on to this template (and converts back to the real world). Equipment from the physical world, including cyphers and artifacts, only translate into the datasphere if they were brought through a matter conversion portal or other similar accommodations were made.

Silicon Shadows- Entering the Datasphere; purpose built devices (Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

All cyphers and artifacts can be used as a tools to reduce the difficulty to break into the datasphere. However, there are a few cyphers which are designed explicitly to grant unfettered access to the datasphere.

Silicon Shadows- Entering the Datasphere (Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

While the great network of networks that exists across the Earth, and even beyond, is collectively called the datasphere the fact is there are hundreds if not millions of often incompatible systems being bridged by various layers of accreted technology. The result, however, is that most places in the universe have one or more reflections in the datasphere. Theoretically, this means that at any location, given the right equipment, one can access one network and from there work their way out to any part of the 'Sphere through these ancient cobwebs.
The problem, as with every technological marvel in the Ninth World, is age and disconnection. Entire networks have collapsed and those that remain are not whole. The most complete are self-repairing and have often repaired themselves by merging with other, normally incompatible, networks. The result is that some places it is easier to access a reflection from a remote system which is more compatible with one's own biology and Numenera, reaching back across several such bridges, than to gain access from a given physical location.

Silicon Shadows- the Depths of the Datasphere (Numenera)

Silicon Shadows

Much of the Numenera interacts with the shattered shells of ancient information networks that crisscross the Ninth World. Many cyphers and artifacts act as intermediaries, fetching and collecting information from these scattered systems before collating and presenting it in formats that have a chance of being understood by these unintended users. Nanos may use, intentionally or not, ancient methods of access and control to reach out into the datasphere and command the mechanisms at work behind so much of the Ninth World to generate the effects of their esoteries. All of these interactions take for granted the prevalence and pervasiveness of the various systems that are, together, called the datasphere without the users ever doing more than trailing the tips of their fingers in these digital worlds.

New Glave Fighting Moves (Numenera)

Some Glaves take a much broader view of what constitutes a battlefield in the Ninth World. By thinking strategically rather than tactically they widen their view and impact far more lives than a simpler mind might. All Glaives are looked up to as bastions of strength in a strange and wild world, but these individuals seek to keep mind as sharp as their blade and often wield armies or entire communities as their chosen weapons.

Tier 1

Battlefield Medic; You are trained in healing skill rolls. If you have already treated a patient for the day you can apply a level of Effort to do so again rather than to gain a bonus for the roll. Enabler

Motivate; (2 Intellect points)  One creature you choose within short range may take an action. They can use it immediately, even if they have already taken a turn in the round. They may not use special abilities such as fighting moves, esoteries, or tricks of the trade on this action. Action.

Tier 2

Inspire; (3 Intellect points) One creature you choose within short range makes a recovery roll without having to spend the time to do so. Action.

Oration (3 Intellect points): If you succeed at an Intellect-based persuasion or intimidation task, you capture and hold the attention of everyone within 90 feet (27 m) for up to ten minutes. The GM sets the difficulty based on the audience’s disposition. Action to initiate. 

Tier 3

Opening Strike; (4 Intellect points)  When you make an attack on a target the attack throws them off balance or out of sync until the beginning of your next turn, and anyone attacking this target has the difficulty of their attack is reduced by one step. Enabler

Tier 4

Words of Insight; (6 Intellect points)  You restore points to a target’s Intellect Pool in one of two ways: either they regain up to 6 points or are restored to a total value of 12. You make this decision when you initiate this Move. Points are regenerated at a rate of 1 point each round. You must continue speaking with the target the whole time. In no case can this raise a Pool higher than its maximum. Action. 

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One of the interesting features about Numenera is the fact that stats are pools rather than directly checked against. How each pool is used varies from Might being mostly hit points to Intellect being mostly fuel for power and Speed falling between these extremes. Even at the extremes, Intellect is still the target of attacks and Might still fuels powers, but they clearly are used in this manner less. The clearest demonstration that this is by design is the way Armor works; protecting against damage to Might but specifically not the other pools. There are defenses for those pools, but they are extremely rare compared to Armor. Meanwhile, the only one of the three classes ("types") to rely heavily on Might for its powers starts with an Edge in both Might and Speed and has as many moves that either don't use points or rely on speed as it does Might.

Meanwhile, Numenera falls into a common trap for class-based systems- the "limited fighter." Where the Nano and the Jack both have non-combat functions the Glaive is almost purely built around combat- to the point that its special abilities don't even pretend at neutrality or universality like "Esoteries" or "Tricks of the Trade." They are, explicitly, Fighting Moves. This closes the class out of helping players find things to do in the range of non-combat settings and scenarios.

Unlike D&D, which is the poster child for this problem as the origin of "hard classes" (ie; most if not all abilities are class derived), Numenera allows thoughtful players to patch over it somewhat via Descriptors and Foci. However, even if this issue can be patched over, the core problem remains that these classes are determinative and often, especially for the physical classes, highly restrictive to roleplay or any interaction outside combat which, in turn, feeds back into the primacy of combat in the roleplay environment.

So, I started working on ways for fighters... err, Glaives, to express another thread of the type description; "In most cities and villages, people hold glaives in great esteem. ... They focus on their bodies, but that doesn’t mean they don’t value more cerebral pursuits as well. ... In a group of explorers, glaives typically take the lead." Again, this sounds like a discussion of the 4e Warlord and its roots in D&D and, as I've done before, I try to turn it back into space for a new generation of fighter types to find things to do aside from beat on stuff.

House Rule: Stable Cyphers and Unstable Artifacts (Numenera)

Device Slots
Since not all cyphers are limited and artifacts are, cypher slots are device slots. They are still limited in the same way as outlined for cypher slots in the base rules.

Anoetic Cyphers
These items are simple to use, pre-package and self contained. Pills and chemicals or simple devices with small batteries or capacitors. As a result, they do not risk destabilizing and do not require device slots.

Occultic Cyphers
These items are more complex or jury-rigged. As a result they are more prone to problems, including leaking various sorts of radiation or creating strange interactions with other devices. As a result they fill device slots at a 1:1 (rather than the default 2:1).

Artifacts
While often Artifacts are self contained or otherwise pre-packaged, they are also complex and highly charged devices. As a result they are, in many ways, simply Occultic Cyphers with bigger batteries. These items fill device slots at a 1:1 basis.

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Translating The Strange to Numenera Pt 2 In Translation (Cypher System)

Much like the core rules for the Strange the character options book, In Translation, has a number of  Foci that are also easily adaptable to Numenera.
The most directly translatable remain those generated by Weird Science, with some like Controls Nanomachines or Is a Cyborg fitting very clearly with the flavor and feel of existing Numenera Foci. Many Standard Physics and Magic Foci remain easily adaptable. While some Standard Physics Foci are obviously transferable, such as a character who Collects Bounties, and a character who Is Idolized by Millions might be translated into a wealthy aristocrat or noble while even the broken civilizations of the Ninth World still have those among them that Interprets the Law. From the Magic settings, only Manipulates Strange Energy is clearly inappropriate, with its deep ties to The Strange's setting.
When translating a Focus, if it comes with small to moderate a debt value (such as Wears an Iron Suit) reduce your starting Shins appropriately. If the debit is more Shins than you have to start with, very likely the case with Pilots a Starship, work with your GM to determine how to best represent the debit before taking the Focus. In that particular case; perhaps the Focus will provide a key ingredient to the game and thus can be accepted as a shared and necessary resource or maybe the Focus is unsuitable to play because it will disrupt the game. It is possible the GM may simply deny the ship which imposes the debt until one is obtained through play- though, GMs taking this last route should understand the implications of doing this as a substantial portion of one of the characters is rendered unplayable by taking this option. In these cases, it is often better for the player to take a different initial focus which they can later shift to their desired focus if and when the game develops to the point it's available.

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Translating The Strange to Numenera (Cypher System)

Oddities Part II (Numenera)

1. A small gray sphere that produces a foot (30 cm) radius smoky cloud about itself. This cloud dissipates before any solid object, never making contact.
2. A small sphere that, if tossed upwards, vanishes at the apex of its arc with a small pop. After a few seconds it reappears with a loud bang and continues its original path.
3. A stone tablet that mutters indecipherable sounds softly but incessantly.
4. A pair of rings that gently but insistently pull towards one another. They provide no sense of distance or direction, only pulling along a straight line towards the other. The tug is sufficient that with an unobstructed path, or even minimal obstructions, they will eventually return to each other if unsecured.
5. A bar of solid but easily crushable or damageable foam-like substance. If damaged it repairs itself, restoring scratches, dents, or small holes within minutes. Over the course of a day multiple separate pieces will reassemble. Within a week it will regenerating entirely from a single small but visible piece. If entirely destroyed, rendered into disassociated atoms, within a month it will pull itself into a small piece in the location it was destroyed then continue to restore itself.
6. A ring approximately 1 yard (1 m) across made of metal so dark it seems to absorb light and, if released encircling the head of a thinking being, hovers there and moves with them.
7. A golden disk approximately 1 yard (1 m) across decorated with a sunburst pattern. If released above or behind the head of a thinking being it glows with the brightness of a candle and hovers there, moving with them.
8. An amulet that causes the wearer's eyes to become inky voids filled with stars.
9. A dagger that seems to absorb any blood it touches, It will not drain blood still inside a living being, but effectively cleans itself and seems to consume any pool of blood it is touched to.
10. An amulet that causes the wearer to regularly experience feelings of intense deja vu.
11. A synth box covered with complex markings and comprised of many pieces that can move independently of one another rearranging the patterns on its surface. Occasionally an indistinct muttering can be heard from it.
12. A glowing, holographic rune that hovers in midair. The owner can change its relative distance and orientation (or give it away) by touching it and moving (or transferring) it. It then maintains that distance and orientation until deliberately moved again. No one except the owner can physically touch the rune.
13. An X shaped piece of pipe with a ball joint at the intersection. All four ends of the have a very slight outflow of passably fresh air. Objects inserted in any of the openings pass through without obstruction.
14. A thin sheet of shiny silver cloth-like metal that can be bent, folded, twisted, etc but will not crease, cut, or tear. It works well when used as a blanket.
15. A black cloak that displays a never-ending cascade of changing green runes flowing down the outside.
16. A thin metal rod that hums when exposed to air.
17. A small rock that changes shape, texture, and color (but not size or mass) when unobserved.
18. A small aluminum box that will occasionally emit a metallic buzz. If opened it displays a pair of nobs and a round glass screen that flickers and shows static. Occasionally a wiff of fudge will emerge.
19. A glowing ball that, if released in midair, hovers and rotates slowly emitting multicolored beams of light that slowly move over the area around the sphere.
20. A jug of clear liquid that will not pour out. It will slosh around inside the container, and other objects can be added or removed, but the liquid presses up against the opening and ceases moving as if it were covered. Any tests run on the liquid show that it's fresh, clean water.
21. A page of paper covered in writing in an incomprehensible language using an unrecognizable script. The contents change irregularly, but only when the page is not being looked at.
22. A short (10cm), thin rod of synth that, if tapped against an object, extrudes a square of exceedingly thin paper along its length.
23. A stick that, if pointed forcefully at an inanimate object, causes the indicated object to vibrate harmlessly for a moment.
24. A 3" (7.5 cm) wide, several yard (3m) long strip of black synth that, if released, coils and writhes through the air heedless of gravity and wind (but is easily brushed aside with the smallest amount of force). If affixed to an object or person (generally by pinning or tying) its motion stays within a few inches to a foot of who or whatever it is attached to.
25. A cube that shows unusual characters etched into the sides. Any time the cube is turned more than 90 degrees on any axis, including being rolled, the symbols change. There are significantly more than 6 options, totaling about 100, and the symbols do not appear with an even distribution, though no two faces show the same symbol at any given time. (If a character maps out all the faces, set each symbol equal to a number from 1 to 99 and roll 11d10-10 to determine the face. On a roll of 100 one of a set of extremely rare symbols is generated. If determining more than one face roll separately for each face and reroll any symbols that have already been generated.)

Oddities (Numenera)

1. A cube that "rests" balanced on its corners rather than faces.
2. A 2 inch (about 5 cm) diameter blue, semi-translucent egg that is not subject to gravity. It is subject to inertia and otherwise possesses mass, however.
3. A small sphere that causes a creature whose skin it touches to take on a specific hue. This mild recoloring extends to their hair, eyes, and skin and creates a distinctive color shift but does not make them unrecognizable. The color shift immediately ends if contact ends.
4. A small (3 foot/1 meter tall) painted statue made of solid stone. The figure is stout, bearded humanoid with rounded features, garishly bright clothing, and a conical hat that makes up about a third of the statue's total height. If the statue is not facing its owner and it is not observed the statue turns to face its owner. If the line of sight to its owner is obstructed and it is not observed it vanishes from its current location and appears in an unobserved location where it has a line to see that individual. If the statue has no current owner it becomes the property of the first individual to touch it. Giving up ownership of the statue requires whispering a command word specific to the statue though the statue itself has no indication what this command word is, where to find it, or even that it exists.
5. A small ring that, when exposed to humming at certain frequencies, glows brightly as a candle. Different frequencies produces a different color to the glow.
6. A small jar of drit that, if watered, grows a small plant producing a single beautiful flower of no recognized type within a ten minutes. Five minutes after blossoming the flower abruptly turns to dust. If the plant or flower are picked it also immediately turns to dust.
7. A small jar of drit. If exposed to a strong magnet the drit forms into a 1 inch (2.5cm) diameter non-magnetic metal sphere. When the magnet is removed the sphere returns to drit.
8. A set of contact lenses that, when worn, label seemingly random items in view with text in an unknown language.
9. A transparent pyramid 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall that occasionally and randomly duplicates itself for about 10 minutes before the previously existing one vanishes. The duplicate is always unmarked and unmarred if the original exists in any state short of having been utterly destroyed.
10. A small stone that buzzes loudly at a highly obnoxious pitch. If touched lightly it quiets for 10 minutes or if held for a few seconds it becomes quiescent for a day.
11. A metallic object that takes the form of a regular solid. If turned (including being rolled) it morphs through six different types of regular solid randomly. The shapes it takes are tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, pentagonal trapezohedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron.
12. A rectangular metal box (3 inches/7.5 cm long by 2 inches/ 5 cm tall by 1 inch/ 2.5 cm wide) that moves about under its own power. It has no limbs, and must remain in contact with a surface to generate locomotion. It behaves as a small, furtive animal, roughly like a mouse, seeking to remain close to anyone it touches, moving around and hiding amongst their clothing and peeking out.
13. A sheet of synth (2 inches/5 cm on a side, less than 1 cm thick) which seems to be immune from any form of alteration, being immune to damage and even passing through Iron Winds completely unchanged.
14. A life-sized replica of a human heart made from red crystal and stone. If a creature holds it the heart beats in time with their pulse.
15. A life-sized replica of a human brain made from reddish quartz. Creatures who touch it "hear" an indistinct, wordless psychic muttering.
16. A monocle which, if you peer through it, shows latticeworks of glowing lines connecting objects and people around you and, often, connecting those objects to things beyond your vision. Slowly turning the ring shifts the colors of the lines up from red through orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, then to white or (turning the opposite direction) down from white to red. Lines that are white or red disappear if the ring is turned further in that direction while different ones appear at the opposite end of the spectrum. These connections are related to no discernable relationship.
17. A small metal mobius strip which has etched symbols that move slowly around it. The characters change at a point on the ring which is not observed. If all points of the ring are somehow being observed simultaneously the characters continue to move but do not change.
18. A ring which makes the wearer feel disoriented and like their entire body is "buzzing" when worn.
19. A ring which projects the wearer's consciousness into a small, circular, three tiered auditorium without any doors. Until they remove the ring they inhabit a semi-translucent hologram of their physical body which cannot effect anything in the room. The room is empty except for benches which line each tier and an unadorned, unused pedestal at the center of the "stage" area in the lowest level. The room is dimly lit with a grey light and never changes, not even showing dust or decay.
20. A small, colored, semi-translucent ovoid which randomly "chimes" and glows until the sound fades away. If the object is being touched when this happens it is felt to vibrate as if struck to produce the sound.
21. A sand clock which flows upward. When in the lower chamber the sand is black, but in the upper chamber it is white.
22. A plate about 6 inches (15 cm) diameter of what appears to be obsidian which has been polished until it's reflective. Small, twinkling sparks of light appear from the surface and float drifting, random paths upward until they reach about 1 foot (30 cm) above it, at which point they vanish. The sparkles vanish if they come in contact with any solid object, and the cumulative light from all the sparkles active at one time is less than that of a candle.
23. A fist-sized metal sphere that has electrical discharge patterns acid-etched into it from two points opposite one another. Touching the sphere produces a faint tingling sensation.
24. A small stone that, if stationary, begins causing random unsecured objects of less than 1 oz (30 grams) within immediate range to float slowly upward. The floating of items is effected one at a time but, over the duration multiple, objects may simultaneously be effected. The stone never lifts more than about 10 objects and never more than 1 pound (1/2 a kg) of total weight. These items never reach more than about head height and immediately return to normal physics if touched, leave range of the stone, or after a few minutes of being effected.
25. A 12 inch (30 cm) tall by 4 inch ( 10 cm) diameter pentagonal trapezohedron of blue-green metal which weighs about 1 pound (.5 kg). It "naturally rests" vertically aligned with gravity and about 3 feet (1 meter) above any surface which would support its weight (the ground, a desk, etc). Any attempt to move it from this position will be resisted by what feels like gravity, causing it to want to "fall" to that position and orientation.

House Rule: Odd World (Numenera)

Scavenging
These rules replace the scavenging rules on pages 280 and 290 of the Numenera core book.
When scavenging for Numenera players can look for oddities, cyphers, or artifacts. Scavenging requires 3d4x5 minutes and an Intellect based task. Depending on the roll, the player can choose any of the following they beat the difficulty for. For beating difficulty 4 they produce d6 oddities, by beating a difficulty 7 task they produce 2d4 cyphers, while a difficulty 9 task produces one artifact. The actual Numenera devices are not determined until after the choice is made, though the number may be.

Tinkering and DeconstructingThese rules expand on the Tinkering With The Numenera rules starting on page 107.
Most cyphers and artifacts use numerous smaller components in their construction, any of which would be oddities unto themselves. A scavenger can disassemble these, generally more useful devices, to recover these strange components. To do so requires the sacrifice of a cypher or artifact and d20 minutes, and success at a difficulty 3 Intellect task. Success produces d4-1 oddities from a cypher or 2d4-1 oddities from an artifact.
All of these oddities are randomly determined after the roll has been made.

People in the Ninth World regularly combine various Numenera devices to create new and different devices. To produce a new cypher or artifact requires the sacrifice of at least one Numenera device (oddity, cypher, or artifact). The tinkerer can then attempt a intellect task difficulty 10 to create a random cypher or artifact. In addition to having greater skill or other assets, the difficulty can be reduced with the sacrifice of more Numenera devices for parts and components.
When attempting to create a cypher, each oddity sacrificed reduces the difficulty by one, while each cypher reduces it by 2, and each artifact reduces the difficulty by 4.
If the desired result is an artifact, each two oddities used as components provides a one point reduction in difficulty. Each cypher sacrificed for parts reduces the difficulty by one. Sacrificing another artifact reduces the difficulty by two.
If the character wants to produce a specific cypher or artifact, rather than a random one, the difficulty is increased by 3.

Oddly Useful 

This rule is added to Immediate Benefits, per pg 110.

One of the most interesting things about oddities is that, for all they are useless and bizarre in the everyday existence of the Ninth World, their existence requires some context in which they are useful. By expending an Experience Point the player can declare how an oddity has found a context, whether it was the original context or not. Perhaps it can be used as part of a key to a sealed portal, or an unusual interaction can break an otherwise unbreakable casing with dramatic effects.

The GM may accept the proposed use, make it a task with a difficulty determined by its plausibility, or reject it outright. The difficulty of the task should be stated before the experience point is accepted by the GM and the attempt destroys the oddity as soon as the experience point is spent.

If a player can describe how they might use an oddity to produce the effect of a cypher, a base difficulty for the task would be 5.

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Qephilim Descriptor (The Strange)

Immortal Ancestry: You are descended from a race created to tirelessly and eternally serve mystical and mundane functions. You gain +1 to one Edge and reduces damage dealt to this pool by 1 point per time the character suffers damage.

Lost Glory:  At first tier, you have 2 points, not 6, to divide among your stat Pools.

Mythlight: You have a glow of light, no brighter than a candle, that either hovers nearby or glows like a nimbus around you. You can choose where this light is placed and the color at character creation. As an action you can switch between extinguishing this light or allowing it to glow.

Emptiness of the Lost: If, you have no purpose set before you (guarding something, crafting an item, researching lost lore, scouting an area, or fighting for a higher goal) or the reason behind that purpose is called into question, particularly as being amoral though sometimes (especially for kindred of Law) as illegal, you begin to feel morose and lethargic. The difficulty of any task that doesn’t move you toward finding a new or more worthy purpose is increased by one step.
If you are subject to this state for more than a week or are in it frequently (more than twice in a month or three times in a year) the deep longing and rage of the qephilim race begins to take hold more strongly in your mind. At any time during a long or repeated bout and experience stress or surprise the GM can use an intrusion that directs your next action without awarding XP. You can still pay 1 XP to refuse the intrusion. The GM’s influence is the manifestation of a racial despondency, and is thought to be an expression of the subconscious impulses of the imprisoned Lotan. Thus, it is always something you would not likely do otherwise. Generally, it is not directly, obviously harmful to you unless there are extenuating circumstances, though it may be harmful to those around you.

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