I have three questions and would like clarifications/opinions.

1) You can buy a title for 3 xp, but what I'm curious about is if being a Aeon Priest in the Order of Truth or an Angulan Knight would "require" purchasing a title. Also, would it be too much for a player to spend 3 xp per rank in the Knights? It's actually my player (the Knight) who feels spending xp per rank would be cool, since he feels the social "oomph" would be worth it.

2) Aside from letting you know how long a numenera's functioning lasts or how powerful it is, does it do/mean anything else? I was thinking it was the difficulty of figuring out what a piece of numenera does, but there's a mention of that being 1 or 2.

3) In the beginning chapter about making a character it mentions that you can buy other things in lieu of a skill, however in the part about spending XP later in the book, it mentions that the same things can be purchased in lieu of ANY of the four requirements to raise a tier. Which is correct? I was thinking the latter is and maybe the former was a holdover from play-testing or something.

Anyway, I for one love this game and can't see why other on "The Other Place" are so full of hate about it.

Thanks in advance!

My take on this is that your character wants to benefit from their title then they should pay points for it; without that, it has no in game 'weight'.

In terms of your second question, I assume you are talking about the level of the Numenera device? The level doesn't seem to have any great effect beyond the ones you mention - driving duration and power.

On the 'conflict' between the rules for buying extra powers, it isn't actually conflicting by the strict wording; the most restrictive description can be applied and you only swap put skills for powers. Given what you would need to give up to get the powers (points in your pools, effort and edge) I personally wouldn't worry about letting any of them being swapped out, however.  

The good thing about Numenera is that, since you derive your XP through discovery rather than killing monsters, it's very hard to power your way to victory so the game is more forgiving on these kind of rules questions in my experience.

Thanks, that helps. I really hope more people come to enjoy this amazing game!

Quote from: Talking_Muffin;695147Anyway, I for one love this game and can't see why other on "The Other Place" are so full of hate about it.

Thanks in advance!

Monte Cook is a symbol of 3e, and he never embraced D&D's inbred second cousin (4e), so they hate anything to do with him.

I'm slowly reading through the book atm and using ninth world hub for idea's and help where needed(ninthworldhub.com), really liking what i've read so far and defintely want to run it at some point.

I ran my first game last night for two players and I can honestly say it was one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The game's a GM's dream and I used a very cool GM intrusion that, despite being a GMI, the players really liked.

Quote from: Archangel Fascist;695258Monte Cook is a symbol of 3e, and he never embraced D&D's inbred second cousin (4e), so they hate anything to do with him.

Typical purple palace bullshit...*sigh*

Quote from: Talking_Muffin;6951471) You can buy a title for 3 xp, but what I'm curious about is if being a Aeon Priest in the Order of Truth or an Angulan Knight would "require" purchasing a title. Also, would it be too much for a player to spend 3 xp per rank in the Knights?

I generally agree with dbm: You spend points on a rank if you want to reap the game benefits from it. (If you don't have the XP to pay for that when you gain the rank, you can either run an XP deficit -- so that the next 3 XP you earn are dog-eared for paying off that rank -- or circumstances might dictate that the rank isn't useful at the moment: For example, you might be the "new guy" that nobody takes seriously yet.)

In terms of spending XP for every additional rank, it might make sense to look at what the mechanical meaning of that XP is. In general, spending 3 XP is somewhere between a trained skill and a local-use-only skill. And there is a reason why the game only lets you become specialized in a skill (instead of gaining a third or fourth rank in it).

A possible option: Becoming a "devotee" of the Knights doesn't cost anything and doesn't have any real mechanical effect. It's nice, but you haven't proven yourself yet. When you become a Knight Seeker, you spend 3 XP because now your reputation as a knight has some weight to it and you can throw it around a little bit. Then spend another 3 XP at Master Knight because that's when you've accumulated enough additional weight that new options and benefits open up.

Quote from: Talking_Muffin;6951472) Aside from letting you know how long a numenera's functioning lasts or how powerful it is, does it do/mean anything else? I was thinking it was the difficulty of figuring out what a piece of numenera does, but there's a mention of that being 1 or 2.

For cyphers, the level will occasionally determine power (as described in the cypher's description). It might also become relevant if the cypher is being specifically targeted (destroying a level 3 cypher, for example, would usually default to be a level 3 task).

Not that the level of an artifact DOES determine how difficult it is to identify.

What is a GM Intrusion?

Quote from: Bill;695800What is a GM Intrusion?

It's a bid system mechanic for XP rewards: http://www.montecookgames.com/experience-points-and-the-numenera-gm/

Quote from: Bill;695800What is a GM Intrusion?

The GM does a bad thing to your character and you and another player each get 1 XP.

Quote from: Archangel Fascist;695832The GM does a bad thing to your character and you and another player each get 1 XP.

I wouldn't characterise it as a bad thing; more something which makes life more complicated for your character. Whilst (if used well) making the game more interesting for you, the player.

But....bad things can also happen as a result of the characters interaction with the setting......

Quote from: Bill;695968But....bad things can also happen as a result of the characters interaction with the setting......

Of course. What's your point? (I mean this without snark)

Quote from: dbm;696066Of course. What's your point? (I mean this without snark)

Bad things just happen, and I see no need for an xp reward for that.