Numenera - The Octopi of the Ninth World(1).pdf

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THE OCTOPI OF THE
NINTH WORLD
BY MONTE COOK
A BRIEF LOOK AT
THE OCTOPUS
WHY OCTOPI?
Octopi in the Ninth
World, page 171
Credits
Writer/Designer
Monte Cook
Creative Director
Shanna Germain
Editor
Dennis Detwiller
Proofreader
Ray Vallese
Cover Artist
Jacob Atienza
Graphic Designer
Bear Weiter
Artists
Sam Cullum,
Dreamstime.com,
Guido Kuip, Michael
Phillippi, Kim Sokol,
Hugo Solis
Monte Cook Games
Editorial Board
Scott C. Bourgeois,
David Wilson Brown,
Eric Coates, Gareth
Hodges, Mila Irek,
Jeremy Land, Laura
Wilkinson, Marina
Wold, George Ziets
© 2016 Monte Cook
Games, LLC
Numenera
and its
logo are trademarks of
Monte Cook Games,
LLC in the U.S.A.
and other countries.
All Monte Cook
Games characters
and character names,
and the distinctive
likenesses thereof, are
trademarks of Monte
Cook Games, LLC.
The moment I knew I truly understood the
setting of the Ninth World (because it takes
a while for a creator to truly understand
their own creation—any creator who doesn’t
realize that probably hasn’t yet reached that
point) was when I wrote a simple bit of text
for the
Numenera
corebook. That text read:
Many believe that the octopi bear little
affection for humans. Hundreds of years
ago, when the first human encountered
them and was able to establish some kind of
communication (thanks to a numenera device),
the only response he got from the octopus was
an enigmatic, “Oh. You’re back.”
That was the moment everything gelled,
because right there, that little passage
answers one of the more common questions
asked of the setting: how could there still
be humans, in their recognizable form, in a
billion years? The answer: there couldn’t. The
humans of the Ninth World simply haven’t
occupied the Earth for that long. They’ve
been gone. Many—perhaps even all—of the
prior worlds were made up of nonhumans.
In a way, then, we learn that that common
question—how can humans still be here?—
isn’t even the right question to be asking. Are
the inhabitants of the Ninth World even the
same species as 21st-century humans? Did
humans evolve a second time? What’s going
on here? Time travel? Stasis? A really deep
space voyage made as a round trip? Those
are the real questions.
Secondly, we get a glimpse at the only
known species that has remained constant
during all that time. Here in the 21
st
century,
we know that octopi are already extremely
Throughout this book, you’ll see page
references to various items accompanied
by this symbol. These are page
references to the
Numenera
corebook,
where you can find additional details
about that item, place, creature, or
concept. It isn’t necessary to look up the
referenced items in the corebook, but
doing so will provide useful information
for character creation and gameplay.
old as a species. It’s not hard to believe
that they would be the one species left a
billion years from now. They’re intelligent,
adaptable, and resilient. It’s also easy to
imagine that as all sorts of strange things
happened on the surface, they stuck to the
ocean deeps and stayed out of harm’s way.
Of course, the octopi of the Ninth World
aren’t really the same as they are now. They
have indeed evolved and adapted in strange
ways. Although we know that today’s octopi
are tool users and builders, we see that in the
Ninth World they’ve built cities and crafted
technologies. What’s more, they’ve mastered
other species. Some have developed
telepathic abilities. They are, in many respects,
the true masters of all of the ocean, and that’s
the majority of the planet.
THE OCTOPI
AND THEIR WORLD
The entirety of the world, to (most) octopi,
is beneath the waves. The surface has little
or no importance to them. Most rarely think
2
THE OCTOPI OF THE NINTH WORLD
of it. A few of the curious or adventurous
might seek to explore the surface world, a
few of the ambitious or insane might want to
colonize it, but most just simply do not care.
Underwater, the octopi are omnipresent
and extremely powerful. Not because of
physical might, but because of intelligence
and organization. They’re smarter than
most sea creatures and their organization
is vast. They develop their own impressive
technologies. They manipulate creatures
to act against other creatures, playing one
off the other to get what they want in vast,
almost incomprehensible machinations.
Many marine creatures, intelligent and
not so intelligent, serve the octopuses.
Of course, many—particularly the less
intelligent ones—likely don’t even know
it. Creatures from fish to crustaceans to
cephalopods are herded and manipulated
by the octopodes into living their entire lives
where and how the octopuses wish it. With
time on their side, being essentially ageless
beings ruling over a billion-year (or possibly
longer) empire, they have likely engineered
entire species by influencing the tide of
evolution one way or another.
That does not mean, however, that
octopi associate with other creatures. On
the contrary, their manipulation and use of
other species means that all other creatures
are so far below them that none are worth
interacting with. They pay attention to
other creatures the way they might pay
attention to the currents or subtle changes in
temperature.
flourishes for a few million years, and then
either leaves or dies out. In that time, the
new creatures likely make quite a fuss—
consuming natural resources, changing the
environment, populating the land and the
sea, inflicting incredible destruction in wars
or raising up fantastic creations, and so
on—but to the octopi, even ten million years
is a short, temporary stint. Thus, octopuses
have little to share about the prior worlds,
even if they wanted to. To them, the worlds
are fleeting. They are simply not worth
noting. Some people believe that long ago,
octopuses were solitary, nonsocial creatures
that communicated through their skin’s
ability to shift colors. If true, that all ended
when octopi evolved telepathic powers.
They still have the means of communicating
subtly through changes in skin color and
texture, but they do so rarely. They’ve never
had a verbal language and their need to write
is quite limited. Even today, among the most
sophisticated octopuses, perhaps one in ten
can read and write.
The long view of time
that the octopi possess
is unprecedented, and
is very likely impossible
for a human to truly
comprehend.
OCTOPUS OUTLOOK
There are many varieties of octopuses, but
they share basic physical and personality
traits. Most believe that their form has not
changed drastically in the last billion and a
half years. Generally speaking, octopuses are
aloof to the point of xenophobia. They rarely
willingly mix with other intelligent species
(aquatic or otherwise). Interaction with
non-octopodes seems to be a futile waste of
time to most. It’s like talking to a stone, or—
perhaps more accurately—a spark from a fire
before it winks out.
Even among their own kind, octopi are not
the most social creatures. Each lives alone
in its own small space and enjoys solitude.
Procreation among octopi is discouraged
because they are essentially immortal, so
breeding risks overpopulation. Procreation is
also a dangerous time for octopi, for ancient
instincts encourage risky breeding behaviors
that can kill an individual (male or female)
that is not careful.
Only over hundreds of millions of
years did they learn that true success and
security needed at least a certain amount of
cooperation. And that required leadership—
and thus a queen.
The plural of octopus can
be octopi, octopuses, or
octopodes.
OCTOPUS HISTORY
No one knows the history of the octopi, and
they aren’t telling. What they do say is that
they have always been as sophisticated and
advanced as they are now. They have, in their
own minds, no origin tale.
Even though the scale and scope of time
involved makes it seem unlikely, the octopi
have watched the evolution of other species.
They have seen them come and go. They’ve
watched as new civilizations have risen and
fallen—reshaping the globe more than once
with their knowledge—and for the most part,
they’ve stayed well clear of all of them.
From their perspective, a new intelligent
race evolves or arrives from elsewhere,
3
Nilstones, page 6
The Queen of All Octopuses
is the sovereign ruler of
all octopuses. For more
details, see
Into the Deep,
page 46.
The Bay of Peyclin is a deep
and cold body of water that
is home to an intelligent and
aggressive species of octopus.
For more details, see the
Ninth World Guidebook,
page 194.
Octopus, page 12
Her Majesty, Queen of All
Octopuses:
as standard
octopus, except: level 10
in all regards; health 45;
Armor 5; telepathic powers
and level 10 nilstones grant
telekinesis at long range,
a mental blast (10 points
of Intellect damage that
ignores Armor) at long
range, and three or four
other abilities as needed
COMMUNICATION AND
ORGANIZATION
Using their telepathy, enhanced with
nilstones,
octopi can relay messages across
vast distances. This allows the
Queen of All
Octopuses
to be kept abreast of activities
happening literally on the other side of the
planet. She is, thus, not only aware but at
least in some ways involved in the actions of
the seemingly rogue “nation” of octopi in the
Bay of Peyclin.
And of course, there are many
such octopus nations and kingdoms beneath
the waves, seemingly independent to one
degree or another thanks to—if nothing
else—vast distances separating them, but in
truth all serve the queen.
It is odd to think of octopuses—being
the aloof and solitary creatures that they
are—as having any organization at all, let
alone one that allows them to exert influence
throughout all reaches of the undersea
world. Because of this, their organization
does not resemble anything in human
culture. An individual octopus may not see
or speak to another individual for hundreds
of years. It is a loose confederacy at best.
Still, all recognize the value of the queen
and her court, for the order and stability that
she provides makes life—in the long, long
view—better, easier, and safer for all octopi.
THE QUEEN’S COURT
The queen is aloof and arrogant in the
extreme. She rarely speaks with anyone
other than to give orders, but she
receives
vast amounts of information on a continual
basis from all over the world. Her intellect
is such that she can store and process all of
that information. Rumors suggest that her
brain is actually tied into an extradimensional
biomechanical device that does data storage
and processing. The Octopoidal Queen has
a palace off the coast of
Draolis,
in the deep
inlet called
Eldan Firth.
She travels extensively,
however, and has many other residences.
One such place is associated with the
Coral
Cathedral,
but that’s just one of many dozens
located all across the world. Few octopuses
know the locations of all of them.
In addition to the queen, there are five
octopuses of note worth detailing.
Crophus:
Crophus is as arrogant as the
queen herself, and keeps his own council
most of the time. He spends his days
observing and gathering information
regarding some of the other intelligent
underwater creatures, like the skeane and the
vroaordun. He would like to see octopodes
take a firmer hand in subjugating such
species, so that—for example—no octopus
was needed to serve as a guard or warrior.
He would, if he could, see slave races
perform such duties.
Draolis, page 148
Eldan Firth, page 171
The Coral Cathedral is the
underwater palace of the
Queen of All Octopuses.
For more details, see
Into
the Deep,
page 46.
Crophus:
as standard
octopus, except: Intellect-
based tasks as level 8, all
other tasks as level 6; health
35; Armor 3; telepathic
powers and level 8 nilstones
grant clairvoyance at an
almost unlimited range; and
two or three other abilities
as needed
CROPHUS
NIELM
4
THE OCTOPI OF THE NINTH WORLD
Nielm:
Scheming and sinister, Nielm would
secretly like to become queen herself one
day. She spends much of her time in the
queen’s palace in Eldan Firth, attempting to
garner secrets to use for herself. Still, she
is outwardly friendly to the queen, and a
useful advisor and informant. Of all current
members of the court, she is the one most
intrigued by the inhabitants of the surface
and their use of the numenera. More than all
others, she sees the strange but undeniable
parallels between octopodes and humans
in their ubiquity across and fragile mastery
of their respective environments. However,
she would not be nearly so generous as to
suggest that humans are as intelligent or
powerful as the octopi.
Yufrenics:
Incredibly intelligent, even by
the standards of his own kind, Yufrenics is
bizarre, and perhaps mad. He works with all
manner of technologies, and spends a great
deal of time exploring other dimensions. The
queen loves him and his insane creativity.
He is, in turn, entirely loyal to her. Yufrenics
himself provided the queen with her current
array of nilstones and any other devices she
might use. He has a vast network of deep
sea laboratories thousands of miles west of
the
Steadfast,
with resources and personnel
that would rival those of an entire surface
kingdom.
Erranamol:
For an octopus, Erranamol is
downright altruistic. While he fully supports
his kind’s manipulation of other species,
he argues that it should be done for mutual
benefit. Erranamol believes that the only way
to truly advance his kind is to advance and
aid others as well. An ecosystem that is safe
and fruitful helps all species, he would argue.
Most scoff at his long telepathic speeches on
the topic, but the queen apparently finds him
amusing.
Derrob:
Fiercely loyal to the queen, Derrob
is interested first and foremost in the
advancement of her kind. She focuses
much of her time and attention on octopus
warriors, their skills, and their weaponry.
She, and she alone on the court, would like
to see her kind develop a more cohesive
military. It is believed that she has strong ties
to the octopuses of Peyclin Bay.
Nielm:
as standard
octopus, except: stealth
and deception tasks as
level 8, all other tasks as
level 5; health 32; Armor
2; telepathic powers and
level 8 nilstones grant
clairvoyance, disguise, and
invisibility powers; and two
other abilities as needed
Erranamol:
as standard
octopus, except: Intellect-
based tasks as level 7, all
other tasks as level 5; health
32; telepathic powers and
level 7 nilstones grant Armor
3 and two or three other
abilities as needed
Derrob:
as standard
octopus, except: Intellect-
based tasks as level 7;
attacks, and all defense,
in all other tasks as level
6; health 40; telepathic
powers and level 8
nilstones grant a forceblast
(9 points of damage),
Armor 4, and two or three
other (probably combat-
related) abilities as needed
Yufrenics:
as standard
octopus, except: Intellect-
based tasks as level 10,
all other tasks as level
7; health 30; telepathic
powers and level 8
nilstones grant Armor 4,
and at least three or four
other abilities as needed
OCTOPUS TECHNOLOGY
People who encounter octopuses usually
believe that they have inexplicable, mystical
powers. Even those learned in the ways of
the numenera note that octopuses do not
usually wield recognizable devices of any
kind. This is because octopus technology
takes two forms, and neither presents itself
as obvious devices using electricity with
buttons or screens.
Steadfast, page 136
DERROB
YUFRENICS
ERRANAMOL
5

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