Going Into the Night - Kickstarting More Numenera

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Into the Kickstarter

As of this blog post's publishing, there are precious few hours left in Monte Cook Games' latest Numenera Kickstarter:

Numenera: Into the Ninth World

At Gen Con 2015, my wife and I were both in attendance for the MCG Seminar, and we got to watch the launch trailer for new series of Numenera campaign setting expansion books live with an entire audience around us.  It was a thrilling experience to be right there with all our fellow fans on day one!  

Numenera: Into the Ninth World promises three new setting expansions for your adventures in the Ninth World.. and now beyond the Beyond!

• Into the Night:  Numenera adventures in space!
• Into the Deep:  Numenera adventures under the waters of the Ninth World!
• Into the Outside:  Numenera adventures in other dimensions!

Look, I'm not going to give you the entire run down of each of these setting books.  They all look very intriguing, and I can't wait to get my hands on each and every one.  If you want to learn more about these new books, I urge you to go right to the Kickstarter page and find out directly from Monte, Shanna, Bruce and the rest of the MCG gang.  

This post is actually about the insane value you get in a Monte Cook Games Kickstarter, and why you really need to consider jumping in on this one.  There's a reason so many people  lament on social media several months after MCG wraps up funding… they realize that they missed out on an incredible deal.  

When I was helping out at the MCG booth at Gen Con I watched quite a few people come by and pick up the Numenera Boxed Set.  You remember this campaign right?  Last December you could jump in on the Reliquary level of the Numenera Boxed Set for $120.  At Gen Con the cost was around $200, and I don't even think the box is for sale anymore, since it was a limited run.  

Don't be left out if you can help it. You're probably going to want these books anyway, right? Why not get them at a discount!?

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Come Join the Numenera of the Month Club

Look, I'll admit it:  I'm a Cypher System Fanboy.  I got hooked on Numenera two years ago, right after the core book hit Amazon.com.  I devoured that book in less than a week, reading cover to cover.  After hearing from other gamers about all of the awesome extra swag they got from that legendary first Kickstarter, I was pretty bummed out that I came late to the party. I didn't make the same mistake for The Strange.  

I've had a great time backing these exciting products ever since.  In a way, taking part in a Monte Cook Games Kickstarter feels like signing up for a really, really awesome subscription… of greatness.  Every couple months something new shows up at my door; something delightfully provocative that's going to be great to play at the table.  

Being an MCG Kickstarter Backer is like joining a "_______ of the Month Club."  But instead of cheese or jelly, you get cyphers, bestiaries, and foci!  

Gonna Love All Those Books

So another Kickstarter, and as I've hinted another great value.  For any of you on the fence, I thought I'd share exactly how I'm backing this project, and what I expect to get back in return.

It took me only a couple of hours to jump onboard for Into the Ninth World and I made sure to back at the Lover of All Books level.  Looks like I'm not alone at this level, as over a third of the backers are with me.  This backer level promised the following on Day One:

"You get the All the Ebooks package and the All the Print Books package (every book title funded by this campaign, plus the Artifact Deck, in print and PDF format)…"

Since I'm already a veteran of the MCG Kickstarters, I knew this was only the beginning.  The folks over at MCG do a great job ensuring that stretch goals directly benefit the backers, upgrading proposed products, while adding new titles.  This is one of the reasons that I'm sharing this post… I'm greedy!  

If we get more backers to join in, we get more swag-value from MCG!  

Here's What I'm Getting for my $150 as of right now:

• Into the Night:  A 160 page hardcover that is effectively "Numenera in Space".  I'll get the print book and the PDF as well as a printed 2-sided poster map (and PDF), and an additional glimmer-sized supplement.  Typically glimmers are 6-8 pages.
• Into the Deep:  160 pages "Under the Sea", probably with less Little Mermaid and more octopi.  Again, I'll get the print book, PDF, poster map, poster PDF, and a glimmer supplement.
• Into the Outside:  160 more pages, but this one covers extra dimensional jaunting.  Hardcover, PDF, poster map, map PDF, and another glimmer.  
• Character Options 2:  More Numenera Character Options?  Yes please!  And I'll happily take that 96 page softcover in print and PDF!
• The Poison Eater:  Shanna Germain's Numenera Novel!  This will show up on my door as a deluxe hardcover and on my iPad as an ebook.
• Map Book:  All those beautiful maps from the three new setting books in one single printed book, along with a PDF.  
• Artifact Deck:  100 cards with new artifacts, printed and in PDF.
• Instant Adventure:  An adventure in PDF format for getting players up to speed in Numenera.  
• Creature Deck Expansion:  I already have a Creature Deck for Numenera, but this one is supposed to bolster my current collection with 30 more cards.
• Cypher Deck Expansion:  Like the Creature Deck Expansion, but with Cyphers!
• Music Track:  A 10 minute loop of background music for my tabletop gaming.
• $5 MCG Store Credit:  A ticket to more swag.
• Digital Wallpapers:  E-Swag.
• Character Portfolio PDF:  An upgraded character record sheet
• All the Supplements in Print:  So those three glimmers I mentioned earlier?  Yeah, they will be printed!  
• Short Fiction:  PDF and ebook of new short stories by the MCG team.  

This is just what's out there as of right now (10:30pm on Sunday September 6th), so who knows what else we'll hit.  I see a Numenera Bestiary 2 on the horizon!  

Let's do a tally.  $150 for everything I just mentioned.  Using some of the previous MCG products for scale, each of the hardcovers has a $40 value.  More character options is another $25.  So we're already at $145 before I start counting all the PDF's, decks, the novel, and everything else.  

Just a rough guess, and I'd say total value on Lover of All Books is around $270.

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Spread the Word!

So that's my pitch.  As I mentioned, this is sort of self-serving… more backers equals more stretch goals reached, unlocking more stuff for James.  

If you'd like to hear more from Monte Cook Games, follow this link to their Kickstarter.

If you are already on board, make sure you spread the word!  MCG is unlocking stuff based on shares, followers, retweets, and even pics from your gaming table!  

Iadace