An active valma appears as a glowing purple tetrahedron, pyramid shaped, floating point down. Intricate designs writhe across the faces, stitched in various hues of lavender light. A valma ranges from 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m) on a face. Other than their purplish glow and scrolling designs, they have no discernible features; however, when they vocalize, the light intensity pulses with each syllable.
Valmas have a reputation as crazed automatons of a previous age, better left alone. When first encountered, a valma runs through hundreds of languages until it finds one that everyone knows. Then it offers to tell stories, play games, keep confidences, and serve as the discoverer’s very best friend. If quickly and utterly ignored, a valma slowly settles back to the ground, banking its glow until it’s hardly noticeable. However, at the first hint of interaction, the valma pops back into the air with renewed enthusiasm and might follow its discoverer around for a time, pestering him with requests for more communication.
If crossed, insulted, or ignored after being engaged, a valma can turn vicious. Motive: Unpredictable
Environment: A lone valma is usually encountered in an area rich in the numenera or as part of a collection of a wealthy merchant or lord who gathers oddities.
Health: 12
Damage Inflicted: 4 points Armor: 3
Movement: Short when flying
Modifications: Knowledge of history as level 6; Speed defense as level 5 due to size.
Combat: A valma can direct an electrical discharge at any creature within short range. If a valma is touched or struck by a melee weapon, the attacker receives the same electrical jolt through conduction.
Interaction: After establishing
communication in a language a PC knows, the valma tries to ingratiate itself with the character with ever-mounting enthusiasm. A valma knows many things about ancient locations (and perhaps
“secrets” of the Ninth World as well) and loves playing word games. Over time, it becomes clear that a valma never grows tired of verbal interaction. If a PC breaks off an exchange with a valma, he must carefully soothe the creature’s “hurt feelings” or be attacked. Use: The PCs are sold, or given in trade, an “artifact” that is
advertised to be an oracle, a fount of information, and a boon companion.
People speculate that valmas were created in a previous world as translation devices, or maybe toys, that somehow became sentient. Of course, it’s possible that they were created to be what they actually are: psychological torture devices.
GM Intrusion: A
character’s relationship with the valma verges on going sour, but it can be saved if the PC succeeds on an Intellect defense roll to calm the creature. On a failed roll, the valma electrifies the air, dealing 4 points of damage in an immediate radius.
CREATURES: VALMA - VAPE
VAPE
2 (6)
“Vapes are nothing more than art with delusions of life—well, that and very sharp.”
~Gadarsen the One-Armed
A vape has no width. When it hunts its prey head on, it appears as nothing more than a thread-thin black line stretching up from the ground to shoulder height. Only when it turns, or if it’s seen from the side, is the vape revealed as a massive, furred canid, long muzzled and sharp toothed, with piercing eyes. The claws and fangs appear formidable, but the vape’s entire body is a molecule-thin blade. A vape is also referred to as a “bladehound.”
Motive: Hungers for blood
Environment: Almost anywhere, hunting alone or in packs of up to six Health: 10
Damage Inflicted: 3 points Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 4; stealth as level 6.
Combat: A vape’s body, sharper than a scalpel by a few orders of magnitude, ignores Armor.
A vape can cut through water, snow, mud, and other terrain features that would slow or hinder normal creatures without any penalties to its movement.
A victim of a vape’s attack bleeds at a rate of 2 points of damage each round. He can suppress the bleeding by spending an action
applying pressure and not moving. The bleeding stops permanently once the victim heals 4 or more points of damage with a single recovery roll or other healing method, or if he is completely healed of all damage.
Interaction: Vapes have the intelligence of cunning animal predators. They communicate with each other using howls that cut the night air. When heard from afar, these howls are usually the only interaction that PCs have with vapes that isn’t violent.
Use: Vape packs prefer to hunt in environments that naturally slow or even trap other animals and travelers, such as swamplands or mudflats. They
GM Intrusion: The
character’s weapon (or armor) is sliced into two separate pieces, rendering it useless.
SIZE COMPARISON
VARADIMOS
7 (21)
Most people who encounter a varadimos never realize that it was a creature. A swirling mass of energy and particulate matter swoops by, and they just think it’s a peculiar weather phenomenon or a trick of the light. But that swirl of light and glistening particles is an intelligent (albeit extremely alien) being with command over matter and energy. Likely hailing from a distant world, the creature’s presence and purpose here is a mystery. No one understands its motives, origin, culture (if any), or nature.
A varadimos can control matter and energy, which makes it extremely dangerous but also potentially extraordinarily helpful.
Motive: Inexplicable Environment: Anywhere Health: 21
Damage Inflicted: 7 points Movement: Long
Modifications: Defends as level 9
Combat: The varadimos is insubstantial. It can’t be affected by anything unless the attack is
pandimensional. The creature can pass through solid matter without hindrance, but solid energy barriers, such as force fields, keep it at bay.
Its intangibility does not keep the varadimos from affecting the world around it. It can alter matter on a molecular level, damaging creatures or objects within long range simply by thinking about reshaping or discorporating them.
A varadimos can cure any disease, counteract any poison, restore up to 15 points to an individual’s stat Pools, regenerate lost body parts, and repair other major wounds. It can repair broken items (even sophisticated numenera), recharge expended artifacts, or create any simple item (with no moving parts) from thin air. Those in the know seek these creatures out and implore them for aid, though getting it is not easy.
Interaction: This energy creature is incredibly intelligent and can speak the Truth. A varadimos makes demands of anyone who attempts to communicate with it. To a human, the demands seem arbitrary and nonsensical and might include such things as:
Bring me to a pregnant human.
Tell me the location of the nearest bit of truth. Fetch me a cupful of seawater.
Tell me your oldest secret. Go help a person in real need.
Bring me a piece of synth touched by the Iron Wind.
Bring me to a dreaming human.
The reasons for these demands are never clear, and complying only gives one the opportunity to interact with the varadimos—it does not guarantee action on the creature’s part. Negotiating requires explaining one’s
motives and actions in detail. Before it will heal a creature, a varadimos wants to know how it got hurt, why, what its future plans are, and possibly more. Only then can a character try to convince it to help (which requires a roll—nothing is guaranteed with a varadimos). Plenty of
details, interesting storytelling techniques, frankness, humor, or other tactics might improve one’s chances.
Use: A varadimos is not meant to be a combat encounter. Rather, the PCs might seek it out to ask for A varadimos has vast and
versatile powers. The GM should be generous in interpreting the extent of those powers.
GM Intrusion: The
varadimos transforms one of the PCs’ belongings into an entirely different object, with perhaps other, unknown capabilities. SIZE COMPARISON
CREATURES: VARADIMOS - WARDER
WARDER
4 (12)
An angular quadruped of dull metal, a warder gives the impression of being nothing more than a not- particularly-impressive automaton—until it moves. Then it takes on a springy, predatory, and lifelike demeanor. Though expressionless, its convincingly articulated metallic head and tail communicate a watchful menace when regarding a creature that might prove to be a threat to its ward.
Motive: Protect ward
Environment: Single warders can be found anywhere, perhaps deactivated amid a larger collection of numenera (until disturbed), as a stray that has lost its previous ward, or as the protector of an NPC or creature.
Health: 15
Damage Inflicted: 4 points Armor: 2
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 6
Combat: A warder can slash its foe with the blade on its telescoping tail, which can extend up to short range as part of an attack.
Instead of slashing with its tail, a warder can attempt to disarm a foe holding a weapon or other object by grabbing the item in its jaws with a successful attack. The warder does not give up the object unless commanded to do so by its ward or until the combat is over.
Interaction: Primarily, a warder shows protection to its ward and tolerance to the ward’s allies. On the other hand, the creature will attack anything that threatens its ward or the ward’s territory. Though emotionless, its bond with the ward is strong. A warder will overcome many setbacks to find a ward that has been separated from it.
A PC can attempt to bond with a warder that has no ward. To do so, the character must subdue the warder in combat without killing it or find a way to activate the creature’s bonding mechanism. Use: In a nearby community, a warder maintains a bond with its deceased ward, keeping watch over
her grave years after she passed away. The warder ranges about the cemetery and community by day, threatening those who draw near (apparently believing that doing so protects the ward). In the evening, it returns to the grave, lies down on top of it, and keeps watch all night long. If the warder could be shown that its ward is deceased, that might overcome whatever internal glitch keeps it near the grave—or maybe the warder knows something the community does not.
Loot: The inner workings of a warder can provide 1d6 shins and 1d6 cyphers to someone trained in scavenging them.
SIZE COMPARISON
Wards with knowledge of numenera, repairing, or a similar ability have been known to change the slashing blade on the warder’s tail with other weapons, such as a mace, spikes, or a minor artifact that spits strange energy on contact.
GM Intrusion: Instead of
grabbing the character’s weapon in its jaws, the warder clamps down on the PC’s forearm, inflicting 4 points of damage every round until he succeeds on a difficulty 5 Might roll. While so gripped, the PC’s Speed defense rolls are modified by two steps to his detriment.