Oddities

Oddities are things that are interesting but have no real game value - they don’t help in combat, don’t give you amazing powers, don’t protect you. Not everything the ancients created was a combat device. In Numenera these things are called oddities and they serve a number of purposes.

First, they’re just there for verisimilitude. Not everything is suited for an adventurer. Second, they’re there to be interesting. Weird little things that can be sold or used for barter or gifts. They’re the 100 gp gems of Numenera. Third, and perhaps most importantly, they add more mystery and feelings of the unknown to the game. Because oddities are really odd.

Examples of oddities

 * A glass plate that shows an aerial view of a city that no one’s ever seen.
 * A egg-shaped metallic bauble that occasionally spins and speaks in a language no one knows.
 * An aerosol can that sprays sparkling paint that hangs in the air.
 * A device that emits a projection of a human face that changes expression depending on what direction it is facing.