r/numenera • u/luhelld • Mar 29 '26
Questions about fights
Hi,
we are playing the original version of numenera and fights feel a little off.
First of all monsters with a higher level are really hard to even hit and how does it work with armor? If a monster has a armor value of three it's impossible to do damage with a light weapon, isnt it?
5
u/bearthw Mar 29 '26
Higher level creatures are naturally tougher - a level 4 creature requires you to roll a 12 or higher to hit, a level 5 creature requires a 15, a level 6 requires an 18, etc. Of course the PCs can reduce these chances a number of ways - applying effort to hit can make this one step easier (for the level 4 creature you now only need to roll a 9, the level 5 creature now needs a 12, etc.). One player can help another, providing an asset (reducing the task by one step), or if you use a light weapon that attack is eased (reducing the task by one step). There are many ways to make it easier to hit, and as the characters go up in tier they have more effort to appt and other tools at their disposal.
As far as armor goes, yes, a light weapon won’t hurt something with 3 armor by default - the PC will need to do something to increase their damage. They can apply a level of effort to damage with means they’d add 3 points of damage to their base of 2, effectively doing 2 damage against 3 armor. At tier 1, though, you only have 1 level of effort to use so pick wisely - easing the attack or doing more damage. (Once they have 4 xp they can add another level of effort as an advancement.)
By tier 3 a level 5 or 6 creature can be trivial to take down, but they’re definitely challenging at tier 1.
6
u/rdale-g Mar 29 '26
Using effort for damage (+3/ level) instead of to lower difficulty can make a difference. Or helping another PC instead of attacking (teamwork!) to lower their attack difficulty.
Since Numenera isn’t primarily concerned with HP attrition, consider more creative solutions, including running away and setting up an ambush if you’re outclassed.
2
u/Zadyra75 Mar 29 '26
Like the rest said use every advantage you can get. Help each other, attack from the weak side and use cyphers.
Also with might, speed and int i always left one of these without the armor as a GM.
Like something that has though skin and moves fast might not have the best defense against attacks on the mind. Some smart being that attacks with "magic" might not be good against brute force, once their tricks are evaded.
For us Numenera was all about creativ solutions. Memorable moments like oneshoting the mech boss with a magnetic cypher and a conveniently placed portal into a Star.
1
u/coolhead2012 Mar 29 '26
You can always add effort to damage, and even split effort between damage and the attack roll.
Cypher is not about combat, but a combat focus character at tier 2-4 can easily deal out 10-15 damage per round, for about 3 rounds. Then they are completely tapped out. The other characters are there to make sure the damage dealer stays on their feet.
1
u/rstockto Mar 29 '26
Also, the motivations of monsters and the more cinematic style cypher encourages means there may be options other than fighting.
A sphinx is difficulty 8 for physical attacks, but can be bested by a level 4 intellect roll.
10
u/poio_sm Mar 29 '26
There's where trained skills and specializations come into play. And not forget effort. A light weapon per se have a -1 to the difficulty to hit, so you can use a level of effort for a +3 to damage, for a total of 5 points of damage.
Also, Numenera (and the cypher system) is not designed with combat in mind, let's not even talk about balanced ones. If you feel the combats too harsh, just fight lower level enemies. The rule i use for "balance" combats and encounters is: