Recently, over on the Numenera subreddit, I asked for suggestions of adventures from other systems that folks thought would adapt well to Numenera. One of the recommendations was for an adventure called The Monolith from Beyond Space and Time from the game Lamentations of the Flame Princess. As the name implies, this adventure setting is very much an H.P. Lovecraft inspired setting, and groups that have been leveraging material from In Strange Aeons will likely find a lot to bring in here.
Purchase ‘The Monolith from Beyond Space and Time’ at DTRPG
This adventure is much more about the setting, and exploring and experiencing it, than the journey to it – one reason why it adapts so well to this game. Gamemasters should feel encouraged to wrap as much or as little buildup around the story hook as they desire. There are countless ways the players can get hooked into taking on the hunt for the monolith, and any of the standard travel dangers exist on the way. The journey to the valley is a good opportunity to slowly build up on the weird aspect of what’s to come, as the monolith and the space around it are slowly corrupting everything that comes into contact with it. And as mentioned, gamemasters who are working content from In Strange Aeons into their game should find ample opportunities to introduce elements from it into this adventure.
What follows are a list of changes, modifications, and notes that I feel can be applied to The Monolith from Beyond Space and Time that will make it playable in the Numenera universe. These are all just suggestions, and I would encourage folks to fly fast and loose with any of these suggestions as it makes sense for their group and game play style. If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment for the other readers (and I’ll try to update this post with the best suggestions as well).
Oh, and one more word of warning. The valley of the Monolith can be nasty. Like, player characters are extremely likely – and probably expected – to come out of this scarred for life. Assuming they survive. Because some of the scenarios are designed pretty much to kill players, either immediately, or over time. So if that isn’t your group’s cup of tea, be sure to read everything in advance and change some of the encounters as needed to make it a little less sadistic. To wit:
If a time paradox does occur with the fish, the campaign world and all connected universes fold in on themselves ending everything. Not only is this game over, but the Referee in question can never run an RPG session again, with any system, because all their possibilities have been canceled.The Monolith from Beyond Time and Space, page 21
I know, right?
Generic Notes
- Mentions of the “Referee” refer to the gamemaster.
- References to other fantasy races, such as dwarves or elves, should appropriately correspond to Ninth World races, such as Visitants, Varjellen, or Lattimor, for instance.
- References to “magic” should be changed to refer to numenera effects or esoteries as appropriate for the scenario.
- References to “spellcasters” should usually imply nanos.
- References to a day or 24 hours will mean a normal 28 hour day.
- Various saving throws should be adapted to appropriate pool defense checks.
Specific Notes
Page 6
A few possibilities for placing Monolith in your campaign include:
- Near the edge or in a clearing of one of the expansive forests
- As a challenge deep within the Black Riage
- An order of monks has hired the players to investigate the appearance of the Monolith near their clave
- The player characters are hearing rumors of a numenera scavenging expedition that went off in the direction of a nearby valley and never returned
- The group has recently been encountering a string of individuals and creatures that have been twisted and changed, talking to themselves and speaking of horrible encounters that defy any rational existence
Page 7
For figuring out the effects of the monolith, we’ll need some extra dice on hand (basically, it’ll be handy to have a set of normal assorted roleplaying dice). To decode tables 1 and 2, whenever someone enters the valley more than about ten minutes apart (GM discretion), have them roll 1d10 to determine the number you’ll be trying for. Example: on an 8, you’ll proceed to then roll 2d100. Let’s say your roll a 47 and 23, for a total of 70. Then roll 1d8 for the units. Let’s say you get a 4. The result is that once you enter the valley, it appears from the inside to be 70 kilometers across. I thought that was a little confusing the way it was originally presented, so hopefully this helps.
Page 8
Displacement
“…they will lose one point from a random stat each day that they are away from their home reality.” becomes…
“…they will lose one point from a random pool that cannot be recovered for each hour that they are away from their home reality.”
Life Slows
“Missile weapons gain a four point armor penetration (meaning that four points of armor is ignored) and Dexterity modifiers to AC against missile attacks are ignored due to this effect.” becomes…
“Missile weapons ignore four points of armor and any speed defense bonuses are ignored due to this effect. The difficulty of speed defense checks is also increased by 4.”
Magical Numenera Sentience
The first two paragraphs should be replaced with: “Because numenera draws from power and technology of ancient worlds, the presence of the Monolith interacts with cyphers and artifacts and gives them a power that they did not have before: Sentience. Any characters’ carried numenera when they enter the valley, whether active or not, becomes self-aware. When the device is used, it becomes a creature with a level equal to its current level minus 1 (minimum 1).”
Page 9
Mutation
To determine the mutation a player gets, roll 1d10
| 1-5 | Roll for a distinctive mutation |
| 6-7 | Roll for a harmful mutation |
| 8-9 | Roll for a benefitial mutation |
| 10 | Roll for a powerful mutation |
Page 11
Time Moves Forward
To determine the amount of time that has passed, roll 1d20
| 1-6 | 2 days |
| 7-10 | 1 week |
| 11-14 | 1 month |
| 15-17 | 1d10 months |
| 18-19 | 1 year |
| 20 | 1 century |
Page 12
Weather out of Time:
“…and lose 1d4 Hit Points per day due to exposure” becomes…
“…and lose 1d4 Might followed by Speed points per day and cannot use recovery tests”
Page 13
Wish Fulfillment:
“make a saving throw versus Magic or suffer a –1 permanent Wisdom loss for each failed save.” becomes…
“make a successful Intellect (4) check or suffer a -1 permanent Intellect pool* loss for each failed check.”
* If you want to be especially mean, you could make the loss target a player’s edge, instead.
Locations and Encounters in the Valley
When players explore or discover a location in the valley, GMs should use their discretion as to whether or not it constitutes a “discovery.” Not necessarily every location needs to reward XP. I’d suggest it for The Owls’ Service, The Plateau, and The Pool.
While still in the valley, GMs should feel empowered to insert opportunities for players to find numenera prior to entering t he Monolith (finding any within the Monolith should be virtually impossible due to the utterly alien environment). Many individuals and explorers have entered the valley and never returned – they might have had any number of cyphers, oddities, or artifacts on them when they were lost. This is especially true at The Pool, where some may have never left.
The Owls’ Service:
“…especially by dwarves or other stone-friendly sorts” becomes…
“…especially by Jacks or those who Live in the Wilderness“
“…possible after mighty spells (likely three or more spells in tandem or series)” becomes…
“…possible after using powerful numenera (like a singularity detonation cypher or several smaller devices in tandem or series)”
Page 14
The Owls’ Service
“Slicing through the plants slowly drains HP through sheer exhaustion: 1 point per hour, or whatever is necessary to deliver the message.” becomes…
“Slicing through the plants slowly drains pools through sheer exhaustion – first Might, then Speed: 1 point for every five feet traveled.”
Page 15
The Owls’ Service
All the stuff about filling up the “top spell slots” should change to refer to the highest available tier skill of the PC. This means they will lose the benefit of that power. If the players continue to go up in tiers after the effect of the Owl’s Service has begun, the next time the effect happens, it will start by taking over whatever is now the highest tier ability. Initially, the player should feel like something is wrong with whatever their tier ability is, but not know what it is. When they do something to activate the power, this triggers the owl hallucination. If the tier ability is passive, the GM should use their discretion to force the hallucination on them in a scenario where the ability would factor in.
Page 16
The Pool
“…and subsequently takes damage must make a saving throw versus Poison.” becomes…
“…and subsequently takes damage must make a successful Might (4) check.”
“…all movement is at half speed and there is a –2 penalty to all to-hit and skill rolls” becomes…
“…all movement is at half speed and the difficulty of all combat and skill rolls is increased by one.”
Page 17
Shadows of the Past and Future
“Cavanaugh is a 2nd level Fighter, George a 1st level Fighter, Tomson a 0 level man” becomes…
“Cavanough is a 2nd tier Glaive, George is a 1st tier Glaive, and Tomson is an ordinary person”
Page 18
Terror from the Deep
Giant Anglerfish (6)
- Motive:
- Food
- Environment:
- Deep ocean
- Health:
- 20
- Damage Inflicted:
- 6 points
- Armor:
- 2
- Movement:
- Short
- Modifications:
- Speed defense as level 4 due to size and environment.
- Combat:
- The giant anglerfish will try to tempt prey and players to approach the brook near the portal that was created by the monolith, enabling it to get a surprise attack. Once engaged, it will lunge and try to bite its target with it’s long, razor sharp teeth. The teeth will ignore up to three points of armor.
- Interaction:
- It’s not possible to communicate with a giant anglerfish.
- Use:
- The giant anglerfish presents as a unique encounter outside of its normal territory in the Monolith from Beyond Space and Time adventure. Otherwise, it’s likely to be found and encountered in the deep sea, where it is extremely territorial and has a voracious appetite.
“The eyeball emanates a power which causes everyone within 30′ to be paralyzed; make a saving throw each round to act.” becomes…
“The eyeball emanates a power which causes everyone within 30′ to be paralyzed; make an Intellect (3) check each round to act.”
“…it will pull that character to it in 2 rounds, and then submerge on the third round to feed.” becomes…
“…it will pull that character to it in 2 rounds, and then submerge on the third round to feed unless the player makes a successful Might (6) check.”
“…must save versus Breath Weapon or take 1d4 damage from being blasted with fish guts and deep sea worms. Anyone who gets covered in the worms must save versus Poison to avoid ingesting them.” becomes…
“…must make a Speed Defense (4) check or take 1d6 damage from being blasted with fish guts and deep sea worms. Anyone who gets covered in the worms must make a Might (5) check to avoid ingesting them.”
Page 20
Terror from the Deep
“…save versus Poison or be blinded for 1d3 turns” becomes…
“…make a Might (3) check or be blinded for 1d3 turns.”
“Everyone within 10′ must make a save versus Paralyzation or be blinded for 1d6 rounds.” becomes…
“Everyone within 10′ must make a Speed (3) check or be blinded for 1d6 rounds.”
“…anywhere but in the hands or the character lose 1 Hit Point per hour.” becomes…
“…anywhere but in the hands or the character lose 1 Might Point per hour.”
“Save versus Poison or take 1d4 damage for each point healed.” becomes…
“Pass a Might (3) check or take 1d4 damage for each point healed.”
“Strength and Dexterity modifiers are reduced by 3 each for 24 hours.” becomes…
“Might and Speed edge are reduced to zero for 28 hours.”
“…fifty cumulative points of damage, or a Dispel Magic or Remove Curse is cast on the character” becomes…
“…fifty cumulative points of damage, or a level 4+ catholicon, chemical factory, or similar device is used on the character”
Page 21
Timelines
Use the following list for the duplicate group:
- The highest score from the group for each particular stat (Might, Speed, and Intellect) and pool.
- The highest edge for each stat in the group.
- All the same esoteries for each player in the party.
- Each duplicate has access to all the highest tier skills or powers from the players with the same character type in the group (e.g. in a group with a tier 4 and tier 5 nanos, both duplicates would have everything up to tier 5).
- The highest level in each skill (trained or specialized) found within the party.
- All of the combined memories of the party (with some details being slightly changed, such as “duplicate parents becoming aunts or uncles).
- Exact copies of every piece of equipment carried by the party. If the PC tries to take a duplicate item, the original is vaporized as soon as they touch the duplicate. PCs cannot gain XP for taking duplicate artifacts from their duplicate selves.
Page 23
Seeing the Monolith
“…effects of seeing the Monolith are taking d4 points of damage (damage from the war) and gaining one level of experience” becomes…
“…effects of seeing the Monolith are taking 3 points of Intellect damage (damage from the war) and gaining one XP”
“Magic-using characters are still able to cast spells and magical items can still be used.” becomes…
“Characters can still use esoteries and other focus related skills, and use numenera like normal.”
Ignore the paragraph about magical resistances.
Page 25
The Guardian
Treat the Guardian as a level 7 creature for purposes of dodging and dealing damage. Ignore the sections about the spell Anti-Magic Shell. The only way to stop or freeze the Guardian would be through some creative use of numenera that is capable of extra-dimensional effects.
Page 26
The World Inside the Monolith
“All spell effects expire” becomes…
“All active esotery or focus abilities, as well as active numenera devices expire”
Page 27
Characters Inside the Monolith
Ignore the paragraph about Clerics and their spells.
“Magic-Users cast spells as if they were three times their actual level, and their spells are not expended when they are cast.” becomes…
“Cost of using esoteries is cut in half (rounded up), and quantitative effects such as range, damage, capacity, etc are doubled.”
Page 28
Inhabitants Within the Monolith
Instead of the 2d20 roll recommended, simply treat the creatures as level 3.
Page 29
Locations Inside the Monolith
Discovery of any of the named locations (except The Exit) from the adventure should likely award the characters with 1XP.
Page 30
Control Room
Use the following list for the suggestion of possible benefits granted to the next character (supplementing them with any of your own making):
- The new character begins play with 1d10 x 2 more XP (this XP must be spent on character creation and cannot be saved for other immediate, short, or medium term effects like rerolls, negating GM Intrusions, or temporary skill bumps)
- The character begins with 0 XP, but only needs to buy three of the four usual steps to advance to the next tier. The steps purchased can be different from tier to tier (do not inform the player of this until
after a class has been chosen). - After the new character’s starting pools have been generated and finalized, the player may choose to apply any descriptor pool bonuses to one additional pool of their choice.
- Any time the character earns a bonus to their Might pool, the bonus is increased by +1.
- All defense checks are naturally one step easier for the character, before applying any skills or effort.
- The character doesn’t have to make depletion rolls on artifacts the first time they use them.
- The new character heals faster than normal, boosting all recovery checks by an additional 1d6.
“A reaction roll must be made when coming into contact with the inhabitants. If the reaction is neutral, the character is still alien to the creature and will be ignored. If positive, the Monolith creature will be very friendly and be happy to discuss much about the Monolith, however the character must make a saving throw versus Magic or take 1d4 points of damage as the conversation rends his psyche. If the reaction roll is negative,the creature is hostile and will attack.” becomes…
“An Intellect (5) check must be made when coming into contact with the inhabitants. If the check succeeds, the character is still alien to the creature and will be ignored. If the check fails,the creature is hostile and will attack. If the character spends effort and succeeds, the Monolith creature will be very friendly and be happy to discuss much about the Monolith, however the character must make an Intellect Defense (4) check or take 1d4 points of damage as the conversation rends his psyche.”
“The disembodied character is assumed to use his Charisma score as Hit Dice, with attacks doing 1d4+Intelligence modifier damage when in combat with Monolith inhabitants.” becomes…
“The disembodied character is assumed to use his Intellect pool for putting effort into attacks, with attacks doing damage psychically equal to 1d4 plus the character’s tier when in combat with Monolith inhabitants.”
As with the note for page 28, treat the Monolith inhabitants as simple level 3 creatures.
Page 32
Control Room
“If nobody else is in the character’s mind, the character must make a saving throw versus Magic to re-enter. Failure does not prevent re-entry, but it does drain d100 experience points for every point the save was failed by on the roll.” becomes…
“If nobody else is in the character’s mind, the character must make a successful Intellect (6) check to re-enter. Failure does not prevent re-entry, but it does drain 2 points from the player’s pools (their choice) for every point the check failed by, along with 1 unspent XP if they have any. If the player has no available XP, it drains an additional point from the players pools.”
Use the following for the rules to psychic combat:
- Each side rolls 1d20, plus tier, plus Intellect edge (effort may be applied, adding +3 to the result for each level added).
- The loser of this roll loses 1d6 points from their Intellect pool, and the pool maximum is temporarily reduced to the new value (as a result, keep track of this psychic damage separately – see the note about healing below). On a tie, both sides lose points.
- When the Intellect Pool falls below 3, the mental avatar vanishes and the character falls unconscious. If the Intellect Pool falls to 0 or below the character dies.
- If multiple characters are involved, then each duels individually (for example, in a two-on-one situation, the outnumbered character gets to roll against each of his opponents).
- The character’s Intellect pool will regenerate at the rate of 1 point every 28 hours, until it is restored to the original maximum. Until then, any recovery tests can only restore the Intellect pool up to the current limit of the maximum (recovery of the pool’s maximum value will not be accelerated by any means).
- Numenera cannot be used, as the battle is taking place inside the brain.
Instead of the information about tracking the avatar’s Charisma, treat the guardian as a simple level 7 as with the note from page 25.
“Mind-affecting magics such as Charm Person…” becomes…
“Any mind-affecting esoteries, abilities, or numenera…”
“The character whose head is being inhabited loses d100 × character level experience points, and these points are gained by the one holding the metal object. That character must make a saving throw versus Breath Weapon or suffer d6 × character level points of damage from the psychic feedback.” becomes…
“The character whose head is being inhabited loses unspent XP equal to their tier (or all of them, if they have less than their tier), and these points are gained by the one holding the metal object. That character must make a Intellect Defense (4) check or suffer 1d10 points of damage from the psychic feedback.”
Page 33
Control Room
“The victim must make a saving throw versus Paralyzation or lose one point from a random ability score (permanently!), with the drinker receiving one hundred experience points per level of the victim.” becomes…
“The victim must make a Might Defense (5) check or lose one point from a random pool (permanently!), with the drinker receiving XP equal to 1/2 the victim’s tier rounded down.”
“Of course a character can just start randomly vandalizing the brain matter around him; this does 1hp damage to the targeted character per round.” becomes…
“Of course a character can just start randomly vandalizing the brain matter around him; this does 2 points of any combination of Might and/or Speed damage to the targeted character per round.”
“If a character dies (bodily or mentally)…” becomes…
“If a character dies (bodily when Might and Speed pools reach zero, or mentally when the Intellect Pool reaches zero)…”
“Whoever is inside the brain (including the character who owns the body) must make a saving throw versus Paralyzation (Charisma modifiers apply) or die as well.” becomes…
“Whoever is inside the brain (including the character who owns the body) must make a Might Defense (6) check or die as well. If they succeed, they will be forced into the nearest player or inhabitant’s brain, confronted with the guardian thereof, if applicable.”
As with the note for page 28, treat the Monolith inhabitants guardian avatars as simple level 3 creatures.
The Exit
“If someone is foolish enough to cast Dispel Magic, Dispel Evil, Anti-Magic Shell, or any similar spells on the door from the inside…” becomes…
“If someone is foolish enough to use a singularity device, or other power or piece of numenera that would effectively separate and/or isolate the door from the rest of the interior while they are inside…”
Page 36
Healing Room
Use the following for the list of what happens when someone is forced awake (no change indicates to use the result as it appears in the adventure):
| 1 | System Shock: All the player’s stat pools lose 10 points. |
| 2 | no change |
| 3 | no change |
| 4 | no change |
| 5 | I Didn’t Study!: The character loses a tier and all abilities related to it. Any progress towards the next tier is instead applied towards reattaining the one that has been lost. |
| 6 | no change |
| 7 | no change |
| 8 | Falling!: It is common knowledge that if you do not wake up before completing a fall in a dream, you will never wake up. And you have just landed as the door is opened. The character suffers damage as if just having fallen from 1d10x10′ height. |
| 9 | That Was Brilliant Oh Crap I Can’t Remember It Anymore!: Character can make an Intellect (7) check to attempt to solve a single conundrum. |
| 10 | Stabbed in the Back: At one future time when the awakened character is being relied upon by one of the other characters who was present when the pod was prematurely opened, the GM can create a free intrusion (no XP awarded, and XP cannot be spent to counter it) requiring one of those players to make an appropriate Defense check equal to the awakened character’s tier + 2. Failure means the awakened character will betray the other player in the worst possible way (GM discretion). |
| 11 | no change |
| 12 | no change |
You could also consider entirely alternative effects, like forcibly changing a characters focus or descriptor if they are awoken early.
Page 37
The Future
“One random present person will gain 1d8 levels” becomes…
“One random present person will gain 2 tiers (up to the maximum of 6)”
Page 38
Armory/Weapon
“A Read Magic spell is necessary to decipher them at all. Even with a Read Magic” becomes…
“A numenera knowledge (7) check (character must be skilled in numenera, an Intellect check alone is inadequate) is necessary to decipher them at all. Even with a successful check”
“A save versus Paralyzation is required to avoid this fate” becomes…
“A Speed Defense (8) check is required to avoid this fate”
“…who must make a save versus Magic to dominate the worm’s will.” becomes…
“…who must make an Intellect Defense (6) check to dominate the worm’s will.”
Either way, by “accepting” the worm into their body, award the player 1 XP.
Page 40
Armory/Weapon
“…taking one round per Hit Die of the slime, ooze, or whatever” becomes…
“…taking one round per level of the slime, ooze, or whatever”
“Damage inflicted by the host after a successful mêlée attack can be rerolled once per day.” becomes…
“Damage inflicted by the host after a successful mêlée attack can get a free +3 once per day.”
“If the target fails a paralyzation save, it must then make a save versus Magic or be Charmed by the original host. If the paralyzation save is made, the target can attack the worm. If the magic save is made, the worm will vacate the intended victim and return to its host.” becomes…
“The player makes a Speed check against the target’s level, and if successful, makes an Intellect check against the target’s level. If that succeeds, the target is Charmed by the original host. If the Speed check fails, the target can attack the worm. If the Intellect check fails, the worm will vacate the intended victim and return to its host.”
“Any retainers, followers, or others employed by the infested character must make a loyalty check” becomes…
“Any retainers, followers, or others employed by the infested character must make an Intellect (loyalty) check (4)”
For the section about the reaction of “Non-Chaotic NPCs,” assume all NPCs present that are not personally affiliated or connected (or otherwise covered in the prior point above) to the player will react as described in the adventure. “Chaotic” NPCs should be considered any that may be with the group with shady, backhanded, or otherwise hidden agendas – basically NPCs that haven’t been forthright with the group. For those NPCs, have the player make an Intellect (4) check, and resolve as described.
The Worm (6)
- Motive:
- Control of intelligent beings
- Environment:
- Other dimensions
- Health:
- 18
- Damage Inflicted:
- 5 points
- Armor:
- 0
- Movement:
- Short
- Modifications:
- Speed defense as level 8 due to size and agility.
- Combat:
- The Worm’s primary goal is to infest a host, and will spend it’s actions attempting to do that if possible. It will only attack outright if it is otherwise entirely prohibited of entering a character. Once a host has “accepted” the Worm (willingly or otherwise), it is utterly impossible to kill or remove without killing the host. The exception is if it willingly leaves.
- Interaction:
- It’s not possible to communicate with the Worm. It is not from a world or dimension player characters would normally be able to comprehend.
- Use:
- The Worm is an aggressive, single-minded stalker of its prey, and can provide a relentless hunter of the characters. If it takes control of a character, the results can be as subtle or obvious as the GM likes.
The Head of Carter Holmes
The cover on the jar is worth 250 shins.
Page 43
The Head of Carter Holmes
- Treat the spells referenced as esoteries. When learning the esotery, have the player make an Intellect (5) check, but do not indicate if they passed or failed. A failure means they’ll only be able to use the ability once, but then they forget how to do it immediately afterward. Success means the esotery is a permanent addition to the character.
- Each of the esoteries should have a pool cost equal 2 x the indicated magic-user level.
- References to level correspond to player tier.
- Another option you could consider, if you don’t want to use the powers listed in the adventure, would be to swap them out for powers from various foci in the sourcebook.
- The spells, effects, and insights should be modified as noted in the following sections. If a spell, effect, or insight isn’t listed, it’s assumed to work basically as is.
In Place
When using this esotery, the player makes a Might check against the target to hold them in place.
Lost
When using this esotery, the player makes an Intellect check against the target to confuse their mind.
Page 44
Pass Door
The target of this esotery makes a Might check equal to the source character’s tier or be stunned for 1d6 rounds after transporting.
Time Insertion
This esotery costs 9 Intellect points (instead of 6 per the predefined cost pattern). Target gains extra rounds of action equal to have the source character’s tier rounded up.
Agelessness
If the character’s pools are at less than their maximum when the Agelessness brain bit is devoured, the current pool values become the new maximum. Due to the character’s mind and body becoming more resistant to change, every time the character would gain a bonus to a pool, they must make a requisite check against their tier as difficulty, or else they don’t get the increase.
Fast Healing
When someone attempts to make a heal check on you, after determining the base difficulty and checking it, you gain 2 extra points back if they are successful. Standard recovery rolls gain an additional +1 point added to them.
Page 45
Fast Reflexes
Player gains +1 to Speed edge.
Moving Between the Lines
The character makes a Speed check against a difficulty number determined by the GM based on the space trying to be squeezed through.
Insight into Human Relations
The player is trained in deceit related tasks (or specialized if already trained). When attempting to lie, the player must make an additional Intellect check against their own tier to resist believing their own lies.
Insight into Combat and Violence
The player makes an Intellect (4) check. If failed, all attack checks become two steps harder, but they will deal +2 damage.
Insight into Magical Numenera Research
When investigating newly discovered numenera, the character is trained (or specialized if already trained) in decyphering the device. However, for devices bought or given to the player by another character, they must make an Intellect check against the level of the device to use it. A failure will instantly break an oddity or cypher, and triggers a second depletion roll on artifacts that has twice the chance of succeeding (e.g. 2 in 1d10 would become 4 in 1d10).
Page 46
Insight into Love and Romance
Interactions with women require an Intellect check against the target, +2 difficulty. A failure will immediate turn the subject off to the player, making them unlikely to even acknowledge the presence. Success simply means they remain neutral. If the player spends effort and succeeds, they inspire more interest and loyalty.
Insight into Navigation
Trained (or specialized if already trained) in underground navigation or other scenarios where they are similarly enclosed in an environment. The player also takes an inability in wilderness navigation, or other similarly open and unrestricted environments.
Final Thoughts
There’s a lot here obviously, but none of it is too difficult in the long run, and there’s no reason you couldn’t pretty easily adapt stuff on the fly if you’d prefer to roll that way. Most of the changes simply involve adapting stuff like “saving throws” and tying in pool costs.
I really liked this adventure as an adaptation since it really emphasizes exploration and problem solving over run-and-gun. Plus, I’m not sure I’ve read an adventure that quite embodies “weird” the way Monolith did. The other big advantage is that it’s freeform enough that it can be woven into virtually any place or time for a campaign. It’s a good mystery to solve that will have lasting repercussions on a group of players. The removal of the monolith also presents a pretty unique challenge (I won’t spoil it here), and it should force a group to carefully weigh the value of always trying to fix things versus accepting that some problems are simply too big.
Did you like this adaptation? Do you have suggestions for other adventures we should run through this process? Let us know in the comments below!