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Numenera: The Amber Archive

Created by Monte Cook Games

The wondrous and inspiring science-fantasy RPG Numenera returns in a new edition filled with new art, creatures, lore, numenera items, and adventures. Step into the amazing Ninth World—a critically acclaimed, fan-loved RPG setting like none other!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Creature Deck Unlocked—and Much More to Come!
3 months ago – Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 09:35:16 AM



Iadace, backers, and welcome to the final day of Numenera: The Amber Archive!

It’s been an exciting campaign, and today is going to be an exciting day. This morning you unlocked the Creature Deck—it’s now available as an add-on, and it’s been added to the rewards of all backers at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) and ALL-IN (PDF only) pledge levels.

Can we do more? If our past experience with over 30 crowdfunding campaigns is any guide, then YES! We can absolutely unlock another goal—possibly even two or three—as the final day moves into high gear.

BUT ONLY WITH YOUR HELP!

We’ll work hard to keep spreading the word all day, but there’s only so much we can do. Great campaigns always reach their heights because the backers drive buzz. Please spread the word!

  • Drop in on Reddit and visit one or two gaming subreddits. If you see a post about this campaign, upvote it and maybe make a comment about how cool the Ninth World is and why this campaign is such a great deal. If you don’t see a thread, start one!
  • Hit ENworld or RPG.net. Comment in threads you see there.
  • If you’re active in any RPG Discord servers, mention us there.
  • Post on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, or wherever you chat about games. You can find sharable posts and graphics to borrow on our social media accounts. 

Don’t Forget Overtime Mode

You’ve probably noticed the “Backer Train” near the top of the campaign page. As long as new pledges (or upgrades, or even campaign shares) keep rolling in, the train keeps going. It breaks only if there’s no action for 10 minutes or more.

BackerKit has a nifty feature called “Overtime Mode.” When the campaign comes to its scheduled end, it keeps going as long as the backer train is active. It can run on for hours, so long as new backers keep discovering it. (Our last campaign ran for a full day in Overtime Mode!)

So keep spreading the word all day long. Even if someone doesn’t read your post until late in the day, they may still be able to pledge if the campaign is in Overtime Mode. And we can still keep marching toward stretch goals!
 

Your Sticker!

With every stretch goal we throw in a free bonus reward for all backers, no matter your pledge level—a fun Numenera vinyl sticker. You voted for this design:


Moar Stretch Goals!

This day is going to be fast-moving, so let’s cut to the chase and announce not one, but two stretch goals: an upgrade to the Ninth World Explorer’s Pack, and an expansion for solo play!

First: the Ninth World Explorer’s Pack. We haven’t talked much about this in a few weeks, but it’s something we’re really excited about. It’s a cool in-world prop that’s also a practical game aid—and it comes in a custom satchel perfect for toting your Numenera book and other game supplies.

Savvy Ninth World explorers know it's wise to carry a pack for essential items—and interesting discoveries they've made along the way. The Ninth World Explorer's Pack comes with everything you need to survive and thrive, whether at the table or in the Steadfast and Beyond. Let’s upgrade it, and add even more items to this campaign-exclusive collectable! 

Through this stretch goal, we’ll add a suite of additional items such as another patch, even more props, even more stickers for your passport, and another pencil or two, with new pithy Ninth World messages. Every backer at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) gets the Explorer’s Pack—and we know you’re going to love it!

We’ll unlock this upgrade to the Explorer’s Pack when we reach 3600 backers.



Then: more solo play! We’re also super excited about Iadace, You Beast, the all-new solo RPG for Numenera. And from your comments and response, we know backers are really excited, too! So let’s make more.

Iadace, You Beast will have the flexibility to incorporate loads of elements from the entire Ninth World, making every playthrough unique—letting you replay it to your heart’s content with a different experience every time. It does have a specific frame story and success condition, though. So let’s give you more to work with!

With this goal Shanna will craft an expansion to Iadace, You Beast, which gives you a new framing story, a slightly different focus, and new goals for success. It lets you continue your solo explorations with an all-new experience.

Get us to 3900 backers to unlock this major expansion to Iadace, You Beast.

Can we do this before the campaign ends? Many of our campaigns gain hundreds of new backers in the final day. And if we don’t quite make it by the campaign’s scheduled end, every new backer during Overtime Mode will keep moving us toward the goal!



And, of Course, Stickers!

We have time to squeeze in one more poll. Which sticker shall we unlock with our next goal?


We only have a few hours for this poll, so vote now!

And if we unlock the Iadace, You Beast goal as well, we’ll make you not just a single sticker, but this entire sticker sheet!


This is MCG’s thirty-somethingth crowdfunding campaign. We know how these things go, and we honestly believe that, with your help, every goal we just unveiled can be unlocked! You make it happen!

Thanks for your support!
 —Team MCG

The Catechism of Lore Expands! Now Let's Go for a New Creature Deck!
3 months ago – Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 08:00:12 AM


Iadace, backers—

We’re in the final days of the campaign, and so far you’ve unlocked so many exciting stretch goals and stickers along the way, including the most recent stretch goal: even more content—and therefore more adventure—within the The Catechism of Lore!



In addition, you’ve unlocked another sticker! Here’s what every backer, no matter the pledge level, will be getting with their rewards:


We may be down to our final days, but we still have more stretch goals to unlock! Help unlock this next stretch goal by sharing the campaign far and wide—you can grab these cool pieces of new art if you'd like something to share, or see any of the posts in our social media accounts:


Stretch Goal: New Creature Deck!

In an earlier stretch goal, we expanded the cypher section of the Amber Archive Deck enough to create a whole new deck of content. Let’s do the same for the creatures of the Amber Archive Deck!



The Numenera Creature Deck will contain scores of Ninth World creatures drawn from Numenera and the Beasts of the Amber Archive. 

When you need to build an encounter (either when prepping your game or at the gaming table), simply draw a card from this deck! You’ve got stats on one side, with references to their full bestiary entries, and a gorgeous illustration to share with your players on the reverse. With 100 foes, potential allies, and wild beasts at your fingertips, the Ninth World is sure to be even more dangerous and wonderful.

Get us to 3400 backers and we’ll add this handy deck to every ALL-IN pledge, as well as make it available as an add-on available for all backers.

Not an ALL-IN backer? Look at all these great stretch goals we’ve already added to these levels!

  • Tales from the Amber Archive, an entire new book of adventures 
  • Iadace, You Beast, an entire solo-play game for Numenera 
  • The double-sided dust jacket for your copy of the Cypher Character Rulebook
  • The upgrade to the Ninth World Explorer’s Pack
  • A 100-card Cypher Deck, much like the Creature Deck we're unlocking now!

It’s such a great value, so think about upgrading to the ALL-IN (print and PDF) or ALL-IN (PDF only) pledge levels now!

Another Sticker!

When we hit this stretch goal, we’ll add another sticker to every pledge level! The many weird and interesting creatures of the Ninth World have been among our most popular polls, so let’s pick one more. Do you prefer the Isthyn, or the Yishish?


The campaign is moving quickly, so the poll will be only be open for only a short while. Vote now!

And don’t forget to keep spreading the word—the last days of a campaign can get quite exciting, and we have more stretch goals we’d love to unlock!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Shanna Germain, Bruce Cordell, and Sean Reynolds LIVE on BackerKit!
3 months ago – Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 02:30:15 PM

Greetings, backers!

Numenera: The Amber Archive closes on Friday, and though we’re sad such a fantastic campaign is coming to an end, we’re excited to share that our team will be LIVE tomorrow night to chat about Numenera!

Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. CDT (3:00 p.m. PDT, 6:00 p.m. EDT, 10 p.m. GMT), join the co-creator of Numenera, Shanna Germain, and other legendary TTRPG designers Sean K. Reynolds and Bruce R. Cordell LIVE, right here on BackerKit! Shanna is leading the design of this updated edition and is sure to have some fun tidbits to share with you all.

Leave your questions as a comment under this update (please start questions with “QUESTION:” for ease of access during the stream), and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can. 

If you have questions about campaign fulfillment, timeline, shipping, etc, please check our FAQ. Olivia and Charles will both be on stream as well, but you don’t want to hear us drone on about fulfillment when the minds behind the Ninth World are right there!

Have a really, really good question? Ask it below and tell your friends to come listen to the answer—the more the merrier. You can even share this handy graphic to help spread the word!


See you live tomorrow night!

—Team MCG

Character Portfolios Unlocked!
3 months ago – Mon, Mar 09, 2026 at 12:09:47 PM


Iadace, backers—

Welcome to the final week of this campaign! Thanks to your support and all the great buzz you’ve built, we’re headed into this week strong: We ticked over the $600,000 mark today, and you’ve just unlocked another stretch goal!

The final week can be very exciting. Did you know that in our last campaign (Cypher: Faster. Easier. And Even Better!), just last fall, we added around 1600 backers, and $300,000, in the final week? Imagine the stretch goals we can unlock if this week is anything like that!

It comes down to you. Campaigns like this soar—they only soar—when the backers get out there and spread the word. You can find sharable posts, graphics, and ideas on our social media accounts. Or say it in your own words—here are some downloadable graphics you can borrow. (Right-click to download.)


Unlocked: Character Portfolios!


These character portfolios are really handy. They give you loads of space and make it easy to keep campaign notes, build your character’s backstory, relationships, and more, and generally do justice to a memorable character you’ll love to play.

Backers at the ALL-IN (PDF only) level now get the Numenera Character Portfolio added to their rewards in two formats: one optimized for printing, and another optimized for use on a device.

Backers at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) level get those PDF files, plus a bundle of five character portfolios in print—enough for the whole party!

Not backing at one of those levels? Consider upgrading! Look at everything we’ve unlocked:

  • Tales from the Amber Archive, an entire new book of adventures
  • A 100-card Cypher Deck
  • Iadace, You Beast, an entire solo-play game for Numenera
  • The double-sided dust jacket for your copy of the Cypher Character Rulebook
  • An upgrade to the Ninth World Explorer’s Pack
  • And now the Numenera Character Portfolios

And we’re not done yet! We sure hope to unlock several more cool stretch goals before this campaign ends Friday!

Also: a Sticker

With every stretch goal we give every backer, no matter what their pledge level, a little bonus reward. Here’s the sticker design you voted for to go with the Character Portfolios:


Stretch Goal: Expand the Catechism of Lore

The Catechism of Lore sets the characters on the path of High Father Calaval, the first Amber Pope and Founder of the Order of Truth. They’ll traverse much of the Ninth World and beyond—from land to sea to the far reaches of the galaxy to places that are only accessible via the clues Father Calaval left behind. Those few who prove smart, brave, and curious enough to brave the entire journey may unlock a parallel dimension and be called into the secret fortress of the Aeon Priests—the Citadel of the Conduit!

The Catechism of Lore will be a wondrous journey for veteran players of Numenera—and it’s specially designed to help new players and GMs step into the Ninth World and discover its mysteries. It’s a hefty hardcover book and a fast-paced, campaign-length experience—but who couldn’t use even more adventure?

We’d like to make this book even heftier. Get us to 3200 backers, and we’ll increase the content of The Catechism of Lore substantially, with many sessions’ worth of additional new material!

And, as Always, a Sticker!

Help us choose our next sticker! We’ve had several very close polls over the course of this campaign, and some of the sticker designs that didn’t win were nonetheless very popular. Let’s revisit a couple of those!


We expect to unlock stretch goals very quickly in this final week, so the poll won’t be open for long. Vote now!

And don’t forget to keep spreading the word!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Dust Jacket Unlocked—Let’s Make ANOTHER New Thing!
3 months ago – Thu, Mar 05, 2026 at 08:51:51 AM


Iadace, backers—

Thank you once again for keeping up an amazing pace! You’ve unlocked another stretch goal in fantastic time. Now we’re going to make you a cool, double-sided dust jacket for your copy of the Cypher Character Rulebook!


We have about ten days left in this campaign. We often unlock several stretch goals in the final week—especially if we have a lot of momentum. That’s where you come in! Please keep up the buzz. Share news about this campaign—there are literally tens of thousands of gamers who don’t really know about it. We work hard to reach as many people as we can, but it’s always the backers who make a big campaign soar!

You can find art, inspiration, and sharable posts at our social media accounts:


Your Sticker!

As with every stretch goal, we’re giving every backer a little bonus reward. You chose this design for the sticker that goes with the dust jacket goal:


We’ve unlocked nine of these stickers so far, and they’re added to the rewards of every backer, regardless of pledge level!

Stretch Goal: Character Portfolios

Your Numenera characters are going to have fantastic and glorious adventures as they explore the weird and wondrous Ninth World. And you’re going to make great memories at the game table. So let’s give both you and your character an even better experience with the Numenera Character Portfolio!



The Numenera Character Portfolio isn’t just a character sheet. It records more than your character’s pools, abilities, skills, cyphers, and other stats and info. At 24 pages, it also gives you room for notes, sketches, and details. You can jot down thoughts about your character’s appearance and mannerisms. Take notes about the strange and wondrous locations, people, creatures, and objects you meet in your adventures into the Amber Archive. Keep a campaign journal, or make maps and sketches of places you’ve been around the expansive Ninth World.

We’ve made character portfolios for Numenera in the past. This new version will be updated for use with the Cypher’s current rules, with little improvements here and there based on our years of experience with previous portfolios.

This reward isn’t just a single portfolio—it’ll be a pack of five, giving you enough for the whole party. And if you prefer digital use, you’ll get two versions of the PDF: one optimized for print, and the other fully form-fillable for use on a tablet, laptop, or other device.

The pack of five Numenera Character Portfolios will be available as an add-on, and added to the rewards of backers at the ALL-IN (print and PDF) pledge level. Backers at the ALL-IN (PDF only) will get it in the two PDF versions. We’ll unlock the Numenera Character Portfolio when we reach 3050 backers.

Plus a Sticker, of Course!

As you know, we’ve given you a little free bonus reward—a vinyl sticker—with every stretch goal. The last poll, featuring two weird Ninth World creatures, was very popular, so let's look at a couple more! Help us choose the next sticker design:


Vote for your favorite. And don’t forget to keep spreading the word to help us unlock this goal and move into our final week on a high note!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG