Delves are willing to risk everything just to find something new, something that no one else has seen before. They are driven to expand the boundaries of the known, often rediscovering what was long forgotten. Delves delight in finding never-explored ruins of the prior worlds and cataloguing them from top to bottom. Mysteries presented by weird machines and broken scrap are nearly identical for Delves. They know that what others dismiss as debris might contain hidden treasure called iotum— like apt clay, protomatter, philosophine, data orbs, and more! That’s what most Delves seek. They won’t ignore cyphers and artifacts prized by others, of course, but Delves see deeper and are skilled at extracting the building blocks of the prior worlds.
As with other kinds of explorers, Delves are rare. Most people in the Ninth World would rather gnaw off a hand than risk the horrors that often lie within ruins or even just over the next hill. But without Delves, who would bring back the special components that some crafters have come to depend on? Delves aren’t fools; they take precautions, and they’re not immune to fear. But the lure of the unknown and the thrill of discovery outweigh the risks. Longevity isn’t as important to a Delve as discovery.
That said, a Delve won’t discover much if they don’t have the stamina to push through when things get tough. Delves need to be at least a little skilled at a lot of things. They need Might and Speed to deal with the challenges they face, but they need Intellect to help them salvage for iotum and other numenera items.
To explore inscrutable ruins, Delves have to be able to react quickly, squeeze through small spaces, and often run away without being weighed down by heavy armor. A few might choose light armor, though most prefer clothes that don’t restrict them at all.
Delves in Society: Delves don’t spend much time in society because they’re off exploring. When they do come back to a base, settlement, or larger community, they are given a wide berth by those afraid of the numenera, which is often a surprising number of people. To commoners, the numenera is as likely to help you as it is to kill you, disfigure you, or send you hurtling into the void. So Delves usually seek the company of other explorers, such as Nanos, Jacks, Glaives, and others. Delves also seek the acquaintance of Wrights, and vice versa, because the iotum that Delves prize is equally sought by Wrights to craft installations and other wonders.
Sometimes Delves deliver objects or messages between distant locations, or they provide their expertise on travel routes to merchants and other explorers. But these are usually secondary goals, convenient in that a long-distance trip allows them to find more previously unexplored locations. Sometimes a Delve’s deliveries are delayed while the Delve spends an extra week or more investigating an abandoned structure or ruin. This can put a strain on otherwise cordial relationships with Glaives and Nanos, who each see in the Delve a bit of themselves. Arkai are least likely to want to upend their stay inside newly developed communities, but they understand the value a Delve associated with a community can bring, if the Delve decides to use the community as their base.
Delves in the Group: A Delve isn’t so much a leader as a scout, though some Delves do naturally step into the role of directing a group, since they’re often the ones who can find the best route forward. Though they are resilient in a fight, they are not front-line defenders; that’s obviously a job for a Glaive. They pay attention to knowledge provided by Nanos, but they know enough about the numenera themselves that they don’t need to rely on them. Delves may spend long periods of time exploring, but many enjoy talking about what they found with a small group of friends or allies.
Delves and the Numenera: In many ways, the numenera is what draws Delves to explore—the numenera and the special components that bring the numenera to life. But Delves are excited by any discoveries related to the numenera, whetting their appetite to explore further. Their skills and knowledge give them excellent means to find and salvage iotum and other valuables from otherwise dead ruins.
Delves look for items that help them improve their ability to search and find out information. If a Delve doesn’t know where to look, then they’re virtually useless.
Advanced Delves: As Delves gain experience and become more skilled and powerful, they gain abilities to better understand the numenera, to tinker with it, and to salvage and find new uses for iotum.
DELVE BACKGROUND
Lots of people explore, but not all of them are Delves. Delves have a special relationship with the iotum. Something in your background has put you in this position and is at least partially responsible for your talents. Choose one of the three options described below as the source of your skills (or create your own). This will provide the foundation of your background and give you an idea of how you can improve. The GM can use this information to develop adventures and quests that are specific to your character and play a role in your advancement.
WHAT OTHERS FEAR TO KNOWYour knowledge of what underlies the numenera is a degree beyond what even most Aeon Priests and Nanos know. Some see it as devilry and ill magic, believing it is knowledge that should remain in the ruins of the past. Mimetic gel, tamed iron, kaon dots, and even data orbs are things that you understand because you found them and were taught by them in turn. The tamed iron nearly killed you because, as you know, it’s a cousin to the iron wind. The data orb was almost your death, because when you connected it to the datasphere, an automaton was dispatched to your location as a security measure. But you survived and learned yet more in the process. In fact, you learned to disassemble both the active devices and the long-dead machines of the prior worlds in order to salvage that which gave them form and substance. This iotum, you learned, was a completely new source of wonder and knowledge.
Advancement: You must continue to salvage iotum. There’s far more to the numenera than one person can ever know, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to discover more. More secrets, more knowledge, and more components mean more power. At some point in your career, you might need to find a mentor or another data orb willing to give you answers to your many questions.
When your stats improve or you learn new skills, it’s because you have discovered another new kind of iotum. When you gain a new ability, it’s the result of long hours of exploration, salvage, and attempts at unlocking new wonders.
PART MACHINEIs it any wonder you can take apart other devices and machines when you’re at least half mechanical yourself? Your connection with machines is obvious: modules, ports, and other strange tech protrudes from your skin, hinting at deeper connections beneath. Perhaps your skin is shiny or metallic, or maybe it has a coating that absorbs light. You can find your way deeper into ruins of the prior worlds at least partially because you can open ways that others can’t with just a touch. When you salvage iotum from dead cyphers and scrap, you do so by commanding nanites through your ports. Your abilities are at least partially derived from the hidden devices that lace your nervous system. Sometimes, you wonder if the components and iotum that you salvage from other machines also lie within you.
How you came to be part machine is a story all its own. Were you always like this? Did you fall into a ruin and wake up this way? Did you undergo surgeries offered by a strange entity, taking a chance on becoming something more? However it happened, you’re not human, and commoners sometimes look upon you with fear and suspicion. That’s all right, as long as another Delve doesn’t look upon you as a potential source for components. Sometimes, rather than worry about it, you hide your true nature beneath concealing garments or a hood.
Advancement: Learning new things helps you advance, as do practice and persistence. However, it seems your surest way to unlock new abilities is to connect yourself to new devices uncovered in your explorations. Sometimes this leads to dangerous threats, but other times, it provides you with a new insight or an entirely new ability. Depending on how you came to be part machine, you might also be open to implanting new, permanent devices into your body, which is another route to advancement.
MENTORYou grew up in service to another Delve from whom you learned to train your stamina, patience, and love for the weird. You were taught not to fear things that would make most people weak, sick, or outright dead. Instead, you cherish them as part of a life steeped in discovery. Your mentor taught you to love the wilderness, the unknown, and places of ancient power, in particular— exactly the opposite of how most are raised in the Ninth World. After a time, you and your mentor parted ways—perhaps due to a philosophical disagreement, a scarcity of resources, a rare opportunity requiring travel, or some kind of tragedy. Sometimes you wonder, as you gaze at some new amazing, impossible edifice: what would your mentor think of this?
Advancement: To advance, you explore. Without your mentor to guide you, it’s just you and the world. That said, a part of you will never stop yearning to reunite with the one who taught you so much. If you do, maybe they will unlock an entirely new chapter in your advancement. And who knows? Maybe the things you’ve learned since you parted will have a similarly important effect on them.
DELVE PLAYER INTRUSIONS
When playing a Delve, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
Fortuitous Malfunction: A trap or a dangerous device malfunctions before it can affect you.
Serendipitous Landmark: Just when it seems like the path is lost, or you are, a trail marker, landmark, or simply the way the terrain or corridor bends, rises, or falls away suggests to you the best path forward, at least from this point.
Weak Strain: The poison or disease turns out not to be as debilitating or deadly as it first seemed, and inflicts only half the damage that it would have otherwise.