Glaives are the elite warriors of the Ninth World, using weapons and armor to fight their enemies. Hunters, guardians, and soldiers could be Glaives. Sometimes scouts, warlords, bandits, and even athletes are Glaives. “Glaive” is a common slang term used almost everywhere in the Steadfast and the Beyond for any person skilled with weapons or a martial art, but in truth, it applies only to the best of the best. Glaives are warriors who command abilities far beyond those of a typical person with a sword.
Most Glaives are either strong (using the heaviest armor and weapons available and having a high Might) or fast (sticking with light weapons and armor and having a high Speed). A few attempt to use both Might and Speed and stay somewhere in the middle. Glaives also use ranged weapons such as bows or darts. Some don’t rely on weapons at all, preferring to use their bodies in hand-to-hand combat— punching, kicking, grabbing, throwing, and so on.
Glaives in Society: In most cities and villages, people hold Glaives in great esteem. Although a Glaive could just as likely be a thug as a noble warrior, those who help protect their fellow humans from the dangers of the Ninth World are always treated with respect. There is no shame in getting paid for the use of one’s skills, so being a blade for hire is a perfectly acceptable profession. Restrictions on carrying weapons openly are rare, and most Glaives wear the tools of their trade with pride.
Not surprisingly, Glaives often get along best with other Glaives, or at least soldiers, guards, or similar comrades in arms. Nanos, scholars, and people who aren’t terribly physical are less likely to mix well with Glaives, but obviously not every Glaive is the same. They focus on their bodies, but that doesn’t mean they don’t value more cerebral pursuits as well. A Glaive need not follow the stereotype of the dumb bruiser with a sword or an axe.
Glaives in the Group: In a group of explorers, Glaives typically take the lead. They’re usually the most physically capable, the most durable, and the most ready to meet danger head-on. Sometimes they act protectively toward their companions; other times, they’re more self-interested. Either way, a Glaive’s place is often in the middle of the fray.
Glaives and the Numenera: When it comes to the numenera, most Glaives are interested in weapons, armor, or devices that aid them in combat. The ancients produced all sorts of incredibly durable substances, many of which can be made into armor that is lighter and more protective than steel. Sometimes, Glaives can scavenge a suit of armor composed of these advanced materials, but more often they find the materials and then ask a crafter or smith to make the armor. Of course, the problem is that a substance that is difficult to damage is also hard to work.
As varied as armoring materials might be, numenera weaponry is infinitely more so. These items include melee weapons that shock, stun, or burn whatever they touch; and ranged weapons that blast projectiles with incredible power or bursts of strange energies. There are also bombs, damaging energy fields, poisonous gases, and far stranger weaponry, but some Glaives find that such complex objects are better off in the hands of a Nano. Maneuverability is just as important as attack or defense, however, so an item that allows a Glaive to move quickly or negate gravity is a great prize.
As for cyphers, Glaives prefer physically enhancing or restorative objects, such as injections of chemicals that improve reaction time or pills with microscopic repair devices that heal wounds and restore fatigued muscle tissue. They use the nickname “boost” for any cypher that enhances their strength, stamina, reflexes, or other physical aspects, while one that repairs damage or alleviates fatigue is called a “treat.”
Advanced Glaives: As they progress, Glaives become better combatants, often felling multiple foes in a single stroke. They gain special types of attacks and learn to use armor more efficiently to get the most out of the protection it offers.
GLAIVE BACKGROUND
Glaives are no mere bandits or town guards. They stand head and shoulders above ordinary soldiers and brawlers. Something in your background—whether intensive training, inborn traits, or biomechanical modification— has made you more than the others around you. Choose one of those three options (described below) as the source of your skills, strength, reflexes, and stamina. It 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.
INTENSIVE TRAININGYou are strong, fast, or both, but what really separates you from the crowd is your training. Perhaps you ascended the highest peak of the Black Riage or sought the deepest sewers beneath Qi to find teachers who could show you how to move, fight, and endure beyond normal human limits. You know a thousand ways to kill a foe, most of them secret to all but a chosen few. You’re privy to techniques and fighting styles that most people in the Ninth World have never seen. You have learned that the impossible is possible— as long as you know the secret. Your body is a weapon, and your weapon is part of your body. You have studied with the masters, and now you carry that regimen as you venture into the world.
Advancement: You need to train and practice constantly to hone your skills and develop new techniques, building on what you’ve been taught. Perhaps at some point you will return to your secret masters for further initiation or find new teachers or lessons that can take you to the next step. When you gain additional points for your stat Pools, an increase to a stat’s Edge, or an increase in the level of Effort you can apply, the benefit comes as the result of rigorous exercise and personal development. When you gain a new skill or Glaive ability, it’s the result of the martial arts you have studied.
INBORN TRAITSYou’ve trained under excellent instructors and have experience in many dangerous situations, but what makes you different is deep inside, entwined in your genetic heritage. Maybe it was the luck of being born fit. Maybe you’re a hulking brute—a mountainous figure who commands attention when you enter a room. Or maybe your strength is more subtle; you might be the descendant of a bioengineered species bred (or designed) for perfection. Perhaps you’re a mutant with psychic abilities that augment your physical nature; you guide and enhance your attacks with telekinesis, or you use a natural mutation in your brain to control matter on a molecular level to resist blows and inflict harm. Perhaps you’re something wholly new: an aberration or a human so perfect that you’re beyond human. You might be a posthuman—the next step toward the true destiny of the people of the Ninth World.
Advancement: You have talents of which you are only dimly aware. You must practice and experiment to find your limitations, if any. At some point in the future, you might have to seek out someone who can help you master your inherent abilities. You were born with great power. Now you need to learn how to use that power, even if the education takes a lifetime. When your stats improve, it’s because you’re tapping deeper into the unknown reserves within you. When you gain a new Glaive ability, it’s the result of your superhuman traits as much as it is about your study, practice, or knowledge. You can do things that other people simply cannot, no matter how hard they train.
BIOMECHANICAL MODIFICATIONYou might be a fighter, but you’re no archaic stereotype—this is the Ninth World, after all. Although you trained and gained your share of practical experience, you have the numenera on your side as well. Some of your knowledge of fighting techniques is implanted in your brain and spine, wired into your nerves and muscles. Your joints have surgically implanted servo motors. Subdermal plating makes you tougher than should be possible. Your muscle tissue is augmented with artificial fibers. Perhaps your genetic code has been rewritten by engineered viruses, or the tissues in your body have been reworked by nanotech, turning you into an efficient battle machine. Or maybe you’ve been altered by strange science—radioactive treatments of bizarre energies, chemical compounds and drugs, or extradimensional enhancements—that makes you stronger, faster, tougher, and more proficient in attack and defense than anyone around you. Whatever the case, you’re the result of ancient knowledge made manifest in the present, and now you’re shaping the future. Perhaps your modifications are obvious and visible; perhaps they’re not. Regardless, you know that you’re more than merely human.
Advancement: Your body is an ongoing project. In a way, it’s a work of art, although its beauty comes not from its appearance but from what it can do. As you go forward, you should keep an eye out at all times for new parts and systems that can be incorporated into your body, or new doses of drugs and supplements to maintain your abilities. You might need to seek out surgeons, mechanics, or bioenhancement specialists to take you to the next level. Perhaps the Aeon Priests can help. Perhaps the parts you need can be found only in the ruins of the past or the dangerous black market of a faraway city. When your stats improve, it’s because you literally have added something new to your body. When you gain a new ability, it’s the direct result of a tangible change in your own physical being.
GLAIVE PLAYER INTRUSIONS
As a Glaive, you can spend 1XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
Perfect Setup: You’re fighting at least three foes and each one is standing in exactly the right spot for you to use a move you trained in long ago, allowing you to attack all three as a single action. Make a separate attack roll for each foe. You remain limited by the amount of Effort you can apply on one action.
Old Friend: A comrade in arms from your past shows up unexpectedly and provides aid in whatever you’re doing. They are on a mission of their own and can’t stay longer than it takes to help out, chat a while after, and perhaps share a quick meal.
Weapon Break: Your foe’s weapon has a weak spot and in the course of the combat quickly becomes damaged and moves two steps down the object damage track.