Numenera Character Arkus Abilities

Type Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 Tier 6
auto Pools Starting Values: Might - 8, Speed - 9, Intellect - 11

Bonus Pools Values: You get 6 additional points to divide among your stat Pools however you wish.

Effort: Your Effort is 1.

Leader: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.

Cypher Use: You can bear two cyphers at a time.

Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. You have an inability with medium and heavy weapons; your attacks with medium and heavy weapons are hindered.

Interaction Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: persuasion, negotiation, deceiving, public speaking, seeing through deception, or intimidating. You have an inability in crafting numenera, salvaging numenera, and understanding numenera. Enabler.

Community Leader: While you are present within a community, and actively and personally working on behalf of that community, the community’s rank is +1 for all purposes except damage inflicted. Enabler.
Starting Equipment: You start with stylish clothing and a light weapon of your choice, two cyphers (chosen by the GM), one oddity, and 9 shins. If you start with a ranged weapon that requires ammunition (arrows, for example), you start with 12 of that type of ammunition. Before choosing your weapon and other gear, you might want to wait until after you’ve chosen your precepts, descriptor, and focus.

Precepts: You have a wide range of abilities that give you an edge over other people. Some of these precepts are similar to esoteries in that you call upon a strange ability, use a device, and so on. Others are more mundane, relying on skill. Almost all require that you can speak to use them. Unless otherwise described, if they affect another creature, that creature must be able to perceive and understand you. Some precepts are constant, ongoing effects; others are specific actions that usually cost points from one of your stat Pools.
Choose two of the precepts described below. You can’t choose the same precept more than once unless its description says otherwise. You can keep track of these in the Special Abilities section of your character sheet.

Arkus Player Intrusions: you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions,
provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
- Friendly NPC: an NPC you don’t know, someone you don’t know that well, or someone you know but who hasn’t been particularly friendly in the past chooses to help you, though doesn’t necessarily explain why. Maybe they’ll ask you for a favor in return afterward, depending on how much trouble they go to.
- Perfect Suggestion: a follower or other already-friendly NPC suggests a course of action with regard to an urgent question, problem, or obstacle you’re facing.
- Unexpected Gift: an NPC hands you a physical gift you were not expecting, one that helps put the situation at ease if things seem strained, or provides you with a new insight for understanding the context of the situation if there’s something you’re failing to understand or grasp.
 Precepts: Choose one of the following Arkus precepts (or a precept from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your first-tier precepts with a different first-tier precept.
 Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time.

Improved Community Leader: A community continues to modify its effective rank by +1 for any task except for attack and defense. However, you do not need to be constantly present in and actively working on behalf of the community for it to gain this benefit; it gains it merely because of your past work in the community. Enabler.

Precepts: Choose one of the following Arkus precepts (or a precept from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier precepts with a different precept from the same lower tier.
 Precepts: Choose one of the following Arkus precepts (or a precept from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier precepts with a different precept from the same lower tier.
 Adept Cypher Use: You can bear four cyphers at a time.

Precepts: Choose one of the following Arkus precepts (or a precept from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier precepts with a different precept from the same lower tier.
 Recruit Deputy: You gain a level 4 follower. They are not restricted on their modifications. Enabler. Alternatively, you can choose to advance a level 3 follower you already have to level 4 and then gain a new level 3 follower. Enabler.

Precepts: Choose one of the following Arkus precepts (or a precept from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier precepts with a different precept from the same lower tier.
option Anecdote (2 Intellect points): You can lift the spirits of a group of creatures and help them bond together by entertaining them with an uplifting or pointed anecdote. For the next hour, those who pay attention to your story are trained in a task you choose that’s related to the anecdote, as long as it’s not an attack or defense task. Action to initiate, one minute to complete.
 Inspire Action (4 Intellect points): If one ally can see and easily understand you, you can instruct that ally to take an action. If the ally chooses to take that exact action, they can do so as an additional action immediately. Doing so doesn’t interfere with the ally taking a normal action on their turn. If you have both Inspire Action and a focus ability that also grants an ally an extra action, then you can apply a level of Effort when using Inspire Action to simultaneously inspire two allies to take the same action. Action.
 Improved Follower: You gain a level 3 follower. They are not restricted on their modifications. Alternatively, you can choose to advance a level 2 follower you already have to level 3 and then gain a new level 2 follower. Enabler.
 False Group Identity (2 Intellect points): If you and group of up to ten creatures have some kind of physical disguise you can fool a sentient creature that you are someone else. You gain a free level of Effort on this task. Enabler.
 Flee (6 Intellect points): All non-allies within short distance who can hear your dreadful, intimidating words flee from you at top speed for one minute.
 Battle Management (4 Intellect points): As long as you spend your action each round giving orders or advice, the difficulty of attack and defense actions by your allies within short range is decreased by one step. Action to initiate. Action to maintain.
option Trained Without Armor: You are trained in Speed defense actions when not wearing armor. Enabler.
 Skill With Defense: Choose one type of defense task in which you are not already trained: Might, Speed, or Intellect. You are trained in defense tasks of that type. You can select this precept up to three times. Each time you select it, you must choose a different type of defense task. Enabler.
 Rally (4+ Intellect points): Your words imbue the spirit of a character within immediate range who is able to understand you, accelerating her so that she gains an asset on initiative tasks and Speed defense rolls for one minute. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can use it to affect more targets; each level of Effort affects one additional target. You must speak to additional targets to accelerate them, one target per round. Action per target to initiate.
 Anticipate Attack (4 Intellect points): You can sense when and how creatures attacking you will make their attacks. The difficulty of Speed defense rolls is reduced by one step for one minute. Action.
 Dangerous Group Insight (5 Intellect points): If you interact with or study a group of sentient creatures (all of which must be in short range) for at least a round, you gain an advantage over them in combat, having spotted a weakness or devised a viable tactic. You gain an asset on attack rolls made against any of those creatures for 28 hours. What's more, if you use an action speaking with an ally about the group, that ally then gets the same asset. You can speak to one ally per action. Action.
 Sway Horde (12+ Intellect points): You can attempt to sway a horde of up to rank 2 to disperse or attack a community other than the one it is currently targeting, or you can try to raise a horde from a village or larger community that contains enough ablebodied adults. If you succeed at raising a horde, its level is equal to the rank of the community it comes from, and the horde remains cohesive for up to three days or until it is destroyed. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can also choose to use Effort to increase the rank of the horde you sway by 1 for each level of Effort applied. Action to initiate, one hour to complete.
option Friendship (1 Intellect point): You convince a sentient creature to regard you positively, as they would a potential friend. You gain an asset in all future interactions with the creature until you give them a reason to no longer regard you well, at which point this effect ends. The affected creature isn't "charmed” supernaturally—they are not compelled or controlled in any way. So this isn't enough to keep a hostile foe from attacking, but it can help in a subsequent interaction task to do that. Action to initiate, one minute to complete.
 Disincentivize (4 Intellect point): You hinder all actions attempted by any number of targets within short range who can understand you. You choose which targets are affected. Affected targets’ actions are hindered for one round. Arkai who use Disincentivize typically promise, lie, or threaten in order to hinder actions. Action.
 Blend In (4 Intellect points): When you blend in, creatures still see you, but they attach no importance to your presence for about a minute. While blending in, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position— attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining period of effect by taking an action to focus on seeming innocuous and as if you belong. Action to initiate or reinitiate.
 Psychosis (4 Intellect points): Your words inflict a destructive psychosis in the mind of a target within long range that can understand you, dealing 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) per round. The psychosis can be dispersed if a target spends an action doing nothing but calming and centering itself. Action to initiate.
 Healing Power of Words (6 Intellect points): If you interact with or study a target for at least a round, you can attempt to restore points to the target’s Might Pool or Speed Pool in one of two ways: either the chosen Pool regains up to 6 points or it is restored to a total value of 12 (you choose when you initiate this ability). The attempt is a level 3 task. Points are restored at a rate of 1 point each round. You must continue speaking with the target the whole time. In no case can this ability raise a Pool higher than its normal maximum. Action to prepare; action to initiate. If the target spends points from their Pool during the ongoing healing, the healing ends.
 Extra Community Action (9 Intellect points): During the course of a conflict between communities, you can fire up one community so much that it can take two community actions in the same amount of time it could normally take only one. This means the community could inflict damage twice, inflict damage while another segment of the community tries to persuade some other neutral community or horde to become allied, or something else. This is considered a community task. Action to initiate, one hour to complete.
option Aggression (2 Intellect points): Your words twist the mind of a character within short range who is able to understand you, unlocking her more primitive instincts. As a result, she gains an asset on her Might-based attack rolls for one minute. Action to initiate.
 Follower: You gain a level 2 follower. One of their modifications must be persuasion. You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another level 2 follower. The GM may require that you actually look for a suitable follower, as opposed to just gaining one, as a long-term task. Enabler.
 Discerning Mind: You have +3 to Armor against damaging attacks and damaging effects that target your mind and Intellect. The difficulty of defense rolls you make against attacks that attempt to confuse, persuade, frighten, or otherwise influence you is eased. Enabler.
 Spur Effort (5 Intellect points): You select an ally within immediate range. If that character applies Effort to a task on their next turn, they can apply a free level of Effort on that task. Action.
 Skill With Attacks: Choose one type of attack in which you are not already trained: light bashing, light bladed, light ranged, medium bashing, medium bladed, medium ranged, heavy bashing, heavy bladed, or heavy ranged. You are trained in attacks using that type of weapon. Enabler.
 Inspiration (9 Intellect points): You speak words of encouragement and inspiration. All allies within short range who can hear you immediately gain a recovery roll, gain an immediate free action, and have an asset for that free action. The recovery roll does not count as one of their normal recovery rolls. You can do this only once, but its use is restored each time you make a recovery roll. Action.
option Erase Memories (3 Intellect points): You reach into the mind of a creature within immediate range and make an Intellect roll. On a success, you erase up to the last five minutes of its memory. Action.
 Babel: After hearing a language spoken for a few minutes, you can speak it and make yourself understood. If you continue to use the language to interact with native speakers, your skills improve rapidly, to the point where you might be mistaken for a native speaker after just a few hours of speaking the new language. Enabler.
 Mind Reading (4 Intellect points): You can read the surface thoughts of a creature within short range, even if it doesn't want you to. You must be able to see the target. Once you have established contact, you can read the target's thoughts for up to one minute. If you or the target moves out of range, the connection is broken. Action to initiate.
 Strategize (6 Intellect points): Having an action plan in place before facing a challenge improves the odds of success, even if that plan is eventually changed or discarded once it’s put into play. If you and your allies spend at least ten minutes going over a plan of action, all of you gain one free level of Effort that can be applied to one task you attempt during the execution of that plan within the next 28 hours. The plan of action must be something concrete and executable in order to gain this benefit. Action to initiate, ten minutes to complete.
 Divide and Conquer (7 Intellect points): If you brief and prep one of your followers or deputies for at least a round, they can act on your behalf within an allied community or horde so well that you can effectively take on two tasks simultaneously, whether they’re regular actions or community tasks. If taking regular actions, you can take two actions on each of your turns for up to one minute, including using special abilities of up to tier 3, even in two different parts of the community or horde. Special abilities used by your follower or deputy are subtracted from your Pools because they are acting on your direct authority and are relying on your influence. Alternatively, you can take normal actions while your prepped follower attempts a community task, or you can both attempt community tasks. Action to prepare; action to initiate.
 Will of a Leader (9 Intellect points): You harden your allies’ dedication and capabilities. Each ally within immediate range gains +1 Edge to one stat of their choice for one hour. You also gain this benefit to one stat of your choice. Action.
option Enthrall (1 Intellect point): While talking, you grab and keep another creature's attention, even if the creature can't understand you. For as long as you do nothing but speak (you can't even move), the other creature takes no actions other than to defend itself, even over multiple rounds. If the creature is attacked, the effect ends. Action to initiate. Action to maintain.
 Calm Aggression (3 Intellect points): You can convince a hostile creature to refrain from taking violent action for one round. On your next action, you (or someone else) can attempt to convince the creature to refrain from being hostile longer-term, but if you fail, the creature acts as it wishes.
 Oratory (4 Intellect points): When speaking with a group of intelligent creatures that can understand you and aren't hostile, you convince them to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creatures or their allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action.
 Foul Aura (5+ Intellect points): Your words, gestures, and touch invest an object no larger than yourself with an aura of doom, fear, and doubt for one day. Creatures that can hear and understand you feel an urge to move at least a short distance away from the object. If a creature does not move away, the difficulty of all tasks, attacks, and defenses it attempts while within the aura is increased by one step. The duration of the aura is extended by one day per level of Effort applied. The aura is temporarily blocked while the object is covered or contained. Action to initiate.
 Discipline of Watchfulness (7 Intellect points): You keep your allies on their toes with occasional questions, jokes, and even mock drills for those who care to join in. After spending 28 hours with you, your allies can apply a free level of Effort to any initiative tasks they attempt. This benefit is ongoing while you remain in the allies’ company. It ends if you leave, but it resumes if you return to the allies’ company within 28 hours. If you leave the allies’ company for more than 28 hours, you must spend another 28 hours together to reactivate the benefit. You must spend the Intellect point cost each 28 hours you wish to keep the benefit active. Enabler.
 Shatter Mind (7+ Intellect points): Your words reverberate destructively in the brain of an intelligent level 2 target within short range that can understand you. They destroy tissue, memories, and personality, triggering a vegetative state. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of the attack, you can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to shatter the mind of a level 5 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action.
option Terrifying Presence (2+ Intellect points): You convince one intelligent target of level 3 or lower that your ally is target worst nightmare. The target must be within short range and be able to understand you. The difficulty of all attacks made by your chosen ally against this creature is eased for 1d6 rounds. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of the roll, you can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to terrorize a level 5 target (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Action.
 Impart Ideal (3 Intellect points): After interacting with another creature who can hear and understand you for at least one minute, you can attempt to temporarily impart an ideal to the target that you can't otherwise convince it of. An ideal is different than a specific suggestion or command; an ideal is an overarching value such as "all life is sacred,” "my political party is the best,” "children should be seen, not heard,” and so on. An ideal influences a creature's behavior but doesn't control it. The imparted ideal lasts for as long as befits the situation, but usually at least a few hours. The implanted ideal is jeopardized if someone friendly to the creature spends a minute or more bringing the target back to its senses. Action.
 Dangerous Personal Insight (3 Intellect points): If you interact with or study a sentient creature for at least a round, you gain an advantage over them in combat, having spotted a weakness or devised a viable tactic. You gain an asset on attacks made against that creature for 28 hours. Action.
 Heightened Skills: You are trained in two tasks of your choosing (other than attacks or defense). If you choose a task you're already trained in, you instead become specialized in that task. You can't choose a task you're already specialized in.
 Complete Lunacy (6 Intellect points): You convince an intelligent creature to do something that they would never normally do, short of outright killing themselves (although they might do something obviously dangerous) or committing violence against someone or something they love. You could convince the duke to take off his clothes and run around his castle. You could convince an Aeon Priest to give over her most valuable numenera device. This isn't mind control—they're actually convinced it's the right thing to do and will believe so long after they've done it. Action.
option Observation (1 Intellect point): You observe or study intelligent creature or intelligent object for at least a few rounds. Your next interaction with that creature or object gains one asset. Action.
 Unexpected Betrayal: Within a round or two of successfully using Enthrall, Command, or a similar ability on a target within short range, the difficulty of the first attack you make on that target is decreased by two steps. Once you use Unexpected Betrayal on a target, the difficulty of using your abilities or attempting simple persuasion on that target is permanently increased by two steps. Enabler.
 Outwit: When you make a Speed defense roll, you can use Intellect in place of your Speed. Enabler.
 Implant Suggestion (4 Intellect points): You implant a suggestion in the mind of a creature within immediate range. Describe a course of activity to the creature and the conditions under which the creature will perform it. The course of activity must be within the creature’s capabilities, and the conditions under which it would perform the activity must be something that directly affects the creature or occurs in its immediate environment. Then make an Intellect attack against that creature. If you succeed, you implant the suggestion, and if the conditions occur within the next 28 hours, the creature does as you suggest. If you attempt to implant a suggestion that would jeopardize the creature’s life, livelihood, loved ones, or property, the difficulty of the task is increased by two steps. Action.
 Coax the Crowd (7 Intellect points): You convince a large number of people—all within long range—to change a belief and take a long-term action or set of actions. For example, you might convince them to turn against the queen and storm the castle, or welcome a group of visitants as friends in the community. This takes about ten minutes to accomplish, during which time you can't be seriously interrupted or the attempt automatically fails.
option Powerful Rhetoric (1 Intellect point): After engaging a creature in conversation for at least a minute, you can attempt to influence how that creature is perceived, promoting it as a friend, dismissing it as a fool, or denouncing it as an enemy. Your words are so well chosen that even you and it are affected, because your conviction and its doubt are paramount. The accuracy of your assessment isn’t important as long as you keep up the rhetoric. From then on (or until you change your rhetoric or the creature offers a convincing defense to those who’ve heard your label), the friend’s social interactions gain an asset, the fool’s social interactions are hindered, or the enemy’s defenses are hindered. Action to initiate, one minute to complete.
 False Identity (2 Intellect points): If you have some kind of physical disguise you can fool a sentient creature that you are someone else. You gain a free level of Effort on this task. Enabler.
 Group Friendship (3 Intellect points): You convince a sentient creature to regard you and up to ten creatures you designate that are within immediate distance of you positively, as they would a potential friend. Action to initiate, one minute to complete.
 Assume Control (6+ Intellect points): You control the actions of another creature you have interacted with or studied for at least a round. This effect lasts for ten minutes. The target must be level 2 or lower. Once you have assumed control, the target acts as if it wants to accomplish your desire to the best of its ability, freely using its own best judgment unless you use an action to give it a specific instruction on an issue-by-issue basis. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can also choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to attempt to command a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), you must apply three levels of Effort. When the effect ends, the target remembers everything that happened and reacts according to its nature and your relationship to it; assuming control might have soured that relationship if it was previously a positive one. Action to initiate.
option Practiced With Medium Weapons: You can use medium weapons without penalty. If you wield a heavy weapon, increase the difficulty of the attack by one step. Enabler.
 Telling (2 Intellect points): This ability provides an asset to any tasks attempting to deceive, persuade, or intimidate. Each use lasts up to a minute; a new use (to switch tasks) replaces the previous use. Action to initiate.
option Coax Information (1 Intellect point): If you have a conversation with someone (lasting at least a minute), you can get that someone to give you some information you desire during the course of the conversation. If this information is extremely secret or vital, the difficulty may be higher than simply their level (likewise, if it is not very vital, it might be lower). Best of all, if you are successful, the person either doesn't realize the information slipped out, or they are not alarmed that they gave it to you. Enabler.
option Encouragement (1 Intellect point): While you maintain this ability through ongoing inspiring oration, your allies within short range modify the difficulty of one of the following task types (your choice) by one step to their benefit: defense tasks, attack tasks, or tasks related to any skill that you are trained or specialized in. Action to initiate. Action to maintain.
option Command (1 Intellect point): When speaking with an intelligent creature who can understand you and isn't hostile, you convince that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action should not put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character, but it might be more than could be accomplished with a simple persuasion task. Action.