Numenera was kickstarted mid 2012 and today is a robust and full roleplaying system and setting. The setting is a unique and fun science fantasy a billion years in the future of earth. The book begins with a famous quote from Sir Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." This quote sets the stage for the settings magic users, called Nanos. It’s not really magic of course, the Nanos control technology so advanced that it seems like magic.
The Numenera system acknowledges that gamers are looking for more than the solid crunch of a D&D ruleset, and the system is designed to give players and GM more flexiblity, though the entire system is clearly designed with your typical D&D player in mind (hardly surprising, considering the source). The system makes the story important and tries to prioritize the fiction in front of the numbers. It tries, I don’t have enought experience at this point to tell you if it succeeds.
I am the TERROR that FLAPS IN THE NIGHT
When creating a character in Numenera you must create a character descriptor in the form of I am an adjective noun who verbs. I really like this system of character design. It gives you a very neat little statement that gives a surprising amount of information (by the game terms). You might be an Intelligent Jack who Howls at the moon; each of those descriptors gives an involved meaning to what your character is and what they do, as well as informing your power set.
It seems like a great mix between storytelling and mechanics, but as I haven’t had a chance to run or play it yet, I need to jump in and get a game going. Looking forward to it.