VOW 10 (30)

The vow are a myth of the Aeon Priesthood. According to a perhaps apocryphal account,
High Father Calaval himself once told the story of meeting a vow, an entity so old and so
conversant with the numenera that it seemed clear the creature knew at least one of the
prior worlds, possibly having survived millions of years.
Calaval described the vow he encountered as something that had taken up residence
within a carapace of synth and metal, at the center of which something took shape that
vaguely resembled a human form encased in armor and indecipherable objects of the
numenera. Why the vow approached Calaval, and why they are sometimes still seen
ghosting across the Ninth World, isn’t obvious. But stories of a vow’s appearance draw
Philethis, page 252 attention from all manner of other beings, especially philethis.
Motive: Unpredictable
Environment: Almost anywhere, alone
Health: 42
Damage Inflicted: 12 points
Armor: 10
Movement: Long; long when flying
Combat: A vow has constant access to the datasphere. This connection and other abilities
allow a vow to accomplish near-miraculous tasks, nearly anything it can think of. For
instance, a vow can batter all foes it can see or that it knows about with an explosive
blast of energy or force. It can cause earthquakes, collapse towers, or crumble cliff faces.
If a vow spends several rounds concentrating, it can create structures and landscape
features out of previously unformed drit and rock. Finally, a vow seems to have ready
access to useful cyphers, many of them more powerful than average.
Interaction: Vow disregard most other creatures, because what’s the point when even the
most desperate need
of a mortal creature
becomes meaningless
in just a hundred or
so years? However,
a vow may give a
moment to someone
knowledgeable about
the numenera, and
pass on information or
even provide a useful
cypher.
Use: A reflective ebony
object was found
in the destruction
Extreme cyphers are surrounding a fallen
those at the top of the star and taken to a
power curve for level and local village. Now
effect. For example, the
villagers report they
level 10 limitless cypher
allows the user to succeed are being haunted by
at any one knowledge images of themselves
task, regardless of the in walls and floors,
question. similar in most ways
except for how the eyes
GM Intrusion: The
shine like malevolent
character discovers that
one of their cyphers has jewels.
become conscious in the Loot: Six extreme (level 10)
vow’s presence. cyphers.

176