The spiritual successor to PlaneScape: Torment being developed by inXile Entertainment is going to rely on many of the themes and exotic settings that made the original so popular, according to inXile chief Brian Fargo. Since the PlaneScape world is unavailable, the RPG world of Numenera, which ran a successful Kickstarter in September, will be used.

"Numenera is very exotic and rich, but is a flexible universe that empowers and support GMs," Fargo said in an interview with RPS. "We won't have faeries or devils, but we'll have diabolical creatures from far dimensions with schemes beyond human imagination. We won't have gods, but we'll have creatures who have lived for millennia with the powers of creation and destruction at their fingertips, with abilities honed over countless lifetimes. We won't have other planes per se, but we'll have pathways to hostile worlds and bizarre landscapes and ancient machines that catapult the players into places where the ordinary laws of nature no longer apply."

The game is still early in development, but the team has already outlined the basic story, sketched out the major characters, and agreed on the thematic concepts that will be at play, Fargo said. How the combat will be handled is still up in the air, but the team is leaning toward real-time, with pauses. The project will be crowdfunded via Kickstarter some time in the future.

Efforts to get approval from Wizards of the Coast for PlaneScape went nowhere, Fargo said, but by that time, the team was already getting excited by the world and game system of Numenera, created by ex-WotC and PlaneScape writer Monte Cook. "This goes beyond a typical licensing arrangement as Monte will be giving us direct input and even provide writing for some of the game areas. I'm really pleased to have Monte be part of the team."

If you want to know more about the world of Numenera, check out the Kickstarter video: