/r/SWN

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit dedicated to all things Stars Without Number, a sci-fi tabletop role-playing game designed by Kevin Crawford.

Welcome to /r/SWN, a subreddit dedicated to all things Stars Without Number!

 

Got a question about rules or lore in your campaign? Feel free to ask it here! ;)

 

 

Stars Without Number publications:

Core Rulebooks:

Campaign Supplements:

Worldbooks:

Setting Supplements:

Adventures:

Mandate Achives:

(Only available as part of the

Mandate Archive Collection 2011)

  • MA09 Transhuman Tech

  • MA10 The Imago Dei

  • MA11 Scavenger Fleets

  • MA12 Stellar Heroes

  •  

     

    Other Dust

    The following additions are set within the same SWN universe and follow the same lore, but the included books are intended for Other Dust campaigns which are set on earth about 350 years before the events of SWN (but around 185 years after the scream hit).

    Core Rulebook

    Adventures:

    Codex of the New Earth:

     

     

    Sine Nomine Publishing Journals

    Every once in a while, a free journal is published with additional content supplements such as roll tables, items, or new classes. However, these releases aren't SWN specific, and contain supplements to various Sine Nomine publications.

     

    /r/SWN

    15,191 Subscribers

    3

    Am I understanding Psionic Succor and Injury and Healing correctly

    So based off my understanding of Injury and Healing, when a character goes down, and comes back up they are placed in critical condition, unable to fight, and only have 1 hp after 10 minutes. Should they go down to 0 again, they die instantly.

    Now, should they be brought back up by something that heals damage, such as Psionic Succor, they are not at 1 hp, but are at the amount they healed by and can immediately rejoin the fight. Do they immediately die if they go to 0 again? I know they no longer have to wait a week to regain hp.

    TLDR: Does Psionic Succor and similar hp recovery items allow yo-yo healing?

    2 Comments
    2025/02/03
    00:55 UTC

    10

    Feedback on my in-game ship computer

    I wanted to get some feedback on this idea I've had, I'm putting together a SWN campaign set in the Twilight Imperium universe since both I and my friends are fans of it and play DnD, so SWN seems like a nice system to use for this.

    Since we're all new, I wanted the players to have a player and campaign aid that represents the in-game ship computer with the usual types of menu that you would expect to see.

    Keen to hear any thoughts on it's usefulness while it is still WIP. The wiki, and some of the game mechanic explanations in the dropdown are still being worked on and not as much as a rush to complete. As well, the crew members are just quick creations by me based on this tool.

    Ship computer: https://hyperion-box.github.io/

    2 Comments
    2025/02/02
    22:13 UTC

    5

    A few odd questions about unarmed/punch builds

    EDIT: Codex of the Black Sun is not a 1e supplement. I can't "just ask my GM" because I am trying to play solo and want to know what the intent of the rules is.

    1. Does the Elemental Warrior focus from Codex of the Black Sun effectively let you add your Punch skill to unarmed damage twice? I ask because the core book already says you add your Punch skill to unarmed damage.

    2. Can you dual wield brass knuckles, kinesis wraps, or other such fist weapons?

    3. Is there any "martial artist" background or something similar that could provide the Punch skill, besides Solider or Thug?

    10 Comments
    2025/01/31
    21:23 UTC

    13

    Ship sizes?

    Hi everyone, I have a hard time visualizing the side relations between differenti hulls, Is there a documenti/image where I can get a feel for haiw big those are?

    10 Comments
    2025/01/31
    14:39 UTC

    7

    Character Leveling Questions

    Hello spacers! I'm new to SWN, I have a few questions regarding character levels that I can't seem to find answers to in the free rules. "Level" seems hard to search for, the word appears a lot in different contexts.

    1. Is there any guidance to when characters can gain a level?
    2. How quickly to characters typically level up?
    3. Which level would you recommend for new players in their first session?
    4. Is there a maximum character level?
    5. Bonus questions, is there a larger index, or any other resources that can help make the rules easier to navigate?
    9 Comments
    2025/01/30
    08:32 UTC

    17

    Any plans for more print runs of the offset hardback?

    I have the POD version of Stars, but frankly the glue binding kind of sucks and I can tell it won't be long before it falls apart. Are there any plans for another run of the nicer offset hardback?

    10 Comments
    2025/01/30
    05:34 UTC

    0

    I have 0 knowledge of this game, I have a game in an hour, can someone please throw a premade character sheet at me ?

    I won't be able to do it on my own in a tram, and no, I won't answer why exactly I didn't do it myself properly, Life and its bullshit has happened.

    So uhh, yeah, I will be very grateful if you help me out with this one.

    10 Comments
    2025/01/28
    16:43 UTC

    30

    Arrival at Amaro Starport. Made and rendered in Blender 4.2.5 For more scifi content see www.deviantart.com/elisvara

    12 Comments
    2025/01/27
    20:02 UTC

    42

    Alpha Mission: Welcome to Sector-85

    I keep seeing people asking for good introductory adventures and one-shots for SWN. So there seems to be a demand for it.

    Now I'm thinking I'll make an anthology of six introductory adventures, each with a different campaign focus: freighter crew, covert espionage, military, psychic, planetary exploration, and crime.

    I had already started working on a cover for a different project that I think I'll scrap. Here's the repurposed cover.

    What do ya'll think? Is there demand for this kind of product?

    https://preview.redd.it/v6730gw3glfe1.png?width=2550&format=png&auto=webp&s=9222851090e283d3a829635496f0185d967b6dc5

    7 Comments
    2025/01/27
    01:46 UTC

    3

    [Online] [Roll 20] [LGTBQ+ Friendly] [Newbie Friendly] Looking For Players Saturday 11AM EST

    Looking for players to join our group after we had a player leave. We are early on in our Stars Without Number campaign. If you are interested in joining please PM the details. We are level 2.

    Our Story So Far:

    The players are all natives of the Twili Flotilla. A group of failed colony ships that due to a routing error never it made it to their destination. The Flotilla exists in a gray area of inter-sector law, where it is managed by 3 inter-sector governments. The result is chaos, as it has become a place with exiles, political refugees and corporations looking to maximize profit.

    The players managed to come across a small shuttle in which they named the Hell's Lament and have taken to piracy and mercenary work. Taking on jobs such as retrieving priceless art work from a failed pleasure world turned savage jungle for the shadowy art dealer Aladesh Vili and retrieving a ceremonial mace for Lady In Waitng, Emma Wood, daughter of Frasian High Lord Oliver Wood. After rescing Emma, they've entered into the service of the Frasian Galactic Navy as privateers under her sponsorship.

    Where we are now, the group have traveled to the Ramah star sytem in search of a miraculous beard oil that provides impressive volume and luster. However, en route they were hailed by a distress signal from an asteroid mining colony. When docking into the ship hangar bay, everything was quiet, but bullet holes and laser burns were strewn about the walls and the iron smell of blood lingered in the air.

    Interested? Heres What I Need:

    PM me the following information:

    • Your name and pronouns
    • Your character's name (optional class)
    • A 1 - 3 sentence elevator pitch
    • Things you want to see in the game. (Space combat, intrigue, faction conflict, etc)
    • Things that are lines you don't want to cross (Things like no pvp, no SA, no party vs party stealing)
    • Optional stuff: Your experiences with ttrpgs, pet peeves, any issues you might want to talk aboutLooking for players to join our group after we had a player leave. We are early on in our Stars Without Number campaign. If you are interested in joining please PM the details. We are level 2.Our Story So Far:The players are all natives of the Twili Flotilla. A group of failed colony ships that due to a routing error never it made it to their destination. The Flotilla exists in a gray area of inter-sector law, where it is managed by 3 inter-sector governments. The result is chaos, as it has become a place with exiles, political refugees and corporations looking to maximize profit. The players managed to come across a small shuttle in which they named the Hell's Lament and have taken to piracy and mercenary work. Taking on jobs such as retrieving priceless art work from a failed pleasure world turned savage jungle for the shadowy art dealer Aladesh Vili and retrieving a ceremonial mace for Lady In Waitng, Emma Wood, daughter of Frasian High Lord Oliver Wood. After rescing Emma, they've entered into the service of the Frasian Galactic Navy as privateers under her sponsorship. Where we are now, the group have traveled to the Ramah star sytem in search of a miraculous beard oil that provides impressive volume and luster. However, en route they were hailed by a distress signal from an asteroid mining colony. When docking into the ship hangar bay, everything was quiet, but bullet holes and laser burns were strewn about the walls and the iron smell of blood lingered in the air.Interested? Heres What I Need:PM me the following information:Your name and pronouns Your character's name (optional class) A 1 - 3 sentence elevator pitch Things you want to see in the game. (Space combat, intrigue, faction conflict, etc) Things that are lines you don't want to cross (Things like no pvp, no SA, no party vs party stealing) Optional stuff: Your experiences with ttrpgs, pet peeves, any issues you might want to talk about
    0 Comments
    2025/01/26
    20:47 UTC

    13

    A question on cargo…

    So our campaign is moving toward a “end of the beginning” climax, and transitioning into more of a sandbox.
    Income, ship maintenance, and cargo runs are about to take center stage. I’m afraid I’m unclear on how cargo space works.

    If our ship has 100 tons of cargo capacity (via cargo holds) and 0 free mass left on the buildout:

    • does it have 100 tons of cargo it can load and fly with?
    • or does it have 0 tons of cargo it can load and fly with?

    Also (less important), how many cubic meters per ton are we talking about here? I’d like to build out a floor plan.

    4 Comments
    2025/01/26
    20:43 UTC

    6

    4. Man Down | After The End | Ashes Without Number

    0 Comments
    2025/01/26
    17:15 UTC

    10

    1. Lost In Dreams | Side Jobs | Cities Without Number

    3 Comments
    2025/01/25
    18:59 UTC

    37

    What's your most favorite and least favorite part of SWN?

    For me, Most is how easy it is to play, simple with a little flexibility in combat options. Characters run smooth, for the most part.

    My least favorite bit is how the skill system works when leveling or creating a character, the weird incentives to save your level 2 foci pick for a focus that gives you a bonus skill because it's worth more, or how everyone rolls on growth because stats are worth so much, or how if you're not a psychic, lots of levels will just be getting more health and adding a +1 to your main skill. I dunno how I would fix it, but it's kind of awkward and boring and makes non-foci levels kinda boring.

    47 Comments
    2025/01/24
    18:18 UTC

    26

    Without Numbers Solo Questions

    Greetings and Salutations

    The Without Numbers games crop up everywhere I look...with very positive feedback for Stars espeically.

    1. I am curious is SWN the most streamline and overall best product/experience?

    Or

    Is it a case that all are similar mechanically with one or two major different aspects to suit each setting. Thus if deciding which to play it is just a case of whether you want Sci fi (SWN), Fantasy (WWN), Cyberpunk (CWN), Dystopia (AWN).

    1. Are any of them more suited to solo play?

    2. Ashes. Wondering if those that are playing the beta. How is it shaping up? My skeptic side keeps poking me saying after 3 interactions are they milking it or maybe its just that good.

    23 Comments
    2025/01/23
    23:58 UTC

    22

    CWN Toolbox JS tool

    I've used this little utility by Steve Simenic for creating random SWN content:

    https://github.com/orffen/swn

    I don't see one like it for CWN, so I've forked the SWN repository and am creating that code (pretty easy stuff).

    Just checking is there any reason I shouldn't publish the completed version? It contains only content from the free CWN rules.

    3 Comments
    2025/01/23
    01:23 UTC

    48

    Ancient Wonders - A Massive Space Opera Toolkit

    https://reddit.com/link/1i7m2xc/video/vxiois3qn2ee1/player

    Ancient Wonders is a supplement based on Starforged that has great system-agnostic compatibility. As some of you may know, Starforged is heavily inspired by Stars Without Numbers.

    Ancient Wonders provides you with all you need to explore the galaxy in a way that has never been done before, with generators for solar systems, planets, alien megastructures, megacities, and hazardous, otherworldly encounters; all with new mechanics to deepen and twist your adventuring endeavors.

    2 Comments
    2025/01/22
    21:10 UTC

    5

    Any ship sheet for engines of babylon ships around?

    What it says on the tin. I want to mess around with those delightful TL3 ships and I was unable to find a sheet that considers them. I could modify some, but I'd love it if they existed already.

    2 Comments
    2025/01/22
    06:24 UTC

    22

    Want to have fission but no easy nuking, help me think of ways to do it.

    (Strelkans, go away, potential spoilers ahead)

    I want uranium. I want reactor meltdowns. I want radioactive gasses. I don't want fusion providing effectively infinite energy to civilizations. I'll be poaching a bit from engines of babylon. Here's the ideas I've had so far.

    Nuke snuffers exist, and they are quite easy to fabricate. But they only dampen supercritical reactions. So all ships have one, but they have them off by default in order to have nuclear propusion proper instead of just an electrical generator**.** They only get turned on in combat scenarios. This means that during combat, maneuvering is done with chemical or possibly electrical engines. This also means takeoff and landing is done with chemical rockets (in order not to irradiate everything). And that you can potentially be nuked by surprise...

    Maybe self sustaining artificial fusion exists, but is only feasible in very large sizes and outside of gravity wells. So, space stations, and maybe capital ships? This would give more reason to manufacture stuff like O'Neill cylinders and other megastructures. Perhaps building a fusion generator is a whole plot point somewhere, basically like making a moon sized mini sun (bonus points for being able to say "That's no moon").

    Also want more engines of babylon system ships. Mainly because they are cheap, and in combat nuke snuffers are on anyway. You would need a carrier or an ambush tho.

    13 Comments
    2025/01/20
    20:40 UTC

    16

    [CWN] How does payout work?

    So I am running a game of Cities without number and I am trying to figure out if the pay-out of the mission is for each PC or as the group as a whole. For first mission of the game the pay-out that I have calculated is $7,500. Do I pay that to each PC or the group and let them split it from amongst themselves? There are four players in the group if that matters.

    5 Comments
    2025/01/19
    01:08 UTC

    5

    Is it good to half the Hit Points of players and NPC?

    I was reading Heroic Characters chapter, and I read that Heroic PCs have half the maximum possible hit points for their class. In my future campaigns, I want to make combat lethal, so want to apply this rule to non-heroic characters and NPC. Would this be a good idea?

    14 Comments
    2025/01/18
    22:37 UTC

    8

    [LFG] looking to join campaign

    I'm looking to join a campaign. Fairly new to SWN. I am in the US pacific time zone. Open to any day in the evenings. Please DM me if you have anything.

    Thanks!

    0 Comments
    2025/01/18
    00:39 UTC

    4

    SWN 17:00 GMT+2 TMRW Session 0 (Optional)

    Yeah I know this doesnt give you alot of time but I just lost one of my players and i need somebody to fill because Session 0 is tomorrow.

    0 Comments
    2025/01/17
    19:18 UTC

    11

    Looking for players for a text based play by post game!

    Do you dream of forging your path among the stars? Do you want to set off on a grand adventure and rise to be a legendary ship captain and build your own capital ship? This game might be for you!

    This will be a text based SWN revised game.

    This game is entirely play by post in discord and will feature players operating through the sector. In teams, solo, you name it. You can be a lowly civilian trying to get by and make ends meet, or you can be a faction leader set on taking over the sector. You can pilot a ship, or run a shipyard supply ships to the navies. The choice is yours!

    The game takes place slightly further into the future so tech/wealth are starting to advance again. There are a good bit of homebrew options in terms of equipment, ships, structures, etc.

    IMPORTANT! There are no psionics in this setting. I have added 4 optional classes that are similar in power to the Expert and Warrior.

    If you are interested please join our discord and fill out the application located there. https://discord.gg/QeKNTDQdBc

    12 Comments
    2025/01/17
    14:05 UTC

    44

    All three Sector-85 sourcebooks available Print on Demand

    16 Comments
    2025/01/17
    04:06 UTC

    11

    Titan of the Verdant Maw Adventure

    1 Comment
    2025/01/16
    13:37 UTC

    23

    What rules have you poached from other XWN systems? How has it worked?

    I'm taking rules for charging and shield an ally from WWN. Probably trauma and drones from CWN. Soak is a maybe.

    13 Comments
    2025/01/14
    23:50 UTC

    24

    AWN and Nukes

    In the recent betas for the Albuquerque Badlands, it says that Albuquerque was hit by an antique nuke in the Crazed's madness. My question is: Did Albuquerque (and by extension, other parts of Terra) not have the Quantum ECM and Nuke Snuffers of SWN? In Other Dust, it's mentioned that it was Nuclear Reactor plants going boom that caused a lot of the radiation I find it strange that a presumably TL5 planet like Old Terra wouldn't have tech like that, unless its something specific to the Badlands of New Mexico.

    4 Comments
    2025/01/14
    16:47 UTC

    14

    Help with resources for alien plants & animals?

    5 Comments
    2025/01/14
    07:25 UTC

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