This is an excellent product full of incredible professional standard Science Fiction art made freely available for small press creators to use in their products. A wide range of highly usable and beautiful pieces.

Kevin Crawford uses the Open Gaming License so that the Ability Scores of Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma are used to make a character and that a D20 is used for skill checks and combat rolls.

But he uses these familiar mechanics in a very flexible and open horror role-playing game that lets the GM create a world out of well researched random tables. This game not take the now Public Domain literature of Lovecraft as the shorthand for the supernatural. Instead it draws from many different Pulp and Sci-Fi sources so that you the GM can build your own mythos from the common tropes of their practitoners in a mix and match fashion.

I would recommend this its own game or for use with other horror RPGs to flesh out adventures from the tables within.

This book... it is... *chef kiss*!

From an RPG standpoint: This is the only version of a fantasy D20 that interests me. I'm not a fan of hitdice, armor class, spells-per-day or levelling mechanics, but this game has got me excited to try them again. It takes lessons and mechanics that Crawford has learned across his previous works (e.g. Godbound, Stars Without Number) and incorportated them into something flexible and meaty without getting bogged down in complexity. While it may look at first that there are only 4 classes (which I call "skill-monkey", "casty", "stabby" and "undecided") the use of skills, foci and arts are what really let you make a character so much more interesting and different than appears at first glance.

Foci and arts give you lots of ways to change your character up, and really change the rules and abilities for them. Want to make an agile fighter that dances across the battlefield and avoids every attack on their path? The "Close Combatant" foci has you covered. Want your little animal companion - a pet hamster - to become the most feared beast in the world? Take the "Shared Vitality" art as a beastmaster and watch little Hammy take on wolves as you level up. Want to learn how to toss bad guys into walls like a pro? The Vowed class's "Hurling Throw" art will teach you how to toss COWS!!!!

These change up the abilities of your characters so much it's a thing of beauty for me to read! And you get access to them readily and easily - so you can pretty much make any character you want!

And from a combat side? The rules are quite simple and surprisingly tight. Shock damage means that you and your enemies will very often be doing at least some harm to each other, which combines with the relatively low HP of everything to keep combats fast, fluid and wonderfully lethal. No one wants to be in a fight, and just because your armor can take a hit doesn't mean you don't still feel that warhammer smacking into you. Snap attacks give advanced warriors and desparate defenders a method to retaliate against their foes, and the requirement for a mage to not take damage so they can finish casting a spell results in "gank the mage" being a far more viable option than I initially expected.

From a GM/Toolbox Standpoint: Okay, if the RPG part didn't convince you - either because you despise OSR games or something I said above just didn't click - then I would still recommend this book as a source for fantasy inspiration and worldbuilding. ~3/4 of this book is just for helping the GM create adversaries, create adventure seeds, populate the world with interesting and attention-grabbing locations, people, societies and conflicts. Factions can be statted out and their mechanics allow them to actively fight and compete over your world (with the PC's actions able to directly modify their capabilities).

And thanks to tools like the Azgaar fantasy map generator, you can generate a world in no time (just turn on a 6-mile hex grid and your players can start exploring!)

And the best part - it's system neutrual!!! While factions and creatures will definitely follow the OSR-style mechanics, the settings details are there for fluff and world building so you can import all of this to any other game or story you want.

As a final point, the OSR-style rules also make it easy to port other creatures, mechanics and ideas from OSR games with little effort - with Crawford's other games (e.g. Stars Without Number, Spears of the Dawn, Other Dust, etc.) being very easy to port over.

Conclusion: For the pricepoint of this deluxe PDF alone, I whole-heartedly recommend this book. The fact that there is a FREE version as well which contains everything I said above means that you can also try it out before you put your money down - which makes this one of the safest purchases and consumer experiences you can make!

Seriously, this is one of the best RPGs I own. This gets me excited to both play and run a game. This gets me stoked for fantasy worldbuilding in a way that nothing else nowadays does. And if this is what the heart of the OSR movement is, I can 100% see why it's coming back.

I think this game is absolutely amazing, and I want to encourage everyone who is on the fence to give this one a shot!

Best worldbuilding tool I've found. Fantastic advice on anything you wwould want to do in a game.

I really love this RPG. It is fast in play, it offers a traditional character-immersive experience, it provides good variety in characters, it encourages characters who have a wide variety of useful skills ( not just combat as in dnd), and it works with a huge variety of different settings from stone age to modern to sci fi. It is fun to play and fun to run. Better than D&D, well worth it!

I'm late to this party, but wanted to contribute to what I think is an excellent OSR role playing game, and setting.

I picked this up as an aid to Solo roleplaying before GMing my own group, and the final 16 pages are invaluable to that end. The penultimate 21 pages of adventure design are also packed with goodness. It crawled a little for me in the middle, reading the spells (more on that later), but other than that it's a very enjoyable read.

You can read the description for an idea of the setting, but I sell it as Conan the Barbarian + Big Trouble in Little China + Pirates of Dark Waters (the 90s cartoon). Crawford writes with wit and elegance, and explains the rules easily. His setting is such an interesting one (of course there's another source book), that in another time, another world, could have grown to rival the Forgotten Realm or Dark Sun.

So why 3/5? Two reasons but the first of them a bit silly.

I don't like the Spell Names. I said it would be silly.

But just as some people don't like Tunnels & Trolls spells because they sound too 'meta' or glib (e.g 'Knock, knock', 'Take That, You Fiend!'), I really don't like the verbose spell names here. I feel many of them are named so grandious, play would stop to explain what they do, and whilst that could be true of any spell the first time it's called upon, you could probably figure out what 'Magic Missile' does. What on earth does 'Assuming the Flesh of Mist', or 'Crimson Rain of Deliquescence' mean? I don't even know what a deliquescence is, let alone how it affects a crimson rain. EDIT: I broke down and looked it up. I still wouldn't be able to guess what this spell does other than getting people wet on a sunny day.

So, again, it's a silly point, but searching for a new spell to gain takes longer than it needs to ('I want to cause damage to somebody within 30 feet, which one is that?'), and I feel players will eventually shorten or given them nick names.

The second reason, and my biggest gripe, is for the description and pictorial depiction of child corruption and mutilation (I may have buried the lead on this one). One is a child after being consumed by the Red Tide (a corrupting fog that may act as an antagonist or natural barrier), another is a demon pieced together with body parts of aborted or miscarried foetuses.

In a book filled with glorious illustrations, not every monster is depcited, and I think it's in poor taste that these two were chosen. If these 'monsters' had to be in the game, I think the text would have sufficed. Crawford is a very good writer, and his words can be creepy enough.

Now I thought I was a fan of cosmic and body horror, loving films like Society, The Thing, Videodrome, but I guess involving kids is where I draw the line. And I know "It's all just make believe, you were more than happy to hack through 100's of soldiers", but it's not the same, and if either of these were revealed during a game, I would be slapping that X in the middle of the table hard. Yes, it's fantasy, but it's meant to be enjoyable, not some grim slice of the realism of evil and fantasy pestilence might cause, and takes an otherwise mature game in a more twisted direction.

I ordered this in soft cover in the UK, and is one of the few physical books I've ordered from DriveThru POD that arrived in peftect condition with no printing QA issues or mis-aligned covers. The paper is good, thick, and smooth, the text clear, and lineart detailed.

So do check out this wonderful book, It's a good price if you're going to use all of it, but quite pricey if you're only interested in adapting Solo play for another game. There is a Black Streams: Solo Heroes supplement available, and is free, but at half the length of the Solo play chapter in this book, you're only getting 'How to play a duet or solo with existing OSR modules', not crafting the interesting adventures this book offers. Mythic GM Emulator or DM Yourself may be more up your street, but I think the author's written a very clever Duet and Solo system here.

If depictions of child mutilation and silly spell names don't bother you, consider this a 5* review.

Ideal mid-complexity game for Dying Earth or generic fantasy Again, top quality from Mr. Crawford

GOOD

• the magic system is the best in the market, if you like Jack Vance/Gene Wolfe novels. More Vancian than regular D&D, works wonders.
• athmosphere is unique (again Vance/Wolfe)
• top quality GM material to lessen the workload of the GM
• the system works for generic fantasy after minimal work
• neatly trimmed, no meaningless filler text, but a good read
• more player character awesome abilites (adds complexity though)

BAD

• more complex than most previous works (ie. Silent Legions or Scarlet Heroes)
• the GM section seems less focused than usual, harder to find things. The upside is that it covers everything
• some archetypes (ie. cleric or druid) needs to be created from two half class templates. Character creation takes up too much time
• an alternative rule (shock damage) changes the natural flow of d20 combats

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

• some trimming of the GM material. All are good, but some should have gone into supplements for ease of use
• this game really, really needs single class writeups for archetypes (cleric, druid, monk, etc.)
• longer explanation and advice on removing shock damage from the system would be great. For those who prefer "swingy" d20 combats.

OVERALL Unfortunately while this game is top quality, for me it is a nice read which I will never GM, just like Stars Without Number 2E. Luckily I can use Crawford's earlier fantasy games (Exemplars&Eidolons, Scarlet Heroes), which are perfect for simple system guys like me. While I recommend this game, I have to add that it is a better fit for groups who like medium complexity rulesets.

The GM materials are so deep and so flexible. The extra content in the paid version is worth it.

Very nice tools and systems for all things horror, mystery, and the occult. It has what you need for Lovecraft style horror, but I got some vibes of worlds/chronicles of darkness in this book. One note to make, I highly recommend one of pod options as the pdf is adequate for reference, but the art is rather compressed and rough looking.

Star Without Number is a masterclass in game design. It's elegantly simple, while still being deep enough to get into some richly complex role-playing stories. Check out this free version, and if you like what you see (and I think you will), spring for the full version... the real treasure is the world-building tools at the back of the book. Even if you never actually play Stars Without Number as it's own game, the system agnostic world-building tables and systems are easily adapted to whatever sci-fi game your want to play.

Just finished reading through the revised edition. Very much looking forward to running this for our group. Factions mechanic was a pleasant surprise. The author has done a great job tailoring this product to a sandbox style of play. The random tables are well designed and easy to use. The native setting is interesting and allows for an immense amount of variablility to play the kind of sci-fi game that your group wants. The transhuman chapter is a good example of this with a breakdown between hard and soft campaign options. Very well written and easy to follow. Arrtwork is fantastic.

I paid for the hardcover with premium colour. Printing was great, but there was a problem with the binding where some of the pages at the front of the book were detached. I contacted DriveThruRPG support and provided some pictures. I haven't purchased a lot from the site, and this was my first quality control issue. A replacement book was sent and the binding issue is gone.

Have to say that customer support has turned me into a DriveThruRPG super fan. Top marks for this company. They go the extra mile to ensure that customers are happy.

I've told my group about this title and we are all excited to give it a try. Would absolutely buy this again. Highly recommended.

Absolutely fantastic stuff. So much detail to be found zooming into .tif files.

I love SCIFI and I read lots of SCIFI RPGs.

Stars Without Number is the best for sure.

Originally poster here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2021/05/review-stars-without-number-revised.html See link for pictures of Print on Demand version.

A few years back I reviewed Kevin Crawford's Star Without Number. At the time I said: The game is beautiful and there is so much going on with it that it would take me a number of games with it just to get the right feeling for it. The overall feel I get with this game is that it is the perfect child of Basic D&D and Traveller. So much of what made both of those games so great is here.

Is Stars Without Number perfect? No, not really. But it is really, really damn close and even from a short distance I could not tell it apart from a perfect game. Recently I went back over the game and still found it to be nearly perfect. But I had not played it all that much since then.

So on a whim really I picked up the newest Stars Without Number: Revised Edition and I figured I would grab the Print on Demand as well. I just go it in the main this past week.

Wow.

That is really the only way to describe it. Any of the reservations I had about the previous edition evaporated with this edition.

I am considering the PDF and the full-color Print on Demand version.

Written by Kevin Crawford, art by Jeff Brown, Christof Grobelski, Norah Khor, Aaron Lee, Joyce Maureira, Nick Ong, Grzegorz Pedrycz, Tan Ho Sim. And what fantastic art it is too! All pages are full color and each one is evocative and eyecatching. 324 pages.

Chapter 1 covers Character creation. We have seen this all before, but perfect for people new to RPGs or sci-fi fans new to the Classic 6 Attributes and level/class systems. The feel here is solid old-school and SWN:RE wears its old-school and OSR cred proudly. BUT they are also a new game with new design sensibilities. For example, character creation is broken down into easy steps.

You can determine your character's skills (and these can be from a number of sources). There are background packages that can be added to classes to give your character more depth and determine some of their skills. There are also training packages to further define your character.

The classes are the three "archetypes" that you can find in other games, The Expert, The Psychic, and The Warrior. This edition also has The Adventurer which does a little bit of all the above.

Character creation is a breeze and no one seems to die while doing it. There is even a quick character creation method on pages 26-27.

Chapter 2 covers Psionics. Psionics are rather central to the background fiction of the SWN:RE universe, so they get special placement. There are quite a lot of psionic powers detailed here. So first thing, if psionics are something you must have in your sci-fi game then please check this game out first. Psionic points always give the powers a different feel for me than magic, so this is another plus really. These powers are not merely reskinned spells, they have been redone to fit within the mythos of the game better.

Chapter 3 is the Systems chapter. It includes the expected combat, but also a new twist on the skill checks with Target Numbers. Useful if you are using the skills as described here, but its real utility comes in how flexible it can be. I would have to try it out more, but it's close enough to other skill + die roll + mods vs TN that I can see its use in a variety of situations. What I like about these skills is they are a 2d6 roll resolution system and not a d20. Sure makes it feel a little like Traveller. TRhis chapter also covers all sorts of actions, like combat (regular d20 vs AC here) and Saving Throws; Physical, Evasive, and Mental. Hacking also dealt with here since it is most similar to a skill check.

This also covers Character advancement.

Chapter 4 details all the equipment you will need including the Technology Level of the equipment. D&D would be tech level 1 (or so) while we are at TL 3. The game is set at TL 5 with some artifacts at TL 6. Time Lords are hanging out at 7 or 8 I would say. D20 Future and Traveller also use a similar mechanic, so if you want to see how they can also work, checking out those games is advisable.

The standard batch of weapons and armor from sticks and stones all the way up to energy weapons are discussed. AC is now ascending. What is really nice about this game is in addition to lasers, energy swords, and computers it also includes Cyberware, Drones, Vehicles, and "pre-Silence" artifacts.

Chapter 5 gives us Starships. Everything on size, type, and costs to ship-to-ship combat.

Chapter 6 covers the History of Space of the default campaign setting. Even if you don't use it there are some great ideas here.

Chapter 7 is Sector Creation which is just FULL of material for any game. While this game has a lot going for it, this is the real gem in my mind. This chapter is long, detailed and honestly, it makes me want to create worlds.

Chapter 8 covers Adventure Creation. You have characters, you have created all these worlds. Let's get them together.

Chapter 9 is the Xenobestiary. AKA the Monster Manual. Again we are given a lot of detail on how to make alien beasts and then a listing of several samples. Given the old-school nature of this game you could grab ANY old-school monster book for ideas. Yeah...doing Space Orcs could be boring, but Warhammer 40k has been doing them for so long and if you wanted to do them here, well the rules won't stop you. This chapter also covers the creation of alien species. First, the hows and whys of aliens are discussed; what to use, where, and why to use them. Some of this is situated in the campaign setting, but there is some good advice here even if you plan on using your own background/campaign or not even have aliens.

Chapter 10, Factions. Factions are important groups. Say a group of allied pirates or smugglers, a government or a band of plucky rebels. Several key factors when creating a faction are given and there is a huge list of sample factions.

Chapter 11 is Game Master Resources. It talks about character death and when to roll for skills. How to build a galaxy and conversions from First Edition Star Without Number.

Chapter 12 covers newer material, namely Transhuman stories. Or what I call the Altered Carbon chapter. The ability to move on to new bodies.

Chapter 13 has my undivided attention since it is Space Magic. That's right magic and wizards in space. Not psionics, but real arcane magic.

Chapter 14 covers heroic characters. These are not your Traveller grunts or even characters from Star Frontiers, these are your Luke Skywalkers, your Buck Rogers, and more.

Chapter 15 is True Artificial Intelligence.

Chapter 16 covers Societies.

Chapter 17 gives us Mechs.

There is also a fantastic Index (sadly lacking in many books).

SWN:RE ups the game in every possible way over SWN:1st Ed.

Print on Demand

I said this book was gorgeous and I meant it. The print-on-demand copy I got is sturdy and heavy. It is also the closest thing I have seen to offset printing in a POD product. You would have to look hard to tell difference.

I described the previous version as "nearly perfect." Reading through this version I am only left to say that is one pretty much is perfect. It does everything a sci-fi game should. I mentally slot different sci-fi stories, tropes, and ideas in while reading through it and I could not find something that didn't have a fit somewhere.

I have read a lot of sci-fi games this month, but this is one of the very best.

Originally Published here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/05/review-stars-without-number.html

Continuing my deep dive into the OSR-based SciFi games we naturally next come to Stars Without Number. This gem was released in 2011 and was written by Kevin Crawford and Sine Nomine Publishing. SWN is a big book, 254 pages filed with maps, sheets, a great index, but no OGL statement that I kind find. To me this book feels more like the work of hard sci-fi; like that Asimov, Bradbury and Heinlein. Certainly it is epic in scope. There is more of a setting here than other OSR-flavored games, so if you like that, great, if not, well it seems easy enough to ignore.

Chapter 1 covers Character creation. We have seen this all before, but perfect for people new to RPGs or scifi fans new to the Classic 6 Attributes and level/class systems. The classes are the three "archetypes" that you can find in True20 and other games, The Expert, The Psychic and The Warrior. Each has their own advancement table and Hit Die. SWN assumes a 20 level career in case you were curious. Each class also gets their own saving throw tables. There are background packages which can be added to classes to give your character more depth and determines some of their skills. There are also training packages to further define your character. Character creation is a breeze and no one seems to die while doing it.

Chapter 2 covers Psionics. There are quite a lot of psionic powers detailed here. So first thing, if psionics are something you must have in your sci-fi game then please check this game out first. Powers as expected have point cost values. Psionic points always give the powers a different feel for me than magic, so this is another plus really. These powers are not merely reskinned spells, they have been redone to fit within the mythos of the game better.

Chapter 3 details all the equipment you will need including the Tech Level of the equipment. D&D would be tech level 1 (or so) while we are at TL 3. The game is set at TL 5 with some artifacts at TL 6. Time Lords are hanging out at 7 or 8 I would say. D20 Future and Traveller also use a similar mechanic, so if you want to see how they can also work, checking out those games is advisable. The standard batch of weapons and armor from sticks and stone all the way up to energy weapons are discussed. AC is descending by the way. What is really nice about this game is in addition to lasers, energy swords and computers it also includes Cyberware.

Chapter 4 is the Game Systems chapter. It includes the expected combat, but also a new twist on the skill checks with Target Numbers. Useful if you are using the skills as described here, but it's real utility comes in how flexible it can be. I would have to try it out more, but it's close enough to other skill + die roll + mods vs TN that I can see it's use in a variety of situations.

Chapter 5 covers the history of space of the default campaign setting. Even if you don't use it there are some great ideas here.

Chapter 6 is the Game Master Guide of the game. Deals with running the game and how and where to use skill checks.

Chapter 7 is World Generation which is just FULL of material for any game. While this game has a lot going for it, this is the real gem in my mind. This flows right into Chapter 8, Factions. Factions are important groups. Say a group of allied pirates or smugglers, a government or a band of plucky rebels. Several key factors when creating a faction are given and there is a huge list of sample factions. Chapter 9 discusses what sort of adventures you might be able to have. With Chapters 6 through 8 and all the details they give, running out of ideas is the least of your worries really.

Chapter 10 covers the creation of alien species. First the hows and whys of aliens are discussed; what to use, where and why to use them. Some of this is situated in the campaign setting, but there is some good advice here even if you plan on using your own background/campaign or not even have aliens. Plenty of traits are detailed and how they might combine. There are three alien races detailed. Naturally this flows into Chapter 11, Xenobestiary. AKA the Monster Manual. Again we are given a lot of detail on how make alien beasts and then a listing of several samples. Chapter 12 gives us Robots and Mechs. We have various traits detailed and then plenty of samples. Chapter 13 deals with societies. This might have felt better coming after Chapter 8 really. Chapter 14 has designer notes. I nice little treat to be honest. Chapter 15 deals with the Hydra Sector, or the "Known World" of this game. Instead of countries we have planets. Chapter 16 ends the book with scores of random tables. Create just about anything with a few rolls of the dice. There is a nice Index (sadly lacking in many books) and plenty of maps and blank sheets for characters, starships, and adventures.

Stars Without Number is big. It is a vast game with endless possibilities. If there is a sci-fi property out there chances are good that this game will be able to do it.

My only complaint is a non-existent OGL declaration. Can you do a game like this without one? Maybe, but I would not want to. Plus it makes the game's utility a little less for me.

The game is beautiful and there is so much going on with it that it would take me a number of games with it just to get the right feeling for it. The overall feel I get with this game is that it is the perfect child of Basic D&D and Traveller. So much of what made both of those games so great is here.

Is Stars Without Number perfect? No, not really. But it is really, really damn close and even from a short distance I could not tell it apart from a perfect game.