New project: Stars Without Number

So I came across a gem of a RPG system during one of my surfs the other day: Stars Without Number (SWN). The best comparison I can come up with is that it is like a mix between old school D&D with Traveller. It is very rules-light, but it has great tools for a GM to generate worlds and stories. The ship combat doesn't seem too bad either, effectively being an extension of the regular combat system similar to Dungeons and Dragons.

Some of the setting features are fairly unique as well. For example, in SWN, the FTL drive is called a "Spike Drive" that "drills" into another plane of existence where space is compressed, similar to a hyperspace drive. It really conveys the sense that the Spike Drive uses brute force rather than a refined technique.

Other setting features are not so unique... In the game's setting, humanity constantly expanded through the stars, and as they skipped through other dimensions to travel faster than light, some became "touched" by Multi-Dimensional-Exposure-Sickness (or MES), gaining new psychic abilities. They used their new-found psychic abilities to form jump gates that used psychics to plot courses through space, faster and more effectively than possible with spike drives. After a time, a cataclysmic event known as the "Scream" caused a great amount of psychic backlash that killed most of the psychics. This also led to the collapse of the jump gate network, disrupting space travel and reverting the massive empire back into chaos. Sound familiar?

Old tropes aside, this game seems like the perfect basis for a space-faring adventure that doesn't get too bogged down by rules. The system generation system alone is worth looking into, as it gives you a great way to create an explorable universe.

I will be writing some stuff in the coming weeks, detailing the following:

Ship designs
Planet Summaries
Character Biographies
Adventure seeds

NSL Scout Vessel

Should be a fun project.