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I stumbled upon this book by accident, purchasing it on a whim. I am glad I did.
A superb addition to the sci-fi genre of RPGs. For ages I have been looking for a sci-fi RGP that caught my imagination. Many came close, but this is the first to meet the grade. By far the best sci-fi RPG I have read, and with a price tag that cannot be argued against.
Inside Stars Without Number you will find a complete RPG, from character creation, to guidance for the GM, and a ready made sector of space ready for a group to start playing “out of the box”. The default setting is well thought out and written, giving the GM and players a believable background against which to set their adventures. Humanity is recovering from a galactic disaster referred to as “the scream”, seeking to recapture the lost wonders of the previous golden age. This gives the gaming group the perfect setting for exploring abandoned worlds, encountering primitive cultures, fighting off space pirates, and rediscovering lost technological artifacts. Even if the GM does not like the rules, the setting is by itself a good enough reason for purchasing this book.
As far as the rules are considered, they are based on the principles of the original “basic” Dungeons & Dragons. Stars Without Number is simple to follow and open enough for any Games Master to make their own, that can be learnt within moments, and entertain for years. This quite simply has the charm and simplicity of the game that many of us cut our teeth on.
Though there are only a dozen or so alien critters in this book (I hear you all cry “we need more than that”), the book provides full guidance and support for creating countless alien creatures, both sentient and animal. And if this was not enough, the old-school style of the rules makes it compatible with many of the other old-school RPGs out on the market. Want to land your spacecraft on a world where dragons are real, simply pick up a copy of the appropriate old-school RPG, and use the creature will little or no work to convert it across.
Starships and space combat are both handled very well. An area a lot of sci-fi RPGs tend to fall down, making the whole business to complex or simple as they try to balance fun against realism. Stars Without Number balances this well. Likewise, the inclusion of rules for Factions is an interesting way to deal with the many organizations (from government bodies, to fanatical cults) the players will encounter as they travel the space-lanes. The rules for factions are geared to enable the players to form factions of their own as they gain levels, forming a parallel to the old-school fantasy RPG equivalent of creating strongholds and amassing followers.
Another great strength for this game is the Designer’s Notes section of the book, which provides advice on why the rules where written the way they were, how they can be changed, and what possible effects changes could make to game balance. This is an invaluable tool to any GM wishing to expand the game with their own ideas of a setting.
At the moment there are only two books for this RPG. The core rule book Stars Without Number, and an adventure called Hard Light. After reading this book, I am looking forward to reading Hard Light, and hope that the authors continue to support this RPG with future adventures and supplements. I also hope that Sine Nomine Publishing seriously consider publishing a printed version of this book. There are plenty of “Print to Order” publishers that other old-school RPGs have been released through. I would love to see a properly bound version of this book sitting on the shelf at home. (Please do consider it).
I have been contemplating writing a sci-fi RPG of my own for a couple of years now. However, Stars Without Number provides everything I wanted in a sci-fi RPG. I am itching to get a gaming group together and start playing.
A superb product. Please keep up the good work.
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