I guess I missed a KS, but it appears Kevin at Sine Nomine has released a world book for Worlds Without Number.
Does anyone already have it? I'd be interested in hearing about the contents.
I have checked it out. Its fun. Its sort of like high magic with mundane trappings.
Ties into his other stylings of 'advanced machinery as magic' and from that trope its probably one of my favorites.
I'm still kind of confused about what to do with this game, not that it's not cool.
(1) Like Numenera, the world seems super populated with civilizations, rather than the traditional post-apocalyptic trappings where you get to explore stuff;
(2) Most of the random generation stuff is about generating societies, etc., not situations/adventure locations
Maybe I'm missing something.
Quote from: PencilBoy99 on December 03, 2022, 04:15:58 PM
I'm still kind of confused about what to do with this game, not that it's not cool.
(1) Like Numenera, the world seems super populated with civilizations, rather than the traditional post-apocalyptic trappings where you get to explore stuff;
(2) Most of the random generation stuff is about generating societies, etc., not situations/adventure locations
Maybe I'm missing something.
Have you looked at pp.228 - 257 of the
Worlds Without Number rules, which cover planning and running adventures? Or looking at
Stars Without Number pp.173 - 191? Page 191 in the latter presents a detailed example of adventure creation, which could also apply to
WWN.
The Atlas book is fantastic. It's part Atlas, part bestiary and part optional rules.
The Atlas part gives a brief overview of every nation on the two continents on the map. Some nations get one page, others get from 4 to 8 pages.
The optional rules include low to no magic options, long term injuries, alchemy, pirates and ship rules, new Foci focused on the three basic character types (Warrior, Expert and Magic), and new classes.
The bestiary greatly expands on what's in the WWN core book.
His next game to hit Kickstarter is Cities Without Number, which will be mostly Cyberpunk.
Quote from: RebelSky on December 03, 2022, 07:32:54 PM
The Atlas book is fantastic. It's part Atlas, part bestiary and part optional rules.
The Atlas part gives a brief overview of every nation on the two continents on the map. Some nations get one page, others get from 4 to 8 pages.
The optional rules include low to no magic options, long term injuries, alchemy, pirates and ship rules, new Foci focused on the three basic character types (Warrior, Expert and Magic), and new classes.
The bestiary greatly expands on what's in the WWN core book.
His next game to hit Kickstarter is Cities Without Number, which will be mostly Cyberpunk.
I was thinking about getting this, but really want to see a full review. I am sure it's good (I backed the WWN Kickstarter) but considering what I play now this would probably just sit on a shelf like everything else.
Interested in that cyberpunk game, though.
Quote from: PencilBoy99 on December 03, 2022, 04:15:58 PM
Like Numenera, the world seems super populated with civilizations, rather than the traditional post-apocalyptic trappings where you get to explore stuff;
It isn't.
If you've only read the setting material for The Gyre in the WWN core, you could be forgiven for thinking that. But the larger world of the Latter Earth (actually just its version of the Americas) in the Atlas shows that those uninhabited wastes surrounding the Gyre and and cutting it off from the rest of the world are more common than densely populated zones.
Many of the regions given in the large map are desolate and dangerous with no habitation but plenty of unexplored ruins filled with gold and ancient magic. And even in the various kingdoms and empires it's specifically stated that less than half (often a lot less) is tamed farmland and the rest is often safe only compared to what lies beyond the borders. In the largest and most cosmopolitan cities of the Latter Earth you can easily gather rumours about the ancient ruins that people know to avoid and which can be reached with (at most) a week or two of travel.
The author gives a set of "Genre Rules" for the Latter Earth at the start of the Atlas to help GMs portray the right tone. In his words one of these is:-
Humans Don't Rule The Earth.
On the modern globe, the only truly empty regions of Earth are those that are utterly uninhabitable or utterly worthless. "Trackless wildernesses" are almost never uninhabited so much as they are simply thinly peopled. There are very few situations where a habitable territory with useful natural resources is left unclaimed.
In the Latter Earth, there can be a hundred miles of utter wilderness a few days away from a nation's capital. It's not a wilderness because no one wants its resources or territory, it's a wilderness because it's full of unspeakable monsters and alien horrors that even an army could not reliably root out. Human nations simply do not have the manpower or the resources to secure territory beyond the immediate reach of their communities.
Many of these wildernesses were once thriving lands with kingdoms and cities the equal of any modern realm. Yet time overcame them all the same, just as many present nations will yet fall to the constant peril of vile beasts, cruel Blighted, or natural, inexorable disaster.Hopefully this encourages people sitting on the fence to buy the book. It's something that I myself wouldn't regret buying even if I just read it and never used it to run a campaign because the writing is that good. (Anyone who's read Kevin Crawford's work before knows what I'm talking about.)
Quote from: Tantavalist on December 06, 2022, 01:27:43 PM
In the Latter Earth, there can be a hundred miles of utter wilderness a few days away from a nation's capital. It's not a wilderness because no one wants its resources or territory, it's a wilderness because it's full of unspeakable monsters and alien horrors that even an army could not reliably root out. Human nations simply do not have the manpower or the resources to secure territory beyond the immediate reach of their communities.
Many of these wildernesses were once thriving lands with kingdoms and cities the equal of any modern realm. Yet time overcame them all the same, just as many present nations will yet fall to the constant peril of vile beasts, cruel Blighted, or natural, inexorable disaster.[/i]
Sounds like pre-1980s D&D end game, carve a kingdom out of a wilderness of monsters, is the name of the game here.
Quote from: PulpHerb on December 06, 2022, 09:59:43 PM
Sounds like pre-1980s D&D end game, carve a kingdom out of a wilderness of monsters, is the name of the game here.
Well... You
could do that. But a far easier route would be to take the Conan route for Campaign End Game- pick an existing kingdom and take the place of whoever is currently running things. There are also several regions divided amongst squabbling petty warlords that are ripe for someone to unite them- why shouldn't it be a PC who does this?
Given that there are no "Good Guy" realms whose rulers follow the Tolkien model of enlightened and benevolent lordship it's quite possible that the PCs could end up improving things for the average citizen.
Quote from: Tantavalist on December 06, 2022, 01:27:43 PM
.....
Hopefully this encourages people sitting on the fence to buy the book. It's something that I myself wouldn't regret buying even if I just read it and never used it to run a campaign because the writing is that good. (Anyone who's read Kevin Crawford's work before knows what I'm talking about.)
I'm with you on this Tantavalist. This book is so awesome that it's just chock full of ideas for your own campaign. I don't regret backing this at all.