r/SWN

Hey folks,

Yes, first off, I realize I could've posted this in the Mothership sub, but I'm playing the adventure with SWN, and I know plenty of folks have done that, so I'm hoping to get their perspectives here.

Okay, here's the question: When you've played the Desert Moon of Karth adventure, how did the PCs ever meet, interact with, and generally get involved with the major NPCs like the Marshal, the Governor, etc.? I had my folks get off the space elevator, and now they're out panning for Wigoy, but I don't see a clear way to get them to interact with the major NPCs in Larstown. How did you get the PCs wrapped up in the main story? Please and thank you!

A fun tweak I made that I'll share. Does anyone feel like the Warrior's attack bonus progression is just kinda bland? Obviously we don't need 5e powers and martial moves to make a fighter fun, but I'm not really fond of the fact that by mid game, a Warrior's attack bonus basically eclipses the highest AC of any enemy in the game. Rolling just feels kinda pointless. And since you're swinging with 95% accuracy most of the time, their ability to automatically hit once per scene becomes pointless. I don't really see the appeal of playing a Full Warrior, over a Partial. I get the same HP boost and all I lose is a small amount of accuracy that's already overtuned to the point of excess anyway.

To me, a more interestimg Warrior is one that does interesting things when they hit, rather than just hittimg every time. So I decided to port in the warrior features from ACKS, one of my favourite OSR games.

Warriors still get +1 to attack at 1st level, but will advance attack bonus every other level like everyone else. However, they get the following benefits in place of improved accuracy.

- Critical Hit on a roll of 19 or 20, dealing your weapon die's maximum damage.

- +1 Universal Damage Bonus at every odd numbered level.

- + 1 Cleave at every even numbered level. Any time you reduce an enemy to 0hp or score a critical hit, you may immediately make another attack against a target in range, using any remaining movement available to you. You cannot cleave if all of your readied weapons are out of ammo.

- All other Warrior features such as hit points and combat luck remain unchanged.

Partial Warriors crit only on a 20, and advance their cleave and damage bonus as if they were a Warrior of half their level.

So, warriors lose some accuracy starting at 3rd level, but instead hit harder, crit more, and chain attacks.

I'm going to be playing SWN for the first time and have created an Adventurer Expert/Psychic who is a Pilot and has the Precognition psychic skill. He also has the skills Pilot-1, Shoot, Notice and either Talk or Lead.

I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing as far as picking the starting attributes so any recommendations would be great.

Oh, also, is Notice redundant if I am a Precognition psychic?

Using the CWN/AWN classless Edge rules for my newest SWN game. So far, it seems to be a hit. But a question has arisen now that the characters have levelled up:

If an Edge gives a bonus skill level, does that work like a Focus bonus skill level during character advancement: 3SP?

The frequencies are open! Whether you're a veteran pilot or just starting your journey into the stars, this is your weekly space to break radio silence.

The Weekly Log

>What's happening in your sector? New sessions, prep wins, rulings you're proud of, cursed dice, cool moments, dumb plans that somehow worked. Drop a quick ping and let us know!

No need for a long write-up; just a quick transmission from your table to ours.

Mod Note: If you're new to the sub, welcome! This is a low-pressure thread for everyone to share their Stars Without Number stories.

I have a player who’s doing a lot of grappling with his character and now I’ve been thinking about foci that would be specific to grappling. What I have so far is a rough draft of a foci that is primarily used in CWN, but could be for any of the *WN systems. Any feedback or thoughts about a good grappling foci would be appreciated, and if there already is one, I can toss this out. That being said, here’s the rough draft

Level 1: Gain Punch as bonus skill. While grappling, deal damage as per Unarmed Comabatant. During grapple checks, roll 3d6 and drop the lowest

Level 2: Increase trauma dice during grappling unarmed attacks to 1d8/x3. On any traumatic hit, roll on Major Injury Table even if the target is not reduced to 0 hit points

I ran 5e for a year, hated it. I've since gravitated toward the OSR and love what I've run and/or played. From BECMI/OSE to Shadowdark to Mothership. And I want to run a solid sci-fi game with my friends. I tried to run a Mothership campaign, but a long-term game built on a structure of character degridation just doesn't work well. Was looking at some games with some better bones and landed on SWN. I really like what I'm reading so far. But it would help if I had practical references. Are there any Actual Plays on YT or Podcast that any of you would recommend for a good GM learner's reference?

-EDIT:

Thank you, everyone for all the incredible recommendations! The enthusiasm for this game is infectious! And to a sci-fi nerd, all these recs are a veritible treasure trove! I've started with Astronomica, has me bowling over laughing from go. But I'm going to be listening to all of them.
In the mean time, thank you all for the encouragement and advice! I will definitely be around in the subreddit, and if I have any questions, I will make sure to ask!

https://preview.redd.it/viomduz8yeah1.png?width=1886&format=png&auto=webp&s=d6b5d5ff8477fba7d0db9f8327f06c2d22ad0ae4

Same amenities as the Heavy Frigate, just with lots more cargo space.

In my upcoming SWN campaign im planning on the PCs being important members of their community and funneling creds back into it being the primary base for a credit based XP system. I want the investment to have mechanical effects beyond their relationships with NPCs. Do yall know of any systems I could attach to my campaign for this?

I've made my campaign! I'm starting my players out on a primitive planet. There will be a short political plot for them to have fun moving through as they get used to their new system. And then they'll ultimately decide if they want to join the galactic federation and venture into space or not. There they'll find a much larger plot that asks them to save the universe.

Super excited! I really like this system! Very glad you guys talked me into using it for my table. Super easy to homebrew in and the combat feels great! Will let you guys know how the table settles in and how our first session goes.

Just for fun, but going a little different direction: what is your favorite homebrew rule in your group or at your table? It can be something for preference, something for balance, something totally ridiculous just for the heck of it!

The frequencies are open! Whether you're a veteran pilot or just starting your journey into the stars, this is your weekly space to break radio silence.

The Weekly Log

>What's happening in your sector? New sessions, prep wins, rulings you're proud of, cursed dice, cool moments, dumb plans that somehow worked. Drop a quick ping and let us know!

No need for a long write-up; just a quick transmission from your table to ours.

Mod Note: If you're new to the sub, welcome! This is a low-pressure thread for everyone to share their Stars Without Number stories.

I see the table about paying for what type of expert system bot you want and the level of the expert system. How would you price it if you wanted a robot with multiple skills? Like if I wanted a security robot with shoot skill but also pilot skill, both at +1, would I just charge the cost of one robot for pilot and one for shoot and that’s the total cost?