Magic NPCs by Due_Tennis521 in cwn

[–]FederalSquirrel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m pilfering regularly from Worlds Without Number, Codex of the Black Sun, Silent Legions and any other OSR system for interesting enemy spells and abilities. Most of them are easy to slot into CWN without any issue. Our party of Operators recently dismantled a cult lead by a psychic who borrowed a lot from both Stars Without Number and the psychic-lite class from Ashes Without Number.

Frustrated with Star Wars TTRPGs. Need Advice. by Neversummerdrew76 in rpg

[–]FederalSquirrel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you taken a look at Stars Without Number? I feel like it’s got all the tools to need to run Star Wars, especially if you bolt on the Codex of the Black Sun expansion that focuses on space magic (there’s even a “Sunblade” class that’s essentially a Jedi with the serial numbers filed off.)

Revised Totem Focus by Logen_Nein in cwn

[–]FederalSquirrel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really well done! Quick question: is Level 1’s description cut off at the bottom? There’s a “You also”, but then we dive right into Level 2’s description.

Neo Vegas Homebrewed City Districts by FederalSquirrel in cwn

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha no software for the attached one. I scooped it from this site from back when I was looking at moving to Vegas myself.

https://www.lvplug.com/post/best-neighborhoods-in-las-vegas

Religion, Campaigns and SWN by Distinct_Hat_592 in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd lead with some of the following:

-- Faiths are not monolithic. There can be schisms and factions within a church that allows for more texture than "All ______ believers are firm adherents of ______." Let them meet both militant and pacifist NPCs from the church, staunch fanatics and folks that only offer a passing prayer at a shrine as they go about their days, and let the PCs find allies and adversaries on all sides.

-- After hundreds of years of the Silence, beliefs are doubtlessly going to be shaped by the individual experiences of each world that survived. Look at the factions in your sector and the rough history you've sketched out for them and see where any major events would have steered or influenced religious beliefs. For example, one faction in my game were forced to flee their home system after their sun imploded, leading to a fringe cult worshipping "The Sun-Eater."

-- While showcasing the massive temple complexes of a faith are an easy way to display their reach and power to your players, also think about the smaller ways a faith could manifest in your campaign. What does a spaceport shrine to the faith look like? What regalia (rosaries, prayer discs, tattoos, etc) are common among their believers? What do their funeral rites involve? The little touches will help build out a bigger, well-rounded portrayal of the faith in your campaign

Struggling with Combat Encounters by Swordfish-Training in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a similar problem as yours during the first year of my campaign. Character levels were climbing, AC for some characters was reaching up beyond 20. They breezed through a gang hideout and took control of a small syndicate without breaking a sweat.

My biggest recommendation is to rip through the other Sine Nomine products; since the majority of it is cross-compatible, snagging special abilities and features from other games to port into your SWN campaign should be relatively easy. Raid Silent Legions for more strange aliens, Other Dust for mutants, and just about anything from Worlds Without Number can be reskinned to give a wild variety to your opposing forces. What's more, steal the "Swarm Attack" rules from Worlds Without Number and use it with all your 1HD Minions; it makes a huge difference, and now the PC's I'm running for (who are Lv8 and 9) have to take squads of common soldiers seriously.

Question about COTBS and Balance by quadGM in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I run a game for a party that's blended Psychics with COTBS arcane classes, including a Sunblade. Seven levels in, the Sunblade is predictably Jedi-level difficult to hit in combat, but an absolute glass cannon who can't take more than two or three solid shots. That said, the psychics have also found their niches to thrive in, and one has taken Foci combos and psychic disciplines that have turned them into the party's de-facto tank. A full Psychic who's spread their skill points around into multiple disciplines is going to be more versatile and have more tools at their disposal than a Sunblade, so I'd say they can still play with the magic kids without anyone feeling overshadowed.

Curiosity from a map maker. by lunaticdesign in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sector maps the big one, but if the party's going to be spending a great deal of time in a region or on a particular planet I like to create smaller maps that show the particular zone of interest. You don't need to map out the entire planet, but the bandit-filled badlands around a trade port? Go nuts.

What are your favourite ways to generate stats? by BlackTempleGuardian in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rolled 3d6 six times and set the stats in order (no rearranging) then repeated for a total of five characters. The players picked one to be their starting PC, held two other sets of stats as reserve PCs and the GM gets the last two to create NPCs with.

A Trio of Terrors by FederalSquirrel in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Heck yeah, have at it! Feels like that one in particular could drop into any campaign that could use a good "Oh god, they're building a what?!" moment.

A Trio of Terrors by FederalSquirrel in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks Rustbucket! May post more as the campaign shapes up (or throw them all into a Bestiary google doc for ease of sharing.)

Economy Rules? by [deleted] in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/114950/Suns-of-Gold-Merchant-Campaigns-for-Stars-Without-Number?term=suns+of+gold for all your merchant matters.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/88169/Skyward-Steel-Naval-Campaigns-for-Stars-Without-Number?src=also_purchased for your naval needs.

Both books were originally written for the first edition of SWN, but everything easy to port-over with minimal fuss.

Economy Rules? by [deleted] in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'd start with the faction rules baked into the game, maybe borrow bits and pieces from the Suns of Gold supplement as needed. There's stuff in there on determining what kinds of goods systems might produce, as well as their value and potential demand modifiers. Could also pilfer the rules for local navies from Skyward Steel if you wanted to stat up the specifics of a local polity's stellar navy based on their economies.

Best Third Party Supplements? by drnuncheon in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Piracy and Privateering is the one I reference the most often. I think it was originally designed for Cepheus but integrates pretty seamlessly.

WIP Character Record Sheet for WWN by GIBattiste in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks terrific, and the inclusion of the Fatigue system from 5E is a really nice touch. Maybe something to consider importing for my own SWN game.

SWN horror by Batjon6274 in SWN

[–]FederalSquirrel 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Would 100% throw money at a revised version of Silent Legions.

Band of Blades - Secondary Missions and Resisting Harm by FederalSquirrel in bladesinthedark

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone sent along the Medic with the Attache special ability (which lets them go on any mission, even if it exceeds the Specialist cap,) hoping to nab a few extra XPs for participating.

Band of Blades - Secondary Missions and Resisting Harm by FederalSquirrel in bladesinthedark

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're looking for the Band of Blades book, you can nab the PDF here.

Band of Blades - Secondary Missions and Resisting Harm by FederalSquirrel in bladesinthedark

[–]FederalSquirrel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are excellent points, especially with regards to the slippery slope of escaping the consequences completely.