SWN Rules Explained: How the Adventurer Class Works in Stars Without Number

Rules Explained

Jun 25

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Brian breaks down the Adventurer class, skill checks, grenades, and saving throws in Stars Without Number, using scenes from Episode 25 "Rock Tumor" as a case study. The Adventurer is SWN's hybrid class — a way to mix any two of the three core classes and build something new, at the cost of each class's signature ability. Brian covers how partial classes work, how the Star Master picks attributes and skills for any given roll, how grenades function as an area-of-effect attack, and how saving throws are calculated and used.

He covers:

(00:00) - Intro
(01:37) - The Adventurer Class
(03:37) - Skill Checks
(07:04) - Grenades
(08:20) - Saving Throws
(10:17) - Outro

New SWN Rules Explained episodes drop every other Thursday, breaking down the mechanics behind the adventure.

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[00:00:00] Brian: Hey there, DSA listeners. Welcome back to Stars Without Number Rules Explained, the miniseries where we crack open the rulebook and talk about the mechanics behind the action of the Dark Star Adventurecast and how the system you choose to play can impact the sessions that you run.
[00:00:15] Brian: Once again, I'll be your host, Assistant Star Master and occasional backup Game Master, Brian. For some listeners, the story and the characters are the most interesting part of the Adventurecast. But for others like myself, the rules at play when a situation arises or a character grows are a big part of what makes a tabletop RPG fun. This segment was designed for those sorts of listeners, or for listeners who are thinking about starting their own Stars Without Numbers campaigns and just want a little extra insight into how everything works behind the scenes.
[00:00:48] Brian: The topics for today's segment are loosely inspired by the events of the latest Dark Star Adventurecast episode, Rock Tumor. After the chaos of the auction, the crew dashes off for the other side of the planet Sibylen to meet an old acquaintance who might be able to explain what's going on with Haleyy. But as usual, they end up finding more trouble than answers.
[00:01:09] Brian: If you haven't already listened to it, you should go check it out. I'm going to be talking about the Adventurer class today and how it compares to the three main classes we already discussed previously. I'll spend a little time talking about skill checks and how the Star Master can use them creatively to add flavor to a situation, plus how to throw grenades and how to calculate saving throws.
[00:01:32] Brian: Regular listeners to this segment now probably know all about the three main Stars Without Number classes, the Warrior, the Expert, and the Psychic. But sometimes players will find themselves looking for a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B. Enter the Adventurer. The book describes it as a sort of catch-all class for characters that don't fit neatly into one category. It allows a player to pick two of the three main classes and gives their character slightly lesser versions of those classes' abilities. This gives a player more options for making a unique character build, but it also limits them enough so that it doesn't invalidate the main classes. For example, partial warriors still get the bonus two hit points per level, but they don't get access to the warrior's battle luck that lets them auto-hit or miss once per scene.
[00:02:23] Brian: They get an extra combat focus at character creation, but they don't get the extra combat skill points every level.
[00:02:30] Brian: And they do get an improved attack bonus over experts and psychics, but it's still not quite equal to their level like it would be for a full-fledged warrior. In a similar vein, partial experts get the bonus focus and skills of standard experts, but not the re-roll ability. And partial psychics can learn psychic skills, but only from a single discipline. You can check out the full rules for each of the partial classes that make up an Adventurer on page 18 of the Stars Without Number revised rulebook. When we initially rolled up characters for the Adventurecast, the idea of making a warrior with some amount of psychic ability was partially what inspired Haleyy's story arc. By giving players an opportunity to mix and match abilities, the rules can lead them into making a character concept that they might never have considered before.
[00:03:18] Brian: Sometimes it's nice to sit down to a game with a specific character design already in mind, but never underestimate just how fun it can be to let randomness and other limitations push your creativity.
[00:03:32] Brian: I'm sure if you've played any tabletop RPG before, you have a good idea of what a skill check is.
[00:03:37] Brian: But in case you're new, a skill check is a roll of the dice used to determine the outcome of a situation where it's not clear if the character would succeed, and where both success and failure can each change the current situation in an interesting way. In Stars Without Number, skill checks are made using 2d6, skill points, and attribute bonuses. The Star Master will need to determine when it's appropriate to call for a roll, what bonuses and penalties the character should apply, how high the player needs to roll in order to succeed, and how will the situation change if the roll is a success or a failure.
[00:04:16] Brian: In some tabletop RPG systems, specific skills are tied to specific attributes.
[00:04:21] Brian: So when a player rolls their stealth skill, for example, the system rules might say that they add their dexterity bonus to those rolls. In Stars Without Number, the Star Master chooses an attribute and a skill for any roll they request. Savvy role players may recognize this sort of mechanic from the optional rules in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. It may seem unnecessary at first, like in our previous example. Dexterity makes sense for sneaking around and staying quiet. So why would you ever choose any other attribute bonus to apply to a stealth roll? Well, we've actually come up with some creative cases in previous Adventurecast episodes. Like, what if a character was trying to sneak into a party by blending in with the crowd rather than being quiet and sneaky? The Star Master might ask that the character's player roll their stealth with charisma instead of dexterity. Felix once tried to use a computer system that he was manipulating with his spirit when the crew was exploring the alien exo-site, so he rolled his Program skill with his Wisdom attribute bonus as opposed to the much more common Intelligence attribute. There's plenty of unique situations that players will get their characters into where the Star Master will have a chance to be creative with the attributes required for the rolls. Players should feel empowered to describe how their character is trying to accomplish things, rather than just asking to make a specific skill check. That way the Star Master can best determine what would be rolled in order to try it.
[00:05:51] Brian: When it comes to determining difficulty, there's a convenient table in the revised rulebook on page 47, where it has the full breakdown for making skill checks. If you haven't already played a system that uses 2d6 for skill resolution, it may not be immediately intuitive what the target number would be for an easy task versus a medium task. Considering that the average roll of 2d6 is a 7, a difficulty target of 6 is used for the most simple tasks that have a small chance to fail or are being performed under stress. Anything that would be easier than that shouldn't require a roll. And since 12 is the max you can roll on 2d6, anything above 12 should be considered extremely difficult. Just don't forget that the player will add their attribute bonus and their skill ranks as well.
[00:06:40] Brian: Most of the time that's to their benefit, but many characters will have negative attribute modifiers or untrained skills, so sometimes it actually makes things harder for them. Check out the full rules in the book for some good information on how to run skill checks and when not to ask for a check at all.
[00:06:59] Brian: While on the hunt for a new ownership module for the Scapegoat, the crew was sat in an unassuming little bar when an unexpected visitor came crashing through the window. Usually just big enough to fit in your hand, a grenade is a great way to apply damage to multiple combatants in one action, but it's also one of the most classic, thematic secondary weapons in any modern or sci-fi action-adventure story setting.
[00:07:25] Brian: It's not a matter of what to do if a character in your game throws a grenade, but when. Grenades are described in the ranged weapons section of the rules on page 66. They work like a normal attack roll, but the character is targeting a space on the ground instead of another creature. They roll versus an armor class target of 10 using either their Shoot or Exert skill and their Dexterity attribute bonus. If they miss, the grenade goes off target by 1d10 meters in some random direction, and then either way, it explodes and hits everything within 5 meters of where it landed. Anyone hit by the blast takes damage, but they can attempt an evasion saving throw to only take half damage if they succeed. The damage is also reduced by 1 for each point of AC the target has above 14.
[00:08:15] Brian: Saving throws are another classic trope of many tabletop RPGs, right alongside skill checks. Where a skill check is something a player makes when their character attempts something difficult or dangerous, a saving throw is something that the player rolls when some kind of negative effect is thrust upon their character.
[00:08:33] Brian: Trying to jump out of the brunt of a grenade blast, trying to hold composure through poison or intense temperatures, or trying to resist a psychic effect or see through hallucinations are all situations that might call for a saving throw.
[00:08:48] Brian: There are three different saving throws, Evasion, Physical, and Mental, and they're all calculated based on a character's level and attribute bonuses. When a player needs to make a saving throw, they roll a d20, and they try to roll equal to or higher than their saving throw score.
[00:09:05] Brian: Every level 1 character starts with a 15 in each saving throw score, and then they all reduce by 1 each time that character levels up. They're also inversely modified by the better bonus of two of that character's attributes. Evasion is modified by the better of Dexterity or Intelligence, Physical by the better of Strength and Constitution, and Mental by the better of Wisdom and Charisma. This means a plus two Dexterity bonus reduces that character's Evasion saving throw score by two. The full breakdown for how this all works is on page 46 of the Stars Without Number revised rulebook.
[00:09:45] Brian: Skill checks and saving throws will come up a lot in most games. They're two of the three main things that players are going to be rolling in a session next to attack rolls.
[00:09:55] Brian: These systems are what take a group collaborative storytelling session and turn it into a true game. They add stakes, chances of failure, rewards for success, and they give tangible benefits and penalties to different characters for specializing in different areas.
[00:10:12] Brian: They're everywhere, and you'll find some kind of similar mechanic in just about any tabletop RPG you pick up. Don't be afraid to use them liberally, but also be careful not to overuse them. Sometimes, a well-placed skill check or saving throw can create amazing tension and payoff in your session. But other times, repeated rolls for mundane situations or failures without any real stakes can drag the flow of your game to a halt. Well, everyone, with that, we have reached the end of another Stars Without Number Rules Explained segment. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. I hope you learned something about Stars Without Number or got inspired to try something in your own games.
[00:10:56] Brian: As fun as roleplaying is for me, learning new game systems and using their rules and limitations to craft or complete interesting scenarios is also so important to my enjoyment of a roleplaying game, and I hope I can pass some of that enthusiasm on to you. If you like this sort of thing or any of the content that we're making, then please leave us a like or a comment wherever you're listening and let us know. It's the best way to get the Adventurecast out there. If you have any feedback or questions on these segments, I'd love to hear from you on our Patreon at patreon.com/DarkStarAdventurecast or on Reddit in the Stars Without Numbers subreddit where we post links to our episodes, including these. If you want more Dark Star Adventures in your life, stay tuned for the next installment of Jeff's Star Master Logs, coming next week, where he talks about the planning and decision-making aspects of the Adventurecast itself. It's a great resource for anyone trying to run their own games in this system or any system. Once again, my heartfelt thanks go out to anyone who listens or supports us, and as always, remember, keep following that signal.