One of the things I have been working on is creating a domain level solo rpg game using Into the Wild and Filling in the Blanks from Third Kingdom Games to create and populate a series of hexes that a party of mid-level characters would then explore and expand into their own domain.
Originally I was going to use Old-School Essentials from Necrotic Gnome as the rpg engine for the game to build the characters and then help to resolve combats. It is a modern clone of the old BX rpg rules from TSR and it is a very good set of rules. Well designed, nice layout and a large number of modules and third-party products to expand the game.
Some time ago, I picked up a copy of Worlds without Number from DriveThru RPG (there is also a free version of the rules) as I was intending to use it as a world building tool in a fashion similar to Into the Wild. WWN has a slew of random tables to help you build up almost anything in a fantasy game that is at a higher level than the hex-building tools from Third Kingdom. It includes sets of tables for governments, factions, courts, nations, societies… the list is pretty impressive.
So during breaks between packing for our move (BTW don’t move in the middle of summer if you can avoid it) I started reading the rules themselves and quickly became enamoured with them. The setting for Worlds without Number is similar to the Dying World books, as well as the Numenera RPG from Monte Cook Games, but it has less of an explicit sci-fi vibe than Numenera and hews closer to a fantasy RPG. You can play Worlds without Number without really touching on the Old Earth (or Latter Earth as it is in WWN) aspects but they really quite interesting and add a very interesting spin on “fantasy’ gaming.
The character development system is what I think is the best part of the game, as well as the Shock system in combat, as it has a three core classes and a multi-class template that you can use to build characters that are defined more by their background and class choices than their dice rolls. Characters also seem to be more narratively flexible. I want to use this game to not only have fun but also to build a story and I feel as if Worlds without Number will give me the ability to create characters that I can build a more fullsome backstory for.
I am currently working on building the first few characters for the game using Worlds without Number and I will post them as I get them finished.
Pile of dice 