Discussion of Cities Without Number begins at 1 minute and 23 seconds. If you want to skip the intro discussion, that is where the “meat” of the video begins.
Yes sir! I know what to expect from him at this point, but every time I get excited cracking those offset prints for the first time anyway. He is easily one of my top 5 game designers at this point.
I like the previous Stars/Worlds Withilout Numbers and I was curious about Cities. I would love to run or play a Shadowrun adventure using this system! Thanks for the video!
Welcome! The random creation tools for the world are just as good as you’d expect from Crawford. The Deluxe version adds options you will want for Shadowrun. I would suggest keeping WWN close by for fantasy tropes too. Great book!
It's a good video one thing I would comment on would be edges are not like feats those are foci. Edges are more like innate abilities of classes since operators are more of a 'build your own class' they get edges instead of set abilities for their class. This can be seen on many edges are just abilities of classes you get from either SWN or WWN.
I think I see where you are coming from, but looking at what feats can do in other systems (3.0,3.5, and 5), I humbly disagree. Foci and Edges both cover some of the ground feats cover, and both also have some areas where they cover things beyond what a feat can cover. In my opinion, foci like Drone Pilot, Healer and Ace Driver, all provide benefits that are much more akin to a class in other systems (including equipment of a significant nature in some cases), and often open up an entirely specialized play style, whereas Edges tend to be more mechanical and narrow in application (but often more powerful than feats). I think it is a hard comparison because it isn’t apples to apples, but it is useful for people that haven’t played the system and are familiar with more well known games. Thanks for watching!
@@booksbricksandboards783 One reason why I say Foci are more feat-like is because of other Without Numbers systems. Foci are things every class can get especially if you mix and match without numbers systems (I played a partial warrior/teleport psychic in a WWN game for example) which is why I consider them more like feats than edges which are not only limited in number of times they can be taken but also they replace more of core mechanics like attack bonus, damage bonus, hit point boost, extra skill point, attribute boost etc. Of course not all edges or foci are class features or feats but if we compare character creation to WWN or SWN edges fall in the place where you get class features since foci are the same for both except class-specific ones.
Hey, thanks for yhe video. Really useful. I had been through the book and knew most of if but there were a chunk of stuff i had missed the details of. As a suggestion for the video itself. The clips are a nice touch and go in well, but try and match the sound level more or even make them quieter. It was a little jarring sometimes. Thanks again.
Appreciate it. That video is a few months old, I think if you watch my more recent videos you will find that I have improved in my sound levels since then. Have a great day Matt!
Esteban, good news! My last Cities Without Number video is exactly what you are looking for (for the world building part). I will be doing a solo play soonish(starting a new job Monday, so need an adjustment period).
great video, thank you! Do you know if there are any char sheet or quick rules reference sheets already available? I just found one on reddit without the optional magic rules but wanna run a 2050 shadowrun game.
There is an official character sheet available you can download (I believe that there is a link on Sine Nomine page). The discussion on mixing Sine Nomine games together is on page 218, which is where they get into using more magic and ancestries from Worlds Without Number. The free versions of CWON and WWON are both on DTRPG, so they are available for a spin too! I haven’t seen a reference sheet though. Sorry!
thank you! I can't seem to find the char sheet on sine nomine, guess I'll just dust off my Illustrator skills when I actually come around playing the game. Giving the attention the game got, I'm sure others will come up with sheets as well. @@booksbricksandboards783
Very welcome, thanks for giving it a watch. I have another video where I go into ten things I like about Cities Without Number, and a video on Worlds Without Number as well. If you liked this one, those might be interesting for you as well!
Good question, as it is both, depending upon what optional rules from the book that you adopt. It is more a toolkit than a setting, and the tools exist for both. The “sample” setting I would call more Cyberpunk, but the toolkit very much covers Shadowrun, which is what I am more interested in. For me, Shadowrun has long had one of the best settings with a system that just didn’t appeal to me. Having a better system to run that setting was a wish granted!
Hmm… just must have missed on the AC, could have sworn I checked that twice, oh well. Thanks for letting me know. On the major injury rolls, good point, I probably failed to mention that part of the Natural One (there is always a balancing act between brevity and completeness).
I have ALWAYS loved the concept of Shadowrun (like Rifts) but not the system as much (also not completely unlike Rifts). I have tried a few different versions of Shadowrun, and just don’t dig the mechanics. Being able to use their world with a B/X shell? That is like a dream come true.
Learn to get to the topic faster. People click for the advertised content. Otherwise you get known for being clickbait which costs you subs in the long run 🙄
Not sure what you mean here. Video is a deep dive on Cities Without Number, specifically regarding character creation. That is hardly a “click bait” title. If one were to make a “click bait” title, they would likely want to be a in a different line of content than relatively obscure small publisher games😂. If you are actually a sub, you know I have a pretty standard format I follow and this video is about as typical of a Books, Bricks and Boards video as there is. So I guess if that means I lose your sub, I lose your sub; but if you are claiming the title is click bait I believe you either don’t know what “click bait” is or you are being incredibly disingenuous. Either way, I wish you the best and hope you find what you are looking for. As for me I was trying to provide some love to a game that hasn’t gotten as much as I feel it deserves. Good luck to you.
Thanks Martins, I know my format isn’t for everyone, but I feel like there are some of us that like the warm up before we dive into the meat of the video! Glad I’m not alone (I knew I wasn’t, unless the 120,000 channel views were just sympathy because they didn’t have the heart to tell me). 😉
I thought the video was excellent, and your pacing worked well for me. I also appreciate your authenticity. If I wanted a bland, commercial shill, I’d click on an immaculately crafted and souless Hasbro video. I guess tastes just differ! I also really liked how you demonstrated the generative aspect of character creation (I think there’s too much min-max “optimizer” mindset in the TTRPG hobby, courtesy of the video game influences). Looking forward to more on CWN!
@@paulbigbee Thank you very much for that response. You know, I try to always take criticism (and compliments for that matter) for what they are... One person's opinion. I'm always going to be me, and that is going to work for some folks (like yourself) and not so much for others, and either way is cool. I felt compelled to respond to the criticism in this case only because I felt it was objectively and verifiably inaccurate and painted an incorrect picture of what happens on the channel here. If he would have said "your sound and video quality is weak" or "your editing looks amateurish", well I'd have nothing to say because that is all somewhat accurate! 😀
Discussion of Cities Without Number begins at 1 minute and 23 seconds. If you want to skip the intro discussion, that is where the “meat” of the video begins.
My favorite part about this game is that it finally answers a question I’ve had for years; what would classless OSR look like?
Surprisingly smooth conversion from BX to classless.
Heck yeah! Cities Without Number; Kevin Crawford has been spinning magic.
Yes sir! I know what to expect from him at this point, but every time I get excited cracking those offset prints for the first time anyway. He is easily one of my top 5 game designers at this point.
I like the previous Stars/Worlds Withilout Numbers and I was curious about Cities.
I would love to run or play a Shadowrun adventure using this system!
Thanks for the video!
Welcome! The random creation tools for the world are just as good as you’d expect from Crawford. The Deluxe version adds options you will want for Shadowrun. I would suggest keeping WWN close by for fantasy tropes too. Great book!
It's a good video one thing I would comment on would be edges are not like feats those are foci. Edges are more like innate abilities of classes since operators are more of a 'build your own class' they get edges instead of set abilities for their class. This can be seen on many edges are just abilities of classes you get from either SWN or WWN.
I think I see where you are coming from, but looking at what feats can do in other systems (3.0,3.5, and 5), I humbly disagree. Foci and Edges both cover some of the ground feats cover, and both also have some areas where they cover things beyond what a feat can cover. In my opinion, foci like Drone Pilot, Healer and Ace Driver, all provide benefits that are much more akin to a class in other systems (including equipment of a significant nature in some cases), and often open up an entirely specialized play style, whereas Edges tend to be more mechanical and narrow in application (but often more powerful than feats). I think it is a hard comparison because it isn’t apples to apples, but it is useful for people that haven’t played the system and are familiar with more well known games. Thanks for watching!
@@booksbricksandboards783 One reason why I say Foci are more feat-like is because of other Without Numbers systems. Foci are things every class can get especially if you mix and match without numbers systems (I played a partial warrior/teleport psychic in a WWN game for example) which is why I consider them more like feats than edges which are not only limited in number of times they can be taken but also they replace more of core mechanics like attack bonus, damage bonus, hit point boost, extra skill point, attribute boost etc. Of course not all edges or foci are class features or feats but if we compare character creation to WWN or SWN edges fall in the place where you get class features since foci are the same for both except class-specific ones.
Hey, thanks for yhe video. Really useful. I had been through the book and knew most of if but there were a chunk of stuff i had missed the details of.
As a suggestion for the video itself. The clips are a nice touch and go in well, but try and match the sound level more or even make them quieter. It was a little jarring sometimes.
Thanks again.
Appreciate it. That video is a few months old, I think if you watch my more recent videos you will find that I have improved in my sound levels since then. Have a great day Matt!
Hey I would like to see your build some sample setting stuff with a solo actual play. Thank you for the video!
Esteban, good news! My last Cities Without Number video is exactly what you are looking for (for the world building part). I will be doing a solo play soonish(starting a new job Monday, so need an adjustment period).
@@booksbricksandboards783 awesome will watch next! Good luck with your new job!!! 😁
great video, thank you! Do you know if there are any char sheet or quick rules reference sheets already available? I just found one on reddit without the optional magic rules but wanna run a 2050 shadowrun game.
There is an official character sheet available you can download (I believe that there is a link on Sine Nomine page). The discussion on mixing Sine Nomine games together is on page 218, which is where they get into using more magic and ancestries from Worlds Without Number. The free versions of CWON and WWON are both on DTRPG, so they are available for a spin too! I haven’t seen a reference sheet though. Sorry!
thank you! I can't seem to find the char sheet on sine nomine, guess I'll just dust off my Illustrator skills when I actually come around playing the game. Giving the attention the game got, I'm sure others will come up with sheets as well. @@booksbricksandboards783
I took a look and apparently the one I got was not official. Can’t even find where I got it now. Sorry about that!
@@booksbricksandboards783 Don't worry about it!
Good video and explanations, thanks!
Very welcome, thanks for giving it a watch. I have another video where I go into ten things I like about Cities Without Number, and a video on Worlds Without Number as well. If you liked this one, those might be interesting for you as well!
Thanks, I'm definitely going to watch them! @@booksbricksandboards783
Appreciate it Rook!
Is this BX Shadowrun [title's subtitle] or BX Cyberpunk Red/2020?
Good question, as it is both, depending upon what optional rules from the book that you adopt. It is more a toolkit than a setting, and the tools exist for both. The “sample” setting I would call more Cyberpunk, but the toolkit very much covers Shadowrun, which is what I am more interested in. For me, Shadowrun has long had one of the best settings with a system that just didn’t appeal to me. Having a better system to run that setting was a wish granted!
You reversed the melee and ranged AC values. Also, with the natural one focus, you never roll on the major injury table.
Hmm… just must have missed on the AC, could have sworn I checked that twice, oh well. Thanks for letting me know. On the major injury rolls, good point, I probably failed to mention that part of the Natural One (there is always a balancing act between brevity and completeness).
I love Shadowrun , I despise Cataylst as a publisher. Such a great IP wasted by convoluted rules and horrible production value.
I have ALWAYS loved the concept of Shadowrun (like Rifts) but not the system as much (also not completely unlike Rifts). I have tried a few different versions of Shadowrun, and just don’t dig the mechanics. Being able to use their world with a B/X shell? That is like a dream come true.
Learn to get to the topic faster. People click for the advertised content. Otherwise you get known for being clickbait which costs you subs in the long run 🙄
Not sure what you mean here. Video is a deep dive on Cities Without Number, specifically regarding character creation. That is hardly a “click bait” title. If one were to make a “click bait” title, they would likely want to be a in a different line of content than relatively obscure small publisher games😂. If you are actually a sub, you know I have a pretty standard format I follow and this video is about as typical of a Books, Bricks and Boards video as there is. So I guess if that means I lose your sub, I lose your sub; but if you are claiming the title is click bait I believe you either don’t know what “click bait” is or you are being incredibly disingenuous. Either way, I wish you the best and hope you find what you are looking for. As for me I was trying to provide some love to a game that hasn’t gotten as much as I feel it deserves. Good luck to you.
A short channel-related brief/soft start to a longer video works for me.
Thanks Martins, I know my format isn’t for everyone, but I feel like there are some of us that like the warm up before we dive into the meat of the video! Glad I’m not alone (I knew I wasn’t, unless the 120,000 channel views were just sympathy because they didn’t have the heart to tell me). 😉
I thought the video was excellent, and your pacing worked well for me. I also appreciate your authenticity. If I wanted a bland, commercial shill, I’d click on an immaculately crafted and souless Hasbro video. I guess tastes just differ! I also really liked how you demonstrated the generative aspect of character creation (I think there’s too much min-max “optimizer” mindset in the TTRPG hobby, courtesy of the video game influences). Looking forward to more on CWN!
@@paulbigbee Thank you very much for that response. You know, I try to always take criticism (and compliments for that matter) for what they are... One person's opinion. I'm always going to be me, and that is going to work for some folks (like yourself) and not so much for others, and either way is cool. I felt compelled to respond to the criticism in this case only because I felt it was objectively and verifiably inaccurate and painted an incorrect picture of what happens on the channel here. If he would have said "your sound and video quality is weak" or "your editing looks amateurish", well I'd have nothing to say because that is all somewhat accurate! 😀