WWN has better classes than D&D! - All Classes in Worlds Without Number!

[@PackTactics]

The Video is Sponsored by Only Crits: www.onlycrits.com/gatortactics Please check them out and if you like what you see, use the coupon code Gator for 15% discount!

[@BestgirlJordanfish]

It’s a good day when dnd youtubers boost and gush non-dnd

[@CratthewF]

Even though I probably won’t play WWN anytime soon (convincing my group to learn a new system is pretty impossible), I’ve still been watching these videos to see what I can steal as homerules for my 5e campaigns. That “screening an ally” action looks particularly appealing here.

[@elfhunter6]

Don't ask your group what they want to play. Tell them, "On X date, I will be running Y system."

[@Draelos]

@@elfhunter6 True, but that only helps if you want to GM. AND if the players show up.... "Oh, David's running that OTHER game he wants to play today, right?" "Yeah, I'm not going." 🙃

[@macoppy6571]

12:01 Kobold says "vanican magic". He means "Vancian Magic", i.e. the magic system described by Jack Vance in his Dying Earth series and adopted by Gygax and Arneson for D&D. Pronunciation guide VAN-see-an

[@deProfundisAdAstra]

If D&D didn't have a massive amount of momentum behind them and we were comparing systems on a purely meritocratic basis, Worlds Without Number would take the crown by a mileeee I really hope I can convince my table to play at some point!

[@matthewparker9276]

Maybe, maybe not. WwoN is trying to be something, which means it only appeals to people who like that thing it is trying to be. Dnd 5e is trying not to be disliked by anyone.

[@tacticstonk4740]

​@@matthewparker9276Well it failed at that, I hate 5e on a personal level

[@vovanbalashov]

But there is one problem. Dnd is not competing with anyone, while this "world without numbers" is competing with a lot of cool systems. Even Daggerheart is a direct competitor, although it occupies a different niche on paper. If there was only one "non-dnd" system that everyone who doesn't like dnd would play, this "non-dnd" would have a much better chance of breaking the monopoly of dnd than a lot of "non-dnd". Still, it's cool that there is so much new stuff

[@deProfundisAdAstra]

@@matthewparker9276 That's a fair point!

[@deProfundisAdAstra]

@@vovanbalashov I'm happy Daggerheart exists, but I can't say I've particularly liked anything I've seen from it. There are definitely things in Worlds Without Number I would change, but it represents a strong point of view design-wise, and Daggerheart has been all over the place from the beginning. I think even the MCDM RPG is struggling with identity (the current resolution system is just PbtA-but-worse), but Worlds Without Number (and Cities, and Stars, etc) has always had a strong identity, and has stuck with it throughout every genre they've entered. I'm still a PbtA main myself, with a strong interest in Burning Wheel, but Worlds Without Number is a strong contender for my next game.

[@Twisted_Logic]

I've been an avid fan of Kevin Crawford's games for nearly a decade and I'm happy to see them getting attention from large content creators!

[@SamuelDancingGallew]

"Kobold, you're being super scaly today!" -Gator Yeah, he's a Kobold, and an optimizer. Of course he's scaly. Besides, how else does he keep you from eating his dice?

[@brianironside5726]

Please keep the WwoN content coming. I love this system, and your commentary has been spot on.

[@Thatposer444]

Absolutely love how this game does classes, as someone who typically doesn’t enjoy OSR games’ lack of choice.

[@williamoldaker5348]

Hearing Gator go "Capybara, Capybara! Coconut Doggy!" warmed my damn heart.

[@scavanger1000]

Thankyou for making these videos, I’m about to do my first “real / not one shot campaign” everyone is new to ttrpgs, including me, your videos will be great to introduce them to the world

[@arvedsteuer6994]

I think the concept of arts, spells and the adventurer really allow you to get great character options, that dont feel forced and very lovable. Thank you Kobold, for showing me this amazing game.

[@lordazala]

I, for one, would love more videos of WWN and the other WN book settings by you

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

Kobold! My group is discussing which TTRPG to move to from 5e and you just made this video!

[@LordSquirrelShow]

Food for the algorithm. Still really big into this game with my personal favorite class being the Warrior because it's basically a combat blender. Probably the best feeling fighter type class I've ever played.

[@kuraishinobi]

Woot! I liked your pervious WWN videos and I have been looking forward to this 😁. I hope the engagement you get from this video gives you the encouragement to make more videos like this 😁

[@PackTactics]

Happy 17th of May to all Norwegians watching!

[@JessicaMorgani]

What is this Magnus Carlsen's birthday?

[@SymbioteMullet]

May the 17th be with you!

[@elfhunter6]

More worlds content! I may or may not watch your 5e videos, but when a worlds video pops up, it's an automatic click!!!

[@GhostWriter520]

At this point, I think I'm going to plan small learning sessions with some of my tabletop friends in the friend group

[@ivansmashem]

Loved this video. Definitely more on Worlds, please!

[@SeldonnHari]

D&D needs a bunch of classes and sub classes while WWN can make most of them and more by combining two classes into an adventure class or by taking defining Foci in a sole class.

[@JacobHeaton-tx4gd]

Can i ask what the problem with the classes and subclasses is in your opinion?

[@nicholasprotopapa6502]

​@@JacobHeaton-tx4gd not OP but I find the way 5e does classes and subclasses to be very inflexible. Most of the time you're picking a class, a subclass and at most two build defining feats (which most of the time boil down to numerical increases). The "better" subclasses such as Battlemaster and most Warlock builds get to pick their tools a bit more and it's no coincidence that they often are the most popular options

[@Skimmer951]

wait was worth it. Always nice with a break from 5e talk.

[@macoppy6571]

Worlds Without Number classes are simple to learn and interesting to play. WWN for the win 🏆

[@krisschnee3151]

The Heroic option mentioned at the end is basically, "More HP, and you get 1.5 classes". So, eg. full Elementalist + partial Expert. There's also a "fray die" which is a once-a-turn autohit attack. Heroic PCs are meant to be good for solo play or higher level power in general. The pay book also has Legates who have specific mythic powers, especially for interacting with the "Workings" system of making magical structures and permanent area enchantments. Crawford recently released "Cities Without Number" which is the cyberpunk version of WWN; "Stars" came out years ago for science fiction, and "Ashes" is in development for post-apocalypse settings. (It's a remake of his game "Other Dust", which is technically in the same universe as WWN and SWN.) A remake of "Godbound" is unlikely but the WWN Legates are a lower-tier version of that.

[@fakename9820]

I hope to see a good guide to the faction system/turns.

[@Ditidos]

I hope these aren't too bad for your channel. It would be a shame if you did only 5e stuff since I kinda stopped having interest in it once I read the GMing rules. At the moment Pathfinder 2e is the fantasy game I use but worlds without numbers sounds interesting, considering that I expend more time in scifi games I probably should look Stars Without Number, heck I would love for you to cover it as well and how it mixes with Worlds, I love having psions in fantasy games.

[@hidys40]

I know these sorts of videos probably don't do as well on your channel as the 5e stuff. But I'm glad your out there covering lesser known RPGs that have a lot to offer :)

[@fool5699]

I hope that non-D&D systems could make their entrance into the wider ttrpg space. It's a shame how people tend to gravitate towards the familiar

[@tylarsaunders4303]

Algorithm bump

[@saarocker]

All hail the algorithm!

[@ussxrequin]

Ditto

[@iolair1973]

I love that dance! :p

[@ThePi314Man]

I cast Enlarge on this comment section

[@carsonrush3352]

"You know the rules, and so do I..."

[@lorebiter]

I got the print version of WWN about a month back. Haven't gotten to play it yet but I think it looks really fun and the resources it has for DMs (all the tables for generating stuff) are really good.

[@ethanadams7490]

I love Kevin Crawford’s OSR systems! Glad to hear your thoughts on them! I’d also love to hear you cover Stars Without Number, his sci-fi OSR setting

[@Landuskir]

Definitely want to see more about this. It looks like a fun little system, and I might try to lasso my online group into giving it a go. Thanks for sharing with us!

[@MatthewWhite1983]

This is a great video! Thanks, Kobold, for sharing information about great third-party systems out there. Fans of the hobby appreciate it! There’s so much more to TTRPGs than D&D/Hasbro/WotC!

[@justinblocker730]

Now I have to think and re-think if I want to bring classes back to my table or not.

[@elfhunter6]

Why not play both games? :)

[@justinblocker730]

@@elfhunter6 you want me to learn and run multiple systems as a DM? I could, but I'm not getting paid to do so ...

[@paavohirn3728]

WWN is very very cool! Also thank you for pronouncing foci like you do which I'd like to argue is correct. 😁

[@LaMirah]

It's always a good day when I see a video about a Kevin Crawford game. Keep it up!

[@motokuchoma]

So, something that always puzzles me about OSR is that specifically this mention of "combat is a failstate" often in context while they talk how cool and lethal their combat system is. It almost feels like they feel like its embarrassing to like fantasy combat. I know you're not supposed to rush blindly into combat but considering a majority of the mechanics and also the balancing of the classes is via their combat efficacy, so saying that "combat is a failure" is weird especially when someone is so clearly excited to be good at it.

[@RocksCanOnlyWait]

IMO "combat Is a fail state" is more applicable to pure OSR systems where there often aren't combat abilities. WWN character power is between OSR and 5e. "Combat is a fail state" is also an oversimplification meant to dissuade new players from using combat blindly as their first solution. You can enjoy the combat, but being a murder hobo will get you killed before long. You have to choose your fights and set them up to maximize those cool combat abilities.

[@lincolnmartin7743]

The idea that “combat is a failstate” stems from the fact that in OSR (and adjacent) systems, if player characters enter combat, they have to face the reality that they might be the ones on the losing side. It’s not meant be guaranteed death as soon as you roll for initiative, but there’s always the chance that at least one player will be rolling up a new character.

[@motokuchoma]

@@lincolnmartin7743 That just makes combat sound more exciting. You do realize that yes?

[@lincolnmartin7743]

@@motokuchoma I definitely agree, but some people have conniptions at the idea of their OCs ever being in any real danger.

[@idrisabdullah3492]

@@motokuchomaI totally respect and agree with what you’re saying. It DOES make things more interesting, especially because each fight has way more weight when you aren’t necessarily the “main character” of the game and have unspoken plot armor that comes with 5e games in my experience

[@spike315]

commenting for the algorithm because WWN is awesome

[@MetaGrave]

I love hearing more about Words Without Number! I hope you do more Kobold, Gator!

[@agsdedluxferre2955]

The fact you can make so many combinations on-top of any homebrew your GM makes as your ancestry are a simple "focus pick" and making new classes is quite simple with time and effort put in as it's OSR so it rewards GM creativity. Is why this system will forever be my favorite one to come out right next to Glaive V2. Playing a magic user in this system is heavily satisfying as well if your like me and prefer magic-users to have a mixture of other skills other than magic in the same vein of non rpg fiction, as most magic-users in fantasy outside of rpg games use weapons or martial arts in accordance with magic powers. You can with the partial class system a Vowed/Elementalist for example is basically Orphen from "Sorcerer Stabber Orphen" and A warrior/high mage gets a sort of gandalf character who can fight with a sword and spell. You can also make things like a dark knight from the final fantasy series with an Accursed/Warrior. You can make a Nekomata from disgaea or a lycan style character with skinwalker/warrior. Most classes are only obtainable as partials and it's the biggest selling point of the system, it's the big reason full expert, warrior, and mages get a few boons as their skill set will be much worse than a partial character but their powers will get a tiny bit more Omph but not so much omph they outshine partials. It's actually rare at my tables to see "full classes" as the partial system is so well done you almost have infinite roleplay opps as long as your GM is fine with certain options. Spellcasting rules are some of my favs, as they push you to use total defense to outright avoid shock and attempt to boost ac to avoid hits to cast a spell next round, it's very much like when Goku in the old dragonball would distract an opponent with his mirror images to build up the time he needed to throw out his big kamehameha. You also have actions to allow defending one another through the "screen an ally" ability making sometimes casting a spell a team effort. A lot of folks compare arts to cantrips but they are more like invocations from warlock in dnd 5e 2014, some are weak like cantrips others are quite strong and sap your effort which is fuel to use them for the entire day rather than for the encounter others are like sustained buffs in mmorpgs that sap 1 point of effort until you drop the buff. Also for those who might be spooked by "oh WWN isn't a combat game?" It has a set of rules for high fantasy where characters are much stronger and start off much better than average heroes with new powers, for example a "heroic warrior" auto hits enemies who are equal to or lower than their HD. All heroic characters also inherit 12 extra HP at level 1. A heroic expert gets to start with one non combat skill at master level and can auto succeed at dc 12 or less non combat skill checks automatically in a scene. Heroic mages get one full mage class and one partial or 3 partial mages with an arcane bolt they can use as an on turn action. Heroic adventurers get 1 full class one partial class or 3 partial classes and only gets 1 heroic ability to pick from. This is the set up intended for "combat heavy" tables I personally use a homebrew "partial heroic class" system where I give my players the universal heroic abilities that boost their HP, let them spend basically healing surges to take strain to regen 1d8 hp, and the heroic reflexes which allows them to always go first unless ambushed, but none of the heroic class features as Auto hitting warriors can be a bit difficult to work around without every monster being some higher end level challenge. I find the mage slayer insight to be interesting, i've yet to encounter a single bad class in WWN other than wise as Wise is intended for No magic worlds where it gets unique features the other 2 do not. Mage slayers excel in high magic worlds when you want a character who's good at one thing as a partial class but also want to be able to be really good at resisting magical effects and shutting down magic users. Many High Mage npcs who are also the most common mages usually have arts as well and many have the Iron Resolution art which does: Commit Effort for the day when injured or disturbed in combat; you may make a Physical saving throw to resist spell disruption and ignore the damage for purposes of spellcasting. not to mention some enemies like Liches are often immune to spell disruption. Though I will say mage slayer is the weakest class due to it's whole stick being dependent on a lot of magic going on in your GMs game. WWN is a fantastic game I could gush on and on about, most of what I said in this comment was already covered in the video I just wanted to gush about one of the best TTRPGs around imo. It's only flaw is we need a book with more full casters but the game is easily adaptable so until then i'll just homebrew my own specialists in.

[@fluffyderp7778]

I'm love Norway Kobold, it's rarely see them

[@jdennis7221]

Thanks again for covering this system! I'm looking forward to more *WN content 😄

[@marclehman3889]

Thanks for posting worlds without number content!! I'm excited to see more like this!

[@bee5464]

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but it seems like Veteran's Luck doesn't make an Execution auto hit, it just makes it more likely to go off.

[@mikecarson7769]

I like this review, because you go through all of the questions that i would ask somebody about learning to play the game. If Gator can learn it, then i feel more comfortable and motivated.

[@tinyelvenmitten1774]

Thank you for this and!!!! Please do more! I love WWN and it need more attention! :D

[@nickmartin8027]

Algorithm!!!! We demand your cooperation for our boi!!!!!

[@bewarethegreyghost]

That's crazy, so they took 3.5 NPC classes and made them the player classes. That simplicity and resulting flexibility looks fun.

[@drewcipher]

I didn't know about Atlas so thanks I'm gonna have to grab that now. I've ran Stars Without Number before and I got some inspiration to run it again recently, haven't run worlds yet but it looks just as cool. My 5e crew likes the system a lot I just wish they'd make more use of the different types of actions.

[@yurirobin]

Great video as aways! I would love to see some optimized builds in this system!

[@pedroh.m.8989]

I'm trying this system now and I am super excited! Let's see how it goes!

[@henrymalinowski5125]

I’m more excited about this than 5e stuff.

[@pedrostormrage]

10:27 Oh, I really like options like partial mage/partial mage, since it's basically allowing multiclassing within the same class (but with different subclasses). I wish D&D allowed that.

[@AdmiralThumbs]

Interesting that multiclassing can't happen midway through the character's journey; though I'm sure it helps keep the balance in check and keeps the leveling up easy. Though I wonder how tables should handle a situation where the story calls for someone to earn skills/abilities outside their starting configuration's scope (ie a situation that would normally lead to multiclassing part-way through the campaign). I guess the DM and the player should just work together to rebuild the character from the lvl 1... Right?!

[@jinmurasaki]

Need more Kevin Crawford coverage and OSR in general. Thank you for this!

[@VlinxGanrell]

Hadn't heard of this game before! It has what I care about (mechanical balance and depth/complexity) without the fluff I hate (dozens of options, hyperspecific features). This appeals to me in the same way a game like Monster of the Week does, but that game always felt too structured and too loose at the same time. I'll need to check out Worlds!

[@Masktoxin]

I'm loving the WWN content. I have all the books and have been into it for years. I really want to run WWN but my group is adverse from playing anything besides 5e.

[@juauke]

I'd love to see you cover options as well!

[@juauke]

--And the Atlas as well!-- Never mind you already did 😊

[@ActuallyDad]

I’m impressed with how much is in the free version, and I’d really like to use this with my group.

[@danualnoland6087]

This looks pretty cool. Thanks for the game rec

[@SCREENDOORONSUBMARIN]

adding this to my list of systems to try out. Thanks!

[@deProfundisAdAstra]

All the Without Number games are fantastic, and Worlds is no exception! Is there any chance you'd cover Cities Without Number?

[@PackTactics]

Maybe!

[@CopiHuman]

Worlds Without Numbers looks super fun! Thanks for talking about it!

[@SirWhorshoeMcGee]

Please make more of those, they're great. We need more non dnd content

[@RedLetter1616]

Always love more World Without Number content! 😁

[@TikiShades]

WWN content on my birthday woop woop

[@PackTactics]

Happy bday!

[@Adamthegeek70]

We need more WWN videos, thank you this is awesome.

[@htklsl]

Recently discovered your channel and definitly want more WWN so commenting for algorithmn

[@squarepusher13z]

Loving your WWN content! I use these to teach the game to new players.

[@qiidian1760]

I really hope these gain traction so more people play this amazing game

[@tuliotonheiro]

Take this comment, you filthy algorithm!

[@SilvrSavior]

Classes are pretty straight forward in SWN/WWN. Foci are the biggest character option in my opinion to making a character come to life. If you build an expert with the right foci, then your character can basically just walk into an enemy stronghold by hiding literally in plain sight with stealth.

[@dopamine6571]

Looking forward to a review of the spells!

[@pandolingian]

I am liking and commenting because I'd liketo see more worlds! I'm unfamiliar with the system, but I am INTERESTED.

[@MalloonTarka]

I'm definitely going to play _Worlds Without Number._ One day. Say, Kobold, how would you recon _Worlds_ would work for a seafaring campaign? I don't mind creating the sailing mechanics myself, that was always the plan no matter what system I chose.

[@nicholasprotopapa6502]

You could take the ship rules from Stars Without Number''s free version (Sci-Fi game using much the same rules as WWN) or, if you were willing to invest into Atlas of Latter Earth that should have rules for seafaring tailored to WWN

[@MalloonTarka]

​@@nicholasprotopapa6502 Those are great suggestions, thanks!

[@KevinMcMahan-ic3qk]

Love WWN content, do you thjnk you could do a video about the setting or the GM tools?

[@bradleywindham4927]

I love the algorithm!

[@jameswilson4328]

Bumpity bump bump! Looks neat

[@solidVI]

Scaly dice = best dice!!

[@jeremyleyland1047]

Yay we didn’t get threatened to Subscribe this time optimal play! I have subscribed and I’ll give you a like as well.

[@joshuachapman247]

Would like to know more please.

[@DeadpoolAli]

That algo tho

[@RVR121]

Currently in a Stars without number. Same creator of this but sci fi with space guns and shit and we have once again found ourselves thinking combat on ground sucks. I want to hear your thoughts on the system combat specifically WWN.

[@chriskaschafsky5846]

And this would be the first video I find about this. Fear not, the others are on my list 😅

[@wavypavy4059]

Looking at other systems is always so much fun even if I don't run games often enough to get much of a say on what systems my groups use. I have played some games with similar warrior features of quick take downs of weak enemies, and it is so much more fun than the way 5e handles equivalent situations.

[@cameronmarshall-straw6627]

Love me some Worlds, I've been running a Stars Without Number game for a while now and will probably run Worlds when my current 5e game finishes Also, feeding the algorithm because more people need to learn about this game

[@captanblue]

Would love to see you look into Fabula Ultima

[@redhood5264]

I just want a Class that allows you to be a monster

[@PackTactics]

Shapeshifter

[@PiiskaJesusFreak]

How does WWN compare with Shadowdark, since they both seem to be modern takes on old school dnd?

[@stevenmtowns]

The Wise is a fun class and can be masters of social situations. I played one in a short campaign and it was awesome.

[@nonenone-hv5iq]

Warrior in this game is insanely goated. Honestly made me think about taking shock at least into 5e, but I’m not sure.

[@AndrewofDoom]

Keep it up, Kobold. I'd love to see moreo f this!

[@joshuashaw5524]

Nice video. Looking forward to more

[@wasserst]

I love this WWN content, and i don't even play it (yet)!

[@Magic__7]

I love hering about outher systems

[@xiadais]

I just started playing WWN in a PBP game a week ago. So far, so good, except obviously it's slower due to PBP. (I'm playing a Healer/Elementalist with Aes Sedai flavoring.)

[@GodOfMoxie555]

love this system, the free book has so much good usable random tables.

[@RealBagels]

Informative video 🙏🙏

[@chappyhall6682]

This is such a great game. It makes me very happy to see people pushing this!

[@nolongerdude]

A bump coming in!