Ashes Without Number vs Traveller
Compare Ashes Without Number and Traveller side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Ashes Without Number | Traveller | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic | Sci-Fi |
| Tags | Sandbox, Deadly, Gritty, Exploration, Survival, Faction Play, Ascending AC | Sandbox, Simulation, Exploration, Deadly, Character Building, Faction Play |
| Core Mechanic | 2d6 + skill + attribute modifier ≥ target for skill checks; d20 + modifiers for combat. Edges and Foci customize survivors. Enclave turn manages settlement-level play. Mutation system for mutant wasteland campaigns. | Roll 2d6 + skill + modifier ≥ 8 to succeed. Character generation is a mini-game. |
| Dice | 2d6 / d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Traveller Fair Use Policy |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Sine Nomine Publishing | Mongoose Publishing |
| Year | 2025 | 2022 |
| Languages | English | English, German, French |
| Best For | Sandbox post-apocalyptic campaigns (nuclear wastelands, zombie deadlands, or societal collapse) with the same incredible GM tools as Stars Without Number. | Hard sci-fi sandbox campaigns with trading, exploration, and realistic space travel. |
| Highlights | Three apocalypse flavors (mutant wasteland, zombie deadlands, after the fall), comprehensive sandbox GM tools with encounter site and enclave generators, mutations and cybernetics, compatible with other Without Number games | Comprehensive sci-fi toolkit, lifepath character creation, detailed trade/travel systems |
| Considerations | OSR combat can feel flat, dense 294-page rulebook, requires GM comfort with sandbox play | Lifepath character creation rolls for aging and career mishaps, so a Traveller can leave chargen weakened or pushed onto an unwanted path. Subsystem rules are spread across multiple supplements, so the core book leaves several procedures without full depth. Characteristics are recorded as a hexadecimal Universal Personality Profile string, an unusual notation newcomers must learn before they can read a stat block. |