# Ashes Without Number Kevin Crawford's 2025 post-apocalyptic sandbox TTRPG from Sine Nomine Publishing, the fourth Without Number game. Build a zombie outbreak, a nuclear mutant wasteland or a near-future collapse, then run survivors through scavenging, scarcity and settlement politics with 2d6 skills, d20 combat, Edges instead of classes, optional mutations and system-agnostic enclave rules. The complete free edition is enough for a full campaign. ## At a Glance Post-apocalyptic OSR sandbox • 2d6 skills, d20 combat, four saves • Edges and Foci, no classes • Optional mutations • Enclaves, scarcity, stress • GM + group • Rules-medium • Free edition ## Why It Fits Pick Ashes Without Number when your group wants a long survival campaign in an apocalypse the GM builds to taste, with settlements that change based on what the players do, deadly fights and Without Number compatibility, and the GM is happy to prep a sandbox region before play. ## Fit Facts - Prep: Medium - Price: Free ## Facets - Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Zombie - Systems: Old-School Renaissance (OSR) - Mechanics: Campaign, Character Customization, Classless, Exploration-Driven, Sandbox, Survival - Decision tags: Free, Rules Medium ## Scores - Complexity: 3/5 - New GM Fit: 3/5 - Roleplay Focus: 3/5 - Combat Focus: 3/5 - Tactical Depth: 3/5 - Campaign Depth: 5/5 ## Best For - GMs who want to build their own apocalypse and run a long sandbox survival campaign - Groups who like scavenging, scarce supplies and deciding which settlements live or fall - Tables already playing Stars, Worlds or Cities Without Number, or other B/X-style OSR games ## Avoid If - You want a fast, rules-light one-shot or quick character creation - You want narrative moves or a story game rather than deadly old-school play - You want a ready-made setting and metaplot instead of building the world yourself ## Explorer Notes Ashes Without Number is Kevin Crawford's post-apocalyptic sandbox TTRPG from Sine Nomine Publishing, released in July 2025. It suits a GM who wants to build their own end of the world (zombie plague, nuclear wasteland, or a slow social collapse) and run a long campaign where the players decide where to go, which settlements to help and what to salvage. The free edition on DriveThruRPG holds the complete game, so a group can try it without spending anything. It is a poor fit for groups that want a light, fast one-shot, a story game with narrative moves, or a fixed setting with a published metaplot. Characters take real decisions to build, combat is deadly, and the best parts of the book are GM tools that reward regular play. ## What the game is Ashes Without Number is the fourth game in Crawford's Without Number line, after [Stars Without Number](/item/starswithoutnumber) (science fiction), [Worlds Without Number](/item/worlds-without-number) (fantasy) and [Cities Without Number](/item/cities-without-number) (cyberpunk). Like those books it pairs an old-school, D&D-shaped rules chassis with a large set of system-agnostic tables for building regions, settlements, ruins and adventures. There is no default setting. The book supports three kinds of apocalypse, and the GM picks one or mixes them: - After the Fall: near-future collapse from civil war, invasion or global disaster, closer to Twilight: 2000 or Mad Max. - Deadlands: a zombie outbreak with besieged enclaves, in the vein of The Walking Dead. - Mutant Wasteland: a post-nuclear future of mutants, robots and strange relics, closer to Gamma World or Fallout. The player characters are survivors who fight for something that still matters to them: family, a community, or a cause. The book's opening text is blunt that they cannot save the old world, only what is left of it. ## Publication history and editions - Preview (April 2024): Crawford posted the character creation chapter publicly well before crowdfunding. - Kickstarter (November 2024): the [campaign](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sinenomineinc/ashes-without-number) ran November 1 to 30, 2024 and raised $247,963 from 3,842 backers against a $40,000 goal. - Release (July 11, 2025): the free and deluxe PDFs went on sale on DriveThruRPG, with print-on-demand hardcovers. Print backers received an offset-printed hardcover with a sewn binding. Ashes Without Number covers much of the ground of Crawford's 2012 game [Other Dust](/item/other-dust), which was a post-apocalyptic companion to the original Stars Without Number. Ashes is a new, standalone game with its own rules, not a revised edition of Other Dust, and it drops classes in favor of the Edge system used in Cities Without Number. ## What you need to play You need the rulebook, polyhedral dice and a GM. There are two versions: - [Free Edition](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/529353/ashes-without-number-free-edition?affiliate_id=1659151) (257 pages, PDF): the full rules, character options, enclave rules, campaign and adventure tools, bestiary and a sample region. It is enough to run a full campaign. - [Deluxe edition](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/526065/ashes-without-number?affiliate_id=1659151) (296 pages): $24.99 for the PDF (sold in multiple formats, including EPUB), or $69.99 for a print-on-demand hardcover, as listed on DriveThruRPG on November 2, 2026. It adds evil techno-wizards, two magic and psychic character options (the Ash Sorcerer and the Mentalist), modular power armor, hub settlement rules and settlement mass combat. - Offset print edition: Sine Nomine's [own store](https://sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/products/ashes-without-number-offset-print-edition) sells a limited run of the sewn, offset-printed hardcover at $84.99, with the deluxe PDF included. The publisher says it will not be restocked once it sells out. The content of the two hardcovers is identical; the difference is binding and print quality. ## Digital tools and VTT support There is no official VTT module. The community-built [Systems Without Number Redux](https://foundryvtt.com/packages/swnr) system for Foundry VTT supports Ashes alongside Stars, Worlds and Cities Without Number, with character sheets, saves, skill rolls and faction tracking. Fans also maintain free online character builders and GM screens. None of these are Sine Nomine products. ## Core rules and play structure The engine is shared across the Without Number games, which is why their material mixes easily: - Attributes: six classic D&D attributes, rolled or assigned, each giving a modifier. - Skill checks: roll 2d6, add the skill level and an attribute modifier, and try to meet a difficulty set by the GM. The bell curve means trained characters succeed reliably at routine work. - Combat: a d20 attack roll against armor class, with hit points that grow by level. Fights are short and lethal, and the book includes optional rules to make them more so. - Saving throws: four of them (Physical, Evasion, Mental and Luck), rolled on a d20 and improving with level. Around that core sit the survival subsystems that give the game its flavor: hunger, thirst and supplies; disease; radiation; addiction and recovery; tracking; overland travel and scouting; vehicle and mounted combat; and chases. A single quick reference page covers what the table needs from moment to moment. ## Characters and advancement Ashes Without Number has no classes. A survivor is built from a background (which grants starting skills), two Edges, one Focus and some skill picks. Edges are broad defining traits, sorted into universal options and ones tied to each of the three apocalypse types. Foci are narrower specialties, with more gained at later levels. A character whose attribute modifiers are poor enough can take a third Edge, so a weak roll still produces a playable survivor. Taking the Mutant Edge opens the mutation rules. Players spend mutation points on positive mutations and can accept randomly rolled negative mutations to buy more, so a mutant is shaped partly by choice and partly by the dice. The book also covers stigmas, the social cost of looking or being different. The GM chooses one of three starting gear kits to set the campaign's tone, from frightened civilians to well-armed wasteland veterans. Characters gain levels in the usual old-school way and pick up new Foci, skills and a further Edge as they go. ## Signature mechanics - Enclaves: settlements, outposts, refugee camps and tribes are tracked with a small set of statistics, descriptive tags and enclave actions. The tag list (about 80 entries, by the A.V. Club's count) lets the GM roll two tags and combine them into a distinctive place. The rules are written to work with other games too. - Stress: traumatic events, including killing people, build stress on a chart, which can lead to breakdowns or to characters hardening. Reviewers compared it to Mothership's stress system. - Scrap and tech levels: salvaged scrap of the right tech level is the raw material for building, repairing and modifying gear and vehicles, and keeping mods running depends on a character's Fix skill. Identifying mysterious old-world tech has its own procedure. - Crisis and exploration campaigns: the campaign chapter separates games about surviving an ongoing collapse from games about exploring the ruins long after it, and gives each its own structure. - Heroic last stand: an optional rule lets a character become nearly unstoppable for one scene, at the cost of dying when it ends. ## Using it with other Without Number games The rulebook has a section on mixing Sine Nomine games. Because Stars, Worlds, Cities and Ashes share one engine, a GM can bring Cities Without Number's cyberware into a near-future collapse, Worlds Without Number's magic into a far-future wasteland, or send a [Stars Without Number](/item/starswithoutnumber) crew down to a ruined planet. Reviewers also note that monsters and adventures from B/X-style OSR games convert with little work. Our guide to [which Kevin Crawford game to start with](/blog/kevin-crawford-game-start-guide-stars-worlds-cities-ashes-without-number) compares the four books. ## What play feels like A typical campaign starts with the GM building a small region: a home enclave or two, a few rival groups, some ruins worth scavenging and a crisis that is getting worse. Sessions alternate between expeditions (scouting a route, picking through a dead hospital, trading with a wary settlement) and decisions back home about food, defense and who to trust. Supplies run short, injuries linger, and a bad fight can end a character, so careful players avoid open combat when they can. Between sessions the GM asks the players what they plan to do next and preps only that. The enclave rules move the world along in the background, so settlements grow, starve or turn on each other depending on what the player characters did. ## Running the game This is a GM's book first. The opening chapter tells the GM to listen to the players, prep one session ahead, react honestly to what the players do and let rolls stand. Expect some upfront work to build a region, then lighter prep once it exists. The encounter site, crisis, adventure and occupant tables do much of the creative work, and a sample region (the Albuquerque Death Zone) shows what a finished one looks like. The rules carry more moving parts than the lightest OSR games. One early reviewer found the character sheet busy and wished the game were a little less crunchy, while noting it should be easier to run than Cities Without Number because it has no hacking or cyberware subsystems by default. Because characters take time to make and die easily, the book suggests having replacement characters ready before play. ## Campaign fit Ashes Without Number is built for long campaigns. Enclave development, faction pressure and character levels all pay off over months of play, and the sandbox only shows its strength once players have goals of their own. It can run a one-shot with pregenerated survivors, but most of what makes it worth choosing would go unused. ## Reception and awards Reception has been strongly positive. When checked on November 2, 2026, the deluxe edition on DriveThruRPG averaged 5.0 from 28 ratings, with five written reviews, all five stars, and the free edition averaged 4.8 from 15 ratings. Reviewers praise the random tables, the range of apocalypse types and the compatibility with other Without Number and OSR books. One noted that the print-on-demand binding may not hold up to heavy table use. Cameron Kunzelman's [A.V. Club review](https://www.avclub.com/build-your-own-rpg-apocalypse-with-ashes-without-number) (August 2025) called the core framework efficient and easy to learn, and singled out the stress and enclave systems. The Gonzo Crawl blog gave it its highest recommendation, and DriveThruRPG ran a feature calling it a fan favorite in October 2025. No major award win has been found, so none is claimed here. ## Where it is strongest - A complete, free edition that is enough for a full campaign - Three supported kinds of apocalypse in one book, including a full zombie toolkit - Enclave and settlement rules that make communities matter - Deep random tables for regions, ruins, crises, occupants and loot - Shared rules with Stars, Worlds and Cities Without Number and easy use of B/X material ## Where it can frustrate groups - Character creation takes real time, which hurts in a lethal game - More subsystems than rules-light OSR games, and a busy character sheet - Level-based play means the GM has to watch the party's power against threats - No built-in setting or metaplot, so the GM has to build the world - No official VTT support ## Content and safety notes The book is grim. Expect violence between survivors, cannibal raiders, starvation, disease, radiation sickness, addiction, mutation, zombie infection and hard choices about who gets scarce medicine. The stress rules treat killing as traumatic. Settle on the type of apocalypse and how dark the table wants to go before character creation. ## Best starting path Download the free edition, read the opening chapter and character creation, and have the GM pick one apocalypse type and a starting kit. Build a small region with one home enclave, one rival group and one nearby ruin, then start the players with a pressing shortage. Buy the deluxe edition later if the group wants techno-wizards, psychics, power armor or detailed settlement building. ## Research notes Last checked November 2, 2026. Prices, page counts, ratings and release dates come from the DriveThruRPG product listings and the Sine Nomine store on that date. Rules details come from the free edition's table of contents and opening chapter, the publisher's product description and the reviews below. Fan tools are noted as unofficial. - [DriveThruRPG: Ashes Without Number: Free Edition](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/529353/ashes-without-number-free-edition?affiliate_id=1659151) - [DriveThruRPG: Ashes Without Number (deluxe)](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/526065/ashes-without-number?affiliate_id=1659151) - [Sine Nomine Publishing: Ashes Without Number offset print edition](https://sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/products/ashes-without-number-offset-print-edition) - [Kickstarter: Ashes Without Number (November 2024)](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sinenomineinc/ashes-without-number) - [A.V. Club: Build Your Own RPG Apocalypse with Ashes Without Number (August 14, 2025)](https://www.avclub.com/build-your-own-rpg-apocalypse-with-ashes-without-number) - [gestaltist: Ashes Without Number first impressions (July 28, 2025)](https://gestaltistrpg.substack.com/p/ashes-without-number-first-impressions) - [Gonzo Crawl Old School: Mail Room: Ashes Without Number (July 2025)](https://gonzocrawl.blogspot.com/2025/07/mail-room-ashes-without-number.html) - [DriveThruRPG Articles: Ashes Without Number is a TTRPG fan favorite (October 16, 2025)](https://pages.drivethrurpg.com/indie-rpg-ashes-without-number-is-a-ttrpg-fan-favorite/) - [Wargamer: Ashes Without Number release coverage (July 2025)](https://www.wargamer.com/board-games/osr-ashes-without-number-rpg) - [Foundry VTT: Systems Without Number Redux (community system)](https://foundryvtt.com/packages/swnr) ## Links - Explorer page: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/item/ashes-without-number - Agent JSON: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/api/games/ashes-without-number.json - Publisher or official site: https://sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/ashes-without-number - Reviews or retailer page: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/526065/ashes-without-number?affiliate_id=1659151