Cities Without Number

Cities Without Number is Kevin Crawford's cyberpunk entry in the Without Number family, aimed at sandbox campaigns rather than fixed mission paths. It gives the GM tools for building districts, gangs, corps, jobs, contacts, threats, and a city that can keep producing trouble after the first session.

At the table, it sits between classic cyberpunk procedure and modern OSR usability. Characters are competent specialists, but the pressure comes from jobs, money, heat, factions, and the consequences of living under corporate power. The game supports cyberware, drones, hacking, firearms, social pressure, and street-level crews without requiring every campaign to revolve around one published setting.

The standout value is the GM toolkit. If Cyberpunk RED gives you the current Night City line and Shadowrun gives you a dense fantasy-cyberpunk metaplot, Cities Without Number is better for a referee who wants to build their own city and let players decide which targets, patrons, and enemies matter. Its generators and faction logic make it especially useful for campaigns where the setting should react to player choices.

It is not the best pick for a table that wants a rules-light, scene-framed story game or a heavily authored campaign out of the box. It asks the GM to enjoy prep tools and open-world consequences. For groups that want cyberpunk as a living sandbox with strong practical support, it fills a lane the better-known cyberpunk TTRPGs do not cover as cleanly.