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A GUIDE TO GOALS

The goals mechanic of the Stars Without Number -  Revised Edition rule set is a fairly vague and open ended experience/level up rule that is designed to allow the GM quite a bit of leeway when it comes to interpretation and implementation. In Red Sector A, goals are an integral part of gaining experience points and achieving the next level of character development. Following, I will lay out some general guidelines in choosing goals and how experience points may be awarded.

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The first thing that one should keep in mind is that PCs with goals will level up much faster than they would without them. The experience mechanic in SWN is designed to be used with relatively low numbers, as seen here:

Character Level - Total Experience Required
 1  - 0 
 2  - 3
 3  - 6
 4  - 12
 5  - 18
 6  - 27
 7  - 39
 8  - 54
 9  - 72
10 - 93
11  - 24 points for each level more

When gaining experience points, the following general rules apply for attaining goals within the Red Sector A gaming universe:

  1.  (EASY) of personal impact, +1 XP

  2. (MODERATE) of minor local impact, +4 XP

  3. (DIFFICULT) of major local or minor world impact, +8 XP

  4. (VERY DIFFICULT) of major world or minor sector impact, +13 XP

  5. (EPIC) of major sector impact, +24 XP

This guideline is flexible and on some occasions points awarded may not fit neatly into the chart; for example, lower level PCs may receive more XP for less difficult personal goals, or if achieving a goal was particularly entertaining, more XP may also be awarded. It is incumbent upon the players to raise questions or argue their case for a higher award whenever they believe they are deserving.

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Below, I have listed some basic starting goals that may be useful for new players. These are, of course not comprehensive, nor are they required. If you want to use them all, please do. If you don't like them, ignore them and craft your own. As always, this is meant to be a fun "game" and how you play it is up to you.

A LIST OF POSSIBLE GOALS FOR NEW PLAYERS

  1. Use my weapon(s) in combat

  2. Use my special ability (Healing, Telepathy, etc.) in combat

  3. Get my first kill against the enemy

  4. Attain a special item (rare/pre-tech weapon, etc.)

  5. Build something (combat robot, unique weapon/armor, etc.)

As you get higher in experience and have completed some of your more basic goals, you should begin to attempt more difficult ones. A good way to do this is to separate out the steps towards a much more difficult goal; for example, should one want to build a squad of killer robots, it could be split into several less lofty goals, such as: find the parts to build a prototype, find a V.I. to inhabit the prototype, build and activate the prototype, find parts to build ten robots, build and activate ten robots, etc. The ultimate goal may be worth quite a lot of XP, but the steps to get you there can also be worthy of XP. 

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Finally, there are the sorts of goals that require the entire team. Team goals are obviously more difficult to achieve as they require the cooperation of all the PCs. These types of goals generally come with a higher XP value, though this is not always the case; for example, setting a goal for the team of travelling to another planet will likely not be worthy of a high number of experience points, but setting a goal of taking over a local crime syndicate could, indeed, be worthy of a high payout. The XP awarded for achieving team goals will generally be equal among the PCs, however, if one PC barely participated, or conversely, was instrumental in achieving the goal, their award could be significantly different.

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Set goals you can achieve. Goals should be difficult, to increase the award, but not so difficult that you can't get there. Don't be concerned about altering, or even completely changing your goal. This is bound to happen in the sand box game setting. Talk to your fellow players; they may have some ideas for general goals you haven't thought of, or even a specific goal tailored just for you. Also, please don't try to game the system by repeatedly setting a simple, always achievable goal. The GM will eventually catch on to that sort of tactic. Above all, don't stress. Have fun with it.

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