What is Sinless?
The world’s best (and possibly only) sandbox cyber-sorcery tabletop role-playing game.
Sinless uses classic sandbox style play—no plots, just factions and emergent narratives. Players are part of a brand, which holds territory and resources in city sectors. They can build new facilities, take over enemy holdings, and upgrade resources. This 'sector turn' takes place between operations.
Sandbox?
Players are part of a brand, which holds territory and resources in city sectors. They can build new facilities, take over enemy holdings, and upgrade resources. This ‘sector turn’ takes place between operations.
Sinless uses classic sandbox style play—no plots, just factions and emergent narratives.
Is this crunchy?
It is as crunchy as the most popular fantasy game on the market. The core rules are simple and adaptable—descriptive, not prescriptive.
If you’ve played a tabletop rpg before, then you’re already familiar with the basics. You get 2 actions in combat to move and act.
To test you roll a number of 1d6 equal to your skill+gear rank, with every die equal or in excess of a target number (usually 4+) being a success.
During the sector/base management phase, you have around 20 core actions, plus unique ones provided by assets. You can perform a handful of these every sector turn.
I heard rumors that it's complicated, is it?
No, the rules are very straightforward and simple. A player-driven sandbox focusing on agency requires a lot of decisions that matter from the players. It is only ‘complex’ in the sense that you have the freedom to approach operations and sectors in the way you wish.
What’s gameplay like?
It’s designed for 3-4 people to play in 90-150 minute blocks at a table or online.
Players select an operation, and then use skills and assets to uncover specific pieces of information on the operation (secret entrances, backstory, the map, locations of cameras, guards, et.al.)
Once they acquire the operation begins-They are on site, and must infiltrate until heat is triggered, and then they must escape before High Threat Response teams arrive.
After the operation as a brand they take a sector turn; where they pay upkeep, deal with fallout from the operation and previous choices, and choose actions for their brand.
What about characters?
Play synthetics, uplifted animals, creatures of fey nature, or even a normal human.
Character creation is priority based with point buy advancement. All the advantages of character growth without everyone being identical at high power levels!
Sinless expects and supports manifold mechanical approaches. Players can focus on social skills and assets, or blade and gun becoming road ronin, or hacking the grid, or piloting fleets of customizable drones and vehicles, or master magic through study, the body, or interactions with sophont spirits.
Assets? Is that some kind of Contact?
Play a useful face character! Charisma allows you access to more etiquettes, and etiquettes allow you to use assets from the appropriate etiquette.
At the start of every sector turn, you draw a handful of assets to find out who’s in town. There are already over 150 assets and more are coming!
Wait, where did magic come from?
The universe contains a subatomic particle called the manon. Earth has been passing through something called the ‘Shan-Effort field” which has mostly blocked the manon from reaching earth. We have recently left this field and the effects of the manon on the world are called the quickening.
Is any of this AI art?
No. I’ve been making art for over 40 years and have a bachelor’s degree in oil painting/ink drawing. Everything in Sinless has been drawn by hand.
Specifics
Does Sinless use dice pools?
Yes! During conflict only, dice for actions come from pools. Your pools get refreshed at the start of the round, and are used for both your actions and to defend against opponents.
This is simple, logistically- you simply move the dice off the sheet as you use them, and return them all at the start of the round. Your pools are calculated from your attributes.
You can see the dice odds yourself at https://dice.sinlessrpg.com
How’s the tactical combat?
In traditional fantasy games, it’s often required to attack a single opponent multiple times in order to kill them. In 2090, a weapon that doesn’t kill your opponent is a bad weapon.
Jokes aside, Sinless tactical challenges are about accomplishing a goal on a timer.
The operation site also contains ley lines and network access nodes, creating the dynamic of resource control in the combat. All action, decking, magic, and fighting take place in the same game and on the same map using a cohesive group of rules.
Resolution is fast and rules are consistent across domains. Sinless is about answering questions about how you are making a better world—not questions about how to play the game.
I'm pretty familiar with table top role playing games. How would you compare your game to other popular tabletop role-playing games?
If Shadowrun™ is the most traditional plot-driven style cyber-sorcery game, and Blades in the Dark™ is the most story-based criminal heist game, Sinless is most close to classic style games.
Enter into a sandbox, and expand your power and influence. No plotting as in a traditional style game, no hand-waving like in a story game. The narrative is a description of the events that happen!
Can you play Sinless solo?
Sinless isn’t designed for solo play. But I’m not going to show up to your house and knock the books out of your hands.
