ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Sandbox Between Stoplights is a weekly 5-8 minute podcast where I talk through my process for creating a homebrew in Stars Without Number. Most of which, I come up with while I’m driving around for work.
Recently it came time for me to run a new campaign, I wanted to try a new and exciting setting. I wanted to do something sci-fi and something non heroic. I found Stars Without Number, a brilliant Old School style game, written by Kevin Crawford. It did most of what I wanted but not quite everything- which meant it was perfect to homebrew.
I’ve had long commutes since 2014. Later, I took on responsibilities that required me to drive a lot for work too. Ultimately, I made my way into a career where it's not uncommon for me to log over 150 miles a day.
I'm also a forever GM. I mean, I love to play but I vastly prefer to run games, so that is not a complaint. I just never had enough time to prep the way I wanted. But, as I spent more of my day behind the wheel, I realized I had gained a new way to do game prep that I just couldn't get away with in an office. In the early days, it also meant I lost a lot of good ideas because I didn’t take notes while I was driving. I could have just voice memo’d my thoughts, but I never did for some reason. Instead, I learned how to organize my thinking and fix my ideas in certain ways so I could remember them later. Over time, I did as much as 75% of my prep during my drives and I’d write it down whenever I get to it.
And that's where Sandbox Between Stoplights comes in. I’m going to work on my new apocalyptic homebrew and drive, then record my ideas and share them with you. So, I hope you'll join me every week as I ramble on about the end of humanity in the teeth and claws of a genocidal alien species!
