Ashes Without Number Character Builder
A free, browser-based character builder for Ashes Without Number, Sine Nomine’s post-apocalyptic game. It covers the whole of chargen — background, two edges, foci, skills and one of the book’s three starting kits — rolls mutations if you take the Mutant edge, and exports a filled character sheet when you are done.
Free, in your browser, no account needed. See what’s free and what isn’t.
What the Ashes Without Number builder does
Classless, so your edges are the build
There is no class step. A survivor takes two edges at creation — three if their attribute modifiers qualify them for the Underdog rule — one free focus, and a bonus edge at level five. The builder tracks every one of those picks and what each grants.
Mutations rolled the way the book rolls them
Take the Mutant edge and a whole step opens: sixty positive mutations across six categories, forty-one negative entries, and the point economy that pays for them. Negatives are always rolled, never chosen, and duplicate or barred results reroll — Blindness really does keep the vision mutations out.
Four saving throws, including Luck
Physical, Evasion, Mental and Luck. Luck has no attribute behind it, which the builder handles rather than leaving you to remember, and it prints on the sheet with the other three.
The survivor attack bonus, not a class table
Your base attack bonus is half your level rounded down — +0 at first level, for everyone — unless you take On Target, which grants full level instead. The level-up wizard previews exactly what you will get.
Gear that runs on scrap
Weapon and armour mods need a minimum Fix rank, scrap of the right tech level and a daily maintenance score. Vehicles are scrap-built rather than bought. There is no starting-money roll at all — the GM picks one of three kits, and the builder fills it out.
The deluxe chapter, if your table wants it
One opt-in toggle unlocks the supplementary material: the Ash Sorcerer and Mentalist edges with their art disciplines and Effort pools, and modular power armour with nine frames and sixty-six fittings spending a frame’s Mass and Power.
How to make a Ashes Without Number character
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Set your attributes
Roll or assign. If your modifiers total minus one or worse you qualify for the Underdog rule and a third edge — at the cost of never buying an attribute raise with skill points.
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Pick a background
Twenty backgrounds, each with its free skill and its growth or learning table.
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Choose two edges
Edges are grouped by campaign genre — universal, mutant wasteland, deadlands, after the fall — as sections rather than gates, so nothing is hidden from you.
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Roll your mutations
Only if you took the Mutant edge. Accept negative mutations to pay for positive ones, or keep your points and stay closer to human.
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Take a focus and spend skills
One free focus, then further picks at levels two, five, seven and ten.
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Take one of the three kits
Hapless Innocents, You Saw It Coming, or Wasteland Warrior. Your GM decides which the campaign uses; the sheet then tracks hit points, system strain and everything you scavenge after that.
Why mutations are a gamble, not a purchase
The mutation subsystem is what makes an Ashes character different from a survivor in any other game, and the point economy is the whole of it. The Mutant edge pays two points, Mutation Acceleration two more, and every negative mutation you accept pays another two — but negatives are rolled on a d100 table you do not choose from, and you may take at most three. Spending is where the choice lives: one point rolls a single positive mutation, three buys a same-category pair or lets you pick any mutation outright.
- Sixty positive mutations in six categories, forty-one negative entries covering the whole d100
- Effects resolve at read time, so removing a mutation removes what it did
- Duplicate and barred rolls reroll automatically
- Attribute penalties floor rather than spiralling, and the strain ceiling has a floor of three
After the apocalypse there is no shop
Ashes replaces the credit economy with scrap, and that changes what a character is good for. Fix becomes the load-bearing skill of the whole game: mods need a minimum rank in it, scrap of the item’s tech level, and a maintenance score of Intelligence plus Constitution plus three times Fix to keep anything working day to day. Armour mods cap at plus three armour class, weapon mods at plus three to hit and damage. Vehicles are built out of salvage, and some are simply too complex to build at all.
Ashes Without Number character builder FAQ
Is this Ashes Without Number character builder free?
Yes. Every rule, every builder step and every GM tool is free, with no account required — characters save in your browser by default. Making an account adds cloud sync across your devices, and an optional paid tier only adds cosmetic flair and extra cloud storage. Nothing about the rules is behind a paywall.
Does it handle mutations?
Yes, as a full step of chargen. Take the Mutant edge and the builder opens the mutation step, tracks the point economy, rolls negatives on the book’s own tables, rerolls duplicates and barred results, and applies each mutation’s effects to your sheet at read time rather than baking them into your scores.
How is Ashes different from Cities or Stars Without Number?
It is classless like Cities — you build from edges and foci rather than picking a class — but it adds a fourth saving throw category (Luck), gives everyone half their level as an attack bonus instead of a class table, rerolls hit points at every level and keeps the better total, and replaces money with scrap.
Does it include the deluxe supplementary material?
Yes, behind one opt-in toggle: the Ash Sorcerer and Mentalist edges with all their art disciplines and Effort pools, and modular power armour with its frames, fittings and Mass and Power budgets. It is off by default so a table playing the core rules never has to see it.
Can I roll a random Ashes character?
Yes. The random button builds a complete survivor — background, edges, foci, skills, mutations if it takes the Mutant edge, and one of the three starting kits — with every choice answered, so it opens on a finished sheet rather than a half-filled wizard.
Does my character save?
Characters are stored in your browser first, so a build survives a refresh and works without an account. Sign in and a character can additionally sync to your account so it follows you between phone and desktop.
Is this still being actively developed?
Yes — actively, by one developer who plays these games. Bugs and suggestions sent through the in-app feedback button usually get a reply within a day, and small fixes often ship within days of being reported. The blog carries release notes if you would rather judge the pace for yourself. Feedback is answered the same way whoever sends it — this is not something you can pay for, and free accounts are never behind a queue.
More tools for your table
Starship Builder
Hulls, fittings, defences and weapons with the budgets enforced.
Sector & Hex Map Builder
Generate a star sector or paint an overland region.
NPC Generator
Roll a usable NPC — name, stats and a hook — in one click.
Campaign Mode
Party roster, session prep, encounters and factions.
Homebrew
Your own items, cyberware and mods, alongside book content.
Blog
Release notes and what is being built next.
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