Mining the Lost Universe Anime For Stars Without Numbers

Lost Universe is one of those animes that simply seems to get shelved right next to its bigger brother. In this case its big brother is the classic anime Slayers. That's a pretty long shadow to be in. However the series has several things going for it.

The plot is pretty good. From Wiki :

"In Slayers, it was mentioned that the main characters of that series live on a world that is one of the four created by the mother of all creation, called the Lord of Nightmares. This world was known as the Red World. Lost Universe, however, takes place in a different world, known as the Black World. Whereas the demi-gods of the various worlds such as Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo and Dark Star Dugradigdo had physical presence in that world, they appear in the Black World as "Lost Ships", intelligent space ships of unknown origin that have powerful or somewhat divine powers with more advanced technology than any other device in the universe. Their rarity and superiority has sparked suggestions that they have been made by an advanced ancient alien civilization or by coming from the beginning of the universe itself. Being a central part to the plot the "Lost Ships" are intelligent beings with different loyalties and even their own agenda. Kane Blueriver, a "trouble contractor," inherits a "Lost Ship" from his grandmother and from there, he and his sidekick Milly, together with Canal, the ship's computer, journey to find a source of the evil that threatens the universe." 

The Lost Ships & Relic Ships One of the over all driving forces in the show are the so called Lost Ships. "Whereas the demi-gods of the various worlds such as Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo and Dark Star Dugradigdo had physical presence in that world, they appear in the Black World as "Lost Ships", intelligent space ships of unknown origin that have powerful or somewhat divine powers with more advanced technology than any other device in the universe. Their rarity and superiority has sparked suggestions that they have been made by an advanced ancient alien civilization or by coming from the beginning of the universe itself. Being a central part to the plot the "Lost Ships" are intelligent beings with different loyalties and even their own agenda" 


Sword Breaker & its ilk are A.I. driven star ships that fit right into the nature of the various high level tech level five relics that appear in Stars Without Number. However in one of the episodes of the series another ship is found. This ship doesn't have an A.I. in it. Its simply an ancient alien craft of unknown origin that is commandeered by some pirates. While powerful its no match for the power of the Sword Breaker.
Warning Spoiler Alert or The Price Of the Lost Ships
 

Many of the high end  star ship weaponry in Lost Universe would fit right into the Stars Without Number game. There is however a price to be had. For each 1d4 battles the ships are in & they use their main weapons they will take 1d6 hit points directly from a PC . That is unless a saving throw is made each time the ship is in a major battle.
Each ship is also bonded with its pilot sometimes for the duration of their lives. For a Psychic this is a major relationship that defines their lives. The A.I.s of these ships are beings of incredible power who have seen major interstellar civilizations rise & fall. They are psychic NPCs within their own right. They also have agendas all their own. They aren't entities to be taken lightly.
Lost Ships will be psychics of 4th or higher level. Their psychic shield ability is quite powerful against many conventional psychic powers.
 Assign other abilities as you would any major NPC!
A major NPC 
Lost Universe Characters
 

Major

Kain Blueriver (カイン・ブルーリバー Kain Burūribaa^?)

Voiced by: Souichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Steve Metz (English)

Kain is the protagonist of the adventure. He is an intergalactic trouble-Contractor. He is a tough and reckless adventurer who captains Sword-Breaker, the legendary lost space ship from an ancient civilization. He acquired his spaceship from his grandmother and constantly recites quotes of her. A free spirit, keeps an open mind whatever the situation. Ever the optimist, he is always confident he will prevail over whatever troubles await him. His motto is "carry out any difficult assignment to the end!" Kain is the master of the Psi-Blade, a weapon of psi energy, requiring tremendous mental strength.

He always wears a black cloak, apparently also worn by his grandmother.

Canal Vorfeed (キャナル・ヴォルフィード Kyanaru Vorufiido^?)

Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese), Jessica Schwartz (English)

Canal is a female human-like hologram. She is the computer terminal of the Sword-Breaker. She has a distinctive personality, emotions and reasoning abilities. Her usual form is a teenage girl, but if necessary, and she can morph her form into a baby, a noble lady or other objects, whatever is needed to help Kain in his missions. Her motto is "carry out any difficult assignment to the end, as long as it shows a profit!" In this respect she's much like Lina Inverse, from the spin-off series Slayers. Ironically they're voiced by the same actress. Canal's mind functions as a computer...she is very practical, analytical and logical. On the other hand, she sometimes shows her emotions when she teases Kain for his mistakes or has a quarrel with Millie Farrier.

She is a bit selfish, doing a lot of negative actions for the Sword Breaker owner (Kain Blueriver), like turning off Life System only for getting a job Kain didn't want

Millennium "Millie" Feria Nocturne (ミレニアム・フェリア・ノクターン Mireniamu Feria Nokutaan^?)

Voiced by: Mifuyu Hiiragi (Japanese), Larissa Wolcott (English)

"Millie" is an uninvited assistant to Kain. Jealous of Canal, Millie is a happy-go-lucky girl who is a self-professed, but amateur private detective. She has very basic detecting' skills like opening a locked door with her hair pin! Her dream is to be the best in the universe' at everything she does. At work, she is indeed the best shot in the universe...but at home on Sword-Breaker, is another matter. Providing a bit of comedy, she routinely blows up the kitchen, but somehow the meals turn out delicious.

She meets Kain and Canal in the first episode but doesn't actually join them until the second. She travels with them throughout the series.

[edit]

Minor

Raily Claymore

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Bill Wise (English)

A handsome and smart police inspector of Interstellar Police. Kain has a sort of inescapable "give-and-take" relationship with this young inspector. He often contacts the crew of the Swordbreaker with mission requests, that are not always requests.

Nina Mercury

Voiced by: Masami Suzuki (Japanese), Camille Chen (English)

The secretary of Raily Claymore. Nina is so deeply in love with Raily that she is fascinated by his gaze and forgets what she is doing. Two running gags in the series focus on her actidentally spilling coffee on Rail, and shortening out any machine with the slightest touch. The latter is actually useful in several adventures.

Stargazer

Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese), George Spelvin (English)

The master of giant company called Gazer Konzern and the boss of mega-crime organization; Nightmare. He is the master of the Lost Ship Darkstar and intends to control the whole universe. Stargazer possesses a power to destroy the mind of a person from afar.

Spreader of Darkness

A young-looking guy who works for Stargazer, and master of Goln-Nova, one of the legendary Lost Ships. He commands Glen and Carly at Nightmare. He was injured in the battle with Alice 10 years ago pre series and has since been in statis. He woke up after sleeping for 87016 hours in a capsule.

Carly

An assassin of Nightmare who admires Spreader of Darkness and wants him to acknowledge her strength. Carly's hobby is hunting and her favorite prey is Kain. She is good at many types of weapons but prefers an energy whip.

Glen

Director of 2nd business department of Gazer Konzern and the assassin of Nightmare. Glen tries to kill Kain with various tactics.

R-20

A female child made for a meta-psychology experiment that Kain and Mille rescued. She can control all meta-psychology-related instruments with her mind, and all of them become useless when she's scared. Her nickname is Anis.

She only appears in the manga.

That 70s Space Vibe
 

For all of its late 90s trappings of science fantasy Lost Universe has a very 70s style to it. The anime feels like a Marvel Star Wars comic plot line & the technology is straight out of the SWN rule book.
" Kain is the master of the Psi-Blade, a weapon of psi energy, requiring tremendous mental strength." The portrayal of this is almost right out of the rule book.

Kain Blueriver is a very well defined anime character & pretty much the ever present fighter. I'd say at least 6th or better level. 

"Millennium "Millie" Feria Nocturne (ミレニアム・フェリア・ノクターン Mireniamu Feria Nokutaan^?)

Voiced by: Mifuyu Hiiragi (Japanese), Larissa Wolcott (English)

"Millie" is an uninvited assistant to Kain. Jealous of Canal, Millie is a happy-go-lucky girl who is a self-professed, but amateur private detective. She has very basic detecting' skills like opening a locked door with her hair pin! Her dream is to be the best in the universe' at everything she does. At work, she is indeed the best shot in the universe...but at home on Sword-Breaker, is another matter. Providing a bit of comedy, she routinely blows up the kitchen, but somehow the meals turn out delicious.

She meets Kain and Canal in the first episode but doesn't actually join them until the second. She travels with them throughout the series."  This is your expert right out of the rule book of SWN. With all the quirks that go along with the class.

Canal is your A.I. & really gives some very cool insight into how an A.I. should function in a game. She's able to go with the rest of the party pretty much anywhere planet side & interact with them when it comes to adventuring. Yet she's one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen. I have no idea why but she grates on my last nerve at times.

Canal Vorfeed (キャナル・ヴォルフィード Kyanaru Vorufiido^?)

Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese), Jessica Schwartz (English)

Canal is a female human-like hologram. She is the computer terminal of the Sword-Breaker. She has a distinctive personality, emotions and reasoning abilities. Her usual form is a teenage girl, but if necessary, and she can morph her form into a baby, a noble lady or other objects, whatever is needed to help Kain in his missions. Her motto is "carry out any difficult assignment to the end, as long as it shows a profit!" In this respect she's much like Lina Inverse, from the spin-off series Slayers. Ironically they're voiced by the same actress. Canal's mind functions as a computer...she is very practical, analytical and logical. On the other hand, she sometimes shows her emotions when she teases Kain for his mistakes or has a quarrel with Millie Farrier.

She is a bit selfish, doing a lot of negative actions for the Sword Breaker owner (Kain Blueriver), like turning off Life System only for getting a job Kain didn't want

I think that Lost Universe & animes like it really push the envelop of the technlogy level for the game not that's a bad thing. Over time it becomes clear that certain conventions of science fiction & science fantasy fold into each other in SWN game play.. All in all there's lots to be had from Lost Universe for a Stars Without Numbers or even  a Terminal Space game.