Frontiers 1.0¶

Released 28 August 2026 · Open RPG Creative (ORC) License

The first full release of the Frontiers Tabletop Engine: the polished, finished form of the ideas developed across the 2026 betas.

1.0 settles the mechanical questions the betas left open. The Energy model, the Favor system, the Gradient, and the advancement track are all locked. Where the engine still leaves a choice to the table or the designer, it now says so explicitly rather than by omission.

Rulesets¶

Three sets of dice, one chassis. Attributes, Derivatives, Skills, Abilities, Equipment, and Characters carry across all three; each Ruleset states its own numbers where they differ.

The d18 Ruleset — 1d12 + 1d6, summed, with the d6 read again as the Gradient. Curved, reliable, and the form the engine is tuned around.
The d20 Ruleset — one flat d20 with an independent d10 Gradient. Wider swing, on the die most tables already own.
The d100 Ruleset — percentile, roll-under, with the units die read as the Gradient. Granular, and exact about competence.

If you are new, read the d18 first. The others are adaptations of it, and each opens by naming exactly what it changes.

Designing with Frontiers¶

Seven documents covering one subsystem each: what the problem is, how other games solve it, what Frontiers does, and which parts you can safely change.

Also in 1.0¶

Starter Sets — three complete, playable systems, one on each Ruleset.
Modules — optional rules that bolt onto any Ruleset.
Offline PDFs — every page carries a PDF button, so any document here can be taken to the table or kept as a copy that does not depend on this site staying up.

Inspirations¶

Every system referenced across the 1.0 documentation, gathered in one place.

Frontiers was built with these games open beside it. Each one solved a problem that every tabletop system has to solve, and solved it well enough that the solution is worth studying, whether or not Frontiers arrived at the same answer. The design documentation walks through that reasoning subsystem by subsystem, and where Frontiers went a different way it is because the games are built for different things, and never because the thinking behind them was lacking.

If any of these are new to you, they are all worth your time. Several are free to read, and the links below go to their creators directly.

System	Publisher	Where it comes up
5e SRD	Wizards of the Coast	Layered identity, level packages, slot inventories
Apocalypse World	Lumpley Games	Playbooks, move-driven resolution
Blades in the Dark	Evil Hat	Position and effect, degrees of success, load
Burning Wheel	Burning Wheel HQ	Skills learned through use, lifepaths
Cairn	Yochai Gal	Slot inventory, lethality, minimal character sheets
Call of Cthulhu	Chaosium	Percentile resolution, rolled and occupation-driven creation
Cypher	Monte Cook Games	The descriptive sentence, tiered advancement
Fate	Evil Hat	Aspects, narrative permission, fiction-first modifiers
GURPS	Steve Jackson Games	Point-buy granularity, exhaustive skill lists
Into the Odd	Free League	Stripped-down resolution, equipment as character
Ironsworn	Shawn Tomkin	Progress tracks, three-outcome resolution
Lancer	Massif Press	Licences and loadouts, tactical ability design
Pathfinder	Paizo	Deep character options, action economy
Shadowrun	Catalyst Game Labs	Dice pools, gear-driven capability
Thirsty Sword Lesbians	Evil Hat	Playbook-first identity, emotional framing
Torchbearer	Burning Wheel HQ	Inventory as pressure, structured exploration turns
Traveller	Mongoose Publishing	Lifepath creation, career-driven skills

Frontiers is published under the ORC License and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the games listed here. They appear as credited influences, and all trademarks belong to their respective creators and publishers.