That's the full game Character Sheet. Ain't she pretty?

Gun

Hit 5 points in Vendetta, and it immediately resets to 1, but you gain the power to force fate. Cross out the Gun box on your sheet. Once per game, you can kick off a PvP shootout against any other player, at any time, without asking the Marshal's permission and resolve the duel normally. The loser hands over a Bounty card of the winner's choice. (If the target is broke and has no Bounties, you can't start the duel).

Rot

Hit 5 points in Carogna, and your black heart takes over. The stat drops back down to 1, but your Faction ability mutates into something meaner:

• Yankee: Whenever you pull a Joker in a shootout, reveal it and instantly claim a bonus Bounty card

• Chichimeca: When you take a Wound, you force every rival at the table to hand you one of their Carogna cards

• Criollo: When you flip a card (Carogna to Vendetta or vice versa), it automatically acts as a +2 or -2, ignoring Suit rules entirely

• Paisà: see Shadow Heart

Star (legend status)

Max out a stat to 5 for the second time (whether it's Vendetta or Carogna), and you become a walking legend. Cross out the Star box on your sheet. The world bends for you now. You only need 20 Bounty points to win a game instead of the usual 21, and once per session, you can outright ignore the effects of a single Wound.

Bleeding out

If a persistent character gets eliminated in a session, the dirt leaves a permanent scar. In their next game, that player hits the table wounded, starting with only 1 Carogna and 1 Vendetta card.

THE FACTIONS

Every suit represents a faction bleeding the Fronteira, granting one unique trick up your sleeve:

♦ CRIOLLOS (Diamonds) – "The Law of Lead": Once per scene, you can flip a Carogna card into a Vendetta, or vice versa

♣ PAISÀ (Clubs) – "Shadow Heart": You can burn three Carogna cards to steal a Bounty straight from another player's stash. The victim gets to choose which one they hand over

♥ YANKEES (Hearts) – "Order and Profit": Right before a shootout you're in, peek at the top card of the deck. Keep it on top, or bury it at the bottom

♠ CHICHIMECA (Spades) – "Sons of the Dirt": Every time you take a wound, steal a Carogna card from a rival at the table

Setting up the table

Pick our Invaders Deck or any standard French-suited deck of 54 cards (52 + two Jokers). Strip the Face cards from the deck. Every player picks or randomly draws a Face card: this defines your faction and your base morality. Slap it face-up in front of you on.

• Jacks (J) start dirty with two Carogna cards

• Queens (Q) walk the line with one Carogna and one Vendetta card

• Kings (K) come out swinging with two Vendetta cards

Draw your starting cards from the remaining deck (cards 1-10 and the two Jokers) and place them face down beside your character: Carogna cards on the left, Vendetta cards on the right.

If you pull the Red Joker here, burn it to the discard pile, but you pocket 2 extra Carogna cards. If it’s a Black Joker, burn it for 2 extra Vendetta cards.

Below your character card is your stash, where your Bounty cards go when the wasteland pays out.

Shuffle whatever's left in the deck, pour a drink (whiskey or orange juice would do), and get ready for the first scene.

Shootouts, tests, and scenes

Whenever the story hits a wall, like a firefight, a rigged trap, a fast-talking scam, or a gut-check, you play out a Scene. Every player in the crosshairs has to beat the Difficulty set by the Marshal's draw.

ENCOUNTER DIFFICULTY

1. Base difficulty is exactly 10 + the value of a card ripped from the main deck by the Marshal

Number cards = Face value

Face cards = 10

Aces = 11

2. If the Marshal pulls a Joker, all hell breaks loose. The Difficulty spikes to a flat 20, plus:

Red Joker: Every player immediately eats a Carogna card

Black Joker: Every player immediately pockets a Vendetta card

That final number is the sheer brutal force of the enemy or the trap. To survive, players must match or beat it by adding drawn cards to their base Character card (which is always worth 10), following strict Blackjack rules:

Ace = 1 or 11 (active player's call)

2 through 10 = Face value

Face Cards = 10

Jokers = 0

Remember: you hit the table already sitting at 10 points thanks to your Face card. Jokers add nothing to your total (0), but instantly grant you 1 Carogna card (if Red) or 1 Vendetta card (if Black) when drawn.

The Marshal deals one card to everyone in the scrap. The player with the highest showing score acts first. You look the Marshal in the eye and choose: Stand or Draw (Hit). You can keep drawing as long as you want, until you either Stand or Bust (break past 21). The action then passes to the next higher score, down the line until everyone has played their hand.

The payout

When the smoke clears on a beaten Scene, every survivor who passed the test claims a Bounty card face up.

If the numerical sum of your Bounties hits exactly 21, you win the game right there. You are the Marshal for the next tale.

If your Bounties push you over 21, you busted your greed. You don't win and you must burn one Bounty card of your choice to drop back down to 20 or less. That burned card goes into either your Carogna or Vendetta pile, you decide.

Eating dirt (busting)

If a player busts (goes over 21) during a draw, they take a Wound. Turn your Character card sideways (90°) to show you’re bleeding. Take a second Wound, and you're dead in the dust and gone from this game.

If every player gets wiped out, the Marshal wins the session. A bleeding player can patch their Wound(s) by spending Bounty cards totaling at least 11 points, but only before the next shootout or test begins. No mid-fight bandages, we ain't that nice.

Gamble

When setting the Difficulty, the Marshal can secretly slide an extra card face down into their total. That card stays hidden until every player has finished their draws. If the Marshal ends up busting, every player who stayed under 21 instantly earns a Bounty. Players who busted get lucky and survive the scene without taking a wound, but they don't get paid.

Carogna and Vendetta

You can burn Carogna and Vendetta cards to rig the game:

• Vendetta grants a +1 to a test in your favor. If the card matches your Suit, it's a +2

• Carogna slaps a -1 on a rival. If the card matches their Suit, it's a crippling -2

Burn them to the discard pile once used. The Marshal can toss out bonus Carogna or Vendetta cards to players who lean hard into their roleplay.

Note: You can't waste a Carogna on a bastard who's already busted.

The blind

The Marshal can declare any encounter is in "The Blind." This is for final showdowns or moments when the Reaper comes knocking.

The Marshal draws as many cards as they want and throws out the last one, so the Marshal physically cannot bust. The Marshal keeps their total completely hidden until all players have made their final choice to Stand or Draw.

Only then does the Marshal flip their hand to reveal the slaughter.

Any player who survives the test bags two Bounty cards. Anyone who fails loses a Bounty (if they have one) and takes a Wound, even if they didn't bust.

Reshuffle

The second a Joker hits the felt during a scene, gather the discards. The deck gets reshuffled.

End of the line

The moment a player hits exactly 21 points in Bounties, the narrative cuts to black: "the sun sets on the Fronteira. Whoever's still standing becomes the Law of the Dust."

That player takes the Marshal's chair for the next chronicle.

If the deck completely runs dry during a scene, the player sitting on the biggest Bounty total wins. In a dead tie? You pull guns. A sudden-death shootout between the tied players settles it.

Scars and legends (character advancement)

When a player survives their first game of Grim Fronteira and takes the Marshal title, they earn the right to roll a persistent character. Throw your starting Face card back in the box and print your own custom Character Sheet. This sheet counts as a permanent 10-value card on the felt, just like a Face.

Watch out! Doing this permanently tilts the deck's math: the wasteland ain't fair

This bastard gets a name, a Suit, and a Faction, but their slate doesn't get wiped clean when the story ends. They start with 3 permanent stat points, split however you want between Vendetta and Carogna. Every time this character survives and wins another session, you permanently boost their base Vendetta or Carogna by 1.Paisà: You can burn three Carogna cards to steal a Bounty straight from another player's stash. The victim gets to choose which one they hand over.

grim fronteira - starter rules

Grim Fronteira is a storytelling game set in the withered corpse of Europe. After the Great Drought boiled the continent to dust in 1607, Criollos, Paisà, Yankees, Chichimeca, and other lost souls have sailed East from the Americas, hunting for power, loot, and twisted freedom in the Old World.

Every player takes on the role of a survivor tied to their chosen Suit, bleeding and bluffing to stack their Bounties until they hit exactly 21 points, just like in a game of Blackjack, but with many twists. Whoever pulls that off stops the story cold and takes the seat of the Marshal, becoming the dealer and storyteller for the next chronicle.

The game blends freeform narrative with brutal Blackjack mechanics. You can watch each other's backs or slide a knife into them: out here in the dust, the frontier decides who dies a hero and who lives as a carogna (bastard).

Get your hands dirty with the simplified ruleset below. These serve as entry point for

Use this simplified version for this demo game