starter ed. ruleset
Weird Fronteira is a storytelling game set in Europe after the Great Drought, the catastrophe that broke the continent’s spine.
Three hundred years later, the land barely breathes again, and so the Old World has become a frontier once more.
Gringos, Dagoes, Yankees, and Chichimeca crossed back from the Americas chasing promises they half-believe: power, riches, freedom. What they found instead was dust, old bones, and a land that remembers every sin.
Each player embodies a character bound to a suit of cards, carving their name into the Fronteira one scar at a time. They hunt Rewards, pushing their luck toward 21 adventure points.
Whoever reaches that number ends the story, becoming the next Marshal, the voice that decides who lives, who falls, and what truth survives.
This game is built on freeform narration and blackjack resolution.
You can stand together or you can stab each other in the back, because the Fronteira does not care: it only decides who becomes legend… and who rots unnamed.
Setup
Each player chooses or draws a random face card. This card marks your faction, and it will stain your soul before the story even begins.
Place the card face up in front of you:
Jacks begin with 2 Scum cards
Queens begin with 1 Scum card and 1 Vengeance card
Kings begin with 2 Vengeance cards
Draw these cards and place them face down beside your character:
Scum to the left, Vengeance to the right.
Below your character card, you will stack your Reward cards: proof of what you survive, and what you did to survive it.
factions of the fronteira
Each suit is a faction clawing for control of the Fronteira granting a specific power or effect:
♦ CRIOLLOS — “Law of Lead”
Once per scene, you may twist fate: turn one Scum card into Justice, or Justice into Scum. In the Fronteira, the difference is who’s holding the gun.
♣ PAISÀ — “Heart of Ombra”
Discard 3 Vengeance cards to claim 1 Reward. You’ve waited long enough but now someone finally pays.
♥ YANKEES — “Order and Profit”
Before a duel you’re part of, look at the top card of the deck. Decide whether fate stays on top or gets buried.
♠ CHICHIMECA — “Children of the Land”
Whenever you take a wound, choose an enemy: they discard 1 Scum card. The land remembers who spills blood on it.
scenes, duels, trials
When the story tightens, when fists clench, guns rise, lies surface, or courage is tested, a scene begins.
Everyone involved plays against a difficulty set by the Marshal.
No safety nets and no rewinds, we are adults.
encounter difficulty
Base difficulty is 10 plus one card drawn from the main deck.
Numbered cards: face value
Face cards (J–Q–K): 10
Ace: 11
If a Joker is drawn, the difficulty becomes 17 and the land demands payment:
Red Joker: every player gains 1 Scum card
Black Joker: every player gains 1 Vengeance card
This value is the enemy’s strength. If you feel like it, it can even be the weight of the moment pressing down on you.
Players must match or exceed this value, using blackjack rules.
Jokers count as 0, but the Fronteira marks you immediately:
Red: gain 1 Scum
Black: gain 1 Vengeance
Scum and vengeance
Scum and Vengeance are spent to bend outcomes:
Vengeance: +1, or +2 if it matches your suit, to your own test
Scum: −1, or −2 if it matches the opponent’s suit, to an enemy’s result
Used cards are discarded, but don’t rage-burn them.. Nothing stays clean forever, but they may decide your next game.
The Marshal may award bonus Scum or Vengeance for sharp words, cruel choices, or fearless roleplay.
busting, blood, elimination
If you bust (if your hand goes over 21), you pay for it. Take 1 wound and discard 1 Scum or Vengeance card (your choice). If you have none, discard 1 Reward. If you have no Rewards left, you’re out.
If all players fall, the Marshal claims the story.
rewards and ascension
After every scene you survive, if you beat the difficulty, you gain 1 face-up Reward card:
Exactly 21: you win. The story stops. You take the badge.
Over 21: greed betrays you. Discard 1 Reward to fall back to 20 or less. That card becomes Scum or Vengeance, your choice.
Nothing is gained without cost.
dark
The Marshal may declare a scene in the Dark.
This is for final duels or for moments when destiny bares its teeth. The Marshal keeps their hand hidden until all players choose to stand or draw.
Only then does the Marshal reveal fate.
Those who succeed gain 2 Rewards. Watch out though: if they fail, you will lose 1 Reward (if they have one) and take 1 wound.
The Dark does not forgive hesitation.
conclusion
When a player reaches exactly 21 Reward points, the chronicle may end for dramatic effect, or twist and turn into a different adventure.
“The sun sinks over the Fronteira. Whoever still stands becomes the Law of the Desert.”
That player becomes the Marshal of the next tale. The land always demands another story.
