The World Behind the System
About Freegliders
A steampunk world built for the table, by one person with a dream and a lot of caffeine.
The Setting
Freegliders takes place in a Victorian-era steampunk fantasy world where the height of industrialization meets witchcraft and other supernatural things. Airships cross the skies. Automatons serve the powerful. Alchemists and Witches command the four elements. Clockwork engineers push the limits of what brass and iron can do. And somewhere between the law and the horizon, the Freegliders - airship crews who live by contract and adventure - carve out their own story.
The system is built to match this world. Characters can fit augmented prosthetic limbs, summon spirits, cast powerful spells, wield runecrafted swords, fire pistols and rifles, or brew potent elixirs. Every character is a unique combination of six core attributes and a growing pool of skills across Physical, Social, Knowledge, Engineering, Magic, and Combat.
The Creator
Hi, I'm Marc Schäfer (also known as Marcedarc) - a solo indie TTRPG designer working on Freegliders in my spare time. I started this project in 2023 because I wanted to play in a steampunk world with a system that rewarded creativity and doesn't restrict a character to classes, and I couldn't quite find what I was looking for. So I built it myself. I took inspiration from the TTRPGs I love, kept what fit, tossed what didn't, and added my own mechanics and flavour to create something entirely new.
Freegliders is an ongoing labour of love. The Handbook and Character Sheet are continuously refined as the community plays and gives feedback. Everything is released for free - not as a marketing strategy , but because I genuinely believe great TTRPGs should be accessible to everyone.
How It's Made
Solo Development
Rules design, world-building, layout, and playtesting - all coordinated by the same person. Updates happen when they happen.
Playtesting Driven
The system evolves through actual play. Community feedback directly shapes how rules are refined and expanded. Many features have been in the system today have been suggested by players!
Always Free
All materials will always be available in digital form at no cost, forever, under a Creative Commons license. Furthermore, licenses are carefully chosen to ensure no other entity can easily profit off of Freegliders without permission.
Support the Project
If you enjoy Freegliders and want to help keep development going, you can support me on Ko-Fi. Your support is never required - the materials will always be free - but it does help me dedicate more time to the game.
☕ Support on Ko-Fi