The Rules
How Freegliders Works
A class-free, skill-driven d20 system built for a world of airships, alchemy, witchcraft, and clockwork.
No Classes
Freegliders has no character classes. Instead, everything your character can do comes from their skills. You invest in skill ranks over time, and each rank in a skill unlocks new traits and abilities. Two characters with the same set of skills can still feel completely different depending on how they've distributed their ranks.
The 36 skills are grouped into six categories: Physical, Social, Knowledge, Engineering, Magic, and Combat. You're free to invest in any combination - nothing stops a sharp-tongued alchemist from also being a decent shot with a pistol, or a powerful witch from also knowing their way around clockwork mechanics.
Six Attributes
Every character is defined by six attributes. A score of 5 is considered human average.
Agility (AGI) - Speed, precision, and fine motor control. Governs many combat and stealth skills.
Body (BOD) - Physical strength, endurance, and toughness. Affects hit points and carrying capacity.
Charisma (CHA) - Presence, social force, and the ability to influence others.
Intuition (INT) - Awareness, instinct, and reading a situation.
Logic (LOG) - Reasoning, knowledge retention, and technical aptitude.
Willpower (WIL) - Mental fortitude, magical attunement, and faith.
Rolling Dice
When a character attempts something uncertain, they make a test: roll a d20 and add the relevant attribute modifier (score minus 5). The result is compared to a Difficulty set by the GM. "Meets it beats it" applies. If your roll is at least equal to the Difficulty, your test succeeds.
When two characters act against each other, they each roll and compare results in a contest. Rolling a natural 20 on an attack is a critical hit (double damage dice); a natural 20 of the attacker on a natural 1 of the target is a deadly hit (double damage dice and take their max values). A natural 1 on an attack is always a miss. "Meets it beats it" still applies for the attacker or whoever initiated the contest.
Some situations grant Advantage (roll twice, keep higher) or Disadvantage (roll twice, keep lower). Multiple sources of advantage and disadvantage cancel out, but having more of either makes it apply, even if you have instances of both.
Combat
Each turn a combatant gets 1 Major Action, 1 Minor Action and movement. At the end of your turn, any unused actions carry over as Major or Minor Reactions usable on other turns. A Major (Re-)Action can be exchanged for two Minor (Re-)Actions and vice versa at any point.
Attacks can be aimed at specific body parts (head, arm, hand, leg, etc.) at a penalty to the attack roll. Hitting a limb hard enough can dismember it. Cover, flanking, dual-wielding, and dozens of skill traits add tactical depth to every encounter.
What's in the System
Use the sidebar to explore each part of the system in detail.
Skills lists every skill and what it does. Alchemy, Witchcraft, and Prayer cover the three pillars of magic. Engineering explains building clockworks, automatons, weapons, and vehicles. Vehicles covers how they work in play. Character Progression explains how characters grow.