Boundless

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RULES

PDF

Download the printable Boundless SRD PDF.

Boundless Tides

Download Boundless Tides, a free and soulslike pirate game built on the Boundless System.

Basics

How to Play: Players narrate what their characters do; the GM sets scenes, presents problems, and lets players find creative solutions. When in doubt, players and the GM consult their respective Action Lists to move the story forward.

Dice and Hits: When rolling dice, look at each result individually. Each 5 or 6 is a Hit. The more Hits, the better the final outcome.

Pools: A Pool is a set of dice (4d6, 6d6, or 8d6) tied to an event beyond the characters’ control. Set aside all Hits (5s and 6s), then remove up to 2 of the remaining dice. Interpret the result:

› With 1+ dice left: The event lingers and the leftover dice set the new size of the Pool for the next roll.

› With 0 dice left: The event triggers and the Pool is cleared.

Tracks: A Track is a row of connected boxes (4 boxes, 6 boxes, or 8 boxes) tied to a player-controlled effort or challenge. When players Make a Check, each Hit marks one box on the Track, from left to right. When it is filled, the endeavor is complete.

Characters

Attributes: The traits a character uses to handle risky tasks: Body (strength, dexterity, agility), Mind (intelligence, perception, wits), and Heart (charisma, instinct, passion). (Start with 4 points distributed among the Attributes, with a maximum of 2 points per Attribute.)

Stamina: A Pool representing a character’s reserve of endurance used to avoid threats. (Start with 6 Stamina.)

Aspects: The key details that shape who a character is (e.g., background, skills, or qualities). They provide narrative liberties in the fiction and can grant extra d6s when a player Makes a Check. Each Aspect also has a number of Hit Points (or HP), which measures the character’s ability to resist lasting harm. (Start with 2 Aspects of your choice, each set at 2 HP.)

Damage: When a character takes a number of Damage from threats or attacks, they lose that many HP, distributed across their Aspects as they choose. Aspects at 0 HP are unusable. If all Aspects reach 0 HP, the character is taken out and will die within the hour unless helped. If they survive, one Aspect becomes broken.

Broken Aspects: Broken Aspects are unusable but have a four-box recovery Track. To recover, the player must Take a Rest to fill the Track. Once full, the Aspect is restored.

A Broken Aspect or one with 0 HP is not destroyed or gone; it simply loses focus and fades out from play until it recovers.

Items: Each Item has a four-box usage Track. Players mark boxes to gain extra d6s when Making a Check. When the Track is filled, the Item is used up or worn out. Players can Make a Check to repair Items, each Hit clears one box. (Start with up to 3 Items.)

Player Actions

Make a Check: To accomplish a risky task, choose an Attribute and roll 1d6 per point. You or an ally may spend 1 Stamina to roll +1d6. You may roll up to +3d6 for relevant Aspects, Items (marking a box on the usage Track), or advantages in fiction. The GM may remove up to 3d6 for disadvantages.

If you end up with 0 dice, roll 2d6 and keep the lowest die.

› With 2+ Hits: You succeed and achieve your goal.

› With 1 Hit: You barely succeed; the GM could Raise the Stakes.

› With 0 Hits: You fail; the GM could Raise the Stakes.

Take a Rest: A Short Rest refills your Stamina and 1d6 worth of HP to distribute across your Aspects. A Long Rest restores all Stamina and HP, and lets you or an ally Make a Check to mark boxes on a Broken Aspect’s recovery Track.

GM Actions

Raise the Stakes: To increase tension or outline an action’s cost:

› Make a character lose Stamina (usually 1 to 3).

› Make a character take Damage (usually 1 to 5).

› Make a character mark a box on an Item’s usage Track.

› Prompt a Save or roll a Pool tied to an impending threat.

Prompt a Save: To see if a character can avoid a threat, set the threat’s Risk rating (1 to 4, default to 2), then have the player roll a number of d6 equal to their current Stamina.

At 0 Stamina, they roll 2d6 and keep the lowest die.

› With 1+ Hits: They avoid the threat. Set aside all Hits (5s and 6s). They then reduce their Stamina by the number of remaining dice, but never by more than the Risk rating.

› With 0 Hits: They suffer the threat’s consequences (e.g., take Damage equal to the Risk rating), then restore 1d6 Stamina.

Introduce a Challenge: For obstacles that require more than one check to overcome, create a Track (4 boxes, 6 boxes, or 8 boxes). Let the players Make Checks using Hits to mark boxes.

Start a Fight: For combat, introduce Opponents made of Aspects, each with its own HP. Everyone rolls a d6 for initiative; turns go from highest to lowest, with Opponents acting first on ties.

Opponents reaching 0 HP on all their Aspects are taken out.

› Players: Make a Check to attack. Each Hit deals 1 Damage; Damage may be higher depending on the weapon or fiction.

› Opponents: Prompt a Save with a Risk rating (1 to 4, default to 2). With 0 Hits, the target takes Damage equal to the Risk rating.

Grant an Advancement: To reflect a character’s growth, players may revise their Aspects and choose one of the following: increase an Attribute by 1 (up to 5), increase an Aspect’s HP by 3 (up to 5), or gain a new Aspect with 2 HP (up to 5).

This Game is Boundless

This game is intended to be multiple things. First, it was designed as the perfect tension-based game to print and play for an impromptu gaming session.

However, it also serves as a strong and battle-tested foundation for creating other games. As such, all the text in this document is open-licensed, which allows you to copy, paste, adapt, modify, and enhance every single mechanic and piece of text found herein.

Print this document and use the notes block on the right of this page to get started. Have fun, and tell us about it at farirpgs.com/contact.

For more on Boundless, visit boundless.farirpgs.com.

Design Guides

Setting Pointers: To make your own setting, start by:

  • Mixing and matching cool concepts you have found in books, movies, and games.
  • Outlining events or factions that cause problems in the world.
  • Giving the player characters a reason to stay together, and explaining how what they do will bring the world’s problems and factions into focus.

Design Pointers: To hack and design around the system, start by:

  • Renaming rules and mechanics to better fit your setting.
  • Creating classes with set Attributes, Aspects, Items, etc.
  • Adding new ways to consume Stamina to power mechanics.
  • Creating Item types where marking a box on the usage Track triggers effects.
  • Designing mechanics that use Hits generated by a check.
  • Using Pools in rules tied to long-term endeavors or events (e.g., project Tracks, world events, doom clocks).
  • Reusing established concepts instead of adding new ones.

License

This game is available under an open license, as outlined below, enabling you to distribute and modify the text within the bounds of the license.

Attribution Text: To make your own Boundless game, please credit us as follows:

This work is based on the Boundless SRD, product of Fari RPGs (https://farirpgs.com/), developed and authored by René-Pier Deshaies-Gélinas, licensed for use under the Open RPG Creative License. This product is licensed under the ORC License held in the Library of Congress at TX 9-307-067 and available online at various locations including www.azoralaw.com/orclicense and others. All warranties are disclaimed as set forth therein.

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