The System
"From the 5E SRD to The Wicked West: A familiar engine running a fundamentally different game."
The Wicked West: Frontier of Shadows began with the 5E SRD as a mechanical foundation, not a design destination. Core elements—attributes, checks, combat resolution, advantage and disadvantage—were retained for familiarity and accessibility. Everything else was dismantled and rebuilt to serve a darker, consequence-driven frontier setting.
Traditional assumptions were intentionally removed. There are no fantasy classes, no spell lists, and no automatic progression. Advancement is not linear, guaranteed, or clean. The system was redesigned to ensure that power is earned through story, survival, and sacrifice—not optimization.
A Classless, Levelless System
There are no classes in The Wicked West. Characters are not locked into archetypes, roles, or build paths. There are also no levels. Power does not increase because time has passed or enemies have been defeated. Instead, characters are defined by:
- Core attributes & skills
- Equipment & Survival
- Marks of the West
- Powers of the Veil
- Hex Coins and the Ledger
"Two characters who start the same can become radically different based solely on the choices they make and the consequences they accept."
Player Quick-Start
At the table, The Wicked West feels familiar at first. Combat follows recognizable action structures, but it is harsher. Healing is limited, resources matter, and violence leaves marks.
You do not "level up." Instead, you earn Hex Coins through meaningful story events: surviving the unnatural, making irreversible decisions, or bargaining with forces beyond reason.
Hex Coins
Power with a Cost
Hex Coins are not XP. They are a narrative currency representing exposure, corruption, and legend. They can be used to:
- Acquire new Marks of the West
- Unlock or deepen Powers of the Veil
- Permanently increase survivability
- Influence fate-bound outcomes
The Ledger: Nothing Is Forgotten
The Ledger is a permanent record of who you were, what you survived, and what you paid to keep going. Game Masters reference the Ledger to determine NPC reactions, supernatural attention, and escalating consequences.
The world remembers what you’ve done, even when you wish it wouldn’t.
Ledger Tracks:
- ✦ Hex Coins Gained/Spent
- ✦ Marks Acquired
- ✦ Powers Abused
- ✦ Oaths & Curses
- ✦ Irreversible Acts
Marks of the West
Replacing feats and class features, a Mark represents a fundamental change: a learned brutality, a supernatural brand, or a survival adaptation.
Some Marks make you harder to kill. Others make you feared. Many do both. None are free.
Powers of the Veil
All supernatural phenomena are unified under the Veil. There are no spell slots. Any character can interact with the Veil, but doing so risks Veil Saturation.
Mastery does not remove risk. It only changes how the risk manifests.
Why This System Exists
"Characters grow stronger, but stories grow thinner. We fixed that."