Firstborn of the Frontier

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Frontier. A new world full of freedom, adventure, and opportunity, where anyone can carve their name into history and earn a fortune doing so. A promise made to the first wave of settlers, but for Howie Zhu, the Frontier is all he’s ever known. Born and raised in this unexplored land filled with vast riches and natural splendour, he sets out to make his mark as the Firstborn of the Frontier, the eldest scion of a new generation on a new world. With his daddy’s pistol on his hip, his mama’s Spellbook in his pocket, and a heart full of determination, he ventures out in search of fame, fortune, identity, and purpose. A trailblazer by necessity and lone wolf by nature, join Howie as he explores a world bereft of all the modern conveniences of the old, where the law is a distant echo of a polite suggestion and monstrous Aberrations run rampant. Survival is only the beginning as he navigates through lands teeming with danger and opportunity both, for the true struggle lies in straddling the line between hero and villain. Morals are the currency of trust after all, and there is little of either to be found out on the wild, untamed Frontier. An Urban Fantasy Magi-Tech tale of Spellslinging, gunfighting, adventuring, and exploring, with orcs, bugs, and zombies aplenty. Inspired by DnD, Path of Exile, Rimworld, and a few other things. Chapters released every Tues/Thurs/Sun Join us for a chat onDiscord Check out theMagical Compendiumfor general rules, methods, spells, and moreMap of the Frontier(WIP and subject to change)

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: ruffwriter

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 1,227
Views: 608,867

What readers say about Firstborn of the Frontier

“I’m only up to chapter six so far, but already I can tell this one is something special. The style is noticeable and very much appreciated, the characterisation is very good and from what I’ve seen of the story so far, it has no issues there either. Normall…”
A_Very_Unique_NameRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This…”
EllcRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

A_Very_Unique_NameRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I’m only up to chapter six so far, but already I can tell this one is something special.
The style is noticeable and very much appreciated, the characterisation is very good and from what I’ve seen of the story so far, it has no issues there either.
Normally, it’d be better for me to read further before making a review so that there’s more things I can touch on in terms of what the story does well, but I honestly don’t think I need to for this one.
It’s simply that good. Check it out.
EllcRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great. This is This is great. This is great. This is great. This is great.
LinkNessMonsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Long time Ruffwriter fan. I've been on his Patreon since 2016 and only stopped because the credit card on there expired and I didn't know. Oops.
I love this story as much as I loved Savage Divinity, maybe even more since I'm a big fan of D&D and Westerns. I had a D&D character, Quentin Marshall, about a decade ago who would have fit in perfectly here. That's still my favorite character of all time and reading a story populated by a world of Quentin Marshalls is about the best thing I can imagine.
Despite the big change in setting, this is still recognizably a Ruffwriter book. There's lots of introspection, wrestling with the actions that the protagonist has done, should have done, will do, and wants to do. I'm over 40 but I still remember being an insecure, wounded young man and Ruffwriter has a very good feel for that voice, that time in a person's life.
If I could gripe about one thing? When "miss" is used as part of someone's name like Miss Laura, the "m" is capitalized because it becomes a proper noun. Same with mister or uncle or doctor. The thing that kills me the most about this is that Ruffwriter gets it right with Uncle Teddy and Aunt Ray but never anywhere else.
RubenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
WOOWIEAH! I just caught up. Love the story. I loved SD so I was gonna read this for sure, but I was letting it build and the first few chapters i didnt get into it right away, so I let it build some more, and now I just read 100 chapters and I can't stop reading. An amazing world where I am catching myself fantasizing about living in it. Thanks for the story!
Serious SenatorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This ain’t no rpg, no self insert, no power wanked invulnerable anime protagonist. It’s also not a progression fic, with a hyper weak main character with a cheat code.
The protagonist is interesting. Competent, cocky, a bit privileged, but not on top of the world. He actually makes credible mistakes. There’s a scene where he squares off with a head honcho and the social fu from both sides is gripping.
The writing is very good. The dialogue I would give a 5/5, it can be direct. It can be eloquent. It can be harsh. And each character so far has a unique and distinctive voice, without being cliche.
Descriptions can be a little long winded. But the prose makes it interesting. And the world is fascinating. That leads to the last part.
The worldbuilding is absolutely top tier. The author took a real long look at what could make a modern day western happen, combined it with some magic, and came out with brilliance. The individual ideas I’ve seen before, but the way they’re put together has made a universe that’s cohesive and unique
SparsebeardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First review on this site, congrats Ruffwriter!
Imagine a frontier of magic and terror, where all sort of monsters and dangers abound! Sold to all kind southern conspiracy theorists, rednecks, libertarians, gun-nuts, venture capitalists, moonshiners, cultists, MAGA folks, criminals, racists, religious nutjobs and other rejects as a paradise of freedom, opportunity and little governemental oversight!
Welcome to the frontier, where abominations rule the land and where the worst of mankind try to survive. As the first human born in this New World cut off from the Old World and it's technologies, Hao must deal with the responsability of having to lead the way for the new generation born in this hostile and deadly world where humans are the worst monsters of them all.
T B CarterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
No, this isn't damming this book with faint praise, there are some awesome books on Royal Road and this is the best.
I Iove the main character's 'voice' that gives the story it's Western feel. I love that the character is just overpowered enough while still being a 17 year old kid. It reminds me of Robin Hobb's best work...
The author (and the main character) deserves a big hand.
ZSwaggerliciousRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've read some pretty awesome stories in my time, and this one is quite promisingly up there!
The premise itself is a intriguing one - Western mix-mashed with DnD. The writing style is, despite initially coming off as akin to descriptive Hemingway, is actually well-balanced with regard to each characters perspectives, motivations, and ambitions as it pertains to moving the plot forward.
The characters are like onions - they have layers - the action scenes are intense and riveting, and everything has a feel of real. Real moral quandaries and character conflicts, back story's that have weight, and themes that one would expect from a world caught between DnD-verse, frontier 1890's America (with all the social issues one can expect), and a crew pushing on through both.
All in all, an excellent read that I cannot get enough of - heck, it even motivated me to (unprompted) write a review!
ItMeFalcoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
A classic western vibe wrapped up in an arcane-infused alternative history. There's certainly a lot of little treats for people who have played D&D but I think there is still plenty here to love for those who haven't played.The MC is a long-winded sort and tends to ramble so if that bothers you, you may find difficulty with this story. This also feels like it's overall going to be quite a long story as we've been slowly seeing characters develop and are just now seeing the payoff of the turmoil they've gone through to forge them into who they were meant to be.Only took off half a star because I find some of the ramblings to be over-indulgent and found myself skipping paragraphs, but those times were few and far between whereas the rest of the story has kept me hooked and interested even in the quieter moments.
WombatoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I will preface this with a disclaimer. I have a strong dislike for two of the main characters and the constant long winded explanations given throughout this story. That's not to say this is a bad story at all, opposite in fact. It's a good tale thus far.Now, is this story well written? Absolutely. Infact it's extremely well done and is written in such a unique way that you can't help but get immersed while reading the story.How is the Grammar? Well interestingly enough, the story is written with the MC both speaking out loud and internally monologuing in a heavy southern accent. Technically the Grammar is all wrong but in the context and style of this story it all makes sense and it's done beautifully.Story pacing and progression? I can tell this is gunna be one those long haul fics, up to the current chapters this really gives off those "Early Years" kinda vibes. Lot of growing pains and angst basically. Pacing is slow but for good reason, we are just at the beginning.Now finally my gripes. I absolutely detest Errol as a character. (Dude literally makes me facepalm irl with his hot takes.) Most bird brained, self righteous buffoon you will get the pleasure of reading about. He would fit perfectly into the church Faction as a Templar. Good church boys follow orders and all that. Being frank, my most disliked chapters in this story so far have all been his POV ones. You get to see inside the mind of one very naive and frustrating individual.Don't even get me started on the MC, Howie is one huge ball of angst and stupidity. He has redeeming moments and chapters but as a character this dude just outright makes me mad. He's got a lot of real growing up to do and truly just acts like a triggy happy kid with multiple personalities. Felt like i was watching the movie Split with James McAvoy.As I said earlier though, the story so far feels like its just building up to this critical moment for these young adults/teens. An unironic "canon event". All these characters had fel