What You Need to Play
Players: YZM is best experienced with small
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GAME DESIGN, WRITING, LAYOUT:
Matt Kay ( @9littlebees)
PLAYTESTERS:
Amber, Diana, Jonas, Kristhin, Nathan.
Adam, Chris, Dickie, Frances, Karen, Jono.
Jessica Comola, Tim Earley, Tony Mancus.
Rodrigo Peralta, Mik B, Sean Jensen,
Axel Furuvik, Knaight Babbitt.
version FREE 1.0.5 -- ©2021 3 Skulls Pub
ISBN: 978-3-98557-000-3
Feedback
Year Zero Mini (YZM) has been playtested in
one form or another over the past few years, it is
still in its infancy.
If you play a game with it, I’d love to hear about
how the game went! Head over to this Google
Form (link) to leave some feedback. Your
response will help improve YZM to make it the
best game that it can be.
Resources
Character sheets and other resources can be
found at tinyurl.com/yzm-resources.
YZM is based on the Year Zero Engine by Free
League Publishing. This engine allows general
use with an Open Gaming License (OGL).
See section 15 for the text regarding what is
considered Product Identity for YZM.
groups of 1-3 players, but can easily handle
bigger groups.
Imagination: YZM is best played when the
players tell a story together, rather than the
Gamemaster (GM) telling the players a story that
they get to take part in. Thus the GM should try
not to do much prep, because the story will
largely be in the hands of the players.
Dice: YZM uses standard, six-sided dice (D6s).
You will need a lot of them for the game - ideally
a dozen per player. I recommend 14mm dice
with rounded corners, as these seem to roll the
best, and can be bought in a wide variety of
colours online for very little money.
Tokens: Luck Points work best with tokens or
poker chips. Only update the Luck section of the
character sheet at the end of a session, so you
know how many you need for the next.
The Future for YZM
Here’s a list of what is planned for YZM:
• Year Zero Kids - a standalone version of
this game for young players (see page 6).
• Year Zero Lite - a meatier version of YZM,
see page 6 for more info.
• Year Zero Solo - guidelines and rules for
how to play YZM without a GM.
• Settings - on two pages, designed to inspire
GMs without needing much prep.
• Translations - The YZM character sheet
has already been translated into many
languages. You can find them here.
Inspiration
Year Zero Mini stands on the shoulders of some
great games:
• Tales From the Loop
• Alas for the Awful Sea
• Conan 2d20
• Delta Green
• FATE Core
•
•
Maze Rats
Mouse Guard i

The first thing to point out is that unlike many other popular rules-
light frameworks, YZM is designed to play gritty games. This
means failure has consequences (just as it does in real life) and
things can quickly go south if it is played like an action video game.
Why am I saying this here? Because it’s important when visual‐
ising your Player Character (PC). By all means, make a capable
character that fits within the setting and game pitch, but also try
to keep them relatable, as playing to their personality will make
the game more fun.
Follow these steps to create your character:
Step 0: Your Group
Don't create your own character in a vacuum. Discuss a group
concept with the other players first. Many settings will already
have this baked in. Here are some examples:
•
•
Private Investigators working for a wealthy patron.
Explorers trying to find artefacts, a new home, etc.
• Anarchists trying to undermine the authorities.
• Entertainers trying to bring joy to a joyless land.
• Aides trying to keep the Galactic President out of trouble.
Step 1: Concept
Your Concept describes who you are and provides you with an
implied skillset. If an element of your Concept can help, you gain
a bonus to your roll (see Building the Pool on page 2). This is
one of the few ways in which you can add dice to a roll, so choose
your Concept carefully.
To create your Concept, think of a background and career.
• Background should be 1-3 words describing roughly where
you came from (e.g. rural, working class, orphaned). If culture is
important, this should also be added here.
• Career should be 1-3 words describing what you do for a
living (e.g. rat catcher, peasant, fighter pilot).
Here are some examples:
• Tunnelborn Dwarven Miner
• Working-Class Cockney Investigator
• Lowborn Malestolian Duellist
• Understack Hoverbike Driver
• Shipborn Nogov Slicer
You can change your Concept during Downtime (see page 2).
Step 2: Look
What is the first impression you give off? Examples:
• Tall and scrawny, patchwork cloak.
• Oil-smeared face, copper-rimmed goggles, flatcap.
• Heavily tattooed with rabbit motifs, green stomping boots.
• Immaculate makeup, dressed head to toe in blood-red leather.
• Tall, dark-haired, filthy tartan dressing gown.
Step 3: Conviction*
What strong belief shapes how you view the world around you?
Try to use a punchy, specific phrase. Examples:
• All problems can be solved with violence.
• It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak.
• Nothing is more important than my reputation.
• Only evil things wander about in the dark.
• Bravery is never letting others see your fear.
If you act on your Conviction and it adds to the story, gain 1 Luck
Point.
Step 4: Impulse*
What knee-jerk reaction do you have when trouble reaches out
and slaps you in the face? Use trigger words like “always”, “never”,
or “if/then” when creating yours. Examples:
• Never touch another person’s blood.
• Always draw steel at the slightest insult.
• If in doubt, start a fire.
• Never attack an unarmed opponent.
• Always recite your own poetry at the worst moment.
If you act on your Impulse and it complicates things for you or
your party, gain 1 Luck Point.
Step 5: Friend*
How do you feel about the PC you are closest to? Examples:
• “[Name] once saved my life, now I am in her debt.”
• “[Name] is naïve and needs my guidance.”
• “[Name] is a true leader, worth fighting & dying for.”
• “[Name] doesn’t trust me, but I will prove myself.”
• “[Name] is alright, despite having the manners of a goat.”
If you sacrifice something or put yourself in harm’s way for your
Friend, gain 1 Luck Point.
*Don’t worry too much about being stuck with a trait - you can change
your Conviction, Impulse, and Friend during Downtime (see page 2).
Step 6: Attributes
Your GM will tell you how many points to distribute between
your attributes (between 10-16). The default attributes are:
• Strength - physical power & stamina.
• Agility - physical dexterity & nimbleness.
• Wits - cunning & perception.
• Empathy - charisma & fellowship.
At character creation, the starting rank of each attribute must be
between 2 and 6, and the maximum rank achievable through
advancement is 8 for each. However, these caps might change
depending on the setting you are playing in – check with your GM.
Step 7: Asset & Gear
You start the game with one Asset, a piece of equipment which
says something about who you are. Try to make this something
iconic, rather than something useful. Examples:
• A small but savage dog named Fritz.
• A battered but reliable mountain bike.
• A sturdy shepherd’s crook.
• Cybernetic hacking tools concealed in your wrist.
• A luxurious bath towel embroidered with a large “42”.
If it can help you on a roll, your Asset grants 2 bonus dice.
In addition to your Asset, choose two other pieces of equipment
which are recorded under “other gear” on your character sheet.
Try to come up with items typical for your Career. These can
provide 1 bonus die on a roll if applicable (see Quick Gear on
page 2).
Step 8: Wealth
In YZM, we do not count coins/credits. Instead, your level of
Wealth determines if you can afford something. There are 4 levels
of Wealth, worded as follows:
• Poor - you can’t afford much at all.
• Average - you can afford to buy most necessities.
• Well-Off - you can afford to splurge every now and again.
• Rich - you rarely have to think about money (unless your GM
says otherwise, you can't be Rich at character creation).
Come up with a Wealth level which aligns with your Concept, and
approve it with the GM before marking your Wealth level on your
character sheet with a paperclip.
1

Rolling Dice
YZM uses standard six-sided dice (D6s) when you roll. The
number of dice is referred to as a “pool” of dice. Roll this pool of
dice any time you try to take dramatic action, but only when failing
the roll would be interesting.
The bit in italics above is especially important in YZM, since
rolling dice is tied to advancement. The GM will tell you when to
roll, as well as what is at stake if you fail.
Building the Pool
When it is time to roll, the GM will tell you which attribute to use.
The number of dice in your pool is simply the rank of the attribute
you have been asked to use, plus any modifiers.
+/-1D simply means add or remove one die from your pool.
• If your Concept can vaguely help with a roll (a noble haggling
with a market vendor), gain +1D. If your action is perfectly
suited to your Concept (a noble charming a crowd), gain +2D.
• If your Asset / an item can be used for a roll, gain +2D / 1D.
• If anything else could grant an advantage, gain +1D. Any
type of disadvantage causes at least -1D.
If your pool is reduced to 0D, roll 2D and keep the lowest.
6 Means Success
To succeed at a roll, all you need to roll is at least one 6.
Rolling more than one 6 is a Critical Success. Things go well in
the best way possible, and can even have bonus side effects.
Alternatively, you can convert extra successes to advantage dice
for another player on a related test (see Momentum to the right).
If there aren’t any 6s in your pool, you failed at what you were
trying to do. In addition, there is a Complication – a negative
side effect to whatever you were attempting. This shouldn’t
increase the magnitude of the failure, but rather cause some other
negative thing to happen, appropriate to the situation.
A Complication’s magnitude is determined by the value of the
highest die. On a 5, the Complication is minor, while a 1 is
extremely serious. This might sound harsh, but the intent is to
make failure interesting and drive the story forward.
You roll 5D – the highest die is a 3. Not only do you fail to pick the
locked door, you also make a loud noise which attracts a guard...
Luck Points Knowledge Rolls
You start the first (and only the first) session with 1 Luck Point. Recalling information can be very important to many settings
While unused Luck Points carry over between sessions, you never (e.g. investigative horror). At other times, it can be important to
start with a free one if you spent them all last session. test whether you know something relevant to the scene you’re in.
You gain more Luck Points by acting on your Conviction, allowing Rolling to test your knowledge isn’t handled like standard attrib‐
your Impulse to get you into trouble, or sacrificing something for ute rolls. Instead, the GM will either give you the information or
your Friend. The maximum number of Luck Points you can have ask you to make a Knowledge Roll to find out if you know.
at any one time is 3.
The size of the dice pool is based on how obscure or well-known
You can spend a Luck Point to reroll (holding as many dice as you the information is that you’re trying to recall.
wish), though this can only be done once per roll.
• Roll 2D if the information is obscure;
If you fail a reroll, there is a silver lining – you get to mark 2 tallies • Roll 4D if the information is specialist knowledge;
to advance that attribute instead of 1. • Roll 6D if the information is widely-known.
Chance of Success Once the GM has confirmed the size of the dice pool, add dice if
something in your Concept can help:
It can be hard to predict the chance of success when you roll a lot
of dice. The table below shows the chance of success when rolling • Add 1D if your Concept is a little relevant;
with 1–10 dice. The third column shows the chance of success if • Add 2D if your Concept is fairly relevant.
you push the roll using a Luck Point. • If your Concept is extremely relevant, the GM should simply
give you the information.
Number of Dice Chance of Success Luck (reroll)
The GM gets final say on whether a Concept applies.
1 17% 29%
2 31% 50% You need at least one success to recall the information. Luck
3 42% 64% Points can be spent on a knowledge roll.
4
5
52%
60%
74%
81%
Quick Gear
6 67% 87% If any item in the setting (not just items in the PCs’ inventory) can
be used for what it is made to do, it gives a +1D bonus.
7 72% 90%
8
9
77%
81%
93%
95%
Momentum
If you roll more successes than you need but the obstacle remains,
10 84% 96%
you can give unused successes to another player in the form of
advantage (extra dice). This is called Momentum.
Advancement & Downtime • Momentum needs to be used in a related test.
Each time you fail a roll, put a tally next to the attribute you just • Momentum decreases by 1 each time someone acts without
used. When your failure tallies equals the attribute’s next rank, using it. Use it or lose it!
you can increase that attribute at the next period of downtime.
Once advancing, reset the failure tallies. Example:
The PCs are being attacked by a wolf! It lunges at Kri, who rolls
If your current attribute rank is 3, once you have accumulated 4 fail‐
ures for that attribute, you can raise its rank to 4. Then erase the 4 Agility to jump out of the way – 3 successes! She uses 1 success to roll
tallies and start counting anew. You will need 5 new failures to to safety and gives the remaining 2 successes to Pip as Momentum.
increase the attribute to rank 5. Pip has 4 Strength and leaps onto the wolf, using the 2 Momentum
to roll 6 dice, but fails. He uses a Luck Point to push the roll, but still
Downtime is any period of rest between adventures – not just a
full night’s sleep! You can change your Concept or any of your fails! He marks two tallies to advance his Strength attribute.
2
Traits to something more suitable during a period of downtime. Despite Kri’s help, Pip can’t grapple the wolf...
Run it by your GM first to make sure they update their own
records.

Conflict is treated like any other event: the GM passes the spot-
light amongst you, giving each of you a scene where appropriate.
Combat
If you have played roleplaying games before, you might be
surprised to learn that YZM doesn’t use “Initiative”. Don’t worry -
it will run combat just fine in a completely narrative manner, but
if you really do want initiative, simply use your favourite method,
whether that is having each PC make a test each round, drawing
cards, or rolling a D6 and adding a relevant attribute score.
Attacking & Defending
Players do all the rolling in YZM - if you are attacked, roll to
defend yourself with each success cancelling out 1 incoming
damage. If you are attacking, each Success causes 1 Trauma.
Tougher foes may have Special Traits which make them much
more dangerous (see Special Traits on page 4). If a foe is suffer‐
ing Trauma, you gain +1D advantage against them.
Complications in conflict always result in one or more Trauma,
though additional effects may also be appropriate. If a foe has a
Special Trait which can cause damage, they inflict an amount of
Trauma equal to that Special Trait’s rank.
Range
If you are attacking with a ranged weapon, the difficulty increases
the further you are from your target:
• Point-blank: -2D
• Long shot: -1D
• Extreme limit: -2D
Armour
Most armour simply reduces 1 point of incoming damage, though
heavy / specialist armour reduces 2 (but never more).
Conflict Example
You enter the canteen and walk up to the bar to order a drink. A
hand on your shoulder spins you roughly around – it’s your nemesis,
Greepa, and she’s pointing a lasgun at your belly! You tell the GM
that you want to keep the momentum from being spun to chop the
lasgun out of the way. The GM asks for an Agility test, which you
succeed at! The lasgun goes flying, but the GM tells you that Greepa
throws herself at you, trying to grapple you. In the meantime, your
friends notice what is happening and come to your aid...
Trauma
Each time you take physical or mental trauma, mark the current
number of Trauma on your character sheet with a paperclip.
Harm is physical Trauma which penalises all physical rolls
(Strength or Agility). Stress is mental Trauma which penalises all
mental rolls (Wits or Empathy). The size of the penalty is equal to
how much Trauma you have.
A character suffering 2 Stress has -2D to all Wits & Empathy rolls.
Downed: when all 3 Trauma of one type are marked and you take
a 4th Trauma, you become Downed. You are out of action until you
can recover at least one Trauma, or are healed.
Scars / Disorders: Each time you become Downed, you gain a
permanent Scar or an ever-worsening Disorder. Mark this on
your sheet and roll 2 dice, then discard the lowest. If the remaining
die is less than or equal to the number of Scars / severity of
Disorder you now have, you are dead or insane. Time to create a
new character.
You cannot spend Luck Points to retry your Scar roll.
Recovering
Recovery: one of each type of Trauma is recovered between
scenes assuming some form of rest is taken. Downed characters
naturally recover between sessions if they are not healed.
Healing: Roll Wits to heal Harm and Empathy to heal Stress. You
can’t split multiple Successes between different types of Trauma.
Healing a Downed character restores them to action but still
leaves them with 3 Trauma.
Chases
Chases can be the highlight of a session. Think of how many films,
books, and comics feature tense chases. They’re also particularly
relevant to this ruleset, since combat is quite harsh and your char‐
acters are not as hardy as they might be in other games.
To run a chase scene, the GM simply maps out a number of boxes
equal to how long the chase should go on for – 5 boxes is the
baseline, but this can increase or decrease depending on how long
the GM wants the chase to last.
Moving through each box should be a little narrative scene,
complete with obstacles, dead-ends, and other interactive scenery.
Taking it in turns, make a relevant skill test based on each scene,
and take a token if you succeed. If you fail, the GM gets a token.
Each skill test can be pushed like normal.
When you have gone through all the boxes, you have won if you
have 2 or more tokens than the GM.
Climactic Scenes
Some climactic moments in the story might call for more struc‐
ture, where a single roll of the dice just won’t be enough. In this
case, each PC gets an opportunity to do their part, and the follow‐
ing structure is used to enact these Climactic Scenes:
1. Stakes: The GM explains what is at stake if you fail. This
should be a story development, but could include Trauma.
2. Magnitude: The GM declares the Magnitude – the number
of successes needed to overcome the challenge:
• Normal difficulty: 2x the number of PCs;
• Hard difficulty: 3x the number of PCs;
• Nearly Impossible difficulty: 4x the number of PCs.
3. Plan: The players come up with a plan. The GM can disallow
anything unreasonable.
4. Roll: The players enact their plan, acting out their scenes in
turn. Each success rolled counts towards the Magnitude.
5. Outcome: Compare the total number of successes against the
Magnitude. If you have less than half of the required
successes, you fail and the stakes are inflicted. If you have half
or more, you can “buy” additional successes by taking Trauma,
until the Magnitude is reached. The Trauma should match
the action you took.
Climactic Scene Example
You and two friends are trying to put a ghost to rest in the ruins
of an old country house. You’ve got all the supplies you need; now
all you need is a plan. Each of you describe how you want to
confront the ghost – one of you will draw its attention, one of you
will sneak into the well to recover and salt its bones, and you will
attack it with the silver sword you just bought. The GM determ‐
ines that this is going to be Hard, requiring a total of 9 successes.
You take turns narrating how you confront the ghost, each
making a relevant test and tying the results into your narrative:
Kri rolls 2 successes to get the ghost’s attention, Pip rolls 2 successes
to sneak into the well, but you only roll 1 success as you step out with
your silver sword to keep it at bay.
Unfortunately, that is only a total of 5 successes. You discuss taking
Trauma and decide it makes the most sense for everyone to take 1
Stress from fear at the sight of the ghost, and for you to take the
remaining Trauma as 2 Harm while confronting the ghost head on.
The GM narrates how the ghost beats you down just as its remains
are found and salted. As the ghost prepares a fatal blow on your
downed body, it suddenly disappears.
3
The last thing you see before passing out from the pain
is Pip punching the air in success.

YZM is a player-facing game, which means the players roll all
the dice. This frees you up to focus on the story.
To Roll, Or Not to Roll
It’s up to you to ensure that players don’t roll for trivial things
(doing simple tasks when there is no pressure involved). If failure
wouldn’t be interesting, simply say “yes” and move on.
The Stakes
Players sometimes need to know the stakes before they roll the
dice. While this is usually obvious, always tell them how much
Trauma will be inflicted before they roll, if any.
In most instances, you should only inflict 1 Trauma for failing a
roll. However, this can be increased in the case of the PCs being
hit with a powerful mental or physical blow.
Concept Abuse & Clichés
Concepts are central to YZM. They replace skills and can be used
in every roll. As a result, it’s important to steer players away from
Concepts which are too generically useful.
A Concept should give you and the player a clear idea of the skills
that go with it. If it is vague or open to interpretation, encourage
the player to try to be more specific.
Clichés should be embraced. Without skills, assumptions have to
be made about what the PCs are capable of. HOWEVER, be
mindful that stereotypes can easily offend, so try to steer players
away from adding them to their Concepts.
Complications
When players fail a roll, something goes wrong and the players
are at your mercy. The only thing you can’t say is “nothing
happens”. Failure should always have consequences.
Encourage the players to come up with a good Complication
together. It might be that one of them suffers Trauma, loses some‐
thing valuable, has to make a detour, or faces a new threat.
Player vs. Player
PvP is handled by both parties rolling at the same time. Whoever
has more successes wins and gets to say what happens. They can
even reroll if they want to spend a Luck Point.
If it’s still a tie, use the next highest die in the pool to decide.
Quick NPCs
Creating NPCs spontaneously doesn’t have to be hard. The key is
focused prep. All you need to do is create a list of names, manner‐
isms, and appearances. When you need an NPC during the game,
simply look at the list and select one of each.
Example Mannerisms Example Appearances
Frequently says “you know?” All the piercings
Whispers when attention is given Dark rings under eyes
Refers to self in 3rd person Crookedly broken nose
Loud and confident Ostentatious hat
Sticks nose in everyone’s business Dirty, dishevelled clothes
Constantly cracking bad jokes Dressed in all black
These two character elements should give you enough meat to
help you get into character.
The final step is to indicate how much Trauma the NPC has, and
whether they get any Special Traits. For Trauma:
• Low-Level Mooks: 1 Trauma;
• Regular Joes: 2 Trauma;
• Tough Enemies: 3 Trauma;
• Epic Villains: 4+ Trauma.
Don’t calculate separate Harm & Stress values for all NPCs. Most
enemies only need a single “Trauma” value to be tracked to take
them out. However, you might want to add separate Harm &
Stress values for Tough and Epic enemies.
Special Traits
Some challenges and NPCs shoud be significantly harder to beat.
Give them one or more Special Traits, with a score of 2 or 3.
A Special Trait only comes into play if it is applicable to the roll at
hand, which depends on the approach taken by the PCs.
To overcome that NPC or challenge, players need to roll a number
of successes equal to the Special Trait score.
If the Special Trait is relevant to an NPC’s attack, use its score as
the number of Trauma inflicted on PCs who fail their defense roll.
If the players can find a way around this Special Trait, it can be
ignored. Here are some examples of Special Traits:
• Fierce Beast 3 (a dragon);
• Master Swordswoman 3 (a famous fencer);
• Extraordinary Strength 2 (a burly NPC);
• Metal Frame 2 (a robot);
• Wild Currents 2 (a swift river).
Realistic Adversaries
Try to play NPCs as if they are real people who actually value their
lives. If there is a fight and things aren’t going their way, have the
NPCs flee for their lives or beg for mercy.
Cold-Blooded Murder
Killing a defenceless person shouldn’t be easy to do. If a
PC wishes to murder someone in cold blood, they must
fail an Empathy roll to do so.
However, even if the roll fails, there is still a cost!
The PC loses 1 Luck Point and suffers 1 point of Stress.
If the player doesn’t have any Luck Points, the GM gets to
spend a free Complication in the scene.
A relevant Conviction or Impulse may allow a PC to commit
murder without requiring this roll.
Abstracting Wealth
Assume that characters have enough money to afford things at
their level of Wealth. This means that you will need to make
rulings when asked if they can buy something.
Even if your setting is poverty-stricken (a post-apocalyptic land or
working-class Victorian London), be generous. Remember,
items only give a +1D bonus, which won’t break the game.
Also bear in mind that when PCs are seen with items that aren’t
typical for their Concept, it can be a great source of plot hooks.
When players come across money in the setting, it is assumed that
they’ll spend the majority of it during downtime. Increasing
Wealth Levels is a significant achievement and shouldn’t be
accomplished without serious long-term investment.
Finally, if any players want to be Well-Off, you should limit it to
only one starting character. It’s even better if none are, as the
pursuit of wealth is both a great motivator and plot generator.
Handling Downtime
Downtime is an important step in a YZM campaign. This gives
the PCs time to not only rest & recuperate, but also to learn from
their experiences (and potentially improve their fortunes!).
While Downtime should not happen too often, feel free to add it
whenever the story needs to take an extended break.
This could be between adventures or following a major event in
the setting. You can even treat long periods of travel as
4
downtime events, though these can work quite well as
regular scenes, too!

These table can be used to inspire ideas for your adventure. Use as
many or as few as you need – or even come up with new tables!
1. What is the Antagonist’s main motivation?
1. Chaos: to undermine the authorities and sow confusion.
2. Greed: to aggressively seek out wealth.
3. Infamy: to make their name be widely feared.
4. Power: to rise to the top no matter the cost.
5. Reform: to zealously pursue change.
6. Revenge: to seek retribution for past wrongs.
2. What problem faces the Antagonist?
1. Authority: they operate on the wrong side of the law.
2. Competition: many strive for the same goal.
3. Incompetence: their lackeys are somewhat lacking.
4. Resource: something is needed to realise their goal.
5. Time: there is a finite window of opportunity.
6. Vice: a bad habit keeps them from success.
3. Who is the Antagonist’s main rival?
1. Associate: a trusted partner secretly plots their fall.
2. Mentor: a teacher is ashamed at what they have become.
3. Old Friend: a discarded companion now sees their flaws.
4. Opponent: an opportunistic rival wants them ruined.
5. Ruler: a figure of authority wants them stopped.
6. Unknown: someone is working against them in secret.
4. How do the PCs know the rival?
1. Benefactor: the rival is wealthy and offering a contract.
2. Employer: the rival employs one of the PCs.
3. Friend: the rival is an acquaintance to one of the PCs.
4. Relative: the rival is somehow related to one of the PCs.
5. Representative: the rival is the PCs’ authoritative deputy.
6. Stranger: the PCs have no idea who the rival is.
5. What mission does the rival have for the PCs?
1. Deliver: Something important needs to be delivered (6a)
2. Investigate: Information needs to be obtained (6b).
3. Protect: Someone important needs to be kept safe (6c).
4. Rescue: An important person has been kidnapped (6d).
5. Thievery: Something important must be stolen (6e).
6. Torment: The antagonist is to be harried and harassed (6f).
6a. Delivery Mission Generator 7. Mission Twist!
1. Attractive: Something about the package attracts attention. 1. Ally: An unexpected friend of the antagonist foils the PCs.
2. Deserted: No-one is there to collect the package. 2. Bad Intel: The PCs’ info is bad - perhaps deliberately so.
3. Enormous: The package is larger than a human. 3. Competition: A third party has the same goal as the PCs.
4. Surprise: The package is deadly, targeting the recipient. 4. Nature: Extreme weather is complicating the mission.
5. Tiny: The package is tiny and easily lost or stolen. 5. Setup: The rival is secretly setting up the PCs to be framed.
6. Unknown: You are forbidden to open the package. 6. Spy: The antagonist has an agent and knows the PCs’ plans.
6b. Investigation Mission Generator 8. What’s the hot gossip everyone is whispering
1. Ambiguous: The intel (when found) is very confusing. about?
2. Anthropomorphic: The intel is a person’s knowledge. 1. Death: A well-known figure died in odd circumstances.
3. Destroyed: Someone has destroyed the intel you need. 2. Justice: A popular figure is to be executed. Are they guilty?
4. Guarded: The intel is being watched constantly. 3. Monster: People fear a supernatural creature. Is there one?
5. Obscure: The intel is coded and needs a cipher. 4. Omen: A long-prophesied omen has occurred. Or has it?
6. Unknown: The exact nature of the intel is not clear. 5. Return: Someone long thought dead has just turned up.
6. Romance: Two popular figures are very publicly courting.
6c. Protection Mission Generator
1. Bumbling: The target is clumsy and/or dull-witted. 9. What unrelated event is happening right now?
2. Child: The target is very young, maybe even a baby. 1. Disaster: Mother nature has just struck, or is about to strike.
3. Dying: The target is injured and needs medical attention. 2. Famine: Strange weather means that food is very scarce.
4. Reckless: The target frequently takes unnecessary risks. 3. Oppression: New taxation is crippling the working class.
5. Unlucky: The target has the worst possible luck. 4. Pestilence: A deadly, infectious plague is sweeping the land.
6. Unwilling: The target does not want your protection. 5. Rebellion: The land is split, with a civil war brewing.
6. War: Conflict with a neighbour has broken into a war.
6d. Rescue Mission Generator
1. Condemned: Target will be executed at a specific time. Example Spark Rolls
2. Hunted: Target escaped, but current location is unknown. 1. ③ The antagonist’s motivation is infamy.
3. Mobile: Target will be transported to a secure facility. 2. ② The antagonist’s problem is competition.
4. Ruined: Target will be publicly exposed, ruining reputation. 3. ⑤ The antagonist’s rival is a ruler.
5. Scapegoat: Target will be framed for a heinous crime. 4. ⑤ The rival is the PC’s representative.
6. Transfer: Target will be collected by a mysterious stranger. 5. ④ The rival wants the PCs to rescue someone.
6e. Theft Mission Generator 6. ② The target escaped and is on the large.
1. Guarded: The item is under very heavy protection. 7. ⑤ The rival is actually setting up the PCs.
2. Inaccessible: The item is extremely hard to get to. 8. ① The gossip is all about someone dying recently.
3. Kidnapping: The item you are stealing is, in fact, a person. 9. ⑥ War has broken out with a neighbouring land.
4. Mobile: The item is frequently being transported. Let’s put this together: Vlad is the son of a recently deceased ruler
5. Uncertain: The item’s exact location isn’t actually known. and has seized power (rival). Meanwhile, Sophia, a powerful underworld
6. Watched: The item is in a very public place. boss, is using the transition to destroy her rivals (antagonist). Violent
gang wars have forced Vlad to take action, using the city watch to pursue
6f. Torment Mission Generator the gangs. In retaliation, Vlad’s sister Mara (who has a stronger claim)
1. Beloved: The target is very popular with the locals. has been kidnapped. However, she has managed to escape and is being
2. Dying: The target is already close to death’s door. aggressively hunted by Sophia’s gang. Vlad is offering a handsome
3. Guarded: The target has a heavy protection detail. reward for the PCs to rescue his sister. Unbeknown to the PCs, Vlad is
4. Inaccessible: The target might as well be inside a fortress. sending an agent with them, instructed to murder Mara and pin it on the
PCs. This will free him of his rival while also giving him
5
5. Mobile: The target is frequently on the move.
public support to bring Sophia to justice. Vlad is keen to
6. Uncertain: No-one knows where the target currently is.
gain the public’s favour, as war is breaking out and he needs
to conscript the proletariat for additional troops soon.

Theme & Tone
When adapting YZM to a setting, the first things to consider are
theme and tone. Identifying these will help determine how many
starting points to grant at character creation and which character
elements (if any) need tweaking.
Let’s take low fantasy as an example. Your themes might be War
and your tone might be Horror & Gallows Humour. In this case, you
might grant the recommended number of attribute points at char‐
acter creation and change the attribute names to mirror other
games in the low fantasy genre.
Starting Attributes
There are two considerations to make before deciding how many
starting attribute points to grant at character creation. The first is
whether you want a more heroic or gritty game. The second is
how many sessions you are planning to run.
The general rule of thumb is this: 10 attribute points for a gritty
campaign; 14 for a more heroic campaign. Add 2 to this number
for a one-shot.
A good number for most games is 12 attribute points arranged as
follows: 4, 3, 3, 2. In other words, players pick one attribute that
they’re good at (4 points), one that they’re bad at (2 points), and
the other two attributes get 3 points.
By design, YZM is a gritty game intended for shorter campaigns.
Tweaking
If the default YZM rules don’t fit your setting, feel free to tweak
any element as needed. Here are some common elements that
could be changed:
• Attributes (e.g. Fitness, Dexterity, Cunning, Resolve);
• Concepts (e.g. Background + Superpower + Career);
• Traits (e.g. Conviction > Pride; Impulse > Problem);
• Trauma (e.g. more / less Trauma; no Trauma penalties);
• Advancement (failure tallies = double your current rank).
AFPUB files are available at tinyurl.com/yzm-resources to tweak
both the rules and the character sheets in Affinity Publisher as
needed to suit your own version of the game.
If you want to share your tweak, please ensure that you share a
link to YZM and both follow the guidelines in the OGL, as well as
include the OGL text (found on the following page).
Low-Prep Sandboxes
As a Gamemaster of many years, I find that I have the most fun
when doing less prep and giving more narrative control to the
players. They’re going to do their own thing anyway!
This is a huge topic and rather than providing heaps of advice on
how to run a low-prep game here, I’ll instead provide some excel‐
lent resources that cover this in much more depth.
The first is Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael E.
Shea – a great book for GMs all about effectively doing less prep.
The second (shameless plug!) is the sandbox episode from my own
podcast which you can find at mbcast.co/6. The final one is the
Gamemastery 101 series of blogposts at The Alexandrian.
That said, here are my tips for creating a low-prep sandbox:
1. Create or find a map for the region you will be playing in;
2. Populate that map with interesting locations;
3. Populate each location with at least one interesting NPC;
4. Come up with a handful of factions to create tension;
5. Create 1-3 conflicts to run in the background.
The key thing to note here is that each location, NPC, faction, and
conflict should be written so that each element fits on a single
index card. Avoid long sentences, and instead use bullets, tags, and
keywords to help you quickly grab the info at the table.
Organic Villains
One thing that every good game needs is a Villain. After you’ve
created the sandbox, an NPC might jump out at you as a worthy
contender. However, you can also simply start playing and pay
attention as your players interact with the factions in the game
world. As the story progresses, a Villain may organically appear.
Once you have identified a Villain, flesh them out as per the Quick
NPC guidelines on page 4, giving them 3-4 Trauma and 2 Special
Traits (one at 3, one at 2). Finally, give them an ambition: some‐
thing they are actively working towards in the background.
Magical Powers
YZM is designed to play gritty games, where magic is usually
absent or only in the hands of the elite. That said, if you do need
magic, here are some recommendations for implementing it in
YZM and keeping it gritty:
• Include the power as an element of the Concept (Background
+ Power + Career).
• Avoid spelling out what can and can’t be done with the power
and encourage player imagination & creativity (embrace
“schools” of magic and avoid spell lists).
• To use a power, Trauma needs to be inflicted – the amount of
Trauma scaling with how powerful the spell is.
• A spell is always cast, but it requires a Wits or Empathy roll to
cast as intended.
• Failure means the spell is miscast (the GM decides how).
• Success means the spell is cast as intended, plus Trauma
can be cancelled out. Each success cancels one point of
Trauma (including the first success!).
• Allow Luck Points to offset Trauma, either at a 1:1 cost or at
a cost of 2 Luck Points per Trauma (recommended).
• Optional: allow very minor active use of powers at no cost.
If you come up with an alternate (and lightweight) magic or super‐
power system, I’d love to hear about it - please get in touch!
Simplifying for Kids
YZM came to life originally as an idea for making a game that I
could play with my (then) 3 year old son. While it has grown to
become a full-blown game in its own right, here are some things
to consider changing in order to make it more kid-friendly:
• Rename attributes (e.g. Strong, Fast, Clever, Friendly);
• Attributes are advanced between sessions;
• Remove all character traits other than Concept and Asset;
• Change these trait names to Job and Badge;
• Start each session with 3 Luck Points;
• Add portrait box to draw the character;
• Keep Trauma but remove the Scar & Death mechanic.
A child-friendly spin-off of YZM is planned and will basically
include all of the above changes, plus adapted GM advice.
A Bit More Crunch, Please!
YZM is deliberately focused on light rules and short campaigns or
one-shots, but what if you want a little more complexity?
Well, you’re in luck! The Year Zero OGL is available for games of
a similar complexity to Free League’s published games.
I’ve also started developing Year Zero Lite, the big brother to
YZM, to scratch this itch. Most of the rules will mirror what you
see here, but the two biggest changes will be the addition of Skills,
critical injury tables, and more detailed (yet still abstract) conflict
systems.
Newsletter
To stay up-to-date with YZM as well as other games I am working
on, sign up to my newsletter here.
6
name: name:

concept: v1.0 character sheet

concept: v1.0 character sheet

look: look:

conviction: conviction:

impulse: impulse:

friend: friend:

asset (+2D): asset (+2D):

other gear wealth other gear wealth

poor poor

use a paperclip here

use a paperclip here

average average

well-off well-off

rich rich
luck

luck
STRENGTH AGILITY WITS EMPATHY STRENGTH AGILITY WITS EMPATHY

-1D -2D -3D -1D -2D -3D -1D -2D -3D -1D -2D -3D
5 5 5 5
use a paperclip here

use a paperclip here

use a paperclip here

use a paperclip here

HEALTHY

HEALTHY
DOWNED

DOWNED

DOWNED

DOWNED
disorder

disorder
4 4 4 4
1 stress

2 stress

3 stress

1 stress

2 stress

3 stress
1 harm

2 harm

3 harm

1 harm

2 harm

3 harm
LUCID

LUCID
scars

scars
3 3 3 3
2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1

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