Mutant: Year Zero is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game, published by Modiphius Entertainment and developed by the Swedish games studio Free League Publishing, under license from Paradox Entertainment.
Of course the world ends. It was always just a question of time. When it’s all over, Earth is still. Nature invades the ruined cities. Winds sweep through empty streets, turned into graveyards.
Yet life remains. In the Ark, a small settlement on the edge of a dead town, the People live. You are the spawn of humanity, but not human anymore. You are twisted funhouse images, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. Fragile. None of the People are over 30 years old.
Except the Elder. Your leader, but not like you. One of the Old People. He has always warned you: Stay on your guard, stay in the Ark, or the Rot will get you. Or worse. So far, you have obeyed him. Chased off every stranger who came close to the Ark. Few dared to go out into the Zone. That is what the Elder calls the outside world.
But the safe days are over. Food is running scarce, and the fight for what’s left is turning violent. You hunger. Factions are forming, bosses on top and slaves on the bottom. In the middle, fixers who try to turn a profit from anyone and everyone. And the Elder is dying. You’re on your own now.
It’s time to venture out. To explore the Zone, to search for artefacts, for knowledge. To build, grow the land, seek out others, create a new civilization on the ruins of the old. Seek your origin. Maybe, one day, you will find Eden of the legends, the Old People’s haven in the middle of hell. That’s where salvation and truth await, the stories say.
Maybe it’s all bullshit. It doesn’t matter. You have no choice. This is the beginning.
This is Year Zero.
Mutant: Year Zero goes back to the origins of the Mutant franchise: role-playing after the Apocalypse. In this game, you play as one of The People - heavily mutated humans living in The Ark, a small and isolated settlement in a sea of chaos. The outside world is unknown to you, and so is your origin.
Mutant: Year Zero has two major game environments, each with its own style of play:
The Ark, your home in the dawnworld. A nest of intrigue and Lord of the Flies-style power struggles, it’s far from a safe haven. But it’s the only home you know, and just maybe the cradle of a new civilization. The game rules let you improve and develop the Ark in the areas of Warfare, Food Supply, Technology, and Culture. It is up to you, the players, to decide which projects to embark on.
The Zone, wastelands outside the Ark. You will venture into the Zone in search of food, artifacts, other mutants, and knowledge - not least about The People’s own origin. The game includes two maps of example Zones; London and New York and a plethora of tables and other tools to let the GM populate its sectors with mutants, deadly monsters and bizarre phenomena.
Where in the world the Zone and the Ark are located is up to you - why not play in a post-apocalyptic version of your own home town? The modular approach of this game lets you place all of the campaign material wherever you like.
Mutant: Year Zero has a long and rich history in the land of meatballs and snowflakes: Sweden. The first edition was released by Target Games in 1984, at the height of the Cold War and the Golden Age of RPG’s in Sweden. There have been several editions in the years since, one of which evolved into the hugely popular Mutant Chronicles franchise in the 1990’s - soon also to be released in a new edition by Modiphius.
MUTANT: YEAR ZERO 30th Anniversary Return for Post-Apocalyptic Roleplaying Game
Modiphius and Free League Publishing have launched the 30th Anniversary edition of the Mutant: Year Zero 272 page full colour hardcover core book (and PDF). Order now and get the double-sided 36x55.8cm map of the New York and London Zones. £35.99 / $59.99
Starter Bundle Inc. Zone Map, Dice & Cards
The Mutant: Year Zero Launch Bundle includes the core book, poster map, dice set and card set. Order now and you receive the PDF's immediately!
The 272 page full colour hardcover core book contains everything you need for hundreds of hours of play:
A fast and effective character generation system, using archetypal roles such as the Crusher, the Gearhead, the Fixer, the Dog Handler and the Chronicler.
Unstoppable but highly unpredictable mutant powers, such as Flame Breather, Insect Wings, Human Magnet, and Pathokinesis.
A skill and conflict system that makes you push yourself to the limit, and beyond. The rules system highlights two main themes: mutation and resource management. Every bullet counts!
Rules for developing the Ark (“base building”) and exploring the Zone (“gridcrawling”).
A rich story generation system, helping the GM instantly create threats to the Ark as well as locations and events in the Zone.
An illustrated bestiary of humanoids, mutated monsters and Zone phenomena.
An extensive collection of artifacts for the characters to find in the Zone.
Five complete and ready-to-use “Special Zone Sectors”. These are scenario locations with NPC’s, backstory and suggested events. These Special Zone Sectors, which each come with an illustrative map, can be placed anywhere in the Zone by the GM.
A campaign outline, called “The Path to Eden”, including backstory, NPC’s, player handouts, and a campaign finale described in detail.
What's Next?
A series of expansions are already in development. The smaller expansions, called Zone Compendia, will each contain illustrated adventure locations in the Zone, extra mutations, artifacts, rules, and more. The major expansions will each focus on one new playable class: mutated animals, robots, then unmutated humans. Each major expansion includes a campaign letting you play the origin story of the class, and then introduces the class into the game and into the Zone. We expect to release the first expansion for Mutant: Year Zero in early 2015.