[Update] The Year Zero Mini ruleset is now live and can be found here.

Two game designers I have a lot of respect for have recently shared rules-light games that they want to play with their children. Diogo Nogueira has started working on Adventures in a World of Imagination, which is designed to play with his 3 year old. Richard Woolcock has created a one-sheet game called Tricube Tales, which is designed to play with his 4 year old.

Well, I’ve also got a 3.5 year old, and making a rules-light game of my favourite system (the Year Zero Engine) has been on the to-do list for a long time. With an OGL for this system being imminent, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and share the bones of what I’m calling Year Zero Mini, or YZM for short. This isn’t actually meant to be a kid’s game, but with some very small tweaks, it can be made so. I’ll mention where the differences would lie in the notes below.

So without further ado, let me share the bones of the game! The keen-eyed among you will notice that it has a very strong resemblance to Tales From the Loop, which is a game for adults about playing kids.

Attributes

There are four Attributes and starting characters have between 10 and 14 points to spread across them. These numbers determine the number of D6s you roll (aka your “pool”).

The wording below shows both the standard and kid versions:

• Strength / Strong
• Agility / Quick
• Wits / Clever
• Empathy / Friendly

The maximum value for Attributes is 8, though the GM can raise this cap for a more heroic game.

Concept

YZM won’t have skills. Instead, each player creates a Concept. This is worded very similarly to a FATE High Concept. There will be many examples given, such as “Poetic Vogon Slicer” or “Jaded Cockney Private Investigator”.

If your Concept can help you with a roll (i.e. a Socialite haggling with a market stall owner), gain +1D (add 1 dice to the pool). If you are expertly-trained (i.e. a Socialite charming a crowd), gain +2D.

Other Traits

• Conviction – what your character strongly believes in – gain a Luck Point when it is acted on.
• Impulse – knee-jerk reaction to certain situations – gain a Luck Point when it lands the PC or party in hot water.
• Friend – the PC you are closest to. Sacrificing something or putting yourself in harm’s way for them gains a Luck Point.
• Asset – a single signature item that your PC has which gives a +2D bonus when it is used. Most other items will give a +1D bonus.

Trauma

Sometimes the GM will tell you that Trauma will be inflicted if you fail the roll. If you suffer Trauma, you must tick one of the 4 Trauma boxes to show how your PC is hurt in some way.

When you have 1 or 2 Trauma boxes ticked, you suffer a -1D penalty to all dice rolls. When the 3rd and 4th boxes are ticked, you suffer -2D to all dice rolls. Once all 4 Trauma boxes are ticked and you take another Trauma, your PC is Broken (see below).

Broken & Scarred

Being Broken means you are out of action until you can recover Trauma. In addition, each time you become Broken, you gain a permanent Scar. Mark it on your sheet and roll 2 dice, discarding the lowest die. If the remaining die is under or equal to the number of Scars you now have, you are dead.

Advancement

In YZM, your Attributes increase as you use them. Each time you roll the dice, put a tally in the success or failure box next to the Attribute you just used. When both your success AND failure tallies equal two times that Attribute’s current rank, you can increase that Attribute.

Your Conviction, Impulse, and Friend can all be changed during a period of downtime, but any change has to align with the story that has so far been told.

General Rules

• Don’t roll often – only roll when failure would be interesting, especially since failed dice rolls are tied to advancement.
• 6s are Successes – more than one 6 is a critical success (“yes, and”). While failure is a key part of advancement, there should also always be a complication (“no, and”).
• Luck Points – these can spend a Luck Point to reroll (holding as many dice as you wish), though this can only be done once per roll. You only start the first session with 1, all others must be earned. In the kids version, you start every session with at least 1 (you get a free one if you ran out last time).
• Modifiers – if something grants an advantage, gain +1D. If there is some form of complication or disadvantage, suffer -1D.

This is very much first draft, and will undoubtedly go through several revisions before I share the first playtest PDF, but the bones are now there and now it’s just about adding meat.

If you want to be alerted when the playtest is ready, please sign up for my newsletter by clicking on the link below and selecting “Matt’s game updates”. I will only send a newsletter when the first playtest and the final version of a game is ready, which should equate to only a handful of newsletters a year.

eepurl.com/dvPcUr

Make the game an alternate setting of Forbidden Lands, rather than its own game.

I’ve been sitting on this thought for a good week, and it just makes more and more sense: I’ll need less time to write and playtest rules, and have more time to spend on the setting, whilst also (hopefully) gaining a bigger fanbase.

Changes

I’ll still be making some changes to the Forbidden Lands rules, but these are now much more minor than the complete rules overhaul I was working on earlier:

1. There will be no Professions. Instead, a simplified chargen system based on Knave (complete with random tables) has been developed to help create classless PCs. Roll randomly to determine Culture, Careers, Traits, and Starting Gear.
2. Skills are being replaced with Careers (similar to Shadow of the Demon Lord) to allow for greater flexibility and an increased focus on well-rounded characters. Careers (in conjunction with Cultures) also help determine PC knowledge.
3. Talents will be overhauled. Current (WIP) thinking is that PCs will get 2 Talents at chargen, and that’s it. One determined by Culture (Kin) and a choice of one other Talent (adapted from the Profession Talents). They will not be ranked, but will still use Willpower Points.
4. There will be some different XP triggers tied to personality, namely Conviction & Impulse will replace Pride & Dark Secret. These are modelled on Beliefs & Instincts from Burning Wheel (specifically Mouseguard’s implementation of Beliefs).
5. There will be an Insanity mechanic. The current design is a pool of Insanity Points (threshold = Wits + Empathy). These act just like Rot in MYZ. When you mark your first IP as permanent, you roll for a Disorder (adapted from CoC’s Phobias and Manias). The idea is that you roleplay your Disorder, possibly with an XP reward for doing so.
6. There will be no Magic, at least not in the initial playtests. I may add a single type of (low-powered) Runic magic later in the development process.
7. Combat will be simplified, aiming for something more narrative, though this is very much WIP and may yet revert to following FBL.
8. Tying in with simplified combat, equipment will also be simplified, to help reduce crunch and speed up play. As such, there will be no artifacts.
9. Strongholds will be simplified, modelled somewhere between the Arcs in MYZ and Strongholds as presented in FBL.

In the spirit of Norse Mythology, I’ll leave the number of major changes at nine.

Issues

OK, so all well and good, right? How does this affect my original vision of Nordsaga?

1. I originally wanted a Year Zero game that only featured one dice pool (like Coriolis), to keep the game more accessible. Players will now need the custom Forbidden Lands dice to play, which are currently sold out. A deck of cards is also recommended (for initiative and advanced combat), which also further reduces accessibility and relies on issues outside of my control (Fria Ligan’s supply chain). I can mitigate the card issue by creating my own printable card deck on PDF, but the custom dice issue is more problematic.
2. The game will need to zoom in on a single region to play in, since it now becomes a survival game in a semi-apocalyptic location. As this region needs to be away from the centre of the Empire, I’ll probably go with the area around Jorvik / York (NE England), because I’ve already done a little world-building there. The apocalypse will likely be a major (fictitious) plague which has decimated the world’s population.
3. With the focus on survival, it now feels a lot less like WFRP (as some of you will know, Nordsaga started out as a WFRP hack using the Year Zero Engine), but the addition of insanity will help mitigate that somewhat.

And that’s really it: minor changes and small issues.

I’ll stop here, because that is an awfully big wall of text – well done if you’ve read to the end! If you’d like to discuss, please head over to the official forum (link), the Nordsaga Discord server (link), or the MeWe group (link).

Work on Nordsaga continues, and I’m trying hard to get it finished and released before Christmas. To make it look amazing, I’ve enlisted the help of some creatives. Here are some previews of what they’re coming up with!

Carys

Carys (aka @unburnedwitch) is a Canadian artist I met during the mass Google+ migration to MeWe. I really like her work and was thrilled when she expressed excitement for doing the cover. Take a look at this preview of the wicked cover art she’s created!

Chris

Chris (aka @hominidart) is an Australian artist with a unique style that I’ve been a fan of for a long time. When thinking about what I wanted for the interior look of Nordsaga, I had a few different artists in mind, but Chris won out because his work has a real down-to-earth feel to it (edging on melancholy) that is perfect for this non-heroic, dark game. He’s also still churning stuff out despite having a new baby at home! Take a look at this brilliant sample of some of the non-human Nordsaga cultures:

Adam

And last (but certainly not least), my mate Adam (aka @adamattley), an English writer who has been putting his skills to great use, helping me with the adventure and writing an excellent piece of fiction to be used in the book. Here is half of the intro fiction to whet your appetites – the musings of a mute Jotnar…

The 2 Volume Degenesis Rebirth core rulebook

Their studio in central Berlin is very stunning and the sort of space you would expect from a modern art studio, with a big open plan area for the artists to work in, plus multiple rooms to chill out in, games consoles and a kitchen.

The open-plan area where all the art happens

One of the chill-out rooms

On hand to show me around and answer some of my questions was Senior Producer Seb Downie and Artist Chris Kintner. Seb is half-British, half-German and Chris is a Californian – these two help highlight the unique feel of this studio, that of a hugely international group of people, all of whom are extremely talented artists (as we’ll see soon). And despite being based in Berlin, the working language in the company is English.

(from left) Seb, a Spitalian, Chris

A Brief History of Degenesis

After discussing our podcast with Seb for a bit, one of the things that Seb was keen to stress about Degenesis is it’s original intent. But to understand this, it’s probably more important to step back a moment and look at how and where SMV make their money… as an outsourcing art studio. SMV produces a ton of concept and in-game art for their (mainly video game) clients, but due to how many of these contracts are written, they are unable to share much of this artwork.

And their artwork is stunning – in fact SMV Studio Head Marko Djurdjevic used to work for Marvel, and the studio has 2 picture frames hanging proudly to showcase some of the many comic covers he’s done.

some of Marko’s Marvel covers

In fact, this is where Degenesis comes in. Marko produced the 1st edition of Degenesis back in 2003 with friend Christian Günther. After releasing it, they moved on with their lives and more or less abandoned the game. About a decade later, they stumbled across the old forums for the game and discovered the game still had an active following. Encouraged by this small core fanbase, they returned to the game in 2014, intent on producing a new edition with improved art, layout and mechanics.

However, one of the real drivers behind this updated version was to provide a public portfolio of the work that SMV is capable of. The result? One of the most stunning roleplaying games ever produced. And reading the Degenesis books as PDFs on a phone or tablet doesn’t do them justice – these books are designed with a 2-page spread in mind, and are best viewed in such a manner. The physical books are likewise made to a very high standard, with thick premium paper, a ribbon in each book and an oversewn binding.

Example page spreads

Full page artwork is found throughout the book

The World of Degenesis

OK, so let’s dip briefly into into the setting itself. To start off, it’s probably best to view the two live-action trailers which SMV produced. Both of these feature the Spitalian cult which are a prominent force in the setting. Here they are embedded for convenience – click on the images below to be taken to the videos on YouTube.

Awesome, right?

If you want to find out more about the setting, let me point you once again to this week’s interview (here), where we talk about the setting in a lot of detail, rather than retread the same ground.

One thing I would like to mention though, are the setting influences. When I asked about this, Seb described the setting as “Dune and Conan on the set of Mad Max” – which I find quite fitting.

It is also a very mature setting. There is violence, brutality and full-frontal nudity throughout their books. Be warned, this is not a book you want sitting on your coffee table when your mother-in-law comes round for a visit!

Degenesis Design Philosophies

Another big thing we wanted to speak to SMV about was Degenesis’s design philosophies, and the response from Seb really got me excited…

First and foremost, Degenesis is all about moral quandaries, and putting players into moral conundrums – this is what the published adventures are all about. Personally, this is exactly the sort of stories we love to explore here at Mud & Blood, so it was exciting to hear this being addressed first.

Secondly, art direction is a big factor. Despite having multiple artists working on the books, Marko is very keen to ensure that there is a collective vision and style throughout the book. This results in the artwork being of extremely high quality, necessary when this game is also being used as the portfolio of SMV’s artistic capabilities.

The Art

OK, I’ve kept it back for long enough, let me end this blogpost by showing you some choice pieces of art from the books. Enjoy!

The northern Cultures (Nations) from the game: (L-R) Borca, Franka, Pollen

The southern Cultures: (L-R) Africa, Balkhan, Hyprispania, Purgare

A selection of the 13 Cults (factions): Chroniclers, Spitalians, Judges, Anubians, Hellvetics

A local Spitalian patrol, always there to keep your family safe from Sepsis!

A Chronicler taking a quick break from his League of Legends tournament

A Judge and Spitalian having a minor philosophical disagreement

Off to fix Ma’s leaking washing machine… Again…

Attempting to rescue a beached whale from some particularly savage gulls

Some friendly Anabaptists en route to your home with a message of hope, like post-Apocalyptic Jehovah’s Witnesses

Aeflar

While the Aelfar generally resemble slender, petite humans, their vulpine features set them apart. They have vividly coloured eyes, angular facial features and pointed ears. It is not unusual to find Aelfar with colourful and elaborate tattoos, which many races find further enhances their beauty. They are also exclusively carnivorous.

They originally hail from Aelfheim, a world of untamed natural beauty, and are currently settled in the forests of Inisfail (Ireland) and Bohemia (Czech Republic).

Dvergar

Like the Aelfar, the Dvergar are shorter than humans, but here the resemblance ends. This burrowing folk are completely hairless, with tough, segmented skin lined with seams and cracks as if it were made from stone. Despite appearances, their skin is organic, and although tougher than Human skin, blades of stone and metal can still pierce them. Their skin is also extremely photosensitive, absorbing sunlight and darkening quite quickly. As a result, the many Dvergar who have found cause to travel Midgard and join Human society have skin which ranges from charcoal grey to obsidian black. They are also unable to digest meat, making them herbivores.

They originally hail from Nidavellir, a craggy, mountainous world, and are currently settled beneath the Pyrenees (mountain range between Spain and France).

Human

The native population on Midgard, Humans are many in number and can be found across the surface of the world. They are highly adaptable to hardship and so still dominate Midgard despite the influx and settlement of the other races centuries before.

The human lands of the Norse Empire are carved up into Kingdoms, where Kings and Queens rule under the fealty of the Emperor. Players creating human characters either choose a nationality from among the nine Imperial Kingdoms or can pick a traveller from any nationality on Earth. The nationalities of the Nine Kingdoms can be found below:

1. A Norse from Nordanland (Southern Norway and Sweden)
2. A Dane from Danemark (Denmark and Sweden)
3. A Celt from Alban (Great Britain)
4. A Saxon from Sachsen (northern Germany)
5. A Frank from Frankia (western France)
6. A Burgundar from Burgundy (eastern France and Switzerland)
7. An Alemanni from Alemannia (southern Germany and Austria)
8. A Bohemian from Bohemia (eastern Germany and Czech Republic)
9. A Lombard from Lombardy (northern Italy)

Jotnar

The Jotnar resemble tall, stocky humans, with an average height of 7ft 6in / 2.3m (though they can be much taller). As a means of proving their mettle, many Jotnar sport body piercings and blood-red tattoos. The tattoos are made by carving harsh patterns or violent imagery into their skin and then dying the fresh scars with red inks. Each has a unique mutation, which can range from blueish skin, antlers, a tail, or goat legs [Note: players choosing a Jotnar must roll for a random starting mutation].

They originally hail from Jotunheim, a frigid and inhospitable world, and are currently settled in the northern extremes of Nordland (Norway and Sweden).

Nissar

The Nissar resemble squat humans with powerful, long arms. Due to their small stature and shorter lifespans, they tend to move through life at a fast pace, needing little sleep. Unusually strong for their size, a Nissar can stand toe-to-toe with the bigger races in feats of strength.

No one knows where they originated from, although rumours of their existence in the northern parts of the Empire had been myth long before they came out of hiding during Ragnar’s conquest of the Christian lands. Emperor Sigurd has not given them any lands of their own, and as a result they can be found across the breadth of the Empire.

Alien Cultures

Strange beings from across the Nine Worlds now inhabit our world (Midgard), many of them gifted with land by Emperor Sigurd.

The vulpine Aelfar (elves) settled in the forests of Ireland and Bohemia, and once Sigurd’s war was won, they largely withdrew from any dealings with humanity. Only traders are now welcome in Aelfar realms, and then only in the outskirts.

The subterranean Dvergar (dwarfs) settled in the Alps and the Pyrenees, digging deep into the mountains and creating wondrous fortresses and underground cities. However, like the Aelfar, once the Sigurd’s war ended, they cut many of their ties with humanity and now only tolerate traders into their cavernous halls.

The hulking Jotnar (frost giants) originally settled in Scandinavia, but within only a few generations began migrating south into more temperate lands. While they are now integrated with humanity in Sigurd’s Empire, hostilities and prejudice still linger.

Rumours of the diminutive Nissar (goblins/gnomes) had been myth long before they appeared when Sigurd began his war. When it ended, they were given no lands of their own, and so are now spread across the breadth of the Empire, fully integrated with humanity.

The Corruption

The events which brought these creatures to our world also brought ethereal manifestations from Muspellheim (the World of Fire) and Niflheim (the World of Ice) – manifestations intent on corrupting our world in order to usher in Ragnarok, the prophesied destruction of our world.

Ever so slowly, these corrupting influences have taken root in the wild places of our world…

Winters have gradually grown longer and colder. Weird things now inhabit Scandinavia, Russia and Scotland, seemingly immune to the extreme cold. Strange, twisted creatures have started emerging from the cold ocean’s depths, sinking unwary ships and attacking coastal villages.

From the world’s centre, angry lava bubbles forth to the surface, rupturing out of long dead volcanoes, mountain crevasses and new fissures in the ground. For leagues around these sites, the ash settles to the ground and transforms the vegetation and wildlife into horrific parodies of their previous forms. In addition, the arid places of the world seem to be gradually spreading, creating uninhabitable desert wastelands.

Perhaps worst of all, cults worshipping these forces have become increasingly active; each one seeking to be the catalyst which brings about Ragnarok (from which they believe they will be spared).

Neighbouring Powers

With this otherworldly threat ever growing, Emperor Sigurd maintains an uneasy truce with his neighbours. Nevertheless, tensions remain high.

To the southwest, the Caliphates seek to spread from their foothold on the Iberian peninsula.

To the southeast, the Holy Roman Empire desires its ancient lands and maintains a network of Christian spies in the heart of Sigurd’s Empire.

To the northeast, the Kingdom of Rus has turned its eyes to the temperate lands of their ancient cousins.

Far to the east, the vast Mongol Empire slowly approaches, hungry for the spoils of central Europe.

It is now the year of Sigurd 420 (~1270 AD), and unlikely heroes are creating their own Sagas.