Year Zero Engine

 

The Year Zero Engine (YZE) is a modular and rules-light RPG system known for emphasising story-driven, gritty, and cinematic gameplay. It was first introduced in the post-apocalyptic RPG Mutant: Year Zero and has since powered several award-winning games.

📦 Open License

In 2023, Free League released the Year Zero Engine Open Gaming License (YZE OGL), allowing independent creators to build their own games using a version of the system.

⚙️ Core Mechanics

1. Dice Pools:

Players roll a pool of D6s, usually grouped into attribute dice, skill dice, and gear dice.

A roll of 6 is a success. More successes = better outcomes.

No success? You can push the roll, re-roll the non-success dice to try again, at a cost (e.g., stress or damage).

2. Attributes & Skills:

Characters have a small set of core attributes (e.g., Strength, Agility, Wits, Empathy).

Each attribute is linked to a few broad skills.

3. Push Mechanic:

Encourages taking risks by allowing a re-roll of failed dice.

Adds consequences like damage, stress, or other narrative setbacks.

Mechanically simple, but adds tension and drama.

4. Resource Management:

Many YZE games use mechanics like degrading gear, limited ammo, or encumbrance to add survival pressure.

5. Modular Systems:

The engine is customized per game, with add-ons like:

• Stress & Panic (e.g., ALIEN RPG)

• Mutations (e.g., Mutant: Year Zero)

• Survival & Exploration (e.g., Forbidden Lands)

• Time Loops (e.g., Tales From the Loop)