About the Zero System

The Zero System is a versatile tabletop mechanic that determines the intensity, direction, and nature of consequences. The system uses one twelve-sided die for all rolls and places an emphasis on landing close to a target score rather than hitting the highest or lowest number possible.

When you roll that die, you’re trying to hit the target range which is usually 6 and 7 – if you hit either of the numbers in that range, you succeed on your own terms, you maintain control of the scene, and you have a stronger influence on the flow of action. If you miss the mark though, there are consequences that vary based on two factors: How far did you land away from the target? and are you higher or lower than your target? Each game has a different scale for what consequences you might face when you miss the mark, but they’re always set as some sort of continuum. Who takes the brunt of the unintended consequences of your actions? How long does it take for your efforts to bear fruit? What meaning do people take away from your desperate pleas and impassioned arguments?

When you roll in the Zero system, you’re trying to get as close to your target(s) as possible – in other words, you want the distance between the result of your roll and the target to be Zero. The greater the distance between the result of your roll and your target, the greater those unintended consequences become and the less likely it is that you achieve your ideal outcome.

Playing the Zero System

You can use the Zero system on its own or as part of almost any other tabletop game. As an example, you could use the character creation from another system and then incorporate the Zero System as a way to drive action, combat, negotiations, and any other instances where you would normally roll dice. You could even take this further and convert the stats from other games into Focus - The single stat used within the Zero System, or treating those stats as focus for different situations. For example, a character with +2 strength could be treated as having 2 focus when undertaking strength-based tasks or challenges.

Zero System License and Use in other Games

The Zero System is free to use and incorporate in other games and tabletop systems under a Creative Commons 2.0-BY-SA License. It's intended as a foundation that you can build upon, a flexible tool that can serve as the basis for a larger game with more in-depth character creation, narrative structure, and other elements. If you use the Zero System as part of your game, please let me know as I'm excited to see what people do with it!