Mutant: Year Zero — Post-apocalyptic mutant survival at the Ark

"The Elders are dying. The grub is running out. The Zone is calling. This is Year Zero."

Diced6 pool (push your luck)

Players3–5

Prep~20 min

Foundry VTTCommunity

Complexity

What is this system

The game that birthed the Year Zero Engine (2014). Post-apocalypse: you are mutants of the Ark, the last refuge in a world that died a hundred years ago. The Elders are passing, and nobody remembers where you came from. You roll pools of d6s and push failures — but every pushed 1 breaks gear or triggers a mutation. Year Zero is the year your generation has to decide: save the Ark, or find Eden beyond the Zone.

Setting

Earth after an unnamed collapse. Radioactive fields, rusted megacities, mutated beasts and plants. The Ark — a cluster of shacks ruled by the Elders — provides grub (universal food) and the illusion of safety. Around it: the Zone — former cities, labs, bunkers. Mutants don't know history, don't know the world before the Fall, but the Zone holds artifacts that could change everything. The vibe is Stalker meets Mad Max with a streak of Scandinavian melancholy.

What it looks like at the table

An Ark Stalker in the basement of an old shopping mall. Force roll: 4 skill dice, no sixes. You take the risk — you push. Reroll all five dice (gear dice too); a six lands — success. But two ones: your shiv breaks, and your mutation 'Bone Spikes' triggers. Spikes burst from your palms, you scream in pain — and you punch through the door. Behind it: a crate of bullets. The Ark gets +1 Warfare. You get a scar that lasts the whole campaign.

Playstyle

Survival Exploration Post-Apoc

Key mechanics

Pushing rolls

Failed your roll? Reroll all dice — gear dice included. But every 1 that lands breaks gear or wounds you. A 1 on a mutation die means you spend a Mutation Point to survive. Risk is the only currency.

Building the Ark

Between sessions, the players vote where to spend Development Points: Warfare, Food Supply, Technology, Culture. The Ark is shared property. Each sector unlocks new Projects — and new Threats.

Zone hexcrawl

The Zone is a hex grid generated at the table. You roll for threats, artifacts, mutated wildlife. Field expeditions are the only way to bring back grub, bullets, and shards of the old world.

Mutations

Every PC starts with one mutation (telekinesis, bone spikes, toxic blood, etc.). You spend Mutation Points to fire it. The only way to earn new points: push a roll and catch a 1. The game punishes caution.

What people say

If you are into post-apocalypse RPGs you definitely should give Mutant a chance!— Michael Wolf, Stargazer's World

Choosing relationships is where the system shined for me, as both a player and a DM.— Preston Dozsa, CGMagazine

Art & materials