Review of Zero

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Published by Archangel Entertainment, P.O. Box 481, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 53147 USA

Reviewed by David Millians, drakon@mindspring.com

I like this game. It consists of a slender 80 page, perfect-bound book, and its price of $25.00 demands some substantial return to the purchaser. If you find interest in my review of this game, do yourself a favor and get a copy.

Zero is a collaborative effort of vibrant, somber artist and creator Steve Stone and Lester Smith, known for his cogent, evocative writing and solid game design. They have crafted an intriguing new setting and set of rules to support it in play.

Zero's tone flows immediately from the dark, sensual art that graces its cover and several interior, full color collections. Its clear but pithy text describes this strange underworld. That world is a sinister version of West Endıs Paranoia or TSR's Gamma World, but there is no humor here unless it is of a mysteriously ironic nature. If you are familiar with the movie Brazil, the artwork of Geiger, or Lois Lowryıs novel The Giver, you can best visualize what lies between these covers.

The enigmatic, inaccessible god-queen Zero directs her hive community in the only world known to its members. Biochemical wizardry and pervasive mental direction and communication maintain its many elements, including the basically human biomechs in their caste roles of archivist, breeder, drone, soldier, and technician. No individual other than Zero herself can know the limits of this society, and unknown caverns and tunnels stretch into unknown beyonds, home of dangerous enemies and forces.

Players are individual biomechs suddenly fallen from the shared experience of the world of Zero, created creations severed from and inherently inimical to their creator. Sound familiar? Their struggle for survival and truth forms the basis for at least their initial adventures if not an entire campaign. This confrontation can be read as biblical allegory, postmodern existentialism, all encompassing cyberpunk, or individual self-realization, all heady stuff for roleplaying. Stone and Smithıs presentation brings it alive through terse writing and strong imagery.

The rules are basic but complete. Character creation should be familiar to anyone reading games since White Wolf recast classes and skills into a flowchart model in which various decisions and points are spent in forming each alter ego. It is basic and to the point, for biomechs are basically simple folk, dedicated to their tasks. They only truly begin growth from the moment that they lose their secure place in the hierarchy of Zero.

Only a couple of six-sided dice are needed for play, and their use is intriguingly simple, quickly becoming natural in play. The result of the two dice are multiplied to generate a final result to be compared to the characterıs ability level. Initial rolls and resulting products can both be modified by various factors, for which the authors give guidelines but leave primarily to the game master. The characterıs primary abilities, Focus Abilities in the game, succeed when the result exceeds the characterıs Focus, a basic measure of his mastery of role. Other, less central skills succeed with a result below that of Focus. Characters can even access unknown skills through their still tenuous links to the hive mind of Zero.

This is a truly fascination setting, one which could provide years of play for a game group. It could also generate some wondrous, pensive fiction. Archangel has plenty of room to expand the outline of Zero contained in this initial book, though in a sense, such accretions might limit the shadowy mystery of the game.

I give this game setting the highest possible rating. It is original and rich. The rules I also rate highly. They are straightforward and well designed to support the narratives produced by the setting.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)