NO ONE KNOWS WHAT CAUSED THE EVENT.

Whether you’re on an authorized expedition or

2400 ZONE
Alien visitors? Collision with another dimension? breaking quarantine to make some credits, be
Whatever it was, it sundered an area on Earth from careful out there: Come back not-quite-human,
the laws of nature. And it left wonders behind. and the Lab will insist you visit indefinitely.

► Contacts (roll 1 per player) ► Encounters in the Zone

1 Dr. Afoyalan, kind, needs anomaly readings 1 Altered zoners, have artifacts, need food
LO-FI SCI-FI RPG • JASON TOCCI
2 Dr. Baines, flighty, needs a device tested 2 Animals seem to want to lead you somewhere
3 Dr. Cabral, tense, needs “test subject” found 3 Armed zoners set up an ambush to rob you
4 Dr. Daniau, on thin ice, needs a breakthrough 4 Child-size sewer frogs try to filch supplies
5 Dr. Esparza, calm, needs 3 intact artifacts 5 Crystalline man needs help escaping the Zone
6 Dr. French, brusque, needs a specific cadaver 6 Cult wants you to join, eat their eyeballs
7 SGT Gold, wry, recently “killed” but seems OK 7 Gang fight — one side armed, the other fanged
8 CPL Haverhill, grins a lot, itchy trigger finger 8 Gargantuan slug leaves narcotic mucus trail
9 PFC Irving, serious, worried about SGT Gold 9 Giant, bald head, buried up to neck, asleep
10 SPC Jiang, lighthearted, loves exploring Zone 10 Half-dissolved people want your gunpowder
11 SGT Kariuki, quiet medic, loyal friend 11 Hermit in bunker has food, guns, anger issues
12 PFC Losa, genial, needs to “move” an artifact 12 Lab expedition angry at your intrusion
13 Mumps, sickly gun dealer, buys salvaged guns 13 Lab expedition remnants, lost, beg for help
14 Nine-ball, diligent broker, always wears suits 14 Settlement turns you away unless injured
15 Overton, creepy fence, buys the weird stuff 15 Scientist’s illegal experiment on caged Zoner
16 Peekaboo, no-BS thief, needs backup for job 16 Spectral figures stare at you from a distance
17 Quinn, quiet, pays well for interesting finds 17 Stone cries it’s “blind”; unaware it’s a stone
18 “Doc” Reardon, wild eyes, needs “samples” 18 Trees club you; sap has healing properties
19 Sherazi, struggling refugee, needs a break 19 Weirdo needs a certain artifact for “museum”
20 Tawfiq, grocer, must find partner in the Zone 20 Woman raising pigs with rudimentary speech
► An anomaly… Located in/on a(n)… In which…

1 Ash fall 1 Apartment building 1 Aging and decay are sped over 10,000%
2 Blurry area 2 Bar or cafe 2 A localized vacuum allows in no oxygen
3 Bright beam 3 Bridge or overpass 3 Combustion is impossible (no fire, guns, etc.)
4 Colorful haze 4 Cemetery 4 Creatures are torn limb from limb
5 Cyclone 5 Construction site 5 Creatures become ravenously hungry
6 Invisible cloud 6 Gas station 6 Darkness is total — no illumination possible
7 Floating stones 7 Hill 7 Friction is dramatically reduced
8 Flooding 8 House 8 Gravity is 20 times normal strength
9 Fog 9 Local landmark 9 Gravity operates in reverse
10 Grass 10 Park or field 10 Ground is soft like quicksand
11 Hail 11 Parking lot 11 Hallucinations (?) promise aid and answers
12 Lightning 12 Patch of sand 12 Invisible, immovable solids have sharp edges
13 Pink flowers 13 Pit 13 Objects over 12 kg are drawn inward
14 Rain 14 Place of worship 14 Passers-through roll to gain 1 Alteration
15 Slime 15 Police station 15 Path out deposits far away, no backtracking
16 Snow 16 River or pond 16 Radiation is strong enough to cause sickness
17 Sweltering heat 17 Store 17 Sound is painfully amplified
18 Visible spores 18 Street 18 Urge to sleep may be overpowering
19 Webbing 19 Tall building 19 Wishes might come true (in a bad way)
20 Wind 20 Transit station 20 Worms burrow out of creatures who enter it
Version 1.1 • Art by BEEPLE (Mike Winkelmann) • More 2400 and more of the Quarantine Zone (QZ) at jasontocci.itch.io
RULES CHARACTERS ALTERATIONS ARTIFACTS
PLAY: Players describe what their characters do. ► Your team explores an area on Earth where ► Roll d6.d6 if prompted by origin/advancement. ► Roll d20, d6.d6, and d12 if you find one. Exact
The GM advises when their action is impossible, reality broke. Choose your specialty. effects (if any) subject to GM interpretation;
1.1 You never sleep, blink, or close your eyes
requires extra steps, demands a cost, or presents may require experiments or luck roll to discern.
SCAVENGER: Increase (d8) any two skills from 1.2 People can’t break eye contact with you
a risk. Players only roll to avoid risks.
Climbing, Navigation, Running, or Stealth. Take a 1.3 Recognize people/animals by heartbeats VENEER (d20)
ROLLING: Roll a d6 skill die — higher with a rele- rugged outfit and roll d20 for something for sale 1.4 Eyes can extend out on arm-length stalks
1 Black 11 Greenish
vant skill, or d4 if hindered by circumstances, in town (below). Sometimes smugglers, some- 1.5 Shoot finger bones like a gun; regrow in 1hr
2 Bluish 12 Iridescent
injury, or carrying more than 1 bulky item. If times employed as Zone guides by the Lab. 1.6 Swallow up to 10L of water, spray out later
3 Blurry 13 Purple
helped by circumstances, roll an extra d6; if
SCIENTIST: Increase (d8) any two skills from 4 Coppery 14 Reddish
helped by an ally, they roll their skill die and share 2.1 Hinged jaw, can store things in stomach
Biology, Physics, Psychology, or Technology (or 5 Dull 15 Rough
the risk. Take the highest die. 2.2 Edible mushrooms grow from your skin
increase one to d10). Take a vacuum-sealed 6 Freezing 16 Rubbery
2.3 Mica flecks act as defense, regrow monthly
1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. GM decides if sample case and a splash-resistant coverall. 7 Glistening 17 Silvery
2.4 Excrete mucus you can make slick or sticky
you succeed at all. If risking death, you die. 8 Glowing 18 Sinewy
SOLDIER: Increase (d8) any two skills from from 2.5 Fingers replaced with nimble tongues
9 Golden 19 Translucent
3–4 Setback. A lesser consequence or partial Hand-to-hand, Intimidation, Shooting, or Stealth. 2.6 Slightly magnetic; focus to pull something
10 Grayish 20 White
success. If risking death, you’re maimed. Take a rifle (bulky) and armor (break as defense).
3.1 Gills, scales help with swimming PROPERTY (d6.d6)
5+ Success. The higher the roll, the better. ► Choose your character’s origin.
3.2 Gray eel-skin can shock with a touch
1.1 Annihilating 4.1 Orbiting
If success can’t get you what you want (you make LOCAL: Lived here in town before the Event. Take 3.3 Molt to change appearance (once/month)
1.2 Blinding 4.2 Paralyzing
the shot, but it’s bulletproof!), you’ll at least get a Contact who owes you a favor, and two d8 skills 3.4 Adhesive tongue extends to your full height
1.3 Bottomless 4.3 Part-insubstantial
useful info or set up an advantage. from your old, mundane career, like Cleaning, 3.5 Distend throat to mimic a sound
1.4 Burning 4.4 Quickening
Computers, Delivery, Labor, Repair, or Service. 3.6 Shatter glass when you shriek
ADVANCEMENT: When you return from the Zone, 1.5 Calming 4.5 Radioactive
roll any skill. On a 5+, roll on Alterations; on a 1–4, OUT-OF-TOWNER: Came to work in or near the 1.6 Deafening 4.6 Revealing
4.1 Worms replace eyes, let you see UV, infrared
increase the skill (none ➡ d8 ➡ d10 ➡ d12). Zone. Apply 3 increases among your skills.
4.2 Horns, stiffer neck, useful for goring/butting 2.1 Electrifying 5.1 Sickening
DEFENSE: Say how one of your items (or robotic REFUGEE: Escaped the Zone before lockdown. 4.3 Hands crawl away, attached by 15m sinews 2.2 Freezing 5.2 Silencing
limbs) breaks to turn a hit into a brief hindrance. Take two d8 skills from old jobs (as a Local, 4.4 Sharpened teeth, paralytic venom in bite 2.3 Frictionless 5.3 Strengthening
Broken gear is useless until repaired. above), and roll for an Alteration you try to hide. 4.5 Extra joints, contort and squeeze easily 2.4 Hallucinogenic 5.4 Terrifying
4.6 Caustic blood slowly dissolves most metals 2.5 Homing 5.5 Thrumming
HARM: Clear injuries and stress with time and/or ► Start with ₡2, a chunky mobile phone (unreli-
2.6 Hovering 5.6 Thundering
treatment. If killed, make a new character to be able in the Zone), and washers (throw to detect
5.1 Prehensile tail, 1 meter long
introduced ASAP. Favor inclusion over realism. anomalies). Most items cost ₡1. Ignore micro- 3.1 Itchiness-inducing 6.1 Unnaturally heavy
5.2 Functional eyeball wherever your skin is cut
credit transactions like a knife or a meal. 3.2 Jittering 6.2 Vanishing
TRAVEL: Assume characters move through the 5.3 Wriggle through soft earth like a worm
3.3 Keening 6.3 Warping
Zone slowly, tossing washers to check for FOR SALE IN TOWN 5.4 Suction-cup digits help with climbing
3.4 Liquifying 6.4 Weakening
anomalies. Test luck (below) if moving quickly. 5.5 Retractable claws in fingers, toes
1 Armored vest 11 Homing pigeon 3.1 Mesmerizing 6.5 Whispering
5.6 Freeze with a tight grip, like liquid nitrogen
GM: Lead group in setting lines not to cross in 2 Camping gear 12 Infrared goggles 3.2 Nauseating 6.6 Withering
play. Fast-forward, pause, or rewind/redo for 3 Climbing gear 13 Med kit
6.1 People forget your face after you part ways SHAPE (d12)
pacing and safety; invite players to do likewise. 4 Dog 14 Pistol
6.2 Levitate a few cm off ground, always
Present dilemmas you don’t know how to solve. 5 Flare gun 15 Plastic explosive 1 Ball 7 Fuzz
6.3 Antennae aid senses, may detect anomalies
Move spotlight to give all time to shine. Test luck 6 Flashbangs (×4) 16 Rifle (bulky) 2 Cone 8 Icosahedron
6.4 Glow softly, and safely absorb radiation
periodically to check for encounters or anomalies 7 Gas mask 17 Shotgun (bulky) 3 Cube 9 Ring
6.5 Lost tissue regrows daily as spongy and blue
— roll d6 for (1–2) trouble now, (3–4) signs of 8 Geiger Counter 18 Tranq gun 4 Cylinder 10 Sheet
6.6 Bulky lump on back hatches into a small
trouble. Offer rulings to cover gaps in rules; on a 9 Grenades (×4) 19 Tool belt 5 Disc 11 Spike
being with your memories when you die
break, revise unsatisfying rulings as a group. 10 Hazmat suit (bulky) 20 Video camera 6 Fluid 12 Wire