Zenith

3–5 players
Difficulty 2 of 3
Not recommended under 12
Available in: Français, English, Español, Deutsch, Italiano

Every night, Mister Midnight switches off one more district — lights, memories, hope. Zenith has no heroes left. It will have to make new ones, fast: you.

The rulebook at a glance

d20 + attribute
4 attributes
The signature power

Read the rules

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Campaign
Zero Hour
4 sessions · team, memory, a city to save
Cost: 4 Dice for the whole table
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By the Icotale team

The world

PlaceZenithA vertical metropolis, proud of its motto: "The city that never sleeps." For three weeks now, it has been falling asleep one district at a time.
PlaceThe Clock TowerThe oldest building in the city, its clock stopped at one minute to midnight ever since the fire in the old Lantern District.
PlaceThe Dark DistrictThe first district hit: not a single light left, not a single memory. Its residents wander, polite and empty, unable to remember their own names.
PlaceThe Cape CaféThe back room where the heroes of the old days used to meet. The walls are covered with photos — one of them has been turned around.
FactionThe Lighthouse NewsroomZenith's big newspaper. Its front page makes and breaks heroes; its photographer, Nadia Vance, is everywhere things blow up.
CharacterMister MidnightHe walks the streets at midnight, and behind him the streetlights go out forever. No one has seen his face; his pocket watch chimes an hour that doesn't exist.
CharacterCommissioner AbaraThe last authority still standing. She doesn't like capes, but she no longer has the luxury of choosing.

The rulebook

Resolving actions

Roll 1d20 and add the attribute modifier: 11 or more succeeds at a normal action, 15 at a heroic action, 18 at a feat.
A natural 20 makes the front page of the morning papers; a natural 1 succeeds at the action but breaks something in the city.

Initiative : 1d20 + Speed modifier

Attributes

Power POW: Striking, lifting, taking hits: the raw force of the power.
Speed SPD: Moving, dodging, arriving in time.
Mind MND: Understanding a plan, improvising, keeping a cool head.
Radiance RAD: Inspiring the crowd, reassuring, standing up to the night.

Special rules

The signature power: Every hero has a unique power, described in one sentence on their sheet. Once per scene, using it in a spectacular way lets them roll two d20s and keep the better one.
Collateral damage: When a hero fails a Power or Speed roll in the city, the Narrator describes some collateral damage. The crowd remembers: too much damage, and the residents turn away from the heroes.
The team: When two heroes combine their powers on the same action, the second one adds +2 to the first one's roll. The combination must be described: that is what makes the legend.

Character creation

Roll 4 dice with 6 faces per attribute, keep the 3 best · 2 rerolls allowed4d6kh3

Origins

The accident: A lightning bolt, a vat, a meteorite: the power arrived without warning; +1 to Power.
The heritage: The power runs in the family, and people only whisper about it; +1 to Radiance.
The training: No gift: years of hard work and homemade gear; +1 to Mind.

Vocations

Colossus: The team's shield, always between the danger and everyone else.
Flash: Everywhere at once, never where you aim.
Tactician: Sees the big picture, speaks into the earpiece.
Standard-bearer: The voice that rekindles the crowd when all seems lost.

Derived values

Hit points: 10 + Power modifier
Defense: 10 + Speed modifier
Initiative: 1d20 + Speed modifier

Starting equipment

A hand-sewn costume
A phone with earbuds
An object from before the power

Veils

Topics kept off screen: the Narrator never shows or describes them.

sexual violence
civilian deaths
realistic terrorist attacks