TEXT: ►An anomaly…
  1
  Ash fall
  2
  Blurry area
  3
  Bright beam
  4
  Colorful haze
  5
  Cyclone
  6
  Invisible cloud
  7
  Floating stones
  8
  Flooding
  9
  Fog
  10
  Grass
  11
  Hail
  12
  Lightning
  13
  Pink flowers
  14
  Rain
  15
  Slime
  16
  Snow
  17
  Sweltering heat
  18
  Visible spores
  19
  Webbing
  20
  Wind
  Located in/on a(n)…
  1
  Apartment building
  2
  Bar or cafe
  3
  Bridge or overpass
  4
  Cemetery
  5
  Construction site
  6
  Gas station
  7
  Hill
  8
  House
  9
  Local landmark
  10
  Park or field
  11
  Parking lot
  12
  Patch of sand
  13
  Pit
  14
  Place of worship
  15
  Police station
  16
  River or pond
  17
  Store
  18
  Street
  19
  Tall building
  20
  Transit station
  In which…
  1
  Aging and decay are sped over 10,000%
  2
  A localized vacuum allows in no oxygen
  3
  Combustion is impossible (no fire, guns, etc.)
  4
  Creatures are torn limb from limb
  5
  Creatures become ravenously hungry
  6
  Darkness is total — no illumination possible
  7
  Friction is dramatically reduced
  8
  Gravity is 20 times normal strength
  9
  Gravity operates in reverse
  10
  Ground is soft like quicksand
  11
  Hallucinations (?) promise aid and answers
  12
  Invisible, immovable solids have sharp edges
  13
  Objects over 12 kg are drawn inward
  14
  Passers-through roll to gain 1 Alteration
  15
  Path out deposits far away, no backtracking
  16
  Radiation is strong enough to cause sickness
  17
  Sound is painfully amplified
  18
  Urge to sleep may be overpowering
  19
  Wishes might come true (in a bad way)
  20
  Worms burrow out of creatures who enter it
  ►Contacts (roll 1 per player)
  1
  Dr. Afoyalan, kind, needs anomaly readings
  2
  Dr. Baines, flighty, needs a device tested
  3
  Dr. Cabral, tense, needs “test subject” found
  4
  Dr. Daniau, on thin ice, needs a breakthrough
  5
  Dr. Esparza, calm, needs 3 intact artifacts
  6
  Dr. French, brusque, needs a specific cadaver
  7
  SGT Gold, wry, recently “killed” but seems OK
  8
  CPL Haverhill, grins a lot, itchy trigger finger
  9
  PFC Irving, serious, worried about SGT Gold
  10
  SPC Jiang, lighthearted, loves exploring Zone
  11
  SGT Kariuki, quiet medic, loyal friend
  12
  PFC Losa, genial, needs to “move” an artifact
  13
  Mumps, sickly gun dealer, buys salvaged guns
  14
  Nine-ball, diligent broker, always wears suits
  15
  Overton, creepy fence, buys the weird stuff
  16
  Peekaboo, no-BS thief, needs backup for job
  17
  Quinn, quiet, pays well for interesting finds
  18 “Doc” Reardon, wild eyes, needs “samples”
  19
  Sherazi, struggling refugee, needs a break
  20
  Tawfiq, grocer, must find partner in the Zone
  ►Encounters in the Zone
  1
  Altered zoners, have artifacts, need food
  2
  Animals seem to want to lead you somewhere
  3
  Armed zoners set up an ambush to rob you
  4
  Child-size sewer frogs try to filch supplies
  5
  Crystalline man needs help escaping the Zone
  6
  Cult wants you to join, eat their eyeballs
  7
  Gang fight — one side armed, the other fanged
  8
  Gargantuan slug leaves narcotic mucus trail
  9
  Giant, bald head, buried up to neck, asleep
  10
  Half-dissolved people want your gunpowder
  11
  Hermit in bunker has food, guns, anger issues
  12
  Lab expedition angry at your intrusion
  13
  Lab expedition remnants, lost, beg for help
  14
  Settlement turns you away unless injured
  15
  Scientist’s illegal experiment on caged Zoner
  16
  Spectral figures stare at you from a distance
  17
  Stone cries it’s “blind”; unaware it’s a stone
  18
  Trees club you; sap has healing properties
  19
  Weirdo needs a certain artifact for “museum”
  20
  Woman raising pigs with rudimentary speech
  NO ONE KNOWS WHAT CAUSED THE EVENT.
  Alien visitors? Collision with another dimension?
  Whatever it was, it sundered an area on Earth from
  the laws of nature. And it left wonders behind.
  Whether you’re on an authorized expedition or
  breaking quarantine to make some credits, be
  careful out there: Come back not-quite-human,
  and the Lab will insist you visit indefinitely.
  Version 1.0 • Art CC BY BEEPLE • More of the Quarantine Zone at jasontocci.itch.io/QZ
  LO-FI SCI-FI RPG • JASON TOCCI
  
  RULES
  CHARACTERS
  ALTERATIONS
  ARTIFACTS
  ►Your team explores an area on Earth where
  reality broke. Choose your specialty.
  SCAVENGER: Increase (d8) any two skills from
  Climbing, Navigation, Running, or Stealth. Take a
  rugged outfit and roll d20 for something for sale
  in town (below). Sometimes smugglers, some-
  times employed as Zone guides by the Lab.
  SCIENTIST: Increase (d8) any two skills from
  Biology, Physics, Psychology, or Technology (or
  increase one to d10). Take a vacuum-sealed
  sample case and a splash-resistant coverall.
  SOLDIER: Increase (d8) any two skills from from
  Hand-to-hand, Intimidation, Shooting, or Stealth.
  Take a rifle (bulky) and armor (break as defense).
  ►Choose your character’s origin.
  LOCAL: Lived here in town before the Event. Take
  a Contact who owes you a favor, and two d8 skills
  from your old, mundane career, like Cleaning,
  Computers, Delivery, Labor, Repair, or Service.
  OUT-OF-TOWNER: Came to work in or near the
  Zone. Apply 3 increases among your skills.
  REFUGEE: Escaped the Zone before lockdown.
  Take two d8 skills from old jobs (as a Local,
  above), and roll for an Alteration you try to hide.
  ►Start with ₡2, a chunky mobile phone (unreli-
  able in the Zone), and washers (throw to detect
  anomalies). Most items cost ₡1. Ignore micro-
  credit transactions like a knife or a meal.
  PLAY: Players describe what their characters do.
  The GM advises when their action is impossible,
  requires extra steps, demands a cost, or presents
  a risk. Players only roll to avoid risks.
  ROLLING: Roll a d6 skill die — higher with a rele-
  vant skill, or d4 if hindered by circumstances,
  injury, or carrying more than 1 bulky item. If
  helped by circumstances, roll an extra d6; if
  helped by an ally, they roll their skill die and share
  the risk. Take the highest die.
  1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. GM decides if
  you succeed at all. If risking death, you die.
  3–4 Setback. A lesser consequence or partial
  success. If risking death, you’re maimed.
  5+
  Success. The higher the roll, the better.
  If success can’t get you what you want (you make
  the shot, but it’s bulletproof!), you’ll at least get
  useful info or set up an advantage.
  ADVANCEMENT: When you return from the Zone,
  roll any skill. On a 5+, roll on Alterations; on a 1–4,
  increase the skill (none➡d8➡d10➡d12).
  DEFENSE: Say how one of your items (or robotic
  limbs) breaks to turn a hit into a brief hindrance.
  Broken gear is useless until repaired.
  HARM: Clear injuries and stress with time and/or
  treatment. If killed, make a new character to be
  introduced ASAP. Favor inclusion over realism.
  TRAVEL: Assume characters move through the
  Zone slowly, tossing washers to check for
  anomalies. Test luck (below) if moving quickly.
  GM: Lead group in setting lines not to cross in
  play. Fast-forward, pause, or rewind/redo for
  pacing and safety; invite players to do likewise.
  Present dilemmas you don’t know how to solve.
  Move spotlight to give all time to shine. Test luck
  periodically to check for encounters or anomalies
  — roll d6 for (1–2) trouble now, (3–4) signs of
  trouble. Offer rulings to cover gaps in rules; on a
  break, revise unsatisfying rulings as a group.
  ►Roll d6.d6 if prompted by origin/advancement.
  1.1 You never sleep, blink, or close your eyes
  1.2
  People can’t break eye contact with you
  1.3
  Recognize people/animals by heartbeats
  1.4
  Eyes can extend out on arm-length stalks
  1.5
  Shoot finger bones like a gun; regrow in 1hr
  1.6
  Swallow up to 10L of water, spray out later
  2.1
  Hinged jaw, can store things in stomach
  2.2
  Edible mushrooms grow from your skin
  2.3
  Mica flecks act as defense, regrow monthly
  2.4
  Excrete mucus you can make slick or sticky
  2.5
  Fingers replaced with nimble tongues
  2.6
  Slightly magnetic; focus to pull something
  3.1 Gills, scales help with swimming
  3.2 Gray eel-skin can shock with a touch
  3.3
  Molt to change appearance (once/month)
  3.4 Adhesive tongue extends to your full height
  3.5
  Distend throat to mimic a sound
  3.6
  Shatter glass when you shriek
  4.1 Worms replace eyes, let you see UV, infrared
  4.2
  Horns, stiffer neck, useful for goring/butting
  4.3
  Hands crawl away, attached by 15m sinews
  4.4
  Sharpened teeth, paralytic venom in bite
  4.5
  Extra joints, contort and squeeze easily
  4.6 Caustic blood slowly dissolves most metals
  5.1
  Prehensile tail, 1 meter long
  5.2
  Functional eyeball wherever your skin is cut
  5.3 Wriggle through soft earth like a worm
  5.4
  Suction-cup digits help with climbing
  5.5
  Retractable claws in fingers, toes
  5.6
  Freeze with a tight grip, like liquid nitrogen
  6.1
  People forget your face after you part ways
  6.2
  Levitate a few cm off ground, always
  6.3 Antennae aid senses, may detect anomalies
  6.4 Glow softly, and safely absorb radiation
  6.5
  Lost tissue regrows daily as spongy and blue
  6.6
  Bulky lump on back hatches into a small
  being with your memories when you die
  FOR SALE IN TOWN
  1
  Armored vest
  2
  Camping gear
  3
  Climbing gear
  4
  Dog
  5
  Flare gun
  6
  Flashbangs (×4)
  7
  Gas mask
  8
  Geiger Counter
  9
  Grenades (×4)
  10
  Hazmat suit (bulky)
  11
  Homing pigeon
  12
  Infrared goggles
  13
  Med kit
  14
  Pistol
  15
  Plastic explosive
  16
  Rifle (bulky)
  17
  Shotgun (bulky)
  18
  Tranq gun
  19
  Tool belt
  20
  Video camera
  VENEER (d20)
  1
  Black
  2
  Bluish
  3
  Blurry
  4
  Coppery
  5
  Dull
  6
  Freezing
  7
  Glistening
  8
  Glowing
  9
  Golden
  10
  Grayish
  11
  Greenish
  12
  Iridescent
  13
  Purple
  14
  Reddish
  15
  Rough
  16
  Rubbery
  17
  Silvery
  18
  Sinewy
  19
  Translucent
  20
  White
  SHAPE (d12)
  1
  Ball
  2
  Cone
  3
  Cube
  4
  Cylinder
  5
  Disc
  6
  Fluid
  7
  Fuzz
  8
  Icosahedron
  9
  Ring
  10
  Sheet
  11
  Spike
  12
  Wire
  PROPERTY (d6.d6)
  5.1 Annihilating
  5.2
  Blinding
  5.3
  Bottomless
  5.4
  Burning
  5.5 Calming
  5.6
  Deafening
  5.1
  Electrifying
  5.2
  Freezing
  5.3
  Frictionless
  5.4
  Hallucinogenic
  5.5
  Homing
  5.6
  Hovering
  5.1
  Itchiness-inducing
  5.2
  Jittering
  5.3
  Keening
  5.4
  Liquifying
  5.1
  Mesmerizing
  5.2
  Nauseating
  5.1 Orbiting
  5.2
  Paralyzing
  5.3
  Part-insubstantial
  5.4 Quickening
  5.5
  Radioactive
  5.6
  Revealing
  5.1
  Sickening
  5.2
  Silencing
  5.3
  Strengthening
  5.4 Terrifying
  5.5 Thrumming
  5.6 Thundering
  5.1
  Unnaturally heavy
  5.2
  Vanishing
  5.3 Warping
  5.4 Weakening
  5.5 Whispering
  5.6 Withering
  ►Roll d20, d6.d6, and d12 if you find one. Exact
  effects (if any) subject to GM interpretation;
  may require experiments or luck roll to discern.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/2400 System/2400 Zone [v1.0]/2400 Zone v1.0 spreads.pdf