Darkbound uses the core mechanics of Mutant: Year Zero—an RPG designed around survival in a hostile world, and managing the tension between newfound mutations and post-apocalyptic hardships. Below, you’ll find an overview of the essential rules and the specific tweaks we’ve made to capture Darkbound’s unique atmosphere.
Dice Pool Mechanics
♦♦ Core Concept ♦♦
- In Mutant: Year Zero, you roll a number of six-sided dice (d6) based on:
- Attribute (e.g., Strength, Agility, Wits, Empathy)
- Skill (e.g., Shoot, Fight, Sneak, etc.)
- Gear Bonuses (sometimes)
Each 6 you roll counts as one success. Usually, one success is enough for a basic success on most actions. Extra successes can grant additional benefits (e.g., more damage, special stunts, or narrative advantages).
♦♦ Attributes & Their Uses ♦♦
- 💪🏻 Strength: Physical power, stamina, melee attacks, etc.
- 🤸🏻 Agility: Speed, reflexes, stealth, ranged combat.
- 🧠 Wits: Awareness, knowledge, perception, reasoning.
- 💞 Empathy: Social interaction, manipulation, emotional influence.
Skills & Roles
♦♦ Typical Skills ♦♦
Mutant: Year Zero lists several skills under each Attribute (e.g., Fight, Sneak, Shoot, Scavenge, Heal, Barter, Sense Emotion, etc.). You can find an example of these skills (and what attributes they use) below.
Examples:
- Scavenge (Wits): Searching ruined areas for salvageable items or secret passages.
- Endure (Strength): Resisting cold, hunger, illness, or physical strain.
- Sneak (Agility): Moving silently to evade creatures or infiltrate a building.
- Persuade (Empathy): Negotiating trades, calming tensions, or rallying allies.
♦♦ Adapting Archetypes (Roles) ♦♦
Instead of the standard Mutant: Year Zero roles (Stalker, Fixer, Enforcer, etc.), Darkbound has:
- Roamer (similar to Stalker): Goes out of Torchlight to gather resources and intel.
- Warden (similar to Enforcer): Defends the settlement against raiders and creatures.
- Tinkerer (similar to Gearhead): Repairs salvaged tech and crafts makeshift gadgets.
- Archivist (similar to Chronicler): A lorekeeper and expert at old-world knowledge
- Trader (parallel to Fixer/Face): Negotiates, trades, and forms alliances.
(For more details, see Character Creation Essentials)
Mutations & Powers
♦♦ Mutant Points ♦♦
- Gaining Mutant Points: In Mutant: Year Zero, you typically gain Mutation Points (MP) by pushing your rolls or suffering certain hardships. In Darkbound, you might also gain MP after encounters with the Dark or exposure to contaminated zones.
- Spending Mutant Points: Characters can trigger powerful abilities—telekinesis, pyrokinesis, or other weird talents—but each use has risks (exhaustion, attracting the Dark, revealing yourself to fearful townsfolk).
♦♦ Darkbound Twists ♦♦
- Electricity Beacon: Using certain mutations (like generating static shocks or channeling plasma) might emit enough energy to attract Aberrants or the Dark itself.
- Corruption Risk: If you push your mutations too far, the GM may impose a Corruption Check—failing it could alter your body or mind in ways that mark you as “corrupted” by the Dark. This can have serious side-effects for you and your party.
Resource Management
♦♦ The Essentials ♦♦
Mutant: Year Zero already leans heavily on survival aspects:
- Food & Water: Characters track daily rations. Starvation or dehydration imposes penalties to rolls.
- Ammunition: Bullets are scarce. Every shot fired is a gamble—both in terms of scarcity and attracting unwanted attention.
- Rest & Shelter: Finding a safe place to rest can be a lifesaver, especially with nightfall creeping in.
♦♦ Electricity in Darkbound ♦♦
- Energy Is a Lure: Any active device (generators, lights, advanced weaponry) can draw local Aberrants.
- Power Cells: Rare salvaged batteries that provide light or power to essential gear, but using them is always a risk.
- Emergency Tech: Some old-world relics, like plasma cutters or medical scanners, can be game-changers in a pinch, but their usage must be carefully weighed against the danger they’ll attract.
Conflicts & Combat
♦♦ Initiative & Actions ♦♦
- Mutant: Year Zero uses a standard system: each combatant rolls initiative, and characters perform actions in order.
- Darkbound Variation: GMs might add environmental hazards to combat (e.g., areas heavy with spores, Dark-infected buildings, storms, weather changes) to convey the world’s constant instability.
♦♦ Damage & Recovery ♦♦
- Characters have a limited pool of health (often tied directly to Strength).
- Healing requires time, medkits, or a skilled Medic. Serious injuries could linger, slowing the pace of gameplay and encouraging cautious tactics.
♦♦ Aberrants & Hostile NPCs ♦♦
- Special Abilities: Aberrants might move unnaturally fast or deliver electric shocks if they feed on active devices. Some can sense high-voltage energy at a distance, forcing players to think twice before flipping on any power source. Some Aberrants are specially powerful, able to bend reality to their will. Aside from Aberrants, hostile human groups also roam the wasteland in search of easy prey.
Risk & Reward
♦♦ Pushing Rolls ♦♦
- You can choose to push a failed roll, re-rolling any dice that weren’t 6s (and weren’t 1s on attribute/skill dice). This increases your chance of success but can cause stress or attribute damage.
- Darkbound Flavor: Pushing a roll may also spark a “Dark Pulse,” hinting that your desperation has attracted the substance’s awareness (a GM storytelling tool).
♦♦ Stunts & Extra Successes ♦♦
- Rolling more successes than you need often grants stunts (like dealing extra damage, finding hidden loot, or taking a key advantage in negotiations).
- Encourage creativity—maybe an extra success in a scavenging roll uncovers a half-charged battery or partial blueprint for advanced tech.
Traveling the Wasteland
Regions & Zones of Influence
- GMs may divide the map into “regions,” each with its own threat level, contamination hazards, and resources. These regions can have different biomes, such as the ones depicted in The Setting page.
- Dark Zones: Heavily infested regions where mold-like growths and spore fields can overwhelm unprepared adventurers. Here, the Dark’s influence is strongest.
Encounters & Exploration
- Random encounter tables (or GM-curated scenarios) keep travel interesting: mutated wildlife, abandoned vehicles full of salvage, hidden enclaves, or roving raider gangs.
- Landmarks: Old high-rises, power plants, or crumbling labs from the Old World might contain vital clues—if you’re brave enough to explore them.
Character Progression
Experience Points (XP)
- In Mutant: Year Zero, you earn XP by taking risks, fulfilling personal motivations, or exploring new zones.
- Darkbound might reward extra XP for:
- Significant Electricity Use: If you risk turning on a device in a tense situation.
- Braving Corrupted Zones: Venturing deep where the Dark is strongest.
- Protecting the Settlement: Ensuring Torchlight’s survival through cunning or heroism.
Upgrades & Gear
- Skill Improvements: Spend XP to raise skill levels or attributes.
- Custom Gear: Tinkerers can craft or modify equipment, adding unique benefits (at the cost of time and scarce materials).
- Mutations: Some GMs allow mutations to evolve. This could mean new powers or stronger versions of existing ones—at the risk of higher corruption or bigger consequences.
House Rules & Optional Modules
- Dark Surges
- Trigger: Significant use of electricity, repeated pushes, or dramatic storyline moments.
- Effect: The Dark momentarily intensifies, possibly spawning new hazards, intensifying local spores, or giving Aberrants a temporary boost.
- Fear & Trauma
- Consider implementing a fear mechanic where characters must roll for mental stability in the face of horrifying sights.
- Repeated failures could lead to phobias, flashbacks, or other long-term psychological effects.
- Faction Influence
- The GM may track the party’s relationship with various factions (other settlements, raider clans, cults worshiping the Dark) based on player actions.
- High reputation can unlock trade discounts or help in crises, while poor relations might provoke targeted raids or bounties on the party.
Final Notes
- Learning Curve: Mutant: Year Zero has straightforward core rules. Most complexity comes from managing resources, navigating mutations, and dealing with the Dark’s omnipresent threat.
Collaboration: Work with the GM and fellow players to flesh out your character’s backstory and how it fits into the setting. Communication is key—especially in a play-by-post environment.
Ongoing Updates: This page and others in the Wiki may evolve as our game progresses and we refine house rules. Keep an eye on announcements for new rulings, expansions, or clarifications.
Ready to Dive In?
Now that you have a grasp of System Basics, head back to:
- [Character Creation Essentials] to build or refine your survivor or mutant.
- [World & Lore] for more in-depth reading on Torchlight, regional factions, and the ever-hungry Dark.
- [FAQ & Troubleshooting] if you have any questions about dice-rolling, rules conflicts, or navigating our Discord Threads.
Together, we’ll uncover the secrets of this ravaged Earth—and try not to draw the Dark’s wrath in the process.
Good luck out there!