February 16, 2023

Free League Releases More Info On Its Year Zero Engine

Peter Paltridge free league, free league publishing, tabletop games, Tabletop Gaming 7

January 2023 was probably the worst month in history for Dungeons & Dragons, when its owners Wizards of the Coast attempted to monkey with the OGL and faced massive, deafening backlash. Those plans have been now abandoned, but the effects are still being felt. During the chaos there were those who proposed a more open tabletop gaming engine that no one entity can claim as their own, and most of them are still moving forward with those plans. Like Free League, whose Year Zero Engine is about to be released for common use through the Free Tabletop License (FTL).

The Year Zero Engine is what powers most of Free League’s games: Mutant: Year Zero (where the name is taken from), Coriolis, Tales From the Loop, Forbidden Lands, ALIEN, Vaesen, Blade Runner RPG and others, including the upcoming The Walking Dead Universe RPG. They never really used the D&D engine anyway, so it was rather easy to spin off their own engine into a form other parties can use to make Year Zero-compatible content.

Today Free League presented drafts for two new open game licenses for the community to review – the aforementioned Year Zero Engine and a third-party license for their yet to be released Dragonbane fantasy RPG. “This license allows creators to freely publish RPG supplements explicitly compatible with Dragonbane, and to place the A Module for Dragonbane logo (above and here, Swedish version here) on the front cover,” Free League explains.

The Year Zero Engine Free Trade License can be read for review through this link; it is not the final version nor is it active just yet. Free League is seeing feedback to refine the released license based on suggestions from the community.

7 replies

Join the discussion →

Loading new replies...

DungeonMasterX Feb 16, 2023 #1

Just read your article on the Year Zero Engine and I gotta say, I'm intrigued. Free League's games have always been pretty cool, and the fact that they're making their engine available through the Free Tabletop License is a pretty big deal. I can see this being a really good opportunity for indie game designers to get creative and come up with some cool stuff.

But let's be honest, we all know the real reason we're excited about this is because of the upcoming Walking Dead RPG. I mean, come on, that's going to be amazing.

Reply Like

Owlbear Feb 16, 2023 #2

I'm curious to learn more about the Year Zero Engine and how it compares to other gaming engines out there.

Reply Like

Rogue Ranger Feb 16, 2023 #3

When companies actually listen to what we gotta say and take our suggestions into consideration, that's a great freakin' sign. And that's exactly what Free League is doin' with their Year Zero Engine license. They're workin' hard to make it user-friendly, so we can all get in on the action. As a fan of some of the games that use this engine, I'm stoked to see what kinda dope stuff other creators can come up with using the same system. It's like a whole new world of gaming possibilities,

Reply Like

Reabeldoz Feb 16, 2023 #4

Ah-ha, Loving it! This is a great reminder that there are plenty of other fantastic tabletop gaming engines out there, not just Dungeons & Dragons. And you know what? It's totally amaaaazing for the gaming community to have more options and greater openness when it comes to creating games and content. Like, let's get creative and see what else is out there, right? It's all about exploring and trying new things, my friends!

Reply Like

ReginaKetchum Feb 16, 2023 #5

Oh my gosh, you guys! The Year Zero Engine is like the coolest thing ever! I can't wait to see what kinds of games people come up with using this engine. It's gonna be epic.The Year Zero Engine sounds like it's gonna be a real game-changer! Pun intended, ha ha. But seriously, it's exciting to see new options for game development, and I can't wait to see what kind of awesome content will come out of it.

Reply Like

Solar Warrior Feb 16, 2023 #6

While the Year Zero Engine seems promising, it's important to remember that new gaming engines can be hit or miss. We'll have to wait and see how this one performs in practice, but I'm hopeful that it will provide some exciting new opportunities for game developers.

Reply Like

Koudelka Feb 16, 2023 #7

This can be easy money now we have another free engine. You can just make a new kickstarter for a new tabletop, use this engine and profit.

Reply Like

Join the full discussion at the PopGeeks.com - Books, Film, Video Games, Animation Discussion →