Zero Parades Releases Tabletop One-Shot For Free

Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is my favourite game released this year — an enthralling spy thriller set in a world of compelling characters and the sort of 'beneath the surface' world-building that immediately catches the eye of people who enjoy the weird and fantastical.

Many will know that ZA/UM was born from creatives playing tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) together, most often set in Robert Kurvitz's world of Elysium. Though most of ZA/UM's original members departed the studio, many in acrimonious circumstances, the roleplaying spirit lives on within the studio.

An Evening at the Palace of Culture is a Free Zero Parades One-Shot

With that in mind, ZA/UM has released a free one-shot for Zero Parades, complete with custom rules, background information, pre-built character sheets, and everything else you need to run the pen-and-paper adventure.

The one-shot is a prequel set 30 years before the events of Zero Parades. It takes place in the Palace of Culture, which is abandoned during the events of the game but is still in its heyday in this module.

You play as the security detail for Sweet Nestor—the despot in charge of Portofiro—during his meeting with representatives from the Superbloc. Those who have played Zero Parades will be aware of this night, as its events are depicted in flashback sequences while exploring the ruins of the Palace of Culture — "You say Nestor isn't communist enough? Well, I say communism isn't Nestor enough!"

You are tasked with stopping the legendary Opera spy Probable from detonating a bomb and assassinating Nestor. The module's pre-built characters each have their own undercover disguises, roles and unique challenges. There are also item cards that give the character they're equipped to certain bonuses.

The module has several NPCs, most of which will be familiar to those who played Zero Parades, including a certain stubborn trade unionist-turned-tailor.

I adore what ZA/UM has done here; exploring worlds through alternate mediums is extremely exciting for me. Playing An Evening at the Palace of Culture with the additional context provided by having played through Zero Parades (such as the legendary reputation of Probable) is going to be a treat.

If you don't fancy playing yourself, the cast of Zero Parades actually played through this module in a video published shortly before the game released.

An Evening at the Palace of Culture is available to download for free from the Zero Parades website.

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

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