Zero-level play is the funnel stage before a character has found their class. It is meant to be quick, dangerous, and a little strange: make several ordinary people, throw them into a terrible situation, and see who becomes worth naming in the songs.
Human characters are recommended for the simplest version unless the GM permits other species. A good starting point is four characters per player, with an opening party of roughly sixteen zero-level characters.
Creating Zero-Level Characters
| Step | What to Do | Result |
| 1 | Roll occupation | Roll D100 on the standard occupation table, or D200 if using the expanded table. This gives starting profession, weapon, equipment, and sometimes a bonus ability. |
| 2 | Name the character | A plain name is fine now; survivors will earn better stories. |
| 3 | Roll hit points | Roll D3. This is the character's starting HP. |
| 4 | Roll starting abilities | Roll D% twice on the ability table. These are inherited abilities and do not count against later class ability totals. |
| 5 | Check for psitalent | Make the wild talent check below if the GM is using that rule. |
When a zero-level character survives their first adventure and selects a class, roll the class hit die. If the new class HP total is higher than the zero-level total, keep the higher number.
Starting Abilities
Zero-level characters have two randomized abilities and no class prowess. Roll D% twice on the ability table.
| Situation | Rule |
| Duplicate ability | Roll a die: even means take the next ability on the table; odd means take the prior ability. |
| Delayed choice | A player may roll one ability and leave the second open until a good moment in play. |
| Class-restricted result | The character may keep it; mark it as a prodigy or inherited level-0 ability. |
These inherited abilities are free. If the character later gains a class, they remain on the sheet but do not count toward the class's ability count or rank total.
Zero-Level Capabilities
| Capability | Zero-Level Rule |
| Attack | Hit on 16+. |
| Check | Most checks succeed on 16+. |
| Trained weapon | The occupation weapon is the character's trained weapon. |
| Other weapons | Attacking with any other weapon is untrained: -1 to hit and the attack may provoke threat/reaction. |
| Deflect | Deflect with a trained weapon only on 20, or with a shield on 19 with no bonus. |
| Deflect attempts | One deflect attempt per round. |
| Threat | Zero-level characters are non-threatening: they cannot capitalize on enemies who provoke threat and do not get an AGL check from that trigger. |
| Long combats | Long fights may cause fatigue at the GM's discretion. |
If a player describes an attack or approach before rolling, the GM may grant a bonus for a clever or risky idea.
Critical Hits and Telling Blows
| Roll | Result |
| Exact natural number needed to hit 16 | Critical hit; bypass armour. |
| Natural 20 | Telling blow; choose either to reroll damage, or keep the damage roll and add D3. |
Psitalent Check
For each zero-level character, make a WIL check. If the result is a natural 16, make another WIL check. If the second check succeeds, the character gains a Scion wild talent power as a free bonus.
| D20 Result | Wild Talent |
| 15 | Object Echo |
| 16 | Fast Metabolism |
| 17 | Aura Sight |
| 18 | Sense Aura |
| 19 | Telepathy |
| 20 | Spirit Healing |
The 15 result is included for characters with a benefit such as Will of Iron that can push the qualifying result lower.
Occupation Framing
Occupations should usually be former, failed, persecuted, abandoned, or disgraced professions. A blacksmith might have burned down the forge. A noble might be pretentious rather than powerful. A healer may have failed someone important. The profession is the hook; the reason it went wrong is the story.
Choosing a Class
How a survivor becomes first level is deliberately flexible. The GM may use apprenticeship, self-determination, conscription, happenstance, divine intervention, exile, bargain, trauma, or any other event that explains the new class.
If a former zero-level character helps other zero-level characters survive and reach first level later, the GM may award bonus XP.
Optional Rule: Fight, Flee, Freeze, or Freak
For each combat encounter, each zero-level character chooses one response: fight, flee, freeze, or freak. A character must use all four responses before repeating one. In a large funnel, this means only about a quarter of the group can fight at once.