The Weird Zone

Where nobody dares travel

Introduction. For this very special Zone Sector, I have drawn inspiration from Uddezonen, first published
in the product Göborg – Encyklopedistens klagan, for Mutant: Undergångens Arvtagare. All pictures are
courtesy of Pixabay, and is free of charge. Black/white illustrations are from Forge Studios.

by Bjørn Ove Asprem

 The Weird Zone

Deep in the zone is the inferno known as “The Weird Zone”.

Stalkers usually joke that at least you won’t have to worry The landscape quickly changes character as one travel
about being eaten by a devourer here, as even these foul beasts deeper into the Weird Zone. The grass soon disappears
shun this traitorous place. completely. Not even moss or lichen grow here. The color of
the ground turns into a rusty brown and orange hue, almost
Rumors say that even the terrain is dangerous. Fire starts resembling a stone desert. The smog thickens and changes
spontaneously in the ground itself, acid pools suddenly opens color to different brown hues. Crystalline formations start
beneath a traveler’s feet, and smoke and smog in unnatural appearing in the landscape. At first as fist-sized outgrowths on
colors carry all kinds of poison and ill effects. As if this weren’t cliffs or the ground. Then, larger batches of crystal appear as
enough, the landscape shift and change, making it impossible trees or bushes. These are quite beautiful to look at and may
to map. You might survive the chemical inferno, but you might fetch a good bargain at a market. They are also treacherous, as
not find your way back. they are sharp and painful to step on.

x Background
Close to fields of crystal formations, unfortunate travelers
may also encounter crystal smog. Over certain patches of
crystal, the smog thickens and changes color from brown to a
Before the Fall, a powerful tech company called Matsuyama
sparkling white. The smog causes the crystals in it to change,
Inc. tried to prepare humankind for the inevitable by using
both in color and shape.
nanotechnology. While humans stood no chance to survive a
nuclear blast, nanorobots could help humankind survive the
fallout and protect against radioactivity (the Rot). Their work
was nearly done when the Fall came, but it was not complete.
As they lost control over their project, the nanomachines ran
wild. Their programming and instructions were randomly
altered, creating what the inhabitants of the Zone today call
“The Weird Zone”. The nanomachines are constantly working,
restructuring, rebuilding or tearing down structures.

In addition to making the land itself lethal and volatile for

travelers, the nanomachines have created several strange
beings that can be encountered here. Combinators, crystal
creatures and crystal swarms are all monstrous, alien and
completely made up of tiny machines. The nanomachines are Returning stalkers may suddenly find the path from

x
also responsible for the creation of The Golden Ones. yesterday closed in by a huge wall of purple crystal. If
travellers are caught in the crystal smog, they will quickly find

Overview
that it eats away their clothes and other gear made of organic
material. A different kind of smog is the grey-green one, which
quickly infects food that isn’t stored properly.
Any growths, be they trees or tall grass fields, are reduced
both in numbers and density the closer you come to the Weird
Deep in the Weird Zone, the crystalline growths are huge
Zone. Grass and trees in nearby sectors may be discolored. As
as trees. “Time to turn back”, most stalkers will say. The fog is
you enter The Weird Zone, the ground itself becomes barren,
and dry sand blows over rock outcroppings covered by yellow thinner here, but the many crystal outgrowths bend and reflect
the light, making it difficult to see far ahead.
or grey moss. A sure sign that you’re approaching the Weird
Place is the ever-present smog. The smog changes color but are
most often yellow-brown or grey. Breathing in the air is not
dangerous (yet) but is irritating and can provoke fits of
coughing.

2
 The Weird Zone

Rules
Encounters in the Weird Zone
Instead of the table in the MYZ CoreBook, use the following
table to see what kind of threat the PCs face.
The Weird Zone works a little differently than normal Zone
Sectors. The Weird Zone should cover more than one sector,
at a minimum between 3 and 5. The sectors contain few, if any,
buildings. d66 Encounter

11-12 Crystal Creature

General rules in the Weird Zone:
13-14 Crystal Insects
• Compasses and Maps do not work here, a stalker
15-16 Combinator
gains no bonus from these artifacts.

x
• The changing landscapes and the smog make it 21-24 Golden Ones
impossible to follow one's own tracks. A Stalker
25-26 Spontaneous Fire
must therefore roll Find the Path even if he’s
returning the way he came. 31-32 Acid Pool
• Every day in the Weird Zone, roll Endure. Failure
33-34 White Smog
means 1 Fatigue due to the dry air.
• The nanites have cleaned the air for Rot. All sectors 35-36 Grey-green Smog
in the Weird Zone are considered Rot Oasis. 41 Sharp Crystals

42 Blood Cough

43 Ignition Smog
NOTE:
44 Poison Smog
The Weird Zone is not just weird and alien. It
is extremely lethal, so make sure the PCs 45 Glass Plague
understand this before venturing into this 46 Vibration Field
bizarre land. Maybe have them meet other Visual
stalkers or wanderers who have visited the 51-56 Phenomenon
place. For PCs who feel they are not Two threats (roll

x
challenged anymore by the Zone, this might be 61-66 twice on this table)
a welcome challenge for them.

Crystal Creatures, Combinator, Crystal Insects and the Golden

Ones are described on page 7 and onwards.

If an encounter with the Golden Ones is rolled, it could be with

a single Golden One, a patrol, or the PCs could stumble upon
the Golden Ones’ camp.

3
 The Weird Zone

relatively easy to scrape off with a knife, the food is considered

Phenomena
poisoned at this point. Eating it inflicts 1 point of damage. You
cannot eat poisoned food in order to meet your daily needs of
grub or to heal damage. Cooking the food doesn’t help either.
In general, all Know the Zone rolls made to understand
anything about these phenomena is made with a -3 penalty.
There aren’t too many who have survived the Weird Zone to Sharp crystals
tell about it. Razor-sharp crystals lie hidden on the ground, covered by a
thin layer of sand, or suddenly sprout up from the ground or
from a cliff wall as one or more PC pass it. Unless a Scout roll
Spontaneous Fire
is made, roll 6 Base Dice. Every success rolled inflicts 1 point
The unstable chemical composition of the air and ground
of damage.
combusts, and bursts of fire shoots up from the ground or from
crystalline outgrowths nearby. A PC who is alert and succeeds

x
on a Scout roll, may become suspicious when the crystals Blood cough
suddenly start flaring an angry red. The air becomes thicker, and it becomes even more difficult to
breath. Roll for Endure once per hour. Failure causes the PC to
cough up blood and suffer both 1 Fatigue and 1 Damage. The
In order not to be hit by the fire spewing forth, a successful
PC must roll until he succeeds, at which point he is cured (for
Move roll with a -1 modification must be made (any successes
now). Leaving the Weird Zone does not help, as the air
on the Scout check counters this). If hit, roll 6 Base Dice. Any
particles have fastened on the lungs.
success inflicts one point of damage. The victim also catches
fire. The Weird Zone’s fire is hard to put out. Water doesn’t
work, and rolling on the ground or trying to suffocate the fire Ignition smog
is only possible by a successful Move roll with a -2 The smog changes color to a greyish hue. It seeps through the
modification. PCs’ clothes and gear. A PC must roll a Gear Die for each
bullet on his person. For every success, the bullet ignites,
injuring the PC by 1. A Move roll is required to escape this
Acid pool
dangerous smog.
A portion of the ground suddenly opens. Unless they make a
Move roll, one or more PCs fall down into a subterranean acid
pool. Make an attack with 10 Base Dice every round. Every Poison smog
success rolled, inflicts a point of damage. A PC can either try This yellowish smog causes crystallic outgrowths on a PC’s
to get out of the hole in the ground himself (by making a Move eyes, nose and mouth. Roll 8 Base Dice every round. The first
roll at a -2 penalty) or be helped by someone with a rope or success causes the PC to become blinded, subsequent

x
similar. A regular Force roll is needed to pull a PC up. successes causes Fatigue. When a PC is broken by Fatigue, the
trauma is Damage.
After succeeding in a Move to get away (-3 if blind), a Heal
White smog
roll is necessary to carefully scrape away the outgrowths (-2 if
White smog targets organic material such as most clothes,
you try this on yourself).
backpacks and other gear made of leather, fur, etc. It is not
harmful to living beings. The smog targets d6 items of gear per
round per character and degrades the gear bonus by 1 each Glass plague
round. Normal clothing normally only has 0 or 1 gear die, and This almost translucent mist may give the Zone traveller the
falls apart rather quickly. A Move roll is needed to get out of idea that the smog is getting lighter and less dangerous. This is
the smog. definitely not the case, as this insidious smog seeps into your
body and attaches itself to the bones in your body. Roll 6 Base
Dice. Every hit inflicts 1 point of damage. Protection suits
Gray-green smog
helps, and PCs covered by armor or other heavy clothing may
As white smog, but this targets Grub. Canned food is immune
to this. Crystal like growths appear on the food. While it is

4
 The Weird Zone

also be protected somewhat (1-2 Gear Dice, at the GMs In the following round, dangerous crystal smog forms over the
discretion). now shattered crystal field.

1 = White Smog
2= Grey-green smog
3-4 = Ignition Smog
5 = Poison Smog
6 = Glass Plague

Visual Phenomenon
The PC witness the Weird Zone at what it does best – being
weird. These phenomena are generally not dangerous.

x They see:

 A special crystal formation.

 Crystal formations change or grow out of nowhere.
 The haze changes color.
If the PC is at least damaged by 1, his bones are infected. Every  A river of acid.
hour causes another point of damage and fatigue. This cannot  An old stone church, one of the few buildings left. It
be healed by normal means. Healing mutations may stave of is completely covered in crystals.
the disease temporarily, but does not cure it. The only way to  Sand blows over the barren landscape, before it’s
cure someone inflicted with glass plague is to completely suddenly lifted in the air, whirling around in a
shatter the infected bone before it spreads. This must happen tornado, defying all laws of physics.
before the PC is broken by the plague. To even come up with  An exceptionally large patch of crystal. The
this solution, a Heal roll must be made with a -2 modification. reflection from the sunlight makes it hard to see, and
Then, someone must succeed with a Force roll (Gear dice can sight is reduced to Short range.
be applied if used with a blunt weapon). This will
automatically break the PC and give it a suitable critical wound
(depending on which bone was crushed).

The bone will heal, but imperfectly. Reduce Strength (if the

x
arm was crushed) or Agility (if the leg was crushed)
permanently by 1.

Vibration field
Large crystal fields may, if disturbed by a high-pitched sound
(either set off by the PC or by a single, shattering crystal), set
off a chain reaction of exploding crystals. The first attack
comes as a complete surprise. Roll an attack with 8 Base Dice,
each success inflicting 1 point of damage. Two threats (+ roll again)
If you roll between 61-66, the Sector will contain an additional
In the following round, the ground starts shaking. Roll d6. 1-2 threat. Roll again. This could potentially lead to a Sector with
An acid pool opens, 3-4 Spontaneous fire spews forth, 5-6 Both a lot of threats. The Weird Zone is a dangerous place, after all.
phenomena occur at the same time.

5
 The Weird Zone

Scrap & Artifacts

Why would anyone dare to enter the Weird Zone? Unless the If the PCs return to a cleared-out sector of the Weird Zone after

x
Weird Zone simply is in the path to a more desirable place, a few months, new items can be found. Exactly why is
there must be a reason why foolhardy Stalkers enter it? The anybody’s guess.
truth is that the nanites, for some reason, have chosen to
preserve random items from the past in pristine condition. Or
they have simply made new ones. For what purpose, nobody
knows. Is it to lure treasure seekers to their doom? The truth is
probably the same as with the rest of the choices the nanites
make – there is no reason to it.

A high Threat Level (see the section on Rules) also means

more artifacts. In addition, every sector in the Weird Zone
contains d6 scrap items (50/50). Roll for scrap items on p. 262
of the MYZ CoreBook or any other list of scrap items you may
have. These scrap items are in great condition and will
normally fetch at least 2-4 bullets at a market.

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 The Weird Zone

Creatures of the Weird

they have in common are the sharp crystal claws on their paws
or crystal teeth in their mouths.

Zone A crystal creature’s only purpose is to kill. Nobody knows why

or how it is created. It can sense living creatures within Long
The next chapter describes some of the “sentient” creatures range, so hiding is futile.
that may be encountered in the Weird Zone. Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 5
Skills: Fight 3
Combinator (-3) Armor: 4
These insectlike creeps are about 50 cm long and seem to Weapons: Claws, fangs or tail (damage 2)
consist of crystalline parts, which look like blinking grey and
red metal. A single combinator is no big threat, but where one Pouncing attack: A crystal creature can

x
is spotted, more will soon come. These creatures travel around charge an opponent within Short range and
the zone searching for prey while hidden. When it finds it, it attack with a pounce. If successful, the
somehow calls to the rest of the swarm, which quickly joins in attack causes an extra damage.
the attack. When a combinator dies, three other, live
Immunities: Immune to fire and energy
combinators consumes the dead combinator and merges
weapons
together to become a larger combinator.
Sharp body: If a PC misses a melee attack,
When killed, the swarm and the individual combinators which he takes 1 damage as he cuts himself on the
make up the swarm, almost disintegrates into unrecognizable sharp, protruding crystals of the creature.

ashes. If someone were to capture a combinator and study it

Vulnerability: Sonic attack, like mutations
closely with a magnifying glass (or even better, a microscope or ultrasonic weapons, does 1 extra damage.
from the Old Age), he would discover that these are
technological creatures, the remnants of a nanotechnological
Crystal swarm (-3)
experiment gone awry.
This swarm of small, yellow crystals is in fact a swarm of
rebellious nanomachines which for some reason have rejected
Attributes: Strength (starting Strength 4-6)
the programming from the rest. At a distance, the swarm may
Armor: 1 be mistaken for a swarm of small insects, but as it comes
Weapons: Fangs (weapon damage 1, but can closer, it becomes apparent that it consists of many small
increase) crystals. The swarm still creates a buzzing sound as it travels

x
Swarm: Can only be damaged by fire or through the air, and it emits a yellowish haze in its wake.
explosions. Roll a base die every combat
round. On a 1, the swarm increases in
If the Crystal Swarm flies into a Smog of any kind, it disperses
Strength by 1. On a 6, it increases by 2.
immediately. While the PCs may think the swarm somehow is
Increased size: If a swarm takes damage in a an ally, it quickly turns on the PCs.
round, individual combinators merge with the
dead ones and become bigger. This increases Strength: 5 or more
weapon damage by 1, to a maximum of 5.
Weapons: Bite (weapon damage 1)

Swarm: Can only be damaged by fire or explosions

Crystal creature (-3)
Gas cloud: The yellowish cloud of sulfur gas
A crystal creature is a creature made entirely of crystal. All
that trails behind the crystal swarm inflicts
such beings are different. Most have four legs, some have one point of Fatigue every round within Near
eight. Some have tails, some have two heads. The only thing range. The victim can Move away from the cloud.

7
 The Weird Zone

Granting immunity: PCs attacked by a Crystal peace agreement with other people. Chroniclers have long
Swarm are immune to the effects of all smog pondered why the Golden Ones need to bathe. In truth, this is
(including Blood Cough and Glass Plague) for d6
just a random programming malfunction on the nanites’ part.
days.

Now and then, the nanomachines for some reason completely

take over a single Golden One, making it act more or less like

The Golden Ones a robot or someone under the constant influence of the
Puppeteer mutation. This Golden One takes charge of the tribe
The Golden Ones were once scientists, laborers and others who in order to enact the nanomachines’ orders. Most of the time,
were in the vicinity of the old Matsuyama Inc. facility when this order is related to the need of replenishing their numbers
the nanomachines went awry. As the researchers tried to beat in case of unnatural deaths (see Infections below), but it can
the clock to complete their project before the Fall, the sometimes be different orders, like preemptively attacking
nanomachines spiraled out of control. They attacked the other settlements, reaching out to other settlements in a peace

x
researchers, penetrated their protection suits and entered their gesture, venturing out into the zone searching for information
orifices, effectively taking over their bodies. Guards and lab or leading all Golden Ones on a pilgrimage to a river or a lake
assistants tried in vain to stop the nanites from spreading, but in order to bathe.
soon, the entire facility and the nearby blocks were overrun by
these nanomachines. When the nanomachines’ task has been accomplished, the
controlled Golden One is released from this control, with little
Generations later, these victims are still alive, kept breathing to no memory of what has transpired.
by the nanomachines constant regeneration of tissue and vital
organs. Normal beings would turn insane after all this time, but The Golden Ones does not need to eat and drink, but patrols of
the nanomachines have taken control of their brain circuitry as Golden Ones can still be spotted elsewhere in the Weird Zone,
well. Nothing much is left of the personality and memories of harvesting crystal formations as if they were mushrooms or
those that once worked for the proud corporation Matsuyama fruit, or even hunting combinators and crystal creatures. When
Inc. the yield or prey is brought back to camp, the nanomachines
simply dissolve the creature/formation.
Their skin has a golden sheen, and their alien way of living
makes them both feared and enigmatic. All look like The Tribe
androgynous, hairless humans, golden in color. The Golden Tribe number about 80 individuals. Their lair is
deep in the Weird Zone, in a place completely free of the
Behavior ravages of the Fall, the weirdness of the Weird Zone or time
itself. This is the original facility of Matsuyama Inc. Unlike the

x
The Golden Ones are generally hostile towards strangers. The
nanomachines that protect them from the Rot has an “attack rest of the Weird Zone, the building is free of crystals and it
first, ask questions later” attitude programmed. They do not looks like an industrial park which was built yesterday. The
speak any language, but communicate with each other through nanomachines are constantly cleaning and maintaining the
what looks like telepathy, but which is actually more like a building, both on the inside and the exterior. The Golden Ones
computer-like interface. They cannot communicate with others do not live inside the building. Instead, they have made camp
verbally, and the communication attempts that have been on the parking lot. When they are not out harvesting crystal
successful, have been using some sort of rude sign language. formations or hunting combinators or crystal creatures, they
are relaxing and meditating in the open or in their lean-tos.
The nanomachines that infect the Golden Ones, periodically Entering the Matsuyama facility is anathema.
need to immerse themselves in water. Some Golden Ones
therefore venture outside of the Weird Zone from time to time
searching for a water source to bathe in. Tributes in the form
of water or safe passage to a water source is the only thing that
will entice the Golden Ones to enter into some sort of trade or

8
 The Weird Zone

Infection
A Golden One can infect others with their nanotechnology.
Depending on the relationship between the Golden One and the
subject, this may be beneficial or detrimental.
If the recipient doesn’t want to be infected, the Golden One
must first succeed in a melee attack. He then chooses one of
the following infections:

 Healing. The Golden One infects the subject with

nanotechnology that functions as the REGEN
artefact.
 Enhancement. The nanotechnology increases

x
Strength and Agility to 5. This lasts for d6 days.
The Golden Ones are fiercely protective of their home and will  Mutation. The nanotechnology duplicates the effect
defend it to the last Golden One. Inside the facility, a Scholar of a random mutation or animal power. This lasts for
or Technician from Elysium may find a way to override the d6 days.
nanotechnology and change the Weird Zone back to “normal”.  Virus. The nanotechnology infects the PC with a
It would be extremely dangerous though, as the nanomachines virus resembling Machine Fever (see Mutant
inside the facility would create combinators and crystal Mechatron p. 92). This virus affects both robots and
creatures to protect themselves. non-robots.
 Inhibition. The nanotechnology reduces Strength
Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 3, Wits 3, and Agility to 1. This lasts for d6 days. The victim’s
Empathy 4
attributes cannot exceed 1 until this time has
Skills: Fight 3, Comprehend 2, Know the Zone elapsed.
5 (Weird Zone only), Endure 2, Sneak 2,
 Transformation. The victim will gradually become a
Scout 3
Golden One. Unlike the other infection types, the
Armor: Some have scrap armor (3-5) victim will have a slight chance of resisting. If the
Weapons: Crystal knife/sword (treat as scrap victim succeeds in an Endurance roll with a -3
knife or machete) modification, he rejects the nanites. Otherwise he
Immunities: The Golden Ones are immune to will slowly succumb to the transformation. Over a
the effects of the smog in the Weird Zone. period of d6 months, he will gradually take on a
golden sheen and start to appear more and more like

x
a Golden One. As the infection reaches the brain, he
will start to act more and more erratically. When the
MUTATIONS
transformation is complete, the new Golden One will
While the Golden Ones are not considered mutants, make its way out to the Weird Zone to join the
some have abilities that mimic mutations. This is the Golden Ones’ community.
nanomachines’ way of helping the Golden Ones
survive. These cannot misfire, but they have limited Golden Ones rarely uses the latter infection, but if several
use and must spend MPs from the GMs pool like Golden Ones have been killed, they will try to replenish their
normal. numbers by infecting unwary travelers. Some Golden Ones
may also leave the Weird Zone to hunt for new recruits. The
All of the Golden Ones are considered to have the use of a REGEN artifact gives the subject a chance to be
mutations Luminescence and Regenerate. About half healed. A new Endurance roll with a -3 modification is
of Golden Ones have one extra mutation-like ability. required to be healed.
The other “mutations” can be Extreme reflexes,
Human magnet, Sonar, Manbeast, Four-Armed,
Sprinter, Electric, and Beast Master (crystal creatures,
crystal swarm or combinators only).

Golden Ones controlled completely by the

nanomachines can change and develop these abilities
as needed (at will) up to a maximum of four abilities
9
(not including Luminescence and Regeneration).
 The Weird Zone

condition, the Stalker pleads with the PCs to go into

the Weird Zone to find a cure. This NPC may be one
the PCs already have a good relationship with. The
only cure available in the Weird Zone is to persuade
a Golden One to use his REGEN infection to counter
the transformation.
 A group of zone travelers containing a protocol robot
from Mechatron-7, has come up with a solution for
cleansing the Weird Zone once and for all. The robot
has hypothesized (quote correctly) that the creatures
in the Weird Zone are, in fact, tiny robots. He wants
to try and infect the area with machine fever. This
might be a long-term plan, as they would need to find

x
a contagious robot (or infect the protocol robot), and
then venture deep into the Weird Zone. There, they
can try to gain access to the Matsuyama facility and
infect the mainframe with machine fever.

The Weird Zone in play

Here are a few hooks to get the Weird Zone in play.

 The PCs encounter a dying stalker out in the zone.

The Stalker suffers from glass plague and will most
likely die. Before he does, he tells the PCs about the
Weird Zone and its many treasures.

x
 In the Weird Zone, a patrol of Golden Ones
surprisingly come to the PCs aid as they are battling
crystal creatures or are stuck in an acid pool. The
Golden Ones need help getting to a nearby river for
their annual bath. A hostile group of mutants or zone
ghouls have taken up residence nearby and drove the
Golden Ones away last time. The PCs must negotiate
safe passage or kill the other group. The Golden
Ones may feel they are even now or grant the PCs
some artifacts and scrap.
 A Stalker from the PCs Ark returns alone from an
expedition to the Weird Zone. He has been infected
by the Golden Ones and will turn into one of them in
d6 months’ time. While Chroniclers in the Ark study
him and try to understand how to halt or cure this

10