A Savage Land (CLICK ME!)

Platform #1

The train platform in Amarillo. The number is a dry local joke; there's hardly enough traffic for one platform, let alone several.

The sky is blue and cloudless and filled with dust.

It's the first thing you notice: how billowing and unbroken it is, how it stings your eyes after the warm blackness behind your eyelids.

There must be a hundred boots kicking up sand. The platform square is filled with people, faces baked brown and chapped by the wind, all of them wearing white cotton shirts and dresses and leather vests and silk ties dusted brown and stained and carefully cleaned of forgotten mud from brief sweet rains. All of their hands rough from the rough country.

The town -- place and people -- is alive.

Pinned

Pinned

You Know This Place

This dry sea of faces is familiar. You know this place. But your memory is fogged over, a vast blank dusty plain, and even remembering its name is a struggle.


Sweet Home Amarillo

Sunny old Amarillo! A dusty frontier boom-town they used to call the Yellow Rose of Texas. A hundred miles in every direction is sand and worse; a thousand miles west of the Wall. Literally the last stop on the Rio Sur line. Population a few thousand or fewer, all of them armed. Although -- a memory twinges -- not all of them with guns. Not many guns in this gunslinger town. Not a place for soft or idle hands. Nor one for the slow or sweet.

But still it lives, and thrives, and struggles sweating in the dust and sun.

Zero Summer is a story-driven game about identity and choice. The game is played with cards (also called Storylets). Each card is a cycle of events: something happens, you choose how to act or react, your choice determines the outcome.

This card came from the Pinned deck. All the available Pinned cards are always laid out face-up. Soon you'll have access to the Opportunity deck, which you pick from blindly in sets of three.

Drawing a hand from the Opportunity deck costs an Action. So does playing a Pinned card. You can never have more than 30 Actions at once -- so be sure to use them when you hit the cap!

You have moved to a new area: Platform #1: In the Beginning

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo: in the Beginning.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

You've upgraded to Zero Summer version 1.1!


Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


From a Certain Perspective

A woman just off the platform -- she's wearing an apron; it reads Butterloaf Bakery -- cries: fresh hot bread from the oven! Beside her a man is banging a ladle on a wooden bucket almost slopping over with water. Water a nickel apiece! Three ladles for a dime!

You realize gradually that you're sitting on a long wooden bench. It creaks slightly in the hot breeze; you shift and its fat legs crunch and shift in the gravel. The platform overhang is the only shade for fifty yards in any direction. The train is long gone. You can't remember any details.

The horizon is about a thousand miles away. Spotless, uninhabited. The sky is incredibly wide.

Pinned

Pinned

Absence

You can catalog all the things in sight -- the dust and the watercarriers and the bakers and buskers with cracked voices and the cattails growing in the still persistent water under the parched gasping boards of Platform #1; the silk ties worn thin by frontier life and the absence of silkworms anywhere this side of the Wall, the rough cotton fibers that make up every dress and shirt and pair of trousers worn by the tanned chapped people of Amarillo --

And still, at the end of your list, you'll find you've left a place unviewed because your own personal lens is unidirectional, unreflective.

The only thing missing here is you.


The View from Inside

Amarillo swirls around you. From your elevated place on the long wooden bench at Platform #1 you can look down on most of the city: its hard dusty people and broad streets and red brick buildings. There are worse places in the desert. Distantly, you think you might have been to some.

Then the realization: you know Amarillo but not yourself. Not your face. Not the pattern of stubble on your chin or the muscles and skin and bones under the shirt you don't recall buttoning up.

Not your name.

Cold sweat pricks everywhere on your unfamiliar skin.

Your character in Zero Summer is A MAN WITH NO NAME: the Protagonist. A lot of Zero Summer is choosing how to define him -- in relation to his forgotten past and uncertain future, navigating by your own bright moral stars.

You won't have much to work with at first: just the clothes on his back and a sense, maybe vague, maybe growing, of the person you want him to be.

But stick with it and we promise, you'll find the Protagonist looking more and more like his own living, breathing self again.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed


The Love Song of Amarillo, Texas

A woman is sweeping the dusty thirsty boards of Platform #1. She looks maybe fifty years old, blonde hair going gray, hands crooked with a lifetime of work in the bone-dry desert. She's humming a song.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Knowing and Unknowing

The tune flutters at the edge of your recall like a moth at a kerosene lamp. You could reach out and take it, that fluttering unknown, if only you stretch a little.


An Older, Harsher Voice

You close your eyes and concentrate. Out of the black past floats a memory: a blonde woman, young and pretty with a voice like a clear high bell, standing on a stage and singing the same song the sweeper-woman is humming. The song wasn't hers originally, the blonde's; she'd cribbed it from an older, harsher voice. The name of the song comes to you: Come On Up to the House. Tom Waits wrote it.

The sweeper-woman looks up briefly; your eyes meet. You realize she's mouthing the lyrics, making little subvocal sounds; you strain your ears and just make out a part of the chorus -- there's nothing in the world that you can do. Suddenly all the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and prickle. The lonely desert air no longer seems quite so warm.

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Doc. Doc represents your mental capacity: how well you can think, learn, and research your way out of trouble.

0 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 2.

An occurrence! Your 'Doc' Quality is now 1!

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 2. This will unlock more stories.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Doc

Mental Style.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Doc

Mental Style.


Rough and Tumble

Your shirt is bleached white cotton, rough to the touch and stiff in the collar. The shirt of somebody who in a pinch wouldn't mind getting sweaty or rolling in the dust if that's what was needed.

In Your Breast Pocket

And in your breast pocket is buttoned something flat and broad. A folded sheet of paper?


Practical and Clear-Eyed

In fact it's a letter -- a fragment of a letter. Most of the ink's by a deep red stain that smells dry and sharp and stirs a memory. Someone spilled wine on your shirt; you had to change into the one you're wearing now. The spill wasn't that long ago; the letter's still a little wet.

Not much of the text was spared. An early sentence reads, "New York is a wet stinking place I've learned to hate..." And another near the end: "Practical and clear-eyed: wasn't that always what you liked best? But not it seems when it comes to Arnie."

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Cityslicker. Cityslicker represents your social capacity: how well you can charm, chatter, fast-talk and double-deal your way through the new American frontier.

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 3. This will unlock more stories.

An occurrence! Your 'Cityslicker' Quality is now 1!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.


Your Real Actual Pockets

The trousers you're wearing are rugged indigo twill, faded on the insides of the legs from -- what?

A memory stirs: a rich sweaty animal smell; a sense of acceleration and control.

Horseback riding. Your pants are worn from the saddle. And there's this: your left pocket bulges slightly, inviting attention.

Rummage Around

Whatever's in your pocket isn't very large. And it's warm to the touch, even through the fabric of your jeans, even warmer than your own personal skin. Metal, then?


The Breadcrumbs of Memory

In your pocket is a hollow metal cylinder half the length of your thumb, warmed and pliable from soaking up the sun and your own personal heat. The cylinder is capped on one end and smells like the Fourth of July.

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Gunslinger. Gunslinger represents your physical capacity: how far you can run, jump, swim -- and, of course, how well you handle a gun.

An occurrence! Your 'Gunslinger' Quality is now 1!

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 4. This will unlock more stories.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Lost in Amarillo

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform proper and through the square and up the avenues leading into Amarillo proper. Not one person notices you -- not a single one, not a single glance. A quick motion just off the platform draws your eye: a stick-thin boy has just snatched a roll out of the Butterloaf basket and taken off running.

Before anyone can react, the boy trips over a loose stone -- and then the Butterloaf woman is on him, dragging him out of the dust and shaking him until the stolen roll drops to the ground. The boy shakes free and runs off, rubbing his neck as he goes, while the Butterloaf woman picks up the roll, wipes it with her sleeve and goes back to hawking to the crowd.

Pinned

Pinned

The Miserable Ones

Look at the boy! Forty pounds if he's an ounce, and glassy-eyed from hunger. And the Butterloaf woman's forearms: muscles like boa constrictors from kneading dough! Surely the boy didn't deserve what he got. Not over a fistful of bread. Not with his stomach indrawn like the hollow of a dead tree.

            4
            You need a stranger 4 (you have 4)

            4
            Unlocked with a stranger 4 - you have 4

Seems About Right

It seems about right, what happened to the boy. The Butterloaf woman probably has a family to feed, and if everyone just helped themselves, she and her children would starve. And there's this:  her face does have a certain kindness to it. The boy could have asked for the roll, and who knows what would have happened?


Paladin

The Miserable Ones

            4
            You need a stranger 4

            4
            Unlocked with a stranger 4

What happened with the boy and the Butterloaf woman was wrong. The world might be hard place, but your heart doesn't match it -- at least not yet.

Zero Summer tracks the Protagonist's moral compass with two Qualities: Paladin and Man in Black.

You've just gained your first point in Paladin, which represents compassion and a respect for peoples' rights.

When you gain points in Paladin or Man in Black, you'll lose an equal number of points from the opposing Quality. It's possible to have both Qualities, but you probably won't have them in equal amounts.

A twist in your tale! You are now Paladin.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Your "A Stranger" quality has gone. Welcome to the world!


Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


The Man in the Stetson

Someone coughs politely.

Only now does it become clear that you aren't alone on the bench and haven't been for -- how long? A little while. Maybe longer.

Sitting next to you is a man in a brown leather vest and dusty white Stetson. He's cleaning his nails with a knife.

"You were out for awhile there," the man says. "Looks like somebody caught you upside the head with a gun. And you were snoring. Think of that. Haven't slept like that in years."

He smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes.

Pinned

Pinned

The Friendly Approach

Yes, it's a strange way to say hello, and yes, you don't know him from Adam, but the Man in the Stetson is about the only person in Amarillo so far who's even noticed you.

A Thousand Things

You don't know this man. You don't know his name, or what he's about. And you don't know what he's doing here at the station. He might have been the one who hit you. He might a grifter or a thousand other things, none of them good.


No Sweat, Right

You stick out your hand; the Man in the Stetson takes it. His smile widens; surprise there, and a spark of real human warmth.

"Warren Castillo," he says. "Of the Jackrabbits." A pause, then: "Burrow and Briar? Yes, no?"

Where -- and what -- is Burrow and Briar? And how to introduce yourself? There's an awkward moment of silence; Warren breaks it by pumping your hand once, extra-hard, like: no sweat, right?

"That's alright," he says. "Look: you got hit in the head. Maybe you don't know your own name. But it'll come back if you give it time. Good to meet you."

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Going Home

The morning crowd at Platform #1 has started to thin; the watercarriers are gone to their wells, the bankers to the Wall Market, the laborers to their fields.

Warren gives your hand a final pump, stands and stretches. "Partner, the smart money says you don't have anywhere to go. I'm headed home to the Burrow. You're welcome if you like."

Pinned

Pinned

No Way but Forward

You don't have a whole lot of options. And Warren seems decent. This doesn't have to be forever, but it's a good start for now.

Your Way in the World

It's a tempting offer given it's the only one on the table, but you can make your own way in the world. You don't know Warren, and there's got to be other doors open to you here somewhere. All you need is time to find them.


Homey; Authentic

Warren claps you on the shoulder.

"Good man," he says. "You'll love it there. Really homey. Authentic. And the chili's not bad. Old Pinkie makes it with real cow."

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar: In the Beginning

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Burrow and Briar

A short walk into the heart of Amarillo brings you to an intersection you dimly recognize as suburban. Two story houses with largeish front yards line the streets.

But the picture isn't quaint or lovely; the paint on the houses is flaking and every roof looks like a patchwork quilt of new tile, old tile, cardboard and uncured wood. The yards are yellow and brown and probably snake-infested.

Warren stops at an intersection. One street sign reads Burrow Street. The other reads Briar Lane.

Pinned

Pinned

Home Again

"Home again, home again," says Warren cheerfully. "Jiggity-jig."

He leads you to a broken-down house on the corner with no paint at all, just brown wood and insulation poking out here and there. The door has a rabbit carved into it at eye level.

On the roof, you spot a small wooden attic hatch. In fact several of the houses you've seen have them. A memory stirs: a plummy drawl explaining that hierophantic means something that clearly means... something, but you don't know what. The hatches are hierophantic; you don't have any idea what they're for.

Warren knocks three times in quick succession, pauses, repeats twice.


The Jackrabbits

The moment the final knock is struck, the door is hauled inward. Hands reach out from inside and grab first Warren, then you. You're dragged inside before you know what's happening. The door is slammed and locked behind you; the heavy bolt sounds particularly grim.

Your eyes take a moment to adjust to the unlit gloom. When they do, you find you're standing in what was clearly once a very nice living room. Now it's stuffed to overflow with couches, chairs, ottomans, loungers -- the works. Most of them are occupied, mostly with men, all of whom look carved from teak and unfriendly as hell.

Except Warren himself, whose face has gone all hundred-watt smile.

"Welcome to our little spot. These are the Jackrabbits. Say howdy, Jackrabbits." Warren nudges you. "Say howdy yourself."

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


First Impressions

The Jackrabbits look at you with the slow deliberateness of snakes. Warren introduces a handful; you get the sense they're in charge of -- whatever this is.

"This is "Padre" Charlie" -- an older man with the red shattered nose of a lifetime drinker. His fingertips are stained gray (your heart lurches in your chest -- why?) You eye the dingy white collar around his neck. He smiles briefly at you.

"Mr. Pinkerton, call him Old Pinkie" -- another older man, unsmiling, whip-thin, humorless. He puts you in mind of a starving wasp. In his hands are a whittling knife and a wooden peg.

"And everybody else, that's Jack Ishiguro, that's Miz Nils, that's her dad Mr. Nils back there in the kitchen."

Jack Ishiguro is the first Asian person you've seen in Amarillo; he gives you a little wave. The young petite Miz Nils bobs a curtsy that's completely sarcastic given her ripped jeans, machete and zero nonsense expression.

Everyone watches you expectantly. Jack Ishiguro giggles, high and startling.

Pinned

Pinned

Vinegar

The crowd isn't exactly friendly. Well: you're here now, so you might as well explain.

You tell the Jackrabbits you can't remember your name, but it's just swell to meet them anyway. Nobody is buying it. Everybody looks at Warren.

Honey

You give a warm introduction, shaking hands where available -- that's everybody but Old Pinkie, who stares you down, and Miz Nils, who instead clutches your forearm with all the gentleness of a crocodile.

When they ask your name, you explain you've misplaced it but it'll be along soon. Everybody looks at Warren.


A Cold Reception

"He was on the train," Warren says. "It got robbed. Somebody caught him a good one upside the head. He can't remember who he is or who hit him. I found him sitting on the platform benches."

The Jackrabbits all nod at Warren's explanation. There's an awkward silence before "Padre" Charlie creaks to his feet; you can actually hear his knees pop, and the joints between his ankles and feet.

 "Well, make yourself at home," Padre Charlie says. "Something about entertaining angels unawares. The kindness of et cetera. Nobody's gonna hit you again here."

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Jack Ishiguro is now your Ally!

Miz Nils is now your Ally!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Lay Your Weary Head to Rest

A quiet period ensues. You watch the Jackrabbits; they watch you.

"Why don't I get you something to drink?" Jack Ishiguro says, and bounces off to the kitchen. He comes back with a cheap green plastic cup. It's got maybe two fingers of sticky brown liquor in the bottom. "Smells like motor oil and tastes like cat piss, but it'll help you sleep."

You look at the drink. Your stomach lurches.

"Let's get you a bed," Warren suggests.

Pinned

Pinned

Bed Should Be Spelled "Heaven"

So what if it's still early? You feel suddenly, brutally tired, and your head is throbbing to match. Maybe if you nap for a couple days, the world will look a little brighter.

Sleep is for the Weak

Warren's offer is tempting, but your circadian's still ticking sluggishly along. Besides, you hardly know these people. Better mix a little before you settle down.


Sleep Without End

Warren leads you upstairs to what's clearly a spare room: unmade bed, one broken chest of drawers, window nailed shut with actual nails. Jack Ishiguro turns up a minute later with a blanket.

"Sleep as long as you like," Warren says. "We'll get breakfast together whenever you're ready."

Like you need encouragement. Your head is so fogged and in so much pain from the lump behind your ear that you're asleep and dead to the world before you can even get your boots off.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Overnight

Images: dry multicolored leaves carpeting the dark green grass. Inches deep in places are the leaves. Dusty and fragrant. In the distance an elm tree. A silver-haired man in a flannel suit crunches across the leaves toward a younger woman. Long dark curls nearly down to her jeans.

The man has a rifle over his shoulder. He reaches the woman, aims the rifle at the elm tree. A target is hung from a low branch. More holes than paper, the target. The man sights and fires -- pock. Again and again: pock, pock.

The air smells like November. You're dreaming.

You open your eyes. You're in the Jackrabbits' spare room. Through the small window you can see it's the middle of the night. Your boots are still on. From somewhere above you hear: pock, pock.

You may have noticed this card came up without you clicking on anything. Cards which are played automatically are called "Must" cards.

"Must" cards represent things outside your control -- an unexpected fistfight, a dream about leaves in November. They are also used to model dialog and longer events.

There aren't many "Must" cards in Zero Summer. When you draw one, you can be sure something important is happening!

Pinned

Pinned

Check the Window

From the outside, it looked like Burrow and Briar was only two stories with a small attic. The <i>pocks</i> are coming from the attic or the roof. You might do to check outside the window.


The Night Sky

You pry open the window and stick your head out. Amarillo past midnight is quiet, even peaceful.

But the sky is a different story. Though there isn't a cloud in sight, the stars seem to boil, winking in and out of view as numberless indistinct black shapes flit back and forth. You have no idea how far up they are -- not the stars, not the shapes.

Over the lip of the roof you can just make out the toe of a boot. The next pock comes with a brief orange flash that kills your night vision. You pull your head back inside. Someone is standing on the roof with a rifle, shooting at -- what?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Highest Point

Some part of you stirs at the orange flashes and black boiling sky. You need to get to the roof.

Pinned

Pinned

The Safe Route

At least one other person is on the roof. They probably took the stairs. Stairs seem like a good safe bet.

The Direct Route

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The window is already open. The vinyl siding is rotting off the side of the house but the wood underneath looks solid. It's only ten feet up. And the odds of you getting shot are minimal. Probably.


Through the Attic

The door to the hall isn't locked. Other than the <i>pocks</i> from the roof, the house is silent, asleep. As your eyes adjust you spot a drop-ladder at the end of the hall. At the top of the ladder is an empty low-ceilinged attic with an open hatch to the roof. You grab the lip of the hatch and pull yourself up.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Boiling Sky

Before you stands Old Pinkie. He's wearing very dark blue jeans, a black shirt and a bandana over the lower half of his face. Only his eyes are visible. They watch you calmly before resighting along the length of his rifle, which Old Pinkie angles up at the sky.

Pock.

The sprawling vault of heaven looks like engine oil on blacktop. You wait after the orange flash fades to see whether anything falls onto the roof. Nothing does.

Pinned

Pinned

Ask What's Going On

Old Pinkie seems to be in charge here. Of what, you're not sure. Best to ask.

Observe Quietly

Old Pinkie seems unwilling to talk. Perhaps you should simply watch and learn.


The Silent Treatment

You ask Old Pinkie a series of questions -- what is he shooting at? what's going on up there? why is nothing happening?

Old Pinkie says nothing. He glances briefly at you, then up at the sky, then back along his rifle. Pock.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


A Certain Kind of Rain

Time stretches out. The sky simmers and roils. Once or twice every minute, Old Pinkie fires in a high upstretched arc, then methodically reloads. Pock. Pock.

Without warning, one of the oil-black shapes in the sky resolves into a charcoal blur. Old Pinkie tracks it and fires once; as quick as it came, it's gone again, back into the pool above.

Images: black and charcoal gray. Two glassy orbs flecked with starlight. Sinews: fat and opaque here, thinner and venous there. Stiff hairs thick as grass. Rows of sharp white pyramids. Startling pinkness: a broad pointed tongue, darting in and out of view.

Size unknown -- but larger than you.

Pinned

Pinned

Accept What You Can't Change

Old Pinkie seems undisturbed. He's already back to his regular schedule of firing and reloading. Best leave well enough alone.

Eyes Wide Open

Fear is a disease and knowledge is the cure. Old Pinkie seems to think you're safe; he hasn't even moved from his perch. You concentrate on what you saw, sifting the images for meaning.


White Noise

You struggle to close your mind's eye, but certain images still make it through. The shape of the face, the tiny sharp teeth, the pink tongue and veiny wings. It was a bat. The sky is full of bats -- innumerable bats, huge bats, their awful wings obscuring the stars. You suppress a shudder and push the images from your mind.

You've just gained your first point in White Noise, one of Zero Summer's Menaces.

Menaces are negative Qualities which have unpleasant consequences if they get too high. Menaces are never deadly -- but they're never comfortable either.

White Noise measures how exposed you've been to the unnatural world. The real recedes. Your ears fill with static. In time, all will be White Noise.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

You've gained a new quality: White Noise at 1.


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


That Good Night

Eventually you realize nothing else is going to happen. The skies will churn, the rifle will flash; the moon will sink onto the western lip of the world. Old Pinkie is paying you zero attention. And with your body sucked dry of adrenaline, you're headed for a crash.

Any time you get a few hours of restful, natural sleep, your Action pool will be refreshed.

Pinned

Pinned

Stick It Out

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

There are still things you don't understand -- about the bats, about why Old Pinkie is shooting at them. This is your best chance to figure them out.

By staying up all night, you forfeit your Action refresh. And you might learn something worth your while -- but then again, you might not.

Sleep It Off

It's been a long night. It could get much longer. It could also get more dangerous. You've learned a lot already, and tomorrow is a new day -- one in which you'll hopefully be better rested.


Sleepless in Amarillo

Stick It Out

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

You force yourself not to go to bed. Every minute is a struggle against sleep. You feel your eyes slipping and force them awake. And again. And again. The black shapes flood over the sky and soon slip behind your eyelids. Your vision swims. Every one of your limbs feels made of lead.

You try focusing on the pocks and Old Pinkie's distant eyes. The gunshots are almost soothing...

You wake to a clear false dawn. Old Pinkie is gone, although the attic hatch is still open. The black shapes are entirely absent, with no signs of where they've gone. Your body feels greasy and your head is fogged; every inch of your skin cries out for a bath.

1 change point, 1 more needed to reach level 2.

Doc is increasing...

Doc 1 failed in a challenge!

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

White Noise is increasing...


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Morning of May 21

The smell of frying bacon brings you downstairs. Some of the Jackrabbits are there -- Jack Ishiguro, "Padre" Charlie, Warren Castillo and a handful of others. They're eating bacon, eggs and toast off of chipped ceramic plates. Warren fetches you one and you sit down to eat. Small talk ensues. No one mentions Old Pinkie or the bats.

After breakfast, Warren takes you aside. The Jackrabbits, he explains, are what you might call a gang. But not a nefarious one! They protect Burrow and Briar Streets from other area toughs. Like the police, Warren says. The Jackrabbits keep the peace when the Pony Express can't.

"And here's the thing," Warren says. "We'd like to help you figure out what happened. On the train. You can stay with us as long as you like. Call it a good deed or charity or whatever. But that's what we're gonna do. We'd like it if you'd help out around here, but your priority numero uno has to be getting your head straight. I'll pitch in. We all will."

There are murmurs and nods all around. You realize some of the Jackrabbits were listening. Jack Ishiguro is smiling, chirpy and birdlike; "Padre" Charlie is more serious, bobbing his head like a dandelion in the breeze.

"What do you say?" says Warren. He's waiting for you to agree. To his help? To the Jackrabbits'?

Pinned

Pinned

Of Course

Of course you'll take their help. What other choice do you have?

A Great Option

Show some enthusiasm! The Jackrabbits have gone out of their way to help you. So what if taking their offer is your only option? It's a <i>great</i> option!


A New Day

You tell Warren that of course you want the Jackrabbits' help. He grabs your hand and pumps it warmly.

"I think this is the beginning," he says, "of a beautiful friendship." He doesn't smile when he says it. But his eyes do crinkle in approval.

So far, you've gained three Allies: Warren Castillo, Jack Ishiguro, and Miz Nils.

Allies are a special kind of Quality. Each Ally has a special card in the Opportunity deck. You can start drawing from the Opportunity deck in just a moment.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Warren Castillo is now your Ally!


Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


The Rules of the Game: Plots

This is when Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo. But before you get started, there are a few other things you need to understand. Play through the Rules of the Game Storylets to learn more.

Pinned

Pinned

Plots

Zero Summer is a game with multiple narrative threads. We call them Plots. Click here to learn more about them.


About Plots

There are two kinds of Plots in Zero Summer. They differ in length, mechanics, and what they're doing in the narrative. They are:

- The Main Plot. There's only one of these. The Main Plot is a big part of how you advance through Zero Summer; time won't move on until you've finished the current Main Plot section.

- Subplots. At any given time, you'll be following two Subplots. Subplots are controlled by your Gumption Quality, which can never rise above 2. When you choose to follow a Subplot, your Gumption will drop. Subplots also control whether you can advance through time. You CANNOT see all of Zero Summer's Subplots in one play-through.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

An occurrence! Your 'Gumption' Quality is now 2!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Rules of the Game: Time

This is where Zero Summer really begins: your first full day in Amarillo. But before you get started, there are a few other things you need to understand. Play through the Rules of the Game Storylets to learn more.

Pinned

Pinned

Time

Progress through Zero Summer is closely tied to both the Date and Time of Day. Click below to learn more.


About Time

Zero Summer measures time with two different Qualities: Date and Time of Day. It might help to think of them as the hour and minute hands on a clock.

Time of Day proceeds from Morning to Afternoon to Night, while Date ticks up every time you play the Advance Time card.

To advance time -- which means changing the Time of Day and Date -- you need to finish a certain amount of content. When you reach the end of your Main Plot and Subplots for a given Date, you'll gain a point in Time to Move On.

Once your Time to Move On is high enough (usually 3), you'll have access to a Pinned card called Advance Time that will allow you to move forward.

We know this is a lot to absorb, but we promise: it's intuitive once you get going, and it's worth it.

It's now the morning of May 21, 2026.

The Time of Day is now Morning!

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Rules of the Game: Items

Pinned

Pinned

Items

You'll be able to use and equip all sorts of items in Zero Summer. Click here to learn more.


About Items

Items in Zero Summer come in three flavors: general, usable, and equippable.

General items are tokens: they sit in your Inventory until a Storylet interacts with them.

Usable items can be clicked on in your Inventory. They do all sorts of things, from lowering your Menaces to giving you information about your plots.

Equippable items can be 'worn' to increase your Styles and sometimes produce other effects. You can only equip and unequip items at The Guest Room in Burrow and Briar, which can be accessed through the Burrow and Briar Area.

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo.

'Far, Far From Home' has been reset: a conclusion, or a new beginning?

You can now equip Gunslinger Gear!

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

You can now equip Doc Toppers!

You can now equip Cityslicker Duds!

You can now equip Talismans!

Your inventory now has space for Usables!

Your inventory now has space for Currency!

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Your inventory now has space for Consumables!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Ashling the Witch

The flame-haired witch of Amarillo can be found rain or shine among the cobbles and crowds of Platform #1 with a wicked pack of cards. This you hear; where she goes, people whisper, and not quietly. You can see her coming: head and shoulders above the crowd, taller even than the tallest man, orange hair curling unruly in the wind.

("Is she the devil?" a child whispers. His mother covers his mouth and looks around. Nobody's the devil, says the mother. Her eyes linger on Ashling; they seem to say, but if someone was...)

Into your space she comes, all tangerine hair and mossy fresh lips and the frank wild stare of a hunting bird. She gropes for your hand. Her fingers are surprisingly cool.

"No armed like forearmed," she says. "No seeing like foreseeing. Pull a card and hear the Ashling."

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pull a Card

What can it hurt?

And there's this: something about Ashling is electric, is in fact electrifying. She has all the glamour of a live wire. Dangerous but tame; contained by circumstance. Alive with frantic energy. Infinitely graspable -- until she frays.


A Wicked Pack of Cards

You take Ashling's hand and get a real physical shock -- her body is dripping with static. She draws you over to a small table under an awning by the platform. "Must get apart from the crush," she says. "Who can hear themselves think?"

She sits you down and takes from her sleeve an oversized deck of cards. She cuts and shuffles with an expert hand, talking all the while -- "Hot today? Yes it's hot, and dear Mrs. Matterhorn down with the sniffles, not a killer yet no fun either, the common cold, but into every life I suppose some rain" -- then fans the gray-backed Tarot in front of you and abjures you to "pick, and get us underway!"

You draw; Ashling turns the card over. It's painted with a free-standing wood door in a sparse green-dusted meadow. In front of the door is a man doing a one-handed handstand with his back to you. One of his legs is straight out; the other is bent across the other.

Ashling sucks in through her teeth. "Bad luck," she says. "The Door. It means passages and reflections. The man in front has pearls for eyes, though you can't see them. Milky eyes unseeing. And nothing good behind the door either. Nothing comfortable."

Ashling gathers up her deck but presses The Door on you. "Can't undraw it," she says. "And if you see Miz Nils, remind her she's due for her horoscope. All her stars are out of line."

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.

You now have 1 x The Door.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1


Play the Whole Board

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

You can holler all you want; kids of a certain age, especially ones playing their own kind of totally absorbing all-in-their-heads game, aren't ever going to pay attention to any strange man trying to get their attention. A pair of old men are playing checkers outside a saloon and watching you. One laughs dryly. The other touches a black piece, contemplating a jump, then takes back his hand. "Not that way," he says, loudly enough for you to hear. "Got to play the whole board, not just take what's offered you."

Cityslicker is increasing...

Cityslicker 1 failed in a challenge!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle. The life of the party. One odd Jackrabbit. But very little escapes his tiny cheerful eyes.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

The Power of Confidence

Seeing Jack Ishiguro move through a crowd -- sliding unimpeded, shoulder slouching, confidence glowing off him like heat from a lamp -- is quite the thing. People smile and swoon and flutter when he bumps into them. And not just women. A friend to all, is Jack Ishiguro, and universally charming. You could learn a thing or two.

You Scratch My Back

A recurring theme in Jack Ishiguro's many upbeat rambling conversations is how he's lean on cash. Liquid assets. Valoota. He never quite explains what he needs the money for, but you get the impression that his life would be somehow even cheerfuller if he had it.

And not empty-handed is Jack Ishiguro, no beggar at the door: he's made clear -- and not just once -- that he's sitting on a box of bullets he doesn't have any plans for, and would be happy to come to an arrangement involving bullets and dollars and a quiet exchange.

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 1


Empty Sands

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

You ride the loop recommended by the Roughrider who hands you the keys to a peeling yellow crotch-rocket with Sakura painted on the side. It doesn't take long, but you don't see much either. Not many natural animals. A few shrubs. Nothing strange. You wave to a few farmers and return Sakura without incident.

Gunslinger is increasing...

Gunslinger 1 failed in a challenge!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades. Tough, durable, and quite reminiscent of a creature that lurks silent until snapping its jaws and locking on tight. Not one given over to the silks and velvets of the Stars and Spurs, is Miz Nils. No, she is far more enamored of the open sky, the dust outside of the town, and the rough nature of the Scrub.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Dust Devils

Out back of the Burrow, Miz Nils is ensconced by her lonesome on the creaking wooden porch. She has a small jar of oil, a whetstone, and a little dog-eared notebook on the table next to her. The expression on her face is one of very serious concentration.


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


O Brother, Let's Go Down

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo.

No shirkers; too many victims -- of accidents, the environment, each other. But not as many as you might think.

There aren't many beggars or cripples outside the Highrise Hotel. Almost no one is homeless.

 And aside from the Ashling -- according to Jack Ishiguro "more like a local unconventional entrepreneur-type than your real actual crazy person-type" -- the streets are clear of mumblers, foamers and Millenarians.

All of which raises the question: where have all the destitute gone?

Pinned

Pinned

Down, Down, Come on Down

The only visible downtrodden in Amarillo are its orphans. They're not exactly chatty -- unless breakfast is on you. You won't have any problem trading a bite to eat for a little information.

WARNING: This is the beginning of a subplot. Choosing this branch will reduce Gumption by 1. This subplot will focus on your Doc and Cityslicker Styles.


Down to the River to Pray

You trade a hard roll from Butterloaf to a hard-eyed girl on Fifth who tells you -- sounding a little affronted -- that while she's fine on her own, "anybody who ain't always ends up on the west side at the Mission. Just go down Palmetto until you hit the iron cross." You can almost hear the capitals in her voice, affronted or not.

At the bottom of Palmetto where it turns into Jefferson you find yourself in the shadow of the cross. It arcs high above everything around it, an easy star to navigate by. It's attached to the roof of a long low brick building. There's a vegetable garden on one side; everywhere else there are people of all ages and colors in all stages of cleanliness and dress. They stream constantly in and out of the Mission's double-doors, which look permanently propped, and through the garden, where fat clucking chickens peck sedately at the bugs amid plantings of squash and beans. Inside you can see the pews are used for sleeping as much as sitting.

Almost everyone at the Mission is missing something -- an eye, a leg, a parent -- and almost everyone is smiling. They turn their smiles on you. A man on crutches invites you inside, where a group of dirty underfed beaming children are learning Ave Maria from a woman the size of a bear. The air smells like unwashed bodies and hope.

You have moved to a new area: The Mission

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 1).

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

You are now investigating a certain Hallowed Ground!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down. Even the altar has a haphazard stove and chimney rigged up where the priest must have once sat.

Sitting in a vacant church pew for a quiet moment: there is the smallest cluck, a soft scuffle. A chicken lunges at a bug in the dirt. More chickens pour in, clucking and preening and pecking. And yet they're largely unharrassed -- read: uneaten.

Pinned

Pinned

Chicken-scratch

Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

There must be a plan here, some kind of organization. Someone has to keep an eye on the chickens and vegetable gardens. You just need eyes to see.

            2
            You need Cityslicker 2 (you have 1)

            2
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 2 - you have 1


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Redwing Chicken

Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 1 - you have 1

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down...

Whispers on the Street

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

A tight nervous thread runs through the city...

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Silk Shirts, Lace Sleeves

Unlocked with ; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

The streets of Amarillo are filled with strange characters: the corn-flecked farmhands with skunk patches on their overalls; the high-lapelled young thugs in dusters and blunt weapons, loosely held; the rare Asian pushing furtively through the unfriendly crowds...

Pinned

Pinned

Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...


Whispers on the Street

A tight nervous thread runs through the city. Everywhere people are on vibrating on edge, tense, standing in unhappy pockets of twos and threes where every face is pinched with inspecific fear. On Jefferson, a young woman clutches her light cotton dress and leans close to a frend. "Did you hear about poor William?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder for -- what?

"I heard," says her friend, who leans in close to whisper: "Same as happened to Sean and Thompson. Took the breath right out of them."

Pinned

Pinned

Listen Closer

The first woman seems ready to jump out of her skin; her friend is scared but glowing a little with sick morbid interest. If you slow down and listen hard, you might get a hint of why they're afraid.

WARNING: this is the beginning of a Subplot and will reduce your Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Doc Styles.


They Aren't Being Quiet

"I'm scared," the first woman says. "I just don't know what I'd do if it happened to my boy.  You know William left behind two children?"

 "I know," says her friend. "That's how it is when the Harvestmen -- "

The first woman hisses for quiet. They both look nervously around. The friend continues:

"You don't believe they really show up if you say their name, do you?"

The question hangs in the widening silence between them.

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 0).

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

You are now pursuing The Harvestmen!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Banditos and Harvestmen

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position.

You nearly trip over a group of kids by the Wall Market; they scatter in every direction, one of them shouting that she gets to be the Harvestman next.

Pinned

Pinned

From the Mouths of Babes

Children get everywhere and hear everything. And they don't have any problem sharing with their friends. Especially scary things, and especially when they're roughhousing and one-upping each other. Which means if you're interested in the Harvestmen, a little light lurking might be in order.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 1)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 1


Banditos and Harvestmen

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1 - you have 1

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position...

Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


Back Home

You make your way back to Burrow and Briar, the one place in town that's always hopping.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Silk Shirts, Lace Sleeves

The streets of Amarillo are filled with strange characters: the corn-flecked farmhands with skunk patches on their overalls; the high-lapelled young thugs in dusters and blunt weapons, loosely held; the rare Asian pushing furtively through the unfriendly crowds.

But none are stranger than the silk-shirted, lace-wristed men and women who loiter in pairs or threesomes on streetcorners and in the windows of Amarillo's diners and saloons.

Pinned

Pinned

A Fine Fragrant Encounter

A high-cheekboned woman in a scarlet silk blouse waves you over from beneath a dusty awning.


A Small Token of Esteem

The woman draws you into the shade and pushes a coin into your unprotesting hand, closing your fingers over it with her own cool ones.

"Noticed you noticing," she says. Cautious, not unfriendly. Her breath smells like an impossible tropical flower. "Show us a little charity at St. Francis and we'll find you."

She pats your cheek and moves swiftly off, heels primly clicking. There was perfume on her wrist. It lingers for several long minutes after she's gone.

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

You now have 1 x 20th Century Penny.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


The Ministry of Black Powder

Burrow and Briar

A shabby tuckaway at the corner of Burrow Street and Briar Lane. Home to the Jackrabbits, a local gang of rough characters with hearts of -- not gold, but perhaps another less precious metal that still glitters in the proper light.

"Padre" Charlie is sitting on the porch at Burrow and Briar behind a small wrought iron table. Small pieces of metal are spread across the table, and a filthy cloth, and greasy metal can.

Pinned

Pinned

The Calling

When he notices you watching, "Padre" Charlie waves you over.

This is the beginning of Zero Summer's first main plot: The Ministry of Black Powder.

Since this is part of the main story, playing this Storylet will NOT reduce your Gumption.


One Man's Chapel

"Do you see what we have here? This is the bolt. It locks into the chamber with the cartridge. Here is the sight -- obvious, no need to explain. Here the barrel. Here the stock. Here the little nubbin of the firing pin tucked inside like a baby in a crib."

Your eyes move mechanically over the parts as "Padre" Charlie lists them. These things are known to you, barrel and bolt and firing pin. In this moment you're sure you could see them on the insides of your eyelids.

There's a roaring in your ears like the incoming tide. You could be swept away. O yes. You could be.

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Ministry of Black Powder has increased!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Needs of the Father

"Padre" Charlie is cleaning a rifle. You want to touch every piece of it so badly that your fingernails have dug little half-moons into your palm.

Pinned

Pinned

Hope for the Wrong Thing

"Padre" Charlie's hands work the rifle together, bolt into barrel into stock. "I'm filled with hope," he says, "but for the wrong thing."


The Difference

What does he mean, hope for the wrong thing?

"There's rain and there's green things and there's faith in the Book and the blood and the Man Himself. There are good things on this earth, healing things."

"Padre" Charlie spits deliberately over the porch. It lands on a dry patch of ground and kicks up a spray of dust.

"What I hope for ain't them. I want a flood of bullets and buckets of guns and a chain of hands to put the one into the other. Not very preacherly of me."


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


The Needs of the Son

Burrow and Briar

A shabby tuckaway at the corner of Burrow Street and Briar Lane. Home to the Jackrabbits, a local gang of rough characters with hearts of -- not gold, but perhaps another less precious metal that still glitters in the proper light.

The reassembled rifle lays across the Padre's lap. Newly oiled, it gleams.

Pinned

Pinned

You Have Questions

Floods of bullets? Many hands for many triggers? What could he mean?

You Have Needs

Speeches are well and good, but your hands crave the stock and steel of a rifle. Holding it will tell you something about yourself. Something important. You're sure of it.

The Means to Power

To hell with it: take the gun! What's "Padre" Charlie going to do? He looks rough for a man of the cloth, but you feel rougher -- so very much rougher.


He Has Answers

You ask your questions. "Padre" Charlie listens -- and when he listens, his whole world is suddenly all about you in a really intense and absolute way.

"Here is what I mean," he says. He holds up a hand. As he talks, he ticks off fingers.

"First: there isn't much law in Amarillo. Partly we're light on police. Partly we don't need much. Mostly people leave well enough alone, and when they get rowdy we step in, or the Roughriders do, or the Stars and Spurs. The only law we have is the Rule of One: there's only one thing you get to shoot and it lives" -- he points -- "out there."

Tick. "Second: everything's in short supply. Food's okay. Water less so. Guns even less. Somebody goes outside the barricades, there's a chance they end up in a shallow grave with their rifle slowly rusting."

Tick. "Third: there's a difference between us and the Spurs and everybody. We take care of our own, and we take care of business. And because of that, maybe some day we'll be down a gun we lost keeping folks in line."

"But not," he says, standing, "because we let ourselves be. Yes?"


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Holy Ghost

At his full height, "Padre" Charlie towers over you. The dirtiness of his coat and collar are transformed; they're splatterings of a fallen world on holy vestments.

"There is a weapon," he says. "Monsters fear it. Even the sight of it. The pistol of Santo Guerrero."

Some buried part of you lurches at the name. There's a weight on your chest and a strange lightness to your arms.

"There is a rumor that it was taken from Santo Guerrero -- the village, not the man -- by friends of Woodrow Pohoee, who never leaves his mansion on the hill."

He gestures over his shoulder into the rising sun, then levels a finger at you.

"Heaven provides. I believe it has provided you to us. This relic can't remain in darkness. Not any longer. Not with this man Pohoee, who does nothing with it. You must bring it to us."

Yes! cries the heavy aching part of you. O yes! And yes again!

Pinned

Pinned

O yes! And yes again!

The Holy Ghost

Burrow and Briar

A shabby tuckaway at the corner of Burrow Street and Briar Lane. Home to the Jackrabbits, a local gang of rough characters with hearts of -- not gold, but perhaps another less precious metal that still glitters in the proper light.

You swear to "Padre" Charlie that you'll find the gun of Santo Guerrero and bring it back. Your tongue feels made of fire. Every time you've closed your eyes this morning, you've seen again the great black bats swarming in the nighttime sky. Never again. You can make it so.

For Whose Hand the Grip?

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A high-risk challenge

Certainly you'll get the gun away from Pohoee. And certainly you'll use it against the great black bats that swarm behind your eyelids every time you blink. You -- not the Padre and not the Jackrabbits. Such a weapon takes strength of character. Until they demonstrate some, yours is the only proper holster.

You're sure you can make "Padre" Charlie understand your point of view. You have to. Otherwise the gun might end up in the wrong hands -- again.


Covenant

"Padre" Charlie grips your hand tightly. His palm is hot and slick -- almost feverish. "Good man. Good man. I leave it to you. I can't say how to start. You might try St. Francis's. There's the likeness, of course, and the deacon knows Pohoee a little."

That done, "Padre" Charlie slumps back into his chair. The divine spark vanishes as quickly as it came; once again the Padre is an unwashed old porch-sitter in his twilight years.

Paladin is increasing...


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


The Guest Room

Your own personal space here in Amarillo. A bed, a desk, a lamp, a window. It's not much, but for now, it's home.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to the Guest Room

There's no lock, but the Jackrabbits respect your privacy.


A Little Rest

There now. Softly now. A little rest from the dust and toil.

You have moved to a new area: The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar

You moved to a new setting: The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Guest Room

Pinned

Pinned

Leave the Guest Room

Back into it, then, better-equipped than before, better-rested and -prepared.


Back to Burrow and Briar

The Jackrabbits take no note of your coming and going. There are always new faces about -- coming off patrol, making sandwiches, lazing in the afternoon sun through the cracked and blinded window.

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Guest Room

Your own personal space here in Amarillo...

Pinned

Pinned


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.


Empty Sands

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 2)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2

You ride the loop recommended by the Roughrider who hands you the keys to a peeling yellow crotch-rocket with Sakura painted on the side. It doesn't take long, but you don't see much either. Not many natural animals. A few shrubs. Nothing strange. You wave to a few farmers and return Sakura without incident.

0 change points, 3 more needed to reach level 3.

Gunslinger has increased to 2!

Gunslinger 1 failed in a challenge!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A tough challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A high-risk challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A high-risk challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


Refreshing!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

You -- and what seems like half the population of Amarillo -- trundle out from the northern checkpoint and into the near Scrublands, where the Skunk brothers' farm is hidden behind an overgrown fence.

Once there, you're met by Darren and Lloyd themselves, who in short order have their vats chubbling happily. Mugs are passed around. Inside is a light burpy IPA. One gulp and you're convinced: that was time spent wisely.

1 change point, 3 more needed to reach level 4.

Gunslinger has increased to 3!

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

0 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 2.

A twist in your tale! You are now Helping the Brothers Skunk.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.


Play the Whole Board

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 2)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 2

You can holler all you want; kids of a certain age, especially ones playing their own kind of totally absorbing all-in-their-heads game, aren't ever going to pay attention to any strange man trying to get their attention. A pair of old men are playing checkers outside a saloon and watching you. One laughs dryly. The other touches a black piece, contemplating a jump, then takes back his hand. "Not that way," he says, loudly enough for you to hear. "Got to play the whole board, not just take what's offered you."

Cityslicker has increased to 2!

Cityslicker 1 failed in a challenge!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Guest Room

Burrow and Briar

A shabby tuckaway at the corner of Burrow Street and Briar Lane. Home to the Jackrabbits, a local gang of rough characters with hearts of -- not gold, but perhaps another less precious metal that still glitters in the proper light.

Your own personal space here in Amarillo. A bed, a desk, a lamp, a window. It's not much, but for now, it's home.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to the Guest Room

There's no lock, but the Jackrabbits respect your privacy.


A Little Rest

There now. Softly now. A little rest from the dust and toil.

You have moved to a new area: The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Retire Your Character

The time has come to rest your weary head.

This will allow you to delete your character and restart with a new one.

WARNING: THIS CAN'T BE UNDONE. BE VERY, VERY SURE BEFORE YOU CLICK THROUGH THIS CARD.

Pinned

Pinned

Erase Your Character

All things are cyclical. Opportunities come around again.

WE'RE SERIOUS: only click here if you want to delete your character PERMANENTLY and start a new one.


Click Through

And please reassure us that you're sure.

Are you REALLY SURE you want to delete your character?


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Really Delete Your Character?

Are you SURE?

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Are You Really Sure?

THIS WILL DELETE YOUR CHARACTER IF YOU CLICK THROUGH.

Pinned

Pinned

Please Make Sure

BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOING BACK.

No! I Don't Want To!

This option will NOT delete your character.


Sleep Now

Please Make Sure

BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOING BACK.

And then awake.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

Really Delete Your Character?

Are you SURE?

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed


A Savage Land (CLICK ME!)

Platform #1

The train platform in Amarillo. The number is a dry local joke; there's hardly enough traffic for one platform, let alone several.

The sky is blue and cloudless and filled with dust.

It's the first thing you notice: how billowing and unbroken it is, how it stings your eyes after the warm blackness behind your eyelids.

There must be a hundred boots kicking up sand. The platform square is filled with people, faces baked brown and chapped by the wind, all of them wearing white cotton shirts and dresses and leather vests and silk ties dusted brown and stained and carefully cleaned of forgotten mud from brief sweet rains. All of their hands rough from the rough country.

The town -- place and people -- is alive.

Pinned

Pinned

You Know This Place

This dry sea of faces is familiar. You know this place. But your memory is fogged over, a vast blank dusty plain, and even remembering its name is a struggle.


Sweet Home Amarillo

Sunny old Amarillo! A dusty frontier boom-town they used to call the Yellow Rose of Texas. A hundred miles in every direction is sand and worse; a thousand miles west of the Wall. Literally the last stop on the Rio Sur line. Population a few thousand or fewer, all of them armed. Although -- a memory twinges -- not all of them with guns. Not many guns in this gunslinger town. Not a place for soft or idle hands. Nor one for the slow or sweet.

But still it lives, and thrives, and struggles sweating in the dust and sun.

Zero Summer is a story-driven game about identity and choice. The game is played with cards (also called Storylets). Each card is a cycle of events: something happens, you choose how to act or react, your choice determines the outcome.

This card came from the Pinned deck. All the available Pinned cards are always laid out face-up. Soon you'll have access to the Opportunity deck, which you pick from blindly in sets of three.

Drawing a hand from the Opportunity deck costs an Action. So does playing a Pinned card. You can never have more than 30 Actions at once -- so be sure to use them when you hit the cap!

You have moved to a new area: Platform #1: In the Beginning

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo: in the Beginning.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

You've upgraded to Zero Summer version 1.1!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?