Zero Parades’ Free TTRPG Prequel Doesn’t Need the Game to Play

ZA/UM has released a free tabletop RPG prequel to Zero Parades for Dead Spies, and the PDF is open to anyone with a printer, even those who have not bought the game. The adventure, An Evening at the Palace of Culture, drops players into the gilded Portofiro of Year 66, thirty years before the main story, and ships with a custom ruleset, GM materials, printable item cards, and four pre-built character sheets. The Portofiro palace reception floor is set up like a Cold War cocktail party, with dignitaries, foreign diplomats, and trade officials milling about under hissing pneumatic tubes and the thick air of tobacco and cologne. ZA/UM launched the parent video game on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic on 21 May, 2026.

The launch drew a wave of critic praise, with GamesRadar+ calling it a “worthy Disco Elysium successor” and IGN going with “a fascinating RPG.” Many Disco Elysium fans never picked up the follow-up. The free TTRPG is the cheapest way for them to find out whether the dice-driven world clicks. ZA/UM is handing the PDF to anyone who wants it, with the only ask being that someone at the table knows how to roll a handful of dice. There is no Steam key, no sign-up, and no game purchase required, just a printer and a few friends.

An Evening at the Palace of Culture Lands for Free

The one-shot’s full title is An Evening at the Palace of Culture, and it is published as a free downloadable PDF on the free one-shot download page. The scenario is built around Portofiro, the same fictional city-state at the heart of Zero Parades for Dead Spies, and is set in Year 66, thirty years before the events of the main game. Players take on the role of Sweet Nestor‘s security detail during a historic reception for the future dictator of Portofiro, an event the adventure says will shape the future of the city-state.

The setting leans hard into spy-noir atmosphere. The Palace of Culture is described in the opening prose as “a great slab of public architecture” lit from within, with “dignitaries, foreign diplomats, trade officials, and Portofiro’s upper crust” milling about the grand reception floors. “Pneumatic tubes hiss behind velvet curtains,” the adventure reads, and “the air is thick with tobacco, cologne, and the impending sense of a national hangover.” Sweet Nestor himself is the future dictator of Portofiro, per a one-shot news write-up, which sets the security team on a collision course with the city-state’s political future. The prequel’s job is to plant the seeds of that history before the main game’s story takes over.

ZA/UM is not asking players to bring anything to the table beyond a printer and a few sets of dice. The download is a self-contained package: no Steam login, no game ownership check, no email signup. The PDF is the same file for newcomers and for people who have put dozens of hours into the main story. The only real pre-requisite is a friend willing to run the game, and the package gives that friend almost everything they need.

Here is what ships in the free one-shot package, drawn from the official download page:

1. A custom ruleset that adapts the video game’s dice mechanics for tabletop play
2. The full Year 66 Portofiro backstory, written for game masters
3. Printable item cards so players can hand out equipment at the table
4. Four pre-built character sheets for drop-in use
5. GM materials to help whoever is running the session

The Dice System That Traveled from Screen to Table

Zero Parades for Dead Spies has always been, mechanically, a tabletop RPG wearing a video game’s clothes. The Steam page describes a 2026 release built around 15 unique skills, dice-driven encounters, and a three-faculty skill system called Action, Relation, and Intellect, the same faculties the pen-and-paper version inherits.

Beneath the skills sit three Pressure meters: Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium. They replace health, and they fill up when Hershel Wilk, the game’s operant protagonist, exerts herself to push a roll in her favour. The Siliconera review notes that the meters are tied to her Action, Relation, and Intellect faculties, with each pressure weighing on the matching skill. The trade-off is short-term advantage for long-term damage, a design choice the TTRPG carries over wholesale.

The mechanics show up in the table in four parts.

None of this is new for fans of Disco Elysium. It is new in TTRPG form, and the one-shot drops a group straight into the dice-and-stats layer that defines both ZA/UM games. The Conditioning system, in particular, asks players to commit to a thought and the rule that governs it, with the same risk applying at the table as on screen when the persona breaks. The Wang Way thought is the obvious test case: reinforce it, and Hershel gains skill potential in Coordination and Technoflex, but loses the bonus the moment she shows remorse, per the official Conditioning notes.

Disco Elysium’s Successor Is Still Flying Under the Radar

Disco Elysium is ZA/UM’s earlier hit, and the studio has spent the years since putting out a follow-up that has reviewed well. The game landed on PC on 21 May, 2026, and the Zero Parades for Dead Spies store page is plastered with critic pull-quotes that frame it as a worthy successor to the studio’s earlier hit. GamesRadar+ called it a “worthy Disco Elysium successor,” per the Steam listing. None of that has translated, yet, into the broad awareness the title probably deserves among the people who would most enjoy it.

It’s funny, weird, and full of tabletop RPG depth.

The free TTRPG is, in a quiet way, the studio’s answer. It puts the dice-driven skill system into a package a brand-new group can run in one sitting, with no game purchase required. For anyone who has been Disco Elysium-curious and Zero Parades-curious, the PDF is the lowest-friction way to find out whether the world clicks.

That line is from Polygon’s review, and it lands harder now that the same depth is available in a free TTRPG form. ZA/UM is, in effect, letting the dice-and-stats system speak for itself, without leaning on the video game as a sales pitch. The one-shot is the same mechanical layer that defined Disco Elysium, in a format a new group can sit down and run.

What Comes Next for the Game and the TTRPG

Zero Parades for Dead Spies is set to expand to console later in 2026. ZA/UM has confirmed a PlayStation 5 version is in the works, per the Siliconera review’s closer and the game’s fan-wiki entry. The video game and the TTRPG sit on different platforms, with the bundle on Steam and the PDF on the official site.

The Steam Summer Sale is also doing its part. The Steam page lists a Disco Elysium + Zero Parades bundle that takes 10% off all 2 items, which is the cheapest way to own the studio’s earlier hit and the new spy RPG together. Anyone who skipped Disco Elysium can pick up both at once for the price of a single full-price release. The official one-shot page only announces the single release, with no roadmap for additional scenarios. The package’s custom ruleset gives a group the foundation to run their own Portofiro nights, even without official follow-ups.

• Release date: 21 May, 2026 (PC)
• Platforms at launch: Steam, GOG, Epic
• Unique skills in the video game: 15
• Languages at launch: English, German, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin America)
• Pre-built character sheets in the one-shot: 4

How to Get the Free TTRPG and Run It

The download lives at the official one-shot site, and the only thing the page asks for is the click. There is no Steam key, no Discord login, no email gate, and no requirement that anyone at the table have played the main game. The PDF is the same file whether the group intends to run An Evening at the Palace of Culture as a one-off or use the included custom ruleset to write their own Portofiro scenarios. Newcomers can hand the pre-built character sheets to four friends and pick a date to run the session.

The same page also hosts a playthrough of the one-shot, featuring the voice actors of the main game running the prequel scenario for the camera. Anyone who wants to see the mechanics in action before they commit to a four-hour session can watch the actors do it first.

For groups that decide they want the video game afterward, the Steam store page offers two paths. The first is to buy Zero Parades for Dead Spies on its own through Steam, GOG, or the Epic Games Store. The second is to grab the Disco Elysium + Zero Parades bundle, which takes 10% off all 2 items in the pair. Either way, the TTRPG download is a separate free PDF on the official site, so the bundle savings apply only to the Steam versions of the two games. The voice-actor playthrough is a useful primer for first-time game masters, since the one-shot’s GM materials are written for new groups rather than veterans.

The bundle is a separate consideration from the TTRPG, and the two stack: pay for the bundle on Steam, grab the free PDF on the official site, and you have the entire ZA/UM spy universe. A curious player who wants the full picture can take that route in a single afternoon. The TTRPG download is free, the bundle is a Steam-only deal, and the two never have to be combined.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the Zero Parades TTRPG cost?

Nothing. The official site calls it “a free pen & paper adventure book” and offers the PDF download at no charge. ZA/UM is giving it away without a Steam key, a sign-up, or any other gate.

What languages does Zero Parades for Dead Spies support?

The Steam store page lists full English, German, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America) support across the interface, audio, and subtitles. Full voice acting is recorded in English.

Can I watch someone play through the one-shot?

Yes. The official one-shot page embeds a video of the Zero Parades voice actors running the An Evening at the Palace of Culture adventure. Curious players can see the mechanics at the table before they download the PDF.

Is the TTRPG just a one-shot, or a full system?

The current release is a single-session adventure titled An Evening at the Palace of Culture. The download also ships with “a custom ruleset, backstory, GM materials, printable item cards and four pre-built character sheets,” per the official page, which gives a group the mechanical foundation to run their own Portofiro scenarios. ZA/UM has not announced additional one-shots.

Is a PlayStation 5 version coming?

ZA/UM has confirmed a PS5 release is planned for later in 2026. The game currently ships on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic.