I had a tentative game of Polaris scheduled last weekend but it didn't
come off. But here's my unplaytested review of...


Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North by Ben Lehman


AND SO IT WAS....

The first impression came from the very cool and highly stylized cover
art. Later, I discover all the art is by Boris Artzybasheff. The
illustrations are taken from another book, "The Wondersmith and his
Son" by Ella Young. Very stylized what I think of as line drawings
(but probably aren't; what the heck do I know?).

Inside, I was struck right away by the author's sense of style. The
first section introduces the game world, discusses its history, and
explains the current state of things. The style seems intended to
help us build the world of Polaris in our heads, and it does the trick.

LONG AGO, THE PEOPLE WERE DYING AT THE END OF THE WORLD...

The world of Polaris is one of once-great beauty, now fading. Long
ago in the utter north, a great people built a great city called
Polaris. The great king Polaris (so named because in the peoples'
minds he and the land were one) and his queen ruled the city, loved by
all the people. Then came the Dawn.

At first people loved the Dawn, were entranced by it's beauty. But
following the Dawn came the harsh terror of the Sun, burning the world
with its blinding light. In the Sun's wake came the Mistaken: Demons
of many forms intent on bringing ruin to the people. No one today
knows exactly where the Mistaken came from. Polaris was destroyed,
leaving four Remnants. Once the least parts of the city, these four
strongholds are now all that remains.

BUT HOPE WAS NOT YET LOST, FOR ONE STILL HEARD THE SONG OF THE STARS...

Players take the role of Knights of the Order of the Stars, dedicated
to fighting the demons and protecting the people. The stories are
intended to carry the tragic tone: Knights begin inexperienced and
full of ZEAL, growing more jaded and weary as they gain experience,
until they die or fall from grace.

WE SHALL SEE WHAT COMES OF IT...

Creating a Character is simple. You start with a name. All of the
People take their names from Stars. A list of star names in the back
of the book contains many suggestions. Find a name you like, and
write it down.

All Protagonists begin with set scores in three traits: ICE and LIGHT
describe your Protagonist's ability to deal with the world under
different circumstances. In play, which you use is determined by why
you are doing something, not what you are doing. A Knight fighting to
defend his people might use Ice, while one fighting for revenge might
use Light. These both begin at 1 and increase as experience is
gained. A Knight's ZEAL begins at four, and decreases as he gains
experience. Later, when Zeal reaches zero, he begins to accumulate
WEARINESS.

Next write in your THEMES. Themes are concepts that serve to make the
Knight unique. They also bestow advantages in conflicts, discussed
below. All Knights begin with some common themes, and players get to
choose a few too. There are examples, but not a definitive list.
Experienced Everway players will understand when I say Themes
encompass the ideas behind Powers, Specialties and Magic.

Finally, add in at least one person in each of the three realms of
interaction: New Moon, Full Moon & Mistaken. All you need here is a
name, though if you have more that's great.

Now you're ready to play, and here is where Polaris really gets
interesting. Instead of a GM, three other players take on roles
within the game.

You are your protagonist's HEART. You control all choices, statements
and actions made by your Knight. The player sitting opposite you is
The Mistaken. She controls the antagonists, whether demons you must
battle or corrupt forces in your own lands.

To your left sits the NEW MOON. He portrays aspects of your
Protagonist's personal and interpersonal life, including any
characters you have a primarily emotional relationship with: Friends,
Lovers, some family members, etc. This player also portrays any minor
female characters.

To your right is the FULL MOON. She portrays primarily societal or
hierarchical aspects of your Protagonist's world, including characters
you have such relationships with: Fellow Knights,
not-particularly-close family members, rivals (not enemies!), etc.
She also portrays any minor male characters.

Now each of four players makes a Protagonist. This means each of the
four players takes on each role in turn, depending on who is the focus
of the scene. You will be New Moon for one player, Full Moon for
another and Mistaken for a third.

AND THAT WAS HOW IT HAPPENED

The author discusses the idea of making a clear start to a session;
something to mark the end of social time and the start of play. In
Polaris, play begins with the ritual phrase "LONG AGO THE PEOPLE WERE
DYING AT THE END OF THE WORLD." When it is time to meet a new
Protagonist, that character is introduced with the phrase "BUT HOPE
WAS NOT YET LOST FOR [name] STILL HEARD THE SONG OF THE STARS."
Finally, we begin and end a scene with "AND SO IT WAS..."

Most play is done with Free Play: players interacting as you might in
any role-playing game. Remember, three of the players are portraying
parts of the game world at any time. Players may also make
suggestions for each other, but each player's will is law regarding
their own aspects. When one player decides some action on the part of
the Protagonist should be hard, or have some price attached to it, a
CONFLICT begins.

Conflict in Polaris is resolved through negotiation, ritualized using
8 key conflict phrases to guide the process. This is also where your
Protagonists Themes come in. To use some of the phrases you must
activate a theme, which then cannot be used again until a specific
refresh point.

In negotiation, the Heart speaks for the protagonist while the
Mistaken speaks against the Protagonist. Using the eight Phrases,
each side in turn says what it wants to see happen in the conflict.
Both players are encouraged the really push for what they want. The
Moons act as referees in the negotiation, ensuring the rules are
adhered to.

The interaction of the phrases is a bit complex, but here are a couple
of examples:

"BUT ONLY IF…" means you will accept your opponent's last statement
provided he agrees to what you are about to say.

"AND FURTHERMORE…" mean you accept your opponents last statement and
force one of your own, using a Theme to enforce your will.

"YOU ASK FAR TOO MUCH" means you reject your opponent's statement,
using a Theme to do so. Your opponent must offer a new statement
smaller in scale or significantly different in scope.

"IT SHALL NOT COME TO PASS" means you reject your opponent's last
statement, but can't or won't use a theme to enforce it. Now comes
the only die rolling in the game. A single die roll (d6) determines
whether the last statement takes effect. Regardless, all prior
statements have their effect.

"AND THAT WAS HOW IT HAPPENED" means you accept the last statement and
have nothing further to add. Negotiations are concluded.

Statements should be more than simple declarations of intent; players
dictate desired results as well. It's up to your opponent to accept,
reject or modify your statements. There are rules regarding certain
statements it is and is not okay to make, and rules discussing when
other statements are allowed. For example, the Mistaken can never
call for a protagonist's death, and no protagonist is allowed to die
while he still possesses some measure of ZEAL. However, the Heart of
a weary veteran can call for his protagonist's death. Given the rules
of negotiation, it is entirely possible the Mistaken might reject such
a statement.

All of this seems a bit confusing at first, but after reading it
through a couple times and discussing it with my daughter, I think it
will work quite well. AND FURTHERMORE, the rules could easily be
adapted to tell Everway stories in a similar manner.

Overall, I was thrilled with the presentation and resolution mechanics
of Polaris. At $23, I thought it a bit pricey for 136 half-letter
sized pages. But maybe that's the old man in me remembering when his
Player's Handbook cost twelve bucks. In any case, I certainly
consider the money well spent.

For RPG Net Readers:

Style: 5 out of 5
Substance: 5 out of 5

BUT THAT ALL HAPPENED LONG AGO, AND NOW THERE ARE NONE WHO REMEMBER IT.


A Thousand Times,

LT