Players- Dani, Jasmine, Martin, Mo

One of our protagonists was Ankaa, who was the Queen’s Emissary. She was also the princess’s lover. So was one of the emissaries from another royal. The three coexisted harmoniously, even after Musida (the other emissary) was banished from her home. Ankaa helped her out. The Princess and Musida ended up married and broke off contact with Ankaa, who threw herself into her duties and the arms of a fellow knight who perished in battle. Ankaa founded her own order whose methods were questioned by the people they fought to protect but their motives were pure. Her role in the founding of the order was overshadowed by its first champion. In the end she died alone, no longer the knight she had once been in body or spirt.

The other protagonist was Zozma, who had taken a vow of poverty. He was wounded during an encounter with knights from a neighboring city. The wound was infected and he set off on a journey with his friend Zi. On the way they came across the village the knights had come from and met the Solaris Knight. He received word from the head of his order that he was needed back in the city because things had gone south, just like his brother had warned. His actions inadvertently resulted in the release of prisoners suspected of being possessed by the Mistaken. The Solaris Knight showed him EVERYTHING that was wrong with the city. Its inhabitants were able to see all this as well, driving some to madness sand others to reveal their true natures including his own brother. We ended his story there due to timing.

This was a good game! I really enjoyed watching Ankaa’s story unfold. It developed nicely and conflicts were very memorable. Mo did a good job too, he wasn’t afraid to ask questions and dove right in. I am sorry he had to leave early. I made some mistakes as the antagonist but I had fun and hope he did too despite having to leave things unresolved after a rather climactic moment. Favorite moments (there were so many great ones!) include meeting Zi the melon-tiller, the conversation between Zozma and his brother, the first scene with Ankaa, Alya, and the Princess, and the conversation between Ankaa and Miniaka.

I enjoy Polaris. I think it does one of the best jobs out of any game I’ve played of teaching antagonism and how to utilize narrative control. (Which the protagonists and antagonists both have a lot of!) Set-up isn’t that complicated and I felt it went pretty smooth. My favorite part of the system is definitely the conflict resolution. Once again what the dice said at the end of a scene didn’t always accurately reflect how a character may have been affected by things; that really is a minor note and in no way detracts from the game’s fun!

Speaking of fun, I’m not sure if it’s typical that there’s so much laughter around the table during a game of Polaris. (Both times I've played there has been a lot of it.) It was a good night around the table as well, we were all helping each other out and any questions that arose were easily settled. It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves. I always learn a lot from facilitating and I took a lot away from tonight as a
player too.

Thanks to Martin for his assistance and to Jasmine and Mo for their creativity and daring.

- Dani

I enjoy Polaris. I think it does one of the best jobs out of any game I’ve played of teaching antagonism and how to utilize narrative control. (Which the protagonists and antagonists both have a lot of!)

Yep, that's exactly why it's on the "must play" list. You see immediately whether your antagonism is working and you get to keep adding more so you can refine and improve on the fly (unlike Shock, which also has great antagonism but each conflict only lets you put forward one idea).