[Polaris] questions & new storygamer report
Noclue:
Quote from: vonkorff on September 26, 2009, 07:11:20 PM
M: As the two of you pull on the book, it crumbles to dust.
H: But only if I keep half of it, which has some useful information in it.
It's hard to evaluate this interaction. What happens if the Mistaken just let's him have the book?
Ben Lehman:
Josh:
Yeah, absolutely! That's it.
I've also slept on the "but it was not meant to be" interaction, actually went back and reread the rulebook, and I finally figured it out.
The correct view is that *neither* the Heart's initial action nor the Mistaken's response should happen again in the scene. So the Heart says "but it was not meant to be" and that means that, no, he does *not* face the demons. Why, and what he does instead, is up to him (a tactical retreat, setting a trap, fleeing in terror, readying the people to die, whatever), but his initial action (standing against the demons) doesn't happen. Thus you don't get into an endless loop unless the Heart is playing *very* poor form and just repeating the same action, or a minor variation on it, over and over.
This doesn't change that the Mistaken's response (about half of them splitting off) is pretty weak sauce.
yrs--
--Ben
Frank Tarcikowski:
Hi Josh,
I don’t have anything to add to the in-depth rules / play discussion, but I would like to comment on this:
Quote
No one in my group, including me, had ever played this type of story game.
I’m not fully up to date with the hottest indie stuff of today, but in my experience, Polaris is unlike any other game, including the so-called “Story Games”. You should not expect other games to be the Polaris “type”; Polaris is unique.
- Frank
Ron Edwards:
I love this thread beyond all imagining.
My approval is nothing to be sought nor does it provide value beyond itself. But speaking as the content moderator, this is the kind of talking and thinking about play that this forum is for.
Best, Ron
Pabu:
Hi to everybody,
I just bought the new italian edition of Polaris and I still have to play, but I read the book twice and being an old time improvisor I would like to clarify a mistake I see often when somebody try to mix improv and rpg: the agreement.
The actors must agree, not the characters. The actors (and the players) have to agree about the Who, What and Where and there must be an agreement about wich conflict they will play. Their characters will then fight the conflict to the extreme.
Drama (and in Polaris players are creating drama) is all about conflict.
If players agree about the conflict, they will use the formula "But only if..." to rise the stakes for both the Heath and the Mistake, while the "It was not meant to be..." will not cancel the conflict,but it will forecast the consequences of that choice.
Polaris is a Chivalric Tragedy and in a tragedy the main character is always under checkmate: every move he chooses is wrong. Think about Oedipus: if he doesn't investigate the plague will destroy Thebes, if he investigates he will meet his fate.
And in Polaris the system seems to work in this way: the characters are doomed, they will die or surrender to the Mistake and every action they choose will bring them a step closer to that doom.
It is not D&D.
So, without having played Polaris, I tell everybody: as long as you agree about the conflict and play the conflict to the extreme you are doing well. Even in improv.
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