[Polaris] Emails from the utmost north

[coffeestain]

Hello,

A group of friends and I have started playing Polaris via email to waste away some of the slow time during the work day.  While we had a number of different games to choose from, Polaris seemed well suited to PBEM as the use of dice is at a minimum and nobody is straddled with a disproportionate amount of individual responsibility.  (For any of you who are interested, we just use an online die roller and one of the Moons makes any necessary rolls.)

It's taking us a while to get used to the system, which I understand is pretty common.  Due to the speed of play we're achieving, I'd say we've gone through what amounts to half a session to a session thus far.  First, our players:

- I (Daniel) am playing Lord Menkent, a cold Inquisitor that pursues any sign of the Mistaken amongst the People.  I figured this sort of role would place me in a lot of tough places, particularly when faced with either making experience checks or failing in Menkent's duties.  I think most of my actual observations will be reflected in the rest of this post.

- Rose is playing Na'ir al Arrakis, a formerly renowned hero of the People who was exiled due to her taking a demon lover.  Rose's previous experience in roleplaying has been mostly D&D and online freeform chats, and it really shows.  She was the first of us with a character idea and before we'd finished, she'd posted 4-5 pages of "back story" on Na'ir.  Warning bells definitely went off at this stage, though she has been extremely receptive to the discussions we've had about our expectations and how to make the most of the game, often by providing less initially.  Of all of us, she is the one who has also had the most trouble with the system and the management of narration rights.  This, I suppose, is to be expected.

- Sarah is my girlfriend, and she's playing Lady Denebola, sort of a hedge-witch/exorcist.  Apart from some LARPing and free-form chat when she was younger, the only real experience she's had with roleplay is the DitV game I ran a few months back that lasted 5-6 sessions.  She's got a theater background and her adherence to the old improv rule of "Never say 'no'" has really been a boon to both her and the group as a whole.  She's doing very well and her experience with DitV has taught her how to help introduce conflict and escalate, escalate, escalate!  In fact, she is the only one I can discuss this process with and feel remotely comfortable she actually understands what I'm trying to say.

- Finally, Charity is playing Alhena, a blind knight whose other senses - particularly touch - have grown strong enough to compensate for her weaknesses.  Her scene was the last and due to the holidays and vacation, we're only a few posts into it, but she seems to have a good grasp of the system.  (As a side note, she's indicated her background in computers and software has helped with this.)  However, Charity's problem is that she's a turtle.  She has a tendency to dislike promoting conflict and to seek permission for the things she'd like to do.  While that's only a little cumbersome in many games, it's devastating to a degree I didn't anticipate in Polaris.  I'm going to wait until this scene is finished and talk with her, if necessary.  It may be that we'll have to continue with a different game, unfortunately.

My overall observations:

- I LOVE this game.  I love the necessary tragedy of it, I love the poetry of the conflict phrases, and I love the mechanics.  Regardless of the fate of this particular session, I will find another game.

- The most confusing part for both myself and the other players is guidance.  This isn't uncommon and is covered elsewhere, but I'll say that it's fairly common for our scenes to involve 1 Heart protagonist and 1 Mistaken antagonist thus far, which leads to...

- Neglected Moons.  Due in part to the above and, I think, in part to our format, the Moons seem to play a very minor role.  We've not really gotten a handle on whether they should, or how they should, introduce Moon-driven characters into a scene if the Heart and Mistaken haven't taken steps to do so.  Rose, in particular, has a habit of including just Na'ir and my character, Menkent, into a scene together which is frustrating for me in a way I'm not yet able to articulate.

After the vacations are over and we've resumed play, I'll post an update to this campaign and, in particular, any discussions I've had with the players regarding the above issues.  In the meanwhile, any suggestions would be kindly regarded.

Best,
Daniel

[Danny_K]

I'd be interesting in hearing how you run the game over email.  I'm trying to get a Play-by-Post game started over at RPG.Net and the formats are pretty similar. 

It sounds like Rose is really having trouble breaking out of the traditional player role. Creating scenes with only two Hearts really disconnects the motor from the wheels, so to speak. Perhaps you could create a houserule that every scene *must* contain 1 or 2 elements from that players' Cosmos?  That would at least leave some loose ends for the Moons to grab hold of.

[Ben Lehman]

Alternatively, frame Rose's Moon character aggressively into the scene when playing the Heart or the Mistaken.

"And so it was that Lord Menkent came to declare his eternal love to..."

I think that the best trick for getting the Moon characters into play is start framing scenes without Mistaken characters at all.

yrs--
--Ben

[coffeestain]

Thanks, Ben, that's a great idea.  I think she's just laboring under the idea that the Heart and Mistaken listed on her sheet are "her guys" and that everything else is a bit part of no consequence.

I've also noticed we have been greatly dependant on "But only if..." and it's a struggle for me to try to show the other players the tactical significance of the other phrases.  Either that, or they don't yet realize tactics are an important component of the game.

[Ben Lehman]

I've also noticed we have been greatly dependant on "But only if..." and it's a struggle for me to try to show the other players the tactical significance of the other phrases.  Either that, or they don't yet realize tactics are an important component of the game.

That's expected.  The phrases have a bit of a learning curve.  There's no need to push it -- just play naturally.

yrs--
--Ben