Picked up this game last week and I'm dying to try it out. It's a small indie RPG that plays as a hybrid between storytelling and roleplaying. Kevin, are you familiar with it? It's very much along the lines of the high-concept indie games we talked about last week.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Its setting and premise are extremely specific. It concerns a mythic era for an Eskimo-like people (the Nitu) who've hunted and lived all their lives on a giant island of ice called Ganakagok under an eternal night of stars. But Dawn is coming, for good or ill, and the players' characters are the ones who sense it. It's like being part of a creation myth where the first appearance of the sun is the final act, and the players are charged with determining whether that final act is inspiring and adventurous or dark and tragic.
In each session (and it always runs as a single session only), the players draw cards from a tarot deck and use the wildly varying themes on them as inspiration for everything from character creation to the role of their character in the story. The game's mechanics create loves and hates between the characters and their allies, produce monsters to fight (like the dread Cannibal Ghouls), and even helps the players produce a kick-ass map of the mythic lands of the Nitu!
What I like best is that in the end you've built a STORY. And it doesn't rely on the players adventuring together - in fact, a key aspect of the story may be that they're at odds. But everyone is constantly contributing, even when it's not their turn. The main goal is to build a MYTH, and because myths are filled with tales of both greatness and sorrow, even a tragic turn in Ganakagok can be exciting (consider the rise and fall of Achilles).
At the very least, it is WILDLY DIFFERENT. And I'd like to run it. Soon. I know I can wrangle my brother into it, and I mention it here to put a bug in your ears. If anyone's interested in joining in, let me know.
