Zâr

It is said that the sun always shines on the peaks of Mount Ashkar. Centuries ago the Shah’s consciousness was interred in the sacred waters of the mountain cave, maintaining the sacred balance of the Empire, and keeping the evil spirits of Angra in check.

In this award-nominated Fastaval Scenario, you play four theurges, traveling into the Shah’s dreams, and exorcizing an evil spirit which has infected the Shah’s consciousness. It is a game about the substance of dreams, fear of the unknown, and about who has the responsibility for keeping the world order. It is set in an ancient Persian-inspired science-fantasy empire, where sacred truths are hidden deep in machinery and code. It uses a push-your-luck system to see how the characters handle the exorcism, and what price they end up paying, but it is mainly about dreamlike descriptions, and the interplay between the characters.

Nominated in the Fastaval 2022 Otto categories:

Best Scenario:

"With great trust in player creation, the scenario becomes a dream net of player descriptions while the apocalypse and breaking of the characters await in the card pile. The clock on the table paces the scenario and secures the timeframe of the short format."

Best Characters:

"The descriptions of the four tech shamans are precise, allowing the players to immediately co-create the Shah’s dreams from the start. As they play, the players flip their sheets and see the characters’ worldviews twist, leaving the shamans broken and corrupted."

Best Mechanics:

"The simple card mechanism at the core of the game supports dream tales, but at the same time provides the players with extreme ownership of the story. Through the interpretation of the cards, the players are given the opportunity to sacrifice themselves for something greater or let the world fall apart."

Participants' Award (Third Place, popular vote)

"It was difficult and beautiful. The beautiful was difficult, and the difficult was beautiful" - Note from feedback sheet.

This edition fixes some of the presentation issues, and is in general a much more readable text. If you give it a whirl (possibly through the tabletop simulator mod!) let me know what you think in the comments.

Note: The game has a tabletop simulator module - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2790687974, it has everything the analog version has, and is probably superior if you aren't a freak like me who loves printing and cutting.