Tabletop_Gaming__April_2019

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something should work they turned

the dial until it broke, leaning into the

concept so fully that it straddles a line

between enthralling and o-putting.

One of the most striking examples of

this is the way it approaches language.

Despite that fact that every player

character casts magic, the rulebooks

note that describing them as ‘wizards’

is rather gauche and old-fashioned.

Instead, they are known as Vislae,

though some prefer to be known as

‘esoterics’, ‘canny ones’ or any one of a

half-dozen other rather owery terms.

Almost every page adds a fresh

word to the glossary, so rather than

applying bonuses to rolls you build

them into a ‘venture’ that you subtract

from the diculty of the task, creating

a target number that you want to

hit on a d10 – or possibly several of

them, depending on how things are

shaking down. Instead of levelling

up you combine ‘joy’ and ‘despair’ to

create ‘crux’, which you can spend to

advance your abilities and position.

is, perhaps, is what best sums up

Invisible Sun. It’s a game that straddles

the line between indulgence and

inspiration. While sessions are certainly

enjoyable, now and then I have to shake

the nagging doubt that assails me at

galleries and experimental exhibitions

• the question of how much of my
  enjoyment comes from the actual quality,
  and how much it owes more to the grand
  presentation and price of admission.
  ere’s no doubt that Invisible Sun
  is something unique. If you want to
  sip on liquid creativity and can spare
  the cash, you should start tracking
  down the few remaining pre-orders
  right this second. But if you’re a fan
  of stark simplicity and have little time
  for grandiose airs, there are probably
  better ways to spend your cash.
  RICHARD JANSENPARKES

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED...

NUMENERA

Monte Cook has always been a

whizz at the surreal; if you loved

the weird world of Numenera you’ll

probably dig Invisible Sun too.

O

ne of the cardinal rules of

clear writing is that you

should almost never describe

something as ‘unique’, because most

of the time it simply isn’t true. So,

bear that in mind when I tell you that

Invisible Sun is a truly, genuinely,

maddeningly unique RPG.

Coming from Numenera creator

Monte Cook, Invisible Sun bills itself as

a game of surreal magic and adventure,

one where our waking world is revealed

to be a vast illusion and dreamscapes

form the true reality. It’s an intriguing

premise, for sure, but even that only

scratches the surface of what makes it

stand out from the crowd.

To begin with, it’s probably best

to address the elephant lurking in

the room and admit that a small

but signicant part of Invisible Sun’s

unique nature comes from its rather

impressive price tag. Picking up the

core game’s box set, portentously

known as e Black Cube, is going to

set you back well over £200. Even a set

of PDFs comes in at around £75.

at would be an eye-watering price

tag for even the most committed of board

game buyers, and for most RPG fans

it’s almost impossible to comprehend.

However, there’s never been an RPG quite

so packed with stu as Invisible Sun.

e Black Cube’s heart may lie in the

four hard-backed, beautifully designed

rulebooks, but its esh and blood

comes in the form of countless cards,

maps, markers, boards and notes. It

even comes with a life-sized six-ngered

hand for holding and displaying cards.

It’s a truly stunning display of

physical grandeur, but there’s more to

the game than props and gimmicks.

e rules themselves are stued with

interesting ideas about the structure

of RPG storytelling, such as guidelines

for running inter-session side-scenes

by text or email – the most interesting

of these is the way it approaches

narrative arcs.

In most games the GM is the one

who plots out the broad strokes of the

campaign. When you play Invisible

Sun, however, it’s the players who

determine their own story arcs, long

before any dice are rolled.

If a player’s arc points towards

uncovering an arcane library, it’s up

to the GM to build the story towards

that point. If their goal is to avenge

their father, sooner or later they’ll

have the chance to meet the killer.

Plenty of games like to cast the GM as

the story’s facilitator rather than its

master, but few commit to the idea

quite so wholeheartedly.

In fact, it’s hard to think of anything

that Invisible Sun doesn’t embrace

body and soul. It feels like every time

the designers made a choice about how

Treading the line ‘twixt genius and madness

Invisible Sun

(^) PLAY IT? MAYBE
If you can ignore the price tag
this is a truly incredible display of
creativity and, even if you never play
the game, it’s a fascinating read.
However, that’s a pretty big ‘if’.
500+ 13+ £234