If you are looking for a touching and introspective storytelling game, stop and read The Last White, a game made by Matteo “Arco Deleggen” Sanfilippo which deals with the solitary search for the last polar bear in the world.
L’Ultimo Bianco is part of the line of role-playing games Essential from Panzer 8 and is available in digital format on drivethrurpg.com and La Terra dei Giochi.
Let’s discover The Last White, storytelling role-playing game
L’Ultimo Bianco is a storytelling role-playing game that contains all the useful information to be able to play, from the setting to the game system, in the sun 7 pages. It is a intimate journey which leads players to explore important issues (such as the environmental issue) but above all to make an introspective journey by digging into their own character.
A journey to the edge of the world, where the void is the color of snow. Arctic lands where hope wanders alone, together with the dream that it still exists. A journey in which to put one’s hopes and fears in search of oneself, one’s regrets and the unshakable will to change something that seems destined to disappear. But you are intrepid travelers and you will follow the dawn, queen of the skies, in search of the last Arctic Polar Bear on the planet. Because in a world where dreams no longer exist, there is a dire need for proof that the impossible can be possible.
Will you find the Last White? Will you go back to your lives? Where will this research really take you? You will only know by playing.
Setting and game system
The two fundamental elements that characterize the setting of L’Ultimo Bianco are two: the search for the last polar bear remained on earth and the inhospitability and mystery of places covered with ice, cold, unexplored and lonely.
In L’Ultimo Bianco the setting does not occupy a first-rate place because it is not the fulcrum of the game, constituted instead by the journey of the characters. The players are engaged, each for a different reason, in the search for the last remaining polar bear in the world. It is up to the game group to color the setting as it is more in line with the vision of the characters; the setting could be placed in our contemporaneity or in a hypothetical future.
The important thing is not that the geographic coordinates of the North Pole are correct (as long as the group wants to play in a realistic setting!), But the path of the characters, their emotions and the reasons that push them to look for the last white bear; and with them all the consequences that derive from it.
The game rules of L’Ultimo Bianco are very interesting. It is an RPG masterless where players build their characters from a Archetype and answering some questions to characterize and give greater depth to the character. Each player then scores on the board 30 Research Points.
To progress through the game and find out what happens on each character’s journey, each player must have a French card deck: during their turn, each player draws a card which, based on the suit, defines the approach to the game scene and scales a certain amount of Research Points based on the numerical value. The game is considered over when a character runs out of research points or when the players have drawn their seventh card.
Conclusions
L’Ultimo Bianco is an interesting game that combines a peculiar game system with the theme of travel and intimistic research. This RPG may not be suitable for all game groups, or rather it may not be suitable for all game nights, but it is able to give strong emotions.
The Last White, in fact, is based on “digging” into the minds of the characters, discovering its implications and evolution in a crucial moment (the search for the Last White). Although it is something that often takes a back seat in role-playing games, L’Ultimo Bianco has the great advantage of bringing players to the table talking about intimate themes and emotions.
Also because the interactions between the characters don’t always happen. Players do not form a classic RPG party, but can only encounter another character of their choice when an Infantryman is drawn. This should come as no surprise: L’Ultimo Bianco is an intimate storytelling game and the rulebook mirrors this element.
Playing L’Ultimo Bianco may not meet the taste of all players (it is not simply a narrative game, but a particular and intimate RPG), but it will certainly give you the opportunity to live a particular experience, full of feelings and emotions, as well as the possibility of addressing some delicate and current issues such as global warming and the climate change.
Try L’Ultimo Bianco and let us know what you think!
