Exquisite Polycule

By Georgie Bats

This is a gmless game for telling a love story, or multiple intersecting love
stories, between three or more characters.

What the table needs

• 3–6 players

• An X-Card and/or any other safety tool(s) of your choice

• A sheet of paper

• Mutual respect

• Snacks (optional)

What each player needs

• A six-sided die

• Two sheets of paper

• A pencil and eraser

• An imagination

Setup
Decide together on a setting for your story and an age range for your
characters. If you have any other preconceived ideas about the story you want
to tell, discuss them.

Place one sheet of paper in the middle of the table. This will become your
Relationship Web. Place the X-Card in the middle of the table, if you’re using it.
If you’re using another safety tool, now is the time to make sure everyone at the
table knows how to use it and consents to doing so.

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 Safety Tools and the X-Card
A safety tool is any tool that eases communication between
players to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort. Checking in with
your fellow players every so often to ask if they need a break is an
example of an informal safety tool.

The X-Card is a more formal safety tool developed by John

Stavropoulos. It is physically represented as a note card with an X
drawn on it. If at any point during the game, something about the
story makes you uncomfortable in a way that is not fun, you may
invoke the X-Card by picking it up off the table, making an X with
your arms, or simply saying “X-Card” aloud. At this point, the table
should “rewind” the game to before the content in question was
introduced and take another route. If you want to talk about why
you used the X-Card, you may. If you don’t want to talk about it, you
don’t have to. For more information, go to [Link]
rpg.

For more examples of safety tools, check out Lines and Veils by
Ron Edwards, and the Power Within by Maharhar.

Character Creation
Each player labels one of their sheets of paper as the “Attribute Sheet” and the
other as the “Character Sheet.” Each player chooses a type of attribute that a
character might have, such as, their name, their gender, their talent, their job,
their species, or their vibe. If you have only three or four players, each player
chooses two attributes. Go around the table and make sure that no one has
chosen the same attribute.

Next, write down your attributes, and underneath them number a list from 1–6.
For each item on the list, write down two options (for example, under the gender
attribute, a single item might be “genderpunk or catgirl.” Make sure your options
are appropriate for the setting and age range your group has chosen. If you
want an option to be available for multiple characters, you can repeat it on more
than one line.

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 Example Attribute Sheet

# Gender Vibe
1 Man or Woman Blessed or Rancid
2 Genderpunk or Catgirl Rude or Friendly
3 Anarch@gender or Two- Silly or Sleepy
Spirit
4 Thembo or Bigender Cursed or Chill
5 Witch or Cowboy Wired or Done
6 Agender or Masc Soft or Eldritch

Once everyone has written their list, pass your Attribute Sheet to the player on
your left. Roll the dice, select one of the options from the corresponding item on
the Attribute Sheet, write it down on your Character Sheet, and cross it off the
list. If you listed two attributes, repeat. Pass your Attribute Sheet left and your
Character Sheet right.

Repeat the previous process with your new Attribute Sheet and Character Sheet.
If you roll a number for which both options are already crossed out, roll again.
Keep passing the sheets around in opposite directions until each character has
every attribute filled out. When you have a complete list of attributes, write a few
first-person sentences describing your character. This description could be a
summary of the attributes, or contain some completely new information, your
choice. Include in your description something that they want, and something
which stands in the way of this.

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Example Character Sheet

Name Meg
Gender Thembo
Talent Photography
Job Machinist
Vibe Soft
Species Pegasus
Description My name is Meg and I use they/them.
I work at a factory making fuel rails
but my true passion is photography. I
want to quit my job at the factory, but
I haven’t had enough success with my
photography to make it my full-time
job. Since I have hooves , I use my
telekinesis to operate the camera, but
I’m still pretty clumsy with it.

Once everyone has written their description, go around the table and read them
aloud. Use silly voices if you want. If you have a question about someone’s
character, ask it. If someone else has a character you would prefer to play, you
may ask them to trade. Once everyone is satisfied with their characters, the
story begins. As you discover more about your character through play, take
notes on your Character Sheet.

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 The Story

Scenes
When it is your turn, you will be asked to frame a scene involving your own
character. This means deciding who else is in the scene , where you are, and
what you are doing. During rounds two and four, you may choose to frame a
scene in which your character is alone or only interacts with NPCs. In other
rounds, at least one other player’s character must be present.

Once you’ve framed the scene, it’s time to play it out through narration and
dialogue. Any player involved in a scene may narrate.

During a scene, it might be necessary to include a minor character besides

those created at the beginning of the game. For example, if your characters
meet at a library, a librarian might be present. These types of characters are
called NPCs. Anyone may play an NPC during a scene as long as one of the
people already involved in the scene has asked for the NPC to be included. If an
NPC becomes recurring, the responsibility of playing them may change hands
from scene to scene, or it might stay with one player for the entire game. If an
NPC becomes romantically involved with one or more of the players’ characters,
add them to the Relationship Web.

The Relationship Web

Over the course of the game, your characters will become romantically
entangled. The purpose of the Relationship Web is to track those
entanglements. You will start Round One with a blank Web. Whenever a
relationship is established or changes, record it on the Web. A relationship on
the Web looks like two names connected by a line or an arrow. If one character
has unrequited feelings for another, draw an arrow between their names. If two
characters are in a relationship, draw a line between them. You may also write
down any relevant notes on the Web.

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Example Relationship Web

Round One: Meeting-Cute

This round will be played in turns. The turns may be played in any order, but
if your group is having trouble deciding on order, start with the person who
brought this game to the table and go clockwise. When it is your turn, frame
a scene portraying how your character met and/or became attracted to one
or more of the other characters. When the scene is done, add the characters
who were present to the Relationship Web. If there are still characters absent
from the Web, then play another turn. Once all the characters are placed on the
Relationship Web, this round is over.

Round Two : Rising Action

Once again, play in turns. Anyone who didn’t get to frame a scene in Round
One should take their turn first. On your turn, frame a scene that develops your
character and their relationships. Remember, scenes in this turn may include
other players’ characters, or may include NPCs or your character alone. Either
way, they must include your own player character. As the round progresses,

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 build tension using the things that your characters want and the things that
stand in their way. Adjust the Relationship Web as necessary. For a three or four
player game, this round ends when each player has taken two turns. For a five or
six player game, the round ends when each player has taken one turn.

Round Three: The Climax

This round is the height of the tension and is played out in a single scene.
Everyone frames it together, and every player character should be present.
During the scene, explore how the things that each character wants intersect.

Round Four : Falling Action

Return to turn-based play. On your turn, frame a scene that shows how your
character changes after the Climax. This round lasts the same length as Round
Two and, like Round Two, may or may not include other players’ characters..

Round Five: Happily Ever After

This is the final round, which lasts one turn per player. On your turn, frame a
scene showing your character and their partners enjoying their lives together.

Variation: Exquisite Couple

With a few adjustments, this game can be played with two players. During
character creation, each player chooses three attributes. During the Rising and
Falling Action, each player frames three scenes each. For this version of the
game, a Relationship Web is not necessary.

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 Credits
• Written by Georgie Bats

• Edited by Marx Shepherd

• Artwork by Georgie Bats and anonymous friends

• Layout by Francita Soto with adjustments by Georgie Bats