Zephyr: An Anarchist Roleplaying Game Of Fleeting Identities is a game by Arakauna Media. It benefited from a crowdfunding campaign.

In our analysis, we consider every individual artistic element of a game the best; we don’t find bad or good useful. So, the Split/Party framework assumes it is the best art, best layout, best writing, best design. This is an acknowledgment that nobody makes “bad” art on purpose; any given element is the best art that could have been produced at that point, restricted by its material conditions and constraints of time and effort. This is also because saying something is good/bad art is the most useless criticism that can be given. In practical terms, this section is for things we will not touch on the review but merit acknowledgment.

Brad

Zephyr is a beautiful tome, its front title alluring. That’s not enough for Zephyr; the layout and editing are beautiful, designed to be read and referred to. I don’t need to comment on the art; each piece is beautiful and gives us more insight into the world of Ophoi.

Zephyr is a fantastic example of that rare creature of art direction; every font and every art piece pushes towards not just each other, but towards a greater whole, communicating the ideas of the text and the tone of the book. Zephyr doesn’t ever get overly familiar or clinical, instead threading the needle between them and focusing on a tone that can be playful or serious.

Each game comes with certain expectations and tone. To properly break it down, we have to meet the game at the level it is: not lament its choice of premise and wish it was something else, nor resent for not conforming with our politics, not letting “missed opportunities” stand in our way of applying the critical framework relentlessly. It also includes not working with the game as marketed or how it exists in our desires, but as it is.

Brad

But how does this come together? Zephyr leads you through itself, teaching you the layers of the game as it goes, beginning with the basic mechanics and building on that as it turns. The book is incredibly well written in this specific regard, successfully reminding you of ideas that you need to build on to make the ideas work.

Zephyr doesn’t include safety tools, expecting you, as someone who is familiar with the hobby, to be willing to look into the text and work the issues out with your group. Session Zero is focused on everyone making sure that they understand not just their characters, but their place in the world, and how that affects them.

The other thing that I think is notable about Zephyr is that it actually has usable inspirations, not just weird references; it explains how they matter and points you to further references if they interest you.

Games are about things. Usually. Mostly. That is often the same thing they market themselves as. This often means to establish the relationship of the game with systems, mechanical frameworks, genre, etc. This is how games establish exceptions about the nature of play and establish a common space for creation.

Brad

Zephyr is about the Windfolk, people born out of the emotions of the massive living landmass Ophoi, and of their adventures fulfilling the obligations they have to friend and community. Along the way, you form bonds to each other, to the wonders you encounter, and to the very landscape you inhabit.

What the game says it is about is not always what the game is about. This is where we look at all the weird interactions, examining the system that game creates, how the way mechanics interact with the text and art, how it exists in a given context, how well parts flow together or get in the way. This creates a much richer environment that the original design could ever imagine once a game hits the table.

Brad

Zephyr is about connection, not just the way you connect to each other but the way we are all able to connect to the greater environment around you. Zephyr doesn’t imagine some unspoiled wilderness, but a living environment where people steward the environment and work together to build a more habitable and hospitable environment for every being in it. Your Windfolk is skilled in survival and navigation of this environment, but not alone; you are part of a group for a reason. Each member is able to contribute to a more comfortable and happier whole.

Zephyr is about so much more than that, I could literally have made this section as long as the rest of the article, but this is the theme that resonates strongest with me. You can literally bond yourself to an environmental feature, which allows you to dictate the things it does, and all you need to do is arrange your feelings to resonate with it. You exist in tandem with the environment, in a bond that is mutually beneficial and that is such a magical thing.