Well Wishers

From Basil Wright comes Well Wishers, a narrative-focused, roleplay-heavy supernatural game. As it deals with humanity’s attempts to avert the apocalypse it is recommended to use the TTRPG Safety Toolkit by Kienna S. when playing. In Well Wishers, each player is a Pillar – someone recognized by their community as an irreplaceable figure. These Pillars must come together in the last month of the year to make amends and show Truth (played by the GM) that they are more than their Shame. Well Wishers is available on Itch for $4.99USD [here].

There are five examples provided for possible Pillars, which essentially determine how your character came into this role, the questions most concerning you, and a secret Shame that nobody else knows. Once these have been chosen, or created, you move into the gameplay loop. This consists of a four-stage cycle: Assessment, Discussion, Reflection, and Contemplation. In total there are fifteen events, and one is drawn every cycle. The game ends when Truth emerges from their well to pass judgement and remakes reality to reflect the Pillar’s collective Shame. 

Well Wishers makes clear from the start that it is not a happy game, and that the potential for an unhappy ending is high. Communication at the table is always key, and in this case takes on an added element – in some cases, it might be better for the game’s ending if one of the Pillars succumbs to their Shame and ‘blooms’ (flowers erupt from their body. I thought of the human gardens seen in Annihilation, which have always delighted and disturbed me in equal measure), thus lowering the collective Shame of the group. Doing so removes that Pillar from play.

I like that Shame is entirely in control of the party – how much Shame is too much for each Pillar, and what their specific Shames are, is entirely up to them. I also appreciate that when Truth is conducting their evaluation, it is the party who are determining if their collective Shame is low, or high (the suggestion for ‘too much shame’ is # of players x2. This means if you had 4 players, a game ending with a collective Shame of 8 would be high.)

I think this game would work best for small tables, and I would personally play with a maximum of four other people. While the GM is playing the role of Truth, there is a possibility of the GM taking on the role of a Pillar until that happens – if the party agrees. In this case that person could act more like a Facilitator, the person at the table most familiar with the rules, more than the person running things.

Well Wishers is a beautiful, moving game promoting strong collaboration and, sometimes, sacrifice for the possibility of a better future. The layout is simple and easy to follow, with a gameplay loop which promotes conversation and consideration around the table. There’s an aching feeling with this game and each prompt poses new, difficult questions for the Pillars to decide on together. Each action has consequences that impact not only the Pillars, but their community at large. It is only a matter of time until Truth emerges from their well to pass judgement on humanity. What will you choose when humanity’s future is in your hands?

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