Relationship hexcrawl The Fiction We Live understands the magic of Frieren and messy friendships

In its first season, the hit anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End follows the travels of an elven mage who has outlived nearly every member of her adventuring party thanks to a genetic lifespan that rivals the oldest trees. The eponymous Frieren’s early detachment from nuanced relationships, especially with humans and their brief blips of mortality, is gradually massaged and interrogated by memory, obligation and–eventually–genuine care.

Steeped in classic anime tropes and worldbuilding filthy with Tolkien’s authorial fingerprints, Frieren diverges from mere reproduction with mundane scenes recast by a sudden, potent remembrance floating to the conscious surface of Frieren’s mind. These bittersweet, tender moments reframe her current situation, adding texture to her connections and summoning wisdom from ghosts–Frieren is haunted by the best friendships she is only truly appreciating now that they’re dust.

I’ve no doubt that fans have attempted to recreate Frieren’s emphatic sincerity in all manner of tabletop RPG systems, but for my money the best emulator was released a couple of years before the anime started airing. Chris Bissette’s The Fiction We Live pitches itself as a “relationship hexcrawl”, a curious melding of old-school adventure design with the group roleplay dynamic found in Alex Robert’s For The Queen and Avery Alder’s The Quiet Year. A group of friends have reunited after some long time apart and use the occasion to revisit memories both fond and sharp enough to draw blood.